Day 230: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

“That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.” - 1 Corinthians‬ ‭11:28‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We are prone, as humans, to do things our own way. We rush here and there to satisfy the various desires and whims that come upon us. We claim that these feelings and urges are beyond our control. Slowing down doesn’t seem like much of an option for people as driven as we are.

Yet here we see that Paul encourages the Christians in Corinth to slow down, to show some self-restraint, when it came to how they were weekly remembering Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

The preventative he offers is found in the word: Examine. It is the Greek word dokimazō. It can also mean to test or to try to determine the genuineness of something.

How much more of a focused time would we have while eating the bread and drinking the cup if we took this time to test ourselves? It is also a good idea to take this inventory into every day we face.

This may also remind us of Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

I love the following quote to close our time together today. May communion find an echo in our lives today and till our final day on earth.

"The eating and drinking at the Supper is not ritualistic and it must find an echo in the lives of believers. They need to consider whether their lives are in accord with the self-giving love of Jesus (cf. Lam. 3:40; 2 Cor. 13:5)." - Schreiner, T. R. (2018). 1 Corinthians (E. J. Schnabel, Ed.; Vol. 7, p. 246)

Day 229: 1 Corinthians 11:1-16

“Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God.” - 1 Corinthians‬ ‭11:11-12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Our reading for today will most likely cause us to cringe and stare blankly at the words, wondering if we really did just read that in the Bible. Feminists everywhere recoil at the repressive language!

Yet, as we dig deeper, we see that Paul is, once again, working on moving the Corinthian church into a place of otherness (holiness) and mutual equality in a city that was confused in every way.

Through archaeological findings, it has been discovered that it was common for ancient Romans to cover their heads when performing a sacrifice.

In short, Paul is looking to communicate two main themes in this section:

1. Making a distinction between maleness and femaleness is good and purposeful. We celebrate and declare our differences.

2. Men and women are equal in value, even when it comes to our times of worship on Sundays. We need everyone in the room to play their part, and we don’t need the world’s advice on how to proceed.

We would do well to end our time together with this insightful comment on our passage by Ben Witherington: “I would suggest that Paul places little stock in social or cultural conventions or social status and a great deal of stock in the way God has made human beings and is remaking them in Christ.”

Day 228: 1 Corinthians 10:14-33

“Whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, you must do all for the glory of God.” - 1 Corinthians 10:31

It is our fallen nature that makes us want to know our limits when it comes to living. What am I allowed to do as a Christian? What is definitively a sin? Why does my behavior have to affect someone else?

Yesterday’s reading had to do a lot with evangelism, what Paul was willing to do to reach those who had yet to say “yes” to Jesus. Today we see how we’re supposed to interact with fellow believers.

The fact of the matter is that none of us becomes Christians in isolation. When we confess Christ, we join one body. This “one body” is from every part of the globe, speaking various languages. Our worldwide family includes the socially elite and the outcasts.

So how are we to interact with each other? How will we know when we’ve become self-focused? What is the filter? Verses 24 and 31 are the key. The following question flows out of them: Is what I am about to do “for the glory of God” and “what is best” for the body of Christ?

For Paul, this was a simple decision. He was going to do whatever it took to gain influence for the sake of the many, "that they may be saved."

What sacrifices is God asking you to make today in order to reach more for Jesus' kingdom?

"Not to the glorification either of your own breadth of mind or your over-scrupulosity of conscience, but 'that God in all things may be glorified' (1 Pet. 4:11)." - Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. (1909). 1 Corinthians (p. 326)

Day 227: 1 Corinthians 9:19-27, 10:1-13

“Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” - 1 Corinthians‬ ‭10:12-13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The 40 years that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness were not pretty. Because of their fear of the Canaanites (GIANTS! NEPHILIM!), they made an 11-day journey into a four-decade one (see Deuteronomy 1:2).

Paul points out four significant mistakes they additionally made during these nomadic years (before the promised land entrance.

Idolatry

Sexual immorality

Testing Christ

Complaining

We don’t have to work very hard to see that these four are still very much in play in our world today, working to drag us down.

Paul wanted the church in Corinth to know they weren’t beyond these same temptations. We are all capable of the most destructive behavior, but at the same time, we are not inevitably bound to fall into these four lifestyles.

Not beyond, but also not necessarily bound.

How can we overcome temptation? Let’s follow the Apostle’s advice (which is also Jesus’):

1. Take heed/watch out. Don’t let pride lull you into the idea of invincibility.

2. What you are going through temptation-wise has been faced by millions of other Christians before you. Yours is not an isolated instance.

3. God is faithful and will not exceed your limits to be able to resist.

4. BONUS: God will provide a way of escape. Look for it. Take it.

Day 226: 1 Corinthians 9:1-18

“What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.” - 1 Corinthians‬ ‭9:18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

As I made my way through our reading for today, many questions came to the surface. One of the main ones was this: “Why did Paul not claim his rights to take any financial support from the Corinthians?” It seems as though this was his same practice earlier in Thessalonica as well (see 1 Thessalonians 2:5-10).

The most influential leader (outside of Jesus) in Christian history was not “on staff” in Corinth. Instead, he made a living as a leatherworker (making tents). This was a profession looked at with disdain among the Greco-Roman elite, but among the common people, this gained an incredible amount of influence.

The traveling Cynics and Sophists of Paul’s time were notorious for begging for money in return for their teachings. This would have made him stand out from acts like these.

What makes things even more interesting is that verse 12 of our reading seems to indicate that the Corinthians did cover the living expenses of their local ministers. Perhaps Apollos?

Paul was not a located minister. He traveled, taught, and encouraged. He wasn’t doing a majority of the baptizing or the day-to-day pastoring. Still, he had an important role to play. We all do.

This is yet another thing that makes Christianity unique. The paid staff whose profession is to serve the local church or ministries should not have all the influence or authority. We need everyone to contribute and lead as God has equipped us (we'll get to spiritual gifts in a few days).

We should all be “compelled to preach.” This is the only way we will reach our potential as the body of Christ.

SIDE NOTE: We do know that the Philippians (and others) did contribute to Paul's financial needs (see Philippians 4:14-15, 1 Corinthians 11:8, 12:13). So he wasn't above accepting financial support, but in affluent Corinth, he needed to make a statement.

Day 225: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

“But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we exist for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life.” - 1 Corinthians 8:6

Writing about this verse, Leon Morris says, “We came from him and we live for him; he is our origin and goal.”

Paul is using this incredible language to describe the unimportance associated with other gods. Idols, though they can be very distracting to our worship of the true God, aren’t real. They carry no weight. Jesus Christ, active in creation and alive today, is the One who has given us life.

So we are free! Free to eat or drink whatever we’d like.

Still, in verse 9, Paul lays out his own conviction. Our freedom is not a license to try and cut God and others out of a majority of our lives. The freedom Jesus gives us is a gift, and it is to be handled with extreme care and respect for others.

Would you be so stubborn as to exercise your freedom at the expense of someone else?

Paul chose “no” as his response. We should consider it as well. For our burdens are not lifted in self-focused living. They are lifted at calvary (Luke 23:33).

Day 224: 1 Corinthians 7:25-40

“A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but only if he loves the Lord.” - ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭7:39‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The following quote does well to help us understand what Paul is saying to those in Corinth during this second half of Chapter 7 where Paul says we are better off not to marry: “...obviously not morally, because, if one course be morally better than another, we are bound to take it; but ‘better’ with reference to expediency in ‘the urgent necessity’ which rested on the Christian world in that day.” - H.D.M. Spence

Plus, we also have to keep in mind that Corinth was such a sexually confused place. Seeing examples of a man and a woman confidently married or someone who was single making steadfast choices to be content would have been a powerful example to the city. By speaking of the "present distress," Paul is probably speaking to the climate in Corinth, and the entire Roman empire, toward Christians.

I almost get the vibe of what Jesus said when foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70: "How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!" - Matthew 24:19 NIV

"These are not the easiest times to be planning a wedding."

Also, by Paul speaking so much about the freedom of women to marry or not, he’s putting himself in his own category in the first century (a time when women had very few rights).

For those of you in this stage of life (as someone who is single), the number one question to ask a potential future spouse: “Will you love Jesus more than me? If so, I’m all in.”

Day 223: 1 Corinthians 7:1-24

“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.” - 1 Corinthians 7:17 ESV

Our reading for today has probably been as misused as any other Scripture in the Bible. A majority of the confusion happens at the very top of the chapter, where Paul says that "it is good for a man not to touch a woman (sexual relations)." The ESV and NIV put the phrase in quotes to help us understand that this was most likely one of the questions the Corinthians had.

It is likely that the Christian men had bought into the lie that it was more righteous to have a celibate marriage, which to many of us seems insane. This gave Paul the opportunity to launch into this teaching on contentment and calling.

These are things many in our culture today are still struggling to attain. Many of us are constantly dissatisfied (social media fuels this). We need to get married. We need a different spouse. We need a different job. We need a better-looking car. Those who are married think, "If I were only single..."

The bottom line is this: Yes, you may hate your current relationship or job status, and you probably have some very good reasons, but God has you where you are for a reason. Do the best you possibly can to obey Jesus in the midst of your situational calling. In doing so, we may find that we have more to be thankful for than we at first were able to see.

"There is not a monochrome calling for believers, but all must seek and find what God has for them at different times in their lives." - Thomas Schreiner

Day 222: 1 Corinthians 6:1-20

“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, isn't condemning occasional mishaps and mistakes. With clarity, he is saying that there are lifestyles that are not conducive to preparing us for heaven—in fact, these lifestyles show that we would  rather be in Hell than do things His way.

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 being easy to overcome.

Yet, as Ben Witherington wrote so well, “Paul believes that God can give Christians enough power to resist sinful desires, even if they continue to have them.”

There is no shame in the temptations that come at us. Jesus was Himself 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. Jesus desires for everyone on earth to be washed (from sin), sanctified (set apart as holy), and justified (declared not guilty).

The most encouraging thing about this passage is that Paul was writing to real people in Corinth who had, by the power of the Holy Spirit, walked away from these lifestyles in order to follow Jesus. This kind of change is possible.

The choice is ours.

Day 221: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

“Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” - 1 Corinthians 5:8 ESV

The situation in the Corinth church that Paul found himself confronting was deeply disturbing. Sleeping with your step-mom was wrong on many levels, and something needed to be done to ensure the congregation's health moving forward. Paul's use of the word purge is all we need to know about the seriousness of this situation. This man needed to be distanced from the church so that he would (hopefully) understand the idiocy of his actions.

In verse 8, Paul contrasts two words with two more words. Malice (damaging evil) and wickedness (wicked nature) were to be put away in exchange for sincerity (unmixedness) and truth (integrity).

God's desire is for us to live genuinely good lives, not just for appearance's sake. He knows who we really are, deep down (see John 2:24-25).

The Jews had three main festivals (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles), and many others they celebrated annually. Paul insists that Christians are always celebrating, always to be setting themselves apart. This life of obedience to Jesus isn't to be thought of as drudgery; it should be our greatest joy.

"The believer’s perpetual festival is kept with sincerity, which refers to purity of motives, and with truth, which points to purity of action. Both are so characteristic of the Christian as to be compared to his necessary food, his bread." - Leon Morris