Thirteen weeks on 1 and 2 Corinthians, and we attempt a summary. The thread that keeps returning is Paul's pastoral instinct — not the rigid doctrinearian of some people's Sabbath School memories, but a writer who knows his congregation well and keeps refusing to answer many of the questions they're actually asking. Who's better, Paul or Apollos? Married or single? He sidesteps them, or answers them sideways. What he won't sidestep is what's temporary and what's permanent, what's worth devoting energy to and what isn't. We find ourselves more fond of Paul than we expected — and more aware that the damage done to his reputation says more about how he's been taught than about what he actually wrote.

"False teacher" is an accusation easy to throw around, but who gets to decide? The receiver of a teaching is not always the best judge of whether it was false — or even whether it was worthwhile. Paul's concern in 2 Corinthians 11 is real (charlatans do exist), but surely there are many people earnestly sharing "the gospel" as they believe it to be true, while being labeled "false" by others? Even within Adventism, many cherished theological ideas began as thoughts considered false by the communities the pioneers came out of. The episode ends with a challenge of introspection: usually we look out there for false prophets, but Paul in chapter 13 is willing to consider the possibility that he himself might have failed the test.

Paul tells the Corinthians that since they excel in so many things — faith, knowledge, enthusiasm, love — they should excel also in giving. It's an interesting framing: giving as something you can be genuinely good at. We sit with why generosity can feel uncomfortable to discuss in church, and explore a real tension in the passage between giving proportionally — sustainable, allows you to keep giving — and giving with reckless generosity, which seems more in the spirit of self-sacrificial love. Which kind of giving does Paul actually have in mind?