He is gullible when he loves? Just believes every teacher, preacher, book or magazine? No, not that. Though we have seen enough of those people.

Knows that a person is lying to him but decides to just let it go and “believe in him”? But the text talks about things that he believes, not people he believes in.

Is it possible that a person who has God’s love in Him believes everything that God says and has said? Believes the miracles of the Bible? The hard sayings of the Bible? Believes in God’s power to heal and deliver and forgive sins? Believes all things of God?

That fits best in my estimation.

2. I Corinthians 13:10. That which is perfect… What is it?

Those who wish to say that there are no gifts of the Spirit available today want to tell us that the perfect thing that was to come is the Bible. The imperfect revelations of prophecy and tongues and the like will be supplanted by a full revelation of teachings all in one collection, and never again will we be in need of more insights from Heaven.

There is some merit to those thoughts. It certainly is better to have God’s Word written down like this. But read on in the chapter. Answer the next question before you make your decision.

3. I Corinthians 13:12. Do we know fully today? Have we seen Jesus face to face?

When that which is perfect is come, we will know as we are known. When that which is perfect is come, it will no longer be looking through a dim glass, but like seeing face to face. Do you really believe that that is where the church is today? Do you have such a perfect knowledge of the things of God that you could compare it to the knowledge He has of you? Is our knowledge of Jesus, in the Bible, like seeing Him face to face?

What could that which is perfect be, then, but the coming again of Jesus to the Earth? Perfect knowledge. Perfect Vision. Face to face.

4. I Corinthians 14:3-4. What is prophecy in the New Testament?

The giving of the Word of God so as to edify, exhort, and console, the church of Jesus Christ. It may involve telling of future events, but most of what we need to know in the future is already recorded in the Book. It may involve judgment of sin and sinful people, as did the prophets of old. Those judgments are spelled out in Scripture also.

I wonder if a man truly given to the Word of God, studying it and presenting it under God’s power, gained through prayer, would have the same bottom-line effect as the man of God present on so many of the pages of the Bible?

5. I Corinthians 14:15. What does it mean to “pray with the Spirit”?

Paul opposes praying with the Spirit to praying with the understanding. We ask the Spirit to control our words and thoughts. The early church could pray in other languages. Some have claimed that gift today. But whether that form or some other form of control, it is a praying with the certain knowledge that Heaven is present.

6. I Corinthians 14:5, 10-11, 13, 26. The constant use of the word/idea “interpret” tells us what about “tongues”?

In the church, tongues were languages. Probably known languages. They were miraculous but not necessarily strange. When they were interpreted, there was someone there who got the message: this is from God. If tongues come forth, and there is no one who knows the language in the room, even after interpretation, what edification is there? And as Paul makes clear, edification is what it is all about!

7. I Corinthians 14:29. Are all prophecies to be accepted?

Absolutely not. Let the others in the room, men with discernment, men of wisdom, elders, teachers, let them all weigh in as necessary as to the truth of what has just come forth. And if the speaker needs to be corrected, correct him!

8. I Corinthians 14:36-37. How binding are the words in this chapter?

Every word of God is pure. We assume it. But Paul wants to make it very clear about the subjects of which he has just been speaking – love, the gifts, women – are the Lord’s commandments, and are not to be taken lightly. He especially addresses those who “think” they are so special in their spiritual acumen.

9. I Corinthians 15:17. How does the resurrection of Jesus portend our salvation?

If Christ has not raised from the dead as He said he would, we also shall not be raised from the dead as he said we would.

If Christ has not raised, then He has no power over death. Neither will we.

If Christ could not defeat death, Satan’s stranglehold on the planet is unimaginable.

10. I Corinthians 15:29. Baptized for the dead?

One of the mysteries of the Bible for sure. The text seems to be saying that Paul is using baptism for dead people as an argument for resurrection. There is no other place in Scripture that even hints at such a practice, and there is no context clue. Only one verse.

Elsewhere in Scripture we learn that “it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment.” Nowhere are we told that there is some act that living people can perform that would affect the status of those who have passed on. What in the world is this about?

Mormons, and I imagine, other cults, jump on this passage as justification for a practice that they perform. What should we do with it?

Have others in history practiced baptism for the dead? Yes. The Marcionites of the 2^nd century, for one. And even earlier than that, small groups within the church would allow a person to receive baptism on behalf of a deceased person. We are told that the practice arose out of Jewish practices before the Christian era.

Did Paul therefore agree with such a thing? Or was he simply using them as an illustration?

“Consider these people who are baptizing live people on behalf of dead people? What do you think motivates them? They actually believe there is going to be a resurrection from the dead. But if there is no resurrection from the dead, why do they continue doing this?”

Not that Paul sanctioned this.

Oh there are many other interpretations of this verse, but we must let it go. None of the explanations are fully satisfying. There is no greater champion of grace than the apostle Paul. He is the one who declared that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Never would he countenance such a practice. He only observed that it was taking place, and used their zeal for it to bring out the hope we all should have of the resurrection.

11. I Corinthians 15:36. Why does Paul use the term “fool” here?

Sounds pretty rough. Why would you call someone a fool because he did not understand what you were trying to teach him? Jesus even warned about such language. What was Paul thinking?

The word is translated “unwise” elsewhere and can simply mean the opposite of wise. Paul is dealing with Christian people who have not yet come to grips with the resurrection. The resurrection is at the heart of the Gospel message, but they don’t get it. The whole idea of sowing and reaping, all common sense in the natural world, escapes them. They are rich in gifts, but very low in knowledge and wisdom, and Paul just states a fact: they are without wisdom. Foolish.

Jesus used the term also. And Paul used it of himself in 2 Corinthians.

12. I Corinthians 15:56. The sting of death is sin? What does this mean?

It is sin which caused and causes death in the first place. No sin, no death. So the monster death is pictured as having a stinger that actually does the killing. That stinger is sin.

13. I Corinthians 16:2. Was the church (everywhere) now meeting on the first day of the week?

This is better proof than Acts 20:7, where it could be thought that this was just a one time event. Now the practice seems to be formalizing. Christians were meeting every first day. Since that was true, offerings could be taken at that time.

14. I Corinthians 16:22. “If you don’t love Jesus, you are accursed!” Pretty strong?

Once more we are dealing with a man who minces no words. What he says is absolutely true, whether we like it or not. What a serious ending to an epistle, not found in any other of his writings. It all boils down to this: Do you love Jesus, or not? If you don’t, you are without hope, the very curse of God is on you.