1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 16: Loving the Saints, Loving the Lord
The final chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is an exhortation to love and ends with “My love be with you all in Christ Jesus”. In what sense is love is the greatest (Ch 13),…
1 Corinthians 15: “Love Crucified” Arose!
Chapter 15 might seem abrupt when Paul switched from exercising spiritual gifts to the gospel. Unless we follow his train of thought from chapter 13 – it’s all about love. Love crucified Love does not seek its…
1 Corinthians 14: “Barbarians” & “Idiots”?
Language evolves. Barbaros in ancient Greece simply meant one whose speech is rude, rough and harsh, often used to describe foreigners. Hence Paul advised the Corinthians who flaunted their glossolalia to not use their tongues meant for…
1 Corinthians Chapter 12
Every Sabbath, I would be reminded of this verse. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.~ 1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV) ~ From the start of the Sabbath evening…
1 Corinthians Chapter 11
Paul starts off with this famous phrase in this chapter and seems to jumped off onto a tangent in the rest of this chapter where he discusses: If anyone has a good explanation for this, I would…
1 Corinthians Chapter 10
This chapter begins with a throwback to the Israelites in the wilderness and reminds us not to follow in their footsteps. “Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil…
1 Corinthians Chapter 9
In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul bares his heart as he openly discusses his feelings and his attitude towards his ministry to all his readers. While Paul was addressing certain people in those times, we today also get…
哥林多前书八章
知识要加上爱心 英国著名的唯物主义哲学家弗兰西斯.培根曾说“知识就是力量”;确实,世界上成功的,有权威的大多是有知识的人,也因此人以拥有知识为尊荣,为可夸的,为力量强大的。当然这里保罗所指的不是属世的知识,乃是指属灵的知识。即使如此,拥有“属灵”知识的信徒(认识神的道的),不代表他自然就是“属灵”的人。 因此这里保罗提醒哥林多教会那些有属灵知识的人也有可能会自高自大(1节)。保罗甚至说他们“仍是不知道” (2节)–事实上没有属灵的智慧。但人若有知识加上爱心,他才是神所知道(认可)的。这样的人能造就他人的 (1,3节)。 单有对道理的知识会叫人自高自大(1节),使人用神的话语来论断人,因为这人自以为比他人更懂道理。殊不知自己反变成了耶稣所说那不自觉眼中有梁木的人了(太7:3)。 事实上,保罗更将此等人视为无知 (2节:“按他所知道的,他仍是不知道”)。 当时的哥林多城是个拜偶像泛滥的地方,当地教会当中也包括了曾经拜偶像后来信主的信徒,但因为信心软弱仍无法脱离某些传统和迷信。对于这等软弱的信徒,保罗劝有知识的的要以爱心拉他一把。而不是以高姿态论断软弱的,不然不但没有挽回他反而将他绊倒(9节),叫他离神越远。 因此在信仰上有知识的必需要在知识上加上爱心,才能造就人(1节),使他在灵性上得益处。 神一切的道理的总纲是爱(太22:40), 真爱既然建立在真理上,不单“不喜欢不义”(林前13:6),同时也包含了“不求自己的益处”的爱(林前13:5)。这是一种牺牲自己利益的爱。正如保罗在此说“食物若叫我弟兄跌倒,我就永远不吃肉,免得叫我弟兄跌倒了”。 所以看见弟兄的软弱时,我们如何对待他,就可以此衡量我们是否真是爱他。我们的反应是为显出我们比他刚强,公义? 结果使他羞愧,自甘堕落而远离神?还是我们的反应包容他的软弱,使他转而信心更坚强,更加亲近神?
1 Corinthians Chapter 7
In chapters 1-6, Paul discusses his concerns regarding what was happening in Corinth. Moving forward, in chapters 7-16, Paul answers specific questions they needed guidance on, for instance, marriage and singlehood. Thus, Paul often begins with “now…