I Corinthians 4:6-13

 I Corinthians 4:6-13

Neither Paul nor Apollos was head of one of the sects in Corinth. But he is unwilling to even name the scandalous people who are. We are not sure what writings Paul is referring to; perhaps, general advice of scripture for humility. It is worth noting, though, that Paul does view scripture, not human leaders, as the authority to guide disciples.

Paul asked the fundamental question of, “Who regards you as superior?” The inquiry is not to gain a list but to refer to the idiocy of arrogance in the religion of grace. All of our lives are formulated on grace. The free gift of God is why we are saved and part of the community of faith. Since it is by grace, there is no room for the arrogance that drives these divisions.

In the verses that follow, Paul’s irony drips and pours out. He contrasted and compared the Corinthians and apostles with kings and condemned prisoners. If the sect leaders were so great, why don’t they use their influence to release the apostles and make things better for the church? Paul describes the apostles as spectacles. This is a reference to the Romans using POWs as entertainment in the gladiatorial games. A gruesome show for the whole world to watch and mock. The Corinthians were self-appointed big shots; the apostles were disposable entertainment.

Paul describes the hard life of an apostle in verses 11 through 12. Two key descriptions deserve special attention in verse 11. Paul says that we are “roughly treated.” The word literally means to strike with the fist. The word was used to describe the beating of a slave. This was no attempt at physical intimidation but physical abuse and destruction. This was not a metaphor for Paul; this was the reality of the work of an apostle. Later in verse 13, Paul says that we are slandered. While that may not seem like a big deal to us, in Greek culture it was massively important. Aristotle said the greatest virtue was to be great-hearted or to have a great soul. This characteristic is displayed by refusal to bear with an insult. In the culture of the Greeks, an insult was a just cause for war. No doubt this was the source of the great evil of their sect and division. Paul says his response was to “console,” which means to call near to comfort or to plead with a person. Paul expects that in the kingdom, the greater the service, the more you will be treated like scum or dirt by the world. Attempting to climb the world’s ladder of power will not work for the disciple. God's value system is completely different.

“Lord, help me never to imagine I am anyone’s superior. AMEN”

Is this an Easter Psalm?

There is a Psalm that we rarely think of as an Easter Psalm, but perhaps we should reconsider.  

Getting ready for Easter

I Corinthians 4:1-5

 I Corinthians 4:1-5

How wicked is division in the church? Of the 16 chapters of this book, four are dedicated to addressing the issue of division, and those are the first four chapters. At the root of this, and every division, is arrogance. You will never find a fractured church without finding an emotionally damaged or immature, arrogant person or two. At Corinth these people were setting themselves up against and over the apostolic authority and leadership in the person of Paul. As Paul asserts his role, he does so not in terms of position but in terms of service. The term he uses, “service,” in verse one literally means under-rower ; it describes a slave on the lowest level of an oar-powered ship. This was one of the worst slave positions in all of the ancient world. It was a death sentence but not a fast death. No slave could ever be lower than the under rower. The other term Paul used was steward. Stewards generally, but not always, were slaves as well. This was the highest position a slave could have. The steward ran the estate, and next to the owner was the ultimate authority. Think of Joseph running Potiphar's house in Egypt. While such a slave enjoyed a relatively good life, they were also responsible for everything. If anything, anywhere, went wrong, it was a steward who would be held accountable. From this, Paul points out who he is in terms of service to God. And He is not concerned about the judgments people may level against Him. As a steward, Paul doesn’t care what public opinion is. As a slave/steward, he doesn’t bother himself with the opinion of anyone other than his master. He doesn’t even care if he feels good about himself. Self-esteem is a fool’s game. The steward, the disciple, Paul, and the Corinthians are to only be concerned about God’s opinion and judgment.

Paul makes a point in verse five about the timeliness of judgments. We are prone to assume that our opinion of the current situation is the fact and the ultimate reality of that situation. The way things appear at any moment may or may not be the reality that is ultimately true. Paul holds up the coming judgment of the Lord as a standard and objective for which we need to wait. On that day we will find many humble servants in very non-prestigious works receiving great praise from God. And we will find more famous and lauded ministers who receive not praise but only condemnation.

“Lord, help me to be both in action and attitude to be a servant. AMEN

I Corinthians 3:1-23

 I Corinthians 3:1-23

Paul is not done addressing the issue of divisions within the church. In chapter 3, he addresses three realities of this divisiveness. The first is the impact on their spiritual maturity. Paul says in verses 1-9 that the reason they are spiritually immature is that there is a divisive spirit. The divisive person may know a lot, but they lack the maturity of faith and Spirit because they are motivated by flesh or fallen human nature. The more divisive a person is, the more spiritually immature they are. A preacher of a large church was once asked, “If you were not a _________ (here the questioner named his denomination), what would you be? The preacher answered, “I would be ashamed.” Despite his being a preacher at a large church and famous in his time, he was displaying painfully wicked immaturity.

The second impact of the party spirit is how that attitude will affect that believer on the day of judgment. Without going into too great a detail, we need to understand that in the coming judgment we are saved by grace but will be rewarded for our works. When we are motivated by a divisive spirit, we will do works that will not be rewarded but will result only in loss. Ultimately the divisive person is selfishly motivated and will build on their salvation for their own advancement. And in the day of judgment, the divisive person is seen as saved but losing any reward for their good deeds.

The third impact is that the divisive person will destroy the temple of God. Verses 16-20 address a great loss the divisive person will experience. In this passage they have progressed to the point that they themselves are lost. The temple here is not the individual Christian’s body, but the church or the congregation. The temple is the place where the Spirit lives. But the divisive person has wrecked the temple to the point that the Spirit of God has left. God’s Spirit will not live in or work with, or empower, a wicked, divisive, and fighting church. The divisive person sometimes, indeed often, gets what they want. Most often it is preeminence or control, but there can be other motives as well. But in gaining these, they lose everything; they lose the reward in heaven; they even lose their own soul if they do not repent. Indeed, they lose it all in that God has destroyed them.

“Lord, help me to understand the importance of humble unity in Your church. AMEN”

I Corinthians 2:1-16

 I Corinthians 2:1-16

Paul arrived in Corinth from Athens, the heart and center of Greek culture and philosophy. There at the Areopagus, Paul addressed the philosopher-rulers in terms that were philosophical in nature. Their response was lukewarm. The problem with really smart people is that they are able, if they want, to rationalize and justify anything they want. But when he came to Corinth, Paul used, rather than philosophy, two things: the story of the crucifixion and the power that demonstrated the Spirit. The gospel makes sense as a worldview or philosophy, but the testimony of changed lives is more powerful and, for most people, more eloquent. Paul makes a point we might miss if we don’t pay close attention. Paul asked, “Who knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of a man? And who can know the thoughts of God except the Holy Spirit?” Having received the Holy Spirit, we can understand things of God. In chapter 1, Paul mentions that not many were wise by the world standards, but now we see that doesn’t really matter because we are capable of knowing the things of God because we have His Spirit. As we are making disciples, we need to remember that it is not just a matter of communication of the story, which is our part, but also the Spirit that calls, prompts, and leads a person to know God. We are not responsible for results but for faithfully teaching. That is both an obligation and a relief.

As great as an education and a high IQ may be, the gospel is not discovered that way. Paul quotes from Isaiah and makes this point. No one has seen, heard, or even conceptualized all that God has prepared for those who love him. Note what Paul is doing here. He will, in the chapters ahead, tackle some pretty tough issues, specifically the divisiveness of the church. He has called the church to unity in the first chapter because only united can they address their other problems. Right in the middle of this call for unity, he is telling them that God has something wonderful for those who love him. You won’t figure that out by philosophy or worldly wisdom or contemplation or hearing it in a talk or seeing it with your eyes. The wonderful reality is worth the effort of unity; it is worth the pursuit of holiness; it is possible because of the cross; it will come to us by the Spirit.

“Lord, Help me to pursue the things of Your Spirit. AMEN”

I Corinthians 1:18-31

 I Corinthians 1:18-31

At its core, the message of the gospel is foolishness, or put another way, it’s just plain crazy. This passage is a little difficult for us to understand because we have no personal experience with crucifixion. We have almost 2000 years of history of looking at the cross as a reminder of the death of Christ and the salvation that it brings. We have sanitized across the hard edges and the sharp, painful part. We have made it beautiful, made it a fashion accessory, and made it acceptable. Not so with the Romans. Within the Roman Empire, the cross was the agency of state domination. It was the means of capital punishment that produced mind-boggling agony and helpless humiliation. Nothing in the entire world was worse than crucifixion. What a swastika would be for a Jew or a mushroom cloud would be for someone from Hiroshima or a KKK flag would be for a Black man, that is with the cross was for everyone in the Roman Empire, a reminder or threat of pain and misery.

Along come Christians saying the message of the cross is salvation. Try telling a Jew that the message of the swastika was the best news that they could have. Tell a Black man that he needs to come and submit to the flag of the Ku Klux Klan. That might give you the kind of reaction you would get to the cross in the first century. The good news of the cross in the mind of the Roman world was just plain crazy.

The Jews wanted to sign. The law came with signs, the plagues on Egypt, the Red Sea parted, and the voice of God from the mountain. The Greeks wanted wisdom, to know how it all fit together. They wanted a bit of insight to explain philosophy, history, science, and religion to find the supremely elusive principle that could make sense of everything. Along come the Christians, and rather than offer miraculous proof or a unifying theory that explains everything, Christianity offered a condemned criminal hanging in agony. It seemed crazy. The cross was and is, until we understand who He was and what He did, madness. But as a perfect sin-bearing sacrifice whose death is a substitution for the sin and death of all men, Jesus on the cross makes signs inconsequential and a unified theory banal. This crazy thing God did in the atonement removes all the wise things we might want to appeal to for understanding. Signs and wisdom are replaced with God’s own wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. If someone says Christianity is the craziest thing the world has ever seen, we should reply thankfully, “Yes, it is.”

“Thank You< Lord, for the Cross. AMEN”

1 Corinthians 1:1–17

1 Corinthians 1:1–17

Paul begins this letter with a positive introduction. If all we had of First Corinthians was this introduction, we might come to the conclusion that this was a strong and healthy congregation. Paul was an optimist, but he wasn’t naïve. He begins the letter to the most immoral of churches with the list of positives about the life of the church. In verses 4–7 he expresses thanks for them, his confidence in their faith, and that they will ultimately be found blameless in the Lord. How do we reconcile this deeply corrupt, immoral church with Paul’s positive assessment? Paul is not being disingenuous and flattering the Corinthians, nor is he failing to take their problems seriously. The answer is found in verse nine, most specifically in the first three words: “God is faithful.” Paul’s confidence doesn’t rest in the Corinthians but in God, who called them. In fact, these three words could almost serve as the theme for the whole letter. The phrase “God is faithful” was a common and favorite theme of the ancient Jews. God, by His character, always accomplishes what He promises. There’s another concept here as well. It is in the faithfulness of God‘s people that we see expressed the faithfulness of God. Paul is confident God will accomplish His purpose even in this messed-up church. His thanks is for what has been begun because he is sure it will be fulfilled.

It is worth noting that of all the issues that Paul will address in this letter, it is the issue of the division that he addresses first. We might expect Paul would begin with some more scandalous issue in the church or the more public or those more theologically oriented. But it begins by addressing the divisions and the party spirit that plague the church. He did this because each of the problems would require the whole church’s participation to resolve. To address these other issues first would only draw more battle lines and more deeply divide the church. A church that is divided is going to be utterly ineffective at both correcting its own spiritual corruption and making disciples in the world. A divisive spirit in a congregation will sooner or later kill that congregation.

“Lord, help me to live out the truth that You are Faithful. AMEN”