Adopted

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

ADOPTED

Eph 1:3-10

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment — to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

NIV

Being declared holy and blameless in his sight because we are in Christ is an incredible spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms and now we can add being adopted. Because of His great love for us even before He created the foundation of the earth He decided the method by which we would become His children. Once again, this is beyond our ability to fully comprehend. But the facts are the facts and we cannot deny the facts. Before He made Adam in their image God knew that Jesus was going to have to be the sacrifice that would give us the right to be adopted as the children of God. We do wonder if God knew that before He made Adam in their image, that Adam would disobey and thus become aware of both good and evil and in doing so abdicated his immortality and sonship and therefore God already had a plan for Adam and all his descendants to regain both. However, that is the fact. It is God’s good pleasure to make a way through Jesus Christ for us to be adopted as His children. God always loves us, in fact, God is the very epitome of love. He loves all of His creation, starting with us. Again, it boggles our mind that even before we loved Him and were living in sin He still loved us as He does with those who are still living in sin and either have never heard of Jesus or are refusing to accept Jesus because they love their sin. In some sense this is exactly what Jesus said when he made the point we cannot serve two masters. Of course, Jesus was using God and money as the two masters and in that sense, money does represent our self, or our sin. If we refuse to love God, then we love our selves which is our sin. Yet, because God still loves us, he decided the only way for us to be his children as He would have us to be, is adopt us through Jesus, or because of our faith in Jesus. This is a wonderful event, to be an adopted son of God. It means we are now His heirs. Of course, we do not inherit all that is God’s because He died and left all that is His to us. We are adopted into His family being co-heirs with Christ and we have already inherited all that is God’s. We may not fully have it all just yet, such as incorruptibility, imperishability, and immortality, but we will, and we can go to the bank on that, in fact, all that is already in our heavenly bank account. Therefore, let us live to the fullest this adopted life of ours, living completely in the love of God as His children, enjoying all that is His, knowing that it is already ours. 

Holy and Blameless

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

HOLY AND BLAMELESS

Eph 1:3-10

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment — to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

NIV

One of the spiritual blessings in Christ is that we were chosen before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. However, in the Greek it says that he chose us in him. We think this makes all the difference in this idea of being the chosen.  The idea that God would choose us and not chose someone else is simple unthinkable. If God did not choose us and chose someone else that would mean, we were created condemned from our birth with no chance whatsoever of inheriting eternal life. that would mean even if we chose to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior it would mean nothing to God before he did not choose us and we would simply be living this life praising our Lord and Savior Jesus in vain for we would still be condemned to the burning lake of sulfur. But the fact is that God predetermined the way for us to be holy and blameless in his sight was through Jesus Christ. Once we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we were no longer an object of God’s wrath and now he sees us as  in Christ who is holy and blameless, thus we are now holy and blameless in the sight of God. Although we are still in our humanity and as such, we are still corruptible, perishable and mortal, with all the faults that come with those traits, He only sees us as being in Jesus Christ and thus holy and blameless. In order words because we are in Christ, we are holy, pure, morally blameless, religious ceremonially, consecrated, and blameless or unblemished. We have to know that no matter how hard we try in our own strength of power, or our own decision, we cannot live as holy and blameless. It does not matter how much we do, how many ways we try to live uprightly, or how many good things we try to do, nothing will work that makes us holy and blameless in his sight. The only way that God sees us as holy and blameless is for us to be in Christ Jesus. Let us never wander from that truth. Let us never get caught up in trying to be a good person, doing good things, thinking our deeds are enough or have meaning regarding making us holy and blameless. Yes, we should try to live a faithful life, but is it God who started all the good work in us in Christ and it is God who is going to complete all the good work in us in Christ for everything is in Christ. That is why we are holy and blameless in his sight.

Living Blessed

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

LIVING BLESSED

Eph 1:3-10

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment — to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

NIV

We know we are going to spend a while on this passage because it is chuck full of theological points. Although every statement leads right into the next and in some sense, we should deal with the whole, that would take a book rather than a simple devotion meant to give us a start on our day. The first thing we do notice is that it would be good to start our day giving praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which we are usually in the habit of doing, although maybe not the first thing as we open our eyes from our slumber, and yet maybe it should be, even before we get up out of bed. Of course, we have those aches and pains, and our body does need to get moving, but our mind is clear enough that we should praise God the Father of our Lord and Savior before we do anything else. Then we think that we should be about praising God all day long, for many reasons, but this one that Paul mentions appears to be one of the best, if not the best, reasons for praising God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God the Father has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. In other words, Christ is every spiritual blessing. The rest of this passage expounds on what that spiritual blessing is, but just to think that in Christ we have every spiritual blessing.  We have a dear friend, a fellow believer who regularly thank God for bringing him another dark night, but as we ponder on that, we have come to realize that God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is there with us all during the night and has continually blessed us in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. Even while we are sleeping, we are in the midst of being blessed with every spiritual blessing. We are not saying our dear brother means the night is dark spiritually but just sees the night as not the day and understands this spiritual blessing better than we do.  God has promised us that He would never leave us nor forsake us and that includes every second of our lives, whether we are awake or asleep, so we are not convinced the night is dark, at least in the spiritual sense, as in Christ we are always in the Light. However, we still must come to terms with this fact every moment of our lives, always knowing, always aware, and always living with the fact that we have been blessed in the heavenly realm by the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We live in a constant state of being blessed. 

Peace

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

PEACE

Eph 1:1-2

1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

NIV

Once again we take note that grace and peace come from both the Father and the Son. It is now time to consider the word peace which is used ninety-three times in the New Testament. The meaning of the Greek eireenee is different than the Hebrew with Shaalowm which has this sense of “Be well” welfare, prosperity, health, etc., while the Greek word has quite a different sense. First, it would be right to consider that peace is the opposite of the havoc of war, used in the sense of a state of national tranquility that has the exemption from the rage and havoc of war. Of course, we could say that we have peace with God, based on the treaty or covenant he has made with us. Once we were are war with God, but now if we accept His treaty, Jesus Christ crucified, buried, and resurrected, there is peace between God and us. This Greek word can also be seen as having harmony or being in harmony with another person, and at times it might have been used in the sense of Shaalowm, but what strikes us is how this word has a meaning distinctly peculiar to Christianity. This is seen as the tranquil state of a soul, that is us, assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthy lot, of whatsoever sort that is. Seeing the Greek word eireenee in this sense, brings us back to being at peace with God, with God being in perfect peace with us. No longer are we objects of his wrath, or being at war with God and having his wrath as a result of our war-like conduct. Now, we have accepted His treaty and we are in perfect peace with God. This gives us this tranquil state of our soul, which means we put all our trust in God, and look not to ourselves, as we cannot create this peaceful, restful, serene, undisturbed, composed state within. Usually, we are more disturbed, being busy inside, but when we come into fellowship with Jesus, He gives us His peace, the peace of God, fully settled, completely at rest within, and fully content with our lives. This is a perfect way to live, with no hustle and havoc going on in our souls, our minds, and our spirits. We live in the peace of God, perfectly settled, completely at ease.

 

Grace

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

GRACE

Eph 1:1-2

1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

NIV

We are still in the greeting with more thoughts about this common greeting. Although we do seem, at times, to simply gloss over these greetings or introductions to letters, we have found applications regarding “By the will of God” and about “faithful”, and now it is time to explore grace and peace and the fact that these two are from both the Father and the Son. As we have discovered before the Greek word charis is defined as graciousness, as gratifying in manner or act, but there is something that is due to grace and that is the divine influence on our hearts or life, and how that is reflected in our lives, including gratitude. When we think about being grateful to God, the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, we cannot help but think that our gratefulness goes far beyond the reason for our salvation. Although, having salvation, being redeemed from the pit of hell, so to speak, and inheriting eternal life should bring about an overabundance of our gratitude. We should live each and every day filled with gratitude, which should eliminate any complaints about anything else in our lives, after all, this life is only temporary. This world is not our home, as we should not feel at home anymore, our life is in the kingdom of God, although we still must live on this earth for a while longer. Still, while we are here, we should live with gratitude, not just for our eternal life, but for this life and how God is always working in us. He is also working for us, or we could say that God fights for us, He displays His mighty power in us and for us. Each day, God is doing something in and for us, directing us, giving us guidance, and providing for our daily bread. He protects us from evil and clothes us in His armor, which we know all the parts of the armor are descriptions of Jesus, thus the Father clothes us in Christ. He has sent the Spirit to seal us as His possessions, with all the benefits the Spirit brings with Him. In all reality, we live an extremely blessed life because we belong to God. We can be very grateful for all that He has provided for us, all that He does in us, and that each day we can be thankful for each day is the day the Lord has made, and we can rejoice and be glad in it. This is the grace of God working within us. 

Faithful in Christ

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

FAITHFUL IN CHRIST

Eph 1:1-2

1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

NIV

Once again, this is just the standard typical greeting that is in many of Paul’s letters, however, after considering by the will of God, we should also take a look at who he calls them. These are the saints who are faithful in Christ Jesus. From our research, there is some division among our biblical scholars of old regarding who exactly Paul was writing to. Some think it was to the church at large, rather than just to those in Ephesus because of no personal touch, or the mention of several people as with some of his letters. It is strange because he was with these people for several years. We would think he developed several friendships, but then the scholars think he did not mention anyone so as not to show favoritism. Either way, whoever he wrote to and we would think because of the title, the letter started out to those saints in Ephesus that were faithful in Christ Jesus. Because we have this letter and it is in the Canon, we have to believe that it is written to us as well. This brings up the question of being faithful in Christ Jesus. What exactly does that mean or look like to be faithful in Christ Jesus? We know that later he tells them they are wealthy beyond measure but have relegated themselves to living as spiritual paupers, so then if that is the case, what does faithful look like? It is just believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and nothing else? There is more than that living in Christ Jesus as he also tells them about every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. Is having every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus being faithful? What if we are not experiencing every spiritual blessing, does that mean we are not as faithful as we think we are? If we look at the Greek word pistos, we see it can mean to be faithful with respect to the transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties. So then being faithful in Christ Jesus would imply that we are faithful to His commands, and we execute our official duties as children of God, members of the Body of Christ, and our individual calling. This being faithful is more than just saying we believe in Jesus and calling it a day. Being faithful in Christ Jesus means carrying out all that He has commanded us to be, say, and do. We know the Ephesians were not actually as faithful as Paul says in the greeting, and so it might be with us. Are we fulfilling our calling? Are we living a life of love? Are we building each other up? We do not think this faithful living has anything to do with “Good deeds”. But more with our relationship with Jesus Christ and with each other as we fulfill our function as a member of the Body of Christ, and exercise all the spiritual blessings we have, which could include all the gifts and the fruit of the Spirit. What we know for sure is that we should live in a manner that is faithful in Christ Jesus.

 

 

By the Will of God

  

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

BY THE WILL OF GOD

Eph 1:1-2

1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

NIV

Although this is the standard greeting in many of Paul's letters, it still bears some consideration. First, Paul knows that his apostleship, his being an apostle of Jesus Christ is solely due to the will of God. We should note the Greek word apostlos has a direct meaning of a delegate, one sent forth with orders, an ambassador of Christ, and officially a commissioner of Christ, and some translators believe this is accompanied by miraculous powers. We do wonder if being considered an apostle of Christ was limited to just those of the early church. We know the twelve were not the only apostles as Paul and Barnabas were considered to be apostles and of course, by the will of God. However, we do think it is possible that apostles can still be in the church by the will of God. We have to remember that we are humans, and we can be misled into thinking that the power and the will of God would not call others to be apostles of Christ. We surely should be ambassadors of Christ, as being citizens of the kingdom of God living in a foreign land or in a foreign kingdom, this world, we have been called to speak for our Sovereign and that would also mean that we have diplomatic immunity, which means we are not subject to the rules of this world, which would ultimately lead to death. Because we are the children of God, death holds no sting, as it has no power to hold us in the grave, but rather by the power and the will of God we will be raised from the dead. However, to say that we are an apostle might be a stretch, and yet it is possible because it is still up to the will of God. We, humans, cannot determine or make the decision to be an apostle, however, God can decide if he needs us to be an apostle, and if that is his will, then He will also empower us as his delegate. When it comes right down to everything in our lives, it is always about the will of God. The Apostle James even says that we should not make any decision about going to this or that city, spending however much time we choose to make money, but instead we should say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that”. Anything else is boasting. Therefore, let us live according to the will of God and be willing to be whoever He determines we will be. Everything should be by the will of God.

 

A Refresher of Souls

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIAN

A REFRESHER OF SOULS

1 Cor 16:15-18

15 You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. I urge you, brothers, 16 to submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it. 17 I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. 18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.

NIV

Again, we are at the concluding remarks, except these include the names of three men who must have been the ones who delivered the letter the Corinthians had sent Paul with questions and is the very reason Paul wrote this letter in order to respond with instructions regarding their questions. We have heard about Stephanas in the early part of this letter where Paul admits that he did baptize Stephanas and his household and in the letter he mentions him again as one of the first converts in Achaia. As interesting as all this is and what it was they provided that was lacking from the Church in Corinth, we want to consider something else that was said and how that might look in the church today, specifically in our lives. However, perhaps it would be interesting to consider what it was the three provided Paul that was lacking from the Corinthian church. Was it details left out of the letter about what was actually going on in the church? Was it financial in nature? It seems our scholars of old cannot come to a common solution so we will just consider it interesting. Now for this statement that strikes this chord within us. They refreshed his spirit and that of the church in Corinth. Are we refreshing the spirits of the others we commune with within the church, as well as perhaps any believer that we might come in contact with? Certainly boasting about our work in the Lord, or our deeds, our anything for that matter, unless we are boasting about Jesus, does not refresh anyone except ourselves. We think it would be good to look into the Greek word, anapauoo, to find what this refresh meant to Paul. This word can be used to cause or permit one to cease any movement or labor to recover and collect his strength to give rest. That would be like permitting the pastor to take a vacation, or a sabbatical in order to refresh himself. But in the context, it appears to be more in the active sense as to refresh, the soul of anyone such as when Jesus told us to come onto him anyone who is burdened and he would give us rest. Jesus refreshes our souls. We think this should be applied to all of us in the sense that we should give rest to everyone, restoring their soul, lifting them up, encouraging them to be the best they can be as believers, and when someone is down, feeling alone, or dealing with some difficultly, we are there to lift them up, to refresh their soul, their spirit. Now what does that look like? We cannot be sure, as each situation might be different, but in general, we could say we should always be about refreshing each other, lifting each other up, and building each other up as in until we all reach unity in the faith. Let us be a refresher of souls.

 

Do Everything in Love

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

DO EVERYTHING IN LOVE

1 Cor 16:10-14

10 If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am. 11 No one, then, should refuse to accept him. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers. 12 Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity. 13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 14 Do everything in love.

NIV

More of Paul’s closing statement with some personal information about Apollos, but then this great statement seems to just be popped right in the middle. Be on guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love. Why do we need to be on guard? The Greek word here carries this meaning of staying awake, being watchful, give strict attention. Being a Christian is not a ho-hum life where we can just float through life doing whatever. Being a follower of Jesus requires paying attention to the details of life, always being aware of our thoughts, words, and deeds. As far as standing firm in our faith it seems that would be a natural result of being filled with the Spirit, but maybe standing firm requires some effort on our part as well. It is interesting the Greek word is steekete, which we see in the English word Quikrete, a brand of concrete mix, with is steadfast, solid, and will not be moved when set up. So then we are to be steadfast in the way we think about God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Then we are to be people of courage, or act manly, as the Greek word means. To have courage, not to shrink back, this is not about knowing we are Christians by the footprints on our faces, but about being bold, standing up for Jesus in the face of adversity, standing strong, and being a people with lots of muscles would be strong. So then we need to exercise our faith, believing the word of God, doing faith, actually believing what the word says, and acting accordingly, so, as a result, our faith is strong, we have put the muscle to use to stand strong, but at the same time do everything in love. This would be that Agape-type love, benevolent love, where we desire the best for others and live with that kind of attitude and behavior. We would have to go back to chapter thirteen to remind ourselves of the definition of this kind of love to get the fullness of doing everything in love. The is going to take a lot of watchfulness, a lot of firmness of faith, and much courage and strength to do everything in love. 

If the Lord Permits

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

IF THE LORD PERMITS

1 Cor 16:5-9

5 After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you — for I will be going through Macedonia. 6 Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

NIV

We have come to the closing remarks of this letter with Paul talking about his plans to visit with them, but not for a brief time, but for the winter months. However, there is something, a comment that Paul made which strikes a chord with us, “If the Lord permits”. All the other letters Paul wrote have been included in the Canon, making them considered words inspired by the Spirit. Nevertheless, even if this particular comment was not fully inspired, but rather Paul’s explanation of his plans, he is only making plans under the influence of the Spirit. His plans are good only if the Lord permits them. This should give us a clue as to whatever plans we might be thinking of making. It reminds us of the Proverb by the wisest man to live, as he said that in his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. It is so easy to plan or course, the path of our life, what we are to do as far as work, where we want to live, when we want to retire, and even travel. Yet, it would seem we better include with our plans the fact that they depend on the permission of the Lord. This would mean we best not determine any of our future without first consulting with the Lord. Maybe we should just go ahead with our plans that are in our hearts unless the Lord stops us. This may not have anything to do with whether we are going to mow the lawn today, go to the store for food, put gas in our car, or any of the other daily mundane chores, but then again it could matter. The Hebrew word used as course has the meaning of the course of life, that is the way we live, our plans for our future days, and where we want to be in life. That would include either our career, profession, or our employment as well as where we live, and that includes the very street and house we live in. This is the course of our life, our plans for our way in life, which as a believer includes the way we serve the Lord, that is our calling, or gift the Spirit has empowered us with. We had better make sure before we jump into any area of service, it better be what the Lord permits. Of course, if we are listening to the Spirit, then we will be traveling the steps the Lord has directed for us. Then, there is this other thought that we can just go ahead and plan away, for God is the one who will direct our steps, or our plans, which again, we would think would require hearing from the Spirit. What it comes down to is that we should always live according to “If the Lord permits”. 

The Collection

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

THE COLLECTION

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

This instruction about the collection for God’s people is not to either be confused with or taken as an example of the tithe and offering that we are more accustomed to collecting each Sunday. This collection was taken for the express purpose of sending it to the poor saints, or believers that were in Jerusalem living under the persecution of Christians by the Jews. There was such an uproar in Jerusalem from most of the leadership of the Jews when Jesus was there. So much so, they had him killed by the Romans through the cruelest method of death, being nailed to a cross. Therefore, the Christians were poor, which means some may have lost their opportunity for income because of the hatred of them by the Jews, although they were still their fellow countrymen, with the same inheritance from the oath God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the promised land. But the bias of the Jews for the tradition of the law, and the refusal to see Jesus as the Messiah who fulfilled the whole of the law, so he would be the perfect sacrifice, as the Lamb of God. So this collection was strictly to be stored until someone could journey to Jerusalem so the money could be distributed to the poor believers living in Jerusalem. We cannot and should not confuse this in any way with what we do in this post-modern church. This is not to say that we do not dedicate some portion of our tithe and offer to those poorer than us. This is not to say that we should not bring our tithes and offerings into the storehouse, or the church, so there will be "food in my house". Of course, this is from the prophet Malachi, which also includes this wonderful promise from God about opening the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much of a blessing that we will not have room enough to contain. Can we say this was just a promise to the Jews if they were to tithe properly, as we do not find this same word in the entire New Testament? The one mention about supporting those elders who handle the affairs of the church should receive double honor, especially those who preach and teach. This is what Paul instructed Timothy concerning setting up the church which included the quote from Deuteronomy about not muzzling the ox while milling grain and a worker deserves his reward, which we take to mean his wages, as the Greek word misthos meaning directly, pay for services, although throughout the New Testament, it is translated as a reward. Nevertheless, this is how we now govern the rules of bringing a portion of our income, as we can, to the church for the support of those who preach and teach, but now it means that we also support anyone who is considered staff in the church, as well as storing up for the upkeep and improvements of the building. Yet, we do in some sense have made some provisions for giving to the poor, but we are not operating the same as the first New Testament churches. However, we still should consider there are those in need and look after them.

 

Death Has No Sting

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

DEATH HAS NO STING

1 Cor 15:50-58

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. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."   55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"  56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 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

We just had to deal with these verses one more time, because we wanted to focus on the question, although rhetorical in some sense. “death has been swallowed up in victory,” “Where, O Death is your sting?” Paul is quoting from the prophet Hosea when he speaks for the Lord, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction? Surely, as it happened, God told the people through the prophet that He would redeem His people, which, of course, at the time meant Israel, but now because of Jesus, all the Gentiles, or us are included in this redemption. Therefore, the sting of the grave has no meaning for us, because the grave cannot hold us, its sting is no more. It is interesting that we hear those who do not accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but simply say they believe in God and therefore they will go to heaven when they die. We hear others who don’t even say they put their trust in God or in Jesus but believe because they are a good person they will go to heaven. It would seem to us they are just trying to avoid thinking about the sting of death, the grave. It is true that all of us who live in this flesh and blood body will see the end of this life. We will all see death in one respect. However, there is a difference as to our temporary spiritual home for to be absent from the body is to be present somewhere else. For us who believe and put our trust in Jesus as our Savior, we will be in his presence. For those who have never trusted Jesus, or refused to accept Him as their Lord and Savior, their temporary spiritual residence is sheol, or hades, the subterranean retreat including all its accessories and inmates. At least this is the Hebrew would that Hosea used for the grave. We see this played out in the parable of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus. Yet, we also know that all flesh will be resurrected to stand before God for the final judgment. Those of us who believe will be judged righteous as we are in Christ and will hear those words. “Come and enter into my rest, good and faithful servant”, while those that Hades has given up, will be judged and condemned to the lake of burning sulfur. Thus, the grave has a horrible sting for them, but it holds no sting for us, for death has been swallowed up in victory by Jesus, whom we know as our Lord and our Savior. We know this is harsh and that we have loved ones who at least at present, do not see Jesus as Lord and Savior, but everything is up to God, we cannot judge them or condemn them, for that is only up to God and we know that He loves them as He does us, and He will do whatever He does to bring them to himself, we simply are required to love them. Therefore, we rejoice in this life because of Jesus, and we will rejoice in the life to come, because of Jesus, and we will rejoice as we take our last breath in this flesh and blood body, for we will be changed forever into a spiritual body unable to ever see death again. So, death has no sting!

 

 

Knowing our Future

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

KNOWING OUR FUTURE

1 Cor 15:50-58

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. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."   55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"   56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 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

We have come to the conclusion of this explanation what will happen someday. We know these verses, as we have quoted them many times, and it is not just a hope, but it is a fact. This is going to happen to all believers in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the one who died for us, taking all our sin upon himself, and shedding his blood for the remission of our sins. We have been adopted into the family of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior. Yet, in our present condition we cannot get to heaven for we are also still in the image of Adam, in this flesh and blood body that is indeed corruptible, perishable, and mortal. Although we have been forgiven, and we have been declared by God as holy and blameless in his sight, we still live in this current condition, and we will need to be changed before we can inherit the kingdom of God. But, praise God, in a twinkling of an eye, that is in a split second, we will be changed. If we are asleep, we will be awakened, that is the dead shall rise, resurrected completely different than we have ever been. No longer will we be flesh and blood, but we will have a new spiritual body that cannot be corrupted, nor will we ever perish, and we will also be immortal living forever in the kingdom of God. Now should Jesus come back for us while we are still breathing in this mortal body, we will not miss a thing, for we will also be changed in this flash, in this split second and everything we are now temporarily, we will become what we will be permanently, as we live forever in the presence of our Lord in that place that He has prepared for us. From the revelation that He gave to John, we know this place in a new city and is on a new earth, everything, all creation will be changed, and death no longer will be a part of this new place. Therefore, with all the confidence of the reality of what is to happen, we most definitely stand firm in our faith, nothing is going to move us away from the truth, and as we are told, we will give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord until our last breath in this flesh and blood body, for our lives, our labor in not in vain.  We know our future. 

To Be Like Him

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

 TO BE LIKE HIM

1 Cor 15:44-49

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

NIV

The natural and the spiritual are who we will be throughout our lives. Of course, we are currently in the appearance of the earthly man, but we are not longer citizens of this earth, for our citizenship is in the kingdom of God. Does not mean we no longer resemble the earthly man, but that we already resemble the heavenly man? It is true that we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, but then due to our baptism, that earthly man in us died, and we were resurrected into the likeness of the heavenly man. However, we also know that this earthly form was created in the image of God. Still, because of Adam, who we believe would not have died if he had remained faithful to God, rather than being deceived by the evil one. Yet, it is his sin that brought about the death of the earthly man that we are all subject to. Still, if we change the way we think, or repent, as some would like to say, and forfeit this life that leads to death, accepting Jesus as our Lord and our Savior, we can live in the likeness of the man from heaven. We were once dead in our sins, living the earthy life, but now we are alive in Christ, and we are living the spiritual life that will never die. Surely, we still look like the earthly man that was created in the likeness of God, but we have to come to terms with it is still flesh and Paul is going to tell us that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. We must bear the likeness of the man from heaven, Jesus, if we are going to live in heaven. So either way, whether in the flesh, we were created in the likeness of God, or we are in Christ, and so we also bear the image of Jesus in our lives, at least in our spiritual lives, but should also want to appear like him in our earthy lives. To be like Jesus, to be like Jesus, all I ask is to be like him, all through life’s journey from earth to glory, all I ask is to be like Him.

 

Raised from the Dead

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

RASIED FROM THE DEAD

1 Cor 15:35-44

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. 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

We are going to get further clarification on the resurrection as we continue through the rest of this passage of Paul’s explanation between the body and the Spirit. It is interesting the Corinthians were thinking of what we have thought on occasion, at least until we reach the right understanding of the resurrection and what that will look like. We have pondered about what we will look like after being resurrected from the dead. We do know that upon the last breath of this earthly body, we will no longer be captive within it, as we will absent from this body and present with the Lord. However, that is strictly in the spirit, the reality of who we are. We believe that we are a spirit who lives in this body who has a soul, which could be considered as our mind, or personality. Nevertheless, this earthly body will be raised from the dead, but it will be nothing like the current body we now occupy. Paul has made that clear enough when he makes the analogy of sowing a seed what becomes something other than a seed, as well as, when the seed is planted it must die in order to become the body it must be. Using that example, we can understand that this body must die in order that it can become the body it was meant to be, a physical yet spiritual one, that is imperishable, full of glory with power. We do not have to know exactly what we will look like, or if we will resemble this earthly form at all. Will those that die young look at different than those of us who are going to die in our old age? Will we look like we did when we were young, or still have our wrinkles and gray hair? We are thinking that all that kind of pondering is somewhat futile as no one will ever know until we get there as to what our appearance will be, as spiritual beings full of honor, glory and power. We do know, however, that even in this human form, we were made in the image of God, and thus as we live today, we bear His image and consequently should live accordingly. Someday, we will be changed, until then let us live as God intended us to live until that day we will be raised from the dead. 

Baptized as Dead

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

BAPTISED AS DEAD 

1 Cor 15:29-34

29 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, "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

This is one of the most difficult verses to understand, as at first glance, it appears some men were being baptized for their dead friends or family members, which goes totally against the truth of God. However, to think that we have the truth of this passage would also be saying that we know more than many scholars or interpreters that have sharp differences in what they believe it means. We as the body of Christ do not practice, nor should we practice being baptized for someone who is already dead. We know this is a doctrine and practice of the Mormons, but they are not a Christian faith, but rather a misguided cult. This is not to say that people who belong to the Church of the Later Day Saints are not good people, for many of them, are. Their beliefs are based on a second book, a new revelation that was given to one man. Nevertheless, what are we going to do with this idea that Paul is raising to the Corinthians about what will those do who are baptized for the dead? Of course, we know that before we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we were dead in our sins. Now then if we are dead in our sins, what brings us to life? Is simply saying that we believe in Jesus, that he died for us and shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins, make us alive, or are we also required to follow him through the waters of baptism. Are we not buried in the water and raised from death into life? Is not that the purpose or the symbol of baptism? We have to believe this way because of what the rest of what is said as we progress through Paul’s complete thoughts on this subject, as well as from the rest of the scripture. If we are dead in our sins and the dead need to be buried in order to be raised from the dead. We cannot nor should we be buried in the ground, although, when this body does die, we will be put in the ground, only to be resurrected at the time of the Lord. However, we can be buried in the water and be raised from the dead and live in this resurrected life, a new person in Christ, no longer living in the sin that causes death, living with that bad company that corrupted our character but will live in the community of faith, being encouraged and encouraging, so that we live as children of God. There is more to consider on this subject of baptism, but for now let us rejoice that once we were dead, but now we are alive in Christ, and we shall be alive forevermore in Him. 

Blessed from Death to Life

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

BLESSED FROM DEATH TO LIFE

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

Is not Christ God? Why does Paul make this distinction between Christ being a man and God? Paul is using the Greek word theos, to describe the Supreme Divinity, who has to be the Father, so in that sense, the Father sent the Son to become born as a man, so that He would be the perfect sacrifice changing the course of human history. Because of the sin of Adam, we are all born in sin and thus deserve the penalty of sin, death. We are so grateful for God doing what he did in order to redeem us so that death no longer reigns in our life, but we have life eternal through our faith in Jesus. Although we must wait, it is inevitable that we will be raised from the dead and live in a place where all evil has vanished, and only the purest of God will be present. It is not odd, that in the present time, we still live in this corruptible body, unable to live completely pure and without sin, and yet we have the guarantee, we have been sealed with the Holy Spirt, and thus we know that we now belong to God, and because of Christ, although we have not attained perfection, God sees us as holy and blameless. It is encouraging that sometime in the future, we can only hope, or have this assured expectation, that Christ will return to vanquish evil while we are still living. If not, we can still be assured that just before he returns to this earth, we will be raised from the grave to meet Him in the air and we will be changed in a twinkling of an eye, and this which is now corruptible will become incorruptible and that this current body that is perishable will become imperishable. We will truly be fully like Christ, although we are not Christ, but like him, fully holy and pure without any sin whatsoever. It is interesting that the Father has put all authority under Jesus, but a time will come when Jesus will give back all the authority to the Father. This is why Paul makes the point that God may be all in all. Yet God is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, as they are one, yet it would still seem that although one, they are also still three. This an interesting thought to ponder for the rest of this life, for when we are raised from the dead and are with Jesus, we will know and understand to the fullest, God as three in one. For now, let us live out our faith to the fullest, let us live as one saved from the influence of the one man, Adam, that consists of sin and death, and under the influence of the second man, Christ Jesus that consists of righteousness in Him and life. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. We have been blessed from death to life. 

Life and More Life

 

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

LIFE AND MORE LIFE

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

Here is the central theme of our faith, Jesus Christ resurrected. Of course, it was on the cross that he paid the price for our sins, and it is by His shed blood we have been cleansed, for there is no remission of sin without the shed blood of Jesus. But then if that is all there is, what is the purpose of our faith in Jesus? This is the point that Paul is making here. If Christ was not resurrected then our faith is in vain, for we would only have this life and only this life with death being the complete end, with the fact that we would have never ever known that we had lived. Nothing after this life is simply nothing, the end of everything and that would be an extremely futile way to live. It is interesting that if people who are not born-again believers in Christ or confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior are asked what happens when they die, they will say they go to heaven. It appears no one wants to come to terms with living but one life. Although, we do remember a slogan years ago by some brewing company that was, “You only go through life once, so grab all the gusto you can”, in order words why worry about death, just drink and be merry, this is the only life you are ever going to have. However, any of that kind of life is useless, for death comes to us all and it there is no resurrected then we are stuck in that box forever. But praise God from whom all blessings flow, including the blessing of the resurrection. God did raise Jesus from the dead, and so we too will be raised from the dead. We say that is our hope, and hope is the expectation of what is to come. Hope is not in something that does not exist as that would be like wishing for time to reverse, and we could go back to our youth and life all over again. Our hope is in the resurrection which is a fact and it will happen, so we live this life to the fullest, giving all the praise and honor to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, knowing that there is more to come, in fact, all of eternity to come, as we are resurrected to live forever in the presence of our Lord and our  Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore, our faith is not to be pitied more than all men. The fact is that if someone does not believe in the resurrection they are to be pitied. If someone does not believe in Jesus Christ, crucified, buried, resurrected, and ascended back to heaven, they are to be pitied by all men for their fate is unspeakable. Our faith is real and true because Jesus is real and true, and our lives are blessed beyond measure. We have this life, and more life to come. 

Grace of God

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

GRACE OF GOD

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

This might be a personal statement of Paul’s history and his life now, it also gives us a picture of ourselves. First, we should say that we are the least among the body of Christ, for at one time we hated God and all organized religions. We spoke out against the church, not in the same way Paul did, who actually went around arresting believers or having them stoned. Nevertheless, we were opposed to the belief in God, looking only at our humanity to achieve our personal pleasures. This is not to say that we were not aware of a God, but that we could not justify his being what believers thought he was, the creator of all things, and that he answers their prayers. However, the grace of God stuck straight as an arrow right into our hearts, and it is by the grace of God we are who we are because His grace was not without effect. Although I am using the third person, this testimony is my personal story and is not intended to imply anyone else was who I was before the Grace of God came upon me. I was hateful, abusive toward others, and resentful of those who believed and knew only solitude as I trusted only in myself. But the grace of God was at work in me, and change occurred. I worked diligently to serve my Lord, yet throughout those years, I realized, as Paul states, that it was not and is not me that does all that I have and am doing, but rather it is the grace of God that was and is with me. Here is where the word grace that Paul used is Charis, which is the effect of what is due to this grace, is the divine influence upon our lives and how that is reflected in our lives. In order words, as Paul puts it that all he did, all the work for the kingdom was not by his human power, but by the power of God influencing his life, moving within him, empowering him to be who God intended him to be. This has to be our, or I should say, my story. I have no talent, no skill, no formal training to be who I am today, and yet by the power of the Spirit indwelling within and the influence of God upon me, I have become who I am today and all or anything I do for the kingdom of God is not through my humanity, but because of the grace of God in my life. It is God who gave me faith to start with, and it is God who began this work in me, and it is God who is going to complete this work in me which will continue until He decides when I will take my last breath. But the fact is that God is doing the work in all of us, and will continue to do this work in us, using all of us for His glory and for the advancement, encouragement, and edification of the body of Christ until we all take our last breath. It is nothing about us, but all about the grace of God. 

The Appearance of Jesus

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

THE APPEARANCE OF JESUS 

1 Cor 15:1-8

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. 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

There are just a few primary points in our salvation and they are enumerated here for us with the final one of the resurrection. Nevertheless, it is the gospel message in all its fullness that we are saved. There is no work that we can do to attain salvation, for it is all within the gospel message which contains the work of God and Him alone. Of course, we must believe it or receive it in our lives. Still, it is Christ who died for our sins. There is no sacrifice we could make that would bring us salvation. There is no work we could do that would bring us salvation. It is Christ on the cross, the shedding of his blood which brings the forgiveness of our sins. We certainly have no power within ourselves to attain anyway near worthy of this salvation. It is solely about the love of God for his creation, us, as he made us in his own image, thus we bear the image of God within us. We believe Jesus died for our sins and we believe he was buried and was raised from the dead on the third day. How could we ever fail to believe this truth? As far as Jesus appearing to his disciples and all those other people and then to Paul as one abnormally born, we have no doubt that happened. We do find it interesting that after he appeared to his disciples and more than five hundred, he ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. However, it was after his ascension that he appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus. He spoke with him, giving him instructions. We also find it interesting that Jesus can appear to us as well, and we can see Jesus if we but read the word of God. However, we are still considering the power of God here and it is very possible that Jesus could make a supernatural appearance to us. There is definitely some expression of Jesus when a person receives the call to some aspect of ministry, but we would also think that everyone is called to be a witness to the power of God in their lives. How can we experience the power of God, the saving grace of God in our lives, receiving eternal life as well as many spiritual and material blessings without wanting to tell everyone what is happening in our lives. We do need to be careful not to boast about our lives, but to boast about Jesus Christ crucified, buried, resurrected, and ascended to sit at the right hand of God continually making intercession for us. We should never boast about our works, or what we have done, for nothing we can ever do would make any difference in our salvation. 

About Women

  

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

ABOUT WOMEN

1 Cor 14:33-40

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. 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

This idea about the woman remaining silent in the church was a Jewish law, which meant they were not permitted to ask questions or question the authority of the preacher, or teacher. Certainly, this was a custom that the gospel had to have an influence on change, as the Spirit was poured out on both men and women. It is interesting that Paul already address the fact that women did prophecy in the church, but it would only be a disgrace if they did so without a head covering. Nevertheless, what we find is this command was cultural as in Paul’s letter to Timothy about setting up the church policies in Ephesus where he tells Timothy that women should not teach or have authority over men. Throughout the ages, these types of rules have gone through evolution as has the whole idea of roles of men and women. In our culture today, at least in our country, there is equality in every aspect of our society, or at least there is an endeavor to that end. There may still be some areas that have not yet achieved this perfect equality of the sexes, but for the most part, we think our society and thus the church have reached for equality. There are denominations that have women pastors, elders or hold other prominent positions of leadership. We would have to think that before Christ died for all, that is both men and women, and that the Spirit has been poured on all peoples, and because all are equal in the eyes of God, that he does not show favoritism that both man and woman are equal. However, there is a set of governance in regard to marriage where the man is the head of the household because he is held responsible to God for his family. However, as with the church, we cannot and should not apply this cultural rule for the Corinthian church to the church today. However, there still should be order in all aspects of worship. 

Partnership with the Spirit

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

PARTNERSHIP WITH 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

God is a God of order rather than a God of disorder, or chaos. It is interesting that the church in Corinth was in need of these instructions. Young immature believers let loose in the Spirit and were out of control. It is a good thing today that we have gained such self-control. We do nothing spontaneously but rather regulate every aspect of our time of worship. We believe that we are meeting with the living God and that the Spirit is indwelling within us. Still, we would rather carefully plan out every minute of our worship service, keeping everything fully under our control. We do wonder whether or not the Spirit would show up if we allowed him to have full reign in our worship of God. Although, there is this sense of being in partnership with the Spirit as Paul is telling the Corinthians. Even if we allow the Spirit to have full access to our worship, we will still see an order. We do note that it is a partnership because of what Paul said about the spirits of the prophets being subject to the control of the prophets. We can clearly see that we have a part in worshipping in and with the Spirit’s inspiration. We are to worship God in spirit and in truth. Jesus made that very clear in his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, as John recorded for us. Therefore, our worship needs to be in the spirit. It is interesting that John simply says that God is Spirit, although this translation does not capitalize on spirit. However, in Greek pneuma means breath, a breeze, a current of air, however, when referring to God it means the Holy Spirit and in regard to man, his spirit. Therefore, it would be right to say that we should worship God in the Spirit, that is we should be in the Spirit and not in the flesh as we worship and thus, we would be allowing the Spirit to have His way in our service. If we do that, we just might see some miracles, some true worship, and maybe even certain gifts would be present among us. We might have taken being in order to the extreme being under our control, and not the Spirits, or even partnering with the Spirit. We also might spend too much of our life looking intellectually into the scriptures, rather than allowing the Spirit to reveal the truth to us. Many years ago, we were aware of men who were considered revelation preachers. That is they had no formal biblical education, but merely preached from a revelation given to them by the Spirit. Yet, we are still left with this idea that we should be in partnership with the Spirit, having revelations, having a prophetic word, being under the influence of the Spirit, but also having control of ourselves, so that all is done in order, being in partnership with the Spirit. 

Spirit of Order

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

SPIRIT OF ORDER

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

Even more clarity regarding these vocal gifts. Although the Spirit is there, it would seem that He does not create chaos, but is a Spirit of order. It is also noted that we are in partnership with the Spirit, in that although we are inspired, or urged by the Spirit to sing a hymn, give a word of instruction, a revelation, a or a tongue, we wait for the time to speak. Because we love each other we would not be rude by speaking over another, or at the same time, nor would the Spirit want that to happen. Again, everything must be done to strengthen the church. However, this also raises the question if all these instructions of Paul, as he was inspired by the Spirit, were just for the church in Corinth, or because these words are part of the canon and because all scripture is God breathed and profitable for teaching, correcting, rebuking, and training in righteousness, we would have to conclude these instructions are for the church at large, which includes the church today. This would lead us to think that first, gifts could be present in the church today if we do not quench the Spirit. Secondly, conducting our worship service with a sense of order is also being in partnership with the Spirit, however, the order should not be so controlled that it leaves no room for the moving of the Spirit among the people of God. These instructions make it clear that when the gift or tongues is present, interpretation must also be present. If there is no gift of interpretation present, then the Spirit would not manifest the gift of tongues. Certainly, the Spirit knows the heart of all men, for He is God, thus He would know if no one is willing to allow Him to move through them with an in interpretation, He would then not move through someone with tongues. The point is that all the gifts of the Spirit are for the common good, so that all gifts should be manifested within the wholeness of the church so that the good of all occurs. We also note, because of these instructions, that we cannot learn gifts, or they are not known through our human learning that we use for our careers, but they are all determined by the Spirit who manifests the gifts needed for the common good at the time and place of His choosing. Therefore, let us always be open and available for the Spirit of order, to be at work in and through us. 

Being A Sign

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

BEING A SIGN

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 does sound a little confusing in that first we are told that tongues are a sign for the unbelievers, but then we are told that if an unbeliever does come into the church and hears people speaking in tongues, they will think the people are crazy. What kind of sign is that? Then we are told that prophecy is more profitable as far as a sign to the unbeliever because he will be convicted of his sin. We would think that speaking in tongues is surely a sign of the miraculous power of God and His work among His people. However, whether we speak in tongues or words of prophecy, that should not be the only reason an unbeliever would say, “God is really among you”. What if, like it was among the Corinthians, there is total chaos, with everyone speaking over everyone else, with no order, or proper mutual respect. Still, there is another truth we should take note of in that this is a church in Greece, and not in Israel where the Apostles came from. This is a church that will go beyond the life of the Apostles and with this church being so filled with the Spirit and His gifts, specifically tongues, interpretation, and prophecy, it gives us this clue that the Spirit continues to be poured out upon people and we should see the evidences in the church and would still be a sign to those who do not believe that God is among us. We think that we the church might have taken on too many of the ways of humanistic methods of “Good works” to show we are Christians. Some churches do things in and for the community in an effort to show them, God is at work among them. However, we do not find that type of evangelism in the word of God. How is the power of God revealed if we do the same kind of things any human organization could do and even does? It would seem right to us to believe the power of God is revealed through His miraculous divine power being expressed in us, therefore being a sign to the unbeliever. Yes, love will always be at the forefront of our attitudes and behaviors toward both the believer and the unbeliever. Yet, it is difficult to always see love in action, and again, unbelievers are capable of expressing some form of love. We see evidence of that when at weddings of those who may know about God, and perhaps have some form of faith, yet would by all accounts, not be considered believers, or born again, bible token, Spirit-filled believers exhibiting all the power of God in their lives, quote the love chapter 13. They still look to love as the basis of a good marriage. But the miraculous power of God as the Spirit moves among His people and empowers them with many gifts that would be a sign to the world that God exists and is among His people. Let us not keep that Spirit at bay, holding him back from what He is intended to do, empowering the people of God to be a sign to unbelievers. 

The Child and the Adult

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

THE CHILD AND THE ADULT

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

There are going to be some strong words of pastoral counseling, still to come, however, Paul has already been giving his pastoral advice and now he makes that point about the way they are thinking. For the most part, little children do not know about self-control or how to behave in a respectful manner, therefore, they must be taught. We are to stop being like children who do not know right from wrong. We only have to observe a classroom of children when the adult leaves the classroom and are left alone and we would soon see chaos ensue. This must have been what was happening in the Corinthian church regarding the gifts of the Spirit with many of them all speaking in tongues at the same time, with no one listening to each other. This is not a church, not a unity in the Spirit, not worship, but it was children behaving badly without an adult present. However, there is something that we should be as innocent as an infant about and that is about that which is evil. If we think as an adult, we will know that it is damaging to our spirit to allow evil to enter our thinking. It is not just that we look good and appear holy and proper when we gather together, in one sense, looking for the approval of men. It is what is within our heart, or our thought life that makes all the difference. It can be difficult to keep some form of evil out of our minds at all times. They must have been out of control, and maybe acting in the flesh rather than operating under the influence of the Spirit. It makes us think if our worship time when we gather together is being influenced by the Spirit, or by the flesh. Are we holding back the Spirit, quenching him from working in and through us when we gather as a church, and even when we are alone? It would seem if we are holding the Spirit back, is that being childlike in our behavior in the sense of looking only to our own interests, as children are prone to do. If our thinking is mature, as adults are supposed to be, then we will allow the Spirit full access to our worship time both when we are gathering together and when we are alone. Although we are not fully privy to the alone time of Jesus, we have to believe He was fully engaged with the Father through the Spirit. If we are living the mature Christian life, we are living completely under the influence of the Spirit, rather than under the control of our flesh. Then worship will be fully spiritual and the operation of the gifts of the Spirit will be under His control and there is never chaos in the heavenly realm. Are we the child or the adult? 

The Spirit and the Mind

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

THE SPIRIT AND THE MIND

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

We continue to get more clarity on the gift of tongues. First, we notice that when the Spirit manifests the gift of tongues, He will accompany it with the gift of interpretation. Of what value is speaking in an unknown language if no one understands what is being said? But this is not up to people, or the flesh, it is the working of the Spirit, and He works all things for the common good. Therefore, we must think that tongues will not be heard unless an interpretation is available. We cannot know this in our humanity, but the Spirit knows all things and works always in union with the Father and the Son. We could then be sure that any manifestation of tongues will always be perfectly aligned with the word of God as the speaker in tongues gives praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. When what the speaker in tongues is completed, then what he said to God, in praise and thanksgiving, is shared in our native tongue so the whole congregation knows the words the speaker in tongues was saying to God. This fits right in with the other instructions telling us that tongues is man talking to God and prophecy is God talking to man. It is also interesting that Paul makes this point about when we pray in tongues our spirit is praying, but our mind should be praying as well. Again, this fits with other instructions in that tongues is not just babbling in the air with meaningless sounds, but it is an intelligible language that someone could understand if they were a member of the language group. There are hundreds if not more different languages and dialects throughout the world. Once again, speaking in tongues is not flapping of the tongue and lips into the air with just noise. So then, when the Spirit urges one or manifests the gift of tongues while speaking in an unknown language, we will be praising and glorifying our Lord God Almighty with our minds. The fact is that the Spirit does not take control of our mouths or our minds, we partner with the Spirit when we are inspired to speak in tongues, and we use our mouths and our mind to give praise and thanksgiving to God.  Then in partnership with the Spirit, someone understood, and that may even be the same person who spoke in this unknown language will give the proper interpretation so that all men are edified or built up. Everything when done in conjunction with the Spirit will always edify, it will always build up, reconfirming our faith. everything about these gifts fits well with offering ourselves as a living sacrifice to God, holy and acceptable, which is our spiritual act of worship. Therefore, we worship God with our words, whether in tongues or English and with our spirits and our minds. Then we will be loving God and worshipping God with our whole being. 

Building up the Church

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

BUILDING UP THE CHURCH

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 going to get more clarity regarding the gift of tongues and prophecy in the following instructions from Paul to this church in Corinth. From what we see here this church had gone wild with the idea of tongues and what appears is they were simply babbling away, all speaking in tongues with no purpose even from the inspiration of the Spirit. As we determined before, they were just speaking into the air. When the disciples were filled with the Spirit on that day of Pentecost and spilled out into the streets of Jerusalem, they were all speaking in some foreign language they had not learned. Still, there were men from all over the world, so to speak, whose native tongue was one of those the disciples were speaking. That is, someone understood their tongues, and men from all over heard the disciples praising God. This is what Paul is talking about in that tongues are certainly a gift of the Spirit, however, correct instruction for the church should be in the form of intelligible words. We must speak in a language that is understandable in order to build up the church. This is a call for all believers to speak in a manner that builds each other up. The fact is that we should not be foreigners to each other, speaking words that have no meaning, but rather have the singular purpose of edifying the church. Certainly, the gift of prophecy is to build up, whereas the gift of tongues, as we will see later, lifts up the glory of God with praise and thanksgiving, no one will know what is being said unless someone interprets. However, all this should be done in order and not in chaos, which it seems was what was going on in the Corinthian church. Since we have pretty much set aside the gifts of tongues, interpretation, and even prophecy, we are left with our own words that should be based on scriptural truth. We are called to give spiritual instructions to each other in order to build each other up. These instructions, these intelligible words are to be for the edification of the church. Certainly, we know that although gossip can be understood, it does not build up others, but rather tears them down. Let us look to the Spirit to give us a revelation, knowledge, prophecy, or a word of instruction so the church will be edified.