1 Corinthians Week 34

Day 1 

RECEIVE 

1 Corinthians 14:39-40 

³⁹ So, my dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues. ⁴⁰ But be sure that everything is done properly and in order. 

Paul wanted the Corinthian believers to be “eager to prophesy.” This gift would not need interpretation. He also said, “don’t forbid speaking in tongues.” This statement is claimed by some to think that should still be said today. The apostle Paul, however, never referred to speaking in tongues except when he was seeking to solve problems in Corinth. The completed Bible is available today and there is no need for further revelation (see Jude 1:3).  

REFLECT 

Does it not seem important and significant that Paul never referred to speaking in tongues except when he was trying to correct the problem in the Corinthian church about A.D. 55? 

RESPOND 

Visit with a friend about what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:40. He was concerned that “everything is done properly and in order.” Is this the way things are done in your church? 

Day 2 

RECEIVE 

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 

¹ Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. ² It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. 

The “Good News” is a translation of the Greek word also translated “gospel.” Paul wanted to remind them of what he had told them previously. Belief in the gospel he is about to remind them of is what saved them, he said. That is, of course, unless they had believed something that was never true in the first place. He was concerned about whether they had really believed the gospel or had some notion about how to get right with God apart from believing the gospel. 

REFLECT 

What would your answer be if you were asked, “What do you mean by the word 'gospel'?" 

RESPOND 

Talk with a friend about knowing certain titles for chapters in the Bible. For example, 1 Corinthians 13 is known as the love chapter. Hebrews 11 is known as the faith chapter. As you study 1 Corinthians 15 you will find it easy to come up with a name for it. 

Day 3 

RECEIVE 

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 

³ I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. ⁴ He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 

Paul reminded the Corinthian church of what he had taught them. Consider the items he mentioned here: 1) Christ died for our sins; 2) He was buried; 3) and He was raised from the dead on the third day. Paul emphasized his teaching was “as the Scriptures said.” He likely here referred to revelation he received from Jesus after his conversion.  

REFLECT 

In searching online about a church group, be sure to notice whether they believe in the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

RESPOND 

There are many who believe Jesus died and was buried. There are fewer who believe He rose bodily from the grave. Some who even stand behind pulpits do not teach the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15 that might be called the resurrection chapter will show there is no hope for salvation unless you believe in the risen Christ. Of all the religious leaders in the past, only the grave of the Lord Jesus is empty. 

Day 4 

RECEIVE 

1 Corinthians 15:5-7 

⁵ He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. ⁷ Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 

In the Greek New Testament there is a small word hoti that appears before each item in the gospel message. This is not seen in English. The gospel is that Jesus died, that He was buried, and that He rose from the dead. There is a fourth that when Paul writes that He was seen by witnesses that he enumerates. Without witnesses there would have been no proof of Jesus’ resurrection. 

REFLECT 

Think of this: over 500 at one time saw Jesus after His resurrection! No one can deny eyewitnesses. 

RESPOND 

Talk with a friend about Paul’s comment that of those 500 who saw Jesus at one time, “most of whom are still alive.” That was as if Paul were saying, “You don’t have to believe me, go ask them.”  

Day 5 

RECEIVE 

1 Corinthians 15:8-9 

⁸ Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. ⁹ For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church. 

Paul referred to Jesus appearing to him as if he had been born at the wrong time. This causes some to think that Paul should have been chosen as the 12^th disciple after Judas defected. Acts 1:21-22, however, reveals the qualifications that Paul could not have met. His expression “born at the wrong time” does not indicate a late birth but an early birth. He likely saw himself as a Jew born before the national conversion of Israel.  

REFLECT 

Do you feel unworthy of what Jesus has done for you? So did Paul. No one is worthy; it is all of God’s grace that anyone is saved. 

RESPOND 

See Acts 8:1-3 to see what occurred after Stephen was stoned to death for his faith. Saul was watching his accusers’ clothes. “Saul” was his Hebrew name; “Paul” was his Gentile or Roman name. When God later sent him to the Gentiles he went by his Gentile name. It was common in a multilingual culture to have more than one name. Jesus’ Hebrew name was Yeshua; His Greek name was Iēsous.