Taking Stock

1 Corinthians is a letter that Paul probably didn't want to write. He knew his friends were struggling as a young church. He had a big job keeping the Corinthians on the right path even as forces both outside and internally worked to pull them away. At times we can sense his frustration, accompanied by his deep love for them.  In chapter three, Paul very directly confronts the Corinthian church as to their spiritual condition. Had they grown at all or were they going backward? Did they understand how God’s economy works, how his Kingdom grows, what the players’ roles were, and on what to build a foundation? In Paul’s strong but loving questions, he challenges the Corinthians to examine themselves to see if course corrections were needed in their lives. In many ways, not much has changed with each generation of the church. The same questions Paul asked of the Corinthians are good questions to ask of ourselves, to assess where we are and what our understanding is of how God builds His church.