Hope and Perseveres

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

HOPE AND PERSEVERES

1 Cor 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

NIV

Love always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres. Let us consider this hope and see how it fits into loving each other. The Greek word translated as hope is elpizo, that comes from the base word elpis. Both words are used for hope, with elpizo sometimes used in the sense that, I trust you will send, instead of, I hope you will send. But it is an expectation. It can be used positively or negatively, in that sense that we hope this does not happen or we hope that Jesus is coming for us. We might say that we believe that Jesus is returning, or trust that he will come for us, or have this positive expectation of His return. When we apply this to love for each other we always have this hope, this positive expectation that the ones we love well do the right thing, or love God, or be with us in the new creation, We are always hoping for the best for our loved ones, who again, is everyone, especially those who are in the body of Christs. It is interesting that if we always expect the best for others, it would do away with envy, jealousy, and even greed. We will also always hope for the best in those we love. That is we expect them to be the best they can be in their walk with the Lord. This would mean that we are always about encouraging them in their walk, seeking to enhance their relationship with the Lord. Along with all this hope we have for and in those we love, we also will always never give up on them, never stop loving them, no matter what. Certainly, the Greek word hupomenoo carries the meaning to preserver absolutely and emphatically, under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one’s faith in Christ. Therefore, we can apply this to how we will hold fast to our love for each other under any circumstances whether everything is all good or if there are times of not so good. This would directly be applied in a marriage, but it can also be applied in the community of faith. Let us always remember how love is defined for us, and always know that we decided to love each other, it is our choice and we made it because we love the Lord, and the Lord loves all of us, so we have decided to always love you. 

Trust Always

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

TRUST ALWAYS

1 Cor 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

NIV

Love always protects, trusts hopes, and perseveres. With the wall we have built around those we love, protecting them and any of their secrets, we turn our attention to trust. It is interesting the Greek word pisteuo, is an intransitive verb, which does not need a direct object. This word carries the direct meaning; to think to be true, to be persuaded of; to credit, place confidence in. It is used of the thing believed being evident from the preceding context. Yet, specifically, of the conviction and trust to which a person is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of his soul. This can be seen in our complete trust in Jesus, or that God is able to do anything. However, this word in its forms is also used as trust in an ethical sense, of confidence in the good of men, which is how it is used in this verse, however, it is also to entrust a thing to someone. Therefore, as we apply this to the concept of loving each other, and how this love demands the way we interact with the members of the body of Christ, of course, all the definitions relate directly to our relationship to marriage. Once again, trust is a two-way street, it is reciprocal. We put our trust, and our confidence in the other person to be true and right, to the point that we could share a need, or an inner struggle with complete confidence that information will remain solely between the two of us and the information shared will not affect the relationship between them. This is that two-way street, as when we are made privy to a situation, where someone comes to us to share a need or an inner struggle, we will keep confidence, or keep the highest standard of confidence as if this is a highly classified secret, and we redact the whole of the share data, so to speak. That is no one else will ever be able to see, hear, read, or gain knowledge of the information shared with us. We will trust you, have confidence in you to hold our inner needs and struggles and you can be sure that we will hold with absolute assurance your inner needs and struggles, because love always, and that is not sometimes, but always trusts. Always is a good word, as the Greek word pas, pasa, pan, in each form, means every, any, and always. It is infinite, in that sense, never ever revealing anything about what was shared. Love always trusts. 

A Hedge of Protection

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

A HEDGE OF PROTECTION

1 Cor 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

NIV

Love always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. It is interesting when we think about protecting something, we think about keeping whatever it is safe from any harm or theft so we put it under lock and key, such as we lock the doors of our homes. We also lock our cars when we go into a store. We want to protect our things, but this protection is about people. If we love them, we will put them under lock and key so to speak. This Greek word, stegoo, has the direct meaning to protect by covering but is also used to cover with silence, to keep a secret, to conceal. This almost sounds the opposite of gossip, which would be uncovering, not keeping a secret, and certainly not concealing anything about someone. If we love you, we will not reveal anything about you that we might be privy to. We will always protect you, covering you in our hearts and minds. We will keep any behavior that is not perfection, within and only give witness to how much you do for the kingdom of God. However, protection may be more the keeping a secret. As we continue to think about how a lock or a vault might protect our stuff, we could also build a big wall around it, in the days of Paul many cities had walls around them for protection against the attack of their enemy. We might be able to apply this to love, as it could be like building a wall around those we love, which should be everyone, and protecting them from the attack of the evil one. We recall praying about asking God to build a hedge around someone we love. There is scriptural proof that God does have a hedge of protection around us, as we think of the conversation that Satan had with God about Job. God give witness to the faith of Job to Satan, who did not have faith in God, but in himself. Satan then replies, accusing God of putting a hedge around him and his household and everything he has. He continues to accuse God of blessing the work of Job’s hands making him prosper. This is the kind of hedge we should build around those we love. We should make every effort to protect people in the way that God protects us. Of course, he protects them as well, but we are to partner with God by only giving witness to their faith and the work of their hands to advance the kingdom of God. I will protect you until my last breath. 

Deception or Truth

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

DECEPTION OR TRUTH

1 Cor 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

NIV

It would make perfect sense if we love someone, but then of course, we are supposed to love everyone, nevertheless, we would not be glad that they sinned. Yes, we all sin, but this Greek word translated as evil is not the word used for sin. Harmartano is the word translated as sin and it appears 474 times in the Bible. It indeed shows us that God has been dealing with the sin of His people for some time. However, this word translated as evil is adikia, and most of the 25 times it appears it is translated as unrighteousness. When we search into this word, we find that it is meant as the unrighteousness of the heart and life. It is interesting that in this context, it is used as the unrighteousness by which others are deceived as opposed to aleetheia which means the truth, as in what is true under any situation. Now we can see that because we love others, we will not rejoice when someone lives in a manner that is deceptive, or deceiving others. We have seen these silver-tongued deceivers at work firsthand and their lives are nothing to rejoice about. However, these silver-tongued purveyors of deception may not be the only ones who live deceptively. We have known those who profess to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus, who announce their lack of sin, or at least, state they cannot remember the last time they sinned. Even when we think more highly of ourselves than we should, we might be guilty of living in a deceptive manner and that would be contrary to love for others. This kind of living deceptively is diametrically opposed in this context to living truthfully. Here is where we can rejoice and be glad because loving each other means being honest with others, telling the truth about our lives, with all our faults and all our successes. We can give an honest witness to the grace of God and His loving kindness in our lives. We can testify to His mercy, His unforgiveness of our sin. We can proclaim His mighty acts for our benefit and that our humanity stands in the way of our perfection on this earth, but that one day we will live forever in the perfection of our Lord. Until then, truthfully, we still deal with our imperfection, and our tendency toward sin, but not with guilt, but with thanksgiving that God has declared us to be holy and blameless in His sight because we are in Christ. We cannot live the lie, we must live the truth. 

The Record of Wrongs

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

THE RECORD OF WRONGS

1 Cor 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

NIV

It is time to consider that love does not keep any record of wrongs. This idea here is that we are most likely going to do wrong every so often. As unfortunate as it is, we have not yet attained perfection and therefore we are going to do some sort of wrong, and most likely, again, that is going to happen more often than we think. Even we if try with all our might, we are going to commit a wrong. The problem that bothers us is that we are going to commit this wrong in regard to another person. It is one thing to commit a wrong when we are all alone, and we know that God will forgive, in fact, He has already forgiven us even in the middle of our wrong, which we should just say our sin. The Greek word here which is translated as wrongs, has a more direct meaning of evil, which then means sin. However, what we are told here is that we are not supposed to keep this record of every time someone offends us or commits a wrong against us. The fact is that our memory wants to remember when someone does a wrong against us. It is difficult not to remember, as it might actually be impossible not to remember. However, because we also have to forgive that person who does a wrong toward us, that forgiveness means we will never bring the wrong up or use it as a tool against them. If we were to take a more wooden translation, it would be that we do not think about wrongs. We do not count, reckon, compute, calculate, or count over any wrongs. We do not weigh or measure any wrongs because we love that person. Once again, that person means everyone, for we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, which means we are not to keep a record of anyone’s wrongs, whether they are someone close to us who wronged us personally, or whether they are simply an acquaintance who simply did a general wrong that we became aware of. Not keeping a record means not keeping a record, and it cannot be any clearer than that. Because we love them, we do not work for the office of records of wrongs. 

To Cause or Be Caused to Anger

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

TO CAUSE OR BE CAUSED TO ANGER

1 Cor 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

NIV

It is time to come to grips with having anger issues. What we need to examine is the reason we would become angered, and to get that way so easily. We do wonder about the Greek word and how it is translated. The word is parozunoo and has a direct meaning to make sharp, to sharpen, and is also used to stimulate, spur on, urge, and to irritate, provoke, rouse to anger. This word is used only in one other place in the scripture. It was when Paul arrived in Athens and was stirred in his spirit seeing the whole city was given to idols. In this case, something caused Paul to be easily angered, if we apply the same meaning that he used here to define love. We think this could be used in two different ways in regard to anger. The first is how it is used in Paul’s response to all the idols he saw. It was all the idols that provoked him to be stirred in his spirit. In this sense, we would then get angry because of what someone did or said to us. The problem is that we would get this stirring in our spirit, this anger so quickly, which would mean that we did not love that person. If we love, which we are commanded to do, as in, love our neighbor as ourselves, then there could be no reason whatsoever that we would ever get easily angered by them.  The prime example is how God loves us and He is not easily angered by our behavior, in fact, He provided a way for all our bad behavior or our sins to be forgiven. However, we still must deal with being angered, and that takes us down the path of thinking about the easily angered. What if it took something that was really grinding on us, constantly pushing our button, so to speak, always before us. We try with all our might not to get upset, but finally, we just had too much, and we become angered. Is that alright? We think not, for we are of the impression that if we love someone, we will not become angered by whatever the situation. On the other hand, we wonder if this Greek word which is used to irritate, provoke, and rouse to anger should not be seen as we are the one who is irritating someone, provoking them, and rousing them to anger. If we are to love them, then it would be completely inappropriate to do anything that would provoke them to become angered by what we did or said. This means we all have a responsibility in loving each other to not provoke and not be provoked to anger. Simply put, if we love others, we will not cause them to sin, and if we love others, we will not allow them to cause us to sin, for anger and especially getting easily angered is sin. But love covers it all, and we would not either cause or be caused. 

Rude and Self-seeking

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

RUDE AND SELF-SEEKING

1 Cor 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

NIV

Love is not rude. The Greek word aschemoneo has a direct meaning of to be unbecoming or to act in an unbecoming manner. This is another one of those hand-and-glove relationships with not being self-seeking. Here there are two Greek words that, when joined together, have the meaning of plotting for oneself, which certainly is acting unbecomingly. However, rudeness is being impolite, discourteous, uncivil, and disrespectful. Rudeness can also be ungracious, or graceless. It is doubtful that any Christian would act in that manner, although we do wonder if seek-seeking isn’t more active within the body of Christ than we want to think. We desire that we are never about seeking our own benefit using whatever means possible to achieve our goals. One of the goals that could be at the forefront of self-seeking is wanting to be seen as being a “Good Christian” doing great things for the kingdom, doing all the right “Good deeds”, and thus seeking praise from people. That is looking good in their eyes, so it bolsters our self-image. This might also be seen as being that “Know it all” especially when it comes to the scriptures, but it is not limited to them. Being like that would also fit the description of being rude or acting unbecomingly. We need to examine our hearts and see if there is any offensive way within. Do we listen more than we talk? Do we think we are always right? Are we more interested in our agenda and profit than the agenda and advancement of others? But on the other side of the coin, shouldn’t the others be more interested in our plan and advancement in the kingdom of God, or the body of Christ, although if we love others we would not have our own plans and seeking advancement. Shouldn’t others listen to us more than their own self-interests? This is a whole-body thing, and it should not be seen as one bad apple among all the “Good guys”. We need to take a close look within and allow God to examine our hearts revealing to us the changes we need to make in order to fulfill loving our neighbor as ourselves. If we do that, then we need not be concerned about being rude and self-seeking. 

To Boast or Envy

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

TO BOAST OR ENVY

1 Cor 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

NIV

Love does not envy, nor does it boast. These two aspects of the characteristics of love are sort of hand and glove. On the one hand, envy is to be heated to a boil, meaning to desire something, pursuing after it, and burning with lust for it, which is usually what someone else has, or their position in life. On the other hand, boasting is vaulting oneself, being prideful in what one has or in their possessions or position in life. In some sense the boaster might be responsible for the envier. “look what I have”, Look what I have done, or am doing”, “See how important I am”. Then the other person might think, “Awe gee, I wish I had that” Darn, why couldn’t I do that”, “Why is someone else always getting all the credit?” “Why do they always have to rub it in my face?” Now, if we are going to boast about anything, we should be boasting about the Lord, and this should be about the Lord and not so much about what the Lord has done for us. If we do boast about what God has done for us, it could be misconstrued as boasting about oneself, although it would be good to make sure the blessing of the Lord upon us is accompanied by our unworthiness, so as to not boast about how much faith we have and that is the reason God has given us so much. It seems the one who boasts, usually boasts about themselves and not about the Lord which can include how much they have, knows about scripture, or their ministry, or good deeds. However, from the other perspective, the one who envies can do so without a word of boasting from another. We can sit and stew in our envy, in our lust for, burning to a boil over what someone else has or does. We can just envy in silence without anyone knowing, while it is impossible to be silent while boasting. However, if we love others, we will never give our voice to boasting or sit and burn with envy. Each of us has a part in the body of Christ, and each of us should be thankful to God for the place he has us in and his provisions in our lives. Without God we are nothing, and without love we are but a clanging noise with no meaning, and we do not resonate with the voice or love of God. Let us forever be grateful to a most generous God who bestows his blessings on each one of us, perhaps in different forms, but nevertheless, it is all about God and nothing about us, other than the fact that we have the right to be called the children of God. Let us not envy nor boast, for that would not be consistent with our Father’s love for us. 

Love is Kind

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

LOVE IS KIND

1 Cor 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

NIV

Love is kind is our next aspect of how love is defined. If we love others as we love ourselves, we certainly would not be mean to others but would be kind toward them. It is interesting to be kind, or kindness has been discussed as a yearlong classroom curriculum that covers, caring, courage, respect, responsibility, integrity, and inclusiveness which all bring us back to kindness. Another source has defined kindness as the sincere and voluntary use of one’s time, talent, and resources to better the lives of others, one’s own life, and the world through genuine acts of love, compassion, generosity, and service. It is also interesting the Greek word translated as kind is only used once in the whole New Testament, with the meaning of showing oneself to be mild. However, it is also seen as being useful or beneficial, which must be motivated by love. To be kind is certainly the opposite of being mean as meanness stems out of selfishness, self-conceit, and pridefulness. Kindness as being useful stems from putting others before oneself. To have this kindness genuinely or sincerely in our hearts toward others can surely be seen as an act of usefulness toward others. These acts of kindness or usefulness toward others cannot be forced or done without first having genuine love in our hearts. We have seen kindness as nothing more than a façade to cover up the selfish motivation within, which is looking for a positive response from others to the benefit of the shower of this false type of kindness. This is why to be kind must come from the heart out of genuine care for others. Let us re-examine our inner being, our heart, even seeking God to show us if our heart contains loving kindness, or that He has more work to do within us concerning love. 

Being Patient

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

BEING PATIENT

1 Cor 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

NIV

This is the most excellent way. Of course, this is one of the scriptures that is popular at weddings, and it sounds so good, but are these attributes of love realistic to achieve. Even though it is a well-known portion of scripture it might be a good idea to remind ourselves just how it is we are supposed to love one another in the body of Christ. This is the Agape type of love which again seems to be a well-known word, yet how does it differ from the Agapaoo and the Philadelphia type of love, which are basically the only words used for love in the New Testament. This Agape love is that affection, goodwill benevolence love. It can be used for person to person, God to men, love of God toward Christ, and Christ toward men. If we just looked at this definition of love seen as God’s love toward us, it would make perfect sense for that sounds exactly how God loves us. But when we use this Agape love toward people to people, other than in a marriage it makes it sound a little more difficult to see. However, there is a Greek word for love within the family that is not used in the New Testament, so then we are left with living within a Christian marriage and within the body of Christ expressing this Agape type of love toward each other. Let us examine each aspect of this love and see how we stack up. We first look to love being patient. The Greek word is makrothumeoo, with a direct meaning to be of a long spirit, not to lose heart. However, when it is used in conjunction with Agape it would carry the meaning, to be patient in bearing the offenses and injuries of others; to be mild and slow in avenging; to be long-suffering, slow to anger, slow to punish. In essence, it would appear that because we have chosen to love someone, that has to be applied to both the body of Christ and to a marriage. We had a pastor years ago who said that people fall in the mud, but they do not fall in love, they must choose to love. So then when we choose to love our neighbor, which certainly includes all the others in the body of Christ, or at the very least, the others who attend the same local church we do, we need to apply this love toward all of them. Being patient with all the others in the church is not dependent on them being patient with us. Of course, this applies within our marriage, yet we would think that because we all love the Lord, we would all love each other and thus exhibit bearing with the offenses of others, and being mild-mannered and slow to become upset with each other, thus not just showing patience, but actually being patient, which must come from the condition of our heart. Therefore, when we decide to be obedient to God and love our neighbor as ourselves, then we would do more the show patience because we would be exuding patience from within. 

The Most Excellent Way

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

THE MOST EXCELLENT WAY

1 Cor 12:31-13:3

31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way. 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

NIV

We just had to combine the last verse of chapter twelve with the beginning verse of chapter thirteen. However, Paul did not write in chapters, but a whole letter, perhaps with a few new paragraphs, but then they did not even have all the grammatical rules of English that we have today. In fact, our Grammarly software suggests errors in some of the verses. What we have here to deal with is we should eagerly desire the more excellent gifts, but which gifts are they? We are going to find out as we continue, but we should camp out here on the most excellent way which is doing all these things, having any of the gifts while in the course of love. Paul is not saying that if he speaks in tongues as he doesn’t but that whenever he speaks in the tongues of men and of angels and he does without having love in his heart, first for God and second, for all people, it is only making a lot of noise, meaning gonging. Even when the gift of prophecy which we now know includes being able to fathom or absolutely know all the mysteries and all knowledge is manifested and we do not have love in our hearts we gain absolutely nothing. Even the gift of faith is meaningless unless we have love in our hearts. What good is it to be able to move mountains if it is not for the common good, which means having love for all others that are that common good? Although giving is one of the gifts discussed elsewhere, Paul is making the point that we might look good in the eyes of other men if we were to either give all our possessions to the poor or allow ourselves to be persecuted. We do all that without love in our hearts we gain nothing. We are going to get to this famous love passage that is recited at many weddings, which is used to demonstrate how a husband and wife should love each other, but it is far more reaching than just in a marriage, although there is much to be said about how a marriage should be based in love. This love is about how the whole church, or we should say, the whole body of Christ should have toward one another. If we were to take this at face value, anything we do as believers gains us nothing if we are not doing whatever with love in our hearts. This is to say we should not do anything for self-gratification, or seek the praise of people, boasting about all that we do, for that is not having love in our hearts for others, but only for ourselves. There is no question that love is the most excellent way. 

One Body

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

ONE BODY

1 Cor 12:14-31

 

14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

NIV

This is a whole lot at one time, but we cannot see how to divide this into little sections as it is all one thought. The body of Christ is not made up of individuals living separate lives independent of everyone else. Although it would seem that appears to be the way  life in the church is. Oh sure, we say hello to each other, and we might even socialize with a few of the other members of the church, which really can turn into little cliques. We might even pray for one another on occasion, but to actually say that we are one body that requires the rest of the body in order to function as the part we are would be a bit idealistic. If we were to follow the analogy that Paul is using of the human body and all its parts need all the other parts and serve the body in that each part functions, and follow that to the gifts as Paul did, then each of us does have one gift that should be functioning in the church for the benefit of all the other members. That would mean that no one should think of themselves as not important to the life of the church. That does not mean that every gift is always visible. Paul uses those parts of the body we cover out of modesty as an example of gifts that are not seen but are still needed. But this idea of if one suffers, we all suffer may not be a part of the church today, as in that sense we still live our own independent lives, and sometimes it seems that we are more interested in our own well-being than suffer alongside the one who is hurting. We do wonder just how much equal concern there is in the church today. First of all, it would appear Paul is talking about this one church in Corinth, but could he also be applying this to the church in general, as a few local churches give money to other churches in need. Still, if we take this analogy past the one local church,  but rather looking at how these multi-denominational unagreeable doctrinal positions, especially about the gifts of the Spirit, but not limiting the divisions to just gifts, we would have to say the church is a cripple mess, not functioning anything like one body. But how does this look in a local church? Are we one body? Do we all have gifts that are being used for the common good? On the surface it would appear most local churches function as one, each part doing what is it supposed to do. When this happens the life of a church should flourish, as the body flourishes when all its parts are working properly. However, in our human body, when one part has a great deal of pain, the rest of the body does respond to that pain. This is where we might be lacking in the life of the church. Although it is true that part of the body of Christ will respond to the hurting of one of the parts. Yet the whole of all this is about different gifts that each of us has and how each gift is used to bring honor and good to all the members of the body of Christ. Although we may not have done all the justice we should have to this portion of the letter, we know each one should benefit the others. 

Baptized by One Spirit

 DEVOTION

1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

BAPTIZED BY ONE SPIRIT

1 Cor 12:12-13

12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

NIV

Ah yes, the Holy Spirit who does all the work in us. This is one of those verses that has caused some division among some of the churches. Because the phrase that Paul uses here about, we are all baptized by the one Spirit, it makes it open to some different interpretations. This "baptized by” can also be used, “baptized into” as the Greek word can be used both ways. This gives some of the denominations the thought that once someone accepts the Lord Jesus as their Lord and Savior, then they need to be baptized into the Spirit, or by the Spirit as a second separate event. While this may be seen this way, it also can be interpreted that is it the Spirit who baptizes us into Christ. The reason is the fullness of what is said here. The Spirit baptizes all of us into one body, which is Christ. It does not matter our background or the ethos that we live within for we are all parts of one body with Jesus being the head. This occurs in our life when we respond to the convicting power of the Spirit who leads us to Christ and through the power of the Spirit, we are baptized in this one body. From this text it is clear our first contact with God is through the Spirit and then Jesus who leads us or provides us a way to the Father. This is what is known as a transcultural truth. It bears true in every country, or culture, in every time, and in every person. The other truth also bears some thought is the fact that we are each a part of the body of Christ. Paul uses the analogy of the human body and how it has many parts, but makes up one complete body, and so it is with Christ and His church. We all have our own personalities, our own culture and social settings, as well as our own personal positions in life, financially or materially, yet in Christ, through the power and working of the Spirit, we are all one body. In the natural course of the body, it functions as one complete unit using all its parts for one singular purpose, to live, although it is God who sustains our lives. Nevertheless, all the parts of our human body do not war against each other, nor are jealous of envious of each other, they work as one body. Of course, there are exceptions when something within the body becomes broken, or has some kind of malfunction, but that is not war, as the rest of the body fights to heal that malfunction for the purpose of protecting life. This is the function of the body of Christ. We are told when one member malfunctions, we fight, in love of course, to restore that member to health, as least we should, as one body of Christ because we all have been baptized by the same Spirit. 

Interpretation for the Common Good

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

INTERPRETATION FOR THE COMMON GOOD

1 Cor 12:7-11

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.   11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

NIV

Following the gift of tongues is the gift of interpretation. They are hand and glove, in that we do not see the one without the other. Although as with the day the Spirit came upon men with his power and they poured out into the streets of Jerusalem, they were speaking languages not their own and that they did not know. However, no interpretation was needed as they were speaking the many different languages of the God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven who had come to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. These foreign-speaking Jews heard their native tongue and understood the voices of the disciples. But we are passed that and those churches that believe the Spirit is still alive and actively manifesting all His gifts and experience this gift of tongues are called Pentecostals. Here is where when the gift of tongues is manifested and then manifests His gift of interpretation so the common good will hear the words spoken in some unknown language that are praising and glorifying God. Paul will explain later that the gift of tongues is man talking to God and prophecy is God talking to man. Therefore, it is right to interpret what is said in tongues as what the speaking said to God, which would always be about praise and worship. Once again, we must know that everything the Spirit does with His gifts in the church is for the common good. Whenever God is lifted up among the people, good is happening. We do think it is interesting that this gift could be falsified by men. When the gift of tongues is manifested in a church gathering, someone might just speak some words of praise thus lifting themselves up as being given the gift of interpretation. The problem is that would not be what the person who spoke in tongues said. It would appear the correct way, as the Spirit moves, for interpretation to occur is when tongues are spoken, a foreign language, not learned, the Spirit gives someone the gift to hear and understand that language spoken and thus be able to give the proper interpretation. Again, it would be good for us to know the work of the Spirit and to submit to His working in our lives and in our church, however, the Spirit decides how and when to exhibit His gifts within us so that there is good among the church, known as the common good. 

Tongues

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

TONGUES

1 Cor 12:7-11

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.   11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

NIV

We have come to one of the controversial gifts of the Spirit known as tongues. It is interesting that in Greek there is no word that says different, it is added for clarification. So then to another speaking in kinds of tongues or in the Greek, Gloossa, which is defined as, first, the tongue in our mouths, and second, as a language used by a particular people distinctive from other nations. That is the word's meaning as the Spirit gives kinds of tongues. Now, as to what that means in the midst of the congregational gathering, is that the Spirit will gift someone to speak out in a language that is not their native tongue. This is not just babble, but a real language that is not one that can be learned through study but is given by the Spirit. Here is where confusion as well as incorrect doctrine may come into play. This particular gift has also caused division among some denominations. Of course, there is the idea that the no-tongues churches say this gift ended with the Apostles, while the Pentecostal churches continue to practice all the gifts, or at least believe all the gifts are present in the church today. Then there are other denominations that agree all the gifts are for today but have decided not to practice them, with tongues being in the forefront of those not allowing the Spirit to manifest. If we think correctly about this, if we do not allow the Spirit to manifest His gift of tongues in the church, could we be guilty of quenching the Spirit. Paul tells the Thessalonians not to put the Spirit's fire out as the NIV puts it, but the Greek word is shennumi, which means to extinguish, do not extinguish, or quench the Spirit. If we do not allow all the gifts of the Spirit to be active in the church, does that mean we are being disobedient to God? This might be truer than we want to admit, as we could say that we believe in the gift of healing, although it seems most of the time, we do not see any miraculous healings without the help of doctors. But the rest of the gifts of the Spirit, specifically this one of tongues, is held in contempt by some churches. We have even known a particular church that put out material saying that tongues were from the devil. Other churches simply do not believe the gifts are for today, so they live without the Spirit working completely in their lives. It is difficult to understand how there has become so much controversy over the gifts of the Spirit. Could it be because of the lack of a thorough understanding of the scriptures without any preconceived notions or bias? Once again, we come to the conclusion that we cannot learn any of these gifts, and in the case of tongues, we cannot learn how to speak that tongue not native to our own language. It is a gift that the Spirit manifests and must be accompanied by the gift of interpretation. That is why we cannot speak a foreign language we have learned for it cannot be interpreted by anyone who has not learned it. We also know that this gift of tongues will always be used to praise God, and the interpretation will also be what the speaker used in tongues is saying in praise to our God. Let us simply be open to the Spirit, not forbidding Him to work in our lives. 

Knowing the Difference

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE

1 Cor 12:7-11

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.   11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

NIV

The gift of being able to distinguish between spirits is one of, if not the most, important gift. Of course, we would think that we would know the voice of our Lord. Jesus taught that lesson about His being the Good Shepherd and that we are His sheep, and how we only listen to the voice of our Shepherd. He was speaking to people who knew about the life of shepherds, and that at night they would join together, putting each shepherd’s sheep in a pen, which was most likely made of stones, and they would sleep at the gate or opening. In the morning each shepherd would call out his voice, perhaps in a song, or a chant and only his sheep would follow after him out of the pen. The point is that we should know the voice of our Lord, and be able to distinguish between His voice and the voice of the one who lies. However, the devil is a deceitful one who might try to mimic the voice of God, speaking what sounds to be true, but has no truth. If and when the devil attempts to deceive us, the Spirit is right there to manifest this gift of distinguishing spirits. This could also apply to being able to distinguish between the spirits of men. This is not to say that some men are like the devil, but there are people who live under the influence of the evil one rather than under the influence of God. It would seem rather easy to be able to detect who is who in this regard. However, there are also people who profess to be a part of the body of Christ, who may even be in positions of either preaching or teaching and who could have wrong motives. We can see many of them broadcasting their form of Christianity over many of the multi-media sources. Here too, we need this gift to distinguish between the truth and their half-truths or downright lies, or perversion of the word of God for their own profit. Everything we hear or see regarding Godly things must be compared to the one source of truth, God’s word. Yet, if someone perverts or manipulates the word to fit their own agenda, then we need to be able to tell the difference, and the only way to do that, so as to not get dragged away by every wind and doctrine is to listen for the voice of the Spirit, and even ask Him to manifest this gift of discernment, or distinguishing spirits, so that we are kept in the truth. So it is more than knowing the difference between good and evil spirits, as it is also about knowing right from wrong spirits.  

Prophecy

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

PROPHECY

1 Cor 12:7-11

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.   11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

NIV

Now we are getting to the verbal gifts, having looked at the gifts of word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healing, and miraculous powers, we now turn our attention to the gift of prophecy. First, we should note that this is not the office of the prophet which is one of the gifts to the church in general, along with evangelist, apostle, pastor, and teacher. This is a gift, just like the others, whereas the Spirit decides when and through whom he will manifest His gift of a prophetic word. We should examine the Greek word that is translated as the gift of prophecy, which is propheteia. This word is very fluid in the sense that it can be seen as a noun defining a prophet who speaks forth the mind and counsel of God. It can also be seen as a verb, to prophecy, which would be telling forth the divine counsels. This would be this gift, as the Spirit manifests himself, revealing some truth, some divine counsel to a willing person, who is listening to the Spirit’s voice. This gift would be used to reveal a divine truth for the common good, thus it would only be seen in the gathering of believers. This is not foretelling a future event, or warning of judgment, as the prophets were used in the OT times. This is not a “thus sayeth the Lord” type gift, although we suppose it is possible that the Lord said it.  However, it would be extremely important not to presume to speak for God. Yet it is right to tell forth the will of God or the truth of God that is revealed through the power of the Spirit as he manifests this gift in someone. It is also possible this gift could show up, for example, in the middle of a pastor’s sermon, that is not in his notes, or that he was prepared to speak. This gift can also be exhibited within the gathering through anyone who is listening and obedient to the Spirit. Of course, like many of the gifts of the Spirit, there are denominations that simply, either because of incorrect theology or absolute refusal to accept these gifts are for the church today. Some, through the practice of tradition, have abandoned these gifts in lieu of human knowledge and efforts. However, these gifts are all alive and well because the Spirit is alive and well, and because God does not change, which includes the Spirit, his gifts are alive and active in believers who are willing to listen and obey. Being used by the Spirit to tell forth the truth of God, or the will of God, will always be in complete agreement with the Word of God. Let us remember to always be open to the voice of the Spirit, the prompting of the Spirit, and the empowering of the Spirit, as He manifests His gifts as He sees fit. 

Miraculous Powers

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

MIRACULOUS POWERS

1 Cor 12:7-11

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.   11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

NIV

It is time to look at the gift of miraculous powers, or the working of miracles, as would be a more wooden translation. Nevertheless, this is the power that is endowed by the Spirit, and thus it has nothing to do with our power, abilities, or strength either physical or spiritual. This is solely attributed to the Spirit as He manifests His gift of miraculous, supernatural power within whomever He determines so that it will be for the common good. There is some confusion among our known scholars of old. Some would want to join this gift of miraculous powers, with the gift of healing, whereas, if the disease or infirmity were of a particularly nasty sort, it would take more than a normal gift of healing thus it would take a miraculous healing. Others disagree, as do we because we cannot see any justification for those scholars of old to be right in this regard. The gift of healing is already from the Spirit and is thus it is a supernatural healing, with all the power of the same Spirit who gives wisdom, knowledge, and faith. But this gift of the working of miracles, although it could be seen as healing in some sense, it does not necessarily have anything to do with healing but is supernatural power to do that which is beyond human capability. It is true that we humans have developed through learning many different abilities and skills that some would say are extraordinary in nature, but they still would not be classified as miraculous. It is interesting that the Oxford Dictionary defines the word miraculous as occurring through divine or supernatural intervention or manifesting such power. We do wonder how this gift shows itself when the Spirit manifests it in someone. Once again, we turn to the Oxford dictionary to find its definition of a miracle, which is, “a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural of scientific laws and is therefore to be the work of a divine agency”. That pretty much sums it up, in that this gift of working miracles is nothing we can possibly do in the human realm, and therefore is completely the supernatural realm of the Spirit. Unless we have seen it happen, or had it happen to us, we would not be able to fully define exactly how being endowed with miraculous powers would be revealed or show itself for the benefit of the common good. We do note that Jesus demonstrated miraculous powers when he calmed the water and the wind when they were all in the boat and so afraid the boat was going to be swamped. Jesus controlled the weather and that is completely outside the human realm and totally in the spiritual realm. Could that be something the Spirit would do through us? It was also a demonstration of miraculous powers when Jesus raised Lazarus from the tomb. Again, outside the realm of human abilities, but not outside the realm of the Spirit. But what would this look like today in our time and culture? We are not sure exactly how it would look, as to what miraculous power would the Spirit manifest in us. However, what we do know is that we are willing for the Spirit to move through us with miraculous powers. 

The Power to Heal

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

THE POWER TO HEAL

1 Cor 12:7-11

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.   11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

NIV

Having looked at wisdom, knowledge and faith, we now need to examine this gift of healing. It is unfortunate that some have distorted this into a method to fleece the flock, so to speak, but calling themselves “healers” or saying they have the ministry of healing. Of course, there is something special in a service when the Spirit manifests himself in someone with the gift of healing. When someone is miraculously healed and it is genuine the good that happens for the community of faith is a strengthening of their faith. We need only to see how people’s faith in Jesus increased every time He healed all who came to Him. However, as with Jesus, healing is not meant as a show, or something to gather larger numbers of followers. This is a gift of the Spirit who manifests this gift of healing when needed and for the express reason of bringing glory to God as the common good has their faith bolstered or their belief in God reinforced. Of course, when Jesus healed, he also demonstrated compassion and mercy upon the sick and the lame. On a personal note, I have received miraculous healing on several occasions straight from the Lord, without the gift of healing being manifested through a person. However, that does not make this gift void in any way. Still, it is right to ask God for healing and to believe that which we ask we will receive. Sometimes, we need to release our faith, while ridding ourselves of any doubt whatsoever. This is also needed to be open to the Spirit when He expresses His gift of healing through us. Jesus had the power and the authority to heal as well as raise someone from the dead. We do not have that same authority, but through the power of the Spirit, when He decides, miraculous healing will occur through a person either praying for or laying hands on the sick. Again, we cannot manufacture this healing, nor can we say that doctors are instruments of God’s healing power, although we should see the skill and knowledge of the medical professions coming from the influence of God upon them, for they do cure many ailments and infirmities. But we should not confuse medical healing with the gift of healing that is expressed in this supernatural manifestation of divin power. It does seem that to be used to heal, it would also be in conjunction with the gift of faith. We certainly would have to believe that the Spirit would use us, by expressing this gift of healing. If we shut out or shut down the Spirit, we will see none of these gifts and the common will not receive any good. Therefore, we confess our belief in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit who brings us all His gifts for the benefit of the common good, including healing. We are here Lord, use us, lift others up, increase their faith through your power demonstrated through us, even this gift of healing. 

Faith Beyond Faith

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

FAITH BEYOND FAITH

1 Cor 12:7-11

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.   11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

NIV

It is time to talk about faith and not the type of faith when we say that we have faith in God. Again, we cannot be sure that even that type of faith comes from within us, for we know that God gives every man a measure of faith. That is recorded for us in the letter that Paul wrote to the Romans. Because we know that God does not show favoritism which is also recorded for us in the letter to the Romans. Because of this, we would have to conclude that whatever the measure of faith is, it would be the same amount for each and every person. To say,” I have more faith than you” would be so wrong on so many levels. First, that would be saying God does show favoritism. Second, that would be prideful, or thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. It may be true that one might exercise his faith more than another, and in that one’s faith would be stronger than the others, but it is the same amount of faith. Now, about this gift of faith, we have to know it is completely different that the measure of faith God gives without favoritism. This is the spiritual gift of the Spirit, and it is a supernatural faith needed for a specific time and it is used for the common good. This gift of faith cannot be conjured up by a person, nor can it be learned by any amount of study. However, we can study this faith from the standpoint of understanding how it functions, and its purpose, but that is all we can learn. We cannot be sure just how this gift of faith is more than the simple faith or conviction that God exists, which He gives to all of us, but because it is among the gifts of the Spirit that are for the common good, that puts this gift in a completely different category then the conviction that God exists type of faith that is given to all by God. When this faith is manifested in a person, they must move upon something that is extraordinary, far above their normal belief in God. That gift of faith must be stupendous, astonishing, fantastic, remarkable, breathtaking, and mind blogging, for it comes from the same Spirit who gives all the other gifts that are all above human self-expression. We are not sure if we have ever been in the presence of this supernatural faith expressed by the Spirit within someone, or for that matter within us, but we know it is real and it has happened and will happen so that the common good will prevail. This gift of faith is beyond faith. 

A Message of Knowledge

  

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

 A MESSAGE OF KNOWLEDGE

1 Cor 12:7-11

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.   11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

NIV

We need to remind ourselves that all gifts are the manifestation of the Spirit. This Greek word, phanerosis, had a direct meaning of exhibition, i.e., expression bestowment. The Spirit is putting on an exhibition of his gifts through each one of us and it is for the common good. Now we need to explore this next gift, the message or word of knowledge. Once again knowledge in general is something that we can learn either through independent study, such as in the word of God, or through the educational system of our culture. Some have learned a great deal of knowledge specifically in one idea, such as the medical profession, or in the sciences. But this word of knowledge cannot be learned, for it is the work of the Spirit, exhibiting His gift through each one of us. This knowledge would be something supernatural or spiritually relevant regarding God and His relationship with His people. Some message about something that is not known through any human source but comes directly from the Spirit for a time that He determines this special knowledge is needed for the common good. We would think that most Pastors who preach from the word of God would be good candidates for the Spirit to express a message of knowledge during the course of a sermon. However, that would also be only if the Paster is open to the Spirit expressing His gifts. Still, the sermon itself should be filled with the edification of the word of God and expounded in such a way that it is a benefit to the common good. Nevertheless, as with most sermons, they come from a varied time of preparation and study and thus unless  the Spirit exhibits his gift of a message of knowledge in the Pastor, his sermon may be simply from the mind of man, inspired by the Spirit, concerning the word of God. Yet, the Spirit may well express His gift of a word of knowledge through anyone at any time that it is needed so the common good may benefit. Again, as with all the gifts of the Spirit, they cannot be learned, but we only need to be open to the Spirit having his way within us. 

Wisdom for the Common Good

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

WISDOM FOR THE COMMON GOOD 

1 Cor 12:7-11

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.   11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

NIV

Now it is time to look into these gifts of the Spirit, but first we need to know all of these gifts are for the common good. As we noted before, the common good should only apply to those who are present during the manifestation of these gifts. It is interesting as with the fruit of the Spirit, the gifts are not for the person that are being manifested through. The fruit does not benefit the tree, but those who pick them from the tree. It would appear that the gifts are the same. For if, for example, we were to be given a message of wisdom, it serves no purpose unless the common good benefit. Let us consider just what this message of wisdom means. We first must realize this is a gift of the Spirit. Wisdom, at lease this type of wisdom does not come from spending years of educational pursuits. This wisdom is the Greek word Sofia, which means board and full intelligence. It is used as a wisdom that belongs to men, but in this case it is supreme intelligence that belongs to God because it comes from the Spirit who manifested His supreme, divine, wisdom upon and through a man. This type of wisdom cannot be learned, nor does this wisdom require any special education, or position in society or in the church. This wisdom is bestowed by the Spirit at the exact time and place the Spirit determines and through whoever is willing to speak that message of wisdom for the common good. It would seem the Spirit does require an open spirit within a person to manifest his gifts. If we are closed to any of the gifts, are we saying that we are closed to the voice of the Spirit, closed to God doing a work in and through us for the common good? How can that even seem possible? We need to always be open to the voice of the Spirit who dwells within us, so that, in this case, the common good needs to hear divine supreme wisdom so as to become a people closer to God, we need to respond with that gift which is being manifested within us. We should also note that these gifts are not always, nor should they be, permanent residence within a person. We think it would be inappropriate to use the phrase, “I have the gift of” whatever of those gifts the Spirit decides to use at a moment, in this case, “I have the gift of wisdom”. That sounds wrong, because it is not our gift, but it belongs to the Spirit, and he bestows or manifests it through a willing spirit when it is needed for the common good. Let us always be willing or open to the working of the Spirit so that we could benefit to the common good. 

Three From Three

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

THREE FROM THREE

1 Cor 12:4-6

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

NIV

Right off the bat, we are seeing three words that we must explore in accordance with the text that will follow. These three words are gifts, service, and workings, however, we also note all three are each from a different person of the Godhead. Gifts of from the Spirit, service is from the Lord, and workings are from God, who implies the Father. Let us examine each of these words so that we have a better understanding of what is said here. The word gift is translated from the Greek word, Charisma. It can be seen in a couple of different ways. It is first rendered a gift of grace, which we receive without merit on our own, this would be that saving grace. The second way this word is translated as a gift which means a spiritual endowment, which is always received without any merit on our own, that is the gifts of the Spirit have nothing to do with our worthiness or any merit. We will see all these gifts enumerated in the verses to follow and will have the opportunity to examine each one. As far as these different kinds of service, again we refer to the Greek and find Diakonia, which we can clearly see our English word, Deacon. This Greek word carries several different applications. The first, those by the command of God proclaim and promote religion among men. It is used for the office of Moses, and of apostles, and prophets. But in the primitive church, it was used as the office of the deacon as well as those who prepare and present food.

In most cases, this Greek word is translated as ministries, or ministrations, such as the ministration of those who render to others the office of Christian affection. In essence, the deacons serve the people in the church, loving them, and bringing affection into the church. Of course, depending on denominationalism, the actual role of the Deacon can be a little different. In general, the Deacons take care of the physical needs of the people, while in some denominations there are Elders who assist in the Spiritual needs of the people. Yet according to the instructions given to Timothy, all the qualifications to serve as a deacon are outlined, which we will leave for some time later. The third word is translated as workings, or operations coming from the Greek word, energeema, which again we can see our English word, energy, or workings. However, here all this energy comes from God, or the Greek word Theos, the supreme divinity, or the Father. Here is where we can see that all our workings, callings, energy, and power to do all that is required of us come directly from God. That would imply to us that in and of ourselves we can do nothing, we have no workings, we have no service, and we have no gifts. We are solely dependent on God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The three come from the three. 

Ignorance to Knowledge

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

IGNORANCE TO KNOWLEDGE

1 Cor 12:1-3

12:1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

NIV

Jesus is Lord! Now that we have said it, we have said it with the understanding of what the word “Lord” means. This Greek word, “Kurios” when applied to God, as the master or ruler of the universe, but also is applied to Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, as well as generally, the supreme authority. Therefore, because we say that Jesus is Lord, we confess his supreme authority in our lives. That is, he is our ruler, our Lord, our Master, which not just implies, but dictates our absolute submission to Him. We are not in charge of our own lives, which includes our own destinies. We also came to the conclusion when we were changed from pagan to believer, that we came from things that had no eyes, no ears, and no mouth, to a living God who sees us, watches over us, and with ears to hear our praise and our requests, and a mouth to speak the truth and life, itself, into us. Paul says the only way we can say that is because of the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us because we accepted Jesus as our Lord and our Savior. It is this Holy Spirit who brings His gifts into our lives. He manifests them within us, bestowing whatever gift He determines for whatever time He determines, for the expressed reason of the common good of all in the present of the bestowed gift. Certainly, a believer who lives hundreds of miles from where a gift is expressed through a believer is not aware of or affected by that gift. Then it is the common good of those present when the gift is expressed. We also note that having been influenced and led astray to mute idols, now because we are being influenced by the Holy Spirit we are being led into all truth. When we think about the phrase Paul stated, “Jesus be cursed” he related it to the fact of being influenced by mute idols. That is if we are seeking fulfillment from a mute idol or paying homage in one way or another to a mute idol, are we, in essence, cursing Jesus? We also wonder what would be considered a mute idol. We know that Corinth was filled with mute idols, statues, and temples to all sorts of mute idols. But are there mute idols in our culture today, and if so, what would they look like? We would have to conclude that anything in this world cannot speak any truth into our lives, but only that which opposes the truth. Why would we even attempt to listen to something that is mute, and unable to speak the truth into our lives? So we listen to the Spirit, and we are going to listen to the truth of His gifts as they are applied to our lives. As we listen to the Spirit, we will not be ignorant, without knowledge, for we will know the truth. 

Perfect Communion

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

PERFECT COMMUNION

1 Cor 11:27-34

27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. 33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34 If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.

NIV

First, as we know, there is something extremely important spiritually about participating in the Lord’s supper, or as we are more familiar with, taking communion. Of course, we do not ascribe to transubstantiation, as we know they are symbols for us to remember what Christ did for us. Now, we must deal with what would be considered an unworthy manner when we take bread and wine, or juice. What are we examining within ourselves? Of course, we recognize the Lord’s body otherwise what would be the point of joining in communion. However, we do think that we should make sure that we have made our confession of sin, spiritually of course, before eating the bread and drinking the juice. We must know that we have been washed in the blood of the Lamb and we are whiter than snow. If, however, we do not examine ourselves and are content with the level of sin in our lives and take communion because we do not what others to think something is wrong in our lives, or we just do it to be doing it because that is the traditional thing to do. So then we should judge ourselves before we do something that could cause us to be weak and sick. Taking a moment to examine ourselves, to look inward, deep within, and seek forgiveness, and repenting means to change the way we think and we could need to make a change in our lives. But if we do find within ourselves that which disqualifies us to take communion, we need only ask forgiveness, and be cleansed, and then we are able to partake in the body and blood of the Lamb, standing in perfect union with Him as well as our fellow believers. If we do not take that time to judge ourselves, God will judge us instead. Again, this waiting for each other gives us this pattern that we should all take the bread together and the wine together, no one should go ahead of anyone else. Then the perfect communion exists. 

Rejoice and Again Rejoice

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

REJOICE AND AGAIN REJOICE

1 Cor 11:23-26

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."  25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."  26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

NIV

To be in communion with Christ and with the rest of the body of Christ is one of the most excellent moments of worship. How could we ever forget that Jesus offered himself, gave up his body to be beaten, mocked, and nailed to a cross to die despised by the very people he came to, the people he called His very own. How could we ever forget that his blood was shed so that we would have forgiveness for our sins. Jesus tells us to remember him when we partake in the bread and the cup. Of course, these instructions were given to the Corinthians because of their making their gatherings a food feast, instead of a time of worship as they share in the body and blood of Jesus. One of the things we wonder about we practice this time when we take the bread of the cup. It seems to us that most of the over the years communion is a solemn moment, a time to reflect on the suffering of Christ for us. However, perhaps it should be the most excellent moment of worship. That should be the point of our being in communion with Christ and with each other. At the one moment in time, we all are united in worship as we partake in each element at the same time. It is a solemn moment in one sense because of what Jesus had to endure for us, but at the same time this should be the time we worship him for what he did for us. Maybe it should be a time of rejoicing, of praise, with thanksgiving in our hearts. We wonder about that first “Good Friday” and why it is called that. Shouldn’t our “Good Friday” be a time of celebration because it is “Good” instead of “Bad Friday” We should rejoice on that day, but instead many times we hang either black or dark purple over a cross to signify the solemnest of this day when Jesus went to the cross. But that is a good event planned by God so that we could be free of our sin, and once again be in perfect peace and harmony with God and He with us. That is why it is “Good” Friday and this communion is the time for us to celebrate that wonderful plan of God for our redemption. We should especially be rejoicing because the grave had no power over Jesus and he was raised from the dead and lives forever at the right hand of the Father always making intercession for us. Why should we not rejoice and give all the praise and honor to God and Jesus as we share in the bread that is his body broken for us, and as we share in the cup that is his blood that was shed for us. Rejoice and again I say rejoice! He is coming back for us! 

Good Instead of Harm

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

GOOD INSTEAD OF HARM

1 Cor 11:17-22

17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, 21 for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. 22 Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!

NIV

Wow, they must have been having one party after another, instead of worshipping the Lord with a righteous communion. However, was it possible that Paul was talking about how communion, or partaking in the elements, should be practiced? What was it that was causing them more harm than good when they gathered together? What were the divisions among them? Why would divisions among them be needed in order to show who had God’s approval? Do we have that kind of division among the church today that would indicate some of the people who come to church have God’s approval, while others who come to church do not have God’s approval? Are there both these kinds of divisions? One that does more harm than good, and one that show which has God’s approval and which ones do not must be two different types of division. We do wonder how many are divided in the church today, and if there are, we wonder what people are divided about. Certainly, we all believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation. We must also believe in the need to follow Jesus through the waters of baptism, or maybe there are some who do not. Maybe there are secondary or tertiary doctrinal issues that divide us, or perhaps it is simpler than that. Could it be about an issue of pride, with some thinking more highly of themselves than they should, thinking they are better or more knowledgeable in the scriptures the others? Undoubtedly, we might see some divisions within the church, but we think there should be none. We are all supposed to build each other up until we all reach unity in the faith. There should not be one person greater than another. This should be demonstrated in the fact that we all need Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and must partake in the same elements of communion remembering what Jesus did for us. We think what Paul could be saying about some of them eating and others going hungry might be related to how we practice communion in that we all should partake simultaneously. Yet, it seems like he was speaking about having these linger longer or carry-ins, and those that were first in the line filled their plates with no concern about those at the end of the line. If this were to happen it would most certainly cause hurt feelings, and thus divisions and more harm than good. What we think is the main point here is that we should make sure that when we gather at the church we are not doing any harm to anyone, but we are all looking out for the good of others, and that should carry on outside the physical church, because we the people are the church. 

Everything Comes from God

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

EVERYTHING COMES FROM GOD

1 Cor 11:11-16

11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. 16 If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice — nor do the churches of God.

NIV

We are still on the hair issue that isn’t really about the hair, although on the surface that is what Paul is instructing the church about the practice of men having short hair and women having long hair. Once again, we know from history that men have had long hair during certain times, and now of course, some men and women have long hair, and some of both have short hair. We certainly do not make any deal about the length of hair in the church today, and it would seem right that should be the case. There are some holiness churches that do abide by this rule, as well as some of the more rigid faiths that also include the types of proper clothing. However, the truth that is also stated here regarding everything coming from God is an absolute truth that we should continually be cognizant of. However, before we explore this, we should also note that the relationship between man and woman is symbiotic in that Eve was made from the rib of Adam, or as Paul puts it, woman came from man, however, man is also born of a woman, at least since that first Adam, who was formed by the hand of God. Neither man nor woman is independent for either can survive without the other. If a woman thinks she is independent of a man, she is deceiving herself and her thinking is both futile and foolish. On the other hand, if a man thinks that he is independent of a woman and has no need for a woman, he too is deceiving himself with futile and foolish thinking. Both men and women come from both men and women and that is the plan of God. We should also note that because Eve was made from the rib of Adam, God was showing us His plan for how we live together. He did not take a bone from Adam's head putting Eve over Adam, nor a bone from his foot, placing Eve as his servant. God took a rib so as to show us that man and woman should walk side by side as equals in the sight of God.  However, another plan of God is to show us that all things come from Him. If either of us, men or women think we are independent of God then we are not just deceiving ourselves, but we are absolutely lost in our self-pride. We have no life without God, both think of physical life that we have His very breath within us, but in our spiritual life. For without God we would remain dead in our sins, and lost for all eternity, not having eternal life, but for all eternity we would have perished, or as some would put it, burning in the lake of sulfur forever in torment. Although it does seem to make sense that when anything is thrown into the fire it is burnt up until it becomes nothing but ashes or it perishes. Nevertheless, the point is that we need to always give thanks to God for life itself and life abundantly, which is eternal life. If it were not for God, we would not even exist, but we do and we do for the purpose of bringing honor and glory to God, for we are made in his image, and thus we are His image bearers to the world. Everything comes from God.