Ep 288 – 1 Corinthians 14:26-40

Order versus chaos. Peace rather than confusion. Paul wasn’t asking for much. After all, he was addressing the members of the local congregation in Corinth. So, why was he having to spend so much time dealing with all the disunity and unnecessary disputes going on with the fellowship? Because they were becoming a real problem. And in 1 Corinthians 14:26-40, Paul calls for order in the house – the house of God. Now, this is another one of those passages over which there has been more than a little debate and disagreement. And, as usual, we need to make sure we stick with the context. If not, we can get off into the high weeds and find ourselves reaching conclusions that Paul never intended or establishing precedents for the global church that he never meant to go beyond the particular circumstances taking place in Corinth. Yes, there will be principles we can apply, but we must be careful not to infer things that were not part of Paul’s original agenda. His intent, as always, was to build up the local body of Christ. He was calling the Corinthians to use their better judgment and not let their actions and attitudes be driven by pride, selfishness or behavior that he would deem foolish and harmful to the body of Christ.