Resource Manager Posted February 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2013 26 February 2013Exodus 39; 40Psalms 1021 Corinthians 10"A PARTICIPATION IN THE BODY OF CHRIST"In Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians we have come to where he refers to the memorial emblems, he stresses that their participation in these should be in a way that illustrates their unity. Paul has made several points very strongly in earlier chapters addressing issues that were seriously undermining their unity in Christ: their lack of harmony worried him very much.Their coming together to remember that Christ died for them needed to take place in an atmosphere of genuine unity – but it wasn’t. To start with some were influenced by the surrounding spirit of idol-worshipping, but “…. beloved flee from idolatry” [1 Corinthians 10:14] wrote Paul..He appeals to them, “I speak to sensible people, judge for yourselves what I say.” [1 Corinthians 10:15] Do we ourselves make sensible judgements? The situation for us is not completely different. Paul says, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not the participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body …” [1 Corinthians 10:15-17]The verses which follow indicate some had a problem leaving behind the pagan practices they had previously enjoyed, Paul says to them, “You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy?” [1 Corinthians 10:21-22] In 1 Corinthians 5 he made the point, “Christ is our Passover … let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven … of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” [1 Corinthians 5:7-8]In 1 Corinthians 11 we will read that “anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself” [1 Corinthians 11:29] He does not mean - discerning his own body - but the body of Christ and their responsibility to his or her fellow believers. Paul told the Philippians he wanted to “hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit and one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” [Philippians 1:27]This precious oneness is demonstrated each time we meet for fellowship. There have been the rare occasions when a member of another church has been present who has taken offence at not being offered the emblems! But this is an opportunity to lovingly point out that when the church was first established on the Day of Pentecost, those baptised “devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching and fellowship and the breaking of bread …” [Acts 2:42] What is the Apostles teaching? Do they (do we) properly “discern the Lord’s body” when we participate? If we are of one mind as to that teaching and are baptised – our participation in the body of Christ will a great spiritual joy.. Let us make sure we ourselves are fully devoted to this teaching and the way of life it leads to.-------- DC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted February 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2013 27 February 2013Leviticus 1; 2Psalms 1031 Corinthians 11THE STEADFAST LOVE OF THE LORDThe phrase "those who fear him" meaning, who fear God, occurs three times in our Psalm reading today. The sense of "fear" is to be in heartfelt awe of what God must be. This is a Psalm that should reach into our hearts; it is particularly meaningful to those who think that God has cut off their contact with him because of their behaviour.This Psalm of David tells us to "Bless the LORD, O my soul and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases … who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy" [Psalm 103:2-4]David continues, "The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love … he does not deal with us according to our sins" [Psalm 103:8,10] Verse 11 is where there is the first reference to fear. We read, "For as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him." [Psalm 103:11] Two verses further on we read, "As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him."The point is made yet a third time, "the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him" [Psalm 103:17]. God's steadfast love, compassion, mercy and forgiveness is not for everybody and anybody – it is for those who have the right attitude toward him. The Apostle John writes, "We love because he first loved us." [1 John 4:19] God has always had this attitude to us, who are made in the image of God [Genesis 9:6], but sadly, and today this is more true than ever, do most who say they believe in God really fear him? How many take his benefits, forgiveness, mercy and love for granted!Our Corinthians reading illustrates the wrong attitudes among many believers there: they came together to remember Christ in the way he requested at the last supper. But Paul tells them, "any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgement on himself, that is why many of you are weak and ill … when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world." [1 Corinthians 11:29,30,32] So many in Corinth had no fear and awe of God, resulting in a wrong attitude. These are all lessons for us to appreciate as we seek "all his benefits" in trying to be true children of God.-------- DC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted February 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 28 February 2013Leviticus 3; 4Psalms 1041 Corinthians 12; 13 "SO NOW FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE ABIDE"One of the problems in Corinth Paul had heard about, was “concerning spiritual gifts” [1 Corinthians 12:1] This chapter and the next two show that the improper use of the gifts by some was a large problem. Of course, with the Gospels not yet in circulation, the existence of spiritual gifts had real purpose. Paul says that “the manifestation of the Spirit (was) for the common good. To one is given the spirit of the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge, according to the same spirit, to another, faith …” [1 Corinthians 12:7-9]We pondered the inclusion of “faith” as a gift – and recalled the times when Jesus chided his disciples “O you of little faith [Matthew 8:26 etc] so we conclude that among that first generation of believers it was vital, on occasions, to have a man of firm faith, to steady the ecclesial boat when it was rocking and faith was weakening. 1 Corinthians 12 ends by telling us, “But earnestly desire the higher gifts” - those named first would be in this category, they were of the most value for their spiritual health. [1 Corinthians 12:31]The last named gifts are tongues and the ability to interpret them [1 Corinthians 12:30] and Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 14 that if these are used in church “and outsiders and unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds” [1 Corinthians 14:24] – clearly they were to enable those who possessed them to give the message, when they had opportunity, to those of other languages. Acts 2:11 describes the impact of this on the day of Pentecost - “”we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God”The final words in 1 Corinthians 12 are “And now I show you a still more excellent way” [1 Corinthians 12:31] – this brings us to 1 Corinthians 13 and its oft quoted words praising the vital role of love. “If I give away all I have …. But have not love, I gain nothing” [1 Corinthians 13:3] is one of the points Paul makes. He says, “Love never ends … prophecies … will pass away … tongues, they will cease …” [1 Corinthians 13:8] The final verse tells us, “So now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” [1 Corinthians 13:13]These words provoked a final thought – when Christ’s kingdom is established, faith will be turned to sight and hope fulfilled – but love will last forever. Those who commit themselves to embrace the things that abide today and live with this wonderful future before them will, by God’s grace, live forever with love as the dominating factor in their lives.-------- DC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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