See What God Has Done

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

SEE WHAT GOD HAS DONE

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

These people were quarreling over who had brought them the best message, or in a sense who had the best personality or style of delivering the message. It would appear that both Paul and Apollos were working for the same result but some people seems to think Apollos was the one, and other thought Paul was the right one. Maybe it was coming down to the 1^st church of Paul and the Apollos Church of Corinth, the beginning of denominationalism. Or maybe it was just people gathering around that personality who they thought was more charismatic, somewhat like so many people do today. Who is the most favorite preacher? Even today it would seem we have people who would prefer to listen to one preacher over another, or read one author over another, because of their styles, or personality. But in all reality what matters is that Jesus Christ crucified is preached. Does it really matter under what preacher we were saved? Does it really matter mentored us so we could grow and become mature believers? Who do we worship God or the preacher? Yet it would appear so many people put so much emphasis on the preacher, his personality, his style of preaching, on the type of church building, the color and style of the sanctuary, the type of music, and worship that God almost takes a second place to all that. We simply have to get past all of that and focus on the fact that it was God who saved us, it is God who directs our path, and sees to it that we grow up in Him. It the same time we cannot simply sit back and say well it is all up to the pastor or even it is all up to God. No, we must take an active part in our growth, as well as being servants of God most high. Some of us might well be used as Paul or Apollos, sharing the Good News about Jesus Christ with others, but in doing so, making sure the receiving knows it is all about God and not us. We all need to open our hearts and see what God has done.

Who Are We?

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

WHO ARE WE?

1 Cor 3:1-4

3:1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly — mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? 4 For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?

NIV

Well at least we all agree we are following Christ, therefore we are not mere men, who can only handle milk, but actually digest the real meat of the Gospel, right? We are ready for it, we what it, we are not satisfied with milk because there is not one ounce of jealousy or quarreling among us for we all belong to one way of thinking. We are all the same in thought and agreement no matter what denomination we align ourselves with. We all have the same exact outlook on life, on God, on Christ as everyone of our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ no matter our educational level, our financial situation, our knowledge of scriptures or our ethic background. So we are not mere men, but spiritual beings seeking the deep truths of God, right? Or maybe we have some growing to do yet. Maybe we are not ready for the deep truths of God. Maybe we should still be feeding on milk, for it would seem there is still some jealousy and quarreling among us. How do we get past it? Is the fact that we do all agree that Jesus is the one and only way to get to heaven enough? Is the fact that Jesus Christ is the truth, the light and the way and we all agree unless we are born again we cannot see the Kingdom of God enough? Wait, some denominations do not teach that we must be born again in order to see the Kingdom of God. Some believe good works is the way to God. Some believe we still are subject to the law, the old covenant, some believe Jesus fulfilled that and in doing so established a new covenant.  Isn’t all that like some following Christ, some following Apollos? Who are we, mere men or spiritual?

Revealed

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

REVEALED

1 Cor 2:10-16

10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.   14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: 16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

NIV

We are talking about the wisdom of God here as we just looked at yesterday, but now we know that our wisdom is because the Spirit has revealed God’s wisdom to us. The Spirit knows the very mind of God, His thoughts because He is the Spirit as He is Christ, a mystery to most, but not to us. Many people who refuse to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and thus do not have the revelation of the Spirit can only operate as one who has the spirit of this world. This world’s spirit is solely based on human comprehension because it is a creation of human thought. But we do not operate on human comprehension for we do not have the spirit of this world, we have the Spirit of God. Those without the Spirit are only left to function with human understanding, but we are able to understand and comprehend the Spirit of God and the truth He reveals to us, thus we function in a spiritual realm completely foreign to those of the world. The people of the world think they are wise with great understanding of the world around them and they make fun of those if us who simply trust God, and it is no wonder for they do not have the Spirit thus the truth of God, the wisdom of God, is nothing but foolishness to them, because they cannot understand it. So then just how wise are they? Are they not the real fools, thinking themselves wise, yet they cannot understand God? What man can understand God without the Spirit? That is why God has freely given the Spirit so we may discern His great truths. Think of the wonder of it all, because of the Spirit, we actually have the mind of Christ. If the old Bob Dillon song rings with any truth, “You have to serve somebody, either you serve God or you serve Satan, but you have to serve somebody” then those of the world would have the mind of Satan as we who serve God have the mind of Christ because to us it has been revealed.

The Mature

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

THE MATURE

1 Cor 2:6-9

6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"—

NIV

Once again we see the amazing difference between what people of this world think is wisdom and what truly is pure wisdom. We also see that it is God’s secret wisdom which is only revealed to those who love him. All the combined wisdom of this world will come to nothing, which means is absolutely worthless, without any value at all. In fact, all of their wisdom, all their science is nothing more than a discovery of what God has established in his creation of all things, yet they cannot discover his greatest creation, the salvation of their souls. This is the secret which God has prepared for those who love him. We know this secret because we are among the mature. Those who refuse to see this truth are among the children, the infants, with childish thinking having been deceived by Satan into thinking they are the wise ones and we are the fools to believe God. But nothing more could be so far from the truth for God has declared us to be the mature, the ones who he has revealed his truth to, and those who think their wisdom to be superior are in fact the fools, the babes with little to know real wisdom, acting like spoiled children demanding their own way. It is so sad to think that some will never grow up and become mature like us. In fact, there might even be some who attend church and are still not mature, but at least they are hearing some form of the message and if they open their eyes, open their ears, open their minds, they will be able to conceive what God has prepared for those who love him. We will see in but the next devotion just how all this is done, and by what power God’s secret wisdom is revealed to those who love him. But we should consider just what does it mean to love him. Does just saying I believe in God indicate we love him? Does just saying I pray to God mean we love him? Does saying I believe Jesus is the Son of God and our Lord and Savior prove we love him? In this phrase which is quoted from Isaiah and uses the word love, in Isaiah it is a word which means to adhere. Therefore we could apply this to the meaning of loving God. If we love him we would adhere to his words, his ways, and his plan for us. What a wonderful  thing is the wisdom of God for the mature.

Preach it

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

PREACH IT

1 Cor 2:1-5

2:1 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.   2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

NIV

If this does not fly in the fact of all the denominational institutions of higher learning what does? How intellectually can we approve the Word of God before we lose sight of the Spirit’s power? If all we do is learn the knowledge of other men’s insight into what they believe the Word of God is saying then what does that make us? It would seem we already have too many great orators with eloquent words, proclaiming a superior wisdom regarding the Word of God then those they gather around them to applaud their skills in preaching and support their lust for fame and fortune. No it would seem we do not need all of those institutions of higher learning regarding the Word of God, for we do in fact have the Spirit’s power. Jesus said that He must go so that He could send the comforter, the”parakletos”, the counselor,  the Holy Spirit of God to be our guide, to lead us into all truth. What more do we need in order to share Jesus Christ crucified? Even if we tremble in our weakness and fear of speaking to others, we have the power of God at our disposal, ready to be unleashed if we but open our mouth’s in faith. If we who have no special training, no special education from the those scholars who impart their human wisdom, express  the message of Jesus Christ crucified with power and authority from God on High, then He and only He will be lifted up for it will surely be a demonstration of His power at work in us. What fancy vocabulary filled with all the right Christian terms demonstrates the power of God? What great speech in “Christianese” lifts up God rather than the speaker? In all fairness there may some of intellectual prowess with degrees from schools of higher learning who still rely on the power of the Spirit to preach Jesus Christ crucified, but as of yet it would appear we have not witnessed that yet. But truly we have heard men of revelation knowledge preach powerful messages about Jesus Christ crucified. In fact we may well have heard each other, us with no training, no degrees, no accolades of honor from men, tell the story with power from on high.

We must always rely on the power of God in all we do, and all we say, so that God will be glorified, not men.  Preach it!

Boast

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

BOAST

1 Cor 1:26-31

26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.   31 Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."  

NIV

On a very personal note I remember when I was saved, it seemed as though most of us were considered people from the wrong side of the tracks. That does not seem to be the case as much in the church which I am familiar with today. The pews are full of lawyers, doctors, business men, teachers, and other fine clothed people of well managed portfolios.  However, we do need to see ourselves as we truly are. If we all compare ourselves to the real wealthy, the real intelligence of the world, those who are considered to be scholars and those of noble birth, we are not wise by their standards; we are the lowly and the weak. Who of us has any great influence on society, such as the people who are extremely wealthy like George Soros, or even Donald Trump, or politicians like Mitt Romney or Barak Obama? Who of us has had the influence of men like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg on our modern society? No, we are who we are, people of common birth, people of a lowly status in the world we live in. We do not reside in the fame of fortune of Hollywood, although we hear of some of them giving testimony of their faith in God. Yet with all the wisdom, all the knowledge, all the wealth, the fame and the power, the influence, they profess their own self-made image. They do not acknowledge God nor do they worship Him. God has called us, the lowly to him, although He certainly desires for them to accept Him as well, He does not want any to perish. But here we are the church, the people of God, those of us who are circumcised of the heart, true Israel, who have nothing to boast about. In the grand scheme of this world we are the little people, with no real value other than to serve as pawns of those who influence this world for their personal gain. So what do we have to boast about, at least in this world? The answer is absolutely nothing, we are of no greatness. Yet we do have someone to boast about. We have a Lord who is our righteousness, we have a Lord who is our holiness, and we have a Lord who is our redemption. We can boast about Christ.

Pure Wisdom

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

PURE WISDOM

1 Cor 1:18-25

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."  

20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

NIV

If only the wise knew how foolish there were, it would make things so much better. But unfortunately those who think themselves wise are stuck in their own self-made mud. We all know people of this kind, those who have made intelligence their God. Our whole human system has been based on being wise, learning from who they think are great scholars, men who learned from other men who they thought were great scholars, yet all of that wisdom was of the mind of man. We who believe know that man’s wisdom is but foolishness to God, but they are blinded to that fact by their self-edification of their wisdom. They reject the wisdom of God for their own which is so puny compared to His. We can see this kind of thinking even creeping into the church over the past hundred years or so. It would seem the only path to having wisdom from God is to attend a Bible college and learn from other men, the meaning of scripture, or the method of preaching, or how to be a missionary, or Christian education director, and all sorts of other titles of leadership. It would appear that only those who have graduated are qualified to receive the coveted recognition of men, ordination. Is this not also foolishness to God? In the next few verses which we see later, God called simply men to be His plan for spreading the Gospel message. Yes they learned from Christ, and that is what we need to do. We need to learn from Christ, not from men. Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. We need but know Christ, which is also the very Word of God and we will have all the wisdom we will ever need. Men demand diplomas, degrees given by other men, acknowledgments, accolades; recognition of completion of learning the wisdom of other men, God demands a willingness to be used by Him for the benefit of His kingdom. Which is better, to be called a man after man’s ways, or to be called a man after God’s own heart? Yes, we can be guided to certain ways of thinking by what men may say or write, but in the reality of truth, What God has said and had recorded is the only guide to thinking and understanding truth, and that is pure wisdom.