Faith and Healing

Posted on by korgrocker

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. … to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,”
1 Corinthians 12:7, 9 NIVUK
“to another [wonder-working] faith [is given] by the same [Holy] Spirit, and to another the [extraordinary] gifts of healings by the one Spirit;”
1 Corinthians 12:9 AMP

“Wonder-working” and “extraordinary” are words the Amplified translation uses to enhance the meaning of the gifts of faith and healing. Paul didn’t elaborate on what the gift of faith is or how it would benefit the brothers and sisters in Christ, but all believers have faith that they have been saved through Jesus. But the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith is more than that. According to “gotquestions.org”,  “The gift of faith may be defined as the special gift whereby the Spirit provides Christians with extraordinary confidence in God’s promises, power, and presence so they can take heroic stands for the future of God’s work in the church. The spiritual gift of faith is exhibited by one with a strong and unshakeable confidence in God, His Word, and His promises”. Biblical examples of faith can be found in Hebrews 11, the great faith chapter. We read about the faith of Noah in verse 7, “It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith”. Noah’s faith was definitely God-given, because how else would he have laboured for a hundred years or so building a large boat on dry land in a place that had never experienced rainfall before? He had to endure the ridicule of a people who probably labelled him “that crazy man” or something worse. Because of his faith, and we remember that he didn’t have to do what he did because he had a free choice, the human race was saved from extinction along with the animals that God provided for him. 

“And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith”.

Genesis 15:6.

Another example quoted in Hebrews 11 is Abraham. Imagine being told in your nineties that you would have a child? And we read in Genesis 15:6, “And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith”. But in a sense, we believers help our fellow Christians through our faith, that quiet confidence that God is who He said He is, and that He will bring to pass all that He has promised. Our fellow pilgrims sometimes go through a difficult patch, and it is our faith that will help sustain them through times of trouble. 

Paul also wrote about another spiritual gift, “and to another the [extraordinary] gifts of healings by the one Spirit”. In theological terms, this is tagged as a miraculous gift, something “extraordinary” that is far beyond what is expected or even deemed possible. I have a personal experience of this with my daughter, who some years ago suffered from encephalitis so severe that the prognosis was the worst possible. And yet, she was miraculously healed, and the word “miracle” was appended to her hospital notes at the time by the medics involved in her care. There are many Christians who sadly believe that the spiritual gift of healing died out with the First Century Apostles, but that is not my experience and the experience of many others in the faith. There are, of course, Biblical examples of miraculous healings, and the case of the lame man begging at the Temple gates comes to mind. He was a man who had never been able to walk and who had to be carried to the temple each day so that he could beg for sufficient money to keep himself alive. He asked Peter and John for alms as they entered the Gate, as we read Peter’s response and what happened then in Acts 3:6-7: “But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened”. 

Today, our medics, through technology and new drugs and medicines, can perform healings that would have been considered miraculous in Paul’s day. We thank God for the resources we have that bring about healings from all sorts of conditions. But there is still room for God to perform miracles of healing, and He does frequently. There is always the enigma of why God doesn’t heal everyone who asks Him in prayer, but we must always leave room for miracles in the lives of our fellow believers. Paul himself had an unknown condition that he referred to as a “thorn in his flesh”. We read about in in 2 Corinthians 12:7b-9, “ … So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me”. And then we have a little passing comment in 2 Timothy 4:20, “Erastus stayed at Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick at Miletus”. Surely Paul must have prayed for the man called Trophimus, obviously to no avail.

“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”

Apostle Paul

We pilgrims continue in our journey, always praying for a miraculous healing when we encounter a brother and sister in need. And if the opportunity arises, we should pray for everyone in need of healing, because, for all we know, we might meet someone whom God wants to touch in that moment.

Dear Heavenly Father. We thank You for the times when You have healed our sicknesses and diseases, and we are so sorry for the times when we have failed to thank You and acknowledge Your grace. But in those times when our prayers have not been answered in the way that we would like, we nevertheless still praise and worship You because of who You are. Amen.

Wise Advice

Posted on by korgrocker

“A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.”
1 Corinthians 12:7-8 NLT
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,”
1 Corinthians 12:7-8 NIVUK

Paul starts to list the spiritual gifts that are given to believers through the Holy Spirit. We know that every believer has at least one gift, and the first on Paul’s list is the gift of wisdom, or wise advice. The New Living Translation effectively conveys the idea that the gift of wisdom is not for personal use, but rather to be used to help others. We know, of course, from 1 Corinthians 12:7, that spiritual gifts are given “for the common good” or to “help each other”. In the next verse, two spiritual gifts are mentioned – the gift of wisdom and the gift of knowledge, but what are “wisdom” and “knowledge” in the context of being a Holy Spirit gift? 

There was a man in the Old Testament who God blessed with wisdom. He was David’s son, Solomon, and we read in 1 Kings 3:5, 9, “At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, ‘Ask for whatever you want me to give you.’ … So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” Solomon had the opportunity to ask God for something to help him be king of Israel, and he requested that God give him “a discerning heart”. The rest of 1 Kings 3 gives the account of how Solomon used his gift of discernment or wisdom in the case of a dispute of parenthood by two prostitutes over a baby boy. Solomon gave a wise verdict, and we can read the impact that he had on the nation of Israel in the last verse of this chapter, “When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice”. 

Some believers get concerned over these spiritual gifts because they fear that they are being used to provide direction that exceeds the Bible’s or God’s authority. They fear that the revelation being supplied by another person, perhaps during the delivery of a prophetic word, will not be in accordance with God’s will and will contradict what the Bible actually says. But we know, almost intuitively, that the Holy Spirit will never supply such erroneous revelation. The devil might, but not the Holy Spirit. We know that directional messages from one believer to another should always be confirmed in other ways. For instance, a word of wisdom to a believer might be to give up some sinful practice even though there is nothing specific in the Bible that says so. This wisdom will immediately resonate with the believer, and will give direction for the next phase in the person’s life. Regarding a word of knowledge, this was something that Jesus used in His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus said to her, “ …  ‘Go, call your husband and come back.’ ‘I have no husband,’ she replied. Jesus said to her, ‘You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.’” (John 4:16-18). Jesus had never met the woman before, and He did not have access to her social security records, so how else would He have known without revelation from the Holy Spirit? In this case, the word of knowledge was part of a process that resulted in salvation for a Samaritan town. 

We must note that these two gifts, wisdom and knowledge, are given for the edification, the building up, of the church. They will not bring confusion or conflict. They will not be at variance with the Word of God. Instead, they will reveal God’s truth in a way that another believer can understand and apply in their own lives. But we cannot just leave it there because to do so would limit God’s will and ability to bless His children. It would lock all believers into a strict Biblical worldview, but would fail to provide what God wants for the world of today. The gifts of wisdom and knowledge will take what the Bible says and apply it topically to believers in our society, relating to very different situations. There was nothing in Scripture that would have helped Solomon with his judgment in the case of the two women contesting the ownership of the baby. The Bible does not contain any personal information about the woman who had been married five times. However, through the power of the Holy Spirit, a revelation emerged in each case that unlocked a situation, allowing biblical truths to prevail in people’s lives. 

Wisdom and knowledge. Revelatory gifts from God for building us all up. We seek God for these gifts and the opportunity to use them to edify His people.

Father God. Thank You for Your Spirit, so freely given to us. We pray for a fresh infilling today, to resource us for the day ahead. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

The Same Differences

Posted on by korgrocker

“A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.”
1 Corinthians 12:7-8 NLT

Over the following few verses, one particular feature stands out – the words “the same Spirit” are repeated several times. There is only one Holy Spirit, who is not split into individual parts for each believer. We know that the Godhead includes three Persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit graciously provides spiritual gifts for followers of Christ, and for one purpose, so that they “can help each other”. God is in a unique position, as He knows every person’s heart, their thoughts, their needs and deeds, and everything else about them. So in His grace and loving kindness, He has given gifts to His children so that they can help each other, and these gifts come through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 

Every human being needs help at some point in their life, some more often than others. Many of our basic needs are met by the society in which we Westerners live, with social security resources available for the needy. However, the state lacks the ability or even the desire to provide for a person’s spiritual needs, and for most, such needs are crucial to their well-being. But God, through His grace, has provided a way. 

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other”

John 13:34.

If we examine verse 7 from another perspective, we can see that God has given us spiritual gifts so that those believers around us who are in need can be helped. And as we look around our churches and fellowships, we find that this is indeed the case. From time to time, we all need support from each other, and in many cases, it is a spiritual gift being exercised by one of our believing friends that makes the difference. Sadly, many Christians live a closed life. When asked how they are, the response “fine” is the norm. But Jesus said, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other” (John 13:34). There is a responsibility for us to love our brothers and sisters, but they, too, have a responsibility to allow others to love them, and then love them in return. In our churches and fellowships, there are those who go about their daily lives hurting and sick, but instead of seeking the place where they can experience love and grace through others, they stay away from church until their problems are resolved. 

Paul made it clear to the Corinthians that each of them had at least one spiritual gift, and that gift was given to them by the same Spirit. This may have been to correct a notion that some of the believers there were “spiritual” but others were not. Paul also emphasised that the gift provided was not for the person’s benefit, but for the benefit of others, for the “common good” as some translations say. Today, we believers must ask God for clarity about the spiritual gift that He has provided for us. We, of course, pray about it, but it is also helpful to ask others what our gift is, because they may have a more objective view of us. But in it all, we must relax with the assurance that the Holy Spirit is at work in each of us and He will bring about what He intends for us. We look to our fellow believers in love and transparency, and remain open to the work of the Holy Spirit, who builds us up and guides us in His ways.

Dear Father. Thank You for the gifts that You have given us. Please help us to use them for Your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Differences

Posted on by korgrocker

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.”
1 Corinthians 12:4-6 NIVUK

In Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, he mentioned a gift received by all believers in Jesus – the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). Previously, Jesus had encouraged His disciples when He said that He would send them an Advocate, the Holy Spirit.

“If you love me, obey my commandments.“

John 14:15.

John 14:15-17, “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognise him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you”. Jesus was faithful to His word, and we all know the Acts 2 story – “And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability” (Acts 2:4). This wasn’t an occasion without drama and impact! But my point this morning is that all Christians receive the Holy Spirit when they make Jesus Lord of their lives through the repentance of their sins. There are not many different types of Holy Spirit, one for each person, because there is only one. This is how Paul began his teaching to the Corinthians about the gifts of the Holy Spirit: many gifts, but one Holy Spirit. In the days ahead, we will explore what these different spiritual gifts are. 

“All Christians receive the Holy Spirit when they make Jesus Lord of their lives”

Paul continues with the thought that “There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord” (1 Corinthians 12:5). In other Bible translations, the word “services” is replaced by “ministries”, but even though there are differences between ministries, there is only one Lord commissioning them. So, in our churches, we have the pastors and teachers, the evangelists and so on, with each person, or even several people, performing the same function. But these are the headline roles, and the ones that people think of when the word “ministry” surfaces in conversations. We forget about the other equally important roles that are present in a church or community. The people who maintain the building, cleaning and decorating, repairing and maintaining, are equally important. A bit further down in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul equates a fellowship of believers with a human body, as we read, “Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body” (1 Corinthians 12:14-15). Just as all our body parts have a particular “ministry”, so does the body of Christ as a whole. 

Paul concludes the three verses we are considering today with, “There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work”. We have gifts, ministries, and different ways of doing things, but in everything it is God who is at work in them all. But if we stop and think, aren’t we all glad that each person is unique? What if God had created a race of human clones, each identical in looks and abilities? Where would the variety of gifts and ministries then be found? God created each one of us just as He planned, and after our creation, He broke the mould, so that there would never be another you and me. Yes, we may have character traits inherited from our parents. But they uniquely combine to make us who we are.

The differences between believers enrich the Body of Christ in all its facets and functions, and we should be content with how God has made us. We must never spend our time fretting because we are looking at someone else, wishing that we had their gift or ministry. Our function instead is to be faithful with the gifts God has given us, so that one day we will hear those wonderful words, “Well done, good and faithful servant”. 

Dear Father God. Thank You for making us just as we are, with all the gifts and ministries that You want us to have. Please help us to be content and continue in our Christian lives, as we become more and more like your Son, Jesus. In His precious name. Amen. 

Judgment

Posted on by korgrocker

“For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and ill, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.”
1 Corinthians 11:29-32 NIVUK

In a previous blog, we considered what it means to discern “the body of Christ”. We continue to read today about what will happen to those who fail to “discern” what is really happening in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Reading between the lines of what went on in the Corinthians’ service of Communion, it must have been a bit of a riot compared with our sombre services today. They were apparently turning it into a drunken party, with those with the means to supply their own food and drink having a good time, and those without forced to sit on the sidelines and watch. And in some way, they considered that they were sharing in the Lord’s Supper by doing this. But before we condemn them and take the moral high ground, we must confess that some of us might be doing something equally dishonouring in our own thoughts. 

There were consequences to the Corinthians’ behaviour, and Paul made the association between those who shared the Communion in a way that dishonoured Christ and those who were suffering from illness or weakness, and even those who had died. How could that have happened? There is only one explanation, and that is God has brought weakness, illness, and even death to them as discipline for their failure to observe Communion with proper respect for Christ’s sacrifice and for each other. This could be a stumbling block for Christians who think God is a God of love, grace, and forgiveness and would never do such a thing. But God does discipline His children, “because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son“ (Hebrews 12:6). Comparing with the discipline meted out by human fathers, we read, “They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:10-11).

So, we pilgrims must approach the Lord’s Table in a way that honours Him. Paul wrote, “But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment”. We must judge ourselves first with sincerity. In other words, we must be brutally honest with ourselves before joining in the Lord’s Supper, and we must change our attitudes toward Christ’s death and all those He died for. Then we will not have to worry about God’s judgment afterwards.

But a word for all those anxious in these circumstances, and who fear for their salvation, Paul wrote, “Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:32). When God disciplines us, it does not mean that He has rejected us and slammed the gates of Heaven in our faces. He still loves us and wants us to spend eternity with Him. 

Dear Father God. We are so sorry for the times when we have taken the emblems of Holy Communion in an unworthy manner. We pray for forgiveness and for the Holy Spirit to help us remember You the next time we have the opportunity to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Gospel Blessings

Posted on by korgrocker

“When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.”
1 Corinthians 9:22-23 NLT

Paul sought to be all things to all people to try to “save some”. Only someone with a strong and secure character could do this, as there is always a risk of becoming attached to the role they assume. For instance, visiting the local pub or wine bar to attract converts carries the danger of alcohol dependency. The human mind has an extraordinary ability to rationalise its way out of situations, justifying all manner of unwise and even sinful behaviour. However, as we noted earlier, Paul was a driven man, devoted to sharing the Gospel—the Good News about Christ—with everyone he met. He did that for their benefit, of course, because he wanted everyone to experience a living relationship with God just as he had found that momentous day on the Damascus Road. But Paul said there were blessings for himself as well. 

Responding to the Gospel by believing in Jesus brings numerous blessings. Let’s look at a few of them:

We have the primary benefit of salvation and eternal life. We know the verse from John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. This is a blessing that we will not immediately experience in this life, but one day we will be with Jesus in Heaven, blessed beyond even our wildest dreams. Paul wrote in his Philippian epistle, “For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live” (Philippians 1:21-24). Paul was drawn to the benefit of leaving this life because by so doing, he would join his Lord and Master, Jesus, in Heaven.

Another blessing we receive from the Gospel is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 1:13-14, we read, “And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him”. 

When we believe in Jesus and respond to the Gospel through repentance, we achieve right standing before God because Jesus gives us His righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ”. That is truly amazing, that a sinner estranged from a relationship with God can become like Jesus in His eyes, and in the process, join His family as an adopted son or daughter. Ephesians 1:5, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure”. 

As human beings, sin is always lurking at the door of our souls, and we strive to keep short accounts with God through repentance when we get things wrong. We may have to repent daily or even more frequently, as the Holy Spirit reveals to us things we do or say that are wrong and ungodly. However, Paul wrote, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 8:1-2). 

There are many more blessings, of course, for a believer in Jesus. Paul continually experienced the blessings of the Good News and shared them with those he met at every opportunity. But we pilgrims do as well. We will always encounter people in our daily lives and find opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus with them. Our hearts, empowered by the Holy Spirit, cannot keep all the blessings to ourselves, and like Paul, we share them with the needy and lost in our society. Our wonderful God works through us with words of comfort, grace and love. Only Jesus has the words of eternal life, something that is too important to squirrel away just for our own benefit.

Dear Father God. Please lead us by Your Spirit to those whom You have pre-ordained to hear the Gospel. We thank You for Your grace and love, and pray that You keep us close to You in this sinful world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Food and Idols

Posted on by korgrocker

“Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.”
1 Corinthians 8:1-3 NLT

The Corinthians must have written to Paul a letter containing a series of questions, which seemed to apply to the interface between secular Corinthian society and living the Christian life. An understandable situation for those early Christians, believers living without the benefit of the New Testament and having to rely on men like Paul and Apollos for guidance. We don’t know the structure of the Corinthian church. For example, was there a leadership team and a senior pastor, able to provide the answers the believers were looking for? The origins of the church can be read in Acts 18, and they refer to Paul travelling to Corinth from Athens, and meeting up with a Jew and his wife, Aquila and Priscilla, who had been evicted from Rome by Claudius Caesar. They were tent makers like Paul, so the synergy between them was a good start for their future relationship and the embryonic church that started up in the home of a Gentile called Titius Justus. Those were stormy times, with much opposition from the Jews who worshipped in the synagogue next door. Presumably, Paul spent much time with Aquila and Priscilla, because they encountered a preacher called Apollos, and about him we read, “He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John’s baptism. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately” (Acts 18:25-26). We don’t know anything about the letter that the Corinthians wrote to Paul, but we know that he was in Ephesus when he wrote his first Corinthian letter, containing the answers to the believers’ questions. 

The previous chapter in 1 Corinthians provided answers to their questions about sexuality and marriage, and now Paul moved on to address their concerns about food that had been offered to idols. In ancient Corinth, offering food to idols was part of pagan worship practices and included consuming meat that had been sacrificed to idols at temples. These meals were not just religious acts but also important social and business gatherings, with temples serving as places for feasts and community events. So it seems that in some way, this food became available to the Corinthian church, and the issue was whether or not they should eat it. Paul addresses this issue in more detail later in 1 Corinthians 8, but he first addresses a situation where some believers think they know all the answers. He addressed their arrogance by pointing out that it was not knowledge that builds up the church but love, love for one another. There is a saying, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing”, implying that it is risky to base important decisions on a limited amount of knowledge and understanding about a particular subject. I once attended a meeting where a new project was being initiated, and there was one man there who seemed to be very knowledgeable about the technicalities of what was required. I asked him afterwards where he found all the information and knowledge about the project, to which he replied, “In a land of blind men, a one-eyed man is king”, meaning that he only had a little knowledge, but that was more than anyone else present in the meeting. 

So it appears that the believers in Corinth had in their midst people who said they knew all the answers and, consequently, were vociferous in spreading their views. However, the wise among them wrote to Paul, asking for his advice and direction. It is common for believers, particularly those who are young in the faith, to have questions. In the societies in which we live, many customs and issues could directly affect our faith, and about which the Bible is silent. Take, for example, our love of food. Is it right to eat so many carbohydrate-based foods, or drink so many sugary drinks? In Biblical times, it was often the case that any food was a bonus, but here in the West, we have more food than we need. Or many a new Christian is faced with the question about smoking or the consumption of alcohol. Should they smoke and drink as they did before they became Christians? There are other examples, such as the jobs we do or the hobbies we have. And so we try to find the answers from the Bible, and read verses such as 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honour God with your body”. But then our “old man” kicks in and the ancient whisper of the serpent from Genesis 3 sounds in our ears, “surely God didn’t say …”, and we end up in confusion and despair. Asking those around us for a definitive answer isn’t always helpful.

There is only one way to discern God’s will when we have difficult questions, and that is by referring back to our Maker through prayer and Bible study. In the process, we allow the Holy Spirit to gently reveal to us what His answer is and He then helps us to deal with the situation and bring about an answer in the way we live our lives. In obedience we embrace God’s help with addictions and all, trusting in His provision and grace. And if someone else comes to us with a question, we point to God and His Word, and pray with them, in gentleness and love, helping them on their journey. There is no other way. We are all pilgrims on a journey of sanctification, that will one day end up in perfection in God’s presence.

Dear Father God. Only You have the words that lead to eternal life. Only You have the answers to the issues we face in this sad world. And so we reach out to You this morning, asking for more of Your grace and love so that we too can help those around us with the issues of life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Uncertainty

Posted on by korgrocker

“A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but only if he loves the Lord. But in my opinion it would be better for her to stay single, and I think I am giving you counsel from God’s Spirit when I say this.”
1 Corinthians 7:39-40 NLT

So, Paul wrote that “A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives”. In today’s society, which is conscious of and sensitive to the rights of women, this is not a politically correct instruction. To single out a woman’s responsibility to her husband but not the other way round is enough to make any feminist’s blood boil. But in the misogynistic and patriarchal societies two thousand years ago, instructions such as these were not uncommon. A woman was considered the lesser of the two people in the marriage partnership. In first-century Greece, formal education for women varied significantly according to where a person lived. Corinthian girls would have received little to no formal instruction, instead learning domestic skills like weaving and household management from their mothers to prepare for marriage and motherhood. Male education varied by place as well, but generally involved foundational literacy and numeracy for the wealthy, with higher learning for affluent boys through Sophists and philosophers, emphasising rhetoric and philosophy. Physical training was also standard, often in a gymnasium, to instil discipline and prepare for military service. Today, in Western societies, education is available to all, regardless of sex, providing equal opportunities. This ensures that marriage is equally supported by both men and women, even to the extent of traditional role reversals, with the husband taking on childcare and managing the household.

Paul, however, suggested that, should the husband die first, then the wife, presumably a believer, was free to remarry, as long as the new husband was another believer. But, and here’s the thing, Paul suggested that it would be better for the widow to stay unmarried and remain single. This would not always be the best option for the poor woman, because these were days before Social Security payments were available. The church would have helped out in a way such as was recorded in Acts 6:1, “But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food”. But nevertheless, Paul promoted singleness for the widow, writing, “I think I am giving you counsel from God’s Spirit when I say this”. “I think …” indicates a degree of uncertainty on Paul’s part, as he showed an honesty about what he thought he was hearing from the Holy Spirit.

If we pilgrims are honest with ourselves today, “I think …” is more common than we might be prepared to admit. Faced with an important decision, it is difficult most of the time to separate our human thoughts from God’s thoughts. Although the Bible is full of God’s counsel, on many matters it is difficult to get a definitive answer from it. Yes, we will receive general advice in line with God’s principles, but often we come up against situations about which Scripture is silent. This introduces a difficulty when it comes to matters of direction. “Should I accept this job …”, or “should I date this girl …”. Perhaps, “Should I become a missionary”, or “Should I go to Bible College”, might be options laid before us. For older people, thoughts of moving to a smaller house or a new part of the country to be nearer family might present themselves as potential “I think’s“. So what should a pilgrim do?

If we find ourselves presented with a life-changing option, such as the widow in Paul’s verses today, we must first pray about the situation, believing that through our faith, the Holy Spirit will lead and guide us. In parallel, we might bounce our thoughts off a trusted friend or pastor, obtaining more guidance and a different perspective. But if we’re still not sure, then for the “risk-averse” amongst us, perhaps the best solution is to put the matter before God, leaving it “on the back burner” until we get the confirmation or direction that we need. This is not always best, though, because sometimes God wants us to step out in faith, much as Jackie Pullinger did when she boarded a steamer asking God to reveal to her the port where He wanted her to start her missionary calling. We must also be aware that often, the decision before us may be acceptable to God, whichever way we go and whatever we do. In the end, He wants us to grow in His grace and love, flourishing in the place and bearing fruit where He has placed us.

“I think …” may be a God-thought that we need to act upon. Consider ourselves a sailing ship, tied up in port, while we wait for the right wind, one that is right in terms of direction and speed. But it never comes, and we remain in the port, increasingly unhappy and frustrated, never going anywhere. Sometimes God wants us to launch out and leave the port anyway, because once we are on the move, God can work in the situation to bring the right circumstances. These may not be what we were expecting while in the port, but once on the move, God can show us the course He wants us to take. Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path“. Psalm 37:5, “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you”. Proverbs 16:3, “Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed“. God doesn’t mind sometimes if we make mistakes. Paul wrote in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them”. Once we are on the move, God will redeem the situation we find ourselves in, and as we look to Him in faith, He will guide us. We don’t know what the future holds for us in our natural lives, but we do know who holds the future, both now and forever.

Dear Father God. We know that You love us and want the very best for each one of Your children. Please lead us and guide us, we pray, as we walk along Your paths in this life, in preparation for the next. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Sexual Lusts – A Remedy

Posted on by korgrocker

“So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust. But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband. But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.”
1 Corinthians 7:8-11 NLT

In today’s verses, Paul continues to set out various instructions about marriage. They provide good, practical help for those believers confused about trying to live their lives in the sexually debauched society in Corinth. Marriage, Paul told them, was ordained by God and should be treated as such, regardless of what was promoted otherwise by the unbelievers around them. Society in those days was a reflection of what went on in Sodom and Gomorrah before sulphur rained down from the heavens and destroyed them, a society that adhered to ideologies promoting all kinds of sexual immorality. They must have known that what they were doing was wrong, because every human being is made in God’s image, but such feelings within them were suppressed, and their consciences seared to extinction. Fast forward to the 21st Century, and nothing has changed. The same human lusts and behaviour, but now new ideologies have emerged to replace those previously present two thousand years before, such as the notion that men can become women and vice versa, with the authorities somehow hoodwinked into endorsing such behaviour. We pilgrims, quietly getting on with our lives in accordance with God’s ways, look on in dismay, trusting that God’s grace will continue for the sake of our children and grandchildren. 

But here Paul is saying that marriage is the only outlet for those with insatiable sexual desires. We know from our news reports that there are those in society, mainly men, who occasionally lose their self-control and prey upon women and girls to find an outlet for their sexual lusts. The sexual urge is incredibly strong, but placed there for a purpose that finds its origins right back in Genesis. We read in Genesis 1:27-28, “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground””. Sometimes it is hard to consider the idea of bringing up children in a society that so often seems so hostile to the concept of procreation. I am writing this at a time when children are returning to school after the summer holidays, and there are news reports of the struggle some parents are experiencing in finding the money for school uniforms. But this is just one factor. I met a retired lady the other day who was mourning the fact that her two married children were not going to have children themselves because they feared for the future of the world and didn’t want their offspring to have to face the global and societal issues they were so fearful might happen. So the poor lady was deprived of the opportunity of having grandchildren, something that is such a pleasure. It is not an easy or painless process to bring up children, but this is what God has commanded.

There will, of course, be those in society who lack the sexual urges that Paul was aware of. He himself was obviously able to control them and devoted himself to a life of celibacy so that he could direct his energies into serving the Lord. And he advised the same for those believers who, like him, were on top of managing their own bodies. We know from well-publicised scandals in certain Christian denominations that some ministers do not find themselves in a comfortable place, being celibate. They find, sometimes much later in life, that their terrible actions against members of their congregations become exposed for all to see, and they then suffer the disgrace of public trials and vilification by the society around them. We should note, of course, that the Bible never promotes celibacy as an essential way of life for a minister. Paul may have advised that such a lifestyle choice is an option for some, but it is unnecessary for life in the Kingdom. 

In the end, Paul said there was a choice that men and women can make about their sexual urges. If they can’t be controlled, then the only outlet is marriage. There is no middle ground, involving all sorts of proxy counterfeits, such as prostitution or pornography. There are no grey areas, where a couple live together, abandoning the relationship when the attraction of sex becomes swamped by the other pressures and demands of living with another person. And certainly all the rainbow ideologies of today are totally off-limits, more the result of a devil-inspired society than anything else.

We pilgrims are called to live a life of purity and holiness, and we must always remember that within us dwells the Holy Spirit. We remember the last two verses of the previous chapter in 1 Corinthians 6. Paul wrote, “Don’t you realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honour God with your body”. In Romans 12:1-2, Paul also wrote, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect”. We may have all sorts of urges within us, but when we look at all that Jesus has done for us, we have no other option than to live a life His way. Paul put his finger right on the issue we face when he wrote, “give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you”. That is what our pilgrim lives are all about. We live a life that is acceptable to God, and we reject the ways of the world. One day, we will find that our dedication and faith will bring us to our Heavenly home, away from everything that the devil has conjured up to destroy God’s people. We stand firm in the face of societal pressures and live our lives God’s way.

Dear Heavenly Father. Please lead us and guide us through this minefield of sexual ideologies that have even penetrated Your holy churches. Please forgive us for our sins, we pray, and please strengthen us for our journey. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Marriage

Posted on by korgrocker

“Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to abstain from sexual relations. But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. The husband should fulfil his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfil her husband’s needs. The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.”
1 Corinthians 7:1-4 NLT

At the start of chapter 7 in Paul’s epistle, we find that the Corinthian believers had already sent a letter to him containing certain questions. We don’t know what this letter said, it having been lost in the mists of time, but one of the questions must have been concerned with marriage and sexual matters. The way Paul starts this chapter indicates that the letter from the Corinthians might have included a question asking if celibacy was the best way. We know that in this period of Greece’s history, sexual immorality was rampant, with all sorts of deviant behaviour, so for a spiritual believer in that society, total abstinence might have been promoted as being the best response to the many invitations and expectations coming from a society deeply involved in all sorts of sexual acts. But imagine what the impact of being born again, saved to become a believer in Christ, would have had on a new Christian who suddenly realised how the immoral society around him or her looked to God. They must have immediately asked themselves how they could avoid being caught up in such debauchery, particularly as there may have still been some in their fellowship who remained addicted and compliant, attending the orgies and the like. But perhaps some of those new believers had read Psalm 119:9, where the Psalmist asked the question, “How can a young person stay pure? … “, and the same question must have hovered in the hearts and minds of the Corinthian believers. The answer, of course, is in the second half of this verse – “By obeying Your Word” – and I’m sure this is what the believers attempted to do. But was celibacy the right response? Paul continued to set out God’s order for something we call marriage. 

In 1 Corinthians 7:1, Paul wrote, “Each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband”, a simple yet profound definition of marriage. In the Bible, marriage is highlighted as a sacred, lifelong partnership between a man and a woman, which originated in God’s creation and is intended to represent unity and mutual support between the married couple. Marriage is depicted as a partnership where individuals support and strengthen each other, with a strong emphasis on faithfulness, forgiveness, and commitment to one another and to God. It all started in Genesis 2:24, where we read, “This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one“. In the concluding chapter of Hebrews, we read, “Give honour to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery” (Hebrews 13:4). In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul clearly set out that sexual relationships must be between a husband and wife, a man and woman in a marriage-based relationship, where the sexual needs of each person are met in a relationship and atmosphere of mutual love, respect and commitment. 

In today’s society, marriage has, to a certain extent, unfortunately lost its meaning, with the norm being a man and a woman just “living together” without any sort of formal commitment. The general feeling is that if things don’t work out, then either person can just walk away from the relationship. If there are children resulting from the liaison, then the feeling is that one of the couple, usually the mother, will just have to do the best they can, bringing up children without the other partner present. But even marriages today are not honoured in the way that God intended, with divorces recorded from about 38% of marriages here in the UK. 

In Mark 10, we read what Jesus said about divorce and marriage. Jesus had been asked by the Pharisees if a man could divorce his wife, in accordance with the Law of Moses, set out in Deuteronomy 24:1-4. Why did they ask this question? We don’t really know, but perhaps they were trying to trip Jesus up, having found an apparent (to them) contradiction in Scripture. Mark 10:5-9, “But Jesus responded, “He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard hearts. But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation. ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together””. The important point to note from what Jesus said is that no one, meaning either the husband or the wife, or anyone else, should attempt to break up the marriage. 

Marriage and divorce can be very contentious subjects, but for now, the Corinthians were more concerned about the situation with the sexual immorality rife in their society, and what they should do about it. Paul’s answer was clear, and as applicable then as it is today – sexual relationships are good, but only in accordance with God’s order for marriage, between a husband and a wife, in a mutually submissive and loving lifelong relationship. 

Dear Father God. We pray that You would protect our marriages, and for all those who are yet to be married, we pray that You will lead and guide them in Your ways. In Jesus’ name. Amen.