1 Corinthians 16:1 (NLT)
Now regarding your question about the money being collected for God's people in Jerusalem. You should follow the same procedure I gave to the churches in Galatia.

- Paul is responding to a previous communication from the believers at Corinth. It's too bad we don't have that message as it might help understand the context of some of Paul's instructions in this letter.

1 Corinthians 16:14 (NLT)
And do everything with love.

- Paul never stops emphasising the importance of love.

Ultimate Hope For All!

1 Corinthians 15:17-19 (NLT)
And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. [18] In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! [19] And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

1 Corinthians 15:20 (NLT)
But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

1 Corinthians 15:26 (NLT)
And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

- I was raised in a good Baptist belief that salvation is a kind of exclusive club, reserved for the few select folks who say the "sinner's prayer," and "accept Christ" according to a narrow, formulaic method.

Now that I've studied the bible for myself, I've come to see salvation as a huge thing! This passage is just one place where I find my evidence. Paul is saying that there is a specific order to the resurrection of the dead, but that ultimately death itself will be defeated. And though he highlights here the resurrection of believers at Christ's return, his message does not stop there.

In verse 20 he claims Christ is the first of "a great harvest of all who have died." And he goes on to say that the last enemy to be destroyed is death itself (verse 26). How can Paul claim that death is destroyed if death still holds onto the souls of millions of "lost" people, (as claimed by traditional Christian understandings)?

If this doesn't mean Ultimate Life for all, then I don't understand why Paul would say that. This is the only interpretation that justifies the claim, Good News! regarding Jesus' life and mission. Surely this is the understanding that is embodied in Paul's triumphant cry:

1 Corinthians 15:55 (NLT)
O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"

Call me a heretic... But now I see a tremendous message of hope for all the world for all time.

Contoversial Paul

1 Corinthians 14:20 (NLT)
... Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind.
...

- Good advice!

1 Corinthians 14:34 (NLT)
Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says.
...

- This verse is a strange one, especially in light of other verses relating the huge role of some prominent women in raising and sustaining churches. I suspect Paul is dealing with some issues specific to the churches in Corinth, as indicated in this verse:

1 Corinthians 14:36 (NLT)
Or do you think God's word originated with you Corinthians? ...

The Primacy of Love

...
1 Corinthians 13:2 (NLT)
If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing.

- After two thousand years do we get it? Do we understand that to love is the ultimate call of Christ on our lives? This is not a shallow, self-serving counterfeit love that we humans often fall for, but rather the kind of self-giving love that has the power to change the world, for the better, forever. Do we really "get" it yet?

If there were millions of Christ-centered people in the world who were steeped in and abandoned to this kind of love, would the world still be the messy, often-violent place it is?

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT)
Three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love.

Gifts to Build With

1 Corinthians 12:6 (NLT)
God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

- Most important point to remember - Who it is that is at work.

1 Corinthians 12:28 (NLT)
Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: ...

- This list is not meant to be comprehensive. Basically, I'd say each person's spiritual gifts are the things they most love doing, when done in service, building up the body of Christ. This might manifest as sweeping floors, or driving a truck or baking cookies. The gifts are gifts from the spirit, but are not limited to "spiritual" or "religious" activities.

1 Corinthians 12:31 (NLT)
So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

- Hang onto your hats! Paul is winding up to deliver one of the most beautiful and profoundly meaningful statements ever written about following Christ and what is involved.