There is a holy and righteous life for us to live before the world. Yes, separate from the ways of the world as in 2 Corinthians 6:17 “… be separate,” says the Lord, “and do not touch what is unclean, and I will welcome you”, but we are still in the world. Since we are in the world, there is sometimes repentance that is necessary, and when we have sinned, he says in 2 Corinthians 7:10 “For grief according to the will of God brings about a repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted”. But this is not the life the Lord wants us to live, he wants us to have a, in 2 Corinthians 9:2 “readiness to help”, to have in 2 Corinthians 9:2 “zeal (that) has stirred up”, to be those that are in 2 Corinthians 9:7 “a cheerful giver”. 

I Will Walk About Among Them

2 Corinthians 6:14–18
If God had not wanted us in the world, He would have taken us out of the world with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So what does this mean in

2 Corinthians 6:17 Therefore “come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord, “and do not touch what is unclean, and I will welcome you”

There is a life apart from the ways of the world, a holy life of righteousness, a life where we walk in the light as it says in

Ephesians 5:7–10 Therefore do not be sharers with them, 8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live like children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn what is well-pleasing to the Lord.

Here, Paul says don’t live like them, don’t become like them, because there is a different way of living for us so in

2 Corinthians 6:14 “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers”.

Accomplishing Holiness in the Fear of God

2 Corinthians 7:1 

You Were Grieved to Repentance

2 Corinthians 7:8–16
Paul had written to these believers previously because of division among them, “Then he addresses other issues he has heard about: incest, lawsuits, and sexual immorality (5:1–6:20)”.¹

These were hard topics to hear, and for some, harder to deal with, but there was an intended purpose in Paul’s words, it was to bring a holy conviction, a sense that they had grieved the Holy Spirit of God by their actions. And, if they recognized this, they might repent and find reconciliation with God in

2 Corinthians 7:10 (LEB) For grief according to the will of God brings about a repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but worldly grief brings about death.

Proving the Genuineness of Your Love

2 Corinthians 8:1–15

They are Messengers of the Churches

2 Corinthians 8:1–15 

Your Zeal has Stirred up the Majority

2 Corinthians 9:1–15
Paul commends the church at Corinth and all of the region of Achaia for their, in 2 Corinthians 9:1 “ministry to the saints” because of their, in 2 Corinthians 9:2 “readiness to help”. But their desire to help was also a catalyst, and encouragement to other regions, the “Macedonians” in 2 Corinthians 9:4 where he says in 2 Corinthians 9:2 “your zeal has stirred up the majority of them”.

Paul doesn’t assume that what the people of Achaia have promised will be fulfilled, not that he doesn’t trust them to fulfill their promise, but to make sure there is no pressure on the people, he sends “brothers” to receive their gift as he says in

2 Corinthians 9:5 Therefore I considered it necessary to urge the brothers that they should go on ahead to you and make arrangements in advance for your generous gift that was promised previously, so this would be prepared as a generous gift and not as grudgingly granted.

We often hear these next verses quoted,

2 Corinthians 9:6–7 Now the point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one should give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or from compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

but seldom see the kind of order described here where there was planned giving with a goal in mind. Here, everyone gave, and “stirred up the majority” and everyone could see, in

2 Corinthians 9:12 “the service of this ministry is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but also is overflowing through many expressions of thanksgiving to God”.

Study Verses

• 2 Corinthians 6:14–18 I Will Walk About Among Them
• 2 Corinthians 7:8–16 You Were Grieved to Repentance
• 2 Corinthians 9:1–15 Your Zeal has Stirred up the Majority

Today’s Reading

• 2 Corinthians 6:14–18
• 2 Corinthians 7:1-16
• 2 Corinthians 8:1-24
• 2 Corinthians 9:1-15

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References

• 1. Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

From the days of Moses, the Lord has offered his presence to those that will accept him. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 22:37 ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ and Matthew 22:39 ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But, there is a veil, in 2 Corinthians 4:4 “the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they would not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God”. There is though, for us who have believed, a mission, in 2 Corinthians 5:20 Therefore we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as if God were imploring you through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 

A Veil Lies Upon Their Heart

2 Corinthians 3:9–18
There was a glory that came on Moses as he spent time in the presence of God. That glory came on Moses as the Lord was describing how He wanted to come into their presence and He gave Moses ten commandments for the people. These “10 laws can be divided into two groups of five. The first five focus on the relationship between a person and God. The second five focus on person-to-person relationships.”¹ and can be summarized, as Jesus said when asked, in

Matthew 22:36–40 “Teacher, which commandment is greatest in the law?” 37 And he said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”

But in Moses day, the people could not bear the glory, and as it was in Jesus day, they still struggled with Love. This is why it says in

2 Corinthians 3:15–16 But until today, whenever Moses is read aloud, a veil lies upon their heart, 16 but whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

And this is the fulfillment of God’s promise

Ezekiel 11:19–20 And I will give to them one heart, and a new spirit I will give in their inner parts. And I will remove their heart of stone from their body, and I will give to them a heart of flesh, 20 so that they may walk in my statutes, and they will keep my regulations, and they will do them, and they will be to me a people, and I myself will be to them as God.

 

The Glory of God in the Face of Christ

2 Corinthians 4:1–6
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:1 “Because of this”, because in 2 Corinthians 3:18 “we all, with unveiled face, reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory into glory”, there is a glory that shines from us as the sons and daughters of God.

But the deceiver, the enemy of our soul, in 2 Corinthians 4:4 “the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they would not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

It is not though, our lives that we are to proclaim. We enjoy the benefit of our salvation, whether anyone else hears or not. For them, the ones that are blind, we proclaim Jesus Christ and we trust that God will do in them what he has done in us as he said in

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” is the one who has shined in our hearts for the enlightenment of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

We Have This Treasure in Earthenware Jars

2 Corinthians 4:7–18

We Live by Faith, Not by Sight

2 Corinthians 5:1–10

 

If Anyone is in Christ, He is a New Creation

2 Corinthians 5:11–21
Paul is writing in part to counter the words of some that in 2 Corinthians 5:12 “boast in appearance and not in heart”. Paul describes the life of a believer as those that, in 2 Corinthians 5:15 “no longer live for themselves” and in 2 Corinthians 5:16 “from now on we know no one from a human point of view” which is also to say that those who “boast in appearance” are only living for themselves and are living from a human point of view. But this is not the way for us as Christians in

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.

There is a new way of living for us. There are new priorities for us. There is a new mission for us in

2 Corinthians 5:20 Therefore we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as if God were imploring you through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Now is the Day of Salvation

2 Corinthians 6:1–13

Study Verses

• 2 Corinthians 3:9–18 A Veil Lies Upon Their Heart
• 2 Corinthians 4:1–6 The Glory of God in the Face of Christ
• 2 Corinthians 5:11–21 If Anyone is in Christ, He is a New Creation

Today’s Reading

• 2 Corinthians 3:9-18
• 2 Corinthians 4:1-18
• 2 Corinthians 5:1-21
• 2 Corinthians 6:1-13

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References

• 1. Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ex 20:1–21). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Paul is writing to the church in Corinth and the believers in the region of Achaia because there are differences in governments, in culture, in lifestyles and in spiritual growth and needs in different regions, much as it is today. Yet, Paul begins with universal truths that God is our source in 2 Corinthians 1:2 “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ“ and in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort”. Paul then describes the unrest he had in himself as he entered Macedonia where a great and successful work of ministry was accomplished through him. Now, he tells the believers in 2 Corinthians 3:3 “you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, inscribed not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God”. If we simply continue trusting the Lord, He will cause us to be in 2 Corinthians 2:15 “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing“. 

God of All Comfort

2 Corinthians 1:1–11
Paul doesn’t just write to the leaders of the Church, he writes to all of the believers, “to the church of God that is in Corinth” in 2 Corinthians 1:1 but he doesn’t stop there, this is also “together with all the saints who are in all Achaia”. Paul writes a universal message of grace and peace in

2 Corinthians 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

and further describes in

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in all affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

He is writing to tell them about the different environment, the different issues faced in “the province of Asia” in 2 Corinthians 1:8. These things Paul is facing in Asia though, are for the gospel and his message to the church of God in Achaia is that in whatever situation we are in, we have faith in God, in

2 Corinthians 1:9 “that we would not be putting confidence in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead”

Purity of Motive from God

2 Corinthians 1:12–14

But God is Faithful

2 Corinthians 1:15–24

I Have Confidence About You All

2 Corinthians 2:1–4

That We May Not be Exploited by Satan

2 Corinthians 2:5–11 

A Door Was Opened for Me by the Lord

2 Corinthians 2:12–17
As strong as Paul was, as great as the reach of his ministry, even in this time when there was a great open door as he says in

2 Corinthians 2:12 Now when I arrived in Troas for the gospel of Christ and a door was opened for me by the Lord,

Paul was troubled. Titus was not there to be with him. He was going alone in

2 Corinthians 2:13 I did not experience rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother, but saying farewell to them, I departed for Macedonia.

But these were Paul’s internal feelings and though he felt weak, troubled, there was a great work happening around him in

2 Corinthians 2:14–15 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ, and who reveals the fragrance of the knowledge of him through us in every place. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,

 

You Are Our Letter, Inscribed on Our Hearts

2 Corinthians 3:1–8
Paul lifts up the lives of believers as the commendation for the work the Lord has done. He says in

2 Corinthians 3:3 revealing that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, inscribed not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on tablets of human hearts.

He is not lifting up what he has done or the relationships he has made, but the change in the lives of people by the work of the Holy Spirit. He goes on to say, “our adequacy is from God” in 2 Corinthians 3:5 and “the Spirit gives life” in 2 Corinthians 3:6 and then asks “will the ministry of the Spirit not be even more with glory?” in 2 Corinthians 3:8. It is the Lord doing the work so that in

2 Corinthians 3:4 Now we possess such confidence through Christ toward God.

Study Verses

• 2 Corinthians 1:1–11 God of All Comfort
• 2 Corinthians 2:12–17 A Door Was Opened for Me by the Lord
• 2 Corinthians 3:1–8 You Are Our Letter, Inscribed on Our Hearts

Today’s Reading

• 2 Corinthians 1:1-24
• 2 Corinthians 2:1-17
• 2 Corinthians 3:1-8

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Paul is writing to believers in Corinth some twenty years after Jesus in Luke 24:46–47 “said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations”. Those reading this letter were in a Roman colony, a region of great commerce and the site of historic temples to the gods. There were many teaching many things so Paul stays on the message, Christ rose from the dead and in 1 Corinthians 15:49 “we will also bear the image of the heavenly”. This message is also producing great results in Ephesus where in 1 Corinthians 16:9 “a great and effective door has opened for me, and there are many opponents”. We often find that where there is great success, where we are fully in the middle of God’s perfect will, there is also great opposition.

The Gospel I Proclaimed to You

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 

Christ Has Been Raised From the Dead

1 Corinthians 15:12–21
All that we believe as Christians hinges on Jesus Christ being raised from the dead. And, if Christ is raised from the dead, why would some say there is no resurrection in

1 Corinthians 15:12 Now if Christ is preached as raised up from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

If Christ is not raised from the dead, then we are still cut off from God in 1 Corinthians 15:17 “still in our sin” looking forward to our soon coming death and mourning, in 1 Corinthians 15:18 “those who have fallen asleep in Christ (and) perished”.

But Christ is raised from the dead in

1 Corinthians 15:20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

This is not a new message from Paul, but the very message Jesus Christ himself gave to his apostles after he rose and as he commissioned them to proclaim “repentance and the forgiveness of sin” in

Luke 24:45–48 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.

In Christ All Will be Made Alive

1 Corinthians 15:22–34

The Last Adam Became a Life-giving Spirit

1 Corinthians 15:35–45 

Flesh and Blood is Not Able to Inherit the Kingdom of God

1 Corinthians 15:46–58
Most people understand that there is a difference between our natural existence and the realm where God is. And, there are many ideas about the spirit realm and spirit beings so Paul makes it clear that there is a natural man, but there is also a spiritual one, and he refers specifically now to Jesus Christ, the second man from heaven in

1 Corinthians 15:47 The first man is from the earth, made of earth; the second man is from heaven.

Jesus Christ came to introduce a change, that we could in 1 Corinthians 15:49 “bear the image of the heavenly” but right now, every man, every person is trapped in these fleshly bodies that will die a natural death and, as he says in

1 Corinthians 15:50 But I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood is not able to inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruptibility.

but this we know (Paul is talking to believers in Jesus Christ here.), we will all be changed, and in

1 Corinthians 15:54–55 But whenever this perishable body puts on incorruptibility and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

This is our (believers) “victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” in 1 Corinthians 15:57. But what of the others? The unbelieving will be cast out to the place established for the fallen spirits, the evil demonic spirits that some have worshipped as gods through the ages. They also have their place in the spirit realm, but cut off from God forever, the second death.

Revelation 21:8 But as for the cowards and unbelievers and detestable persons and murderers and sexually immoral people and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their share is in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.

 

A Great and Effective Door Has Opened

1 Corinthians 16:1–12
Paul closes his letter with instruction for an offering, a gift from the church to Jerusalem in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4. This is not a one time gift taken in the moment, but a planned gift for people to bring their contributions each week.

Then Paul lays out his travel plans and his desire to winter and spend time with them in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 16:5-7. However, he is on a mission to take the gospel to the Gentiles so he says in 1 Corinthians 16:8 “I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost” and this is because in

1 Corinthians 16:9 for a great and effective door has opened for me, and there are many opponents.

It seems odd that these two statements would be together; “a great and effective door has opened” and “there are many opponents”. But this refers to “the situation during his two and a half years at Ephesus, recounted in Acts 19. He spent longer there than anywhere else … He ‘dialogued’ daily in a public lecture-room, the hall of Tyrannus … the whole of the province of Asia ‘heard the word of the Lord’ (see Acts 19:10) … ‘the word of the Lord grew and prevailed mightily’ in Ephesus. (see Acts 19:20).¹

While Paul was experiencing this great success, at this same time there was great opposition where “Paul’s confrontation of evil … led to … a public bonfire when the books of magic arts … were consigned to the flames. … their lucrative trade of making silver statues for the worship of Artemis was dramatically diminished (so the workers gathered and the city rioted). … the Jewish hierarchy (was reviling the way)”.²

And there is an important message “from Paul’s experience: the presence of opposition does not mean that we have moved out of the will of God.”²

Stand Firm in the Faith, Act Courageously, be Strong

1 Corinthians 16:13–24

Study Verses

• 1 Corinthians 15:12–21 Christ Has Been Raised From the Dead
• 1 Corinthians 15:46–58 Flesh and Blood is Not Able to Inherit the Kingdom of God
• 1 Corinthians 16:1–12 A Great and Effective Door Has Opened

Today’s Reading

• 1 Corinthians 15:1-58
• 1 Corinthians 16:1-24

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References

• 1. Prior, D. (1985). The message of 1 Corinthians: life in the local church (p. 281). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
• 2. Prior, D. (1985). The message of 1 Corinthians: life in the local church (p. 282). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Paul teaches believers to understand their differences the way God does. Just as God made our bodies with many parts, and we appreciate and use them all, so we should view the body of Christ. There is in our fallen nature, this desire to be with others that are like us and we use differences as a way to separate ourselves by race, ethnicity, social standing. But God wants us to operate together, valuing our differences, as the parts of our body do. Paul then extends this to spiritual gifts which are given for the edification of the body. The gifts are not to lift up the individual, but to help the body. Finally, Paul comes to a description of the mature believers as they operate together in their gifts, where in 1 Corinthians 14:32 “the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets” and love mediates as each exercises preferential care for those around them in 1 Corinthians 14:39–40 So then, my brothers, desire to prophesy, and do not prevent speaking with tongues. 40 But let all things be done decently and according to proper procedure. 

By One Spirit We Were All Baptized

1 Corinthians 12:12–20
We seem to have a natural tendency to gravitate to people that are like us. In fact, I believe God understands this tribal nature and acknowledged it with the children of Israel. We may understand these differences as ways for us to separate ourselves, to create divisions between us and others based on race or gender or social standing or ethnicity. But Paul puts forward a different model, not one of distinctive separation but of unity and utility. Who can deny the wonder of our bodies and who would change any part to have more of another? This is the example Paul uses to represent the diversity in the body of Christ. Just as our bodies have many different parts that each have their own function, yet all work together, so is it with the Church, the one body of Christ in

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (LEB) For just as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of the body, although they are many, are one body, thus also Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free persons, and all were made to drink one Spirit.

The context is spiritual gifts but Paul’s use of “whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free” is not to limit our thinking to this list, but to prompt our thinking to extend his comments to include every nationality, every language, every culture, every level of social standing.

There is one more important point here, he does not intend that these all bring their characteristics into the body of Christ to make it an amalgamation of every kind. Instead, he says, “all were made to drink one spirit” and by this, there is a connecting effect. Now, every person can become, not what the world says, you can be anything you want to be, but now they can become uniquely what God made them to be in

1 Corinthians 12:18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body just as he wanted.

In Christ, there is great value in diversity. God is big enough to hear and understand and manage all of our thoughts and perceptions without being conflicted. Are you able to listen, to hear, to value what your fellow believers have to say?

Now You Are the Body of Christ

1 Corinthians 12:21–31 

These Three Remain: Faith, Hope, and Love

1 Corinthians 13:1–13
Paul has dealt with the natural diversity that tends to cause division between people and has told them to operate as one body with many members. Using the example of our bodied, he describes each part of the Church with their own distinctive function. This same natural thinking that separates people has carried over into their understanding of spiritual gifts so the focus has turned to the power of the gift rather than the blessing it is meant to be to the body of believers.

Paul corrects them and explaining the use of the gifts of the Spirit. These gifts are important, but they are secondary in their value. It is like offering someone a cup to drink but without any water as he says in

1 Corinthians 13:2 And if I have the gift of prophecy and I know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

There is something more important than these gifts. Our focus, our intention should first be on the giver of the gifts, the one that has shown us love. This is the greatest gift, and it comes to us as we have faith in God and hope for a good future rise and we experience his love. As he says in

1 Corinthians 13:12–13 For now we see through a mirror indirectly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know completely, just as I have also been completely known. 13 And now these three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Seek for the Edification of the Church

1 Corinthians 14:1–12

Tongues Are for a Sign

1 Corinthians 14:13–25 

Let All Things be Done Decently

1 Corinthians 14:26–40
Paul comes to describes what the operation of the gifts of the spirit look like in a Church where love is flowing. As he says in 1 Corinthians 14:26 “each one of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things must be done for edification”. Some have said that when the unction of the Holy Spirit comes on them, they must speak out, but that isn’t what Paul says in

1 Corinthians 14:32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.

The Holy Spirit is the power of God, but God doesn’t override our will. As Paul goes on to say in

1 Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace”.

There is a good flow, a good order, a loving preference for one another that is exercised by mature believers in

1 Corinthians 14:39–40 So then, my brothers, desire to prophesy, and do not prevent speaking with tongues. 40 But let all things be done decently and according to proper procedure.

Study Verses

• 1 Corinthians 12:12–20 By One Spirit We Were All Baptized
• 1 Corinthians 13:1–13 These Three Remain: Faith, Hope, and Love
• 1 Corinthians 14:26–40 Let All Things be Done Decently

Today’s Reading

• 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
• 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
• 1 Corinthians 14:1-40

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Paul tells the believers in 1 Corinthians 10:23 “All things are permitted, but not all things are profitable”, then points them to Jesus Christ our example in 1 Corinthians 11:1 Become imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. Then Paul reminds them of the Lord’s supper, communion, the time when we all come together to remember the covenant that we have through the body and blood of Christ as Jesus said in 1 Corinthians 11:25 “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me”. But it is more than remembrance as Paul now says in 1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Communion is also a declaration of what Jesus Christ did on the earth.

Not All Things Are Profitable

1 Corinthians 10:23–33 

Become Imitators of Me, Just as I am of Christ

1 Corinthians 11:1–8
Paul admonishes them to follow him, and as Paul always does, he turns to Jesus Christ as the example he follows in

1 Corinthians 11:1 Become imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

He then commends them in 1 Corinthians 11:2 for remembering and holding onto the traditions. Now, we know that Jesus had rebuked the Pharisees and the scribes for their traditions in

Mark 7:13 “thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down, and you do many similar things such as this.”

We know that Paul’s tradition is Jesus Christ and him crucified in

1 Corinthians 2:2, 5 For I decided not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 5 in order that your faith would not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Paul’s traditions I take to mean; the gospel of the Kingdom, Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected, water baptism, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and communion that he just mentioned. Then again Paul points to Jesus Christ and makes this strong point, in

1 Corinthians 11:3 “that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and the head of Christ is God.”

We all come under the authority of God through Jesus Christ.

Does Not Nature Itself Teach You

1 Corinthians 11:9–16 

I Received From the Lord What I Also Passed On

1 Corinthians 11:17–24
Paul established a tradition with them, “the Lord’s Supper”, also called ““eucharist” or “thanksgiving” and “communion” or “fellowship” … reminding Christians that they share the loaf and cup at His table, not their own.¹ Paul said in

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night in which he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and after he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Here, “Paul stressed the memorial aspect of the Supper. “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Christians were to remember that the body of Christ was broken and His blood shed for them.”¹

And this time of remembering Christ was not an individual time, but a communal one. They were all to be together remembering the new covenant (see Jeremiah 31:31–34). But the occasion is not one of unity but of strife and division. Paul rebukes them for the factions that exist in what is the body of Christ, the Church. 

Proclaim the Lord’s Death Until He Comes

1 Corinthians 11:25–34
Paul continues telling them about the Lord’s supper but this is not just a ritual, at this moment, we are proclaiming the Lord’s death in

1 Corinthians 11:25–26 Likewise also the cup, after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

This new covenant is not just about healing, his body broken for us, but also about complete forgiveness of sin, his blood given for us.

Joining together for communion is also joining together before the Lord and we before we do, Paul tells them to take time for introspection. Do they have their life in order? Are they being the Christian people God wants them to be and that the world needs to see? Paul says in

1 Corinthians 11:28 (LEB) But let a person examine himself, and in this way let him eat from the bread and let him drink from the cup.

Then he adds in

1 Corinthians 11:31 (LEB) But if we were evaluating ourselves, we would not be judged.

and if we truly understand the communal nature of this moment, that we are all one as members of the body of Christ we would then be willing to wait as he says in

1 Corinthians 11:33 So then, my brothers, when you come together in order to eat the Lord’s supper, wait for one another.

Concerning Spiritual Gifts

1 Corinthians 12:1–11

Study Verses

• 1 Corinthians 11:1–8 Become Imitators of Me, Just as I am of Christ
• 1 Corinthians 11:17–24 I Received From the Lord What I Also Passed On
• 1 Corinthians 11:25–34 Proclaim the Lord’s Death Until He Comes

Today’s Reading

• 1 Corinthians 10:23-33
• 1 Corinthians 11:1-34
• 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

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References

• 1. Howe, C. L., Jr. (2003). Ordinances. In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen, & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (p. 1229). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.