written by Clint Pressley
Although manifold issues are addressed in the study of 1 & 2 Corinthians, the prevailing issue is the gospel and getting the gospel absolutely right.
If a church and its members do not have clarity on the gospel, then very little else matters. The significant issues of church governance, immorality and the Lord’s Supper find their root in a right understanding of what it means to be followers of Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul gave the clearest and most succinct definition of the gospel found anywhere in the New Testament. For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures
And in 2 Corinthians, Paul gives explanation of how gospel truth translates into gospel action. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
The gospel informs it all; teaching us how to suffer, how to lead, where to serve, and whom to love. Both of Paul’s letters pulsate with gospel directives and provide the Bible student with a strong picture of living a crucified life.
1 & 2 Corinthians reminds us that, if we get the gospel right, we get life right.