Tough Love Isn’t Easy, But It’s Necessary

10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. 12 So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. 13 Therefore we are comforted.

And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. 14 For whatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. 15 And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. 16 I rejoice, because I have complete confidence in you. – 2 Corinthians 7:10-16 ESV

Something had happened within the church at Corinth. A situation had occurred that compelled Paul to write a now-lost letter. In that letter, he had been forced to confront the issue.

I wrote to you so that in the sight of God you could see for yourselves how loyal you are to us.– 2 Corinthians 7:12 ESV

Paul says the purpose behind writing his confrontational letter was to reveal to them just how loyal they were to him and his leadership. Evidently, the individual to whom Paul refers had been critical of his ministry and authority, and “the one who suffered the wrong” had been Paul himself.

Paul always had critics; there was no shortage of those who questioned his apostleship or argued against his authority. Whoever this individual was, he had been misleading the church and undermining all the work Paul had done there. So, in this follow-up letter, Paul responds to the Corinthians after hearing back from Titus, whom he had sent to check on the situation firsthand. The report from Titus was encouraging.

“Therefore we are comforted,” Paul proudly states. Titus had informed him that the Corinthians had remained committed to his teaching and leadership. In fact, Paul states that any grief or sorrow his letter might have produced “leads us away from sin and results in salvation” (2 Corinthians 7:10 NLT). That is why he can refer to it as godly sorrow, rather than worldly sorrow. The sorrow associated with this world can only produce disappointment and, ultimately, death. Sorrow over sin that does not result in a willingness to repent of it is non-productive and unhelpful. Sorrow over sin that does not drive us to the foot of the cross for cleansing by Christ’s blood can never produce life. Worldly sorrow can only produce despair, resentment, anger, and a growing callousness. We find ourselves becoming less and less sorrowful over our sin, finally reaching the point where we claim that we have not sinned at all.

But for believers, godly sorrow produces repentance, and repentance leads to forgiveness. Paul points out that the Corinthians' sorrow had a positive outcome.

Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right. – 2 Corinthians 7:11 NLT

Paul’s earlier letter had produced a sorrow that revealed their desire to do what was right. They had been saddened at the thought that their actions had caused Paul pain, and were motivated to show him that they remained faithful to him. It alarmed them that their behavior had led Paul to question their loyalty, and they realized they had been lax in dealing with the one causing the trouble.  All Paul had done was point out their sin; the Holy Spirit had done the rest. The Spirit had used Paul’s words to convict the Corinthians, and the outcome had been their repentance and the restoration of their relationship with Paul.

Paul even comments that Titus had been encouraged by his visit to check on the Corinthians. He states, “his spirit has been refreshed by you all” (2 Corinthians 7:13b ESV). Titus returned joyful and told Paul that all his boasts about the Corinthians had been true.

Paul ends this section of his letter by telling them, “I have complete confidence in you” (2 Corinthians 7:16 ESV). It is the same way he started his letter.

I have great confidence in you; I take great pride on your behalf. I am filled with encouragement; I am overflowing with joy in the midst of all our suffering. – 2 Corinthians 7:4 NET

Paul was greatly encouraged by the news that the Corinthians had not wandered away from the faith or rejected his role as their spiritual father. He had a deep longing to see them grow spiritually, and a father’s heart that desired to protect his spiritual children from harm and to keep them from straying away from the truth. So the news that they remained faithful was enough to help Paul endure the trials and troubles he faced as he continued to share the gospel throughout Macedonia and the surrounding regions.

He could rest easy knowing that his flock in Corinth remained safe and secure. His loving confrontation had led to their sorrow and repentance, and their repentance had resulted in their salvation; they had been rescued or delivered from a potentially destructive path. Because of Paul's love and with the Holy Spirit's help, they had been able to make a course correction and return to the path God had intended for them to follow.

But what if Paul had never written that now-missing letter? What if he had chosen to ignore their sin and had refused to confront them because he didn’t want to offend them? Love is not the same as tolerance. Godly love is willing to say the hard thing. It compassionately confronts and affectionately admonishes. Allowing a brother or sister in Christ to continue in sin because you don’t want to offend them isn’t love. That would be like allowing your child to play in the street because you don’t want to spoil their fun. Your fear that your child will see you as a spoilsport is not good parenting, and it certainly isn’t love. In fact, it’s a subtle and dangerous form of child abuse. Godly love is willing to disappoint and even to produce hostility as long as it results in godly sorrow, which leads to repentance and life.

My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins. – James 5:19-20 NLT

Father, tough love is hard. Our innate desire to be liked by others prevents us from loving them the same way You love us. You refuse to tolerate our sin or allow us to make our personal pleasure our top priority. It’s not that You isolate us from temptation or innoculate us from sin’s influence; it’s that You use Your Holy Spirit to confront and convict us when we do sin. You lovingly expose our acts of rebellion and call us to repent of them. And that is what Paul did with the Corinthians. He loved them too much to tolerate their ungodly behavior. He was willing to risk losing their affection to keep them from damaging their relationship with You. Their spiritual well-being meant more to him than their friendship. But it is so easy to see our tolerance of one another’s sins as somehow loving. We convince ourselves we are just being patient and non-judgmental. But Peter said, “the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household” (1 Peter 4:17 NLT). The Proverbs states, “Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy” (Proverbs 27:6 NLT). Give me the strength to love others well by making their holiness a higher priority than their happiness. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Goal of Godliness

¹ Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. – 2 Corinthians 7:1 ESV

What promises? Paul has just quoted from several Old Testament passages containing the following promises from God:

I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. – Leviticus 26:12 ESV

My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. – Ezekiel 37:27 ESV

I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. – 2 Samuel 7:14 ESV

Now, with those promises in mind, he asks: what should our reaction be? How should we respond? Paul is reminding his readers that they, like the Old Testament ancestors, have been set apart by God. He has chosen them to be His people and graciously agreed to be their God. He has consecrated them and set them apart from the rest of the nations to be His own possession. As the children of God, they were to live separately and distinctively from the rest of the world; that does not mean that Christians are to live their lives in isolation or in some kind of segregated society, separated from the rest of the world. This is not a call to monastic isolationism, but to sanctification or holiness.

Paul expected the believers to whom he was writing to live in such a way that their behavior differentiated them from everyone else. In the garden on the night He was betrayed, Jesus prayed that His followers would be in the world but not of it.

I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. – John 17:14-17 NLT

The promise of citizenship in God’s Kingdom was to create in them a passion to live as who God had called them to be. They were His possession, and their lives were to reflect that unique privilege and totally undeserved position. They were to cleanse themselves from every defilement of body and spirit. Their former lives were like stained and soiled garments that required the removal of the impurities that accompanied their sinful flesh. Their old habits and sinful predilections had to be systematically and regularly done away with.

In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul emphasized the essential nature of this ongoing cleansing of the believer’s life.

God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor—not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. Never harm or cheat a Christian brother in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. – 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 NLT

The privilege of sonship comes with responsibilities. As children of God, we are to behave in such a way that our lives honor our heavenly Father. Ongoing sin is not to be a defining characteristic of the child of God. Paul was not insinuating that Christians cannot or will not sin. He would have wholeheartedly agreed with the apostle John's assessment.:

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. – 1 John 1:8-10 NLT

The presence of and potential for sin is not eliminated when we come to faith in Christ, but sin’s power over us is. We are set free from its control. The Holy Spirit’s presence within us provides us with the supernatural capacity to choose righteousness over unrighteousness. We can refuse to give in to the temptations that once captivated and controlled us. 

Paul’s point in all of this is that our salvation in Christ has a second step: our ongoing sanctification. Coming to faith in Christ is to be accompanied by our continuous transformation into His likeness. And it is as we cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit that we experience what Paul refers to as “bringing holiness to completion.” The goal of our salvation is our ultimate glorification by God, the day when He will complete the process of renewal and reformation of our lives by giving us a new, completely sanctified body. Sin will be completely eliminated, and our transformation into the likeness of Christ will be complete. John describes that day in the following way:

Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. – 1 John 3:2 NLT

In the meantime, as we wait for that day, we are to strive toward holiness, and to accomplish that objective, we must put off our old sinful nature and put on our new nature. That requires us to allow the Holy Spirit to expose the sin in our lives so we can confess it and enjoy the forgiveness Christ paid for. We are to flee sin and pursue righteousness. Paul repeatedly called believers to pursue a life of radical reformation and holy living.

Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. – 1 Corinthians 6:18 NLT

Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. – 2 Timothy 2:22 NLT

…so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. – 1 Timothy 6:11 NLT

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. – 2 Timothy 2:21 ESV

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. – Colossians 3:5 NLT

If you have been called by God to be His child, live like it. If you know the joy of having your debt to God paid for and your sins forgiven because of Jesus’ death on the cross, your lifestyle should reflect your gratitude and your recognition that you are a new creation with a new capacity to pursue holiness rather than sinfulness.

A child’s behavior reflects back on their parents. In the same way, our behavior as sons and daughters of God reflects back on our heavenly Father. Our attitudes and actions should honor Him, and our behavior should glorify Him. It was Jesus who said, “Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:16 NLT). Peter echoed that sentiment when he wrote: “Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world” (1 Peter 2:12 NLT).

Pursue holiness, strive after righteousness, and make godliness your goal — all for the glory of God and the good of others. 

Father, I fully believe that I have been imputed the righteousness of Christ. When You look at me, You see me through the purifying power of His blood. Yet, I know that sin remains a constant reality in my life. I wrestle with it daily. But I know it’s power over me has been broken because of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Sin grip has lost its hold on me. But I need Your constant assistance in putting my old nature to death. Thank You for providing the Holy Spirit as my sin-slaying advocate who provides me with the power to pursue righteousness and to reject ungodliness. I don’t always listen to His prompting or avail myself of His power, but I am grateful that He never leaves me or forsakes me. He continually convicts and confronts me about my sin and graciously leads me back on the the right path. It’s an ongoing battle, but I know that one day, You will bring my holiness to completion. My future glorification is guaranteed because Your Son died, was buried, raised to life, and glorified. One day, He will return and finish what He began. In the meantime, give me the strength to live in this fallen world as a citizen of Your Kingdom. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Be of Good Courage

6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. – 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 ESV

Why do you do the things you do? Most likely, it is either to please yourself or to please someone else. We are either motivated by self-satisfaction or some form of people-pleasing. We are out to make ourselves feel good or to ensure that others feel good about us. But Paul introduces another motivating factor for the believer: pleasing God.

More than anything else, we should desire to do what pleases our Heavenly Father. Paul knew that a life of holiness, living set apart and consecrated to God and His purposes, was what pleased Him. He wrote to the Thessalonians: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3a ESV). God desires His people to be holy and distinctively different in their attitudes and actions. He wants them to live according to His will and in keeping with the godly guidance of His indwelling Holy Spirit.

The apostle Peter described the life of holiness as “doing good.”

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. – 1 Peter 2:15-16 ESV

He went on to say that we must abstain from certain ungodly behaviors such as sexual immorality and lustful passions. But while we “put off” unrighteousness, we must “put on” godliness. Paul echoed this sentiment when he wrote, “For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you” (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 ESV).

To refuse to live a holy life is to disregard the very will of God for you. It is to willingly disobey and displease Him. But Paul insists that his primary objective in life was to please God. That was how he maintained his motivation even when doing the right thing produced the wrong reaction from others. He found the strength to endure injustice and abuse for doing God’s will because his real goal was to please God, not man.

Peter claimed that suffering was an expected part of living a godly life.

But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. – 1 Peter 2:20-21 NLT

Just as Christ suffered for doing what was right and godly, so shall we. We should not be surprised when pursuing a life of godliness in an ungodly world brings godless reactions from ungodly people.

But Paul was of good courage. Even though he found life on earth to be difficult at times, he was encouraged by his belief in the afterlife. He was buoyed by God’s promise of a life to come, and his conviction about the eternal state enabled him to live by faith, not by sight. Like the author of Hebrews, Paul knew that faith was “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV). If we live as if this world is all there is, we will lose sight of all that God has promised us for the future. But waiting on what we can’t see requires faith. That is what the 11th chapter of Hebrews is all about. The author chronicles the lives of Old Testament saints such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah and declares that their lives demonstrated faith in the promises of God. But he goes on to reveal, “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth” (Hebrews 11:13 NLT). 

Each of them had received a promise from God, yet they had to operate sight unseen, having no firm assurance that what God had promised would be fulfilled. And in most cases, they never lived to see the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise. Noah lived through the flood that destroyed the world, but did not live to see the world repopulated and restored by God. Abraham had moved to Canaan because God had promised it to him as his inheritance, but he died a landless nomad. Yet, he was “confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God” (Hebrews 11:10 NLT).

Paul was convinced that faith was essential if anyone wanted to live a life that pleased God, because “it is impossible to please God without faith” (Hebrews 11:6a NLT). 

Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 NLT.

Paul found courage in the fact that God had promised him eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ. He was encouraged by Jesus’ promise to return one day. Paul found hope in the promise of a redeemed and resurrected body, and he longed for the day when he would vacate his earthly “tent” and move into his new body, a “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (1 Corinthians 5:1b ESV).

But in the meantime, while he waited for the return of Christ or his own death, he made it his aim to live his life to please God. That meant he had to stop trying to please others or himself. He knew that there would come a day when his actions would be judged by God.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. – 1 Corinthians 5:10 ESV

On that day, every believer’s conduct in this life will be judged – every thought, action, attitude, and word will be exposed. Everything we have done since the day we accepted Christ as Savior will be assessed and evaluated as to whether it was good or evil. This has nothing to do with judgment for sin, because all our sins have been paid for by Christ. It is about whether what we have done in this life since coming to faith in Christ was godly or ungodly, righteous or unrighteous, and pleasing or displeasing to God. Did we live our lives in keeping with His will? Since His will for us is our holiness, did we allow that to be our motivating factor? Was pleasing Him our aim?

Our actions and attitudes will reveal whether our lives were pleasing to God. How we lived our lives will expose whether we were trying to please Him or whether we were living to please ourselves or others. Paul’s aim was to please God – even in this life. He made it his life-long objective to do the will of God, to live holy and set apart, and to do good even when it produced less-than-desirable outcomes. He lived by faith, not by sight, trusting in the reality of what he hoped for, yet couldn’t see: heaven and his resurrected body.

Paul actually looked forward to the judgment seat of Christ, because he was confident that his aim in life had been to please God. He was attempting to do the will of God, not men. He was striving to please God, not himself. And while that kind of lifestyle might result in troubles and tribulations in this life, it promised rewards in the life to come. Paul looked forward to hearing the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21 ESV).

Father, I want to live my life to please You, but I don’t want to do it because I think I have to earn Your favor. You have already proven Your love for me by sending Your Son to die in my place on the cross. So my attempts to please You should not be to score brownie points with You. They should be expressions of gratitude for all that You have done for me and all that You have in store for me in the future. When I live with my eyes fixed on the hope of the resurrection and the promise of eternal life, I am pleasing to You. That required faith because I can’t see the future. So, whenever I display “assurance of things hoped for” and “the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV), I am living by faith and that is pleasing to You. Help me to remember to live with the end in mind, to place my faith in Your unwavering promises for my future. I have nothing to fear and everything to look forward to. Thank You! Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Light of the Gospel

1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. – 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 ESV

Paul viewed himself as a minister of the new covenant who had been commissioned by Jesus Christ to carry the message of the gospel, the good news that a right standing with God was available through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This new-and-improved message was not based on the old covenant of works or human effort. Men no longer had to vainly attempt to keep the Mosaic Law, trusting that their efforts would somehow measure up to God’s righteous standard and earn them favor in His sight. The author of Hebrews states that the old way has been replaced with a new and better way. 

But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. – Hebrews 8:6-7 NLT

Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God. – Hebrews 7:22 NLT

Paul didn’t lose heart when sharing this new and better covenant with the world, because he knew it was effective. It was the key to victory over sin and the means by which men could be made right with God, once and for all. So, in spite of opposition, rejection, persecution, and at times a seeming lack of success, he kept sharing. He felt no need to use deceitful tactics or underhanded means to trick people into believing the gospel. It could stand on its own because it was the truth of God and had proven capable of transforming the lives of countless individuals without Paul having to resort to human wisdom or his own personal powers of persuasion. In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul reminded them that his initial ministry to them wasn’t based on his rhetorical skills or human intellect.

I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan…Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 2:1, 4-5 NLT

There were likely those who heard the gospel as preached by Paul, Silas, Titus, and others, who remained unchanged. The problem was not with the gospel or the minister's presentation skills, but with the recipients' spiritual condition. Their unbelief was not just stubbornness or obstinacy; it was spiritual warfare.

Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. – 2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT

It is important to keep Paul’s use of the word “veiled” linked with his prior use of it in chapter 3. There, he had been talking about the old covenant as revealed under Moses, the covenant of law. And there were still Jews who were trying to gain favor with God through the keeping of the law.

But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. – 2 Corinthians 3:14-15 ESV

When the Jews in Paul’s day read the books of the law, they were blinded by their own belief and expectation that they could somehow be made right with God through law-keeping. So they refused to accept Jesus as the mediator of a new and better covenant. In the case of non-Jews, Paul insists that they were blinded by Satan, the god of this world. He kept them deluded, distracted, and deceived. 

Paul insists that their eyes must be opened to the truth in order to receive it. Their spiritual blindness must first be healed so that they can see the glory of God in the face of Christ. Paul knew exactly what he was talking about, because it had happened to him in his own conversion. The book of Luke recounts that fateful day when Paul came face-to-face with the resurrected Christ. As he made his way to Damascus, where he intended to persecute and arrest Christians, Paul (then known as Saul) was suddenly blinded by a light and heard the voice of Jesus Himself.

Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. – Acts 9:8-9 ESV

Jesus commanded Saul to go to the city of Damascus and await further instructions. God then sent a disciple named Ananias to minister to Saul.

So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength. – Acts 9:17-19 NLT

Saul had been blinded by the light, but when the Holy Spirit came upon him, his physical sight was immediately restored along with his spiritual sight. He saw, for the first time in his life, the truth of the very gospel he had been trying to destroy. No longer blinded by the enemy, Paul placed his faith in the resurrected Jesus and was converted.

In chapter three of 2 Corinthians, Paul insists that it is the Holy Spirit who removes the veil from the spiritual eyes of the lost so that they might see and reflect the glory of the Lord.

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. – 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 NLT

Like the blind man who was healed by Jesus, those who have their spiritual eyes opened by the Spirit of God can see and accept the truth of the gospel, and are able to say, “I was blind, and now I can see!” (John 9:25 NLT). That bright, holy light that blinded Paul on the road to Damascus is the same light of the glory of Christ that shines into the life of every unsaved person, eliminating the darkness of sin and illuminating them with the life-transforming hope of the gospel.

For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. – 2 Corinthians 4:6 NLT

It is the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit that makes it possible for spiritually dead and sightless individuals to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. He opens their eyes so they can see the truth of the gospel message of hope, healing, and restoration.

Salvation is the work of God performed by the Spirit in the lives of the lost. It is not due to the persuasive power of men like Paul. Only God can restore sight to the blind. Only God can raise the spiritually dead back to life. Only God can remove the veil placed on the minds of unbelievers by Satan, allowing them to see “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV).

Father, more than six decades ago, You graciously opened my eyes and allowed me to see the glory of the gospel. Even as a young child, I was able to grasp its simplicity and accept the free gift of salvation made possible through the death, burial, and resurrection of Your sinless sin. There was much I did not understand, but my lack of knowledge did not prevent me from saying yes to Your gracious offer salvation through faith alone in Christ alone. It wasn’t the words of men or my own cognitive abilities that save me; it was enlightening power of the Spirit. And I will be forever grateful that You made the gospel accessible to a young boy living in Long Island, New York in 1962. And in all the years that have passed since that fateful day. the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ has continued to illuminate and transform my life in ways I never could have imagined. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

With Eyes Wide Open

12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 ESV

In verses 7-11, Paul addressed the greater glory of the new covenant, as revealed by the indwelling Holy Spirit and His sanctifying ministry in the lives of believers. Rather than having to live up to a God-ordained code of conduct in our own strength, we have been given a new nature, made possible by the Holy Spirit’s presence within us. In his letter to the Romans, Paul explained just what man’s relationship with the old covenant had become due to the work of the Holy Spirit.

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. – Romans 8:3-4 ESV

And Paul tells the Corinthians, “since we have such a hope, we are very bold” (2 Corinthians 3:12 ESV). Unlike the glory that shone from Moses’ face after having received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai, our glory is internal and eternal. The Holy Spirit is a permanent resident in the life of the believer, and His glory shines through us. The book of Exodus reveals that Moses was unaware that his face exuded the glory of God. He was oblivious to his outward transformation until others pointed it out.

When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the LORD. So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses’ face, they were afraid to come near him. – Exodus 34:29-30 ESV

When Moses realized that his radiant face terrified the people, he covered it with a veil. Moses records that “whenever he went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with the Lord, he would remove the veil until he came out again. Then he would give the people whatever instructions the Lord had given him, and the people of Israel would see the radiant glow of his face” (Exodus 34:33-35 NLT).

It seems that Moses initially veiled his face to diminish the people’s fear. But in time, his motive appears to have changed. His continued wearing of the veil went from protection to prevention. He was less worried about their fear than he was about their unfaithfulness. So, he prevented the people from seeing God’s glory because he deemed them unworthy. 

While the Old Testament does not record this fact, Paul states that the day came when the glory on Moses’ face began to fade; yet he continued to wear the veil. This left the people with the impression that nothing had changed. Yet Paul insists, “We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away” (2 Corinthians 3:13 NLT). Paul seems to infer that the glory on Moses’ face was never intended to be permanent. As time passed, the people grew used to their leader’s glowing face. They even noticed that it had begun to fade. 

Their reaction to Moses’ fading countenance reflected their attitude toward the Mosaic Law. In the beginning, they treated it with awe and reverence, but over time, their fear subsided, and their commitment to God’s Law waned. 

Neither Moses nor Paul explains why the glory faded. Perhaps it reflects Moses’ own doubts about the Law’s efficacy. He was not seeing in the people the kind of life change he expected. Their fear of his glowing face did not translate into obedience to God’s commands. And while Moses continued to meet with Yahweh,  it appears that those encounters had a diminishing impact on Moses. Paul writes that the glory on Moses’ face was “destined to fade away” (2 Corinthians 3:13 NLT). It was never meant to be permanent and, as Paul insists, neither was the law.

The old covenant, like the glow on Moses' face, was always meant to be temporary. It would not last and would one day be replaced by the new covenant and the permanent, indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

Just as Moses covered his face with a veil, Paul says the minds of the Israelites were veiled so that their hearts were hardened and they were unable to see the truth. They believed the law was the key to their righteousness, even though they were incapable of obeying it. And it was their stubborn belief that the old covenant (the law) was the God-ordained means of being made right with Him that kept them from accepting Christ when He came. They refused to believe that He was the answer to their sin problem.

But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. – 2 Corinthians 3:14-15 ESV)

Their stubborn adherence to self-righteousness prevents them from accepting the righteousness made possible through the death of Jesus Christ. And yet, Paul repeatedly insists that obedience to the law was never intended as the path to justification before God.

Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law. – Galatians 2:16 NLT

So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” – Galatians 3:11 NLT

So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law. – Romans 3:28 NLT

Paul tells the Corinthians, “whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:16 NLT), and it is the Spirit of God that makes this possible. He opens the eyes of the spiritually blind, those with veiled hearts, and allows them to see the life-changing truth of the gospel. As a result, they “can see and reflect the glory of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18a NLT). Like Moses, they can see the glory of God face-to-face and, not only that, they can reflect that glory to all those around them — a glory that will never fade.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we have access to God just as Moses did. We can enter into His presence at any time, day or night. Not only that, but He has also placed His presence within us in the form of the Holy Spirit. As a result, we are being transformed by this daily encounter with the divine, from one degree of glory to another, slowly, methodically, and persistently,

God is molding us into the likeness of His Son, and it is all because of His Spirit’s presence within us. There is no longer any law to live up to, but only the Spirit to whom we must submit. In his letter to the believers in Galatia, Paul explained the need for submission to the Spirit’s leading.

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. – Galatians 5:16-18 NLT

The Holy Spirit is the one who gives us the capacity to say no to sin and yes to righteousness. He is the glory of God who resides in us and shines through us. He is constantly transforming us, and because He never leaves us, our ongoing transformation is guaranteed to never fade or falter.

Father, thank You for the gift of the Spirit. Without His indwelling presence, I would be just like Moses and the people of Israel, stuck trying to live up to Your holy standards in my own strength and doomed to failure. Rule-keeping is always onerous, but for some reason it feels like the right thing to do. I tend to like a list of do's and don’t's to keep because it allows me to keep score on my progress. But Paul makes it clear that I am incapable of living up to Your holy standards on my own. So, You graciously gave me the Holy Spirit as my advocate and helper. My ability to reflect Your glory isn’t up to me; it’s the work of Your Spirit within me. And now that my eyes are unveiled, I can see the law for what it is; a tool that reveals my sinfulness and reminds me of my need for the Spirit’s life-transforming power. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Message Worth Dying For

29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? 30 Why are we in danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! 32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” 34 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. – 1 Corinthians 15:29-34 ESV

In verse 29, Paul takes a rather interesting but confusing diversion from his primary topic. He is simply trying to emphasize his point regarding the reality of the resurrection. To do so, he brings up another practice that was evidently common in Corinth. It involved proxy baptism or baptism for the dead. It’s likely that this practice was common in the pagan community, and some recent converts to Christianity retained their belief in it. Over the years, this verse has received as many as 40 different interpretations. 

“They included that Christians in Corinth were being “baptized into the ranks of the dead” by martyrdom (thinking of “baptism” in the light of Mark 10:38; Luke 12:50), that this was ordinary Christian baptism that took place “over” the grave of the dead, or that new Christians were baptized to “replace” Christians who had died. Though interesting, these proposals lack credibility. The most plausible interpretation is that some in Corinth were getting baptized vicariously for the dead. Several factors, however, put this into perspective. Although Paul does not explicitly condemn the practice, neither does he endorse it.” – Christianity Today, August 10 1998, Vol. 42, No. 9

The most likely explanation is that Paul was referring to a practice common among the mystery religions in and around Corinth. These pagan religions encouraged their followers to be baptized on behalf of and in place of their deceased relatives in order to assure their “salvation.” It is the same belief held today by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). But Paul is not endorsing this practice. Notice that he says, “What do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf (1 Corinthians 15:29 ESV)?”

He is pointing out what others, outside the church, were doing. This was a practice familiar to the Corinthian believers, and Paul uses it to demonstrate that even pagan mystery religions held to the resurrection of the dead. Otherwise, their practice of proxy baptism would have been pointless. Paul was using this bizarre pagan practice to assert his belief in the resurrection of the dead. He is not condoning proxy baptism, but simply illustrating that even false religions embrace the concept of the resurrection. For Paul, the real danger was that a Christ follower would reject or refuse to believe in it, because that would be to reject the gospel.

Paul insists that his preaching of the resurrection of Christ had caused him great difficulty. On his missionary journeys, he had repeatedly put his life on the line to preach the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. In almost every city he entered, Paul would make a beeline for the synagogue, where he would deliver his message about Jesus as the Messiah.   

As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” – Acts 17:2-3 NLT

When he had first come to Corinth, he preached the same message.

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. – 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

In Thessalonica, Paul and Silas had to run for their lives because the Jews had reacted to his “resurrection” message by stirring up a riot among the citizens. In Athens, “when they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt” (Acts 17:32 NLT). In Corinth, when he “testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah…they opposed and insulted him” (Acts 18:5-6 NLT). 

When Paul met with the elders of the church in Ephesus, he reminded them, “I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:19-21 NLT). That message was built upon the reality of the resurrection. Jesus had died and been raised back to life, as proof that He was the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah.

Paul had suffered greatly as a result of his belief in the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus was a major cause of persecution of the disciples in the early church. When Paul asked, “Why are we in danger every hour?” (1 Corinthians 15:30 ESV), it was a rhetorical question. The answer was clear: the message of the resurrection was the cause of their suffering.

In Acts chapter 4, Luke records that Peter and John, after sharing the gospel in Solomon’s Portico in Jerusalem, were arrested.

And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. – Acts 4:1-4 ESV

They were arrested for proclaiming that Jesus had risen from the dead. It was this message that riled the Jewish religious leaders. The next day, as they stood before the high priest and his religious cohorts, Peter and John were asked to explain by what power or authority they had healed a crippled man the day before. And Peter responded, “Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well” (Acts 4:10 ESV).

It is the resurrection of Jesus that gave the gospel its power and made possible the coming of the Holy Spirit. To reject the resurrection simply because you can’t explain it would be absurd. That is why Paul asks the Corinthians, “And what value was there in fighting wild beasts—those people of Ephesus—if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, ‘Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!’” (1 Corinthians 15:32 NLT).

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Jesus was not raised from the dead, and we have no hope of future resurrection. This life is all there is. If that’s the case, let us enjoy our lives while we can and stop worrying about eternity. But Paul rejects that logic. In fact, he tells the Corinthians, “Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:34 ESV). It was as if their senses had been numbed by too much alcohol, affecting their ability to think clearly. So, Paul demanded that they “sober up” and start listening to God rather than their pagan friends and neighbors. The resurrection of Jesus was just as much a part of God's plan as His death. When the women had come to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus, they were met by two angels, who said to them:

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. – Luke 24:5-9 ESV

We need to wake up and recognize the reality of the resurrection. It is the resurrection of Jesus that gives us hope and assures us of our future resurrection. It is because Jesus rose again that we can believe He will one day come again. In the meantime, as we wait for that day, Paul would have us remember, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you” (Romans 8:11 NLT).

Father, the very fact that Paul had to spend so much time defending the reality of Christ's resurrection proves that it was under attack. And the same thing is true today. The world can’t fathom the concept of a man dying for the sins of humanity and then rising back to life. It sounds far-fetched and more like a fairy tale. But for those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus, we see the resurrection as not only a reality, but a necessity. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then our hope in eternal life is vain. Without the resurrection, there is no salvation, sanctification, or future glorification. But thank You, Father, that Your redemptive plan not included Your Son’s sacrificial death but also His supernatural resurrection. He is alive and seated by Your side in heaven and, one day, He is coming back. His mission is not yet complete, but He will finish what He began because You are a promise-keeping God. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Sole Simple Solution

1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. – 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 ESV

After spending three chapters on the issues surrounding the use of spiritual gifts, Paul now shifts his attention to what he says is “of first importance.” The Corinthians had lost sight of the overwhelming significance of their salvation made possible by the death, resurrection, and appearance of Christ. In other words, they had allowed the gospel and its life-changing message to take a back seat to what they believed was the more significant role of the spiritual gifts. So Paul reminds them of the gospel he preached to them.

It is the gospel message they received by grace, and that allows them to stand justified before God as His adopted children. It is the same gospel that makes possible their daily sanctification – their transformation into Christ-likeness. The spiritual gifts do not accomplish any of this for them. It is the gospel and the gospel alone that redeems, justifies, sanctifies, and guarantees our future glorification. The gospel encompasses the entirety of our salvation experience. And just to make sure they understand what he means by the gospel, Paul provides them with a summary statement that contains the key ingredients to its power and significance.

“Jesus died” – the death of Jesus is central to the gospel message. It was necessary for Jesus to die so that the penalty for our sins could be paid and God could be satisfied. Otherwise, we would still be guilty and under condemnation for our sins against God. But Jesus did die in our place. He took our sins upon Himself and suffered the death we deserved.

“according to the Scripture” – Jesus’ death was not happenstance or just a run of bad luck. It wasn’t the result of the Jewish leadership and their behind-the-scenes plotting against Jesus. It wasn’t even the result of Pilate’s orders or the Roman government’s power. It was preordained by God. The Old Testament prophets spoke of His death hundreds of years before it took place. 

Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed. – Isaiah 53:4-5 ESV

Jesus was sent by God to die. The penalty for mankind’s sins against God was death, and God, because He is just, required that the penalty be paid in full. But in a divine display of mercy, He provided His own Son as a substitute to satisfy the just and holy requirement for a sinless sacrifice. The author of the Book of Hebrews explains the need for this blood sacrifice. 

…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. – Hebrews 9:22 ESV

“he was buried” – Jesus’ death was real; He did not swoon or pass out. He was not placed in the grave barely alive, only to later revive and escape. The Romans oversaw His burial and were convinced of His death. His burial paved the way for His resurrection. The rolling of the stone across the opening to His tomb and then sealed by the Roman guards convinced the disciples that their Messiah was dead and their hopes for a new kingdom were gone. They went into mourning and hiding. And the words of the two disciples whom Jesus encountered along the road after His resurrection reveal just how dejected they were.

“He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.”– Luke 24:19-21 NLT

“he was raised on the third day” – Jesus was not a martyr; He was the Messiah, the anointed one of God, who died and was raised back to life through the power of the Holy Spirit. He was raised to new life and walked out of the tomb in His resurrected body, proving that He had accomplished what He had come to do and had satisfied the just demands of His Father in heaven. Just a few verses later in this chapter, Paul writes, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17 ESV). He follows that up with the good news that “In fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20 ESV). It is His resurrection that assures us of our future hope of eternal life and the glorification of these earthly bodies. The apostle John assures us, “We are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2 ESV).

“in accordance with the Scriptures” – Once again, the Scriptures predicted Christ’s death, but also His resurrection. The prophet Isaiah wrote:

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
    he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
    Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see  and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
    make many to be accounted righteous,
    and he shall bear their iniquities. – Isaiah 53:10-11 ESV

He was crushed, but He was also resurrected and restored. His days were prolonged. As a result of His death and resurrection, many have been accounted as righteous.

“and that he appeared” – During the days after His resurrection, Jesus was seen by more than 500 people. His appearances to His disciples renewed their hopes and revived their commitment to follow Him. He gave them their marching orders, commissioning them to carry on His work and to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. He appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, calling him from a life marked by persecution of the church to a new mission of taking the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul’s work and words were given to Him by the resurrected Christ. And he proved faithful to do what Christ had called him to do.

Jesus died, was buried, resurrected, and appeared. That is the heart of the gospel message. And when anyone accepts the reality of those facts, placing his or her faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ, they experience salvation. They are born again and given new life in Christ. Their sins are forgiven, they are given a new nature, and they are made children of God and heirs to the Kingdom of God. They stand before Him as righteous, not because of anything they have done or accomplished, but because of the blood of Christ.

Father, thank You for the gospel, the good news of new life found in the sacrifice of Your Son. But I thank You as well for the simplicity of the gospel’s message. You took a very difficult and impossible to solve problem and provided a simple solution. You sent Your Son as the substititionary atonement for the debt we owed. He died so would not have to. He paid the penalty for our sins and satisfied Your righteous judgment against us. And I am eternally grateful for the glorious gift of Your grace, mercy, and love. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Protection For Our Affections

15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? – 1 Corinthians 10:15-22 ESV

As far as Paul is concerned, this is all about our affections; it is about what we love and choose to prioritize in our lives. As Paul addresses the issue of idols and meat sacrificed to them, he is not implying that the idols actually represent other gods. In fact, he says that when the pagans offer sacrifices to their idols, they are actually sacrificing to demons. The fact that the gods they worshiped were non-existent did not make their activity any less sinful. They were giving their affections to something they believed existed. They were associating themselves with a god who represented an alternative to the one true God, and they were joining with those who shared their beliefs, participating in worship and the offering of sacrifices together. When they held their feasts, they were doing so with those who were of like mind.

Paul uses the Lord’s Table to illustrate what he means. Paul asks the Corinthians to consider that when they take the cup and the bread together as part of communion, “is it not a participation in the body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:16 ESV)? The Lord’s Table was a common celebration and commemoration of their shared belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. When the Israelites made sacrifices to God at the altar in the Tabernacle or Temple, did they not do so with a sense of shared belief in God? And Paul insists that the pagans are doing the very same thing. By participating together in their sacrificial services, feasts, and celebrations, they express their common bond as worshipers of their particular god, whether that god is false or real. And when the Corinthians joined them in their celebrations, they were aligning themselves with the pagan worshipers and their false gods, or, as Paul indicates, demons.

“Paul’s line of reasoning proceeds as follows: Christians who eat the bread at the Lord’s Supper express their solidarity with one another and with Christ. Likewise, Jews who ate the meat of animals offered in the sacrifices of Judaism expressed their solidarity with one another and with the God of Israel. Therefore Christians who eat the meat offered to pagan gods as part of pagan worship express their solidarity with pagans and with the pagan deities.” – Thomas L. Constable, Notes of 1 Corinthians, 2007 Edition

There is a spiritual dimension to virtually everything we do. We are spiritual beings, and there is a spiritual battle taking place all around us, hidden from our view, but as real as the air we breathe. Paul warned the Ephesians about this spiritual war.

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:12 NLT

There is very little in life that is not impacted and influenced by this unseen spiritual conflict. While we may view a particular action or activity as amoral, being neither right nor wrong and not prohibited by God, we need to walk carefully. It is essential that we examine our motives and check our affections. We need to ask ourselves why this activity is so important to us. Would we be unwilling to give it up if the circumstances required it? There were those in the Corinthian church who were eating meat that had been sacrificed to false gods. They were even participating alongside pagan worshipers at the feasts associated with those false gods. But their rationale was that these gods did not exist, so their activity was perfectly acceptable. However, Paul warns them that if their participation caused a brother or sister in Christ to stumble, they were wrong. Not only that, but by joining in the feasts alongside idol worshipers, they were expressing unity with them. To the rest of the world, both pagan and Christian, they appeared to be one with those who worship false gods. And as if that was not bad enough, Paul indicates that they are really associating themselves with demons.

There are many things we are free to do as followers of Jesus Christ. But that does not mean that all of them are things we should do. We are free to read books other than the Bible, but it is imperative that we give thought to the content of the books that we read. As believers, we are free to watch TV and movies, but not every show is one we should expose ourselves to. We need to examine the content and consider the message it sends. There are very few movies that do not have an agenda. The world we live in is heavily influenced by the unseen spiritual battle taking place behind the scenes. Satan will use any resource available to him to influence our affections and diminish our dedication to God.

It always goes back to our affections. When God commanded the Israelites to have no other gods but Him, He was not suggesting that these gods actually existed. He simply knew that He had wired mankind for worship. God’s intention was that humanity share its affections with Him, but men and women are fully capable of giving those affections away.

When the Pharisees asked Jesus to name which was the greatest commandment given by God, He responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37 ESV). The most daunting challenge we face as Christians involves our affections. Do we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind? The answer is no, because we can’t. We are incapable of doing so. But that does not mean we should not try to make it a high priority in our lives.

The enemy wants to get our minds off of God and to distract our affections from God. He wants our souls to be satisfied by something other than God. There is a spiritual battle taking place all around us, and Satan subtly uses the seemingly innocuous and inconspicuous things of this world to deceive us. Our failure to believe in the demonic realm does not make it non-existent. Just because we don’t see the spiritual warfare taking place all around us doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Because the battle is invisible, we need to arm ourselves with the spiritual weapons God provides. We need spiritual discernment and divine assistance to fight an invisible yet real battle. That is why Paul told the Ephesians, “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm” (Ephesians 6:13 NLT).

God offers us protection for our affections and a way of escape from every temptation.

God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. – 1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT

Father, we live under constant siege from the enemy, but sometimes act as if the battle is not even real. Through compromise and complacency, we make alliances with the enemy and allow his subtle lies to dilute our faith and diminish our dependence on You. If we refuse to spend time in Your Word, we will be easy prey for the enemy’s deception. We will find ourselves defenseless and powerless to resist his temptations. He loves to deceive us and cause us to compromise our convictions. He doesn’t waste his time trying to get us to walk away from the faith; he simply tries to make our faith a non-factor in the way we walk. But You have called us to live set-apart lives that reflect Your character and demonstrate the Spirit’s power within us. Don’t allow us to compromise or grow complacent. Keep us alert to the enemy’s lies and more determined than ever to live according to the truth of Your Word. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Change for the Better

17 Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. 18 Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. 19 For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. 20 Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. 21 Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) 22 For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. 23 You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. 24 So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. – 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 ESV

Three times in this passage, Paul tells the Corinthians to remain as they were when God called them. He is really addressing the issue of contentment, of remaining in the circumstances of life in which they found themselves when they first came to faith in Christ. The change that God is looking for in the lives of His followers is an internal one. Divorcing your spouse because they are an unbeliever will not make you more spiritual. For a believing slave to somehow get out from under his master’s rule would not make him any freer than he already is in Christ.

God is interested in heart change. But as human beings, we tend to focus on external changes that have little or no impact on our spiritual development. We think a change of circumstances is the answer to all of life’s problems. If our marriage is less-than-satisfactory, divorce seems to be the best option for us. If our job is not as fulfilling as we would like, a change in employment must be the answer. This mindset was especially true for the believers in Corinth who seemed to believe that their new faith in Christ was a license to start all over.

Social status was an important concept within the Greek community. It would have been easy for a recently saved slave to immediately assume that his salvation gave him the right to experience freedom just like all the other believers in the church. But Paul wanted them to understand that their “calling” had nothing to do with their career choice, social standing, marital status, financial outlook, or any other circumstantial condition. God’s call on their life was to live in obedience and submission to Him, regardless of what their external circumstances might be. If God called them while they were a slave, He had a perfectly good reason for doing so. His Son did not die to set them free from physical slavery, but from bondage to sin. If they were married when they came to Christ, they should remain so, regardless of whether their spouse shared their faith in Christ.

Jesus did not sacrifice His life so that they might experience freedom from the demands of marriage, but so that they might love their spouse sacrificially and selflessly. Their calling was to Christ-likeness, a radical change in their heart that would have a dramatic impact on their behavior. Paul told the church in Ephesus, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV).

He prayed for the Colossian believers that they would “be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9-10 ESV).

The Corinthians were convinced that a change in circumstances was the key to contentment. But Paul wanted them to understand that God called them where they were so they He might change who they are. His Son died so that they might be new creations and experience a new nature, not get a new lease on life through a change in circumstances. After coming to faith in Christ, the Philippian jailer most likely remained a jailer. After accepting Christ as his Savior, the Ethiopian eunech was no less a eunech than he was before. Zacchaeus didn’t give up being a tax collector after having met Jesus; he simply became an honest one.

The most important line in this passage is the first one:

Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. – 1 Corinthians 7:17 ESV

This has nothing to do with our career path. Paul isn’t talking about job titles or employment opportunities. God has a unique calling on each of our lives as believers. He has redeemed us for a reason, and rather than worrying so much about what we do for a living, we would do well to think about what God has for us to do on behalf of His Kingdom. Our jobs are simply opportunities to live out our faith in daily life. Our marriages are to be less about self-satisfaction than they are about self-sacrifice and the contexts within which we can model our Christ-likeness in tangible ways.

A new job may make you happy, but it won’t make you a better Christian. The idea of a new marriage partner may sound appealing, but God would rather make you a godly husband or wife and teach you to selflessly and sacrificially love your current spouse just as He has loved you.

Father, we are always looking for external changes as the key to our contentment or happiness. But Jesus didn’t die so we could have our best life now. He didn’t sacrifice Himself so that we could escape an unhappy marriage or walk away from an unfulfilling career. His death on our behalf was intended to pay the debt for our sins and restore us to a right relationship with You. The circumstances of life are to be the backdrop upon which the transformed nature of our lives are to be displayed for all the world to see. May we learn to embrace the outlook that Paul had. “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11-13 NLT). Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Christian Life Is Far From Easy

12 To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13 If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15 But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. 16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? – 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 ESV

This is an extremely difficult passage, and there are as many opinions concerning it as there are commentaries that have been written about it. First of all, when Paul says, “To the rest I say, (I, not the Lord)” (1 Corinthians 7:7 ESV), he is not implying that what he has to say concerning these matters is simply his personal opinion and not divinely inspired. He is merely indicating that this is not something he heard taught by Jesus Himself. But as an expert in the Old Testament and an apostle of Jesus Christ, and because what he was writing was divinely inspired by the Spirit of God, his words must be considered as coming from God.

His emphasis in these verses shifts from addressing married couples who are comprised of believing husbands and wives. Now he is addressing those who, after coming to faith in Christ, find themselves married to an unbeliever. This would have been a common scenario in the church in Corinth. There were likely a good many who came to faith apart from their spouse and who found themselves in a potentially difficult and compromising circumstance. If there were children involved, the situation was even more complicated.

There were obviously those who counseled that it would be better for a Christian to divorce their unbelieving spouse than to remain married. Paul even gave what appears to be similar counsel in his second letter to the Corinthians.

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? – 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 ESV

While this passage has been used to defend a ban on Christians marrying non-Christians, that was likely not Paul’s original point. He was addressing the need to avoid the kinds of relationships with unbelievers that might lead to spiritual defilement. This obviously applies to marriage, but is not restricted to it. Paul was not counseling or sanctioning that Christians separate themselves completely from the world because that would be impossible. In fact, earlier in this letter, he referred to another piece of correspondence to the Corinthians in which he had cautioned them, “not to associate with sexually immoral people” (1 Corinthians 5:9 ESV). But he clarified what he meant.

But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people. – 1 Corinthians 5:10-11 NLT

So Paul was not proposing some form of Christian isolationism.

So, what is a Christian to do who finds themselves married to an unbeliever? Paul’s main point in this passage is divorce, and Paul would say that it is wrong for a believer to divorce their unbelieving spouse. Rather, they should view their salvation in a positive light and attempt to be a godly influence on their unbelieving spouse. Their very presence within the home sanctified it or set it apart.

It is difficult to know exactly what Paul meant when he wrote, “the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband” (1 Corinthians 7:14 ESV). It would be inconsistent with the rest of Scripture to say that Paul was implying the believing spouse somehow“saves” the marriage or converts the unbelieving partner. The lost spouse is made “holy” only in the sense that he or she finds themselves benefiting from the presence of a believer living within the same walls.

Living in close proximity to a redeemed, Spirit-filled spouse would have beneficial consequences. This is true of the children in the home as well. Paul is not suggesting that the unbelieving children of a household with a single believing parent are guaranteed salvation. This conclusion is illogical and unbiblical. Even children living in a household with two believing parents are not automatically made members of the household of God. But in a sense, they have been set apart by God by virtue of His having called one of their parents to a saving relationship with His Son.

The real point of these verses deals with what a believer is to do if their unbelieving spouse chooses to divorce them. The truth is that the very presence of a Christian in the home could drive the unbelieving partner away. As Peter indicates in his letter, there is a chance that a godly wife could have a positive impact on her unbelieving husband.

In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives. – 1 Peter 3:1-2 NLT)

But there is also the strong possibility that her presence could produce conviction within the unbelieving spouse that results in conflict. There is no guarantee that a lost spouse will be led to the Lord by the believing partner. That is what Paul means when he asks, “For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?” (1 Corinthians 7:16 ESV). So

Paul’s counsel is that if a Christian finds themselves served divorce papers by an unbelieving spouse, they should not fight it. But at the same time, they should not be the instigators of divorce. Paul simply says, “If the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved” (1 Corinthians 7:15a ESV). His bottom-line goal was peace, not conflict. That is why he states, “God has called you to peace” (1 Corinthians 7:15b ESV).

God receives no glory from a marriage in which two unequally yoked individuals fight and feud with one another. If the marriage is relatively conflict-free and the unbelieving partner is willing to remain married, the Christian should in no way seek divorce. A few verses later, Paul writes, “Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called” (1 Corinthians 7:20 ESV).

These are difficult words, but they deal with the reality of the gospel entering into a difficult and desperately depraved world. When light shines in the darkness, conflict is inevitable. When believers come into contact with the lost, there will be tension, testing, and the potential for trouble. Jesus warned us that the world would hate us.

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” – John 15:18-18 NLT

Our redemption as believers places a target on our backs and makes us a prime candidate for persecution by the enemy. The life of a believer is not an easy one. Our call to live set-apart lives in a world that is set against us will not be a cake walk. We will be misunderstood, and, at times, we will be mistreated. But we will never be abandoned by our God.

Father, Jesus never said the Christian life would be easy. In fact, He wanted that it would be full of trials and difficulties. Paul was trying to encourage new believers who found themselves dealing with real-world problems that were testing their faith and causing them to lose hope. Having accepted Christ as their Savior, they were surrounded by lost friends and family members who were making their faith journey difficult. Many believers face the same challenges today. Yet, You have provided us with the body of Christ, the Word of God, and the promise of the indwelling presence and power of Your Spirit. Yet, our very presence in this world puts a target on our back. Salvation makes us a prime candidate for spiritual warfare because the enemy sees us as a threat to his earthly kingdom. Show us how to live distintinctively different lives in whatever context You saved us. Don’t allow us to run from difficulty, but, instead, give us the boldness to live out our faith in whatever context we find ourselves. Help us be salt and light in our marriages, families, work places, communitites, and churches. For Your glory and the good of all those who do not yet know Christ as their Savior. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Standing Out Rather Than Blending In

7 I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.

8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. 9 But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

10 To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband 11 (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife. – 1 Corinthians 7:7-11 ESV

Paul understood well the necessity of marriage. He believed the institution of marriage had been ordained by God and, when treated properly, could provide believers with the full benefits of their sexuality as intended by God. As far as Paul was concerned, marriage was the only appropriate context for sexual expression between a man and a woman, because that was how God had planned it. However, Paul had a personal appreciation for singleness. Evidently, Paul was unmarried at the time this letter was written. It is uncertain whether Paul had ever been married. But when he writes, “I wish that all were as I myself am,” he is stating a personal opinion, not the will of God. He is not declaring singleness as preferable to marriage. He simply understood that marriage demands a great deal of commitment and sacrifice, requiring each person in the relationship to put the needs of the other ahead of their own.

For Paul, being single allowed him the freedom to dedicate all his time and attention to the spread of the gospel and to his ministry to the growing number of churches around the world. He truly believed that his state of singleness was a gift from God, and it was God who had given him the self-control to live as an unmarried man and to not, as he put it, “burn with passion.” He had a supernatural, God-given capacity to resist the temptations associated with singleness. Lust, an ever-present temptation for every single person, was not an issue for Paul.

Even Jesus alluded to the existence of this gift of singleness. One day, He was confronted by the Pharisees and asked whether it was “lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause” (Matthew 19:3b ESV). Quoting from the Old Testament, Jesus replied, “‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:5-6 ESV). Jesus went on to explain that “whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery—unless his wife has been unfaithful” (Matthew 19:9 NLT). Jesus was declaring marriage to be a binding covenant between two individuals. This declaration led one of the disciples to conclude, “If this is the case, it is better not to marry!” (Matthew 19:10 NLT). To His unnamed disciple’s less-than-enthusiastic statement, Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this statement. Only those whom God helps. Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made eunuchs by others, and some choose not to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.” (Matthew 19:11-12 NLT).

Jesus Himself never married, for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. He said, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38 ESV). 

When it comes to ministry, singleness has its advantages, but it is not for everyone. So Paul goes on to address those who are married. He speaks first to the women, reminding them that they should not divorce their husbands. Paul was simply repeating the words of Jesus.

“Whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries someone else, she commits adultery.” – Mark 10:11-12 NLT

Paul knew, as Jesus did, that God’s prohibition of divorce did not prevent it from happening. So they both commanded no remarriage after divorce. To do so was to commit adultery. Paul states that if a woman divorces her husband, “she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband” (1 Corinthians 7:11a ESV). Then he adds, “and the husband should not divorce his wife” (1 Corinthians 7:11b ESV).

Jesus seems to have given only one exception to His no-divorce mandate. When He stated, “whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery” (Matthew 19:9 ESV), He appears to present sexual immorality on the part of one of the married partners as the only grounds for divorce. In the case of sexual immorality, the offending partner has broken the covenant of oneness. However, Paul emphasizes that whoever finds themselves divorced for whatever reason should remain single or be reconciled to their partner.

It is important to remember that Paul is calling the Corinthians believers to live out their faith in the midst of a dark, pagan culture where virtually anything was considered acceptable behavior. Divorce was commonplace, and sexual immorality was rampant. Sexual sins of all kinds were prevalent and regularly practiced. That is why he challenges the Corinthians to live lives worthy of their calling as followers of Christ. Their actions and attitudes were to be distinctly different than those of their unbelieving neighbors and friends. Their approach to life was to be determined by their faith, not their feelings. They were to be driven by a desire to please God, rather than the desire to pursue their own physical pleasures. 

It is highly possible that some in the church in Corinth were divorcing their spouses to escape having sexual relations altogether. More than likely, these individuals were influenced by the philosophy of dualism that flourished in Greek culture. This pagan belief taught that anything associated with the body was evil. Divorce allowed them to experience “freedom” from involvement with sex altogether. But that outlook was unbiblical and un-Christian. While the culture around them was distorting God’s views on everything from marriage to human sexuality, Paul was reminding them that they were the church of God, “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (1 Corinthians 1:2 ESV).

Like the Corinthians, we have been called to live lives that are set apart from the world. We are to be holy, different, and distinct. As God’s children, we exist to bring Him glory. As Paul declared to the believers in Ephesus, “we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT).

Father, Your Son made it painfully clear when He stated, “The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you” (John 15:9 NLT). Yet, we often live as if we are still part of this world and we convince ourselves that the world is our friend. But Jesus said the world would hate us just as it hated Him. This world is not our home, but we go out of our way to make ourselves comfortable here. We acclimate, accomodate, compromise, and attempt to co-exist with a system that stands opposed to all that we believe. Paul’s call to live distinctively different lives in the midst of a sin-filled, self-absorbed society still holds true today. Open our eyes to the reality of Your non-negotiable expectation that we live lives worthy of Your calling on our lives. Help us to stand out rather than blend in — for our good and Your glory. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

We Are Far Too Easily Pleased

12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. – 1 Corinthians 6:12-17 ESV

At the heart of Paul’s ongoing discussion with the Corinthians was his defense of and belief in the centrality of the gospel. For Paul, the gospel was about far more than a future residence in heaven. There is no doubt that Paul looked forward to the day when he would be with the Lord in His heavenly kingdom. In fact, in his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul states that he “would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8 ESV). Speaking of our earthly bodies, Paul says, “we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:2 NLT).

He knew that the day was coming when he would receive a new body, a spiritual body, created by God for eternal life.

For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. – 2 Corinthians 5:1 NLT

But even with the assurance of a redeemed body and a reserved place in eternity, Paul lived with his sights fully set on the present. It was his aim to please God with the life he had been given and to fulfill the commission assigned to him by Christ. It was this view that led him to write, “whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:9-10 ESV).

But what does all this have to do with the passage above? It seems that there were those in the church in Corinth who were living as if what they did in their earthly bodies didn’t matter. As Gentiles living in a Greco-Roman culture, they probably held the view that the body was unimportant; it was nothing more than a receptacle to hold man’s soul.

“The Greeks always looked down on the body. There was a proverbial saying, ‘The body is a tomb.’ Epictetus said, ‘I am a poor soul shackled to a corpse.’” – William Barclay, The Letters to the Corinthians, p. 22.

Evidently, it was this view of the body that led some of the believers in Corinth to commit acts of immorality, and Paul used some of their arguments against them. Some were justifying their actions by saying, “All things are lawful for me.” In other words, they argued that they were free in Christ. As Paul even taught, they were no longer required to keep the Mosaic law and its host of restrictions to be justified before God. However, they were taking their newfound freedom in Christ to an inappropriate extreme, replacing legalism with license. They were embracing Greek dualism, which taught that the body didn’t matter because humans are spiritual beings. This viewpoint was contrary to the gospel because Christ came to redeem body and soul. He died to free us from the future penalty of sin, but also from the present power of sin over our lives. That is why Paul was able to say, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 ESV). 

As believers, we do experience a newfound freedom in Christ, but that does not mean that everything we are free to do is the right thing to do. Paul said that not all things that are lawful for us are beneficial. For Paul, the gospel was about life change; it was about becoming other-oriented rather than self-focused. It was about dying to self and living for others, just as Jesus had modeled. Paul raises this same issue later in his letter.

You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. – 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 NLT

Living the Christian life isn’t about what is best for me, but what will best benefit the body of Christ and honor God. As Paul so clearly states, “whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31b ESV).

There is a sense in which the Corinthians did not understand the full impact of their conversion. When they accepted Christ as their Savior, they had been joined to Him; they now shared His nature and were inhabited by His Spirit. As Paul states, “your bodies are members of Christ” (1 Corinthians 6:15a ESV).

The Greek word for “members” was commonly used to refer to a limb of the human body, such as an arm or leg. As Christians, we are members of the body of Christ. We have been joined to Him and have a vital role to play in the body’s functionality. He is the head of the body, and we serve as the composite parts. We do not exist for ourselves, and what we do affects the entire body of Christ. That is why Paul asks, “Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute?” (1 Corinthians 6:15b NLT). And he answers his own question with an emphatic, “Never!”

What we do in our physical bodies has a direct impact on our spiritual lives and the corporate well-being of the body of Christ. We are not dualistic in nature, but holistic. The Hebrew word for “blameless” is תָּמִים (tamiym) and it means “complete, whole, entire, sound, having integrity” (“H8549 - tamiym - Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible). We are to live our lives before God with integrity or wholeness. What I think with my mind matters. What I do with my body makes a difference. What I see with my eyes impacts my soul.

Christ died to redeem all of me. He came to save me from what Paul refers to as “this body of death” (Romans 7:24). He died and rose again so that I could have new life here and now. His resurrection proved that He would and could miraculously re-purpose my body for the glory of God. So Paul would remind us, “Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God” (Romans 6:13 NLT).

Father, what a timely reminder that we have been recreated for so much more than we could ever imagine. It reminds me of the quote by C. S. Lewis. “It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted created fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slim because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased” (C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory). Your plan of redemption has a future aspect and, yet, we live as if it has no relevant implications for the present world in which we live. Don't let us be satisfied with less. Don't let us be so heavenly minded that we end up being no earthly good. We are new creations who are indwelt by Your Spirit and fully equipped and empowered to walk in newness of life. Let that be our highest priority until Your Son returns. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Out With the Old, In With the New

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. – 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV

Up to this point in his letter, Paul has emphasized the kind of conduct or behavior that believers should model. Their unique status as children of God came with non-negotiable expectations that their lives should reflect their Father’s character. They had been “called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 4:9 ESV) and had been given the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower them. And as Paul mentioned in the opening of this letter, as the body of Christ, they lacked none of the spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 1:7).

All of these factors should have resulted in demonstrable life change, and, according to Paul, it had. But they were still struggling with pride, jealousy, and a tendency to view life from their former perspective as unbelievers. Their new natures in Christ had not yet replaced their old tendencies. This is what led them to settle their disputes in court rather than within the body of Christ. They were thinking more like pagans than believers. Their focus was on this world instead of the one to come, and they were motivated more by selfishness than selflessness. At this point, their faith in Christ was little more than an add-on, a convenient option that provided them with forgiveness of sins and eternal security, but did little to change the way they lived their lives in the here and now.

This is what leads Paul to remind them, “that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9 ESV). He then describes the unrighteous as “those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NLT). These behaviors are characteristic of the lost. This sordid list should have resonated with the believers in Corinth, because Paul immediately reminds them, “such were some of you” (1 Corinthians 6:11a ESV).

Paul speaks in the past tense, emphasizing that this was their former condition; it was how they used to live. But something had happened. Their old way of life had been radically changed when they placed their faith in Christ. Paul reminds them that as a result of God’s gracious gift of salvation made possible through His Son, “you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11b NLT).

Again, he uses the past tense, indicating that these things have already happened. They had been cleansed by God from their former sins, declared to be righteous before Him, and set apart by Him for His use. This is exactly what Paul had written to them in the opening chapter of his letter: “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” (1 Corinthians 1:30 NLT).

But their salvation was not yet complete; God’s work in them was not finished. God had declared them to be righteous because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ; now they needed to live righteously. God had made them holy, setting them apart as His possession; now their lives needed to reflect their holy standing. He had cleansed them from sin, forever delivering them from the penalty of death under which they had lived. But through His Holy Spirit, God had given them the capacity to live free from the power of sin in their daily lives. While they were still fully capable of greed, envy, idol worship, sexual immorality, theft, drunkenness, and virtually all of the sins listed by Paul in these verses, these sins were no longer characteristic of who they were. They were sons and daughters of God who had been redeemed. They were new creations and had been provided with new natures. As Paul writes in his second letter to the Corinthians, “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT). This message of new life was a recurring theme for Paul. He told the believers in Rome, “For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives” (Romans 6:4 NLT).

Salvation not only offers a future reward, but it also guarantees a real and radical transformation in our present lives. Our sanctification or growth in holiness is ongoing. We are constantly dying to our old way of life and being reformed into the likeness of Christ, and this will continue until, as Paul puts it, “Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19 ESV). It will not stop until we are “mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13 NLT). This transformative process will continue until we are glorified by God and given new bodies, are set free from sin, and are no longer held captive to the threat of death.

The apostle John provides us with these encouraging words:

Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. – 1 John 3:2 NLT

In the meantime, we have been given the privilege, power, and responsibility to live our lives in keeping with our standing as God’s children. We are commanded to lead lives worthy of our calling by God (Ephesians 4:1). We are encouraged to live in a way that honors and pleases God (Colossians 1:10).

So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. – 2 Corinthians 5:9 NLT

We were once sinners, but now we are saints. However, we must learn to live out our new identity so that our lives reflect the true nature of who we have become in Christ.

Father, for some reason, we have no problem accepting our salvation as a free gift provided by Your grace and made available through the death and resurrection of Your Son. But when it comes to our sanctification, we seem to struggle believing that we can truly live set-apart lives that reflect our new identity as Your sons and daughters and exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in our everyday lives. Holiness seems unattainable. A life marked by righteousness appears to be unachievable. But Peter said that You have “given us everything we need for living a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3). We have the indwelling presence and power of Your Spirit and access to Your written Word. But our old sinful natures seem to be too hard to resist. The allures and attractions of this world seem too strong to deny. Open our eyes to the reality of our ongoing sanctification. We are not who we used to be. We have been redeemed and are being transformed, because You are faithful and will finish what You began. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

How Firm a Foundation

10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. – 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 ESV

For Paul, the issue was first, always, and only Christ. Ever since his personal and life-changing encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, he had made it his life’s mission to carry the message of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone to the world. Here, he refers to Jesus Christ as the foundation, the solid rock on which believers are to build the rest of their lives. It is belief in the gospel message of salvation through Jesus that provides the bedrock upon which a truly worthy life can be built. Paul likely had in mind the parable that Jesus told His disciples.

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” – Matthew 7:24-27 NLT

Our faith in Jesus has a starting and ending point. It begins when we place our faith in Him, but it does not stop there. We are to build our lives with Jesus as the foundation. Paul boldly claimed to have helped lay the proper foundation by preaching Christ and Him crucified. He had given the believers in Corinth the truth regarding salvation through Christ and Him alone, and they had received it. Now it was time for them to do something with their faith; they were to build on it.

Their faith was to produce fruit, tangible, visible, and measurable fruit. Whatever they built on the foundation of their faith would be discernible to all those around them. The value of the construction materials they used would be apparent to all. Speaking metaphorically, Paul says that some would use gold, silver, and precious stones — objects of worth and beauty. But others would choose to use wood, hay, and straw — materials with little value or staying power. The second group illustrates those who cut corners and refuse to invest adequately, either out of laziness or a lack of concern. Their faith means so little to them that they refuse to invest the time and resources it deserves. James describes these two groups well.

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” – James 2:17-18 NLT

Christ crucified is the fundamental basis of our faith, but our actions are to rest on that firm foundation. The actions and attitudes that mark our lives should be built on the reality of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection and be visible to all those around us. James refers to these salvation-based behaviors as “good deeds.” They are meant to impact all those around us. They can be seen and experienced by others. And, one day, they will be judged by God.

Paul reminds us, “each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done” (1 Corinthians 3:13 ESV). In his second letter to the church in Corinth, Paul wrote, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV). The Greek word Paul uses is βῆμα (bēma). It refers to “the official seat of a judge” (“G968 - bēma - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible). The “day” to which Paul refers is that day when all believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ - the Bema Seat. On that day, we will have our work judged. This is a reference to all those things we have done since coming to faith in Christ. This is not a judgment to determine righteousness. We will stand before God fully forgiven and completely righteous because of Christ’s death for us on the cross. But each person’s works will be judged as to their value and worth, and they will “receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” 

What we do with our faith in Christ is essential and has long-term implications. That is why Paul was concerned about the role that teachers played in the spiritual growth of the body of Christ. That is why he warns, “whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful” (1 Corinthians 3:10 NLT). His whole focus in the section of his letter is on the tendency of the Corinthians to put too much stock in their preferred spiritual teacher or mentor. But Paul is trying to get them to realize that good teachers will build on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. When we elevate the role of men in our spiritual growth, we risk constructing a life that looks good but fails to reflect the life-transforming power of the gospel. That is what led Paul to say, “no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11 NLT). Paul boldly declared, “I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it” ( 1 Corinthians 3:10 ESV). But then he warns, Let each one take care how he builds upon it” (1 Corinthians 3:10 ESV). 

That is the whole point of this section. Paul wants his readers to understand that the foundation of their faith is non-negotiable. Christ crucified and resurrected is the key to their salvation, sanctification, and future glorification. And what we or anyone else attempts to build upon our faith in Christ must have lasting value. If we use our faith in Christ to build a life marked by selfishness, greed, materialism, hate, bigotry, pride, and hypocrisy, others will see it, and one day Christ will expose and judge us for it. Those worthless works will be burned up. They will be proven to be of no eternal value because they were done in the flesh, and not in the power of the Spirit of God.

But if we build a life that is marked by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control, others will see it and Christ will one day reward us for it. Those deeds are the fruit of the Spirit. They will last and survive the fire of God’s judgment because, like gold, silver, and precious stones, they are priceless and eternal.

What we build upon our faith in Christ is extremely important and reveals a lot about us. It shows the condition of our hearts and the priorities of our lives. Our salvation provides us with a solid and secure foundation. We have the assurance of our eternal security and no longer have to worry about future condemnation or fear of death. But that should motivate us to live lives that are worthy of our calling. We should desire that our behavior reflects our status as God’s children and the presence of God’s Spirit within us. That is why, in the very next verse, Paul asks, “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 NLT).

God has provided the foundation. The Spirit provides the fruit. And all we are required to bring to the equation is our faith. But our faith must become tangible and discernible, testifying to the change that has taken place within us. That is what James meant when he wrote, “faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless” (James 2:17 NLT). Fruitless faith is baseless faith; it is a dead and lifeless faith. But Paul insists that when one has true, saving faith and builds their life upon it, they will end up displaying behavior that stands out and survives the test of God’s judgment. 

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?  

Father, You care just as much about our sanctification as You do our salvation. You saved us so that You might transform us into the likeness of Your Son. You redeemed us so that You might continually reform and renew us. It is a process and it takes time. It also requires our participation. We must build on our faith. There is no place for complacency in the life of a believer. You expect ongoing transformation and so should we. But we must be careful how we build on the foundation that Christ provided. What we fill our minds with will have a direct impact on the quality and spirituality of our lives. We can start with a firm foundation of faith, but if we build on it with shoddy materials, we will end up with a “house” of cards that fails to reflect that transformative power of the gospel. Keep us firmly committed to and dependent upon the the reality of Christ crucified for our sins and resurrected for our sanctification. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Spiritual Maturity Is Non-Optional and Impossible Without God

1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. – 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 ESV

There is nothing particularly wrong with acting like a child – if you are one. But we all know how awkward it is to be around someone who refuses to act their age. Watching a grown man behave like a teenager is painful and extremely disappointing. It’s obvious to all that something is wrong with his behavior. He has refused to grow up and own up to the responsibilities that come with adulthood, and his immature actions usually end up impacting every area of his life.

The same can be said for spiritual immaturity. It’s not that it’s wrong. Every believer starts out as a spiritual infant in Christ. We begin the journey of faith as metaphorical newborns who require what Paul refers to as the “milk” of God’s Word. This is normal, natural, and to be expected. It was Peter who wrote, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation” (1 Peter 2:2 ESV). There is a time in every believer’s life when their spiritual diet must be simple and easily digestible. But as they grow, they must move on to the “meat” of the Word. They are to grow up into salvation, learning to grasp the depth of God’s love, the significance of His grace, their complete dependence upon His strength, and the full weight of His call to holiness. The author of the book of Hebrews had some strong words to say to the recipients of his letter:

You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God's word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn't know how to do what is right. – Hebrews 5:12-13 NLT

They were stuck on the basics, the elemental principles of God’s Word. They knew that Jesus was the Son of God and that He had died for their sins. They also understood their complete dependence upon Him for salvation. In placing their faith in Jesus, they believed they would be restored to a right relationship with God the Father. But their knowledge of God’s Word had not gone beyond that point. Their grasp of all that God had done and all that He had in store for them remained limited, and their behavior remained so as well.

Paul gave the Ephesian believers a goal to “be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13 NLT). He expected them to grow in Christ-likeness, becoming increasingly more like Him in their daily conduct. The result of this spiritual growth would be clearly evident.

Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. – Ephesians 4:14-15 NLT

The problem with the believers in Corinth was that their behavior was revealing their spiritual immaturity. They were bickering, boasting, fighting, and fuming over who was more spiritual based on which teacher they followed. Paul exposed the shallow and immature nature of their behavior. “There is jealousy and strife among you,” he wrote, and that was proof that they were “of the flesh and behaving only in a human way” (1 Corinthians 3:3 ESV). They were acting like children, arguing over things that didn’t matter and revealing their lack of understanding of God’s ways.

They were making much of men rather than making much of God. They misunderstood that their spiritual mentors were merely messengers who had been acting on behalf of God. This led Paul to ask, “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” (1 Corinthians 3:5 ESV). They were nothing more than instruments in God’s hands. Their value came from God’s decision to use them to accomplish His will. In a subsequent letter to the Corinthians, Paul reemphasized his understanding of his role as a supporting cast member. 

You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. – 2 Corinthians 4:5-7 NLT

Mature believers have a growing awareness that God is the source of all that we enjoy regarding our faith. It was He who called us. It was His Son who died for us. It was His Spirit who opened our eyes so that we could understand the truth of the gospel. It is His Word that provides us with insight into His nature and daily guidance for our journey of faith. And it is God who provides His Church with apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers “to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12 NLT).

Paul reminded the believers in Corinth that he, Cephas, and Apollos were nothing more than “God’s fellow workers” and they were “God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9 ESV). Maturing believers have a growing understanding of and appreciation for God’s work in their lives. Over time, their appreciation for His love and mercy increases as they experience His grace and mercy. They grow in their gratitude for His unfailing forgiveness. They grow in their desire to please Him, not to earn His love, but to express gratitude for His love. They grow in their dependence upon Him. They grow in their desire for Him. They grow in their hunger for His Word. They grow in their trust in His promises. They grow into their salvation. And all this growth shows up in their behavior.

Father, You don’t just expect me to grow, You have provided everything I need to see that it happens. You are the source of everything. You alone have provided the means for my salvation and sanctification, and, one day, You will bring about my future glorification. Your Spirit convicts, comforts, guides, and produces His fruit through me. Through Your Word, You reveal Yourself to  me. I owe everything to You., including my capacity to grow up in my salvation. I am completely dependent upon You, and I believe that You will complete what You started in my life. As Paul told the Philippians believers, “God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6 NLT). Keep me focused on Your faithfulness and totally reliant upon Your goodness, grace, mercy, and love. So that I will continue to grow up and stand out for You. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Boast in the Lord

26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” – 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ESV

The division taking place within the church at Corinth was based on pride. They were boastfully claiming, “‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollos,’ or ‘I follow Cephas,’ or ‘I follow Christ’” (1 Corinthians 1:12 ESV). They each saw themselves as somehow better or more spiritual because of their choice of leader. They were even bragging about who had baptized them, claiming to have been baptized in their name. This led Paul to declare, “I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name” (1 Corinthians 1:14-15 ESV). Even those who were claiming to follow Christ were emphasizing His teaching more than His role as Messiah. They had become followers of men and adherents of their particular teachings, rather than followers of the very one whose death had made their salvation possible. 

So Paul felt compelled to remind them of their pre-conversion state. For the most part, none of them had been wise, wealthy, or powerful. They were not from the upper crust of society or recognized for their intelligence and erudition. Their influence and power had been minimal. In fact, Paul flatly states that they had been foolish, weak, and despised. Not exactly a flattering assessment. But Paul’s seeming put-down was intended to get them to see the “foolish” nature of their salvation, not stroke their egos. There was nothing about them that warranted what God had done for them. Even from a worldly perspective, they had been undeserving of God’s amazing grace and mercy. They were not the brightest and best, the richest and wisest, or the movers and shakers of society.

When Jesus ministered on the earth, He did not choose His disciples from among the wealthy, wise, and powerful. Those 12 men had been lowly fishermen, tax collectors, and commoners. Those who had followed Him during His three years of earthly ministry had been, for the most part, from the peasant class, and this trend continued long after Christ’s resurrection. Paul reminded the Corinthians, “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” (1 Corinthians 1:27-28 NLT).

None of them had cause for boasting, and they had done nothing to deserve their salvation. Their pride was misplaced because their spiritual status in God’s eyes had nothing to do with who baptized or taught them. Those men were nothing more than instruments in the hands of God. They were His messengers, but not the Messiah. 

Later in this same letter, Paul writes, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV). It was only as Paul displayed the character of Christ that he was to be considered someone to model their lives after. His life was meaningless unless it emulated that of Christ. Paul’s ministry was never meant to be about him, but, instead, it was intended to point to the life-transforming nature of Christ’s death and resurrection.

Paul wanted them to remember that their status as children of God had been the work of God. It was He who had called them, which is why Paul tells them, “consider your calling.” The Greek word Paul used was βλέπω (blepō) and it means, “to turn the thoughts or direct the mind to a thing, to consider, contemplate, to look at, to weigh carefully, examine” (“G991 - blepō - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible). Paul wanted them to take a long, hard look at their calling by God. So he reminds them three times:

God chose what is foolish…

God chose what is weak…

 God chose what is low and despised…

God chose. In other words, it was His doing and was not based on any merit or worth of the ones chosen. It was solely based on God’s divine mercy and grace. That is why Paul reminds them that it was “because of him [God] you are in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 1:30 ESV), not because of themselves and due to the efforts of Paul, Cephas, or Apollos. Those men had been used by God to carry the gospel to the Corinthians, but they were simply messengers. It had been God who had made it possible for the believers in Corinth to have a relationship with Jesus, and it had been Jesus who had revealed to them God’s wisdom. By His death on the cross, Jesus opened a way for men to receive righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. With His death on the cross, Jesus took on the sins of mankind, and those who placed their faith in Christ had their sins imputed to Him and received His righteousness in exchange. They now stood before God as righteous because of the work of Christ, and they are going through the process of sanctification, their ongoing transformation into the likeness of Christ, through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Ultimately, they would enjoy their final redemption or release from the power of sin in their lives when God glorifies them.

No man can make these things possible. No human teacher can provide us with righteousness before God. No pastor can transform us into the likeness of Christ. No evangelist or theologian can make our glorification possible. These things are all the work of God, just as our salvation was. He called, chose, justified, sanctifies, and will one day redeem. So if we are going to boast, we need to boast in God; we need to brag about all that He has done, is currently doing, and will accomplish in the future. He made our salvation possible, He has made our daily sanctification obtainable, and He will one day accomplish the seemingly impossible: our glorification. We owe it all to Him.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die. – Rock of Ages, Augustus Toplady

Father, we are a prideful people. Even those of us who have received Your undeserved mercy and grace tend to find ways to make it all about us. We can become overconfident about our spiritual status and convince ourselves that we somehow deserved to be chosen by You. We have a habit of forgetting our sinful past and failing to recall just how desperate we were before we heard the good news of Jesus Christ. But as Augustus Toplady reminds us, we bring nothing to our salvation other than our sin, shame, and a need for a Savior. Our wisdom and wealth play no part. Our accomplishments are of no value. But You accept us based on nothing more than our faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross. May we never forget our inadequacy and His all-sufficiency. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

God Doesn’t Need Our Help

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
    and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. – 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 ESV

The concept of death by crucifixion, while not invented by the Romans, was certainly perfected by them. It was a horrific means of death, intended as much for crime prevention as it was for punishment. To those living under Roman jurisdiction, crucifixion was viewed as a hideous way to die, reserved for the vilest of criminals and the scum of the earth. Yet, Paul reminds his readers, it was the God-ordained means of death for Jesus Christ. The death of Christ on the cross was at the heart of the gospel message preached by Paul, Apollos, and Cephas. Paul insisted, “We preach Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23a ESV). What made that message even more “foolish” to the ears of those who heard it was the fact that Christ’s death was followed by His resurrection. It was His death, followed by His miraculous Spirit-empowered resurrection, that made the message “a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:23b ESV).

And yet, the message of the cross revealed the very wisdom of God. It was His chosen means of providing justification for sinful men and women. It was through the “foolishness” of the cross that sinners could be restored to a right relationship with a holy God. But as Paul points out, “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV). There is nothing about the message of the cross that makes sense to sinful men; it sounds ludicrous, far-fetched, and unbelievable. Many write it off as a fable or myth. Others laugh it off as nothing more than the wishful thinking of the uneducated. But Paul insists that it is the very “power of God.” As Paul wrote in his letter to the believers in Rome, “It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16 ESV). And God was using this message to “destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent” (1 Corinthians 1:19 NLT).

By arguing over who was a follower of Paul, Apollos, or Cephas, and which leader was more impressive than the other, the Corinthian believers were diminishing the true message of the gospel. They were making the wisdom of man more important than the wisdom of God. They were elevating eloquent speech and impressive oratory skills over the simple yet profound message of Christ crucified. The ability to debate theology or impress others with your knowledge of the Scriptures means nothing without the cross. Which is what led Paul to ask, “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?” (1 Corinthians 1:20 ESV). The wise and religious didn’t come up with the idea of the cross; God did. The Jewish scholars didn’t recognize the prophecies concerning the suffering Savior. In fact, Jesus told the religious leaders of His day, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40 ESV).

They were unable to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, because He didn’t appear as the kind of Messiah they were expecting. They had been looking for a conquering king, not a suffering servant. The crown they envisioned Him wearing was made of gold, not thorns. They expected Him to free them from bondage to Roman rule, not sin.

The “wisdom of the world” to which Paul refers has little to do with intellect or book knowledge. He is speaking of the philosophical insights men use to explain the world and our place in it. It is man’s attempt to understand and explain the presence of evil, suffering, and pain, as well as to present an acceptable, rational path to hope and happiness. But nothing man has come up with has worked. Materialism, religion, hedonism, pacifism, pleasure, wealth, love; mankind has tried it all. Yet, as Solomon so succinctly put it: “But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere” (Ecclesiastes 2:11 NLT).

As believers, we are to be followers of Christ, not men. We are to place our hope in the cross, not the clever arguments or convincing messages of this world. Like Paul, we are to believe that “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25 ESV). Our salvation was the result of the cross, not the words of men. Our sanctification or ongoing transformation into the likeness of Christ is based on the message of the cross, not human wisdom. And it is the cross that will make possible our ultimate glorification, the resurrection of our bodies, and our final transformation into the image of Christ.

To some, it all sounds like foolishness. To others, it acts as a stumbling block, preventing them from embracing the good news of Jesus Christ and experiencing the power and wisdom of God found in His Son, Jesus Christ. For Paul, the message of the cross was more than enough. He didn’t feel compelled to trick it up, tone it down, make it more palatable, or gloss it over with clever-sounding words or sophisticated philosophical arguments. As he told the Corinthians later in his letter, “When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2 NLT). For Paul, the message of the cross of Christ was enough, because it revealed the wisdom and the power of God. If the simplicity of the cross was good enough for God, it was good enough for Paul.

After warning the Corinthians about the danger of division within the body of Christ, Paul reminded them that the work of salvation had nothing to do with man. Paul, Apollos, and Peter were nothing more than messengers of the Good News. Their role was to tell what God had done through Christ’s death on the cross. Paul made this point quite emphatically when he wrote, "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!" (1 Corinthians 1:13 NLT).

Salvation was God’s idea, not man's. Mankind had not been able to come up with a way to restore its relationship with God. No amount of good works, sacrifices, worship, or religious rituals had ever fixed the problem created by the sin of mankind. So God came up with His own plan, and it appeared as nothing less than foolish from man's perspective. God chose to send His holy and righteous Son to die on a cross for the sins of mankind. But to those who are lost, "The message of the cross is foolish" (1 Corinthians 1:18 NLT). To the philosophers, scholars, and brilliant debaters of this world, the message of the cross sounds like superstitious nonsense; the creation of pathetically simpleminded people.

"But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:24 NLT). To those who humbly accept the message of Christ's substitionary death on the cross as real and life-transforming, the power of God is self-evident and non-debatable. The work of salvation is the work of God from beginning to end. Man has nothing to do with it. God chooses, calls, and unites us with Christ, and it is Christ who makes sinful men right with a holy God. Through the atoning work of Christ, we are made pure and holy. It is He who frees us from sin, not Paul, Apollos, or Peter. So there is no reason for anyone to boast, either in themselves or any other human being.

Salvation is God's work, and He accomplished it through the death of His own Son. The only role we play is that of the foolish, powerless, helpless, despised, and sin-enslaved human being. We bring nothing of value to the table. We have no worth or merit in God's eyes. He doesn’t look down from heaven and select the best and the brightest. He doesn't choose the rich, famous, or successful ones. He isn't impressed with anyone's talents, efforts, resume, or attempts at self-righteousness. In God's eyes, all men are sinners and stand separated from Him. All men are deserving of His wrath and destined to spend eternity being punished for their rebellion against Him. But God had a plan and a solution to man's problem that didn't involve man at all. It was His work, and it required the death of His Son. It was His plan and "this foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God's weakness is stronger than the greatest of human reason" (1 Corinthians 1:25 NLT).

So there is nothing for us to boast about, except in the fact that God has chosen us. We need to boast about God. We need to brag about Him. We need to constantly remind one another that, without His plan of salvation, as foolish as it may sound, none of us would have any hope.

Father, thank You for Your incredible plan of salvation. Without it, I would have no hope. I would have no future. But because You sent Your Son to die on a cross in my place, and You chose to open my eyes so that I could see the futility of my situation and the reality of salvation made available through His death, I now stand as holy and righteous before You. I have nothing to boast about, except You. Don't ever allow me to make it about me again. Don't let me to make more of anyone than I do of you. Amen 

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Making Much of Man Makes No Sense

10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. – 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 ESV

It was A. W. Tozer who said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us” (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy). Our theology will have a direct impact on how we live our lives, and a faulty view of God will end up dramatically influencing our behavior. That was the situation in Corinth and the reason why Paul mentioned God six times and Jesus Christ ten times in the first ten verses alone. He was refocusing their attention back to the nature of their relationship with God the Father and His Son. They were members of the church of God. They belonged to Him, and their very existence was due to Him. Their salvation was the result of His grace and the sacrificial death of His Son. They enjoyed fellowship with God because Christ paid their sin debt with His own life. So, they owed all that they were to God and His Son.

Yet, they were guilty of worshiping men and had become a house divided. It had come to Paul’s attention that divisive cliques had developed within the church in Corinth. People were taking sides and aligning themselves with different leaders, claiming superiority based on who it was that they followed. Some bragged about their relationship with Apollos. Others claimed allegiance to Cephas (Peter). Much to his dislike, some boasted that Paul was their leader. Then some claimed the high road, claiming to be followers of Christ. The end result was petty arguing and prideful posturing. They had missed the point. It wasn’t supposed to be about Apollos, Paul, or Cephas. None of them had been crucified to pay for the sins of mankind. And neither Apollos, Paul, nor Cephas were preaching their own message of salvation. Instead, each was acting as a messenger of God, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.

Paul believed that a proper view of God should produce proper behavior. If people had an accurate understanding of God and a future-based focus on His plan of redemption, they would not put all their hopes in this life. They would be less likely to make more of the messenger than the message. God had been using Paul, Cephas, and Apollos, but they were simply the bearers of the good news of Jesus Christ. However, the Corinthians had turned these men into celebrities, and this growing cult of personality was dividing the church. The worship of man was inadvertently replacing the proper worship of God. Without realizing it, the believers in Corinth were boasting in men rather than God and attributing their salvation to men, instead of God. This human-based emphasis tended to focus their attention on the here-and-now rather than the hereafter. Arguing over the significance of who baptized them had become far more important to them than why they had been baptized in the first place. They had given their favorite preacher more prominence than they rightfully deserved, and Paul was going to make sure that they saw the error of their way.

The Corinthian believers were just as susceptible to hero worship as we are. They were making much of the messenger, with some naturally attracted to Paul while others found Apollos more appealing. Some found Cephas’ style more to their liking. But they had all allowed their personal preferences to become points of contention, leading to division within the church. They were elevating style over substance. But Paul was determined to make more of the message than the messenger. In the very next chapter, he writes,

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ESV

It wasn’t about Paul’s preaching style or oratory skills. It wasn’t about his persuasive powers or ability to craft a clever sermon; it was about Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The focus of the message of the gospel is, as it always has been, the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is about the God-ordained, Spirit-empowered transformation of men’s lives who have placed their faith in Christ, the one who died in their place and on their behalf. When we care more about the messenger than we do about the message, we become guilty of idol worship. When we prefer style over substance, we move from having our hearts transformed to having our ears tickled. We want to be entertained and satisfied, rather than sanctified. We find ourselves living for the moment, hoping our favorite preacher will keep us interested for an hour, while God would rather have us living with a much loftier goal: Our ongoing sanctification and future glorification.

One of the most dangerous enemies of the body of Christ is any kind of division or internal strife that creeps into its midst. Infighting and internal dissension can be highly destructive to the unity of a local fellowship. That's why Paul immediately addresses a situation going on within the body of believers in Corinth. News of the quarrels taking place between believers forced Paul to deal with it at the very beginning of his letter. Paul doesn’t go into great detail regarding the cause of these factions, but it probably had something to do with the role each of these individuals had played in the conversion of the various church members. If someone had been led to faith by Apollos, they naturally held him in high esteem and viewed him as their mentor. If Paul had been the one to lead them to Christ, they would have developed a natural affinity and affection for him. So people were more than likely choosing sides based on the role these men had played in their spiritual birth and development. It had led to arguments and an unhealthy situation within the church.

But Paul calls them out, exposing the danger of their infighting, and demands that they seek unity. He pleads with them, "Be of one mind, united in thought and purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10 NLT). There was no place within the body of Christ for factions of any kind, especially man-centered "fan clubs" that seemingly elevated individuals to the same status as Jesus Himself.

In the case of Corinth, some of these people were calling themselves followers of man, rather than followers of Christ. Somewhere along the way, they had missed the point. Paul, Cephas, and Apollos were simply tools that God had used to bring the gospel to the Corinthians and assist them in their spiritual growth. These men were essential to the process, but were never intended to be afforded rock star status. But it happens all the time. Cults of personality exist in churches all across the country, with people becoming followers of men rather than followers of Christ. In larger churches with larger staffs, you can end up with factions based on the particular minister or ministry heads and the role they play in the lives of various individuals. Younger people can end up with a natural affinity for younger pastors. Older members of the congregation might tend to prefer a minister closer to their age demographic. If a particular minister played a role in someone's salvation, it is only natural for that individual to hold that pastor in higher regard. But all of this can lead to divisions and a lack of unity. Again, that is why Paul appealed to them to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

Unity and division were common topics in many of the letters Paul wrote to the various churches he helped to found. Disunity was always a threat to the integrity and health of these new congregations. In his book, The Story of God As Revealed in the Holy Bible For All Mankind, Raymond Anderegg writes, "…the apostles make it clear that two of the biggest threats to the kingdom of God are false teachers and division within the Church, and both threats are treated as equally important. Thus, two of the worst sins a Christian can commit are to reject the gospel of Jesus Christ for another gospel (religion) and to cause strife and division among our brethren, the body, or Church, of Christ."

Disunity is destructive. Division is deadly. It robs the church of its power. It diminishes the body of Christ's influence among the lost, providing the enemy a foothold and an opportunity to sow strife and dissension in place of love and forgiveness. Christianity is not a man-centered religion based on personality, but a Christ-centered faith based on His sin-defeating work on the cross on our behalf. When we start making the church a cult of personality by making much of men, we diminish the sufficiency and singularity of Christ as the sole focus of our faith.

Father, from the very beginning, humans have struggled with a self-focused obession that strives to make ourselves the point of the story. We tend to worship ourselves or someone else instead of You. We find it easy to make much of men and elevate them to positions of prominence and importance because it gives us hope for ourselves. But it was never meant to be about us. We make lousy gods and even worse saviors. We are incapable of providing long-term, sustainable help and hope for anyone, including ourselves. That is why You sent Your Son, and we are to make much of Him. We are to worship Him and Him alone. Forgive us for the divisions and silly factions we create based on personalities. Help us remember that we are followers of Christ and no one else. Create in us a unity that is focused on Him alone. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Best Is Yet To Come

13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. – 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 ESV

The Thessalonians were distracted. They had taken their eye off the prize and were focusing on their present circumstances, wondering if, as the false prophets had claimed, the day of the Lord had begun. Their trials and tribulations seemed to support the idea that they were living in the end days. But this thought created confusion and caused them to doubt the teachings of Paul and his companions.

Paul describes the last days as being filled with apostasy, rebellion, and the judgment of God upon all those who reject the truth concerning His Son. As bad as things may have been for the Thessalonian believers, their conditions were nothing like those that will accompany the final days. The presence of trials in the life of a believer was not to be confused with the future day of Tribulation. In fact, Paul and the other New Testament authors encouraged believers to welcome trials as a vital part of God’s plan for their ongoing sanctification.

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. – James 1:2-4 NLT

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. – 1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT

God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. – Hebrews 12:10-11 NLT

Suffering and sanctification are inseparable in the life of the believer. Just as Jesus suffered in this life and then experienced the joy of glorification, so will we one day. Paul reminded the believers in Rome that their status as children of God, made possible through their faith in Christ, also made them co-heirs with Christ. And part of their inheritance was the glory to come. But, as with Jesus, their suffering must precede their glorification.

And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. – Romans 8:17-18 NLT

But as Paul states, their present suffering was nothing when compared with their future glorification. In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul stressed the example provided by the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus.

Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
   he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
    and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:6-11 NLT

Paul reminds the Thessalonian believers that they had been chosen by God “to be among the first to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13 NLT). Their experiences of suffering were proof of their salvation and ongoing sanctification. They had been given the privilege of suffering on behalf of Christ, and Paul wanted them to remember that their suffering had a purpose. It was a God-ordained process for increasing their dependence upon His indwelling Spirit so that their lives might display His power in their weakness.

And Paul had learned this truth from firsthand experience. Three different times, he asked God to remove “the thorn” in his flesh. But God had answered: “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT). And this eye-opening lesson from God had radically altered Paul’s perspective on the role of suffering and weakness in the life of the believer.

So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NLT

Paul stressed to the Thessalonians believers that God’s ultimate goal behind their salvation was not their present happiness, but their future glorification.

To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 2 Thessalonians 2:14 ESV

Their ultimate glorification would not come in this life, but in the life to come. In the meantime, God was using the presence of suffering and trials to expose their weaknesses and encourage increasing dependence upon the Spirit’s presence and power within them. Paul challenged them to stay the course. Not only were they destined to experience additional suffering in this life, but they would also find themselves bombarded by false teaching that contradicted the words of Jesus and His apostles.

So, Paul called them to “stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter” (2 Thessalonians 2:15 NLT). As he told the believers in Ephesus, his job was “to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12 NLT), and he was committed to doing just that.

This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. – Ephesians 4:13 NLT

His commitment was fueled by his belief in the transformative nature of the gospel message. Salvation was to result in sanctification. Faith in Christ was meant to produce Christlikeness. Spiritual infancy was to give way to spiritual maturity, and the spiritually mature are far less likely to be deceived and distracted by false teaching.

Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. – Ephesians 4:14-15 NLT

Paul closes out this part of his letter with a prayer that takes the form of a blessing. He asks God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son to provide the Thessalonians with comfort and strength in the midst of all their trials. Notice that he does not ask for the removal of their trials; his emphasis is on hope. This is a clear reference to the culmination of their salvation with their future glorification. Paul reminds them that God and His Son “loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace” (2 Thessalonians 2:16 ESV). He stresses eternity and hope. His point is that the Thessalonians needed to stop being distracted by their current circumstances and the misguided teaching of the false prophets and refocus their attention on the finish line. 

If they kept their eyes on the prize, their glorification, they would realize that “their present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed” (Romans 8:18 BSB). And this future hope would provide the comfort and strength necessary to live transformed lives in the present.

Father, our glorification is not a pipe dream; it's an undeniable reality that is backed by Your word. You have promised it, so we can count on it. But as human beings, it is so easy to make everything about this life. We are temporal creatures who have difficulty imagining a life free from sin, suffering, and sorrow. As C. S, Lewis put it, “We are half-hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased” (C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory). Give us a vision of the life to come and the faith to wait eagerly for it. Don’t allow us to become satisfied with less and content with the deceptive pleasures of temporal life. You have so much more in store for us. May we begin to understand the true “weight of glory” that awaits us, and live confidently and expectantly with our eyes fixed on that promise. The best if yet to come. Amen.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

This Is Not All There Is

5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— 6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. 11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. – 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12 ESV

Paul has informed the Thessalonians that he uses them as an example for the other congregations to whom he ministers.

We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering. – 2 Thessalonians 1:4 NLT

But he knows that bragging about them does not make their suffering any easier. He understands that they are confused by the difficult conditions they face and are questioning how their trials could be God’s will for them. It all seemed to make no sense. Hadn’t Jesus come so “that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 ESV)? Didn’t He promise fullness of joy to those who kept His commandments (John 15:11)?

The presence of suffering in the life of Christ’s followers has always caused doubt and confusion, even though Jesus warned it would happen. He clearly told His disciples, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows” (John 16:33 NLT). Placing one’s faith in Christ is not a vaccine against suffering. Salvation does not provide immunity from the effects of living in a fallen world where the presence of sin permeates everything and impacts everyone. Jesus was informing His disciples that following Him was going to set them at odds with the world around them.

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” – John 15:18-19 NLT

Attempting to live as lights in a sin-darkened world was not going to be easy. Exposing the deeds done in darkness would not win them any friends. Even Paul warned the believers in Ephesus, “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light” (Ephesians 5:11-14 ESV).

But the apostle John declared that those living in darkness would prefer to remain right where they were, refusing Jesus’ offer of salvation from sin and death. 

…the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. – John 3:19-20 ESV

Jesus promised many trials and sorrows in this life, but He also provided His followers with the following assurance: “Take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NLT). Paul is attempting to explain to the Thessalonians that the presence of suffering and persecution in their lives should not come as a surprise. As followers of Christ, they were destined to suffer just as He had, but their present suffering had an upside.

And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. –Romans 8:17-18 NLT

There was a method to God’s seeming madness. While the Thessalonian believers viewed their suffering as painful and pointless, Paul wanted them to know that God had a purpose behind it all. There was an as-yet invisible part to God’s divine plan to which they were currently unaware. And while their trials might tempt them to question God’s goodness and justice, Paul knew that it was all part of God’s righteous and fully sovereign plan for them.

This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering… – 2 Thessalonians 1:5 ESV

Rather than complaining about their lot in life, they were to trust their all-knowing, all-wise God because He knew what He was doing. There was a divine purpose to their suffering that had both short-term and long-term ramifications. Which is what led James to write: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:1-4 NLT).

God uses our suffering to transform us. The presence of trials is meant to make us God-dependent rather than self-sufficient. That’s exactly what Peter meant when he wrote: “Humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:6-7 NLT). Trials require trust. When we can’t solve our own problems, it forces us to turn to the one who holds us in the palm of His hands. And that is exactly what David suggests that we do.

Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. – Psalm 55:22 NLT

God loves His children and, oftentimes, that love shows up in the form of troubles and trials that test our faith in Him. But when, through faith, we turn our cares over to Him, we experience an increasing level of perseverance that results in the further development of our spiritual maturity. We grow stronger and even more faith-filled, needing nothing. Which is what Paul meant when he wrote: “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Ephesians 4:11-13 NLT).

Another major factor behind Paul’s contentment with any and all circumstances in this life was his strong belief in God’s plans for the future. He understood that this life was not all there is; there is a life to come. For Paul, this life was a temporary environment in which he lived as an alien or stranger in an earth-bound body, waiting for something far better and longer lasting. 

For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. – 2 Corinthians 5:1 1 NLT

Paul wanted the Thessalonians to find hope and encouragement in the reality of their future glorification, but also in God’s future judgment of the wicked.

God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. – 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 NLT

God was not blind or oblivious to what was going on in Thessalonica. He was fully aware of their suffering and knew the names of those who were responsible for it. Not only that, but He had a plan in place to bring about the just and righteous judgment of those people for their acts of wickedness. Just as the future glorification of the persecuted believers in Thessalonica will be far beyond anything they could ever imagine, the future judgment of the wicked will be far worse than anyone could ever dream.

They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. – 2 Thessalonians 1:9 NLT

At His second coming, Jesus will right all wrongs and restore order and justice to the world. He will punish the wicked, but He “will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe” (2 Thessalonians 1:10 NLT), and Paul includes the Thessalonians in that group. Yes, they might suffer in this life, but in the life to come, they will enjoy an eternity with the Father and the Son, free from the effects of sin and completely separated from any form of suffering, sorrow, or shame.

The apostle John recorded his vision of this future reality in the Book of Revelation. 

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” – Revelation 21:3-5 NLT

With that amazing image in mind, Paul tells the Thessalonian believers, “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:11 NLT). Paul was asking God to show up in the midst of their suffering, providing them with the power they needed to live up to their calling as His children. When they endured suffering well and walked worthy of their calling, the name of Jesus would be glorified because it would be evidence of God’s saving work in their lives.

Living a godly life was never intended to be easy. Jesus didn’t die so that we might live our best life now, but so that we will one day experience eternal life in all its glory. But in the meantime, God has provided us with everything we need for living in obedience to His will and for displaying His divine nature through our lives.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. – 2 Peter 1:3-4 NLT

Father, I’ll be honest, there are times when this life seems to be all there is. Even though I know Your promises about a life to come, I have a difficult time envisioning it. I have no problem seeing the trials and troubles of this life because their can be painfully real. But eternal life is hard to fathom. A future free from sin, sorrow, and suffering sounds great but it’s also hard to imagine. So, would you give me the faith I need to trust in Your promises and live in the here and now with hope in the hereafter. Jesus, You said suffering would be a part of this life and You were right. But You also promised that the day would come when the suffering would end and our joy would be complete. I want to live with that reality in mind. I want to trust in the promise of my future glorification. Help me keep my eye on the prize – “the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14 ESV). Amen.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.