Day 220: 1 Corinthians 4:1-21

“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

Paul gives the Church in Corinth his job description, and it was sure to get their attention:

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 ESV

Even if we gain the complete array of influence and affluence this world has to offer, we will not have what we need most to prepare us for eternity: Jesus as our Lord and Savior. As Paul wrote at the beginning of our reading today, we are to be counted as "servants of Christ." It is the greatest privilege we will ever have.

Day 219: 1 Corinthians 3:5-23

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.” - 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 ESV

When we work for the God of all creation, and as a result, good things happen, it can become easy to claim those outcomes for ourselves. I mean, we put the time in and made the sacrifices. 

Perhaps our names should be in lights?

Paul was very clear that he and Apollos were not the growth causers, though they were involved in the process. God may use many of us to do things we never imagined possible, but we cannot initiate growth.

This is when we realize that fervent, constant prayer and faithful time spent in the Bible are essential for those of us who claim to follow Jesus. God's powerful presence alone can cause authentic growth among us.

Richard Pratt drives this home for us as he writes, "Their human leadership accomplished nothing apart from the Spirit’s power. Further, they only planted and watered because God told them to do so. The blessings of salvation on the church at Corinth came through the power and will of God."

Us take credit? No way.

It is just like Jesus said: "So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'" - Luke 17:10 ESV

Day 218: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, 3:1-4

“But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.’” - 1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV

How can we, as Christians, be so excited about something we haven't actually seen or heard? You can understand why someone who isn't a believer in Jesus would consider us to have completely lost it. I mean, it does sound a little far-fetched.

This is when our interaction with the Holy Spirit is so important. He is a revealer and desires to bring us in on what God is doing now in the world and will do in eternity.

The day is coming when our new eyes and new ears will take in a new creation, and now is our time to soak in whatever glimpses the Gospel offers via the Holy Spirit.

Those in the world will never get it until they catch a glimpse of themselves (see Job 42:5).

Let's close with this on-point quote from Richard Oster in his commentary on 1 Corinthians: "The intent of the citation is to highlight the radical dichotomy between the world’s inability to grasp God’s revelation and the church’s privilege of receiving it."

May we walk freely in and drink deeply of this privilege today.

Day 217: 1 Corinthians 1:18-30, 2:1-5

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

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 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. Our efficiency isn't making us any happier.

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. This is an old, foolish message to many in our world today, but as gospel artist Vashawn Mitchel sings it so well, "His blood still works." May we always choose faithful over flashy.

"Here he does not contrast trusting with working, but he emphasizes that salvation comes through believing what is proclaimed, even if the message heralded seems foolish to the hearers. The foolish message, which includes both form and content, is that salvation comes through Jesus the crucified one." - Schreiner, T. R. (2018). 1 Corinthians (E. J. Schnabel, Ed.; Vol. 7, p. 69)

Day 216: 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. The church in Corinth had a myriad of issues they needed to work through, but if they didn't get this right, there could be no starting line for progress.

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 probably 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.”

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

Day 215: 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's commentary on Romans: “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, 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.

The final book in the Bible also reveals that there will be a final smashing of Satan:  "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." - Revelation 20:10 NIV

Still, when we look around our world today, we seem to be “shattering” each other instead of our enemy, the Devil. This is something we have to start getting right for the sake of our witness and also our unity as believers.

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. In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen.

Day 214: Romans 15:23-33, 16:1-9

“Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me.” - Romans‬ ‭16:7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Christianity never has, nor will it ever, been a one-person show. From the very beginning of his ministry efforts for Christ’s name, Paul was adamant about the importance of having a team.

With the increasing development of technology, we have all been sold on the idea that we can go at this life by ourselves. Still, labor-saving devices haven't made the journey any sweeter, meaningful, or sustainable. It's only in working side by side with others that we really start to experience these three.

Jesus' followers have also, from the start, led the way on equality as they worked as a team. Men and women aren’t working in separate camps in this movement. Phoebe, Priscilla, Junia, and Mary — working alongside Paul, Aquila, Silas, and Andronicus.

All that God is calling us to do is going to require everyone to join in. This is going to take time and a lot of communication, but it is going to be worth every second.

Cooperation also means so much because it is a foreshadowing of heaven, where “we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

“The open door, the open hand and the open heart are characteristics of the Christian life.” - William Barclay

"...from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love." - Ephesians 4:16 NASB

Day 213: Romans 15:1-22

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” - Rom‬ans 15:13‬‬‬ ESV

Again and again, Paul uses the Greek word elpis to express what living the Christian life is like for ALL who have saving faith in Jesus. Elpis (hope) can also be translated as expectation or to look forward with confidence to that which is good and beneficial. (Louw, Nida)

This means that no matter the circumstances we face today, we have good reason to get out of bed and face whatever awaits us. The Christian should be the most positive and encouraging of all people, because we live in constant anticipation that God is taking history toward restoration through Jesus Christ.

It started with the writing of the Old Testament documents (15:4), and it came to fullness in the Good News. Let’s lift up our eyes with great expectation of what God will do next. This isn't just something we are having to wait for at the culminating return of Christ; this is also a joy we can start to experience right now.

“The title ‘the God of hope’ is perhaps suggested by the mention of ‘hope’ at the end of the immediately preceding quotation from Isaiah 11:10. Cf. 14:17, where peace and joy are blessings of the kingdom of God. Because ‘the God of hope’ gives his children hope in himself, they may enjoy these blessings now." - Bruce, F. F. (1985). Romans: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 6, p. 257)

Day 212: Romans 14:1-23

“While we live, we live to please the Lord. And when we die, we go to be with the Lord. So in life and in death, we belong to the Lord.” - Romans 14:8 ESV

The epitome of naivety is found in thinking that the way we live our lives has little or no effect on anyone else. The best life God wants us to live always lives in recognition that our lives impact others. There is a ripple effect that happens with each decision we make, positively or negatively affecting many people for years to come.

So the idea of “let me live my life, and I’ll let you live yours” as a Christian is incorrect.

Ultimately, we live our lives to please Jesus; but we also are considerate of others in order to fully please our Lord and to help other Jesus followers grow.

Romans 14 walks the line of (1) not wanting to try and control each other’s behavior and (2) not wanting to act like their behavior (and our own) doesn’t matter.

Jesus expects every action we make to be made in faith (14:23).

"Because Paul is concerned about those weak in faith (14:1), the doubters (14:23), he advises the 'strong' not only to avoid terminally tripping them up in their faith (14:13) but to actively support them (15:1)." - Keener, C. S. (2009). Romans (p. 169)

The Christian life is one of freedom and consideration.

We will definitely need help from the Holy Spirit for this important work.

Day 211: Romans 13:1-14

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” - Romans 13:8-10 ESV

On the heels of speaking about honoring the pagan Roman authorities and paying taxes, Paul lays down this classic teaching that has Jesus all over it (see Mark 12:31). Even going way back into Leviticus 19:9-18, we see the origin of "love your neighbor as yourself.” What the Christians were doing was taking this command from Moses to another level.

Again, Jesus led the way with his teaching about the Good Samaritan, challenging us all to consider the unlikely souls as being our neighbors as well (Luke 10:25-37).

How we treat others is evidence of what we really believe about God. If we see our Creator as an all-loving Father seeking our good amid a broken world, we will feel loved. If we feel loved and supported and challenged by the One who spoke everything into existence, we will, in turn, love Him.

If we truly love God, the compassion of His Son, Jesus, will become our own.

I love how Jack Cottrell comments about verse nine: “The main point, though, is not self-love, however pure, but a love that embodies an equally deep concern for the well-being of others.” - Cottrell, J. (1996). Romans (Vol. 2, Ro 13:9)