In Paul’s day, the church in Corinth was divided over leadership, false teaching, disorderly worship, sexual immorality, lawsuits among Christians, and the influence of pagan rituals in their area, but the greatest problem they faced was a simple lack of love for one another.
The question is sometimes asked, “Before Jesus died on the cross, how were people saved in the Old Testament?” Sometimes we hear it said that the Jews were saved by keeping the law, but Galatians 3:11 tells us, “it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law.” Many in the era before Christ tried to be righteous by keeping the law, but they never could.
This sentence concludes the Bible’s Love Chapter, perhaps the most beautiful description of love the world has ever known. British Evangelist G. Campbell Morgan was the Pastor of Westminster Chapel in the early twentieth century. He said that examining this chapter is like dissecting a flower to understand it. If you tear it apart too much, you lose the beauty.
It is quite an understatement to say that when children misbehave, they do not appreciate being disciplined by their parents, teachers, and coaches. Any punishment that might be rendered (such as grounding, spanking, or loss of privileges) will seem completely unfair. And yet, according to the writer of Hebrews, being chastened or scourged is a sign of love.
This verse is a binary thinker’s paradise offering three choices with two options each. The first choice is between a wage and a gift. A wage is earned but a gift is free.
In what almost seems like passing the buck, God once told Paul to tell Titus to tell the older women to tell the younger women to love their husbands and children. Paul then expanded his lesson by encouraging these young ladies to be disciplined and holy, diligent about the house, kind to other people, and respectful to their husbands.
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