1 Corinthians 3:16-23 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple. Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future — all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.
The beautiful words in today's focus were written by the Holy Spirit through the functioning of Paul's temple. The Spirit tells us that all things, all possibilities, all wisdom, all knowledge, all understanding, all comfort, ALL THINGS are ours because we are of Christ, IN CHRIST, AND CHRIST IS OF GOD. We are not just part of God: we are in the heart of God because of Jesus Christ our Lord, the bright and shining star of heaven. We know his exalted position because Jesus said, I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star. (Revelation 22:16) When we don't truly understand or accept by faith our prominent position in God, we sometimes try to understand God and his domain with the knowledge and understanding of the world around us. In doing this, we place God within our physical reality and awareness, sometimes making him a superman, a powerful superhero; better than we are, but much like us, just with more ability to conquer evil. But in reality, none of us can image the future in God's presence. We do not know what we will be like then. We cannot even image the environment of heaven: the landscape, the beauty, the brightness, the glory, the sound. But what we do know now is the presence of the Holy Spirit within us. He tells us of the altogether lovely one, Jesus Christ. He reveals, manifests, Christ in us. The Spirit of God will always be with us, even after our biological death, for He is the one who will raise us from death. The Spirit who is the life-giver, comforts our hearts with the words of God. Paul tells the church at Colossia that he was commissioned by God to tell the saints the mysteries of God: To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) Paul reinforces the idea of God within us to the Corinthians by saying, Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? Or, to be clear, Don't you know who you are? You are a redeemed child of God, born out of season, not in the natural way, but through the Spirit of God. He has created you, made you a new creature, not out of the dust of this world, but out of the blood of Jesus Christ. His life, his nature, flows through you because of the Spirit of God within you, guiding you, comforting you, teaching you the plan of God.
Christian friend, today the Spirit says, Do not deceive yourselves. Your life does not depend on your super human wisdom, knowledge, or understanding of the ways of this world or the ways of God. This is not how you know God, for the wisdom and knowledge of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. Even in the Old Testament we read, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. (Isaiah 55:8) Christians sometimes attempt to mix their natural wisdom and knowledge with the wisdom and knowledge of God. People want to become wise in this world so that they might be better instruments, witnesses, for God. This mixture of God and man will always fall apart, for the wisdom and knowledge of men remain caught in finiteness, in this temporary existence, in this physical awareness. Even the greatness of the universe, the stars and galaxies, does not tell us anything about the heart of God, his desire to fellowship with mankind. If we try to find God in our finiteness, our existence, our physical environment, we will always be mixing foolishness with God's all-powerful, all-present, all-knowing reality. The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile. Of course, unredeemed man tries his best to understand existence, our life on Earth: How did things evolve, where did life begin, what is life, is life unique to this planet, and a plethora of questions? The natural mind swims in this pool of investigating, questioning, seeking to know the answers to the mysteries of all things. But how is it with God, the Creator of all that is and was and will be? As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” Rather than seeking God, resting in the knowledge He exists, mankind relies upon worldly wisdom and knowledge, following a circuitous path without beginning or ending. As Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthian church, So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18) To find the wisdom of God, we must look to the Spirit within, who will reveal divine truth to each one who asks in faith believing, each one who comes in the name of our precious Lord, Jesus Christ.
All things are yours, even the insights of Paul, Apollos, Cephas, or an understanding of life itself, of death, the present, and the future. In the Spirit's presence within our temples resides all knowledge, all wisdom, all understanding, all comfort. We who are IN CHRIST are temples of the Most Holy God. He in us, we in him is the marvelous reality of salvation, total separation from sin. WE ARE NOW PEOPLE OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD! How does this translate into the real world where we live? How do we know the Spirit lives in us in a vital, visceral way? First, and most importantly, we know the Spirit abides within us because God's Word promises this in many places. John wrote: Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. (1 John 3:24) We and others will know we have the Spirit within by how much we love others. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. (1 John 4:16) Our love reveals God. If we love little, God is revealed little. If we love much, even our enemies, God is revealed much. Does this answer all the questions man has about existence? No, but love does answer the questions about real life, the present, and the future. Yes, our imagination stops at the door of our existence. We are not very good about knowing the future with God. None of us can paint a picture of that existence. John said, Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2) But we do know that God is love, and that love has been planted deep within our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We know we will be where love is, and that place will be comforting with no more sorrow, no more tears. We know it will be warm with the light and radiance of God shining on us. No longer pilgrims and strangers in a foreign land, finally, we will know we are home. The wilderness is over, the Promised Land is ours.
Monday, April 25, 2016
Monday, April 18, 2016
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 Jesus, the Sure Foundation!
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
We can build on no other foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. This foundation was laid from the beginning of time: God would make men and women vessels of honor through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus, The Lamb of God, remains the sure foundation, sacrificed for the redemption of men and women, freeing them from the consequences of sin: eternal death. Accepting this plan by placing our trust in Jesus' works and not our own makes us temples of the Holy Spirit. Our vessels are holy because of the blood spilt on the cross. We vicariously accept that blood as our cleansing from sin. With the washing of blood, we become the temples of God, where He dwells through the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. This plan is to make us a new creation. Peter talks about Jesus as the chief cornerstone, the stone which the builders rejected and goes on to say: But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:7-10) We have been bought by a high price, the blood of Christ. We are no longer our own, but now his new creatures, his children, in his family forever. Knowing he can lay no other foundation than the sure foundation that was laid from the beginning, Paul is careful to build upon that reality, encouraging others to build upon God's divine plan. He knows all other ideas added to God's plan of salvation will lead to destruction, causing death, not life. Plans of salvation that include man's works, his efforts, illustrated by material which was once alive--wood, hay or straw--will be burned up. Jesus Christ and his works, illustrated by materials that are inert, stable, substantial--gold, silver, costly stones--pleases God. All other plans of pleasing God are attempts to enter his domain through another gate other than Jesus Christ, who is the gate to God's presence and eternal life. Jesus said, I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. (John 10:9) Yes, a man of faith will be saved Paul says, even if deceived by attempting to work his way to heaven through his own ideas and works: he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames, because of the mercy of God. Yet this man, though saved, has missed out on fulfilling God's plan and affecting lives for Christ.
Jesus was born of flesh, known as the Son of Man, a perfect man, for He lived by faith in God, to please the Father. He said, By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:30) We who are also born of flesh ought to live our lives by faith in God's plan, desiring to please our heavenly Father. We should live with a faith that is energized daily by his Word and through his still small voice, speaking to us. As his children, we should speak faith, act in faith, believing He is guiding us. We should become familiar with the voice of the Comforter, Advocate, Counselor inside us. We should recognize his unction in our souls. Paul's life should encourage us to live a life of faith: he lived by the Spirit's will in his life. Paul said, Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1) We should imitate, as much as we can, Paul's life of dedication to Christ. Paul searched for God with all his heart, wanting to find God in his life more than anything else. His desire was to build upon God's plan, not his own. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11) Paul's basic structure for his life, the skeleton of his life, hinged on God's will and not his own. He wanted to live the life God had in store for him even though it led him through many trials and harsh circumstances. Paul knew that he who loses his life for Christ will find eternal life with God. He placed his life on a sure foundation, one that would exist beyond this temporary life. He wanted the product of his life's work as a builder for God's kingdom to be gold, silver, and costly stones. His life was poured out like a drink offering for the glory of God. We should also willingly be poured out as a drink offering.
Breakfast companions, where are you this morning in your spiritual walk with the Lord? Are you willing to be a drink offering for God's glory? Are you the light that you want to be or are you struggling, constructing your environment around things other than God: wood, hay, and straw? Is the skeleton that holds you up daily God's word? Or are his words something of the past, something to recall, not active and powerful inside you? The self can be very strong: my way, my life, my will. I have only one life to live: I will live it the way I desire. But Christian friends, God asks you to follow his ways, his will: to build your lives on gold, silver, and precious stones. The materials of this transitory world can be very compelling as we journey through this life. Obviously, we have only one life, then it is over. But these acts, experiences, attitudes that seem to have life in them at this time will not hold up on the Day before the Lord. Their transitory nature will be evident in the light, and they will burn. Thanks to the Lord, your life will be saved because of your faith in Jesus Christ, but sadly you will have to escape through the burning structure of your life, a harrowing experience. We all struggle with life; we all struggle with faith. Things happen to us that we don't expect, we don't appreciate, we don't understand. But God has asked us, as Paul's life clearly reveals, to stand firm, to endure to the end, to place our lives entirely in God's hands. As Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus: Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13) This is the faith that pleases God: unadulterated faith. God understands, for Christ took the hard road of a human being; He was known as the Son of Man. We see him in the Garden of Gethsemane, crying out with a loud voice: Do I have to drink the cup of flesh, the pain of life, the pain of death. He said, Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. (Luke 22:42) This is the cry of faith. This is the cry of each of us who live by faith: not my will but yours be done, oh Lord. Be faithful, stand in faith dear friends. God loves you, and He will NEVER ABANDON YOU.
We can build on no other foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. This foundation was laid from the beginning of time: God would make men and women vessels of honor through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus, The Lamb of God, remains the sure foundation, sacrificed for the redemption of men and women, freeing them from the consequences of sin: eternal death. Accepting this plan by placing our trust in Jesus' works and not our own makes us temples of the Holy Spirit. Our vessels are holy because of the blood spilt on the cross. We vicariously accept that blood as our cleansing from sin. With the washing of blood, we become the temples of God, where He dwells through the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. This plan is to make us a new creation. Peter talks about Jesus as the chief cornerstone, the stone which the builders rejected and goes on to say: But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:7-10) We have been bought by a high price, the blood of Christ. We are no longer our own, but now his new creatures, his children, in his family forever. Knowing he can lay no other foundation than the sure foundation that was laid from the beginning, Paul is careful to build upon that reality, encouraging others to build upon God's divine plan. He knows all other ideas added to God's plan of salvation will lead to destruction, causing death, not life. Plans of salvation that include man's works, his efforts, illustrated by material which was once alive--wood, hay or straw--will be burned up. Jesus Christ and his works, illustrated by materials that are inert, stable, substantial--gold, silver, costly stones--pleases God. All other plans of pleasing God are attempts to enter his domain through another gate other than Jesus Christ, who is the gate to God's presence and eternal life. Jesus said, I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. (John 10:9) Yes, a man of faith will be saved Paul says, even if deceived by attempting to work his way to heaven through his own ideas and works: he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames, because of the mercy of God. Yet this man, though saved, has missed out on fulfilling God's plan and affecting lives for Christ.
Jesus was born of flesh, known as the Son of Man, a perfect man, for He lived by faith in God, to please the Father. He said, By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:30) We who are also born of flesh ought to live our lives by faith in God's plan, desiring to please our heavenly Father. We should live with a faith that is energized daily by his Word and through his still small voice, speaking to us. As his children, we should speak faith, act in faith, believing He is guiding us. We should become familiar with the voice of the Comforter, Advocate, Counselor inside us. We should recognize his unction in our souls. Paul's life should encourage us to live a life of faith: he lived by the Spirit's will in his life. Paul said, Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1) We should imitate, as much as we can, Paul's life of dedication to Christ. Paul searched for God with all his heart, wanting to find God in his life more than anything else. His desire was to build upon God's plan, not his own. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11) Paul's basic structure for his life, the skeleton of his life, hinged on God's will and not his own. He wanted to live the life God had in store for him even though it led him through many trials and harsh circumstances. Paul knew that he who loses his life for Christ will find eternal life with God. He placed his life on a sure foundation, one that would exist beyond this temporary life. He wanted the product of his life's work as a builder for God's kingdom to be gold, silver, and costly stones. His life was poured out like a drink offering for the glory of God. We should also willingly be poured out as a drink offering.
Breakfast companions, where are you this morning in your spiritual walk with the Lord? Are you willing to be a drink offering for God's glory? Are you the light that you want to be or are you struggling, constructing your environment around things other than God: wood, hay, and straw? Is the skeleton that holds you up daily God's word? Or are his words something of the past, something to recall, not active and powerful inside you? The self can be very strong: my way, my life, my will. I have only one life to live: I will live it the way I desire. But Christian friends, God asks you to follow his ways, his will: to build your lives on gold, silver, and precious stones. The materials of this transitory world can be very compelling as we journey through this life. Obviously, we have only one life, then it is over. But these acts, experiences, attitudes that seem to have life in them at this time will not hold up on the Day before the Lord. Their transitory nature will be evident in the light, and they will burn. Thanks to the Lord, your life will be saved because of your faith in Jesus Christ, but sadly you will have to escape through the burning structure of your life, a harrowing experience. We all struggle with life; we all struggle with faith. Things happen to us that we don't expect, we don't appreciate, we don't understand. But God has asked us, as Paul's life clearly reveals, to stand firm, to endure to the end, to place our lives entirely in God's hands. As Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus: Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13) This is the faith that pleases God: unadulterated faith. God understands, for Christ took the hard road of a human being; He was known as the Son of Man. We see him in the Garden of Gethsemane, crying out with a loud voice: Do I have to drink the cup of flesh, the pain of life, the pain of death. He said, Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. (Luke 22:42) This is the cry of faith. This is the cry of each of us who live by faith: not my will but yours be done, oh Lord. Be faithful, stand in faith dear friends. God loves you, and He will NEVER ABANDON YOU.
Monday, April 11, 2016
1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Unite in Christian Love
1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly — mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe — as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
We who are IN CHRIST are God’s workers, God's building. We are not our own: we have been bought with the price of Jesus Christ's blood. We know the resurrection has happened, and now we live as Jesus lived, by the Spirit of the living God. In the above focus, Paul addresses a sickness endemic in mankind: We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way. (Isaiah 53:6) In Judges, the Bible says they did as they saw fit, what was right to them. (17:6 & 21:25) Paul in Romans 3:23 reiterates a Bible theme that all have sinned, all have gone their own ways, falling short of the glory of God. Paul declared, No one is righteousness, not even one. Jew and Gentile alike were under sin without Christ. When Paul speaks of spiritual immaturity in the Corinthian church, he is really addressing an attitude, a behavior akin to worldliness, secularism. This rebellious, self-willed attitude was first found in the Garden of Eden: "You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5) The serpent's intentions were to separate mankind from God. He was successful: the errant couple went their own way, and they were banished from the Garden. From that time on, we see men and women doing what is best in their own eyes for their own purposes. Sometimes people even use religion to fulfill this self-centered lust in their hearts: the desire to be God in their own eyes, doing what is right in their own sight. Paul voices concern for the Corinthians doing exactly that when they choose sides on whom they will follow. He knows this self-willed, man-centered attitude will destroy Christ's work in the Corinthian church if allowed to go unchallenged, for God must be the Head of the church.
We are witnesses to the historical fact that the Christian church has been splintered into a thousand pieces over the centuries. Separation has been almost the defining theme in the body of Christ. Rather than holding to the basic theme of Christ crucified, Christ resurrected, Christ glorified; believers have divided over minor issues, even on the way a church organizes it congregation. Dogma has been debated and skewed in many directions. Sadly, this has played into the hands of our adversary: the devil. So much discord and widespread divisiveness has weakened the testimony of the universal church of Christ on Earth, revealing our sinful nature and desire to have our own way, our perspective. In historical accounts, we read about religious people killing each other based on differing views of water baptism, or the nature of God, or church order. Mankind's desire to elevate himself and his ideas has always corrupted the church of the living God. In the above focus, we see Paul warning the Corinthians about proclaiming their allegiance to certain people. He knows this is a spirit of the world, and this spirit will destroy the unity of the church, of Christ himself. He tells them very directly that these important people in their eyes are mere men who have specific roles in the church. They should appreciate their roles but not elevate the people, for they are servants of God with assigned tasks. God is the builder of the church. He is the one who chooses the sower, the planter, the one who waters. So, Paul wants them to give glory to God and not to people. Paul told the church at Rome: May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6) The Corinthian church lacked this spirit of unity, and they were dissolving into factions that did not bring glory to God.
Jesus himself was always concerned about bringing glory to God the Father. After his resurrection, He wanted his disciples to have a clear perspective of what they had seen in Jerusalem, about his death and resurrection. He did not want them to splinter, to walk away, living their lives as they desired. He had a purpose for them; He needed their unity to fulfill God's plan for redemption of the lost. After the resurrection, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. (Luke 24:36-40) Paul fears the message of Christ and his resurrection will be lost in Corinth if the church splinters into factions. The Corinthian church's purpose was to show God's love to people. If the church began to devour each other because of disagreements about who they wanted to follow, their behavior would harm the salvation message that God loves people and sent Jesus to save them from their sins. Jesus spoke the truth to his disciples: Then Jesus opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. (Luke 24:45-48) Jesus made sure the disciples were in agreement with what they saw and experienced. He sent them out with a message of love and redemption. Paul wanted the Corinthians to have the same message, to put away childish things, immature things, even secular things. To love and to not even notice when others seemingly do it wrong. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) May each of you prosper in Christian unity and in the love of God this week.
We who are IN CHRIST are God’s workers, God's building. We are not our own: we have been bought with the price of Jesus Christ's blood. We know the resurrection has happened, and now we live as Jesus lived, by the Spirit of the living God. In the above focus, Paul addresses a sickness endemic in mankind: We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way. (Isaiah 53:6) In Judges, the Bible says they did as they saw fit, what was right to them. (17:6 & 21:25) Paul in Romans 3:23 reiterates a Bible theme that all have sinned, all have gone their own ways, falling short of the glory of God. Paul declared, No one is righteousness, not even one. Jew and Gentile alike were under sin without Christ. When Paul speaks of spiritual immaturity in the Corinthian church, he is really addressing an attitude, a behavior akin to worldliness, secularism. This rebellious, self-willed attitude was first found in the Garden of Eden: "You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5) The serpent's intentions were to separate mankind from God. He was successful: the errant couple went their own way, and they were banished from the Garden. From that time on, we see men and women doing what is best in their own eyes for their own purposes. Sometimes people even use religion to fulfill this self-centered lust in their hearts: the desire to be God in their own eyes, doing what is right in their own sight. Paul voices concern for the Corinthians doing exactly that when they choose sides on whom they will follow. He knows this self-willed, man-centered attitude will destroy Christ's work in the Corinthian church if allowed to go unchallenged, for God must be the Head of the church.
We are witnesses to the historical fact that the Christian church has been splintered into a thousand pieces over the centuries. Separation has been almost the defining theme in the body of Christ. Rather than holding to the basic theme of Christ crucified, Christ resurrected, Christ glorified; believers have divided over minor issues, even on the way a church organizes it congregation. Dogma has been debated and skewed in many directions. Sadly, this has played into the hands of our adversary: the devil. So much discord and widespread divisiveness has weakened the testimony of the universal church of Christ on Earth, revealing our sinful nature and desire to have our own way, our perspective. In historical accounts, we read about religious people killing each other based on differing views of water baptism, or the nature of God, or church order. Mankind's desire to elevate himself and his ideas has always corrupted the church of the living God. In the above focus, we see Paul warning the Corinthians about proclaiming their allegiance to certain people. He knows this is a spirit of the world, and this spirit will destroy the unity of the church, of Christ himself. He tells them very directly that these important people in their eyes are mere men who have specific roles in the church. They should appreciate their roles but not elevate the people, for they are servants of God with assigned tasks. God is the builder of the church. He is the one who chooses the sower, the planter, the one who waters. So, Paul wants them to give glory to God and not to people. Paul told the church at Rome: May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6) The Corinthian church lacked this spirit of unity, and they were dissolving into factions that did not bring glory to God.
Jesus himself was always concerned about bringing glory to God the Father. After his resurrection, He wanted his disciples to have a clear perspective of what they had seen in Jerusalem, about his death and resurrection. He did not want them to splinter, to walk away, living their lives as they desired. He had a purpose for them; He needed their unity to fulfill God's plan for redemption of the lost. After the resurrection, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. (Luke 24:36-40) Paul fears the message of Christ and his resurrection will be lost in Corinth if the church splinters into factions. The Corinthian church's purpose was to show God's love to people. If the church began to devour each other because of disagreements about who they wanted to follow, their behavior would harm the salvation message that God loves people and sent Jesus to save them from their sins. Jesus spoke the truth to his disciples: Then Jesus opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. (Luke 24:45-48) Jesus made sure the disciples were in agreement with what they saw and experienced. He sent them out with a message of love and redemption. Paul wanted the Corinthians to have the same message, to put away childish things, immature things, even secular things. To love and to not even notice when others seemingly do it wrong. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) May each of you prosper in Christian unity and in the love of God this week.
Monday, April 4, 2016
1 Corinthians 2:10-16 The Spirit Is From God!
1 Corinthians 2:10-16 The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. Of course, the cross, the resurrection, and the concomitant works of salvation are considered by the natural man as foolishness. Why would men and women need a savior? Why would a God, if there is such a being, demand us to be different from what we are? Why are we, his creation, unacceptable to him, the Creator? He created us; we did not make ourselves. All of these thoughts of a sinful mankind and the need for salvation through Christ are foolishness to the natural mind. Some in religious circles, even in the Christian community, consider the supernatural events of Christ's death and resurrection for our sins as a story concocted by men that never actually happened. They believe such ideas are an anathema to sensible thought. But Paul says, talking about the resurrection, a supernatural event, If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. (1 Corinthians 15:13-19) Without the cross, without the resurrection, Jesus is just a good man, who had good thoughts, but definitely not the Son of God, and definitely not someone who deserves our complete adoration and service. Some would even consider him a mad man, delusional at best. But because He conquered death and rose again, we know him as the perfect Lamb of God, our Savior and Lord.
We who are alive IN CHRIST depend on the Spirit of God in us to know what life is all about. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. Without God's Spirit in us, we will always be hinged to the perspective of the world that exists around us. But IN CHRIST, we begin to understand a spiritual world, one that exists beyond our human senses, beyond our physical reality. The book of Acts gives us a detailed account of the Spirit coming to abide with God's people. The Spirit of God fell on Jesus' followers in different locations, on the Jewish brethren as well as the Gentiles. The Spirit fell on those who had been baptized and on those who had yet to be baptized. Acts reveals the Spirit of God coming to Earth to abide within men and women, those who had their temples cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Of course, all of this happened by faith in Jesus and his works. This reality is spiritually discerned. It is foolishness to the natural man. But we have the mind of Christ, for we are IN CHRIST: HE IN US AND WE IN HIM. When Jesus was going back to heaven, He told his disciples not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the gift the Father had promised, For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:5) Then on the Day of Pentecost, the sound of a mighty wind filled the place where they waited, and God kept his promises: All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:4) Those who walk with the Lord today have that same Spirit within them to teach, to guide, to comfort, and to open their minds to the perfect will of God. Jesus told his disciples that He had to go away so the Holy Spirit could come to them, yet He comforted them by saying, But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26) The Holy Spirit continues to teach and to help us today as we read the Word, when we gather in Christ's name, whenever we lack wisdom, and when we share the Good News with others.
While the natural mind often rejects spiritual realities and does not want to accept the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of believers, we know the Spirit is alive and real because He dwells within us. As we read in our text for today: no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. As people of faith, filled with the Holy Spirit, we believe God's Word: For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified. (1 Corinthians 14:2-5) Paul speaks of two supernatural acts of the Spirit given to us by God: tongues and prophecy. Both require the Spirit of God to use our body's mechanism: the larynx is used in both situations. One, tongues, is not understood by the speaker, but he or she is speaking to God by the Spirit, understood only by God. The other, prophecy, is not only understood by the speaker, but also understood by those who hear him. The unction the speaker receives from the Spirit is the same in both situations, but one message bypasses the natural thinking processes of the speaker; the other uses understandable language to reveal the message to all men. The origin of both messages is the Spirit. They were not merely a product of the speaker's good intentions, ability, or insight. Tongues is for the edification of the individual with no need for the Spirit to interpret unless the tongues are spoken in a body of believers; then there should be an interpretation. Prophecy is a message that the Spirit desires the body to hear. He places the thoughts into language so that all can understand. Both are Spirit driven. Both come out of the mind of Christ within the person, for God's purposes. We know the Spirit is real in us, for these events truly happen within the body of Christ. They encourage, build up, and edify believers while glorifying God. Bless you all as the Spirit works in your lives.
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. Of course, the cross, the resurrection, and the concomitant works of salvation are considered by the natural man as foolishness. Why would men and women need a savior? Why would a God, if there is such a being, demand us to be different from what we are? Why are we, his creation, unacceptable to him, the Creator? He created us; we did not make ourselves. All of these thoughts of a sinful mankind and the need for salvation through Christ are foolishness to the natural mind. Some in religious circles, even in the Christian community, consider the supernatural events of Christ's death and resurrection for our sins as a story concocted by men that never actually happened. They believe such ideas are an anathema to sensible thought. But Paul says, talking about the resurrection, a supernatural event, If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. (1 Corinthians 15:13-19) Without the cross, without the resurrection, Jesus is just a good man, who had good thoughts, but definitely not the Son of God, and definitely not someone who deserves our complete adoration and service. Some would even consider him a mad man, delusional at best. But because He conquered death and rose again, we know him as the perfect Lamb of God, our Savior and Lord.
We who are alive IN CHRIST depend on the Spirit of God in us to know what life is all about. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. Without God's Spirit in us, we will always be hinged to the perspective of the world that exists around us. But IN CHRIST, we begin to understand a spiritual world, one that exists beyond our human senses, beyond our physical reality. The book of Acts gives us a detailed account of the Spirit coming to abide with God's people. The Spirit of God fell on Jesus' followers in different locations, on the Jewish brethren as well as the Gentiles. The Spirit fell on those who had been baptized and on those who had yet to be baptized. Acts reveals the Spirit of God coming to Earth to abide within men and women, those who had their temples cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Of course, all of this happened by faith in Jesus and his works. This reality is spiritually discerned. It is foolishness to the natural man. But we have the mind of Christ, for we are IN CHRIST: HE IN US AND WE IN HIM. When Jesus was going back to heaven, He told his disciples not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the gift the Father had promised, For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:5) Then on the Day of Pentecost, the sound of a mighty wind filled the place where they waited, and God kept his promises: All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:4) Those who walk with the Lord today have that same Spirit within them to teach, to guide, to comfort, and to open their minds to the perfect will of God. Jesus told his disciples that He had to go away so the Holy Spirit could come to them, yet He comforted them by saying, But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26) The Holy Spirit continues to teach and to help us today as we read the Word, when we gather in Christ's name, whenever we lack wisdom, and when we share the Good News with others.
While the natural mind often rejects spiritual realities and does not want to accept the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of believers, we know the Spirit is alive and real because He dwells within us. As we read in our text for today: no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. As people of faith, filled with the Holy Spirit, we believe God's Word: For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified. (1 Corinthians 14:2-5) Paul speaks of two supernatural acts of the Spirit given to us by God: tongues and prophecy. Both require the Spirit of God to use our body's mechanism: the larynx is used in both situations. One, tongues, is not understood by the speaker, but he or she is speaking to God by the Spirit, understood only by God. The other, prophecy, is not only understood by the speaker, but also understood by those who hear him. The unction the speaker receives from the Spirit is the same in both situations, but one message bypasses the natural thinking processes of the speaker; the other uses understandable language to reveal the message to all men. The origin of both messages is the Spirit. They were not merely a product of the speaker's good intentions, ability, or insight. Tongues is for the edification of the individual with no need for the Spirit to interpret unless the tongues are spoken in a body of believers; then there should be an interpretation. Prophecy is a message that the Spirit desires the body to hear. He places the thoughts into language so that all can understand. Both are Spirit driven. Both come out of the mind of Christ within the person, for God's purposes. We know the Spirit is real in us, for these events truly happen within the body of Christ. They encourage, build up, and edify believers while glorifying God. Bless you all as the Spirit works in your lives.
Monday, March 28, 2016
1 Corinthians 2:6-10 Wisdom of the Spirit!
1 Corinthians 2:6-10 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” — but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
What is Paul talking about when he says that God has revealed it to us by his Spirit? What has been revealed? Why Jesus Christ? Why the resurrection? Why this new creation idea? Paul is talking about salvation: his firm belief that the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. (Titus 2:11) Salvation from sin, from finiteness, from eternal damnation, from nothingness after death. This salvation brought true life, eternal life, to all people who are found in Christ, trusting in his works, not their own works. We who were once lost, away from God, are now found. This is the mystery, a wisdom that has been hidden. In this temporary existence, we function by using our human thought processes, the wisdom of this age. We depend on the brain's ability to function in this world. The brain's chemical/electrical system identifies life's necessities and also provides us with the necessary skills and components to navigate life successfully. The brain exposes life to us, allows us to interact with life, provides knowledge about where we are in our existence: our history, our future. But this thinking system will physically fail at death. The brain's usefulness to us will cease: this elaborate, delicate system of thinking will disappear, die with our earthly body. Then what will happen to us? Our cognition? Will we merely become hosts to the elements of decay? Is that all there is to life when we breathe our last breaths and our brains shut down? Paul knew that each believer was a host of the Almighty God through the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. We are not finite: our spirits will live on. Not only will we live on, we will be glorified, known forever as children of God, at home with the Lord. That is why Paul so emphatically repeats what has been written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. Why does he say this with such passion? He says it with total determination because God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. He believed in the words of Jesus, who said, In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:2-3)
In today's passage, Paul speaks a message of wisdom among the mature Christians. He describes a spiritual reality: a life cannot be measured by the methods of the world, with an empirical understanding of existence. He talks about a life that does not have its dependency on the existence of the flesh, for the flesh will die; brain activity will cease. But there is a world that exists beyond those realities, and that existence is a spiritual one. Whether in the body or out of the body, we will know the God of existence. All we see alive around us is a reflection of God. Every bird flying through the air, every animal bounding over the land, every insect crawling along the earth's surface, every reptile, every living organism reflects God. All life cries out there is a God, a living force that occupies this world. All the vegetation that carpets this world cries out God amongst us. He has revealed himself to us through the life He has created here on earth. But this life is but elementary to the fantastic life of the everlasting God. The Bible says: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalms 19:1) We see life on earth as complex; we analyze it, inspect it, tear it apart; sometimes with the intention of knowing enough about our surroundings that we can replace the Creator, so that we can become God. But we will never find the Creator with that mindset. We might alter the DNA of organisms, even our human DNA, supposedly to make better creatures, immune to disease and dysfunctions. But we will never become God or bring him down from his exalted position as Creator God. Paul says that man's wisdom, his knowledge, his ability to comprehend existence with his brain will always fall short of knowing God: we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. To know the reason for man's existence depends on God's wisdom that has been revealed through Jesus Christ alone. Knowing Jesus is the mature Christian's wisdom and knowledge. Salvation, real life, is found through Christ alone: not in the facade of life, not in finite life, not in the life of troubles and pain; but in real life, life forever in the kingdom of God. Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
How often as believers do we function as immature Christians with futile and carnal thinking. We try to find meaning in this life by getting the most out of what the world offers. Our endeavors are focused on the activities and realities of this life rather than eternal life. When difficulties hit us, we wonder where God is, but we have not walked closely with the Lord every day. When we do not get all that we desire out of life, we wonder why God hasn't provided more success for us. When we feel sick, when events transpire in ways we do not desire, we complain. We forget while experiencing the vicissitudes of life that God exists all of the time, and He is in control of those who love him. Paul told the church in Rome that we have the Holy Spirit to intercede for us when we do not know how to pray. He goes on to say: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) This does not mean all things are good, but that God will use everything that we yield to him for our good in the long run, for He is the blessed controller of all things. The glorious message that we have to tell is what Paul expresses so well in our focus today: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. This is the message God wants us to embrace. Drop your intentions to comprehend spiritual existence through the chemical/electrical impulses of your mind. Of course, God uses our minds, but there is another reality beyond our human ability to think: the voice of God, the still small voice of the Spirit. If your brain ceases to function today, the Spirit will remain, talking to your spirit. His reality is that true, that evident in us. We are alive because He is alive in us. We will be resurrected because the life in us is not our own, but is Christ Jesus' life through the Spirit of God. God will never leave us or forsake us. The Spirit says to us, "I will lift you up just as I delivered Jesus from death and the grave." Because of Jesus' resurrection, we too will be resurrected from our lifeless bodies. Paul told the Colossians this was the mystery God had made known: Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) Amen!
What is Paul talking about when he says that God has revealed it to us by his Spirit? What has been revealed? Why Jesus Christ? Why the resurrection? Why this new creation idea? Paul is talking about salvation: his firm belief that the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. (Titus 2:11) Salvation from sin, from finiteness, from eternal damnation, from nothingness after death. This salvation brought true life, eternal life, to all people who are found in Christ, trusting in his works, not their own works. We who were once lost, away from God, are now found. This is the mystery, a wisdom that has been hidden. In this temporary existence, we function by using our human thought processes, the wisdom of this age. We depend on the brain's ability to function in this world. The brain's chemical/electrical system identifies life's necessities and also provides us with the necessary skills and components to navigate life successfully. The brain exposes life to us, allows us to interact with life, provides knowledge about where we are in our existence: our history, our future. But this thinking system will physically fail at death. The brain's usefulness to us will cease: this elaborate, delicate system of thinking will disappear, die with our earthly body. Then what will happen to us? Our cognition? Will we merely become hosts to the elements of decay? Is that all there is to life when we breathe our last breaths and our brains shut down? Paul knew that each believer was a host of the Almighty God through the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. We are not finite: our spirits will live on. Not only will we live on, we will be glorified, known forever as children of God, at home with the Lord. That is why Paul so emphatically repeats what has been written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. Why does he say this with such passion? He says it with total determination because God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. He believed in the words of Jesus, who said, In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:2-3)
In today's passage, Paul speaks a message of wisdom among the mature Christians. He describes a spiritual reality: a life cannot be measured by the methods of the world, with an empirical understanding of existence. He talks about a life that does not have its dependency on the existence of the flesh, for the flesh will die; brain activity will cease. But there is a world that exists beyond those realities, and that existence is a spiritual one. Whether in the body or out of the body, we will know the God of existence. All we see alive around us is a reflection of God. Every bird flying through the air, every animal bounding over the land, every insect crawling along the earth's surface, every reptile, every living organism reflects God. All life cries out there is a God, a living force that occupies this world. All the vegetation that carpets this world cries out God amongst us. He has revealed himself to us through the life He has created here on earth. But this life is but elementary to the fantastic life of the everlasting God. The Bible says: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalms 19:1) We see life on earth as complex; we analyze it, inspect it, tear it apart; sometimes with the intention of knowing enough about our surroundings that we can replace the Creator, so that we can become God. But we will never find the Creator with that mindset. We might alter the DNA of organisms, even our human DNA, supposedly to make better creatures, immune to disease and dysfunctions. But we will never become God or bring him down from his exalted position as Creator God. Paul says that man's wisdom, his knowledge, his ability to comprehend existence with his brain will always fall short of knowing God: we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. To know the reason for man's existence depends on God's wisdom that has been revealed through Jesus Christ alone. Knowing Jesus is the mature Christian's wisdom and knowledge. Salvation, real life, is found through Christ alone: not in the facade of life, not in finite life, not in the life of troubles and pain; but in real life, life forever in the kingdom of God. Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
How often as believers do we function as immature Christians with futile and carnal thinking. We try to find meaning in this life by getting the most out of what the world offers. Our endeavors are focused on the activities and realities of this life rather than eternal life. When difficulties hit us, we wonder where God is, but we have not walked closely with the Lord every day. When we do not get all that we desire out of life, we wonder why God hasn't provided more success for us. When we feel sick, when events transpire in ways we do not desire, we complain. We forget while experiencing the vicissitudes of life that God exists all of the time, and He is in control of those who love him. Paul told the church in Rome that we have the Holy Spirit to intercede for us when we do not know how to pray. He goes on to say: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) This does not mean all things are good, but that God will use everything that we yield to him for our good in the long run, for He is the blessed controller of all things. The glorious message that we have to tell is what Paul expresses so well in our focus today: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. This is the message God wants us to embrace. Drop your intentions to comprehend spiritual existence through the chemical/electrical impulses of your mind. Of course, God uses our minds, but there is another reality beyond our human ability to think: the voice of God, the still small voice of the Spirit. If your brain ceases to function today, the Spirit will remain, talking to your spirit. His reality is that true, that evident in us. We are alive because He is alive in us. We will be resurrected because the life in us is not our own, but is Christ Jesus' life through the Spirit of God. God will never leave us or forsake us. The Spirit says to us, "I will lift you up just as I delivered Jesus from death and the grave." Because of Jesus' resurrection, we too will be resurrected from our lifeless bodies. Paul told the Colossians this was the mystery God had made known: Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) Amen!
Monday, March 21, 2016
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Demonstrate God's Power
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
Paul came to the church with a message of power, not merely of words. Today, we often hear a message of words and not of power. What power is Paul talking about? He is talking about the power to transform lives. Also, he is talking about God's direct intervention in lives through miracles, dreams, prophetic words. His message of God with us is a message of transforming power that changes the lives of fallen men and women. We, who are IN CHRIST, are changed from earthly creatures to heavenly creatures, alive in Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 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 8:10-11) Our minds are changed, our attitudes about life change, our desires change. Our wills are dedicated to Christ and not to our own desires. The power Paul talks about in simple terms, without eloquence or superior wisdom, is the power that changes lives: the Holy Spirit. Man's words without the Holy Spirit's transforming inspiration and work are just good words, portrayals of man's earthly wisdom and knowledge and descriptions of his good deeds. But the inspired words of God come with the punch of the Holy Spirit, the holy anointing of God. These divine words convict men of sin, of unrighteousness; they reveal clearly the hopelessness of life without God. The Holy Spirit draws men to God, persuading them to commit their lives to God, to die to their own wills, placing God's will foremost in their hearts and minds. This is the message of power that Paul was talking about, a power that enables him (Jesus) to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:21) Paul knew, without salvation and the Holy Spirit's presence in people's lives, nothing will change. Life will go on as it has always gone on with human beings struggling in their own strength against the powers of sin and darkness.
When Jesus was on Earth, He taught the disciples many things. He demonstrated the power of God by performing many miracles. He lived intimately with the disciples. As John reveals, 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 20:30) The disciples had seen and knew more about Jesus than any other group of people. They had seen him perform more miracles than have been recorded. They heard his wisdom, knowledge, and spiritual insights on many subjects, more than they had written down. Yet, even though they had this expansive walk with Jesus, they did not understand fully his message of salvation. They did not comprehend the depth of Jesus' work and God's plan for mankind until the Holy Spirit fell on them on the day of Pentecost. We must remember the prophecy from Jesus' lips concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit just before He was taken up into heaven: But 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) After they were filled with the Spirit, the Spirit brought them into the knowledge of God's plan to save his creation from eternal damnation. This plan is centered upon the cross. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. The cross is the power of God. In the King James Version of the Bible, the Romans 8 verses we read earlier say the Spirit will quicken your mortal bodies. This image seems more powerful that merely giving us life. We can see the dead instantly rising up, quickened by the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit. We who believe in the cross have the power of God in us, the same power that did not leave Christ in the grave but conquered death and the grave forever. We have the constant companionship of the Lord because of the cross. We have the power of God in our lives, at our mouths. Paul quotes from Deuteronomy to the church in Rome to encourage them in the Spirit: The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart. (Romans 10:8) Miracles happen because we believe God is, and He will do wonderful things for us. Our belief and faith in God rests in the cross and its power to redeem and to empower the church of the living God.
As Paul reveals so clearly in his teaching, the power of God does not come to us in our strength, but in our weaknesses. When we give up living our lives in our own strength, God takes over. Paul said at another time that the Lord said to him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9) When we see clearly that we need to be "saved," that we need a Savior daily, then his power becomes our resource. We who are IN CHRIST know who we are: For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10) We are no longer our own: we are new creatures, known as the children of God. Without his transforming power in our lives, we are just people of words. We are like those who talk a good game, using eloquent words, abstractions upon abstractions, making people think they are expositors of light, but in reality they are expressing darkness. We see these people on our television screens, philosophers of darkness: These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity — for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. (2 Peter 2:17-19) What masters us? Have we committed our whole life to God? Did we repent of our old life or did we just add Christ to our present life? Repentance is necessary for real life--turning away from sin. We are new creatures, not just refurbished old creatures, adding Christ to our lives as a vaccination. We are not vaccinated Christians: we are new creatures with a new design. Christ is our life! The cross is the power of this new life. We are dead to this world, but alive to Christ, EMPOWERED TO DO HIS WILL. As with Paul, our lives do not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
Paul came to the church with a message of power, not merely of words. Today, we often hear a message of words and not of power. What power is Paul talking about? He is talking about the power to transform lives. Also, he is talking about God's direct intervention in lives through miracles, dreams, prophetic words. His message of God with us is a message of transforming power that changes the lives of fallen men and women. We, who are IN CHRIST, are changed from earthly creatures to heavenly creatures, alive in Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 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 8:10-11) Our minds are changed, our attitudes about life change, our desires change. Our wills are dedicated to Christ and not to our own desires. The power Paul talks about in simple terms, without eloquence or superior wisdom, is the power that changes lives: the Holy Spirit. Man's words without the Holy Spirit's transforming inspiration and work are just good words, portrayals of man's earthly wisdom and knowledge and descriptions of his good deeds. But the inspired words of God come with the punch of the Holy Spirit, the holy anointing of God. These divine words convict men of sin, of unrighteousness; they reveal clearly the hopelessness of life without God. The Holy Spirit draws men to God, persuading them to commit their lives to God, to die to their own wills, placing God's will foremost in their hearts and minds. This is the message of power that Paul was talking about, a power that enables him (Jesus) to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:21) Paul knew, without salvation and the Holy Spirit's presence in people's lives, nothing will change. Life will go on as it has always gone on with human beings struggling in their own strength against the powers of sin and darkness.
When Jesus was on Earth, He taught the disciples many things. He demonstrated the power of God by performing many miracles. He lived intimately with the disciples. As John reveals, 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 20:30) The disciples had seen and knew more about Jesus than any other group of people. They had seen him perform more miracles than have been recorded. They heard his wisdom, knowledge, and spiritual insights on many subjects, more than they had written down. Yet, even though they had this expansive walk with Jesus, they did not understand fully his message of salvation. They did not comprehend the depth of Jesus' work and God's plan for mankind until the Holy Spirit fell on them on the day of Pentecost. We must remember the prophecy from Jesus' lips concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit just before He was taken up into heaven: But 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) After they were filled with the Spirit, the Spirit brought them into the knowledge of God's plan to save his creation from eternal damnation. This plan is centered upon the cross. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. The cross is the power of God. In the King James Version of the Bible, the Romans 8 verses we read earlier say the Spirit will quicken your mortal bodies. This image seems more powerful that merely giving us life. We can see the dead instantly rising up, quickened by the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit. We who believe in the cross have the power of God in us, the same power that did not leave Christ in the grave but conquered death and the grave forever. We have the constant companionship of the Lord because of the cross. We have the power of God in our lives, at our mouths. Paul quotes from Deuteronomy to the church in Rome to encourage them in the Spirit: The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart. (Romans 10:8) Miracles happen because we believe God is, and He will do wonderful things for us. Our belief and faith in God rests in the cross and its power to redeem and to empower the church of the living God.
As Paul reveals so clearly in his teaching, the power of God does not come to us in our strength, but in our weaknesses. When we give up living our lives in our own strength, God takes over. Paul said at another time that the Lord said to him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9) When we see clearly that we need to be "saved," that we need a Savior daily, then his power becomes our resource. We who are IN CHRIST know who we are: For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10) We are no longer our own: we are new creatures, known as the children of God. Without his transforming power in our lives, we are just people of words. We are like those who talk a good game, using eloquent words, abstractions upon abstractions, making people think they are expositors of light, but in reality they are expressing darkness. We see these people on our television screens, philosophers of darkness: These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity — for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. (2 Peter 2:17-19) What masters us? Have we committed our whole life to God? Did we repent of our old life or did we just add Christ to our present life? Repentance is necessary for real life--turning away from sin. We are new creatures, not just refurbished old creatures, adding Christ to our lives as a vaccination. We are not vaccinated Christians: we are new creatures with a new design. Christ is our life! The cross is the power of this new life. We are dead to this world, but alive to Christ, EMPOWERED TO DO HIS WILL. As with Paul, our lives do not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
Monday, March 14, 2016
1 Corinthians 20-31 Seek God's Wisdom!
1 Corinthians 20-31 Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things of the world to shame human understanding. God's emphasis on the foolish, the weak, the lowly, and the despised things of the world embarrasses man's understanding of life through rational thinking. Man wants God to prove his existence in some measured or pronounced way, maybe through miracles that prove He exists or through man's natural thinking processes. Humans want God to come out from behind the curtain, to manifest himself in some special way, to answer our prayers when we congregate in his name or to solve Earth's problems such as wars and conflicts. We want him as the panacea for all our problems, to come to us when we need him: then He would be God to us. But if He is reluctant to expose himself on demand in a direct way, according to our wishes, perhaps He should let us discover him through our philosophers and deep thinkers, by revealing himself to them. Then these men of wisdom and knowledge would help all of us know and appreciate this "unknown God." Why does not God manifest himself in some reasonable or rational way? Does it not seem sensible that God would perform marvelous acts here on Earth if He really existed, or that God would give certain learned individuals or wise men the ability to expose the living God--the entity behind the heavenly curtain--if He really exists. Paul says, Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom. In our carnal thinking, we say, if God is God, He must expose himself in a way that allows us to understand who He is. He must reveal himself to us in our context of reality, through our human thinking processes, according to our perspective. Do not give us this Christ, the wisdom of God, explanation. We do not and cannot understand such talk. This Christian idea of life through the cross has no validity for us; it is foolishness. Who can believe that in one man, a dead man, new life, eternal life, came to all people. NONSENSE ! As we read in the last breakfast, For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)
Yes, Paul tells the Corinthians again, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. We must be saved to understand Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. The cross of Christ is beyond the understanding of the unredeemed. The natural mind does not want to die to self and become alive to God through the power of the risen Son of the living God. A rebellious sinner without the call of the Holy Spirit does not want to admit, "I am lost and I need a Savior." We read in Acts that Paul preached to a group of people, and although some believed, many would not. He saw the hardness of their hearts and used these words from Isaiah: You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. (Acts 28:26-27) Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, we have the power to receive Christ, have our hearts cleansed from sin and our ears opened to the voice of God. We can begin to see clearly the truth of God and to understand his will for our lives. Outside of Christ, we are lost in a world that lifts up all that is contrary to God and enslaves us to a life of darkness. In today's verses we read, Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. We see this in Jesus' ministry by the people He interacted with daily: He usually chose ordinary people. One day Jesus saw a beggar, blind since birth. Jesus made mud from saliva mixed with dirt. He put it on the man's eyes and told him to go wash in Pool of Siloam. When the man was healed, there was much amazement and concern about his healing. Both the man and his parents are questioned at the temple, but the parents did not want to tell about Jesus for fear of being put out of the synagogue. Finally, when the Jews wanted the healed man to denounce Jesus as a sinner, the man says, One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see! At the end of the interaction, when Jesus hears of the man being thrown out of the temple, He finds him and asks, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man asks who he is and how to believe. Jesus tells him and he says, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. (See John 9) This is faith in action: I believe in the wisdom of God rather than in the wisdom of men.
As newborn men and women of God, we no longer follow the precepts of this world: We live by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) Walking by faith is not always easy. We cannot see the path clearly at times, and we must depend upon the Holy Spirit for guidance and wisdom on our journey. We read in the Word: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) This seems paradoxical: a substance is something we can hold onto, take into our hands; evidence is something real and tangible that holds up in a court of law. Yet here we are talking about something we cannot see, touch or substantiate: faith in God. So God asks us to have a belief in him that is as real as something we can actually hold onto and prove to the whole world. When Paul describes his former life to his spiritual son, Timothy, he goes on to give his testimony. Every believer can declare today with our brother Paul: Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:15-17) Jesus came into the world to save sinners. We will not find him in a miracle, although the miracle may open our eyes to the reality that He is alive; and we will not find him in the mysteries of the scholars of all the ages. But we will find him in the simple faith of a child who sings with eyes toward heaven: Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so! This is our anthem. Jesus loves ME! I was blind but now I see. I was lost but now I am found. Lift up your heads, brothers and sisters of faith; for you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Rejoice in him, rest in him, go forth in his name. You are his witnesses.
God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things of the world to shame human understanding. God's emphasis on the foolish, the weak, the lowly, and the despised things of the world embarrasses man's understanding of life through rational thinking. Man wants God to prove his existence in some measured or pronounced way, maybe through miracles that prove He exists or through man's natural thinking processes. Humans want God to come out from behind the curtain, to manifest himself in some special way, to answer our prayers when we congregate in his name or to solve Earth's problems such as wars and conflicts. We want him as the panacea for all our problems, to come to us when we need him: then He would be God to us. But if He is reluctant to expose himself on demand in a direct way, according to our wishes, perhaps He should let us discover him through our philosophers and deep thinkers, by revealing himself to them. Then these men of wisdom and knowledge would help all of us know and appreciate this "unknown God." Why does not God manifest himself in some reasonable or rational way? Does it not seem sensible that God would perform marvelous acts here on Earth if He really existed, or that God would give certain learned individuals or wise men the ability to expose the living God--the entity behind the heavenly curtain--if He really exists. Paul says, Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom. In our carnal thinking, we say, if God is God, He must expose himself in a way that allows us to understand who He is. He must reveal himself to us in our context of reality, through our human thinking processes, according to our perspective. Do not give us this Christ, the wisdom of God, explanation. We do not and cannot understand such talk. This Christian idea of life through the cross has no validity for us; it is foolishness. Who can believe that in one man, a dead man, new life, eternal life, came to all people. NONSENSE ! As we read in the last breakfast, For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)
Yes, Paul tells the Corinthians again, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. We must be saved to understand Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. The cross of Christ is beyond the understanding of the unredeemed. The natural mind does not want to die to self and become alive to God through the power of the risen Son of the living God. A rebellious sinner without the call of the Holy Spirit does not want to admit, "I am lost and I need a Savior." We read in Acts that Paul preached to a group of people, and although some believed, many would not. He saw the hardness of their hearts and used these words from Isaiah: You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. (Acts 28:26-27) Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, we have the power to receive Christ, have our hearts cleansed from sin and our ears opened to the voice of God. We can begin to see clearly the truth of God and to understand his will for our lives. Outside of Christ, we are lost in a world that lifts up all that is contrary to God and enslaves us to a life of darkness. In today's verses we read, Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. We see this in Jesus' ministry by the people He interacted with daily: He usually chose ordinary people. One day Jesus saw a beggar, blind since birth. Jesus made mud from saliva mixed with dirt. He put it on the man's eyes and told him to go wash in Pool of Siloam. When the man was healed, there was much amazement and concern about his healing. Both the man and his parents are questioned at the temple, but the parents did not want to tell about Jesus for fear of being put out of the synagogue. Finally, when the Jews wanted the healed man to denounce Jesus as a sinner, the man says, One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see! At the end of the interaction, when Jesus hears of the man being thrown out of the temple, He finds him and asks, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man asks who he is and how to believe. Jesus tells him and he says, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. (See John 9) This is faith in action: I believe in the wisdom of God rather than in the wisdom of men.
As newborn men and women of God, we no longer follow the precepts of this world: We live by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) Walking by faith is not always easy. We cannot see the path clearly at times, and we must depend upon the Holy Spirit for guidance and wisdom on our journey. We read in the Word: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) This seems paradoxical: a substance is something we can hold onto, take into our hands; evidence is something real and tangible that holds up in a court of law. Yet here we are talking about something we cannot see, touch or substantiate: faith in God. So God asks us to have a belief in him that is as real as something we can actually hold onto and prove to the whole world. When Paul describes his former life to his spiritual son, Timothy, he goes on to give his testimony. Every believer can declare today with our brother Paul: Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:15-17) Jesus came into the world to save sinners. We will not find him in a miracle, although the miracle may open our eyes to the reality that He is alive; and we will not find him in the mysteries of the scholars of all the ages. But we will find him in the simple faith of a child who sings with eyes toward heaven: Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so! This is our anthem. Jesus loves ME! I was blind but now I see. I was lost but now I am found. Lift up your heads, brothers and sisters of faith; for you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Rejoice in him, rest in him, go forth in his name. You are his witnesses.
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