Category: Devotions

So we are nearly at the end of chapter 5. We have read five chapters of First Corinthians and then today we find out something we didn’t know when we started reading this letter. The first is actually the second!

^“ I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— ¹⁰ not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. ¹¹ But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. ¹² What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? ¹³ God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.” (1 Corinthians 5 v 9-13)

Paul had already written to them. This was a second letter. The first had been misunderstood. Paul had written to the Church not to associate with those who claim to be Christian but who engage in four areas of behaviour. They misunderstood and took it to mean that what they were already probably doing, shunning and judging those outside the Church, was validated. Now he has to write again to correct their understanding and he takes the opportunity to add a couple categories. We will get in to those and what he says about them tomorrow.

Paul says, ‘you misunderstood me’, ‘I didn’t mean it that way, I was meaning this …’

The Holy Spirit did not preserve that letter which had been misunderstood.

We have all experienced being misunderstood. Our response can vary from being bemused as to how the person could misunderstand what we had said to self-reflecting on if we could have communicated more clearly.

I guess the greatest response is a frustrated sigh, a sinking feeling within that someone completely misses what you have been trying to say. It is like speaking a language that no one seems to understand.

Misunderstandings can happen to anyone.

It can be a lonely place especially if a whole group seem to have misunderstood you. Over time if you have a few of these moments then they stack up against you so that you begin to second-guess everything that you say or do. Is it me? Should I just stay quiet?

It happened to Jesus.

He was misunderstood when he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey saying, ‘I’m not that kind of hero, I’m a different king.’

Judas misunderstood the mission of Jesus with traumatic consequences.

It is clear Jesus was telling us his disciples would be misunderstood as he was: “If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of the household” (Matthew 10 v 25)

Sometimes being misunderstood is the price for being authentic. When you live true to yourself you may not fit neatly into the boxes others have created. Better to be misunderstood than not be you.

Being misunderstood doesn’t diminish your worth or value of who you are or even what you have done or in Paul’s case, what you have written. Being misunderstood isn’t a reflection of your identity or your values or your truth.

You will be misunderstood in fact we should almost expect it for not everyone will understand you and that maybe more to do with them than you. but this doesn’t have to be a permanent state.

Never let misunderstanding silence your voice. Your voice matters even when it seems no one is listening. The most important thing you can do is not give up. Keep speaking the truth. Keep fine-tuning your message and in that moment when you receive genuine understanding you will even be grateful for all the misunderstandings that led you to exactly this place.

You can go again, write a second letter!

As we start this new year I am wondering how the Church in my nation will navigate the immoral challenges of last year. I am further wondering about the challenges of my own denomination and the Pastors and churches that I oversee. What will they face this year? What difficulties will need to be dealt with? As we move into a new chapter and begin to see what was on Paul’s heart as he writes this letter I am thinking especially of the challenge of church discipline.

“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. ² And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? ³ For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. ⁴ So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, ⁵ hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 5 v 1-5)

What can be an abhorrence to one half of the Church can be something that is celebrated or ignored in the other half.

A man is having an affair with his step-mother which obviously not only wrecked his father’s marriage (if he was still alive) but has been the talk of everyone’s lips inside and outside the church. Paul has got to know and what did the church who believed they were so amazing do? Nothing!
So Paul wades in and starting from this situation begins to talk about other sins and what to do when they get into the church, which we will get to in the next few chapters.

Why did the Church not do anything about this situation (interestingly it would seem it was only the man who was a church member)?

Maybe it was because:-

• They didn’t know what to do.
• The belief more in the freedom of the individual to choose how to live.
• They had a liberal view of sexuality.
• Their arrogance about their spiritual gifts and their division over which leader is best to follow blinded them to the moral failure and their compromise.

Paul’s response was this:-

• Anger, Paul was appalled.
• He addresses the whole Church.
• He wants the man out of the Church. This seems harsh perhaps.
  • But it gives the man chance to see what the consequences of his actions are; discipline is for restoration not mere punishment.
  • It is so the Church can be saved. We don’t live out our Christian faith independent of a community. What we do impacts them.

The challenge is to find the balance between keeping to the orthodox teaching of the Bible whilst creating a culture of ongoing repentance.

Accountability without legalism.

Redemptive discipline without rejection.

Grace and truth not either.

For this year and for the Ministers and Churches my prayer is that love will find a way for church discipline.

The last day of 2024 and I have some challenging questions for us who live in a world where appearances are everything and so much so that there are even jobs with the titles of a ‘social media influencer’ and it pays well! Within the Church there exists an arena of celebrity preachers with polished presentations and with an expert backroom team who can make anything look and sound good! That’s our world inside and outside the Church.

I have some questions but first let’s read Paul’s comments.

“But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. ²⁰ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. ²¹ What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?” (1 Corinthians 4 v 19-21)

So here are the questions:

• What is of most importance? The world knowing you are spiritual or actually walking in the power of God?
• Do we tell people about Jesus or do we just talk about doing so?
• Do we really expect powerful acts of God when we pray for someone or would we prefer they be blessed with a lesser expectation?
• Do we welcome a challenge over any blind-spots? Do we ask to be challenged?
• When confronted with our errors and blind-spots do we respond with humility or pride?
• Do you need a ‘rod of discipline’ because you have become impressive to your world or do you need a ‘loving and gentle’ approach to encourage you to stop living like you are unimpressive to everyone?

These questions come from Paul’s challenge over our Christianity being more of words than the power of the Spirit.

As we approach a new year let us do so with a desire that our Christianity be seen more regarding a demonstration of the Spirit’s power than our skillful words, arguments and presentations. Let us seek not to be filled with pride but with His power which genuinely expresses itself through humility, love and transformation. We may not be slick but we can serve for the glory of God. We may not be skilled but we carry the presence of the Spirit who is greater in us than he that is in the world.

We have heard that quotation many times and probably every time it was misattributed to the wrong person, even by John F. Kennedy in a speech in 1961. It is a quote from the 18^th century and wherever it did originate from it carries a truth that the Church needs to heed. That remaining neutral or doing nothing when the situation calls for a voice and action is a big mistake.

Here’s another quote which is not misattributed. Paul is addressing a serious issue that had developed in the Church, arrogance.

“Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. ¹⁹ But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. ²⁰ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. ²¹ What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?” (1 Corinthians 4 v 18-21)

A serious issue had happened in the church. It wasn’t the division, Paul has addressed this. We will find out soon enough what it was. But it was a sexual immoral situation which the Church leaders did nothing about and instead they became arrogant over the issue if that is possible (which we know it is). Like children misbehaving when their parents are not in sight  or school children with the teacher out of the classroom acting however they want, they just didn’t think Paul was going to come to them. Paul writes and says not only will he send Timothy but he is coming himself. Out of sight is not out of mind for Paul. He is coming and they need to be ready. The language used reminds us of another coming, that of Christ. It is easy for us to be lulled to sleep behaving like Jesus will not return in our lifetime. But if Jesus was to come again in 2025, how would you live your life now?

Back to the problem. They had done nothing about the issue but in Paul’s absence they were also attacking his apostleship turning people away from him. So the issue was sexual immorality which the leaders were not only not doing anything about but they were taking advantage of the absence of Paul. It is the same today when the orthodox, faithful-to-the-Bible are present in the church then generally those who would prefer to turn a blind eye or even promote such error don’t hang around because they have no room to spread their alternative gospel. But when the orthodox, faithful-to-the-Bible are not present or if they’re present they are not courageous enough to do and say what is right, then the arrogant rise and issues of error grow.

As Christians (especially if you are a Christian leader) then your responsibility is to say something. Doing nothing is not an option. We are not only messengers of good but we are activists of stopping wrongdoing creeping into the church.

We now know the problems of this Church. They were quarrelling over immorality, marriage, idolatry, worship, finance and theological issues like eternity. Above all they were dissatisfied with Paul’s authority as an apostle. Some were following him, others Apollos and others Peter. The Church was political and full of jealousy. Their need as Paul saw it was a lack of father’s. It still is the lack. The attack on the family is the attack on the father and similarly in the Church.

“I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. ¹⁵ Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. ¹⁶ Therefore I urge you to imitate me. ¹⁷ For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.” (1 Corinthians 4 v 14-17)

When people see you, do they see Jesus? What kind of Messiah do you have?

The Jewish Messiah is a political leader descended from King David. A professional of the Jewish law and the commandments within it. A charismatic leader. A military leader. A great judge. The most important thing is this: the Jewish Messiah is a human being, not a god or a demi-god. He has certainly not come from heaven and once he is dead he doesn’t rise again. Political, professional, charismatic, a fighter, a judge, human, not divine. Some of those Messiah type figures can be found in churches today.

It would not have been strange if Paul had supplied a list of behavioural functions in order to help us to imitate him. He did have such lists and uses them elsewhere and it was not unusual in that culture for disciples to want to copy their rabbi.

So what does Paul say?

There are many instructors, guardians or guides. These guardians were the ones who tutored people and kept supervision on their conduct and there are many of these in the Church But not many Fathers.

“I have become a father and I have a son (Timothy). Now imitate me as I imitate Christ.”

His use of language in these verses are clearly revealing God the Father and God the Son.

• The Church needs more Fathers who send and more sons who go. John20:21 “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” There are trapped sons today. The fathers will not send, they keep to themselves, they want to build empires, to preserve their name. Sons want to honour but they want to go.
• The Church needs more Fathers who love and more sons who know they are loved: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” Luke 3:22. This is sacrificial love. The sacrifice of the father to send the one he loves to people who are on the verge of rejecting Him.  The sacrifice of the son to be sent. The Father sends and the son dies. The church wants to live, God wants the church to die.

The ministry of Jesus was to reveal the Father. As people looked at the lifestyle of Jesus, saw his personality and character, they saw the beauty of the Father. Do people see the Father in us? Christ’s passion hasn’t changed now that he is in heaven. It is still his desire for our lives that we know the Father. What kind of Father do people experience from the Church? From you and me?

Remember what Paul said at the start of his letter about the Corinthian Christians (1:26-31)? Their righteousness, holiness and redemption had nothing to do with what they had achieved, or learnt or earned. Paul used words like foolish, weak, lowly, despised and nobodies. Yet God called them.

But now Paul writes contrary to that opening.

“Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you! ⁹ For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. ¹⁰ We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honoured, we are dishonoured! ¹¹ To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. ¹² We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; ¹³ when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.” (1 Corinthians 4 v 8-13)

What is Paul doing? This is satire at its best. Paul’s use of sarcasm is masterful. Why?

It is because they look and behave anything but their Lord (who died on a cross).

It is easy today with the use of the internet to see some mansion of a boasting televangelist. It is easy today to watch a successful Church online that seems to have more worldly influence than the Spirit and whose success metric is not in the shadow of the cross. In 1978 Ron Sider published his book with a challenging title, ‘Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger.’ Nearly 50 years later, “the world produces enough food to feed all of its 8 billion people, yet 733 million people (1 in 11) go hungry every day.” (https://www.concern.net/news/world-hunger-facts-figures)

It isn’t wrong to be rich but what you do with your riches could be. It isn’t wrong to be successful but how you view your success could be.

Paul is not looking for sympathy. Far from it. He is simply exposing the pride of the Church for what they have and their embarrassment on what they’re hearing of their apostle.

And what of us? I guess we are somewhere in the middle. We don’t want the pride but a little more riches, success and recognition would be desirable. We want the presence and power of God in our lives but some don’t want to pay the price. Paul’s way is definitely to be avoided if we can. I don’t think v10-11 would look good on someone’s social media profile. Not if you were wanting to be invited to speak at the Western Church conferences. The cruciform of Christians seem to be in the shadows and the message of the cross is muted. Perhaps we need more satire to shock the Church back into the shape it was created for, the cross.

All is Grace. Everything we have has been given to us. We can claim nothing.

Paul uses 3 questions to literally say 3 of his most important theological truths.

We live in a world of self-obsessed self-made success stories. But these stories come with a burden of self-glorification and are devoid of joy and true gratefulness to the truth of what really happened.

“For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”(1 Corinthians 4 v 7)

Question 1: “For who makes you different from anyone else?”

Truth: this confronts taking any credit for our unique qualities over others.

Question 2: “What do you have that you did not receive?”

Truth: this asks for us to try and list anything that was outside God’s sovereign choices.

Question 3: “And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”

Truth: brings us the judgment for our pride in making the gifts we received look like achievements.

All is Grace. This truth leads us to live differently.

• We live with thankfulness not pride.
• We live with humility not arrogance.
• We live with generosity for we have received generosity.
• We celebrate others above ourselves.

All is Grace is a beautiful, freeing place to be. We rest in our identity as a recipient of His amazing grace.

Do not go beyond what is written. It was a saying then and Paul uses it, In many ways it hasn’t changed.

“Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.” (1 Corinthians 4 v 6)

But what is written?

We have to go back a few chapters to when Paul and Apollos are described as farmers, then as construction workers on a building and then as servants and stewards. Those descriptions are what Paul is referring to.

Paul is saying don’t be presumptuous but be grounded in what I have written. He didn’t draw on some article that some colleague had written that month. No. His findings were grounded in the Old Testament and he quotes from it as we have seen. Every time he does so he is contrasting the futility of human wisdom with that of the wisdom of God. The same applies today. Don’t go with the wisdom of the world but be guided by the Bible.

In doing so it will prevent the arrogance that was taking place with the Church. Most division is caused by people thinking more highly of themselves, sticking their chest out, puffing themselves up, ‘look at me, listen to my views’.

We don’t want to look at you nor listen to you. We need to keep to the Bible for it is there where God’s wisdom is known.

I am pleased that today we have landed on this verse. At least I can make reference to Christmas without taking it too much out of context!

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.” (1 Corinthians 4 v 5)

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2

When God comes He always brings everything out from hiding and the motives of every heart is made plain. That happened at the first Christmas and it will happen at the last day.

The difference between God and man is that He judges the motives, what is unseen and He patiently waits to do so. In contrast to these Corinthian celebrity-chasers who judge what is seen and do so before life is over.

Life is not over and your judgment is not here, no matter what people have said to you this year! Today of all days, tell yourself, you can keep going; give God your heart and commit to living for Him not man.