True Spirituality: The Challenge of 1 Corinthians for the Twenty-First-Century Church

What does it mean to be a truly spiritual Christian?

At a time when there is no shortage of answers competing for our attention, how do we know what really is from God?

This book looks for answers in the Bible, focusing on Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth. The Corinthians really thought they had arrived. By contrast, Paul was unspiritual, ignorant, weak and foolish.

Paul writes a strongly corrective letter, not simply to defend his reputation but to restore them to true Christian faith. He picks up the words that they themselves use and says, 'This knowledge, power and wisdom you claim to have are not the real thing. What you call spirituality is worldly. You are being directed by the mindset of the non-Christian world rather than by the Holy Spirit.'

That challenge still applies. Paul's appeal is God's appeal to us. We too need to repent of inadequate understandings of what it means to live by the Spirit and instead embrace true spirituality.