An old friendship reassures us that the other person has our best interests at heart. If the upfront commitment to one another is there, then God can use even difficulties to grow us, refine us and mature us. In the end we will be better friends and, with God’s help, better Christians. So stay committed to other Christians. If you do, then difficulties will lead to greater growth.
In this first section of 2 Corinthians, we can learn a lot from Paul. When his life got tough which, as it turns out, for Paul was pretty often, he drew closer to God and other Christians.
You might say the church in Corinth had a very impractical faith. They had trouble connecting reality with spirituality. As Paul ends his first letter to the church in Corinth he brings up a bunch of very practical stuff. Paul’s spirituality was firmly planted in the real world.
Listen: 1 Cor 16.mp3
Read Notes: Cor 16.pdf
Some of the Corinthians doubted Paul’s teaching regarding the resurrection of the dead, Their objection is not so much that what Paul said wasn’t true, but that it couldn’t be true; it was nonsensical. Paul gives them some illustrations to help them understand a concept which to them was simply not obvious.
Central Reflections 