mystery in the mirror

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (13)

1 Corinthians 13:11-13

1Co 13:11 When I was a minor, I spoke like a minor, I thought like a minor, I reasoned like a minor. When I became a man, I put aside the things associated with my having been a minor.
1Co 13:12 Because now we see an enigma when we look into a mirror, but later we will see face to face. Now I know piecemeal, later I will really know, just like I am really known.
1Co 13:13 But as it is, these three things last: faith, hope, and love; and love is the greater of these.

mystery in the mirror

The Corinthians were so enthusiastic about their leaders, and the amazing spiritual gifts they were manifesting. Paul agreed that spiritual gifts are amazing, but he tried to bring this enthusiastic group down to earth just a little bit. He reminded them that even the most gifted among them is nothing compared to who and what he or she will be in the future. He had referred to a time of maturity (10) which will come later. He admitted that he, himself, needs to grow in his knowledge before he would be mature enough to solve the mystery of himself, that is, see himself as Christ sees him. So, he encourages them to strive toward this coming maturity, which means less emphasis on gifts, and more emphasis on mature qualities, like faith, hope, and love. Of these three qualities of a mature believer, love is the greater.

LORD, make us more and more like the mature believers that you see, when you look at us through eternal eyes.

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love lasts

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (12)

1 Corinthians 13:8-10

1Co 13:8 Love never dies out. But if there are prophecies proclaimed, they will be done away with; if languages spoken, they will cease to exist; if a mystery exists, it will be done away with.
1Co 13:9 Because we know things piecemeal, and we prophecy about things piecemeal;
1Co 13:10 but when the time of maturity comes, the piecemeal will be done away with.

love lasts

The Corinthians had been mesmerized by ministries with the big show. They sought teachers who could reveal secrets that appeared to be trapped in the text. They looked for those with powerful supernatural gifts and amazing linguistic skills. Paul did not deny the existence of any of these amazing gifts. He just pointed out that those supergifts do not last. Even when all the prophecies are fulfilled, everyone knows what everyone else is saying, and all the mysteries are solved, love will still be necessary. It will never become obsolete, and will never go out of style.

LORD, show us how to minister to others in love.

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love and conflict

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (11)

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

1Co 13:4 The love I am speaking of holds its temper, that love functions in a helpful manner, it does not envy, does not brag, does not show off,
1Co 13:5 does not behave disgracefully, does not seek it’s own way, is not provoked, and does not keep score when it is wronged,
1Co 13:6 nor does it celebrate when something unfair happens, but it joins the celebration when the truth prevails.
1Co 13:7 It puts up with all kinds of things, believes all kinds of things, hopes all kinds of things, endures all kinds of things.

love and conflict

Two things struck me as I was translating this text. I was interested to find so many translations which use nouns, when every one of these descriptions of love is a verb. Paul wanted to show what love does, not just what it is. So, I took care to express each of the Greek verbs with a corresponding English verb.

The other thing that struck me is how appropriate these descriptive terms are in describing social and political (and ecclesiastical) conflict. It is clear that Paul is still addressing the major issue of rivalries and schisms in the Corinthian churches here. He is showing them a new way of working things out together instead of their way of picking sides and bashing their enemies.

LORD, show us how to love, and stop conflict in its tracks.

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special ingredient

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (10)

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

1Co 13:1 If I speak in the human languages and the angelic ones, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
1Co 13:2 And if I have a prophecy, and I know all the mysteries and all the secret knowledge; and if I have all the faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
1Co 13:3 And if I give everything to feed others, and if I can brag that I even hand over my body, but do not have love, it gains me nothing.

special ingredient

Paul had told the Corinthians that the missions gifts and ministries they had experienced among their churches were among the greater gifts, and they should seek to keep exercising those gifts. Yet, he warns them that it is possible to be doing all those great things, and still be ineffective. The special ingredient that makes all those great gifts effective is love. Without love, it doesn’t matter what you can say, or who you can say it to. Without love, it doesn’t matter what you know — even if you know all the hidden mysteries, and can manifest superhuman powers. Without love, it does not even matter if you give away all you have — even your own life. Without love, none of those things matter. With love, they all matter.

LORD, whatever gifts we present to you, may they be seasoned with the special ingredient.

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great, greater, even greater

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (9)

1 Corinthians 12:29-31

1Co 12:29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not ministering miracles, are they?
1Co 12:30 All do not have gifts of healing, do they? All do not speak in other languages, do they? All do not translate, do they?
1Co 12:31 But you should be seeking to offer these greater gifts. And I will show you a way to be even more effective.

great, greater, even greater

The Corinthian Christians had experienced a great beginning, with the apostle Paul himself as their founding missionary (9:11). They had a team of leaders within their churches who were exercising the missions gifts, which Paul described as even greater gifts, making the church better at reproducing (12:31). But the apostle is now ready to disclose one of his ways in Christ (4:17), which has the potential to make the whole church even more effective. The church had begun to idolise their leaders with missions gifts. Paul told them they should continue to seek to offer those gifts to God, but there is something even greater that all the Christians can give which will top even those gifts (13:13). They can all give love.

LORD, thank you that in your wisdom, you have given us all the most effective means of worshipping you and demonstrating your presence. Thank you for the gift of love.

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the missions gift list

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (8)

1 Corinthians 12:26-28

1Co 12:26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it. If a part is respected, all the parts celebrate with it.
1Co 12:27 But you all are the body of Christ, and each is a part of it in some ways.
1Co 12:28 And God has arranged these parts in the church: first missionaries, second prophets, third teachers, next those ministering miracles, then those with gifts of healing, assisting, leading, communicating to different families of languages.

the missions gift list

There are various places in the New Testament where the spiritual gifts are listed, and each list is different, because each has a different purpose. This list appears to be a summary of specific gifts utilised in the mission of church planting. Missionaries come first, planting a core group of new believers by sharing the gospel with them. Since this core group is new in the faith, prophets are needed who can speak the word of God to their specific context, calling them to show more loyalty to him than to their past or present society. Then, teachers emerge within the group who can share the whole counsel of God from the scriptures. Next, God will give those with supernatural ministry gifts (miracles and healing gifts) to verify his presence among them. Then, leaders will develop within the group who can assist and lead the whole group to maturity in the faith. Finally, those with language gifts will emerge who can begin crossing language and cultural barriers so that this church can begin the cycle again by sending its own missionaries to plant new churches.

Paul’s point was in reference to the Corinthians’ tendency to over-stress particular gifts to the exclusion of others. He implied that when we do that, we halt the cycle, and stifle the mission. As a consequence, churches become self-centered, and unproductive.

LORD, create in our churches an atmosphere where all the missions gifts can grow unhindered, so that we can reach the lost around us with your gospel.

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clothing the parts respectfully

Posted on May 7, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (7)

1 Corinthians 12:23-25

1Co 12:23 Just like those parts of the body, which we think to be shameful; on these we put more respectful clothing, so that our unpresentable parts have a more respectable image.
1Co 12:24 but our presentable parts do not need this. Instead, God has blended together the body, giving greater honour to the part that lacked it,
1Co 12:25 in order to prevent schism in the body, the parts having the same mutual concern for one another.

clothing the parts respectfully

Now, this is an interesting argument. Paul is talking about how the Corinthians are ignoring and belittling some of their fellow members because they do not have more prominienent skills and spiritual gifts. He uses the human body as an example of how it should be. He says that we do have parts of our body we do not think as presentable as other parts. But instead of ignoring and belittling these private parts, we give them greater honour by clothing them more respectfully. That is how God ensures that there is no schism (division) in the human body. So, Paul argues that the Corinthians should take a hint from how they treat their own bodies, and stop ignoring and belittling those in the church with lesser esteemed gifts.

LORD, enable us to show mutual care and concern for all the parts of your body, the church.

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essential but ignored

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (6)

1 Corinthians 12:20-22

1Co 12:20 There are many parts, but it is one body.
1Co 12:21 That means that the eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you; nor the head to the feet, “I do not not need you.”
1Co 12:22 But the existence of the parts we think of as weaker is more necessary than we think.

essential but ignored

Paul addresses the Corinthian tendency to over-stress and over-utilise some prominent ministries to the exclusion of others. They were apparently at the point where they doubted the usefulness or necessity of those less than prominent gifts, and undervalued the believers who presented those gifts.

Paul used the body and body parts analogy to show that all the gifts are significant, because the whole body belongs to the Lord. Just like under the Old Testament sacrificial system, those with lesser gifts to present had their day at the temple as well, so every believer has his or her ministry. The important thing is not the size of the gift, but the target of the gift. He gives us gifts, so that we can present them to him.

LORD, thank you for those whose gifts are less prominent, but who still give you their best.

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welcoming diversity

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (5)

1 Corinthians 12:17-19

1Co 12:17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing come from? Or, if the whole thing were an ear, where would its sense of smell come from?
1Co 12:18 But God has now positioned the parts, each one of them, right in the body where he wanted them to be.
1Co 12:19 But if they all were one part, where would the body be?

welcoming diversity

The Corinthians had latched onto some really good gifts and ministries, and had begun to downplay the importance of those who contributed to the church’s ministry in other ways. Paul pointed out how ridiculous that attitude is. He had first made the point that the Holy Spirit incorporates all believers and all their ministries into the one body of Christ. Now he says that if that were not so, there would be a whole lot missing from that one body. Just as a body welcomes all its functions, so a church should welcome all its ministries.

LORD, give us the insight to welcome a diversity of ministries in our church.

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all in this together

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

May 2016 (4)

1 Corinthians 12:13-16

1Co 12:13 All of us have been baptised in one Spirit, now making up that one body — whether Jews or Greeks, bondservants or independent — and we all were given one Spirit to drink.
1Co 12:14 Because the body is not just one part, but many,
1Co 12:15 then, if the foot says, “I am not a hand; I am not from the body,” that does not prevent it being from the body,
1Co 12:16 and if the ear says, “I am not an eye; I am not from the body,” that does not prevent it being from the body.

all in this together

The Holy Spirit gives us diversity by empowering us with different gifts. He is also the one responsible for our unity, because that same empowerment equalises us. It makes us all part of the same body. The Holy Spirit connects us all to the one Christ, making us parts of his one body, his one church.

Paul was addressing the fact that in Corinth, certain gifts were being over-emphasised, and others ignored. Paul used the analogy of parts of the body to show that each gift has its function in the church as a whole. We are all in this body together, and we all need each other.

LORD, thank you for those parts of your body who are essential to its work, yet never get the appreciation they deserve.

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