"According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
In ministry, there are starters, continuers, and terminators. Some people blaze completely new territory, doing things that have never been done before. Others pick up the work that has been started by others either continuing it after the same manner or else going astray from the original intent.
Whatever is done, it must be done with the right attitude and the right focus. The attitude must be one of humility and trust in the Lord. The work that you do must be “according to the grace of God.” You cannot do the work by your own efforts. And not only must it be done by God’s grace, it must be actually built upon Christ. He must be the focus of the work. If people think that the ministry they are doing is built on their own efforts, they will fail to recognize God’s grace in the work. And if people fail to build on Christ, they will simply fail.
Christ is my sure foundation. As I engage in the work ahead of me or the work that I am doing even now, I must look to Jesus. Weather I am blazing new trails or continuing the work started by others, I must take care to ensure that my dependence is solely rested upon the savior. All else is of little to no value.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
1 Corinthians 3:5-9
"What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building."
When people elevate a spiritual leader, it is often because of the influential role that the person has played in their lives. When people pour themselves into our lives, it is right for us to be thankful, but we must recognize that the people that God chooses to use are not the ones accomplishing the spiritual good in our lives. They are being used to accomplish the good, but they are not accomplishing the good. God is the only one who can accomplish anything of spiritual value in our lives.
Those who are working for the Lord will be rewarded by Him. But they are only workers. They must not be lifted to a place of superiority over other believers. Neither should they be lifted to a position of superiority over each other. If one person witnessed to me, one person was a consistent testimony for Christ before me, and another person finally lead me to Christ, no worker is better than the other for it. They are all fellow workers. All were used by God, and God was the one who really accomplished the work.
I should delight in serving God no matter what role He has me play. And I must not divisively elevate people to a position that they do not deserve. God is the one doing great things in my life.
When people elevate a spiritual leader, it is often because of the influential role that the person has played in their lives. When people pour themselves into our lives, it is right for us to be thankful, but we must recognize that the people that God chooses to use are not the ones accomplishing the spiritual good in our lives. They are being used to accomplish the good, but they are not accomplishing the good. God is the only one who can accomplish anything of spiritual value in our lives.
Those who are working for the Lord will be rewarded by Him. But they are only workers. They must not be lifted to a place of superiority over other believers. Neither should they be lifted to a position of superiority over each other. If one person witnessed to me, one person was a consistent testimony for Christ before me, and another person finally lead me to Christ, no worker is better than the other for it. They are all fellow workers. All were used by God, and God was the one who really accomplished the work.
I should delight in serving God no matter what role He has me play. And I must not divisively elevate people to a position that they do not deserve. God is the one doing great things in my life.
Friday, July 27, 2007
1 Corinthians 3:1-4
"But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not being merely human?"
Although all believers have the Spirit, some do not act like spiritual people and cannot be interacted with on a spiritual level. Though they are in Christ, they still behave as if they are in the flesh.
When Paul was teaching the Corinthian believers, he could not deal with weighty, spiritual matters. Instead, he was restricted to the most basic of spiritual concepts, almost dealing with them as if they were not Christians. After teaching and giving them opportunities to grow, they had failed to develop as they ought to have developed. They lacked the spiritual discernment that comes from God through His word. They still saw things through an earthly, sinful, human perspective.
How was this deficiency displayed in their lives? Was it seen though moral failures like adultery or idolatry? Those problems did exist in the church, but that is not here identified as the problem. The reason for their inchoate spiritual state was "jealousy and strife." They were identifying themselves with personalities and creating divisions over them. This is human behavior and does not reflect any spirituality.
I might be prone to think, I am following this very spiritual person. He is better than these other Christian leaders. Therefore, I am spiritual, and they are not. I probably wouldn't think these words exactly, but I might identify myself with someone and follow him to the unnecessary separation of others. If a person does such a thing, he would probably think himself spiritual for it. But really, there is nothing spiritual about those kind of actions. That person is "behaving only in a human way." Truly spiritual people follow Christ and love His word.
Although all believers have the Spirit, some do not act like spiritual people and cannot be interacted with on a spiritual level. Though they are in Christ, they still behave as if they are in the flesh.
When Paul was teaching the Corinthian believers, he could not deal with weighty, spiritual matters. Instead, he was restricted to the most basic of spiritual concepts, almost dealing with them as if they were not Christians. After teaching and giving them opportunities to grow, they had failed to develop as they ought to have developed. They lacked the spiritual discernment that comes from God through His word. They still saw things through an earthly, sinful, human perspective.
How was this deficiency displayed in their lives? Was it seen though moral failures like adultery or idolatry? Those problems did exist in the church, but that is not here identified as the problem. The reason for their inchoate spiritual state was "jealousy and strife." They were identifying themselves with personalities and creating divisions over them. This is human behavior and does not reflect any spirituality.
I might be prone to think, I am following this very spiritual person. He is better than these other Christian leaders. Therefore, I am spiritual, and they are not. I probably wouldn't think these words exactly, but I might identify myself with someone and follow him to the unnecessary separation of others. If a person does such a thing, he would probably think himself spiritual for it. But really, there is nothing spiritual about those kind of actions. That person is "behaving only in a human way." Truly spiritual people follow Christ and love His word.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
1 Corinthians 2:15-16
"The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 'For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ."
The believer has the Spirit, and this enables him to descern spiritual truths that are incomprehensable to unbelievers. Unbelievers can not understand spiritual truths in general nor can they understand spiritual truths as they are fleshed out in individual believers' lives.
Sometimes unbelievers attempt to understand why believers do things. But if a believer's actions are motivated by spiritual reasons, an unbeliever will not be able to understand the motives of the believer. He will not understand because the motives are spiritual. The believer is following the will or mind of the Lord. And no one can understand the mind of the Lord unless he has the Spirit.
If we are believers, then we have Christ's mind. That statement seems extreme to me. But it is so. If misunderstood or misapplied, these it could potentially foster pride in a believers heart. It does not mean that we know all that God knows or that we always act like Christ. Nor does this mean that believers are better or smarter than unbelievers. But when motivated by the Sprit, we have Christ's mind.
Sometimes I do not act this way, but I should. I can have the mind of Christ. And having the mind of Christ, I should act with reason-defying obedience to Him.
The believer has the Spirit, and this enables him to descern spiritual truths that are incomprehensable to unbelievers. Unbelievers can not understand spiritual truths in general nor can they understand spiritual truths as they are fleshed out in individual believers' lives.
Sometimes unbelievers attempt to understand why believers do things. But if a believer's actions are motivated by spiritual reasons, an unbeliever will not be able to understand the motives of the believer. He will not understand because the motives are spiritual. The believer is following the will or mind of the Lord. And no one can understand the mind of the Lord unless he has the Spirit.
If we are believers, then we have Christ's mind. That statement seems extreme to me. But it is so. If misunderstood or misapplied, these it could potentially foster pride in a believers heart. It does not mean that we know all that God knows or that we always act like Christ. Nor does this mean that believers are better or smarter than unbelievers. But when motivated by the Sprit, we have Christ's mind.
Sometimes I do not act this way, but I should. I can have the mind of Christ. And having the mind of Christ, I should act with reason-defying obedience to Him.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
1 Corinthians 2:14
"The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned."
The unbeliever rejects the truth of God because he cannot understand it. He simply is not able to wrap his mind around spiritual truth because he lacks the spiritual discernment that comes with believing. I think about the different theological arguments for the existence of God, and I think about all the work that apologists do to try to convince people of the truth of spiritual things. These arguments are often helpful and reasonable, and they serve their place. But they will not enlighten the unbeliever. Only the Spirit can do that. I suppose that the Spirit can use the arguments, but it is the Spirit that does the work.
The unbeliever rejects the truth of God because he cannot understand it. He simply is not able to wrap his mind around spiritual truth because he lacks the spiritual discernment that comes with believing. I think about the different theological arguments for the existence of God, and I think about all the work that apologists do to try to convince people of the truth of spiritual things. These arguments are often helpful and reasonable, and they serve their place. But they will not enlighten the unbeliever. Only the Spirit can do that. I suppose that the Spirit can use the arguments, but it is the Spirit that does the work.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
1 Corinthians 2:13
"And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual."
Spiritual truths cannot be conveyed with human wisdom. Not even a person who understands the spiritual truths can convince someone of them using human wisdom. When we share spiritual truths. only those who are taught by the Spirit will be able to understand.
If I want someone to understand a spiritual truth, I cannot rely on my own intellect or powers of persuasion. I need to pray that the Spirit opens their eyes to the truth of God's word. To rely on my own wisdom (or even wisdom gleaned from leadership seminars) is futile.
Spiritual truths cannot be conveyed with human wisdom. Not even a person who understands the spiritual truths can convince someone of them using human wisdom. When we share spiritual truths. only those who are taught by the Spirit will be able to understand.
If I want someone to understand a spiritual truth, I cannot rely on my own intellect or powers of persuasion. I need to pray that the Spirit opens their eyes to the truth of God's word. To rely on my own wisdom (or even wisdom gleaned from leadership seminars) is futile.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
1 Corinthians 2:11-12
"For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God."
People frequently try to judge other people's motives. Some times they might get it right, but they can never be truly certain because they cannot see inside that person's mind and discern what they are thinking. Psychologists try really hard to do this. And some people behave in a way that psychologists have a pretty good guess as to what the person is thinking. But sometimes things are more complex than they psychologist realizes, and he gets it wrong.
If it is true that one person cannot know another person's thoughts and motivations, how much more is it true that we cannot know God's thoughts. Compared to God, our minds are very simple and formulaic. God is infiate, and His ways are completely beyond our comprehension. How could a person ever expect to understand things of God? Can he understand God through the Bible? Well yes, the Bible is necessary, but the Bible is not enough to understand the things of God. We need God's Spirit to enlighten us. This is the only way that we can comprehend spiritual things. The Spirit gives us understanding.
Those who do have not received God's Spirit, i.e. those who have not trusted Christ as their savior, do not understand spiritual things. They understand the things of the world because they have the spirit of the world. But they do not understand God or His ways. It's true that not even Christians can understand God fully, but we can understand what He reveals about Himself. Unbelievers cannot even do that.
Contrawise, Christians do not understand the world, because they don't have the spirit of the world. When I was at Bob Jones University, I remember thinking, of many of my classmates, that they were out of touch with the world. I went to public school and had had much contact with unbelievers. But many of my classmates had grown up in church and in Christian schools and had little to no understanding of the world. But these verses seem to indicate that I was no expert myself, and that is o.k. I cannot understand the world, and I do not have to. I understand something far better.
People frequently try to judge other people's motives. Some times they might get it right, but they can never be truly certain because they cannot see inside that person's mind and discern what they are thinking. Psychologists try really hard to do this. And some people behave in a way that psychologists have a pretty good guess as to what the person is thinking. But sometimes things are more complex than they psychologist realizes, and he gets it wrong.
If it is true that one person cannot know another person's thoughts and motivations, how much more is it true that we cannot know God's thoughts. Compared to God, our minds are very simple and formulaic. God is infiate, and His ways are completely beyond our comprehension. How could a person ever expect to understand things of God? Can he understand God through the Bible? Well yes, the Bible is necessary, but the Bible is not enough to understand the things of God. We need God's Spirit to enlighten us. This is the only way that we can comprehend spiritual things. The Spirit gives us understanding.
Those who do have not received God's Spirit, i.e. those who have not trusted Christ as their savior, do not understand spiritual things. They understand the things of the world because they have the spirit of the world. But they do not understand God or His ways. It's true that not even Christians can understand God fully, but we can understand what He reveals about Himself. Unbelievers cannot even do that.
Contrawise, Christians do not understand the world, because they don't have the spirit of the world. When I was at Bob Jones University, I remember thinking, of many of my classmates, that they were out of touch with the world. I went to public school and had had much contact with unbelievers. But many of my classmates had grown up in church and in Christian schools and had little to no understanding of the world. But these verses seem to indicate that I was no expert myself, and that is o.k. I cannot understand the world, and I do not have to. I understand something far better.
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