Another foggy but beautiful morning today! Yesterday was a great day and today will be too! We had a special dinner yesterday...Original's Pizza in Hickories Park! Joseph loved trying to feed a squirrel that kept coming around!
Today's chapter Paul really slams the Corinthians for they way they are believing in people rather than in God. He begins immediately with calling them brothers and sisters (indicating a holy relationship with them), yet says he cant' talk to them like spiritual people- they are missing something! They are followers of God (brothers and sisters) and have the Holy Spirit, yet don't act like it! Do we know people like that? In some translations, he uses the word "carnal people" (fleshy people, of the flesh rather than of the spirit). He has to speak to them as though they were babies- people without the Spirit. These "carnal Christians" think and act according to the flesh, not the Spirit. The flesh doesn't dominate, but is significant in their lives. Paul keeps his teachings simple (milk, v 2) even though they thought they were ready for more intense (solid food, v 2) theology. The methods we teach children is different than the way we teach adults. The concepts can be the same, but the mode is different. God wasn't preventing the teaching, they were not able to take the food. Can you think of people that think they are ready for "solid food" but are really only able to consume "milk"?
Paul then explains why. There is jealousy, fighting, envy, divisions and strife within the group. The Corinthians thought they were spiritual, yet their actions said they weren't. I think we all know people like that! The carnal people think they are following God, but the divisions come when they seem to take more identity from their teachers (Paul, Apollos, v 4). Paul and Apollos are not the important people to believe in-- God is! Christian "workers" have different job. Some people are there to plant the seeds of faith, some are there to water the seeds, some are there to tend the plants (v 6). God is the one that causes the growth and development though. Planting and watering don't make the plant grow, only God can do that (vv 7-8). All workers are necessary for the actions of God to be fruitful; one action is not more or less important than another.
Paul continues with another analogy. Using the different gifts we have is like the different construction workers that build a house or other structure. Paul was there to lay the foundation; a home needs a strong foundation on which to build. Paul provided that (v 10) through Jesus. Each person in the church adds to that foundation with their gifts. Some people (v 13) add to that foundation with strong materials (stone, gold, silver, precious jewels); some people add to that foundation with weaker products (hay, straw, grass). Everything may look well and good, yet when the fires of testing come (v 13), it will be obvious who placed the strong materials. The faithful v the unfaithful. It isn't the amount of work, it is the quality of the materials, the strength of the faith. I am sure we know people that build with stone and others that build with straw!
Paul deepens the context by calling people temples of God (v 16). The temple was a place where God resided and Paul is commenting that God lives within us. Defiling self means to defile God. Defiling self means defiling God. The glory we are to give goes to God, not to the people around us (Apollos, Paul, Peter); the people around us are important and they are the reason we are in the place we are- but the credit goes to God. The Corinthians were beginning to worship the people rather than God; they were looking to their leaders as the sources of wisdom, not God. The point is that we should be looking to the ultimate source of wisdom and power- God...not the purveyor of that message. Do we sometimes do that- credit the person rather than God?
Some interesting and relevant topics for us today in this chapter. You can really tell Paul is quite frustrated with the Corinthians and their method of following leaders rather than God. I am sure that part of that frustration comes from Paul wondering what happened from when he left them a few years ago after starting the church! What did happen?
Have a great weekend- looks like its going to be a great one!
Peace+
Pastor Paul
I was complaining to Rhea that these stories are written in... (I can't think of the word. It is something like parable.) I have said before that I have a scientific mind. I can figure out how things work, but I cannot decipher parables. I am afraid that without something like pastor's notes, I would miss the point altogether. The footnotes help me on my journey, but it is pastor's note that really bring the points home. I am grateful for this assist.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting, but true that man can plant the seeds, apply the fertilizer and water the seeds, but only God can make them grow. I think that what Paul is saying here is that he and his fellows (Peter, Apollos, and others) can start the church, give it spiritual guidance, but only God can make the spirit grow in the men and women of Corinth and, thus, make the church grow. But apparently this hasn't happened. Something has broken down in the planting, seeding, fertilizing and watering phases, so that there was nothing for God to grow. Paul lays the blame for this in the leaders of Corinth, who have not "watered" the seeds of the church. Using another analogy, he says that the leaders of Corinth are not ready for solid food - only milk. This seems to me to be a very angry analogy and I imagine that is how Paul wanted it to be as he was angry. His anger was justified as when he left Corinth many years in the past, it appeared that the church there was growing spiritually. What happened? I remember pastor saying that Corinth was a place of loose morals and fast women (This is not politically correct and I apologize. I hope the PC cops are taking the night off.). I think that it is very likely that the leaders (of the church) fell victim to this atmosphere and all was forgotten at the church. It wouldn't be the first time that has happened and it will not be the last.
I hope that what I have just written makes sense and is understandable. Have a great weekend, everybody.
One of the stories I really enjoy is the story in Acts 8 about Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch. The Ethiopian says something like, "How can I understand unless someone teaches me?" I usually say "Just doing my job!" Glad I can help understand.
DeleteGood point about church starts- Paul, etc can plant a church- but it is God's spirit that causes the growth. And if the spirit isn't there- growth doesn't happen or slows!
You are right- when Paul left, the church was on fire- but what happened? Look at our churches now- many were on fire- but they have died down and are just embers now. What happened? There has been a movement away from the church. How do we get people back?
Great points Jack- thanks!
Vs. 7: "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God makes it grow." Paul seems to trying to get the people to realize that God is the center of everything. We need to have the faith that this is true. We mustn't worship leaders or anyone, only God. He is trying to make everyone realize how mighty God is. Vs. 16: Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's spirit lives in you? God is almighty and his spirit lives in us; how lucky are we to have the opportunity to do the best we can to please God.
ReplyDeleteLooks like we have a very warm weekend and week coming up. How lucky are we to live in an age of air conditioning, if we aren't destroying the environment. You might find me in our little backyard stock tank pool this week. Even that can really cool you off. Have a good weekend everyonne.
testing
ReplyDeleteGod is the center- but do we remember that? Often times, I feel God becomes a secondary point in worship. Worship leaders are just that- leaders for worship. Not to be worshipped. Some forget that!
DeleteWe do need to strive to do the best we can.
Good points Cathy! Thanks!
Paul says we can plant the seed but without God is will not grow. so the leaders helps us to see but what God wants but onlyvGod is the director.
ReplyDeleteWe need to build on a strong foundation(Jesus) for a strong building this reminds me of when the kids were young and we went to the beach and they built sandcastles and how disappointed they were when the tide came and washed them away.. God is our tide so to say when He is in our lives we need to be careful if we want a strong "building" as our building may fall with the tide.
Good point Clara, the leaders can help us see what God desires. Do leaders do that?
DeleteThe strong foundations are family, church, love....are we missing some of them in our life? Many people do not have those foundations- how can we help?
Good ideas Clara!
I agree with Jack, I did have a bit of a problem just reading this chapter and understanding - it took the notes in my study bible and the comments by Pastor to truly understand what Paul was saying. And in today's world? Our pastor lays the foundation (as Paul says he did) by giving us the message, we build on the message with, hopefully, strong metals, and when God tests us, it stands the test. I hope that I am building upon the foundation with strong materials. Honestly, I do understand how people can get drawn into certain people, when people come along with lots of ideas and "fire", it's easy to get drawn to them and think that their ideas are the best and go along with whatever their thoughts are! I loved the last vs - in my KJV it says "And ye are Christ's and Christ is God's" How wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI do my best to get the foundation for the week set...but you're right- there has to be some building during the week! Is there?
ReplyDeleteCharisma and charm are quite attractive and people can be swayed by those feelings/ emotions. Hopefully they are drawn to goodness...but sometimes...
Good thoughts Donna