1 Corinthians 9:1-18 Take the Mantle of Wonderful Light!

1 Corinthians 9:1-18  Am I not free? Am I not an apostle?  Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?  Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?  Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you!  For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.  This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me.  Don’t we have the right to food and drink?  Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?  Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living?  Who serves as a soldier at his own expense?  Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes?  Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk?  Do I say this merely on human authority?  Doesn’t the Law say the same thing?  For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”  Is it about oxen that God is concerned?  Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he?  Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.  If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?  If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?  But we did not use this right.  On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.  Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar?  In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.  But I have not used any of these rights.  And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast.  For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach.  Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!  If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.  What then is my reward?  Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel.

Paul’s ministry in Corinth is primarily to Greeks but there are also others such as the Jews who are reading this letter.  All of them are knowledgeable that priests and their helpers in various temples receive remuneration for their services to the people.  Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar?  Now he and Barnabas are having to work in their community for basic necessities such as food, even while they are providing the Corinthians with the Good News about God’s salvation plan through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  These Christians owe Paul a lot, for they are now NEW CREATURES in and through their faith in Jesus Christ. They are born-again in the Kingdom of God because of Paul and Barnabas' missionary work within Cornith.  Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?  Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you!  Even though Paul was not with Christ during Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Corinthians’ conversions to Christ validate that he is a true apostle in the church of the Living God.  You are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.  Paul knows the Corinthian church is remiss in not providing for him and Barnabas.  Don’t we have the right to food and drink?  Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?  Even if they question his apostleship, they know they are new creatures because of his ministry of the Good News to them.  He asked them a question,  If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?  Of course, the obvious answer is that it is not too much for him and Barnabas to receive remuneration for their service to the Corinthian church, but Paul is content to let this issue slip by uncontested for he does not want anything to interfere with the purity of the gospel and its presentation.  I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast, which is, I have offered the Good News to the Corinthians free of charge, not demanding my rights as an apostle to be taken care of in my daily needs for survival.  Paul may boast in his flesh, but in the spirit, he cannot boast, for he is just fulfilling the purposes of God to save many for God's kingdom.  He is compelled by God to preach the Good News.  And, unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.  Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.  (Psalm 127:1)  What Paul is doing is God’s work, not his.

We know Paul’s life after his conversion was a very stormy life.  Few of us would wish to take on Paul’s troubled life as our own assignment.  We know Paul  traveled many tiring and difficult miles in his missionary journeys.  Often in these various communities where he ministered, he worked as a tentmaker for survival.  In Cornith he worked with Priscilla and Claudius.  He was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.  Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.  (Acts 18:3-4)  Paul’s life was in danger in and out of cities, but he was faithful in serving the will of God at all times, going from city to city preaching the gospel regardless of the dangers.  He served God with the integrity and purity of an apostle.  We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.  Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;  through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.  (2 Corinthians 6:3-10).  Often, I am sure Paul thought his life would end tragically.  Maybe he thought himself at times as dispensable, as those who lived by faith but lost their lives in tragic circumstances.  There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.  Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.  They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword.  They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them.  They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.  (Hebrews 11:35-38)  But Jesus was always in the boat with Paul.  We are sure that there were times in Paul’s journeys where he thought it was all over, that his life would end soon, taken by violent men who were adverse to Paul’s preaching of the Good News.  Even though he knew Jesus was with him, for he was following what Jesus had commanded on the road to Damascus, he probably sometimes felt the fear the apostles felt when their boat was going to capsize, killing all of them.  Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?  (Mark 4:38)  Surely when he was stoned at Lystra, left for dead, he probably questioned God, don’t you care?   Paul was designed to hunt down souls for Christ, so no adversity was too much for Paul.  He was willing to die, any time and any place.  It is one thing to die in bed in a warm house and another thing to die on the cold ground as people are throwing stones at you until your body stops moving.  But Paul was following a God who created all things and nothing was created outside of God.  This God was bigger than the adversities Paul faced; He was bigger than death; He was life itself, THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.  He was not going to back off, seek an easier life.  No, he was fully committed to serving God with his one life given to him to live.  Even though despised by many people, God had elevated him for this purpose from the beginning of Paul’s life.  God chose him to be a servant to redeem men and women from their lost condition of being bound in sin.  On the road to Damascus, Paul was compelled by God to spread the Good News to the Gentiles.  And that is what he did, all the way to Rome where he died by violence.  He was faithful to the end.  Although in his mind he probably thought at times, don’t you care?

Paul as a former rabbi lived the life of Psalm 23 in his journey with Christ.  The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.  He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.  Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  (Psalm 23)  Don’t you care, Lord, about my life?  Yes, our partners in the Lord, the Lord cares, and He knows the struggles you are enduring.  Jesus cried at Lazarus' gravesite.  He sorrowed over the many vicissitudes that people experience in life, death itself.  God cared dearly for Paul and his life.  He knew what Paul was going through every minute of Paul’s life.  He knew the fear and anxiety Paul felt in and out of the cities.  God was aware of the criticisms and harsh words that Paul often heard against him.  God saw Paul’s enemies violent behavior; their actions to kill him, their hatred when they addressed Paul in threatening circumstances.  God knew it all, and He pushed Paul on and on to different communities, to different trials, but Paul knew the Lord was his shepherd and that he lacked nothing.  When you have the Holy Spirit in your life, you lack nothing.  Paul lacked nothing, we lack nothing.  Children of the living God lack nothing, but that does not mean our lives are always in green pastures.  Sometimes the rocks in life pierce our souls.  However, in every circumstance we wear the priestly robes of the children of God.  We are the temple of the living God.  As God has said,“I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”  (1 Corinthians 6;16)  Paul lived by faith; God taught him about faith after his conversion.  He had the assurance that God was with him regardless of his experiences.  Yes, he would feel the emotions of the flesh, but he would always fix his mind on God and his deliverance.  Someday Paul knew that he would enter into the presence of the living and eternal God.  Our friends around this breakfast table, Paul was a holy priest, and we are like the priests in the Old Testament.  The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.  (Numbers 8:20)  God himself is our inheritance.  We strive to know God and to live in his presence forever.  We are known as children of God who are IN CHRIST through Jesus’ work on the cross.  We are ONE WITH GOD BECAUSE WE ARE ONE WITH CHRIST.  God is our inheritance.  You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  (1 Peter 2:9)  As Paul did, take on the mantle of light, regardless of your circumstances in life.  He experienced good times and bad times, but in all times his faith in Christ stood the test of time.  We who are IN CHRIST must recognize who we are all of the time.  We are the royal priests in the household of God.  Let our lives shine with the glory of God and let us be salt to the world.  Paul is a good example for us to follow as we follow Christ.      

 

       

 

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 Do Good Works!

 1 Corinthians 8:1-13  Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.”  But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.  Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know.  But whoever loves God is known by God.  So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.  But not everyone possesses this knowledge.  Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.  But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.  Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.  For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols?   So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.  When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.

This is an interesting chapter because Paul is telling us as Christians who possess knowledge about the truth of the gospel, we should be careful how we deal with the weaker brethren in our fellowship of believers.  Sometimes our knowledge can be used as a cudgel to hamper or destroy people who are not as far along in their belief in Christ.  To destroy or criticize others about their ignorance of THE WAY can lead Christians away from Christ and not towards him.  We must be careful of thinking we know absolutely God’s mind about everything, for that kind of assurance in our own knowledge can do little more than puff us up.  But if we love others with a servant's heart, with sacrificial love, we can reveal the love of God to them, his everlasting, enduring love even to those who struggle with worshiping idols or other ideas about God.  The mature or maybe the knowledgeable Christian should always hold to the idea that whoever loves God is known by God.  In the Greek community the norm for a spiritual life was to believe in many “gods” and many “lords.  Idol worship was the customary way of serving their many gods.  Prominent in idol worship was the idea that you must work to please the gods; you must show your dedication to them by praying, bowing at their images, and giving them the gifts they desired, such as food and flowers.  Without these good works, you were alienated from the affections and blessings of the gods they served.  In this chapter Paul cautions Christians who know the truth not to be too harsh on the weaker brethren, for the truth is, It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.   For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  (Ephesians 2:8-10)  The Christian Greeks are emerging out of a society that is burdened with the necessity of good works to please their gods.  For them to step over the idea of works to please a god to a God of mercy and grace is a difficult transition for them.  However, Christianity, for the weak or the strong is that there is one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.  And this one and only true God loves them and desires to have fellowship with them, but only faith facilitates this relationship with the one and only true God, not works.    

Paul was raised under the Mosaic law that says clearly, You shall have no other gods before me.  “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.  (Exodus 20:3-6)  Paul understood well the darkness of idol worship.  He knew the Israelites had been judged harshly by God because of falling into this darkness.  Now, we see Paul saying to the Christians to be careful about judging the weaker brethren, do not be so harsh with them that you destroy them with your better understanding of how to serve God.  What is important in these weaker brethren is their love for God.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)  Have they fallen in love with Christ, are they now the children of the living God because of their love for God?  What is essential in their lives as Christians is their love for Christ, not their understanding of some things.  Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.  But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.  Paul does not appreciate any aspect of idol worshiping, so he knows it is the devil's tool to keep people from worshiping the one and only God, but he does not want the untrained, the unlearned believer to be destroyed by your knowledge.  For Christians are not to get in the way of the Holy Spirit.  He will teach people who love the Lord a better way to know God and how to live in this world successfully.  But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away.  Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.  When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.  (John 16:7-11)  Paul is telling the more mature Christian who might be puffed up with his or her knowledge of how to come to God by faith, not to get in the way of God’s work through the Holy Spirit who abides in each Christian.  Yes, teaching is necessary in the church of the living God, but condemnation and criticism are not the way to mature people in faith.  Paul is warning the Christians to encourage faith in Christ, not to crush people’s faith by explaining the reality of idol worshiping.  Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill.  He also warms himself and says,“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.  ”From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships.  He prays to it and says, “Save me!  You are my god!”  (Isaiah 44:16-17)  Yes, idol worshiping is crazy and it has no spiritual reality, but those who had been immersed in that culture all their lives struggle with cutting themselves away from such a belief.  

       Today idol worshiping is strange to most of us.  We see clearly that worshiping idols has no spiritual reality in it.  Yet, where our affections are in life can be classified as our idols.  Where do we go to find the meaning of life?  What are we substituting for God in our lives?  The Greeks were substituting the material things of this world for God; images made out of stone, wood, precious metals.  Today we have a society based largely on material things.  We revolve around our material possessions, our electronics, our activities, giving little thought to serving the CREATOR  OF ALL THINGS.  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  (John 1:1-5)   Paul says even though we Christians know God and the meaning of life, we should not be too harsh with weaker Christians who are still quite inundated with the things of this world.  For if we are too critical, we might crush them and lead them away from Christ and not into a deeper walk with Christ.  The question for all Christians: how do we live successfully in this life?  This is the question for all of us regardless of being strong or weak in knowing Christ.  Whoever loves God is known by God.  Because of that, we are known as his children.  Jesus came as a servant to mankind.  He gave his life for the world for every person great or small.  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but TO SAVE THE WORLD through him.  (John 3:16)  We too are to live as Christ lived, to serve a world.  Jesus has asked us to serve everyone, not just our friends, acquaintances or those who love us, but our enemies too, doing good to those who misuse us and abuse us.  “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also.  If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.  Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.  Do to others as you would have them do to you.  (Luke 6:27-31)  Breakfast companions, we no longer serve idols, but we do have the weaker brethren in our midst.  Watch how you live before them.  Do not let your freedom do anything that would be a hindrance to their lives in Christ.   Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.  You have been set free in Christ, but you must use your freedom wisely for the good of the body of Christ. 

  

 

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1 Corinthians 7:33-40 Be Honorable and Devoted!

1 Corinthians 7:33-40  I would like you to be free from concern.  An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord.  But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided.  An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.  But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband.  I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.  If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants.  He is not sinning.  They should get married.  But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing.  So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better.  A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives.  But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.  In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

In the above focus Paul is encouraging people to be of one mind: devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.  For Paul, such an intense devotion to God is not very difficult, for he had a supernatural encounter with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus.  With that experience, he knows the spiritual world is real; he knows Christ is real, not an illusion or trick of the mind.  With this encounter with Christ, he knows serving God is not just obedience to the laws given on Mount Sinai; there is much more than that to knowing God.  Paul now knew Jesus was the Messiah.  The apostles knew Jesus as the Messiah too.  They had walked with Jesus, heard his teaching and watched his miraculous deeds.  Jesus was not an illusion or hallucination: He was real flesh and blood.  For them to know Jesus as the Christ brought an urgency about fulfilling Jesus’ commission to them: to go into the world and preach the Good News, saving many from perdition.  We see Paul passing on this Good News to the Corinthians, letting them know that Jesus is real and that they should devote themselves to him.  Paul believed Jesus would be returning soon, so he desired the Corinthians to stay in whatever situation that they found themselves in at the present time.  They should live with undivided devotion to Christ.  Christ was real; He was not the product of some sort of collective hallucinations.  The apostles had walked with Jesus, had watched Jesus functioning completing as a human, with all the biological necessities of a human.  But for them to believe Jesus was someone beyond a natural man took time for them.  Peter when he experienced Jesus filling up a net with fish after he and his friends had fished all night and caught nothing said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”  (Luke 5:8)  When the disciples were in the midst of a storm on a lake, they were astonished that Jesus who was with them could control the wind and the waves.  Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.  But Jesus was sleeping.  The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us!   We’re going to drown!”  He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.  The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this?  Even the winds and the waves obey him!”  (Matthew 8:24-27)  John the Baptist had a strong witness of the Holy Spirit that Jesus was the Lamb of God, sent by God to redeem his people from their sins.  But even John had some questions about Jesus' divinity and his mission on earth.  Was this nondescript man he baptized truly God’s Messiah?  He knew Jesus was someone special, for the Holy Spirit remained on Jesus when Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan.  Nevertheless, John sent two of his disciples to check on Jesus’ ministry.  When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”  At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.  So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.  (Luke 7:20-23)  Jesus' ministry was full of miraculous deeds as Jesus revealed to John’s disciples.  He was truly God, but He also was truly the son of man, the son of every man.  Isaiah tells us how common he was, He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.  (Isaiah 53:2)  But the disciples knew him as Christ; Paul knew who he was, the Son of the Living God, for he had encountered him on the road to Damascus.  Now Paul wanted his converts to realize this man, Jesus, is God’s Son, and that their lives should be given totally to serving the Christ.

For Paul, Christians should be singleminded in their lives, living for Jesus, elevating in every way the Good News embedded in their lives.  For him, no other life was worth living.  He desired the Corinthians to go beyond the daily duties and obligations of life.  He wanted their lives to be fruitful and honored by God.  To be fruitful, they should be uncoupled as much as possible of the demands of life, living their lives in the right way, in undivided devotion to the Lord.  Because marriage could impede a life for Christ, he wished the Corinthians would stay single, living entirely for the purposes of God.  He knows if marriage enters the picture of their lives, they are now bound to their mate as long as they live.  The cares and needs of the mate must be met to have a happy union.  Their focus in life naturally becomes divided between God and their companion.  To be married is not a sin but it can hamper a devotion to God only.  Paul, in his discourse with the Corinthian church about providing for him financially, mentions the marriages of prominent leaders in the Christian world, Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?  (1 Corinthians 9:5)  These leaders were spreading the Good News to the world successfully, yet they were married.  So Paul knows it is not a sin to be married and that God’s message of Good News is not necessarily hampered by the unity of two in a marriage.  If the union is secure and focused on the purposes of God, they will act as one in revealing the Good News to the world.  Paul is concerned about sexual activity in the Greek world, for much deviant sexual behavior is part of the Greek society.  Therefore, he wishes the Greek Christians to be focused on serving God and not on relationships in marriage or outside of marriage.  If they are virgins, stay as virgins.  If they need to marry, do so without guilt, for they still can serve the Lord in that unity.  But once bound to the other in marriage, it is permanent until death separates one from the other.  From the very beginning of time, God meant for a man and woman to be bound in marriage permanently.  Jesus clarifies this issue in his ministry to the people.  “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”  “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?  So they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  (Matthew 19:3-6)  Marriage is a permanent state, they are no longer two, but one flesh.  By being one flesh Christians must function for the benefit for each other.  This oneness might interfere with serving God completely for the obligation to the other are part of the necessities in life.

When Christians commit their lives to Christ, they become born again.  Their focus in life shifts in reality from living their lives for themselves to living their lives for Christ.  Paul is expressing this theme in his writing to the Corinthians about marriage.  The focus on Christ is a matter for the Corinthians to understand completely.  They are no longer citizens of this world; they are aliens and strangers in this world of sin and diversions.  Abraham and the patriarchs, even in Canaan, knew they were not citizens of Canaan: they were just moving through, living in tents, always ready to move on.  The Greeks in Corinth vicariously were abiding in tents, living lives of faith, knowing the Promised Land is in the future.  Therefore, Paul wanted them to keep this focus; he did not want them to bed down in this life, losing their purpose for living.  Paul chose not to live for himself, but for Christ.  He was called to do God’s will and not his own.  For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.  (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)  He wanted the Corinthians to no longer live for themselves, even in their marital status.  He believed their lives would be better if they lived in singleness.  Because of his own dedication to God, his view of life was skewed toward living a life untangled with marriage.  For him, a single life dedicated to God was not an aberration but a calling from God.  Peter said he left everything to follow God, but he still had a wife, still had obligations to his union with his wife.  But Jesus told him that God will honor him for his willingness to follow him.  God will honor people who are single and people who are married if they consider this world as not their home, working every day to lifting up the Good News in actions and words.  God sees the heart; he knows the deepest intentions of the heart.  He knows our prayer life; he knows our thought life.  Nothing is hidden from him.  Paul understood well that these Corinthian Greeks were coming out of a very chaotic world, one where secular norms were not the same as the Jews who were under Moses’ law.  He knew that relationships could interfere greatly in their dedication to God.  For them promiscuity should be left behind, singleness or marriage should be a stable existence in serving God.  Our friends around this breakfast table, no matter what state we find ourselves in, we should be focused on doing the will of God in our lives.  We are but aliens, this life is not our home.  Jesus puts our lives as the redeemed into focus when he said,  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.  What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?  Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?   (Matthew 16:25-26)  Married or not, let us seek the will of God in our lives.  Someday before all the angels and principalities in heaven, we will be honored for living lives dedicated to Jesus, the Christ.  Let us be sure that we honor him in all things.  

1 Corinthians 7:17-31 Be Strong in Struggles!

1 Corinthians 7:17-31  Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them.  This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.  Was a man already circumcised when he was called?  He should not become uncircumcised.  Was a man uncircumcised when he was called?  He should not be circumcised.  Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing.  Keeping God’s commands is what counts.  Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.  Were you a slave when you were called?  Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so.  For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave.  You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings.  Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.  Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.  Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is.  Are you pledged to a woman?  Do not seek to be released.  Are you free from such a commitment?  Do not look for a wife.  But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned.  But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.  What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short.  From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them.  For this world in its present form is passing away.

In the above focus we see Paul telling the Corinthians that the time was short before the return of the Lord and because of that reality, each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.  If they had been circumcised, set apart for God, they should remain in that situation.  If they were not circumcised, they should remain uncircumcised for the time is short.  If they were slaves, be satisfied to remain as slaves; if they were free, do not seek to become a slavish followers of men or women.  Stay free from such entanglements.  Remain stable in your emotional state; do not be overly involved in your emotional feelings in life: those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not.  Do not become heavily involved in the things of this world, what you buy, what you use, for all of that kind of activity and concerns will pass away soon.  For Paul and the other disciples of Jesus, a primary assumption in their lives was that Jesus would return quickly.  We see this impression of theirs in everything they did for Jesus had talked about his return a lot.  On Jesus' ascension into heaven, two men dressed in white questioned why they were just looking at Jesus disappearing into the clouds, maybe implying they should get busy for He will return someday quickly.  Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.  And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?  This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”  (Acts 1:9-11)  Jesus had given them an assignment of spreading the Good News throughout the world before He returns.  Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:18-20)  By saying that He will be WITH THEM until the very end of the age, implies that in their short lives they will see the end of the age, the soon returning of the Lord.  Jesus also warned the disciples that they would be persecuted at the end of time.  “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.  Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.  Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues.  On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.  But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it.  At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.  You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.  When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.  Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.  (Matthew 10:16-23)  Of course Paul and the disciples experienced all of these things that Jesus talked about: imprisonments, floggings, addressing governors and kings, fleeing from town to town, hated by the people they were addressing.  They felt the urgency of getting out the message of redemption.  Their mission will not be finished before Jesus returns.  Paul is now writing to the Corinthian church who are experiencing persecution: the present crisis.  He tells them not to waste their time seeking another situation or condition in their lives, for Jesus is returning soon, so he desires that they stay as they are presently, so that they might be fully engulfed in knowing Jesus when He returns.  

Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit; he was given an assignment by Jesus to minister the Good News to the Gentiles.  He now knows that the Good News is also for the Gentiles and that they too will receive what the prophet Joel spoke about: In the last days, God says,I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.  Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days,and they will prophesy.  — And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  (Acts 2:17,18 and 21)  In the above focus he reminds the Corinthians that they were bought at a price, the precious blood of Jesus.  This price ransomed them from eternal death so they should understand as new creatures in the Kingdom of God that they are servants of the Most High now.  So it does not matter that on this earth and in their present state whether they are slaves or not.  Their concern in life should not be whether they are slaves or not, but whether they are God’s slave.  What is important is the NEW CREATURE not the condition of the old creature, the latter is assigned to eternal death.  The former is free to be in the presence of God forever.  Paul is establishing in this letter to the Corinthians that their responsibility in life should be to Christ and to the new life that Christ has won for them through the cross.  In this new life there will be opposition, a crisis to their stability and peace in the world, but their dedication to Christ should be strong regardless of their struggles or situation in life.  Paul is a good example of what a born-again life looks like, one not entangled with the affairs of men.  But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them garbage, 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 on the basis of faith.  I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.  (Philippians 3:8-11)  Paul is asking the Corinthians to forsake some of their own desires for their lives so that they might know Jesus Christ better.  If they hold onto this life and their own desires for their lives, they will lose the victory of Christ in their lives and maybe even their spiritual existence.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.  What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?  Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?  For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.  (Matthew 16:25-27) 

Paul and the disciples believed in the soon return of the Lord.  This causes them not to be indolent, inactive, lazy.  If they would have considered that Jesus would not return for at least 2,000 years, they might have taken their time in telling the Good News to others.  Paul might have not traveled over 2,000 miles to win people for Christ.  But they expected the soon return of Christ, so they were busy fishing every day for souls to win some for the kingdom of God.  Paul was especially active, experiencing distresses of all kinds in his life, living always under the threat of death.  But Jesus conditioned the disciples to believe in his imminent return.  He told them about the last days and what to expect. “If anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.  For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.  Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.  "Immediately after the distress of those days“ ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’  “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven.  And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.  And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.  (Matthew 24:26-31)  Paul and the disciples understood well that it was important to tell the message of redemption.  They wanted people not to mourn when Jesus returns, but to rejoice for they are part of the body of Christ.  They hurried from one community to the next with the words of redemption on their lips; they wanted the Good News to be trumpeted everywhere before the last trumpet call.  Paul is telling his beloved Corinthians to forsake seeking change in their lives, instead, to  focus on the new within them.  He does not want them seeking only the benefits of this life, but rather seeking the benefits of the eternal with God.  Even the slaves in this world should be focused more on their new life IN CHRIST than on gaining their freedom.  Now breakfast companions, where are your thoughts and activities in this life?  Are you praying constantly?  Are your hours spent in quiet communication with God?  Or has this life robbed you of the active presence of the Spirit of God in your life?  We all have short lives; death is always a part of our finite lives.  For all of us this world in its present form will pass away.  Therefore, how should we live as born-again, new creatures IN CHRIST?  We should await his glorious appearing and listen for that loud trumpet call.  This is what our focus for today is telling us.

 

 

    

 

  

    

 

1 Corinthians 7:8-16 Each One has a Gift!

1 Corinthians 7:8-16  Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.  But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.  To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.  But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband.  And a husband must not divorce his wife.  To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.  And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.  For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband.  Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.  But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so.  The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.  How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband?  Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

In the above focus we see Paul encouraging fellow believers to live as he lives, unmarried and completely committed to God.  Paul lives his life as a living sacrifice to the will of God.  Since he met Jesus in a personal way on the road to Damascus, he fell under the will of God; his life of murderous threats and anger towards others was transformed to the love of God for all people.  Paul’s commitment to God demonstrated his love for Jesus.  Jesus told his disciples that to enter the Kingdom of God and yet hang onto this world is an impossible life to live successfully as followers of Christ.  Jesus illustrates this point when talking to a wealthy young man who addresses him as good master.  “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”  (Matthew 19:16)  This man had followed the commandments and its regulations in a perfect way.  Jesus loves him because he is so dedicated to God, but he does not confirm his life as being perfect; instead, Jesus asked something of this man that he could not do: If you want to be PERFECT, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.”  (21)  The disciples immediately recognized what a difficult task it would be for humans to abandon everything in this world and follow God as perfect servants of his will.  When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”  (25)  Jesus calms their fears by saying, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.  (26)  This statement shows us the magnitude of God’s grace for imperfect human beings.  When Jesus was put on the cross: the impossible was committed that day, the death of the Son of God.  Jesus had told the people in his Sermon on the Mount, “Be ye perfect as God is perfect.”  Of course, God giving us Jesus as the propitiation of our sins makes us perfect.  So, as Jesus said, all things are possible to God.  Now in our focus for the day, Paul is suggesting to the Corinthians to live a more perfect life is not to marry.  It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.  Of course unmarried people are free from the entanglements of being responsible to another person.  In a marital relationship, the other person’s needs and desires are paramount in a successful union.  Marriage is a union of two made one, under an oath to God and to others.  This is a serious commitment, for it places the two in the hands of God.  Has not the one God made you?  You BELONG to him in body and spirit.  And what does the one God seek?  Godly offspring.  So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.  (Malachi 2:15)  If God accepts and sanctifies this marital relationship, then all in this relationship, including the children, are under God’s protection, his umbrella of love.  God will bless such a relationship as long as the couple are faithful to each other.  “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?  So they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  (Matthew 19:4-6)

Not all people can live as Paul lived: unmarried.  In many ways it is an unnatural life, even going against God’s command for humans to procreate, to populate the world.  Men and women are given a God-driven sexual passion, a passion necessary to produce children.  Paul is asking the Corinthians not to give in to this intrinsic biological sexual desire, to put aside their basic instinctive desire to have sex and serve God completely.  But Paul understands what he is asking and that it is an impossibility for most people, so he relents and says, I wish that all of you were as I am.  But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.  (1 Corinthians 7:7)   Peter was married, yet he carried out the will of God in his life.  He forsook everything in his life to follow God.  We must assume that his wife too forsook everything in her life to follow God, for they had been united under God’s blessings.  Under God’s blessings--divorce is not an option except for unfaithfulness.  Jesus told the disciples that Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard.  But it was not this way from the beginning.  I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.  The disciples said to him, If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.  (Matthew 19:8-10)  This statement shows the carnality of humans.  If we are straddled with just one sexual partner under our marital oath to God, should we free ourselves of this restriction by not marrying?  Jesus said, realistically under the commandment of God to procreate, men and women struggle with sexual activity.  Should they marry or not?   Should their attention in this life be completely for God in his service or should they marry and divide their attention between their partner and God?  Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.  For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.  The one who can accept this should accept it.”  (Matthew 19:11-12)  Are you willing to live sexless lives for the kingdom of God?  That is your choice; not everyone can do that: like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.  Paul verifies this statement of Jesus about the eunuchs when he writes, each of you has your own gift from God.  If God desires you to be married, then give yourself into a marital relationship.  If you were born not to be in union with another in marriage, then live that way and thank God that you can give your whole life to God.  If your self-discipline is strong and you are willing to forgo marriage for the sake of God, do it with thankfulness and faithfulness to God only.  Paul understood well what he was asking of the Corinthians.  He also understood that the Corinthian society was lascivious and unrestrained in their sexual activity, all of it impure, without God’s blessing on it.

In Paul’s teaching about sexual activity and marriage in the Corinthian church, he is primarily focused on these new converts to know Christ in his fullness, to become rooted deeply in Christ.  Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.  See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.  (Colossians 2:6-8)  Within the Greek society, many deceptive philosophies had been taught to them from their earliest awareness.  Variant sexual practices were considered good and only natural.  Prostitution was rampant, embedded in their culture, even in their temples.  The new converts in the the Corinthian church struggled with the idea of faithfulness to one partner, for it seemed to be an unnatural requirement put on the flesh.  The Corinthian church had even allowed incest within their congregation and they boasted about it.  Paul warned them that their service to God must be stronger than their fleshly urges of sexual passion.  Because the Corinthians struggled with sexual issues as viewed by the Greek society, some were asking whether they should just forgo marriage all together, because unfaithfulness was so much a part of their culture.  Paul is saying, no, but their lives must depend on the role God has given them, some can be married and serve God wholeheartedly and some cannot serve God wholeheartedly unless they are single.  Paul wishes for the latter, but he knows this lifestyle is only for a few.  Jesus talked about a farmer (or God) sowing seed throughout the world.  Some seed fell on hard paths, such as we see in the stories of Noah and Lot.  The people in those stories were actively involved with the world.  Their agendas were too strong and prominent for them to notice the seed that was sown in their lives.  The devil quickly snatched up the seed from their lives and in both cases God judged them for their wickedness.   Other seed was sown on rocky ground where the roots could not go deeply within the soil.  They had received the Good News with joy for a while, but then in a time of testing they fell away.  Some seed fell among weeds and they sprouted, but life’s worries, riches and pleasures caused them not to mature.  This was Paul’s chief worry about the Corinthians, could they put away the sexual pleasures that they had participated in within the Greek culture?  Could they come into maturity?  Paul’s teaching about appropriate sexual behavior under the authority of God was designed to bring them into maturity so that they would produce much fruit for the kingdom of God.  He had to be rather explicit to disengage them from learned practice from their youth.  For Paul, salvation for all was his primary purpose for this teaching on sex and marriage.  He urges believers not to divorce their unbelieving mate, if their mate wishes to stay married to them.  Why?   For the salvation of their unbelieving mate.  Paul wants the unbeliever in the marriage to experience the Good News by observing the believing wife or husband.  Our friends around this breakfast table, sexual activity and sexual pursuits outside of God's will for you can damage your whole life.  Live in integrity and faithfulness with others in every part of your life.  If single, live happily in that framework; if married, likewise.  In all things, live your lives unto God, knowing his blessings, that his constant and active presence within you are for the good.