1 Corinthians 13:6: Lover Covers Over a Multitude of Sins
One of love’s greatest enemies is anger, and our world runs on it, Nick says, pointing to road rage and online tribalism as everyday examples. He works through Paul’s claim that love doesn’t rejoice in...
1 Corinthians 13:5: Love is not selfish
Cure selfishness and you have replanted the Garden of Eden, one commentator says, Nick notes. He continues through 1 Corinthians 13 to Paul’s claim that love isn’t self-seeking, tracing how the fall contracted hearts that...
1 Corinthians 13:4-5: The Humility of Love
Pride is a wrecking ball, Nick says, and Proverbs 16:18 proves it again and again: pride goes before destruction. He continues through 1 Corinthians 13’s definition of love, now landing on its refusal to boast...
1 Corinthians 13:4: Love Delights in Another’s Good
It’s been an interesting week studying envy, Nick admits, quoting the Roman poet Ovid’s description of envy creeping on the ground like a serpent. He works through 1 Corinthians 13’s claim that love doesn’t envy,...
1 Corinthians 13:4: The Give and Take of Love
What is love? Nick asks, picking up 1 Corinthians 13 after establishing love’s supremacy last week. He begins working through Paul’s specific definition, verse by verse, starting with patience and kindness.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3: The Greatness of Love
And the greatest of these is love, Nick says, quoting 1 Corinthians 13’s famous conclusion. Even the Beatles agreed love is all you need, he notes, but what actually is it? He opens Paul’s great...
1 Corinthians 12:14-31: Being a Part of the Body of Christ
Three voices shape how we see ourselves, Nick says: what we say about ourselves, what others say about us, and what God says about us. He works through Paul’s picture of the body of Christ...
1 Corinthians 12:12-13: Baptism in the Spirit
Sinful humanity’s default is to divide, Nick says, from nations down to families, left versus right, one faction against another. He works through Paul’s teaching on baptism in the Spirit as the one thing that...
1 Corinthians 12:8-11: The Variety of Gifts
We come now to the first of Paul’s lists of spiritual gifts, Nick says, diving into the specifics of gifts the Corinthians were apparently already familiar with. He works through the variety Paul names, and...
1 Corinthians 12:4-7: The Basics of the Gifts
Say the words spiritual gifts and people think of very different things, Nick says, from the charismatic movement to the New Apostolic Reformation. He lays out the basics of what Paul actually means before the...
1 Corinthians 12:1-3: Introducing Spiritual Gifts
Spiritual gifts, like most of God’s good gifts, get dogged by problems in the Corinthian church, Nick says, problems that look a lot like our own: excess, self-promotion, division, a taste for the spectacular. He...
1 Corinthians 11:17-34: Properly Observing the Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper is central to the Christian faith, Nick says, one of only two ordinances Christ gave his church, alongside baptism. He works through Paul’s correction of the Corinthians’ disorderly, self-centered practice of the...
1 Corinthians 11:2-16: Male Headship and Head Coverings
This may be one of the most offensive, and most needed, passages in 1 Corinthians for the 21st century, Nick says, in an age where gender itself is treated as a social construct. He works...
1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1: Making Godly Choices
How do you actually make a good decision? Nick asks, closing out Paul’s three-chapter section on food offered to idols. He works through the Corinthians’ latest poor choice, made on the back of just enough...
1 Corinthians 10:14-22: Reasons to flee idol feasts
What does the Lord’s Supper actually mean to you? Nick asks, contrasting the Catholic view of the mass as a repeated sacrifice with what Paul actually teaches. He works through Paul’s warning against idol feasts...
1 Corinthians 10:1-13: Warnings for the People of God
There are two opposite wrong postures toward sin, Nick says: overconfidence that breeds callousness, or despair that gives up the fight entirely. He works through Paul’s warnings from Israel’s wilderness failures as a corrective aimed...