Mega-theme of 1 Corinthians:
Paul is reminding the church in Corinth to be the holy people God has called them to be. This is what God is always calling his church to be.

This week we'll be looking at Chapters 11-14.

The problem Paul is addressing in these chapters is that their gatherings "...do more harm than good." (1 Corinthians 11:17)

In Chapters 11-14 Paul will focus on three things that are affecting the church's gatherings. The sermon will look at them in reverse order.
1) Their understanding and use of spiritual gifts (Chapters 12-14)
2) Allowing divisions around the Lord's Supper or Communion (Chapter 11:17-34)
3) Blurring the lines between male and female in worship (Chapter 11:1-16)

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1) USE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS IN THE GATHERING (12-14)

Spiritual Gifts Summary from Chapter 12 – (see Feb 11th sermon for more on spiritual gifts)
- Everyone in the church gets a gift
- No one has all the gifts
- We all have different roles to play
- We should see the church like a body
- The gifts should bring us together as we realize we need one another

In chapters 13 and 14 Paul will single out two of the gifts that must have been causing division in the church: Tongues and Prophecy
- Tongues – speaking in a heavenly language – great experience – imagine an intimate experience with God
- Prophecy – communicate messages from God – usually for strengthening, encouraging and comforting the church

Chapter 13 is often isolated for use in weddings. It's the famous "love" chapter. However, this chapter is not for weddings, it's for the church (of course you can still use it in your wedding ;)
Take a minute to read Chapter 13 realize how Paul is softening the church up to hear what he's about to tell them in Chapter 14 about the use of tongues and prophecy.

Chapter 14:1 – Key verse in tying Chapter 13 to all of Chapter 14.

Chapter 14 - Paul is simply going to argue that the gifts should be used to build up the church. Verse 12 - "Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church."

Two bigs points he makes throughout Chapter 14:
1) Tongues is for personal use unless it comes with interpretation. Therefore, in a gathering it should only be used if there is interpretation to go with it.
2) Prophecy is always intelligible and thus a superior gift in the context of the gathering (14:5).

**14:34-35 - Notice I didn't mention these in the sermon :)
A couple of things to keep in mind as you wrestle through these verses:
1) The main point Paul is making is for order in the gathering. Verse 40, "But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way." For reasons we can only guess at, women speaking in the gatherings during this part of church history was creating disorder.
2) In 11:5 Paul gives instructions to women for when they pray or prophesy in the gathering. Which would not be silent.
3) Paul entrusts the book of Romans to be delivered by a woman named Phoebe. The letter carrier would also read the letter. So imagine the church in Rome, gathered to hear what would become Paul's most theologically dense letter, and they will listen to it being read by a woman. So, whatever he's saying in 14:34-35, it doesn't fit to say that he's anti-women or was envisioning that they should be silent in the church for all time.

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2) ALLOWING COMMUNION TO DIVIDE (11:17-34)

Communion had become a place where socio-economic, and likely ethnic differences, were accentuated rather than erased. Imagine the poor and rich Christians gathering in a house where the rich Christians were in one room having a feast and getting drunk while the poor Christians were on the patio getting a sip and a cracker. We have reason to think that this is what Paul is addressing here.

Again, Paul will appeal to the ideal that to be a follower of Jesus is to be part of a body. Therefore, how could you eat the Lord's Supper without caring about your brothers and sisters in the body? This seems to be what he's getting at in verses 27-32. When you celebrate the Lord's Supper in this manner you bring judgement on yourself. Because you claim to be part of a body and yet you don't care about the body.

Solution - vs. 33 - "So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together."

Notice the end of verse 34. "When I come I will give you further directions."
Let me take a guess at his further directions. Why on earth are some of you living in luxury while some of you are starving!?

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3) BLURRING LINES OF MALE AND FEMALE IN WORSHIP (11:1-16)

These are strange verses for us to read as Paul is addressing cultural norms that we no longer have. Nevertheless, Paul's main point seems to be "...that in worship it is important for both men and women to be their truly created selves, to honour God by being what they are and not blurring the lines by pretending to be something else." (NT Wright)

In worship, it is important that you embrace your humanity.
To be human is to be male or female.

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SUMMARY OF PAUL'S THREE POINTS
1) Church is a body. Love expressed through order should mark our gatherings.
2) No divisions based on wealth or status.
3) Worship should affirm the goodness of God’s design for creation and humanity.

What’s Paul calling the church to be? -> Holy.
Different than the world around them.
A colony of the kingdom of God. A bit of heaven come to earth.
We’re the trailer for the new creation.

Imagine a group of people who just did the three things above?

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WHAT IS WORSHIP?
What is Paul ultimately aiming them at?

When we gather together
we celebrate what God has done in the past
and what he will do in the future
in the present.
The past and future all come together in this present moment.

Paul would always have the creation narratives alive in his mind when he's writing.
Taking his three main themes, I can imagine him saying:
1) When you gather you look back to the original good and beautiful creation.
Where the Spirit hovered over the chaos waters and brought order.
2) In the original creation, it was a garden, can you imagine anyone going hungry in a garden?
3) In the beginning he created us in his image, male and female."

When you gather you look to the future and anticipate the new creation. The kingdom of God in it's fullness.
1) The chaos of life, evil and suffering will be no more.
2) Where justice will roll like a river and there will be no racism or poverty or hunger or thirst or war and all will be beautiful once again.
3) Where we will be restored as his image bearers, male and female together.

That’s what the church is supposed to be a glimpse of when we gather in large and small groups.

When we gather we become an object lesson for the world to see Jesus.
The one in whom and through whom all things were made and hold together.
The one who reigns as king of the new creation that is here and will one day come in its fullness.