Look at the Book

Did God choose us for our connections, influence, or intelligence? No, God saves in a way that abolishes all human boasting.

Paul builds his case for unity in the Corinthian church by piling seven arguments on top of one another. How do those arguments fit together?

Eloquence and cleverness cannot deliver us from God’s wrath. Only the death of Christ on behalf of sinners can turn condemnation into justification.

Why does the same gospel message offend some and delight others? Because the message of Christ crucified lands only on those whom God has called.

In wisdom, God hides his plan of salvation from the self-proclaimed wise of this age. In grace, he reveals the power of the cross to those he calls.

What makes Paul so unwilling to add eloquence to the word of the cross? The apparent folly of the cross proves its actual power to those who are saved.

Paul was taught by the Holy Spirit — but does that mean God told him exactly what to write? God preserved his truth through Paul’s personality.

As Paul discipled the Corinthian church, he never intended to be their celebrity pastor. He aimed at something far greater: preaching a powerful cross.

When Paul looked back on his work of establishing the Corinthian church, he thanked God for keeping him from baptizing too many believers. Why?

In the face of church factions, Paul exhorts members of Christ’s body to focus on the unique work Jesus has done through his death and resurrection.

The Corinthian believers tried to split into fan clubs, but they never belonged to their favorite teachers. In Christ, their teachers belonged to them.

How can we know that God will keep us until the end? Because his faithfulness links his call to our final glorification with unbreakable power.

In this age, the Christian life is a waiting life. But we wait full of confidence that Christ will return and bring us into our eternal home.

How do the Corinthian church’s riches in word and knowledge serve to confirm the testimony of Christ? Their beautiful speech shows a beautiful Savior.

Grace is God’s favor toward us, his power for us, and his gifts to us. What kind of response does this stunning display of God’s goodness call for?

Paul’s supernatural gratitude came from his wholehearted love for God and his work among the Corinthian church. How can we become thankful like him?

Why should Christians wait confidently to the end? Because not only has God equipped us with many gifts, but he will preserve us in his faithfulness.

Because God calls all Christians, all Christians call on God. Our one Lord and one confession unite us with all believers across time and space.

When we became Christians, what happened to us? By calling us from darkness to light, God gave us an everlasting reason to boast in Jesus Christ.

Before launching into his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul describes this local church as sanctified. What does that mean, for them and for us?

How did a church come to exist in the carnal, immoral, idolatrous city of Corinth, and why did Paul love it enough to write it a letter?

Sometimes we can hear a name so often that we forget what it was originally meant to communicate. What does Paul mean by “Christ”?

When Paul writes to the Corinthians, he writes as a man who once persecuted the church, who then encountered Christ, and who now writes the words of God.

When Philemon walks away from Paul’s letter, what kind of response does Paul want to see — mere compliance or a heart full of faith in God’s promises?

What do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke have to do with Philemon and his runaway slave? Paul shows Philemon what gospel-shaped friendships look like.

Alongside all the other ways Paul encourages Philemon to love, he also adds greetings from Epaphras, a man Philemon would have deeply respected.

In seeking a welcome for the runaway slave, Onesimus, Paul banks on his history with Philemon, and risks his own resources, modeling radical Christian love.

Reading God’s providence rightly takes great faith in the power and wisdom of God, and communicating it kindly takes great humility. Paul displays both.

While the New Testament never explicitly abolishes slavery, it is full of teachings and commands that revolutionized the master-slave relationship.

Paul wanted Philemon to welcome Onesimus back — but did it matter how? Paul’s radical reasoning has big implications for Onesimus’s status as a slave.

Although Paul refuses to command Philemon, he strengthens his appeal with seven personal reasons why his dear friend should receive Onesimus like a brother.

Jesus commanded us to love one another, but Paul seems to imply that commanding diminishes love. So, which does love prefer — commands or appeals?

Paul knows what he wants Philemon to do, but he chooses not to command it. Why? He wants something deeper than rote obedience: genuine love.

Paul could have commanded Philemon, with all the force of an apostle, to treat his runaway slave with love. So, why does Paul prefer to appeal to Philemon’s faith?

How does Christian love touch and refresh all our relationships? Springing up from personal delight in Jesus, love overflows to do good to others for his sake.

Why does Paul think of Philemon as the sort of man who would welcome back a runaway slave? Because he has heard of Philemon’s refreshing faith.

When Paul wrote to Philemon on a personal matter, he intended the entire church — including us — to receive grace and peace through his words.

Paul is an apostle of Jesus Christ, with all the authority that commission entails. But as he writes to Philemon, he approaches as a friend.

Why did Paul write his letter to Philemon? A delicate matter between a master and his slave becomes teaching that nourishes the worldwide church.

A strong message rings through Paul’s letter to Titus like the toll of a great bell: Let Christians devote themselves to good works in the grace of God.

When good doctrine produces good works, the church flourishes — but dissent and controversies cause division. That worthlessness needs to be stopped.

God’s message of salvation is utterly trustworthy. But what should his promises produce in those who have received them by faith?

By justifying us through Christ’s blood, God has made us heirs of eternal life. But what is that life, and why does it matter?

When we think of God’s grace in salvation, how does justification by faith lead to our adoption as children of God and the gift of eternal life?

When the Bible tells us to be renewed, how is that supposed to happen? The Holy Spirit works in us to make us taste and enjoy God’s great love for us.

Does regeneration come from washing, or does washing come from regeneration? When God gives us new life, he also makes us clean by his power.

Why do our good works in Christ please God when even our best works outside Christ added to our guilt? John Piper explores the insufficiency of works to save.

Mercy, regeneration, justification, grace, inheritance, hope, eternal life — salvation is full of wonders for us to study and enjoy.

For Christians, the word “saved” is so common that we might easily overlook its sobering implications. From what danger did God rescue us?

The God who devised the plan of salvation through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection must be a certain kind of God. Come and see his kindness.