Seeking the truth...

I have finally concluded my study through 1 Corinthians, so now it is time to write some commentary reviews! While for the blog posts I relied on just two commentaries, in the past I have extensively used two others and will include those in my reviews as well. These are not the only top notch 1 Corinthians commentaries on the market. Fee and Garland also come to mind, but I have not spent as much time with them as the four below. As always, please check out my Commentary Series Overview post for details on the various series these commentaries come from. If you've been reading my posts then it will be no surprise that I place Thiselton's commentary at the head of the class. I do not possess enough superlatives to describe this commentary. It's a one stop shop for all of your interpretive needs. One of the most helpful features is his translation. Contrary to most commentary translations, he did not produce a literal translation of the text, but made a very dynami...

You can read the text here . Paul concludes the letter by addressing a few related concerns. One of the major goals of his mission was to provide a substantial gift from the Gentile churches he founded to the poor Christians in Jerusalem, as an expression of their unity.[1] Clearly he has already spoken with the Corinthians about the collection, and he encourages them to save up for it, setting aside their excess money each Sunday. As part of their participation Paul offers to have one of the Corinthians travel with them to deliver the gift. He really wants to see them engaged. Paul then tells of his travel plans. He firmly plans to come visit them soon, and stay for a while. However, he has very fruitful work in Ephesus which he does not want to cut short. In the meantime, he is sending Timothy to them. Clearly they would rather have Apollos, but Apollos isn't willing to go visit them at that time, so he commends Timothy to the Corinthians and encourage them to take care of hi...

You can read the text  here . Paul moves now to tackle a key objective raised by some in the Corinthian congregation. A physical resurrected body seems ridiculous to them, as they see them as little more than resuscitated corpses. Paul has no tolerance for such nonsense and disdain. He swiftly corrects them giving them the analogy of a seed being planted. Our bodies when they are buried will be like seeds going into the ground. What springs up is not a seed but a whole plant, something far more glorious.  It has continuity with the seed, a wheat seed doesn't grow up into an apple tree. However, it surpasses it in glory. The same will be true of our resurrected bodies. They will be far more than reanimated corpses. In our case our bodies prone to sin and decay will be transformed into immortal bodies that are animated by the Spirit and take on her character.[1] We are sown in the weakness and earthiness of our forebearers, however, Jesus serves as the template for our resur...