NOTE: You may have noticed that I posted the wrong passage yesterday, skipping verses 12-19. I'll post those now, and then on Monday, we'll skip back up to verse 29 where we should be. Sorry for any confusion.
The Resurrection of the Dead
12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
Dig Deeper
Our society has become prolific in its ability to train people to make decisions without any thought to the repercussions of the choices they make or beliefs that they hold. You have for instance, millions of people claiming that there is no such thing as absolute truth without giving the slightest thought to the repercussions of that. If there is no absolute truth, then there can not rightly be any laws or standards at all because what one person believes to be good and true, others could say is bad and restrictive. Another example is the millions of teens making decisions about their sexual behavior without any thought to the fallout form their decisions.
There was a significant presence of Christians in Corinth that were denying the fact of a future resurrection in the ‘age to come’. It is unclear whether they believed that full freedom in Christian living was the resurrection, of sorts. Or it is also possible that they were teaching that when people died they went to heaven as bodiless spirits, and that this was the resurrection. In either case (probably a little of both, with the first position being the more concerning for Paul), Paul wants the Corinthians to think this thing through and understand the repercussions of their position. If they don’t believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ and the future bodily resurrection of all believers who are in Christ, then that has some serious implications on their faith that they apparently have not thought through.
Paul begins by wondering how they can believe that there is no resurrection of the dead considering the fact that they would have heard much teaching on the fact of Christ being bodily raised from the dead and entering into the resurrection. If there is no such thing as resurrection, they had better be clear on the fact that this means that they must also believe that Christ was not resurrected. Why is this true logically? Because for Paul, what was true of the Messiah was true of His people. If His people were not going to be raised, then Christ was never raised. If Christ was resurrected, then so would His people be.
Paul then follows the logical conclusion of the belief system being espoused by some in Corinth. If Christ has been not been raised, then the preaching of the gospel is pointless. It is a useless exercise in futility. We are only able to enter into the life of Christ by dying to our own life and being raised up to His because Jesus was God. For Paul, the resurrection (combined with the things that Jesus did and taught) was the reason that we could know that He was God. Everything that makes the Christian life worth living, then, was based on the understanding that He was God in the flesh. If Jesus was not raised from the dead then all of that goes away, and there is not point in preaching about a dead, failed Messiah.
If preaching is useless in the scenario that there is no resurrection, then faith is also futile. The ultimate point of belief in Jesus is that He was God, had defeated death, and now allows those who believe in Him to enter into His life and experience the resurrection as well. This is the point of faith. If you take that away, then Christian faith is a monstrous exercise in futility.
It gets even worse, Paul wants them to know. It’s not just that their faith would be an empty powerless faith. The rejection of the resurrection would also make the apostles liars. They have been claiming, teaching, and preaching that they personally witnessed the resurrected Christ. If there is no resurrection then they are not just sadly mistaken, the men around whom the Christian community has been built are outright liars.
Next for Paul comes the two largest implications of the rejection of the resurrection. The Christian belief was that in Christ’s death, He had overcome sin by taking it upon Himself. Christ had lived the perfect life and was thus able to pay the fine incurred by sin of all men who would enter into His life. In dying and raising back to the resurrection life, Christ had also defeated death. The defeat of death and sin were intertwined and available to all who would believe in this ability to enter into His life. Preaching being profitless, faith being futile, the apostles being liars, this was all child’s play compared to these final two implications. If Christ has not been raised, then there is no escape from sin and death still has dominion in the world. The Corinthians clearly had not thought this all the way through. In denying the resurrection of believers into the ‘age to come’, they have denied the very heart of the Christian faith. Paul, says that if this is true, if they are right, then Christ has not defeated sin and all those who have died believing that they had entered into His life and were about to experience the resurrection, were completely wrong. They have died and are lost with no hope of salvation if Christ has not been raised.
Paul brings his powerful argument to a close with one more implication. If the resurrection of Christ and the bodily resurrection of those in Him is not true, then the only thing that Christ can effect, for those who believe in Him, is the present age. What a sad reality, says Paul. If the present age is all that the believer gets, then Christians are to be pitied above anyone else. This is because, despite what many Christian groups would like to teach these days, the Christian life is not about experiencing your best life now. It is about laying your life down and picking up the life of Christ, with the knowledge that one day we will all join Him in the ‘age to come’, having been resurrected just as He was. This is our hope. This is, as Paul will say later in this chapter, the reason that Christians do what they do in the present age.
Devotional Thought
If the resurrection is not true, then Christianity is reduced to being another religion along side all others, in the general marketplace of beliefs. Are there any aspects of the Christian faith that you have, in practice or belief, denied and thus, sapped Christianity of its true message and power? Have you thought through the implications of all of that?
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
1 Corinthians 15:20-28
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he "has put everything under his feet." Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
Dig Deeper
I had a Geography teacher when I was in high school who, if nothing else, ran a rather tight ship. Things were very well organized and the classroom discipline was tight. Then one Monday we came into class and found out that our regular teacher would be gone for what turned out to be two weeks. Things quickly got chaotic while he was gone. The students didn’t listen to the substitute and had quite a bit of fun making her life difficult. What’s worse, the classroom that had been so orderly and truly beautiful, quickly fell apart. Then, as quickly as it began, it was over. Our teacher came back on Monday and he quickly set things to rights. By the time we arrived on Monday morning, the classroom had already been restored and it didn’t take him long to put the classes and the students back in their normal place.
Paul believed that the entire world has been completely out of whack since the Fall of Adam and Eve described in Genesis 3. Not just mankind, but also our environment has gone horribly wrong. Genesis 3 makes it clear that a human being got us into this situation and now, a human being would get us out. For Paul, the resurrection was the demonstration that the King had returned and had set about the job of setting things right in the universe. Yet, this could be a source of great confusion due to the Jewish expectations of resurrection. They believed that the resurrection would indeed be the thing that set things right in the universe, but that it would include all of the righteous at the end of the present age, not one person in the middle of the age. The Jews were waiting for the Kingdom of God to come at the resurrection. Now Paul was telling them the fact of Jesus’ resurrection was the clear signal that His Kingdom was available now.
Christ’s resurrection, in fact, was a guarantee that those who entered into His life would be rewarded with everything that Christ had secured including the resurrection. This is his point in using the very Old Testament picture of the firsfruits. Jewish farmers would take the very first of their crops, the firstfruits, and by faith would offer them to God. It was a seen as honoring God and was a promise from God and a demonstration of faith that the rest of the harvest would be coming. Thus, the entire crop was consecrated to God. His point is that the resurrection of Christ, who is our firstfruits, was a promise from God of the general resurrection for all those in Christ.
Paul continues in his Old Testament imagery, explaining that all men and women were descendants of Adam. Adam, because of his sin, had brought death to the whole human race and put us in subjugation to sin. Every human being is born into Adam and so, we are born to die. The key to understanding what Paul is saying here lies in the little phrase ‘in Christ’. For those who have entered into Christ, a concept that was almost always on Paul’s mind, all will be made alive. Those in Christ are able to escape the death that is our fate in Adam. Yet, everything in its time. Christ was the firstfruits, the marker that death had been overcome. In the meantime, the righteous will wait until he returns. Then we will all experience the resurrection that his resurrection points to and promises to us.
This is the time when all things in the universe will be set to rights; they will be put back as God intended His universe to be. All order will be restored to all things. Paul certainly believes that Christ is reigning in His kingdom in the present age. Yet, he has not yet accomplished the final purpose of His reign, to set all things straight. That will come in due time. On that day, often known as the Second Coming, the task will be accomplished once-and-for-all. How will we know that the day has come? It will be the day when all the righteous experience the resurrection; it will be impossible to miss. At that time, the authority and dominion that had been given to man, lost to Satan, and taken by Christ, will be returned to the Father. Christ must, as Psalm 110 (the most quoted Psalm in the entire New Testament) says, reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. On that final day, all enemies, including death, the ultimate enemy, will be defeated and destroyed.
In verse 27, Paul quotes from Psalm 8, saying that God "has put everything under his feet." Psalm 8, though, is referring to man in his original state. This is how God intended man to be; we were made to have dominion over God’s creation. Sin, however, makes us less than human. Christ was free of sin and thus, the genuine human being. Because of this status as being a genuine human being, he has secured the ability for all of us who would enter into Him to become genuine human beings as well.
In describing this process of all things being put under the feet of Christ, Paul wants to ensure that there are no misunderstandings. In his discussion of all things being put under Christ’s feet, he wants to be clear that this does not include God, by whom he meant the Father. Paul here never uses the word Trinity, but clearly he is thinking in trinitarian terms. Paul is not saying that the Father is superior the Son in essence or type. He is talking about order. Jesus is eternally the Son who remains in humble subordination to the Father. They share unique glory and essence (Philippians 2:9-11). As the early Church Fathers put it, the Father eternally begets the Son (which means that the relationship between the Father and Son is that the Son has no beginning but proceeds from the Father eternally in relationship). If everything comes from the Father, the Son is the one through whom it comes (1 Corinthians 8:6). Once all things have been made subject to the Father once again, Christ will also be. As theologian N.T Wright says "Paul envisages the entire cosmos sorted out at last, put into the shape the creator intended; and part of that shaping is the status of Jesus himself, revealed as the Father’s true and only Son."
Devotional Thought
The resurrection hasn’t happened yet. Things haven’t been totally to rights yet. But the resurrection of Christ is the guarantee for those who are in Him. Is this your true hope? Is this the thing that drives you through life and compels you? If not, what does?
Dig Deeper
I had a Geography teacher when I was in high school who, if nothing else, ran a rather tight ship. Things were very well organized and the classroom discipline was tight. Then one Monday we came into class and found out that our regular teacher would be gone for what turned out to be two weeks. Things quickly got chaotic while he was gone. The students didn’t listen to the substitute and had quite a bit of fun making her life difficult. What’s worse, the classroom that had been so orderly and truly beautiful, quickly fell apart. Then, as quickly as it began, it was over. Our teacher came back on Monday and he quickly set things to rights. By the time we arrived on Monday morning, the classroom had already been restored and it didn’t take him long to put the classes and the students back in their normal place.
Paul believed that the entire world has been completely out of whack since the Fall of Adam and Eve described in Genesis 3. Not just mankind, but also our environment has gone horribly wrong. Genesis 3 makes it clear that a human being got us into this situation and now, a human being would get us out. For Paul, the resurrection was the demonstration that the King had returned and had set about the job of setting things right in the universe. Yet, this could be a source of great confusion due to the Jewish expectations of resurrection. They believed that the resurrection would indeed be the thing that set things right in the universe, but that it would include all of the righteous at the end of the present age, not one person in the middle of the age. The Jews were waiting for the Kingdom of God to come at the resurrection. Now Paul was telling them the fact of Jesus’ resurrection was the clear signal that His Kingdom was available now.
Christ’s resurrection, in fact, was a guarantee that those who entered into His life would be rewarded with everything that Christ had secured including the resurrection. This is his point in using the very Old Testament picture of the firsfruits. Jewish farmers would take the very first of their crops, the firstfruits, and by faith would offer them to God. It was a seen as honoring God and was a promise from God and a demonstration of faith that the rest of the harvest would be coming. Thus, the entire crop was consecrated to God. His point is that the resurrection of Christ, who is our firstfruits, was a promise from God of the general resurrection for all those in Christ.
Paul continues in his Old Testament imagery, explaining that all men and women were descendants of Adam. Adam, because of his sin, had brought death to the whole human race and put us in subjugation to sin. Every human being is born into Adam and so, we are born to die. The key to understanding what Paul is saying here lies in the little phrase ‘in Christ’. For those who have entered into Christ, a concept that was almost always on Paul’s mind, all will be made alive. Those in Christ are able to escape the death that is our fate in Adam. Yet, everything in its time. Christ was the firstfruits, the marker that death had been overcome. In the meantime, the righteous will wait until he returns. Then we will all experience the resurrection that his resurrection points to and promises to us.
This is the time when all things in the universe will be set to rights; they will be put back as God intended His universe to be. All order will be restored to all things. Paul certainly believes that Christ is reigning in His kingdom in the present age. Yet, he has not yet accomplished the final purpose of His reign, to set all things straight. That will come in due time. On that day, often known as the Second Coming, the task will be accomplished once-and-for-all. How will we know that the day has come? It will be the day when all the righteous experience the resurrection; it will be impossible to miss. At that time, the authority and dominion that had been given to man, lost to Satan, and taken by Christ, will be returned to the Father. Christ must, as Psalm 110 (the most quoted Psalm in the entire New Testament) says, reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. On that final day, all enemies, including death, the ultimate enemy, will be defeated and destroyed.
In verse 27, Paul quotes from Psalm 8, saying that God "has put everything under his feet." Psalm 8, though, is referring to man in his original state. This is how God intended man to be; we were made to have dominion over God’s creation. Sin, however, makes us less than human. Christ was free of sin and thus, the genuine human being. Because of this status as being a genuine human being, he has secured the ability for all of us who would enter into Him to become genuine human beings as well.
In describing this process of all things being put under the feet of Christ, Paul wants to ensure that there are no misunderstandings. In his discussion of all things being put under Christ’s feet, he wants to be clear that this does not include God, by whom he meant the Father. Paul here never uses the word Trinity, but clearly he is thinking in trinitarian terms. Paul is not saying that the Father is superior the Son in essence or type. He is talking about order. Jesus is eternally the Son who remains in humble subordination to the Father. They share unique glory and essence (Philippians 2:9-11). As the early Church Fathers put it, the Father eternally begets the Son (which means that the relationship between the Father and Son is that the Son has no beginning but proceeds from the Father eternally in relationship). If everything comes from the Father, the Son is the one through whom it comes (1 Corinthians 8:6). Once all things have been made subject to the Father once again, Christ will also be. As theologian N.T Wright says "Paul envisages the entire cosmos sorted out at last, put into the shape the creator intended; and part of that shaping is the status of Jesus himself, revealed as the Father’s true and only Son."
Devotional Thought
The resurrection hasn’t happened yet. Things haven’t been totally to rights yet. But the resurrection of Christ is the guarantee for those who are in Him. Is this your true hope? Is this the thing that drives you through life and compels you? If not, what does?
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
The Resurrection of Christ
1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
Dig Deeper
All societies and people groups have a story (metanarrative). More specifically, they have a founding story; a story that tells how they came together and began as a people. It is this story that tells the people who they are, where they are going, and what their purpose is. For the Jews, their story was the events surrounding the Exodus and the entry into the promised land. For Americans, our story is that of the early settlers coming together under the leadership of the Founding Fathers, becoming a nation dedicated to a democratic republican form of government, giving eventual freedom for all. In this chapter, Paul is going to bring together the founding story, the meta-narrative, of the new Christian community.
We have to be clear that resurrection was not a belief in the raising of the spirit, it was the belief that Jesus had died and then had his body transformed into a resurrection body (a new body yet somehow related to his pre-death body; Paul will more fully explain the resurrection body later in the chapter) Paul sees the resurrection of Christ as the very thing that shapes everything else Christians do. It has been just under the surface as the guiding factor in everything he has written. If the issue was sexual immorality, the resurrection said don’t do it, because what you do with your body that will one day be resurrected with Christ, matters. If the issue was communion, the resurrection said that the meal must be done in the proper manner, because it was a taste of the resurrection and the ‘age to come’. If the issue was the use of spiritual gifts, the resurrection said that love was to be the overriding determining factor, because it was the only thing that would last into and would be the language of the ‘age to come’.
Not only is a proper understanding of the resurrection vital to the Christian community because it is the founding story on which all of their beliefs and practices are built, but it was also another area of misunderstanding for those in Corinth. We will find in verse 12 that part of why Paul is writing this section is that the Corinthians were denying the physical resurrection of the dead. At least among some in Corinth, there was a belief in dualism between the spirit and the body. They believed that the spirit was separate from and superior to the body and had, as we’ve seen, behaved in extreme ways to show their spiritual status and freedom and their belief that the spirit could not be denigrated by what the body did.
What Paul presents in this passage today is not new information. He is reminding them of something with which he assumes they are quite familiar because he has already taught them this. This belief in resurrection is among the foundations of the Christian gospel (It would be a mistake to push this idea too far and say that Paul’s summary of the resurrection preaching was the only information necessary for salvation. It is definitely the foundation and is central to the point Paul is currently making, but there is more to the gospel message then just the resurrection.) We should not miss the urgency with which Paul reminds them of this. Apparently, he believes that the message of the gospel that he preached to them must be held to tightly or they are in danger of drifting so far from the truth that they will find themselves clinging to something else (v. 2).
In verses 3 and 4, Paul says that Jesus died and was raised according to the Scriptures. To what Scriptures is he referring? He is not referring to the gospels which probably haven’t been written (or at least not widely circulated) yet. He is also not referring to a few verses pulled out of the Old Testament here and there that have been fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Christ (although there are many). What Paul has in mind is the fact that all of the Old Testament pointed to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The Old Testament Scriptures were a story without an ending until Christ came. He is the ending that has given the Old Testament meaning and has opened up to the world to continuing story of God bringing a people unto Himself.
What Paul writes down from verses 3b through at least verse 7 appears to have been an early Christian creed with which the Corinthians, and all Christians at the time would have been familiar. This creed can be reasonably dated to within 2-3 years after Jesus’ death and was obviously already well known twenty years after Jesus’ death, when this book was written. In this list of people to whom the risen Christ appeared, Paul singles out Peter, reaffirming his status in the Church, despite his earlier betrayals. He also gives special attention to James the brother of Jesus, an example of one who was not convinced by Jesus’ ministry until he saw the resurrected Christ. Paul also mentions the appearance to all the apostles, a special group that went beyond the twelve. Evidently to be an apostle one had to have seen the risen Christ and be sent as his messenger into the world. Finally Paul mentions himself (this may have been part of the early creed with Paul changing ‘Paul’ to ‘me’.) The word translated ‘abnormally born’ is a violent word that actually means untimely birth as in ‘aborted’ or ‘stillborn’. It underlines the suddenness and radical change that Paul went through in his experience with the risen Christ and subsequent change of direction in life. Paul continued, even twenty years later, to be amazed at his calling and realize that he did not earn or deserve his status as an apostle. It was only the grace of God that allowed him to work for God. He saw working for God, and being able to lay down his life and enter into Christ’s life as a great privilege that was all a result of God’s grace.
The message of the resurrection, Paul reminds them, is the very message that was preached to them, regardless of who preached it. It was the foundation of their faith and belief and the very message that led to their new status in Christ. In fact, the resurrection was so foundational that Paul feels an urgent need to fix the cracks in their understanding of it before the whole building of their faith tumbles to the ground. That is what he will now turn to.
Devotional Thought
The message of the resurrection is so powerful because Christianity isn’t just a set of beliefs or doctrines. It is a way of life based on the fact that a powerful new way to live had broken into the world through Jesus’ defeat of death. Do you live that way? Do you boldly announce this message without fear?
1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
Dig Deeper
All societies and people groups have a story (metanarrative). More specifically, they have a founding story; a story that tells how they came together and began as a people. It is this story that tells the people who they are, where they are going, and what their purpose is. For the Jews, their story was the events surrounding the Exodus and the entry into the promised land. For Americans, our story is that of the early settlers coming together under the leadership of the Founding Fathers, becoming a nation dedicated to a democratic republican form of government, giving eventual freedom for all. In this chapter, Paul is going to bring together the founding story, the meta-narrative, of the new Christian community.
We have to be clear that resurrection was not a belief in the raising of the spirit, it was the belief that Jesus had died and then had his body transformed into a resurrection body (a new body yet somehow related to his pre-death body; Paul will more fully explain the resurrection body later in the chapter) Paul sees the resurrection of Christ as the very thing that shapes everything else Christians do. It has been just under the surface as the guiding factor in everything he has written. If the issue was sexual immorality, the resurrection said don’t do it, because what you do with your body that will one day be resurrected with Christ, matters. If the issue was communion, the resurrection said that the meal must be done in the proper manner, because it was a taste of the resurrection and the ‘age to come’. If the issue was the use of spiritual gifts, the resurrection said that love was to be the overriding determining factor, because it was the only thing that would last into and would be the language of the ‘age to come’.
Not only is a proper understanding of the resurrection vital to the Christian community because it is the founding story on which all of their beliefs and practices are built, but it was also another area of misunderstanding for those in Corinth. We will find in verse 12 that part of why Paul is writing this section is that the Corinthians were denying the physical resurrection of the dead. At least among some in Corinth, there was a belief in dualism between the spirit and the body. They believed that the spirit was separate from and superior to the body and had, as we’ve seen, behaved in extreme ways to show their spiritual status and freedom and their belief that the spirit could not be denigrated by what the body did.
What Paul presents in this passage today is not new information. He is reminding them of something with which he assumes they are quite familiar because he has already taught them this. This belief in resurrection is among the foundations of the Christian gospel (It would be a mistake to push this idea too far and say that Paul’s summary of the resurrection preaching was the only information necessary for salvation. It is definitely the foundation and is central to the point Paul is currently making, but there is more to the gospel message then just the resurrection.) We should not miss the urgency with which Paul reminds them of this. Apparently, he believes that the message of the gospel that he preached to them must be held to tightly or they are in danger of drifting so far from the truth that they will find themselves clinging to something else (v. 2).
In verses 3 and 4, Paul says that Jesus died and was raised according to the Scriptures. To what Scriptures is he referring? He is not referring to the gospels which probably haven’t been written (or at least not widely circulated) yet. He is also not referring to a few verses pulled out of the Old Testament here and there that have been fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Christ (although there are many). What Paul has in mind is the fact that all of the Old Testament pointed to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The Old Testament Scriptures were a story without an ending until Christ came. He is the ending that has given the Old Testament meaning and has opened up to the world to continuing story of God bringing a people unto Himself.
What Paul writes down from verses 3b through at least verse 7 appears to have been an early Christian creed with which the Corinthians, and all Christians at the time would have been familiar. This creed can be reasonably dated to within 2-3 years after Jesus’ death and was obviously already well known twenty years after Jesus’ death, when this book was written. In this list of people to whom the risen Christ appeared, Paul singles out Peter, reaffirming his status in the Church, despite his earlier betrayals. He also gives special attention to James the brother of Jesus, an example of one who was not convinced by Jesus’ ministry until he saw the resurrected Christ. Paul also mentions the appearance to all the apostles, a special group that went beyond the twelve. Evidently to be an apostle one had to have seen the risen Christ and be sent as his messenger into the world. Finally Paul mentions himself (this may have been part of the early creed with Paul changing ‘Paul’ to ‘me’.) The word translated ‘abnormally born’ is a violent word that actually means untimely birth as in ‘aborted’ or ‘stillborn’. It underlines the suddenness and radical change that Paul went through in his experience with the risen Christ and subsequent change of direction in life. Paul continued, even twenty years later, to be amazed at his calling and realize that he did not earn or deserve his status as an apostle. It was only the grace of God that allowed him to work for God. He saw working for God, and being able to lay down his life and enter into Christ’s life as a great privilege that was all a result of God’s grace.
The message of the resurrection, Paul reminds them, is the very message that was preached to them, regardless of who preached it. It was the foundation of their faith and belief and the very message that led to their new status in Christ. In fact, the resurrection was so foundational that Paul feels an urgent need to fix the cracks in their understanding of it before the whole building of their faith tumbles to the ground. That is what he will now turn to.
Devotional Thought
The message of the resurrection is so powerful because Christianity isn’t just a set of beliefs or doctrines. It is a way of life based on the fact that a powerful new way to live had broken into the world through Jesus’ defeat of death. Do you live that way? Do you boldly announce this message without fear?
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
1 Corinthians 14:26-40
Orderly Worship
26What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 27If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.
29Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
As in all the congregations of the saints, 34women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. 35If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
36Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? 37If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command. 38If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored.
39Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
Dig Deeper
When I was about twelve years old, I happened upon 1 Corinthians 14:34 quite by accident. I attended a private Christian school and had become bored during a chapel service, so I began paging through the Bible for something to do. Once I discovered this verse it quickly became my favorite in the whole Bible. I certainly quoted to every girl I saw, and since we attended school in a church building, I often pointed out the fact that I believed girls should not talk in our school so as not to violate this verse. Is this what Paul intended, though, in his discussion on order in the worship service? Did Paul wish to give the directive that women should not speak in church or was I taking this verse out of context?
We must remember that the issue being dealt with here is proper order in worship. Paul wants the Corinthians to apply genuine love to the occasion of their corporate worship so that everyone who attends can be built up and edified. The Corinthian worship service had spiraled into chaotic displays of self-aggrandizement. What Paul addresses, then, must be understood as him dealing with specific issues to the Corinthians. This means two things for us. First, we must work hard to pull out the universal principles of what Paul is saying, without holding woodenly to instructions that were meant to deal with specific situations and were not meant for us. Second, we do not know the entire situation that led to Paul's words. This means that at times we are left to speculate and recreate the best we can (for other examples, see 1 Cor. 5:1-5, 9-11; 15:29; 2 Cor. 2:5-11; 11:12-15; 12:7-8; Gal. 5:11-12; Phil. 3:2; Phlm. 18), but we have to admit that, at times, we simply do not know the exact situation which makes certain interpretations difficult, if not unlikely.
Paul's instructions concerning the number and nature of those who speak in tongues is quite clear and should have brought a great deal of order and sanity to that topic. He also wanted to limit the number of speakers that gave prophecy. Once they have given their prophecy, others are told to carefully weigh what they have said. This might be the same thing as the gift of discernment (12:10) which indicates that there was no guarantee that those who had the gift of prophecy also had the gift of discernment. This makes it seem likely that the prophets were not the best persons to evaluate the messages of one another (this can still be true today where often the average church member is better able to determine how well the speaker has communicated his message rather than other preachers who can get absorbed with technique or the finer points of theology). Verse 30 seems to indicate that some prophecy is to be recognized as more urgent and given preference to other, more prepared prophecy. Through it all, order should reign and the prophets need to remember that they are, ultimately, in control of their own spirit of prophecy. Order is important because God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
This leads us into verses 34-35. There are numerous proposed understandings of these verses. Is this a universal command to be followed literally in all churches? That seems impossible, because it would clearly contradict the right for women to speak in the important roles of public prayer and prophecy in 11:5. [Also, J.M. Bassler, in his commentary on 1 Corinthians, asks some pointed questions, "How can women like Euodia and Syntache (Phil. 4:2-3), Prisca (Rom. 16:3; 1 Cor. 16:19), Mary (Rom. 16:6), Junia (Rom. 16:7), and Tryphaena and Tryphosa (Rom. 16:12) function as co-workers in the churches if they cannot speak in those churches? How can Phoebe fulfill the role of deacon (Rom. 16:1-2) if she cannot speak out in the assembly?"] There are, as stated, many possible ways to interpret these verses and nearly each commentator has their own particular spin on it. There are two, however, that seem the most likely and the most in line with both the cultural situation at the time in Corinth as well as Paul's line of reasoning. The first has to do with the seating arrangement of men and women in this culture. Men and women would have been seated separately, including husbands and wives. To add to this situation in Corinth, most of the women were under-educated and would have spoken local dialects rather than the formal Greek that was most likely used during worship. In the atmosphere of chaos and noise, it is possible that the women were starting to call across the aisle to their husbands to ask questions. This may also have been encouraged by the practice of prophesying at the oracle at Delphi nearby, where prophecies were given in response to questions, including questions about purely personal matters. Thus, the women are told to keep silent in this situation and ask questions of their husbands when they get home. The second possibility is that Paul is continuing the instructions on carefully weighing the interpretation of prophecy. In this important and authoritative matter, the women should follow the law of the created order and submit, waiting quietly. If they had questions about the discernment process, they could respectfully ask their husbands when they got home. In my estimation, the former explanation seems more likely. In any case, Paul goes on to remind them that they are part of a large body of Christ and shouldn't be doing things that lead to disorder, especially when it doesn't match up with what the other churches all practice. The body of Christ should seek, whenever possible, to unify not only within the local congregation but also with other congregations of believers.
Paul brings this argument to a close and is careful to warn them not to forbid speaking in tongues, something that might have been tempting after reading this passage. Paul's intention was not to squash any spiritual gifts, only to organize the worship service and ensure that gifts were being used in an appropriate manner.
Devotional Thought
Paul obviously saw order and planning in worship as extremely important (although, certainly one can go too far in that direction). When you play a role in the corporate worship do you do it haphazardly or do you put careful, thought, effort, and planning into your part?
26What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 27If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.
29Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
As in all the congregations of the saints, 34women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. 35If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
36Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? 37If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command. 38If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored.
39Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
Dig Deeper
When I was about twelve years old, I happened upon 1 Corinthians 14:34 quite by accident. I attended a private Christian school and had become bored during a chapel service, so I began paging through the Bible for something to do. Once I discovered this verse it quickly became my favorite in the whole Bible. I certainly quoted to every girl I saw, and since we attended school in a church building, I often pointed out the fact that I believed girls should not talk in our school so as not to violate this verse. Is this what Paul intended, though, in his discussion on order in the worship service? Did Paul wish to give the directive that women should not speak in church or was I taking this verse out of context?
We must remember that the issue being dealt with here is proper order in worship. Paul wants the Corinthians to apply genuine love to the occasion of their corporate worship so that everyone who attends can be built up and edified. The Corinthian worship service had spiraled into chaotic displays of self-aggrandizement. What Paul addresses, then, must be understood as him dealing with specific issues to the Corinthians. This means two things for us. First, we must work hard to pull out the universal principles of what Paul is saying, without holding woodenly to instructions that were meant to deal with specific situations and were not meant for us. Second, we do not know the entire situation that led to Paul's words. This means that at times we are left to speculate and recreate the best we can (for other examples, see 1 Cor. 5:1-5, 9-11; 15:29; 2 Cor. 2:5-11; 11:12-15; 12:7-8; Gal. 5:11-12; Phil. 3:2; Phlm. 18), but we have to admit that, at times, we simply do not know the exact situation which makes certain interpretations difficult, if not unlikely.
Paul's instructions concerning the number and nature of those who speak in tongues is quite clear and should have brought a great deal of order and sanity to that topic. He also wanted to limit the number of speakers that gave prophecy. Once they have given their prophecy, others are told to carefully weigh what they have said. This might be the same thing as the gift of discernment (12:10) which indicates that there was no guarantee that those who had the gift of prophecy also had the gift of discernment. This makes it seem likely that the prophets were not the best persons to evaluate the messages of one another (this can still be true today where often the average church member is better able to determine how well the speaker has communicated his message rather than other preachers who can get absorbed with technique or the finer points of theology). Verse 30 seems to indicate that some prophecy is to be recognized as more urgent and given preference to other, more prepared prophecy. Through it all, order should reign and the prophets need to remember that they are, ultimately, in control of their own spirit of prophecy. Order is important because God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
This leads us into verses 34-35. There are numerous proposed understandings of these verses. Is this a universal command to be followed literally in all churches? That seems impossible, because it would clearly contradict the right for women to speak in the important roles of public prayer and prophecy in 11:5. [Also, J.M. Bassler, in his commentary on 1 Corinthians, asks some pointed questions, "How can women like Euodia and Syntache (Phil. 4:2-3), Prisca (Rom. 16:3; 1 Cor. 16:19), Mary (Rom. 16:6), Junia (Rom. 16:7), and Tryphaena and Tryphosa (Rom. 16:12) function as co-workers in the churches if they cannot speak in those churches? How can Phoebe fulfill the role of deacon (Rom. 16:1-2) if she cannot speak out in the assembly?"] There are, as stated, many possible ways to interpret these verses and nearly each commentator has their own particular spin on it. There are two, however, that seem the most likely and the most in line with both the cultural situation at the time in Corinth as well as Paul's line of reasoning. The first has to do with the seating arrangement of men and women in this culture. Men and women would have been seated separately, including husbands and wives. To add to this situation in Corinth, most of the women were under-educated and would have spoken local dialects rather than the formal Greek that was most likely used during worship. In the atmosphere of chaos and noise, it is possible that the women were starting to call across the aisle to their husbands to ask questions. This may also have been encouraged by the practice of prophesying at the oracle at Delphi nearby, where prophecies were given in response to questions, including questions about purely personal matters. Thus, the women are told to keep silent in this situation and ask questions of their husbands when they get home. The second possibility is that Paul is continuing the instructions on carefully weighing the interpretation of prophecy. In this important and authoritative matter, the women should follow the law of the created order and submit, waiting quietly. If they had questions about the discernment process, they could respectfully ask their husbands when they got home. In my estimation, the former explanation seems more likely. In any case, Paul goes on to remind them that they are part of a large body of Christ and shouldn't be doing things that lead to disorder, especially when it doesn't match up with what the other churches all practice. The body of Christ should seek, whenever possible, to unify not only within the local congregation but also with other congregations of believers.
Paul brings this argument to a close and is careful to warn them not to forbid speaking in tongues, something that might have been tempting after reading this passage. Paul's intention was not to squash any spiritual gifts, only to organize the worship service and ensure that gifts were being used in an appropriate manner.
Devotional Thought
Paul obviously saw order and planning in worship as extremely important (although, certainly one can go too far in that direction). When you play a role in the corporate worship do you do it haphazardly or do you put careful, thought, effort, and planning into your part?
Monday, August 27, 2007
1 Corinthians 14:20-25
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. 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.
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.
"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. 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.
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.
Friday, August 24, 2007
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 Deper
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. 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.
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.
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.
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 Deper
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. 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.
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.
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.
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?
Thursday, August 23, 2007
1 Corinthians 14:6-12
6Now, 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. In this case and in the case of speaking tongues, what results is worthless noise for the listener.
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? 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. Paul says that 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.
For us, we don't tend to struggle with trying to show off by using the 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.
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. In this case and in the case of speaking tongues, what results is worthless noise for the listener.
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? 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. Paul says that 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.
For us, we don't tend to struggle with trying to show off by using the 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.
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.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
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; he had never written a book or anything like that. He kept all his knowledge 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). 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).
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 bad because it was a further sign of their arrogance rather than demonstrating the virtue of love. 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.
When Paul speaks here of speaking in tongues, we must note 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 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. This is unbiblical and clearly goes against 1 Cor. 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; he had never written a book or anything like that. He kept all his knowledge 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). 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).
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 bad because it was a further sign of their arrogance rather than demonstrating the virtue of love. 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.
When Paul speaks here of speaking in tongues, we must note 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 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. This is unbiblical and clearly goes against 1 Cor. 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?
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
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.
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. 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 a 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.
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. 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 a 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?
Friday, August 17, 2007
1 Corinthians 12:31b-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 another song that says, "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. Paul understands that the Corinthian Church has an equal misunderstanding of the nature of love and the need for it. 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 poin. 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.
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 tongue 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), 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 is 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 another song that says, "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. Paul understands that the Corinthian Church has an equal misunderstanding of the nature of love and the need for it. 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 poin. 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.
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 tongue 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), 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 is 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?
Thursday, August 16, 2007
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. 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.
Paul is not exactly clear what he 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.
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 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. 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. 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.
Paul is not exactly clear what he 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.
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 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. 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?
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
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
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 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." The amazing thing here is that when Paul says that, he is talking about the Church, not specifically Jesus. 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
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 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." The amazing thing here is that when Paul says that, he is talking about the Church, not specifically Jesus. 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.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
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
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. Finally, in chapter 14, he will take the theory, drenched in love and apply it to real situations that they were having.
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 swhether 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
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. Finally, in chapter 14, he will take the theory, drenched in love and apply it to real situations that they were having.
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 swhether 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?
Monday, August 13, 2007
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. 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.
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 or 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 God’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 a declaration that all of the rulers and authorities in this world are mere pretenders to the throne.
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, 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 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.
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 entire point of the Lord’s Supper, endangering themselves of incurring God’s judgment rather than His discipline. Paul’s final words remind 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. 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.
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 or 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 God’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 a declaration that all of the rulers and authorities in this world are mere pretenders to the throne.
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, 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 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.
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 entire point of the Lord’s Supper, endangering themselves of incurring God’s judgment rather than His discipline. Paul’s final words remind 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.
Friday, August 10, 2007
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 others 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. 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 thought.
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.
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. 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.
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 others 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. 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 thought.
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.
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. 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.
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?
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