Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Corinthians 12-14.

I love the fact that chapter 13, the “Love Chapter”, is in the middle of today’s passage, because that allows us to see it in the context Paul intended.  Obviously, this placement lets us know that love is a gift from the Holy Spirit.  Equally obvious, if we read it in this context we do not miss Paul’s message that love is the most important spiritual gift, that without love all other spiritual gifts have no value.  However, there is one point about what Paul tells us about love that we miss most of the time: we have a limited ability to choose which spiritual gifts we receive. Certainly, each and every one of us can ask the Holy Spirit for the gifts of love, faith, and hope in the knowledge that the Spirit will grant our request.  We can even be confident that the Spirit will give us more of those three if we ask for it.  If we desire other spiritual gifts we may ask for them as well, and if our request is truly to serve the will of God, we will likely be granted the gift we request.  There are limits to this ability to request the spiritual gifts we desire, because as Paul points out, the Body only needs so many eyes, or ears, or fingers.  So, aside from faith, hope, and love, there are conditions as to whether the Holy Spirit will grant us the gift(s) we desire.  The first condition being that our desire for that particular gift must be rooted in faith, hope, and love (most importantly in love).  The second condition being that the Body of Christ must not already have enough members who have that particular gift.  In fact, Paul tells us that we should look at the Body of Christ around us through the lens of love and request that gift which it is most in need of at this moment.  This may mean joyfully embracing a role which the world would consider demeaning.  Those who truly love as Paul describes love will never see it that way.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Corinthians 9-11.

Well, I know what parts of today’s passage I want to comment on.  I even have an idea about how those parts fit together.  Now I just need to see if I can put my thoughts down in writing.  Paul writes about his freedom and self-discipline.  He tells us that he has freedom to do as he pleases, but he uses that freedom to serve those who hopes to convince to follow Christ.  He continues by saying that he disciplines himself to serve Christ and others so as to not miss out on the eternal life which comes through faith in Christ.  Having given these examples from his own life, Paul goes on to write about how we should use our freedom.  The important part of his message is that while we have the freedom in Christ to do anything, we should only do those things which are beneficial and/or constructive.  Further, he writes that we should seek to do not what is in our best interests but what is in the best interests of others.

He applies this lesson to his message on our approach to the idol worship going on around us (and do not fool yourself, idol worship is just as much a part of modern society as it was in Paul’s day).  I like how he makes his point.  First, he makes the point that we cannot consciously take part in the ceremonies of idol worship, but we need not worry about doing so as an incidental part of our lives.  He tells the Corinthian Believers that while they may know full well that most of the food available in the market was offered to idols as part of its preparation, they need not worry about that.  Go ahead, buy the food and consume it without asking whether or not it had been sacrificed to idols.  For that matter, if your pagan neighbor invites you to share a meal with them, go ahead and join them.  Eat what they give you without inquiring whether or not it was part of a sacrifice to idols (which Paul points out would be a sacrifice to demons).  But, if they, or someone else, should inform you that eating it is part of their worship of other gods, then abstain.  Paul points out that the point of your abstinence is not your own well-being, but a service to the one who made you aware of the idol worship you were being asked to join.  I see Paul’s instructions here as a practical application of Jesus’ command to be “wise as serpents, but innocent as doves.”

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Corinthians 5-8.

At the end of yesterday’s post I mentioned that we have to interpret what Paul wrote about division in the Church in light of his instructions regarding Church discipline.  Today’s passage begins with Paul discussing a specific application of Church discipline.  Throughout history Christians have either over-emphasized Paul’s teachings about divisions in the Church, or over-emphasized his teachings about Church discipline.  As importantly, we rarely see the connection between what Paul writes about this specific instance on Church discipline and what he says immediately afterwards about lawsuits among Believers.  When speaking about Church discipline, Paul writes that we should only apply what he is writing to those who claim to be a Believer.  He explains that by saying that we are called to judge those inside the Church, not those outside it.

Before I go on to discuss what Paul says about lawsuits, I want to look at those whom he says we should not associate.  Now, we always remember that he tells us not to associate with those Believers who are sexually immoral and/or greedy. but we sometimes overlook one or more of the other sins which he writes about.  OK, we generally remember that idolatry and being a drunkard are things which Believers should avoid.  However, if we remember that we should not be a slanderer we tend to forget that the person spreading the slander does not need to know that what they are saying is false.  Which was why the Church used to teach the truism, “If you can'[t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything at all”   We should all attempt to practice that.  The final sin which Paul writes we should not tolerate among Believers is swindling.  We typically get that, but Paul makes a further point on that.  We should allow a fellow Believer to swindle us before we take them to a secular court.  If we have a dispute with another Believer, we should take that dispute to another member of the Church for resolution.  Some Church bodies establish formal groups for resolving such disputes, but Paul’s wording suggests to me that if we have a disagreement with a fellow Believer we should agree on another Believer to resolve the dispute.  I do not mean that those Church bodies which establish a formal group to resolve such disputes are wrong, just that we as Believers should be willing to seek informal “judges” of our disputes.  Sometimes the person with whom we have a dispute will, rightly or wrongly, believe that the formal body cannot be trusted to judge the disagreement without bias.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Corinthians 1-4.

It has always seemed to me that Paul makes the primary point in this passage that we will rarely convince unbelievers to become Believers by the wisdom of our arguments.  In fact, he argues that the Gospel is foolish to those who are unbelievers.  Only after we have been touched by the Holy Spirit do we begin to understand the wisdom of God and the Gospel.  Having said that I want to note that Paul makes this point in the middle of explaining why we should not make a big deal about which teacher of the faith we follow.  I was not sure where I was going with this, but as I wrote I thought about those nondenominational congregations which explain why they are nondenominational by referencing this passage.  Every time I hear someone make that claim I think about the fact that they are failing to read the final phrase of verse 12 in chapter 1, which reads, “and still others say, ‘I follow Christ.”‘”  Paul makes the point that we should not try to hold ourselves up as better than others because we follow the teachings of this person, or of that person.  Rather than seeking out how studying the writings of Paul, or Martin Luther, or C.S. Lewis can make us wiser than others, let us seek how studying those writings can make us better servants of Christ than we were yesterday.

I want to highlight that many people try to use this passage to convince others to not hold their fellow Believers to a standard of behavior.  Yet later in this very same letter Paul calls on the Believers in Corinth to call out a member of their group for his sinful behavior.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Corinthians 15-16

I know people who claim to be followers of Christ who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead.  Paul makes it quite clear that such a belief is contrary to the message that he, and the other apostles taught. Paul makes two arguments here for the Resurrection, and resurrection, being a critical part of the Gospel message. First he points out that all of those who preached what Jesus taught also preached that they had first hand knowledge of Jesus’ resurrection, including himself in that number. There was no one who claimed to have heard Jesus preach, and claimed to follow that preaching, who did not also claim to have witnessed Jesus’ resurrection. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, they were all either liars or crazy.  Which would mean that whatever they were teaching was fatally flawed.  Paul’s second argument for the Resurrection, and our resurrection, was that there was no value to following Gospel teachings if there was no resurrection. If there is no resurrection, then risking the suffering which so often accompanies following Christ’s teachings had no upside. Sure, it might make the world a better place, but I will not be around to see that change. Paul tells us that if there is no resurrection then we should live by the motto, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die.”  I have many friends who live by that credo, and it always saddens me.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Corinthians 12-14

I am glad that these three chapters all come up to be read on the same day, because they are so closely linked to each other.  First Paul makes clear that God’s Spirit gives different spiritual gifts to different people, but one spiritual gift does not make that individual superior to someone with a different gift.  Each of us is given a spiritual gift to enable us to fulfill a role in Christ’s Body.  We are each part of Christ’s Body and play an important role.  While we do not get to decide which spiritual gifts we will receive, there is nothing wrong with seeking those we desire…as long as we seek those gifts so that we can better serve others.  No matter how great the gifts we receive may be, they are worthless if we do not have love for others.  All too often we read chapter 13 in the context of marriage.  While Paul’s description of love is important for every married person to remember as they relate to their spouse, it is equally important for every person to remember as they relate to all of those around them.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Corinthians 9-11

As I read today’s passage, none of it really “spoke” to me.  There are several things I am going to comment on that I am quite confident about what Paul was saying when he wrote them.  However,, I feel like Paul was also making a connection between these things which I am missing.  First Paul speaks about how, as an apostle, he had the right to ask those to whom he preached to provide for his needs, and for the needs of his family.  Paul chose however not to exercise that right because he felt compelled to preach.  Providing for his own needs as he traveled preaching the Gospel allowed Paul to feel that he was serving God above and beyond his calling. By refusing to take payment for his preaching, Paul was able to silence critics who tried to claim that his preaching served his own interests rather than the truth of God.

Paul goes on to speak about when we experience temptation to sin.  He tells us that we should not feel that the temptations which we experience are more difficult to resist than those which others experience.  He goes on to tell us that God will provide us with a means to resist the temptation.  We cannot excuse our sins by saying that the temptation was too powerful for us to resist.  So, when we find ourselves facing temptations which we have trouble resisting, we need to seek to identify the means which God is providing us to escape those temptations. From there Paul goes on to write about eating meat offered to idols in a way which he seems to be connecting to what I just wrote (and this following section is where I feel like I am missing something).  If we go to the market to buy meat we should not ask if it has been offered to an idol, nor should we ask that question if someone we know is an idol worshiper invites us to eat with them.  In both cases, we may be generically aware that it was offered to an idol, but as long as no one makes us specifically aware that such was the case we are free to consume the food in good conscience.  On the other hand, if someone goes out of their way, especially someone who is an idol worshiper, to inform us that the food was offered to an idol, we should refrain from eating it.    We should refrain so as to avoid reinforcing the idol worshiper’s belief in the power of their idol.

I was going to end there, but I realized that I had not gone over one of the most important thing Paul wrote in any of his letters.  As Christians who are saved not by our actions but by God’s grace we are free to do anything which we please.  Paul ardently agrees with that thought.  However, he points out that while we are free to do anything, not everything which we might do is beneficial.  When we consider doing something we should consider whether or not it is good for others around us. It should please us to do only those things which please God, and that which pleases God is that which is beneficial to others.  Anything which we choose to do should, at the very least, not be harmful to others, and ideally it will bring benefit to others.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Corinthians 5-8

Everything in today’s passage comes down to two central points which Paul makes (I hope that I can tie these two points together, but we will see).  First, we do not belong to ourselves, but rather we belong to God.  Therefore we should not live to please ourselves, but rather to please God.  This runs exactly contrary to the argument our society makes about human sexuality (and many other things).  Our society makes the argument that people need to fulfill their sexual desires, whatever those desires may be.  Paul tells us that sexual immorality effects our bodies, bodies which have been joined with Christ.   Paul reiterates what Genesis taught about sexuality, that having sexual relations with someone joins us to them.  In fact, Paul tells us that this joining causes a potential conflict with our being joined to God, which is why he recommends that Believers remain unmarried and refrain from sexual relations.  However, he also tells us that not everyone is capable of such sexual discipline and those who are not should marry.  What I find interesting about today’s society is that the most libertine among us have decided that being blessed with little or no sexual desires belongs among their perversions.

The other main point which Paul makes in this passage regards judgement in the Church, among Believers (I still hope to show how this connects with the other point, but I am not yet sure I will be able to do so).  He tells us that as Believers we should not take our disputes to secular courts.  Instead, when we have a dispute with another Believer which we cannot work out between us, we should take that dispute to someone in the Church whose judgement we both trust and allow them to decide between us.  If the Believer with whom we have the dispute is unwilling to submit to such a resolution, it is better to allow ourselves to be cheated rather than take our dispute before those who apply worldly wisdom to such things.  Paul makes this point after telling the Corinthians to put the man bragging about sexual immorality out of the Church, thus connecting the two ideas.  First, Paul tells us that we should not associate with those who claim to be Believers who indulge in sexual sins, are greedy, worship idols, are abusive, or are drunkards.  He explicitly tells us that those who place themselves outside of the Body of Christ are not subject to our judgement on such behaviors, but we should judge such behavior among those who claim to be one with Christ and with us.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Corinthians 1-4

In his introduction, Paul tells the Corinthians, and us, that they already have all of the spiritual gifts which they need; we have every spiritual gift which we need.  He then goes into the danger of using the differences in teaching focus between different teachers to justify division in the Church.  He even addresses those who try to use this passage to justify doing the very same thing when he warns of those who divide themselves from others by saying, “I follow only Christ.”  Surely you have heard the nondenominational Christians who say, “We don’t have denomination because Paul warns against that. We only follow Christ.”  This does not mean that it is any more wrong to be nondenominational than to be part of a denomination.  The problem comes in when you think being part of a nondenominational congregation, or part of a specific denomination, makes you a better Christian than those who follow a different approach.

The Gospel message is foolishness to those who use human wisdom to understand the world.  Division in the Church results from our attempts to use human wisdom to resolve issues about righteousness.  Wisdom relies on logic, but the accuracy and reliability of conclusions reached by logic depend entirely on the assumptions with which one starts.  Paul uses the example of how worldly wisdom views the Gospel message to remind us how human wisdom falls short of understanding God’s plan.  Those who seek to understand God by way of signs and wonders stumble over the idea that Christ died.  Those who seek to understand God by way of looking at nature think that the idea of Christ’s resurrection is foolishness.  I cannot help but think of the story of the man born blind in John 9. When the religious leaders told the formerly blind man that they knew Jesus was a sinner, he did not respond by appealing to logic or wisdom.  He merely said, “I don’t know whether he is a sinner. But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”  He did not try to debate the educated and wise.  He merely used the words which the Spirit gave him.  Let us not try to cleverly come up with an answer to those who attempt to argue with us.  Instead, let us rely on the Spirit to give us the words to say.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Corinthians 15-16

Some people claim to be Christian but do not believe in Jesus’ resurrection.  In today’s passage, Paul summarizes the Gospel: Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day.  This is what all of those who taught the Gospel said.  In particular, those who passed on Jesus’ teachings made this claim.  If they lied about Jesus rising from the dead, which they claimed to have witnessed, how can we believe what they said about His teachings?  Further, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, than neither will we.  If we will not rise from the dead, than the suffering and ridicule which we face for following Christ has no point.  If there is no resurrection from the dead, we may as well party all the time for tomorrow we die.

I want to circle back to Paul’s first point.  If Jesus did not rise from the dead, than everything in the New Testament is a lie.  Further, the teachings presented there as those of Jesus are not “great moral truths”, but the words of a conspiracy of con artists…or perhaps a gang of crazies.