Discovery: In Paul's parting words to the Corinthian church, we see a number of personal remarks as well as one final charge. This final charge can be found in verses 13-14:
"13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men or courage; be strong. 14 Do everything in love."
These two verses are tucked away in the midst of a number of personal statements that Paul makes to the church. This final charge stands out because it is a summary of the whole book of 1st Corinthians. Here is short list of some of the the challenges and problems that the Corinthian church faced:
Disunity (chapter 3)
Sexual immorality (chapter 5-6)
Cultural conflict (food sacrificed to idols) (chapter 7)
Problems related to public worship (chapters 11-12)
Injustice and discrimination (chapter 11)
Controversy over spiritual gifts (chapter 14)
Questions about the resurrection (chapter 15)
The need for the preeminence of love (chapter 13)
In light of all these issues, Paul's final charge is this: "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men or courage; be strong. Do everything in love."
Application: Sometimes things are a lot more simple than we make them out to be. Even in our spiritual lives, we make things more complicated then they need to me. Even in our church participation, we make things much more political and dramatic then we need to. I am challenged by Paul's final charge because he seems to boil things down to a few things.
First off, we need to work on our defense. "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith" is a reminder to always be on our guard. I am really encouraged to hear folks in our church talk about how helpful our monthly Joint Soul Care meetings have been. People have affirmed the need for theological study and thoughtful application. I know that these meetings have been incredibly helpful for me as I have prepped and gone through the issues myself. I feel as though my theological muscles are being exercised and that I am genuinely being stretched in my understanding of God as well as in my articulation of the things that I believe.
Secondly, we need to be moving forward in faith. "Be men of courage; be strong" is a reminder that being a Christian is more than just defending the faith against the "world" but that is ultimately about going out and being "salt and light." The specific phrase "be men" is particularly poignant in the context of 1 Corinthians because Paul has already pointed out all the ways that they have acted in immaturity in regards to sin, community life, and misplaced theological rigidity. Paul is reminding the church to "Grow Up!" and get past all the immaturity that got them into trouble in the first place and to move forward as a community of disciples.
Finally, Paul returns to the heart of his Corinthian correspondence when he says, "Do everything in love." In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul told the church that love is "the most excellent way." In fact as we read his words in chapter 13, we see that love is really the only way that Christians should act. I must confess that church life is not always easy. More often than not, I see and experience the absence of love rather than the proliferation of it. But I am reminded that we are all in the process of being sanctified. To grow up requires putting aside childish immaturity and to pick up this call to mature in love. This call to love is preeminent because it is a only option given to us as Christians.
Prayer: Help me Lord get back to the basics this week and practice being on guard, standing firm in my faith, moving forward in courage, being strong, and filtering everything I do in love.
