The purpose of suffering

1 Corinthians 16

1. Benevolent offering for believers in Jerusalem (1-4)

2. Logistics (5-12)

    Do we recognize the open doors of God when they come our way (9)? When we do see them are we willing to boldly walk through them or do the adversaries scare us off?

3. Closing instructions and greetings (13-23)

2 Corinthians 1

1. Opening greetings (1-3)

2. The reality and purpose of suffering and tribulation (4-11)

    To answer the question, "why is there suffering", can be as simple as saying because of sin. If sin had not entered into the world then neither would have suffering. Yet now suffering is here and these verse reveal that God has purpose.
    1. By going through suffering and experiencing God's comfort, we are then able to comfort others.
    2. We are to view the way we go through suffering as a opportunity to be an example to others.
    3. It gives us a chance to see how much we really rely on God.
    4. It gives us a chance to pray for one another.
    Of course we would all choose just to skip suffering, but obviously these are the times that we learn the most and are given the opportunity to grow.

3.Strained relationship, Paul working for their joy not to have dominion (12-24)

    When it is all said and done if we have dominion over someone's faith we have not made a disciples. A disciple stands in their own faith, we are simply working for their joy.

What does it mean to be baptized for the dead? Should we be doing this?

1 Corinthians 15

1. The Gospel (1-4)

    The gospel is the good news that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again in triumph for us and that through faith we can have all the blessings this brings, chiefly the forgiveness of our sins.

2. The resurrection of Christ (5-11)

    Few events have more eye witnesses than the resurrection of Christ. It's reality is undeniable though many still try.

3. The resurrection of believers (12-53)

    The good news is that not only did Jesus resurrect from the dead, but he has promised to do the same for us.
    If Christ has not risen...
        1. Our faith is meaningless
        2. Our message is meaningless
        3. We are not and can not be saved
    If people who have placed their faith in Christ do not rise...
        1. Our loved ones who have passed will never be seen again.
        2. We are a pitiful people, because that means this life is it (what a rip off)
    I can not wait to get that new body!
    He mentioned the baptism for the dead in verse 29, what is that talking about? I am going to give you two explanations to think about.
        1. Perhaps this was a pagan custom that was practiced in that day. It is a pagan custom practiced today, specifically in the Mormon religion. They believe that if they are baptized as a proxy for their dead relatives they can save them from the condemnation of hell. Seemingly this pagan practice existed in the first century as well.
            Some would wonder if this was something that the Corinthians were practicing and then the next logical question would be, is this something we should practice. I do not know if the Corinthians were doing this or if it was just something that was going on around them in their culture. But Paul's mention of it does not make it an acceptable practice for us today. This is the only place it is mentioned in Scripture. It was not taught by Jesus, and it was not practiced in the book of Acts by the early churches. It is only mentioned here in a book that is full of rebuke for a church who had gone astray in many areas.
            Paul's argument is that if there is no resurrection then why would someone get baptized for the dead, in hopes they would resurrect. Perhaps he is saying, even though it is not scriptural, why do you practice this and then try to say there is no resurrection, pointing out their inconsistency. More likely, he is pointing out that it was going on around them and basically saying even the pagans believe there is a resurrection, because they get baptized for the dead. Notice he did say they and not we in the verse.
        2. He is saying this about Jesus. In other word's if Christ is not risen then why are people getting baptized for a dead man. If there is no resurrection, just like preaching, and our faith are in vain, so is baptism. If they don't believe in the resurrection they are getting baptized for a dead man, and the very picture that baptism is designed to paint is meaningless. Baptism would need to be preformed by standing in the water, and going under the water, but then never coming up, if there is not a resurrection.
    Now, I will let you choose which one you think is right, because the end result is the same.
        1. This is not a practice that we are being encouraged to do in our churches.
        2. The resurrection is real.

4. The victory of the resurrection (54-58)

    Through the resurrection we have victory. The ultimate victory, but also victory in this life, because his resurrection gives us purpose in life. Life is worth the living just because he lives.

What is the perfect thing and has it come?

1 Corinthians 13

    In chapter 12 he ended by saying I show you a more excellent way. It only stands to reason that the content of chapter 13 is that way. Love is a vital part of the better way, along with the coming of the perfect thing. We are told powerfully what love is not and what it is. We are told all the negatives that it avoids and all the positives that it embraces. Then we are given a time line on Spiritual Gifts. There is a point at which they will end.

1. The superiority of love (1-8a, 13)

2. The ending of the spiritual gifts (8-12)

    The announcement is made in verse 8 that love never fails, but prophecies will fail, tongues will cease, and knowledge (word of knowledge) will vanish away. So at the time of Paul's writing there was a future time coming when these things would not be operating anymore.
    We are told the reason for this transition in verse 9. At the time of Paul's writing they only had partial knowledge and the rest was given to them through prophecy. It is difficult to imagine a time when the word of God was not completed, but these people were living in that time. They only had the Old Testament.
    We are told the event that will cause the transition in verse 10. When that which is perfect is come then that which is in part (their knowledge made up by prophecy) would pass away. So what is this perfect thing and when will it come?
    When we think of perfection we tend to think of flawlessness or no error, so let's start there. I only know of two things that are flawless. One is God's word. It is said to be perfect in scripture (Psalms 19:7, James 1:25). Of course, Jesus is perfect in the sense of having no error as well. These are the two common things thought of in trying to understand this scripture and the timing of the transition.
Spiritual gifts which were designed to be a bridge until the perfect things come would either last until the Bible was completed or until Jesus came.
    The word perfect here from the Greek is teleios. The true meaning of this word is beyond flawlessness it really means completion. I certainly believe that that perfect thing is the Bible and that once it was completed the partial things (Prophecy, tongues, etc.) passed away. Even a study of history is very interesting. You can review church history and see that these things vanished. As more of the Bible was completed they are mentioned less and less. During the 2nd century they disappear and are not seen again until the late 1800's. Do we really believe that something so vital to the function of the church just went dormant for 1700 years? I don't. I believe it served its purpose until the completion of the Bible and then it ceased or vanished.
    In verses 11-12, Paul gives us two examples of the transition. Before the word was completed it was like our childhood and we needed many helps and crutches, but when we came to maturity, we put those things away. Before the completed word it was like we were looking in a mirror that was dirty and we could not see clearly, but once the word was completed it was very clear, as if the mirror had been cleaned and we are seeing face to face. With the completed word of God we are able to know just as we are known (Hebrews 4:12).

1 Corinthians 14

1. The superiority of prophecy over tongues and warnings about the misuse of tongues (1-40)

    Obviously the Corinthians had misused the gift of tongues and perhaps other gifts that were available to them in the first century. Sad thing is, as you read this chapter you discover that practically every group who still claims to have these gifts is still violating the rules that are established here about their use.

Should a woman were pants? The answer is not always as easy as it may seem.

1 Corinthians 11

A tradition that teaches a truth about authority (1-16)

    The real point of these first 16 verses is that of God's authority structure in the church and the home. Now I realize that it is not popular in some circles, but this passage and several others make it clear that God works through male leadership. Some may not like that, but if so they have to take it up with God not me.
    This certainly does not mean that the women or wife is to be subservient and if you carefully study how God says the man is to treat his wife you would never come to that conclusion. The whole point of the head covering was that in that time it was a sign of the woman's submission to authority, both her husband's and God's.
    Was it a sin then or now for a women to pray without her head covered? No, verse 16 makes that clear. But again the point is about respecting authority. No one in our society would say, "Look, she is praying with her head uncovered. She has no respect for her husband". But they would have in their society.
    I remember the first time I went to Kenya and taught there, during one of our breaks the pastors from Uganda asked me if it was wrong for women to wear pants. I started explaining that what the Bible taught was modesty and whether it was pants or a dress that is what we should all be concerned about is modest dress. They then told me that in their area it was commonly believed that a women that wore pants was a prostitute. I told them that in that case I would teach the women not to wear pants, but not because the Bible says not too, but for testimony sake.
    This is a similar situation. Don't get so caught up in the head covering that you miss the point. We all need to understand God's authority structure and follow it in obedience to him.

The Lord's Supper or communion (17-33)

    Some people do not like the word communion. I think it is because they are afraid we will be related to some other religious groups that we know violates many scriptural principles. However,
1 Corinthians gives us more information about this than any other book of the Bible and it is called by various names in the book. In 1 Corinthians 5:8 it is called The Feast. In 1 Corinthians 10:15-22 it is called Communion and the Lord's Table. Here, in 1 Corinthians 11:20 it is called The Lord's Supper.
    No matter what name you give it, the Corinthians had it all messed up and as a result were being chastened by God. Communion is not something to be light hearted about, but we should carefully seek to follow the Lord's example as we observe the remembrance of what he did for us in his death.

1. Their failure to properly observe the Supper (17-22)

2. The way Jesus observed the Supper (23-26)

3. The dangers of doing it improperly (27-33)

1 Corinthians 12

1. The spiritual gifts (1-11)

    Spiritual gifts are a hot topic. Tomorrow I will have more to say about their role in our present day church life and service for the Lord. As I study God's word I see several gifts that God gives to people and not all are named here. There is also a list in Romans 12:6-8. Looking at these two list there seems to be some differences.

1 Corinthians 12                                                             Romans 12

Spirits Gifts                                                                       Grace Gifts
Miraculous Gifts                                                               Ministry Gifts
Temporary Gifts                                                                Permanent Gifts

    We will look at this a bit more tomorrow.

2. The concept of body (12-31)

    No concept could be of greater importance for the church member. You are an intricate part of something bigger than you can be by yourself. Your part is needed and important, but it is not the only part. Without your part the body is hindered, but it can survive and go on without it, if the need be. WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST! What an honor and what a responsibility.

The day I was disqualified

1 Corinthians 9

1. A minister is allowed and worthy to be paid for his labor, but should not be doing it for pay. In other words the attitude of those being ministered to should be, let's do everything possible to take care of this man. The attitude of the minister should be, it does not matter if I get paid or not because this is what God called me to do. (1-18)

2. We need to find out what makes people tick and attempt to win them from that angel. (19-23)

3. We run to win, not to be disqualified (24-27)

    I remember when I was in middle school I ran track. Usually I ran the 400 meters, but on this day I ran the 1600. We were in a meet against a team that was not very good at all and our coach thought it would be good to switch everyone around and have us do things we did not normally do.
    That was probably great for the guys that ran long distances to get to run short ones, but now I was going to have to run a race 4 times the length I normally ran. I was a bit disappointed but determined to do my best. With a few tips from the guy that normally ran the race, I toed the line and waited for the gun to fire.
    Because the other team was not very good it wasn't ridiculous to think I could possibly win. I was sure going to run to win. I planned on crossing the finish line first. The normal miler pointed out the other teams best runner and said, Try to stay with him and maybe you will have enough at the end.
    The first 400 I did really well. In the second 400 he pulled away from me and I started to think I was in trouble. In the third 400 I made up ground and had restored hope that I could do it. In the final 400 I passed him on the back stretch and prayed I had enough left to pull it off. As we were coming down the home stretch he was catching me and I literally dove at the tape trying to win.
    My team mates gathered around and we celebrated. I had crossed the finish line first. The celebration was short lived as the officials came to tell me I had been disqualified. On the back stretch, when I passed my opponent, I came back in to soon. We did not make contact but he had to pull up to keep us from tangling feet as I passed. By rule, I was disqualified.
    What did it mean to be disqualified? It meant that someone else won. I did not even get to have second or third, even though all the other runners did not figure in to the incident. No I was out of the running for any place in the race at all. It meant that all my hard work pushing myself through painful stretches of the race were for nothing.
    Paul did not want this to happen to him in the race for men's souls. He used great discipline in being a soul winner. He made tremendous sacrifice to share the gospel. He wasn't jogging he was sprinting. He wasn't shadow boxing, he was in the ring with a very real opponent.
    Some here would try to tell us that Paul was saying he did not want to have preached to so many and then end up losing his salvation if he did not run well, but we have way to much scripture that clearly teaches us that salvation is not received or maintained by works.
    So what is he talking about being disqualified from? Receiving the crown! (25) He wanted to build out of gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). The day I was disqualified I got no ribbon for the race I had run, I do not want that to happen when I stand before God. I am looking for the incorruptible crown.

Sex, Marriage, Singleness

Sex, Marriage, Singleness I Corinthians 7

    This chapter contains some difficult concepts. But they are not difficult because they are to hard to do, or they simply don't make any sense, they are difficult because we have allowed the world and the TV to tell us how all this is supposed to work instead of God.

1. Avoid physical contact before marriage or outside of marriage (1)
2. The only acceptable sexual arrangement is a husband and wife committed to each other (2)
3. Husbands and wives should freely give themselves to one another sexually to satisfy each others needs and to avoid temptation to satisfy those needs elsewhere. (3-5)
4. Being single is a viable option if you have enough self control to avoid the sexual temptation, so you can give more attention to God's work (6-9, 25-35)
5. Separation may be necessary at times, but divorce should be avoided (10-24)
6. The challenge of a father giving his daughter in marriage (36-38)
7. Widows have the option to marry or remain single (39-40)

    Much could be said about each one of these topics. Let's not be guilty of saying, "Well, that won't work in America", or "We live in a different age". Each one of this principles will work in our society and our time. God's Word knows no boundaries of culture or era.
    Also, let's be careful about how we treat single people. Because of a fixation on being in relationships, we have made it weird to be single. We play match maker and try to push people into relationships. We ask young children if they have a boy friend or girl friend yet. We whisper behind the back of a single adult and ask if they are homosexual or not. Paul said that singleness is a perfectly legitimate choice. In fact, he said the single person in many ways puts themselves in a better position to serve God. Let's stop trying to fix single people, because they are not broken.

Church Discipline

1 Corinthians 5

    Church discipline is a difficult and yet needed Biblical practice. It is not that we are all to be the church police and spy on one another until we find cause to bring someone before the church, but on the other hand if there is no accountability among us then in the long run sin will ruin what the church is all about.
    A careful reading of this chapter will reveal some vital truths about church discipline.
1. It is always practiced out of love and not vengeance.
2. The purpose is the good of the offending person (that they might be restored to close fellowship with God and his church) and the good of the church (to protect it from an anything goes mentality.
3. It is only practiced in cases of open and unrepentant sin. We are all sinner, but when you are doing something openly, publically, with the attitude it is my life and I'll do what I want, then you have crossed the line as a church member.
4. To fail to practice discipline is a display of pride and lack of care for the church overall.
5. We only have this privilege with people we are in a church relationship with.

1 Corinthians 6

    We are not to take our brother, particularly our fellow church member to court. Such matters are to be settled with in the church. We should trust our fellow church members to help us work through such disagreements. Ultimately even if things don't work out the way we want we should be willing to suffer being wronged before we would make our savior and his kingdom look bad by parading our problems in front of the world.
    The reality that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit should be strong motivation to avoid all types of sin and especially sexual sin. He is living in us, we should not drag him into these terrible situations.