New Testament Reading Plan: Week 11



Week 11:

Acts 19 starts Paul's third missionary journey (53-57 A.D.).  One stop was at Ephesus.  Because of the message that Paul preached, there was great threat to the current culture (including the financial livelihood of some craftsmen who made idols related to Artemis).  In fact a riot almost happened due to the nature of Paul’s (and the other disciples’) message.

Day 2:   1 Corinthians 1-4
The 1st letter to the Corinthian church was written around 55 A.D.  This happened after Paul had started the Corinthian church on his 2nd missionary journey around 50 – 52 A.D.  Paul also visited Corinth on his 3rd missionary journey.
Paul had written a previous letter (see 1 Corinthians 5:9) to the Corinthians but that letter has been lost.  So this is really the 2nd letter but the 1st one that we have in writing.  Paul wrote this letter as he did other letters to address issues that had cropped up in the Corinthian church.
In these first chapters, Paul is dealing with the issue of unity and harmony in the church.  We should have unity around what Christ did for us, not around an individual person.  1 Corinthians 1:17 (MSG – The Message paraphrase)
17  God didn't send me [Paul] out to collect a following for myself, but to preach the Message of what he has done, collecting a following for him [Christ]. And he didn't send me to do it with a lot of fancy rhetoric of my own, lest the powerful action at the center—Christ on the Cross—be trivialized into mere words.

Day 3:   1 Corinthians 5-8
In this passage, Paul deals with the issues of:  1) lawsuits among Christians;  2) sexual immorality;  3)  prostitution and marriage;  4) commitment to Christ and sensitivity to other believers.
Note that as Paul deals with these issues, he tells the Corinthian believers not to associate with sexually immoral people.  He is clear in 1Corinthians 5:10 that he is NOT referring to unbelievers.  If we were to disassociate ourselves from unbelievers, how can we tell them of God’s salvation?  However, we shouldn’t ignore un-Christlike behavior from a believer.  We need to be ready to correct, in love, this worldly behavior for the sake of spiritual unity.
 
Day 4:   1 Corinthians 9-11
In the remaining chapters of 1 Corinthians, Paul talks about:  1) worship;  2) role of women;  3) the Lord’s Supper;  4) spiritual gifts;  5) the resurrection.
See 1 Corinthians 9:19-23.  Paul talks about becoming all things to all people.  He did not compromise his beliefs and did not sin.  But today, we might say he entered their culture.  He didn’t make them become like him but he put himself in a position where he could share the good news with them.   1 Corinthians 9:22 (MSG) 22  “... I didn't take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I've become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life.”  We call this being missional – living for the mission of Christ to “make disciples.”
Remember as you read Paul was addressing specific issues that had come up in the Corinthian church and therefore, when you read about women covering their head, he is saying that for a very specific reason and this does not apply to women in today’s church.
Explanation about the dialog related to the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:17-34) using a footnote from the Life Application Study Bible:  When the Lord’s Supper was celebrated in the early church, it included a feast or fellowship meal followed by celebration of Communion.  In the church in Corinth, the fellowship meal had become a time when some ate and drank excessively while others went hungry.  There was little sharing and caring.  This certainly did not demonstrate the unity and life that should characterize the church, nor was it a preparation for Communion.  Paul condemned these actions and reminded the church of the real purpose of the Lord’s Supper.

Chapter 12 deals with spiritual gifts.  All spiritual gifts come from God and should be used for God’s glory.  Gifts not used for God’s glory are not from God.
Spiritual gifts from God should be used with love so after talking about the various gifts, Paul talks about love in chapter 13.  Then in chapter 14, Paul talks about the gift of speaking in tongues.  This is not bad.  However, if someone is speaking in tongues and unbelievers can’t understand the good news, it is bad.  Our spiritual gifts are meant to build up the church.  If they are not, it is a detriment to the church.

Day 6:   1 Corinthians 15-16            
1Corinthians 15, at least parts of it are used in some funeral services because it brings hope.  This chapter brings good news about the resurrection.  Jesus died, was buried and rose again according to what the Scripture said.  Paul proves Jesus’ resurrection by telling who Jesus appeared to which included 500 people all at once, most of which were still alive at the writing of this letter and could refute that if it was not true.  1 Corinthians 15:14 says that if Jesus did not really rise from the grave, Paul’s preaching is useless and the faith of the believers is useless and worthless.  And those who have already died are gone forever.  But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead (verse 20)!
1 Corinthians concludes with some greetings.  Paul tells the Corinthian believers, “Stay awake, stand firm in your faith, be brave, be strong.  Everything should be done in love.”  (1 Corinthians 16:13-14)

Day 7:  rest