Giving

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

GIVING

1 Cor 16:1-4

16:1 Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.

NIV

It would seem this is one of those verses that prove we should be tithing on a weekly basis. Yet if we inspect exactly what is happening here, that is not the case. No money is being given for the operation of a church, for salaries of staff and for expenses of certain pet projects or building funds. This is all about helping out the less fortunate in the body of Christ. We can see that the sum of money, which it does not say what percentage that sum is, goes directly to other people who need it, to meet their daily needs. This is where we might be failing miserably. We are pressured to tithe to the church, almost made to feel guilty if we are not. All that pressure is so we can build a huge building, have the very best sound system money can buy, as well as the best visual aids system we can get and we can hire a pastor for every age group we can think of, in fact over staff our churches with salaried ministers who are the very ones pressuring us to tithe in order to support this money devouring monster we created. Such a very small percentage of anything actually goes to the cause which is outlined here. We might even be driving to church in our fancy cars, wearing our best attire, expecting breakfast out after church, all the while someone in our midst is struggling to meet their daily needs and we simply go on our merry way thinking good about ourselves because we put something in the passing tray to feed our monster. If we were truly in fellowship with each other, we would know who needs what and we would be generously giving according in keeping with our income. We might also rid ourselves of this monster and return to the ways the church was designed by Jesus. We may have failed to see the truth, and we might have simply bought into this newer way of doing things, because it is easier, all we have to do is show up on Sunday morning and pay the piper. If we were to follow this truth we would set aside a sum of money in keeping with our income saving it up and when we see someone in need we would, if needed, collaborate with a few others, and give, not borrow, to the one in real need, but we would be setting it aside within the framework of our own home, not bringing it to pay for the monster each week. So what will we do, continue with the collections, or set it aside? Will we continue to pay for the monster, or give to those in need? Some say we should do both. Some say paying for the monster is so it can give to the poor. Yet the point is clear.

No Moving

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

NO MOVING

1 Cor 15:58

58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

NIV

Now that we are fully knowledgeable about the resurrection being a fact and having been instructed how we will participate in the very same resurrection that Jesus did, we are now being told to stand firm. There are all sorts of different opinions how to apply the scriptures to life. There are all sorts of opinions about God, views of God, and what heaven is like. There are all sorts of religions that use God as a basis for their belief and have shaped and colored their own form of Christianity. But when we have seen the truth, without having been molded into some person’s vision of what it is, we are to stand firm, let nothing move us. We will be either raised from the dead, or we will be changed in an instant, but either way, we will experience a resurrection from here to there. God is real; the resurrection is real for those who are born again. If someone is not born again, they will perish. That is the truth and we are not to be moved from it, we are to stand firm in our faith. We cannot afford to allow the world or some false impression of Christianity move us from our stand. It does not matter how intelligent their argument might sound. It does not matter how spiritual their opinion may appear, if it is not the truth that has been so clearly stated in the scripture, we cannot be moved, we must stand firm. There is clearly but one mediator between us and God and that is Jesus. There is but one who can actually lead us into all truth and that is the Holy Spirit. Yes God has given the gift of Pastor/Shepherd to the church, but He has also given all the gift of discernment to know the voice of God, and to discern the difference between the truth and lies. We cannot afford to be led astray by anyone who presents himself as a shepherd but is actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing. We must stand firm, hold our ground, and give ourselves fully, not partially, to the work of the Lord. That means not part time, not just Sunday mornings, not just when it fits our schedule, not when it is convenient, not when we feel like it, not just when we are asked to do something, but fully. We should never miss a moment to do the work of the Lord. So then the question is what is the work of the Lord? Does he not call each one of us to a task? Does he not fit us, as living stones, into the temple of God as he determines? We each may have a special task and we all might have one same task, but either way we are to give ourselves fully to the task of benefiting the Kingdom of God. Stand firm let nothing move us, no moving.

Live Accordingly

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

LIVE ACCORDINGLY

1 Cor 15:50-53

50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

NIV

There is more to this, but we should see this part first for what great joy this should bring to our hearts and what incredible comfort to our minds. It is doubtful that any of us believers actually think we are going to get to heaven in our present condition, which is being in this body. We are told here that truth, and we surely believer it. But this part about not all of us sleeping may not be as believable as we think it is. If we believed we are the ones who would not sleep because Jesus was coming back for us during our lifetime, we might live a little different than we are, well in actuality we might live a lot different than we are. What if we knew for sure that Jesus was coming and we would be changed in a flash, in a twinkling of an eye at some point in our life and we would not experience death? We still would not know the exact day, month or year, but we knew we would not die, but be changed into something imperishable. How would that effect our actions, our behaviors, our thinking? Would that make a difference in our ambitions, our goals, or our plans for our future? It would appear from the way most of us live, we truly do not believe we will hear the last trumpet with our perishable ears. But is there any difference between the dead being raised and us being changed? Both are the ones who Jesus is coming back for. Both are the ones who will put off perishable for the imperishable. Both will exchange mortal for immortal. The only difference is one is asleep the other is awake when it happens. So then should we not live accordingly, no matter is we are the ones asleep or awake? Should we not base all our ambitions, all our goals and plans on this event, this fact? Yet why do so many spend so much energy on ambitions, goals and plans on this perishable life? Yes, we are told to occupy until his return, at least which is what Jesus was saying in the parable about the nobleman and his servants. But that is about doing with what he gives us for the benefit of him, his kingdom, not for our benefit. So we most occupy, we must put to good use what gifts of the Spirit God has determined to give us for the benefit of the Kingdom of God. That is occupying until Jesus returns. Are we doing that? Or are we occupying for our own benefit. We not only boast in our own achievements, but we boast in our children’s and our grandchildren’s. Should we not be boasting in our Lord? He is coming back for those who boast in Him. He is coming back! If we are truly born again than we should be boasting in Him. We should be living for Him. We should be planning for our future with Him. We should live accordingly.

Hardly Able to Wait

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

HARDLY ABLE TO WAIT

1 Cor 15:42-44

42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

NIV

Here is the description of what it is going to be like when we die and experience the resurrection and how we will be at that time. If any of us ever think for a moment that this body is not perishable we are indeed fooling ourselves. We need only feel the aches and pains as age creeps alone and we see and feel the differences in our aging body. We remember the youthful look and feel and know it is only going to get older and weaker with more aches and pains until we get to lay it to rest. Then it will be resurrected young, strong without any of the aches and pain of age, and it will last forever. We also know that as we die, we will die with dishonor in the sense of not ever being able to be completely free of all sin, and so our present body will not serve to stand in the presence of God, but we will be raised in a glorified condition, totally free of this bodies demands for pleasure and able to stand in the very presence of our God. Yes, this body is weak, it does demand pleasure, it does not serve us, as much as we serve it, but the day is coming when we will shed this body or it will be transformed into a body of power, although there will be no sin to resist we could if it were. We also see that as we were born in the natural, that natural will die but we will be raised in a spiritual body. Jesus told Nicodemus that in order for us to see the Kingdom of God we must be born again. We know that our bodies cannot go through that rebirth process but our spirits can and must, so that as our bodies are raised as spiritual bodies, our reborn spirit is joined with it. For those who never were born again in the spirit, their bodies will not be raised spiritually either, both body and spirit will perish, perhaps not the instant of death, but surely at the final judgment. But for us who have been born again, a great experience awaits us in the death of this body. Perishable into imperishable, dishonor into glory, weakness into power, and natural into spiritual is what is ahead. It sounds so marvelous we should be anxious for it; we should hardly be able to wait. 

Our Splendor

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

 OUR SPLENDOR

1 Cor 15:35-41

35 But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

NIV

We are going to get the answer to this question in the next phrase that is spoken to us, but first let us just ponder on what is here. It does seem that we do ask questions about how heaven will be and what will we look like. We hear questions about how old will we appear, will we recognize each other and how do we get around, walk or sort of float. What we can take away from these words is the simply fact God determines what kind of body we have, both here and in heaven. Who of us determined what we would look like? It is true a few of us do some pretty nasty things to try to change the way we look, but the fact remains we still look like human beings and not like gorillas or some other species. And as much as we all look a little different from each other we all look pretty much the same, for we were created in God’s image. God determined how we would look while we live here, and so he will also determine how we will look when we live there. Sure is it sort of fun to fantasize about what it will be like, but we should never presume to know exactly what we will appear like. As we will see there is a description and it is pretty clear, but we should also see from what is said here that the only way to grow into our heavenly bodies is by being planted as this one and as with seed, we must die in order to become the heavenly body God has determined us to be. If we think about it, we are but a seed, this life is only in preparation for the one we will grow into. So why do we spend so much of our efforts on this one, trying to make the most of it, trying to be the smartest, the most beautiful, the most liked, the wealthiest, the most influential and whatever else most there is. Shouldn’t we be spending our efforts being the best seed we can be? Shouldn’t we be making sure the Word was planted in our rich and fertile soil so it grows within us making us the best seed possible? But still we must know that God created us as we are and as we will be. What kind of splendor we are and will be.  

No Corruption

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

NO CORRUPTION

1 Cor 15:32-34

If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."   33 Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." 34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God — I say this to your shame.

NIV

We are continuing the look at the resurrection, whether it is or it isn’t and how we are to live if it is, and how we should not live if it is, and the way we actually live as if it isn’t. Well at least the way some live as if it isn’t. It would appear some of those in Corinth were living as eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die, which is to say they had no restrictions on their lives and really did not think there would actually be a resurrection into the presence of God when they died. We surely do not live as if there is no resurrection, for we know it is true and it will happen as surely as Jesus was resurrected. But do we live, at least in part, or at times, as though we are not concerned about having to stand before God? Do we partake in the same behavior time after time, thinking because we are believers and that Christ died for our sins so we are automatically forgiven? Could that be in any way living as if there is no resurrection? It is assured that we cannot continue to associate on an extremely close level with those who do not believe as we do. Yes we need to develop a relationship with them, for the soul purpose of sharing the gospel message, but we should not be hanging around them, being friends, engaging in life with them, doing all they do, taking on their philosophies of life. Sure some of us do not accept their thinking about drink, eat and be merry, or smoking, or abortions, or premarital relations, or adultery, or a whole slew of other behaviors, but have we accepted their concepts about frame and future? Do we pursue life based on our own ambitions, our own goals, and our own desires? Is that not having a good character corrupted by bad company? Is that living as if there is no resurrection, trying to store up as much as we can here, in this life, because this is all we have? That surely is what they are doing, yet we still hear them, unbelievers, yet religious, talk about going to heaven when people die. Are they simply the ones who are ignorant of God? Could we be ignorant in any way? Is there something we do not know about God, about the resurrection? If we know about it, we should live in accordance with that truth. We cannot afford to be corrupted.

In The Face of Life and Death

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

IN THE FACE OF LIFE AND DEATH

1 Cor 15:29-32

9 Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31 I die every day — I mean that, brothers — just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,

NIV

This is a long dissertation on the resurrection of the dead,  but we should break this up and see some truths within it. There is much more that is said following this but let us first consider this idea of being baptized for the dead. There is no doubt it is the strangest and most controversial passage in the whole of scripture. Scholars and theologians have argued over it for centuries, and it is certain they all disagree over its meaning. So how do we mere little people understand this concept? We do know from sources that this practice does exist in one present group, who call themselves the church of the latter day saints. This is practiced by having a person be baptized in proxy for one who has died, without having been baptized in accordance to their belief. We are not certain, as are all the scholars and theologians that this practice was actually going on in Corinth. Yet within the context of the whole of the rest that follows, it does make sense to understand this as when we all are baptized, we are baptized into the death of Jesus, and coming up out of the water as we will be resurrected with Jesus. If there is no resurrection our baptism into his death is meaningless, useless, without any value at all. If we live as believers, facing all the attacks of Satan against us and there is no resurrection, what have we gained? Some would say, living as a believer is all a bed of roses, but we know that is not so. At times it would be much easier to live as an unbeliever, with no restrictions on our behavior, and having no conflict with those who oppose our beliefs. But we cannot give up nor give in. We stand firm in our faith, which at times has some costs. We do this because we know there is a resurrection. Although we may not face the type of dangers the apostles did, such as an agonizingly painful death as a martyr for Christ, we do face dangers thrown at us by Satan to destroy our faith, and our very soul. We know that no matter how difficult our lives might be, we are merely here for but a short time which is followed by our death and resurrection into the very presence of our Lord. So who cares about a few dangers? Our death is only significant as the end if there is no resurrection, so then we should say, “ We only go around once, so grab for all the gusto we can”, but we know that is false and therefore we stand firm in the face of life and death. 

Resurrected

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

RESURRECTED

1 Cor 15:20-28

20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For he "has put everything under his feet." Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

NIV

We will be resurrected after we die, that is that, but once again it does appear it is not at the exact moment of death which this resurrection occurs. Now as far as each in his own turn, that could imply something different, of course, first Christ then us, his turn than our turn when he comes for us. But could he come for each one of us in a spiritual form at the moment of our death? Then the phrase to be present with the Lord is to be absent from the body would be at the moment of death. It sure would be great of Jesus destroyed death, like today, so we do not have to pass through it, but the fact remains because of Adam, we all will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death. Although we can be assured that we will also experience the resurrection, and will enter into the presence of our Lord and Savior, the path through death still remains before us. It will be a glories event to behold when the end does finally arrives. When we stand before God the Father and Jesus our Lord and Savior presents us to Him and turns us over to the greatest of the Father, it will be awesome as well as perhaps a little fearsome. Even in heaven the fear of the Lord is a great way to have wisdom. Sometimes it appears some believers even here on earth are way too familiar with God, like almost calling him daddy. We will be presented to him so as to be subject to him, under his authority, his power, and his majesty. Not sure how all that will look like in the new city of Jerusalem. Some sing that song about a mansion just over the hilltop thinking we will be roaming around as free as a bird, doing whatever we want, when we want, and how we want. But it just may not be like that, if we are subject to God so that he is all in all. Yes there is a lot of rewards and a description of things we will have, because we have overcome. Yes there is a lot of space in this new city, and it appears we will have an abode, a place to dwell in it, But as to the exact style of eternal life we will experience is still a bit of a mystery, but the fact still remains, because of Jesus, we will experience it. The grave cannot hold us, death cannot have any power over us, we will be resurrected and stand before God.

Believe it.

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

BELIEVE IT

1 Cor 15:12-19

12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 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. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.  

NIV

So then, we have to know without a shadow of a doubt there is life after this one. We have to know that when we die of this life we will sleep for a while until Jesus comes for us. Well at least that is what it sounds like. We are fairly quick to affirm that when we are absent from the body, we are present with the Lord, or when we are present in the body, we are absent from the Lord, which Paul writes in the second letter to these in Corinth. The point is or rather the question is when do we leave the body and join the presence of the Lord. What we know is that Jesus was in the grave three days before he was resurrected in the form in which he ascended, which appears was a glorified form as he did pass through a locked door to appear to his own. So then the question is how long will we be in the grave before we are resurrected in this same glorified form as Jesus and ascend into the presence of God? We have a tendency to believe the second we die, we step into his presence. We always say at our friends, or family members viewing that they are not there, but with God, and we even hear it at those viewings of unsaved people. But what is the truth here? Of course, just as with our sleep here, we doze off and the next thing we know we are waking in the morning, unaware of the hours of sleep. It may well be the same in death, we may doze off and the next we know we are resurrected into the presence of Almighty God, unaware of the hours, days, years, or whatever we were in the grave,  then again it might only be three days. The point is, we will be resurrected. We have eye witness accounts of the fact Jesus died and was buried and then was resurrected and seen by hundreds of people and finally ascended as witnessed and recorded by others, so we might know what happened it is true. So our faith is justified, it is not futile, and we are not lost in our sins, but have been redeemed from them, and those who were born again before us, are not lost, but have been or will be resurrected. There is far more than the hope of this life, there is the hope of eternal life in the presence of our Lord and Savior. No one should ever pity us, for what we hope for is the true reality, we believe it, we live in this truth, believe it.

By His Grace

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

BY HIS GRACE

1 Cor 15:9-11

9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

NIV

It surely is a good thing not to have any personal pride in any accomplishments that we achieve within the Body of Christ. Maybe that should apply to our whole life as well. It is by the grace of God we are who we are, and surely we must admit that it is by his grace that our lives have been changed. If the grace of God has not had an effect on our lives, than we need to do some real soul searching. It would appear the lesson for us here is not to get so filled with our own abilities that we think we are someone special, or better than others because of some special talent or skill we exhibit. It also serves to show us that we should not get so catch up in pride thinking we are so spiritual, or holy and that sin no longer has a grip in our lives, for pride in any form about anything is sin too. We can see a real sense of humility in this passage even in the fact of stated the facts of working harder than any other, for it was not him but the grace of God that was in him. Perhaps we should simply accept the fact that all we are, all we do, is because of the grace of God working in us, and we should make sure we acknowledge that before God and men. It may be the worst thing we can do is to applaud someone who has ministered in some form of music in a worship service, or tell a preacher he did a good job, or it was a good message. Maybe we should say something like, God really used you today, and his grace was pouring out of you. Maybe when we are used by God and someone praises us in some manner, we need to express that it was not us, but the grace of God. We need to remember that this grace is not unmerited favor, but the divine influence on our hearts and how that is expressed in our lives. That is what Paul is taking about, that is what we need to see, and understand about our lives. We are who we are not because of what we have done, but because of what God has done for us, in us and though us. When we quote that we can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us, do we really mean we can, or do we mean we can because of God? We are because of God’s grace.

Of First Importance

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

OF FIRST IMPORTANCE

1 Cor 15:3-8

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

NIV

First things first, seem to be a point being made here first. It is rather useless to have any conversation about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and anything which is commanded in the scriptures or about any of the truths of scripture with anyone who is not a believer. The only thing which is of first importance that we should speak to an unbeliever is that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures and that he appeared to all those people enumerated here. Of what value is any of the truths of God if a person does not first accept this truth? So why should we brother having any discussion about the truths of God or the validity of the Bible, in fact, with anyone unless they first receive what we have and have passed that on to them? That which is of first importance is accepting Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and as Lord and Savior. Then we can instruct, encourage, and comfort them as fellow believer.  The second thing we need to realize is that if we received that truth, we have an obligation to pass it on. Sure, it is a great thing that we have received salvation, that we are saved, that we are born again, and we see the Kingdom of God, both the one which exists within our midst and that which is to come. But do we have this “it’s us four and no more” mentality? If not then we should be passing on this gospel message to as many people as we can. If we are not then what are we doing? Why are we not passing this truth on? True, maybe we have tried to pass it on and it was rejected firmly and we get this attitude of “not casting pearls on swine”. But all people are created by God, and He sent His Son to die for them, because He loves them as much as He loves us. So then we should pass this truth alone, to as many as possible, whoever we come in contact with and spent time with. Sure it may not be possible to stand on the street corner, or in the mall, yelling at people about getting repenting and be saved, but we live among unbelievers as neighbors, we work with them, we exchange greetings with some on a daily basis, and we need to pass on that which is of the first importance. We surely pass on all sorts of other useless information to others, but why not that which is of first importance?  

Holding Firm

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

HOLD FIRMLY

1 Cor 15:1-2

15:1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

NIV

It is good to be reminded from time to time that we are indeed saved because of the gospel which has been preached to us. At least someone told us the gospel message about Jesus and we received it as the truth, becoming a believer, being saved, being born again. We have staked our lives on this truth, we have taken our stand, declared to the world our faith and hope in Jesus Christ for our redemption, our salvation, and our way of life. It appears, however, that we must continue to hold firmly to this word, this gospel message that we received, otherwise our belief is in vain. So then could we say that if we get distracted by all the things of this world that would not be holding firmly to the word? Could we say that if we get all catch up in the rat race of life, making success, money, material goods and personal pleasures, or creature comforts our primary goal, our ambition, our desire, then maybe all this faith stuff is just in vain? Could we say that if we spend more effort reading trash novels, fiction novels, or any other world centered book then we do the scriptures, we might be in danger of believing in vain? Could we say that if the only time we hear or talk anything about the gospel message is Sunday morning we might believe in vain? So then what does holding firmly to the word mean? It has to be about the gospel being the very center of our life, it drives everything we think, everything we say, everything we do and everything we desire. We must come to the realization this world is not our home, we are just passing through, our treasures are laid up beyond the blue, the angels beckon us from heavens open shore, and we just cannot feel home in this world anymore. All we are, all we have, all we do, must be due to Jesus. Although we cannot pay him back, we owe our very life to Jesus. But we can live our life for Jesus, which is live in a manner that brings honor and glory to him. We can stand firm, stand boldly for our belief in Jesus, even, no especially in the face of adversity, not matter the cost. We must hold firmly.

Win or Lose

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

WIN OR LOSE

1 Cor 14:36-40

36 Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? 37 If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command. 38 If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored.   39 Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.

NIV

Is this a just a little bit of sarcasm? Is this just Paul or is God actually handing this out? It would do us all good to consider the word of God not being originated by us. That is to say we, the particular denomination we attend or are actually members of are not only ones who have the correct interpretation of the scripture. Can we say we are the only ones it has reached? Within the context of this whole dissertation about the gifts, it is especially pointed toward that understanding. We know, without question, there is a great divide within the greater body of Christ over the use of these gifts. Yet here we are seeing that if we think we have any spiritual gift at all, which would include pastors and teachers of the Word, and we do not acknowledge that these gifts which have been discussed are the Lord’s command, what we do have to say will be ignored. So then what should we do? We have to acknowledge the gifts as from God, and that He does not change and therefore He continues to gift people as He determines with whatever gift He sees fit to give whenever He decides. For us to say anything contrary to that would simply mean we do not know the truth, or refuse to acknowledge it as a command from God. We are reminded again that we should be eager to prophesy, and that we should not forbid the gift of tongues in the congregation. Yet that is exactly what many denominations do, they are not eager to prophesy and they forbid tongues.  So should we ignore whatever else they have to say? That is pretty strong language, but it really makes a mind, and a spirit ponder. We also have to see that even if we are among those who actually follow this command, and are eager to prophesy and do speak in tongues that is needs to be  in a fitting and orderly fashion, which implies being sensitive to the giver of gifts. We truly need to be operating within the Spirit, open to His moving in our lives, both as He gifts us and as we see Him gifting others. If we close our minds, our hearts, our spirits to what He wants to do among us, we lose. But if we open our minds,  our hearts and our spirits to what He desires to do for us, in us and through us, we and everyone around us wins. It is up to us, do we win or lose?

That is What it Says

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

THAT IS WHAT IT SAYS

1 Cor 14:33-35

As in all the congregations of the saints, 34 women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

NIV

We should just leave this one alone, but how can we, as it is a part of the whole. Historian/theologian/scholar types have tried their best to explain this as the law for the Jewish form of worship was for the men only and woman were allowed to sit in the balcony, but in this setting, the women were yelling down at their husbands. The problem is that the Church in Corinth was mainly made up of Greeks who were converted to Christianity when Paul visited there some two years before this letter. So this was not a Jewish form of worship and it was not a men’s only setting. Yet it still appears the women were not to be in a vocal role in this church. This of course would never fly in our church today. So how do we handle this? Do we say it was just for them at that time and only for them? Do we say it was just for those under the law? But wait, Paul says we have been set free from the law. Why would Greeks have to abide by the Jewish law anyway? Did the New Testament church abide by the law? Certainly from chapter 11 we see that woman prayed an prophesied, with their head covered of course, in the church, so what is this silence thing about? We might expect in the Greek culture that men were accustomed to debate and dialog regarding philosophical issues, and that it surely was carried into the church regarding doctrine and some spiritual matters such as the gifts. It would appear the woman were entering into this debate challenging either the order of things, or some other doctrinal issue, or how to interpret the instruction Paul left behind from his first visit there. Yet if the Word of God is eternal and good for teaching, correcting and rebuking, and it is applicable for all of us for all time, we need to see the truth for us in this instruction. Surely we have woman who are not silent in our church today, in fact, we have woman pastors, woman teachers, woman who are on leadership teams, board members, or are a deaconess. How do these women fit into the role of being submissive to their husbands, as the scripture commands? Surely in the Pentecostal churches of today women speak in tongues and prophesy maybe even more then the men. So is it still disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church? Maybe we have to come to terms with the simple fact that God established the man to be the head of his household. This means God holds the man accountable for the actions or behavior of his wife. This was not a Jewish law, but rather a primary law of God. So if a woman has some issue with the understanding of spiritual matters, she should not be causing disruption in the church, going around stirring up trouble, dissension, division, and the like. She should sit down with her husband at home and disguise her concerns, seeking resolution to her question. If a woman does not have a husband and no believing father, perhaps she should seek a spiritual sister with a husband so as to be included in that family, under the spiritual protection of the man. Again, would this really fly in our church today? Maybe it should. That is what it says. 

Open To The Spirit

DEVOTION

CORINTHIANS

OPEN TO THE SPIRIT

1 Cor 14:29-33

29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.

NIV

IF we are going to go by what this says then we first of all have to understand that operating in the Spirit means just that. If or rather when the Spirit moves, or inspires someone to speak out with words of instruction or encouragement, which of course, we also need to see it is not just babble, but actually true instruction and real encouragement for others, the person speaking will know the precise moment to stop and sit down due to the Spirit inspiring someone else to speak up. We know that in the course of human conversation, that is the polite mannerly thing to do, except we also see times when everyone is talking at the same time and no one is really listening to the other. Dinnertime can look like that in some families. But here it must have been like that in Corinth. A whole bunch of unruly people in church all trying to prophecy at the same time. The other truth we see in this passage is the fact of weighting carefully what someone says as being prophesy. Whenever someone attempts to speak for God, or speak words of instruction or encouragement in the form of speaking as inspired by God, we need to listen carefully and weigh those words against the divine Word of God we already know. We can be assured that Spirit will never inspire anyone to speak what is contrary in any way to the Word of God that has been recorded and handed down through the generations for us and those who follow after is us. If the words we hear do conflict in anyway, then we know we must dismiss them as words of man, and not of God. This puts a great burden on us for we must know whether it conflicts or does not. That means we must know the Word of God so well, that we could not be fooled or lead astray by someone with a silver tongue, who seems to flow with words or milk and honey and presences themselves as speaking for God, but is actually seeking self-edification, or frame and fortune or both. We need to know or we need to be so sensitive to the Spirit and allow Him to gift us with discernment to we can tell who is actually speaking for God, and who is speaking for self. In the middle of all this, the truth that prevails is the Spirit controls the situation, not man, and it is orderly and peaceable. We only need to be open to the Spirit. 

All or Nothing

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

ALL OR NOTHING

1 Cor 14:26-28

26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two — or at the most three — should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

NIV

We have to notice that all of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. That means all, not some, not a few for a while and then some for the rest of time, but all. Which ones do we say are no longer for today and which ones do we say are? The point being is it appears we pick and choose which portions of scripture we want to believe and which we do not. It is truly easy for us today to sing a hymn, and maybe even have a word of instruction when we all come together, although we usually leave the instruction part to just one person we have hired to do that. The other word we should pay close attention to is everyone. It would seem that everyone should sing a hymn, and everyone should have a word of instruction for the church as well as have a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. We can make no mistake that we are commanded by the Word of God that all five of those most be done for if the church is going to be strengthened. Yes it should not be chaos, but in an orderly way, but nevertheless is surely appears it must be done. That would mean, if we read this correctly and understand this correctly, we cannot just come to church on Sunday morning and sit there like a bunch of bumps on a log listening to our hired help preach a sermon. It would appear the truth here is that we must participate in the strengthening of the church. We need to ask ourselves when was the last time we had a word of instruction for others, or when was the last time we shared a revelation from God. Of course we sing along with the hymns, but have we ever offered a hymn? Then there is the matter of tongues and interpretation, how do we handle that? Is this the part we simply say stopped with the New Testament church? But wait, we are the New Testament church, so then this is the part we say stopped with the disciples? But wait we are disciples, as well as we are supposed to go into all the world making disciples. Maybe this is the part we say stopped with the early church, but how to we know we are not still the early church? Do we presume to conclude we are the late church, as those who call themselves latter day saints? How do we know what is early and what is late? Is that not up to God? So then it is concluded that the truth is eternal, it was written for the whole church, for all of time, until Jesus returns and so we must be about doing, being the church God desires, no commands us to be. If we believe it has to be all, or simply be unbelievers. So all or nothing, which is it?

Strengthening, Encouraging, comforting

DEVOTION

CORINTHIANS

STENGTHENING, ENCOURAGING AND COMFORTING

1 Cor 14:22-25

22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. 23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, 25 and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"

NIV

This seems a most confusing statement at first. If tongues are a sign for the unbeliever, why then would they think those of us who are speaking in an unlearned, but gifted language out of our minds? And if prophecy is for the believer, why then would an unbeliever fall down and worship God when he hears us all speaking words about future events and actions of God? It would seem as in the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit filled those in the upper room and they all spilled out in the streets speaking in tongues, or languages they had not learned, but were gifted and indeed many infidels, unbelievers heard the gospel message in their own tongue and thus is was and is a sign for the unbeliever. But does is have value in a congregation of believers? Should not this gift be used in the spreading of the Gospel? Well perhaps there are unbelievers in the assembly, ever church has them and so in that case it would be a sign to them, if of course there were to understand the words, or at least the words were interpreted for them. But as far as those believers in the assembly, there is far more need for them to hear words of instruction about the coming events and of what God is going to do in the future, so as to live a life worthy of being His own. Surely again though it seems these words of prophecy are intended for the believer, but it appears here that unbelievers when hearing them see their sin exposed, are convinced they are sinners, and fall down and worship God. What truth lays here is that the whole purpose of the assembly is to bring sinners to God. What truth is laid out for us is that the gifts of both tongues and prophecy are used by the Spirit to speak into the hearts and minds of those who need to know Jesus either for the first time, or to know him better than ever before. The gifts are not for the edification of the user, or of the one the Spirit is using, but they are for the common good, both to unbelievers, and to believers. The gifts are for the purpose of bringing everyone closer to God, they are for the edification of God, the glory of God. They are for building up, strengthening, encouraging, comforting everyone.

Grow Up

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

GROW UP

1 Cor 14:18-21

18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. 20 Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. 21 In the Law it is written:

"Through men of strange tongues and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me," says the Lord.

NIV

Well we are still looking at these instructions about the specific gifts of tongues and prophecy. Although this speaking in a language that we have not learned is a gift, and again we must see those Corinthians most have been really carried away using it, we are also seeing there is too much of a good thing and a special reason for it. But yet if this is a gift of the Spirit and it is given as determined by God, it would also appear by these instructions that these people were trying to manufacture the gift themselves, or at least pretending to have this gift, when in fact they did not. In either case it is a great thing to speak to each other in a manner so that the other can understand what we are saying as to instructions. Ah, that might be the rub. We should be instructing each other, not just spending time with millions of words of small talk. Who really cares about the weather, the traffic, the Buckeyes, the Reds, the Browns, or whatever other team? Who really cares about hair styles, clothes, cars, markup, or my cousin’s friend who has an uncle whose mother’s sister’s friend is whatever? Should we really be discussing someone else’s problem, which is gossip, trying our best to disguise it as a prayer request. The reality here is that we should be instructing each other in the truth of God’s Word. Maybe small talk is fine for people who do not believe, but for us that profess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we do not have time for small talk, we need to be about our father’s business. We need to be loving each other, teaching each other, helping each other grow in Christ, building each other up, strengthening, encouraging, and comforting each other with words from God, that each other understands. We should not be babbling about that which does not matter. Sure we should seek all the gifts, eagerly seek them, even this gift of tongues, but we should also be concerned and seek the common good of other believers. Have we been thinking like little children? Maybe it is time we really grow up. 

What Do We Do?

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

WHAT DO WE DO

1 Cor 14:13-17

13 For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. 16 If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.

NIV

Again, there must have been a real problem going on with those believers in Corinth as far as getting a little carried away with the gift of tongues. It would seem a little odd that it was the people and not the Spirit. If it is God who determines who gets gifted with what gift and when and how, then why were they being instructed about this matter? We can say one thing for sure that we know about this gift of tongues that the purpose is for a person to be able to give thanks to God by praying in a language they have not learned. We also know that if one prays in this unknown language no one else knows what he is saying unless he interprets in a known language what he just prayed in an unknown one. Now of course this is all a moot point and this section of scripture has nothing to do with any believers today, in fact, it should just be taken out of the Bible because so many believers pay absolutely no attention to it, saying it does not apply to today, because it was just for the New Testament church. But are we not the New Testament church too? It is difficult to understand why so many are not willing to understand this gift of tongues and interpretation, for that matter, most of the gifts. But let us refrain from that discussion, and confine ourselves to this matter. Is it possible to humanly manufacture the gifts? Is it possible these Corinthian people were doing that? Is that why Paul was so emphatic? Yet if we remember all the gifts are given for the common good, then what good is praying in tongues if no one understands. How is that doing anyone any good? That is why it must be accompanied by the interpretation so that all who hear both can be built up. That sure seems simply enough, so why so much confusion in the church today? It seems pretty clear that when a person speaks in a language that they have not learned it is a gift of the Spirit at work and that person is giving thanks to God and so the interpretation is of what that person said to God. How we deal with this in today’s church is the question. What do we do?

Excel

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

EXCEL

1 Cor 14:6-12

6 Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? 7 Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. 10 Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11 If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me. 12 So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.

NIV

We are in the middle of instructions to those in Corinth who may well have been abusing one of the gifts, or at least spending much of their time exhibiting the one gift, tongues. It seems they were getting carried away with just this one gift, and that gift alone does not build up the church, which we should see in the next part of these instructions. Yet we can see still another truth within this section about what we say and how we say it. Even if  we are not speaking in a language that we do not know, for that is in fact the gift of tongues, we still need to speak so people understand us. That is we need to make sense in our presentation of what we are saying. If we are sharing the gospel, or our faith experience, we need to be intelligent about how we explain it. If we simply attack the unbeliever about having to have faith, that there is no real reason to accept the stories in the Bible as fact, but they just have to believe, that makes no sense, and they cannot understand. If we teach other believers, we need to present our course study in a plain and understandable way, so they we see the truth we are examining, which helps them grow and builds up the church. If we try to make ourselves out to be so super spiritual, or super intellectual and try to use fancy words which may not be understand, we are not helping them, but only edifying ourselves. There is also the truth within this section that encourages us to excel in gifts that build up the church. That means we should really be looking for the Spirit to be doing the work, but at the same time, we should truly be open to the Spirit to me gifted, and when so, excel, that is use that gift we all our energy, for the common good. It does appear, at times, that many among us do not want any part of the gifts, or any part of building up others in the church. Is that judgmental or simply the truth? It does seem quite clear that each one of us should be exceling in some gift that builds up the church. That would mean we cannot simply show up on Sunday, sit and soak, and leave, going back to our own personal lives. We must excel in some gift that builds up the church. Do we get to choose which gift that is? It does not appear so. As we have seen in 12:11 He gives to each one a gift as He determines. So we must seek the Spirit, understand which gift He has determined to give us, and then try to excel.