Year: 2016

My Bible is stained on this page.  On the left-hand side you can see the dark spot and some discoloring on the right side as well.  There is a small rip on the bottom right as well.  You should be able to tell, just from the look of the Bible, that they are well worn pages, and one that is used often.  So why the stains on the Bible?  If you look at chapter 11:23-26 they should be familiar to you.  These are the words that we use for the Lord’s Supper.  I have had this Bible since 1999 and each time I prepare communion I read from this Bible, from these pages.  The stain is from the wine or the juice that has spilled on these pages over that time.  These pages contain a lot of meaning to me.  Paul gives us instructions on communion in these pages.  Let’s take a look

Keep in mind that communion in Paul’s day was not simply a ritual, it was a meal that was essential to keep the Christian population, especially the widows, alive.  They didn’t just have bread and wine as a memorial to Jesus’ life and death and resurrection, but rather they had an entire meal and this bread and the wine would close it off as a physical, tangible proof of the presence of our Savior.  But people were taking advantage of this meal.  Look beginning at vs.17 where Paul begins, once again, to chastise the Corinthians for how they have made this time a time of division.  

This meal was meant to be shared.  It was a pot-luck of spiritual proportions.  Paul has some of his strongest words for those who would eat this meal selfishly and finish what they had without sharing with those around them.  He tells them in vs.29 that those who misuse this time: “eat and drink judgment against themselves.”  In fact, he associates the misuse of this time as the reason for why some of the people of that church were sick and had died.  For Paul, it seems like a punishment for sin.  His primary point is found in vs.33: “When you come together to eat, wait for one another.”  What a great point.  

Now all of this should overshadow the beginning of this chapter.  Paul spends more time talking about hair in this chapter than he does spending time writing about homosexuality in all of his writing combined.  I know, I’ve talked a lot about that issue, but I’m trying to put it within a context and a reality where we understand that this is not in any way a primary issue either for Paul and even less so for Jesus.  Our stance is clear, but Paul seems to think how we wear our hair is more important than what our belief is in regards to homosexuality.  You may have wondered where the whole idea of covering your head if you are woman while you worship.  In our community we have a whole range of denominations who believe that women should cover their heads.  It is from this chapter where that belief comes.  

Paul makes statements in regards to a sense of hierarchy between men and women and that seems to fly a bit in the face of Galatians 3:28 where we read that in Christ there is no male or female.  If I have to choose, I stick with Galatians.  That isn’t enough, I know, we need to have more of a discussion on these verses.  Why does Paul say such things if we are not to take it seriously?  We are to take it seriously and Paul says some good things especially in vs.9 that there is an interdependence between men and women that cannot be denied.

The next few days are going to be a little sketchy.  I’m sitting in the Philadelphia airport getting ready to head out to Italy for a week to perform a wedding and check in on the logistics for our mission trip in 2018.  I have no idea what my internet access is going to be like.  I’m going to try to publish my articles ahead of time using a feature on this blog which posts the articles that I have submitted on the dates that I choose.  Let’s see if that works.  If not, then this just might be the last post for a week.  Let’s hope not.  

In chapter 10 we absolutely have to focus on vs.13.  You have heard it before, but probably never in this context.  Paul in this chapter is addressing from the very beginning the journey that the people of God have embarked on.  From Moses and beyond God has been with the people.  We even find an early reference to the fact that our Savior, the Christ, the Son, the third person in the Trinity was present.  If you look at vs.4 you will see that spelled out.  Often we see God the Father as being present in the Old Testament, God the Son being present in the New Testament, and God the Holy Spirit being present now.  What this Scripture supports is that our one God is present in all modes at all times.  In these verses leading up to our main verse Paul again stresses the fact that God has been present and will continue to be present even if we turn our back on him.

In fact, he goes to state in our key verse, Paul tells us that God treats everyone equally.  Everyone undergoes trials and tribulations.  Whatever testing we may go through, it is not unusual or anything that other people have not experienced.  But what is most comforting is knowing that we will never be tested beyond our capacity to withstand.  The verse doesn’t end there, but we often do.  Not only will we never be tested beyond our strength but in each testing God will provide us a way out.  Did you hear that?  In each testing, there is a way out which is provided by our Creator uniquely for each one of us and our particular experience.  We need to think about that next time we call out and ask if we will be able to take whatever challenge we are facing in our life.  We need to look for the way out at that time and in that place that God uniquely provides for each one of us.  

I don’t want to avoid vs.23 because it does speak to the freedom we have in Christ.  But these verses should sound familiar because we already saw them in chapter 6:12.  It is an exact repeat, and I feel the same way now as I did back in chapter 6.  Look at it again if you like.

For the first time we see Paul emphasizing the fact that he is an apostle as much as the other 12 who were chosen to walk alongside Jesus in his 3 years of ministry.  This will come up time and time again where he feels as if he has to defend himself because I am sure that there were some who felt that he was not a legitimate leader.  He was a Johnny come lately who had a terrible history.  But it becomes an even more acute point when we are dealing with finances.  Apparently it was no problem if the apostles were compensated for their work.  But Paul has to defend himself as to why he feels that he should be compensated for his work of sharing the Gospel.  He speaks to the Corinthians recognizing that at least they see him as an apostle.  He did, after all, plant the church in Corinth.

It is interesting that Paul in vs.5 says that apostles, disciples, workers in the field, have the right to have a wife.  Those denominations that demand celibacy of its pastors must have a hard time getting around this verse.  He spends an entire chapter on the rights and the expectations of one who works for the dissemination of the Gospel message.  I have always admired and held in high esteem tent-makers.  I have always thought that bi-vocational pastors were following Scripture in their calling much closer to what was expected and thought of from the beginning of the church movement than I am as a full-time pastor.  I think of the Mennonite pastors who are completely bi-vocational and so understand Paul’s perspective completely.  

Paul, starting in vs.19 and following, focuses on how he has made his life an attempt to be all things to all people.  We have traditionally seen this way of life as being weak and wishy washy.  He states: “To the weak, I became weak, so that I might win the weak.”  He follows that up with: “I have become all things to all people that I might by all means save some.”  Isn’t that our goal?  Aren’t we commanded to win people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ?  We are to do all in our power to win people over to Christ with all that we have and all that we are.  

Paul never wants to disqualify himself by others thinking that he sees himself is above them.  Pastor’s have to be careful that their education does not get in the way of serving people in a genuine way.  Oftentimes degrees can get in the way of empathy and real love and concern for others.  There are some who might think that a task around the church is below them.  My perspective is that I will never, ever ask anyone to do anything that I would not do myself.  When we see our roles as being over other people we have already lost the people.  This is part of Paul’s point.  We must rejoice and be glad that we are called to do even the most menial tasks for that is our calling.

A whole chapter on food offered to idols.  So is it a chapter we can skip?  Let me tell you a story.  We once had a small group in a church and at this small group a couple offered wine and beer as part of the meal.  A couple that attended was mortified and remarked how in the world could a church offer alcohol at a small group.  Out of the 15 couples that were part of this group they were the only couple that was mortified.  But as a group we decided that we would not serve alcohol again because it was offensive to that one couple.  

Now, Paul, unfortunately, calls those who are scandalized by the eating of meat offered to idols as being weak.  He states that they are weak believers and three times calls them weak.  Not a real comfortable position.  But it must be applied to those who are legalistic and who need a set of rules in order to understand whether they are doing the will of God or not.  Hear me out.  I am not in any way making a judgment call that any Christian might be weak.  That is absolutely not my call.  But Paul does it in these verses.  If we follow a legalistic faith, then we are not free in Christ.  That I do firmly believe.  

Interesting how Paul says that there is not more than one God.  Today many would see a variety of ways to God.  Some believe that all religions are just another path along the journey.  Some say that there are many ways to God, after all, who are we to say that as Christians we have the truth which is absolute?  Paul says that there is only one God, so the god which other people worship or follow, Paul’s words, simply does not exist.  That sounds rough.  That sounds pretty exclusive.  That sounds as if we are, in Paul’s words, puffing ourselves up.  But we have to end with vs.6 “yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”

Do you remember that I have said repeatedly that Paul writes as if Jesus’ coming is imminent?  He fully expects the coming of Jesus Christ to be any moment.  As a result, what he writes in this chapter focuses on the importance of vs.26 where he tells the Corinthian church: “I think that, in view of the impending crisis, it is well for you to remain as you are.”  The entire chapter is written from a perspective that whatever reality in which you find yourself now, you should not change a thing because all of your focus and attention needs to be on Jesus.  Nothing else matters at this point.  Not your job, not your family, not your health.  Nothing except the time and the energy that you put into preparing yourself for the coming of the Lord.  

How many of us live in light of that perspective?  I would argue that none of us, and I would potentially even argue that it might not be the best way to live if we want to contribute to the kingdom of God.  Let me explain.  

Chapter 7 begins with some real practical advice for husbands and wives.  the primary reason for marriage, Paul describes in these verses, is to prevent each person from committing sexual immorality (vs.1).  He goes on in vs.36 to give permission for marriage if “passions are strong”.  Paul does not speak about the presence of love as the driving force for marriage.  Ironic that this is the man who wrote the love chapter in I Corinthians 13.  I can’t wait until we get to that chapter.  But until then, Paul encourages marriage as a stop-gap to immorality.  The ideal would be that a woman not touch a man and vice versa. This is not the advice or the approach that I would have.  I do believe that God prepares our spouse from even before birth and we are brought together by a love that needs to be evident and the primary factor in our marriage.  The presence of passion is important, but it is not what drives us to marriage.  It is too fleeting.

So, let’s say that a man and a woman are married.  This next piece of advice is actually quite good and can apply if Jesus comes back in an hour or not until the next century.  He describes the man’s body and the woman’s body as belonging to each other.  Please note that I am speaking in regards to spousal relationships where there is mutual love and affection and not a twisted understanding that the man has complete dominance and so skews the words of Scripture.  In a mutual relationship it can be exciting and God driven to think that each other’s bodies were made for us.  God formed and made our bodies for our spouse.  This opens up endless possibilities in the spousal relationship that some may not think possible.  There are no rules in the intimate relationship between a husband and a wife.  That might be hard to live by at first when we are used to living our lives, especially in that area, with rules of dos and donts.  Not so, says Paul.  The husband belongs to the wife and vice versa.  That should be incredibly freeing.

He deals with divorce as well in this chapter.  But here it is strictly from the perspective that Jesus is coming back today.  He shuns divorce because, frankly you probably don’t have the time to get divorced and then try to find someone to marry again.  Don’t get divorced because you don’t have the time to go through the whole process.  Jesus will be coming back by then so it isn’t even worth the aggravation.  Surely, as Paul states in vs.28 that “those who marry will experience distress”.  But that distress is far less than the distress you would experience in divorce so you might as well stay as you are.  I’m afraid that Paul’s words in this chapter might serve as good advice in the beginning of the chapter in dealing with husbands and wives and the joy that they can find in each other’s bodies, but not so good advice in dealing with marriage and divorce because it is so focused on the imminent coming of Christ.

And this is where we get to the point where it becomes obvious that Paul is not happy with the church in Corinth. He addresses the issue of a liability culture, which surprisingly, is one that is rampant in our own society.  Can you imagine our society if Christians were not allowed to take other Christians to court?  In vs.7 Paul says that it is already a defeat to us when we take other Christians to court.  The main impetus of his words deals with how will the world see us when we bicker and we fight and we take each other to court?  And then, to top it all off, we stand in front of a judge who is not a believer and who ends up deciding our fate and decides what future each of us should hold.  Paul says that when Jesus comes back it is not going to be unbelievers who have this power over us, so why would we give that power to them now?  

The distinction between Christian and non-Christian in our everyday lives no longer seems to be that much of a concern to us.  We don’t just shop at stores run by people that we know are Christians.  We don’t just take our cars to be fixed by Christian mechanics.  We don’t just go to Christians to cut our hair.  We don’t just go to doctors whom we know believe in Jesus Christ.  When did we stop making that choice and say any service that a person offers is good enough to me as long as they have the training and the goods that they and I need?  The times, they are achanging, and this is one example where Paul’s emphasis on the end times reveals itself to be impractical for the long-term, but absolutely essential for his short-term perspective.  

Then Paul, starting in vs.9 lays out a whole slew of immoralities which would prevent someone from inheriting the kingdom of God.  One of them is homosexuality, but for some reason that one has been lifted up above the others in our 21st century.  That wasn’t the case in Paul’s day.  The point is that if we continue in any of these sins then we are turning our back on God.  So, if we continue in our sin of greed, or drunkenness, then we do not have a place in the kingdom of God.  If we were to rate sins, which we don’t do by the way, greed and stockpiling wealth, is considered tantamount to a man sleeping with a man.  That should give all of us pause.  Paul makes no distinction in these verses.  

Vs.12 has become my mantra and my way of life.  I love the freedom that we have in Christ Jesus.  As Paul states: “All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial.”  There is no one in our Christian walk who is holding up the rules to see if we are abiding by them or not.  Isn’t it ironic that just as Paul lists a long line of sins that will not be acceptable if we continue in them, he follows it with a line that reminds us that our Christian walk is one of freedom.  We can do anything and all things.  We can do anything we want.  But the key is that what we want, when we have the mind of Christ, ought to be what Jesus wants.  There should not be a part of us that wants that which Christ would not want.  If we live our lives we should not be pining for the days when we could sin and sin boldly and wish that we could move forward continuing in our sin.  Paul says no, all things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial.  We can do all things, but we must be aware of what we do and how it affects those around us and how it affects our witness.

There is a lot in this chapter.  Starting at vs.16 you have my argument on chastity before marriage.  Fortunately I am speaking from a position of strength because both Stacy and I waited to be together in that way  until we were married.  Both of us entered that relationship not having been with anyone else, either.  The argument that Paul lays out is that when you are with someone in an intimate way that leads to intercourse, that person stays with you for the rest of your life.  I’ll never forget a woman that I counseled who was in and out of failed relationships.  I told her: stay chaste until you are married again.  Every time we would see each other she would have a wry smile on her face and she would tell me that she is following what I recommended.  It isn’t the easiest advice for anyone who has been married previously, in their mid to late 30s, but it is the advice that we find in Scripture.  It simply makes life so much easier when we just abstain.  It just does.  You have far fewer ghosts in your closet and you can focus  in on the person that you have in your midst. Plus, you know that you are following God’s desires.  This probably isn’t appropriate, but at this time this song came to mind:

So the current controversial topic du jour has to do with sexual sin.  But unfortunately it seems like all of our attention is focused on the sin of homosexuality.  But Jesus never speaks about the topic of homosexuality.  In this Scripture there is no mention of homosexuality.  Jesus addresses  adultery and lust.  Paul in this Scripture addresses heterosexual sin as well.  A vast majority of our conversations in culture deal with a topic that is rarely mentioned, as opposed to a topic that both our Savior and many other New Testament authors address.  Why is that?  Why are we so fixated on driving out the witches while we allow the warlocks among us without so much as a cough.  The answer is because it is low hanging fruit.  It is easy to talk about a sin that maybe many of us would never think about or consider, while one that is actually a potential threat is easier to overlook and ignore.

Discipline within our churches is not in any way reflective of what is recommended in the New Testament.  Paul tells us to drive the wicked person out from among you.  In my 22 years of ministry I have never asked a person to leave the church for good because of their illicit or immoral lifestyle.  I have approached members of church who are not living as they should and talked to them about it, unsolicited, but I have never asked them to leave.  Why do we shy away from what Scripture tells us in these matters?  It is because our experience tells us that if we were to clear house all those who sinned and fell short of the glory of God…well, then we would be very lonely in a very empty church.  In fact, we, me included, would need to have a talking to.  

Paul is telling the Corinthians that they really do have everything that they need.  He uses his own example and that of Apollo, a fellow evangelist, as people who not only can be trusted, but also as examples of people who are able to live with everything and with nothing.  He encourages the Corinthian Christians to do the same.  He returns to this theme later.  

Paul begins this chapter by speaking to the church in Corinth about the journey that they have been on toward maturity in the faith.  It is a journey that upon which we have all embarked, but we are all in different places along this journey.  He chastises the community because they are still of the flesh.  The manifestation of someone being in the flesh, at least in this case, is that (vs.3) there is jealousy and quarreling.  Notice carefully  that he is speaking to a church about problems within a church.  He is not talking about non-believers.  He is talking about issues that affect each one of us and all of our churches.  He scolds them because they have taken sides in regards to whom they are loyal here on this earth.  A similar parallel can be found in our churches when it comes to political parties.  At times churches can be divided, or at least can be shaken, by allegiances to political parties.  Paul’s words in vs.9 ring true when he tells us: “For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

He is also addressing the work that evangelists and others have done to lay the foundation of Jesus Christ.  If you look at vs.11 you will find those exact words.  Each person who comes along after the foundation has been laid adds to the building.  Let’s take First Presbyterian Church.  Way back in 1832 faithful followers of Jesus Christ came along and laid the foundation of this community, and the foundation was Jesus Christ.  That foundation has remained.  Each generation since then has come along and added to the community and left their mark in one way or another.  There have been times and seasons of growth and periods of decay.  It is all part of the life and the history of the church.  But as long as each person who steps into these doors and looks to focus on Jesus comes along, then they will contribute to the kingdom of God.  If we take a step outside of that and look to churches that have popped up just within the last 10 or 20 years, who are we as a nearly 200 year old church to say that they are not contributing to the foundation that has been set by our churches and by our people who were here long ago.  Each person, each church, each community contributes to the kingdom of God with a reality that is lasting and that does not go away.  As Paul tells us: “So let no one boast about human leaders.”

Just a reminder that First Corinthians is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the church in the city of Corinth.  The city of Corinth is located below.

You can see that it is in the southwest part of Greece and right across the sea you will find Ephesus which is where this letter was written.  It is not far from Rome and the Italian peninsula.  So many of the churches that Paul founded, which considered him literally as the founding father, were located in a small geographical area.  It is hard to believe that this movement called the Way exploded into what we have today in Christendom.  But Paul was not happy with Corinth and their compromises, which he probably would have called apostasy.  Throughout this first letter to the church in Corinth he underscores the importance of getting back to the basics and not being swayed by any new thoughts or ideas of the day which really aren’t new after all.

In the first verses of this chapter he describes how he came to them in Corinth not pretending to be above them, but by reaching out to them in a relational way.  Remember, Paul had every right to vaunt himself over others.  He went to the best Pharisaical schools, he had studied under the best teachers, after school he had been chosen by the high priest to carry out very sensitive missions.  So if anyone could boast about their stature, it would have been Paul.  But his authority and his connection with the people of Corinth came from his actions.  They knew he had authority and they knew that he loved them because, as vs. 4 states, of the spirit of power.  He wants to be sure that they will not be swayed by the presence of any individual, but rather by the power of God.  They cannot trust in the words or the wisdom of any one person, especially people who might be stirring things up in Corinth, but rather by the tried and tested power of the Holy Spirit which does not change over the generations.

Paul then switches gears starting at vs.6 to say that to those who are mature, we do use words and concepts that are wise.  We are not to remain forever in a state where we only receive and we are never challenged.  But there is a fine line.  If we feel too challenged then we just might check out and think that this place is not for me.  But what would too challenged look like?  Maybe a place where we are called to do more than attend.  Maybe a place where we are called to participate in a sacrificial way.  Maybe a place where we are encouraged and enabled to read Scripture and pray as if it were a normal course of action.  Being challenged looks like a place which pushes us away from being satisfied from being an observer to gaining the confidence to become a participant.  

Vs.14 is a fairly crucial verse in regards to inclusivity and exclusivity.  How can we say that God loves the world and yet there is judgment day?  It has to do with the reality that God’s desire is that all would receive and take advantage of the gift of God’s Spirit.  Instead, there are some who choose the spirit of the world.  These two things are diametrically opposed to each other.  If we choose the spirit of the world it means that we would rather follow the example set by our culture and its values and its norms over and against the commandments of love and sacrifice which the Spirit of God provides to us.  It is a choice that is made.  We do not simply fall on one side or the other, we choose who will be our master.  We choose who will be our Lord.  If we choose the world then those things of the world will seem appealing.  If we choose to follow Jesus then those things of Jesus will be appealing.  It seems simple enough, but it really can get quite complicated.  

There are some who would take Jesus and his general approach of love and apply that to all things that come about in life.  So if we take the principle of love and have that trump any of Jesus’ other words or any other words of scripture then anything that you can paste the label of love on, will win the day.  Culture tells us that anything can be labeled by love.  Scripture tells us that we are to treat others as ourselves, with love.  These two concepts are not opposed, but can you not love your neighbor and yet not agree with your neighbor?  Does that mean that you can’t love your neighbor?  We are called to have the mind of Christ which is much more than love vs. hate.  Christ was incredibly grey in his life.  Render to Caesar, God made man for woman, sell all that you have and give to the poor, do not divorce except in for the case of infidelity…  These statements seem black and white, and those who are not wise need black and white.  The immature need black and white.  But those who are wise, I would even say that those who have the Spirit of the Lord, are able to exist in the grey.  Because, as Paul tells us in the last verse, we have the mind of Christ.