Summary Note: 1 Corinthians 1-4

Then and Now:
When Paul wrote he did not know the Corinthians would reject his advice so out-of-hand that his forthcoming visit would end in humiliation. He wrote his heart. He revealed his love, yet he knew their shortcomings and could not sugar coat his comments. It is classic, human nature to turn away from anyone who chastises and disciplines; the more the sin, the more the sinner grits his teeth and blinds his eyes. Jesus tells us "There is none so blind as he who cannot (won't) see." Perhaps if Paul had ended his letter here, his later reception would have been a little more cordial, but his life was to serve Christ. He could only tell it like he saw it -- fully and completely. Therefore he charges on with the rest of the letter.

Spurgeon's morning devotion of January 7 talks about Paul's well-known statement, "For me to live is Christ." Only when the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of a fallen soul to his sin-filled life and sets him before the forgiveness of the crucified Christ, can anyone ever begin to live for Christ. Today we see in Paul one who answered the call to stand, as Spurgeon depicts, like a bullock between the plough and the altar. Paul was ever ready to sacrifice all for "the pearl of great price."

As we study Corinthians and ourselves, we see that they were not ready to sacrifice all, and we in a modern Corinthian culture are not either. The Corinthians of the first and twenty-first century are forever blessed with God's eternal love. He will not abandon those who contain even a small spark of understanding to someone else's skewed, off-course teachings. He brings us all back to the truth. Baker (p. 76) describes the Lord's proffered hope of reconciliation between both Paul and the Corinthians and between Christ and the Corinthians. He notes that it often happens in times and ways we do not expect. That is our hope and his promise.

Extra source: Morning and Evening: Daily Readings by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) online at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/spurgeon/morneve.today.html
Cornerstone Biblical Commentary 1 Corinthians (William Baker), 2 Corinthians (Ralph Martin & Carl Toney), ed. by Philip Comfort. Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, c2006.