20Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. 21In the Law it is written:
"Through men of strange tongues
and through the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people,
but even then they will not listen to me," says the Lord.
22Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. 23So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, 25and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"
Dig Deeper
As a high school teacher I became very familiar with immature behavior. If maturity is the ability to act appropriately to the situation, then most high school teachers will tell you that they are surrounded by immaturity. It seemed especially so in the school in which I taught. The students that we worked with were, on average, not very astute at the social graces. They just had little clue of how to act appropriately to the situation. They would joke around and get loud when they should be quietly working, they would run around and get rowdy at a quiet museum, etc. Part of our job, then, was to teach them the appropriate behavior in each situation so that they could begin to make mature decisions.
Paul begins this passage with the exhortation to stop thinking like children and think like adults. In essence he is saying, ‘grow up’. Of course, true maturity does not mean that one should always act like an adult. There are times as an adult when the situation absolutely calls for us to act childlike. This is what Paul wants in regard to evil. When it comes to evil, the adult or mature thing to do is to be childlike and naive. One does not need to know about the depths of evil in order to be an adult. In this case, being naive is just the right medicine. (This, of course, would not apply to Christian teachers and ministers who must often know what they are dealing with so that, just like a doctor familiarizing himself with diseases, they can know what people are dealing with so that they know how to cure them.) When it comes to the spiritual gifts, though, the Corinthians have been acting immaturely because they do not have a grasp on the appropriate time and place to use certain gifts.
Paul will demonstrate an example of how to demonstrate this maturity. The basis for his point comes from Isaiah 28; a passage in which God declares judgment on Israel. He says that they have not listened to His plain word so they will know they have been judged by the irony of being surrounded by foreigners speaking a language that they do not understand. Thus, Paul demonstrates that the sort of sign he is talking about in this passage is a sign of judgment. This is key to understanding what could otherwise present itself as a difficult passage to understand.
It is also vital to remember that Paul is dealing with the occasion of orderly worship and what gifts are the appropriate choice for that venue. When it comes to worship, speaking in tongues only serves as a sign of judgment for unbelievers. Not only do tongues in the worship service not edify the body, If unbelievers came into a worship service and heard nothing but tongues they would think everyone was crazy because they would have the good sense to realize that no one actually knew what was being said. Like the young boy who declared that the emperor had no clothes, the unbeliever who saw such a spectacle would not be caught up in the emotional frenzy and see this ridiculous sort of display for what it was. The tongues would not bring them to conversion but push them away from it and further along towards judgment.
If, on the other hand, an unbeliever entered during a worship service in which prophecy was being spoken, the effect would be completely different. The judgment and exhortation of prophecy are for believers. Believers can understand, be convicted and edified by prophecy and respond to it appropriately. The mind and the spirit are both engaged. An unbeliever who witnessed this would be able to see that this isn’t a bunch of babbling idiots, nor a bunch of babbling pagans, shouting but never discerning. What is a sign for the believers will actually have a positive effect on the unbeliever as well because it is a mature demonstration of using the appropriate gift at the appropriate time in the appropriate venue.
When the unbeliever sees the power of the prophecy and the impact that it has on the believers they will be moved to hear the message and understand it as well. They will know that they are sinners and will be judged by all , meaning ‘all that has been heard’ not ‘by all the people present’. Once someone has been pricked by the word of the Holy Spirit, the next step is for them to bare their heart. There is no room for guardedness in the truly humble person who has been convicted by the power of the word of God. The response of the unbeliever in this case will cause the precise response that one would desire for any believer in a worship service. They will exclaim “God is really among you.”
The irony here is that the gift of tongues was a gift given for the purpose of praising God in front of unbelievers, but not in the context of a worship service of the body. If tongues is immaturely used in that setting, it will have the opposite of the desired effect. More important than using gifts simply because we can, is the need to use them at the appropriate times and places.
This principle should serve as food for thought in the modern Christian community. There is a tendency on the part of some to think that unbelieving visitors will be drawn to our worshipping communities by worship services that are emotionally moving even to the point of being emotionally manipulative. I would certainly not argue that there is not place for emotion in the worship service but Paul seemed to believe that the worship service should primarily engage our minds and that one of the primary ways that we bring glory to God is by edifying the body of believers in such a way. Perhaps unbelievers would be far more likely to recognize the presence of God through thoughtful and sincere worship services with powerful and edifying preaching rather than emotional displays that are full of pomp and circumstance.
Devotional Thought
We can often be tempted to use a gift that God has given us because it seems flashy, appears to be impressive, or we just enjoy it. What must be determined, however, is whether or not this is the mature choice at the time. The next time you start to exercise a gift or strength that God has given you, take a minute to reflect on whether you are truly doing the mature thing that will bring God glory, or if you are merely showing off.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
1 Corinthians 14:13-19
13For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. 14For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. 16If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? 17You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.
18I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Dig Deeper
It’s funny how something that can be so appropriate and even welcomed in one situation can be completely out of place and inappropriate in another situation. People love a good joke, but there are times, a funeral for instance, when telling jokes would be completely out of place. This is a learned skill that younger children often have a hard time mastering. It just takes them a while to understand how a behavior can be perfectly acceptable at home but entirely inappropriate when they are visiting someone else’s house.
In the same way, there are certain aspects of the Christian life that are important, but just not appropriate for public worship services. This is the sort of thing that Paul is addressing with the Corinthians. If we forget that he is dealing with an issue of the right place and right time, we might miss the point of what he is saying. Paul is not arguing that the gift of speaking in tongues was worthless or should be shunned, only that it must be exercised at the right place and time. The way that some in Corinth had been exercising this gift wasn’t just a demonstration of bad taste or bad timing, it had become another demonstration of their arrogance and self-absorption.
To reiterate, the gift of tongues was a special gift from God that allowed the speaker to praise God in a foreign language that was understandable to speakers of that language, but was an unknown language to the speaker. It was a wonderful tool to be used when out spreading the word of God, but it was not a very useful gift during a worship service of believers who likely spoke the same language. Using tongues was flashy and could even be impressive but it did virtually nothing in the way of furthering the body of Christ in their spiritual development. In the way that the Corinthian Christians were using it, it was not God’s grace being administered for the edification of the saints, it was a misuse of a gift for their own glorification. And doing something for ourselves, especially when it involves God’s gifts to build up the church, it contrary to the entire truth of the life of Christ.
This is the reason, Paul says, that anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. Rather than getting up in front of the assembly and doing what amounts to showing off, they should at least pray that they can then understand and interpret what the speaker just said so that someone at least can understand it.
What is at issue, in one sense, is that the Corinthians were compartmentalizing the mind and the spirit as though they were not interrelated. They were engaging in speaking in tongues as a form of corporate worship, when that was not its intent. This led to emotion-driven worship that did not engage their minds at all. True worship of God involves all aspects of the person: mind, body, soul, and spirit. They simply cannot and should not be treated as though one aspect can be engaged, while the rest are left to sit. Recently, I watched a service on TV where the attendees were watching the speaker, who did nothing but speak in the modern Pentecostal form of tongues for over 15 minutes (this is, of course, not the same as the biblical tongues but it is analogous because the listeners could not understand what was being said). What I witnessed was a service in which people were whipped into an emotional frenzy, but there was no true understanding, no discerning, and the people there were not truly spiritually edified in any sense of the word.
Paul definitely wants them to pray with their spirit, but also with their minds engaged. Otherwise they might truly be praising God in another language, but the other people there have no ability to understand what is being said, and thus the best they can do is to get whipped into an emotional frenzy. They cannot actually learn from what is being said and stand in agreement by saying ‘amen’. The purpose of corporate worship is the edification of the body and speaking in tongues just does not fulfill that goal.
We should be clear about what Paul says in verse 14 because it has often been misunderstood. He says “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. “ Paul is not saying, as some has contended, that Paul prefers to pray in tongues because it is how his spirit communicates with and prays to the Holy Spirit as opposed to the normal type of prayer that engages our mind but is lesser because it doesn’t engage our spirit. In this erroneous view, then, praying in tongues is a more spiritual form of prayer that need if we are to grow spiritually. Paul is actually simply making an example of the proper type of tongues. It is praising and praying in another language. The Spirit is working through his spirit to build up and serve as a sign to unbelievers but praying in a language that you don’t understand does not build up your mind or the fellow believers around you that don’t speak that language.
Paul wants to make it clear that he is not some sort of tongues hater. No, he speaks in tongues more than anyone. This would make sense for an apostle who was constantly traveling and meeting people of different language groups. It could even be a valuable gift in a port town like Corinth, where one might run into many foreigners of another tongue. While spreading the gospel down at the ports, one might absolutely find tongues a valuable gift. That would be the right place and the right time.
Within the confines of worship at the normal assembly of believers, however, tongues should not be stressed. Paul says he would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. This should always be the standard in worship. We cannot engage in flashy displays that make us seem more spiritual at the expense of true discernment and wisdom. All of the spittin’ and shoutin’ in the world cannot, in Paul’s mind, replace five good words of spiritual wisdom that would edify both the spirit and the mind. This principle applies to music worship leaders, preachers and anyone else who engages in public worship. We must always remember that what is done during the worship service must build up the body not to exalt ourselves. It is easy for a preacher to enjoy themselves with some dazzling display of exegetical excellence but it’s not worth much and misses the point if no one in the congregation can understand any of the points he is making. Christian worship is about glorifying God and building up the body, not making a spectacle.
Devotional Thought
When you come to worship services is your goal to edify the body and give to others or do you tend to come with a self-absorbed attitude? What are some ways that you might display a self-focus during a worship service? What can you do to have the proper focus on worshiping God and building up the body of Christ?
18I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Dig Deeper
It’s funny how something that can be so appropriate and even welcomed in one situation can be completely out of place and inappropriate in another situation. People love a good joke, but there are times, a funeral for instance, when telling jokes would be completely out of place. This is a learned skill that younger children often have a hard time mastering. It just takes them a while to understand how a behavior can be perfectly acceptable at home but entirely inappropriate when they are visiting someone else’s house.
In the same way, there are certain aspects of the Christian life that are important, but just not appropriate for public worship services. This is the sort of thing that Paul is addressing with the Corinthians. If we forget that he is dealing with an issue of the right place and right time, we might miss the point of what he is saying. Paul is not arguing that the gift of speaking in tongues was worthless or should be shunned, only that it must be exercised at the right place and time. The way that some in Corinth had been exercising this gift wasn’t just a demonstration of bad taste or bad timing, it had become another demonstration of their arrogance and self-absorption.
To reiterate, the gift of tongues was a special gift from God that allowed the speaker to praise God in a foreign language that was understandable to speakers of that language, but was an unknown language to the speaker. It was a wonderful tool to be used when out spreading the word of God, but it was not a very useful gift during a worship service of believers who likely spoke the same language. Using tongues was flashy and could even be impressive but it did virtually nothing in the way of furthering the body of Christ in their spiritual development. In the way that the Corinthian Christians were using it, it was not God’s grace being administered for the edification of the saints, it was a misuse of a gift for their own glorification. And doing something for ourselves, especially when it involves God’s gifts to build up the church, it contrary to the entire truth of the life of Christ.
This is the reason, Paul says, that anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. Rather than getting up in front of the assembly and doing what amounts to showing off, they should at least pray that they can then understand and interpret what the speaker just said so that someone at least can understand it.
What is at issue, in one sense, is that the Corinthians were compartmentalizing the mind and the spirit as though they were not interrelated. They were engaging in speaking in tongues as a form of corporate worship, when that was not its intent. This led to emotion-driven worship that did not engage their minds at all. True worship of God involves all aspects of the person: mind, body, soul, and spirit. They simply cannot and should not be treated as though one aspect can be engaged, while the rest are left to sit. Recently, I watched a service on TV where the attendees were watching the speaker, who did nothing but speak in the modern Pentecostal form of tongues for over 15 minutes (this is, of course, not the same as the biblical tongues but it is analogous because the listeners could not understand what was being said). What I witnessed was a service in which people were whipped into an emotional frenzy, but there was no true understanding, no discerning, and the people there were not truly spiritually edified in any sense of the word.
Paul definitely wants them to pray with their spirit, but also with their minds engaged. Otherwise they might truly be praising God in another language, but the other people there have no ability to understand what is being said, and thus the best they can do is to get whipped into an emotional frenzy. They cannot actually learn from what is being said and stand in agreement by saying ‘amen’. The purpose of corporate worship is the edification of the body and speaking in tongues just does not fulfill that goal.
We should be clear about what Paul says in verse 14 because it has often been misunderstood. He says “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. “ Paul is not saying, as some has contended, that Paul prefers to pray in tongues because it is how his spirit communicates with and prays to the Holy Spirit as opposed to the normal type of prayer that engages our mind but is lesser because it doesn’t engage our spirit. In this erroneous view, then, praying in tongues is a more spiritual form of prayer that need if we are to grow spiritually. Paul is actually simply making an example of the proper type of tongues. It is praising and praying in another language. The Spirit is working through his spirit to build up and serve as a sign to unbelievers but praying in a language that you don’t understand does not build up your mind or the fellow believers around you that don’t speak that language.
Paul wants to make it clear that he is not some sort of tongues hater. No, he speaks in tongues more than anyone. This would make sense for an apostle who was constantly traveling and meeting people of different language groups. It could even be a valuable gift in a port town like Corinth, where one might run into many foreigners of another tongue. While spreading the gospel down at the ports, one might absolutely find tongues a valuable gift. That would be the right place and the right time.
Within the confines of worship at the normal assembly of believers, however, tongues should not be stressed. Paul says he would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. This should always be the standard in worship. We cannot engage in flashy displays that make us seem more spiritual at the expense of true discernment and wisdom. All of the spittin’ and shoutin’ in the world cannot, in Paul’s mind, replace five good words of spiritual wisdom that would edify both the spirit and the mind. This principle applies to music worship leaders, preachers and anyone else who engages in public worship. We must always remember that what is done during the worship service must build up the body not to exalt ourselves. It is easy for a preacher to enjoy themselves with some dazzling display of exegetical excellence but it’s not worth much and misses the point if no one in the congregation can understand any of the points he is making. Christian worship is about glorifying God and building up the body, not making a spectacle.
Devotional Thought
When you come to worship services is your goal to edify the body and give to others or do you tend to come with a self-absorbed attitude? What are some ways that you might display a self-focus during a worship service? What can you do to have the proper focus on worshiping God and building up the body of Christ?
Friday, June 26, 2009
1 Corinthians 14:6-12
Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? 7Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. 10Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me. 12So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.
Dig Deeper
While coaching high school basketball a few years back, I had a Puerto Rican player join the team half way through the season. This was significant because, although there were other Hispanic players on the team, all of the main starters were not. This transfer student was very good, however, and would play a lot. In his first game a small problem quickly came up. As he was running the plays, he would continually yell “mira, mira” at the guy with the ball and got nothing but confused looks from his teammates. I knew what he was saying, so I didn’t think much of it. He became frustrated though, and we eventually figured out that the other players had no clue what he meant. ‘Mira’ means ‘look’. He was telling his teammates to look at him because he was open and to pass him the ball. His calls were pointless, however, if no one could understand what he was saying.
Paul uses an imaginary scenario to make a similar point in verse 6. If he were to come to Corinth and do nothing but praise God in a language that they did not understand, using his gift of tongues, what would be the point? He might feel good about his ability to have a miraculous gift. The Corinthians might be fairly impressed by his display (although we usually find that others are not nearly as impressed with our gifts as we think they will be), but ultimately the church is not going to be edified. It would be nothing more than a momentary emotional lift, at best. It would not contribute in any way to their actual spiritual development. Paul would much rather see them use gifts that would contribute to their spiritual edification, whether it be miraculous gifts like revelation (this might refer to Spirit-inspired insight or it might refer to revelations of the type that John describes in the Revelation), knowledge, or prophecy, or even more normal gifts like giving a word of instruction (which literally means ‘teaching’). Paul doesn’t see the gift of tongues as completely useless or undesirable, in fact he confirms in this verse that he can speak in tongues. Rather he wants the Corinthians to use their gifts with a heart of love. When meeting in corporate worship, gifts like prophecy and teaching display love, because they build up the body. Flashier gifts like tongues don’t display love, because when it is used in corporate worship it doesn’t edify the community it draws attention to the speaker.
Paul then turns to three examples to help drive home the futility of using tongues during worship services. The first comes from the world of instruments. Paul says that in the case of a flute or harp people will not be able to enjoy the music and recognize the tune being played if they are all jumbled together and not distinctly played. It would be like walking into a room where one of your children is practicing a piano, while the other is, independently, practicing drums, the television set is on quite loudly, and the radio in the corner is even louder. You simply could not hear or appreciate any of the sounds by themselves. There would be no joy or enjoyment, just noise. In this case and in the case of speaking tongues, what results is worthless noise for the listener, nothing that would actually show interest for the benefit of others.
The second illustration makes the point even more clearly. Trumpets were sounded to let the troops know to ready themselves for battle. If the noise that comes up cannot be distinguished from any other of the trumpet calls, how will the troops be able to recognize it and ready themselves? If there is so much noise going on that you cannot hear the sound of the trumpet calling you to battle, you will be unprepared. In the context to which he is referring, Paul seems to indicate that prophecies and the like are something that would prepare and edify believers while tongues simply do not. Worship services are intended to praise God and to ready Christians for the spiritual battle they face in the world. If the gathering doesn’t actually prepare and ready them for that then what good is it?
The third illustration is closer to the actual situation and makes his point directly. If someone were to go hear a speaker and did not speak the same language as the speaker, they would get absolutely nothing from the address. That doesn’t mean that the speech is no good, nor does it mean that the language itself is worthless, it would be understood by someone, somewhere. What it does mean is that it is not of value in the present situation. I have been in another country where a group of people stood around me and began to speak in a different language, forgetting that I had no clue what they were saying. It made sense to them, but meant nothing to me. Paul says that in situations like this, he and the speaker would be foreigners to one another, meaning that they would not be able to truly assist or connect with one another.
Verse 12 says, "so it is with you". To what is Paul referring? He is saying that when they speak in tongues and carry on in their worship services the way they have been, that no one can understand one another. They have been eager to have spiritual gifts but their motivation in doing so has been all wrong. They have been motivated by flash and the desire to impress one another rather than being driven by love. If they really want gifts that are spiritual, then they will desire gifts that build up the church. They were demonstrating the exact opposite heart that a Christian should have. We have an obligation to serve and act in the interests of others out of our love for them through Christ. They were acting, however, out of their own best interests.
For most of us, we don’t tend to struggle with trying to show off by using the biblical gifts of tongues, but this does not mean that this section is of no value today. We must constantly be on guard against doing things in worship or exercising gifts that build up the individual but do little to nothing for the body. But the principle goes beyond just that. Do you act, in general, out of interest for other Christians or do you act first out of interest for yourself?
Devotional Thought
Are there any times when you tend to desire to do things in church that would serve more to build up yourself? What is the underlying motivation when you serve or exercise gifts? We always need to ask ourselves whether we are building up the Church or trying to bring glory to ourselves.
Dig Deeper
While coaching high school basketball a few years back, I had a Puerto Rican player join the team half way through the season. This was significant because, although there were other Hispanic players on the team, all of the main starters were not. This transfer student was very good, however, and would play a lot. In his first game a small problem quickly came up. As he was running the plays, he would continually yell “mira, mira” at the guy with the ball and got nothing but confused looks from his teammates. I knew what he was saying, so I didn’t think much of it. He became frustrated though, and we eventually figured out that the other players had no clue what he meant. ‘Mira’ means ‘look’. He was telling his teammates to look at him because he was open and to pass him the ball. His calls were pointless, however, if no one could understand what he was saying.
Paul uses an imaginary scenario to make a similar point in verse 6. If he were to come to Corinth and do nothing but praise God in a language that they did not understand, using his gift of tongues, what would be the point? He might feel good about his ability to have a miraculous gift. The Corinthians might be fairly impressed by his display (although we usually find that others are not nearly as impressed with our gifts as we think they will be), but ultimately the church is not going to be edified. It would be nothing more than a momentary emotional lift, at best. It would not contribute in any way to their actual spiritual development. Paul would much rather see them use gifts that would contribute to their spiritual edification, whether it be miraculous gifts like revelation (this might refer to Spirit-inspired insight or it might refer to revelations of the type that John describes in the Revelation), knowledge, or prophecy, or even more normal gifts like giving a word of instruction (which literally means ‘teaching’). Paul doesn’t see the gift of tongues as completely useless or undesirable, in fact he confirms in this verse that he can speak in tongues. Rather he wants the Corinthians to use their gifts with a heart of love. When meeting in corporate worship, gifts like prophecy and teaching display love, because they build up the body. Flashier gifts like tongues don’t display love, because when it is used in corporate worship it doesn’t edify the community it draws attention to the speaker.
Paul then turns to three examples to help drive home the futility of using tongues during worship services. The first comes from the world of instruments. Paul says that in the case of a flute or harp people will not be able to enjoy the music and recognize the tune being played if they are all jumbled together and not distinctly played. It would be like walking into a room where one of your children is practicing a piano, while the other is, independently, practicing drums, the television set is on quite loudly, and the radio in the corner is even louder. You simply could not hear or appreciate any of the sounds by themselves. There would be no joy or enjoyment, just noise. In this case and in the case of speaking tongues, what results is worthless noise for the listener, nothing that would actually show interest for the benefit of others.
The second illustration makes the point even more clearly. Trumpets were sounded to let the troops know to ready themselves for battle. If the noise that comes up cannot be distinguished from any other of the trumpet calls, how will the troops be able to recognize it and ready themselves? If there is so much noise going on that you cannot hear the sound of the trumpet calling you to battle, you will be unprepared. In the context to which he is referring, Paul seems to indicate that prophecies and the like are something that would prepare and edify believers while tongues simply do not. Worship services are intended to praise God and to ready Christians for the spiritual battle they face in the world. If the gathering doesn’t actually prepare and ready them for that then what good is it?
The third illustration is closer to the actual situation and makes his point directly. If someone were to go hear a speaker and did not speak the same language as the speaker, they would get absolutely nothing from the address. That doesn’t mean that the speech is no good, nor does it mean that the language itself is worthless, it would be understood by someone, somewhere. What it does mean is that it is not of value in the present situation. I have been in another country where a group of people stood around me and began to speak in a different language, forgetting that I had no clue what they were saying. It made sense to them, but meant nothing to me. Paul says that in situations like this, he and the speaker would be foreigners to one another, meaning that they would not be able to truly assist or connect with one another.
Verse 12 says, "so it is with you". To what is Paul referring? He is saying that when they speak in tongues and carry on in their worship services the way they have been, that no one can understand one another. They have been eager to have spiritual gifts but their motivation in doing so has been all wrong. They have been motivated by flash and the desire to impress one another rather than being driven by love. If they really want gifts that are spiritual, then they will desire gifts that build up the church. They were demonstrating the exact opposite heart that a Christian should have. We have an obligation to serve and act in the interests of others out of our love for them through Christ. They were acting, however, out of their own best interests.
For most of us, we don’t tend to struggle with trying to show off by using the biblical gifts of tongues, but this does not mean that this section is of no value today. We must constantly be on guard against doing things in worship or exercising gifts that build up the individual but do little to nothing for the body. But the principle goes beyond just that. Do you act, in general, out of interest for other Christians or do you act first out of interest for yourself?
Devotional Thought
Are there any times when you tend to desire to do things in church that would serve more to build up yourself? What is the underlying motivation when you serve or exercise gifts? We always need to ask ourselves whether we are building up the Church or trying to bring glory to ourselves.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
1 Corinthians 14:1-5
Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues
1Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. 2For anyone who speaks in a tongue[a] does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. 3But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 4He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5I would like every one of you to speak in tongues,[b] but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues,[c] unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.
[a] 1 Corinthians 14:2 Or another language; also in verses 4, 13, 14, 19, 26 and 27
[b] 1 Corinthians 14:5 Or other languages; also in verses 6, 18, 22, 23 and 39
[c] 1 Corinthians 14:5 Or other languages; also in verses 6, 18, 22, 23 and 39
Dig Deeper
As a college student, I got a job one summer as a tour guide at an historical site in my hometown. One of the most amazing things about that summer was my opportunity to meet the official historian of the historical society. This man was brilliant and seemed to have an encyclopedic knowledge of history and the surrounding area. Yet, he literally worked in the attic of the historical society and rarely came downstairs during the day. On top of that, he had never written a book or anything like that. He kept all his knowledge largely to himself My meeting with him was by mere chance and I was even luckier to have had him offer to take me around the site and give me a personal tour. Some guides who had worked there for years had done little more than ever get a few glimpses of this gentlemen. He had a gift of knowledge and intellect but, for the most part, he used his gifts for his own benefit rather than building up others.
The Corinthian community of worship had broken down into a mess of competitive rivalries and jostling for ‘air time’ as each group or person sought to draw attention to themselves. Even the worship services in Corinth had deteriorated into a place where it was characterized by puffed up displays of knowledge for the private individual rather than love-driven worship that built up the community as a whole. This chapter then addresses that very issue, falling into an ABBA chiastic pattern. Verses 1-6 provide Paul’s reasons for preferring a gift that builds up the corporate; verses 6-12 give the problems with using tongues during church worship; verses 13-19 addresses a solution to those problems; verses 20-25 return to reasons for preferring a gift that builds up the community.
Before we look at these verses, we need a quick word on what the gifts of tongues and prophecy were. Acts 2 makes it clear that the gift of tongues was the ability to speak in known languages, but ones that were unknown to the speaker. Speaking in tongues was the ability to praise God (Acts 2:11, 1 Cor. 14:2) in a language that the speaker did not know so that others who spoke a different language from the speaker could understand the praise of God and be amazed by the miracle of the speaker speaking in a language he did not know; it was a sign for the unbeliever (14:22a). It was something quite different then the babbling (for lack of a better word) that constitutes what many groups refer to as speaking in tongues today. The problem was that the Corinthians were using the gift of tongues outside of its intended purpose. If one was exercising the gift in church, where it was not really intended to be used, then there needed to be an interpreter present so that the church and the speaker would know what was being said, and so be edified (1 Cor. 14:9). If the gift was employed in the church without interpretation, it utterly defeated the intended purpose. This is why Paul says “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.” He spoke tongues when it would benefit unbelievers; inside the church it was not necessary.
Prophecy, on the other hand, didn’t just mean flashes of foretelling the future or sudden flashes of inspiration (although that was no doubt part of it), but was primarily the ability to preach a directly God-given message of insight and wisdom that the Church needed to hear (note that both men and women had this gift according to 1 Cor. 11:5). Prophecy was something that was necessary before the complete inspiration of the New Testament. It was the way that Spirit guided and led the Church during and even before the time that the New Testament was being inspired. Yet it took a great deal of discernment, another spiritual gift, to determine that what was being spoken was truly from the Holy Spirit and not some evil spirit or a person’s own opinion.
Paul’s overriding point in this passage is that prophecy furthered the ethic of love because it built up the Church. Tongues was not bad, in fact Paul says he spoke in tongues, but the way they were using it was not beneficial to the body of Christ because it was a further sign of their arrogance rather than demonstrating the virtue of love. Just as they were doing more harm than good by holding a form of the Lord’s Supper in a way quite contrary to it’s purpose and intent, the Corinthians were using the gift of tongues in a way that it was not intended to be used. What possible good was being served by speaking praises to God in a language that no one present could understand, particularly if there was no interpreter there. This was nothing more than a self-gratifying beauty pageant. It certainly missed the entire point of what Christian worship was all about. Paul is clear that both gifts have value and were from God but prophecy was far more valuable during worship services because it was designed for that purpose, tongues was not. Yet, we can learn a great deal about the character of God and how he works with the Christian community in that he inspired Paul to rebuke and correct their practices, but did not ever just take away the ability to speak in tongues. God wants to influence and teach us so that we can learn and make our own right choices rather than force and bully us into proper behavior.
When Paul speaks here of speaking in tongues, we must note again that this is not remotely related to charismatic gift of speaking in tongues that is practiced in many Pentecostal and Mormon churches today. There is, in fact, virtually no claims of the biblical gift of speaking in tongues since the days of the very early church. Over 15 centuries passed before this new ‘gift of tongues’ began to appear in certain Christian circles, although many pagan religions have practiced this babbling form of tongues throughout history (see Matt. 6:7). It wasn’t until as late as the early 20th century that we see the formation and institution of the type of tongues spoken in many charismatic churches today. There are at least four problems with this form of speaking in tongues, however. First, the gift had disappeared for well over 1,500 years and appears completely unrelated to the biblical gifts of speaking in tongues. Second, the current practice of tongues in most churches that practice it, violates Paul’s demand that if tongues were spoken there must be an interpreter present. Even if the current form of tongues was biblical, this guideline is rarely followed. Third, since the guideline of interpretation is rarely followed, this gift serves no purpose of building up and edifying the community. Finally, many churches that engage in the speaking of tongues use it as a sign of salvation. They claim that anyone who does not speak in tongues does not have the Holy Spirit and this demonstrated them to not be genuinely saved (not all tongues speakers, I should note, believe this but many do). This is unbiblical and clearly goes against 1 Corinthians 12:30 which asks, “do all speak in tongues.” The obvious answer to that and the other questions Paul asks in that passage is ‘no’.
Devotional Thought
Paul wanted the Corinthians to exercise gifts that demonstrated love and built others up rather than using flashy gifts that made the individual feel good about themselves. Does this characterize your heart? Are you willing to do mundane things in the body of Christ out of love and to build up the body or would you rather do something that gains you attention? What is your motivation in using your gifts in the community of Christ?
1Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. 2For anyone who speaks in a tongue[a] does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. 3But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 4He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5I would like every one of you to speak in tongues,[b] but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues,[c] unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.
[a] 1 Corinthians 14:2 Or another language; also in verses 4, 13, 14, 19, 26 and 27
[b] 1 Corinthians 14:5 Or other languages; also in verses 6, 18, 22, 23 and 39
[c] 1 Corinthians 14:5 Or other languages; also in verses 6, 18, 22, 23 and 39
Dig Deeper
As a college student, I got a job one summer as a tour guide at an historical site in my hometown. One of the most amazing things about that summer was my opportunity to meet the official historian of the historical society. This man was brilliant and seemed to have an encyclopedic knowledge of history and the surrounding area. Yet, he literally worked in the attic of the historical society and rarely came downstairs during the day. On top of that, he had never written a book or anything like that. He kept all his knowledge largely to himself My meeting with him was by mere chance and I was even luckier to have had him offer to take me around the site and give me a personal tour. Some guides who had worked there for years had done little more than ever get a few glimpses of this gentlemen. He had a gift of knowledge and intellect but, for the most part, he used his gifts for his own benefit rather than building up others.
The Corinthian community of worship had broken down into a mess of competitive rivalries and jostling for ‘air time’ as each group or person sought to draw attention to themselves. Even the worship services in Corinth had deteriorated into a place where it was characterized by puffed up displays of knowledge for the private individual rather than love-driven worship that built up the community as a whole. This chapter then addresses that very issue, falling into an ABBA chiastic pattern. Verses 1-6 provide Paul’s reasons for preferring a gift that builds up the corporate; verses 6-12 give the problems with using tongues during church worship; verses 13-19 addresses a solution to those problems; verses 20-25 return to reasons for preferring a gift that builds up the community.
Before we look at these verses, we need a quick word on what the gifts of tongues and prophecy were. Acts 2 makes it clear that the gift of tongues was the ability to speak in known languages, but ones that were unknown to the speaker. Speaking in tongues was the ability to praise God (Acts 2:11, 1 Cor. 14:2) in a language that the speaker did not know so that others who spoke a different language from the speaker could understand the praise of God and be amazed by the miracle of the speaker speaking in a language he did not know; it was a sign for the unbeliever (14:22a). It was something quite different then the babbling (for lack of a better word) that constitutes what many groups refer to as speaking in tongues today. The problem was that the Corinthians were using the gift of tongues outside of its intended purpose. If one was exercising the gift in church, where it was not really intended to be used, then there needed to be an interpreter present so that the church and the speaker would know what was being said, and so be edified (1 Cor. 14:9). If the gift was employed in the church without interpretation, it utterly defeated the intended purpose. This is why Paul says “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.” He spoke tongues when it would benefit unbelievers; inside the church it was not necessary.
Prophecy, on the other hand, didn’t just mean flashes of foretelling the future or sudden flashes of inspiration (although that was no doubt part of it), but was primarily the ability to preach a directly God-given message of insight and wisdom that the Church needed to hear (note that both men and women had this gift according to 1 Cor. 11:5). Prophecy was something that was necessary before the complete inspiration of the New Testament. It was the way that Spirit guided and led the Church during and even before the time that the New Testament was being inspired. Yet it took a great deal of discernment, another spiritual gift, to determine that what was being spoken was truly from the Holy Spirit and not some evil spirit or a person’s own opinion.
Paul’s overriding point in this passage is that prophecy furthered the ethic of love because it built up the Church. Tongues was not bad, in fact Paul says he spoke in tongues, but the way they were using it was not beneficial to the body of Christ because it was a further sign of their arrogance rather than demonstrating the virtue of love. Just as they were doing more harm than good by holding a form of the Lord’s Supper in a way quite contrary to it’s purpose and intent, the Corinthians were using the gift of tongues in a way that it was not intended to be used. What possible good was being served by speaking praises to God in a language that no one present could understand, particularly if there was no interpreter there. This was nothing more than a self-gratifying beauty pageant. It certainly missed the entire point of what Christian worship was all about. Paul is clear that both gifts have value and were from God but prophecy was far more valuable during worship services because it was designed for that purpose, tongues was not. Yet, we can learn a great deal about the character of God and how he works with the Christian community in that he inspired Paul to rebuke and correct their practices, but did not ever just take away the ability to speak in tongues. God wants to influence and teach us so that we can learn and make our own right choices rather than force and bully us into proper behavior.
When Paul speaks here of speaking in tongues, we must note again that this is not remotely related to charismatic gift of speaking in tongues that is practiced in many Pentecostal and Mormon churches today. There is, in fact, virtually no claims of the biblical gift of speaking in tongues since the days of the very early church. Over 15 centuries passed before this new ‘gift of tongues’ began to appear in certain Christian circles, although many pagan religions have practiced this babbling form of tongues throughout history (see Matt. 6:7). It wasn’t until as late as the early 20th century that we see the formation and institution of the type of tongues spoken in many charismatic churches today. There are at least four problems with this form of speaking in tongues, however. First, the gift had disappeared for well over 1,500 years and appears completely unrelated to the biblical gifts of speaking in tongues. Second, the current practice of tongues in most churches that practice it, violates Paul’s demand that if tongues were spoken there must be an interpreter present. Even if the current form of tongues was biblical, this guideline is rarely followed. Third, since the guideline of interpretation is rarely followed, this gift serves no purpose of building up and edifying the community. Finally, many churches that engage in the speaking of tongues use it as a sign of salvation. They claim that anyone who does not speak in tongues does not have the Holy Spirit and this demonstrated them to not be genuinely saved (not all tongues speakers, I should note, believe this but many do). This is unbiblical and clearly goes against 1 Corinthians 12:30 which asks, “do all speak in tongues.” The obvious answer to that and the other questions Paul asks in that passage is ‘no’.
Devotional Thought
Paul wanted the Corinthians to exercise gifts that demonstrated love and built others up rather than using flashy gifts that made the individual feel good about themselves. Does this characterize your heart? Are you willing to do mundane things in the body of Christ out of love and to build up the body or would you rather do something that gains you attention? What is your motivation in using your gifts in the community of Christ?
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
1 Corinthians 13:8-13
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Dig Deeper
Ancient settlers, such as the Pilgrims, needed ships to get from the Old World to the promise of the New World. The ships served them well, yet when they reached the New World, they left the ships behind. This may seem like an obvious point, but it is an important one. They did not insist on dragging the ships onto the land and continuing to live in them. The ships were necessary for a time but once that time had come and gone it would have been foolish to hang on to them. In a sense, this is the point Paul is making to the Corinthians. They have been given certain spiritual gifts, but they are clinging to and valuing themselves based on the possession and ability to use these gifts. They have completely lost sight of the fact that, much like the ships, these gifts are only necessary for a time in the present age; soon, they will not be needed. Why take pride in, and value something that is temporary, all the while ignoring something that will last forever?
So, what is it that will last forever? Precisely what Paul has been describing in this chapter: love. Love is the language which God’s people will continue to speak throughout the duration of this present age and into the ‘age to come’. It is the most excellent way. The only way to truly understand the importance and preeminence of love in the present age is to understand Paul’s vision of the future age. It will be a time of joy, perfect harmony and love. This is what God’s future for His people will look like. Yet, it is not limited to the future alone, because it has broken into the present age, primarily through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Love is the only Christian gift that will never cease to be necessary. In the present age, it is the river on which all other Christian gifts and virtues flow, but in the age to come it will be the only thing that is needed. Faith and hope are of vital importance now, but even they, won’t be necessary in God’s glorious future because what we have faith in now will be seen and what we hope for will be realized. Love will still be needed because everything will be characterized by love in the age to come.
With all of that in mind, Paul has shown the importance of love in order to dwarf the spiritual gifts that were so enticing and attractive to the Church in Corinth. Prophecies are great, but they will be stilled in a world where all has been fulfilled. Tongues won’t be needed in an age where everyone speaks and understands the same language of love. Special knowledge will be rendered unnecessary in a time when all will be known. When the age to come arrives in full all of these partial things will pass away, being no more necessary than a ship on the land. Although some have, at times, argued that the perfection to which Paul refers is the completion of the New Testament, this seems unlikely, as Paul says that when perfection comes, then we shall see face to face. He is presumably talking about man and God, and this is only something that will happen in the ‘age to come’. Thus, it is the ‘age to come’ that is the perfection to which Paul refers. It is the time when those in Christ will be completely restored to the image of God (Col. 3:10).
Paul reverts to three images to drive this point home. The first image is that of a child. When he was a child, Paul says he did things that were appropriate for a child, but when he matured he put those things away. There are many things that children do that seem quite cute, yet if someone were to continue that behavior into adulthood, it would be perceived as rather grotesque. The Corinthians were acting like children in that they were clinging to and exalting the flashy spiritual gifts as if they were the point of the present age rather than mere tools. They were dividing the body of Christ as a result of their own selfishness and ceasing to be the community of Christ driven by God’s love for one another, the type of love that lays down one’s life for others. The Corinthians have acted childishly because they have mistaken the part for the whole, the partial for the complete, and have taken the tool and exalted it above the final product. On top of that, they failed to realize that the final product, God’s love, was available in the present age.
The next image is that of a mirror. This would have been a familiar object for Paul’s readers because mirrors were made in Corinth. When you look in a mirror, you see things backwards. Additionally, mirrors back then did not provide the best reflections. Paul’s point is that in the present age, you can see something of what God is doing, but it will only be fully understood and realized when we can see him face to face. This is similar to John’s belief in 1 John 3:2 which says, “now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
Paul’s final image encapsulates the first two. In this present age, the best we can do is to have partial knowledge, so there’s no point in getting puffed up or creating divisions over that. In the age to come we will know fully, because we will have been transformed into creatures that are completely characterized by God’s love. All of this hinges, however, not on what we know, or even what we will know. It all hinges on whether God knows us.
Devotional Thought
Paul believed there to be continuity between the present age and the ‘age to come’ that made what we do in this present age important. He wanted the Corinthians to begin to operate in the language of God’s love because it will be the only language used in the future age. Do you operate well in displaying God’s love or do you tend to cling to and value other things as the Corinthians did? God back through verses 4-8 and insert your name wherever you see the word ‘love’. Does this sound like you or do you still have some work to do?
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Dig Deeper
Ancient settlers, such as the Pilgrims, needed ships to get from the Old World to the promise of the New World. The ships served them well, yet when they reached the New World, they left the ships behind. This may seem like an obvious point, but it is an important one. They did not insist on dragging the ships onto the land and continuing to live in them. The ships were necessary for a time but once that time had come and gone it would have been foolish to hang on to them. In a sense, this is the point Paul is making to the Corinthians. They have been given certain spiritual gifts, but they are clinging to and valuing themselves based on the possession and ability to use these gifts. They have completely lost sight of the fact that, much like the ships, these gifts are only necessary for a time in the present age; soon, they will not be needed. Why take pride in, and value something that is temporary, all the while ignoring something that will last forever?
So, what is it that will last forever? Precisely what Paul has been describing in this chapter: love. Love is the language which God’s people will continue to speak throughout the duration of this present age and into the ‘age to come’. It is the most excellent way. The only way to truly understand the importance and preeminence of love in the present age is to understand Paul’s vision of the future age. It will be a time of joy, perfect harmony and love. This is what God’s future for His people will look like. Yet, it is not limited to the future alone, because it has broken into the present age, primarily through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Love is the only Christian gift that will never cease to be necessary. In the present age, it is the river on which all other Christian gifts and virtues flow, but in the age to come it will be the only thing that is needed. Faith and hope are of vital importance now, but even they, won’t be necessary in God’s glorious future because what we have faith in now will be seen and what we hope for will be realized. Love will still be needed because everything will be characterized by love in the age to come.
With all of that in mind, Paul has shown the importance of love in order to dwarf the spiritual gifts that were so enticing and attractive to the Church in Corinth. Prophecies are great, but they will be stilled in a world where all has been fulfilled. Tongues won’t be needed in an age where everyone speaks and understands the same language of love. Special knowledge will be rendered unnecessary in a time when all will be known. When the age to come arrives in full all of these partial things will pass away, being no more necessary than a ship on the land. Although some have, at times, argued that the perfection to which Paul refers is the completion of the New Testament, this seems unlikely, as Paul says that when perfection comes, then we shall see face to face. He is presumably talking about man and God, and this is only something that will happen in the ‘age to come’. Thus, it is the ‘age to come’ that is the perfection to which Paul refers. It is the time when those in Christ will be completely restored to the image of God (Col. 3:10).
Paul reverts to three images to drive this point home. The first image is that of a child. When he was a child, Paul says he did things that were appropriate for a child, but when he matured he put those things away. There are many things that children do that seem quite cute, yet if someone were to continue that behavior into adulthood, it would be perceived as rather grotesque. The Corinthians were acting like children in that they were clinging to and exalting the flashy spiritual gifts as if they were the point of the present age rather than mere tools. They were dividing the body of Christ as a result of their own selfishness and ceasing to be the community of Christ driven by God’s love for one another, the type of love that lays down one’s life for others. The Corinthians have acted childishly because they have mistaken the part for the whole, the partial for the complete, and have taken the tool and exalted it above the final product. On top of that, they failed to realize that the final product, God’s love, was available in the present age.
The next image is that of a mirror. This would have been a familiar object for Paul’s readers because mirrors were made in Corinth. When you look in a mirror, you see things backwards. Additionally, mirrors back then did not provide the best reflections. Paul’s point is that in the present age, you can see something of what God is doing, but it will only be fully understood and realized when we can see him face to face. This is similar to John’s belief in 1 John 3:2 which says, “now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
Paul’s final image encapsulates the first two. In this present age, the best we can do is to have partial knowledge, so there’s no point in getting puffed up or creating divisions over that. In the age to come we will know fully, because we will have been transformed into creatures that are completely characterized by God’s love. All of this hinges, however, not on what we know, or even what we will know. It all hinges on whether God knows us.
Devotional Thought
Paul believed there to be continuity between the present age and the ‘age to come’ that made what we do in this present age important. He wanted the Corinthians to begin to operate in the language of God’s love because it will be the only language used in the future age. Do you operate well in displaying God’s love or do you tend to cling to and value other things as the Corinthians did? God back through verses 4-8 and insert your name wherever you see the word ‘love’. Does this sound like you or do you still have some work to do?
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
1 Corinthians 12:31-13:7
And now I will show you the most excellent way.
Love
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Dig Deeper
The world is enamored, so to speak, with the topic of love. It’s everywhere we turn. It’s in movies, on TV, and especially in songs. Through love songs we have heard thoughts like “love makes the world go ‘round,” “love is a many splendored thing,” and “all you need is love.” The problem is that, although the world talks constantly about love, it really seems to know very little about it. It reminds me of a James Brown song that has lyrics that declare, “talkin’ loud, ain’t sayin’ nothin’.” What the world does seem to grasp, however, is some inkling of the fact that love is an extremely important thing, even if they do not truly understand what it is about.
The church in Corinth was struggling seriously with their unity and their ability to see the church as the new family, the new community, the new reality which they have all entered through baptism (1 Cor. 12:12) together to become one entity. Paul understands that the Corinthian Church has an equal misunderstanding of the nature of love and the need for it. In fact, this misunderstanding of genuine love is likely at the root of their misunderstanding of true Christian unity. What they do not yet grasp, he is about to lay out for them clearly.
Although this chapter fits well into the flow and argument of the letter, the language and format are so strikingly different from chapters 12 and 14 (and the rest of the letter) that it has led some commentators to speculate that Paul has taken a separate writing, perhaps slightly modified for his purposes here, and inserted into his letter at this point. The format of the chapter can be divided into three parts: Verses 1-3 lay out the necessity of love, verses 4-6 have to do with the character of love, and verses 8-13 deal with the permanence of love. Above all, it is important to see throughout this passage that Paul is not calling love a supreme spiritual gift that is better than all others. He is saying that love is meant to be a way of life for all Christians. It is the pool in which all of the other spiritual gifts and acts of the Christian life swim.
Paul actually begins this section in the last few words of chapter 12: And now I will show you the most excellent way. In those words, Paul is claiming to present the highest and most desirable form of the Christian faith and practice. “The Way” was a term often used by the early Church to describe Christianity (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23: 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is possible, then, that Paul is using a bit of play on words, telling them that he is gong to describe the very heart of the Christian life. This section comes in the midst of Paul’s argument concerning the worship of the Church and the use of different gifts by different members. They have not realized that they all belong to the Messiah but that won’t do any good if they don’t realize that they can’t just put their shoulder to the grindstone and begrudgingly follow Paul’s teaching. If they are going to have the life of Christ, they must realize that the most Jesus-like characteristic they can ever embody is love. But he will describe the type of love that he is talking about, the agape love that comes from God which stands in stark opposition to the type of love that the world, especially in our own day, has manufactured and created.
Paul begins to lay out the necessity of love with a bit of hyperbole. The Corinthians have been thinking rather highly of themselves, so Paul presents an exaggerated picture of the most extremely gifted Christian possible; one who speaks in not only the tongues of men, but even a theoretical tongues of angels (Despite the fanciful explanations of many today, there is no indication that Paul is speaking of the gift of tongues, the miraculous ability to speak in other known language. In fact, there is nothing other than speculation to indicate that he is speaking of tongues here. Nowhere else is tongues referred to as the tongues of angels). He talks of the person who has the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge (a gift that Paul greatly values but that he describes someone who knows all mysteries and knowledge indicates the degree to which he is using hyperbole and describing things that were not really attainable in the present age), one who gave everything they had to the poor, and finally one who dies a death of martyrdom. But then, he says something amazing. If these things are done without love, they are absolutely worthless. The true love of Christ must be present. It is the only motivator that matters. We can be motivated by many things to engage in activities related to the life of Christ: greed, selfishness, discipline, desire for approval, begrudging obligation, people pleasing, desire for success in our ministry, etc. Yet Paul says that the only true motivator is that of the genuine love of God. Manifesting, even gifts that Paul values, without love is of no avail. The triple verdict for such a life is that it is an annoying noise, it is nothing, and it gains nothing.
In verse 4, Paul begins a beautiful description of the character of love. Love, he says, is patient and kind, but not envious, boastful, proud, or rude. Then he switches from the nature of love to the activities of love. It is not self-seeking or easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs, and does not enjoy evil but rejoices with the truth. Love, he says, always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres.
It should become apparent that, not only is Paul describing the way of the Christian life as embodied in love, he is also referencing the behavior that the Corinthians have been exhibiting and to which he has been referring throughout the letter. Rather than embracing and embodying love, they have been acting precisely opposite from the way of love. This was the core problem in Corinth. One that all the gifts and all the knowledge in the world couldn’t fix. They have gifts and believe they have knowledge, yet it has gotten them nowhere. Living the life of Christ in harmony with other believers is impossible if we think that knowledge, spiritual gifts, or all the great programs and strategies in the world will get us there. Paul is clear that the only thing that will make the body of Christ into the body of Christ is genuine love. From the beginning, the Church has struggled with jealousy, envy, selfishness, and biter in-fighting. In this short chapter, Paul offers the solution to all of that. It is not through a feeling, which is the world’s definition of love, it is through the behavior of love. Love is a behavior, but it is others-focused behavior not self-directed action. It is, in fact, the behavior that was and continues to be the language of God’s Kingdom.
Devotional Thought
Paul’s description of love is certainly challenging for us to live up to. Part of Paul’s whole line of thinking, though, is that a human can not live like this on their own power. It is only through living the life of Christ that one may begin to live like this. Part of the reason for this description, then, is to demonstrate that the one who is truly living in Christ will begin to display these characteristics. Have you seen growth in your life in these areas that Paul describes? Which facets of love are the most difficult for you?
Love
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Dig Deeper
The world is enamored, so to speak, with the topic of love. It’s everywhere we turn. It’s in movies, on TV, and especially in songs. Through love songs we have heard thoughts like “love makes the world go ‘round,” “love is a many splendored thing,” and “all you need is love.” The problem is that, although the world talks constantly about love, it really seems to know very little about it. It reminds me of a James Brown song that has lyrics that declare, “talkin’ loud, ain’t sayin’ nothin’.” What the world does seem to grasp, however, is some inkling of the fact that love is an extremely important thing, even if they do not truly understand what it is about.
The church in Corinth was struggling seriously with their unity and their ability to see the church as the new family, the new community, the new reality which they have all entered through baptism (1 Cor. 12:12) together to become one entity. Paul understands that the Corinthian Church has an equal misunderstanding of the nature of love and the need for it. In fact, this misunderstanding of genuine love is likely at the root of their misunderstanding of true Christian unity. What they do not yet grasp, he is about to lay out for them clearly.
Although this chapter fits well into the flow and argument of the letter, the language and format are so strikingly different from chapters 12 and 14 (and the rest of the letter) that it has led some commentators to speculate that Paul has taken a separate writing, perhaps slightly modified for his purposes here, and inserted into his letter at this point. The format of the chapter can be divided into three parts: Verses 1-3 lay out the necessity of love, verses 4-6 have to do with the character of love, and verses 8-13 deal with the permanence of love. Above all, it is important to see throughout this passage that Paul is not calling love a supreme spiritual gift that is better than all others. He is saying that love is meant to be a way of life for all Christians. It is the pool in which all of the other spiritual gifts and acts of the Christian life swim.
Paul actually begins this section in the last few words of chapter 12: And now I will show you the most excellent way. In those words, Paul is claiming to present the highest and most desirable form of the Christian faith and practice. “The Way” was a term often used by the early Church to describe Christianity (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23: 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is possible, then, that Paul is using a bit of play on words, telling them that he is gong to describe the very heart of the Christian life. This section comes in the midst of Paul’s argument concerning the worship of the Church and the use of different gifts by different members. They have not realized that they all belong to the Messiah but that won’t do any good if they don’t realize that they can’t just put their shoulder to the grindstone and begrudgingly follow Paul’s teaching. If they are going to have the life of Christ, they must realize that the most Jesus-like characteristic they can ever embody is love. But he will describe the type of love that he is talking about, the agape love that comes from God which stands in stark opposition to the type of love that the world, especially in our own day, has manufactured and created.
Paul begins to lay out the necessity of love with a bit of hyperbole. The Corinthians have been thinking rather highly of themselves, so Paul presents an exaggerated picture of the most extremely gifted Christian possible; one who speaks in not only the tongues of men, but even a theoretical tongues of angels (Despite the fanciful explanations of many today, there is no indication that Paul is speaking of the gift of tongues, the miraculous ability to speak in other known language. In fact, there is nothing other than speculation to indicate that he is speaking of tongues here. Nowhere else is tongues referred to as the tongues of angels). He talks of the person who has the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge (a gift that Paul greatly values but that he describes someone who knows all mysteries and knowledge indicates the degree to which he is using hyperbole and describing things that were not really attainable in the present age), one who gave everything they had to the poor, and finally one who dies a death of martyrdom. But then, he says something amazing. If these things are done without love, they are absolutely worthless. The true love of Christ must be present. It is the only motivator that matters. We can be motivated by many things to engage in activities related to the life of Christ: greed, selfishness, discipline, desire for approval, begrudging obligation, people pleasing, desire for success in our ministry, etc. Yet Paul says that the only true motivator is that of the genuine love of God. Manifesting, even gifts that Paul values, without love is of no avail. The triple verdict for such a life is that it is an annoying noise, it is nothing, and it gains nothing.
In verse 4, Paul begins a beautiful description of the character of love. Love, he says, is patient and kind, but not envious, boastful, proud, or rude. Then he switches from the nature of love to the activities of love. It is not self-seeking or easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs, and does not enjoy evil but rejoices with the truth. Love, he says, always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres.
It should become apparent that, not only is Paul describing the way of the Christian life as embodied in love, he is also referencing the behavior that the Corinthians have been exhibiting and to which he has been referring throughout the letter. Rather than embracing and embodying love, they have been acting precisely opposite from the way of love. This was the core problem in Corinth. One that all the gifts and all the knowledge in the world couldn’t fix. They have gifts and believe they have knowledge, yet it has gotten them nowhere. Living the life of Christ in harmony with other believers is impossible if we think that knowledge, spiritual gifts, or all the great programs and strategies in the world will get us there. Paul is clear that the only thing that will make the body of Christ into the body of Christ is genuine love. From the beginning, the Church has struggled with jealousy, envy, selfishness, and biter in-fighting. In this short chapter, Paul offers the solution to all of that. It is not through a feeling, which is the world’s definition of love, it is through the behavior of love. Love is a behavior, but it is others-focused behavior not self-directed action. It is, in fact, the behavior that was and continues to be the language of God’s Kingdom.
Devotional Thought
Paul’s description of love is certainly challenging for us to live up to. Part of Paul’s whole line of thinking, though, is that a human can not live like this on their own power. It is only through living the life of Christ that one may begin to live like this. Part of the reason for this description, then, is to demonstrate that the one who is truly living in Christ will begin to display these characteristics. Have you seen growth in your life in these areas that Paul describes? Which facets of love are the most difficult for you?
Friday, June 19, 2009
1 Corinthians 12:21-31a
21The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31But eagerly desire the greater gifts.
And now I will show you the most excellent way.
Dig Deeper
One of the most popular concepts in American society today is that of diversity. Diversity is preached everywhere from children’s cartoons to school classrooms. This version of diversity tells everyone to be who they “really” are and to do whatever feels good to them. Regardless of how bizarre of selfish the behavior of being “who you are” should be, we are told, not just tolerated but accepted and embraced. The problem is that this kind of diversity is truly empty because there is no unity to temper it. Paul deeply desires diversity in the Corinthian Christian community but only if they realize that diversity is only meaningful when unity prevails and ties it together.
Paul’s eagerness here is focused on helping every member of the body of Christ to realize that they are all important, vital, and necessary. There are no stars in the true body of Christ. Because of this, no part of the body can begin to see the other parts as dispensable or unimportant. When Romans used the image of the body to compare it to their social or political organizations, their point was that some jobs were jobs of status and were more important than the others. Some people were more honorable and more valuable to the common good than were others. Paul does something quite common for him, taking a popular idea in his society and turning it on its head. He makes the opposite point. Although there are differences in the body, that does not at all make one part more important than any other. Jesus constantly stressed that in the Kingdom of God, the first would be last and the last would be first. This is precisely Paul’s point. Thus, those that are less honorable in the eyes of the world are treated with honor in the community of Christ. The parts that are unpresentable are not parts we wish we did not possess. Rather there are things in the Christian community that are too important for just any passer-by to see, much like the Emperor was usually kept from normal public view.
It is not exactly clear what Paul has in mind with each specific example but his overall point is that every part of the body matters precisely because God has combined them just as he wanted them. God has masterfully crafted the body together so that it might run at a maximum level. The nonsense of weak and strong Christians, that he has addressed earlier, should not be used to create hierarchies of value within the Church. Everyone is not just connected together, but they are connected together in just the way God wanted it. If one part of the body suffers then the entire body suffers; if one part is honored or experiences pleasure then we all should. This applies not only to our local congregation but to the body of Christ throughout the world as well. This is a challenging concept that selfish Americans must return to again and again before we are really able to fully embrace it. We are to think and act like part of the body rather than an individual.
Beginning in verse 27, Paul will take this talk of the body of Christ out of the realm of theory and into the real world of application. As Paul begins to apply the concepts of unity and diversity we should note what he does as he mentions the various gifts and roles within the body of Christ. If we examine the passages in which he mentions these things (1 Corinthians 12:8-10; Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11), we find that no list is ever the same. Paul is obviously using these lists in a representative rather than exhaustive way, but he is also showing the rich diversity of gifts and roles that God has given to the Church. Note also that there are no two places in the Bible where Paul discusses church offices or leadership that are the same. This should all remind us of the need for flexibility in the body of Christ. There is no one way to do it. In one society, a strict hierarchy might be helpful in the Church, while in India (where the caste system can be a big problem) it would be neither helpful nor desirable.
In listing the different roles and gifts in the Church, Paul puts the talk of the different parts of the body into the real language of the Church. These are the roles and gifts that many had been valuing or devaluing in comparison to one another. If the Corinthians had been struggling with valuing certain gifts and the ones who possessed those gifts, then it is worth noting that miracle workers, those with gifts of healing, and speaking in tongues are the only three items that are mentioned in all three of Paul’s lists in this chapter. Undoubtedly, this is due to the fact that these were the three flashiest and most desirable gifts in the minds of the Church in Corinth. Those who possessed these gifts would have been thought of as more important and more valuable than those who did not.
Paul asks, in verses 29-30, a series of rhetorical questions that, in the original language, all imply that the obvious answer is ‘no’. Some would claim, in our day, that some of these gifts must be possessed in order to demonstrate that someone is a Christian. Yet, this is in clear contrast to what Paul is saying. Because each person is equal in importance and each gift is equal in importance, and the fact that there is no gift that everyone possesses, it should be understood that God has ordered all of this exactly as He wanted and it is the responsibility of the Christian to see everyone as equally important. Gifts were given to build up the body not exalt individual parts of it. There are, as Paul makes clear, greater gifts, but they are not what the Corinthians would expect. This is what he will turn to next.
Devotional Thought
In our particular community we are not very tempted to exalt those that work miracles, heal, or speak in tongues, but what gifts are we tempted to value over others? Are there any people in the body of Christ that you treat differently based on the gifts they possess or lack? What would Paul’s answer be to your attitude in this area?
27Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31But eagerly desire the greater gifts.
And now I will show you the most excellent way.
Dig Deeper
One of the most popular concepts in American society today is that of diversity. Diversity is preached everywhere from children’s cartoons to school classrooms. This version of diversity tells everyone to be who they “really” are and to do whatever feels good to them. Regardless of how bizarre of selfish the behavior of being “who you are” should be, we are told, not just tolerated but accepted and embraced. The problem is that this kind of diversity is truly empty because there is no unity to temper it. Paul deeply desires diversity in the Corinthian Christian community but only if they realize that diversity is only meaningful when unity prevails and ties it together.
Paul’s eagerness here is focused on helping every member of the body of Christ to realize that they are all important, vital, and necessary. There are no stars in the true body of Christ. Because of this, no part of the body can begin to see the other parts as dispensable or unimportant. When Romans used the image of the body to compare it to their social or political organizations, their point was that some jobs were jobs of status and were more important than the others. Some people were more honorable and more valuable to the common good than were others. Paul does something quite common for him, taking a popular idea in his society and turning it on its head. He makes the opposite point. Although there are differences in the body, that does not at all make one part more important than any other. Jesus constantly stressed that in the Kingdom of God, the first would be last and the last would be first. This is precisely Paul’s point. Thus, those that are less honorable in the eyes of the world are treated with honor in the community of Christ. The parts that are unpresentable are not parts we wish we did not possess. Rather there are things in the Christian community that are too important for just any passer-by to see, much like the Emperor was usually kept from normal public view.
It is not exactly clear what Paul has in mind with each specific example but his overall point is that every part of the body matters precisely because God has combined them just as he wanted them. God has masterfully crafted the body together so that it might run at a maximum level. The nonsense of weak and strong Christians, that he has addressed earlier, should not be used to create hierarchies of value within the Church. Everyone is not just connected together, but they are connected together in just the way God wanted it. If one part of the body suffers then the entire body suffers; if one part is honored or experiences pleasure then we all should. This applies not only to our local congregation but to the body of Christ throughout the world as well. This is a challenging concept that selfish Americans must return to again and again before we are really able to fully embrace it. We are to think and act like part of the body rather than an individual.
Beginning in verse 27, Paul will take this talk of the body of Christ out of the realm of theory and into the real world of application. As Paul begins to apply the concepts of unity and diversity we should note what he does as he mentions the various gifts and roles within the body of Christ. If we examine the passages in which he mentions these things (1 Corinthians 12:8-10; Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11), we find that no list is ever the same. Paul is obviously using these lists in a representative rather than exhaustive way, but he is also showing the rich diversity of gifts and roles that God has given to the Church. Note also that there are no two places in the Bible where Paul discusses church offices or leadership that are the same. This should all remind us of the need for flexibility in the body of Christ. There is no one way to do it. In one society, a strict hierarchy might be helpful in the Church, while in India (where the caste system can be a big problem) it would be neither helpful nor desirable.
In listing the different roles and gifts in the Church, Paul puts the talk of the different parts of the body into the real language of the Church. These are the roles and gifts that many had been valuing or devaluing in comparison to one another. If the Corinthians had been struggling with valuing certain gifts and the ones who possessed those gifts, then it is worth noting that miracle workers, those with gifts of healing, and speaking in tongues are the only three items that are mentioned in all three of Paul’s lists in this chapter. Undoubtedly, this is due to the fact that these were the three flashiest and most desirable gifts in the minds of the Church in Corinth. Those who possessed these gifts would have been thought of as more important and more valuable than those who did not.
Paul asks, in verses 29-30, a series of rhetorical questions that, in the original language, all imply that the obvious answer is ‘no’. Some would claim, in our day, that some of these gifts must be possessed in order to demonstrate that someone is a Christian. Yet, this is in clear contrast to what Paul is saying. Because each person is equal in importance and each gift is equal in importance, and the fact that there is no gift that everyone possesses, it should be understood that God has ordered all of this exactly as He wanted and it is the responsibility of the Christian to see everyone as equally important. Gifts were given to build up the body not exalt individual parts of it. There are, as Paul makes clear, greater gifts, but they are not what the Corinthians would expect. This is what he will turn to next.
Devotional Thought
In our particular community we are not very tempted to exalt those that work miracles, heal, or speak in tongues, but what gifts are we tempted to value over others? Are there any people in the body of Christ that you treat differently based on the gifts they possess or lack? What would Paul’s answer be to your attitude in this area?
Thursday, June 18, 2009
1 Corinthians 12:12-20
12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
Dig Deeper
Everyone has a body of some sort another. We all inherently understand the fact that a body is connected and that the various parts of a body must work in unison while at the same time, each part of the body serves very different functions. The best athletes are those that have trained the various parts of their body to work in unison and under a great deal of control. On the other side, some people contract diseases like Parkinson’s that leave them unable to completely control various parts of their body which can be a debilitating state.
Many people in both modern and ancient times have used the body as a metaphor for a group of people coming together as a unit. It’s a beautiful example really, because the human body is made of all kinds of different parts that work together for one common goal. Paul was not the first one to use this analogy, but his has become perhaps the most famous. Paul’s reasons for using this as an analogy are often misunderstood, though, or at least not fully understood. He is not just limiting himself to the idea that everyone who joins the Church has their own gifts and talents and should use them and be appreciated. Of course, Paul is saying that, but he is also saying much more than that.
Paul hasn’t just used the body as a random metaphor for the Church here. There are at least two important reasons that he chose this particular imagery of the body. One of the things that Paul has been trying to get the Corinthians to understand throughout this letter is that they are the embodiment of the new humanity. They have entered into the life of the Messiah so that what is true of Him is true of His people. That means that, as His people, they are to model the new humanity. In Genesis 1-2 God created humanity in paradise in order to have a perfect relationship with them and with each other. The sin of Genesis 3 ruined all of that and has kept humans from realizing their full humanity ever since. Jesus came and lived a human life of perfect communion with God and man and was killed for it. Because of that, though, we are able to choose to die and enter into His death, raising to His life. Christians thus, embody the Messiah and His life, so Paul using the metaphor of the Church being a body is a metaphor, but it is more than just that.
The second major reason that Paul used this particular image of a body was that it was a common image used in his day for various groups, especially social and political groups. In fact, it was not uncommon to talk about the political make-up of Rome as a body with Caesar as the head. This means that Paul is using a common symbol for communities and applying it to the Christian community as the only, true body. And that is exactly his point. The Christian community is the new and true humanity. The new way of humans living in concert with one another.
In verse 12, Paul stresses his belief that Christians have entered into the life of Christ and become synonymous with Him. He says that just as the human body is made up of many parts, “So it is with the Messiah” (Of course, “Christ” simply means “Messiah”). The amazing thing here is that when Paul says that, he is talking about the Church, not specifically Jesus. When Jesus confronted Paul on the road to Damascus for persecuting the church, Jesus asked “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Clearly Jesus felt that what was happening to his church, happned to him. Paul applies the same concept that the Messiah’s people can be so closely identified with the Messiah that he can call them Christ. The individual parts of the Church have entered into the life of Christ and now embody the Messiah.
At the same time that Paul celebrates this unity in the Messiah, he also celebrates the diversity of the many parts that make up the body. Many have supposed that Paul is saying “unity in diversity and diversity in unity,” but that is not really the case. Diversity is important to Paul, but unity is more so. If Paul really has a theme here it is “diversity in unity, but unity over diversity.” For Paul, in Christ unity overshadows diversity and makes it meaningful. The people in Corinth were using their diversity to create distinctions and cause divisions. This is not at all what it meant to be one body in Christ.
He reminds his readers that the way they all entered into this community of the body of Christ was through baptism (as he does elsewhere: Romans 6:2-11; Galatians 3:27). Many have argued that Paul is referring to a special experience with the Spirit apart from baptism, but that is little more than wishful thinking. He is talking about the common unifying experience of entry into the Messiah’s body, the waters of baptism where all are equal. It is the Holy Spirit who enters the individual, sealing them as one who has entered into the body of Christ.
Beginning in verse 15, Paul modifies a popular saying of his day that was written by the Roman historian Livy. In that fable, the parts of the body speak to one another. Paul uses that image to make the point that no part of the body is without value or importance, so the possession or lack of certain spiritual gifts does not give one more or less value in Christ. Just as differences are necessary in order for the human body to function properly, so are they in the body of Christ. It is God who has arranged the parts just as they are, just as He wants them to be. This is an important reminder because God is not a respecter of persons. It is humans, thinking in a worldly way, that think of some humans as more important than others based on their spiritual gifts. God does not think or work that way. There must be different abilities and gifts so that the body of Christ can do all the things that need to be done.
As it is, though, Paul says, there is much diversity but there is but one body. Here again, he stresses the unity that comes from being in Christ over diversity. Diversity is necessary and important but it all pales in comparison to the way all Christians are united in Christ.
Devotional Thought
Paul is clear here, as he is in Galatians 3, that entry into the new humanity of the body of Christ cuts across all social and cultural divisions. Do you do that in your life in Christ? Do you and your church stand out from the people in your community by challenging social and cultural norms? Many people find that their church might engage in this anti-cultural inclusion, but they don’t so much in their own personal lives. Make a commitment to be as radical in your inclusion in your personal life as Paul called the first Christians to be.
14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
Dig Deeper
Everyone has a body of some sort another. We all inherently understand the fact that a body is connected and that the various parts of a body must work in unison while at the same time, each part of the body serves very different functions. The best athletes are those that have trained the various parts of their body to work in unison and under a great deal of control. On the other side, some people contract diseases like Parkinson’s that leave them unable to completely control various parts of their body which can be a debilitating state.
Many people in both modern and ancient times have used the body as a metaphor for a group of people coming together as a unit. It’s a beautiful example really, because the human body is made of all kinds of different parts that work together for one common goal. Paul was not the first one to use this analogy, but his has become perhaps the most famous. Paul’s reasons for using this as an analogy are often misunderstood, though, or at least not fully understood. He is not just limiting himself to the idea that everyone who joins the Church has their own gifts and talents and should use them and be appreciated. Of course, Paul is saying that, but he is also saying much more than that.
Paul hasn’t just used the body as a random metaphor for the Church here. There are at least two important reasons that he chose this particular imagery of the body. One of the things that Paul has been trying to get the Corinthians to understand throughout this letter is that they are the embodiment of the new humanity. They have entered into the life of the Messiah so that what is true of Him is true of His people. That means that, as His people, they are to model the new humanity. In Genesis 1-2 God created humanity in paradise in order to have a perfect relationship with them and with each other. The sin of Genesis 3 ruined all of that and has kept humans from realizing their full humanity ever since. Jesus came and lived a human life of perfect communion with God and man and was killed for it. Because of that, though, we are able to choose to die and enter into His death, raising to His life. Christians thus, embody the Messiah and His life, so Paul using the metaphor of the Church being a body is a metaphor, but it is more than just that.
The second major reason that Paul used this particular image of a body was that it was a common image used in his day for various groups, especially social and political groups. In fact, it was not uncommon to talk about the political make-up of Rome as a body with Caesar as the head. This means that Paul is using a common symbol for communities and applying it to the Christian community as the only, true body. And that is exactly his point. The Christian community is the new and true humanity. The new way of humans living in concert with one another.
In verse 12, Paul stresses his belief that Christians have entered into the life of Christ and become synonymous with Him. He says that just as the human body is made up of many parts, “So it is with the Messiah” (Of course, “Christ” simply means “Messiah”). The amazing thing here is that when Paul says that, he is talking about the Church, not specifically Jesus. When Jesus confronted Paul on the road to Damascus for persecuting the church, Jesus asked “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Clearly Jesus felt that what was happening to his church, happned to him. Paul applies the same concept that the Messiah’s people can be so closely identified with the Messiah that he can call them Christ. The individual parts of the Church have entered into the life of Christ and now embody the Messiah.
At the same time that Paul celebrates this unity in the Messiah, he also celebrates the diversity of the many parts that make up the body. Many have supposed that Paul is saying “unity in diversity and diversity in unity,” but that is not really the case. Diversity is important to Paul, but unity is more so. If Paul really has a theme here it is “diversity in unity, but unity over diversity.” For Paul, in Christ unity overshadows diversity and makes it meaningful. The people in Corinth were using their diversity to create distinctions and cause divisions. This is not at all what it meant to be one body in Christ.
He reminds his readers that the way they all entered into this community of the body of Christ was through baptism (as he does elsewhere: Romans 6:2-11; Galatians 3:27). Many have argued that Paul is referring to a special experience with the Spirit apart from baptism, but that is little more than wishful thinking. He is talking about the common unifying experience of entry into the Messiah’s body, the waters of baptism where all are equal. It is the Holy Spirit who enters the individual, sealing them as one who has entered into the body of Christ.
Beginning in verse 15, Paul modifies a popular saying of his day that was written by the Roman historian Livy. In that fable, the parts of the body speak to one another. Paul uses that image to make the point that no part of the body is without value or importance, so the possession or lack of certain spiritual gifts does not give one more or less value in Christ. Just as differences are necessary in order for the human body to function properly, so are they in the body of Christ. It is God who has arranged the parts just as they are, just as He wants them to be. This is an important reminder because God is not a respecter of persons. It is humans, thinking in a worldly way, that think of some humans as more important than others based on their spiritual gifts. God does not think or work that way. There must be different abilities and gifts so that the body of Christ can do all the things that need to be done.
As it is, though, Paul says, there is much diversity but there is but one body. Here again, he stresses the unity that comes from being in Christ over diversity. Diversity is necessary and important but it all pales in comparison to the way all Christians are united in Christ.
Devotional Thought
Paul is clear here, as he is in Galatians 3, that entry into the new humanity of the body of Christ cuts across all social and cultural divisions. Do you do that in your life in Christ? Do you and your church stand out from the people in your community by challenging social and cultural norms? Many people find that their church might engage in this anti-cultural inclusion, but they don’t so much in their own personal lives. Make a commitment to be as radical in your inclusion in your personal life as Paul called the first Christians to be.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Spiritual Gifts
1Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
Dig Deeper
A well-known American basketball player, Kobe Bryant, recently won his fourth NBA championship. He had won three very early in his career but spent the last several seasons coming up short, amidst much criticism that he was a selfish player. He no longer had great veteran players around him like he did when he was younger and won his championships, he was now surrounded by younger players. Bryant, said his critics, would never win again until he learned to trust his teammates and actually pass them the ball on occasion. Kobe had to learn that his immense individual talent would be of little advantage if he only used it with himself in mind. He had to harness it and use it to build up and support his teammates. He finally learned how to do this year and won another championship.
Paul now turns his attention to a question that the Corinthians have written him concerning spiritual gifts. There are many varieties of spiritual gifts, yet what Paul seems to be ultimately after is a realization among the Church for the need of unity. They have been operating as individuals not as a team. The great thing about good teams is that they have all sorts of players with different skills and talents. A good basketball team must have some players who can shoot from the outside well and others who can score from the inside. Just as they need these great offensive players, the team also needs great defensive players and great rebounders. Each player has his own gifts and when they are put all together towards the same purpose, a symphony of unity flows out in a beautiful display of team basketball. This is what Paul wants for the Corinthian Church. Just as a players on a team all need each other if they are to succeed, so do Christians in the Church.
The root problem that Paul is apparently dealing with is that some in the Church at Corinth were considering themselves more important than others in the Church. This is yet another sign of their problem with pride and self-focus, and is quite probably another instance of the rich and self-important looking down upon the rest of the Church. Paul will take the next three chapters to address this issue and it will help us greatly to remember that all three chapters are part of a larger argument. In this chapter Paul will address, in theory, the issue of unity. In chapter 13 he will remind the Corinthians that all of this must be seen in the light of the great motivator, love. In chapter 14, he will take the theory, drenched in love and apply it to real situations that they were having. He will bring this all together in chapter 15 as he discusses the foundation for the way they act in the present age which is the Gospel, the resurrection of Christ and the future resurrection of those in Christ.
Paul begins reminding them that they used to be pagans (or Gentiles). He has three points in this. The first is that He sees Christians as a different sort of human being from the normal categories of Jews and Gentiles. The second is somewhat of a sarcastic reminder that they have been wrong before. The third is to make an analogy. Just as pagans are led astray in their use of spiritual things, so were the Corinthians. They had not made a direct enough break between spiritual behavior and Christian behavior. Some of them were getting caught up in the emotional fervor of spiritual behavior rather than seeking to glorify God with their Christian spiritual gifts. It is easy to suppose that anything that looks spiritual is also automatically from God. Some in Corinth were getting caught up in the hype of their own spiritual gifts and believing that this spiritual experience made them better than others. Thus, Paul’s point is that it can be difficult to distinguish between genuine Christian behavior that glorifies God and ecstatic spiritual behavior that exalts oneself. The test is whether the behavior truly exalts Christ and acknowledge that “Jesus is Lord,” or does it exalt oneself and thus, ultimately, deny the lordship of Christ?
All of the different gifts and abilities that were available within the body of Christ must all be tempered by the unity of the source. In making this point, Paul turns to very trinitarian thought, although he is not directly addressing the issue of the Trinity. If he didn’t embrace some sort of belief in the equality and unity of the Trinity, though, verses 4-6 would not only be incoherent, they would be blasphemous. There are varieties of gifts given by the Spirit’s grace that are to be used in the Christ-like attitude of service, and are the result of God’s powerful working in someone’s life. All of the different aspects and gifts that are ordained by God, enabled by Christ, and bestowed by the Spirit must bring the body together not cause division among it.
Paul now turns to the discussion of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, but not before reminding them that these gifts are given for the common good, not for exhilarating personal experiences. He gives an extensive representative, but not exhaustive list of the gifts of the Spirit. He mentions nine gifts that can be divided generally into three categories. The first category is revelation (wisdom, and messages of knowledge); the second is proclamation (prophecy—giving the message; distinguishing between spirits—recognizing the proper message; and interpreting tongues—the proper language); the third is confirmation (faith, healing, miraculous powers and tongues) to confirm that one really was from God.
Verse 11 serves as a summary for what Paul has just said, yet it underlines his point. All of these gifts are the work of one and the same Spirit; they all come from the same source, the Spirit, who is perfectly united with God. Just as the Spirit is united with the Father and the Son, so should the Church be. At the same time, though, Paul points out that these gifts are given at the determination of the Spirit. Thus, in the same sentence he both confirms the unity of the Spirit and His gifts, while affirming the diversity of free will and creativity. Both are important in the body of Christ and a balance between unity and diversity must always be found and struck in the healthy Church.
Devotional Thought
Do you value the gifts that God has given you and the role in which the Spirit has placed you, or do you often question the gifts and role that God has given to you? We are often prone to the opposite errors of thinking ourselves better than others due to our gifts, or thinking our gifts not good enough when compared to others. Neither attitude pleases God. Where do you fall? Are you grateful and humble about the things God has given you or do you need to rethink your attitudes in this area?
1Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
Dig Deeper
A well-known American basketball player, Kobe Bryant, recently won his fourth NBA championship. He had won three very early in his career but spent the last several seasons coming up short, amidst much criticism that he was a selfish player. He no longer had great veteran players around him like he did when he was younger and won his championships, he was now surrounded by younger players. Bryant, said his critics, would never win again until he learned to trust his teammates and actually pass them the ball on occasion. Kobe had to learn that his immense individual talent would be of little advantage if he only used it with himself in mind. He had to harness it and use it to build up and support his teammates. He finally learned how to do this year and won another championship.
Paul now turns his attention to a question that the Corinthians have written him concerning spiritual gifts. There are many varieties of spiritual gifts, yet what Paul seems to be ultimately after is a realization among the Church for the need of unity. They have been operating as individuals not as a team. The great thing about good teams is that they have all sorts of players with different skills and talents. A good basketball team must have some players who can shoot from the outside well and others who can score from the inside. Just as they need these great offensive players, the team also needs great defensive players and great rebounders. Each player has his own gifts and when they are put all together towards the same purpose, a symphony of unity flows out in a beautiful display of team basketball. This is what Paul wants for the Corinthian Church. Just as a players on a team all need each other if they are to succeed, so do Christians in the Church.
The root problem that Paul is apparently dealing with is that some in the Church at Corinth were considering themselves more important than others in the Church. This is yet another sign of their problem with pride and self-focus, and is quite probably another instance of the rich and self-important looking down upon the rest of the Church. Paul will take the next three chapters to address this issue and it will help us greatly to remember that all three chapters are part of a larger argument. In this chapter Paul will address, in theory, the issue of unity. In chapter 13 he will remind the Corinthians that all of this must be seen in the light of the great motivator, love. In chapter 14, he will take the theory, drenched in love and apply it to real situations that they were having. He will bring this all together in chapter 15 as he discusses the foundation for the way they act in the present age which is the Gospel, the resurrection of Christ and the future resurrection of those in Christ.
Paul begins reminding them that they used to be pagans (or Gentiles). He has three points in this. The first is that He sees Christians as a different sort of human being from the normal categories of Jews and Gentiles. The second is somewhat of a sarcastic reminder that they have been wrong before. The third is to make an analogy. Just as pagans are led astray in their use of spiritual things, so were the Corinthians. They had not made a direct enough break between spiritual behavior and Christian behavior. Some of them were getting caught up in the emotional fervor of spiritual behavior rather than seeking to glorify God with their Christian spiritual gifts. It is easy to suppose that anything that looks spiritual is also automatically from God. Some in Corinth were getting caught up in the hype of their own spiritual gifts and believing that this spiritual experience made them better than others. Thus, Paul’s point is that it can be difficult to distinguish between genuine Christian behavior that glorifies God and ecstatic spiritual behavior that exalts oneself. The test is whether the behavior truly exalts Christ and acknowledge that “Jesus is Lord,” or does it exalt oneself and thus, ultimately, deny the lordship of Christ?
All of the different gifts and abilities that were available within the body of Christ must all be tempered by the unity of the source. In making this point, Paul turns to very trinitarian thought, although he is not directly addressing the issue of the Trinity. If he didn’t embrace some sort of belief in the equality and unity of the Trinity, though, verses 4-6 would not only be incoherent, they would be blasphemous. There are varieties of gifts given by the Spirit’s grace that are to be used in the Christ-like attitude of service, and are the result of God’s powerful working in someone’s life. All of the different aspects and gifts that are ordained by God, enabled by Christ, and bestowed by the Spirit must bring the body together not cause division among it.
Paul now turns to the discussion of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, but not before reminding them that these gifts are given for the common good, not for exhilarating personal experiences. He gives an extensive representative, but not exhaustive list of the gifts of the Spirit. He mentions nine gifts that can be divided generally into three categories. The first category is revelation (wisdom, and messages of knowledge); the second is proclamation (prophecy—giving the message; distinguishing between spirits—recognizing the proper message; and interpreting tongues—the proper language); the third is confirmation (faith, healing, miraculous powers and tongues) to confirm that one really was from God.
Verse 11 serves as a summary for what Paul has just said, yet it underlines his point. All of these gifts are the work of one and the same Spirit; they all come from the same source, the Spirit, who is perfectly united with God. Just as the Spirit is united with the Father and the Son, so should the Church be. At the same time, though, Paul points out that these gifts are given at the determination of the Spirit. Thus, in the same sentence he both confirms the unity of the Spirit and His gifts, while affirming the diversity of free will and creativity. Both are important in the body of Christ and a balance between unity and diversity must always be found and struck in the healthy Church.
Devotional Thought
Do you value the gifts that God has given you and the role in which the Spirit has placed you, or do you often question the gifts and role that God has given to you? We are often prone to the opposite errors of thinking ourselves better than others due to our gifts, or thinking our gifts not good enough when compared to others. Neither attitude pleases God. Where do you fall? Are you grateful and humble about the things God has given you or do you need to rethink your attitudes in this area?
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
1 Corinthians 11:23-34
23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
33So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
And when I come I will give further directions.
Dig Deeper
One of the policies that I always kept as a basketball coach was to expect the players to discipline themselves. There was a very clear expectation of what kind of people they would be if they were going to be on our team and it was clearly understood that they should hold themselves to that standard. In fact, if players did break certain team expectations, I expected the players themselves to bring judgment on the violators. If they refused or failed to do so in a proper manner, then I would have to step in and bring judgment. When all was said and done, their willingness or lack of willingness to institute self-discipline and judgment was a demonstration of their understanding of the team concept. If they truly understood the value of the team concept we were building then they would revere the team enough to not allow detrimental behaviors or attitudes.
This is something of what Paul is saying here concerning the Lord’s Supper. The Corinthians need to understand who they are and what exactly the Lord’s Supper is. If they don’t use it as an opportunity to examine and judge themselves properly, then they will face the judgment of the Lord Himself. If they refuse to deal with these divisions and attitudes during the Lord’s Supper then that was, in itself, a demonstration that they really did not understand or value the concept of the body of Christ.
The first thing that we have to realize is the seriousness with which Paul viewed the Lord’s Supper. There are two important things that color Paul’s investment of importance in the Lord’s Supper. The first is the very thing Paul declares in verse 26. Whenever Christians partake of the Lord’s Supper they proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. When he writes this he is not referring to the Communion message, nor is he saying that the Lord’s Supper is a great opportunity to preach. What Paul believes is that the Christian community taking part in the Lord’s Supper is actually announcing Christ’s death in and through the communion itself. The meal is not just a memory inducement, it is the action of the body of Christ being brought together into the Messiah’s death and declaring to the world that there is a different way to live. This announcement of Jesus’ death is a wonderful announcement for a world enslaved to sin, but it is also extremely subversive. The announcement of Jesus’ death is also a declaration that all of the rulers and authorities in this world are mere pretenders to the throne. It is the announcement of the kingdom of God, the announcement that life and resurrection are available to all those that would enter into the life of Christ.
The second thing Paul believes about communion is that, when it is taken, the Lord Himself is actually present. It is the point in time when the past of Jesus’ death meets the future of His imminent return. The Lord’s Supper is a time when all of history, past, present, and future converge. As surely as the power of the Cross is present, it also brings the future to bear. Just as the Israelites were able to eat of the fruit of the promised land while they were still in the desert, the communion is a meal of the age to come. It doesn’t just point to the age to come, although it does do that. Just as the Israelites were truly eating the fruit of the promised land, but were not there, so do we eat the Lord’s Supper, becoming the body of Christ, the people of the ‘age to come’ in the present age.
All of what Paul believes about and will say concerning the Lord’s Supper comes from the traditions that have been transmitted to him. What Paul does not state clearly is how he received this particular tradition. The language he uses is ambiguous and could refer to the fact that he received the tradition orally through the types of eyewitnesses such as Luke describes in Luke 1:2. In this case, his point in verse 23 would be that the tradition was passed down straight from the Lord through these sources. It is also possible, however, that Paul is referring to a direct revelation from Christ of the sort which he describes in Galatians 1:12.
With Paul’s understanding of the Lord’s Supper in mind, his words concerning judgment become a bit clearer. First, we should say that Paul is addressing Christians and should not be applied to a non-Christian who takes part in the Lord’s Supper without really understanding what they are doing. This is meal that acts and announces to the world that those partaking in it are actually becoming the body of Christ, united in His death and being raised to His life. This is another allusion to baptism, the moment when we reach into the future and pull down our judgment in the present. Thus, Christians face the Lord’s judgment in the present age, which manifests itself as being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. The Christian should either examine and judge themselves, making themselves available to the Lord’s discipline in the present or risk the scrutiny and judgment of the Lord himself when he returns. Trust me, we would rather be part of the body of Christ and face His discipline and training now rather than facing His judgment when He returns. In fact, Paul believes that this is so serious and that all of life is so interlocking, that disregarding the Lord’s discipline could result in his disciplining them by allowing them to get sick and even die (Paul is not at all arguing that all sicknesses are a result of sin, he merely opens this as a possibility in some cases, no doubt alluding to situations like Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5.
When they were dividing the body of Christ by their actions, they were denying in action the very thing that they were claiming to be by partaking in the Lord’s Supper. To have a communion meal while dividing the body of Christ would be like having a wedding ceremony for a divorce proceeding. It just doesn’t make sense.
Finally, Paul brings his point back to his original criticism. When they come together they should wait until everyone is there and then ensure that everyone is treated as an honored guest. They should not put social custom ahead of the very meaning of the meal and so, nullify the very point of the Lord’s Supper, endangering themselves of incurring God’s judgment rather than His discipline. Paul’s final words, promising further instruction on this issue, reminds us that the Bible, although absolutely authoritative, does not cover every possible situation. It is up to us to responsibly think through other areas of church life and practice and apply the principles of the bible in a discerning manner.
Devotional Thought
Do you have the same high view of the Lord’s Supper as Paul did? Do you see it as a time when the past of the Cross and the future of the ‘age to come’ actually converge in the present? Each time you take communion, remind yourself that you are eating of the food of the ‘age to come’, and at the same time, taking part in the powerful act of being joined together as the body of the Messiah.
27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
33So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
And when I come I will give further directions.
Dig Deeper
One of the policies that I always kept as a basketball coach was to expect the players to discipline themselves. There was a very clear expectation of what kind of people they would be if they were going to be on our team and it was clearly understood that they should hold themselves to that standard. In fact, if players did break certain team expectations, I expected the players themselves to bring judgment on the violators. If they refused or failed to do so in a proper manner, then I would have to step in and bring judgment. When all was said and done, their willingness or lack of willingness to institute self-discipline and judgment was a demonstration of their understanding of the team concept. If they truly understood the value of the team concept we were building then they would revere the team enough to not allow detrimental behaviors or attitudes.
This is something of what Paul is saying here concerning the Lord’s Supper. The Corinthians need to understand who they are and what exactly the Lord’s Supper is. If they don’t use it as an opportunity to examine and judge themselves properly, then they will face the judgment of the Lord Himself. If they refuse to deal with these divisions and attitudes during the Lord’s Supper then that was, in itself, a demonstration that they really did not understand or value the concept of the body of Christ.
The first thing that we have to realize is the seriousness with which Paul viewed the Lord’s Supper. There are two important things that color Paul’s investment of importance in the Lord’s Supper. The first is the very thing Paul declares in verse 26. Whenever Christians partake of the Lord’s Supper they proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. When he writes this he is not referring to the Communion message, nor is he saying that the Lord’s Supper is a great opportunity to preach. What Paul believes is that the Christian community taking part in the Lord’s Supper is actually announcing Christ’s death in and through the communion itself. The meal is not just a memory inducement, it is the action of the body of Christ being brought together into the Messiah’s death and declaring to the world that there is a different way to live. This announcement of Jesus’ death is a wonderful announcement for a world enslaved to sin, but it is also extremely subversive. The announcement of Jesus’ death is also a declaration that all of the rulers and authorities in this world are mere pretenders to the throne. It is the announcement of the kingdom of God, the announcement that life and resurrection are available to all those that would enter into the life of Christ.
The second thing Paul believes about communion is that, when it is taken, the Lord Himself is actually present. It is the point in time when the past of Jesus’ death meets the future of His imminent return. The Lord’s Supper is a time when all of history, past, present, and future converge. As surely as the power of the Cross is present, it also brings the future to bear. Just as the Israelites were able to eat of the fruit of the promised land while they were still in the desert, the communion is a meal of the age to come. It doesn’t just point to the age to come, although it does do that. Just as the Israelites were truly eating the fruit of the promised land, but were not there, so do we eat the Lord’s Supper, becoming the body of Christ, the people of the ‘age to come’ in the present age.
All of what Paul believes about and will say concerning the Lord’s Supper comes from the traditions that have been transmitted to him. What Paul does not state clearly is how he received this particular tradition. The language he uses is ambiguous and could refer to the fact that he received the tradition orally through the types of eyewitnesses such as Luke describes in Luke 1:2. In this case, his point in verse 23 would be that the tradition was passed down straight from the Lord through these sources. It is also possible, however, that Paul is referring to a direct revelation from Christ of the sort which he describes in Galatians 1:12.
With Paul’s understanding of the Lord’s Supper in mind, his words concerning judgment become a bit clearer. First, we should say that Paul is addressing Christians and should not be applied to a non-Christian who takes part in the Lord’s Supper without really understanding what they are doing. This is meal that acts and announces to the world that those partaking in it are actually becoming the body of Christ, united in His death and being raised to His life. This is another allusion to baptism, the moment when we reach into the future and pull down our judgment in the present. Thus, Christians face the Lord’s judgment in the present age, which manifests itself as being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. The Christian should either examine and judge themselves, making themselves available to the Lord’s discipline in the present or risk the scrutiny and judgment of the Lord himself when he returns. Trust me, we would rather be part of the body of Christ and face His discipline and training now rather than facing His judgment when He returns. In fact, Paul believes that this is so serious and that all of life is so interlocking, that disregarding the Lord’s discipline could result in his disciplining them by allowing them to get sick and even die (Paul is not at all arguing that all sicknesses are a result of sin, he merely opens this as a possibility in some cases, no doubt alluding to situations like Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5.
When they were dividing the body of Christ by their actions, they were denying in action the very thing that they were claiming to be by partaking in the Lord’s Supper. To have a communion meal while dividing the body of Christ would be like having a wedding ceremony for a divorce proceeding. It just doesn’t make sense.
Finally, Paul brings his point back to his original criticism. When they come together they should wait until everyone is there and then ensure that everyone is treated as an honored guest. They should not put social custom ahead of the very meaning of the meal and so, nullify the very point of the Lord’s Supper, endangering themselves of incurring God’s judgment rather than His discipline. Paul’s final words, promising further instruction on this issue, reminds us that the Bible, although absolutely authoritative, does not cover every possible situation. It is up to us to responsibly think through other areas of church life and practice and apply the principles of the bible in a discerning manner.
Devotional Thought
Do you have the same high view of the Lord’s Supper as Paul did? Do you see it as a time when the past of the Cross and the future of the ‘age to come’ actually converge in the present? Each time you take communion, remind yourself that you are eating of the food of the ‘age to come’, and at the same time, taking part in the powerful act of being joined together as the body of the Messiah.
Monday, June 15, 2009
1 Corinthians 11:17-22
17In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval. 20When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, 21for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. 22Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!
Dig Deeper
One of the great ironies of the early years of America is that in our new country’s quest for freedom and equality, those very things were denied to millions of black slaves. In blurring many lines of social custom and culture, there were other lines that had not even been questioned. The shocking thing for us today, is that we realize that in many ways, these racial lines are among the very first that should have been dealt with if true freedom was to be achieved. It is simply a sham, in many ways, to stand up above the crowd and claim to be the land of the free when you are standing on the necks of millions of black slaves in order to do so. America could not even begin to truly be the land that she claimed to be until that fundamental issue that caused anger and disgust for so many was dealt with.
Paul feels the same shock and disgust as he hears reports of what is going on in Corinth. In the previous passage, Paul dealt with the fact that in bringing equality and freedom in Christ, the Corinthians had blurred natural lines of the created order that did not need to be meddled with. Now he turns his attention to the rift between rich and poor. Like the treatment of slaves in America, this should be an obvious distinction that is realized as contrary to the very nature of the body of Christ, yet it is one that the Corinthians have continued without much thought as to the fundamental contradiction between their actions and their status in Christ.
Whereas before, Paul praised the Corinthian effort but redirected their actual practice, here he has not even a morsel of praise to offer them. He can’t even offer a bit of consolation by saying that their heart was in the right place. In fact, he says that by meeting the way they have, they are doing more harm than good. This is a remarkable chastisement that can only make sense if we recall Paul’s understanding that the body of Christ is the true and only representative of Christ to the world. Their heart and actions in the case of the Lord’s Supper have been such a contrast to true heart of Christ, that it would be better if they had not even met together. In creating divisions during the Lord’s Supper they were denying the very nature of the meal itself. The Lord’s Supper was a declaration to the world of their unity as one body in Christ, so to come together and divide themselves over petty values of the world was to nullify the very thing they were claiming to take part in. It would be like a groom committing adultery during his wedding reception, violating the whole point of the event of which he is taking part.
Paul confirms that what he is addressing here comes from the oral reports that he received. This means that this is presumably not a question written from the Corinthians; in other words, they didn’t even see this as an issue worthy asking Paul about. They were just going about having the Lord’s Supper in the manner which Paul talks about here as a normal course of events. So what were they doing that was so distasteful?
As with many things in a letter like this, it is difficult to piece together the precise situation, but based on what Paul says we can get a pretty good idea. When the Church in Corinth came together they were practicing and continuing divisions among them. These are not the same divisions that Paul addressed earlier in the letter. These are division based on social status and wealth. It was common among trade union dinners in Corinth for people of all classes to eat, but very clear distinctions would be made between the rich and the poor. The Corinthians had continued this practice without question. The wealthier Christians in Corinth were hosting these love feasts or communion meals, but were evidently continuing the practice of having the rich eat in the main, private dining room and being served the very best food and wine. Meanwhile, the poorer among them , who probably would have arrived late because they were working, would be placed in outer rooms that reminded them of their lower standing. The only food they would receive was some leftovers or they would be served inferior food. It is even possible that they weren’t served any food but were expected bring their own, which they would have been very limited in being able to do. Thus, a small, wealthy minority were gorging themselves, while others were getting very little or none.
Although many take verse 19 at face value, It is probably best understood as biting sarcasm. Paul is saying something to the effect of, “Are you sure you really want to perpetuate divisions? Because if you do, the only divisions that have been created are ones that show that some of you don’t get it at all. All you’ve done is show that you do not have God’s approval.”
It is important to note that Paul’s issue is not that some are wealthy. He does not deny them the right to eat well and enjoy their homes. The problem is that when they come together to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, it is not the Lord’s Supper at all because of the worldly attitudes they are displaying. Paul has been trying to show them throughout this letter the life in Christ that they are supposed to be living and how that looks in the real world of their everyday lives. They are supposed to be modeling the true humanity, the life of Christ to the world. Instead, however, they are acting just like them. They are despising the very church of God of which they claim to be a part when they act like this. By their practices, they have shamed and humiliated the poor. This, Paul wants them to know in no uncertain terms, is contrary to everything it means to be a Christian.
Based on Paul’s statement in verse 22, it appears that the Corinthians thought they might be praised for this. They apparently believed that in welcoming the poor into their home, they had created a pluralism to be praised rather than a divisiveness to be derided. Paul notes that there is nothing in their actions to be praised. Christian unity is essential but unity without diversity is meaningless. But that diversity should not be the cause of separation or division. In the body of Christ, all must be treated equally and with respect or God’s church, and in fact, Christ Himself are being shown disdain.
As Christians today, we must realize that we face the same fundamental issues even if they manifest in different ways. We still have divides in the body of Christ over wealth, race, and many other issues. We still have cliques in the body of Christ. We need to seriously examine and challenge those inequities when we see them. It is important to not be over-sensitive and imagine cliques or exclusion when they are not there, but when divides and exclusion are taking place, we must take the same harsh action that Paul did. We simply cannot stand for this kind of behavior in the body of Christ. If we do allow it to continue, then, says Paul, we’re not being the body of Christ at all.
Devotional Thought
We don’t tend to have entire meals when we meet together for the Lord’s Supper but when we do all eat together we usually make sure that everyone eats the same. Yet, are there other ways in our churches that we allow the wealthy and the poor to create the same divisions and send the same subtle or not-so-subtle signals that are sent in society? Or, do we allow other areas of division to continue in the Church unchecked and undealt with?
Dig Deeper
One of the great ironies of the early years of America is that in our new country’s quest for freedom and equality, those very things were denied to millions of black slaves. In blurring many lines of social custom and culture, there were other lines that had not even been questioned. The shocking thing for us today, is that we realize that in many ways, these racial lines are among the very first that should have been dealt with if true freedom was to be achieved. It is simply a sham, in many ways, to stand up above the crowd and claim to be the land of the free when you are standing on the necks of millions of black slaves in order to do so. America could not even begin to truly be the land that she claimed to be until that fundamental issue that caused anger and disgust for so many was dealt with.
Paul feels the same shock and disgust as he hears reports of what is going on in Corinth. In the previous passage, Paul dealt with the fact that in bringing equality and freedom in Christ, the Corinthians had blurred natural lines of the created order that did not need to be meddled with. Now he turns his attention to the rift between rich and poor. Like the treatment of slaves in America, this should be an obvious distinction that is realized as contrary to the very nature of the body of Christ, yet it is one that the Corinthians have continued without much thought as to the fundamental contradiction between their actions and their status in Christ.
Whereas before, Paul praised the Corinthian effort but redirected their actual practice, here he has not even a morsel of praise to offer them. He can’t even offer a bit of consolation by saying that their heart was in the right place. In fact, he says that by meeting the way they have, they are doing more harm than good. This is a remarkable chastisement that can only make sense if we recall Paul’s understanding that the body of Christ is the true and only representative of Christ to the world. Their heart and actions in the case of the Lord’s Supper have been such a contrast to true heart of Christ, that it would be better if they had not even met together. In creating divisions during the Lord’s Supper they were denying the very nature of the meal itself. The Lord’s Supper was a declaration to the world of their unity as one body in Christ, so to come together and divide themselves over petty values of the world was to nullify the very thing they were claiming to take part in. It would be like a groom committing adultery during his wedding reception, violating the whole point of the event of which he is taking part.
Paul confirms that what he is addressing here comes from the oral reports that he received. This means that this is presumably not a question written from the Corinthians; in other words, they didn’t even see this as an issue worthy asking Paul about. They were just going about having the Lord’s Supper in the manner which Paul talks about here as a normal course of events. So what were they doing that was so distasteful?
As with many things in a letter like this, it is difficult to piece together the precise situation, but based on what Paul says we can get a pretty good idea. When the Church in Corinth came together they were practicing and continuing divisions among them. These are not the same divisions that Paul addressed earlier in the letter. These are division based on social status and wealth. It was common among trade union dinners in Corinth for people of all classes to eat, but very clear distinctions would be made between the rich and the poor. The Corinthians had continued this practice without question. The wealthier Christians in Corinth were hosting these love feasts or communion meals, but were evidently continuing the practice of having the rich eat in the main, private dining room and being served the very best food and wine. Meanwhile, the poorer among them , who probably would have arrived late because they were working, would be placed in outer rooms that reminded them of their lower standing. The only food they would receive was some leftovers or they would be served inferior food. It is even possible that they weren’t served any food but were expected bring their own, which they would have been very limited in being able to do. Thus, a small, wealthy minority were gorging themselves, while others were getting very little or none.
Although many take verse 19 at face value, It is probably best understood as biting sarcasm. Paul is saying something to the effect of, “Are you sure you really want to perpetuate divisions? Because if you do, the only divisions that have been created are ones that show that some of you don’t get it at all. All you’ve done is show that you do not have God’s approval.”
It is important to note that Paul’s issue is not that some are wealthy. He does not deny them the right to eat well and enjoy their homes. The problem is that when they come together to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, it is not the Lord’s Supper at all because of the worldly attitudes they are displaying. Paul has been trying to show them throughout this letter the life in Christ that they are supposed to be living and how that looks in the real world of their everyday lives. They are supposed to be modeling the true humanity, the life of Christ to the world. Instead, however, they are acting just like them. They are despising the very church of God of which they claim to be a part when they act like this. By their practices, they have shamed and humiliated the poor. This, Paul wants them to know in no uncertain terms, is contrary to everything it means to be a Christian.
Based on Paul’s statement in verse 22, it appears that the Corinthians thought they might be praised for this. They apparently believed that in welcoming the poor into their home, they had created a pluralism to be praised rather than a divisiveness to be derided. Paul notes that there is nothing in their actions to be praised. Christian unity is essential but unity without diversity is meaningless. But that diversity should not be the cause of separation or division. In the body of Christ, all must be treated equally and with respect or God’s church, and in fact, Christ Himself are being shown disdain.
As Christians today, we must realize that we face the same fundamental issues even if they manifest in different ways. We still have divides in the body of Christ over wealth, race, and many other issues. We still have cliques in the body of Christ. We need to seriously examine and challenge those inequities when we see them. It is important to not be over-sensitive and imagine cliques or exclusion when they are not there, but when divides and exclusion are taking place, we must take the same harsh action that Paul did. We simply cannot stand for this kind of behavior in the body of Christ. If we do allow it to continue, then, says Paul, we’re not being the body of Christ at all.
Devotional Thought
We don’t tend to have entire meals when we meet together for the Lord’s Supper but when we do all eat together we usually make sure that everyone eats the same. Yet, are there other ways in our churches that we allow the wealthy and the poor to create the same divisions and send the same subtle or not-so-subtle signals that are sent in society? Or, do we allow other areas of division to continue in the Church unchecked and undealt with?
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
1 Corinthians 11:2-16
Propriety in Worship
2I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you.
3Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 4Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is just as though her head were shaved. 6If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. 7A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. 8For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.
11In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. 13Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. 16If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God.
Dig Deeper
This next section is admittedly among the most difficult to understand in the entire Bible. It contains language that is at times difficult to determine whether Paul is using it literally or metaphorically. It also is difficult because we do not know the situation in Corinth that induced this discussion, so at best, we can attempt to make educated guesses as to what exactly Paul was addressing and what he was trying to accomplish with this passage. In fact, many biblical scholars tend to throw their hands up at this passage and surrender. Keeping in mind that, at almost every turn, there are different ways to interpret and understand what Paul is saying, we will attempt an approach at interpreting this passage that goes beyond asking a lot of questions only to come to the conclusion that we don’t know what exactly Paul was trying to say. We will not have the time to discuss the various possibilities for this passage, though, and will only present one view.
Paul begins with a brief word of praise before moving on to what he wants to teach them concerning this topic. His primary concern throughout this passage is with authority and propriety in worship. We should also be clear that Genesis 2 is a backdrop for most of this passage. The word that Paul uses for ‘head’ in verse 3 is kephale. He is seemingly using the term in a metaphorical sense, in that he he means ‘head’ in the sense of the one with authority in the example that they set, such as a military leader who charges into battle ahead of troops. This would make sense, considering that Paul has just urged them to imitate him as he imitates Christ. The words translated ‘woman’ and ‘man’ here can also mean ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ and should probably be understood to read, “and the head of the wife is the husband.” Thus, Paul is not offering a complete hierarchy of the creation, rather he is offering several examples of authority that should be imitated. In a sense, then, his point is that the leader, or the one to be imitated, is Christ for the man, the husband for the wife, and God, the Father, for Christ.
It seems that women in Corinth were taking Paul’s teachings, as seen in places like Galatians 3:27, to heart. They believed that there were truly no divisions or distinctions among the body of Christ, but were taking that to an extreme. They were moving beyond the idea that salvation was open to all, moving past the fact that women were clearly allowed to pray and prophesy during official worship (something that needs to be remembered when we get to chapter 14) and even moving past the sometimes radical equality of status that Jesus and his followers gave to women; they were apparently arguing that there should be absolutely no difference in men or women in any way. This is ultimately an issue of authority that was being manifested in many different ways.
Some of the Corinthian women, in their quest for total equality, were going too far. They were throwing all social customs to the wind, which could be a big problem. Among other things, we can assume, they were wearing absolutely no head covering and letting their hair down during worship. Paul uses this as an example for two reasons. The first is that generally only prostitutes in that society went around without their head covered. In exercising their freedom, they were doing more harm to the Christian reputation than good (once again Paul returns to the concept of exercising freedom in the larger context of selfless love). They were not thinking of the delicate conscience and sensibilities of those around them, particularly visitors who might come and be completely turned off by such a display. The second is that having a covering on one’s head was a sign of authority. Thus, a woman needed to have her head covered in that society to demonstrate that she recognized her own role. Verses 7, 8 and 9, then, are not meant to put women in their place. They are a celebration of women. In trying to live out the equality for all humans in Christ, they were actually casting off the very nature of being a woman as though the role of women was inferior. Paul’s point is that women are exactly as God created them and that they shouldn’t try to escape their God-given role.
He then adds one more reason in verse 10. Most commentators don’t quite know what to do with this verse. It is, quite possibly a reference to the fallen angels of Genesis 6, that came and consorted with women, producing the Nephilim. These women and angels had abandoned their God-given domains of role and authority. Because of the spike in demonic activity during the ministry of Jesus and the early church, there was apparently some fear that more fallen angels might attempt the behavior described in Genesis 6 (cf. 2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6,7 and many early church fathers talked about these fallen angels and their offspring). Thus Paul gives them one more reason to remain in their God-given roles and domains: they don’t want to go outside of these roles and cast off the authority that God had provided, opening themselves up to perversions. Paul probably doesn’t really think that it is a possibility for them to consort with more fallen angels, but rather, uses this as an extreme example of what can happen when women cast off the roles that God has given them.
They should realize that roles are important. They don’t exalt one gender over the other, they are just different. The fact is men and women are interdependent, yet we should always keep in mind that everything comes from God. Paul finishes with a return appeal to follow the social custom which demonstrates propriety. In verse 16, he assumes that this might not be taken well, but returns to the idea from chapter 1, that the body of Christ goes far beyond Corinth. All the other centers of the body of Christ understand this concept and so should they.
It really all does come back to his ongoing argument about finding a balance between living the life of God’s future age to come in the present age and the need to still put the interests of others ahead of their own freedom. We do have freedom in Christ, men and women alike, but that freedom needs to be tempered by love and interest for others. It is always a fine line for Christians to determine and discern the line between inappropriately bowing to our culture rather than following the life of Christ and properly limiting ourselves so as not to set up a barrier to someone who might otherwise be drawn to the Gospel or to harm another brother or sister in Christ that have a stricter conscience. Above all, the self-giving love of Christ becoming increasing manifest in our lives should be the determining factor.
Devotional Thought
For Paul, worship was part of the reconciliation of the creation. It was the time when a small part of the world was truly set to rights. Worship is a window into the ‘age to come’. This is why Paul is adamant about having the proper understanding, attitude, and order in worship. Do you see worship as a time when Christians demonstrate to the world what it looks like to be in perfect harmony with God?
2I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you.
3Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 4Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is just as though her head were shaved. 6If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. 7A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. 8For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.
11In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. 13Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. 16If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God.
Dig Deeper
This next section is admittedly among the most difficult to understand in the entire Bible. It contains language that is at times difficult to determine whether Paul is using it literally or metaphorically. It also is difficult because we do not know the situation in Corinth that induced this discussion, so at best, we can attempt to make educated guesses as to what exactly Paul was addressing and what he was trying to accomplish with this passage. In fact, many biblical scholars tend to throw their hands up at this passage and surrender. Keeping in mind that, at almost every turn, there are different ways to interpret and understand what Paul is saying, we will attempt an approach at interpreting this passage that goes beyond asking a lot of questions only to come to the conclusion that we don’t know what exactly Paul was trying to say. We will not have the time to discuss the various possibilities for this passage, though, and will only present one view.
Paul begins with a brief word of praise before moving on to what he wants to teach them concerning this topic. His primary concern throughout this passage is with authority and propriety in worship. We should also be clear that Genesis 2 is a backdrop for most of this passage. The word that Paul uses for ‘head’ in verse 3 is kephale. He is seemingly using the term in a metaphorical sense, in that he he means ‘head’ in the sense of the one with authority in the example that they set, such as a military leader who charges into battle ahead of troops. This would make sense, considering that Paul has just urged them to imitate him as he imitates Christ. The words translated ‘woman’ and ‘man’ here can also mean ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ and should probably be understood to read, “and the head of the wife is the husband.” Thus, Paul is not offering a complete hierarchy of the creation, rather he is offering several examples of authority that should be imitated. In a sense, then, his point is that the leader, or the one to be imitated, is Christ for the man, the husband for the wife, and God, the Father, for Christ.
It seems that women in Corinth were taking Paul’s teachings, as seen in places like Galatians 3:27, to heart. They believed that there were truly no divisions or distinctions among the body of Christ, but were taking that to an extreme. They were moving beyond the idea that salvation was open to all, moving past the fact that women were clearly allowed to pray and prophesy during official worship (something that needs to be remembered when we get to chapter 14) and even moving past the sometimes radical equality of status that Jesus and his followers gave to women; they were apparently arguing that there should be absolutely no difference in men or women in any way. This is ultimately an issue of authority that was being manifested in many different ways.
Some of the Corinthian women, in their quest for total equality, were going too far. They were throwing all social customs to the wind, which could be a big problem. Among other things, we can assume, they were wearing absolutely no head covering and letting their hair down during worship. Paul uses this as an example for two reasons. The first is that generally only prostitutes in that society went around without their head covered. In exercising their freedom, they were doing more harm to the Christian reputation than good (once again Paul returns to the concept of exercising freedom in the larger context of selfless love). They were not thinking of the delicate conscience and sensibilities of those around them, particularly visitors who might come and be completely turned off by such a display. The second is that having a covering on one’s head was a sign of authority. Thus, a woman needed to have her head covered in that society to demonstrate that she recognized her own role. Verses 7, 8 and 9, then, are not meant to put women in their place. They are a celebration of women. In trying to live out the equality for all humans in Christ, they were actually casting off the very nature of being a woman as though the role of women was inferior. Paul’s point is that women are exactly as God created them and that they shouldn’t try to escape their God-given role.
He then adds one more reason in verse 10. Most commentators don’t quite know what to do with this verse. It is, quite possibly a reference to the fallen angels of Genesis 6, that came and consorted with women, producing the Nephilim. These women and angels had abandoned their God-given domains of role and authority. Because of the spike in demonic activity during the ministry of Jesus and the early church, there was apparently some fear that more fallen angels might attempt the behavior described in Genesis 6 (cf. 2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6,7 and many early church fathers talked about these fallen angels and their offspring). Thus Paul gives them one more reason to remain in their God-given roles and domains: they don’t want to go outside of these roles and cast off the authority that God had provided, opening themselves up to perversions. Paul probably doesn’t really think that it is a possibility for them to consort with more fallen angels, but rather, uses this as an extreme example of what can happen when women cast off the roles that God has given them.
They should realize that roles are important. They don’t exalt one gender over the other, they are just different. The fact is men and women are interdependent, yet we should always keep in mind that everything comes from God. Paul finishes with a return appeal to follow the social custom which demonstrates propriety. In verse 16, he assumes that this might not be taken well, but returns to the idea from chapter 1, that the body of Christ goes far beyond Corinth. All the other centers of the body of Christ understand this concept and so should they.
It really all does come back to his ongoing argument about finding a balance between living the life of God’s future age to come in the present age and the need to still put the interests of others ahead of their own freedom. We do have freedom in Christ, men and women alike, but that freedom needs to be tempered by love and interest for others. It is always a fine line for Christians to determine and discern the line between inappropriately bowing to our culture rather than following the life of Christ and properly limiting ourselves so as not to set up a barrier to someone who might otherwise be drawn to the Gospel or to harm another brother or sister in Christ that have a stricter conscience. Above all, the self-giving love of Christ becoming increasing manifest in our lives should be the determining factor.
Devotional Thought
For Paul, worship was part of the reconciliation of the creation. It was the time when a small part of the world was truly set to rights. Worship is a window into the ‘age to come’. This is why Paul is adamant about having the proper understanding, attitude, and order in worship. Do you see worship as a time when Christians demonstrate to the world what it looks like to be in perfect harmony with God?
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1
23"Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive. 24Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
25Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it."
27If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28But if anyone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience' sake— 29the other man's conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience? 30If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?
31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
1 Corinthians 11
1Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
Dig Deeper
There are two types of good preachers. One is the preacher who is able to grasp and communicate the large, sweeping principles and themes from the Bible. This type of preaching helps to inspire and enliven listeners but can often leave them searching for what to do when it comes to specific situations in their lives. The other type of good preacher is one who is able to concretely and understandably preach the small details of the Scriptures. These preachers are great at giving practical advice, but often miss the great themes of Scripture that tie all of the little things together. The great preachers are the ones who can communicate both the big-picture themes and the practical details. This is exactly what Paul does in this passage in finally bringing to a close his long discussion on eating meat sacrificed to pagan idols. In fact Paul deals with the big-picture view in verses 23-24. In verses 25-30, he narrows his focus into more practical, real-to-life, situations. Finally, he finishes the remainder of his thought by widening back out to an even broader view than in verses 23-24, one which gives a full perspective to the balancing act of freedom and concern for others.
Paul returns to his format that he began in 6:12 of quoting the Corinthian’s slogans and then answering them. He picks up the slogan, everything is permissible, with a double response that magnifies the importance of this principle. In one sense, Paul might agree that everything is permissible, but that would be missing the larger picture. Even if it is true that the types of things being discussed are permissible, they must meet the more important criterion of being beneficial and constructive. Paul now sums this up with a slogan of his own: Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. Real freedom is the realization that it doesn’t need to be exercised all of the time, otherwise one would be in the ironic position of being a slave to their freedom. The only one to whom the Christian should be enslaved is Christ because each Christian has entered into the life of Christ and has an obligation to live as He did. As Paul pointed out in chapter 6, our lives and bodies belong to Christ and he has reserved them for resurrection so what we do with them matters. How we live in community with other Christians and treat our brothers and sisters in Christ matters. Thus Paul is teaching a very Christlike attitude of “not my good, but yours be done.”
Paul now turns his attention to the particular situations in which the Corinthians find themselves. He quotes Psalm 24:1 in verifying that everything belongs to the Lord, and so, they should have no problem eating meat sold in the market place. This may seem confusing, because in v. 14-22, Paul has made it clear that they should not, under any circumstances, go into pagan temples and take part in the pagan rituals. A closer look, however, will show us, that this is not at all a contradiction, but rather a distinction between venue and menu. The temples are off-limits to the discerning Christian, but the food is not. The pagans may be sacrificing that meat to idols, but if a Christian eats and is not bothered by that history, knowing that they are not honoring the pagan god in any way then they should feel free to do so.
Beginning in verse 27, Paul narrows his focus even more, as he offers a specific example that could happen to any Corinthian Christian. In the first century, dinner parties were held in a much more open, less private manner than they are now, so anyone might walk by and see what was going on or make comment on the happenings. Paul would like for all Christians to get to the point where they did realize the full extent of their freedoms, but he realizes that the conscience is a tricky thing. It cannot be rushed or forced, but it can do great damage if it is violated. So, if another Christian were to walk by and take offense at the situation, then they should put the good of that person ahead of their own freedom and refuse the food. They do not have to refrain from eating any food for their own sake, so this is not a restriction on their freedom. When the good of a third party comes into play, Christians have a different set of responsibilities that trump their freedoms.
Verses 29b and 30 should be understood as Paul providing an imaginary dialogue between himself and any objectors in Corinth who might not agree with him. He asks two questions in this dialogue before answering them: Why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience and why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? The answer to these questions is the overriding principle of the entire section. Whatever a Christian does should be done for the glory of God. Because of this, Christians should be careful not to cause anyone to stumble. These two principles mirror the two great commandments given by Christ, himself: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself’ (Luke 10:27). Paul’s underlying goal in all of this is to accomplish the the same goal for which Christ came, to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). For Paul, then this is what it looks like when the Christian truly clothes themselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27) and walks about in the ‘real world’. It is not, we should carefully note, that the practice of eating meat or anything similar becomes a sin because it violates another’s conscience. The action is still perfectly acceptable, but should be passed on for the benefit of the one who is genuinely bothered by it.
Let’s take this principle and put a modern face on it. One Christian is deeply bothered by Harry Potter movies and books, believing sincerely that they are dangerous and can pull someone into the occult, and at the very least, support and celebrate the dark arts. Another Christian believes that the books are simple fantasy and know that they in no way plan to participate in magic, talking to the dead, the occult, or anything else involved in the Harry Potter story. Applying Paul’s principles to this situation would mean that it is probably fine for a Christian to read a Harry Potter book so long as their conscience is not pricked by the Holy Spirit. Yet, for the Christian who is sincerely bothered by these things, it would be wrong, a sin in fact. The Christian who feels the freedom to engage in the books and movies should be careful to not flaunt their freedom so that it makes the Christian with the stricter conscience struggle, nor should they encourage the stricter Christian to ‘loosen up’ and try it anyway. They might come to that conclusion on their own but it shouldn’t be forced. At the same time, the Christian with the stricter conscience should seek to not bind the freer Christians to their belief or get up in arms and accuse their brothers and sisters of sin for cracking open the new Harry Potter book. Above all, love, unity, and concern for others should trump our own individual beliefs in disputable matters that don’t involve clear-cut biblical mandates or doctrines.
Paul’s final exhortation on this specific topic is for them to follow his example as he follows the example of Christ. This should not be taken out of context, as has sometimes been done. Paul’s call for imitation is limited to his example of living the life of Christ. Ultimately, the real imitation taking place is the act of imitating Christ. It is both the privilege and the obligation of each Christian to realize that they no longer live in the realm of sin but have taken up the life of Christ.
Devotional Thought
The primary principle that Paul wishes for the Corinthians to grasp is the need to glorify God in everything that they do. How have you been doing in living up to this standard? Is it your main aim to glorify God in every possible area of your life? If it hasn’t been, why not?
25Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it."
27If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28But if anyone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience' sake— 29the other man's conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience? 30If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?
31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
1 Corinthians 11
1Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
Dig Deeper
There are two types of good preachers. One is the preacher who is able to grasp and communicate the large, sweeping principles and themes from the Bible. This type of preaching helps to inspire and enliven listeners but can often leave them searching for what to do when it comes to specific situations in their lives. The other type of good preacher is one who is able to concretely and understandably preach the small details of the Scriptures. These preachers are great at giving practical advice, but often miss the great themes of Scripture that tie all of the little things together. The great preachers are the ones who can communicate both the big-picture themes and the practical details. This is exactly what Paul does in this passage in finally bringing to a close his long discussion on eating meat sacrificed to pagan idols. In fact Paul deals with the big-picture view in verses 23-24. In verses 25-30, he narrows his focus into more practical, real-to-life, situations. Finally, he finishes the remainder of his thought by widening back out to an even broader view than in verses 23-24, one which gives a full perspective to the balancing act of freedom and concern for others.
Paul returns to his format that he began in 6:12 of quoting the Corinthian’s slogans and then answering them. He picks up the slogan, everything is permissible, with a double response that magnifies the importance of this principle. In one sense, Paul might agree that everything is permissible, but that would be missing the larger picture. Even if it is true that the types of things being discussed are permissible, they must meet the more important criterion of being beneficial and constructive. Paul now sums this up with a slogan of his own: Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. Real freedom is the realization that it doesn’t need to be exercised all of the time, otherwise one would be in the ironic position of being a slave to their freedom. The only one to whom the Christian should be enslaved is Christ because each Christian has entered into the life of Christ and has an obligation to live as He did. As Paul pointed out in chapter 6, our lives and bodies belong to Christ and he has reserved them for resurrection so what we do with them matters. How we live in community with other Christians and treat our brothers and sisters in Christ matters. Thus Paul is teaching a very Christlike attitude of “not my good, but yours be done.”
Paul now turns his attention to the particular situations in which the Corinthians find themselves. He quotes Psalm 24:1 in verifying that everything belongs to the Lord, and so, they should have no problem eating meat sold in the market place. This may seem confusing, because in v. 14-22, Paul has made it clear that they should not, under any circumstances, go into pagan temples and take part in the pagan rituals. A closer look, however, will show us, that this is not at all a contradiction, but rather a distinction between venue and menu. The temples are off-limits to the discerning Christian, but the food is not. The pagans may be sacrificing that meat to idols, but if a Christian eats and is not bothered by that history, knowing that they are not honoring the pagan god in any way then they should feel free to do so.
Beginning in verse 27, Paul narrows his focus even more, as he offers a specific example that could happen to any Corinthian Christian. In the first century, dinner parties were held in a much more open, less private manner than they are now, so anyone might walk by and see what was going on or make comment on the happenings. Paul would like for all Christians to get to the point where they did realize the full extent of their freedoms, but he realizes that the conscience is a tricky thing. It cannot be rushed or forced, but it can do great damage if it is violated. So, if another Christian were to walk by and take offense at the situation, then they should put the good of that person ahead of their own freedom and refuse the food. They do not have to refrain from eating any food for their own sake, so this is not a restriction on their freedom. When the good of a third party comes into play, Christians have a different set of responsibilities that trump their freedoms.
Verses 29b and 30 should be understood as Paul providing an imaginary dialogue between himself and any objectors in Corinth who might not agree with him. He asks two questions in this dialogue before answering them: Why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience and why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? The answer to these questions is the overriding principle of the entire section. Whatever a Christian does should be done for the glory of God. Because of this, Christians should be careful not to cause anyone to stumble. These two principles mirror the two great commandments given by Christ, himself: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself’ (Luke 10:27). Paul’s underlying goal in all of this is to accomplish the the same goal for which Christ came, to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). For Paul, then this is what it looks like when the Christian truly clothes themselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27) and walks about in the ‘real world’. It is not, we should carefully note, that the practice of eating meat or anything similar becomes a sin because it violates another’s conscience. The action is still perfectly acceptable, but should be passed on for the benefit of the one who is genuinely bothered by it.
Let’s take this principle and put a modern face on it. One Christian is deeply bothered by Harry Potter movies and books, believing sincerely that they are dangerous and can pull someone into the occult, and at the very least, support and celebrate the dark arts. Another Christian believes that the books are simple fantasy and know that they in no way plan to participate in magic, talking to the dead, the occult, or anything else involved in the Harry Potter story. Applying Paul’s principles to this situation would mean that it is probably fine for a Christian to read a Harry Potter book so long as their conscience is not pricked by the Holy Spirit. Yet, for the Christian who is sincerely bothered by these things, it would be wrong, a sin in fact. The Christian who feels the freedom to engage in the books and movies should be careful to not flaunt their freedom so that it makes the Christian with the stricter conscience struggle, nor should they encourage the stricter Christian to ‘loosen up’ and try it anyway. They might come to that conclusion on their own but it shouldn’t be forced. At the same time, the Christian with the stricter conscience should seek to not bind the freer Christians to their belief or get up in arms and accuse their brothers and sisters of sin for cracking open the new Harry Potter book. Above all, love, unity, and concern for others should trump our own individual beliefs in disputable matters that don’t involve clear-cut biblical mandates or doctrines.
Paul’s final exhortation on this specific topic is for them to follow his example as he follows the example of Christ. This should not be taken out of context, as has sometimes been done. Paul’s call for imitation is limited to his example of living the life of Christ. Ultimately, the real imitation taking place is the act of imitating Christ. It is both the privilege and the obligation of each Christian to realize that they no longer live in the realm of sin but have taken up the life of Christ.
Devotional Thought
The primary principle that Paul wishes for the Corinthians to grasp is the need to glorify God in everything that they do. How have you been doing in living up to this standard? Is it your main aim to glorify God in every possible area of your life? If it hasn’t been, why not?
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