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1 Corinthians 5:6-8:
Your glorying is not good.
Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump,
since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.[c] 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but
with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
This passage tells us that a little goes a long way. We will
all sin, but when we sin and simply blow it off, it can cause us to sin more and more. We must realize that no sin is a little
sin, all sin is sin. We must treat it seriously and as a sin. When we take a passive view of sin, we can run into trouble
because when we look at sin passively, we are basically inviting it to enter our lives more and more. A little sin can cause
our lives to continue to fall away from the Lord. Of course if we do sin, we have an advocate in heaven and we are forgiven.
We of course, must not just go on sinning thinking that we will be forgiven. We are instructed in the book of Romans not to
do that. Instead it should be our passion and our desire to imitate Christ, be blameless, and live as we are called.
We Are Full, 1 Corinthians 4
We now continue with the series on 1 Corinthians and we now move to 1 Corinthians 4. In 1 Corinthians 4:7-8
we see Paul addressing the Corinthian church about pride and humility. The passage reads:
For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst
not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? Now ye are full, now ye
are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.
Paul
asks the Corinthians, "what do you have that you did not receive?" Paul is making the point that everything they possess originated
from and is given by the Lord. Everything they have received is from the Lord. From the God who gives and takes away, the
God from which comes all good and perfect things. We must remember that God gives us all we have, it is not us who receive
the things ourselves, but He who provides. Whoever believes it is he and not God who provides, will see God resist him, as
God did to Nebachadnezzar when he boasted about his work in Babylon, while leaving God out of the equation. We know this based
on James 4:6 which reads:
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace
unto the humble.
We see that God will resist the proud. Nebachadnezzar walked about his palace boasting about
what he had built. Nebachadnezzar forgot that God gave him the material to build and the ability to build. The kind left God
out of the equation and he is humbled in Daniel 4:28-31.
Aside from this great lesson on pride, Verse 8 in the letter to
Corinth really sticks out and shouts:
Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and
I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.
We must realize that this passage does not only
apply to the Corinthians, but also to us today and right now. We need to realize that in Christ we are full. That void that
we once possessed while in sin is filled with Jesus Christ. We are rich also. No amount of money can purchase eternal life,
yet we hold this priceless key to life. The world may think of us as filthy and poor, but in Christ we are rich. We are full
in Him! We must also realize that we must not keep our fullness and wealth to ourselves, but to share it with others so that
they may be full. This is something the Lord has really revealed to me lately and is guiding me with.
All in all, 1
Corinthians 4:7-8 gives us a great reminder on humility and the Lord will provide. Verse 8 should also be read anytime that
we feel like complain and moaning about our current physical state. We must remember that we are full in Him. Amen.
Which Wisdom?, 1 Corinthians 2
1 Corinthians 2:4-5:
4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human[b] wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but
in the power of God.
Paul is continuing his letter to the Corinthians and he talks about something that is very important to how
we should walk and live our lives.
Paul stresses that while preaching to them, he does not use "persuasive words of human wisdom" and "wisdom
of men," but rather in "demonstration of the Spirit and of power." Now, the point of this post is not to say that we should
all be working miracles anytime we are witnessing, because not everyone believes in these demonstrations of the Spirit, not
everyone can work miracles, and the point of this is not to start a Holy Spirit argument.
The point I want to make is that anytime we are witnessing, speaking, or writing, it needs to not be based
on worldly wisdom, worldly words of wisdom, or the wisdom of men. Instead, we need to to use this perfect God-breathed Word
the He has given us. We need not rely on our own words and persuasion, but on God's Word. His Word will last forever. The
Word is God, it will last forever and will not be destroyed. Our faith and our words should not come from what men say, but
what God's Word says.
Antime that we are speaking or writing anything about God's Word and religion, we need to use the power of
God and and His infallible Word. We need not rely on human wisdom and words, but on God's wisdom and His Word. Worldy wisdom
is nothing compared to God's wisdom:
19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, I will
bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing." (1 Corinthians 1:19)
The wisdom is God is so much greater than that of mans that we cannot really comprehend. I don't know about
you, but I want God's wisdom on my side. I don't want to rely on my wisdom, but rather His Holy infallible Word.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1
How Great is Our God, 1 Corinthians 1
God is awesome and powerful. 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 says:
18
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written: " I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."[a]20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer
of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom
did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request
a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks[b] foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews
and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness
of God is stronger than men.
These verses show how pwerful, awesome, and wise our God is. The wisdom that we think
we have here on earth does not even hold a candle to God. In fact it is written in Verse 19 that God "will destroy the wisdom
of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent." God's wisdome is great and the wisdom we think we have
is nothing as God has made "foolish the wisdom of this world." (Verse 20) It is truly amazing.
The above paragraph
my sound dismal and and gloomy, but really it is great news! It is wonderful to know that God, our Savior, is so wonderful
and wise. In fact, even the foolishness of God is wiser than man. Now I don't know if God is foolish, because He is perfect,
but basically what that is to show how powerful and wise God is. It is really a great thing to think about. I mean God is
watching over all of us and knows the amount of hair on our head. It is comforting to know that our Leader and Savior knows
everything. He cares for us. He promises to those who love Him, that all will work out for the good. (Romans 8:28) The wisdom
of God is hard to explain, because it is hard to know where to start, that is why this is short. I marvel when I read this
passage because it shows how powerful and mighty our God is. Our God reigns! We can truly sing of wonders and glories forever
and ever.
God is great and to Him be glory, and honor, and power forever and ever.
How great is our God,
sing with me How great is our God, and all will see How great, how great is our God. Christ Tomlin
Unity, 1 Corinthians 1
10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that
there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For
it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among
you. 12 Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am
of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized
in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 lest anyone should say that I
had baptized in my own name. 16 Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized
any other. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of
Christ should be made of no effect.
Before I go into the message of this passage, allow me to give some background about the situation in the Corinthians
church at the time of Paul's letter to them. The Corinthians church, like many today, had its problems with squabbling. At
the time of Paul's letters, the Corinthian church was split into four different factions. The first faction identified itself
with Paul and followed Paul. They followed him because of his emphasis of his ministry to the Gentiles. They were Christians,
but followed and looked up to Paul as their leader. The second group followed another apostle by the name of Apollos. It is
unclear exactly why they followed him, but most likely they admired his eloquent public speaking ability. (Acts 18:24-28)
He was also on fire and alive with the Holy Spirit. His fire may have intrigued many to "follow" him and say that they were
"...of Apollos..." (Verse 12) The third faction followed Cephas, which is another name for the disciple Peter. He may have
been followed because he walked with Christ causing people to look up to him. He also could have drawn in followers because
Christ called him the "rock of the church." The final faction said that they were of Christ. This group would seem to be the
ones in the right since they claimed to follow Christ and they may have been. Most likely, however, they were also doing things
wrong as Paul includes them with the others he is rebuking. They may have claimed to follow Christ and may have looked down
on anyone else. They probably saw themselves as better than the rest since they claimed to follow Christ. Regardless of the
reasons, this church was divided over whom to follow and Paul saw that it was time for change.
Paul then asks a simple question, "Is Christ divided?" (Verse 13) This is a question that needs to be asked
all around churches and denominations today.
After reading what I have said, you may be thinking that I am going to demand that everyone remove and denominational
affiliation or names from their profile. Actually I am not. In fact, these names like "Calvinist" or "Pentecostal" can be
quite valuable. When I log onto a new site and see that the person is a Calvinist, I immediately know what viewpoint the writer
is coming from. Names can become overused and harmful to the body if they are used to divide. When do they become harmful?
Paul says in Verse 17:
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ
should be made of no effect.
Our main objective here on earth is to preach the gospel and to teach new believers. "Names" become harmful
when they get in front of that goal. If we are constantly having doctrinal disputes and we have no time or desire to witness,
then those names are becoming harmful to the body of Christ and to the entire world. Debate is fine as we are to always be
ready to give a defense for our faith. And Christians can sharpen each other to be prepared. In the last few months I have
been in several civil and kind doctrinal debates ranging from tongues to Calvinism to how accurate the Word is. Each one of
them has been beneficial to me as I find myself diligently searching the Word looking for Scripture to back my point up. These
debates have been beneficial. Doctrinal debates become harmful when the debate turns from a civil debate to a knock out drag
out fight. They are also harmful when both sides leave not liking the other side and vowing never to speak to the other again.
In all the debates I have participated in, the result has always been positive; at least in my opinion. I believe
that when Christians debate to "sharpen" each other and not simply to arise a dispute and cause problems, then the debate
is positive. We can still debate and disagree and still have plenty of Christian unity. Our goal should be to follow the Great
Commission and save more believers and the day a doctrinal dispute prevents that, is the day where that particular debate
is harmful to the body of Christ.
I thank God for debate and the great discussion I have had with people like MVB, Pete, and Lindsey. All of
them were civil, glorified God, and truly lead each one of the participants deeper into God's Word. All of us still read each
others blog and love each other in Christian love. (I think) We come from different sides of the "aisle" so to speak, but
the bottom line is that we are still Christians and love finding the Truth.
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