Discretion Of The Lord

 

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

DISCRETION OF THE LORD

1 Cor 4:8-13

8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings — and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you! 9 For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. 10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! 11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.

NIV

It is generally accepted these words were spoken in irony, for the Corinthians have moved on in their faith with the ways of the world. Paul appears to speak indignant sarcasm against the false and self-confident teachers in Corinth. There are some of those types of teachers even to this day. They promote the gospel as a means to wealth, to have everything we want. The idea is that we are kings or the child of God and thus we should expect to have it all, fame and fortune, living in the plushness of life, that God will give us whatever we speak. For years we hear this name it and claim it attitude spread throughout the church. At least they were sort of looking to God for the source of the name it, but as of late it seems, there is more of an attitude of keeping our worldly endears for wealth separate from our spiritual experience with God. We are rich because of our education, our abilities, and our efforts in producing wealth and then we store it up, hoarding it for our future pleasures of leisure. Paul compares his life to theirs in the sense that he is forthright giving his life to God and if that means he has little, or less, or is even beaten and hated by some, it matters not. The point is that being a believer means believing the truth of the gospel. When we look back through the history of the Israelites, we are amazed at their constant rebellion against God. They had it all. They had God, himself, leading them, meeting and speaking with Moses regarding what He wanted His children, His chosen people to do. He opened the Red Sea for them, He provided bread from heaven for them, and He brought them out of slavery and poverty and wanted to give them a land of milk and honey, but they rebelled against Him. Even years later they wanted to be like the rest of the world and have a king instead of judges. Have we changed? Do we want what the world has, but still want to follow Jesus in some sense? Have we divided our hearts, as it seems those people in Corinth did? Have we blended into the world too much, as it would appear those in Corinth did? Certainly, we do not consider ourselves or are treated as the scum of the earth. At least in our country we are not treated brutally or cursed. Yet, should our lives not reflect something different than the world around us? Should we not have different goals or ambitions than the world has? Shouldn’t we be more focused on what God desires in our lives than what we desire? There are enough false teachers and preachers out there promoting how we are supposed to have it all, twisting and spinning the word for their benefit. However, we have the Spirit and He leads us into all truth and we know what we should do, and how we should live, so let us not get distracted by all the voices, as those in Corinth did. Let us stay the course, listen to the still small voice of the Spirit and, live for Christ. Yes, he may enrich us in material things, depending on where he has called us to live, work and be His witness, but that is His doing not ours, we live at the discretion of the Lord.

No Confusion

 

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

NO CONFUSION

1 Cor 4:6-7

6 Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. 7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

NIV

In order to get the reason for what Paul is saying here, we would have to go on for the whole of this chapter. It would seem this church in Corinth had some real problems. There were misusing the teaching they had received. We already know the division that was among them regarding following the teaching of Paul or the teaching of Apollos, and some said that neither should be followed as Christ is the one to follow. Certainly, great arguments over these non-theological issues were central in their lives. This is why Paul tells them to not go beyond what is written. The question is as to what was written at that time. Were there other letters circulating? Was there a gospel accord that was already available? Was Paul referring to the Old Testament writings that pointed to Christ? Yet, the point is still the same today. We have that which was written and still, it seems that we want to go beyond and develop our own brand of faith. Maybe we focus too much on the tertiary issues, debating on what we think are the finer points of Christianity rather than simply trying to follow Jesus. We certainly are not any different and any other, or better than others, like they may have thought about Paul and Apollos as one being better than the other, or that even among themselves they were developing this attitude that one knew more than the other. We all are in Christ and Christ is in all of us, if we all have received Christ. The main point of any believers’ life should be Christ. Yes, we believe that all scripture is God-breathed and all scripture is profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training us in righteousness. However, would we not want to say that the teaching of Jesus is central to all scripture? He never contradicted anything else that was already written, although he did clarify it. Still, Jesus is the central theme of our lives and we would be wise to focus our attention on His word, rather than on all the volumes of man-written texts. It is far better to quote Jesus than what some man has to say. Although, it is good to read what others think, for it does give us some insight into the word that we may have missed, or did not consider in the way they did. However, in the final analysis, it is the Spirit to leads us into all truth. God reveals His truth into our hearts. We have received his word, and His Spirit and so we should live as though we have received that which God has given us. It appears the Corinthian Church was not acting as though they had received Christ because of the divisions among them over which man was better. We cannot afford that manner of thinking. We have to see all of us as fellow believers, co-heirs with Christ, children of God, members of the body of Christ, each with an important role in the body. In this manner, we would not think more highly of ourselves than we should, but with sober judgment in accordance with the measure of faith God has given us. This way we would be building each other up until we all reach unity in the faith. We have not received the spirit of confusion but of peace. Paul will tell them that later in this letter. It is the same with us, we should not have confusion among us, but peace, unity, springing out of the love we have for each other. There should be no confusion whatsoever about Christ.

Praise From God

 

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

PRAISE FROM GOD

1 Cor 4:1-5

4:1 So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

NIV

It is interesting that Paul says that his conscience is clear. That almost sounds like he is saying that he has no sin left in his life. However, before we get so involved in that idea, maybe it would be best to first consider if men regard us as servants of Christ and as someone who has been entrusted with the secret things of God. But what then are these secret things of God. Certainly, Paul is speaking about the salvation of God, the redeeming power of the blood of Jesus. The key to knowing this meaning lies in the Greek word which means steward. Here it is written as those entrusted, but in the Greek, it is written as a servant of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. This is not to say, as some who have us believe, there is the musterion of God. What Paul is saying is that there are men who God has revealed these mysteries for the purpose of providing for the family of God. This is the word steward, the one who provides for the needs of the family. So then, in some sense, the church is in need of men who have been called by God, not by men, to provide, explain, or reveal these secret things of God, the fullness of the gospel. Whoever these men are they must prove faithful. It is not up to men to judge how faithful they have revealed or instructed the church in the secret things of God. Because we have been called to be faithful in providing the secret things of God to the church, we can say that our conscience is clear, as Paul does, in the sense the whenever we have the opportunity to share any message in any manner, whether through preaching, teaching, or in a written form, we are faithful to the truth of God. We do not want to start a cult or draw men unto us, but we are always pointing people to Christ. But the most important matter of all is that all who have been called to be stewards of the things of God will be judged, not by men, but by God. This actually applies to all believers. We are not to judge each other but are to wait for the Lord to come. He will bring to light what is hidden in the heart of man. The darkness in the heart of those who do not believe, and the motives of those who do believe. It is even possible that within the church, within the stewards, there is darkness and wrong motives. But we cannot judge that, for this is reserved for God to judge. What we know for certain, this is not about being totally free of all sin, but it does mean that those who have been called to be stewards, need to be faithful in their stewardship of the secret things of God, and as they are, then God will reward them, God will praise them. Who wants the praise from men, when they can receive praise from God?

Boasting

 

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

BOASTING

1 Cor 3:18-23

18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; 20 and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile."   21 So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future — all are yours, 23 and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

NIV

It appears there are a whole lot of people that are deceived. It would certainly not be those who are members of the body of Christ, but it is those who are of the world. The world lauds wisdom as the end-all of everything. Those who think themselves wise believe they have all the answers to life, or at least are capable of finding all the answers. Yet as wise as some of them might be, if they are not a believer in Jesus Christ they are but fools, for Jesus is the answer for everything concerning life. Their thoughts are futile, yet they continue to boast about themselves. We cannot think like that. We live in Christ and Christ is of God, therefore we are in God, and God has given us a seal, marking us as His. We have seen before that because we are in Christ and He is in us, that we do not have the mind of this world, but that we have the mind of Christ. We are not deceived by any of the craftiness of men and think that the wisdom of this world is anything to strive for. We are not even supposed to boast about ourselves, as the world is full of boasters. Yet, it seems there are those in the church that boast. It appears some are so impressed with their position or a title they cannot help but boast of themselves. With all the various forms of social media, it has become ever so easy to boast about our position, title, or work for the Lord. We have even perpetuated boasting when we require those called to the mission field to come and tell all there are doing in the name of the Lord so as to garner our financial support. We might even be guilty of boasting about our faith. It would be good to remember that God is the author of our faith, as he gives every man a measure of faith, and because God does not show favoritism, we have to believe every man receives the same measure of faith. So we are left with nothing to boast about except Jesus for he has given us everything, as all things are ours.

Shine Spirit Shine

 

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

SHINE SPIRIT SHINE

1 Cor 3:16-17

16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

NIV

There is no question that we are God’s temple. Jesus was very clear that he had to leave earth and ascend back to heaven, or wherever God resides, if he is actually contained in a place, so that Jesus could send the Holy Spirit to be with or dwell within man. The evidence of the Spirit's arrival was on that day of Pentecost when He came in such power. He has remained here and displays His power in whosoever receives Him. However, the point Paul is making here, is that we need to be careful not to wither or spoil the Temple of God. The Greek word translated as destroy, does carry this meaning of withering or spoiling, such or defiling, to ruin it. If we took that at a surface value that would have to mean any sin, any form of sin whatsoever would be defiling the temple of the Spirit. We then would be so very guilty as being helmed in this flesh, being confined in our humanity, we simply cannot be absolutely perfect and free from all sin. It is not that we try to find ways to sin, it simply happens, sometimes without even thinking about it, other times because we simply make a mistake, and then there are times we know better, but we say or respond or do something just because we want to. What this has to mean, is there is something else that causes the temple to be destroyed, or withered or spoiled, other than sin. Well, it may still be a sin, but we think that this withering or spoiling has more to do with not allowing the power of the Spirit to have His way in our lives. That is we refuse or ignore His power trying to do everything in our own abilities or power. If we are looking to ourselves, in some sense, we are defiling the temple of God. When we consider the purpose of any temple, we would think of it as a place to worship whatever deity it was built for. It does not matter what religion it stands for, it simply is the place that particular deity is supposed to reside in. In Corinth, the largest temple was that one for Aphrodite, which is supposed to have many temple prostitutes, a form of worship to this god. This is where we get the word aphrodisiac, foods or drugs that induce or that arouses sexual instinct. Nevertheless, it was a temple for the purpose of giving reverence to the god Aphrodite. Here, Paul tells us that we have the purpose to be the place the Spirit resides and we are to stand as a place in the city, as a temple displaying the power of God, showing the power of God. If we wither away, if we spoil, it would be because we are not connected to the vine. Once a fruit is taken off the vine it begins the process of spoiling, or withering, or soon is defiled and is in the process of being destroyed and thus unfit to eat. This is how we become if we lose our connection to Christ through the power of the Spirit. We are His temple as so we remain the shining city on the hill, giving light to the world. We remain the temple of God because we are filled with His Spirit, and it causes the Light within us. We have no light in and of ourselves, so without the power of the Spirit, we are spoiled, withered, decaying and, defiled. Therefore, we should live in a manner where we allow the Spirit to shine.

Building Wisely

 

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

BUILDING WISELY

1 Cor 3:10-15

10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

NIV

There is correct doctrine and then there is the doctrine devised by men. Paul says that he brought them the true gospel message by the grace of God. Again, we would consider this Greek word translated as grace, which carries the meaning of the divine influence upon the heart and how that is reflected in life. So then when Paul says that by the grace or by the divine influence of God, he laid a foundation as a wise master builder, or architect, as the Greek word architekton so implies. Here is where things can get dicey in the church of today. Just as in the time of Paul, there are those who are not master builders, or are not building on the firm foundation. There are those today who would teach rather about gold, silver, costly stones, or gems, or some other teaching that is all about man rather than God. We always have to be careful we do not get distracted by the ways of unwise men, or that we do not become unwise in the way we teach or share the message of salvation with someone. We too must operate by the grace of God and not from the mind of man. There are so many voices in this church today, all striving for a following in one way or another. Of want good is having a message if there is no one to listen? Many of these voices may be building on the foundation that was already laid, but there are always many who are trying to build something new, or simply use this already laid foundation to build something for themselves. However, as we note, it is not up to us to judge them, just discern their message, so as to be aware of any false teaching. God will judge the building methods, and materials and all who teach. It is imperative we always start with the foundation of Jesus Christ crucified, buried, and resurrected and has ascended to sit at the right hand of the Father. Anything else is like sinking sand, it will not stand. Jesus, himself has said that he is the resurrection and the life. It all begins and ends with Jesus. He is the Alpha and the Omega. Nothing else will stand. So let us be aware of anyone who is not a wise builder, as well as make sure we are being wise in building, making sure we are building by the grace of God.  

Laboring for Christ

 

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

LABORING FOR CHRIST

1 Cor 3:5-9

5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe — as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

NIV

This is still part of this dissertation or exhortation regarding this division that has occurred in this church. As we have already considered how the church then and even still today can be divided over who is the best preacher, or over the personality of a pastor. In this early church, it was over being enthralled with Paul or Apollos, and some actually followed Jesus. However, Paul is concerned about those who have looked to him or Apollos as the ones to follow. What he continues to say is that both himself and Apollos as mere servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. Each of them had an assigned task. One was to plant the other was to water that which was planted, but both with the purpose of being a servant of the Lord. However, the larger issue is that neither the planting nor the watering was of any value unless God was the one who made His word to be planted and grow within people. Everyone who ministers the word of God, in whatever form or function has but one purpose, to serve the Lord, as we all have our own labor. This is not confined to just those who in our post-modern church have been awarded credentials from a particular denomination and hold some title within the church. Each and every one of the members of the body of Christ has been given an assigned task, just as Paul and Apollos were. We are told that we are all living stones being built into the temple of the Lord, each stone is dependent on the other stones to support it, all working together to be one temple or one body. Paul makes that clear in his analogy of the body of Christ, one being an eye, one a hand or foot, each doing its part. Each of us serving a function that works in total unity with all the other parts. We all cannot be the mouth, so to speak, but we all are important in the body and each has been given a task, and we will be rewarded according to our own labor. This means we are not rewarded for someone else’s labor, but ours, which also means we all have some labor to do. This means we are not simply to be a sponge, always taking in, just sitting and soaking, so to speak. If we do just sit and soak, eventually we are going to stink. We have to be squeezed out, used somewhere, giving back that which we soaked up, again, in a manner of speaking. Perhaps the biggest issue is finding our place, but then that could even be evolving in some sense, as God causes us to grow. Surely when we first were saved and just babes in Christ, we were not capable of the same labor as after being taught by the Spirit. However, the point is still the same that each has his own labor and will be rewarded according to that labor. So we continue to labor for Christ.