1 Corinthians 14:13-18 Sing In the Spirit!

1 Corinthians 14:13-18  For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says.  For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.  So what shall I do?  I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.  If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?  You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.  I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.  But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

We see in the above focus that Paul prays in tongues.  In fact, he is pleased that he uses his prayer language often, but within the church, a place for edification and instruction, he will not speak in tongues loud enough for others to hear, unless there is an interpretation of what he is saying.  Without interpretation, the tongues will be disruptive, for others will not know what he is saying.  He tells us he prays in tongues for his own personal edification.  He does not claim that his mind understands what his lips are saying, but he knows his spirit is praying.  He says, I will pray with my spirit; I will sing with my spirit.  He is giving thanks to God, glorifying and exalting his name.  He is praising God from his heart, not just his mind.  In praying with his mind, he is expressing ideas and thoughts through language.  He prays cognitively with understandable words, phrases, and sentences.  Praying with the mind allows others in the body of believers to understand what he is saying because they hear a language that they use to communicate ideas and thoughts.  Paul encourages the church to use a common language when everyone gathers for worship.  Believers should speak in tongues only when there is an interpreter present as we will see a little later in this chapter.  He clearly says, "In the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue."  Tongues in the church can be a distraction to orderliness if spoken so loudly others can hear the person speaking.  Tongues are important to any body of believers as they build up individuals in their faith, but the gift of tongues should be used wisely.  The Holy Spirit builds up the spiritual strength of men and women of faith with tongues; however, unrestrained speaking in tongues during a church service causes a distraction to the entire body that has gathered for worship, instruction, ans direction.  This is why Paul told the Corinthians: Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.  (1 Corinthians 14:12) 

Since Paul spent so much time on tongues, we might ask why is the subject so important, and why do we need the gift of tongues?  Why is this phenomenon described in Acts so vital to believers?   When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.  (Acts 2:1-4)  In this supernatural act, we see the fulfillment of  Jesus' promise to the church: Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.  (Acts 1:4-5)   We understand water baptism, but what does it mean to be baptized or immersed in the Holy Spirit?  The immersion in the Holy Spirit empowers us as witnesses for Christ, strengthening us to do his work on earth.  "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  (Acts 1:8)  Without the Spirit of God, the disciples would have gone about recounting the works of God through this man Jesus Christ, but after their immersion in the Holy Spirit, they came in power and authority, to heal, to instruct, bringing Christ's life, his peace, his joy, all that He is.  With the infilling of the Holy Spirit, we no longer present our best intentions, but we reveal the works of God.  The Spirit makes us alive: And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.  (Romans 8:11)   On the day of Pentecost, some people speaking in tongues spoke real languages that the visitors from other countries who were in town to celebrate Pentecost could understand.  It must have shocked these pilgrims when they heard these mostly unlearned people praising God in foreign languages.  How could these people be speaking the visitors' languages, and how could so many be speaking at once in different languages?  The commotion was so great that some thought the people of tongues were drunk, but it was only nine o'clock in the morning.  Tongues, languages spoken that day, were a sign to the church and to the world that the Spirit of God had come to dwell in all people who take Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. 

Although the Acts experience brought excitement to the church, they undoubtedly possessed an elementary understanding of what happened on that day.  Could the disciples answer all the questions?  What does this baptism in the Spirit mean?  Will the Spirit of God remain with us or will He come on special occasions as in the Old Testament?  The commotion of speaking in different tongues and the teaching of the disciples that Jesus Christ is Lord resulted in Peter and John's arrest.  After a night in jail, they came before the Sanhedrin to explain their teaching and all the commotion.  Afterward, Peter and John went to a house to pray with believers.  Again the Spirit fell on all of them.  After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.  (Acts 4:31)  The church began to understand the Spirit was with them at all times.  The story of Ananias and Sapphira further reinforced their understanding of the ever-present Spirit.  These two not only lied to the church about their gift, but most seriously, they lied to the Holy Spirit.  How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?  (Acts 5:9)  Their deaths brought great fear upon the church, for the Christians realized they were accountable to the Holy Spirit, not just to each other.  Of course, through the centuries, many have lied to the Spirit without facing instantaneous death.  But this account confirmed the presence of the Spirit of God within the nascent church.  As the church grew, the disciples learned that even the despised Samaritans could receive the abiding Holy Spirit.  Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.  (Acts 8:17)  Even more impressive to the church than the Samaritan experience was God's acceptance of the Gentiles into his family of believers.  When Peter saw Cornelius and his family and friends receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, he fully understood the Holy Spirit was not a respecter of persons.  As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning.  (Acts 11:15)  We see in Ephesus, some disciples of John who were teaching the baptism of repentance receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.  There were about twelve men in all.  (Acts 19:6-7)  Regardless of who they were, the Spirit of God came upon BELIEVERS who put their trust in Jesus.  This evidence of tongues revealed God's work in the world and made the church understand that God was present with them at all times in all places.  In our day, we must allow God to do what He wants in our lives.  When Paul says I speak in tongues more than you all, he implies, I need God's revelatory presence in my life, so I speak in tongues: I will pray with my spirit.  Do not discount this as something not for you.  Ask God to promote this activity in your spirit.  HE IS IN YOU!  PRAISE  GOD FOREVER.               

1 Corinthians 14:6-12 Build Up the Church!

1 Corinthians 14:6-12  Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction?  Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes?  Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?  So it is with you.  Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying?  You will just be speaking into the air.  Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning.  If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me.  So it is with you.  Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church. 

Who will get ready for battle?  The devil hates clear words of revelation, knowledge, prophecy or instruction because those words of enlightenment prepare the church for battle against him and his forces.  Without such inspiration by the Holy Spirit, the church lacks supernatural leading.  God indicates He will send the Holy Spirit to all his children.  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.  (Acts 2:17)  The Spirit of God is poured out on ALL PEOPLE; your sons and daughters WILL PROPHESY.  In other words, all people cleansed through the blood of Jesus' sacrifice have the Spirit of God abiding in them and the ability to prophesy, to speak God's words of edification and encouragement.  We who are alive in Christ should be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's intentions in us and in the world.  We should be prepared to speak his inspiration.  If we are not willing to reveal what God is saying to us, we will closet the Spirit of God within our own spirits.  We must remember we are part of the body of Christ, with spiritual gifts to inspire and to encourage a healthy body, making it ready to combat a sinful world.  If we do not express God's leading in us to the rest of the body, we will not supply the body with necessary spiritual nourishment.  Many churches seek their spiritual growth from books by a supposed expert or from special ministers and spiritual gurus from afar because the church is not functioning well.  People evaluate their spiritual health, vitality, and direction through the writings and teachings of these individuals rather than by the direction of the Spirit.  While outside inspiration is appropriate in some situations, these sources should not be our only means of growth.  We must be aware that God wants each community of believers to welcome the necessary gifts of the Spirit.  “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”  (Luke 12:11-12)  If we do not step up and tell the world what God has been doing in our hearts and in our midst, we lose an effective, supernatural testimony and sign to the world.  Jesus said, the Holy Spirit will talk through you in these communities if you are willing to believe.  Are we willing to believe the Holy Spirit speaks through us and He will say what is necessary if we allow him to do so?  The Word teaches us that the Spirit knows how to pray for us when we do not and the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.  (Romans 8:28) 

Now, there are special giftings in the church that are to function specifically for the edification of the whole body.  As with tongues, prophecy is available to all, but the special gifts designated by God for the edification for the whole church are given to particular individuals.   In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers. . . (Acts 13:1)  During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.  (Acts 13:27)  Prophets were identifiable to the whole church as were teachers and ministers.  People knew who they were.  And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.  (1 Corinthians 12:28)  These positions were appointed by God.  Just as in the Old Testament, the Levites were the priests and the singers.  They were not singers based on their talents: they were singers because God chose them to be singers.  This is true in the New Testament church: the gifts are not given because of special abilities but because God wills for people to fulfill these positions.  Such giftings are for the body of believers as a whole, functioning under the church leadership in an orderly manner.  Using spiritual gifts should not bring chaos to the body, for the Holy Spirit comes to build up and to teach the body.  People with special gifts are not strangers but well-known within the community of believers.  As known members of the body of Christ, they exercise their gifts in an atmosphere of love and trust.  Apostles, prophets, and other positions are sometimes more important to the newly found church than they are with the more established community of believers because they bring the stability and guidance of the Holy Spirit.  When trials and problems come, the church needs men and women full of the Spirit.  When Paul encourages the church in Rome that they are justified through faith and that their suffering will work to their benefit, he writes, And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  (Romans 5:5)  Those who exercise the gifts of the Spirit remind us of the truth of the Good News.

Paul wants the Corinthians to try to excel in gifts that build up the church.  We have seen that prophecy is a desirable gift for the edification of the body of Christ.  Prophecy has two components within the community of believers.  All Christians can speak words of prophecy by the unction of the Holy Spirit, for all have been given the Holy Spirit.  Also, within the church, God has given some a special position of speaking prophetic words to the body as a whole.  The devil attacks and hates prophecy, for prophecy edifies, strengthens, and prepares the church for battle against him and his forces.  Before describing the armor of God, Paul tells us, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  (Ephesians 6:12)  Since we are alive in Christ, we should be willing to express what God tells us in our secret prayer closets.  We should be excited about telling others what God reveals to us.  When God's still small voice encourages and enlightens us, we should desire all people to know what He says.  Our voices should be filled with passion, announcing from the housetops what God says in secret.  This is prophecy.  All of us have access to God's wonderful and powerful voice.  When we are willing to express what God says to us, the church will be strengthened.  Because the devil hates the power of the Holy Spirit in action, he wants you to close up the gift of prophecy in your own spirit.  He wants you to be fearful about saying, "This is what God has been telling me today.  I want to share what has thrilled my soul."  The people who hear you express God in your life will go away challenged, encouraged, ready to take up the cross and follow Jesus.  Are you willing to step out in faith, sharing what God is saying or are you on the back pew, listening to thousands of words from Christian leaders and ministers, reading book after book on Christian thought, but never willing to say, "This is what God is telling me."  If you are unwilling, no words of encouragement or edification will escape your lips: the church will lack the strength your words could bring to build up God's people.  If you speak for God, his glory will go forth, and the Holy Spirit will change lives.  When King Herod gave an oration under the providence of God, the people said, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.  (Acts 12:22)  But God required Herod's life because he did not give God the glory.  May we glorify God today with our words and our lives. 

1 Corinthians 14:1-5 Desire Spiritual Gifts!

1 Corinthians 14:1-5  Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.  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.

The above spiritual gifts are for those who are alive in Jesus Christ, made new creatures by his resurrection power.  Before being made new creatures, we were dead in our trespasses and sins.  Jesus said,  “Follow me now!  Let those who are spiritually DEAD care for their own dead.”  (Matthew 8:22)  Paul writes: As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  (Ephesians 2:1-2)  Dead is dead.  Without the quickening of the Spirit within us, making us alive to him, we cannot be used to do kingdom work for the glory of God.  To be used for his glory, we need to be alive IN HIM through faith in his works and not our own works.  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, MADE US ALIVE with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved.  In this same passage Paul explains further: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  (Ephesians 2:4-5 & 8-10)  Without being alive IN HIM with faith in his power, we cannot be instruments of the Holy Spirit.  We will not speak with God's gifts of tongues or prophecy.  To be used by him, we must be alive to him and exercise the faith He has given us.  What makes us alive?  Faith in Christ Jesus makes us alive to God and his Spirit.  Faith opens the gate to our inner beings.  The Holy Spirit enters us though that gate.  Our faith in Jesus Christ makes us holy, a place where the Holy Spirit, who is without sin, can abide.  Because of the work of Christ, we are an acceptable work to God.  John wrote, But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  (1 John 1:7)  God will use us if we are willing to be used in this world.  He will make us his ambassadors, expressing his goodness and love to the world.  Tongues and prophecies exalt his name.  Tongues edify the spiritual self; prophecies edify the church as a whole.  Both are possible because we are no longer dead, but new creatures, made by the hands of God through Jesus Christ.  

Because the Holy Spirit has breathed a new creature's life in us, we can commune with God in a known tongue or an unknown tongue.  Paul tells us that if a person speaks in an unknown tongue, maybe in a heavenly language, (If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels,) the community of believers will receive little or no benefit from the tongues spoken.  Even though the individual might be speaking wonderful words, beautiful phraseology to God, a message that even the angels understand and glory in, he or she is not edifying other members in the body.  Since we are temporal beings, we need the conventions of a known language to understand what is spoken.  To understand language, humans need a comprehensible linguistic order to words, a sensible structure of sounds that convey meaning to us.  If the sounds in sequence are meaningful to us, we will internalize them in a useful way.  On the other hand, if a person speaks in an unknown tongue, even though it is pleasing to God, initiated by the Holy Spirit, the results to those who are nearby might seem as nothing more than gibberish, useless to their understanding.  However, if a person prophesies in a known language, the people nearby will understand what is said.  Consequently, tongues, unless interpreted, is a gift for the individual.  He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself.  However, anyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.  Both are gifts from God, and both edify the new creature in Christ.  One should be used often in prayer for the edification and strengthening of the individual; the other should be used for the benefit of the church, to strengthen the church as a spiritual body.  This does not mean we should ignore tongues in our prayers to God.  But Paul is clear about tongues in the church.  As he continues his teaching later in this chapter, he says, I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.  But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.  (1 Corinthians 14:18-19)  

In today's verses, Paul continues to address the needs of the church.  In chapter 12, he describes the many parts of the church: giftings, positions, responsibilities.  He also emphasizes the Holy Spirit's work over every part of the body.  There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.  (1 Corinthians 12:4)   In chapter 13, he shows that sacrificial, enduring love brings cohesiveness to the church, providing the glue that holds the parts together.  Without love, the church does not function effectively.  Now in chapter 14, Paul talks about the church operating in the Spirit, beginning with the gifts of tongues and prophecy.  Both are needed in abundance within the church.  Tongues are a gift to believers for personal strengthening and edification.  However, to speak in an unknown language, one must believe that he or she has that resource within them.  If they choose not to believe or lack faith to exercise the gift, tongues remain silent.  Tongues, as with every function in the Holy Spirit, is activated by faith.  A person may believe or not believe God has provided this gift for him or her as a new creature in Christ.  Prophecy functions similarly.  If you do not believe you are gifted, saying what God wants you to say to a person or to the church, you will hold your peace.  For the Bible says the Spirit is subject to your authority and will not override your will.  Therefore, exercising prophecy takes faith.  Father Bennett, author of Nine O'clock in the Morning, said, when you prophesy you should think, I was just talking to God, and He told me to tell you this.  If you believe the opposite, that God has not given you anything to say, you will remain silent, even though God desires you to speak his truth.  All of us come from different life experiences, as unique as our fingerprints.  Each of us has insights to pass on to others.  God always speaks to us and will use our uniqueness to speak to others.  Perhaps what He says to you today should be said to others.  Are you willing to prophesy, to pass on the Good News to others?  In the church context, prophecy is sometimes instantaneous.  God prompts you to get up from the pew, at an opportune moment, to speak a word that will edify the church.  Other times, his words to you come slowly, developed over time.  You prophesy to the church out of a wealth of interactions with God.  Both situations take faith, believing God is in the message and desires you to express his words to his people.  Dear friends, open yourselves up to tongues, to prophecy.  We all need to function better with these gifts.  As the world darkens, light is needed to show the way to truth, to God.  Allow the Holy Spirit to exercise these gifts in your life.      

1 Corinthians 13:8-13 God is Love!

1 Corinthians 13:8-13  Love never fails.  But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.  For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.  When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.  Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love.

Love never fails.  All else might fail us.  Our spiritual understanding and our giftings might fail us.  Even our knowledge of what is might fail us.  But God who is love will never fail us.  In the spiritual sense, love holds all creation together for God is the Creator.  He is the entity who spawned life as we know it; we see his love in the universe.  Love is more than an emotion.  Jesus said the law taught people to ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.  But I say, love your enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you!  In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.  For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust, too.  (Matthew 5:43-45)  For us, the word enemy connotes hatred, bitterness, betrayal.  These are emotions that define an enemy, but Jesus says, God's love wipes those attitudes away.  The love of God surpasses our limited human understanding.  We see that when Jesus is on the cross, He prays, Father, forgive these people, because they don’t know what they are doing.  (Luke 23:34)  Stephen expresses the same forgiveness when he is stoned to death.  Love is a heavenly property flowing from the heart of God.  Maybe if we were caught up into paradise as was Paul's experience, we might come back with a better understanding of love.  But I do know that I was caught up into paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be told.  (2 Corinthians 12:4)  Undoubtedly, love in the perspective of heaven remains beyond our concepts to explain with our words.  Words tend to fail us when we try to define God, the unimaginable in a world guided by the senses.  Who can understand or explain God with our limited vocabulary and concepts.  Talking about our final heavenly dwelling the scriptures say, No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.  (1 Corinthians 2:9)  God, our heavenly home, and God's divine love are beyond our imagination.  So we depend upon the Holy Spirit to teach us who God is, to prepare us for heaven, and to love God and others through us.

Our dependence upon God is complete.  We look to him in all areas of life.  Earlier in Paul's letter we read his rebuke to the Corinthians to stop looking to themselves for wisdom.  He wrote: Stop fooling yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you will have to become a fool so you can become wise by God’s standards.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.  (1 Corinthians 3:18-19)   We often try to use the wisdom and knowledge of this world to explain spiritual realities in a way that is understandable to our natural minds.  Attempts to make the spiritual coherent to the flesh are not inherently bad, for Paul says, Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.  Attempting to understand the spiritual reality of love in its full glory is a futile journey for humans, for we are caught in the garment of the human senses.  Assessing the realities of anything in our world is based on the limited perceptions of our senses.  Knowledge as we know it, even spiritual knowledge as we perceive God and his domain, will be diminished by our human condition.   Now I know in part!  However, I shall know fully!  When I am with Jesus in my final place of rest, I will know him as He is and I will be fully known.  Love will be known fully at that time.  Until then, we can say with Paul, I have been crucified with Christ.  I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  (Galatians 2:19-20)  

We are to express love as the children of God, depending upon Christ in us and the power of the Holy Spirit.  Of course love is encased in our natural bodies, but we should allow it to flow through us in words and actions.  John wrote: Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions.  (1 John 3:18)   If our love is dependent on circumstances or situations, we will do only what the world does for others.  If we give money expecting reciprocation in words or deeds, we will be exactly like the world.  If we want a thank you from those we treat with love, we are operating just like the world.  Jesus said, Love your enemies!  Do good to them!  Lend to them!  And don’t be concerned that they might not repay.  Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to the unthankful and to those who are wicked.  (Luke 6:35)  We should give a cup of water to those who are thirsty, feed those who are hungry.  When we do such acts to the least of these, we are serving Jesus.  He is there in ALL OF THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES.  Continue to love each other with true Christian love.  Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!  Don’t forget about those in prison.  Suffer with them as though you were there yourself.  Share the sorrow of those being mistreated, as though you feel their pain in your own bodies.  (Hebrews 13:1-3)  Are you entertaining angels today by your actions of love?  Are you empathetic to the person in jail, groaning in your spirit for fellow brothers and sisters who are imprisoned?  Do you shed tears and feel pain in your own bodies as you pray for the abused and the neglected?  Do you weep at night when you pray for the lost?  The love of God is unimaginable to us, for it goes beyond our understanding, our way of living.  However, we must put on Christ, ask for his heart of love, feel the pain He felt for a dying and suffering humanity.  He went to the cross for them, for us.  Touch us today, dear Lord.      

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love Never Fails!

1 Corinthians 13:4-8  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.  Love never fails. 

The concept that God is love is a hard one for us frail, sinful, self-willed beings to imagine and to embrace fully.  To fathom a world of sustained, sacrificial, deferential love, a place where laws would disappear, seems beyond us.  We struggle in a world that lacks peace and harmony; daily we see the absence of unconditional love.  For sure, our basic instincts, our survival tendencies, are not in line with an existence of pure love.  Going our own way, doing what is right in our own eyes, seems a better way for survival in a sinful world.  However, the initial sin in the garden of questioning God's authority in our lives has caused division, estrangement, wars, abuse, and great pain in humankind.  Every day in our news reports, we see what our will and our self-orientation has wrought.  Countries, cities, families, relationships are torn apart, destroyed by the selfishness of humans and their lack of love.  People are not patient; they are not kind.  Rather than harmony and peace ruling in this world, cruelty and violence win the day.  If God's authority ruled, relationships, families, nations, and the world would look completely different.  In a world under God's love, policemen would find another job; laws would serve no purpose for people would choose to do right.  Generosity towards others would be common place, so the homeless would find care along with the sick, the helpless, the disadvantaged, and all in every community who needed a helping hand.  We would love each other as we love ourselves.  We would fulfill God's Word: Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.  (Romans 13:8)  God would not have to say to us as he said to Cain:  “Where is your brother Abel?” (Genesis 4:9)  No, we would understand that we are our brother's keeper.  God expects such love from us, for his love in us should compel us to be our brother's keeper.  We should defer to others rather than demand that our own will take preeminence in our relationships with others.  Love is not self-seeking. . .It (Love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  In every interaction, Love NEVER fails.

In our scripture focus, Paul continues his instruction to the church on love.  He knows that God's love provides the glue that holds a body of believers together in good times and in bad.  God's love will always bring harmony, peace, and justice into any body of believers.   Positions, giftings, and responsibilities in the church will not hold the body together if God's generous love is not present.  Jesus told believers: You are the light of the world.  (Matthew 5:14)  Then He told them to let their light shine.  But if the church is not functioning under the authority of God's love, we will be nothing more than a fraternal organization, meeting to talk about good things but not showing the love of God to a hurting world.  James confronts this lack of love in believers, their lack of deferring to others, as a serious problem.  What causes fights and quarrels among you?  Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?  You want something but don’t get it.  You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want.  You quarrel and fight.  You do not have, because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.  (James 4:1-3)  When a church loses its way, anger, disputes, and selfish ambition will be in the center of every interaction.  People will hold grudges and bitterness toward others because their hearts are cold.  Rather than forgiving a hurt in a relationship, unruly and ungodly people will get their pound of flesh by either directly striking back or by sowing seeds of discord in the church.  Of course, disharmony is always the product of such sinful actions.  This lack of obedience to Christ and his love, can reside in anyone, regardless of their responsibility, position, or gifting within the church.  Who is wise and understanding among you?  Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.  But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.  Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.  For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.  (James 3:13-16)  No matter your position in the body of Christ, you should be wise and understanding, listening to the Holy Spirit's leading.  You should know the church operates in love, depending on the love of God functioning in every part of the body.  If love is not allowed freedom, then disorder and evil practices will rise up and bring disorder.

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 dislodges every evil intent of the heart.  Love will take the back seat in any interaction.  Love will not promote self; rather, love promotes God and his desires.  Love brings God to the table in every situation.  If we are to reveal God to the world, we must take Paul's instructions on love seriously.  These words are often read at marriage ceremonies.  The couples usually ascent to these words.  In their prospective marriages, they really want to love each other with a whole heart, an honest heart.  But the flesh quickly comes between them.  They find that they have to put aside their own vision for their life and consider the vision of their spouse.  They discover they have to accommodate the other person's ideas about how to construct a meaningful life.  They realize their self-centeredness has to give way to another person's self-centered ideas.  This is hard and gets harder.  This is when a third person is needed in the relationship, someone who can be the counselor, the advocate for peace, the comforter.  Every relationship needs this person.  Jesus said He must go away so He could send the mighty Counselor, the Spirit of truth and peace who would teach them all things.  When the Holy Spirit fell upon the believers, this third person of the trinity became the reality of God's presence in a Christian's life.  No longer would we be alone, in a position of faith in the God of heaven: we would have the Holy Spirit abiding within us, advocating for God's love.  Marriage relationships break down because God's love is not operative in our interactions.  But love will never slip away if we listen to the Spirit of God abiding in us, teaching and guiding us.  We must open our ears to his urgings.  He is asking us to love others even if it costs us a great deal.  He wants to bear fruit in God's children: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  (Galatians 5:22-23)  If anyone should be hurt in a relationship, let it be us, for love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never ends.  Let it begin today in us!         

1 Corinthians 13:1-31 Love, the Excellent Way!

1 Corinthians 13:1-3  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 

Human nature inclines the heart toward love when a child is born into a family.  Except for pretensions such as the fear a baby will interfere with our self-centered world, love for the helpless infant represents a compelling urge in the parents' hearts.  A parent will love and protect this precious little one, a life conceived and developed within the mother's womb.  Without such love, parents are outside of the normal reaction of humans to a baby that possesses their genes and depends totally upon their care.  In 1 Corinthians 12:31 Paul writes, And now I will show you the most excellent way.  A better way than what?  A better way of organizing the body of Christ other than through special giftings, responsibilities, and positions.  Yes, the body can and is organized in this way, but a more cohesive and more sure bonding of the body comes not through the definite roles, but through the activities and unctions of the unconditional and abiding love of God at work in his children.  The work of individuals in the body will fail us at times as we unite and serve the Lord, but as we will read in our continuing study: Love never fails.  (1 Corinthians 13:8)  Jesus' perspective on love even includes loving our enemies.  But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.  (Matthew 5:44-45)  With that kind of bonding, how can we fall apart into factions and divisions?  No, with love we would consider each other above ourselves, meeting the needs of others before we meet our own.  Our needs and our perspectives would take second place to the functioning of love for others.  If anyone should sustain a rebuke or pain in our relationships with others, we will take the difficult position; we will bear the affront to our self-image and perspectives.  In today's focus, Paul says you might be the most talented, knowledgeable, or reasonable person in your community of believers; but if you are not practicing God's love, you will gain nothing with God.  Your talents and special knowledge are inconsequential if you do not love others.  As we have said often in our breakfasts, Jesus said people would know we are his followers, if you love one another.  (John 13:35)  Are we known by our love or are we known by our critical attitudes and divisions.  Sadly, in the church of God, we have divided many times.  Often those divisions leave a residue of emotional and spiritual pain that passes from one generation to the next.  The bitterness of separation and division can devastate a community of believers.    

Often, we hear the message of love preached in church.  We have heard wonderfully gifted pastors promote love in their teaching and their books.  They back up everything they say with scriptures, yet some of their parishioners seem not to hear their message of love, for they are bickering and disputing within the body.  They are holding grudges against each other.  They will not communicate with those who hold a different view.  They do not see the need to defer to others.  They want their ideas and expertise to champion over the thoughts and skills of others.  They want the church to function according to their vision.  Rather than loving others, they hold great bitterness and at times even hatred in their hearts towards others.  One wonders how they can sit in church Sunday after Sunday, hearing the message of Christ's love for them and how they should love others while holding such angry feelings in their hearts.  What has happened to their spiritual ears?  When Jesus was upset with his disciples for not hearing him, He warned them about the leaven of the Pharisees, and He said, Do you still not see or understand?  Are your hearts hardened?  Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?  (Mark 8:18)   When people's lives run counter to the scriptures, they lose their ability to hear the voice of God.  When our spiritual senses become dull, self-will overwhelms the spiritual person within us.  The flesh does not want to be hurt, does not want to take second place.  In fact, the flesh wants to be preeminent, at the front of the line.  To take the back seat, not to be in the driver's seat, seems difficult or impossible for some people.  They want to say, "Here am I.  I am important too!  I have good ideas.  Listen to ME."  Yes, in a sense those things are true.  You are a unique and an important person with good ideas, and yes, you are significant.  But everything you do should be done within the context of yielding your life to God and loving others as yourself.  John said this clearly:  This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  (1 John 3:16)  When we truly begin to love, our old fleshly person will not like it, and we may argue: "I have rights too.  Why do I have to be second fiddle?  Why do I have to defer to them?"  Most of us do not want to step aside or to feel pain as we operate in our own plans.  But as we see Jesus, we learn what it means to love and to surrender to mercy and grace.  Jesus felt sorrow and pain, but He went to the cross for the joy that was in front of him.  We can experience that same inexpressible joy in him as our lives are hidden with Christ in God. 

In our disobedience, we are no more than a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.   We are heard, but we say nothing worth listening to, for our message is not one of love.  We can talk about love, but our lives must reflect God's love to have an impact upon others.  If we love truly, we give life to the world just as Jesus showed his love by giving his life for us.  If we allow our flesh to be in the forefront of our words and actions, we are just repeating what the world thinks.  The flesh wants to be god of our lives, in control.  “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”  (Genesis 3:1)  The devil told Eve that she could make as sound of a decision for herself as God.  She really did not have to follow God's directions, for she had her own capabilities and knowledge to guide her decisions.  By listening to the father of lies, Adam and Even caused mankind to fall into sin: every man does what is right in his own eyes.  As God pronounced in the Old Testament: And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  (Genesis 6:5)  Unfortunately, in the church, even with special assignments, positions, and gifts, this spirit of self-will is still very much in evidence.  Only by remaining in Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach and to guide us will we be full of the love of the Lord that binds us together in perfect harmony.  There is a better way: the better way is the perfect way of love.  Christ gave himself to us, He died on the cross because of his great love for us.  We who are IN CHRIST SHOULD DISPLAY HIS LOVE AND LIGHT TO THE WORLD.  We read in the Word: This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  (1 John 1:5)  John goes on to say: God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.  (1 John 4:16:   That means we also have to die to our flesh.  We have to be instruments of love.  If we are not, the flesh is in control of our lives.  

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers.  Anyone who does not love remains in death. 

  (1 John 3:14)  Breakfast companions, we are not those who remain in death; we are those who are alive IN CHRIST JESUS.  Therefore, go out and love others with God's perfect love: love your brethren and love the world.  This is your daily assignment.   

1 Corinthians 12:28-30 Christ Is Faithful!

1 Corinthians 12:28-30  And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.  Are all apostles?  Are all prophets?  Are all teachers?  Do all work miracles?  Do all have gifts of healing?  Do all speak in tongues?  Do all interpret?  But eagerly desire the greater gifts.  And now I will show you the most excellent way.

The body of Christ should speak and illustrate the WORD to the world.  In Genesis 1, God speaks human existence into being and creates all that we can know through our senses: what we can measure, detect, and know through our intellect.  This God who speaks nothing into something is greater than our imaginations, for who can imagine this genesis?  We know God is beyond our wildest imaginations.  He has always existed and never will cease to exist.  How can we know such a Creator?  Only through the Christ of the Word: 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 men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.  (John 1:1-5)  Of course the Word in this passage refers to Jesus.  He is, was, and always will be with God the Father.  He is an essential part of God in trinity form.  No doubt, this is a mystery, but the New Testament explicitly points to Jesus as Lord, a part of the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  In referring to Jesus' position as God, Paul says, Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  (Philippians 2:5-7)  Jesus answers Philip's request to see the God of creation by saying,  “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?  Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.  How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?  The words I say to you are not just my own.  Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.  Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves."  (John 14:9-11)  Jesus does not say He reflects God; He says He is one with the Father.  He is in the Father and the Father is in him.  In today's focus, we see there are many members in the body of Christ, the church.  All of these members should function in harmony to reveal the Creator.  Collectively, as the voice of God, we manifest his Word in the flesh.  Each one of us has a limited time on Earth, but just as with John the Baptist, we present Jesus to the World.  We should help people believe the oft quoted words that God loved the world so much that He gave his only Son, so we might not perish in the grave, but have eternal life with God. 

Jesus let the people know who He was through the Word as well as his actions.  Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.  And he stood up to read.  The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.  Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  (Luke 4:16-19)  As members of the church, we are his voice today, continuing to carry out his mission.  We are to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, expressing the good news of God to the world: Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for ALL the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  (Luke 2:10-11)  In a world of sin, there is need for the good news the church has to share.  If we function well, our message of hope and gladness will spread throughout the world.  Every generation will hear God's voice if the church takes up its mission and serves the world in love. Those weary from the consequences of sin, sickness, and sorrow will see a great light, the light of Christ manifested in individuals in their communities of faith.  The year of the Lord's favor can come to every generation if the church functions by the power and authority of the Holy Spirit.  The people of the world will no longer experience life as inconsequential and unsubstantial grass.  As Peter states, Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.  For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.  For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” (1 Peter 1:22-25)  Because the word of the Lord stands forever, the people of the world will no longer have to despair.  No, God has prepared a place for them in heaven, a place of rest for their souls, a place with their Father God where they will praise him forever.  People are not inconsequential, generations are not inconsequential.  God loves all people and has poured out his love and mercy upon all who accept his Son.  The WORD, Jesus Christ, has come to redeem the world from sin and death, for all people, for all time. 

No matter what gifts we display or what positions we hold in the body of Christ, we use our gifts to express God's word of deliverance to a needy world.  All the parts of the body must function well for the world to understand fully God's plan of freedom from sin.  Often, the winds of violence and degradation blow fiercely against every movement of mercy and love the church offers to the world.  No matter how much we live out Christ's life individually and collectively, the world seems to be apathetic or hostile to the message of God's goodness, mercy, and salvation plan.  The church must stand strong, as soldiers of the cross, never retreating, always displaying the Good News, as the angels proclaimed it at Jesus' birth.  We should passionately fulfill our appointed positions in the church: First, apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.  Our callings strengthen and edify the body of Christ.  A strong community of believers reflects Christ and his message to the world.  He came to heal the brokenhearted, to set the captive free, to feed the poor, and to announce the good news to everyone.  Our assignments in the church are important.  As with Jesus, we must be about the Father's work.  In this dark and difficult world, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be a strong voice, crying out the message and leading the way.  As the body of Christ, we must prepare the way for the LORD, so He might indwell the people of this world.  If we function well, based on love, mercy, and servanthood, the world will know God through Jesus Christ, the Lord.  As we continue to share Jesus, people will come to understand their purpose for living; joy and victory will saturate their hearts.  We should never give up but remember that God works behind the scenes, all of the time.  We read in the Word: But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house.  And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.  (Hebrews 3:6)  Dear friends, seek the kingdom of God first, fulfill your position in the church.  Pray about your role in the body: follow your inclination.  Help your pastors, love and serve fellow members.  Open your life to a new direction, one that fits in well with the body of Christ.  Then you will let the world know that  Jesus is Lord in your life, and they can also belong to the God of Creation.  Amen!