1 Corinthians 16:22 is Paul’s closing warning that anyone who does not love the Lord Jesus Christ is under a serious judgment, paired with a short Aramaic-style cry for Jesus to come back. The verse is less a threat hurled at strangers than a heartfelt declaration from an apostle who wants his readers to take their love for Christ seriously. Paul wrote it near the end of his first letter to the church in Corinth, adding it in his own handwriting.
If any man doesn’t love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. Come, Lord!
1 Corinthians 16:22 (WEB)
What 1 Corinthians 16:22 Means
The first half of the verse sets a clear dividing line. Paul is not talking about people who struggle with doubt, who love Jesus imperfectly, or who are still learning to trust him. He is talking about a settled refusal to love Jesus at all, a heart that has no real affection for him. In that case Paul says the person is “accursed,” which in the Bible means set apart under God’s judgment, cut off from the blessing that flows from him.
The second half shifts from warning to hope. “Come, Lord!” is a prayer for Christ’s return. The Greek phrase is “Maranatha,” a term the earliest Christians seem to have used in worship and prayer, and Paul keeps it in its original form. The verse does not promise that anyone who fails to love Jesus perfectly will be lost, and it does not claim to map out who is in or out. It sets love for Christ at the center of Christian life and ends with an eager longing for his coming.
The Context of 1 Corinthians 16:22
First Corinthians was written by Paul, the apostle who founded the church in Corinth, to a congregation that was divided, proud, and confused about several matters of belief and conduct. Much of the letter addresses quarrels over leadership, questions about marriage and food, and disorder in worship. Paul was writing to people who knew the gospel but were often living as though their own preferences mattered more than Christ.
The verse sits in the final paragraph of the letter, just after Paul’s instructions about giving and his plans to visit. Greetings from several churches and friends follow, with a request for a holy kiss, then Paul takes the pen himself to add his signature. Read in that setting, the warning about not loving the Lord feels like a loving final appeal from a pastor who wants the whole church to be united around Jesus.
Key Phrases in 1 Corinthians 16:22
John 14:15
If you love me, keep my commandments.
(WEB)
Jesus links love for himself with obedience to his commands, showing that affection for the Lord is not a vague feeling but something that shapes how we live. Reading this alongside 1 Corinthians 16:22 helps clarify that love for Christ is the heartbeat of faithful discipleship.
Revelation 22:20
He who testifies these things says, “Yes, I come quickly.” Amen! Yes, come, Lord Jesus.
(WEB)
This verse closes the Bible with the same kind of prayer that Paul uses, a longing for Jesus to return. Reading the two together shows that the early church’s hope for Christ’s coming runs from the first letters to the last page of Scripture.
A Short Prayer From 1 Corinthians 16:22
Lord Jesus, I confess that my love for you is often divided, shared with my own comforts, plans, and fears. Search my heart and show me where I have grown cold toward you. Make my affection for you deep and steady, so that you are truly the one I cherish above all else. Teach me to trust you when the road is hard and to live with your return in view. Come, Lord, and make all things new, and until that day, keep me close to you. Amen.
