Life in the Kingdom of God is life lived in and for community. This principle guides Paul as he writes his first letter to the fractious, class-conscious, and sometimes-unruly Christians in Corinth. The apostle calls them to consider how their actions - here and now - reflect the realities of God's rule, which will be unveiled fully only at the end of time. This difficult struggle to bring the eternal realities of the Kingdom into the daily grind of life is a problem as great today as it was in the first century.
Chris Hutson is Associate Professor of New Testament at Hood Theological Seminary. He teaches adult Bible classes at the Central Church of Christ in Salisbury, North Carolina.