DAY 099: JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR – 1 CORINTHIANS 13-14

April 7, 2024

1 CORINTHIANS 13-14
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DAY 099: JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR

Today’s journey through 1 Corinthians finds the Apostle Paul dealing with conflict within the church at Corinth over Spiritual gifts and order within the church service.

Take a few minutes to pray for God’s perfect understanding of our journey through 1 Corinthians 13-14. Read 1 Corinthians 13-14. Let’s journey!

Corinth was a major port city, with many temples to false gods. It was also a rather wealthy city and known for its immorality. In Acts 18, we read about Paul helping to form the church in Corinth. He remained with them for about 18 months before moving on to continue his missionary work elsewhere. While in Ephesus, Paul received reports that there were problems, big problems in the church at Corinth. This letter follows a distinct pattern, in that Paul addresses and describes one of five problems, and responds with a message from the Gospel. The problems Paul addresses are Divisions (1-4), Sex (5-7), Food (8-10), The Gathering(11-14), and The Resurrection(15).

1 Corinthians 13-14: Many pastors find themselves in similar predicaments as today’s reading. Christians trying to show others that they have a special relationship with God, a relationship so special that no other believer has it. The apostle Paul attempts to allay the conflict within the church regarding which Spiritual gift is better. He attempts to teach the church at Corinth that the greatest Spiritual gift is unconditional love. The Apostle Paul reveals that things at Corinth had deteriorated so badly that their service had become of competition for speaking in tongues and not a time of worship and edification. God is a God of order. The church at Corinth had forgotten that. (1 Corinthians 13:1-14:40)

After reading chapters 13 and 14, consider the following: What problem is Paul addressing? In your own words, summarize what Paul is saying to address this problem. Is Paul’s message still applicable today? How and why?

Godspeace!