The Word Is Not Imprisoned

I love early Christian Art! Trying to describe truth about God by way of painting is very difficult and sometimes risky. Words are the best form of art we have. God has revealed Himself in the Word/Jesus and in the scriptures. Yet, words cannot describe the realities of God fully and neither can paintings. But we should devour every word God has given us about Himself.

The painting above was a very common work depicting Jesus as the Good Shepherd, which He is. Ironically, this painting is underground in the Catacombs of Rome. Needless to say, that was a place people needed visual reminders that Jesus was the Good Shepherd. In fact, we always need this reminder.

But what does this painting have to with 2 Corinthians 1? It all surrounds the word “comfort.” I’m sure you know that one of the names to describe the Holy Spirit is the Comforter. It comes from the same word here—paraklesis. The most basic meaning of this word is “calling someone to oneself.”

In other words, comfort comes when the Good Shepherd comes calling and brings us near himself. No other time does Jesus come nearer than when we are suffering. This word also means exhortation, encouragement, and consolation (consoling help). Notice its use in this verse (same word): Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the *consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. – Luke 2:25

I share the details of this word because I think we can ascribe “comfort” in our culture with some things that may not be accurate. One of the ways we comfort one another is not sending someone off on a cruise but rather being near them during the suffering. One of my favorite fiction books gives us a vivid and simple picture of this:

Sadie said, “I sat closer to my brother than normal. I needed his courage to rub off on me.”

The Tethered World, by Heather Love FitzGerald

These are strange and dangerous days we live in. At this moment, we are going through the COVID-19 pandemic. Rightly so, many churches have ceased gathering together until it seems safe for everyone to be near each other. This is loving each other and loving our neighbors. Yet it is difficult because God’s people are still suffering.

Whenever we start meeting together in person again, there will be several difficulties to endure through. For a time, we will meet together in person but will still maintain a certain amount of distance. Granted it will be much better than a Zoom or Messenger meeting where even conversation is difficult. But it’s possible to be lonely while being with people.

I say that because, for example, hugs communicate sympathy when words cannot. Oftentimes we don’t have words or we cannot even say anything because we are weeping and wailing. We need the embrace of those who love us. They give us courage when our tank is empty.

The difficulties of our future gathering with each other is the fact that there will be a variety of feelings among the people about how much and when we should be near each other. Those who will be willing to embrace must love still more for those who aren’t yet sure. Fear is not easy to shake. Caution will remain necessary for a time. So prepare yourself for these days as I know all of us are longing to assemble again.

This is an extraordinary passage in chapter one. The blessed happiness of God produces mercy and mercy produces comfort (nearness, encouragement, and consolation). God comforts us SO THAT we can comfort those who are suffering. Paul leaves the door open to what this suffering is—“any affliction.” That is so comforting!

The fact is, to follow the suffering Savior is to join him in his sufferings. But I love how Paul adds “so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.” And as I understand this, these afflictions are good for us. Why? As in the example Paul gives, that they “were burdened excessively beyond their own strength so that…they would not trust in themselves but in God who raises the dead.”

And by what means did Paul attribute how God comforted them in such a great peril? Through the prayers of other believers! You might wonder if your prayers matter. This text should assure you that they do. But why would God use such means to comfort other believers? “So that *thanks may be given by many persons.”

It goes like this: we hear of our brothers and sisters suffering in a particular way and we start asking God to have mercy and give them courage in the midst of their trial. God answers our petition and all of us rejoice. We rejoice because God has heard and acted and so too those who were comforted rejoice for God’s consolation has come!

It says of satan that he is the father of lies. Here Paul describes God as the Father of mercies! What a great comfort that is, beloved of the Lord! Let me end with these encouragements:

…we who have fled for refuge might have strong *encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. – Hebrews 6:18

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. – John 10:11

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, – John 10:14

Giving may be one of the most revealing works we are called to do that exposes our hearts. The way we give in our culture brings about other sorts of temptations. The public nature of “passing the plate” allows others to see whether or not a fellow member gives. The extent to which we will go to preserve our image is unbelievable. Like putting in an empty envelope or the one dollar bill giving. Both gives the appearance of giving but the truth about us remains hidden.

Those things do not even get to what our motives are. It’s possible that the person actually has nothing to give for legitimate reasons yet wants to maintain a very edited version of themselves. While others have so much that to part with a single coin is next to impossible. We are called to give with a cheerful heart. The picture above shows the widow gladly giving the only TWO coins she had. Do you give with joy in your heart and a smile on your face?

It reminds me of the Hobbit movies. If you are familiar with those movies I can briefly remind you of the scene where they are approaching Lake Town in the boat with Bard. They had made arrangements to pay Bard to transport them into the town. One of the Dwarves named Gloin was reluctant to give his share…that is until he saw his home—the Lonely Mountain. When he saw it he said, “Here, take it all!”

The application is this: when we see Jesus rightly, we are willing to give all we have. See, the duty of giving will only go so far. But when we LOVE Jesus, there’s no end to what we will give…even our lives. So, we don’t necessarily have an obedience problem. We have a love problem. Love never fails.

Paul ends this letter with instructions about giving to “a collection for the saints.” We understand that to be a collection for Jewish Christians who were living through a famine in the Jerusalem area. In other words, they are gathering an offering for people they did not know. But the fact that they were fellow Christians in need was enough. And they were to begin this process before Paul arrived.

Planning your giving is good and wise. To be cheerful you must give thought to what you are doing. And it’s good to think about it every week “as God may have prospered you.” And it was also important to display integrity for the future delivery. There should ALWAYS be witnesses for accountability around the offering. It is wise and good to do so. I would never want to have such a gift in my hand alone for the simple fact that anyone could think anything about what that looks like. Living above reproach is avoiding situations that would cause reproach…even the slightest whiff of it.

Enough about giving. Isn’t it strange the place “for a wide door for effective service” for Paul was also a place of “many adversaries”? Where God is at work so too is the enemy. The book of Acts began on Pentecost which is a celebration 50 days after Passover for the harvest. The Passover from which the book of Acts began was the one which Jesus was the Passover Lamb. That Passover began a harvest of souls on that following Pentecost.

Amazingly, the harvest has continued and will continue. Paul has an open door for a harvest of souls around Pentecost. I just think the imagery is beautiful. But there are tares in the wheat, too. That will be so until the end. However, the harvest is ripe. Did you notice the continued language of Pentecost? The household of Stephanas was the firstfruits in Achaia meaning there would be MORE harvest…more souls to believe and love Jesus.

Dear, beloved of the Lord. Let work until Jesus comes!

13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
14 Let all that you do be done in love. – 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Marantha!

Does chapter 15 seem out of place to you? Try this…go back and read the last chapter and then continue reading and see if it seems out of place. I think for some it does seem out of place because the resurrection isn’t central enough in our minds. It is common among many Christians to leave out this most important reality in the gospel we share. Maybe that’s why we do not live and love differently in the present.

It seems essential to go ahead and state what the purpose of chapter 15 is. How do we figure that out? Context and sometimes the author just simply states the purpose. Of course the context and the statement work together but sometime all we have is the context and flow of what was written. In this case, Paul has been trying to stamp out selfishness among these believers and the gospel was their only hope and ours.

A sneaky and subtle fear of death will cause you to live a very selfish life. That fear of death will greatly hinder the mission to make disciples of all nations. Self-preservation of our life and our identity will extinguish the work that needs to be done. I’m pretty sure chapter 15 was written to keep that from happening. Take note of how the chapter ends: Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. – 1 Corinthians 15:58

This follows the realization that an enemy remains. Though death is defeated, it hasn’t yet been abolished. But…..someday…..

54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, *then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

Victory is certain! There’s no need to live selfishly now. Let us be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, now, knowing that our toil is not in vain in the Lord.

There’s so much I’d like to write about concerning this chapter but I’m afraid we might miss the point and purpose of this amazing reality—our resurrection. I will end with this: But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. – 1 Corinthians 15:23. The OT celebration at the harvest in bringing their firstfruits was a test to see if they trusted that more fruit would come. If Christ’s resurrection was the firstfruits then more is expected to come.

It’s like if we planted a garden and it was the only means by which we would have food for the year, we would have a decision to make when those first ripe tomatoes were glowing red among the green vines. We could selfishly take them for ourselves or offer them freely because we trusted that the Lord would cause more to come. Dear beloved of the Lord, you can give this mortal body of yours over to the Lord to do with as He pleases for one day you will be clothed in immortality! Let’s forget self. Let us take risks. Let us labor! We have work to do.

We have some repenting to do because the same problem among the Corinthians exists in us too. Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. – 1 Corinthians 15:34

When building a house, there are many different types of materials that must be put together in order to have the finished product. The materials in neat stacks on the truck or on the job site is not a house. Those materials in and of themselves cannot serve a family to protect them from a storm or provide a space to sit down and enjoy a meal together. The bricks, lumber, wiring, plumbing, and cement must be skillfully put together to provide a functioning home.

In this letter to the Corinthians, Paul is working to keep the pieces together. The letter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the means by which God is building His house. The threat in this letter was disunity. A functioning house needs to be a unity. Materials that are disunited do not make a good house.

From the beginning, Paul states that the Corinthian believers “are God’s house” (3:9). The Apostle attempts to correct many things that threaten the unity of God’s house. Whatever issue that might have been addressed there was an overwhelming and common problem of selfishness. I’m so thankful Jesus wasn’t selfish or I’d be lost without hope. The Selfless Savior offered himself up for us! Praise be to God!

Chapter 12 stated that God had arranged the various members (materials, you might say) just as He desired. The diverse people and gifts were to work together in One Spirit for the common good. Chapter 13 insisted that love was a necessary component in making use of the various spiritual gifts. It matters how you do something. One’s motives are very important.

Here in chapter 14, Paul identifies two of the speaking gifts. The Lord makes uses of various symbols to describe the functions of the church. So when the Bible speaks of building or equipping or edifying a building…a people, the way God’s house is built is by speaking God’s powerful word. We don’t use hammers and saws but preaching and teaching. You can trace this throughout the gospels as the means by which Jesus was building the Kingdom, namely, teaching.

The result of prophecy is for the building up of the church. Note these statements:

3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.
4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. – 1 Corinthians 14:3-4

My focus in this post has been the purpose of the speaking gifts rather than defining the gifts. I think too often we waste our time on this rather than the purpose. But I’m aware we must know what the gifts are in order for them to be useful.

Since the focus is primarily on prophecy as the means for building up let me briefly say that prophecy is normally defined as foretelling as we understand it in the OT. We understand that part of the book of Revelation is a foretelling of what is to come. But the Bible is complete. Though I may be wrong, I see this speaking gift at as forth-telling of what has already been foretold and some of that will be forth-telling of events, like the coming of Jesus and the Judgment, that have not happened yet.

These things will take place. Now is the time to build the Kingdom. The way we do that is speaking the gospel and teaching God’s word. We must work together and be put together by the Spirit and by the word. We are God’s house. We are living stones!

Let me end with these words of hope:

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,
5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” – 1 Peter 2:4-6

Wow! Behold the Cornerstone! Do you believe in him?

How you do something matters. Motives matter. Why you do or don’t do things matters. The scary truth is easily apprehended when Mark quotes Isaiah, “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Does this not cause you to tremble that we can sing praises to God but not mean what we sing? It’s just noise. It’s worthless worship. Please, Lord, don’t let us be this way! Fill us with your Spirit!

Chapter 13 moves from gifts of the Spirit to fruits of the Spirit. It’s not enough to have the gifts of the Spirit without the fruits of the Spirit. Tongues of men and angels…of angels without love is just empty and loud clanging. Though the loudest often gets the most attention it is certainly not the determiner of truth.

Gifts of the Spirit are good things. It’s good to know all mysteries and all knowledge. It’s right and important to know theology. But I’ve heard Mark Dever say to the interns something like this, “If you can’t put the Systematic Theology book down and go help an elderly member get to church your theology is worthless.” Can you see this scene? …..A group of guys sitting around wrestling with the truth of God while their fellow brothers and sisters are in need of their assistance.

The fact is all of us fail at this is some way or another more often than we would probably like to admit or have probably even noticed about ourselves. We so need brothers and sisters who love us dearly to point these things out to us. That’s what Paul is doing. If this church needed it then we do too.

You must start with the facts about ourselves in order to be on guard. A believer can possibly give away all his possessions to the feed the poor just to be noticed instead of selfless love. A believer can possibly surrender his body to be burned at the stake (martyrdom) with utter hatred of those who carried out this grievous act. Yet, it seems a centurion noticed something distinctly different in HOW Jesus died on the cross that persuaded him to confess, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

I’m certain that centurion had witnessed and participated in countless crucifixions but never had he heard someone say, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” Nor had they ever experienced an innocent man not plead his own case! The “how” matters. Selfless love displays the selfless Savior.

This causes me to think of this verse: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, – Colossians 1:24. Paul does not in any way add to what Christ has done but rather in his selfless sufferings he was making Christ’s suffering visible to the world! What was lacking was Christ’s sufferings being made known…visible…imaged for the world to see!

I so want the world to see Jesus in me. Selfishness hides and distorts the image of Christ. The Lord has been so kind and patient to show me through this letter and by His Spirit so many ways that I am selfish. I have so much that needs to change in me. It is impossible to fix selfishness. But God is the God of the impossible.

I was speaking with someone about a verse in 1 Corinthians 15 this morning and I was trying to figure out how that chapter on the resurrection fit into Paul’s attempt to correct so much selfishness. Well I think the answer to slaying selfishness is only found in the gospel. It is our nature to be only concerned about ourselves. But the Selfless Savior died a selfless death and was buried alone in an empty tomb that he might save selfish people!

The resurrection, in particular, should relieve us from living for ourselves now when we will live forever with Jesus! Let us love like Jesus! Let us put off childish ways (the world revolves around me) and put on maturity (Christ is the center of my life). This is still a more excellent way!

It’s strange how some (most?) football TEAMS celebrate together but grieve losses separately. In 1992, my high school football team was really good. We had some weak spots but nothing that threatened to stop us. We were #1 in the state most of the year and were expected to go to the championship. When I said weak spots I meant positions. However, a weakness many of us did not expect crept in.

That weakness was a lack of teamwork. We had many individually strong positions players. We had the size. We had the heart. We had a lot of things teams need to win. But we lacked being a team. To be a team you can’t be selfish. You need to be at practice. You need to do your class work. Many things threaten a team but you must be diligent to think of the team over yourself.

We arrived at our last regular season game and for many of the seniors it would be their last regular season game of our lives. The opponent was West Carroll. I can’t remember their record but it should have been a pushover game. Later, while stunned over the loss we find out that some had celebrated the win BEFORE the game. Rage hardly describes what some of us felt that night. How selfish. We lost in the second round of the tournament that year. We never recovered from that loss.

This chapter is full of team language. It’s full of varieties of players that make up the one team. To have a football team you need all kinds of players with different talents and players that are different size physically. The punter is very important to the team. Think about it like Paul is saying, the less noticeable gifts become more noticeable. The quarterback makes lots of mistakes in a game and he makes a lot of good plays too. But if the place kicker misses the winning field goal or extra point (one mistake) he becomes very noticeable.

The church is made of varieties of people and gifts but one Spirit. We were given the Spirit for the “common good” of the body. It’s not just for you personally. And each individual gift of the body was distributed “*just as He wills” and “God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, *just as he desired.” Each member and each gift with the one Spirit working together for the common good of each other. What a beautiful gift!

This is a more excellent way! Let’s be what the Lord has gifted us to be. Let’s do it together for each other to the glory of God. Indeed, it should be that if one suffers the whole body suffers. If one is honored the whole body is honored. Let us all be of one mind and one Spirit working together as one body…the body of Christ.

No matter the topic, this letter has addressed the issue of selfishness more than anything. To follow the selfless Lord Jesus is to imitate our Lord’s selflessness. Chapter 11 begins with a command to imitate Paul as he imitates Christ! Be sure, to live a self-centered life is NOT Christlike in any respect. To love God and others requires that we not be ME-centered.

We could discuss some of the difficulties surrounding our understanding of head coverings but it boils down to the fact that we Christians are not our own. We were bought with a price. We are under the authority of another, namely, Christ Jesus who is the Head of the church.

God the Father is head over Christ, Christ is head over the church, husbands are head over their wives. We are to submit to the righteous rule and reign of Jesus over us. To do otherwise is to miss a primary part of the gospel to follow our Lord in every way. The One who bought us with his blood owns us and calls the shots! I’m so thankful he does. For he will ALWAYS lead us in righteousness.

The husband is to lead his wife the same way. We can trust that Jesus will never fail to lead us in righteousness but husbands are very much fallible. The wife is NEVER to follow the husband if he is leading her into sin. However, she is to have a disposition towards her husband longing that he would lead according to God’s word. So, when he does the wife should gladly submit because he is leading her in righteousness.

Selfish leadership or selfishly not submitting to rightful authority is unrighteous and ungodly. This is God’s creation order. It has NOTHING to do with equality. If submission to authority equals the lesser submitting to the greater then the Son of God is less than the Father in his nature and attributes. But that is not so. The Father and the Son are equal but the Son submits to the Father. That is his role not his nature.

The same is true in the church. A man is of the same nature as a woman. They are equal. They are both human beings created in the image of God. But just as we would expect our children to obey BOTH parents even though they are equal image-bearers too, so also the wife submits to the authority of her husband. Though not here, the church is called to submit to the righteous leadership of the pastor(s).

No matter the symbol of authority a group of people use, we know a wife could wear a head covering and still not be submissive. It is a heart disposition. Whether it is a ring on our finger or something else, it should be easily discernible that we are not our own. We gladly live under the righteous reign of Christ Jesus! To disobey God’s word is to tell the world that we know better than God and that He is not worthy of our glad obedience.

Also, the whole issue Paul has with their practice of the Lord’s Supper is selfishness. They were despising those who had nothing among them. Dear brothers and sisters, let us be selfless in our day. Look for those in need. Listen for opportunities to display the love of Christ. And what dark days we live in to shine the light of Jesus by thinking of others more than ourselves.

The words of Jesus sum it all up! “This is *my body, which is broken for *you!” Let us be spent for the sake of the gospel!

#Foundations

This picture is supposedly the rock at Horeb from which water gushed out for the people of Israel. Can you imagine seeing water pour out a rock? Can you imagine walking on dry land through the Red Sea? Not to mention all that happened in Egypt when the Lord rescued His people from slavery. The ten plagues. The amazing miracle of the Passover. The defeat of their foe as the waters closed in over the Egyptian army.

They sing a victory song….then three days later they are wondering where they are going to get some water! Seriously? You just saw all of this happen and you don’t think that you should ask the Lord…trust the Lord to provide you with water? You think He rescued you from Egypt to let you die in the wilderness three days later?

The amount of examples are too numerous to cite. What Paul writes in 1 Cor. 10 is meant to point you back to these stories as an example “so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.” Note this…”these things happened to them as an example.” So not only did these events have their own purpose in their day as it says in Exodus to test them but they happened for us to see and learn from now: “they were written for our instruction.”

Paul commanded the Corinthians, “Do not be idolaters, as some of them were…nor let us act immorally, as some of them did…nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did…nor grumble, as some of them did.”

Why does Paul say these things to them? So that they would live like this: “Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbors.” It’s really the same thing he’s been talking about for several chapters. Eternal joy awaits us, therefore live a selfless life now. It’s the same paradigm of humble yourself now and you will be exalted…the last shall be first. In other words, do not live like this is heaven, that’s coming later. The time is urgent!

Why are the times urgent? Why would Paul live this way and plead with the Corinthians to live this way? It is the same as ch. 9: “so that I may win more…so that I may win those under the law…so that I might win those who are without law…so that I may by all means save some.”

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, *so that they may be saved. 1 Corinthians 10:31-33

Our purpose in life is to glorify God. We also have a mission in life because many are not living for the glory of God and they should be. Our mission is to make disciples of all nations that they might live for His glory!

Are you avoiding the mistakes of Israel? Are we living for ourselves only or others? We will have eternity to live. We should spend our time now dying to self. As Paul will write later:

For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our moral flesh. So death works in us, but life in you. 2 Corinthians 4:11-12

This hangs on my daughter’s wall! It is a reminder to live our lives as Paul does: “I run in such a way, as NOT without aim.” The reason much of the world lives without aim is because they do not have a sure and certain target as we do. We are promised an imperishable reward because we believe in the gospel. Eternal life with Christ our Savior awaits us.

But how does Paul live with intention and aim? Well, it’s not only for himself but that other might be rescued from the penalty of sin. But there are plenty of hindrances among our lives and the lives of others that require us to live with intention.

Over and over, Paul reveals to the Corinthians that he had not made use of several rights he had as an apostle. To be a people who have their aim on Christ and eternal joy with him most certainly should give up various rights we have for the sake of making the gospel known to others.

In Paul’s defense, he mentions eating and drinking, marriage, not working a side job to support his ministry to them to which it seems he must prove with more evidence. He appeals to the OT for reference: “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.” Verse 14 summarizes it like this: “the Lord has directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.” In other words, it is good and right for churches to fully support their pastor(s) (and missionaries) in the ministry of the gospel.

The ministry of the gospel takes more than certain people being free from concern about their finances. There are many hinderances in this world to the gospel. Some of them occur within the church as Paul has addressed. But others have to do with various hang ups people have. It takes intentional aim to navigate how to maintain the one gospel in various circles of life.

It mostly has to do with being selfless “that I may by all means save some.” It takes an intentional aim to win the prize of eternal life. It takes discipline to make our body our slave rather than being a slave to our body. There’s no reason to do this if something greater does not await us.

Resurrection is coming. Live like it is! There will be plenty of time to enjoy life when the greater and better Eden is restored!

1 Corinthians 6-8

What does a disciple of Christ look like and what is one’s purpose?

—Why not rather be wronged?

—Why not rather be defrauded?

—(New identity) such *were some of you; but you *were washed, but you *were sanctified, but you *were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ

—Flee immorality because your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit

—You are not your own

—You have been bought with a price…conclusion? Therefore glorify God in your body

—You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men

—to promote what is appropriate and to secure *undistracted devotion to the Lord

—love edifies…if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. Therefore if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.

I want undistracted devotion to the Lord! I want to flee immorality. I want to glorify God in my body. I want to love and be loved! I am not my own! Lord do whatever you please with me!