Tom writes:

Paul has spent this letter casting a vision of a mature community. Mature believers come together to manifest the magnificence of the Trinity. Members don’t draw attention to themselves, they don’t vie for position or put one another down. Instead a mature church organises herself around the person and practice of Jesus; in purity and humility and - most of all - in that elusive pattern of relationship we call love. When addressing this Paul had to tackle some tricky topics. We still find it hard to talk freely about how to respond to major sin in church, about what advice we should give to slaves about the level of commitment we are expected to make to one another. Indeed this letter has reminded us that the pursuit of real maturity can smell at times like a long-drop toilet. But don’t see this as a negative vision. Glory and delight abound in a maturity that brings us into fellowship with Jesus; we taste and know the honouring of Holy Spirit among us. We get to live like ones already enriched in every way, not lacking any gift. We get to be the New Testament temple. Oh, the joy of a local church when it even gets close to this vision of magnificence.

But here in this last chapter Paul zooms out to show that local churches don’t stand alone. No church can really be independent. Churches should both support other churches and sit under the leadership of external leaders. The picture of united diversity within the local church should also be the picture of how local churches relate to one another. This is done through receiving other teachers in and through sending money out. These practices aren’t just done off the cuff - they are intentionally built into every member’s week. On the first day of the month each Corinthian is invited to contribute to the collection for poorer believers in Jerusalem. And so every saint’s life testifies not only to being part of one body but part of an entire movement all across the globe. These actions don’t just spread resources, but also draw all of God’s people together in interdependent loving relationships. These kinds of relationships are what Holy Spirit loves to bless because they speak unambiguously of the united diversity of the Trinity. In our internet age there are so many ways we can invest in cross-church relationships. Let’s ask Holy Spirit which ones we should pursue today.

Question for reflection

You are an intrinsic part of God’s family that stretches all across the globe and all across the centuries. What does that mean to you?

1 Corinthians 16 - Thursday 6th June