Monday’s Blog: Paul Series “1 Corinthians 6â€
We continue our study of Paul’s letters this week with 1 Corinthians 6. Last week, in chapter 5, Paul talked about a case of incest in the church and how God gave them authority to judge the one caught in sin.
For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges.
1 Corinthians 5:12-13
In chapter 6, Paul continues addressing problems that were not being dealt with and judged by the church. Instead they were taking their cases against one another to the world’s court to be judged by them. They trusted the authority and judgment of unbelievers over believers.
Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers?
Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brethren.
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
v. 1-11 (NASB)
Paul points out the fruit of the unrighteous (those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus) and reminds the church that they have been sanctified in Christ. He’s exhorting them to lay aside their old unrighteous ways and put on their new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24).
He continues:
All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. Â Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.
v. 12-14 (NASB)
Paul said that all things were lawful for him because he was not under the law. However, he knew the deception and power of sin and would not allow himself to be a slave to it, as he explained in Romans 6:11-14, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace†(NIV).
Paul closes exhorting the Corinthians not to offer their bodies to sin, but to Christ as a living sacrifice to God.
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.†But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
v. 15-20 (NASB)
The Greek word translated above as “immorality†is “porneia,†which means fornication. We are instructed to flee from sexual sin, because it is not something that we can stand up against and resist. Ask any brother or sister who has fallen into sexual sin and they will tell you they never intended to give into the temptation. The amplified Bible says to flee from impurity in thought, word, or deed. They fell into it because they didn’t flee from it. They didn’t flee when the lustful thoughts began (thought). They didn’t flee when the flirting began (word). And they didn’t flee from the act (deed), because by that time the temptation was so strong they didn’t want to flee.
God always provide a way out to flee from temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). In sexual sin, He gives us plenty of warnings and chances to flee from it, because He knows how damaging it is to us. Of course, when we do fall and turn to God for help, He can lift us out of any sin and heal and restore us back to holiness.
“but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.â€
James 1:14-15 (NIV)
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
Psalm 37:24 (KJV)
Heavenly Father,
Praise You that with every temptation You always provide a way out. Help us to take Your way out and flee from sexual immorality in thought, word, and deed. Help us to lay aside deeds of unrighteousness and put on our new selves, created to be like You in righteousness and holiness. We praise You in Jesus’ name. Amen.
*This series will continue next week as we study 1 Corinthians 7. Have a blessed week walking with the Lord, taking His way out of temptation.
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Posted in Monday's Blogs, Paul Series Corinthians and tagged 1 Corinthians 6, adultery, Apostle Paul, church discipline, fornication, God, Holy Spirit, immorality, Jesus, judgment, Paul's letters, redemption, sexual immorality, sexual sin, Sin, temptation by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: Paul Series “1 Corinthians 5â€
We continue our study of Paul’s letter this week with 1 Corinthians 5. It was reported to Paul that there was sexual immorality, incest, going on in the church and nothing was being done to stop it.
It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.
For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
 v. 1-5 (NASB)
Last week, in 1 Corinthians 4, we read how Paul instructed the Corinthians not to judge: “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes†(1 Corinthians 4:3-5, NASB).  In chapter five, Paul tells them he has judged the man who committed incest and he instructs them to do the same. We know that God’s Word does not contradict itself, so the judging mentioned in these chapters has to be two different types—unrighteous and righteous.
In the last chapter, after Paul told them to judge nothing, he explained that the Lord will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. I believe unrighteous judging is when we judge what we can’t see. Unrighteous judging is when we judge people’s hearts and are critical and condemning. Jesus said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye†(Matthew 7:3-5, NIV).
Righteous judging, as Paul explains in chapter five, is when we are clearly led by God with the purpose of leading someone out of darkness and into the light. Leading them out of sin and into freedom.
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
Galatians 6:1 (NIV)
Paul explains in the rest of chapter five why they were to judge the sexually immoral man.
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.
v. 6-13 (NASB)
Leaven and unleaven figuratively mean “corrupted†and “uncorrupted.†Paul was warning them that if they allow and are proud of sin in the church, it will spread to and corrupt the entire church. A little leaven (corruption) leavens (corrupts) the whole lump of dough. Paul said to “clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened.† We are uncorrupted in Christ. We are a new creation. The old things passed away, and new things have come (2 Cor. 5:17). We must stand guard and not allow the old things (sin) back in.
Jesus gave us clear instruction how to deal with sin in the body of Christ:
“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.â€
Matthew 18:15-20 (NASB)
Jesus has given us authority to bind (declare to be prohibited and unlawful) sin and loose (break, destroy, annul) its power from spreading and contaminating the body of Christ.
Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,†and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.
2 Timothy 2:14-19 (NIV)
In church discipline, once we have followed the steps Jesus’ instructed us to take, when the man or woman repents, Paul instructs us to forgive and reaffirm our love for them.
Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.
2 Corinthians 2:6-11 (NASB)
Righteous judging will always be for the good of the one who is being judged, and good for the body of Christ as a whole.
Heavenly Father,
We praise You that You are our righteous Judge. Everything You’ve given us and instructed us to do and not to do is for our own good. Help us not to unrighteously judge ourselves and others. Remove the strongholds of sin in our lives. Remove the planks from our eyes so we can see clearly to help and lead others out of sin. Help us to use the authority Jesus’ has given us and bind-prohibit sin, and loose-destroy it’s power from corrupting us. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
*This series will continue next week as we study 1 Corinthians 6. Â Have a blessed week with the Lord keeping your hearts guarded against sin!
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Posted in Monday's Blogs, Paul Series Corinthians and tagged 1 Corinthians 5, Apostle Paul, bind, church discipline, deception, enemy, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, judging, judgment, loose, Sin, Strongholds by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: Paul Series “1 Corinthians 4″
We continue our study of Paul’s letters this week with 1 Corinthians 4. In the beginning of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, Paul said he had been informed there were quarrels among them about who they belonged to. They said they were either of Paul, Apollos, Cephas, or of Christ. In chapter 3, Paul told them that the one who plants or the one who waters is nothing, but it is God who causes the growth.
Paul begins chapter 4 instructing them to regard him and his fellow workers as servants of Christ, trustworthy stewards delivering them the truths from God.
Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.
v. 1-5 (NASB)
Paul gave warning against passing judgment, by giving special honor or being critical to others and ourselves. When we judge others or ourselves, we are making a determination based on our finite thinking, rather than relying on God’s infinite wisdom. Paul didn’t judge himself, because he knew God was more capable to judge him. If Paul had something in him that needed fixing, who would be better qualified to work on him than the One who created him.
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Philippians 1:6 (NLT)
Look at verse 5 above, where Paul said not to pass judgment before the time, but to wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God. Could you imagine the God who created you giving you praise! How incredibly amazing is that! That’s why we shouldn’t judge ourselves by our own wisdom. We couldn’t fathom that we would ever be good enough to receive praises from God.
Paul continues warning them against judging by thinking more highly of themselves or of one minister and teacher over another.
Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other. For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
v. 6-7 (NASB)Â Â
The Bible says that if anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves (Galatians 6:3). When we judge based on our own understanding, and compare and measure ourselves against each other, we deceive ourselves and fall into pride.
Paul closes admonishing the Corinthians to repent of their arrogance and pride, and to follow his example in humbly serving Christ.
You are already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you. For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.
I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?
v. 8-21 (NASB)
Heavenly Father,
We praise You for teaching us through the Apostle Paul’s example to let You be our judge. Your Word is what we measure ourselves and others by, not by our own measurement. If You say we are approved in Christ and will receive praise from You, we joyfully believe and accept that as truth, regardless of our feelings of unworthiness. Help us to lay down our pride and arrogance and humbly follow and faithfully serve You. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
*This series will continue next week as we study 1 Corinthians 5. Â Have a blessed week knowing that you have been approved by God through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ!
Posted in Monday's Blogs, Paul Series Corinthians and tagged 1 Corinthians 4, Apostle Paul, apostleship, approved in Christ, arrogance, Corinthians, God, Holy Spirit, Humility, Jesus, judging, judgment, Pride, Salvation by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: Paul Series “1 Corinthians 3″
We continue our study of Paul’s letters this week with 1 Corinthians 3. In the last two chapters, Paul explains how the wisdom of the world is foolish. At the end of 1 Corinthians 2, he says that the natural (carnal, fleshly, worldly) man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 1:14). This week, Paul explains that if we are walking in the flesh, instead of the spirit, we will not be able to understand and receive the things of the spirit.
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,†and another, “I am of Apollos,†are you not mere men?
v. 1-4 (NASB)
The Bible tells us to walk by the Spirit, and we will not gratify the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). An infant believer’s mind is set on the desires of their flesh. A mature believer’s mind is set on the things of the Spirit. “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace†(Romans 8:6). I read a wonderful short commentary on what it means to be an infant in Christ. It shows the importance of renewing our minds to be mature followers of Christ. You can follow this link to read this encouraging commentary on 1 Corinthians 3:1 by Andrew Wommack.
Paul continues:
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
v. 5-9 (NASB)
It is okay to thank and acknowledge those who minister to us. But we must remember that it is God who causes the seed they plant or water to grow. We are nothing without God. There were times when God used me to meet a need, and the recipient saw me as the author of the blessing, rather than God.  That’s why I prefer to give in secret, as Jesus talked about in Matthew 6:2-4, so the recipient can give the glory to God instead of me.
Paul continues:
According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
v. 10-17 (NASB)
Paul was giving strict warning against wrong teachings. He was warning those who were building up the church to watch the motives of their hearts. Our motives won’t be pure if our hearts are not pure. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and some of the teachers of law for their defiled hearts in Mark 7:
“‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’
You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.â€
And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!
 “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.â€
What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.â€
Mark 7:8-9, 14-16, 20-23 (NIV)
If we allow our hearts to be hardened by continually feeding our carnal appetites, rather than following the Spirit, we will destroy the temple that God desires to glorify Himself in.
Paul closes the chapter reminding us once again not to depend on the world’s wisdom by walking in the flesh, but to rely on God’s wisdom by walking in the Spirit:
Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESSâ€; and again, “THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS.†So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.
v. 18-23 (NASB)
Heavenly Father,
We praise You for residing in us. Remove everything that we have allowed in to defile and harden our hearts. Continually keep our hearts and minds pure so that nothing hinders You from glorifying Yourself in us. We praise You that we have this wonderful treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from You and not from us (2 Cor. 4:7).
In Jesus’ name, we praise You. Amen!
*This series will continue next week as we study 1 Corinthians 4. Have a blessed week walking in the Holy Spirit!
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Posted in Monday's Blogs, Paul Series Corinthians and tagged 1 Corithians 3, Apostle Paul, Corinthians, defiled heart, God, Holy Spirit, infant believer, Jesus, mature Christian, Renewing our minds by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: Paul Series “1 Corinthians 2”
We continue our study of Paul’s letters this week with 1 Corinthians 2. Paul ended the last letter (1 Corinthians 1) exhorting the Corinthians not to put their faith in the wisdom of man, as the wisdom of the world is foolish. He expressed “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.â€
In chapter 2, he starts off reaffirming them not to put their faith in the wisdom of man, but on the power of God.
And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
v. 1-5 (NASB)
I went to a friend’s church recently to hear her pastor preach. I had been carrying a lot of burdens and been praying for wisdom. I was hungry for a word from God and was hoping God would answer through this pastor’s message. At the beginning of the service, during the praise and worship, one of the worship leaders started praying. I don’t remember the words he prayed. But I felt the Holy Spirit move through him so powerfully that it instantly lifted all the weight I’d been carrying and answered my prayer.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.â€
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
When I minister I often pray that God gives me the right words to reach others. But all I need is to allow the Holy Spirit to move through me, not my words, as this worship leader did. When I didn’t know Christ, the most powerful witness came through a woman who spoke not a word to me about God. I was a waitress at the time. Many customers gave me Bible tracts and preached the word to me, but none of them moved me to seek God. This woman was different from the others. She did not preach to me. But she did move me to seek God. I remember she was pleasant to wait on after a long stressful lunch rush. I waited on a lot of nice people, but this woman stood out above anyone else. She had a gentle spirit. I felt something touch me through her presence. She left a tip that was greater than her bill, but it was not the tip that moved me. It was the power of the Holy Spirit in her that touched me.
Paul explains in the rest of the chapter the importance of relying on the power of God’s Spirit and His wisdom versus our own:
Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
but just as it is written,
“THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD,
AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN,
ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.â€For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.
v. 6-15 (NASB)
I couldn’t receive God’s Word when it was preached to me because it was spiritual and I was not. It wasn’t until God moved through His Holy Spirit in that woman to draw my heart to Jesus that He was able to reveal Himself to me and give me understanding of His Words.
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Matthew 11:25-27 (NIV)
Heavenly Father,
We praise You for drawing our hearts to Jesus and giving us the mind of Christ to understand Your will and Your Words. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit and remove everything that hinders Your power from being seen through us to reach others and to draw their hearts to Jesus. We praise You that You have so much more prepared for us than we can even imagine. Your wisdom is so much greater than our understanding. We Praise You in Jesus’ name, Amen!
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*We will continue Paul’s letters next week with 1 Corinthians 3. Have a blessed week allowing the Spirit of God to move through you!
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Posted in Monday's Blogs, Paul Series Corinthians and tagged 1 Corinthians 2, God, God's Word, Holy Spirit, Jesus, knowledge, mind of Christ, reaching others, Salvation, understanding, wisdom by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: Paul Series “1 Corinthians 1â€
We continue our study of Paul’s letters this week with 1 Corinthians 1. Paul begins addressing this letter not only to the Corinthians, but to all who call on the name of Jesus. As you read below, all who call on the name of Jesus have been sanctified in Christ. The word translated into: “To those who have been sanctified†is hagiazó, which means “I make holy, treat as holy, set apart as holy, sanctify, hallow, purify.†All who call on the name of Jesus have been made holy. Have been set apart as holy. Have been treated as holy. Have been purified. Praise God! It’s been done!
Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
v. 1-3 (NASB)
Paul was called as an apostle (a messenger, one sent on a mission), not by his own will, but by the will of God. God has to be the one to call us and send us out. We can’t call or send ourselves out.
Paul continues:
I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
v. 4-9 (NASB)
The word “confirm†means “secure.†God will secure our sanctification (holiness) to the end, so that we will be blameless when Christ returns. We can stop worrying about failing and worrying that we’ve fallen beyond recovery. God won’t fail us. He will lift us up. We are always secure in Him.
Even though we are sanctified in Him, His holiness is not always seen in us. We have to allow Him to work in us. For God’s holiness to be seen in us Paul exhorts us to:
Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,†and “I of Apollos,†and “I of Cephas,†and “I of Christ.†Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other.
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.
v. 10-17 (NASB)
It is not God’s will for the church to be divided. Jesus is the head of the church. He is the One we need to be following. When we are each following Him, doing what He sends us out to do, we will not be divided.
I like how the Amplified version translates the last verse above:
For Christ (the Messiah) sent me out not to baptize but [to evangelize by] preaching the glad tidings (the Gospel), and that not with verbal eloquence, lest the cross of Christ should be deprived of force and emptied of its power and rendered vain (fruitless, void of value, and of no effect).
v. 17 (AMP)
This is a powerful statement! When we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to minister through us, and instead try to minister His Word through our own wisdom, the words we preach will lack the power to produce fruit. God says, “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it (Isaiah 55:10-11, KJV). When God sends His Word out through us, we can be certain that it will produce fruit.
In the rest of the chapter, Paul talks about God’s wisdom versus the world’s wisdom.
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
For it is written, “I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.â€
Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
v. 18-25 (AMP)
All the wisdom and power of God are in Christ.  That’s why Jesus said apart from Him we can do nothing. If we remain in Him and He in us, we will bear much fruit (John 15:5). Paul said, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified†(1 Corinthians 2:1-2).
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.â€
v. 26-31
God calls those who are not wise by human standards to shame those who are. He humbles all this way so that no one can boast before Him. The one who is wise by the world’s standard is humbled when their wisdom is brought down by someone who is not influential or intellectual in the world. The one who is not considered wise by the world’s standard is humbled when God speaks through them because they know that it is God’s power and wisdom speaking through them, not their own.
Heavenly Father,
We praise You for sanctifying us in Christ and confirming us to the end so that we will be blameless at His return. We praise You for Your wisdom and power in Christ. Help us to remain in Him and allow Your Holy Spirit to produce fruit in and through us. We humbly rely on You and Your wisdom, not our own.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
*We will continue next week with studying 1 Corinthians 2. Have a blessed week remaining in Christ and relying on His wisdom!
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Posted in Monday's Blogs, Paul Series Corinthians and tagged 1 Corinthians 1, Apostle Paul, God, Holy, Holy Spirit, Humility, Jesus Christ, power of God, Sanctified, set apart, wisdom by Amanda Beth with
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