In this conversation (our second installment in the “Dear Church…” series), Pastors Erik, Cody, and Gavin discuss 1 Corinthians – the first letter of a pair of New Testament epistles written to a people in the Greek city of Corinth. Read the book (should take you about an hour), listen to the audio of the conversation, and chip in on the comments section below with your own thoughts on the Scripture and to these three questions:
- What word, phrase, or theme most resonated with you personally as you read this section of Scripture?
- What does this letter invite us to as a community of disciples?
- If you’re sitting down to read this letter, what drink or snack would pair best with the reading?
For next week’s Bible Convo we will be discussing the letter we know as 2 Corinthians. You’re invited to read that section of text and come up with your own thoughts on the the same three questions we used today.
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I can definitely share in that “comminion” passage as one that stood out, but maybe for the wrong reasons. That passage is one that was used to scared the living “Hell” out of me growing up, lol. It is much more helpful in contrast.
What stood out on a positive level was 6:9-11. I wrote about it,
“The concern here is for the collective witness. How can the witness of Christ as salvation (defeating the Powers of Sin and Death) move if the community is acting like it is under Darkness. One person affects the whole, therefore the whole community is living as if there is not light and life, living according to manners which declare (1 Cor 6:9-11) a world under Sin and Death.”
Which speaks to an overarching theme I found in the book of division as the thing that pushes back against this collectives witness, and Christ as the one that unifies our shared witness. This is the mystery, according to Paul, is that “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16), which is the secret to how it is we can be unified in our diversity.
This also connects to the great Resurrection picture at the end. I also wrote, “The great power of this Gospel, the same Gospel that can speak resurrection life into their already- not yet midst (1 Cor 15:12) comes because of the work of Christ. He is the “firstfruits” of our witness. If we doubt the work of Paul or God or ourselves, look to Christ, as He is the one who, when the great building project has come to fruition (the New Heavens and the New Earth), will be making all alive in Christ. And we can hold to this grand hope because Death will be the last and final thing to be brought into subjection under Christ’s feet, unifying all in life and light (1 Cor 15:28). This is the hope and the joy that we have, not that we are seen as strong, but that in our weakness Christ is redeeming all of Creation.
And I think the right pairing for this book would be a bag of cheezies. Easy to share, and made up of the collective. And no one is divided over cheezies.
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Dave I think maybe we should be letting you teach us on these books! I also love that line ” we have the mind of Christ” though it is still somewhat a mystery to me. But I do agree this is our call to remember our collective “sameness” in the face of so much division. Also. Cheezies… Amazing choice. Nice work Dave.
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Tom: My first thought when i think about 1 Corinthians is always the “Love” chapter, but also about how incredibly narcissistic they were. So, for the food I think you have to have something like “Better than anything” cake, and for the drink there is nothing better than a nice cold glass of whole milk.
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I listened to this in the NIV translation, mostly because it was the only one I could find with a British voice. Good call on that Erik, I liked it with the accent!
What stuck out to me was the contrast between the way the world works and the way the kingdom of God works (specifically 1:26-31 and 3:19). The certainties of the world often feel so comfortable. Am I willing to look “foolish” in order to live out my union with christ?
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