We have just this last week finished off a series in 1 Corinthians. Should you wish to listen to any of the sermons in the series, you can access them all here. But I thought it might be worth doing a brief overview of what we have been doing over the last 25 weeks or so. What are the big takeaways from this letter? Let me boil it down to four.

1. Identity in Christ

First off, Paul hammers home that our worth isn’t found in our cleverness, gifts, or whichever preachers we can associate ourselves with. We are “holy saints” in Christ, called by God’s grace. The Corinthians were big on boasting and keen to set themselves up as superior. They formed cliques around different leaders. Paul’s opening message to them: pack it in! God deliberately chooses the weak and foolish to shame the strong and supposedly wise. True wisdom is found in the foolishness of the cross, and it demands humility that reflects the “mind of Christ.”

2. Purity, Unity, and Church discipline

The Corinthians were a proper mess, tolerating gross sin and even suing each other in public courts! Paul tells them the church must be pure and that such purity requires discipline. Sin has a terrible habit of spreading and defiling everyone. Public squabbles undermine the gospel to outsiders. Paul says they need to sort their house out. When sin is running rampant in the church, you need to remove the one in sin. When there are trivial disagreements, resolve them internally, for the sake of the gospel’s reputation. It’s better to be wronged than to drag Jesus’ name through the mud.

3. Love Trumps Everything

Here’s the big one. Paul spends several chapters on Christian freedom – can you eat that pork joint? Can you do A, B or C? His answer is simple: love is more important than knowledge. You might be free to do something, but if it causes a weaker brother or sister to stumble, then don’t do it! Your freedom isn’t for showing off; it’s for serving others and advancing the gospel. This applies to everything, from how we use our money to how we exercise our spiritual gifts.

This is what the famous “love chapter” is about. Chapter 13 isn’t just for weddings. Paul tells the Corinthians their flashy spiritual gifts are useless without love. Love is patient, kind, not boastful – it’s the very measure of spiritual maturity. That’s why he goes on to talk about intelligibility in public worship; everything must be understandable. If people can’t grasp what’s being said or done, it can’t build them up, and it cannot draw unbelievers to Christ. If we love people, we will want to help them understand.

4. The Resurrection: The Reason We Bother

Paul finishes with the resurrection. It isn’t just a nice story; it’s the historically verifiable bedrock of our faith. If Jesus didn’t physically rise, then our faith is pointless, the Apostles were liars, and we’re still in our sin. We’d be better off just eating and drinking, because there’s no point to the Christian life.

But because Jesus did rise, our future is guaranteed. Our hard work, our sacrifices, our efforts in ministry – they are not in vain. We’ll get new, imperishable bodies, just like Jesus’ glorified body. This glorious hope gives meaning to everything we do now.

in sum

1 Corinthians is a powerful, practical letter. It calls us to live out our identity in Christ through unity, purity, selfless love, and purposeful service, all grounded in the certainty of the resurrection. It’s a reminder that even in the messiest of churches, God is at work, calling us to build His kingdom.