Essentials #8: CHURCH (1 Corinthians 1-16 (excerpts)) | 10/31/2021
1 Corinthians 1-16 (excerpts) | 10/31/21 | Will DuVal
Happy “All Hallow’s Eve”. I love that in St. Louis, kids gotta tell a JOKE to get candy; “You know why skeletons don’t play church music? They got no ORGANS!”
Speaking of church: We’re in week 8 of our 11-part series on the “Essentials” of Christianity, studying through our statement of faith as a church. And our statement on the Church declares that “The church is the universal body of Christ comprised of all regenerated persons from all generations, a living spiritual body of which Jesus Christ is the head. The local church consists of a particular body of believers who gather together for worship, prayer, fellowship, evangelism, discipleship, community and global witness to a lost world.”
Boy, that is GOOD! I considered trying to unpack all SEVEN of those functions of the church this morning - worship, prayer, fellowship, evangelism, discipleship, community and global witness. But I decided 7 wasn’t enough, so I’m gonna give you the SIXTEEN marks of a healthy church instead! Some of you are familiar with 9Marks ministry; but long before Mark Dever’s 9 marks of a healthy church, the apostle Paul gave us SIXTEEN, in his first letter to the church in CORINTH. One per chapter. 1 Corinthians is one of the best go-to places in the Bible for information on the church: what IS it, what ISN’T it; 1 Corinthians is eminently practical, but also deeply theological. And God willing, one day I’ll preach through it ALL, but this morning we just get the 45-minute fly-over.
But first, let’s go to the Lord together in prayer…
Alright, pens ready? Here we go: what is the Church?
Ch1: The Church must be Encouraged by her leaders. (vv1-9)
Paul says, right off the bat, ch1,v1: “Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus [only born-again believers in JESUS are truly a part of the Church…], called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (so this letter isn’t just for the CORINTHIANS; it’s for US, today, 2,000 years later as well - ALL those who call upon the name of Jesus; Paul writes)… Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus...”
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Now, as we walk through his letter this morning, you’re gonna start to wonder how in the WORLD Paul could possibly be so encouraging of the church in Corinth.
There are a lot of reasons to be critical of the church in America today. We’re the #1 exporter, globally, of the spiritual pollutant known as the “prosperity gospel”. Even the churches that are doctrinally sound sometimes seem like they’re mostly concerned with counting cheeks in the seats and the bottom line on their spreadsheets. And despite having more wealth and technological resources than EVER before in history, there are more unreached people today, people who have never ever heard the good news about Jesus, than at ANY time in the history of the world. So the American Church has got some ISSUES.
But just listen to the rap sheet on the Corinthian church:
-Paul calls them “people of the FLESH”, in ch3, v1; spiritual BABIES who refuse to grow up.
-He says they’ve become more devoted to their little theological TRIBES than to following JESUS!
-They’re arrogant and boastful, ch4
-They tolerate sexual perversions not even allowed by the PAGANS, ch5
-They’re suing each other and sleeping with prostitutes, ch6…
Do you get the picture? That’s just the first 6 chapters!
And yet Paul sends them GRACE and PEACE, in Christ. He thanks God always for them; WHY?!
V4: “because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus”. Paul can be so encouraging because the Corinthians’ standing before God the Father has nothing to do with their OWN merit, or lack thereof; rather, it has EVERYTHING to do with the GRACE of God - the undeserved GIFT of God - that was given TO them IN Christ Jesus. HIS righteousness.
Joel Osteen encourages HIS church by telling them, “YOU’RE so great”; the apostle Paul encourages the Corinthians, and wants to encourage US this morning that IN SPITE OF how NOT great YOU are - you’re a miserable sinner - and yet you belong to a marvelous SAVIOR. That’s the gospel, friends. The good news, of Jesus, and what He’s done FOR you, in SPITE of you. And that’s the gospel that I strive to encourage you with, as YOUR leader, every Sunday here at West Hills.
Ch2: The Church is Illuminated by God’s Spirit. (vv7, 10-13)
Ch2 now: “[W]e impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God… things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For… no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.”
I can be quick here, because Pastor Thad preached just last SUNDAY on the Holy SPIRIT! And he did a wonderful job explaining the ROLE of the Spirit in illuminating God’s word, in the hearts of God’s people. I had breakfast last week with a new couple here, who asked me: “What is your philosophy of PREACHING? What are you trying to ACCOMPLISH, when you stand up in the pulpit?” That’s an excellent question, by the way. And my answer was, very simply, that my aim in preaching is to “Get the WORD of God into the PEOPLE of God.” God tells us that he SAVES us by His word - James 1:21 - and he SANCTIFIES us by His word - John 17:17. Jesus said that we LIVE, our very LIFE, depends not on bread alone, but on every WORD that comes from the mouth of God. So MY task, as your pastor and preacher, is simply to try and get THIS [Bible]... down into HERE [your hearts].
But here’s the thing - I can’t do it. It’s an impossible task. Because v11: “NO ONE comprehends the thoughts of God except… [who?] the SPIRIT of God.” Only God’s SPIRIT can illuminate the hearts of God’s people, unstop deaf ears, open blind eyes.
So the SECOND half of my job then, and maybe even MORE importantly, is simply to PRAY. That God’s SPIRIT might illuminate God’s WORD in YOUR heart. I preach, and then I pray. That’s the job description of a pastor; Acts ch6: “we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (v4)
Ch3: The Church is Unified by her shared foundation. (vv3-11)
Ch3,v3: “For while there is passion and strife among you, are you not of the flesh… 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? ...I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. [v11] ...For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
If Paul was to hop in a time machine and write a letter to the AMERICAN church today, I wonder what he’d say... What camps do WE divide ourselves up into today?
“I follow John Calvin”... “Well I follow John Wesley”.
“I’m a Baptist”... “Well I’m a Lutheran”
“I follow Trump”... “Well I follow Biden”
“I follow Fauci’s advice”... “Well, I follow the science”
“Black Lives Matter”... “No ALL Live Matter”
Nothing’s changed in 2,000 years, has it? We’ve just even found more issues to split over. And our enemy, Satan, he LOVES it. He LOVES to divide the church.
But Paul reminds us: “Our common foundation AS a Church isn’t which pastor we like best, it isn’t which politician we voted for, it isn’t our stance on masks or vaccines or CRT or mode of baptism; NO - what UNIFIES us as a Church is JESUS! “No one can lay a foundation OTHER than JESUS!”
The world is full of passion and strife; God’s Church is to be filled with peace and UNITY. Paul wrote back in ch1,v10: “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind”. The question for US as a church, West Hills, is whether or not our unity in Christ is strong enough to withstand our political differences. Our socio-economic and racial differences. Even our second and third-tier theological differences. “Let there be NO DIVISIONS among us.”
Ch4: The Church must be Humbled by the apostolic witness. (vv14-16)
In ch4, Paul expresses just how low he’s feeling. He says “I’m WEAK, I’m homeless, I’m persecuted; treated like the ‘scum of the world’; “I feel like a man sentenced to DEATH” (vv9-13). Meanwhile, the Corinthians have just gone on “living their best lives now”. And not only that, they’ve become “puffed up” in arrogance. Spiritual pride. So in v14 Paul writes: “I… admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me.”
You know what it means to imitate Paul? It means being prepared to get BEHEADED for the sake of the gospel, if you have to be; that was the apostle Paul’s fate, in Rome, in AD64. What does it mean to imitate Peter? Being willing to be crucified upside down rather than renounce your faith in Christ. What does it mean to imitate JESUS? He “emptied himself… [and] humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:7-8)
Do you wanna be like the APOSTLES, the spiritual GIANTS of our faith? 10 of the 12 of them were martyred! Do you wanna be like JESUS? First step: take up your CROSS. You’ve got to be willing to DIE. Christianity is all about downward mobility.
Pride puffs up. True Christian faith is a race to the BOTTOM.
Ch5: The Church is to be Distinguished by her holiness. (vv1-7)
Paul informs us in ch5, v1: “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans… And you are arrogant! ...Let him who has done this be removed from among you… deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. ...Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”
Jesus DIED to make us NEW, so we don’t make LIGHT of Christ’s sacrifice in the Church, by tolerating unrepentant sin. Sin’s like a spiritual CANCER; just a little sin can INFECT the whole church. Moreover, as believers, we bear Jesus’ name, literally; Christian means “little Christ” - so when we condone sin in the church, we tell the world a LIE about what Jesus is like; that JESUS is cool with sin. No! God calls us to “be holy, as I am holy” (Lev 19:2).
We had to remove someone from THIS church, West Hills, just last week; first time in the 6 years I’ve been here. And let me tell you: it STINKS. If we weren’t in church, I’d use stronger language than that, that more adequately conveys how MUCH it stinks to have to tell someone you were friends with, brothers with - I thought we were BROTHERS in Christ - to tell him he’s no longer welcome here. That we are handing him over to SATAN for the destruction of his flesh, praying that God might have mercy on his soul, on the day of his judgment.
But listen to me: THIS church, West Hills, will NOT tell a lie about Jesus; that he’s just fine with abandoning your wife. We will NOT stand idly by, while professing believers SPIT in Jesus’ face and sin with a high hand - Jesus died for SO MUCH MORE than that, for His Church, his “blood-bought” church (Acts 20:28).
You don’t have to be perfect to be a member here. But you do have to “STRIVE… for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). And when you DO inevitably fall short, you have to REPENT, and throw yourself on Christ’s undeserved mercy.
Ch6; similarly: The Church is Characterized by purity. (vv9-11, 19-20)
“[T]he unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God... neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God… [Y]our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you… You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
Paul says, “You WERE unrighteous. You WERE disqualified from inheriting the kingdom of God, from entering Heaven; you WERE, past tense. But you were ALSO washed, past tense. You were SANCTIFIED - called to a better life, a life free of sin, life to the fullest; you were JUSTIFIED - acquitted of the GUILT of your sin, by Christ’s shed blood on the cross for you; past tense. It WAS finished, 2,000 years ago!
So NOW, Paul exhorts us in Romans 6: “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” We’ve inherited NEW life; a BETTER life. So let’s LIVE like it! Let’s GLORIFY him in our bodies, in our minds, in our hearts… in EVERY part of our being. Let’s be characterized by our purity. Our pure, unadulterated devotion to the Lord. What a high calling! But friends: Jesus died for nothing less. So you and I should SETTLE for nothing less.
Ch7: The Church must be Impassioned by mission. (vv6-7, 32-35)
Chapter 7 is all about MARRIAGE. And here’s Paul’s philosophy of marriage in a nutshell: “If you can’t keep it in your pants, get married.” That’d make for an interesting WEDDING homily; I’ve never USED 1 Corinthians 7 as a wedding text, but I’m officiating Iwan and Allison’s wedding here in a few weeks, and I wonder how it would go over if I opened with: “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today, because Iwan and Allison decided they couldn’t keep it in their pants any longer.” That’s exactly what Paul says, right in v1: ““It is good - it’s BEST - for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife.” Paul argues in v7: “I wish that all were as I myself am.” Paul was single, and not-so-ready to mingle. Why? Because v33: “the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided.” So in v35, Paul enjoins our “undivided devotion to the Lord.”
When was the last time you met a Christian who was single by choice, because they were too busy serving the Lord to be distracted by a spouse?
The Bible is clear: it’s BETTER to be single, and devote yourself COMPLETELY to the work of the Lord. The spread of the gospel, to all nations. People all around us are dying and going to Hell forever, by the thousands and millions, and they need to hear the GOSPEL, but I’m too distracted helping my wife pick out her Halloween costume. May we NOT be too distracted, church, even if we ARE married. May we be ignited with a passion for seeing dead people come to life, by the power of the gospel. May we PROCLAIM it; how will they HEAR it, unless we’re telling them, the good news about Jesus?
Ch8: The Church must be Challenged by self-sacrifice. (vv4, 7, 13)
Now Paul gets SUPER practical, but also SUPER theological; he writes:“[A]s to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.”... However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled… Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”
In the pagan city of Corinth, it was a pretty safe bet that if you went down to your local butcher for a pound of ground beef, that cow had been sacrificed to one of the fake Greek gods, likely Aphrodite or Poseidon. But that poses a real moral dilemma for the Corinthian Christian: do I EAT the meat, because idols aren’t even REAL, but risk having someone else think that I’m endorsing sacrifices to these pagan gods… or do I REFUSE to eat the meat, but thereby give credibility to the fake GOD?!
And Paul answers simply: worry less about your preferences - “Well I really enjoy eating meat…”, worry less even about some of your principles - “I’m gonna stand up for my beliefs about idols!” - than you do about PEOPLE - “How can I best care for and witness to OTHERS, in this decision?” - whether that’s a fellow BELIEVER with a “weaker conscience”, or especially an UNBELIEVER - Paul’s gonna say in ch9 “I’ve become ALL things to ALL people, that by ALL means, I might save some” (v22).
If eating meat opens a door to sharing the gospel, I’ll eat it. If it CLOSES a door, I’ll abstain.
If dressing up like Ted Lasso for Halloween opens a door for witnessing to my neighbors, I’ll do it.
If drinking beer in front of them CLOSES a door, I’ll abstain.
If getting vaccinated opens a door, I’ll take the shot.
If wearing a mask CLOSES a door, I’ll go maskless.
We need to care LESS about our personal preferences and our extra-biblical principles, and care MORE about the PEOPLE around us: how can I best show them the love of Jesus?
Ch9: The Church is Compelled by generosity. (vv13-14)
Paul asks: “Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.”
Paraphrase: “PAY YOUR PASTORS.” Would you go out for lunch today and walk away without paying for the food you ate? Then why do you come to church and expect to be spiritually fed for FREE?
Hey - don’t shoot the messenger; I’m just preaching God’s word here! If you don’t like it, you can go find a church where they DON’T call you to generosity, and the pastor lives off of bird seed and nice words of affirmation; listen: I appreciate your encouragement, but my kids gotta EAT!
I thank God that West Hills is such a generous church. That I get to just be your pastor and I don’t HAVE to constantly be the church fundraiser - that you don’t MAKE me ask you for money every Sunday. You’re GENEROUS, West Hills. You’re BETTER Christians than the Corinthians. Just don’t let it go to your heads and puff you up! :)
Ch10: The Church is Instructed by biblical example. (vv1-6, 11)
I’m not gonna read the whole passage, but in ch10, Paul reminds the church that they are spiritual descendants of the OT followers of God, the ancient Israelites, whom Moses led out of Egypt, but then Paul warns the Corinthians not to be LIKE them, because they quickly FORGOT God’s salvation and they complained, even asked to go BACK to Egypt, and Paul concludes: “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did… they were written down for our instruction” (vv6,11).
You and I get instructed every single day, by dozens of different “influencers”, as GenZ refers to them, who hold up various examples of what we ought to be like -
Nike says, “be more like LeBron James”
Your boss says, “be more like ME!”
Your wife says, “be more like the fun dad next door.”
But God’s WORD says, “be more like JESUS.” He is the example you want to follow. Therefore His word, the Bible, is what you need to be instructed by.
2 Timothy 3:16 declares that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness”. So we, the Church, desire to live Scripture-shaped lives. And part of what that MEANS, then...
Ch11: is that the Church is Anchored by tradition. (vv2, 14-16, 23-24)
Paul writes in ch11, v2: “Now I commend you because… you maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.”
And then he provides 2 examples of church traditions that he had commended to the Corinthians - women’s head coverings and the Lord’s Supper. We still practice ONE of those 2 traditions in this church; I’ll let you guess which one. I actually preached a whole sermon on the head coverings passage back in March of 2020, if you’re curious to find that in our sermon archives online.
But the overarching point I want to make here is that the Church is an inherently conservative institution. That’s not a political statement; I’m not saying we all vote Republican. I’m saying that in the most literal sense of the term, the Church is [*quote*] “inclined to preserve existing conditions and traditions”. Why? Because Jesus, the guy we’re all trying to follow, lived 2,000 YEARS ago. And his closest followers, the apostles, did some pretty cool stuff, like bring people back from the DEAD! But the farther we have GOTTEN from Jesus, the more humans have gotten involved in the Church and corrupted it, because more humans just means more SIN. So Paul exhorts us to be ANCHORED in tradition. The prophet Jeremiah called the Israelites to seek out the “ancient paths” (6:16); they thought they’d come up with some pretty neat new religious innovations - worshipping BAAL, Asherah - “NO!”, says Jeremiah. Gimme that OLD TIME religion; it’s good enough for me.
Ch12: The Church is Empowered by gift-fueled service. (vv1, 4-7)
Paul writes: “Now concerning spiritual gifts… there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
I don’t have to spend long here, either, because Pastor Thad covered it last week. But I’ll just lovingly invite you to ask yourself this morning: “If I left West Hills tomorrow, would the church SUFFER?” Paul claims that EVERY member of the body is “indispensable” (v22), that “if ONE member suffers, the whole BODY suffers” (v26) - have you ever stubbed your pinky toe? Or worse: I had a single grain of SAND stuck in my eye, like ALL DAY yesterday after I played volleyball. You think I was enjoying how great the REST of my body felt, having gotten such a good workout? No! Just one eye, just one PINKY TOE, can bring you DOWN.
What indispensable role do YOU play, COULD you play, as a member of OUR body, here at West Hills? Would we FEEL it, if you left? May we not be an 80/20 church, where 80% of the work gets done by 20% of the people. I tell people we’re more like a 65/35 church. That’s not quite as bad. But we’ve still got room to grow. God’s given you a spiritual GIFT, for the “common good”; for blessing and serving His CHURCH. 1 Peter 4:10 “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.”
Ch13: The Church is Defined by love. (vv1-3, 13)
We may be distinguished by holiness, and characterized by purity, but we are to be DEFINED by our LOVE.
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing… So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Speaking of wedding texts, long before anyone ever thought to read that to a bride and groom at the altar, Paul WROTE it to THE CHURCH. To encourage them - to encourage US! - to love one another. Jesus went so far as to say “By this ALL people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”” (Jn 13:35) Jesus’ Church, His followers, are DEFINED by our love. In fact, 1 John 4:20 says that it’s IMPOSSIBLE to love GOD, if you don’t love others. That if you truly love God, you WILL love others, His children. If you love ME, you WILL love my kids. If you ignore, or worse, mistreat my kids, you and I are NOT gonna have a good relationship. John says: that’s how it is with GOD and HIS children as well. Paul says: “I don’t care if you can move MOUNTAINS; if you don’t love others, you got NOTHING.” We are defined by our love.
Ch14: The Church is Driven by mutual edification. (vv12, 26)
Paul’s back on the topic of spiritual gifts in ch14, but whereas in ch12 he was addressing those who are under-zealous about serving - “I’m just an appendix; the church body doesn’t really NEED me…” - in ch14, Paul addresses those who are over-zealous about the gifts. And specifically, he exhorts them to make sure they are desiring spiritual gifts not for puffing themselves up, but for building the CHURCH up: vv12 & 26: “[S]ince you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church… When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.”
Paul contrasts speaking in tongues with the gift of prophecy. And Paul’s humanity comes out a little in v18; he boasts that: “I speak in tongues more than all of y’all.” But then he says, “Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak [just] five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.” Because the Church isn’t a place for us to show off how godly we are; it’s a place to show others how good GOD is, by serving them in His name, through His power.
Bonus trait here, in vv23-25: not only is the church driven by mutual edification of each other, but we’re also driven by OUTREACH to the UN-churched as well. Paul asks, “What impression does our corporate worship make on outsiders who are coming in and joining us”; Paul expects that they are. If we’re all speaking in tongues, they’re gonna think we’re all DRUNK, like at Pentecost in Acts 2! Let THAT challenge you this morning as well: how are you using your spiritual gifts not only to edify believers, but to reach unbelievers as well?
Ch15: The Church is Centered by the gospel. (vv1-4)
“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures… ”
The gospel, in short, is EVERYTHING to us in the Church.
Christ’s death, burial and resurrection - that is game, set and match, for our faith. Paul says in v14: if Jesus DIDN’T die and rise from the dead, your faith is POINTLESS. You’d be better off going back to worshipping the pagan gods, cuz at least then you’d fit in with your surrounding Corinthian society. You’re gonna SUFFER for your faith in Christ. Suffer embarrassment - “Come on, you REALLY believe that a guy 2,000 years ago forgave EVERY bad thing you’ve ever thought, said or done in your entire life by dying on a cross, and then to PROVE it, to conquer not just the PENALTY of sin, but the POWER of sin as well, that 3 days later he literally, physically ROSE FROM THE DEAD?! You BELIEVE that?!
We do. And if the Church was a solar system, that’s our SUN. The gospel is the center of EVERYTHING we are and do. Everything else in the Church revolves around it and hinges on it.
And because it’s TRUE, because Christ DID rise from the dead to defeat sin and death, Paul assures us that all those who trust in Him will one day be raised to inherit life beyond the grave with Jesus in Heaven forever: ““O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” ...thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (vv55-57)
Lastly, Ch16: The Church is Permeated by love. (v14, 20, 24)
Love’s so important, Paul features it twice. He closes with some practical exhortations and examples of love in action: support other churches (vv1-4), help missionaries (vv5-11), submit to godly leaders (vv12-18), enjoy fellowship with one another (vv19-24). In summary: “Let all that you do be done in love… My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.”
Church, this is who we ARE: We are...
Encouraged, Illuminated, Unified, Humbled, Holy, Pure, Missional, Self-sacrificial, Generous, Scripture-Shaped, Conservative, Servant-Hearted, Loving, Mutually Edifying, Gospel-centered LOVERS. That’s who we are. ALL, unto the glory of God.