What Christ left to Paul to reveal. True Christians are to be imitators of the apostles' ordinances - here meaning traditions, i.e. the doctrines and practices they taught, including behaviour, aims, attitude, love, reverence, separation from the world, working for Christ, and living with an eye to eternity.

At Corinth the Lord's Supper was ruined and invalidated by being confused with a 'love feast'. Paul shows how we should approach the ordinance and what we should derive from it. It is a deeply moving 'proclamation' of Calvary, and either insincerity or absence leads to chastisement from the Lord.

The purpose of spiritual gifts - revealing the New Testament (and authenticating the spokesmen). Paul lists them, with ongoing spiritual gifts and their features. Never for personal indulgence, they bring God's Word to all. Here also is why the church is gloriously called the body of Christ.

The Apostle speaks of an individual congregation as a 'body', showing the divine design and the wide differences in the contribution of members. If a church is a preacher only, it is ultimately doomed; that is if there are not roles for all, and no mutual care and dependence.

Only the Christ of Calvary could have composed and inspired this glorious chapter (penned by Paul) about Christian love, its qualities, its strength, and its eternal crowning. Here are our aims in the experience of love, and why it is so much greater than faith and hope.

Amidst clear teaching on the limited purpose of the temporary gift of tongues-speaking, and the paramount place of understanding in worship, Paul reveals the four 'departments' or objectives of all teaching and ministry, and the nature of evangelism. Here also prophecy is defined.

When Paul says everyone had a psalm, doctrine, tongue, etc, for worship, he obviously refers to the recognised leaders of the church, as we prove here. These are his inspired directions for orderly worship that includes the full biblical 'agenda', and glorifies Christ.

The Cross would have disappeared from history as a terminal failure, had not the Resurrection shown its significance and accomplishments. Christ must save soul and body for God's original plan to be brought to pass - a godly host living bodily on a glorified earth.

The purposes of Christ's resurrection. Here also are aspects of the tyranny and ugliness of death which the human mind does not like to think of, to show the scale and magnificence of Christ's victory over it on our behalf. The present and eternal benefits of knowing Him.