I Corinthians 4:1-13 Today we have an eye-awakening verse: For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. (v. 4) We have a time of confession every Sunday, whether it’s Morning Prayer (as it has been most often recently) or a Eucharistic …
Monthly Archives: April 2020
April 20 / I Cor. 3:16-23
I Corinthians 3:16-23 I was confused a bit with verse 16: Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? At first glance it seems clear enough with no further explanation. That verse harkened me forward to another verse from a few years back (as I recall someone …
April 19 / I Cor. 3:1-15
I Corinthians 3:1-15 Paul says in verse 6: I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. Paul was the person who introduced the Corinthians to Jesus. Apollos came later, after he had been at Ephesus, then came across the Aegean sea to minister at Corinth. He was building on Paul’s work, not disputing it. …
April 18 / I Cor. 2:1-16
I Corinthians 2:1-16 Paul is pretty hard on himself as to his testimonies to the Corinthians: …in weakness and in fear and much trembling… (v. 3b). I’m guessing that he is recalling his early testimonies to them, when he had just come from Athens, where skilled oration and elocution were the standard among the learned …
April 17 / I Cor. 1:18-31
I Corinthians 1:18-31 Paul is full of triads in today’s reading. See verse 20: Where is… Where is… Where is…? See verse 26: Not many… Not many… Not many… And verses 27 and 28: But God chose… God chose… God chose… Fun! It is interesting that Paul decries the wise, the wisdom of the world …
April 16 / I Corinthians 1:1-17
I Corinthians 1:1-17 So now we move on to Paul’s Corinthian letters, which were most likely written sometime during his last year at Ephesus (Acts 16:5-9), so because we have Paul at Ephesus in our Acts readings we read these letters at this point in our chronological study. We will spend quite a few weeks …
April 15 / Acts 19:11-22
Acts 19:11-22 After I have been there, I must also see Rome. (v. 21b) Here we have the first indication of Paul’s desire to visit Rome. We’ll see it a few more times in his writings. Unfortunately when he finally arrives there, he comes as a prisoner. I had suggested a few weeks back that …
April 14 / Acts 19:1-10
Acts 19:1-10 The Apollos-Priscilla-Aquila-Paul-Holy Spirit connection is a bit confusing in chapter 18’s ending and chapter 19’s beginning. When he came to Ephesus Apollos knew only about the baptism of John (Acts 18:25). Paul had left Priscilla and Aquila behind when he left Ephesus (Acts 18:19) and they instructed Apollos more accurately (Acts 18:26). So …
April 13 / II Thess. 3:1-18
II Thessalonians 3:1-18 And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. (v. 4) Paul has real confidence in the Thessalonians – in this case, confidence that they will follow his teachings (commands). Earlier I posted about the “third-person compliments” (I Thessalonians 1:9) …
April 12 / II Thess. 2:1-17
II Thessalonians 2:1-17 Paul’s long sentences and parenthetical expressions often make for difficult reading. I posted in part on this difficulty yesterday. This happens twice today, in verses 1 and 2, then immediately again in verses 3 and 4. Look below at how these verses can be more easily understood when you read the entire …