Posts that reference the book of 1 Corinthians

Unity or Division

Unity or division?

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:13

Division came with the Fall.
We have had schisms and factions and allegiances ever since.

At times, we even marginalize and demonize other believers.
As long as we are led by our own preferences, insights and opinions it will continue.

But if we are led by the Spirit
Things are radically different.

Division becomes unity.
Factions become fellowship.

What was either/or becomes both/and.

Make no mistake, this change is miraculous.
But as soon as our surrender and submission overpowers our selfish stubbornness,
Oneness will be wondrously ordinary.

Community

By Paula Wiseman

Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 1 Corinthians 12:27

Even though I run by myself early in the morning, I’m not alone as a runner. I have friends who run and even family members who run. It’s good to have those connections because, believe me, you don’t get too many miles logged before a host of questions pop up.

Should I rest or run through the pain? (Which can be rephrased as, is this a real injury or am I just a baby?) What’s the best way to work up to a longer distance? How do I tell when I need new shoes? Is Gu really worth it?

No matter what questions I come up with, some runner I know has the answer. They’ve been through it and they are more than willing to share what they’ve learned.

Oh, I could figure things out on my own, but in the end, I’d make more mistakes. I’d be injured more often, and for longer periods. By learning everything the hard way, I’d spend less time actually running.
For some reason, that’s the way we operate as believers. On our own. Muddling through. Figuring things out the best way we can. Maybe we’re afraid people will find out we don’t have it all together. Maybe we’re afraid we’ll look weak. Or sinful.

So we keep quiet. We don’t ask. We pretend like we know everything. We never have problems. And we miss out on one of the greatest blessings God gave us.

Community.

In the Greek, the word is ekklesia, and until the time of Christ, it meant any assembly people were called to, like a town hall gathering. Usually, we translate the word “church” and keep reading. The first-century followers of Christ redefined the very word by the way they connected and treated each other.

We need each other, far more than we realize. We need to share our stories and our struggles. We need to testify about how God is working in our lives. We need to be a blessing and an encouragement. We need safety and transparency and vulnerability.

Within a community, we build the relationships and the love that Christ meant for us to have for one another.

It if from a community that we launch out on the Great Commission.

A group of unique individuals transforming into a community of brothers and sisters is the sure witness of God’s power at work in us.

Not in Vain

By Paula Wiseman

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:10

Whatever my position, status, or standing

Achievements, accomplishments, or recognition

Gifts, talents, or opportunities,

Each was a gift given by God.
Not deserved. Not my due. Not my earnings. A gift.

Vain means empty, wasted or useless.

If my position is not a means to glorify God, it’s useless.

If my achievements don’t bring honor to His name, they are empty.

If my opportunities don’t further His purposes, they are wasted.

I want to make sure His grace toward me was not in vain.

Study Tip: Edify

By Paula Wiseman

Let’s do a quick word study of an old word, a good word, that doesn’t get a lot of attention: EDIFY

According to the dictionary, to edify means “to instruct and improve, to uplift.” Most theological contexts pull from its old Greek and Latin roots, to build up. You may have heard preachers or others talk about the “upbuilding of the kingdom.” This is where it comes from.

It connects to a metaphor, a word picture that runs through the New Testament especially, that compares the body of Christ to a building. Peter writes about it in his first letter.

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

“Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”

Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,

“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,”

and

“A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense.” 1 Peter 2:4-8

Christ is the cornerstone, and we make up the other stones. It would make sense, then, that we shouldn’t undo all the hard work Christ did to build up His house. Instead, we should be imitating His work and building each other up, that is, edifying each other.

How do we edify each other? Let’s look at some New Testament references to learn more.

Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. Romans 14:19
Pursue the things which will edify somebody else. Pursue them. That requires focus, tenacity and expending a lot of energy.

Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 1 Corinthians 8:1
It makes sense that love would build up. I like the contrast between the temporary, fragile “puff” and the solid brick of “edifies”.

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. Ephesians 4:29
Our speech is one of the primary ways we edify others. And did you catch the word “necessary”?

Nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. 1 Timothy 1:4
The ultimate goal of edification is building our faith. Arguing about nit-picking details won’t do that.

1 Corinthians 14 mentions edification more than any other place in the New Testament. It emphasizes two major ideas. First, your gifts were given to you to edify the body of Christ. Second, corporate worship is when that happens. Skip church and you miss your big opportunity to edify and be edified.

In modern usage, edify has largely been replaced by encourage, but that’s an incomplete translation. Encouraging is mostly emotional, helping you feel better about something. Feeling better is more of a side effect, or a bonus with edification. Instead, it primarily strengthens faith by reminding us that we fit into the spiritual house Christ is building.

This is hardly an exhaustive study, but let me leave you with one last word on edification — it is one more result of God pouring out His grace on us.
“So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” Acts 20:32

What Is the Source of Your Strength?

By Paula Wiseman

How long has it been since you’ve read the story of Samson? You remember, long hair – super strong. Haircut – instant wimp. That Samson. With my Sunday school boys, it’s a fresh challenge each week to grab their attention and give them a new angle on stories they’ve heard since preschool. Samson got their attention. He got mine, too. You can read his story in Judges 13-16.

In the most familiar part of his story, Delilah whines until he tells her the source of his supernatural strength. He says, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

Samson’s answer was wrong.

Did you catch that? My boys did. His answer was wrong. And that was his problem. Samson’s hair didn’t make him strong. God did. It’s a very subtle, but critical difference.

Samson put more stock in the vow, and the sign of the vow, than the God the vow supposedly honored.

Because Samson so often appears in the Bible storybooks our kids read, it’s tempting to dismiss him as a two-dimensional caricature. The truth is, Samson, like all the people in Scripture was a real person, with strengths and weaknesses. Just like us.

Now let’s personal. Maybe I’m picking nits (or splitting hairs, even) but it’s too easy to put our confidence in all the things ABOUT God and miss true sustaining intimacy with Him. Consider these questions:

Have I, do I, put more faith in the act of prayer than the God who hears?
Have I, do I, get more comfort from the words of Scripture than the God who speaks them?
Have I, do I, find more contentment in my position as a child of God than from the Father who put me there?

The answers are very telling. And very convicting. Now, what about Delilah’s question?

What is the source of your strength?

Self? (I can handle it.)

Accomplishments? (I can work harder)

Identity? (I belong to Jesus.)

Christ?

For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2

Building Grace

By Paula Wiseman

We roofed a house last week. Hot. Strenuous. Truly a learning experience. (First lesson – I don’t want to roof houses for a living.) The first day was the most critical, because after all the old shingles were ripped off, the wooden roof decking was exposed and the house was vulnerable. That is, until we covered it with underlayment. Ours was stamped all over with the word “GRACE.”

I thought how fitting. Not only does GRACE protect and cover the flaws and vulnerabilities of the roof, defending it from all kinds of attack – sun, rain, critters, you name it … GRACE provides the foundation for the shingles.

God’s grace does that for us as well.

We are under grace. Romans 6:14 says so. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

And we build with it. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. (1 Corinthians 3:10)

Grace provides the foundation for our salvation, for our daily walk and for our eternity. I love the way God used something as mundane as roofing material to remind me.

What ordinary things have reminded you of God’s goodness lately?