resurrection faith or random faith

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (26)

1 Corinthians 15:1-4

1Co 15:1 Now, I want to share some information with you brothers; this is the gospel I evangelised you with, which you recieved, in which you also stand,
1Co 15:2 and by which you are being saved, if you own it, unless you have come to believe randomly.
1Co 15:3 Because I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received– that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,
1Co 15:4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures,

resurrection faith or random faith

Paul had heard that some within the churches at Corinth were beginning to question the veracity of the resurrection. He begins responding to that rumour by explaining that the very gospel message that he had proclaimed which led the Corinthians to accept Christ was firmly grounded on the reality of the resurrection. Three events — Christ’s death, his burial, and his resurrection — were listed as the three first things that Paul taught, when he was explaining the gospel. He did not begin with their sin, and he did not begin with God’s love. He began describing three events, and taught the significance of those events to the scriptures. The result was that the faith the Corinthians eventually accepted was a resurrection faith.

Now, Paul asks them whether their faith is a resurrection faith, or did they just come to believe randomly. It made a difference for Paul. The gospel proclaims Christ as having died and having been raised from the dead. Any other “faith” is just random faith, not saving faith.

LORD, thank you for the good news of a saviour who died for us, and has been raised from the dead.

Posted in faith, gospel, resurrection | Tagged | 1 Comment

properly and tactfully

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (25)

1 Corinthians 14:37-40

1Co 14:37 If anyone considers himself a prophet, or spiritual, he should really know that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord,
1Co 14:38 but if anyone ignores them, he should be ignored.
1Co 14:39 So then, brothers, seek to prophesy, and do not prevent speaking in other languages.
1Co 14:40 But all these things should be done properly and tactfully.

properly and tactfully

The minor theme of disorder in the public worship (which Paul had been addressing since chapter 11) is now seen to be a part of the major theme in 1 Corinthians: divisions caused by idolising leaders. Some of the leaders of the Corinthian congregations were actually ringleaders in the circus. That is, they were the cause behind all these confusing assemblies. They would not be inclined to obey Paul’s commands (which came from the Lord himself). So, Paul says, if you have a leader who chooses to ignore this sound advice, that leader himself should be ignored. Public worship needs to be done properly and tactfully (kata taxin), and anyone demanding confusion and disorder is not doing so as a true prophet of God, and cannot blame the Holy Spirit, because disorder is not spiritual.

LORD, as leaders, may we lead your church faithfully, and lead others to worship you properly and tactfully.

Posted in balance, church, consideration of others, leadership, worship | Tagged | Leave a comment

disgraceful for a wife to speak

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (24)

1 Corinthians 14:33-35

1Co 14:33 Because God is not about imbalance, but he is about peace, as is demonstrated in all the assemblies of the holy ones.
1Co 14:34 Your wives need to remain silent in those assemblies, because they are not permitted to speak, but they must be subordinated, as Corinthian law says.
1Co 14:35 But, if they want to be discipled, they need to ask their own husbands at home. Because it is disgraceful for a wife to speak out in the assembly.

disgraceful for a wife to speak

The context of this bit of instruction is chaos during public worship in the Corinthian assemblies. The primary cause of that chaos was identified as people going into long spurts of praise or prayers in foreign languages. Paul had already advised against that, at least requiring that a translation be given as well, so that the listeners are not confused.

Now, Paul tacks on another piece of advice, meant to avoid similar confusion at those same assemblies. It seems that some of the wives, eager to learn more about the gospel, are beginning to interrupt their husbands while they are preaching with questions. There is no law against any such thing in the Bible, so Paul must have been referring to a local ordinance when he said that the law prohibits that. He also said it was disgraceful, which is the same thing he said about women with short hair (11:6). Again, he was speaking of the local society’s expectations. Paul’s reason for this advice was missional. He wanted to reach the Corinthian society, so he urged the believers to conform to that society’s rules as much as possible.

Paul was not sanctifying that culture’s rules. He wanted to reach Corinth, so he encouraged the church to meet it half-way. But Paul had in mind a church which would eventually transcend its local culture. That is why he encouraged those wives to be discipled by their husbands at home. They were definitely not to remain silent there. A person is discipled so that she can make other disciples. That involves speaking and teaching. So, Paul actually encouraged wives to speak. He just wanted them to avoid speaking out in the public assembly, because that was not appropriate where they lived.

Unfortunately, vast numbers of Christians today — even whole denominations — have adopted first century Corinth’s rules for their worship services. Paul never intended such a thing. That is what Paul would find truly disgracefgul today, because it makes the church do just the opposite of what Paul was advising. It makes the church adopt a foreign culture which embarasses their society and prevents people from being open to the gospel.

LORD, may our public worship services be about your grace, instead of causing public disgrace.

Posted in church, consideration of others, discipleship, traditions, worship | Tagged | Leave a comment

subordination and learning

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (22)

1 Corinthians 14:29-32

1Co 14:29 Two or three prophets must speak, and the others should critique them carefully.
1Co 14:30 If a mystery is revealed to another who is sitting, the first should stop talking.
1Co 14:31 Because you can all prophesy one at a time, so that you can all learn and you can all be encouraged,
1Co 14:32 as long as the prophets allow their spirits to be subordinated to the other prophets.

subordination and learning

Here Paul is talking about mutual subordination among prophets in a congregation. There is no hint of a hierarchy here: these are all prophets of equal standing. He encourages them to have respect for one another, and allow mutual learning and encouragement to happen. This is what Paul means when he tells the Ephesians that they should submit to one another out of respect for Christ (Ephesians 5:21). Christ is working through all of us, and when we willfully subordinate ourselves to each other, the Holy Spirit within us all is able to teach and encourage us all.

LORD, give us all the respect for Christ as he reveals himself to — and through us all.

Posted in consideration of others, cooperation, spiritual gifts, submission | Tagged | Leave a comment

freedom and order

Posted on May 22, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (23)

1 Corinthians 14:26-28

1Co 14:26 What is it to be, then, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one of you has a psalm to sing, has a lesson to teach, has a mystery to reveal, has a message in another language, has an translation. All these things must be done for building up.
1Co 14:27 If someone speaks in another language, limit it to only two or at most three, and each in turn, and one must translate.
1Co 14:28 But if there is no translator, he must be silent within the assembly, but he must speak to himself and to God.

freedom and order

What Paul is describing is the perfect combination in a worship service. There is freedom for the Holy Spirit to inspire anyone and for anyone to share what the Spirit has given. But there is order, limits, maturity. It is a service designed to eliminate confusion and prevent disharmony and control of the service by the louder or more dominant group. In Corinth there was not one preacher per pulpit. There was freedom there, and the freedom was a good thing — as long as it did not get out of control.

LORD, grant us freedom in our worship, and the wisdom to follow Paul’s advice and keep it ortderly.

Posted in consideration of others, spiritual gifts, worship | Tagged | Leave a comment

what if everybody…

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (21)

1 Corinthians 14:23-25

1Co 14:23 For this reason, if the whole assembly comes together, and all of you are speaking in other languages, and newcomers or unbelievers come in, would they not say that you are all maniacs?
1Co 14:24 But if you all are prophesying, and some unbeliever or newcomer comes in, he is going to be convicted by you all, his resolve will be challenged by you all.
1Co 14:25 The things hidden in his heart will become exposed, and as a result he will fall facedown and worship God, announcing, “God is really among you.”

what if everybody…

Paul has been addressing a problem that had developed in Corinth. Some of the members of some of the fellowships had started bursting out in praise and prayer in other languages. The worshipper himself knew what he was saying, but nobody else did. It was causing confusion. At this point in his argument, Paul stops and asks “What if everybody was doing what you are doing?” If everybody was prophesying, it would lead to conviction and conversion. But if everybody was babbling in unknown tongues, it would turn newcomers and unbelievers off to the gospel, and turn them off to the church. They would think it was a church full of maniacs. It matters what you do in church.

LORD, give us the wisdom to display your wisdom when we worship.

Posted in church, discernment, spiritual gifts, worship | Tagged | Leave a comment

baby talk revisited

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (20)

1 Corinthians 14:20-22

1Co 14:20 Brothers, stop being children in your way of thinking, instead, be minors when it comes to evil, but in your way of thinking, start being mature.
1Co 14:21 Scripture says (in the Law) “By people with strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, yet they will not even listen to me in this way,” says the Lord.
1Co 14:22 So then, foreign languages are a sign indicating not believers but unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is not a sign indicating unbelievers but believers.

baby talk revisited

Isaiah had difficulty getting God’s word to the nobility because they claimed that his message was too simplistic. In fact, Isaiah tried every means possible to get God’s word to them, but they were not willing to hear it. It was too easy for them to use confusion as an excuse to ignore the messenger.

Paul referred back to that passage in Isaiah 28 when he wrote to the Corinthians about their abuse of the languages. He told them that they were doing something in their services that was not edifying for believers. It would only be used by unbelievers as an excuse to ignore the gospel.

For the Corinthians, immaturity said “I have this gift, I will use it, and nobody is going to stop me.” Maturity would have said, “I have this gift (the ability to speak a foreign language) but I will only use it when it actually furthers the gospel.”

LORD, make us mature in the way we utilise your gifts.

see https://marmsky.com/2015/04/17/baby-talk/

Posted in consideration of others, spiritual gifts, worship | Tagged | Leave a comment

the focus of worship

Posted on May 19, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (19)

1 Corinthians 14:16-19

1Co 14:16 If this does not happen — if you are only praising in the spirit — how can a person filling the place beside you who is not skilled in the language say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?
1Co 14:17 Because you are giving thanks appropriately, but the other person is not being built up.
1Co 14:18 I thank God that I speak in other languages more than all of you;
1Co 14:19 but within an assembly I want to speak five words with my mind, in order to teach others also, rather than 10,000 words in another language.

the focus of worship

We know from Paul’s writings that he was conversant in at least five languages, so his boast was quite accurate that he knew languages more than all the Corinthians. The linguists who made a point of praying or singing in foreign languages in the Corinthian fellowships had nothing on Paul. But Paul had decided to never do that. To him, worship was not about proving that you were smarter than others. When Paul prayed, he wanted others around him to join in, saying “Amen.” Public worship is public ministry. It is not intended to draw attention to the worshipper. It is supposed to focus on God.

LORD, help us to get out of the way so you can be worshipped. May our worship teach others about you.

Posted in consideration of others, spiritual gifts, worship | Tagged | Leave a comment

fruitful worship

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (18)

1 Corinthians 14:13-15

1Co 14:13 That is why the one speaking in another language should pray that he translates it.
1Co 14:14 If I am praying in another language, my spirit is praying, but my mind is not producing fruit.
1Co 14:15 What should be happening? I will pray in the spirit, but I will also pray with the mind. I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise also with the mind.

fruitful worship

Paul is now addressing the difference between worshipping in a foreign language, and translating that worship so that others can be blessed by it. It is possible for a worshipper to pray or sing in a foreign language, and be blessed by the experience, so long as he or she understands what is being prayed or sung. Paul calls this activity praying or singing “with the spirit.”

But Paul has been discouraging this activity because it has lead to confusion and lack of edification in the Corinthian churches. Instead, he encourages praying and singing “with the mind” as well. That — in this context, is adding a translation to the prayer or song so as to edify those who could not understand the original utterance.

The fruitful mind is not one which merely understands, but one which explains what it understands, leading to the fruit of ministry to others.

LORD, make us fruitful worshippers, who seek to bless others by sharing our prayers and songs with them.

Posted in spiritual gifts, worship | Tagged | Leave a comment

edification is spiritual, confusion is not

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (17)

1 Corinthians 14:10-12

1Co 14:10 There are probably a great many families of languages in the world, and nothing spoken is unintelligible.
1Co 14:11 This means that if I do not have the ability to understand the language, I will be a barbarian to the speaker, and the speaker will be a barbarian to me.
1Co 14:12 For this reason, you also, since you are seeking spiritual things, you should seek to get better at building up the church.

edification is spiritual, confusion is not

The languages Paul speaks about here are “in the world” languages, and each has meaning that can be understood by the right human audience. But outside of that context, those languages create barbarians (babblers), and lead to confusion.

Paul’s point to the Corinthians is that those showing off their linguistic abilities in the congregations are just creating confusion, and confusion is not spiritual. Edification is spiritual, and edification requires understanding.

If we really want to create an atmosphere of spirituality, we need to abandon practices which lead to confusion and misunderstanding.

LORD, give us the courage to stop doing things that syfle edification.

Posted in consideration of others, spiritual gifts | Tagged | Leave a comment