1 Corinthians 3:16-23 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple. Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future — all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.
The beautiful words in today's focus were written by the Holy Spirit through the functioning of Paul's temple. The Spirit tells us that all things, all possibilities, all wisdom, all knowledge, all understanding, all comfort, ALL THINGS are ours because we are of Christ, IN CHRIST, AND CHRIST IS OF GOD. We are not just part of God: we are in the heart of God because of Jesus Christ our Lord, the bright and shining star of heaven. We know his exalted position because Jesus said, I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star. (Revelation 22:16) When we don't truly understand or accept by faith our prominent position in God, we sometimes try to understand God and his domain with the knowledge and understanding of the world around us. In doing this, we place God within our physical reality and awareness, sometimes making him a superman, a powerful superhero; better than we are, but much like us, just with more ability to conquer evil. But in reality, none of us can image the future in God's presence. We do not know what we will be like then. We cannot even image the environment of heaven: the landscape, the beauty, the brightness, the glory, the sound. But what we do know now is the presence of the Holy Spirit within us. He tells us of the altogether lovely one, Jesus Christ. He reveals, manifests, Christ in us. The Spirit of God will always be with us, even after our biological death, for He is the one who will raise us from death. The Spirit who is the life-giver, comforts our hearts with the words of God. Paul tells the church at Colossia that he was commissioned by God to tell the saints the mysteries of God: To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) Paul reinforces the idea of God within us to the Corinthians by saying, Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? Or, to be clear, Don't you know who you are? You are a redeemed child of God, born out of season, not in the natural way, but through the Spirit of God. He has created you, made you a new creature, not out of the dust of this world, but out of the blood of Jesus Christ. His life, his nature, flows through you because of the Spirit of God within you, guiding you, comforting you, teaching you the plan of God.
Christian friend, today the Spirit says, Do not deceive yourselves. Your life does not depend on your super human wisdom, knowledge, or understanding of the ways of this world or the ways of God. This is not how you know God, for the wisdom and knowledge of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. Even in the Old Testament we read, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. (Isaiah 55:8) Christians sometimes attempt to mix their natural wisdom and knowledge with the wisdom and knowledge of God. People want to become wise in this world so that they might be better instruments, witnesses, for God. This mixture of God and man will always fall apart, for the wisdom and knowledge of men remain caught in finiteness, in this temporary existence, in this physical awareness. Even the greatness of the universe, the stars and galaxies, does not tell us anything about the heart of God, his desire to fellowship with mankind. If we try to find God in our finiteness, our existence, our physical environment, we will always be mixing foolishness with God's all-powerful, all-present, all-knowing reality. The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile. Of course, unredeemed man tries his best to understand existence, our life on Earth: How did things evolve, where did life begin, what is life, is life unique to this planet, and a plethora of questions? The natural mind swims in this pool of investigating, questioning, seeking to know the answers to the mysteries of all things. But how is it with God, the Creator of all that is and was and will be? As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” Rather than seeking God, resting in the knowledge He exists, mankind relies upon worldly wisdom and knowledge, following a circuitous path without beginning or ending. As Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthian church, So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18) To find the wisdom of God, we must look to the Spirit within, who will reveal divine truth to each one who asks in faith believing, each one who comes in the name of our precious Lord, Jesus Christ.
All things are yours, even the insights of Paul, Apollos, Cephas, or an understanding of life itself, of death, the present, and the future. In the Spirit's presence within our temples resides all knowledge, all wisdom, all understanding, all comfort. We who are IN CHRIST are temples of the Most Holy God. He in us, we in him is the marvelous reality of salvation, total separation from sin. WE ARE NOW PEOPLE OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD! How does this translate into the real world where we live? How do we know the Spirit lives in us in a vital, visceral way? First, and most importantly, we know the Spirit abides within us because God's Word promises this in many places. John wrote: Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. (1 John 3:24) We and others will know we have the Spirit within by how much we love others. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. (1 John 4:16) Our love reveals God. If we love little, God is revealed little. If we love much, even our enemies, God is revealed much. Does this answer all the questions man has about existence? No, but love does answer the questions about real life, the present, and the future. Yes, our imagination stops at the door of our existence. We are not very good about knowing the future with God. None of us can paint a picture of that existence. John said, Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2) But we do know that God is love, and that love has been planted deep within our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We know we will be where love is, and that place will be comforting with no more sorrow, no more tears. We know it will be warm with the light and radiance of God shining on us. No longer pilgrims and strangers in a foreign land, finally, we will know we are home. The wilderness is over, the Promised Land is ours.
Monday, April 25, 2016
Monday, April 18, 2016
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 Jesus, the Sure Foundation!
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
We can build on no other foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. This foundation was laid from the beginning of time: God would make men and women vessels of honor through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus, The Lamb of God, remains the sure foundation, sacrificed for the redemption of men and women, freeing them from the consequences of sin: eternal death. Accepting this plan by placing our trust in Jesus' works and not our own makes us temples of the Holy Spirit. Our vessels are holy because of the blood spilt on the cross. We vicariously accept that blood as our cleansing from sin. With the washing of blood, we become the temples of God, where He dwells through the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. This plan is to make us a new creation. Peter talks about Jesus as the chief cornerstone, the stone which the builders rejected and goes on to say: But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:7-10) We have been bought by a high price, the blood of Christ. We are no longer our own, but now his new creatures, his children, in his family forever. Knowing he can lay no other foundation than the sure foundation that was laid from the beginning, Paul is careful to build upon that reality, encouraging others to build upon God's divine plan. He knows all other ideas added to God's plan of salvation will lead to destruction, causing death, not life. Plans of salvation that include man's works, his efforts, illustrated by material which was once alive--wood, hay or straw--will be burned up. Jesus Christ and his works, illustrated by materials that are inert, stable, substantial--gold, silver, costly stones--pleases God. All other plans of pleasing God are attempts to enter his domain through another gate other than Jesus Christ, who is the gate to God's presence and eternal life. Jesus said, I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. (John 10:9) Yes, a man of faith will be saved Paul says, even if deceived by attempting to work his way to heaven through his own ideas and works: he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames, because of the mercy of God. Yet this man, though saved, has missed out on fulfilling God's plan and affecting lives for Christ.
Jesus was born of flesh, known as the Son of Man, a perfect man, for He lived by faith in God, to please the Father. He said, By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:30) We who are also born of flesh ought to live our lives by faith in God's plan, desiring to please our heavenly Father. We should live with a faith that is energized daily by his Word and through his still small voice, speaking to us. As his children, we should speak faith, act in faith, believing He is guiding us. We should become familiar with the voice of the Comforter, Advocate, Counselor inside us. We should recognize his unction in our souls. Paul's life should encourage us to live a life of faith: he lived by the Spirit's will in his life. Paul said, Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1) We should imitate, as much as we can, Paul's life of dedication to Christ. Paul searched for God with all his heart, wanting to find God in his life more than anything else. His desire was to build upon God's plan, not his own. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11) Paul's basic structure for his life, the skeleton of his life, hinged on God's will and not his own. He wanted to live the life God had in store for him even though it led him through many trials and harsh circumstances. Paul knew that he who loses his life for Christ will find eternal life with God. He placed his life on a sure foundation, one that would exist beyond this temporary life. He wanted the product of his life's work as a builder for God's kingdom to be gold, silver, and costly stones. His life was poured out like a drink offering for the glory of God. We should also willingly be poured out as a drink offering.
Breakfast companions, where are you this morning in your spiritual walk with the Lord? Are you willing to be a drink offering for God's glory? Are you the light that you want to be or are you struggling, constructing your environment around things other than God: wood, hay, and straw? Is the skeleton that holds you up daily God's word? Or are his words something of the past, something to recall, not active and powerful inside you? The self can be very strong: my way, my life, my will. I have only one life to live: I will live it the way I desire. But Christian friends, God asks you to follow his ways, his will: to build your lives on gold, silver, and precious stones. The materials of this transitory world can be very compelling as we journey through this life. Obviously, we have only one life, then it is over. But these acts, experiences, attitudes that seem to have life in them at this time will not hold up on the Day before the Lord. Their transitory nature will be evident in the light, and they will burn. Thanks to the Lord, your life will be saved because of your faith in Jesus Christ, but sadly you will have to escape through the burning structure of your life, a harrowing experience. We all struggle with life; we all struggle with faith. Things happen to us that we don't expect, we don't appreciate, we don't understand. But God has asked us, as Paul's life clearly reveals, to stand firm, to endure to the end, to place our lives entirely in God's hands. As Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus: Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13) This is the faith that pleases God: unadulterated faith. God understands, for Christ took the hard road of a human being; He was known as the Son of Man. We see him in the Garden of Gethsemane, crying out with a loud voice: Do I have to drink the cup of flesh, the pain of life, the pain of death. He said, Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. (Luke 22:42) This is the cry of faith. This is the cry of each of us who live by faith: not my will but yours be done, oh Lord. Be faithful, stand in faith dear friends. God loves you, and He will NEVER ABANDON YOU.
We can build on no other foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. This foundation was laid from the beginning of time: God would make men and women vessels of honor through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus, The Lamb of God, remains the sure foundation, sacrificed for the redemption of men and women, freeing them from the consequences of sin: eternal death. Accepting this plan by placing our trust in Jesus' works and not our own makes us temples of the Holy Spirit. Our vessels are holy because of the blood spilt on the cross. We vicariously accept that blood as our cleansing from sin. With the washing of blood, we become the temples of God, where He dwells through the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. This plan is to make us a new creation. Peter talks about Jesus as the chief cornerstone, the stone which the builders rejected and goes on to say: But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:7-10) We have been bought by a high price, the blood of Christ. We are no longer our own, but now his new creatures, his children, in his family forever. Knowing he can lay no other foundation than the sure foundation that was laid from the beginning, Paul is careful to build upon that reality, encouraging others to build upon God's divine plan. He knows all other ideas added to God's plan of salvation will lead to destruction, causing death, not life. Plans of salvation that include man's works, his efforts, illustrated by material which was once alive--wood, hay or straw--will be burned up. Jesus Christ and his works, illustrated by materials that are inert, stable, substantial--gold, silver, costly stones--pleases God. All other plans of pleasing God are attempts to enter his domain through another gate other than Jesus Christ, who is the gate to God's presence and eternal life. Jesus said, I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. (John 10:9) Yes, a man of faith will be saved Paul says, even if deceived by attempting to work his way to heaven through his own ideas and works: he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames, because of the mercy of God. Yet this man, though saved, has missed out on fulfilling God's plan and affecting lives for Christ.
Jesus was born of flesh, known as the Son of Man, a perfect man, for He lived by faith in God, to please the Father. He said, By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:30) We who are also born of flesh ought to live our lives by faith in God's plan, desiring to please our heavenly Father. We should live with a faith that is energized daily by his Word and through his still small voice, speaking to us. As his children, we should speak faith, act in faith, believing He is guiding us. We should become familiar with the voice of the Comforter, Advocate, Counselor inside us. We should recognize his unction in our souls. Paul's life should encourage us to live a life of faith: he lived by the Spirit's will in his life. Paul said, Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1) We should imitate, as much as we can, Paul's life of dedication to Christ. Paul searched for God with all his heart, wanting to find God in his life more than anything else. His desire was to build upon God's plan, not his own. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11) Paul's basic structure for his life, the skeleton of his life, hinged on God's will and not his own. He wanted to live the life God had in store for him even though it led him through many trials and harsh circumstances. Paul knew that he who loses his life for Christ will find eternal life with God. He placed his life on a sure foundation, one that would exist beyond this temporary life. He wanted the product of his life's work as a builder for God's kingdom to be gold, silver, and costly stones. His life was poured out like a drink offering for the glory of God. We should also willingly be poured out as a drink offering.
Breakfast companions, where are you this morning in your spiritual walk with the Lord? Are you willing to be a drink offering for God's glory? Are you the light that you want to be or are you struggling, constructing your environment around things other than God: wood, hay, and straw? Is the skeleton that holds you up daily God's word? Or are his words something of the past, something to recall, not active and powerful inside you? The self can be very strong: my way, my life, my will. I have only one life to live: I will live it the way I desire. But Christian friends, God asks you to follow his ways, his will: to build your lives on gold, silver, and precious stones. The materials of this transitory world can be very compelling as we journey through this life. Obviously, we have only one life, then it is over. But these acts, experiences, attitudes that seem to have life in them at this time will not hold up on the Day before the Lord. Their transitory nature will be evident in the light, and they will burn. Thanks to the Lord, your life will be saved because of your faith in Jesus Christ, but sadly you will have to escape through the burning structure of your life, a harrowing experience. We all struggle with life; we all struggle with faith. Things happen to us that we don't expect, we don't appreciate, we don't understand. But God has asked us, as Paul's life clearly reveals, to stand firm, to endure to the end, to place our lives entirely in God's hands. As Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus: Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13) This is the faith that pleases God: unadulterated faith. God understands, for Christ took the hard road of a human being; He was known as the Son of Man. We see him in the Garden of Gethsemane, crying out with a loud voice: Do I have to drink the cup of flesh, the pain of life, the pain of death. He said, Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. (Luke 22:42) This is the cry of faith. This is the cry of each of us who live by faith: not my will but yours be done, oh Lord. Be faithful, stand in faith dear friends. God loves you, and He will NEVER ABANDON YOU.
Monday, April 11, 2016
1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Unite in Christian Love
1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly — mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe — as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
We who are IN CHRIST are God’s workers, God's building. We are not our own: we have been bought with the price of Jesus Christ's blood. We know the resurrection has happened, and now we live as Jesus lived, by the Spirit of the living God. In the above focus, Paul addresses a sickness endemic in mankind: We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way. (Isaiah 53:6) In Judges, the Bible says they did as they saw fit, what was right to them. (17:6 & 21:25) Paul in Romans 3:23 reiterates a Bible theme that all have sinned, all have gone their own ways, falling short of the glory of God. Paul declared, No one is righteousness, not even one. Jew and Gentile alike were under sin without Christ. When Paul speaks of spiritual immaturity in the Corinthian church, he is really addressing an attitude, a behavior akin to worldliness, secularism. This rebellious, self-willed attitude was first found in the Garden of Eden: "You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5) The serpent's intentions were to separate mankind from God. He was successful: the errant couple went their own way, and they were banished from the Garden. From that time on, we see men and women doing what is best in their own eyes for their own purposes. Sometimes people even use religion to fulfill this self-centered lust in their hearts: the desire to be God in their own eyes, doing what is right in their own sight. Paul voices concern for the Corinthians doing exactly that when they choose sides on whom they will follow. He knows this self-willed, man-centered attitude will destroy Christ's work in the Corinthian church if allowed to go unchallenged, for God must be the Head of the church.
We are witnesses to the historical fact that the Christian church has been splintered into a thousand pieces over the centuries. Separation has been almost the defining theme in the body of Christ. Rather than holding to the basic theme of Christ crucified, Christ resurrected, Christ glorified; believers have divided over minor issues, even on the way a church organizes it congregation. Dogma has been debated and skewed in many directions. Sadly, this has played into the hands of our adversary: the devil. So much discord and widespread divisiveness has weakened the testimony of the universal church of Christ on Earth, revealing our sinful nature and desire to have our own way, our perspective. In historical accounts, we read about religious people killing each other based on differing views of water baptism, or the nature of God, or church order. Mankind's desire to elevate himself and his ideas has always corrupted the church of the living God. In the above focus, we see Paul warning the Corinthians about proclaiming their allegiance to certain people. He knows this is a spirit of the world, and this spirit will destroy the unity of the church, of Christ himself. He tells them very directly that these important people in their eyes are mere men who have specific roles in the church. They should appreciate their roles but not elevate the people, for they are servants of God with assigned tasks. God is the builder of the church. He is the one who chooses the sower, the planter, the one who waters. So, Paul wants them to give glory to God and not to people. Paul told the church at Rome: May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6) The Corinthian church lacked this spirit of unity, and they were dissolving into factions that did not bring glory to God.
Jesus himself was always concerned about bringing glory to God the Father. After his resurrection, He wanted his disciples to have a clear perspective of what they had seen in Jerusalem, about his death and resurrection. He did not want them to splinter, to walk away, living their lives as they desired. He had a purpose for them; He needed their unity to fulfill God's plan for redemption of the lost. After the resurrection, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. (Luke 24:36-40) Paul fears the message of Christ and his resurrection will be lost in Corinth if the church splinters into factions. The Corinthian church's purpose was to show God's love to people. If the church began to devour each other because of disagreements about who they wanted to follow, their behavior would harm the salvation message that God loves people and sent Jesus to save them from their sins. Jesus spoke the truth to his disciples: Then Jesus opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. (Luke 24:45-48) Jesus made sure the disciples were in agreement with what they saw and experienced. He sent them out with a message of love and redemption. Paul wanted the Corinthians to have the same message, to put away childish things, immature things, even secular things. To love and to not even notice when others seemingly do it wrong. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) May each of you prosper in Christian unity and in the love of God this week.
We who are IN CHRIST are God’s workers, God's building. We are not our own: we have been bought with the price of Jesus Christ's blood. We know the resurrection has happened, and now we live as Jesus lived, by the Spirit of the living God. In the above focus, Paul addresses a sickness endemic in mankind: We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way. (Isaiah 53:6) In Judges, the Bible says they did as they saw fit, what was right to them. (17:6 & 21:25) Paul in Romans 3:23 reiterates a Bible theme that all have sinned, all have gone their own ways, falling short of the glory of God. Paul declared, No one is righteousness, not even one. Jew and Gentile alike were under sin without Christ. When Paul speaks of spiritual immaturity in the Corinthian church, he is really addressing an attitude, a behavior akin to worldliness, secularism. This rebellious, self-willed attitude was first found in the Garden of Eden: "You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5) The serpent's intentions were to separate mankind from God. He was successful: the errant couple went their own way, and they were banished from the Garden. From that time on, we see men and women doing what is best in their own eyes for their own purposes. Sometimes people even use religion to fulfill this self-centered lust in their hearts: the desire to be God in their own eyes, doing what is right in their own sight. Paul voices concern for the Corinthians doing exactly that when they choose sides on whom they will follow. He knows this self-willed, man-centered attitude will destroy Christ's work in the Corinthian church if allowed to go unchallenged, for God must be the Head of the church.
We are witnesses to the historical fact that the Christian church has been splintered into a thousand pieces over the centuries. Separation has been almost the defining theme in the body of Christ. Rather than holding to the basic theme of Christ crucified, Christ resurrected, Christ glorified; believers have divided over minor issues, even on the way a church organizes it congregation. Dogma has been debated and skewed in many directions. Sadly, this has played into the hands of our adversary: the devil. So much discord and widespread divisiveness has weakened the testimony of the universal church of Christ on Earth, revealing our sinful nature and desire to have our own way, our perspective. In historical accounts, we read about religious people killing each other based on differing views of water baptism, or the nature of God, or church order. Mankind's desire to elevate himself and his ideas has always corrupted the church of the living God. In the above focus, we see Paul warning the Corinthians about proclaiming their allegiance to certain people. He knows this is a spirit of the world, and this spirit will destroy the unity of the church, of Christ himself. He tells them very directly that these important people in their eyes are mere men who have specific roles in the church. They should appreciate their roles but not elevate the people, for they are servants of God with assigned tasks. God is the builder of the church. He is the one who chooses the sower, the planter, the one who waters. So, Paul wants them to give glory to God and not to people. Paul told the church at Rome: May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6) The Corinthian church lacked this spirit of unity, and they were dissolving into factions that did not bring glory to God.
Jesus himself was always concerned about bringing glory to God the Father. After his resurrection, He wanted his disciples to have a clear perspective of what they had seen in Jerusalem, about his death and resurrection. He did not want them to splinter, to walk away, living their lives as they desired. He had a purpose for them; He needed their unity to fulfill God's plan for redemption of the lost. After the resurrection, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. (Luke 24:36-40) Paul fears the message of Christ and his resurrection will be lost in Corinth if the church splinters into factions. The Corinthian church's purpose was to show God's love to people. If the church began to devour each other because of disagreements about who they wanted to follow, their behavior would harm the salvation message that God loves people and sent Jesus to save them from their sins. Jesus spoke the truth to his disciples: Then Jesus opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. (Luke 24:45-48) Jesus made sure the disciples were in agreement with what they saw and experienced. He sent them out with a message of love and redemption. Paul wanted the Corinthians to have the same message, to put away childish things, immature things, even secular things. To love and to not even notice when others seemingly do it wrong. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) May each of you prosper in Christian unity and in the love of God this week.
Monday, April 4, 2016
1 Corinthians 2:10-16 The Spirit Is From God!
1 Corinthians 2:10-16 The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. Of course, the cross, the resurrection, and the concomitant works of salvation are considered by the natural man as foolishness. Why would men and women need a savior? Why would a God, if there is such a being, demand us to be different from what we are? Why are we, his creation, unacceptable to him, the Creator? He created us; we did not make ourselves. All of these thoughts of a sinful mankind and the need for salvation through Christ are foolishness to the natural mind. Some in religious circles, even in the Christian community, consider the supernatural events of Christ's death and resurrection for our sins as a story concocted by men that never actually happened. They believe such ideas are an anathema to sensible thought. But Paul says, talking about the resurrection, a supernatural event, If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. (1 Corinthians 15:13-19) Without the cross, without the resurrection, Jesus is just a good man, who had good thoughts, but definitely not the Son of God, and definitely not someone who deserves our complete adoration and service. Some would even consider him a mad man, delusional at best. But because He conquered death and rose again, we know him as the perfect Lamb of God, our Savior and Lord.
We who are alive IN CHRIST depend on the Spirit of God in us to know what life is all about. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. Without God's Spirit in us, we will always be hinged to the perspective of the world that exists around us. But IN CHRIST, we begin to understand a spiritual world, one that exists beyond our human senses, beyond our physical reality. The book of Acts gives us a detailed account of the Spirit coming to abide with God's people. The Spirit of God fell on Jesus' followers in different locations, on the Jewish brethren as well as the Gentiles. The Spirit fell on those who had been baptized and on those who had yet to be baptized. Acts reveals the Spirit of God coming to Earth to abide within men and women, those who had their temples cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Of course, all of this happened by faith in Jesus and his works. This reality is spiritually discerned. It is foolishness to the natural man. But we have the mind of Christ, for we are IN CHRIST: HE IN US AND WE IN HIM. When Jesus was going back to heaven, He told his disciples not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the gift the Father had promised, For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:5) Then on the Day of Pentecost, the sound of a mighty wind filled the place where they waited, and God kept his promises: All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:4) Those who walk with the Lord today have that same Spirit within them to teach, to guide, to comfort, and to open their minds to the perfect will of God. Jesus told his disciples that He had to go away so the Holy Spirit could come to them, yet He comforted them by saying, But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26) The Holy Spirit continues to teach and to help us today as we read the Word, when we gather in Christ's name, whenever we lack wisdom, and when we share the Good News with others.
While the natural mind often rejects spiritual realities and does not want to accept the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of believers, we know the Spirit is alive and real because He dwells within us. As we read in our text for today: no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. As people of faith, filled with the Holy Spirit, we believe God's Word: For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified. (1 Corinthians 14:2-5) Paul speaks of two supernatural acts of the Spirit given to us by God: tongues and prophecy. Both require the Spirit of God to use our body's mechanism: the larynx is used in both situations. One, tongues, is not understood by the speaker, but he or she is speaking to God by the Spirit, understood only by God. The other, prophecy, is not only understood by the speaker, but also understood by those who hear him. The unction the speaker receives from the Spirit is the same in both situations, but one message bypasses the natural thinking processes of the speaker; the other uses understandable language to reveal the message to all men. The origin of both messages is the Spirit. They were not merely a product of the speaker's good intentions, ability, or insight. Tongues is for the edification of the individual with no need for the Spirit to interpret unless the tongues are spoken in a body of believers; then there should be an interpretation. Prophecy is a message that the Spirit desires the body to hear. He places the thoughts into language so that all can understand. Both are Spirit driven. Both come out of the mind of Christ within the person, for God's purposes. We know the Spirit is real in us, for these events truly happen within the body of Christ. They encourage, build up, and edify believers while glorifying God. Bless you all as the Spirit works in your lives.
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. Of course, the cross, the resurrection, and the concomitant works of salvation are considered by the natural man as foolishness. Why would men and women need a savior? Why would a God, if there is such a being, demand us to be different from what we are? Why are we, his creation, unacceptable to him, the Creator? He created us; we did not make ourselves. All of these thoughts of a sinful mankind and the need for salvation through Christ are foolishness to the natural mind. Some in religious circles, even in the Christian community, consider the supernatural events of Christ's death and resurrection for our sins as a story concocted by men that never actually happened. They believe such ideas are an anathema to sensible thought. But Paul says, talking about the resurrection, a supernatural event, If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. (1 Corinthians 15:13-19) Without the cross, without the resurrection, Jesus is just a good man, who had good thoughts, but definitely not the Son of God, and definitely not someone who deserves our complete adoration and service. Some would even consider him a mad man, delusional at best. But because He conquered death and rose again, we know him as the perfect Lamb of God, our Savior and Lord.
We who are alive IN CHRIST depend on the Spirit of God in us to know what life is all about. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. Without God's Spirit in us, we will always be hinged to the perspective of the world that exists around us. But IN CHRIST, we begin to understand a spiritual world, one that exists beyond our human senses, beyond our physical reality. The book of Acts gives us a detailed account of the Spirit coming to abide with God's people. The Spirit of God fell on Jesus' followers in different locations, on the Jewish brethren as well as the Gentiles. The Spirit fell on those who had been baptized and on those who had yet to be baptized. Acts reveals the Spirit of God coming to Earth to abide within men and women, those who had their temples cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Of course, all of this happened by faith in Jesus and his works. This reality is spiritually discerned. It is foolishness to the natural man. But we have the mind of Christ, for we are IN CHRIST: HE IN US AND WE IN HIM. When Jesus was going back to heaven, He told his disciples not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the gift the Father had promised, For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:5) Then on the Day of Pentecost, the sound of a mighty wind filled the place where they waited, and God kept his promises: All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:4) Those who walk with the Lord today have that same Spirit within them to teach, to guide, to comfort, and to open their minds to the perfect will of God. Jesus told his disciples that He had to go away so the Holy Spirit could come to them, yet He comforted them by saying, But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26) The Holy Spirit continues to teach and to help us today as we read the Word, when we gather in Christ's name, whenever we lack wisdom, and when we share the Good News with others.
While the natural mind often rejects spiritual realities and does not want to accept the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of believers, we know the Spirit is alive and real because He dwells within us. As we read in our text for today: no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. As people of faith, filled with the Holy Spirit, we believe God's Word: For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified. (1 Corinthians 14:2-5) Paul speaks of two supernatural acts of the Spirit given to us by God: tongues and prophecy. Both require the Spirit of God to use our body's mechanism: the larynx is used in both situations. One, tongues, is not understood by the speaker, but he or she is speaking to God by the Spirit, understood only by God. The other, prophecy, is not only understood by the speaker, but also understood by those who hear him. The unction the speaker receives from the Spirit is the same in both situations, but one message bypasses the natural thinking processes of the speaker; the other uses understandable language to reveal the message to all men. The origin of both messages is the Spirit. They were not merely a product of the speaker's good intentions, ability, or insight. Tongues is for the edification of the individual with no need for the Spirit to interpret unless the tongues are spoken in a body of believers; then there should be an interpretation. Prophecy is a message that the Spirit desires the body to hear. He places the thoughts into language so that all can understand. Both are Spirit driven. Both come out of the mind of Christ within the person, for God's purposes. We know the Spirit is real in us, for these events truly happen within the body of Christ. They encourage, build up, and edify believers while glorifying God. Bless you all as the Spirit works in your lives.
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