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2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. I rarely object to a translation of the Greek text, but here is an exception. I think the phrase “no one understands him” should be translated “no oneContinue reading “1 Corinthians 14:2”

7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love is always, not sometimes, not occasionally, not sporadically, not when it is convenient, not comfortable, not on my terms. If we say we love like the Scriptures say we are to love, it is always, every moment, unrelentingly, not on my timetable. But thatContinue reading “1 Corinthians 13:7”

3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. The theology of the suicide boomer, if I understand its pure form, is that I give my body so that a much greater good can be accomplished. The worldly system isContinue reading “1 Corinthians 13:3”

13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. The only hope for race, cultural, and economic reconciliation is in Jesus. This is the repeated theme of the New Testament. Only in Jesus are all the barriersContinue reading “1 Corinthians 12:13”

28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. There is an appropriate time for self-examination before partaking in communion. I cannot go into a full explanation of the depths of communion in this blog. But what I will say is that before we do takeContinue reading “1 Corinthians 11:28”

13 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? In the scriptures there are culture-bound practices that illustrate a larger principle. Here is an example. When most of us read this passage we scratch our heads and think, “What does this mean? This doesn’t make sense!”Continue reading “1 Corinthians 11:13”

1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. Imitation has gotten a bad rap. I am not talking about the designer watches purchased from someone’s pocket while standing on a street corner in a big city. I am talking about our lives. When our younger brother or sister imitated the good thingsContinue reading “1 Corinthians 11:1”

31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Is it possible to sin to the glory of God? I don’t think so! We must all make choices about our activities. One of the ways to measure those choices is to ask whether this choiceContinue reading “1 Corinthians 10:31”

23 “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive. There are some things that just shouldn’t be done. Their consequences are such that if you do them, you will pay a great price. The two key concepts that can help you determine if you should be involved in aContinue reading “1 Corinthians 10:23”