Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Corinthians 1-4.

Today, I am going to hit on a few things which Paul wrote in the passage.  Paul begins by mentioning the troubles and pressures he experienced stating that he has set his hope on God for delivery.  Then mentions that the readers’ prayers played an important role in God delivering him.  This passing mention of prayer reminds us of the importance of prayer.  I know that I need to improve my prayer life.

A little later in today’s passage Paul writes, “we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand.”  This is an important thought to keep in mind while reading all of Paul’s writing.  Paul does not write for someone with a Doctorate in Theology, or some other advanced degree.  He writes for people at all levels of understanding.  In fact, this particular quote applies to all of Scripture.  Anyone who wishes to understand what Scripture says can do so.  Closely related to this is another quote I pulled out of todays passage, “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.”  Our ability to understand Scripture comes not from within ourselves, not from our abilities.  Rather our competence in understanding Scripture comes from God.  If we genuinely seek God, He will use Scripture to guide us, and will guide us in understanding the Scripture.  

The final quote and segment I want to pull out of today’s passage is where Paul quotes Psalm 116:10 from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament used by Jews in the first century). He writes the following, “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Paul explains that if we truly put our faith in Christ and believe in His resurrection we will be compelled to speak of that faith, sharing the gospel with those with whom we interact.  

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I have created a Patreon page for those who would like to support me in writing these blog posts every day: https://patreon.com/AttilaSoldus

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Corinthians 15-16.

Once again there is a lot I could write about in today’s passage, but I am going to focus on the topic with which Paul begins the passage.  Paul writes that if we hold firmly to the gospel he preached we will be saved.  He then sums up that gospel.  In some ways I feel like I am covering something here which does not need to be covered, but I have become convinced that the Church often fails because we assume people know the most basic things, which is why I am focusing here today.  Paul gives a quick basic summary of the Gospel of Jesus: Jesus died for our sins, He was buried, and on the third day He rose from the dead.  Along with that summary Paul provides some supporting evidence.  He tells us that Scripture tells us that the Messiah, the anointed one of God, must die for our sins (elsewhere in the New Testament, including in other parts of Paul’s letters, this evidence is spelled out).  Paul then writes about those who witnessed the resurrection of Jesus.  He points out that most of those witnesses were still alive at the time of his writing.

Paul goes on to explain the implications of the gospel which he preached.  If Christ has been raised from the dead, then it is reasonable to believe that those who put their faith in Him will be raised as well.  On the other hand, if there is no resurrection from the dead, then Christ was not raised from the dead.  And, if Christ was not raised from the dead, then Paul, and all of those who preached the gospel, was a liar and nothing he taught was of any value.  In fact, if Christ was not raised from the dead our faith and practice is completely worthless.  Paul writes that if there is no resurrection from the dead we should indulge our physical desires because the pleasures of this life are all that there is.  However, if Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, then we should stop sinning and live a life dedicated to Him so that we may also be raised from the dead.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I have created a Patreon page for those who would like to support me in writing these blog posts every day: https://patreon.com/AttilaSoldus