Episode 213 - "Be mature in your thinking!" - 1 Corinthians 14:20-25

1 Cor. 14:20 Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. 21 In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” 22 Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.

It may seem like Paul is beating a dead horse, so to speak, with his instruction concerning spiritual gifts. But the fact of the matter is that this is a divisive issue among Christians still today. There are people who think they’re more godly or special because they claim to have a certain gift. There are people who want to argue that others cannot be Christian if they don’t have the gift of tongues or some other sign gift. There are churches that make it a part of their doctrinal statement that the sign gifts have ceased, and they make it clear that those who think otherwise are not welcome among them. I think if the Apostle Paul were here today, he would say the same thing he tells the Corinthians, “You all need to grow up!”

I love how he says in verse 20, “Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” In terms of experience in the ways of the world, he would prefer them to be naive and innocent or inexperienced. People sometimes think they need to experience the things others around them are doing. Paul wants them to avoid things that are evil. However, they are to be mature in their thinking. He follows this with perspective to assist them in thinking more maturely.

Technically, “the Law” is the first five books of the Old Testament. However, it’s often used to speak of the whole Old Testament. Paul paraphrases Isaiah 28:11 when he writes, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” (v. 21) In citing this text, he argues that “tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.” (v. 22) Oddly, his argument in verses 23-25 appears to work in the opposite manner. What gives?

It’s important to interpret what Paul is getting at by considering the historical context of the Isaiah passage he has just quoted. Isaiah, writing the Lord’s revelation, is describing a coming judgment upon unbelieving Israel. In other words, God is telling Israel, “Because you haven’t listened to my clear revelation through the prophets speaking a language you understand, I am going to send people who speak a language you don’t understand.” This later comes true. The northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians, and later the southern kingdom of Judah was conquered by Babylon. Paul is using this example to show that tongues had been used by God as a sign for unbelievers. Israel should have been believing God’s word in their own language.

Paul is using that to help the Corinthian believers understand that if, in their immaturity, all of them are speaking in tongues, the scene will look crazy and confusing to unbelievers and result in them still being unbelievers. But that’s not the objective. We desire unbelievers to become believers.

So, if everyone is prophesying, by the Spirit, the gospel will be explained, and there will be a revelation in the unbelieving person’s heart, leading them to faith. Therefore, prophecy is for believers. It’s a generalization and not an absolute rule.

Consider what happened at Pentecost in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit filled the apostles, and they spoke in tongues, languages understood by the foreign visitors who heard these men speak. The effect was that it got people’s attention, but it didn’t lead people to faith. It wasn’t until Peter explained what was happening and gave them a clear explanation of Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection that the Holy Spirit convicted many to respond in faith.

So, the point of all of this is to have a mature understanding of the value of tongues and prophecy. It’s more important that God’s word be spoken and explained in a way that people can understand it and allow the Holy Spirit to convict people and draw them into faith. Spiritual maturity leads us not to foment an emotional experience for ourselves but to seek how we can be used by the Holy Spirit to speak God’s truth to others leading them to worship God in faith.

Episode 212 - "Use your gift to edify others" - 1 Corinthians 14:6-19

1Cor. 14:6 Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7 If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? 8 And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? 9 So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, 11 but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. 12 So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

1Cor. 14:13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Growing up outside a small farming community in central Illinois, there was very little cultural diversity, and most of the time, there weren’t any people whose native language was other than English. I remember a guidance counselor telling me that I needed to take a foreign language for college. I took a semester of French as it was the only language offered at the time. However, I did poorly at it because I could see no value in investing my time and energy.

When I moved to Chicago after high school, many of the first people I met were from other countries. I was surrounded by different languages and accents that I did not understand, and suddenly, the world got bigger. I love meeting people from different places and cultures with different languages. I spent a whole day once with a friend from Venezuela who couldn’t speak much more English than I could in Spanish. We figured things out, but only with a lot of effort and picture drawing. Over 40 years after moving away from that farm community, I am often around people who are from different parts of the world and speak different languages. I rarely notice accents anymore. But communication remains difficult if the people involved do not understand the languages being spoken.

I believe that the spiritual gift of tongues is the divinely enabled ability to communicate in the languages of people in the world and not some mysterious babbling. I realize that some people would disagree with this, and I cannot prove it absolutely. However, when the Holy Spirit filled the apostles on the day of Pentecost, they spoke in languages native to the people who had come from different parts of the known world to celebrate the feast. (See Acts 2:6-13) The people realized the apostles were Galileans and yet spoke in the language of their part of the world. Many recognized the apostles were people who would most likely have not traveled the world learning the languages they spoke. Peter explained that what was happening was a fulfillment of prophecy. (Acts 2:14-41) The point was that the Holy Spirit enabled the prophets at that time to communicate the good news of Jesus to the known world.

In the text from 1 Corinthians 14, it seems from Paul’s rhetorical questions that the principle Paul is trying to get across is the same. God’s gift of tongues is not to confuse people. God’s intent in manifesting this gift is to clearly communicate his good news to the world. It may be, in some cases, that unbelievers would realize that God was doing something special and respond in faith, or it may be that other believers would be strengthened in their faith through this supernatural enabling to communicate truth to them.

Paul is telling the Corinthians that he’s glad they desire the gifts. But he explains that it’s critical they are used for the right purpose and motivation. Paul says they need to “strive to excel in building up the church.” (v. 12b)

Paul continues by telling them that the one who speaks in a tongue should “pray that he should interpret.” (v. 15) This would be important if no one else understood what the Spirit was saying through the believer. It’s pointless if the message is not understandable.

The last verse of this section really drives home the point. Paul says he is able to speak more in tongues than everyone at Corinth. However, he says that he’d rather speak five intelligible words than ten thousand words in a tongue. (v. 19)

What are we to get from this? Namely, in whatever the Lord enables you to minister, your priority needs to be to communicate God’s truth and to build up others in the body of Christ.

Episode 211 - "Pursue love" 1 Corinthians 14:1-5

1Cor. 14:1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. 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. 5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

In the four years I’ve been doing this blog/podcast, I don’t know if there was a chapter of Scripture I would like to skip more than this one. Why? Quite frankly, it’s difficult, and the bottom line is that I fear that I might possibly misrepresent the true meaning. In the complexity that I perceive, I want to dig in deeper and try to work through some of the issues, but I am short on time and energy to give it the attention I feel it deserves.

For example, one question is, “Is Paul saying that the gift of tongues is simply for a believer’s personal worship and edification, or is it for the greater body of Christ?” I think the answer is “yes.” (It’s for both.) I’ll explain that shortly. Let’s see if I can bring the focus to what is clear in Paul’s thought, and perhaps that will help us respect the tension in the details.

The focus and priority, I believe, are expressed in the first eight words, “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts.” (14:1a) In these opening words, we realize he’s not changing the subject or saying anything new. Love is the most important thing in the life of the believer. Both verbs translated as “pursue” and “desire” respectively are imperatives. They are commands. The most important thing in our life as a follower of Jesus is to demonstrate love toward others. Nothing that follows this command matters if we don’t “pursue love.”

With love toward others as our priority, Christians are to “earnestly desire” the spiritual gifts God wants to give to us and use in our lives and ministry to others. Paul now highlights one of the spiritual gifts. He instructs the Corinthians to especially desire to prophesy. After making the argument that one gift or one member of the body is not greater or lesser than another member of the body earlier in the letter, he is now going to suggest that prophesying is better. He’s already stated that the Spirit distributes the gifts as he wills. But now he’s telling the believers to desire the gifts and especially to prophesy. Why this apparent shift? The answer, I believe, lies in the context of his explanation which follows.

He starts to explain the difference in function between tongues and prophesying. He explains that the gift of tongues is for speaking to God. Paul appears to be describing a Holy Spirit-enabled act of worship that edifies the believer exercising that gift. On the other hand, “the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.” (v 3b)

Ah! It seems that Paul’s point is that the God-designed nature of the gift of prophesying is to exercise love by spiritually building up and encouraging others in the faith by speaking God’s truth to them in their own language. Paul is prioritizing this gift because it is a more evident way to demonstrate the love that is so important for living out God’s mission for us.

It’s not until verse 5 that Paul gives us a caveat to this prioritization of prophesying over the gift of tongues. Paul explains that if someone is present who can interpret what is being said by the one speaking in tongues so that other believers present can understand what God is revealing through that person, then the same objective that the whole body of Christ benefits is met.

So, what is the big idea of this section? I would argue that the most important thing for each believer to understand is to seek how the gifts God gives them can be used to edify and encourage as many other believers around them as possible. Our priority is not to seek some ecstatic spiritual experience to excite ourselves or make us feel more important. Our priority is to love and bless others with what God does in our lives.

Episode 210 - Faith, Hope, and Love - 1 Corinthians 13:13

1Cor. 13:13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I don’t often do this. But we are only going to focus on one verse in this episode. I intentionally kept it separate from the section we covered last week and from the beginning of chapter 14 even though Paul continues to discuss spiritual gifts. My reason for this is that this verse not only summarizes what Paul is driving at, it highlights what should be the focus or priority in the life of a Christian.

Let’s focus first on the word “abide.” Paul writes that “faith, hope, and love abide, these three.” (v. 13a) This word reminds us again that the spiritual gifts listed earlier were given to help the young, immature church to grow up and become mature. They are valuable and Paul will continue in this letter encouraging and giving instruction concerning the gifts because the church still was very immature. But like young people who look forward to and want to be adults, we need to act like adults. How do we do that? We stop priorizing our “childish things” and manifest faith, hope, and love. They abide. The maturing Christian will have these three things evident in their life.

The first of these is faith. Faith is trust in what God has revealed. Faith is not, is never, blind. Someone cannot rightly say, “If you have enough faith, you will give me $1000.” That is not in the Scriptures. God did not reveal that. But what if that person claims to be a prophet and has “received this message from God.” The Scriptures teach us that not all prophets are speaking God’s message and they need to be tested. The Old Testament commanded that prophets who were proven to have spoken a false word they claimed was from God were to be stoned to death. We can’t get by with that today. But it shows the seriousness of saying, “Thus saith the Lord!” The truth still holds that what people say is from God must line up with what God has revealed. I had a man tell me one time that the Lord sent angels to tell him to divorce his wife. My response was, “That’s strange. God’s word says he hates divorce.” (Mal. 2:16) There is provision for it in certain cases because of the sin in this world. But I can’t imagine God encouraging it if he hates it. The one case I can recall where the leaders of Israel actually encouraged divorcing their wives was when they returned from exile where they had been because of their idolatry and rebellion against the Lord. As a nation they had been warned against marrying “foreign wives” because the foreign wives worshipped foreign gods and would lead their families away from the Lord. We see exceptions to this. Boaz married Ruth (a Moabitess) who was an ancestor to David and later Jesus. But she had committed herself to the Lord. Anyway, the command to put away their foreign wives was to say that their faithfulness to the Lord was the priority in their walk of faith.

The Greek word that is translated “faith” also means “faithfulness.” It seems to me that while we will see God in eternity and will therefore be both seeing and believing, we will still manifest “faithfulness” in our moment by moment existence.

Hope is the second thing that abides. In my sixty years of life, I cannot think of a time where hope was so lacking in our world. But we, as Christians, are offered an amazing hope that this life and all of its troubles are temporary and that eternity will be never-ending abundant life that Jesus offers through faith in him.

It would seem that once the resurrection happens, that will be the culmination of hope. We will have arrived and will eternally experience what we had hoped for in this life. But is it possible that hope will continue perhaps in even a more pure and rich form throughout eternity? Is it possible that the glory of God will lead us to a never-ending journey of learning and experiencing God’s glory. Hope would be a never ceasing joyful expectation of what is next. It’s just a thought.

Faith, hope, and love abide. “But the greatest of these is love.” (13b) The Scriptures have a lot to say about faith and hope. But Paul says that love is even greater, more important. Why? I think it’s because God has demonstrated nothing greater toward us than his love when Christ died on the cross for our sin, making it possible to have peace with God. We have faith in God. We have hope in God. But love is what can be directed toward God and all of humanity and God’s creation.

This is one of those verses we could use as a life verse. We need to meditate upon this and prayerfully ask the Lord to increase our faith, hope, and love as he leads us into a mature faith.

Episode 209 - "Love never fails" 1 Corinthians 13:8-12

1 Cor. 13:8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

I have a confession. Sometimes, I handle longer passages because I feel what is most important about it necessitates it being handled as a complete unit. Other times I break a section down more because there is so much to take in that it’s best to take it in small bites. But I’m breaking down this section on love into smaller segments simply because I am savoring it. It’s just that beautiful to me.

In our last episode, we looked at a list of things that love is and a list of things that love is not. In these few verses, Paul brings his comparison of the importance of love in contrast to spiritual gifts into vivid clarity. Beginning with the three words, “Love never ends,” Paul explains why love is superior to spiritual gifts. There is a sense in which this can mean that love never fails. That doesn’t mean that people never fail to love. It means that love, when exercised, doesn’t have a limit. It doesn’t run out of gas. The best example of this is God’s love for humanity demonstrated in Christ’s death on the cross for the sins of the human race past, present, and future, appropriated by those who accept the gift of forgiveness of our sins through trust in Jesus Christ. It was a one-time act that occurred 2,000 years ago but is still perceived by people today when they realize this love is available to them. That act of love still has its power upon people today.

It’s also important to understand that love will never end. God’s love will be eternally experienced by those who have received it. I would suggest that in God’s eternal realm, our love toward each other will be made perfect through Christ. The fallen condition in which we endure now will be done away with, and there will be nothing to stop or hinder our love for each other.

But what about the spiritual gifts? Look at verses 8-9. They are temporary and limited. At some point, after Paul writes this, they would cease. When? This is another one of those sticky points between some Christians. People in the church where I grew up liked to say or teach that tongues ceased when the canon of Scripture was completed and that they no longer have a purpose today. Paul’s answer to that question is, “When the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.” (v. 10) What is the perfect? I think the perfect is when Christ returns, and Christians are given a glorified body. Notice the “Now and then” argument he gives in verse 12, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” When will we fully know and be known? When we are made whole and in God’s presence.

I have friends who claim to have certain spiritual gifts, such as speaking in tongues. I also know there are churches at which this “gift” is regularly manifested on Sunday mornings. As a believer who does not possess this gift, I must confess that I question the validity of such programmed manifestation of these gifts. Is that the way the Spirit moves, at 10:30 on Sunday morning? I am more concerned by the insistence of some that the gift of tongues is an indication of one’s salvation. This teaching is clearly in contrast with the Holy Spirit-inspired Scriptures. Furthermore, Christians aren’t the only ones who claim to speak in tongues. This is why the apostle John writes in 1 John 4:1-3 to “test the spirits to see if they are from God.” This same idea is present here in Paul’s letter when he explains that these gifts are “in part” and will end. Yet, I can’t say they are completely invalid or have ceased. I choose to conclude that God is free to manifest these gifts according to his will and timing. However, they are limited. They will end at some point and will not be necessary in eternity. I believe that we will all be speaking one language or that we will all understand every language.

If it’s not clear enough that Paul understands and upholds the value of these gifts but contrasts them with the importance of love that can and should be demonstrated by every believer, he compares the gifts to “childish” things. (See verse 11) As the Lord is bringing the body of Christ (the Church) to maturity, love is what is to remain and be a chief characteristic of Christians worldwide. That should be our priority in how we treat each other and toward the world as we desire to lead them to God’s love.

Episode 208 - "High Definition Love" - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

1Cor. 13:4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

I would suspect that John 3:16 is perhaps the most well-known verse in all the Bible. But this passage in 1 Corinthians 13 may be the second for the very reason that it is often read at weddings. It’s beautiful, profound, and I believe it resonates truthfully within the minds of all people. At least in principle, people believe it’s an idealistic view of love.

I must admit that studying this passage this time was the first time I noticed that Paul tells us more about what love isn’t than what it is. He says that love is patient, kind, rejoices in truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

Love is/does NOT envy, boast, arrogant, rude, insist on its own way, irritable, resentful, and does not rejoice in wrongdoing. By my count that’s 8-7 in favor of what love is not. My suspicion is that Paul is highlighting the attitudes and characteristics that have been creating division and conflict among the believers at Corinth. In other words, Paul is telling them (and us), “Who cares if you have the gift of tongues if you are arrogant? What good is the gift of prophecy if you are rude to your brothers and sisters in the faith? Why should anyone listen to you if your boasting or always insisting that things are done your way? That’s not love and love is more important than all of those things! The gifts are only valuable if exercised in love.”

Sometimes we need a reality check, a correction in our thinking and attitudes, before we can move forward and grow in our faith. In way of application, it seems good to ask ourselves if we have self-serving, arrogant attitudes among others and confess that to the Lord.

Love IS patient and kind. Love rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I don’t know about you. But verse 7 threw me a curveball especially in the statement that love “believes all things.” Really? Am I supposed to believe everything I hear? I don’t think that is what Paul is saying. Why? Because he already said that love “does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with truth.” He is not saying that we should believe everything people say because people believe and say things that are not in-line with God’s truth. Reading all of this within the context helps guide our understanding, doesn’t it?

It would seem then that what Paul is saying is that we should not have a cynical spirit in interacting with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Therefore, demonstrating love would be evident by listening with a true concern for the other person. We can be discerning and even disagreeing if something being taught is in contradiction with God’s truth. A common problem in our society today is the notion that I must agree with you to demonstrate love or that if I don’t agree with you, I must obviously hate you. This is a lie. If someone has an addiction that is clearly harmful to them or others and we tell them that or attempt to get them to stop, we don’t hate them. On the contrary, we’re showing more love to them than they are showing to themselves. Self-destruction is self-hate. More universally, we have rules for our children for the purpose of protecting them and guiding them toward that which is good, safe, and healthy. We don’t hate them by imposing such rules. We demonstrate love.

It is in these tough situations in which loves “bears” and “endures” all things. Love is not only manifest when things are going good. The addict won’t necessarily respond to our advice in love. We don’t need to compromise truth. We find ways to stand our ground on truth without being arrogant and we can be patient and kind.

That brings up one more thing that I would suggest that love isn’t. It isn’t easy. This means that we need to draw upon the love of Christ towards us to guide us and sustain us as we seek to hold to and rejoice with truth while demonstrating patience and kindness with others.

Episode 207 - "Got love?" 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

​​1Cor. 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

We left off last week with the question, “What could be more excellent than the gifts of the Holy Spirit?” Paul was confronting the idea that some believers at Corinth had the idea that some spiritual gifts were more important than others. Paul does not want to undermine the value of the gifts. On the contrary, he desires believers to value the gifts distributed by the Holy Spirit for the mutual edification of believers and to serve God’s purpose and mission through the church. But he left us with, “I will show you a still more excellent way.” (1 Cor. 12:31b) What is that more excellent way? He answers that question right away, doesn’t he? The answer is love.

In 1 Corinthians 13:1, Paul writes, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” There are few things that Christians today can be divided over as much as the gift of tongues. People disagree over whether this gift is still valid for today. Some assert that one cannot be truly “saved” if they don’t speak in tongues. Some who claim to have it instruct others to start mumbling in order to “prime the pump,” so to speak. There are disagreements over exactly what it looks like and the Biblical guidelines for this gift.

First, Paul has clearly stated that Christians do not all have the same gifts. So, if we believe that this letter is inspired by God (as the church has believed since its early years), we believe that God cannot/does not contradict himself. Therefore, one cannot argue this gift is absolutely required or that it is evidence of one being a true Christian. Paul also wrote that gifts are distributed according to the will of the Spirit. So, one cannot decide that they will get the gift of tongues. That is God’s decision. In Acts, we find on the day of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit filled the apostles, and they spoke in tongues. The context explains that there were people present from all over the known world who spoke and understood in their own languages what the apostles were saying. It seems reasonable to understand that in that instant, the apostles were speaking God’s truth in languages they had not learned because the Holy Spirit was enabling that. There are other places in the Scriptures where the “tongue” spoken may not be known by anyone without someone being present who can interpret the speech.

However, the point here is that this gift is nothing but a distraction if the speaker does not have love. The argument builds in verse 2 when he writes that one who has prophetic powers or amazing faith is “nothing” if they do not have love. Finally, he argues that one could even forfeit everything they have and suffer harm to death. But if they do not have love, there is no advantage.

What is the takeaway on this? First of all, while everyone may not have the gift of tongues, prophecy, or some other gift that people think is very important, it seems evident that Paul is suggesting that every single believer is capable of having the love of Christ to show to others.

The gifts are important. Paul has established that. However, they are utterly useless if they are exercised without love. God does not limit who among his people can show love to others. This makes sense when we understand that we have appropriated God’s love toward us when we trusted in Christ Jesus.

It seems to me the lesson for us is that the question before us is not “What spiritual gifts do I have?” but “How can I demonstrate God’s love to others around me?” It’s my opinion that our spiritual gifts will manifest themselves when we consider ways in which we can do that, and it won’t matter if we can’t speak in tongues because God has led us to show his love in a way that is genuine to our identity and the mission he has for each of us to the church and the world.

Episode 206 "Unity, not uniformity within the church" - 1 Corinthians 12:27-31

1Cor. 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

This section summarizes what Paul has been trying to emphasize throughout this letter and most recently concerning spiritual gifts among believers within the church. Essentially, Paul wants them to prioritize unity among believers even though there is not uniformity in roles. In verse 27 the second-person pronoun “you” is plural, meaning “all of you (collectively) are the (singular) body of Christ, and each one of you is a member of that body.

Notice that in verse 28, Paul says that God appointed roles in the church. This reemphasizes that God is not letting the church define itself. He has planned and is orchestrating how it should work. When Paul writes, “God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then . . .,” I don’t think he’s saying that apostles are God’s greatest gifts to the church. That would seem to be in contradiction to what he had been saying that one member cannot say of themselves that they aren’t a part of the body, and another member can’t say they have no need of some other part within the body. I think Paul’s enumeration is rather how he sees God initiating and developing the church. The apostles were the foundational members of God’s church. They were the founding members, as it were. They played an instrumental role.

After he lists specific roles that God appointed within the church and includes them as gifts (See Ephesians 4:1-16), he mentions spiritual gifts of miracles, healing, helping, and others.

In verses 29-30, he asks seven questions, and each question is expressed in the Greek language to expect the answer to be “No.” “Are all apostles?” No! Does everyone have the gift of tongues? No! God has a different purpose for each believer within the church. The Christian faith has no room for comparison, pride, and elitism. Period.

So what does Paul mean in verse 31 when he writes, “But earnestly desire the higher gifts?” (ESV) A more literal rendering may be “Be zealous of the higher/greater gifts.” It’s difficult to say exactly what he means by this. Perhaps he is simply condescending to their perceptions and attitudes. He wants every Christian to value the gifts given from above. It seems unlikely that he is suggesting that one gift is superior to another because that would lead to elitist attitudes. But as he follows that up with “And I will show you a still more excellent way,” he is telling them if anyone thinks they have a greater gift, there is something that surpasses that and, as we’ll see, can be manifested by any and every believer. What is it? We’ll find out next week. Stay tuned.

Episode 205 - The head cannot say to the feet, "I have no need of you." - 1 Corinthians 12:21-26

1Cor. 12:21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

I remember a science teacher in grade school who taught certain parts of the human body were evolutionary leftovers, that they were unnecessary for the functions of the human body. The tonsils and the appendix were such parts. However, as I grew older, I had physicians who explained the value of each of these seemingly insignificant parts of the body. Apparently, the only thing that “evolved” during that time was the knowledge of people in the scientific world.

This section we’re looking at today picks up from where we left off last week and continues Paul’s likening believers in the church to parts of the body. Paul stated in verses 15-16 that one part of the body of Christ cannot argue that they don’t belong to the body of Christ because that person is a “foot” or an “ear,” and they think of themselves as less important.

In verses 21-26, Paul looks at the argument from another perspective. One cannot think of themselves as essential and treat other believers as though they are not. Look at it this way. There are parts of the human body that are more prominent. The head, torso, arms, and legs are large and visible, but not so much the tonsils or the appendix. Paul states in verse 21, “The head cannot say to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’” The illustration makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? We laugh about how ridiculous it would be for the head to think the feet have no value to the head or body.

Paul’s point is that it’s no less ridiculous for someone in the church to treat another believer as though they have no value to themselves or the body of Christ as a whole. Every part is valuable. Paul drives home the point beginning in verse 22 when he says, “The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” We are to honor every member of the body as equally important within our community of faith. Paul supports this assertion in verse 24, “But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.” (vv. 24b-25) Paul is saying, this isn’t my idea. This was God’s design of his church. It is highly valuable to God for there to not be division within the church. So, God has no less important members within the church. The little old lady who sits in the back of the church is no less valuable to the church or God than the minister whose face is seen by thousands of people live and on television or streaming online.

In light of this truth, notice what Paul writes in verse 26. “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” What this means is that we not only recognize the mutual value of each person in the body of Christ, we are to act in accordance with that understanding. We need to be concerned about the well-being of each person and have compassion for those who are suffering. Similarly, we must not be envious of the honor another member may receive. We can celebrate that with them.

In light of this text, I think it would be an appropriate challenge to us this week to encourage a brother or sister in Christ to remind them they are valuable in the body of Christ.

Episode 204 - "Many members, one body" - 1 Corinthians 12:12-20

1Cor. 12:12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

1Cor. 12:14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

Are you starting to pick up on a continuous theme throughout this letter? Paul began it by admonishing those who thought of themselves more highly because of their claimed association with Paul, Apollos, or someone else. Later, in chapters five and six, Paul writes that the time when these Christians should separate one member from themselves is when that professing believer is willfully being sexually immoral and refuses to turn away from that. From the beginning, Paul has emphasized the need for humility and unity among believers.

At various times, Paul has used the imagery of the body and its members to speak of the church. Once again, Paul returns to this imagery. Why? In the verses preceding this section, he wrote about gifts given by the Holy Spirit and how God, through the Spirit, gifts believers with a variety of gifts and dispenses them at his will and not the will of the believer. Is Paul changing the subject? I don’t think so.

Paul is moving from the various gifts distributed by the same Holy Spirit to various members belonging to the same body. There is a correlation between the variety of spiritual gifts and the variety of saints within the church. They have differences, but they are to work in harmony. If I’m not mistaken, Paul wants the believers at Corinth to understand that just as each spiritual gift has a purpose to serve the church and God’s mission in it, the members of the church are to each serve the church in a way that unique but mutually edifying to other members.

Paul’s statement that “we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” probably was a shocking statement to some. (v. 13) Perhaps there were Jews who thought themselves as a higher class Christian by virtue of their heritage or some free people, following the culture, looked down upon those who were slaves. Paul argues that we are all one in Christ, and there is no difference. Paul develops this thought a little more in Ephesians 2.

Verses 14-17 make it clear that no one member can assert that they are separate from the body because of who they are or of what gift they may have been given. There are no excuses for not contributing to the body of Christ because God has baptized us all into the same body and, despite our differences, has gifted us differently for the mutual benefit within the body. If everyone were given the same gift or God made us all the same, we wouldn’t be much of a body. That body would be very limited.

Verse 18 reminds us that it is God who has made these choices. He has designed us, led us through various experiences in life, and gifted us in ways different from our brothers and sisters; not a single one of us is more or less important than the next person. There is no room for pride or self-isolation within the body of Christ. What is called for is humility before God and our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Secondly, we must seek to find out how we can minister according to how God has gifted us for the edification and encouragement of fellow believers and to serve God’s mission to the world.

Episode 203 - "Many Spiritual Gifts - One God" - 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

1 Cor. 12:4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Let me begin by saying that I believe this section offers us some of the most foundational and important truths concerning spiritual gifts, enablements of the Holy Spirit, within the life of a person who has trusted in the person and work of Jesus Christ. I will also be upfront and add that I believe these truths expose egregious errors in the teachings of some Christian groups. Without naming specific groups, I don’t question their passion or sincerity. There are people within those groups who do not subscribe to those errors, and there are people who hold those same errors while belonging to Christian organizations that don’t believe or teach the errors. But I do suggest they, whether individuals or formal groups, need to allow this Holy Spirit-inspired revelation to correct their beliefs and practices with respect to spiritual gifts. Let’s take a look.

What do you see or hear repeated in verses 4 through 6? First, there is the word “varieties.” It speaks of the broad work and enablements of the Holy Spirit. That variety is explained in verses that follow: utterances of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, working miracles, prophecy, ability to distinguish between spirits, tongues (languages), and interpretation of tongues. I don’t believe this is an exhaustive list. In Ephesians chapter 4, Paul, the same person who wrote this letter, speaks of leaders in the Church as “gifts.” The point is that what the Holy Spirit does in and through a believer can look different from that of another believer. Both of them will confess that Jesus is Lord. But each of them may, and likely will, be gifted differently. Why is that? We’ll come back to this question.

The second thing that is repeated in verses 4 through 6 is “same.” It’s the same Spirit, same Lord, and same God who empowers believers in a “variety” of ways. This is important to understand because Paul is not saying that there is only one spirit. He is saying there is only one Holy Spirit who provides true God-created and enabled gifts to His Church. There are other spirits who, at times, imitate some of these enablements. Think about the story of the Exodus when Moses and Aaron went before Pharoah to bring the LORD’s command to “Let me people go!” When they performed a few signs, Pharoah’s magicians also performed what was perceived as miraculous signs. Yet, there is a limit to what they could do. Look at Exodus 8:17-19 for example. When God turned dust into gnats, the magicians could not do that. They said, “It is the finger of God.” (A reference to the Holy Spirit.) Paul wants the Corinthian believers to know that there are not different spirits, lords, or gods behind the different works. Therefore, they need to be discerning. We need to be discerning in our churches today. Just because someone appears to be a great leader or has special abilities, it doesn’t mean they are being led by the Holy Spirit.

Verse 7 gives us two important truths. First, Paul says, “To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit.” Every single person who places their faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ is given a spiritual gift. Secondly, Paul tells us why the Holy Spirit gives each believer at least one spiritual gift. It is “for the common good.” Spiritual gifts are to be exercised within the community of faith to correct, strengthen, and encourage other believers in their faith and work out God’s mission through that group of believers. This explains why there is a variety of gifts that are given from the same God. God understands the complexity of our lives, and He wants us to work together in unity for His mission to the world. God doesn’t build “superChristians” who can do everything. He gifts everyone in the church to offer something for the others within the church to work together to be a light to the world.

In verse 11, Paul reemphasizes that all these gifts are empowered by the same Spirit and then adds one more detail. He says the Holy Spirit “apportions to each one individually as he wills.” This tells us that we don’t get to pick what spiritual gifts we are given. That is decided by the Holy Spirit. I think it’s entirely possible that the Spirit may gift people with different gifts and even change their gifts at times for whatever God deems necessary for His work.

God does not and will not feed our egos. These truths, if we really believe the Holy Spirit, should humble us in knowing that we are subject to the Spirit’s will and, in receiving what is given to us, we are to use that for the benefit of other believers around us and for God’s mission in the world.

Much more could be said on the nature of the gifts Paul listed. However, I felt the important truths centered more upon the nature of the Giver and the purpose and manner in which these gifts are distributed.

Episode 202 - "Spiritual Gifts - The First Rule" 1 Corinthians 12:1-3

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

Few issues among Christians can bring a hot debate like that of “spiritual gifts.” As with previous topics like “head coverings,” my objective here is not to insult brothers and sisters in the faith who have strong opinions about this topic. It is to simply put forth what the Scripture says and make an attempt to explain what it means.

Paul begins this section by explaining that he wants the Corinthian believers to have an understanding of spiritual gifts. I don’t think Paul exhaustively answers every potential question that might arise concerning this topic in this section. But he is sharing what he considers is vitally important for them to understand.

First, he contrasts Christians with people who are somehow led to worship idols that cannot speak. He writes in verse 2, “You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.” Paul’s point is that these people had firsthand experience being influenced by some unknown means to worship mute idols. These idols could not speak or communicate. We could infer that practicing idolatry will offer you no wisdom, truth, or direction. Paul’s added comment, “however you were led,” indicates that their pre-Christian experience was characterized by confusion.

In light of that experience, Paul says the Holy Spirit does not operate like that. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is God. Paul says, “No one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” (1 Cor. 12:3a) That’s a pretty direct and absolute statement. What does it tell us? It tells us that God can and does communicate to and through people. God is not mute. Next, it tells us that a person who has trusted in the gospel of Jesus Christ and received the Holy Spirit will never say, “Jesus is accursed.”

Conversely, Paul continues by saying, “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor. 12:3b) This is evidence that God, by the Holy Spirit, does speak clear messages through his people. To confess that Jesus is Lord is prompted and enabled by the Holy Spirit.

This is Paul’s first point concerning spiritual gifts. Many people claim to have some spiritual gift, such as prophecy, speaking in tongues, and others. However, we should not accept these claims without discernment whether or not the message is from God. According to Paul, the first and most important rule is that the message from the Holy Spirit will proclaim Jesus as Lord.

What is Paul’s point? I believe his first and most important point for the Corinthian believers, and one that applies to us today, is that the first indication of who we can listen to in order to be edified in our faith are those who publicly confess that Jesus is Lord.

Think about what we say about Jesus. Do we exalt him according to what is revealed in the Scriptures about him? If so, that is an indication of the Holy Spirit working in your life. Give thanks to God that his Spirit is at work in you.

Episode 201 - "Do not eat the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner!" - 1 Corinthians 11:27-34

1Cor. 11:27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

1Cor. 11:33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.

There are times throughout the Bible when God judges someone for an offense in which the punishment appears harsh for the particular offense. One example that comes to mind is when David had the Ark of the Covenant moved to Jerusalem. The Ark was being transported on an oxen-pulled cart. When the oxen stumbled, Uzzah put his hand out to steady the Ark, and God struck him dead. ( 2 Samuel 6: 5-15) Wow! That seems a bit harsh. Even David was angry with the Lord for doing this. But the Ark of the Covenant was essentially God’s throne. When you start to examine the greater historical context of this, we discover that there had been somewhat of a casual attitude by the priests concerning the Ark. (See 1 Chronicles 15:13-15) Uzzah’s action of touching the Ark crossed a line, not too unlike what it might have been for anyone living in a kingdom and approaching the throne of the king or queen without permission. God is holy, and we must have a reverent attitude in our worship.

This is essentially what Paul is communicating to the Corinthians concerning the Lord’s Supper. He’s saying, don’t treat this as though it were a potluck. This is a sacred and holy event in which we remember Jesus’ death on the cross. Rather than turn this into some kind of party in which we are thinking only of our own pleasure, this is an event of the community of faith to remember Jesus together.

Paul suggests that there already has been and will be a judgment upon those who are partaking in the Lord’s Supper in an “unworthy” manner. In verse 30, he explains that some among them have gotten sick, and some have even died because they treated the Lord’s Supper as though it were no different than any other meal they might eat. They treated it as something common without regard for the Lord or other believers. Therefore, Paul warns, examine yourselves (their motivations) prior to partaking in the Lord’s Supper.

In verse 31, Paul writes, “But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.” We might express this in our day and culture as, “If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll know our real attitudes and get them in check.” (My paraphrase) In other words, Paul is saying they don’t have to be paranoid that God is going to strike them down on a whim. If they truly and humbly ask themselves where they are in their attitudes toward the Lord and their brothers and sisters in Christ, they will either abstain from partaking at that time or get their attitudes in the right way.

Paul adds in verse 32 that the Lord’s discipline is intended to correct and redeem us to the right way. God is not sadistically looking to strike people down.

Paul concludes by telling them that if they’re hungry, eat at home. Do not treat the Lord’s Supper as a meal in which they can indulge their appetites. The focus is entirely on remembering Jesus’ death on the cross and proclaiming this until he comes again.

Episode 200 - "Remember Jesus!" - 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

1Cor. 11:23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

We began this section last week with Paul chastising the believers at Corinth who disregarded the Lord’s Supper and other believers in their church. To them, it was just a party where some indulged in food or wine, and others had nothing. Paul states they “despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing.” (v. 22) It was yet another example of pride and being self-absorbed.

This week's focus is specifically on what the Lord’s Supper is about. Paul says in verse 23 that he had received what he had taught them from the Lord Jesus. It’s possible that Paul was taught this by other apostles, and Paul is simply expressing how this originated with the Lord. One commentator I read argued for this. However, I take it as it reads that Jesus himself revealed this to Paul. Support for this comes from Paul’s (originally Saul) encounter with the Lord on his famous pre-conversion trip to Damascus in order to persecute Christians, as recorded in Acts 9. The Lord told Ananias to meet Paul and explained, “For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” (Acts 9:16) Jesus was going to directly communicate and reveal things to Paul. Paul backs this up in his letter to the churches in Galatia. (See Galatians 1) If the Lord was going to show him things, I don’t think he would have left out something so important to the church as the Lord’s Supper.

Either way, Paul recounted what the Lord did on the night in which he was betrayed by Judas Iscariot. First, he took bread, gave thanks, and broke it. He broke the bread in order to give the bread to each of them and explain that this bread “is my body, which is for you.” (v. 24) This was not the first time Jesus had told people that his body was the true bread from heaven which would provide eternal life. (See John 6:32-40) Jesus knew that his body was about to be broken on the cross. As with the bread, it’s available for us to receive. Jesus is offering us the life-giving power of his broken body. The purpose of this act of taking bread, giving thanks, and breaking it to distribute to eat is for those who are receiving Jesus' death, his broken body, to remember him. How easy it is for us to get busy with our lives and even with church or religious activities and yet forget about Jesus’ death on the cross.

Then Jesus did the same thing with a cup of wine. With that, Paul writes that Jesus said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” Paul qualifies this by saying Jesus did this after dinner. I suspect his point is that this event is not about a meal. It’s about remembering Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross. He’s telling the Corinthians not to turn this event into a self-indulgent party but a sacred remembrance of Christ’s death on the cross.

Why does Jesus speak of wine as the “new covenant in my blood?” There are numerous references to a new covenant spoken of in the prophets. God had made covenants with Noah, Abraham, the people of Israel after God led them out of Egypt, and with David. Covenants were strong, binding promises enacted with a sacrifice. The one making the covenant or perhaps both parties are essentially staking their lives on fulfilling their part of the covenant. Covenants like the one God made with Abraham were entirely committed to by God. The new covenant communicated through the prophets was a promise of hope to people disciplined for their disobedience to God. God is offering hope that he would someday offer a new covenant to those who would follow the Lord. So, Jesus is saying that his blood is the blood sacrifice enacting the new covenant.

As with eating the bread, Jesus reiterated that drinking this cup is an act to remember him and his sacrifice on the cross for them. One is not to belittle this sacred act by using this as an opportunity for a party.

Verse 26 spells it out clearly. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Cor. 11:26) The idea here is that the act of remembering Jesus through eating the bread and drinking from the cup with other believers “proclaims” or communicates our faith in the Jesus’ death to others Why is this important? Our sin has not been atoned for without Jesus’ death on the cross. If our sin has not been atoned, we are still enemies of God and have no hope of the eternal, abundant life Jesus offers us. In light of this, we can see how it is important not to partake of this sacred act lightly. Together with other believers, we are to share in eating the bread and drinking from the cup to remember and proclaim Jesus’ death.

Finally, Paul’s explanation for why they remember him in this way has a condition of time upon it. He said, “you proclaim his (Jesus’) death until he comes.” This wasn’t just an act for the twelve disciples. It is to be practiced by Christians worldwide throughout time until Jesus returns. There is an element of confident hope that Jesus didn’t stay dead. We believe the gospel that he rose from the dead, later ascended to the Father, and will someday return to raise us up to be with God for eternity. What tremendous hope we have in Christ.

Episode 199 - "Do not despise the church or its members" - 1 Corinthians 11:17-22

1Cor. 11:17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses 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 commend you in this? No, I will not.

Verse 17 through the end of the chapter deals very specifically with the Lord’s Supper and how Christians should partake of it. We’ll examine Paul’s teaching about this over the course of a few episodes.

Notice that Paul begins this section by chastising the Corinthian believers. He’d already commended them for holding to a number of the traditions practiced by churches. But concerning the Lord’s Supper, they were off track. Paul says, “In the following instructions, I do not commend you, because when you come together, it is not for the better but for the worse.” (v. 17) It would be easy to jump ahead to find out what it is they are doing that is “for the worse.” But don’t miss the point that the purpose of Christians getting together is supposed to be “for the better.” Fellowship and congregational worship is to edify, encourage, and strengthen the church as a whole and each member of the body. From the beginning of this letter, Paul has emphasized the importance of setting aside things that divide brothers and sisters in Christ. In my opinion, if we get nothing else from 1 Corinthians 11, it would be that we need to value the church and conduct ourselves within the church for the specific purpose of growing in our faith and helping others grow in their faith.

Paul lays out the problem that there are “divisions among you.” (v. 18) That’s bad, right? Yes, but then Paul writes, “There must be must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.” (v. 19) I believe what Paul is saying is that while divisions within a church are not good, they will occur and need to occur in order to manifest those who are sincere about following the Lord and those who aren’t.

In verse 20, Paul gets more specific. He says, “It is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.” He explains that they’ve confused dinner with a sacred event of the Lord’s supper. Some eat their own meal, some drink their own wine and get drunk, and others don’t have anything. This is clearly not mutually edifying. It’s self-indulgence and disregard for others in the community of faith.

Look at his sharp indictment in the middle of verse 22 as he rhetorically asks, “do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?”

In our culture today, many people are leaving their churches and not continuing in a local community of believers. Perhaps the reason is they, too, see the divisions and hypocrisy within some churches. But we need to value coming together with others who sincerely want to follow Jesus and remember him in our worship. We cannot treat the Lord’s supper as a party opportunity. It’s not a time to fill our stomachs. It is a time for our souls to be filled with gratitude for the love of Christ and the forgiveness of sin we have through the cross. Let us share that experience with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Episode 198 - "Honor the Lord in our worship!" - 1 Corinthians 11:4-16

4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5 but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. 6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. 7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.

So far in this section (verses 2-3), we’ve observed that Paul has made a play on the word “head” to describe relationships between husbands, wives, and Christ. I understand these two verses not to argue some kind of superiority/greater or lesser value of one over another but rather to suggest that there are distinctions in roles that seem evident within the divine Trinity. Therefore, God our Creator can ordain similar relationships within his Creation.

Certainly, God is greater than humanity since he is our Creator. But as I argued in the last episode, Paul’s statement that God is the head of Christ does not diminish the full deity of Christ. The Scriptures consistently show that Christ always submits to his Father’s will and looks to the Father as his authority even though the same Scriptures and the Church have affirmed him as full deity, equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

This wordplay continues in verse 4, which speaks of a man praying or prophesying (in public worship). The English translation here says that if his actual head is “covered,” he dishonors his spiritual head (Christ). It would be easy for us to assume that “covered” means having a hat or shawl on his head. However, many commentators point out that the expression in the Greek language literally means “having down (or against) from head.” Therefore, the interpretation could mean that the “head-dishonoring” act is a man having long hair while praying or prophesying. I am inclined to accept this as the better interpretation since, in verse 14, Paul asserts, “if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him.”

If this is the case, the obvious question is, “Why?” Historians have noted that it was actually common in Roman culture for men to wear head coverings while praying or prophesying. But wearing long hair in that culture could be viewed as highly effeminate and have sexual connotations. Let’s hold that thought and move on to the next verse.

Paul’s instruction to women/wives was to cover their heads. In this case, since women were expected to have long hair, they should cover their heads. Why? Again, the cultural norms established the expectations of how men and women wore hairstyles and their dress. A head covering on a woman was a sign that protected her integrity and sent a “hands off” message to men who might think a woman with her hair down and uncovered was “advertising.”

Paul establishes in this section that the Corinthian believers should not use their Christian liberty to be counter-cultural in their worship. Just like his previous instruction concerning food, this is further instruction on how Christians are to be discerning, respectful, and orderly in their worship so as not to create confusion and conflict with others.

Paul’s explanatory statements in verses 7-9 are an appeal to the order of creation in Genesis 2:18-23. Paul is simply using the order of the events to offer a theological foundation of the order within the relationships in verses 2-3.

If this text didn’t have enough interpretive challenges already, Paul says in verse 10, “That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.” What do angels have to do with this? One explanation is that the Greek word for angel simply means “messenger.” It’s possible that Paul is not speaking of these supernatural beings who often bring messages from God to people but simply people who are messengers between the churches and the apostles. In other words, Paul’s intent in instructing wives to cover their heads is so that people who would bring a report to the apostles and other churches would see this and report, “This is what the Corinthians are practicing in their worship. So . . . if Paul is specifically referring to the supernatural beings we call angels, I don’t have a clue as to what this means. I would have to work on this some more to see if there is a reasonable explanation for why this might be important for them.

Verses 11-12 speak of the “interdependence” of men and women. This seems to me that Paul understands men and women to be ontologically equal while having clear differences between the genders.

Paul’s primary point in this whole section is that public worship in the church should respect and reflect gender distinctions created by God and that even though there is equality and liberty, wives should act in such a way that honors their husbands, and husbands should act in a way that honors Christ.

In my opinion, there is a sense in which the advice given here is culturally bound. I don’t think we ought to be measuring the length of men’s hair in church and mandating haircuts or forcing wives to wear head coverings. Our culture would not understand or value these practices, and people would not assume that a woman with long hair uncovered was promiscuous. However, the principles within this teaching should cause us to stop and consider if our dress and appearance were such that would honor others and the Lord. We could ask ourselves, “Am I seeking to call attention to myself or to honor the Lord?”

We live in a culture in which gender dysphoria appears to be increasing and perhaps even more widely accepted. I do not think this Scripture should be used to “attack” people struggling with gender identity. They need mercy and love as much as anyone. Yet neither do we help them by compromising or ignoring what the Scriptures teach. If we look to Jesus in our times of confusion or limited understanding and respond like Peter, “Where do we have to turn, Lord? You alone have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68-69), then we are demonstrating that each of us needs God’s instruction, mercy, and love each day of our lives.

I’m sure a lot more could be said about this section and interpretations other than what I’ve argued. However, I think any different spin on some of the things Paul says comes down to how we conduct ourselves in public worship is important. We must be wise in exercising our liberty in Christ, seeking to edify others and honor the Lord.

Episode 197 - "Honoring the Lord in worship" - 1 Corinthians 11:2-3

1Cor. 11:2 Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.

So last week, I kicked the “1 Corinthians 11 can” down the road partly because I needed to digest it a bit more. It should be no surprise that the Roman Empire during first century A.D. was culturally quite different than 21st century United States. While there are gender biases in our culture today, views of gender identity and roles would have significant variations between the times and the cultures. So, what does that mean when we are interpreting the Scriptures? Can we completely ignore things in the Bible if we don’t like what it says or if it goes against our own cultural values and norms? I don’t think so. Is it possible that some things in the Scriptures speak more of the cultural values of the day and might, in the most strict literal sense, be irrelevant to our culture today? Yes. I do think that’s possible. How do we handle such passages? I think we examine them carefully for the underlying principle of what is being prescribed or mandated and ask ourselves how we might best adopt the principle in a culturally relevant form. In other words, we can pursue following the spirit of the Law rather than the letter of the Law.

Rather than handle the entire chapter in one big bite, I think it’s best to break this down into smaller pieces. Understand that Biblical scholars disagree on various points of interpretation of this section. There is nothing in particular that makes my interpretation more right. Hopefully, I can make a reasonable defense of how I read this section.

Verse 2 seems pretty straightforward. The Corinthian believers remembered Paul and maintained the traditions that he taught them. Whether these traditions were common in the synagogues, the early churches, or both is not obvious. But the idea is that there was some continuity in the customs in early Christian worship.

In verse 3, Paul expresses the importance that they understand three specific relationships. The first is man/husband to Christ. The second is the woman/wife to her husband. Finally, the third is Christ to God. In each relationship, one member is the “head” of the other. What does that mean? Looking at other passages where Paul uses the same terminology (Eph. 1:22, 4:15, 5:23, Col. 1:18) the head is that which has a position of authority or prominence.

Paul writes first that “the head of every man is Christ.” That seems ok. Then he says, “The head of every woman (wife) is her husband.” This is where the PCF (politically correct factor) goes off the rails in our culture. Why? Because in our culture today, we are inclined to read this statement to suggest that a wife/woman is less valuable or not equal to her husband, and that is not a culturally valued idea in much of our society. But is it possible that’s not what it means? Is it possible the husband can have a position or role of authority over his wife in a relationship where both spouses are equal and valuable to God? Let’s take a look at the third relationship Paul mentions.

He says, “the head of Christ is God.” What? Doesn’t Christianity believe that Jesus Christ is God? Yes! Check out the Nicene Creed. They make a point to refute the heresies of the day that diminished Christ from the Father. But notice the description of the relationship. Christ is the only begotten of the Father. Then speaking of the Holy Spirit, who we also believe is truly and fully God, they write the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. There is a sense of headship or authority in the role of the Father and the Son over the Spirit.

Jesus himself said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” (John 5:19) Jesus treated the Father as his authority even though he was equally God.

It appears that within the divine Trinity, there is an order of roles and responsibilities that does not translate into a power structure. Therefore our cultural problem is not “headship” of one over another; it’s that we have a skewed sense of what it implies. We naturally tend to believe it means there is necessarily a disparity of value between the members of these relationships. But that seems theologically untenable because Christ is not less God or less important than the Father.

We will continue to examine this as we continue to work through 1 Corinthians 11. For now, understand the context of Paul’s instruction has to do with worship. Paul wants the Corinthian believer's practice of worship to honor the Lord. As we continue through this study, let us pray that we can learn something that will inform our worship.

Episode 196 - "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ!" 1 Corinthians 10:33-11:1

1 Cor. 10:33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

1Cor. 11:1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

I made the decision to write this week's episode reviewing the last verse we covered last week and including the first verse of the next chapter. There are multiple reasons why I did this. One reason is to show the importance of interpreting chapter 11, verse 1 in light of its preceding text. The other reason is that I found the rest of chapter 11 to generate as many or more questions in my mind as it answered, and I felt that I needed more time to work on this. Furthermore, it’s a section of Scripture that leads to contentious debate. My desire is to interpret it with integrity to what Paul intended and extrapolate a principle or principles that are valuable for our worship today. I simply did not have the time to do that this week. I would encourage you to read through chapter 11 and consider what Paul is saying. If it were taken at face value and not disregarded as something culturally bound to his day and time, would it be valuable for us today?

It appears to me that those involved in inserting verse and chapter breaks may have slipped on this one. As I read the context, it seems that Paul’s statement, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ,” is the conclusion of the preceding section. It doesn’t seem to fit well with what follows in chapter 11, and to take it as a statement all by itself risks making Paul look self-righteous and arrogant.

Paul's words emphasized the need to exercise one’s liberty in Christ in a discerning manner that seeks to glorify God and build up other weaker people in the faith rather than give an offense to drive them away from the gospel of Christ. Clearly, Paul’s obsession in his life is to lead others to saving faith in Jesus Christ.

Therefore, Paul’s instruction to “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” is not a claim to have achieved the righteousness of Jesus through his own actions. He’s explaining both his priorities (that others may be saved) and his plan to accomplish that (by imitating Christ).

We are welcome to respond to Paul’s invitation as well. Let’s follow Christ with the priority of leading others into a relationship with Jesus.

Episode 195 - "True liberty in Christ" 1 Corinthians 10: 23-33

1Cor. 10:23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

1Cor. 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

I love this passage in that it sums up what Paul has been saying to the Corinthian believers in a way that truly reveals what liberty in Christ is all about. Be careful how you read “All things are lawful” (v. 23), stated twice by Paul. Is Paul really arguing that all things are lawful? Absolutely not! Paul has already chastised them for immorality and pride within the church. If all things were truly lawful, people could live as they want. But there is something more important to Paul that he wants these believers to get, and it’s valuable that we get it too.

Paul echoes what some people in Corinth are saying: "all things are lawful.” Instead of writing out more instructions on how to interpret and apply the Law of Moses, Paul gives them principles to live in a wise manner that should attract people to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul wants Christians to focus on “How can I help someone else understand Jesus” and “How can I help other Christians mature in the faith?”

If they focus on the Law, they’ll be going through life worrying about whether they’ve sinned every time they buy food in the market. That is not the way to live a Christian life. His point is basically that if someone tells you, “This food was sacrificed to idols,” and you eat it, you’re sending a message that could be spiritually harmful to the person who said that. If you don’t know, don’t ask or worry about it. Our thoughts are not to be, “Can I do this or can I not do this?” Our thoughts should be, “Everything I do or don’t do should be with the intention and desire of leading people to Jesus and building them up in their faith.” Does that mean that sometimes we avoid using our liberty in Christ? Sure! But neither serving our own selfish desires in spite of how it might affect others nor living life in constant fear of transgressing a law is liberating in any way.

Living with a single focus on “the glory of God” (v. 31) and the benefit of others is liberating. We can give thanks to God for all that he provides for us. Sometimes what he provides is an opportunity to exercise wisdom in our choices in order to be used by him to lead people to Jesus or build up other believers in their faith. What a privilege!

Paul gives us a little tip to help us do that. He says, “In everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.” Paul does not seek his own advantage. Sometimes it may seem like a sacrifice to avoid or give up something. But if we are looking to serve the advantage of many others, God will use it to bring people to faith in Jesus Christ. That, as we say, is a win-win.

Prayer: Lord, let us give you thanks in all things, and may you help us seek the spiritual advantage of others to your glory.

Episode 194 - "Flee from idolatry" - 1 Corinthians 10:14-22

1Cor. 10:14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Once again, we have a section that begins with “therefore.” So, I want to review a little bit in order to discuss what it is “there for.” In our last episode, Paul warned the Corinthians about the Israelites during the exodus and how they reverted to idolatry, sexual immorality, and debauchery in general. We concluded that episode with a promise of hope that God will not allow us to be tempted by anything that we cannot possibly bear and that he will “make a way of escape.” (v. 13)

In light of the example of the idolatrous Israelites, and the cultural pressures in and around Corinth, Paul is giving them counsel on how to best live a life honoring to the Lord. He says, therefore . . . “flee from idolatry.” (v. 14) He had previously written about the issue of meat offered to idols and Christian liberty. There’s nothing intrinsically evil about the meat itself, he argued. One has not sinned if they ate meat and later found out that it had been sacrificed to idols. So now in verse 19 he says, “What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?” His answer is “no.”

But there are a few problems that come with it. One is that a fellow Christian may have a past struggle, and their spiritual immaturity evokes conviction or some internal conflict regarding the food. Paul says it’s best to abstain so as not to cause that weaker person to “stumble.” In our culture, a believer who has no conviction about having a glass of wine with dinner might investigate whether a dinner guest had a problem with alcoholic beverages. Maybe they were a recovering alcoholic. Offering them wine at dinner might create a serious and destructive temptation for them. Paul is advising them (and we can learn from this ourselves) to use discernment in order to do what is good and best for others.

Another problem that Paul brings up in this section is the motives of those who offer food to idols. Paul says that people who do such things are not worshipping the true God. He is basically arguing that in worshipping inanimate things made of stone, wood, and clay, they have been deceived and are actually worshipping demons. Paul’s point is, “Don’t participate in that! Flee from it, and it won’t be a temptation.” (My interpretation)

I could think of things that people do that may not be wrong in and of itself. However, it can become an idol to some. People commit their money, time, energy, attention, and overall devotion to it, and it consumes them and distracts them from dependence upon the Lord. One’s job could become an idol. How people use their time and money for leisure may become an idol. Many other things can have the same effect on our lives as statues that people worship. When we devote ourselves to these things over the Lord, they become idols. We need to identify these things and flee from them.

We need the wisdom to discern what can potentially lead us away from honoring the Lord and flee from it.