Chapter 14 begins just after the 12:20 mark in the podcast
In looking at this podcast, we remember that in chapter 12, St. Paul discussed spiritual gifts and how all spiritual gifts are offered by the Holy Spirit for the benefit of the Church. We should not be jealous of other’s gifts and we should not take pride in any gifts we may have. Here in Chapter 13, he pauses to discuss love. He seems to be pausing because he is aware of all the issues in Corinth and he wants to emphasize the importance of LOVE before returning to his discussion of gifts because without LOVE the rest of the discussion does not matter.
St. Paul returns to discussing spiritual gifts in Chapter 14. So far he has compared all the spiritual gifts to a body and that all are necessary; he discussed some specific spiritual gifts and then in chapter 13 he discussed that the love that unites and bonds as a community is more important than any spiritual gift. In this chapter he returns to spiritual gifts, specifically speaking in tongues. This comes up, in part because as was mentioned when we discussed chapter 12, the Corinthians took great pride in this particular gift and would boast about it with others. Additionally, this is the chapter where St. Paul mentions that women should be silent in church. Of course, when we get to that point in the chapter we will discuss these verses, which are actually part of a larger section where St. Paul is discussing order/structure in the church.
Starting with this chapter, St. Paul changes subjects. He has been dealing with social issues, including divisions in the church, sexual immorality, and eating food that had been dedicated to idols. Now he shifts to questions regarding worship. In this chapter, the apostle deals with certain spiritual church regulations. He specifically discusses 1) head covering for women during prayer: and 2) believer’s behavior and attitude in the church due to the divisions that existed in the church at that time, which impacted them when they came to together to celebrate communion (vv17-34)
Chapter 10 is the last chapter of a 3-chapter arc discussing food dedicated to idols. Building on the previous chapters, St. Paul answers three questions concerning the same issue:
As people living in the world today, much of St. Paul's discussion still applies with how we interact with others in the world while maintaining our faith.
Chapters 8-10 are a discussion about eating food dedicated to idols and living out Christian love by putting the needs of others before our own.
In chapter 8, he begins the discussion of food dedicated to idols. In lessons that apply to us today, St. Paul develops the argument that our behavior should be determined by our love for others, and not just our knowledge. This means that we will need to make concessions regarding things we may want to do. We will see that St. Paul was not concerned with just laying down rules. He wanted the Corinthians to see the underlying issues and principles so they would understand how to live as followers of Christ in the world.
In chapter 9, St. Paul continues his argument from the previous chapter by using himself as an example of letting his love for others and their salvation be the guide for his actions; instead of relying on any rights he may have as an apostle.
Over the next few chapters St. Paul responds to social problems that the congregation sent to him.
In this chapter he deals with questions concerning marriage, virginity, and physical relationships among married couples. The church in Corinth suffered controversies because of concepts of sex, physical relationships, and marriage because of being raised in a pagan society.
Living in the world today, presents believers with many of the same challenges.
In the first 4 chapters, St. Paul dealt with unity in the church.
In chapter 5, he begins discussing sexual immorality among Christians.
In chapter 6, he tells people to not file lawsuits against other believers. He builds on ideas from previous chapters including the Church has authority over believers, and that spiritual people should bring their problems before spiritual people.
In the first 4 chapters of this epistle, St. Paul deals with the problem of unity in the church.
In this chapter, he builds on his arguments from the previous chapters regarding the importance of unity. We will see that he pushes them further, in an effort to convict them so they recognize their error. In every step of his argument, St. Paul reinforces that their focus should be on the crucified Christ
In this chapter St. Paul continues to deal with the problem of divisions in the church. Here he diagnoses the problem and gets more personal by telling the people of Corinth that they are carnal people. St. Paul describes people in 3 groups: spiritual, natural and carnal. In the last chapter he discussed spiritual and natural. To resolve this problem, they must grow in their spiritual maturity. These issues continue to trouble the church today, and the resolution remains the same.
In this chapter, St. Paul builds on that idea that we are all united in Christ. He points out that he does not depend on persuasive words. Instead he relies on heavenly wisdom which comes from the Holy Spirit when we build our relationship with God. He also introduces the natural man while in the next chapter he discusses the carnal man. Here, he explains that the natural person cannot understand heavenly wisdom, because they only rely on their own wisdom and that of the world.
This episode offers a general introduction to St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians and a review of chapter 1.
In this Chapter, we see St. Paul writing to a church he loved, he feels they are family. He begins with a joyful introduction that brings to them the spirit of hope. He sets forth with them to the cross of the Lord of glory Jesus Christ to find in it a solution for all their problems, whether concerning their behavior, families, church, or doctrines; He brings them over to the cross, to see in it the secret of hope and unity.
The previous chapter could be considered as the concluding part of the practical teachings of the Epistle. It is in harmony with the first part of the epistle where St. Paul discussed theological issues. This is because it is impossible to separate the faith of the church from its daily conduct.
This chapter represents the concluding words of the Epistle, and provides us with a great number of names. While we know very little about many of them, the Holy Spirit reveals, through them, the fervor of the Church. All sought to establish a spiritual Church in the Lord, and they were charged with a spirit of love which sanctifies shared feelings and emotions.
St Paul considers that ‘the mystery of the Lord Jesus Christ’ lies in the opening of the door of faith to the whole world, and allowing all nations access to salvation. While the entire epistle proclaims the nature of salvation, here St. Paul presents practical applications which are in harmony with all the other parts of his message. He stresses the obligations of the Church as a whole as well as the role of each member of the Church. All should demonstrate a loving heart that yearns to bring all to salvation.
In this chapter, St Paul addresses the Gentiles and warns them against misunderstanding his earlier speech directed to the Jewsish-Christians and advises them not to harbor any pride or contempt towards them. He explains that towards the end of time, the Jews will ultimately accept the Lord Jesus Christ and repent. In other words, when St Paul speaks to the Jews, he reproaches them in order to lead them to open their hearts with love towards the Gentiles. When he speaks to the Gentiles, he reproaches them in order to lead them to open their hearts to the Jews who repent and turn to God with faith. St. Paul yearns that all humanity supports one another in the spirit of love and humility and that none die through pride and arrogance.
Most look at chapters 9-11 as a shift in Romans, as St. Paul shows that God has not rejected Israel and turned His back on promises He has made. In this chapter, we see St. Paul speak from a place of great love for his Jewish brethren. He wants them to see that they have rejected God and everything He offered them. That is, it is they who have left God and not God who left them. He confirms that they are God’s chosen people, not due to any personal distinction or entitlement they possess; rather, it is due to God’s love. In this sense, God also has proclaimed His love to the Gentiles and He has chosen them as well.
This can be one of the tougher chapters - people often stumble over the language of God choosing people and preferring some people over other people. But it is really all about the free choice that people have and whether we choose God.
St. Paul began his epistle to the Romans by talking about the sinful state of both Gentiles and Jews; and that Christ came to save both. Then St. Paul discussed the relationship between sin and death and how, through Adam, death came into the world. Because of what Adam chose to do, all human beings became mortal, and being mortal, all human beings fell into sin. St. Paul then presented Christ as the solution to this problem in overcoming death and overcoming sin for our salvation.
In this chapter St. Paul contrasts “flesh” and “the spirit.” He is talking about two principles that are at work inside of us, assuming we have been baptized/chrismated. Thus, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, who’s working with us to transform us, free us from sin, bring about repentance, and bring us closer to Christ. And then we also have this sinful flesh that is trying to draw us back to the world. We live our lives according to one or the other of these principles. We have to choose which we’re going to follow.
St. Paul continues his argument from the previous chapter, where he asserted that the reason believers can now overcome sin is that they are no longer under Law, but under grace. In this chapter, he further reflects on the nature of the Law. The Law helps us see that we are sinning but does not save us. Thus, while the Law exposes sin and does not deal with it or treat it, it still leads us to the Lord Jesus Christ in order to enjoy His righteousness.