1 Corinthians 10:1-14 - You need to believe

There is always a great danger with us humans that we think if we belong to the right church, listen to the right preachers, read the right books, etc then we will be OK. This is not true. Paul cites the example of the Israelites who came out of Egypt. They had all experienced the same things. They had been covered by the cloud of protection, they had gone through the Red Sea, they had eaten the manna from heaven. God was with them. Yet all this was of no value to them for they did not combine it with faith, and so most of them died in the desert.

Note that Paul likens being in the cloud to baptism. Baptism is very important, but we are not saved by baptism. We are saved only by faith. Note also that he says Christ was with them. Christ is God, He was He is, and He always will be. Christ is fully God and fully man, Any teaching that weakens either of these statements is wrong and contrary to the teaching of the Bible.

Paul then lists various things that they must not do. These are: sexual immorality, idolatry, testing God, grumbling. The exodus Israelites did all these things and died because of it. As the old hymn says, “trust and obey”. This is what we must do.

1 Corinthians 9 - Living with purpose

We now get a defence of Paul’s ministry. Evidently there were those who attacked Paul, and accused him of various things. This becomes even more apparent in 2 Corinthians.

Paul starts by stating some general truths about the ministry, and then explains his own lifestyle and dedication to the Lord and to the gospel. Finally he exhorts his hearers to learn from him. So he turns the attack on its head.

First it seems that Paul was attacked for taking money and food and drink from the Corinthians. Now it transpires that Paul did not actually do this, but before saying this he strongly defends his right to do so, and explains that it is actually the way things should be. A worker has the right to expect payment from the field he works in, so common sense dictates that a preacher has the right to earn a living from it. Moreover, the Lord has commanded that His servants earn their keep from their service. In the Old Testament this is a reference to the priests. Now Paul says that the Lord commanded that preachers should get their living from the gospel.

We have problems with money and preachers. In many churches the pastors are made to live on a much lower wage than average people. There is nothing good about this. A church should pay its leaders a reasonable wage. At the same time there those who seek to make money out of the gospel, exploiting churches. Paul has more to say about this later in 2 Corinthians, but it has always been a problem, and always will be.

However, despite having all these rights, Paul did not use them. He preached for free, working to earn a living. He counted himself nothing, and did whatever he could in order to win people for Christ.

Paul then urges his hearers to learn from him in the sense of living with a purpose for a purpose. It is very easy for us to fall into the trap of dilly dallying about. Considering this church or that church, saying what we like about that preacher or this preacher, what we don’t like about this or that. We are not spectators, but participants. We need to take life seriously and to live life seriously.

1 Corinthians 8 - What really matters

Paul, like Jesus, had the knack of turning questions round and getting people to focus on the real issue. They has asked him about whether or not it was right to eat the food that had been offered to idols. The way things walked then was that meat offered to idols would later be sold in the market place. So the question was whether or not it was OK to eat the stuff. Some said it was because it was just meat, and idols were nothing anyway. Others said it was contaminated by its association with idol worship. You can imagine both sides getting very puffed up about how right they were. The one group about how wise they were in seeing the truth, the other about how dedicated to the Lord they were.

Paul saw right through this. Knowledge puffs up, but love and wisdom build up. Our first thought should be to think of others. If our eating meat is going to cause difficulties for someone else, then be inclined not to do it.

Conscience is also very important. It is dangerous to force someone to go against their conscience, even if their conscience is misguided or immature.

Now eating food offered to idols is not an issue for us today, but we need to be aware that we can fall into the same traps. I actually think the danger we tend to fall into is in getting all het up about things that really do not matter.

1 Corinthians 7:25-40 - Stay single!

Paul now gives advice to the unmarried, and essentially he says that he thinks it is better not to marry. He gives general reasons and also specific reference to the “present crisis”. We do not know what this crisis was. At the same time Paul makes it absolutely clear that he is not giving a command that they should not marry. Churches that enforce celibacy of priests, as in the Catholic church, are wrong to do so. This is not to say that there are not great advantages in celibacy, and the church is correct to talk about these, especially in today’s sex obsessed society (though I suspect it has always been so). Where they go wrong is in saying priests must be celibate.

To those of us in different churches we do well to heed Paul’s advice. Marriage brings responsibility, and there are things a single person can do that a married man or woman cannot. A married person has to think of the other person in all decisions, and children as well. A single person is freer to serve the Lord in this respect. Of course marriage brings its own benefits and opportunities to serve  the Lord, but some branches of the church have far too rosy a view of marriage, and do not teach the advantages of singleness enough.

1 Corinthians 7:17-24 - Experience God where you are

Paul now applies a general principle, namely that a person should normally remain in the situation they were in when they became a Christian. So if they were married they should remain married, if a slave they should remain a slave, if a free man, then remain free, if uncircumcised, then he should remain uncircumcised. Before looking at this principle in more detail, note that it is a guideline, not a law. We have a terrible habit of turning guidelines into laws and ending up in all sorts of trouble. So if a slave had the chance to gain his freedom he should do so, but he should not spend his life pining for freedom.

When Jesus set people free in various ways He often told them to go back to their home to tell people about it. So the situation we were in when we were first called is probably the one God wants us to be in for the time being at least. God knew He was going to save you long before you thought of the idea of believing in Christ. So even the circumstances of our lives before getting saved were planned by the Lord. We can easily waste a lot of time and emotional effort in wondering and fretting over what we should be doing. More often than not it is to know the Lord, to experience Him, and to serve Him within the circumstances that we find ourselves in. I stress again that this is a guideline, and not a law, and it doesn’t mean we never change anything.

We need to learn to know the Lord in the situation we are in now. Then we will experience true freedom.

1 Corinthians 7:8-16

Paul continues with advice to the unmarried, suggesting that they stay single if they can, but if they find it difficult to control themselves then they should get married. There is no virtue in resisting temptation when there is no need to face the temptation. As Paul will say later, there it is perfectly legitimate to get married, so if staying single puts someone under immense pressure there is no point in staying single. All that person will do is spend all their time battling with temptation, instead of doing something useful. Now we need to be clear here, Paul is talking about unnecessary temptation, there are of course many times when we face temptation of various sorts and we must resist temptation, but we do not need to subject ourselves to extra temptation!

A husband and wife are to stay together, this is the teaching of the Lord, but marriages do sometimes break up. In that case they must not remarry.

What if one of the partners is not a believer? Then, as long as it is possible, they should still stay together. There may have been some who said that because one of the partners is not a believer the marriage is somehow unholy. Paul says that this is not so, the believing partner sanctifies the marriage. However, it may be that the unbeliever makes it impossible for them to stay together, then it is permissible to separate. Doing otherwise will achieve nothing.

Paul will say more on this later in the chapter, and I will write more on this when I cover Jesus' words on the matter in Mark. Just to say here, getting divorced and remarrying cannot be viewed as a lifestyle choice.

1 Corinthians 7:1-7 - Concerning Marriage

Having dealt with sexual immorality, Paul now turns to a much more positive aspect of relationships, and this is one of the most fascinating chapters. Some may wonder what right Paul had to speak about marriage, him being single. However, although Paul was single, it is possible that he was a widower. Whether or not this was the case, there is a tremendous amount of wisdom in what he says.

Along with those who were for sexual licentiousness, there were others who went in the opposite direction and argued for complete abstinence. This is what gave rise to Paul's comments in this chapter.

In short Paul's answer is that it is indeed good to abstain from sexual relationships, but only if one has that gift from God. Celibacy is a gift from God, but is only given to a few. For the rest it is far better to get married. Now some may say that Paul is giving a very unromantic view of marriage here, viewing it essentially as means of avoiding sexual sin. There are two things to say about this. First, this is only part of Paul's teaching, and in response to a specific question. Secondly, we can be far too romantic, marriage is a very practical business.

Paul's teaching is that the woman's body belongs to the man, and the man's body to the woman, so there is complete equality here. This rather contradicts the uninformed view of some that Paul was a misogynist. Within marriage the couple should not deprive each other of sex, except by agreement. To do so will only lead to sin. Now this does not mean one partner can make unreasonable demands upon the other, or that they should have no concern for the other. Again, Paul is dealing with a specific question.

1 Corinthians 6:12-20 - Sexual immorality

Some of the Corinthians were misusing their freedom, saying "everything is permissible for me". This demonstrated a complete misunderstanding of what happens when we get saved, what salvation means, and what sex is all about. Similar misunderstandings can be found when people say things like "if God forgives me, then I can do what I like".

First certain things are commanded and other things forbidden not just for the sake of it, but because it is best for us. Sexual immorality is not good for us. It does us harm, physically, emotionally and spiritually, and it harms other people as well.

Secondly we were saved for freedom. Now sin enslaves us.

Thirdly, we were created for God, not for sexual immorality. Paul talks about the resurrection here because the body is important. Your body matters, and so what we do with it matters. At the time the prevalent Greek thinking tended to separate the physical and spiritual (beware of any teaching that says the resurrection is just spiritual). These can lead to immorality. The truth is that there is actually no sharp divide between the spirit and the body, they influence each other. The condition of our spirits influences our bodies, what we do with our bodies influences our spirit.

Sexual immorality is different from other sins, because it has a much deeper effect than other sins. The church is often accused of being obsessed with sexual sins, the accusers saying we should be more concerned about poverty, wars etc. Such accusation is nonsense. On the one hand no one is saying we should be concerned about sexual morality to the exclusion of all else, but that we should be concerned about along with many other things.

More importantly, the thinking behind the accusation is that sexual sins do not really matter, do not really cause any harm. This is nonsense, a tremendous amount of harm is caused by sexual sins. At the extremes sex trafficking, rape etc are very dangerous. A large amount of money and crime is associated with sex crimes. Yet at a more mundane level, ask yourself how much unhappiness and hurt is caused in the world by sexual immorality, be people abusing or being unfaithful to each other.

Finally, we need to remember that we are temples of the Holy Spirit. Sexual immorality degrades the body, as Christians we should respect and exalt the body.

1 Corinthians 6:1-11 - Disputes between believers

This section can be looked at on various levels. One is the immediate problem, namely that church members were instigating lawsuits amongst each other. Paul says various things about this.

First, they should actually be able to sort out the matter themselves. Especially as they are so wise! (Or so they claimed to be). Secondly their top priority should be the furtherance of the kingdom of God (Matt 6:33), and sometimes it is better to be wronged than to hinder the growth of the kingdom.

Then there is the level of our attitudes. In seeking revenge they were themselves indulging in wrong doing. The desire to "get their rights" meant that they set out to get this at all costs. The world tells us that we must never lose out, must never be wronged, must always get our rights. Now we are not to be doormats, but it says in Proverbs that it is to a man's glory to overlook an offence (Prov 19:11, see also 12:16). We need to watch ourselves very carefully.

Then there is seeing their lives in view of eternity. We will be involved in judging the whole world, even angels. Sometimes we need to get things in perspective.

The greatest danger is not being wronged but doing wrong. If someone cheats us out of money then it is actually God they have cheated, they have far more to worry about than we have.

Now in this it does not mean that Christians must absolutely never get involved in lawsuits, it certainly does not mean that the law should not be involved in criminal cases. We need to look at the heart of the matter, and especially to examine our own hearts.

1 Corinthians 5:1-13 - Immorality in the church

If anyone has any illusions of the early church being idyllic in any way then the letters to the Corinthians, and this chapter in particular, should shatter that illusion. There was sexual immorality in the church, and in this case it was worse than the world indulged in. Ie something even the pagans considered to be wrong, namely a man sleeping with his father's wife. Spiritual pride and immorality often go together. It happened in Corinth, it has happened with numerous tele-evangelists. Why is this so? Maybe if we become proud we lose much of God's protection and God let's see the consequences of relying on our own strength.

Worse still, the church was not even dealing with the matter properly. The guilty man was to be put out of the church and handed over to Satan for a time. What does "handed over to Satan" mean? It means the man would be denied church fellowship and left to take the consequences of his actions. We are often too squeamish about allowing people to suffer the consequences, but sometimes it is the only way they will come to their senses. And coming to his senses was Paul's purpose for the offender here.

We need to be very careful about any immorality for it can very easily spread. Note that Paul is talking about within the church when he says not to associate with sexually immoral people. When someone comes to Christ they are to start to live a Christlike life. Being in the church has responsibilities.

1 Corinthians 4:14-21 - Fathers, not guardians

Paul has said some firm things, and will get even more severe later on, but his purpose is doing this is not to belittle or shame them, but to help them. We have problems with receiving criticism. Part of the reason for this is that many times when people criticise someone else they are seeking to do them down, or seeking to demonstrate their own superiority. From our own perspective, the fact that we need criticism, ie that there are some areas in our lives where we need to improve can offend our ego. All this is the result of sin.

When we come into the kingdom we need to unlearn many things, and we need to learn that the Father disciplines us for our good, in order to produce a harvest of righteousness (Hebrews 12). Within the church we need to change our relationships with each other. Paul says they have many guardians, but few fathers. If we have authority over others it is not as mere instructors. We need to have a father heart.

When we are criticised ourselves we often experience a fleshly reaction against it, we don't like it. We need to take a step back. Remind ourselves that we are children of God and God only wants to make us all that we can be.

These new relationships cannot really be taught, but can only be received by experience. So Paul sent Timothy to help the church.

We now get the first hint of trouble in church in its attitude towards Paul. There were some who were against him and accused him of various things. One of these was that by not having visited them recently he was in some way neg electing them. Paul was coming to visit them. When he did the arrogant people would be dealt with. Troublemakers are usually very good at talking, but the Kingdom is about power, nit just talk.

1 Corinthians 4:1-13 - True apostleship

Paul now describes what true apostleship is. Bearing in mind what I said earlier about there being no apostles in the sense that Paul and Peter were apostles. No one alive today has been a direct witness of the resurrection, and the teaching of anyone today must be judged by the extent to which it reflects the Bible, ie no one has the same level of authority. Even so, the term apostle is still used today, so we have a lot to learn from Paul's teaching on the matter, both here and elsewhere. Moreover, much of it can be applied to Christian leadership in general.

Apostles were servants of Christ, and entrusted with the message of Christ. Paul was not seeking the approval of men, only of Christ. We need to be very careful here, it is very easy to do things for the approval of men, for their praise can be very seductive. Furthermore, the true value of anyone's ministry cannot be known until the end of time. Fleeting popularity will count for nothing.

Paul says he is applying these things to himself and Apollos. The mention of Apollos perhaps indicates that he is using the term apostle in a wider sense than the strict definition found in Acts 1.

He then warns against getting puffed up by claiming to be a follower of so and so. How does this work? When we say we are a follower of so and so, then we are putting ourselves in the position of judge, deciding who is the best and who is not. We need to be very careful about putting ourselves in a position of judge.

In fact the Corinthians had a very high opinion of themselves. This warning is something that those of us in Charismatic churches need to pay particular attention to. There is a good emphasis on victory, blessing, gifts etc, but this can lead to pride and to fantasy. Many things are promised, we receive some things now, we will receive somethings tomorrow, but it is only when Christ returns that we will receive the fullness of the kingdom.

Paul then highlights the true nature of his ministry. In short it involved a lot of suffering and persecution. Being an apostle is not a glorious occupation in the world's terms.

We can worry about the term apostle. Some use it far too readily, and as a kind of shorthand for Christian superstar. Others object to any use of the term at all. What is really important is the character of a person and what they do.

1 Corinthians 3:16-23 - Precious and sacred

All descent into worldliness is based on an impoverished view of God and in impoverished view of ourselves. When we base our lives on human pride or selfishness we are forgetting what Christ has done for us.

We are God's temple, we are the place in which God dwells. Not just in us as individuals, but in us as a church. We are precious and sacred, the church is precious and sacred. So we should treat ourselves and treat the church accordingly.

We must never pride ourselves on human wisdom, or seek to become wise in the world's eyes. So often we see this happen today, the church tries to change its message to fit in with the world (this is different from making our message intelligible to the world) and seek approval from the world. This is foolishness because the world's wisdom is under judgement.

All our attention, all our adoration, should be focused on Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 - By the grace of God

"By the grace of God .. " Grace played an enormous part in Paul's life. It is especially important to note that God's grace enabled him to do things, it was very active. Too often we think of grace only in terms of forgiveness, and God's goodness to us. Now these are of course vital and true, but we have way too passive a view of grace. The grace of God enable Paul to become the greatest apostle and evangelist who took the gospel to most of Europe.

Paul laid a foundation, but was quite happy for others to build upon that foundation, as long as it was always recognised that the only foundation is Christ.

And every work will be tested. If it is not built with Christ then it will be found wanting at the testing. But if it is built with Christ it will last and we will receive a reward.

Note that Paul makes it clear that our salvation does not depend on our works. Yet at the same time he is equally clear that our works do matter, and if we build with Christ then we will receive a reward. There is no conflict in the Bible between this and salvation by faith alone. It matters what we do with our lives.

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 - maturity

Note the past tense here, indicating that this is referring to how Paul had to deal with the Corinthians in some previous incident. At that time he could not address then as spiritual but as worldly. When someone first comes to Christ they are like infants, they need spiritual milk, not spiritual steaks.

However, we are meant to grow and mature, but the Corinthians had not matured, or at least not as fast as they should have done. How did Paul know this? Because jealousy was evident among them. See that it is not a doctrinal deficiency that is a sign of immaturity, but a character deficiency. There is no virtue in having sound doctrine while having a childish character. The "I follow Paul", "I follow Apollos" nonsense was a sign of their immaturity.

Paul knew that his work was important, but he also knew how he fitted in the whole scheme of things. He was a servant of the Lord, and the Lord had assigned many tasks to many different people. Each had a different role. No one person on their own could actually produce anything, it is only God who can make things grow.

We all do well to remember this. The tasks we are given to do by God are important, we should enjoy doing them and derive satisfaction from doing them well, but our tasks, our gifts only have their true importance and value because of the Lord, and when working together with other people. Any one who starts to exalt his own "ministry" above that of others is on a dangerous road.

1 Corinthians 2:10-16 - Having the mind of Christ

The wisdom of God is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is essential to the Christian life. It is only be Him that we can know the mind of God, it is only by Him that we can live the Christian lie.

The Spirit knows the mind of God perfectly, even the deepest things. When Jesus came to earth He lived in the same world everyone else lived in, yet He was completely different. Why? Because He knew the mind of the Father. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us make sense of our lives and to know and understand God's purposes.

We have received the Spirit of God, not the spirit of the world. So this will mean that we start to see things completely differently, and this will lead to different attitudes, emotions, thoughts and actions.

Without the Holy Spirit we cannot discern the things of God. But we do have the Spirit of Christ, so we are able to make spiritual judgements. Now we need to be careful here. This does not mean that we can go about claiming every thought or notion we have is spiritually endorsed! Being "not subject to merely human judgements" is not a charter for arrogance. Instead it works more like this. When we rely on purely human wisdom we get confused and sometimes overwhelmed by circumstances. We should seek the mind of Christ, and expect to receive (James 1:5). This will then throw a whole new light on situations. We also need to be aware that it will lead us to the cross and to share in Christ's sufferings and glory.

1 Corinthians 2:6-9 - The mind of Christ

All this might be assumed to mean that Paul is arguing against wisdom, but this is not the case. He is speaking a different wisdom. Proverbs says that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Men who no longer fear God lose their wisdom. It does not mean that everything they say is wrong, but fundamental flaws will appear in their supposed knowledge. As Paul says, the wisdom of this age will come to nothing.

Paul is interested only in God's wisdom. He calls it a mystery, but it is one that has now being revealed in Christ. The great problem was that God created man and the whole of the universe, but everything seems to have gone wrong. Because of sin all God's plans seem to have been negated. In Christ we see God's wonderful solution to this problem.

The rulers of this age includes both earthly rulers (in the form of Pilate and the Jewish religious leaders) and spiritual powers. None of them understood God's plan or wisdom, for they thought that in crucifying Christ they were "getting rid of the problem", whereas all they were doing was helping to fulfil God's plan.

God's plan is beyond human comprehension, it is only by the Spirit that we can see and understand the plan. There are times in our lives when everything looks bleak and we cannot see how things can possibly work out for good. In those times we should remind ourselves that our minds are very limited and cannot see the future. God's plan for us is infinitely wonderful.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 - Relying on the power of the cross

Paul's preaching and style of ministry matched his theology. The gospel rests on the power of the cross, so Paul relied on the power of the cross. The enemy and our flesh will do all it can to get us to rely on something else other than the power of the cross, we need to resist this temptation.

So Paul refused to rely on the human eloquence. Now this does not mean we should seek to become bad preachers, but we must never imagine that eloquence, or a well put together message is the things that will change people's lives. Paul relied on Christ and Him crucified. When we evangelise or preach success is dependent upon the Holy Spirit, not on us.

Paul even came with weakness and trembling, and his preaching was "not with wise and persuasive words, but a demonstration of the Spirit's power". We do need the power of the Spirit, and the goal is that people rely on God's power, not on any man or woman.

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 - The Power and Wisdom of God

For .. . This means that what Paul is about to say is relevant to what he has just been saying. The Corinthians were focusing on people. We too can have a habit of doing this. Now obviously people are important. Good evangelists, preachers, prophets, pastors etc are an essential part of the church, but we are called to love people, not worship them. The Corinthians were guilty of treating the whole gospel thing as if it was just another worldly cult. The gospel and the kingdom are different from anything that is found in the world.

The centre of the gospel is the cross, and the Corinthians needed to focus on this. We do not appreciate how foolish such a notion would have seemed to people in the first century. The cross was a place where losers and criminals ended up, not the saviour of the world. To die on a cross was a disgraceful thing. Yet this foolishness, this disgrace, is the power of God.

And God makes the world's wisdom seem foolish, He turns everything upside down. The Jews wanted a sign, and the Greeks wisdom, but God gave us the cross. Christ is a stumbling block to the Jews, and foolish to the Gentiles. So we should not be surprised that today many people think the gospel and the cross are a load of nonsense. Yet the cross is the power and wisdom of God, and it will demonstrate this in very practical ways.

The Corinthians are also urged to look at themselves. For few of them were noteworthy in worldly terms, yet God chose them. So it is the grace of God, the wisdom of God, and the power of God that has saved us and will empower our lives, not worldly wisdom or power.

1 Corinthians 1:10-17 - One church

We now come to the first problem in the church, disunity. Paul starts by making an appeal for perfect unity in mind and thought. Note that he is not settling for mere tolerance of one another, but is looking for a united church. We are the body of Christ and should be completely united.

This was how Paul wanted things to be, but the situation was that there were different groups forming, some claiming to follow Paul (without Paul's permission apparently), some Apollos, some Cephas (Peter) and the really holy ones were following Jesus! Note that none of these (certainly not Paul, Peter or Jesus, and probably not Apollos) had given permission for their names to be used in this way. We need to be aware that when disunity breaks out, factions will claim to be supporting or following a particular person and will make claims and say things on behalf of that person, that they have no right to do, and which the person knows nothing about.

The people were focusing on entirely the wrong things. Christ is not divided, no one else was crucified, there is only one name we are baptised into. We are sent to preach Christ, not ourselves.

Where does this leave us today with the church split into a myriad of different denominations, streams and groups, and many of these are split further? One word is a mess. More usefully, we first need to recognise that when Christ returns there will be one church, He will only have one bride! So all our denominations and groupings are only temporary. We need to be realistic and recognise that things will not change overnight, but we do need to know the destination.

1 Corinthians 1:3-9 - The grace of God

Paul was always giving thanks for the believers, even in Corinth! And when we discover some of the things they were up to this is a minor miracle.

The reason for this thanksgiving is primarily because of the grace of God given to them in Christ. God had given them many gifts, primarily in the area of speech and knowledge. Later we are to learn that these gifts had caused some problems, but Paul does not say they should not use the gifts. The remedy for misuse is right use, not no use.

Paul also declares that God will keep them firm to the end, so that they would be blameless on the day of the Lord. Again this is an amazing thing to say. We see from this the correct attitude we should have to problems. Our attitude can so easily be either to condemn, to give up, or to overlook. Paul does not do these things. He is perfectly aware of what is going on, and has direct words to say about the matters, but the overriding thought is that the grace of God can overcome all things.

He then finishes this section by saying that God is faithful. So in all this Paul is directing them to look at the Lord above all. We tend to look at ourselves, problems, or other people (who we often see as the problem!) first, instead we should always look at God first.

1 Corinthians 1:1-2 - Paul the Apostle

Paul starts by declaring that he is an apostle of Christ chosen by God. Paul's apostleship is a major theme of 1 and 2 Corinthians, as is what it truly means to be an apostle. The term apostle is still used today in some sections of the church. Is this use valid? It definitely is not in the sense that the likes of Peter and Paul were apostles as the most important qualification was that they had to be direct witnesses of the resurrection (Acts 1:21,22). So there are no apostles today in that sense, and none with the same authority that they had (ie to write the Bible!). However, apostle can be used in a less constrained manner, and its root meaning is one who is sent out. So there can (and are) people who are given special missions to do by God, to play key roles in building up the church and breaking new ground. Even so, the term is still sometimes misused, as some who claim to be apostles are not. Later in the letters we will see some of the key features of Biblical apostleship, and also of pseudo-apostleship.

The letter is addressed to those "sanctified in Christ" and called to be His holy people, together with all the rest of the church. This hints at what will be some of the main themes of the letter, namely living a holy life, and being part of the whole church.

1 Corinthians - Introduction

1 and 2 Corinthians, apart from Romans, are the two longest letters in the New Testament. They contain an enormous amount of theology, and also an equal amount of insight into the personal life of Paul and conflicts within the church at Corinth. Anyone who has a rose-tinted view of the New Testament church just needs to read these letters to have such a view shattered. They are also anti-dote to any notions that Christianity is superficial success all the way (I do believe God gives us success, but it is most definitely not superficial). There is teaching on the gifts of the Spirit, on love, on the resurrection, the Lord's Supper, unity within the church, true apostleship, giving and many other things besides.

Corinth was an important commercial and political city in Greece. Much trade flowed through the city, and there was great interest in philosophy and wisdom.

There were many temples in the city, with the one dedicated to Aphrodite being one of the most infamous. Aphrodite was the goddess of love and religious prostitution was a key part of the "worship". There were also temples for Asclepius (a god of healing) and to Apollo. In addition the Jews had a synagogue. Sexual immorality was a major feature of life in Corinth.

There may have been a total of four letters to Corinth, though, apart from the references within 1 and 2 Corinthians, have no direct knowledge of the other two. A whole range of problems had broken out in Corinth and the people sought help from Paul. Paul had spent sometime in Corinth at the special instruction of the Lord (Acts 18:1-18) and had a pastoral heart for them.

Exodus 31 - Holy Spirit in the OT, and the Sabbath

We see here an example of the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit did work in people's lives in the Old Testament, but the big difference between the Old and New is that now He works in the lives of every one who believes in Christ. God pours out His Spirit on all who believe, not just a few. In this case the Spirit gave Bezalel wisdom, understanding and knowledge. Note that these are some of the gifts of the Spirit. He also gave skill in craftsmanship. Some gifts of the Spirit are clear supernatural, others may appear to be "natural", but are endowed with a special anointing. The tasks that Bezalel and Oholiab had were "natural" tasks, ie things that we might have thought any suitably skilled person could do, but God gave them Spirit filled abilities to do them. All tasks within the kingdom are important, and distinctions that we are prone to draw between spiritual and non-spiritual are often meaningless to the Lord.

The Sabbath was a sign of the relationship between God and His people, so that they may know Him, and that He is the One who makes them different. Then God says it is "holy to you". Now we might have expected Him to say "holy to me", but He doesn't, He says "holy to you". This is reminiscent of Jesus' words that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). The seven day pattern reflects the pattern of creation. The Sabbath was a very serious affair, and so we can have some understanding of why the Pharisees took such exception to the way that Jesus seemed to treat the Sabbath. Also why some (though decreasingly few) take exception to the fact that Sunday is increasingly treated as just another day by the society. Now we know that the attitude of the Pharisees was wrong, but we have to be careful that we do not reject the Sabbath principle at the same time.

Exodus 30

We start with details for making the altar. God again talks about this being a place "where I will meet you". The place of sacrifice is where we meet God, and this is why the cross is so crucial and is the only way to God. From this altar incense had to rise continually to the Lord, and a sacrifice had to be made once a year. Now Christ is our once for all sacrifice.

A census was to be taken of the Israelites and each had to pay a ransom for his life. Now Christ has paid the ransom for our lives. Everyone paid the same, rich and poor. The ransom for all our lives is the same, rich and poor, big and small sinner. Everyone is equal before God.

Aaron and his sons had to wash before approaching the altar. Similarly we should examine our hearts before approaching God and get rid of any wrong attitudes.

Everything and the priests had to be anointed with oil. Today we all need to be filled with the Spirit, and every aspect of our lives, including the most mundane aspects, should be touched by the Holy Spirit.

A special incense was to be made for God, and was not to be used for any other purpose. God is special.

Exodus 29

We now get instructions on how the priests, Aaron and his sons, were to be consecrated. Consecration consisted of the clothes they wore, the turban, the washing with water, and the sacrifices.

We can see parallels with today in terms of Paul telling us to take off the old self and put on the new. Baptism is an important part of being a Christian, and Peter refers to it in the context of washing with water, and of course Christ is our sacrifice.

There was intimate contact between Aaron and his sons and the sacrifice. We may find all the gory details somewhat distasteful, but there needs to be intimate contact between ourselves and Christ. We do not gain the benefits of the cross by default or by accident, we have to personally repent and give ourselves to Christ.

The garments of Aaron were to be passed down from generation to generation. Likewise, the cross remains effective for all generations.

It is only through consecration that the people could know the presence of the Lord, so it is with us. One key difference is that Christ is the once for all sacrifice, there is no need for daily sacrifices anymore.

Exodus 28

We now come to the garments for the priests. These were designed to give them "dignity and honour". When Christ comes into our lives He comes to give us dignity and honour, for we are all priests. He does this not with outward clothing, but with the inner cleansing of the Holy Spirit. However, this will affect our outward appearance as well, for what is on the outside reflects what is on the inside. The most dramatic example in the Bible of Jesus bringing "dignity and honour" to a man, is the demoniac in the "bay of pigs" incident (Mark 5:1-20).

The ephod was a kind of vest and was made of gold. It had the names of the twelve tribes attached to it by means of two stones. When Aaron approached God he approached on behalf of the whole nation. Similarly Jesus represents the whole church before the Father. The ephod and brestpiece were linked to making decisions on behalf of Israel. When we need to make decisions in life there is nothing better than being in God's presence. This is not just a matter of praying directly about the matter, or thinking about it, or looking at relevant Bible passages, though all these things will probably be involved. It is more than this. When we worship God it helps us to think straight, and we are more likely to make the right decision. Moreover, decisions we make affect not just ourselves, but the lives of others as well. All our lives are interconnected.

The turban was connected to dealing with guilt, so that Aaron's service was acceptable. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin and makes our service to Him acceptable.

Exodus 27

Yet more details. Can we learn anything from this? No doubt we can. There are parts of the Bible that we either find difficult to understand, or react against, or (as with me in this case) find a little boring! We should still read them, for all of God's word is inspired, and at some point, maybe now, maybe in the future, the Holy Spirit will use even the "boring bits" to feed our souls.

Throughout these passages there is an emphasis on things being done just as God showed Moses on the mountain, or just as He commanded. The tabernacle was to made according to God's instructions. Now we are temples of the Holy Spirit, and it is God who decides that His temple should be like. So we must submit to His authority, no one has a right to tell God how to do things.

A courtyard was to made for the tabernacle. So there was to be a courtyard around the place of God's presence. Now in our lives while we should be aware of God all the time, we also need special times of worship and being in His presence. We should not imagine that we can just flip in an instant from normal day to day stuff, to a special time with God. We need a time of preparation.

The lamps were to be kept burning all the time, and the priests were to ensure that this occurred. Likewise we need to ensure that we are continually filled with the Spirit, otherwise our light will go out. We need to devote ourselves to the Word, to prayer, to worship to ensure that we are continually filled.

Exodus 26

We now come to more details on the tabernacle itself. Must admit I find it difficult to get inspired by this chapter. So look elsewhere for insight here!

If you have insight yourself then please post a comment so that we can all learn from it.

Because of this failing on my part there will be two posts today.

Exodus 25

We now come to description of various elements associated with worship, such as the tabernacle, ark etc. Now in Hebrews 9 tells us that these things were a shadow of the true sanctuary, so this is what we should look for in these verses, shadows of what was to come.

The first thing that is mentioned is an offering. When we come to God we should bring an offering. We also see that it talks about those "whose heart prompts them to give", this is reminiscent of the what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8-10. God is interested in the condition of our hearts. Finally in this section God says they are to build a sanctuary and He will dwell among them. So we see here a key to knowing God, namely the importance of giving an offering to God. This is not a matter of "buying" God's favour, not at all. When we give to God we give our hearts to Him, we give our faith to Him. This builds a sanctuary within our lives in which He can dwell through the Holy Spirit.

Very detailed instructions are given for the ark of the covenant, and the tablets of stone containing the ten commandments were to be placed in there. God then says that He will meet with them there and give them His commands. So the commands are all built upon the foundation of the ten commandments (Romans 13:8-10).

A table was to be constructed of acacia wood and overlain with gold. The bread of the Presence was to be on this table "at all times". Likewise Jesus instructed us to continue to observe the Lord's Supper in remembrance of Him. The cross is the gateway through which we enter the presence of God.

Finally there was a lampstand made of pure gold. Everything about it was made of gold. Perhaps this represents the Holy Spirit in our life, giving light to our path. We are to treat our relationship with Him with the highest value.

Exodus 24

We see now a separation and a clear hierarchy. Moses is to go with seventy elders and they can all worship at a distance. Moses alone is allowed to approach God. Everyone else is to stay even further away.

The people commit themselves to obeying the word of the Lord. Now we know that they did not do this. People are always committing themselves to doing things, and then doing nothing. However, the whole community entered into a covenant with the Lord.

Moses and the leaders saw God. This is amazing, and there are links to some of the visions in Revelation, and of course to the Lord's Supper with them eating and drinking. In fact it is interesting how central sharing a meal is to much of worship.

Joshua and Moses went up to the Mountain of God, leaving the elders to deal with any disputes that might arise. Moses alone went into the presence of the Lord.