Jesus prayed for unity in the Church right before he went to the cross.

“I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one.

“I in them and you in me.

“May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. ” John 17:20-

This fervent prayer could only be answered one way – through his followers. The way the Apostles and disciples would show the world’s people that God loved them, was by loving and being united with each other. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians told them how to do this.

“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 14:1

It was a risky business, entrusting the kingdom of God to weak, sinful people and it created a lot of work for people like Paul who constantly instructed the wayward followers of Jesus.

The Gift of Tongues

Speaking in tongues, or the heavenly language, was a gift from the Holy Spirit. He didn’t give it to every believer, but those who received it were blessed by it and Paul was grateful to have received this gift himself.

“I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.” 1 Corinthians 14:18

But the gift of tongues mostly benefitted the person who practiced it. In his letter Paul asked people to speak so everyone in the room could understand them. If they were led to speak in tongues, Paul wanted them to have an interpreter so the congregation could comprehend the message the Holy Spirit was sending.

“Now brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? . . . So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.” 1 Corinthians 14:6, 9

Paul valued the gift of speaking in tongues, but when he was with others he spoke so they would know what he was saying.

“In the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.” 1 Corinthians 14:19

Helping Unbelievers

Paul wanted unbelievers who came into a church meeting to understand what was being said so they could respond intelligently.

“So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, as the secret of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, ‘God is really among you!’” 1 Corinthians 14:23-25

The gift of prophecy was the Spirit-led proclamation of the Word of God. It usually did not entail prophesying future events; it was truth applied to the particular situations of people who gathered to hear it.

An unbeliever who heard the word preached intelligibly could apply truth to his own situation and begin a journey of faith.

Keeping Order

There must have been some disorder in the way the Corinthian church conducted its services because Paul felt he had to address it. He told them to organize their hymn singing, preaching, and prophesying in such a way that the whole church could hear it and be edified by it. They should limit the number of people who spoke in tongues to two or three and only do it if there were interpreters present to convey the message to the rest of the congregation.

“For God is not a God of disorder but of peace – as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.” 1 Corinthians 14:33

Women in the Church

Paul contradicted himself a bit in the next verses. In 1 Corinthians 11:5 he instructed women in how to dress when they prayed and prophesied in the church, and in 1 Corinthians 14:39, he tells both the sisters and brothers to be eager to prophesy and speak in tongues, as long as they do it in an orderly way.

But in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Paul says,

“Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.”

Since the topic of this section is keeping order in the church, it is likely that there were some disorderly women in the church in Corinth. Paul commended women for their contributions to the church in other letters, so it is unlikely that he meant this admonition to be applied to every woman in every church. Common sense tells us that after the Holy Spirit distributes the full spectrum of spiritual gifts to both men and women, he expects them to use them in the body of Christ.

Corinth was not the only place where women had a hard time knowing how to conduct themselves in a public meeting. In cultures where women are kept behind closed doors and not allowed to participate in civic life, they are used to chattering all day about whatever comes to their minds. They rely upon their husbands to clarify things in the outside world for them.

These Corinthian women hadn’t learned yet how to sit quietly during a meeting and talk with their husbands when they got home. Teaching women to be quiet in meetings was part of bringing order to the church.

The Hope of Resurrection

The resurrection was an essential part of the gospel of Christ and many people saw Jesus after it happened. Peter saw him in Jerusalem, as did the other apostles. He appeared to five hundred believers at once, possibly when he was with his disciples in Galilee after he rose from the dead. He appeared to his brother James in private, and finally he appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus.

Only two eyewitnesses were needed to make the legal case that Jesus came back from the grave; Paul was able to cite hundreds.

If the believers in Corinth were convinced that Jesus had risen from the dead, Paul wondered why some of them argued that there was no resurrection for dead people. They had a practice of being baptized for the dead; why would they do that if there was no life after death?

No one today knows why the Corinthians were baptized for the dead. The practice is not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture and Paul didn’t define it in this passage. Whatever baptism for the dead meant, it didn’t trouble Paul and he did not forbid it. He used it to help the Corinthians reach the logical conclusion that they actually did believe in the resurrection of the dead.

If they believed in Christ, they also believed in his resurrection.

“Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep . . . For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.” 1 Corinthians 15:20, 22-23

The Resurrection Body

“But someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?’” 1 Corinthians 15:35

The body that is buried is like the seed of the body that will be resurrected. A seed that falls into the ground is nothing like the plant that springs from it, yet they have exactly the same DNA.

“So it will be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” 1 Corinthians 15:42-44

Knowing that we will be raised to eternal life in an imperishable body, takes the fear out of death. Paul, who frequently faced death for the sake of the gospel quoted Hosea 13:14 to keep his spirits up.

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

Christ has set his followers free from death and with that hope in our hearts, nothing should be able to stop us.

“Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:57-58