286+ articles · Verse by verse
Articles.
Long-form study. Plain English.
Every article does the hard work — what the words meant to the first readers, the historical context, the first-century background — then hands it to you in words you already know.
286 articles · page 7 of 12
Dealing with Temptation 1 Co 10:12–13
God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, and will make a way of escape. A closer look at a verse that gets quoted more often than it gets read.
Russia, Dispensationalism, and the Gog-Magog Debate in Biblical Interpretation
Is Russia in the Bible? Gog and Magog have been mapped onto Moscow for generations. Where that identification came from, and whether the text supports it.
What Did 'The Ends of the Ages' Mean for Early Christians?" 1 Co 10:6–13 Part 1
Paul tells the Corinthians these things were written for people “upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” What that phrase would have meant to them.
Bridging Old and New Testaments -1 Co 10:1–5 Part 2
That Rock was Christ. Paul reads Israel's wilderness years as more than history, and shows why the Old Testament is not optional reading for Christians.
Unity Beyond Lineage: Paul's Call to a Collective Identity -1 Co 10:1 part 1
“I do not want you to be unaware.” Paul stops answering their questions and hands the Corinthians a shared history that reaches back to the wilderness.
Ethical, Imperishable Reward, Contemporary Perspective 1 Co 9:24–10:1
Paul disciplines his body so that after preaching to others he is not himself disqualified. Decades into ministry, that verse reads differently than it once did.
Freedom, Servanthood, and Cultural Adaptability in Paul's Ministry 1 Co 9:19–23
All things to all men. Paul bends himself a long way to reach people, but there is a line he never crosses, and it is worth knowing where it sits.
Financial Independence in Ministry-1 Co 9: 15–18
Paul would rather die than have his boasting made void. Why he kept his ministry financially independent, and what that decision cost him.
Paul's Plea - The Legitimacy of Compensation for Gospel Workers 1 Co 9:13–18. part 1
The Lord commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from it. Paul agrees completely, then explains why he never took a penny of it.
Defending Apostleship Paul’s Rights and Reciprocity in Ministry 1 Co 9:3–12
Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Paul builds a careful case that gospel workers may be supported, and then declines the support himself.
Apostles Among Us - Examining Their Role and Recognition in Modern Christianity 1 Co 9:1–2
Paul's apostleship was being questioned in Corinth, so he defends it. His defence tells us a great deal about what that title did and did not mean.
Balancing Freedom and Responsibility- 1 Co 8:7–13
Paul would rather never eat meat again than trip up a brother. Freedom that wounds somebody else has stopped being the point.
Beyond Theology - Knowing God Through Love 1 Co 8:1–3
“If anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.” After years of debating theology across a dozen belief systems, that verse still does the most damage to my pride.
Balancing Knowledge and Love 1 Co 8:1–3
Knowledge puffs up, love builds up. This verse has been used to warn people away from study altogether, which is almost exactly backwards.
Marriage, Singleness, and the Pre-Eminence of Christ in Decision-Making- 1 Co 7:32–8:1
Paul says he is not putting a leash on anyone. He is asking which arrangement lets you serve the Lord without being quietly pulled in two directions.
Living in the Last Hour - 1 Co 7 31
“The form of this world is passing away.” The New Testament writers plainly expected something imminent, and it is worth asking carefully what they meant by it.
Distress, Decisions, and Destiny 1 Co 7:29–31
Weep as though not weeping, buy as though not possessing. Paul is not asking for detachment from life, but for a grip that can be loosened.
Paul's Advice to Virgins - 1 Co 7:25–31
Paul offers judgment rather than commandment here, and is careful to say that marrying is no sin. Why he still leaned the other way.
God's Love - You Are Valuable! 1 Co 7:23–24
Luther said he lost Christ the Saviour and made Him the jailer of his soul. If God has ever felt like a judge waiting for you to slip, this one is for you.
Staying True in Christ: The Journey of Jews, Gentiles, and Slaves 1 Co 7:17–24
Circumcised or not, slave or free, Paul tells each person to remain where they were called. What he is protecting there, and what he is not endorsing.
Household Sanctification: Influencing Faith Within Families 1 Co 7:10–16
An unbelieving spouse is sanctified by the believing one, and the children are holy. Paul means something by that, and it is not what most of us assume.
The Sanctity of Marriage: Paul's Teachings on Divorce 1 Co 7:10–16
Paul carefully separates what the Lord commanded from what he himself advises, then turns to the believer who is married to someone who does not believe.
Guidance for Modern Christian Marriages 1 Co 7:1–9
What a first-century letter about marriage still says to couples now, including the parts that sound strange until you see why Paul wrote them.
Understanding Love, Marriage, and Boundaries 1 Co 7:1–9
Paul's teaching on marriage gives husband and wife the same claim on each other in the same breath. For the first century, that was startling.