Devotionary

Every believer must take their focus off themselves and think about how they might strengthen the body of Christ.

Even the use of the gifts of the Spirit, if done so without love, is wasted energy, amounting to nothing in the end.

For Paul, the church was the mysterious and divinely ordained creation of an interdependent group of diverse individuals who shared a common belief in Jesus Christ as Savior.

Rather than using the gifts as they were intended, to build up the body of Christ, the Corinthians were busy building up themselves, and causing unnecessary division within the church.

Christ died so that we might be made right with God and one with all those who share our faith in Christ. Disunity in any form is dysfunctional at best and destructive at worst.

Demanding our rights or flaunting our freedoms may seem appealing, but they can end up being a real turn-off to those outside the church.

For Paul, the well-being of the body of Christ was of a far great priority than his own well-being or that of any other believer in Corinth.

For the believer, self-confidence is a dangerous companion on the walk of faith and a lousy defense against temptation.

The law of Christ is not about demanding behavior that earns God’s favor, but about living and loving as Christ did.

For Paul, it all went back to love. Knowing you’re right means nothing if you don’t know enough to love others.

Rather than allow ourselves to become overly attached to this world, Paul would have us set our sights on the next.

Sometimes the greatest lesson we can learn from our conversion is that of contentment.

Paul found himself dealing with was the Corinthians’ tendency to abuse their newfound freedom in Christ.

Paul would not be content until the believers in Corinth began to live as what they were: children of God.

By remaining silent and refusing to address the sin in our midst, we reveal a disregard for the well-being of the one whose sin we are overlooking.