1 Corinthians 1:30-31 - whats a rudis?

 

1 Corinthians 1:30-31

 

NKJV

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

 

NLT

God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.  Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.”

 

When I first read this verse, what immediately popped into my mind was the rudis.  In Roman times a gladiator earned his freedom when the manager of the games gave him what is called a rudis.  This was a short wooden sword that they were to always carry on themselves, to prove their freedom if questioned.  You may be questioning what this has to do with today’s verse…that’d be a good question. 

 

When we united with Christ, He made us right; pure and holy.  We were freed from sin at that point.  We are no longer slaves to our sin and should always carry our “rudis” with us to remind ourselves and others that we glory in the Lord.  So what is our rudis?  I think our rudis is our relationship, both internal and external, with God.  Internal, meaning what we believe about ourselves in Christ.  I make a point to verbally submit myself to God every morning.  I try to spend as much time as I can in the word (not enough at times),to grow and get revelation from God.  This leads to what I show externally.  My rudis shows up in how I treat others.    Am I quick to jump on somebody’s error, or am I quick to offer grace?  Whose gospel am I preaching?  We’ve all heard the saying “preach the gospel of Christ, if necessary use words”.  Does the world know you by the rudis you carry?

 

Carrying my rudis,

cej

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 - Leave it Behind

 

1 Corinthians 1:26-29

 

NKJV

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.

 

NLT

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you.  Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.  God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.  As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

 

In Luke 18:9-14 we get to see the parable of what is being talked about in the above verses.  I have been guilty of considering myself pretty important, and I have been on the other side of this where I don’t feel like God can/should use me.  Both of these thoughts are wrong; they have way too much of “me” in them.

 

Truth be told (and to quote a song…the truth is seldom told), I don’t believe God has one care about our knowledge, or lack thereof.  I believe He cares more about where our hearts are.  If our “person” is based on our power and wealth, then God will not use us. God can, and does, use those in power and who have wealth.  The ones He uses have their focus on God and not the things the world considers important. I believe the converse is ultimately true to.  If our focus is focused on what we don’t have and our position in life, then I don’t believe God will use that either.

 

God will always shame the things of the world, both mighty and small; rich and poor; learned and unlearned.  Things of this world have no place with God “no flesh should glory in His presence”.  When we approach the Throne with humbleness, then God can use us no matter what our position in life is!  We should approach every day striving to leave our flesh, and all its desires, behind us.  To know who we are in Christ; saved by blood; co-heirs with Christ; in the family of God.

 

Leave it behind,

cej

1 Corinthians 1:25 - Do Something Different

 

1 Corinthians 1:25

 

NKJV

Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

 

NLT

This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

 

Seems kinda strange to talk about the “foolishness of God”, doesn’t it?  1 Corinthians 2:14 says “The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”  When we consider how we want to put God in this box of our own understanding, to make Him relatable to us, then I think these words make sense.  Fortunately for us, God doesn’t think like that.  We need to quit labeling God with words of our own understanding.  This verse is talking about how we understand what Jesus Christ did on the cross, not about the “foolishness of God”.  Does it make sense to die for someone else?  When we don’t understand the sacrifice for our sin, then we consider what Jesus did as foolish.  Same for the weakness of God, we have to understand what God values and get rid of the ideas the world sells us on foolishness and weakness. 

 

Is it weakness, or foolish, for a person to love on somebody that is homeless?  Absolutely not, but the world will tell you something different.  What about loving on someone who is addicted?  Do something different than what the world is selling.  Understand that what God is offering is greater than what the world considers foolish or weak.  God is neither of these things, He is greater!

 

Do Something Different,

cej

1 Corinthians 1:23-24 - Christ Crucified

 

1 Corinthians 1:23-24

 

NKJV

but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 

 

NLT

So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

 

Christ crucified!  What a horrible death.  The Jews thought the Messiah was going to be this conquering king and they couldn’t accept the form this King came in.  The gentiles couldn’t understand how anything good could come from crucifixion.  In the end, both had the same response.  They couldn’t accept the Christ as they saw Him.

 

It’s pretty simple, now, in my thoughts; but I have the luxury of being able to look back at the crucifying of Christ.  But understanding it was still pretty tough when I was a new baby believer.  How in the world was this a good thing, was my question?  The answer to that is that “in the world”, it wasn’t.   God’s plan for my salvation had everything to do with that perfect sacrifice that was Christ crucified.  Once I understood the love of that sacrifice, then I sorta understood that next verse, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. We are called by God in salvation, which makes us co-heirs with Christ.  We have the power and wisdom to all the things Jesus did “and greater things”.  Are you going to act on that?

 

Christ crucified,

cej

1 Corinthians 1:22 - No Cool Tricks

 

1 Corinthians 1:22

 

NKJV

For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom.

 

NLT

It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom.

 

The Jews, the Pharisees and Sadducees, wanted signs and miracles from Jesus.  They were looking for supernatural physical proof of Jesus Christ’s deity.  I wonder at times if we fall into this line of thought.  Instead of relying on the written word and the proof of the Holy Spirit, we start a bargaining relationship with God.  We say things like, “God, if you’ll do this, I’ll do that” We don’t like to think that we’re asking for the same things as the Jews, but if we can be honest with ourselves…that’s what we’re doing.  We want a sign.

 

This also speaks to us that are just like the Greeks.  We put value in the appearance and voice of the teacher.  We can be wisdom seekers too. There are those of us that want to know how well educated and well-spoken the teacher is.  We want to elevate the man and not Who the man serves.  How many church’s get hung up on the idea that their pastor has to have a doctorate (or even a degree)?  I’m not saying those are bad things, I’m saying if that’s your only criteria for a teacher…you’re in trouble. I read a commentary that said, “Christianity begins not with solving intellectual difficulties, but with satisfying the heart that longs for forgiveness.”

 

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with both of these.  Gideon asked God for a lot of signs and God gave as Gideon needed.  Wisdom is also not a bad thing.  What I hear in this verse is “where is your heart”?  Why are you asking for signs?  Why are you seeking wisdom?  When we seek a relationship with Christ, these things do not matter anymore.  If we’re listening to the Holy Spirit, then we’re going to ask for signs for the right reasons…not just to see a cool trick.  We’re going to seek wisdom for the sake of Christ, and not for the sake of just knowing stuff.

 

No cool tricks,

cej

1 Corinthians 1:19-21 ~ Not Addin' On

 

1 Corinthians 1:19-21

 

NKJV

For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

 

NLT

As the Scriptures say,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise

and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”

So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.  Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 

 

My mom used to say I was to smart for my own britches.  What I came to understand, when I had kids, was that I was trying to hard to outsmart her and my dad; rather than take the information from them as offered, I wanted to prove that I was a smart guy.  As I’ve gotten older, I realize that I’m not really all that smart!

 

When I was younger, I was always guilty of trying to be the smartest guy in the room when I came to my “spiritual” knowledge.  This happened more often than I care to admit.  I have/had an ego problem that at times makes me think I’m smarter than everybody else.  My pastor told me once that it’s important to know what know; but more important to know what you don’t know.  As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gained a tiny bit of wisdom about my ego (probably everybody’s ego!).  Fact of the matter is, I don’t know much.  What I thought was my wisdom was really foolishness.

God loves us because He loves us because He loves us.  Acknowledgement of sin and the belief that Jesus Christ is God’s own son and acceptance of Jesus Christ as your savior.  It’s that simple.  We shouldn’t complicate this with our own foolish add-ons!

 

Not addin’ on,

cej

1 Corinthians 1:18 - Hopeful

 

1 Corinthians 1:18

 

NKJV

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

 

NLT

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.

 

The words “message of the cross”, for believers is understandable.  But for anyone who doesn’t know Jesus Christ as their Savior, how in the world do they get on board with this?  Death on the cross was horrific and humiliating thing.  People were hung on crosses at eye level; so anyone walking by got to see the fear, pain and death in the eyes of those that were hung there.  An unbeliever (I was one of those once) doesn’t understand the redemption that hung there when Jesus Christ died.  Death shouldn’t be our message; it should be the love.  The why of Jesus hanging there.

 

All sin separates us from God and as man, there is no way for me to get back in a right relationship with God.  But God still loves me, and He proved it by providing a way for me to get back in that right relationship with Him.  In the old testament times, it was sacrifices (atonement if you will).  These did not have a long-lasting effect.  A person couldn’t keep that relationship because we would sin again; so, another sacrifice was required; and so on and so on.  When Jesus came, as the Son of God, basically He said to His Father; “I love them, and I want them to have a relationship with You” Jesus dying on the cross was our way back to the Father.  Jesus Christ was our perfect atonement that covered all of our sins.  I’ve heard mercy defined as not having to pay for my sins and grace defined as somebody else paying for my sins.  That’s what we were given, mercy and grace.  Jesus loves you and want’s nothing more than to have a relationship with you.  All your sins can be forgiven.  Does that mean we will never sin again?  Certainly not, we are still warring with our flesh.  It does mean that once we have Jesus Christ as our savior, we are once again a part of the Family; co-heirs with Christ.  I hope this isn’t confusing, because the message I have is this….God loves you, come to Christ.

Hopeful,

cej

1 Corinthians 1:17 ~ Waffling

 

1 Corinthians 1:17

Christ did not send me to baptize people but to preach the Good News. And he sent me to preach the Good News without using words of human wisdom so that the cross of Christ would not lose its power.

 

Am I preaching Christ on the cross by my actions, or am I preaching the world is my oyster? I waffle daily...

1 Corinthians 1:14-17 ~ Preach!

 

1 Corinthians 1:14-17

 

NKJV

I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

 

NLT

 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, for now no one can say they were baptized in my name. (Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.) For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.

 

With all of the divisiveness that was happening at Corinth, Paul appears to make a clear separation from it.  I’m sure he baptized more than the few folks mentioned, but to him I think it wasn’t about who, or how many, he baptized; but all about the obedience of doing what Christ called him to do.  Baptism is not essential to salvation, but it’s an act of obedience and public declaration of who has saved us. The baptisms were a by product of his calling. 

 

That calling was to preach the gospel; and to preach it plainly and with truth.  Not adding any of himself, other than the testimony of how Jesus Christ affected his life but speaking mainly of the saving grace that is Jesus Christ.  He didn’t use his own words (his wisdom) or try to be clever; he just spoke truth about Jesus and who He was.  Isn’t this our calling too (as believers)?  To preach John 3:16-17?

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

 

Preach!

cej

1 Corinthians 1:11-13 ~ Measuring

 

1 Corinthians 1:11-13

 

NKJ

For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

 

NLT

For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.” Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not! 

 

Division is a hot topic in our world today, from racial lines to political lines to church lines.  Satan has done a really good job convincing us to separate ourselves in many ways based on just about anything there is about us.  The church as Corinth was drawing these lines not on who they were following, but on themselves.  They were more impressed with their importance in the following, rather than who they were following.  Each of the men mentioned above were followers of Christ themselves, and the people were segregating things.

 

My thought on this was that we allow this to happen to us.  We create lines in every area our lives, trying to define who we are.  The fact of the matter is the only line we should have is the one we follow directly to Christ.  Everything we hear a preacher say should be measured against what the Word says, don’t follow lines blindly.  Know your identity in Christ.

 

Measuring,

cej

1 Corinthians 1:10 ~ Beseechingly

 

1 Corinthians 1:10

 

NKJV

Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

 

NLT

I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

 

Paul plead with the Corinthians; the KJV says beseech.  These are pretty strong words to a church that was in a bit of trouble.  Dictionary.com defines plead as to appeal or entreat earnestly; beseech as to beg urgently.  This is the same attitude we should have with our brothers and sisters in Christ when they are in a “bit” of trouble.  We should care so much about them that we would plead (ie: show them our heart) with them to come back in the fold.

 

But to the world today, this would be weakness.  The world today would have us at each other’s throats. Not just with non-believers but with fellow believers too.  This is not what God planned, Psalms 133:1-3 and Ephesians 4-1-16 shows us the benefits of living in harmony as brothers. Harmony with one another means we are looking toward Christ, not toward the things we disagree with. 

 

Let’s put Christ first in our lives.  Make a conscious choice to do that.

 

Beseechingly,

cej

1 Corinthians 1:4-9 ~ Faithful Gifts

 

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

 

NKJV

I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,  who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

NLT

I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus.  Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge.  This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true.  Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.  God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Simply put, God is faithful.  We have gifts that build us up.  Which comes back to identity, who we are in Christ.  We have been gifted with words and knowledge and spiritual gifts to serve others.  Our head may know these things, but do we believe them in our heart?  That’s a harder question.  Sometimes we have to act on our head knowledge in order to get our hearts up to speed.

 

The work of God in the Corinthian Christians could be seen by what they said, by what they learned, by a supernatural element in their lives, and by their expectant anticipation of Jesus’ return. (Enduring Word Commentary)

 

We can have the same gifts as the church at Corinth, but they are nothing if we don’t give credit where credit is due.  All we have is a gift from God, and when we don’t give Him the credit for it…our gifts are of little value.  If God is faithful with His gifts, are we being faithful with the gifts given to us?

 

Gifted,

cej

1 Corinthians 1:3 ~ Grace & Peace

 

1 Corinthians 1:3

 

NKJV

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

NLT

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

 

 “Grace is always first, peace always second. This is due to the fact that grace is the source of peace. Without grace there is and can be no peace, but when grace is ours, peace must of necessity follow.” (Lenski)

 

This!  We are offered grace and peace when we finally give our lives to Christ.  For me, this is an intimate act.  I’ve heard it said that grace is some one else accepting the punishment for my sin.  You can’t get much more intimate than that!  The fact that the Lord Jesus Christ took my sin upon Himself and said “I got this”; that He was willing to do that, showed His great love for me.  When we finally grasp this concept; I mean truly get this…that’s when the peace will come.  But as long as we struggle with our identity in Christ; as long as we struggle with this idea that someone loved us enough to die for you and I…we won’t have peace.  Please understand that you are loved beyond measure!  Jesus Christ didn’t have to look at you to see if you were skinny enough; that you were successful enough; or any other measurement that the world gives.  He looked at you and said, “You are my Fathers child, I love you because I love you” That should bring about peace!  Can you accept that?  Please, do it today!

 

Grace and peace to you,

cej

1 Corinthians 1:2 ~ On Call, Still

 

1 Corinthians 1:2

 

NKJV

To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.

 

NLT

I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

 

Two things I learned here:

1.      The ancient Greek word (ekklesiai) for church was non-religious word for an assembly of people.  A gathering of the citizens, so to speak.

2.     In the Jewish context, it is the gathering of the people of God.  A community of believers in Christ, for Christians.

 

While that was pretty cool to learn, I was more focused on the part about being sanctified and called by God.  The wording is specific, it doesn’t say “to be called”, it says we are called to be His holy people.  He set us apart as believers, made us a chosen race; a royal priesthood; a holy nation.  The moment we give Christ our lives, we get this honor, this honor to be called saints!  Even better, He did this for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Not just me; not just you…but anyone and everyone. 

 

So, the question to be asked is this; “what are we doing with our calling?”  Are we living like our call is something we believe in?  That is a hard thought sometimes.  It’s pretty easy to sit here in my comfy life and say “yeah, I’m called” But that becomes much harder when God tells me to leave everything I know and go where He sends me.  So, we have a choice as this royal priesthood, this chosen people, this holy nation; our choice to be obedient and say “here I am, send me” or we can say “that’s to hard God, I’m not doing that”  What are we going to do when the big ask comes from God?

 

On call,

cej

1 Corinthians 1:1 ~ On Call

 

1 Corinthians 1:1

NKJV

Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother.

 

NLT

This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes.

 

“Paul knows that he is not one of the twelve apostles, but he is on par with them because, like them, he is chosen by God.” (Robertson)

 

I had a call this morning with a brother in Christ and part of our discussion was about being in ministry.  A lot of times, when we hear this statement, we think about being vocationally employed by the church.  This is not the case at all, Paul said he was called to be an apostle.  Now you may be asking yourself, what does that mean?  To me it means that I was in full time ministry starting on September 26^th, 1992 (the day I was saved).  That idea may be hard to wrap your head around, but the fact is we are called the very hour that we give our life to Christ.  In 1 Peter 2:9 it says “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”  Today, I think we should start acting like we are called.  Stop giving excuses for our laziness, insecurities, ect, ect ect!  We have been given the power to live a life called by Christ, unfortunately we let this flesh bag, we live in here, have all the control.  Our call is greater than our insecurities; our call is greater than our fears; our call is greater than our egos!  There are so many things our call is greater than, so start today living your life in the call to Christ.

 

On Call,

cej