Thoughts for Today...

 

 

 

 

 

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

New King James Version (NKJV)

Greeting

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

² 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:

³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, ⁵ that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, ⁶ even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, ⁷ so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸ who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

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In the New Testament, in all of Paul’s letters, he begins by telling us who he is in relation to God and who we are in relation to God. This is so different from how the world thinks. In the world our identity is tied to what race or ethnicity we are. Our identity is tied to our political affiliation or what school we go to, where we work or the kind of car we drive, the kind of beer we drink and even the kind of soap or deodorant we use.

 

But the Bible always brings us back to where we stand with God. It’s not that politics, cars, food, friends and schools are not important. But to give all of these things their true value they must be understood in relation to God. I am going to make a blanket statement here. Everything in life, including who we are, finds its true meaning and worth in relation to God. Now, here is Paul’s understanding of who he is and his value in relation to God.

 

“ Paul—an apostle of Jesus Christ,” an emissary of Jesus Christ, a representative, an ambassador. So who are we? Paul had his own personal failures, we all do. He also faced persecution and sleepless nights and hardships.

 

1.     But he lived his life with uncompromising faith in Jesus Christ, who loved him and gave his life for him. Paul was called by God, not by the president or a committee somewhere, but called by God to be an apostle.

2.     And that is where Paul took his stand.

 

Now, here is who we are in relation to God.

 

The word “church” in Greek is ecclesia. It means a special called out assembly of people. The church is not made of bricks and stained glass windows or a huge stage with wide screen projections. The church is the body of people saved by faith in Jesus Christ and thus united to God. When we gather together this building houses the church. But when we leave and go home or to school or to work, we are, you are still the church of God!

 

You are, we are the people of God. We are also “sanctified in Christ Jesus.” To be sanctified means to be set apart. There has been a decisive break from what you were and what you are now. To be sanctified in Christ Jesus means that you have been removed from the general population of people and placed into a special group belonging to Jesus Christ. And because of this God sees you as holy.

 

You are called to be loved by God, to enjoy Him and to share His Word and love with other people. You are not just a student or a business person or a dad or mom or musician or banker. You are a saint, a child of God, called to bear His image in all that you say and do. There has been a decisive break from what you were to what and who you are now. Let me give you an example of what I mean. In 1 Corinthians 6, there is a list of the kinds of people that were in the Corinthian church.

 

A tremendous stability comes into your life when you allow the Word of God to define who you are. The world defines you in relation to things and groups; where you live and work. But when you understand who you are in relation to God you won’t be a slave to fads or fashion. You won’t be pushed around by advertising or contemporary values. You won’t think of yourself in terms of the car you drive or the money you have in the bank. You won’t be crushed by the weight of insecurities, fears and temptations. When you know that you are the people of God, a child of God, set apart for glory, your heart and mind will be free to live and love without the fear of loss.

 

How did we become the church? How did you and I become saints? The answer is God’s grace. God was loving and merciful towards us. He provided redemption for us in Jesus Christ. We are not the church; we are not sanctified because we are better than other people. We are who we are because of God.

 

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

 

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 – New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁶ For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. ²⁷ 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; ²⁸ 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, ²⁹ that no flesh should glory in His presence. ³⁰ But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— ³¹ that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

All of the glory for who we are belongs to God. And now, whatever we are, whatever we do God’s grace will be with us. We can have His wisdom, his strength of heart and character. He will meet all of our needs. And the result will be peace. And God’s grace in our lives compels us to be gracious, compassionate and forgiving to others. And as we reach out to love and serve other people, as we make known the good news we are bringing peace. As our Lord Jesus Christ said, “Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called sons of God.” There is no greater peace that we can give than to help people be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

 

Verses 4 to 6

⁴ I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, ⁵ that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, ⁶ even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,

What this means is that the Corinthians had been blessed with tremendous biblical teaching. They enjoyed a wealth of teaching. They were well founded on the great truths of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the mysteries of God. And all of this teaching was becoming evident in their lives. They were thinking, feeling and acting like the people of God. Oh, they made mistakes; they were human, but there was evidence that they were truly saved.

What about us? I think we’ve been well taught. But is there evidence to point that we belong to Christ? Can people see the Word of God working in our lives? Are we passionate and excited about the things of God? Are we praying for others and sharing the Good News? Are we serving in some capacity or are we still just being served?

The Corinthian church was a gifted church. So are we. As we strive to live for God, he’ll make sure that we have every spiritual gift we need to do the work we are called to do until Christ returns. The Bible makes it clear that all of us are gifted in some way for the benefit of the church. Each of us has some spiritual ability that when shared, helps all of us to be comforted and encouraged and helped and inspired to serve the Lord.

 

And the more we think about the fact that Jesus Christ will return, the more eager we should be to use our spiritual gift for the benefit of others. God is faithful who called you into the fellowship of His Son. He is faithful to love you and teach you about His Kingdom. He is faithful and gracious to you, to provide for you and to give you peace. He is faithful to reveal His Word and will to you. He is faithful to enable you with a gift to serve Him. And He is faithful to bring you into eternity blameless. (This already Sealed with the Holy Spirit that was promised to us!)

Deuteronomy 7:9

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁹ “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;

GOD'S KIND OF LOVE

Matthew 8:9-10, "For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel."

MATTHEW 8:5-13, LUKE 7:1-10

There were only two things in all of scripture that caused Jesus to marvel. They were (1) the Centurion's faith and (2) the Jews' unbelief (Mark 6:6). A faith that made Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith, marvel is worth examining. This centurion believed that the spoken word of Jesus was sufficient to produce his miracle. He didn't need Jesus to come to his house. He had faith in Jesus' word. Therefore, we can see that the person who simply believes the written Word of God is operating in a much higher form of faith than those who require additional proof. Compare this centurion's faith with the "little" faith of Thomas in John 20:24-29!

Thomas refused to believe what He couldn't see or feel. Our five senses were given to us by God and are necessary to help us function in this life. But if we do not renew our minds to acknowledge the limits of the five senses, they will keep us from believing. Faith can perceive things that the senses cannot (Hebrews 11:1).

The type of faith that Thomas operated in was a human or natural faith that was based on what he could see. Jesus said there was a greater blessing to be obtained. That greater blessing comes from using a supernatural, God-kind of faith that is based only on God's Word.

Believing God's Word is not just putting your trust in some printed words on the pages of a book we call the Bible. There is much more involved. It is a relationship with a person, the person behind the words. Get to know Him through His Word.

 

A LIFESTYLE CHECK

Matthew 7:20, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

MATTHEW 7:12-20

The way that you can tell whether a person is genuine or not is by the fruit they produce. This fruit is speaking of lifestyle. Jesus made the point that you don't get bad fruit from a good tree, and you don't get good fruit from a bad tree. Many people say one thing, but their actions speak so loudly that you really can't hear what they are saying. If you are in doubt about whether a person is genuine or not, or whether you should receive from them and follow their teaching, look at the fruit they are producing.

In evaluating ministers and ministries, more attention should be given to the fruit that is being produced. Failure to do this could lead someone to reject and even discredit a minister who simply makes a mistake or is wrong in one area. Everyone has shortcomings, just as every other member of the Body of Christ does. But that doesn't mean his ministry is bad. Look at the fruit.

Therefore, you can say that the tree is good. When a person says all of the right things and may seem sincere, but you see the lives of people around them shattered and torn, and in confusion and distress, then the fruit is bad. You can judge the effectiveness of a person by the fruit that they are producing in their life. In ministry you can judge the effectiveness of your own fruit by what is being produced.

Today, make sure that the fruit that comes from your life is positive. Make sure that you are making a positive impact on people's lives, that you are turning people to the Lord and not leaving them hurt and confused. People are looking at you to see what type of fruit you are bearing.