1 Corinthians is Paul’s most varied letter with the apostle dealing with a number of different subjects. Some of these are in response to questions that he has been asked to address by the church at Corinth whilst others arise from his own concerns about them. The single theme holding the whole letter together, however, is the calling to Christians live our present lives in a manner that anticipates as much as possible our future resurrection. This is why the letter reaches its climax in Paul’s lengthy treatment of the Resurrection in the fifty eight verses of Chapter 15. Christians can sometimes substitute ‘the sure and certain hope of the resurrection’ for ‘the vague sense that it will all pan out in the end’. 1 Corinthians, shows us, by contrast, that being really clear about biblical eschatology (i.e. how God is going to make everything end up) and especially resurrection is really vital for giving us clear direction on how we should be living in the present and especially about the primacy of love.
