Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

1 Corinthians 3 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary The Church and Its Leaders 3 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? Paul rebukes the believers in Corinth for their spiritual immaturity. He uses the metaphor of "milk", which is meant for babies who are not yet ready for solid food. Then he accuses him of acting "worldly". What does he mean by this? We get a clue when he reveals what was happening in the church. They were arguing and become jealous of their leaders, Paul and Apollos. Worse yet, they were expressing allegiance to one o...

1 Corinthians 2 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary 2 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[a] 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. Paul becomes very vulnerable in this passage. He is basically admitting that he is not a great speaker, but what he does say is by the Spirit's power. In fact, Paul almost seems to be glad he is not a brilliant and eloquent speaker, which might cause people to be drawn to him and not Jesus. Paul kept his message very simple. It was about Jesus and him crucified.  Corinth was a place where many worldly philosophies were abounding. Like an...

1 Corinthians 1 - NIV Introduction to 1 Corinthians - Insight for Living Corinth was a large, international metropolis, filled with people from different backgrounds. Idol worship to gods such as Aphrodite was particularly prominent in the city, though Corinth contained numerous temptations far beyond her temples. In this sense, Corinth was very much like a modern urban area, containing unending opportunities to engage in sinful behavior without any apparent consequences. Such a community clearly had a negative influence on the Corinthian church. But notice that Paul’s instruction to the believers was not to retreat from their city. This was not Paul’s vision for the church then or now. Instead, he directed us to live out our commitment to Christ ever more faithfully in the midst of nonbelievers. - Chuck Swindoll 1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,  2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and ...

Romans 16 - NIV Enduring Word Personal Greetings 16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.  3 Greet Priscilla[c] and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 5 Greet also the church that meets at their house. The first person Paul commends to the church is Phoebe. We see many times in the New Testament Paul uplifting the role of women in the early church. The two leadership roles in the church were elders and deacons. Elders were the spiritual overseers of the church, and this is also the word for " bishop ". Deacons oversaw some of the more practical matters of the church like feeding widows and orphans. But importantly these were leadership positions. They were cal...

Romans 15 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary 15 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. Paul continues to exhort the Romans to holy living. In a similar manner, as in chapter 14, he calls upon the strong to bear the burdens of the weak. Instead of being focused on pleasing themselves, their primary focus should be on their neighbor. Sometimes we make the Christian life complicated and burden new believers with all kinds of rules and regulations. But bearing the burdens of others and building them up in love is the primary call of a follower of Christ.  Jesus is our ...

Romans 14 - NIV Weak and the Strong 14 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. In chapter 14 Paul turns to giving counsel on some practical matters and issues going on in the Roman church. When Paul uses the terms " weak" and " strong ", he is referring to where they are at spiritually. Specifically he is talking about issues that were controversial due to the Jewish backgrounds of many of the believers in the church.  Because the meat in Paul's culture was often offered up to idols, many ...

Romans 13 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary Submission to Governing Authorities 13 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. Paul transitions from chapter 12, where he talked ...

Romans 12 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary A Living Sacrifice 12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans chapter 12 is one of my favorite chapters in the bible. Romans 12:1-2 is  my life verse. It came at time in my life, where I was a Christian but not living my life totally for Christ. It gave me a paradigm for how to live the Jesus-shaped life based on the mercy He had shown me.   In chapter 12, Paul transitions from teaching on the future of Israel to how we should live our Christian lives. He begins with " therefore " showing that this is the natural progression from everything he has taught in Romans thus far in chapters 1-11.  Note...

Romans 11 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary The Remnant of Israel 11 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? 4 And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. Paul once again addresses the plight of Israel. The question Paul asks is, "Did God reject Israel? " And he gives an emphatic "NO!" for an answer. Then, Paul brings up this idea of a remnant of Israel that will be saved. Ther...

Romans 10 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary 10 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Paul still has a passionate desire for his fellow Israelites to be saved. They are religious but they missed the boat when they tried to be saved by their own righteous acts. They did not know the righteousness of God, but instead " sought to establish their own ". Part of our human nature is we would rather take matters into our own hands then surrender to God. We think we know better than God. Of course, we reason God would want me to figure out how to be saved. Unfortunately by trying to establish t...

Romans 9 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary Though we know Paul is called the apostle to the Gentiles, in chapter 9 we see his love for the people of Israel. Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin, and a Pharisee of Pharisees, but when he met Jesus he realized it was not about being a religious Jews. He realized one could only be justified by faith in Jesus.  Paul’s Anguish Over Israel 9 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen . Paul is so passionate about his fellow Jews tha...