I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Corinthians 9-13.

    The passage begins with a reminder of the importance of giving, and of the blessings which God will give us when we do so. He reminds the Corinthians that the idea for a collection to help the believers in Jerusalem was their idea. If we enthusiastically promoted an idea to others we need to make sure that we follow through and do our part to make that idea happen. Paul goes on to remind us that the level of our reward will be commensurate with the level of our generosity. However, it is important that our giving be done willingly and happily, not because we fell obligated, or because someone embarrassed us into it.

    Paul goes from encouraging the Corinthian believers to defending his authority as an apostle. I believe there is a connection between Paul’s reminder about giving and his defense of his authority. It seems to me that Paul was addressing those who claimed that his ministry in Corinth was designed to take advantage of the Corinthian believers. This passage is one where I do not like the NLT translation, it directs Paul’s towards disobedient individuals. Whereas the NIV and NASB translates what Paul says here as being directed at thoughts, ideas, arguments, and worldviews which are counter to those of God. Assuming that what Paul writes here is truly reflective of what the believers in Corinth thought of him, it shows us that Paul was, in person, a somewhat quiet man and makes me suspect that his sermons had a tendency to put people to sleep. If we are to take this passage at face value, and I think we should, Paul did not win converts on the basis of his powerful oratory.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Corinthians 5-8.

    Paul tells us that we are Christ’s ambassadors in this world. An ambassador is someone sent on behalf of a sovereign to deliver that sovereign’s message to those who do not currently accept that sovereign’s rule. I want to bring up two important elements of an ambassador’s role. The first is that the ambassador is obligated by his sovereign to always act and speak in ways which bring honor to that sovereign. The second is that the sovereign will view anything said or done to the ambassador as if it was said or done to himself. So, as ambassador’s of Christ we are obligated to carefully consider ALL of our actions and words to determine if they bring honor and glory to Christ. And, when our actions do this, than anything which anyone says or does to us is directed at Christ, not us, and God will respond to it accordingly.

    While Paul is explaining what it means to be ambassadors for Christ he writes some great lessons for us. We should act to bring glory to God even if that causes people to think we are crazy. Actually, the way I read it, if our actions are bringing glory to God there will be a large number of people who think we are crazy. However, there are times when we need to explain our actions and show people that we are not crazy. We do not do this for our benefit. Rather we do it for those to whom we are speaking. God has reconciled us to Himself. He has given us the task of showing other people how they can be reconciled to God. In order for them to accept this message they must see that we are not crazy. They must see that our actions which appear crazy are the logical consequence of the new people into whom Christ has transformed us. We no longer live for ourselves. Instead we live for Christ and our lives should reflect both the responsibility this entails and the joy that results from doing so..

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Corinthians 1-4.

    After his greetings Paul starts this second letter to the Corinthians (at least, the second that we have a record of) by telling us that God will comfort us in our troubles. I really want to unpack what Paul says here a bit. The first part is fairly basic. He assures us that when we face troubles, difficulty, and sadness God will comfort us. We have no need to fear the trouble we may see in our future because Paul assures us that God will be at our side through it all. However, Paul goes further than to tell us that we do not need to fear such troubles. He tells us that we should embrace such troubles as they come to us because once God has seen us through them we will be able to comfort and aid others who face such troubles. There is one more important point which Paul makes as he discusses the troubles he experienced. God allows trouble to come into our lives so that we learn that we must rely on Him. If we attempt to get through our troubles on our own, we will fail.

    I like the wording chosen by the NIV better for the beginning of Chapter 3 (although the NLT’s phrasing is easier to follow). We are not competent to accomplish the tasks God has for us on our own. God did not choose us for the tasks He gave us because we had the skills He needed for them. It is only because of God’s grace that we are qualified to do the tasks to which He has called us. It is important for us to remember this. We are not going to convince anyone to come to God by our cleverness. We will only do so as the Holy Spirit moves in them. We are but weak vessels through which God delivers His power into this world. Again Paul makes another vital point. If we use tricks, deception, or cheats of any kind to get people to come to the Lord, we will fail. We need to remember that our goal is to benefit those to whom we preach (I am using the most general definition possible of the word “preach” here). Therefore we do not need to use trickery of any kind to get them to accept the message which God gives us for them. If and when God’s Spirit opens their eyes and ears, they will recognize the good that comes from turning to Him and allowing Him to transform them. On the other hand, if we use tricks and deception to convince them, when they see through out deception, as they will sooner or later, they are likely to believe that everything we have said was a lie. Let us trust in the plain, unadorned Word of God to convince people.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Corinthians 15-16.

    In today’s passage Paul makes the case for the resurrection of the dead. He starts by summing up the Good News which he preached. This summation is an important thing for us to note: Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day. He then points out that Jesus was seen alive by a fairly large number of people after His death. He finishes this short section on the Good News which he preaches by pointing out that he and the other apostles preach the same message.

    Then Paul makes his primary argument for believing in resurrection of the dead. If there is no resurrection from the dead, then Christ did not rise from the dead. If Christ did not rise from the dead, then the apostles, those who preached the Gospel were liars. If their claim that Jesus was raised from the dead was false, then everything else they taught was false as well. The Good News does not have the power to save us from our sins if Jesus did not rise from the dead. Further, there is no point in living according to the Gospel if there is nothing more than our physical beings. If the material world is all that there is, we may as well live solely for whatever pleasure we can derive in this life.

    However, this material world is NOT all that there is and Jesus was indeed raised from the dead. Therefore there is value in doing what is right and avoiding sin. If we trust fully in Jesus, we will be raised from the dead in His likeness. It is pointless to try to understand what sort of bodies we will have when we are raised from the dead. What we do know is that those bodies will not suffer the pains and disabilities which we experience today. Those who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead and try to follow Jesus’ teachings are the greatest of all fools. They are fools because our only source for what Jesus taught are people who also claimed that He rose from the dead. Lying about the Resurrection goes against everything else they were teaching. How could people who were either crazy or flat out lying about that teach anything of moral value?

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Corinthians 12-14.

    Today’s passage is perhaps the best of the readings in this daily Bible reading schedule. Not because the passage is so much better than others, but because these three chapters are all on the same topic, AND Paul’s thoughts on the topic do not run over into tomorrow’s passage (not did they start in yesterday’s). The topic which Paul covers in this passage is spiritual gifts.
    Each and every one of us has received a spiritual gift from God. God has given us these gifts for the common good (how the NIV and the NASB translate it), or to help each other (as the NLT translates it). Paul makes it very clear that we should not expect that everyone has the same spiritual gifts. One of the most important parts for us to remember is that each and every one of us has the gifts which God has chosen to give us, and we have those gifts because the Church needs us with those gifts. If we fail to use our gifts, the Church will be missing something which it needs. The focus of Paul’s writing here is that we should not look down on others because they do not have “glorious” gifts, nor should we look down on ourselves. However, he is also pointing out that God has a plan for us with the gifts He has given us.

    Having compared the members of the Church to parts of the body, pointing out that the Church is the Body of Christ, Paul encourages us to seek the greater gifts. Then he proceeds to show us how to tell which gifts are greater. First and foremost the gifts we desire and strive for should be determined by our love for others. No matter what gifts we may have, if we do not have love for others, and use those gifts as expressions of our love for others, those gifts will do neither us nor anyone else any good. When we considering how we should use our gifts, Paul’s description of the characteristics of love in chapter 13 verses 4-7 should guide our actions:

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Paul goes on to point out that the usefulness of the spiritual gifts will end, but that love, faith, and hope will have value through eternity. From there he gives us an example how love will guide our desire for greater gifts. Paul shows us how the gift of prophecy is more valuable than the gift of speaking tongues. His reason why we should desire the gift of prophecy more than the gift of speaking in tongues is that, except under certain rare circumstances, the gift of prophecy will be of more use to others while speaking in tongues will enrich only ourselves.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Corinthians 9-11.

    I have never quite understood Paul’s argument here. The way I read it, he is making a case to establish his authority to give the Corinthian Church instruction. He then makes the case that he has the right to receive economic support (a place to stay, food, and have other expenses covered) from the Corinthian Church when he ministers in Corinth. While I do not understand how Paul’s claim to having a right to economic support supports his claim to authority, I do believe he makes a very good case that we should provide economic support to those called by God to the ministry. I believe that Paul gives us two important messages in this discussion.

    First, he tells us that we should provide material support to those called to ministry. Those whom God and the Church have called to ministry should be able to dedicate their lives to the ministry to which they have been called (I want to note that this includes pastors, but is not limited to pastors). We should strive to meet their economic needs to the best of our ability as a group. It is worth noting that this may involve offering them a place to stay in our homes and providing them meals rather than paying them money (although in the U.S. the latter is going to usually be the way which we should go). However, the second thing Paul tells us is that he never took advantage of his right to support by the Corinthian Church. This indicates to me that sometimes God calls people to minister without receiving support from those to whom they minister. This is a calling which can only be interpreted by the person who receives it. I do not believe it is ever my place to tell someone else that I believe they are called to minister while they provide their own support. I can say, an will say, that some people are so called, but I cannot say that a specific person is so called. If someone feels so called I can tell them that I think they are wrong, and I can help them analyze why they think they are so called. But in any case, only those who choose to refuse the support of those they minister should not receive such support and we should make every effort to make sure that they are adequately supported.

    Paul then circles back to his discussion about our freedom in Christ. He intermixes some theological ideas with practical advice. He does so because it is so easy to reach the wrong conclusion by making a small mistake in applying either. He returns to making the point that our bodies are joined with Christ so we should not join them in idolatry (it is worth noting that many idolatrous practices of that day involved sexual activity). The key message he makes is that we should not take part in idolatrous worship practices. However, if we are invited to an event of some kind we are free to take part in it, unless someone involved with it points out to us that is part of idol worship.
    In his example, Paul uses the idea of meat offered to idols, which is interestingly relevant once more. He tells us that we are free to eat whatever meat we buy in the market place, or which someone offers us, with no questions asked. If, however, someone points out to us that the meat was offered to idols, we should not eat it. How is this relevant? It has to do with controversy which has arisen recently regarding fast food restaurants and grocery stores selling meat which meats Muslim dietary standards. If we go into the store or restaurant and buy it with no particular notice being brought to the fact that it is halal (that is, that it meets Muslim dietary standards), we are free to consume it. On the other hand, if someone makes a big deal out of the fact that it is halal, we should refrain. A casual examination of halal requirements indicate that one of them is that the food be dedicated to the Muslim deity.

    There is a reason why I used the term “Muslim deity” rather than the word “Allah” above. Some people contend that Allah and the Christian God are the same being. I do know that many Bible translators translate the word God as “Allah” in Arabic and I understand why they do that. However, even if that may be a valid translation (and I do not know enough Arabic to know if there are any other options that would be better), if one looks at the characteristics of the god worshiped by Muslims and compare those characteristics to the God worshiped by Christians one quickly sees that these are not the same being. In reference to this, I like the way that C.S. Lewis put it in his Narnia series. There he said that if one does the things which Aslan(Jesus) calls us to do in the name of Tash(Allah), we are worshiping Aslan(God), no matter what name we use for Him. If on the other hand, we do the things which Tash(Allah) calls us to do in the name of Aslan(God), we are worshiping Tash(Alah), no matter what name we use for him.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Corinthians 5-8.

    In today’s passage Paul gets into the meat of his reason for writing to the Corinthians (although that is not quite accurate since what he wrote in yesterday’s passage about division was part of the meat). Here he writes about, and condemns, a blatant sinner who the Corinthian Church not only tolerated but was bragging about. It appears that the Corinthian Church was bragging about how free they were and using this man as an example of their freedom. Paul points out that we are indeed free to do anything. However, he also tells us that just because we MAY do anything does not mean that we benefit from doing anything. In particular, Paul tells us that sexual sin is bad for us. Many people in the Church today gloss over what Paul is teaching here.
    While sexual sins often result in negative health effects, which is a reason why we should avoid them. However, the main reason we should avoid sexual sins is that they impact our mental and spiritual lives as well. I do not fully understand how it works, but sexual sins interfere with our relationship with the Holy Spirit. Sexual sins involve our bodies and since our bodies are the temple in which the Holy Spirit resides they are a form of offering sacrificing to an idol on the same altar where we offer sacrifices to God.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Corinthians 1-4.

    Paul describes the problem with division in the Church that is based on factions. Paul is not talking here about division in the Church which is a result of disagreement over what is right and wrong (he speaks to that elsewhere). Here he is speaking about factionalism: “If they support X, I oppose X. If they oppose Y, I support Y.” Factionalism results from trying to impress those we think are wise, or powerful, or wealthy. I am really struggling to get this to be coherent today. My understanding of Paul’s point here is that doing as God instructs us appears foolish to those who do not have faith in God’s power. From a human perspective, Christ’s death on the cross is foolish and weak. You do not defeat the most powerful military force on the planet by being executed as a common criminal. Yet, that was God’s plan for creating His kingdom. Those who have accepted God’s Spirit realize that you cannot force people to love you. The only way to get people to love you is to love them and even then you need to rely on them choosing to love you back.