I Corinthians 7:25-40

Today is one of the longer readings that we’ve had of late, but it seems to me that it can all be summarized in this one verse: This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord. (v. 35, NASB) I think Paul’s “this” at the beginning of this verse reflects back to verses 32-34a, But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife and his interests are divided. The next verse reflects the same sentiment to the wife, so that Paul is gender-neutral in his advice. So, back to my first statement – in giving his advice Paul is not limiting the Corinthians’ choices; his concern is that they seek the Lord more fully and behave appropriately in their marriage and in the world. It’s good advice for today!

One item of confusion appears in verse 29: But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened… I’ve always been of the mind that Paul thought that Jesus’ return was nearby, especially earlier in his ministry. His letters to the Thessalonians (among the earliest of his epistles) where he discusses the end times seem to support this claim, as do other statements that he makes in other letters. However, even though my Study Bible suggests this as a possibility, it seems to suggest more strongly that Paul is speaking about the persecutions that the Corinthians are suffering. For my part, I think that in the whole of our reading today Paul is expecting that Jesus’ return is coming soon.

Slava Bohu!

I Corinthians 7:17-24

Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather do that. (v. 21) In the previous verse Paul encourages Christians to live as they were called: Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. (v. 20) But in verse 21 he encourages slaves to seek their freedom, if possible. My Study Bible had a great line for Paul’s change of heart on this matter: “There is nothing wrong with seeking to improve your condition, but be content at every stage.” There is nothing wrong with trying to “get ahead” in life, to be successful at whatever God has called us. But that should never be our driving force!

You were bought with a price… (v. 23a) Paul repeats a sentence from the previous chapter (I Cor. 6:20). It’s a wonderful sentiment to keep foremost in our minds.

Slava Bohu!

I Corinthians 7:1-16

Paul, on giving instructions… The Corinthians have apparently asked Paul some questions that he answers, often beginning with the phrase, “Now concerning…”. That phrase occurs six times in this letter (I Cor. 7:1,25; 8:1; 12:1; 16:1,25). In today’s reading he gives his advice in three different manners. In verses 6 and 8 he simply says, “I say…”. However in verses 10 and 12, he offers his famous “I … not I…” quotes. In verse 10 he says, To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord)…, whereas in verse 12 he says, To the rest I say (I, not the Lord…). [The bold is my emphasis added in each of the previous two phrases.] Paul is careful to distinguish his advice from the Lord’s command. I believe it’s the only place in his epistles where we see this construction (an online search supported this conjecture). David has said on a few occasions that he is wary when someone tells him, “The Lord told me…”. But He does speak to us – we need to practice listening!

I’ve always been touched by verse 16: For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? I remember from my youth in our Catholic Church how many wives attended church while their husbands stayed home. We don’t see it so much at St. Andrew’s – more’s the case that husband and wife attend different churches. We knew of a few situations in CZ and SK where one attended and not the other – and the kids were torn between allegiance to the mother or the father. Carol and I have always been grateful that we were both “in the Lord” when we met and that we have agreed on our church affiliation together. There is power in our being and praying together.

And now we get ready for our Sunday morning (videotaped) worship service – with Rachel and Christian joining us from across the driveway! We are blessed!!

Slava Bohu!

I Corinthians 6:12-20

All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. (v. 12b) I like that ESV translation of this verse – dominated! We could easily translate the concept of addiction to these few words, but we all too often think of addiction in terms of “bad” things – alcohol, drugs, smoking, gambling, pornography, etc. But there are other mostly good things that can dominate us, like work or MLB or NFL or golf or sports-binging in general. These are great examples of Paul’s comments – activities that are lawful, but troublesome if taken to an extreme. On December 31, 2003 I played my last computer video game. I can’t say I was “hooked”, but I played A LOT of Minesweeper, Free Cell and one other game that escapes me now. They were good diversions after a full day of work, but when I found them dominating my time, I quit. By contrast, Carol and I had a CPM computer game (way back when!) called “Ladder” that we played for short breaks after working on our thesis or dissertation. But a few games and we were back at it. Let diversions be diversions – just that, nothing more!

And as for all the sexual immorality stuff – I don’t need to comment on that. But I will note that some weeks ago I cited verses 19 and 20 with reference to my own eating problem. Taping those two verses on the refrigerator and snack cabinet definitely helped me to bypass food that I surely did not need!

Finally, someone at CCNB with whom I have conversed over our church’s financial matters sent me a verse yesterday for today’s times: Isaiah 26:20. Look it up. Very timely!

Slava Bohu!

I Corinthians 6:1-11

RTB 2020!! 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. (v. 11) Here’s a triad that I love – not just a “three things” item, but three words that flow nicely together (consecutively even): washed (baptized), sanctified (filled with the Holy Spirit), justified (redeemed, forgiven) – completed as a born-again Christian!! Paul could be saying that about us, folks! We are washed, sanctified, and forgiven!! GLORY!!

Slava Bohu!

I Corinthians 5:1-13

To me this is one of the stranger chapters in all of Scripture, that “…a man has his father’s wife.” At first it brings questions. Paul writes “father’s wife”, not “mother”. So we presume that it must be his stepmother. But then, a second question – is the father still alive? If so, it’s a really gross situation. And if not, it’s still weird! Also, if the father is still alive, where is he in all this? Is he part of this Corinthian congregation? Presumably not, but if Paul and the people in the congregation know about this activity, then surely the father is also aware of what’s going on. Bottom line – this is a really weird situation!

However, Paul’s response to this situation is unequivocal – throw the man out! He says it three times – see verses 2b, 5, and 13b. Verse 5 is especially telling: …you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. I think that Paul is talking about excommunication. To me, delivering the man over to Satan is separating him from the congregation of believers. Why? To wake him up…? To admonish him so forcefully, with a desire that he see the error of his ways and repent…? If everyone else in the congregation is told not to associate with the man at all, not even to eat with him, will that shock him to repentance? That’s how I understand verse 5.

Your boasting is not good. (v. 6) What are they boasting about? Also, earlier in verse 2 Paul calls them arrogant. My Study Bible suggests that the Corinthians are “proud of their liberty”. There is evidence for that claim later in this letter (all of I Cor. 8 and vv. I Cor. 12:23, ff.) where Paul speaks of the liberties that they seem to be taking and cautions them not to let their “liberty” (in this case, with food) cause offense to someone else: Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble. (I Cor. 8:13) Here Paul is speaking of not offending a younger/weaker brother within the congregation, but we also need to take this challenge to the world around us. When non-believers see our behavior, both good and bad, for them it reflects upon the entire Christian church. It’s why one of the biggest claims made by non-believers as to why they don’t believe is that “Christians are a bunch of hypocrites.” Let’s not be that!!

Slava Bohu!

I Corinthians 4:14-21

Just a couple of small items… I had mentioned before that there are a number of occasions where Paul urges his followers to imitate him. We see another “imitate me” today in verse 16. Paul may be reflecting back to the Corinthians’ divisiveness (“of Paul”, “of Apollos”, etc.), but I doubt that he is in any way diminishing Apollos. He says in the previous verse that the Corinthians might have countless (10,000) tutors, but only one father – him. So, for that reason, imitate him! Reason enough, I presume, if it will diminish their divisiveness.

I sent you Timothy … to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. (v. 17) I was struck by this verse, wondering what Paul’s “my ways” were. That took me to wonder about “methods”, particularly the origins of the Methodist church. Was there something peculiar about John Wesley’s “methods”? So I looked it up. I offer you a full paragraph:

The Methodist revival began in England with a group of men, including John Wesley (1703–1791) and his younger brother Charles (1707–1788), as a movement within the Church of England in the 18th century. The Wesley brothers founded the “Holy Club” at the University of Oxford, where John was a fellow and later a lecturer at Lincoln College. The club met weekly and they systematically set about living a holy life. They were accustomed to receiving Communion every week, fasting regularly, abstaining from most forms of amusement and luxury and frequently visited the sick and the poor, as well as prisoners. The fellowship were branded as “Methodist” by their fellow students because of the way they used “rule” and “method” to go about their religious affairs. John, who was leader of the club, took the attempted mockery and turned it into a title of honour.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodism

Interesting! I said something to Carol last night, “Yes, I guess I am OCD in some things.” But maybe that’s not all bad…!! ?!

Slava Bohu! 

I Corinthians 4:1-13

Today we have an eye-awakening verse: For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. (v. 4) We have a time of confession every Sunday, whether it’s Morning Prayer (as it has been most often recently) or a Eucharistic celebration. Here is the version from the Holy Eucharist, Renewed Ancient Text: “Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.” (http://bcp2019.anglicanchurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/BCP2019.pdf) If we are given a moment or two during the service and we take the time seriously, we can probably name a few things that tend to be recurring items in our lives. Then if we reflect more fully in our own time at home, we probably find more shortcomings in our lives. However, when I finally come before Almighty God and He shows me from my life those many, many “things done and things left undone”, there’s no way that I could stand before Him except to beg His forgiveness through the mercy of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. That’s essentially what Paul is saying here, It is the Lord who judges me.

In challenging himself, Paul is also challenging the Corinthians. Mostly I think he is going back to their internal divisions – some “of Paul” and some “of Apollos”. I daresay that they were being arrogant in their divisiveness, claiming that to be “of Paul” was of a higher order than being “of Apollos”, or vice versa. Paul is telling them not to judge others whom they might fashion as somehow inferior due to their allegiance or even to their position in life. If you re-read today’s readings with those thoughts in mind, I think you’ll find more clarity.

And I do love Paul’s sarcasm in verses 8 to 13…!!

Slava Bohu!

I Corinthians 3:16-23

I was confused a bit with verse 16: Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? At first glance it seems clear enough with no further explanation. That verse harkened me forward to another verse from a few years back (as I recall someone had shared it with me as to my weight): Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (I Cor. 6:19-20) Those two verses touched me. I printed them out and put one copy on our refrigerator and one copy on our snack-food cabinet. I still regularly recall those verses. Unfortunately, those verses confused today’s verse 16 for me, because my Study Bible pointed out that the “you” in verses 16 and 17 is plural. So at the beginning of today’s reading, Paul is speaking of the Corinthian church as a whole being God’s temple and the dwelling place for God’s spirit. However, if you want to apply that verse to your own body, a few chapters down that road that will work also!

Verse 17 also confused me: If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. At first it seems clear enough, with verse 16’s “you” being either singular or plural – anyone who attacks God’s people will come under judgment. But my Study Bible suggested that this “anyone” who is destroying God’s temple is one of the Christians who belong to that temple, essentially the problem of divisions within the church that Paul had discussed in yesterday’s reading (earlier in this chapter), that is, Christians inside the church creating divisions within the church. Currently there are small bands of protestors in the United States stirring up trouble around the country demanding that we open up our economy, that our wealth is more important than our health (my words). Thankfully I don’t see that division within St. Andrew’s, and I have been on ZOOM meetings with four different groups within our congregation in the past few weeks and those four ZOOM meetings have involved more than 20 St. Andrew’s parishioners. No one is arguing for us getting back together soon. We have a ZOOM Vestry meeting tonight and I’m sure that topic will come up.

Finally, another word… Not all divisions within the body are bad. St. Andrew’s was formed out of one group of parishioners at St. John’s who disagreed with Bishop Sauls and his supporters within the St. John’s congregation. So there is room for disagreement within the body and those who hold true to Scripture need to be willing to walk away if the need arises.

Slava Bohu!

I Corinthians 3:1-15

Paul says in verse 6: I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. Paul was the person who introduced the Corinthians to Jesus. Apollos came later, after he had been at Ephesus, then came across the Aegean sea to minister at Corinth. He was building on Paul’s work, not disputing it. But I have no doubt that there were a number of other people who had not heard the Gospel from Paul who owed their conversion to Apollos, so that he became both planter and waterer.

Today’s reading should cause each of us to reflect on what sort of builder we are. Frankly, most of are not “Paul”. There are not a lot of Bethany Tennents or Mark Bruners who are true evangelists, planting Gospel seed where no one else has been before. Most of us are of the Apollos model, with some planting and a lot of watering. Consider someone even like Father David. If you were to ask him I’m guessing that he would say that he is an evangelist – or at a minimum that he has an evangelist’s heart. But he came to a congregation already filled with God’s people. He became a waterer. But then as he preaches, others come to know Jesus. But even when you think about that, in most cases someone brought those converts to church where they could hear David preach. As I’ve quoted David’s own words before, “You bring the people and I’ll preach the Gospel.” But again, I have no doubt that David has brought people to the Lord on his own who have had minimal faith seed planted.

So again, let’s consider ourselves. Have we done any planting or watering? You might say that everyone around us already knows who Jesus is, so we can’t possibly be planters. But consider this. I read an item from my Alma Mater, the University of Illinois. They had a practice football field that had been covered with artificial turf for some forty years. When they finally removed the turf, within days sprigs of grass were growing all over that field. Seeds that had been dormant all those years had come to life when the sun hit their soil. Someone had planted those seeds many years before and they would never have grown if someone had immediately covered them with new building materials, such that they never saw the sun. But they did see the sun and they grew.

Folks, we are sunlight to a darkened world. Whatever we say, whatever we do can have an impact on those we meet. I’ve said many times before, “Walk the walk and talk the talk.” Another of my favorite lines is from Acts 4:20, …we can’t help but speak of the things that we have seen and heard. We are sunlight and (from yesterday’s reading) …we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:16)

Slava Bohu!