Daily Bread 1 Corinthians 1
Daily Bread 1 Corinthians 1
Paul Gives Thanks to God
4 I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. 5 Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. 6 This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. 7 Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Observation:
As Paul begins the first of two letters to the Corinthian church, he acknowledges the many and varied spiritual gifts that God has given to this church through the Holy Spirit. Specifically, he points out their gifts of eloquent words and knowledge. Paul assures them they do not lack any spiritual gift as they wait for Jesus to be revealed (ie. Second Coming)
Then in verses 10-17, Paul begins to show the purpose for this letter to the church of God in Corinth. It seems as though with the specially gifted teachers that God has placed in their midst (Apollos, Paul, and Peter) that cliques started to happen based on what person they identified themselves with and who baptized them. Paul strongly admonishes them that it is not the “person-ality” that is important but that they are being led to faith in Christ.
Then, he reminds them that clever teachings or pride in our human wisdom has no place in the church. Paul reminds us that God’s foolishness is wiser than man’s wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than our strength. Importantly God chooses those things that seem foolish or weak in the world’s eyes, so that it will be clear that the wisdom and power is coming through him. As such there is no place for personality cliques in the church, or saying I follow this or that pastor/leader. Good leaders will diffuse this and point people back to Christ where the credit belongs.
Application:
This is one of the benefits of having multiple leaders and multiple pastors. This way a person’s faith don’t rest in the person who might be charismatically gifted. Each pastor has different gifts that God can use to build up the body. Just as each believer has different gifts to help grow the church. But Paul reminds us to not lift up the “showy” or “public” gifts, but to spend more time uplifting those who serve in the shadows.
All of us like to recognized for our contributions and appreciated and affirmed, but we must be careful that no part of our ministry becomes about us. If it does there is a good chance that we will not be operating in God’s power, and most likely we will be humbled at some point. As we offer our gifts for God’s glory, God can use us to do powerful and wise things for Him. God looks to use those who will be careful to rely on Him and give Him the credit for the success.
Prayer: We thank you for the many gifts you have given us to build up the church. May our church give praise and glory to you, not any individual or personality. May each person realize that our wisdom and strength come from submitting to You and the power of Your Spirit. Come Holy Spirit guide us in our service to you and help keep us humble for Jesus’ sake, Amen.
Paul Gives Thanks to God
4 I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. 5 Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. 6 This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. 7 Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Observation:
As Paul begins the first of two letters to the Corinthian church, he acknowledges the many and varied spiritual gifts that God has given to this church through the Holy Spirit. Specifically, he points out their gifts of eloquent words and knowledge. Paul assures them they do not lack any spiritual gift as they wait for Jesus to be revealed (ie. Second Coming)
Then in verses 10-17, Paul begins to show the purpose for this letter to the church of God in Corinth. It seems as though with the specially gifted teachers that God has placed in their midst (Apollos, Paul, and Peter) that cliques started to happen based on what person they identified themselves with and who baptized them. Paul strongly admonishes them that it is not the “person-ality” that is important but that they are being led to faith in Christ.
Then, he reminds them that clever teachings or pride in our human wisdom has no place in the church. Paul reminds us that God’s foolishness is wiser than man’s wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than our strength. Importantly God chooses those things that seem foolish or weak in the world’s eyes, so that it will be clear that the wisdom and power is coming through him. As such there is no place for personality cliques in the church, or saying I follow this or that pastor/leader. Good leaders will diffuse this and point people back to Christ where the credit belongs.
Application:
This is one of the benefits of having multiple leaders and multiple pastors. This way a person’s faith don’t rest in the person who might be charismatically gifted. Each pastor has different gifts that God can use to build up the body. Just as each believer has different gifts to help grow the church. But Paul reminds us to not lift up the “showy” or “public” gifts, but to spend more time uplifting those who serve in the shadows.
All of us like to recognized for our contributions and appreciated and affirmed, but we must be careful that no part of our ministry becomes about us. If it does there is a good chance that we will not be operating in God’s power, and most likely we will be humbled at some point. As we offer our gifts for God’s glory, God can use us to do powerful and wise things for Him. God looks to use those who will be careful to rely on Him and give Him the credit for the success.
Prayer: We thank you for the many gifts you have given us to build up the church. May our church give praise and glory to you, not any individual or personality. May each person realize that our wisdom and strength come from submitting to You and the power of Your Spirit. Come Holy Spirit guide us in our service to you and help keep us humble for Jesus’ sake, Amen.
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