1 Corinthians 16 is an easy passage to skip over. It is not filled with “devotional” content that can be written on a pillow or put in an Instagram bio like much of the rest of this letter. In fact, it is quite boring and logistical. It is a reminder that 1 Corinthians is actually a letter: a piece of correspondence between Paul and a community he loves dearly! It has greetings, salutations, reminders, and travel plans.
In the midst of all that, Paul gives us a nugget for the church universal in verse 14: “Do everything in love.” This is not just a command by Paul to the church, but the heartbeat of Paul’s ministry with every single community he encounters.
In his book “Paul: A Biography,” N.T. Wright shows how Paul’s letters reveal Paul’s heart for the church:
“When [Paul] says he was gentle as a nurse in Thessalonica, we believe him. When he writes the poem about love, we know that the Corinthians would have recognized a self-portrait. When he tells the Philippians, over and over, to rejoice and celebrate, they know that, given half a chance, he would be the life and soul of the party. He modeled what he taught, and what he taught was the utter, exuberant, self-giving love of the Messiah” (Wright, 418).
To close his letter, Paul didn’t try to teach on one more doctrine or prove one more point, but he chose to love those around him and invite them into the greatest story ever told. When the Corinthians read the command to “do everything in love,” it was not from some far off moral and religious authority, but from their closest friend, Paul, who showed them his love in every single word, action, and prayer.
Reflection:
- Read 1 Corinthians 16 and try to look for Paul’s heart for the church in Corinth. How does reading the passage in this way transform how you see the text?
- How might life look different if we “did everything in love”? Where can we start small on this challenge?