Today’s reading: 1 Corinthians 7:1-24

“Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches.” - 1 Corinthians‬ ‭7:17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It is easy to see all around us that most are not completely happy with where they find themselves. Those who are single long to be married. Those who are married long for some freedom. Those who have a job are looking for another one. Those who have a smaller house are looking for a larger one.

We are discontented people. It seems like this is due to the lie that we are one change away from true happiness and fulfillment.

Yet if we are Christian, we’ve already made that one decision that should change everything. Our happiness. Our purpose. Our meaning. God has given these as gifts. Still, many are dissatisfied.

This is what Paul speaks to in our passage today. Single? Don’t feel ashamed. Married? Don’t take it for granted. A slave? You matter and are loved.

If you can’t be happy where you are, you will not be happy where you long to be — and perhaps where God may be leading you.

CAVEAT: This does not mean we stay in abusive relationships. You must leave those. This also does not mean slavery is permissible. Although slavery was much different in the first century, Paul still sets the stage for abolition of it in verse 21!

Today’s reading: 1 Corinthians 6

“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 6:11 ESV

Our desires, or our temptations/inclinations, don’t have to define us. Paul, in this chapter, is condemning occasional mishaps and mistakes. He merely saying that there are lifestyles that are not conducive to prepping us for heaven—in fact, these lifestyles show we’d rather be in hell.

This is not to discount the ferocity of the temptations that come with these ten lifestyles mentioned in verses 9-10. The struggle is real and cannot be dismissed as easy to overcome.

Yet “Paul believes that God can give Christians enough power to resist sinful desires, even if they continue to have them.” (Ben Witherington III)

There is no shame in the temptations that come at us. Jesus Himself was tempted (Matthew 4:1-11). But we have to decide who we want to be.

If we want to “belong to Christ,” we, in essence, admit that God knows the best way for us to use our bodies.

Today’s reading: 1 Corinthians 5

“When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” - 1 Corinthians‬ ‭5:4-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Corinth, from its beginning, was known for their sexual confusion. In Classical Greek, when a writer would use “Act Corinthian,” it was synonymous with saying, “Practice sexual immorality.” 

So as shocking as it is for us to read here about a man sleeping with his stepmom, these things were commonplace in Corinth. Paul wasn’t going to stand by and let them blend into the culture that surrounded them. He wanted them to remember Jesus’ sacrifice and let that drive them toward purity and truth (see verse 7).

When it comes to sexuality, who are we taking our cues from? The world will always be permissive, insisting that it isn’t a big deal. Jesus calls us to holiness, a better way to live.

Also, notice Paul’s goal. It isn’t to see this man shamed and shunned. The goal is to see him redeemed and restored. May this be our goal as well!

Today’s reading: 1 Corinthians 4

“We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.” - 1 Corinthians‬ ‭4:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Fools.

Weak.

Laughed at.

Hungry and thirsty.

Without clothes.

Beaten.

Homeless.

Scum.

Trash.

If someone handed you this list right before you confessed Christ as your Lord and Savior, would you have still gone through with your baptism?

Most of us would have hesitated for the same reason we would hesitate if we were offered a job with this description. This is a list that we do everything in our power to avoid for our families and us. Yet if we have a taste of any of them on this list, we immediately realize our need for more than this world has to offer.

Richard Pratt says it so well, “If the Corinthians wanted true strength, wisdom, and honor, they would have to seek it by being weak, foolish, and dishonored like Paul.”

John, in the last book of the Bible, writes, “You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” (Revelation 3:17)

May we realize, and then run without abandon to Jesus today.

Today’s reading: 1 Corinthians 3:5-23

“So don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you— whether Paul or Apollos or Peter, or the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.” - 1 Corinthians‬ ‭3:21-23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There is big talk among today’s Christian leaders about decentralizing leadership in the church, releasing people into ministry. Yet Paul was the first to get it. He knew what was happening with this Jesus movement wasn’t because of him or for his ego.

For the first time in human history, there would be no hierarchical structure. Christianity places everyone on the same plain. We are equally important. This was the original civil rights movement.

Paul did more for the expansion of Christianity than anyone, perhaps, in human history. Yet he knew the end game was not for him to have the church named after him.

This was about the foundation: Jesus.

This was about building eternal structures on that foundation.

Today’s reading: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, 3:1-4

 “And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.” - 1 Corinthians‬ ‭2:12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It is bewildering to look out at a crowd (hopefully we’ll one day get back to that) at a worship service and see some locked in, actively soaking in God’s word. You can see them feeding on the solid food of God’s word. Then, maybe a couple of seats over, you see someone asleep or texting or online shopping.

We also see people that know the Bible inside and out, and yet their lives lie unaffected by the truth. The piercing conviction of God’s word seems to bounce off their hard exterior.

What is the difference? Paul, in our reading today, shares that the Holy Spirit is always the difference. Though it may not “appeal to the rulers of this world,” the Holy Spirit consistently reveals the heart of God to us each day.

Are you feeling your heart beginning to harden? Perhaps it’s time for you to let the Spirit do what it does best: REVEAL.

Today’s reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-30, 2:1-5

“He has used our foolish preaching to save all who believe.” - 1 Corinthians 1:21

It has been the desire of the church for the past 100 years to keep up with the “progress” that has happened in the culture around us. The industrial revolution has paved the way for so many advances in technology and inundated us with more information than at any time in human history.

Yet the advantage of living in today’s world is that we can see in many ways we are no better off morally than we were 100 years ago. Racism. Hatred. Disregard for Jesus. Oppression of the weak. Disdain for authority. Progress hasn’t given us all that it promised.

This is Paul’s refrain to the church in Corinth as we read this passage today. He didn’t come with manipulative speech or grandeur. He came with one anthem, “Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.” (2:2)

We will not be tapping into the power of God with new, flashy mediums to reach the masses. The power is in Jesus Christ, and him crucified, then resurrected.

Today’s reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-17

“I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.” - 1 Corinthians‬ ‭1:10‬ NLT

One of the most destructive tools the Devil uses against the church is division. When we are divided, there can be no progress. Notice the language Paul uses:

“Live in.”

“Let there.”

We see in these that the challenge to see unity come to the church is one that we can choose. God has already given us what we need to get along.

One of the reasons unity isn’t always achieved is due to a deep-down desire to prove a point. We want to be right. I mean, how will we get individual credit if the entire church is edified? You won’t.

Leon Morris says it well, “The use of party cries always tends to deepen and perpetuate division, and Paul calls for their abandonment.”

So we don’t come to church to prove a point. We come to church to seek a Savior... together.

Today’s reading: Romans 16:10-27

“For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” - Romans‬ ‭16:19-20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We have to start today’s post with this quote from Jack Cottrell:

“The power that wins this victory is God’s power; he is the one who actually crushes Satan. But the enemy is crushed under our feet, i.e., in our own experience. The word for “crush” (συντρίβω, syntribō) is very strong; it means “shatter, smash, crush” (AG, 801), leaving no doubt as to who is the winner in this battle.”

Don’t you love the way that God includes us in the crushing of Satan? God doesn’t need us to defeat him. In reality, He’s the one who disarmed him by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Yet as we see in Revelation, there will be a final “smashing” of our enemy.

Yet in our world, we seem to be “shattering” each other.

God, flood us with your grace and peace. May we recognize who our enemy is (not each other) and how we will win the victory.

Today’s reading: Romans 15:23-33, 16:1-9

“Greet Priscilla and Aquila. They have been co-workers in my ministry for Christ Jesus...and Urbanas, our co-worker in Christ...” - Romans 16:3, 9 NLT

Paul will use this word “co-worker” three times in this last chapter of Romans. The third time is in reference to Timothy (in tomorrow’s reading, 16:21). It is the Greek word “synergos,” which is where we derive the word synergy. It can also be translated as “accomplice” or “one who works together with sometime else.”

Paul had an army of co-workers. He didn’t do anything alone but was always relying on others to help him plant and sustain churches across the Mediterranean.

We should appreciate these name-lists at the end of his letters. In them, we see the personalization of a man who otherwise can be glorified into something he wasn’t. Paul met so many people on his three missionary journeys, and he had the ability to unify them all onto his “ministry for Christ Jesus.”

Who are your “co-workers” in the role God’s asked you to play in His kingdom? If your answer is “no one,” you may need to reconsider how you’re living your Christian life. It has the potential to be so much better (and more fruitful) than it is to fly solo.