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

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Corinthians 9-13

Paul gives us two lessons about giving in today’s passage. The first, and the reason he wrote about it, is actually twofold.  People often say they will make donations with the full intent of doing so, then get distracted by other events and forget to do so.  Which means that we need to follow Paul’s example and remind people of the promises they have made.  Perhaps just as important, we should not wait until our promises come due to begin the process of fulfilling them.  The other point which Paul makes is that we should give cheerfully, not out of a sense of obligation or duty.  God will bless those who give purely out of their own desire to help those in need. Closely related to that is the idea that there is no formula about how much one should give.  Each person must determine how much they feel inspired to give.

Starting in Chapter 10, Paul makes the case for why the Corinthian Church should accept his guidance and teaching as opposed to that of those who were counseling them to disregard what he wrote.  I want to focus on what he writes about how he addresses false arguments and human reasoning which is contrary to God’s.  He does not attempt to counter the arguments with further human reasoning.  Instead, he uses the weapons and arguments which God gives him.  He captures his every thought and makes it obedient to Christ.  He counsels us against judging teachers and teachings by appearances.  Instead he advises us to judge them by their results.  When someone has authority over others, do they use it to build them up? Or, to tear them down?  Those who are serving Christ do the former, those who do the latter are serving themselves.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Corinthians 5-8

Paul makes a point here that the physical bodies we will have in heaven will be different, and better, than the physical bodies which we have here on earth.  He makes the point that we should not fear death because it will only be after the death of our earthly body that we will be able to live in our heavenly bodies.  In fact, Paul was eager for death so as to leave his earthly body and enter into his heavenly body.  As we live in these earthly bodies we continuously experience death, but once we enter into the heavenly bodies which God will give us we will never experience death again.  However, Paul was content to continue to live because as long as he lived he could serve God.  As long as we live in these earthly bodies we must seek to live not for ourselves, but for Christ.  Let us seek to make every action we take, every word we speak, bring glory to God.

When I began the previous paragraph I had a clear idea of what I wanted to write, and I thought it would be utterly clear.  I sought to make the point that we should not fear death, instead we should eagerly look forward to it.  This does not mean that we should seek out death for death’s sake, but what awaits us on the other side of death is more desirable than anything we have here.  We should not seek out death because as long as we live we can further serve Christ, which will bring us joy.  The great thing about Paul’s message here is that it provides us with the basis to not fear the consequences of serving Christ.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Corinthians 1-4

Early in this passage Paul writes that his letters are straightforward with nothing written between the lines.  Then later he refers to the veil which Jews wear (wore? I do not know if this tradition continues today)  when reading the Torah.  He explains that no such veil is needed by those who hear, read, or speak Christ’s teaching.  In fact, he makes clear that the only obstacle to knowing and understanding God’s commands through Christ is one’s unwillingness to accept it.  In all of this Paul makes the point that everyone is capable of understanding Christ’s commands.  There is no secret knowledge reserved for those who have been initiated into it.  There is no special education necessary to understand what God wants of us.  While I like to think that my daily writing about Scripture provides those who read it a unique insight into said Scripture, anyone who reads that Scripture can obtain a thorough understanding of it just by reading it and meditating on it.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul wrote that those who preach the Gospel are entitled to receive payment from those to whom they preach.  However, here he distinguishes himself from those he calls hucksters, who preach solely for personal gain.  These two statements for not contradict each other, Paul is not saying that all of those who are paid to preach the Gospel are hucksters.  Rather, he is pointing out that some of those who are paid to preach the Gospel are hucksters, preaching what makes them the most money.  Further, since he does not accept payment for preaching the Gospel, he cannot be accused of being in it for the money (let alone of tailoring his message to make the most possible money).

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.