Diving Deeper | Do Everything in Love
Part of A Deeper Response to the Scripture
November 19, 2021

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Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love. —1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Chapter 16 concludes Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church. In the middle of Paul’s farewell, he gives five instructions for living. It would be understandable to read these quickly as we seek the satisfaction of finishing a very difficult epistle. But these are important. They encapsulate what Paul has taught in the first fifteen chapters and elsewhere.

Be on your guard. Be on the alert against the enemies of God, of Christ, and of life in the Spirit. Pay attention to the motives of your heart, to divisive attitudes and behaviors, to immorality, and to beliefs contrary to the gospel of the risen Christ. “Flee from idolatry” (10:14).

Stand firm in the faith. Not simply what you believe, but by the Spirit, be unmoved in how you live your faith in the gospel of the resurrected Christ. (15:58)

Be courageous. Blomberg writes that Paul is asking the Corinthians to “be adults” and “put away the immaturity that has led to so many of your problems and grow up in the Lord.” (Blomberg, 337). Be adults and not “mere infants in Christ” (3:1).

Be strong. To the Ephesians, Paul writes, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Eph. 6:10). And in 2 Cor 12:9-10, Paul’s experience of weakness demonstrates that true strength is only found in Christ’s power.

These first four exhortations, given as to soldiers preparing for battle, are balanced and softened by the fifth instruction.

Do everything in love. Paul told the Philippians to “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others” (Phil 2:3-4). For the Corinthians, doing everything in love would mean waiting for everyone to arrive before eating the common meal (11:20-22), and resolving disputes instead of taking a fellow believer to court (6:1). Doing all in love would mean that personal rights and freedoms would be submitted to obedience to the Gospel and to the good of the church (6:9 and 10:23-24) and that church unity would be guarded with vigilance (1:13 and 12:12-13).

Recall chapter 13. “If I … but don’t have love, I am nothing, … I gain nothing” (13:1-3).

Truly, “the greatest of these is love!”

Consider—

╬ Today there are many who are on the defense—against those who think differently, look different, live different, etc. The first four exhortations suit well a defensive posture. How would these defensive postures be changed by “doing everything in love”? To those different from us, rather than just saying we love, how do we demonstrate that we love?

╬ Consider the whole of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. What most resonates with you from these sixteen chapters? Re-read and reflect together on what you have learned.

╬ Triune God—Father, Son and Spirit, we worship you. Thank you for these weeks with Paul and the Corinthian church. Help us, Spirit of God, to see ourselves in the issues and to hear Paul’s instructions. May we be faithful Christ-followers all the days of our lives. Amen.