1 Corinthians Chapter 6

It probably comes at no surprise to students of the Bible that people from Adam and Eve on, liked to play God and rationalize their behaviors.

Today we hear of individuals talking about philosophies of unlimited personal freedom. Women say they have a right to do as they wish with their bodies, regarding abortion.  Some claim no one has the right to tell them that same sex relationships are wrong or promiscuity is a problem. Drug users say they should be allowed to use drugs as part of their personal freedom. Professing Christians may even believe that they can live with some of these views.

This philosophy of it’s my life and I’ll do what I want is no different than what existed within the Corinthian church during the life of Paul. 

Paul uses sexual immortality to make his point about not being a slave to anything.  He includes idol worshipers, adulterers, homosexuals, male prostitues, thieves, greedy people, drunkard or those who are abusive and cheaters.  All of these behaviors he would say would get into the way of a right relationship with the Lord.  

God gives us the freedom to choose, “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. And even though I am allowed to do anything I must not become a slave to anything.” 1 Cor. 6:12. 

Are the choices we made today like what we read or watched building us up or tearing us down?  Are the messages of those programs glorifying our God and sending a good message? Did we set standards for ourselves or do we accept the Hollywood storylines?

 We need to free our enslaved bodies and minds so that we hear God’s calling. Can you hear Him?

1 Corinthians Chapter 5

As is often the case, I go through a passage/chapter in the bible and back away a little confused about the message being presented there.  It took me a few repeated readings and looking at a couple of different bible translations to reach more clarity about the chapter.

Paul is obviously upset over something that had been going on in the church at Corinth.  He was upset at what was happening and, I believe, more upset that the Corinthian Christians were not taking action to resolve the transgression.  In verse 5, Paul says to hand the sinner over to Satan (whoa, there), but goes on to say that his sinful nature can be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.  I realized, with the help of my bible commentary, that the intent was to exclude the man from the fellowship of believers and, without the support of fellow Christians the man might realize his emptiness and turn to Christ for forgiveness.  Now that makes sense.

Paul is calling on the Corinthians (and us) to not ignore sin in our midst but to address the sin and sinner, not condemning but to constructively and lovingly help guide them back to a God-honoring life.

At first glance in this chapter Paul appeared to dealing with just sexual immorality, but he really paints with a much wider brush in verse 11 “…sexually immoral or greedy, idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler”.  So, he is calling for us as Christians to recognize these actions in fellow Christians and help to get them back on track and following the Lord’s guidance. 

 We should also realize when our Christian brothers and sisters initiate the same corrective actions towards us.  Now that’s where the rubber meets the road, to recognize when that effort is directed toward us that it is not criticism but loving guidance. Easy to say, not easy to do, but that’s all part of the walk.

1 Corinthians Chapter 4

In this chapter Paul is lovingly yet firmly addressing judgment. He is an effective teacher as he not only instructs yet includes himself in this instruction. He humbly asks us to regard him as a servant of God and not someone who is preaching out of his own desires. He goes on to teach a very valuable lesson of keeping it real. in other words, realizing that all we bring to the table to honor God has been given to us and did not occur of our own power. How much more sincere are our attempts to go out everyday not all puffed up with self pride, yet to go out with the expressed honor that all we have to give today is from our Lord. Paul has also let it be known that he cares not how he is judged by mere man but that his own judgment comes straight from the Lord. I find extreme comfort in his peace in this. Mother Teresa once said "If you judge others, you have no time to love them." As I look over my struggles along my own faith journey I reflect the times I judged. (Way too many) It was a struggle and a burden. As Paul says leave it for the right time and the only Judge that matters, the Lord. Judging is hard work and I am glad to work towards relieving myself of the judgment and loving more and trusting that the Lord will do all the work.

1 Corinthians Chapter 3

Growing up as an active and athletic kid, I was on a number of sports teams.  I swam competitively and won many races and one state wide championship in my age class. I skied competitively (slalom and moguls) and was good, but really just ruined my knees after years of pounding abuse and playing tennis in the off winter months didn't help those knees either!  Now these  sporting activities were individual  sports and although I was part of a team, my success was based on my individual efforts for the most part.  But then as I got older, I began to play team sports where our collective cooperation as a team was instrumental in achieving "THE WIN".    I played softball, volleyball and basketball all through High School , but it was our basketball team in my Senior Year that was unstoppable!  

So you are probably wondering why I'm sharing this with you.   Because as I read this Chapter in 1st Corinthians 3,  versus 5-9 touched me and reminded me of how GOD wants us on his team.   The apostles Paul and Apollos were just messengers, or instruments  used by the God of all grace.    Paul was tasked with planting the seed & Apollos was tasked with watering the seed but they didn't really make the plant grow. The miracle of life does that.  But they had to work together - They provided the right environment for growth and trusted in the miracle of life.  They each had a role on GOD's team, as I did playing point guard on my High School Basketball team.  Paul and Apollos worked together to get the plant to grow, but it was GOD  who was very intentional in tasking them to each of their roles but it was GOD who gave the increase.  

My High School team won the State Championship in 1977 and it was a big deal!  Watching the Warriors win the NBA Championship in June was also a big deal and what struck me when reading this chapter and these verses about the tasks and gifts that GOD gives us, what matters most is how we use these gifts.  Being on a team, listening to your coach and working together with your teammates  by doing what you are tasked to do within the team,  is exactly what GOD wants from us.   Some people are frustrated because they want to water when God has called them to plant or they want to plant when GOD has called them to water.  Others are frustrated because they want to make the increase happen, when only GOD can do that.  Real fruitfulness in ministry happens when we are peacefully content with what GOD has called us to do and if being on his team means ministering Jesus to other people, then we should do just that and when we do......we all win!

1 Corinthians Chapter 2

How can finite human beings communicate and have a relationship with an infinite being?

For me, I Corinthians 2 is a chapter about rich communication to establish a personal relationship—how God, who is not bounded by time or space or a human brain, can communicate with each one of us in a personal, profound and spiritual way through the Holy Spirit who is part of God’s being.  

When we accept Christ’s love and forgiveness, we receive God’s Spirit in us.  The communication can begin between our spirit that knows our thoughts and the Spirit of God that knows God’s thoughts.  God set up this communication between Him and us to be personal and unique for each of us without the need for an interpreter.  

To put this in perspective and allow this profound truth the impact it deserves, I think about how limited and frustrating human communication can be.  For example, in conversations with others in the English language, I recall many miscommunications because I did not hear or understand each spoken word or understand the intended communications.  As the listener, I drew conclusions about the speaker’s thoughts without further inquiry or comment and many times I was wrong.  When the conclusions were wrong, the speaker became frustrated or upset.  So too as a speaker, I found it frustrating when a listener told me what the listener believed I was thinking and yet was completely off the mark.  

Consider how complicated our deep understanding of others can be when multiple languages are involved in the communication.  In the same example, I thought I understood the person speaking another language without the need for an interpreter only for me to realize that one word I misheard had changed the entire message.  Or consider with an interpreter there can be inherent language differences that do not translate well.

Human communications can be hurtful even between two like-minded people communicating in the same language.  But, for spiritual communications, God established a method for intimate, constant relationship-building communication between two radically different beings when He set up the spiritual communication between Himself and each of us. With this method, God’s Spirit communicates directly and personally to our own spirit using spiritual words that our own spirit uniquely understands because of who we are and how God wired us. God’s Spirit communicates truths about God and knows what words to say to each of us personally.  How awesome and magnificent God is to open up this path of communication to each of us! 

By the power of God’s Spirit in us, we not only understand the spiritual communication from God but we are also given the understanding and words to use when we communicate with others.  Paul relied on the Holy Spirit to know when to use plain words or persuasive speech or to speak with words of wisdom.  Paul also modeled for us how to present the gospel when we are in a weak human condition to allow the Holy Spirit to show God’s power in him.

Our human intellect cannot discern spiritual matters except through the illumination we receive from the Holy Spirit’s communication with our spirit.  Without the Holy Spirit, none of us would be able to comprehend the truth of God.   Each of us, in turn, can show how we are illuminated by God’s Spirit and trust that the words we use from God’s Spirit will truly communicate with others.

1 Corinthians Chapter 1

Most people want to be great. We want others to think of us as great. We care about our self-worth far more than we let on.  Just look at Facebook where we post pictures of perfect meals, hair dos, children, grandchildren, flowers in our gardens, Starbucks orders etc.

1 Corinthians 1 26-31 speaks directly to this. It speaks to Christians who care what others think.  It speaks to those who want to be a thought leader, a style leader, a workplace leader. It’s not always bad to want influence. As Christians, it seems like the more influence we can have, the more we can impact the world.   In Corinth, the church was not looking for the famous to get saved. Some simply wanted to become famous themselves and got caught up in the quest for popularity and influence.  They longed for respect and approval. They wanted others to like them and to value them. They wanted to be great. And we all know this feeling.  We live under the illusion that God needs greatness. 

In a nutshell, we read in I Corinthians 1 26-31 that God works despite us, not because of us. Who we are, what we bring to the table doesn’t really help God out.

I think about this–our God spoke the world into being. He put nature on pause so that the sun would appear to stand still in the sky for a full day. He has made men walk in a furnace without a mark or hint of smoke. He has brought people back from the dead. Jesus Himself has shown His power over death. If any of those are true, and they all are–I really don’t think that He’s in need of someone influential, rich or powerful to help Him. 

Paul reminds them who they were—not wise, not mighty, not noble. There weren’t a lot of Rhodes Scholars–this wasn’t the AP class. There weren’t a lot of the jocks, not much of the varsity team here. Paul says to them, and to us–---remember who you are. Even if we are smart or rich or powerful, God saves us in spite of that, not because of that. There is nothing in us that was appealing to God. And even now, what makes us appealing to God is only Jesus. His righteousness in us is what makes us acceptable to God.

God saved us so that we could make a big deal about who God is. 2 Peter 1:9, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

Let’s reset how we think–what we have that is good---- our family, our friends, our house, our warm clothes, our full stomach. We do not have it because of how great we are. We do not have it because we are particularly faithful to God. We do not have it because God is more pleased with us. ------We are blessed despite who we are, not because of it. God gave us the spouse, kids, family, friends, house, clothes, stomach and nose that we have–all so that we would boast about Him. It is not about us but about telling others about what He has done despite us.  God loves this type of boasting.

Jeremiah 9:23 to 24, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the Lord.”

Those are the kind of things that we need to boast about–not to our glory, but to God’s. God has chosen us for something far better than talking about ourselves. He chose us to brag about Him.