In our Bible study on the night of May 31, 2026, we concluded our journey through the book of 2 Corinthians. As was pointed out, the apostle Paul has spent the entire book defending his authority and apostleship against the Corinthian church's doubts, all leading up to this final, passionate plea for them to repent before his third visit.

In our Bible study on May 30, 2026, we saw how Paul's relationship with the Corinthian church is strained; they found him unimpressive in person and were questioning his apostolic authority. As we entered chapter 12, the group noted that this is where Paul seems his most raw and emotional, concluding his argument against the "super-apostles" who boasted in their own strength.

In our study on May 29, 2026, we continued our journey through 2 Corinthians. This passage follows Paul's defense of his authority in chapter 10, where the Corinthian church, influenced by a worldly mindset, valued fleshly accomplishment and self-promotion. Paul is now defending his very apostleship against false apostles, contrasting their self-glorification with the true gospel of sacrifice, service, and submission.

In our study on May 28, 2026, we covered two chapters. In the previous section of the book, Paul had been encouraging the Corinthian church. In these chapters, he continues that encouragement regarding a financial contribution they promised, but then he transitions to defending his ministry against criticisms from within the church.

As we reviewed in our meeting on May 26, 2026, Paul is writing this letter after a previous "painful visit" to Corinth. He is defending his apostleship, which is one of weakness and frailty, so that God's power might be revealed, but some in Corinth were struggling to accept this. After receiving an encouraging report from Titus that the church was showing godly sorrow and repentance (chapter 7), Paul now feels able to address the practical matter of a financial collection for other believers in need, a task they had started a year prior.

As explained in our study on May 25, 2026, Paul is writing this second letter to the Corinthian church to defend his apostleship. They had judged him based on his physical presence, considering him weak and his speech contemptible (2 Corinthians 10:10). Paul is trying to get them to see life through the lens of the gospel, which is about weakness highlighting God's power, sacrifice, and service. This passage follows a section where Paul urged them not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers because they are God's temple.

In our Bible study on May 24, 2026, we first reviewed the setup for this chapter. The Apostle Paul is writing his second letter to the church in Corinth to correct their thinking, as they were viewing him as weak and his speech as "contemptible" (2 Corinthians 10:10). Paul's overall message is that true greatness is found not in self-exaltation but in humble service and submission, even through affliction, so that God can be glorified.

As our study noted on the evening of May 23, 2026, this letter was written by the apostle Paul after a "painful visit" to the church in Corinth. Many in the church were rejecting his message of sacrifice and service, viewing him as weak and his words as "contemptible" (2 Corinthians 10:10), instead prizing self-exaltation and status. Paul is writing to correct this thinking, explaining that true strength is found in weakness so that God can be glorified.

In our study on May 22, 2026, we continued in the book of 2 Corinthians. The group saw that this section continues Paul's defense of his ministry to the Corinthian church, where his emphasis is on how the glory of the gospel is revealed through suffering and weakness, not through worldly strength.

As was explained at the beginning of our study on May 21, 2026, the Apostle Paul is writing this second letter to the church in Corinth after a "painful visit" to defend his apostleship. The influential leaders were still rejecting Paul, calling his presence "weak" and his words "contemptible" (2 Corinthians 10:10), so Paul argues that true strength in God's kingdom is found in weakness, suffering, and sacrifice, much like the gospel itself.

In our study on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, we began the book of Second Corinthians. As explained in the meeting, this letter was written about a year after First Corinthians, after Paul had made a "sorrowful" visit because the church had only "partially understood" his first letter and were now attacking him personally. Paul wrote this second, more personal and emotional letter to defend his ministry and the nature of the gospel, addressing their partial repentance and the lingering problems.

In our study group on May 18, 2026, we reached the final chapter of 1 Corinthians. This book has been all about viewing every part of life through the lens of the gospel, as the Apostle Paul's answer to the Corinthian church's many problems—division, immorality, and pride—was to consistently point them back to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If chapter 15 was about the theology of the resurrection, then chapter 16 is about intionally living it out in daily life.

As our group study on May 17th, 2026, continued, we arrived at the second half of chapter 15. The discussion explained that the entire book has been Paul’s effort to get the Corinthian church to see every part of their lives through the lens of the gospel, but they had become so focused on earthly, fleshly matters that they began to doubt or misunderstand the core concept of the resurrection.

In our Bible study on May 16, 2026, we jumped into the fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians. This chapter is the culmination of the entire book, addressing the core issue underlying all the Corinthians' problems: they didn't believe in the resurrection, which sets the stage for Paul's foundational teaching.

In our study tonight, we finished 1 Corinthians 14 by looking at verses 26-40. Paul gives the Corinthian church specific, practical instructions for how their worship services should be conducted. He starts by establishing a key principle: "Let all things be done for edification" (v. 26).

This passage follows a discussion on the misuse of spiritual gifts, where church members were either feeling unimportant or acting superior to others, and Paul now presents love as the solution and shows how to put it into practice.

In our study on the evening of May 12, 2026, we jumped into 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Paul is writing to the Corinthian church to help them see every part of their lives through the lens of the gospel (that is, sacrifice, service, and submission), addressing everything from division to, in this chapter, spiritual gifts, and how they our view of them should lead to unity and service, not division and pride.

Chapter 11 of 1 Corinthians continues the book's main theme: seeing every part of life through the lens of the gospel. Paul wants the Corinthians to understand that the gospel calls for sacrifice, service, and submission for the good of others, which he applies to issues of head coverings to show submission, and the Lord's Supper to show unity.