July 2

Paul could never be called a fly-by-night apostle. We have already seen how on multiple occasions, Paul and the other Apostles spent extended periods of time with new converts. They also frequently returned to established churches in order to spend more time with them.

Here, in 1 Corinthians 4, Paul tells the church that they should see him and the other Apostles as stewards of the mysteries of God. (1 Corinthians 4:1) He follows this statement with a comment that stewards must be found faithful. (v. 2)

By saying that they must be found faithful, Paul implies that the those managing the mysteries of God must be evaluated. They must be tested and pass the test. Paul had nothing to hide. His life was an open book. But he says that the true judge of his faithfulness was not any person or church. Paul’s ultimate judge is God Himself. He was well aware of that fact and lived his live accordingly.

So what are the “mysteries of God” that Paul refers to? Paul also uses the term mysteries elsewhere in 1 Corinthians 13:2; 14:2. He will also go into more detail in his letters to the Ephesians and the Colossians.

While Proverbs 25:2 says that God conceals things, God says that wise leaders are capable of mining those things that He has concealed. Yes, Jesus told parables in order to conceal certain things about the Kingdom of God from some people. But Jesus also revealed the meaning of the parables to His disciples. (Mark 4:33–34)

For one thing, Paul says that the “mysteries of God” have been revealed. (Ephesians 1:9; 3:3; 1 Timothy 3:9, 16; Colossians 1:26)

These mysteries aren’t something that believers are ever encouraged to look for outside of the Bible. There isn’t some secret code that God wants believers to dig out of some obscure Bible text or some extra-biblical text that was hidden by church leaders hundreds of years ago.

God is a self-revealing God. He wants to reveal Himself to His people. And that’s why Paul said that the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:26–27, BSB)

Application

Paul turns to the importance of believers to have relationships with their teachers in 1 Corinthians 4:14–17. He uses familial words such as father and child to describe these relationships. In verse 15, Paul says that they may have many instructors, but they don’t have many fathers.

As important as it is to surround ourselves with good, solid Bible teachers, Paul insists that there needs to be accountability relationships between leaders and followers. This accountability goes both ways. The leader is accountable to the follower by living and teaching with integrity. The follower is accountable to the leader by mastering the subject matter and becoming like the leader in his worldview and behavior.

In God’s church, no one is above being tested. In fact, we are encouraged to test prophecies. (1 Corinthians 14:29) We are encouraged to test the spirits (1 John 4:1). In God’s church we can never say, “Touch not the Lord’s anointed,” yet, how often have we heard that from Christian “leaders” say that regarding other Christian “leaders”.

Discernment is crucial among God’s people. Personal knowledge of leaders and followers provides a checks-and-balances in the Christian life.

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June 29

In yesterday’s Bible reading and devotional, we saw that there are two types of people: spiritual and natural people. Spiritual people are able to understand the things of God, but natural people cannot. (1 Corinthians 2:12)

Many have read today’s Bible readings in 1 Corinthians 3 and saw a third type of person: the carnal Christian. Paul said that he was unable to speak to the Corinthians as mature spiritual people because they were still worldly. (1 Corinthians 3:1) He says that people in the church were appearing to be babies in Christ. They were unable to eat solid spiritual food; they were only able to live on spiritual milk.

It’s easy to make a simple mistake by reading this English description of worldliness. Paul uses two Greek words to describe these Corinthians: σάρκινος and σαρκικός. Even if you don’t have a background in the Greek Language, you can see the one-letter difference in these two words. The letter ν in the first word is a Greek nu. The letter κ in the second word is a Greek kappa. The difference can be understood by the one-letter difference in two related English words: fleshy and fleshly. Fleshy means made of flesh. Fleshly means having the characteristics of flesh.

Paul says, “I couldn’t even talk to you as an immature Christian; I had to talk to you as a lost person.” He says that their immaturity was evidenced by their envy and strife. Paul never questions their salvation. He doesn’t suggest that these people were natural/lost people. He says they were acting like natural/lost people, so he had to address them as such. (1 Corinthians 3:3) Their problem wasn’t that these people had backslidden. They were saved, but they simply never matured in their faith.

Using Paul’s words, there’s not a third type of person. Again, someone is either saved or not. Now, if someone is saved, but not living like it, they may be immature, having never grown in their faith. Or they could be a saved person who regressed in their walk with Christ, and now walks in rebellion against God.

Application

For many years, I have been concerned about the erroneous theology of the carnal Christian in churches. In an effort to encourage spiritual people (believers) to walk in Christian maturity, I fear that many people who claim they were saved, perhaps many years ago, have been given an “out” as a carnal Christian. By giving them a label of a carnal Christian, I believe they have been comforted in their backslidden condition. Pair that with the doctrine of eternal security, and you have a recipe for disaster where a believer thinks they can live however they want and still go to heaven when they die.

However, I would argue that if someone is actively walking in rebellion, they may not be a carnal Christian at all. They may, in fact, be a lost person. Only the Holy Spirit can confirm if someone has been born again. (Romans 8:16)

Those whose attitudes and behavior don’t line up with clear Biblical principles and teachings need to seriously consider whether or not they are saved at all. Both of these conditions of being lost or backslidden are spiritually dangerous.

People in either condition should seriously consider their lives. Neither condition is the way that God intends. God intends for His people to walk with Him in ever-increasing holiness. Rebellious Christians need to repent and walk according to their calling as a child of God. Lost people need to repent and turn to Jesus so they can have a dynamic walk with God.

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June 25

We have already seen the biblical order of belief and then water baptism. Dr. Luke highlights Crispus’ experience: he and his family believed, and they were baptized. The same happened to many of the Corinthians. (Acts 18:8)

Dr. Luke introduces us to Priscilla and Aquila. They came to Corinth because the Jews had been expelled from Rome by the Emperor Claudius. (Acts 18:2) He also tells us that they were tentmakers, as was Paul. (Acts 18:3) However, we aren’t told elsewhere that Paul was a tentmaker. The fact that Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila were tentmakers tells us that bivocational ministry is a biblical model of ministry. In this type of ministry, the minister is following the call of God while holding down a separate “secular” job, which normally puts food on the table. By no means is bivocational ministry a second-class ministry. In the early days of the church, bivocational ministry may have been the normal model of ministry, rather than the exception.

As we have seen before, after seeing people come to faith in Christ, the Apostles stayed in a city for a period of time. They did this to help establish new converts in their walk of faith. Here we see that Paul discipled the Corinthians for eighteen months before his departure. (Acts 18:11) Later, we see that Paul visits and encourages churches that he started in the past. (Acts 18:23)

Paul departed and went to Ephesus by way of Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. An Alexandria Jew named Apollos also arrived in Ephesus. (Acts 18:24) He was competent in the use of the Scriptures (e.g., the Old Testament) and had been taught about Jesus, though he only knew of John’s baptism. He didn’t know anything about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 18:25) For more on the baptism of the Holy Spirit and becoming a Christian, see our devotionals here and here. Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak and pulled him aside to explain the way of God to him more accurately. Apollos was humble enough to recognize that he didn’t know it all and needed to learn more.

Application

John the Baptizer was the last of the Old Testament Prophets. Apollos spoke eloquently about what he knew, but he didn’t know the whole Gospel. He needed someone to explain it so he could accurately preach it. Priscilla and Aquila stepped in and filled in the gaps between what he knew and what he needed to know of the rest of the story.

Perhaps you prayed a prayer to accept Jesus, but no one ever told you about the Holy Spirit. Many Christ followers can identify with this experience. The Bible doesn’t say anything about “praying a prayer to accept Jesus”. There’s nothing wrong with praying, but no one has ever been saved by simply praying a prayer. We are made children of God only through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit makes us children of God. (1 Corinthians 12:13) Later, we’ll see Paul’s plea for the Ephesians to have a daily, renewed relationship with the filling of the Spirit. We’ll read about that on September 24.

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June 19

As I have stated many times during my ministry, the point of eschatology is not to reveal times and dates, but rather to remind us that we need to always be ready for Jesus’ return. 1 Thessalonians 5 is a perfect example. (1 Thessalonians 5:6–8) Rather than create fear about the unknown future, Paul urges the church to encourage each other with the fact that there is more than merely this world. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Paul praises the church at Thessalonica. They know that Jesus will return sometime in the future, and he reminds them to stay alert. As Jesus’ return nears, signs of the times will appear in rapid succession and with increasing intensity, as labor pains. (1 Thessalonians 5:3)

Believers should never fear the End Times. Instead, Paul encourages members of the church to encourage each other and to continue to build each other up. The Greek word behind build up is the basis of the English word edifice, a term that means a “large or massive structure”.^[1] An edifice cannot be built overnight. It takes time. It takes commitment. It takes a concerted effort to finish the task. The Great Wall of China, (which can be seen from outer space!) took two thousand years to build.

Paul offers specific ways of building up other believers in 1 Thessalonians 5:12–22. In 5:21–22 he urges the church to discern, something which is rarely followed in many churches today in Western cultures. In these verses, he uses words such as “avoid” and “hold onto” certain things. The Greek word behind these words is identical; the difference is they have different prefixes.

In yesterday’s devotional, I mentioned that there are a few places where God spells out clearly what His will is. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 is another one of those clear places: “… for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” God’s will for all believers is to maintain a thankful attitude in all things.

Application

Building up one another in a church – any church – takes time. And patience. People are not transformed overnight. Some weeks, months, or years may seem to pass at a slow, methodical, marathon snail’s pace. Other weeks, months, or years may seem to fly by like a hypersonic jet.

The first thing to do in building up a church is to build up our own spiritual life. Continue the process of personal growth on a regular basis. No, you don’t have to spend protracted time in prayer and Bible reading and study every single day. But stay with it. Try really hard not to go more than a day or two without practicing these and other spiritual disciplines. And on those days when you don’t, or can’t engage with God in a more structured time, you can offer up “popcorn prayers” and rehearse Bible verses that you have hidden in your heart. (Psalm 119:11)

We need to be ready at all times. At. All. Times.

^[1] Merriam-Webster, Inc. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary., Eleventh ed., Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003.

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June 18

I have often heard people worry about finding God’s will for their lives. Sometimes, they worry that perhaps they have missed God’s will. Unfortunately, I have found that those who worry the most are often the same ones who seem to be the least likely to go to God’s Word first.

No, you will probably not find God’s will concerning what career you should pursue in God’s Word. Or whom to marry. Or where to live. God wants you to make wise choices. In these situations, it appears that God gives us the freedom to make a wise decision rather than the right decision. God’s Word is always the best source for wisdom. (James 1:5)

However, there are a few places in the Bible that clearly spell out God’s will. And if we pay attention to these clear directions, it will be easier to find God’s will for other situations.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 is one of those clear examples for believers to see God’s will. Twice in this section, (vv. 3, 7) Paul tells the church that they are called to live holy lives. One specific area of living a holy life has to do with expressing our sexual desires.

Paul tells them to abstain from sexual immorality. This word immorality is the Greek word porneia, from which we get pornography. The word covers a broad spectrum of all sexual activity outside the context of a one-man-one-woman, covenant marriage relationship. In other words, this word covers premarital sex, adultery, polygamy, homosexuality, bisexuality, and all other similar sexual expressions. Paul tells the church to abstain from it, keep away from it, and avoid it.

He says not to transgress against or take advantage of anyone else, and adds that anyone who rejects his instructions is not sinning against another individual, but against God Himself (1 Thessalonians 4:8)

Next, Paul comforts his readers concerning the second coming of Jesus. It seems that some of the Thessalonians were concerned about relatives and other believers who had died before Jesus returns. Paul responds that all believers have a living hope! God won’t forget his children who die before Jesus returns. In fact, God cannot forget His children! (Isaiah 49:15; Hebrews 13:5) Both those who die before Jesus returns and those who are living at that time will be brought to live with Jesus in eternity. As with other Bible passages that deal with eschatology, the takeaway is always a reminder that we don’t know when Jesus will return, so we need to be ready for Jesus’ return at all times.

Application

If you think that our day is more morally depraved than in the days Paul is writing, just know that it isn’t. They may not have had the same terminology we do today, but the lusts and desires are the same as they were two thousand years ago. I think that’s why Paul used the broad term that he did, porneia.

It’s important to note that sin is sin is sin. Don’t judge someone just because they sin differently than you do. All of us sin. (Romans 3:23) And all sin rightly destines us to live for eternity without Jesus. But, praise God, there is forgiveness for all sin because of Jesus’ atoning, sanctifying, substitutionary death on a Roman cross! There is no judgment for those in Jesus Christ, (Romans 8:1) though all believers must maintain clean fellowship with Him by acknowledging and confessing every sin so we can be forgiven and cleansed from those sins. (1 John 1:9)

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