Sharper Iron from KFUO Radio

St. Paul’s ministry among the Corinthians has been compelled by Christ’s love. He has died for all so that those who live would now live not for themselves but for Christ. We regard Christ and others, no longer according to the flesh, but in the light of the new creation Christ has brought. This is God’s work of reconciliation which comes now in the ministry of preaching, by which God makes His ap...

St. Paul calls the Corinthians to a life of good courage. Although this earthly body is a tent that does not last forever, the Lord Jesus will raise us with an immortal body. Meanwhile, we groan in this earthly tent, longing for the clothing of our eternal dwelling place. God’s gift of the Holy Spirit is the down payment so that we know God will deliver the fullness of His promise. This enables us...

As the ministers of the Gospel, St. Paul and his coworkers are only jars of clay; the treasure is the Gospel that God has given them to proclaim. Through this Gospel, the entire Church is sustained even in the midst of affliction and persecution. As the death of Jesus is made manifest among them, so is the life of Jesus made manifest as well. As death attacks the ministers of the Gospel, life is a...

Because St. Paul has been called into the apostolic ministry by God’s mercy, he does not lose heart, nor does he stoop to underhanded methods. Rather, his ministry is done openly in the truth of God’s Word. Only to those who are perishing is this Gospel veiled, for their minds are blinded by the works of the evil one. St. Paul and his coworkers, in contrast, proclaim the light of Christ, who is th...

St. Paul compares and contrasts the ministry of the old covenant with the ministry of the new covenant. The ministry of the old covenant had a great glory, but it could not lead to life and ultimately came to an end. For that reason, the ministry of the new covenant has an even greater glory, for it does lead to life and is permanent. In this hope, God’s people are bold through Christ Jesus. Only...

St. Paul tells the Corinthians that he and his coworkers do not need letters of recommendation, as his opponents seem to desire. Rather, the Corinthians themselves are the letter of recommendation to be known and read by all. They have received the Gospel preached by the apostles in faith, and so they are a letter from Christ to the world. Because they know that their sufficiency comes from God an...

St. Paul speaks about a previous letter he had written to the Corinthians. Although there had been pain and anguish of heart, he had only written out of love for these Christians. Now that the one who had been caught up in sin had been brought to repentant sorrow, the church needed to turn and comfort this man with Christ’s forgiveness, lest Satan outwit God’s people. St. Paul gives thanks to God...

Rev. Brian Flamme, pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Roswell, NM, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 2 Corinthians 1:8-2:2. St. Paul informs the Corinthians of the afflictions he had experienced in Asia, which had caused him to despair of life. Yet this death sentence brought about the fruit of reliance on God, who delivered St. Paul and his coworkers. For this reason, the apostle implores...

Rev. Sam Wirgau, pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ossian, IN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 2 Corinthians 1:1-7. St. Paul begins this letter to the Corinthians by identifying himself as a true apostle of Jesus Christ who has been sent by God’s will. He writes again to Corinth with that authority to continue to proclaim the truth of Christ crucified and risen. Through this preaching,...

“A Letter of Comfort” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through the epistle of 2 Corinthians. St. Paul writes again to the Christians in Corinth to bring them the ongoing comfort of the Gospel in the midst of the attacks of false doctrine from so-called “super apostles.” He seeks to give confidence to the Corinthians—and to us—that the good news of Christ crucified and risen proclaimed by His...

Rev. John Bussman, pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Cullman, AL, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 16:13-24. As St. Paul draws his epistle to a close, he repeats and wraps up themes from the letter. The Corinthians must remain watchful against divisions and false doctrine, even as they watch for the Lord to return. St. Paul calls upon them to stand firm in the faith that...

Rev. Tim Eden, pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church in Bryan, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 16:1-12. St. Paul gives the Corinthians a concrete way to be steadfast and abounding in the work of the Lord as he describes how they can participate in the offering to support the saints in Jerusalem. According to the means God has given, whether rich or poor, each member of the cong...

Rev. Andrew Belt, pastor at Christ Lutheran Church in Marshfield, WI, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 15:35-58. Addressing a potential objection, St. Paul teaches the Corinthians about the resurrection body. Using images from agriculture and creation, he says that the resurrection body is given by God as a different kind of body with a different glory than this perishable body...

Rev. Martin Dressler, pastor at Salem Lutheran Church in Black Jack, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 15:12-34. Having laid out the Gospel for the Corinthians, St. Paul turns to address their denial of the central part of that Gospel: the resurrection of the dead. He briefly imagines a false, scary scenario. If there is no resurrection, that would mean Jesus is still dead,...

Rev. Caleb Adams, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bend, OR, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. St. Paul takes the Corinthians back to the basics. He reminds them of the Gospel in which they stand and by which they are being saved. The same message that St. Paul received he had preached in Corinth: Christ died, was buried, was raised on the third day, and appeared to...

Rev. Steve Andrews, pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Lee's Summit, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 14:26-40. St. Paul continues to instruct the Corinthians concerning matters of public worship. When considering how speaking in tongues and prophecy fit into public worship, Christians ought to consider what best builds up the body of Christ into peace and order, rath...

Rev. Richard Mittwede, pastor at University Lutheran Church in Austin, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. St. Paul shows the Corinthians the way that excels above all others, the way of love. If the gifts of the Holy Spirit are used without love, they are nothing. Instead, Christians pursue love for each other because God has loved us first. This love given to Christ...

Rev. Harrison Goodman, content executive for Higher Things, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. St. Paul teaches concerning the reality that the Holy Spirit works for the Church. Through the one Baptism, though we are many members, we are joined together into the one Church, the body of Christ. Because this is the reality of the Church, individual members should not desp...

Rev. Jeremiah Johnson, pastor at Glory of Christ Lutheran Church in Plymouth, MN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. St. Paul begins to instruct the Corinthians concerning the works of the Spirit among them. The Holy Spirit brings sinners from the silence of idolatry to open their lips in a true confession: "Jesus is Lord!" United in that one confession, the one Spirit w...

Rev. Dustin Beck, pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Warda, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. St. Paul gives much-needed correction to the Corinthians' practice at the Lord's Table. Because of their abuses, they are not coming together to eat the Lord's Supper, but their own. He calls them back to the basics: the Words of Jesus that declare that this meal is H...

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Overland, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. St. Paul commends the Corinthians for remembering him and maintaining the things he had handed down to them. As he turns to address the matter of head coverings, he lays out the primary theological principle: the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife...

Rev. Vance Becker, LCMS missionary to Kenya, serving as theological education at Neema Lutheran College in Matongo, Kenya, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1. St. Paul once again returns to a Corinthian slogan: "All things are lawful." This cannot be the guiding principle for the use of Christian freedom because not all things are helpful, and not all things build up t...

Rev. James Preus, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 10:14-22. Appealing to his beloved congregation according to the wisdom that comes from God's Word, St. Paul urges the Corinthians to flee from idolatry. This is the only sensible thing to do because they are participants in the Lord's Table. There, they receive the cup of bless...

Rev. Carl Roth, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 10:1-13. Having spoken of his own need to watch out for falling from the faith, St. Paul warns the Corinthians similarly using the example of the Israelites. They all received the same blessings of Christ in the exodus from Egypt and the Lord's provision in the wilderness, yet not all...

Rev. Doug Griebenaw, mission advocate for KFUO Radio in St. Louis, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 9:1-27. St. Paul uses himself as an example of the use of Christian freedom for the sake of love of the neighbor. On the one hand, he is free in Christ to receive compensation for preaching of the Gospel. This reality is not even a human tradition, but a teaching from the Lor...