A church in a world that is very similar to ours and where there was so much freedom that things had gotten out of hand. Paul has a lot to say about it.
Here we summarize the directions given by the apostle in the first letter to the Corinthians regarding being a church. They are not all directly related to coming together, but sometimes also concern being a church in a broader sense. A more detailed description can be found here: Lessons from 1 Corinthians (pdf).
Characteristics of a Christian Congregation
- it is only about the Lord Jesus Christ, the Crucified. He is foundation and center.
- the Word of God is alone and wholly authoritative.
- discipline is applied according to biblical criteria
- women's headgear is consciously worn
- the weekly worship service with the Lord's Supper is to magnify God and not to provide for human needs
- all service rendered is because one loves the Lord Jesus Christ
- the church is not a place where we can 'do our own thing'
- believers discern which gifts the Spirit gives
- also the 'proclamation of the word' (prophesying) arises from the love for the Lord Jesus and the association with Him
- the order in the church is not organized by men, but by God's Spirit. Self-control by both men and women.
- emphasis is placed on the Gospel, which is the message concerning the work of Christ.
- in the congregation one understands what God's Word says about the working of the Spirit and one keeps far from being erroneous on this (and other) points.
We will run through the main chapters of this letter to discover the points mentioned.
Christ the Crucified
The believers in Corinth had all kinds of ideas about how things should go in the church. They were divided about it. Paul makes it clear to them in the first chapters (1 to 4) that in the church it should only be about Christ the Crucified. Everything must be about Him alone! This should be a first characteristic of the church. We've already worked that out on the page Church to serve God and A foolish church.
The Bible
The first chapters deal with the division in the church. On the page 'The foolish church' we have already written a few things about this. What we are concerned with here is Paul's direction”to think of nothing beyond what is written” (1 Cor.4:6). You can only be a congregation if everyone in the community is willing to submit to what the Scriptures teach and to set aside the normal sensible human reasoning ("human wisdom"). Only the teaching of God's Word is decisive for the church. Elsewhere, too, we are called to 'be of one mind' (eg Phil.2:2).
A congregation should very consciously place itself under the authority of Scripture and should also be emphatically involved in it. A local congregation should therefore not be dependent on the views of other congregations, whether or not in some formal or informal church or community setting. Paul does not write to the church in Corinth that they should consult another church, or a regional or national synod, where enough things have been laid down about the correct doctrine. So that they can end the division. Only God's Word has authority in the local church.
It is remarkable that Paul also does not write to the elders or other leaders in the church what they should do, or what the correct doctrines are. He writes to all believers and says that they must all conform to God's Word alone. Every believer has a responsibility in this! That is striking, because human wisdom would expect that there are leading believers who must solve the problem of division. See also the page about 'Authority in the municipality‘.
The first churches persist in 'the doctrine of the apostles' (Acts 2:42) and that can mean nothing else than that they were consciously engaged in examining the Scriptures. To grow in what they had received from the apostles. Paul recognized this with the Corinthians when he says: “(…) that you hold to the traditions, as I have delivered to you” (1 Cor.11:2). Unfortunately, it is to be feared that many contemporary "how do you feel about it" Bible circles no longer serve this purpose, because they forget the main question: "what does the Scripture say about it, what does the Scripture teach us, me?."
Christ, the living Word, and the written Word in the first and only place! Those are the first and most important characteristics of a Christian congregation!
Discipline
In the congregation of the Lord Jesus, discipline must be exercised over those who do not want to repent from a wicked way (chapter 5). Even before Paul goes into the questions of the Corinthians, this is one of the things they need to understand. They should know that a little leaven—as a picture of sin—leavens the whole dough. So in the end poisons the whole congregation! This includes those who engage in idolatry. They have to watch that this gets into the church. “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (1 Cor. 10:14).
We have already seen that a Christian who approaches God in a pagan way has fellowship with the demons (1 Cor. 10:20). Believers should not have such a way of dealing with God. Not in their private lives and not in the meetings. We must do everything to prevent ourselves or our fellow brothers and sisters from falling into idolatry. This applies to both unscriptural contemplative and charismatic practices. We must consciously keep ourselves separate from that!
The next two points relate to the worship of idols and are dealt with before Paul broaches a new theme in 12:1 (the question of spiritual utterances).
Head covering
The Christian congregation is still here on earth, but what we usually don't realize is that the invisible world is 'watching' us. We make known the manifold wisdom of God to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places (Eph.3:10). Here in the first part of the eleventh chapter of the 1st Corinthian letter (verses 2-16), the tenth verse commands the woman to cover her head. The New Testament has few commandments, but this is one of them: “Therefore must the woman to have a sign of authority on her head, for the sake of the angels.”
The bottom line is that when the women in the church cover their heads, the church makes it clear to the invisible world that they respect God's order and are not open to being influenced by other 'gods' (like the fall).
The head covering is not a point of discussion for Paul. He doesn't argue about it. We don't do that in any church of God. (1 Corinthians 11 :16)
Unworthy of the Lord's Supper
The second half of the eleventh chapter (1 Cor. 11:17-34) deals with abuses at the Lord's Supper, which were evidently so serious that the Lord rebuked them for it. This was evident from the fact that many of the believers were weak, sick or even deceased. If they had discerned for themselves what was wrong in their conduct and had judged it, then the Lord would not have to judge them (verses 29-34).
The abuses Paul referred to were that there were those in Corinth who brought their own food and drink to the meeting and feasted on it. Apparently the meeting (the breaking of bread, the Lord's Supper) was combined with a regular meal.
In Corinth, Christians came to the Memorial to satisfy their own needs. That's not what it's for though; then it is no longer the Lord's Supper. It should only be about the Lord Jesus. It is in His remembrance!
Even though this food and drink will literally not be a problem with us, there is an important lesson to be learned from what Paul writes here. That is, the celebration of the Lord's Supper (and thus the worship service, the breaking of bread) is not a gathering where our natural needs may be met. This does not only concern food and drink, but we also have to think about other things, such as confirmation and recognition. We do not come to the Lord's Supper to receive anything in any form.
When I come to the meeting to show how beautifully I can accompany the songs, or how well I can do this or that, it flatters my ego. But there are still others who may not have such a talent and actually look embarrassed. Paul calls this “despising the church of God”. Because the church is not the place where 'we can do our thing'. When we come to worship like this, it is called 'unworthy' eating and drinking and we abuse the Lord's Supper for our own convenience.
The worship service in the Christian congregation is not the place where we humans can 'do our thing'. That is contempt for the church of God and disgrace of fellow believers (1 Corinthians 11:22).
Paul mentions in this connection that he received from the Lord Jesus Himself, that it would be a meal in remembrance of me (verses 23-26). Only when we think of Him and His crucifixion, and so eat this bread and drink the cup, do we "declare the death of the Lord."
The relationship with idolatry
The previous two points are closely related to idol worship. It is not without reason that Paul treats them in response to the question about eating idol sacrifices (1 Cor.8:1) and before he starts with the question about spiritual expressions (1 Cor.12:1).
A municipality
- who loses respect for the roles of man and woman (God's order of creation) and
- where the believers come for their own needs
will sooner or later face the pursuit of "God experiences," things the Bible calls idolatry. It always goes together.
One Spirit – Diversity in Service
Chapter 12 opens directly with Paul's remark that he does not want them to be ignorant of the spiritual manifestations. He then refers directly to idolatry when he describes how it goes: you are drawn to it and then you let yourself be carried away (1 Cor.12:2).
Below we outline a few key points from this chapter.
The Spirit works differently
This is a fundamental principle to which Paul points out: you are carried away by the idols, you drift along with what happens to you and you lose your 'self-consciousness'. But God's Spirit does not work that way! God's Spirit only works when you are in control; you can think for yourself and consciously decide whether or not to do or say things. You are constantly 'conscious of yourself' and that is precisely not the case when serving idols: then your 'self-consciousness' diminishes or disappears and you let yourself be carried away.
The Spirit distributes differently, to what is useful
What God's Spirit works is always for the benefit of the other members of the body. The Spirit never works for the greater honor and glory of ourselves, but always has the benefit of others in view.
Moreover, the work of the Spirit is different for everyone. Each is assigned a different function. It is God's Spirit dispensing to each individual. Note that you often hear these days that we all - every believer - can do the same special things! Paul makes it clear here that this is not true.
Furthermore, God's Spirit distributes in such a way that not only does each member receive a different spiritual gift, but this also contributes to the fact that there is no division in the church (verse 25). Every member of the church is deployed, but not according to what human wisdom would suggest, but according to the gift that the Spirit has bestowed! Here again we see God's wisdom (or 'foolishness') in contrast to human wisdom. “The members of the body that seem to be the weakest, however, are very necessary” (verse 22).
In the Christian congregation one can discern what God's Spirit works and one accepts the place that the Spirit gives to each member.
But this too is only understood by believers who are 'spiritual' (1 Cor.3:1).
The most is love
Usually in this 13th chapter it is assumed that by 'love' is meant the love for fellow believers or fellow human beings. That is how it is almost always applied. That love is then the basis for all the positive that follows in this chapter.
But I think in this chapter we should understand love as 'love for the Lord Jesus'. For He Himself prays that 'the love with which the Father loved Him' would be in the believers (John 17:26). Paul writes that thelove of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us’ (Rom.5:5).
The love for the Lord Jesus Christ is the basis for every spiritual service in the church of God. It won't work without that.
Only this love for the Lord Jesus can be the basis for a fruitful service for Him and to our fellow believers in the church. We do our service to others out of love for the Lord Jesus, and if that love for Him is lacking or fades, our service is not going well, then it becomes meaningless talk. The same we find in 1 Cor.8:1, which says that knowledge puffs up,'but love builds up'.
The positive consequences
When we truly love the Lord, it will show in the way we serve.
“patient, kind, not jealous, she does not show off, does not act important, does not act inappropriately and not out of self-interest, is not bitter, thinks no evil, does not rejoice at iniquity but rejoices at the truth, she covers all, believes all hopes all and endures all” (1 Cor. 13: 4-7)
The love for our Lord Jesus Christ makes everything different!
Prophesy
In 12:31 there is the call “Strive therefore for the best spiritual gifts” and in 14:1 it is connected with the statement “especially that you may prophesy”. To prophesy is the transmission of a word from God "for edification and exhortation and comfort" (14:3). Well, if that is the greatest gift that we are said to strive for, then it can only be the result of loving the Lord Jesus.
Loving Him also means loving His Word (1 John 2:3-6) and seeking His face therein. Then you can pass on a word from His Word. Incidentally, that will always be imperfect here; 'We know in part and we prophesy in part', says the apostle in verse 9. But later, when 'that which is perfect shall come', then 'we shall see face to face. Then 'we shall know, as we ourselves are known'.
All prophesy
The first part of chapter 14 continues with the prophesying that Paul would have the believers in Corinth all prophesy (verse 5). Then, if an unbeliever came in, everyone would pass on a word from God to him, so that he could not help but conclude that "God was really in their midst" (verses 24 and 25).
The message of this passage is that what is brought into the church must be understandable. "How will it be understood what is being said?" (verse 9). When something is brought (for example in another language) that cannot be understood, it cannot serve to build up the church. That is the purpose of all that is spoken: that the church is built up. The word "building up" occurs several times in this passage: in verses 3, 4, 5, 12, and 17.
In the church of God there is only room for utterances that can be understood. Only in this way can the church be built up. So utterances that cannot be understood are not of the Spirit.
God's order is of the Spirit
In the second part of the 14and This chapter is about order in the church. It is remarkable that there is apparently a 'free service', where everyone has something and can contribute. But it must be according to God's order:Let all things be done properly and in order” (verse 40).
In the meeting it is not the case that if you have something, you have to bring it forward. If it were, it would be a mess. You can't just say: 'I was sure I had to read that Bible passage', no, you have to use your mind beforehand and consider whether something is appropriate and orderly. After all, you must do nothing, because 'the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet' (1 Cor.14:32). So it is not "an expression of the Spirit" if you are compelled to do something that is not appropriate and orderly.
It is in the same vein with regard to the speaking of women in the congregation. They may feel very compelled to say or 'share' something as it is nowadays called, but they have to control themselves. It is 'shameful' says Paul and then he uses the same word that he also used in 1 Corinthians 11:6. Even asking a question in public is part of that prohibition.
So it is not 'an expression of the Spirit' when a woman says or asks something publicly in the church. The one who thinks this is old-fashioned or with whatever arguments declares this as 'not of this time' is called 'ignorant' by Paul (verse 38). It is a commandment of the Lord (verse 37) and it applies in all the congregations of the saints (verse 33b).
Self-control is an expression of the Spirit. This also applies to the women who have to remain silent in the congregation.
Holding on to the Gospel
The gospel Paul brought is the same as the other apostles preached. The Lord appeared to each of the Apostles personally in view of their service to Him. Likewise with Paul, later on the road to Damascus and in Jerusalem (Acts 9:3; 9:17; 23:11).
The Gospel involved Christ's dying for our sins, as prophesied in Scripture, His burial and His resurrection on the third day, according to Scripture. In this they had to stand firm (15:1), lest they should have believed in vain.
Especially the resurrection gets a lot of attention in this section. It lists all who saw the Lord after He was resurrected. It is a crucial part of the Gospel and there were those in Corinth who questioned it (verses 12, 13).
Christ's resurrection is proof that people are resurrected (verses 16, 17). The dead are raised and if you doubt that then faith is useless and we are still in our sins and lost. Rather, we have the hope of a new life, a life after this life, after the resurrection of the dead. That hope is an immediate and inseparable part of the Gospel!
The resurrection of Christ is an important theme in the Gospel, which we must hold on to because this chapter makes it clear that that resurrection is directly linked to the reign of Christ to come. There is so much more to come that also belongs to the Gospel!
- In Christ all will be made alive (verses 21-23);
- Christ will be King and destroy all dominion, might and power. All hostile (heavenly) powers will be defeated by Christ, death last. The goal is that all is subject to Christ and that "God is all in all" (verses 24-28)
What is spiritual?
It is important to realize that Paul's entire discourse on the Gospel and the resurrection in this 15and chapter and is part of Paul's answer to the question about the "spiritual manifestations." Then it is remarkable that here is not a whole story about the Holy Spirit, an exposé about what the Spirit can do in our lives. You hear that a lot these days: stories about the Spirit of God doing supernatural things in the lives of believers.
But it is not so with Paul: according to Paul, it is a work of the Spirit when we are concerned with the work of Christ. What He did on Calvary and what He will do next, because He is risen! It is God's Spirit that wants to bring these things to our minds over and over again and wants the Lord Jesus Christ to become greater for us through them! That is a work of the Spirit. All the 'talk' about the Spirit that you can hear everywhere focuses our attention on the Spirit and therefore it is not of the Spirit!
In the congregation of God, the work of the Lord Jesus Christ is central! His work in the past, His work now, and His work after the resurrection. In a spiritual church it is about Christ, not about the Spirit!
Don't go astray!
Not surprisingly, then, at this point, Paul sounds a stern warning in verses 1 Corinthians 15:33 and 34.
Two major themes have been addressed, namely, on the one hand, things pertaining to idols, and matters pertaining to spiritual utterances, on the other. Or in short: "what is of spirits and what is of the Spirit"? A believing Christian must have this in mind and Paul has devoted chapters to it. Finally, he gives a stern warning, because in the church in Corinth there are apparently people who have no knowledge of God, but lead others astray.
“Be not deceived: bad company spoils good morals. Sober up properly and do not sin, for some have no knowledge of God. To shame I tell you this” (1 Cor. 15:33-34).
If you join them in their company, you will adopt their conceptions of 'knowing God'. Their conceptions of the Spirit may be interesting, but they will lead you astray. So do not be their companions!
After this admonition you would think that Paul has finished answering about 'spiritual expressions', but then it is as if something else occurs to him that he has to say. There is another 'followed report' about the resurrection.
A spiritual body
Just as Christ actually rose again bodily, so will the believers rise, things discussed above in chapter 15.
The spirit body being resurrected is completely different from the natural body we have now. The natural body functions 'under the direction of the soul'. But the spirit body is controlled by the spirit. It is a body like the Lord Jesus also had. "We have borne the image of the material, so shall we also bear the image of the Heavenly." So that spiritual body, just like with the Lord Jesus, no longer knows any limitations of place or space.
This is important because later on there would be people who think that “the resurrection has already taken place” (2 Tim. 2:18). Paul warned Timothy against the notion that when a man is born again and receives the Holy Spirit, then the spirit could direct the body through which man is capable of supernatural things. That is a view that you hear today in many variants, especially in 'charismatic' circles. The passage we are discussing here makes it clear that this is a false doctrine. Only when we have died will we have 'a spiritual body' after the resurrection and not now!
We are all changed!
Finally, Paul comes up with a secret: “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed” (1 Cor.15:51ff). Even though we still have a physical body and not a spiritual one, we can still look forward to wearing the 'image of the Heavenly One' (1 Cor.15:49). Paul then explains that if we have not died when the Lord comes to collect His Church, we will be changed. We are clothed with imperishability and immortality! The moment when we get the victory (1 Cor.15:57) is not far away. That may encourage and spur us on to stand firm in the work of the Lord.
Share and sympathize
The last chapter shows that it is good for you as a community to empathize with believers elsewhere, especially if they have needs that you can meet. But also sympathize with the workers of the Lord, such as Paul, Timothy, Apollos and others here.
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