1 CORINTHIANS 7

Heart Issues
At first glance this chapter seems to challenge my decision to get married. I think back to the Shakers that followed this advice and their “Christian” sect only lasted one generation. Scripture is also clear that sons are a heritage from the Lord and children a blessing from His hand. I agree with Paul that it is a challenge to have an undivided heart to my God, but I also believe that I can and do worship Him with the love that I show my wife. He is worshipped even in sex as we recognize in Song of Solomon. He created it as a beautiful thing that gives Him praise. I read a quote recently that “God does not turn His head when a married couple goes to bed.” As I look through the chapter I definitely understand Paul’s heart behind it, but I am struck that only in this chapter do I find the words I, not the Lord. 1 Timothy states that all scripture is God-breathed and I wonder if Paul was making a distinction here to say I am answering your question not from the Lord’s mouth but from my thoughts. What do you guys think about this?

Notes
-This is one of the only times in scripture that someone makes the distinction in themselves talking and the Lord speaking.
-One main premise of this book is based on verse 29 and Paul’s view of the imminent return of Christ.
-The Lord is worthy of our undivided heart and marriage can cause this to be a greater struggle. I do know that I spent a lot of time trying to please girls though when I was not married as well. That was not giving my Lord my undivided heart either. Maybe that was because I could not control myself as Paul stated earlier.
-The only command comes from the Lord and that is not to divorce. This is so key that people realize this in the chapter. It is not good in any situation to divorce because our honor, word, commitment, witness, etc. everything is at stake if we follow through with leaving our spouse.
-17-24 shows us that God has called us where we are and we are to stick it out and persevere as a witness to those around us of the change in our lives.
-If someone marries this chapter specifically states that we belong to each other as long as we live.
-The eternal perspective that Paul gives here is sobering in that even though Christ’s return was not imminent in his day, and we are not sure in our day, He will come. Also, we need to be prepared for we are never guaranteed our next breath. We could be a heartbeat away from eternity.

1 CORINTHIANS 6

Heart Issues
Division among believers can be the most devastating blow to a non-Christian’s view of Christ. I confess that it is the easiest thing to slip into though as I always understand why non-Christians act the way they do, but I can easily pass judgment on Christians. I hold them to a higher standard and need to love them even more because they are family. I want to view them as God views them, as saints and help them recognize their identity. I do not want to further damage and hinder their sanctification. I am also challenged today that the best use of my temple is to present a living sacrifice that is available and open to God for whatever he would ask me to do. I need to be holy for that is when I can hear most clearly from the Lord.

Notes
-Lawsuits are a definite sign of division and a false view of brotherhood. Paul is appalled that they would take disputes in front of unbelievers. He was also surprised that they did not take their matter to someone in the church.
-Paul reveals here that all believers are saints in God’s eyes. We will even judge the angels one day, so why would we go outside the family of God to allow the ungodly to tell us what is right and wrong. Paul says that it would be better just to have been cheated than to cause such division and be such a horrible witness to others about the “love of Christ”.
-I love Paul’s insistence in verse 11 that this is what you were. This is not who you are now, you have been justified and sanctified by Christ. This is not who you are anymore so do not act in opposition to your identity.
-Paul refutes the popular saying of “everything is permissible” here. He adds some great one-liners to give meaning to this saying. It is not beneficial and I will not be mastered by anything. These are two of the main issues of sin and laziness. He goes quickly to sex though because it can be our greatest tempter and easiest destruction. He shows the gravity of sexual immorality as we are sinning against our own bodies and against the Lord’s spirit. We have united Christ with a prostitute when we practice sexual immorality.
-We are not our own, God has purchased us at a very high price. God is worthy of all that we can give and more. We are a temple of the Holy Spirit. This phrase has been misused for years encouraging Christians to stay in shape and take care of their temple. The most important use of this phrase is that we would keep our lives holy for through our body we offer our sacrifice of praise. It wasn’t as important about the temple that it looked good, but most importantly that it was holy.

1 CORINTHIANS 5

Heart Issues
This is a hard chapter for all of us struggle with some of the things that Paul talks about here and if we expelled people for such behavior we would all be expelled ourselves. I do agree with the main crux of his argument and the actual person in question. There is such a balance that we must show as Christians of truth and grace. We do not need to condemn others, but help them through their struggles and call them to a holy life. I struggle here because I have never seen church discipline done well or really at all in my lifetime. If ever executed it has been by people within the church condemning others although they seem to condemn hypocritically very often. We need to forgive as Christ forgave us, but not be ran over by some that would take their liberty way too far. This chapter presents the challenge and the balance of grace and truth to me. The obvious focus though is on those in the church and not those outside the church. We need to deal differently with those that do not know Christ yet as we lead them to a relationship with Christ.

Notes
-Even pagans don’t try to have sex with their own mommas/daddy's wife, that is gross.
-They were not proud of the fact that someone in their congregation was with his father’s wife, they were proud nonetheless. This is a problem with churches today who do not carry each others’ burdens. We are proud even though sitting right down the aisle from us there are people struggling with heinous sins and unbelief. We can enjoy our church, but never be too comfortable with where we are and the state of our people.
-This is an evidence of church discipline which does not happen in our churches today. We are much more consumer sensitive than to do that. I am not quite sure what Paul means by his spirit being saved, but his flesh being destroyed. This could mean a couple of possible things. The church could excommunicate him in such a way that he longs to be a part again and is restored, or they banish him with no hopes of return to cleanse their church and hope for his eternal security in Christ.
-Yeast actually consumes sugar and puts out carbon dioxide and alcohol. It can be harmful if you only think about the sugar, but it can enhance with flavor and make the dough rise. Paul uses this illustration here to point out that even a little sin can corrupt the church. It works throughout and it is better to be completely without than to let some work throughout the dough.
-He reveals here that we should not hold non-Christians to a Christian standard. We know that they naturally walk in this way, but we are called out as a people to represent Christ and we should not fellowship with those that call themselves Christians and live like the world.

1 CORINTHIANS 4

Heart Issues

I talk about the power of God a lot, but I don’t see it very often. The kingdom of God in my life is often times way too much about talk and not as much about power. It has been easy in our time to believe that God is all about blessing us with stuff, making our life easy, and doing what we want. We lose sight so easily that this story is not all about us, but all about God. I am challenged today as I think about God testing my heart in all things that I do. I do not want to be motivated so much by pride that I do good things, but I want my sole motivation to be love and worship. I want to love the people I am sharing with and I want God to get all the praise because I would not be doing these things if he did not enable me by His grace to do them. It is not an issue of how good I am, but how GREAT He is!

Notes
-Paul starts with so, referring to the last chapter dealing with divisions and knowing who we are by knowing whose we are. He opens by showing that we shouldn’t place so much faith in men, but should only be known as servants of Christ. As servants, we are entrusted with the secret things of God. Wow, that is huge we are secret agents for God.
-We should be trustworthy and the true judge of our character is not man, but God. Even we are partial judges, but God judges impartially and knows the true nature of each man’s heart. This is radical that God may praise us as he reveals our heart. I know that many times my heart has not been praiseworthy. It is not only our deeds that will be judged, but our hearts as well. I want my heart to be humble and always giving praise to God and not myself. That is challenging to know that God will reveal my heart.
-Paul reveals that he and Apollos are only gifted by God and that there is no room for boasting. He is also confronting an issue in the Corinthian church which was very boastful and hypocritical in their use of their gifts.
-Verses 8-13 bash the prosperity gospel. It seems that this is already an issue as the Corinthians had become “kings” and that the apostles were still enduring hunger, homelessness, hard work, persecution, and pain. God does not call us all to prosperity, he calls us to obedience and proclaiming Him as the king and not ourselves. Paul compares and contrasts how they had become fools, weak, and dishonored, yet the Corinthians were strong, wise, and honored. There was some disconnect in their view of following God.
-Verses 14-21 – I’m your daddy, don’t forget that!! Paul urges them to imitate him and to listen to Timothy as he sends him in his stead. Paul is going to challenge the arrogant ones of Corinth and will do whatever it takes to bring them back to humility. He longs for them so much that he is zealous to see them follow Christ humbly and allow the power of God to continue to move and not simply be talked about.

1 CORINTHIANS 3

Heart Issues
My identity stems only in the fact that I am in Christ and Christ is in God. He is the author and perfecter of my faith. I do not need to exalt any man for how good of a speaker he is, but I should give glory to Jesus for gifting him by His grace. The issue is never how good man is but how Great God is. I don’t want to see divisions happen because of “better speakers” or cooler churches. I am brought back again today to the issue of what it means to work alongside God. What a privilege it is to serve alongside such a magnificent and awesome creator. He loves me and rewards me for my work. I want to have the right heart before Him as I serve, not trying to gain His pleasure, but knowing that He is pleased with me independent of what I do. My body is a temple that exalts an amazing creator. I need His grace for I am broken and unable to perform without Him. I do desire the solid food and I want to continue to walk closely and eat from my Master’s table.

Notes
-Paul calls the Corinthians brothers and he truly loved them. He was brokenhearted that he couldn’t address them as spiritual brothers for they were still acting worldly.
-There is a difference in what we give to those that are beginning to know Christ and those that know Him. We don’t start them out on solid food for they are not quite ready yet, but we want them to be quickly. Caedmon is not ready for solid food yet, it would hurt him.
-The Corinthians held great allegiance to the one that lead them to Jesus. They were abandoning their brotherhood and creating divisions based on who spoke the words of life to them. Paul here confronts that by showing that it doesn’t matter who led you to Christ, but that Christ is the one that matters. The speaker doesn’t matter, God is the issue. We will be rewarded for our work though and I feel rewarded just in that I get to be God’s fellow worker. I get to work alongside/with God Himself.
-Jesus is a solid foundation and we must be careful to keep Him as that foundation and to not build upon the law/other people/good works. We can build upon our foundation good things, but always looking back to Jesus as the foundation and worker of our goodness.
-The rewards thing is still so hard to fully understand. It does seem that some will receive more reward than others in heaven. The reward is in direct proportion with what we have done for the Lord. Some will make it to heaven, but will not have much to show from their lives.
-This truth of God’s presence in our lives is so vital to understand anything about the Christian life. We are the temple now, we have replaced Solomon’s temple and we individually have the Creator of all living within our very hearts. We offer sacrifices of our service and may our deeds make a beautiful sound of worship to Him.
-There is nothing to be worshipped about any man for Jesus alone is to be worshipped. We should be found to be foolish in the sight of others who place such importance upon other people. Paul, Piper, and Peter hold nothing over me for I am in Christ and Christ is in God.

1 CORINTHIANS 2

Heart Issues
Today I am very challenged in how much faith and hope I place in a good sermon. I am grateful that God has given me the mind of Christ and allows me to think as I do, but I do not want to put so much hope in myself. If I truly allow Christ to come through then it will be His power not mine that has done great things. I can far too often come up with a great idea, either from me or from the Lord, and marvel at how good is sounds and how cool it is. Then I will teach from my mind more about it, I want to continue to point back to the cross and allow the cross to do its work. I long to see God do what I know He can in and through my life. I know that the Spirit lives in me and I want to continue to take the risks and trust Him in crazy things. I long to be the warrior that He has called me to be. I am so grateful that God has set it up this way or I would have to be the convincer of everyone and I would need to do a lot of work because it would all rest in my power and wisdom. As it is, God is at work and in control, all I need to do is trust. Lord, help my unbelief and my lack of trust in you. This year I truly do want to make prayer a greater priority in my life.

Notes
-Paul could have come with eloquence, but he instead laid down his knowledge and rhetoric and displayed for them an example of the cross’s power. There is great power in God and little power in man.
-It is easy to rely on men’s wisdom and allow others to come in and take over because they are better at leading bible studies or are better preachers. This enables emotional responses to God, but it makes me wonder about the display of the Spirit’s power.
-Among the mature believers there is a message of wisdom that needs to be spoken, but not earthly wisdom. The secret wisdom of God that is spoken of here is the pouring out of His spirit through Jesus’ death and resurrection. The gospel is the wisdom that the world had been looking for, but did not and could not understand it for only by the Holy Spirit can it be revealed.
-God has truly given us His Spirit and He did to allow us to know His thoughts and be like Him. We can speak knowing spiritual truths because God has made them clear to us.
-Men without the Spirit cannot understand the things of God unless God enables Him. That is why prayer is such an important component of evangelism. It is God’s compelling; not our convincing that leads someone to Christ.
-We have the mind of Christ. That is amazing, God has never had a counselor and we cannot teach Him anything, and He has given us the same mind. We need to continue to get out of the way and allow His thoughts and words to become our own. He is powerful, I am not.

1 CORINTHIANS 1

Heart Issues
I am challenged by a lot in this chapter. Most of all, I am humbled today as I recognize that I don’t have much to offer our omnipotent and omniscient God. He did not call me for what I could do for Him but because of His grace and to shame the powerful and wise. I also find myself today in a healthy amount of helplessness on my own. I am in such need of the grace of God and His faithfulness in my life. He will keep me strong and blameless to the end and I claim this promise and thank Him for His goodness. I know that I am not faithful to the end, I can drop the ball way too easily. I am challenged again to preach the cross and to drop all of my “wisdom” and allow the cross to do its work on peoples’ lives.

Notes
-All Christians are called to be holy and are in the process of sanctification in Christ Jesus. People everywhere could now call on the name of Jesus, not just the Jews.
-God, by His grace, gives us all good things. He gives knowledge and sound speaking for His glory, not for our own. He keeps us blameless and strong to the end because He is faithful even when we are not.
-Division destroys a church, believers should be “perfectly united in mind and thought.”
-It is very easy to align ourselves with figures of our time period and their teachings, but Paul calls us here to follow Christ and Christ alone. It is not about wisdom or great teaching, we are Christians because of the cross. It is the central point to the glory of God.
-God is not impressed with our wisdom or power, but He wants us to see His omnipotence and omniscience. His grace and character are amazing, not what we can add to it. For even God’s foolishness, if there is such a thing is wiser than man’s wisdom and his weakness, again if such a concept exists, is stronger than Magnus Samuelson (Strong Man Competitor).
-God does not call us because of what we can give to Him or do for Him. He calls us to shame the wisdom and the power of the world. That is pretty humbling.
-We have nothing to boast about, for it is because of His grace that we are in Christ. He is our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.