1 Corinthians 15:20-28 Hope in Christ!

1 Corinthians 15:20-28  But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.  For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.  For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.  But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.  Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.  The last enemy to be destroyed is death.  For he “has put everything under his feet.”  Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.  When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. 

Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection on Earth were for the purpose of making sons and daughters who can enter into the very presence of God.  We who are bought by the blood of Jesus are transformed into new creatures with the Holy Spirit abiding in us.  As surely as Jesus was raised from the grave so will we be raised.  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)  Christ, the first of the first fruits, freed from the grave, broke through the veil of tears, to be present with God.  We who are IN CHRIST BY FAITH WILL FOLLOW IN THAT TRANSITION FROM DEATH TO LIFE.  This wonderful plan, conceived in the heart of God eons ago, is now implemented on Earth.  A wonderful plan, but it is a plan that can be fulfilled only through an act of faith in Christ's death on the cross and his victory over the grave.  God will not allow us to go the visceral way, a way of the senses, a way of proofs that please the intellect.  No, He asks us to stand by faith, to believe something that the carnal world cannot believe, for this plan cannot be perceived by the natural mind, on which we depend in this world.  Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  This is what the ancients were commended for.  By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.  To believe that He is and that He is a good God.  (Hebrews 11:1-3)  The ancients were commended for believing in something they could not see.  God will also honor our faith in what we cannot experience through our senses.  Not one person around this breakfast table can explain adequately to us what heaven is like, giving the details that will make it come alive.  Yet, we believe in such a land, a place called home for all who are new creatures in Christ.  Of course heaven is God's holy dwelling place.  As the Word says, The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.  (Psalm 103:19)  As with the levitical priests, God is our inheritance.  They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the LORD is their inheritance, as he promised them.  (Deuteronomy 18:1)  

Life for all of us will be played out in the wilderness.  We believe there is a Promised Land in front of us, but we do not partake of it now.  We cannot conceive of it fully with our human limitations.  As we read earlier in our study, we do not have clear spiritual sight with our earthly vision, but we look to a time when we will see the Lord face to face and know him and ourselves completely: For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.  (1 Corinthians 13:12)  But, we do have the blessed Holy Spirit present in us who constantly encourages us to keep going, to endure to the end.  He reminds us often that we are God's beloved children.  Therefore, God will never abandon us in the wilderness of life, in this finite existence.  When we struggle with trials and problems, He will provide living water for our parched souls, spiritual manna from his storehouse when we are weak and desperate.  The reality of the Holy Spirit in our lives ensures our spiritual well-being.  But our ears must be continuously tuned to his voice, for we are traversing a sparse land, that is not conducive to our spiritual survival.  If we listen to the Holy Spirit, He will remind us of God's great love for us and tell us about our inheritance of eternal life.  This world will pass away when all things have been put under his authority.  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.  The last enemy to be destroyed is death.  Brothers and sisters, remember we are greatly cherished, even as Jesus Christ is cherished by God.  Yet, unless Christ comes soon, we will not escape death.  Nonetheless, we should not fear death, for it is not the end for believers, but the beginning of our life in heaven with God.  Our spirits will rise to be present in the family of God.  All of our enemies, all of our struggles, all of our tears will cease when we are present with the ETERNAL GOD.  We know this is true from various scriptures such as Paul's words: We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.  (2 Corinthians 5:8)

In the beginning God created everything!  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.  (Genesis 1:1-3)  God separated the light from darkness.  He made a distinction, declaring the light as good.  He brought life to this planet when it was merely formless and empty.  Even then his heart held a plan that exceeded making men and women and walking with them in the cool of the evening.  He planned to bring such light into the human form that the darkness would flee from their souls.  Adam and then Eve was a very good work, but they could and did fall away from God.  They could not achieve the position of adoption into God's family.  They were created creatures, but God desired sons and daughters in his intimate family, always present with him.  Of course, this all goes beyond man's imagination.  We are BUT HUMAN; how can we envision such a reality?  Faith alone opens our eyes to God's purposes.  Jesus came, performing one miracle after another, doing things that no other person from the beginning of time could do.  He performed these miracles to substantiate He was God, that He came from the Father's house.  His claim was that He would provide eternal life to finite men and women.  He came to present God's salvation plan to the world.  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.  (John 3:16)  We will not perish for the resurrection reveals there is life eternal.  Jesus experienced that transition first.  He walked this earth, experiencing all the difficulties of man in the flesh: anxieties, pain, sorrow, bewilderment.  He experienced life as it is.  He went to the grave with a cry: From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.  About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” — which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  (Matthew 27:45-46)  But as Paul says, Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.  Christ arose, and so will we all be raised from the dead if we have trusted in the risen Lord.  We are not without hope, for hope is our inheritance, won by the blood of Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:12-19 Resurrection Our Hope!

1 Corinthians 15:12-19  But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.  More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.  If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

Without the supernatural reality of Jesus being raised from the dead, we who believe in Jesus and his teachings, we who follow him, who worship him, are to be pitied.  The King James version of the Bible ends today's passage with: If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.  As Paul concludes, And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.  We are more to be pitied than any other people who inhabit this world because our faith is in vain.  Without the resurrection of Christ, Christians are believing in something no more special or worthy than the most absurd philosophy or ideology that man can construct.  If Jesus Christ had not performed all the miracles written in scripture, if He had not accomplished more in human form than any other person that has ever existed; by now, He would have blended nondescriptly into the historical account of human existence.  But Jesus did perform one miracle after another; He did control nature.  Through his walk and teaching, He revealed himself as far superior than just an ordinary man.  When John attests to the authority of his account of the gospel, he says, Jesus did many other things as well.  If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.  (John 21:25)  Without a doubt, Jesus' supernatural acts impressed men, caused many to follow him and some to take up the cross and become his disciples.  But the culmination of his life as more than just a man came at the resurrection.  After his resurrection, people knew that God came down in human form to visit this earth.  He placed his plan of redemption on the table for all to partake.  Jesus performed wonderful acts in his life: performed marvelous miracles, taught many people.  But the resurrection truly separates him from all men who have ever lived.  He is the first to be resurrected from the grave, allowing many to follow after him because He won the victory over death and the grave.  When Paul says we are to be pitied if there is no resurrection, He implies that Christ's resurrection is the blessed hope of every believer.

Jesus became the first born from death to life when resurrected from the grave.  He first passed through the veil of tears into eternal life with God.  Yes, Jesus was God, but he paid the price of death for the sins of the world.  He was hidden in the grave away from the intimate presence of God.  He cried out to his Father on the cross. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” — which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  (Matthew 27:45-46)   Crucifixion day was dark, for God had turned away from the curse on the cross: Christ his Son bearing the sin of mankind.  God abhors sin; He will not look upon it with favor; He will always judge it with death.  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”  He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.  (Galatians 3:13-14)   Jesus went to the grave totally dependent upon the grace of his Father to send the Spirit to lift him up again.  The Spirit raised him after three days in the belly of whale, the only sign given to man that He is truly God.  He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign!  But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  (Matthew 12:39-40)  This sign of being in the grave three days was the ultimate signature of Jesus being God and his plan for redemption of all people who would call upon his name.  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)  Our hope in this life is to be raised into eternal life with God after our physical demise.  Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we too will someday be raised from our sleep to eternal life.  We will no longer be away from God on this island we call Earth, we will be with him.  What a glorious hope!

Since our hope is in the resurrection, we should live as those who are experiencing eternal life.  Our eyes should not be fixed on these earthly matters to the point the we lose this hope.  Our hope will soon fade if we count the things of this world to be too important: our eating, drinking, and merry-making activities.  If the resurrection is not in our eyes, we are as Paul said, to be pitied, for we are living a lie, and we are miserable, for we have lost our way.  On one hand, we tell the world that Christ lives; on the other hand, we live as if Christ is dead.  If our main interests are embedded in this world, the people we come into contact with will know what we think is important.  For we identify the important elements of our lives by the way we spend our time and our resources.  When Jesus tells his disciples to take no thought for tomorrow about what they will wear or what they will eat and to seek the kingdom of God, He also says, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  (Luke 12:34)  Our hearts will betray us, for we cannot hide our motives and intentions for long.  It is not our words that define us but our actions.  We can say, "I love you!" to a family member or a friend, but if our actions do not bear out our words, then we are as a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  (1 Corinthians 13:1)  If we stopped to think, could each of us recall loved ones we have neglected, good friends we have let fall by the wayside, hurting people we have ignored?  We know that we have a glorious hope in our precious Lord and Savior who paved the way for us by giving everything that we might live eternally.  When Paul closed his letter to Titus, he reminded him of how he should live.  Given our hope of resurrection in Christ, we do well to remember this admonition: For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:11-14)  

   

1 Corinthians 15:9-11 By Grace We Stand!

1 Corinthians 15:9-11  For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.  No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.  Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

Paul, one who persecuted the church of Christ, became a disciple on the road to Damascus.   Jesus intervened in Paul's life when he was on his way to Damascus, with a purpose in his heart, to bring these people (Christians) as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.  (Acts 22:5)  About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.  I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, "Saul! Saul!  Why do you persecute me?"  "Who are you, Lord?" I asked.  "I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting," he replied.  My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.  “What shall I do, Lord?" I asked.  "Get up," the Lord said, "and go into Damascus.  There you will be told all that you have been ASSIGNED TO DO."  (Acts 22:6-19)  Jesus called him directly, called him to be his disciple, to do THE ASSIGNED work of God.  What assigned work have you been called to do?  Undoubtedly, the over 500 people who saw Jesus after He was resurrected had a story to tell about the RESURRECTED ONE.  For sure, the disciples and Paul were not the only ones to spread the Good News throughout the area and in distant lands.  There were many more whose lives were changed by experiencing new life in Christ.  In Paul's writings, we find other people who are less prominent fulfilling their ASSIGNED task of spreading the Gospel.  Paul mentioned many of their names.  These people, even though they may not have seen Jesus first hand, believed emphatically in the message of Christ's resurrection.  They believed faith in Jesus Christ brought eternal life to them.  They, as Paul, were willing to risk their whole lives for this message of eternal life.  When Jesus told Thomas to touch his hands and his side if that is what he needed to believe in his resurrection, he told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  (John 20:29)  

Paul called himself the chief of sinners because he opposed Jesus directly, zealously persecuting the body of Christ, glorying in his mission of bringing members of Christ's church to physical death.  He was an outright enemy of God and of God's plan of salvation for humankind.  But God's salvation reaches down to save even the worst of us, the chief of sinners.  Of course, that is good news for all of us, for we are all known in the scriptures as enemies of God.  There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  (Romans 3:23-24)  The scriptures plainly say we are primarily self-oriented, under our own authority.  This Adamic behavior drives our daily lives, exposing the preeminence of self-authority in opposition to God's royal laws.  When the Pharisees questioned him about the greatest commandment,  Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  (Matthew 22:37-40)  Because of Adam's nature within us, we reject God, for we are not subservient to his authority.  As the Bible mentions many times, we do what is right in our own eyes, not what is right in God's eyes.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  (Isaiah 53:6)  Paul definitely was a sheep that had gone astray just as we also are sheep that have gone astray. Paul worked hard for the Lord to prove that the grace given to him was not without effect.  He wanted others to know that God's grace was so merciful and efficacious that it could take even him, change him completely from an enemy of God to God's friend.  As enemies of God, we will find that same wonderful, all-encompassing grace as our own escape from eternal damnation if we turn to Christ.  

Breakfast companions, pick up your cross and follow Jesus.  Some of you are in pain or sorrow today, struggling to believe.  Your lives have reached a standstill in the Wilderness.  You hold onto a belief in a Promised Land ahead; otherwise, this life for you would be madness.  As you look around, you try to figure how to survive in this barren land.  Seemingly, there is no water to be had, no food to eat, no cover from the blazing sun.  We would like you to look again at Paul's life, his teachings.  Paul was a learned man, but he believed wholeheartedly in the following: For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.  (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)  Christ has been resurrected, and you are a precious vessel of God.  As a human, God has made you in his image; He has made you to be a temple for his Spirit.  The plan of salvation is to allow this Spirit, the Spirit of resurrection, to abide in you.  Christ died on the cross to provide you this power of resurrection, of eternal life, because you are precious, coveted by God.  He has destined you from the beginning of time to be a son or a daughter in his household for eternity.  Today, no matter how far away you feel from God, the work of eternal life is in you.  It is his work, not your work.  The Bible says, endure to the end.  Paul told Timothy: Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him.  (2 Timothy 2:11-12)  You must endure in believing Christ died for you.  His work is completely efficacious, enough for your sins.  

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”  With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

  (John 19:30)  The work has been done for you.  IT IS FINISHED in your life: no more sorrow without hope, no more tears without end!  When you look around and try to figure out where is the food, where is the water, where is the lightening from heaven that will prove that God exists, remember, it is finished!  You are Christ's workmanship, not your own.  The Spirit within you cries out, "Abba Father."  He is your Abba Father, and his grace for you is not without effect.

1 Corinthians 15:1-8 We Are Free!

1 Corinthians 15:1-8  Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.  By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.  Otherwise, you have believed in vain.  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.  

After discussing appropriate behavior within the Corinthian church, Paul now wants them to reflect on how they became Christians.  He reminds them to hold firmly to the word he has preached to them.  If they are merely members of a community of believers without an understanding of who Christ is and without a personal faith in his works and not their own, they are nothing more than just members of an organization.  But if they have really received Paul's words and have taken their STAND on the truth of those words, they are "saved."  As "saved" people, they are not just participants with a group of believers, they are members of the body of Christ.  As members of his body, they are imaging God here on Earth through the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  They are no longer finite, but eternal with their hope not in this world, but in the world to come.  They have been saved to be with God as his sons and daughters, adopted by Christ's blood into the family of the Most High.  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.  Therefore come out from them and be separate," says the Lord.  "Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.  I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters," says the Lord Almighty.  (2 Corinthians 6:16-18)  Paul wants them to remember the essence of the gospel, that they are new creatures, belonging to the family of God.  They have died, been buried, and risen with Christ.  As Christ is, so are they: eternally alive with God the Father.  However, if they do not appreciate the Good News and hold passionately to its tenets, their salvation is not sure, for salvation faith is an adamant belief in the account and works of Christ and complete trust in his shed blood for the remission of sin.  

Paul was abnormally born.  He met Christ on the road to Damascus when  Jesus encountered him, asking, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?  It is hard for you to kick against the goads."  (Acts 26:14)  His conversion was abnormal because through this event, he was not only saved from eternal damnation, he was given a commission to deliver the Good News to the Gentile world.  "Now get up and stand on your feet.  I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.  I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles.  I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." (Acts 26:16-18)  In his ministry to the Corinthians, he was fulfilling this commission.  However, for the Corinthians and all Gentiles, to forsake the customs and the traditions of their forefathers was a scary proposition.  Their religious practices and ways of living were ingrained into the very fabric of their being.  To accept Christ and his works as their way to knowing God, placed them outside of their society, their community.  To be a Christian, meant they lost the comfort of the institutions that they and their forefathers had believed in for generations.  For Gentiles to believe emphatically in Christ's efficacious work, a Jewish man's work, represented a difficult step for them to take since this confession would cut them off from their families and communities.  In the above focus, Paul restates for them the essence of following Christ.  Down to and including our generation, we must leave our old ways and ideas about life behind us, crucifying the old self at the cross with Christ.  We must hold firmly to the Good News, the new life, for IN CHRIST we live.  As Paul wrote: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  (Galatians 2:20)   

John reminded the church to hold fast to their faith.  See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you.  If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.  And this is what he promised us — even eternal life.  (1 John 2:24-25)  If what we have heard remains in us, we will remain in the Son and in the Father; we will have eternal life; we will be saved from destruction.  We will be changed!  I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  (1 Corinthians 15:50-52)  The Bible tells us the joy of the Lord is our strength.  When we hear these words, we know in whom we believe.  Jesus Christ and his works give us this great hope of life eternal, on Earth and in our heavenly home.  When Paul describes the glorious plan of salvation for the Gentiles, he says, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  (Romans 15:13)  Christ won this life for us by shedding his blood at the cross, so we do not have to die under the judgment of sin.  Our bodies grow old because of the corruption of sin, but our hope of life eternal rests IN CHRIST.  The Gentiles needed to know that.  They needed to abandon their old lifestyle, their former way of making sense out of the world.  The Jews needed to abandon their old way of trying to please God.  They needed a savior, just as much as the Gentiles needed a savior.  Paul came to the Gentile world to announce the Good News to them.  We who are living today, need to announce the Good News to everyone we know and love.  God is alive: He is the Most High God!  He knows the hairs on your head; he knows how many sparrows fall today.  He has an inventory of all the stars and galaxies in existence.  He is bigger and mightier than our imaginations.  YET, HE HAS SAID, I WANT SONS AND DAUGHTERS TO BE MANIFESTED FROM THE FLESH OF HUMANITY.  He has made us special, in his image.  He has brought the salvation message to us, to transform us so his Holy Spirit can abide in us, so we can abide with him in oneness.  What a great plan for the Gentiles!  What a great plan for the Jews!  What a great plan for the World!  All Creation will be FREE by the grace and mercy of the Lord.  It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  (Galatians 5:1)    

1 Corinthians 14:33-40 God Pours Out His Spirit!

1 Corinthians 14:33-40  As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches.  They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says.  If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.   Did the word of God originate with you?  Or are you the only people it has reached?  If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command.  If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored.  Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.  But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.  

In chapter 14 we have been exploring behavior in the church.  Paul primarily talks about the usage of spiritual gifts: tongues and prophecy.  In the above focus, he places within this theme of appropriate behavior in the church the issue of women speaking in the congregation.  As in all churches at that time, women were to remain silent; they are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission as the Law says.  This was traditional decorum in the synagogues.  Women and men were separated within their congregations with the stipulation that women should not be participants in the service.  They should remain silent, and if they had questions about the service or what was said, they should hold their questions or observations until they got home.  There, in their homes, they could seek answers and engage in discussions about the meetings.  As with the usage of the gifts of the Spirit, the behavior of the congregation was important to Paul, for God is not the author of discord or confusion.  Some commentaries suggest that women were speaking loudly to each other or even shouting out across the way to their husbands with a question and disturbing the services.  Therefore, following the customs and traditions of the Pharisees was a good way to bring order back into the Corinthian church.  As noted, Paul says, As in ALL the congregations of the saints: this decorum, this way of worship with the women holding their peace, was well-established in the nascent churches.  Paul's reference to the Law probably refers to the oral Law or traditional law, passed down from generation to generation.  This law often superseded or took precedence over scriptural law; such as, honoring your father and mother.  The Pharisees allowed the gifts given to them to supersede the necessity of taking care of parents, thereby violating scripture.  Jesus oftentimes questioned the validity of the oral traditions and the oral laws.

Paul wanted everything done in orderliness, for the Spirit does not promote disorderliness.  However, in discussing the spirituality of women or their right to exercise spiritual gifts, we must accept the Spirit's authority in our lives.  You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  (Galatians 3:26-28)  We see that IN CHRIST, filled with his Spirit, there is neither male nor female.  The Spirit of God is the driving force in every believer.  He alone propels the spiritual man or woman to fulfill his or her purpose on Earth.  There are no second-class citizens in God's family: all are necessary; all should fulfill their roles in the body of Christ.  In the New Testament we see women honored in every book.  We see women supporting the disciples in their ministries.  Paul asks for help for women who worked with him: Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.  (Philippians 4:3)  We find women, even at the cross and later at the tomb, still supporting Jesus, not running away, but waiting to see what will happen with Jesus.  Jesus often praised women.  In one situation when a woman enters the house of Simon the Pharisee to minister to Jesus, Jesus reveals to Simon how special she is to him and to God.  She showers Jesus with her love, her devotion to him.  Because of her humbleness and repentance, Jesus implies that this woman of ill repute has gained more favor with God than the righteous Simon.  Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven — for she loved much.  But he who has been forgiven little loves little.  (Luke 7:47)  In another situation, Jesus praises a woman who gives two coins, her everything, to the temple's coffer, placing her above all the others who gave money to the temple.  Blessed above all women by God, Mary gave birth to Jesus and cared for him.  As Jesus' mother, God trusted her with the closest relationship with Jesus the man.  These women and others throughout the Bible were important to God and vitally used by the Holy Spirit.  God is no respecter of persons.  He uses all who are open to his Spirit, both men and women who follow him with loving hearts.

God is no respecter of persons, for we know He promised to pour out his Spirit upon all people, men and women alike: And afterward I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.  Even upon the menservants and upon the maidservants in those days will I pour out My Spirit.  (Joel 2:28-29)  If he uses all of us, then how should we act in our homes, our communities, and our congregations?  If we are ministers, we should minister.  If we are prophets, we should prophesy.  If we are teachers, we should teach.  If we are helpers, we should help.  If we are administrators, we should administrate.  We should be and do what God desires for us.  Our homes should reflect God in every way.  We should all be manifesting the Spirit's purpose and fruit in our lives.  Wherever we are, we should reveal that God is alive in us.  How should we function and live our lives?  For sure, we should dwell in orderliness rather than chaos or disruption.  Paul instructs the church on how to behave within a community of believers.  In reality, we are never absent from living in community.  We are in community in our homes, at our jobs, in our neighborhoods, and wherever we are.  Consequently, doing everything in a fitting and orderly way is important to us in our lives.  How we treat others and how we express ourselves is important.  We might not be speaking in tongues or prophesying in our daily lives, but if we claim to be Christians, we are ALWAYS REFLECTING GOD to the world.  Our lives must be in order so others will know and hear the voice of God through our actions and reactions.  This process begins at home with those who know us best and it goes on into the workplace and everywhere we go.  We do not simply attend church on Sunday, take part in a Bible study, or wear a WWJD bracelet and thus fulfill our part for God.  We must show the love of Jesus in all of our ways.  Whether you are a man or a woman, think on this today: Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.  (Philippians 2:5-8 KJV)    

1 Corinthians 14:26-33 A God of Peace!

1 Corinthians 14:26-33  What then shall we say, brothers?  When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.  All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.  If anyone speaks in a tongue, two — or at the most three — should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret.  If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.  Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.  And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop.  For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.  The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.  For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.

Today's focus is a continuation of our last few breakfasts on Corinthians 14.  Paul speaks about the Spirit of God's manifestations in the church.  The infilling of the Holy Spirit has brought a new dimension in their lives: the Holy Spirit functioning within individual believers, glorifying God and clarifying their spiritual understanding.  Paul knows this revelatory Spirit abides in them richly, revealing beautiful truths to them: When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.  This wonderful Spirit of God within them separates them from what is secular and causes them to understand and to appreciate the living God.  As new creatures because of the Spirit's transforming power within them, they are also members of the body of Christ, known as the church.  Within the church, the Spirit of God does not function for each member's edification alone, but for the instruction and edification of the whole body.  Therefore, Paul instructs the Corinthians on the orderly operation of the Holy Spirit within a community of believers.  Manifesting spiritual gifts should not bring chaos because the Holy Spirit strengthens and encourages the church by using individual believers in a supernatural way.  Believers should do their part as the Spirit moves them for the benefit of the church.  All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.  He warns them about aberrant behavior, discordant behavior in the church.  If such chaotic actions are allowed, the secular community around them will think they are crazy.  So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? (vs. 23)  The church within a community should be a place where people learn about the living, eternal God, not a place of discordant behavior.  The Spirit of God brings peace, not discord.  As James wrote: For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.  Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.  (James 3:16-18)

We must beware of taking the supernatural out of the church.  If we do, we take the preternatural away from the church, making the church just another social gathering, a fraternal organization, a club, a place to enjoy fellowship with others.  Let this not be the fate of the body of Christ.  The church is a supernatural body, out of the ordinary, fitted together by God himself.  The Holy Spirit propels, motivates, and energizes the church by indwelling every facet of the body of Christ.  This Holy Spirit performs supernatural actions within the church, within every member.  I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.  He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.  (John 14:12)  When we gather together, we should bring hymns, insights, revelations, answers to prayers, to the body.  We should come to church with a passion for God and what He has been telling us and doing in our lives, prepared to tell others about God's revelations and miracles.  Instead of merely listening and occupying a pew, we should be active, vibrant parts of the body of Christ; ready to share God's blessing with testimonies of his goodness.  If we are reluctant to experience God in this dynamic way, our spiritual lives will become anemic as we wander in our own spiritual wildernesses, not hearing the Spirit's voice of encouragement and admonition, not seeing the cloud by day and the pillar of fire at night.  Our scripture focus reveals action, dynamism.  Do we covet such activity in our churches, or is this kind of activism too demanding, too dependent on our spirituality, on our listening to the Spirit, on our desire to know God?  Are we afraid to have a church service dependent on the spirituality of the members in the congregation?  Has it become easier to have paid professional pastors and talented musicians fully responsible for the church services?  When we depend on these individuals, our role in the church is less important, less demanding; allowing us to conduct ourselves the way we want without any real spiritual obligations to our fellow believers.  We do not have to be spiritual, supernatural.  We can be secular to the absolute degree and still feel we belong in the church of the living, intimate God who longs for the worship of his people.

As newborn children of God, joint-heirs with Christ, we are not meant to live as those who do not know the Lord.  Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  (Colossians 3:1-4)  Breakfast companions, are we setting our hearts on things above or are we so secular minded we do not even think or believe that we should bring a spiritual gift to the body of Christ.  Of course, we must occupy this world until the Lord comes, for we must survive in this world; however, God intended us to live as spiritual beings.  We are new creatures IN CHRIST.  Consequently, in this new spiritual reality, do we have a tongue, an interpretation, an inspiration, a prophecy, an encouragement, an instruction for the church?  Or, do we consider that passe, something done in the olden times by the nascent church, but not for us, the more mature church?  We must consider: Is not Christ the same today as He was in yesteryear?  Is this teaching of Paul, something for the Corinthians alone, but not for our churches?  Do we believe the Holy Spirit's voice is not needed in an active way in our body of believers?  As spiritual beings, are we dependent on God's voice or man's voice?  Are we to advance in spiritual wisdom and knowledge solely through ordinary ways of cognition or are we to advance through revelations and insights given by God?  Are the great thinkers, philosophers, theologians our foundations for knowledge about existence and eternal revelations?  Or is the Holy Spirit and his works still the foundation of knowing anything about the existence or God?  As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you.  But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit — just as it has taught you, remain in him.  (1 John 2:27)  God's gift, the Holy Spirit, is eternal and omnipresent.  He knows everything going on in our lives.  He knows what our churches need, what our families need, what we need.  He desires to speak to us in the great NOW.  When we are in fellowship with other believers, the Holy Spirit is present.  Will we allow him to be active, to be our counselor, our advocate, our comforter, our healer, our guide?  Allow for the Holy Spirit's manifestations to be in the church of the living God.    

1 Corinthians 14:20-25 God Is Among You!

1 Corinthians 14:20-25  Brothers, stop thinking like children.  In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.  In the Law it is written: “Through men of strange tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me,” says the Lord.  Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers.  So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?  But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare.  So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!” 

We who are IN CHRIST are in God's house, members of his family.  Jesus Christ has birthed us through his salvation.  We were dead in sins, but now are alive IN CHRIST.  Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house, but only as a servant.  His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later.  But Christ, the faithful Son, was in charge of the entire household.  And we are God’s household, if we keep up our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.  (Hebrews 3:5-6)  We should not be infants in considering evil.  We know that everything outside of the spiritual world, that which exists in the wilderness of this life, will not feed us.  We are not sustained or built up spiritually by the natural aspects of our lives but by the supernatural movement of God within us.  Therefore, we should know as spiritual beings we live by every word that comes from the household of God where the Spirit dwells.  As Jesus said when He was tempted by the devil in the desert, Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.  (Matthew 4:4)  Our lives depend on us hearing the voice of God with our inner ears.  Concomitantly, we also live by the activities and words of God expressed through the church.  Paul tells us to think as adults as we exercise our faith.  God's words through the unctions of the Holy Spirit, whether tongues or prophecy, should be heeded by the members of the church.  One is for the edification of the individual and the other for the edification of the community of believers.  The carnal man might be impressed by the phenomenon of tongues, but on the whole unless he comes to God, he will probably consider the actions of the Holy Spirit: tongues or prophecy, as nothing more than man's inventions, made up by ignorant people, willing to believe in mysticism.  But as members of God's household, we must take the movement of the Spirit in our lives and minds seriously, never discounting the Spirit's power and never attributing the Spirit's work to mere human engineering.  We must accept God's presence in our lives as the Children of Israel believed in the cloud and pillar of fire that accompanied them through the desert.

The Children of Israel constantly experienced the presence of the Spirit of God as they journeyed through the wilderness.  He never left them: cloud by day, fire by night.  Even though He never left them and even though He provided marvelous miracles for them as they traversed the desert, they hardened their hearts.   They failed to believe that God was capable of delivering them to the Promised Land.  They chose to disbelieve his authority: his omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent power.  Their hearts were hardened by unbelief, not fully understanding or recognizing the supernatural environment they lived in as they crossed the wilderness.  This unbelief led to the fear that eventually kept God's people from entering into his promised rest in spite of all the miracles God performed for them.  Even their sandals did not wear out in their difficult journey to the Promised Land.  God was with them in every respect: water, food, clothing.  They forgot God provisions were always in the NOW when they needed him, that He would be in the NOW as they conquered Canaan.  God is the ageless God.  His presence, his voice are today.  The church of God lives in this milieu NOW.  We are given spiritual ears to hear his voice.  As we activate the faith within us, we will know God's voice.  Jesus said, He who has ears, let him hear.  (Matthew 11:15  As we discussed previously, God desires to minister to us through supernatural gifts of tongues and prophesy, gifts of the NOW.  Tongues edify the individual; however, if there is an interpretation of the tongue, the message will edify the church.  Those who have spiritual ears will hear God glorified through the message of the unknown tongue.  However, if the interpretation is not given, the ears of the church will not receive an intelligible message; consequently, the church as a whole will benefit little.  Of course, prophecy under the unction of the Holy Spirit benefits all who hear with a listening ear.  Both gifts are given to us by the Spirit for our immediate benefit as we travel through this world of chaos: where outside of Christ, men and women do what is right in their own eyes.  In Matthew 3, John says, I baptize with water those who turn from their sins and turn to God.  But someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am—so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  (vs 11)  The church has been baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire.  God is with us as surely as He was with the children of Israel as they journeyed from slavery to the Promised Land.  

Can we say with the sinner who hears prophecy that exposes his innermost being, "God is really among you (US)!”  Or have we become so jaded, so familiar with God's presence, that we discount his work in us and among us?  Are our hearts hardened against the movement of the Holy Spirit?  Do we disbelieve, not affirming that God is speaking to us, using the gifts of tongues and prophecy?  Do we have ears to hear the nuances of all the world has to offer, but they are not attuned to God's voice?  Do we live our lives thinking the only way to know God is through Christian scholarship, as if understanding the God of the past will help us believe God's presence is with us NOW?  We must not forget that we are people of faith who walk by faith, not by sight.  (2 Corinthians 5:7)  If we consider God's desire to be with us in the NOW as only a figment of our imaginations, we will die in the desert, never entering God's promised rest.  The voice of this world will drown out the reality of a supernatural God who has birthed supernatural children.  We must be alive to the Spirit of God or we will lose the passion to follow God.  If we lose this passion, there will be no enthusiasm to conquer Canaan, to face the giants in the land.  When Moses sent his men to spy out the land, they brought back grapes so large, it took two men to carry a bunch on a pole.  Yet in spite of the bounty, most of the men were afraid they could not win the battle against the inhabitants in the land God promised them.  But Caleb said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”  (Numbers 13:30)  He saw the land with eyes of faith   Without eyes of faith, we will not endure to enter our Promised Land, heaven.  Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters.  Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.  You must warn each other every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.  For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.  But never forget the warning:  “TODAY YOU MUST LISTEN TO HIS VOICE.  Don’t harden your hearts against him as Israel did when they rebelled.”  (Hebrews 3:12-15)  We must stop thinking like children and in our thinking be adults because God desires to communicate with each one of us and with the church as a whole.  He wants us to seek his voice and to know his love in an intimate way.  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  NOW remain in my love.  (John 15:9)