1 Corinthians 3:4-5 -- Service With A Smile

 

1 Corinthians 3:4-5

 

NKJV

For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?

 

NLT

When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world? After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us.

 

Sometimes I like to see the fruit of my labors.  I like to be there when someone comes to Christ.  No doubt, an awesome thing.  But isn’t my call to share the gospel…to make disciples of all men?  Why then do I get hung up on the fruits?  Because I have an ego and my ego can get totally sideways with what the call is.  I believe it’s that way for a lot of us, in a lot of different areas.  We like the credit; we like to be recognized…we want to be seen.  Look at me!

 

I think it would be better suited if we’d just plant the seed and let God do the growing.  Then it’s less about us and more about Him.  We can use the same concept with serving.  Sometimes our call is to empty the trash cans and clean the toilets.   Let’s do it with a smile.  Serve for the sake of serving and not the recognition we get.  Where can you get involved today?

 

Service with a smile,

cej

1 Corinthians 3:3 - Not a Mere Man

 

1 Corinthians 3:3

 

NKJV

for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

 

NLT

for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?

 

So, adding on to yesterday…

 

“Spiritual people are to walk in the Spirit. If they do otherwise, they are “worldly” and are called upon to desist. Remaining worldly is not one of the options.” (Fee)

 

Are we guilty at times of living like the world still has its hold on us?  I am.  There are times when the old me pops out and I have decided that guy is pretty useless.  The old me gets angry quickly and does more things to please himself than you would think possible.  That’s my carnal nature, that sinful self.  I behave like a mere man.

 

The end of that verse was what caught me today.  It asks if we are behaving as mere men, it doesn’t say that we are mere men…just that we’re behaving that way.  That’s conviction!  Should we continue to act like we don’t have the power of the Most High God in us?  To often that’s how we live our lives, like we don’t have the power in us to resist temptations.

 

I speak to myself when I say this…grow up!  Leave behind conflict and jealousy.  Quite fightin’ amongst ourselves.  Let’s turn everything we have in a full on, totally focused, drive to be more Christlike.  To follow Jesus so closely that we have dust kicked on us.  We have that ability in us, all we have to do is…do it!

 

Not a mere man,

cej

1 Corinthians 3:2 -- Meat Eater

 1 Corinthians 3:2

NKJV

I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 

 

NLT

I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 

 

Paul taught the Corinthians the basics when they were new believers.  This is akin to feeding a baby milk at first. That baby is not ready for steak, in fact couldn’t do anything with steak if you gave them steak.  But, as men, we are to grow closer to Christ every day so that we can eat that steak when the time comes.  In today’s verse Paul says, “you weren’t ready for anything but milk; and your still not ready” To me, that’s the attention getter; I’m still not ready for anything deeper that spiritual milk?  Let’s talk about that for a minute.

 

Every doctrine that is taught in seminary can be taught to children.  You just can’t use the same words or dig as deep.  There is only one gospel and it’s the same for all ages, the same for the learned and the unlearned.  Spiritual milk and spiritual steaks are not a difference in what you are taught, but in how you are taught.  The difference is in the application of our call to know God better.  There was a football coach that told his players to just be 10% better today than you were yesterday.  That’s what we should do, know Christ better today than we did yesterday.  But that last line….

 

“and you still aren’t ready” I have read that the real problem wasn’t the Corinthians ability to receive “spiritual solid food”, but their attraction to “junk food”.  Spiritual junk food is based on man’s knowledge and well-spoken words.  This is the easy words of some speakers, words that don’t call for us to change; words that tickle our ears for what we want to hear.  If I’m not challenged by what I read; if the pastor hasn’t stepped on my toes; then what I just recieved is spiritual junk food.  Don’t develop a taste for it.  Try every day to grow in your walk…be a meat eater.

 

Meat eater,

cej

1 Corinthians 3:1 - Not the Baby

1 Corinthians 3:1

 

NKJV

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.

 

NLT

Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ.

 

I am a firm believer that we cannot lose our salvation; that once we accept Christ as our Savior, then we are saved forever.  John 10:27-30 tells us “my sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.  The Father and I are one.””  But, I am also a firm believer that if we don’t step into the grace, then we will not mature as Christians.  So let me clarify that a bit.  If we don’t let God apply the truths we learn from His Word to our lives, then we don’t grow up.  We remain baby Christians.  In our verse today, Paul is talking to the Christians in Corinth who are still living “of the world”.  Still doing all the things their flesh desires.  Baby Christians.

 

I believe God desires for us to grow in knowledge and wisdom, that He does not want us to stay the way we were when we became new Christians.  I don’t want “Paul” (pastor, mature friends, etc) talking to me as if I’m an infant and neither should you.  Grow up and leave childish things behind.  Stop living for the world and just live in the world, pursue Christ.  Pursue a life separated (holy), study your bible (don’t just read it) and act on what you learn.  Growth is good, sometimes it can be painful, but God will not leave you where you started.

 

Not the baby,

cej

1 Corinthians 2:14-16 -- New Lenses Today

 

1 Corinthians 2:14-16

 

NKJV

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.  For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

 

NLT

But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.  Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others.  For,

“Who can know the LORD’s thoughts?

Who knows enough to teach him?”

But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

 

The ancient Greek word for natural man is “psuchikos”, which can be described as “materialist”.  This man lives as if there is nothing beyond this life. (Enduring Word Commentary)

 

Isn’t this the very picture of how we are today? To often our whole focus is on the material things of this world and this can certainly block (or distract) us from what God would have for us.  This is true for sure of non-believers, but I think that believers can fall into this same trap.  When the world is LOUD, it can distract us from what truly matters.

 

The folks who haven’t accepted the free gift of the blood and grace of Jesus Christ (for forgiveness of sin), cannot understand what the believer understands about the Word of God.  Intellectual knowledge and human reason cannot produce faith.  At best, they produce facts; facts can be twisted and taken out of context.  Non-believers do not have the basis to judge spiritual things because these things are not revealed to them.

 

But, for the believer…we can judge (investigate, examine, appraise) all things.  This means we can see both the physical and the spiritual things.  We should be able to examine them and make decisions based on the revelation that God has given us (John 7:24 tells us to “look beneath the surface so we can judge correctly).  We have the mind of Christ and should be able to view all things through that lens (Isaiah 40:13).

 

The problem is that we don’t often do that.  Often, our lens is of the “what I want” variety.  So let’s make a change today.  Lets take off our “I” glasses and start looking at the world through the eyes of Jesus.  Examine everything as if Jesus Christ was right there beside you helping you make decisions (if you didn’t know, He has always been there).

 

New lenses today,

cej

1 Corinthians 2:13 -- Just a Peep!

 

1 Corinthians 2:13

 

NKJV

These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

 

NLT

When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.

 

How many times have you stared at some verses and just couldn’t make them make sense?  Clear to the point that just reading the words confuses you?  That’s where I was today, I just couldn’t wrap my head around this at all, despite what I wrote about verse 12 yesterday.  I just struggled today.  But finally, I got a little peep of understanding.

 

I can know about God with my own reasoning and wisdom, human wisdom.  I can study until I’m blue in the face and still just know about God.  As humans, our capacity for knowledge, and wisdom, is limited.  Limited by what everybody else knows and can discover.  The things of God just cannot be understood.

 

But, words given to us by the Spirit reveal spiritual truths.  We can only get these spiritual truths if we know God.  Knowing God means you have a salvation relationship with Him, that we have given our lives (selves) to Him.  Now the words revealed to us have a deeper meaning.

 

For Example, John 3:16. “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.”  When I first read this, I was probably more focused on the sacrifice and what it could mean to me.  As I matured, and this world has gone crazy, my focus has changed to “God so loved the world”.  Can you imagine a God, who so loved the world (no matter who you are or what you believe to the point of rejecting Him) that He would sacrifice it all because he loves you?

 

I believe as we pursue our relationship with God, He reveals deeper things.  Things that we cannot, and will not, understand as non-believers.  Things that will change as we mature in Christ.  There is a difference in knowing about God and knowing God; and this can only be revealed through the Holy Spirit.

 

Just a peep today,

cej

1 Corinthians 2:12 -- Know Who You Are!

 

1 Corinthians 2:12

 

NKJV

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

 

NLT

And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

 

It’s been a weird couple of weeks, and I am guilty of not accepting what God has given me because I’m lazy and I didn’t like it.  But you reach a point where you must submit, which is a day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute choice.  So…

 

The verse today says we have received God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, so we can know the things God has given us freely.  To often, though, I (we) tend to fall into the trap of not actualizing this.  It doesn’t become real because we don’t pursue it.  One of the synonyms (big word here!) for actualize is to fulfil.  Think about that for a minute.  Along with the saving grace of Jesus Christ, God gave the Holy Spirit to fulfil us. 

 

To me, to be fulfilled by the Holy Trinity is to be free from fear (Romans 8:15, For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"); to know that God chose me (1 Cor 1:27, But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.) and that I am anointed (1 John 2:27, And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.)

 

I am encouraged today to lean in; to understand that we’re not all in the same place spiritually.  We grow and change as we pursue Christ.  Every believer does not have equal spiritual wisdom; every believer will not understand all spiritual mysteries.  But we can all understand the basics.  If you find yourself a little lost (as I was this past couple of weeks), lean into the basics (John 3:16).  Then continue to pursue Christ so that you gain that revelational wisdom.

 

Who I am,

cej