Dwell in the Word: 1 Corinthians 16:1-24

Contemplate these questions as you dwell in 1 Corinthians 16:1-24:

1. How does Paul's closing message in 1 Corinthians reflect his concerns for the church in Corinth? What does he emphasize as crucial for the believers?

2. Why does Paul emphasize the importance of discernment and standing firm in the faith for the Corinthians? How does this relate to the challenges and issues they were facing?

3. In the closing words of 1 Corinthians, what does Paul highlight as the fundamental criterion for a person's status in the faith community? How does he express his love and hope for the believers despite the difficulties they were experiencing?

Transcript:

 So, we have first Corinthians closing up and it's we look back this chapter gives us an opportunity to Think about kind of everything that we have seen in 1st Corinthians because it's been an interesting book. There were a lot of issues in the church in Corinth, a lot of them and a lot of very serious things.

And so, how does Paul end up 1st Corinthians? What does this tell us about what was going on there? You know, what does he say? Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong, that all that you do be done in love. And then it says, now I urge you, brothers, you know, Paul is not saying with all the things that have been going on in the church in Corinth, I wonder if you are believers.

I wonder if you are brothers in the faith. Now, what does he say? Hey, all this stuff is going on. You have an understanding of the faith. You have been saved. But you need to be watchful. You need to stand firm. You need to make sure that these things are taken care of. But you need to stand firm in the faith.

Trust in the Lord Jesus. Stand firm.  Be strong.  Paul is concerned with them remaining in the faith. He doesn't think that because of all these things happening in the church, they've abandoned the faith. Instead, he's saying, we need to get these things sorted out. And you need to be watchful. And this is important.

I think it's an important call for us to have discernment. Now, it is easy for us to try and be discerning about every little thing that somebody says. I don't know that that's healthy. But, what we need to do is we need to be hearing what people are saying about God and discerning whether or not it is true, whether or not it is actually from Scripture.

Just because people can talk and sound like they are speaking for God does not mean that they are. We need to be discerning, we need to be watchful, and we need to stand firm in the faith.  Not, uh, be firm in just random thoughts about God, but in the faith, what has been taught, who we know Christ is, and, and what the gospel is, and what God's law is.

We need to stand firm in that. Not just in nice talk, but in the faith.  And so we know that Paul is, that's what Paul is concerned about, people standing firm in the faith. And so as we come down, as we see this last part.  What do we see that, uh, that Paul is concerned about in the last few words here? If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed.

You know, all this stuff has happened, all these things are major issues of concern in the Church of Corinth.  But if someone doesn't love the Lord, what does he say? Let him be accursed. That's the issue. Do, does that person have a love for the Lord? And then, what does Paul say? Oh Lord, come. He wants this.

He wants the Lord to, to return. He wants the Lord to end this, this struggle that the people have. He wants Jesus to come and rescue his people. But, he says also, the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with you all. In Christ Jesus, Amen. Paul sees these folks as brothers and sisters in Christ.

That is his focus. That is where he lands here as the book closed. Again, despite all the things, all the immorality, all the issues that is going, that are going, that is going on in the church in Corinth, what does he say? He says, I love you all. Stand firm in the faith. Hold fast. And he calls them brothers and sisters.

And so, may we remember  that the important thing that we need to seek after is to stand firm in the faith. To remember what we have been taught. To remember that we know what scripture says and we need to hold fast to that. And so may we be a people of God who do those things that we discern, that we stand firm, that we might be able to pass the faith on to the generation that comes after us.