Corinthians

39 1Corinthians 13:4-7 Attributes of love

March 25, 2020 by Krisan Marotta

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Paul’s famous passage on the attributes of love is part of a 3-chapter argument. This podcast focuses on what Paul says about love and why he felt it necessary to correct the Corinthians understanding of love. The next podcast will examine how this section fits into the overall context of his argument.

Review

In 1Corinthians 12-14, Paul addresses a group of believers who are judging each other by speaking in tongues. They think a person who doesn’t speak in tongues is a lesser Christian.

Paul made two main points in 1Corinthians 12:

The true mark of people who have been influenced by the Holy spirit is that they say (and mean) Jesus is Lord.
There is both unity and diversity in the body of Christ. The unity is the way the Spirit works the same in all of us to give us all saving faith; The diversity is how the Spirit works differently in each of us to give us each a unique role and calling.

1Corinthians 13 is an important interruption in his argument.

Passage

^13:4Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, ⁵does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, ⁶does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; ⁷bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. -1Corinthians 13:4-7

Perspective

The two great commandments — love God and love your neighbor as yourself — capture our moral obligation in a general way. But love for God and our neighbors differs.

We express our love for God by desiring Him, wanting to please Him, seeking to understand what He thinks and values, clinging to Him, and looking to Him for direction, etc.

We express our love for our neighbors by seeking their welfare. The love Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 13 is the kind that loves our neighbors as ourselves.

In Paul’s other letters, he gives 2 motivations for seeking the welfare of our neighbors.

Loving all people is based on the understanding that we are equally made in God’s image.
In addition, loving other believers involves the understanding that we are fellow travelers on this journey of faith and we are the children of God.

Why bring up love now?

The issue of tongues is the latest in a series of issues that has been dividing the Corinthian church. Some in Corinth think that those who don’t speak in tongues are second-class Christians because tongues is the mark of true spirituality.
This is a profound mistake.
Paul defines love in a way that highlights how seriously the Corinthians have gone wrong in their behavior. He wants to remind them what love is because they aren’t doing it.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, ⁵does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, ⁶does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; ⁷bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. -1Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is patient

Being patient is being slow to respond, slow to take offense and slow to strike back.
The Bible describes God as longsuffering or patient with us. Our sinfulness greatly offends Him and yet He continues to give us a long time to repent.
We are called to be longsuffering with each other, to put up with others’ hurts and offenses, delaying any angry response.
For the Corinthians in their situation, Paul is saying: Even if it were true that non-tongue speakers are less spiritual (and that’s not true but even if it were), love would call you to be longsuffering with them. Be patient and wait for them to come to the same maturity you think you’ve found.

Love is kind

Kindness is actively doing good for someone else.
God is kind to us sinners in that He actively blesses us even though we sin against Him.
Likewise, we are called to be kind to those who have not necessarily been kind to us.
Speaking to the Corinthians Paul says: Even if it were true that non-tongue speakers are less spiritual than you are, you supposedly more spiritual folks are called to be working for their benefit, not judging and rejecting them.

Love is not jealous

To be jealous or envious is to be upset when others have something I want and actively working against them or undermining them.
Paul has already commented on the jealously and strife in their church (1Corinthians 3:3-4).
For the Corinthians: Even if it were true that tongue speakers are more spiritual, you have no business forming cliques to the detriment of others. Rather than dividing, you should rejoice in each other’s blessings.

Love does not brag

The supposedly more spiritual people have no business boasting about their alleged spirituality.
If I’m as concerned for you as I am for myself, I wouldn’t be singing my own praises and boasting about how much better off I am than you are.
To the Corinthians Paul says: Even if it were true that non-tongue speakers are less spiritual, how is it right to rub their noses in it?

Love is not arrogant

To be arrogant is to be puffed up with my own importance.
This word for arrogance is used 7 times in the New Testament and 6 of them are in this letter: 1Corinthains 4:6; 4:18; 4:19; 5:2; 8:1; 13:4.
Paul connects their problems to their inflated sense of their own importance. But love calls us to remember we are no more or less important than others.
To the Corinthians: Even if were true that non-tongue speakers are less spiritual, the supposedly more spiritual have no business puffing themselves up and inflating their own importance.

Love does not act unbecomingly

To act unbecomingly is to act disgracefully or shamefully.
Paul could mean: a) love does not act toward others in a way that brings shame upon me. Or b) I’m treating someone else in a way that disgraces that person.
Both of those are possibilities given the situation in Corinth.
To the Corinthians: Even if were true that non-tongue speakers are less spiritual, the supposedly more spiritual should not disgrace themselves by treating others poorly; OR disgrace others in the way they treat them.

Love does not seek its own

Love is not selfish. Love looks out for the welfare and good of another.
For the Corinthians: Even if were true that non-tongue speakers are less spiritual, the supposedly more spiritual should not use that as an excuse to act selfishly.

Love is not provoked

Love does not get irritated and respond with anger.
For the Corinthians: Even if were true that non-tongue speakers are less spiritual, the supposedly more spiritual should not be reactionary and provoked into mistreating them.

Love does not take into account a wrong

Love does not think about evil as in holding a grudge and seeking to get even.
For the Corinthians: Even if were true that non-tongue speakers are less spiritual, the supposedly more spiritual need to ignore the supposed weakness of the other people and continue to work for their good.

Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth

The Corinthian church is riddled with division and strife.
In that environment, its easy to get into competition and rejoice when my side “wins.” Instead, love rejoices when the truth of the gospel prevails.
For the Corinthians: Even if were true that non-tongue speakers are less spiritual, the supposedly more spiritual should not be rejoicing that the tongues-party is winning but should be rejoicing when the truth of the gospel is advancing.

1Corinthians 13:7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

I understand this statement to be a summary (not the next “love is” statement).
The repetition of “all things” is strong emphasis.
The reason our love can be patient or kind, the reason our love is not jealous, boastful, arrogant and so forth is because we believe the gospel, we hope in the gospel and we continue to persevere in the faith.
Whatever comes your way, whatever you may find in the other person, however they treat you and whatever they do, the person who truly loves continues to believe the gospel, continues to hope in the promises of the gospel and continues to persevere in the faith.

Summary

None of us should have any delusions that we will love like this successfully all the time. It is not a standard we should use to beat each other with and say you didn’t love me right. Nor is it a standard we should use to condemn ourselves.
However, we should recognize we have no hope of loving like this apart from the grace of God, the blood of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.
The trials and circumstances of life will test our ability to love like this repeatedly and we will fail.
But that’s not the end of the story.
The promise of the gospel is that one day God will make us the kind of people who love like this because of His grace, the blood of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.

For more detail and explanation, please listen to the podcast.

Next: 40 1Corinthians 13:1-13 The supremacy of love

Previous: 38 1Corinthians 12:14-31 Understanding the body of Christ

Series: 1 Corinthians: Pride & Prejudice in the church

Study: 1Corinthians Resources

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38 1Corinthians 12:14-31 Understanding the body of Christ

March 18, 2020 by Krisan Marotta

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Paul compares the people of God to the unity and diversity of the human body. In this rich analogy, Paul teaches us how we should view ourselves, how we should view each other and where we should find our worth.

Review

Paul is speaking to a group of believers who are grading and judging each other by whether or not they speak in tongues. In 1Corinthians 12-14, Paul makes a series of points to give them perspective on that situation.

Paul has made 2 points so far:

The mark of the Spirit of God at work in a person’s life is not what kind of outward experience they have. The mark of the Spirit of God at work in a person’s life is that they say and mean in a profound way that Jesus is Lord.
There is both unity and diversity in the body of Christ. On the one hand, the Spirit gives all believers the same saving faith, the same spiritual awakening, and desire to follow Jesus (unity). On the other hand, the Spirit gives each believer different roles to play in the body of Christ (diversity).

By God’s design, the human body is meant to be a coherent whole made up of different parts. Similarly, God designed the community of believers to be a unified group of people with a variety of functions.

1Corinthians 12:14-31 is part of his second point.

Passage

^12:14For the body is not one member, but many. ¹⁵If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. ¹⁶And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. ¹⁹If they were all one member, where would the body be? ²⁰But now there are many members, but one body. – 1Corinthians 12:14-17

How we view ourselves

Some Corinthians think they are deficient Christians because they have not spoken in tongues.
Paul says that viewpoint is just as foolish as the foot thinking its useless because it is not a hand. The human body is a collection of parts that God purposely gathered into one person .
If there were only one body part, the human body couldn’t function the way God intends the body to function.
Similarly, if everyone played the same part and had the same gift, then the church would not function the way God wants it to.

How we view others

²¹And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²²On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; ²³and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, ²⁴whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, ²⁵so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. -1Corinthians 21-26

Some in Corinth are judging and rejecting those who don’t speak in tongues.
You don’t say you have no need of your foot or your hand, so why are you saying you have no need of your fellow believer?
My hands and my mouth play an obviously visible role in what I can do and say. How well my stomach function also plays a role in providing nutrients and energy so that I can do and say those things, but you can’t really see the role it’s playing. It’s a weaker role in that it’s not so obvious or visible. But the “weaker” parts of the human body are necessary and important.
Likewise, in the church, you may not appreciate or understand the role someone else is playing but by God’s design it’s necessary.
In 12:23, the “less honorable” are the indecent or private parts. Paul is contrasting the parts of the body that we publicly display with the indecent parts that we cover up.
What’s the analogy? I don’t expose the flaws and indecent parts of my body but I don’t reject them. I honor and clothe them because it’s all me. I don’t make a distinction.
While some roles in the community of believers are done in the spotlight of human history and others are done backstage in the shadows, we are all part of the community of believers.
The analogy is those high impact glamorous roles are like the public parts of my body. The roles no one notices and everyone takes for granted are like the indecent parts.
Paul’s point is they are all necessarily part of the people of Christ and therefore have the same honor, just like all the parts of my human body are part of me.

The Conclusion

²⁷Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. ²⁸And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. ²⁹All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? ³⁰All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? ³¹But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way. -1Corinthians 17-31

Paul lists various roles that God has given to various people in the church. These roles are analogous to the parts of the human body.
This list is not identical to his earlier list because he does not intend to give a comprehensive catalog of how the Spirit works.
Paul starts with apostles and prophets giving us a clue that he has the universal church in mind, not a particular local gathering of believers.
There is no question that the apostles have a more important, visible, global impact on the universal church than teachers today. How should we think about that? Should we be jealous? Should Paul look down on us? No.
Paul’s point is think of those differences in roles and ways of serving like you think about your own body parts.
We have different roles to play in the universal church by God’s design. We don’t need a church full of apostles, just like we don’t need a body full of eyes. Diversity in the church is God’s intention.
Our honor comes from the fact that the Spirit of God is at work in each of us such that we can say Jesus is Lord.
The most important issue is not which role you play in Christ’s church. The important issue is: are you a part of his church at all?

For more detail and explanation, please listen to the podcast.

Next: 39 1Corinthians 13:4-7 Attributes of love

Previous: 37 1Corinthians 12:11-13 Should everyone speak in tongues?

Series: 1 Corinthians: Pride & Prejudice in the church

Study: 1Corinthians Resources

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37 1Corinthians 12:11-13 Should everyone speak in tongues?

March 11, 2020 by Krisan Marotta

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As Paul continues discussing the unity and diversity of the body of Christ, we pause to consider what that tells us about speaking in tongues today. Should everyone speak in tongues?

Review

Paul is speaking to a group of believers who are grading and judging each other by whether or not they speak in tongues. Through chapters 12-14, Paul makes a series of points to give them perspective on that situation.

First, Paul said, the mark of the Spirit of God at work in a person’s life is not what kind of outward experience they have. The mark of the Spirit of God at work in a person’s life is that they say and mean in a profound way that Jesus is Lord.

Then Paul began contrasting the unity and diversity in the body of Christ. While all God’s people have the same Spirit at work in them, the Spirit gives a variety of differing gifts to different people.

In the last podcast, I argued that we should think of spiritual gifts as roles and opportunities to serve the body of Christ, rather than as “super powers” or talents.

Passage

^12:11But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. ¹²For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. ¹³For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. ¹⁴For the body is not one member, but many. – 1Corinthians 12:11-14

By God’s design, the human body is meant to be a coherent whole made up of a variety of different parts. So it is in the church of Christ.
Just as it is God’s purpose for different parts of the human body to play different roles and have different functions, it is God’s purpose throughout history for different people to play different roles in the story of redemption.
In 12:13, Paul uses two analogies to summarize the source of our unity.
Both analogies involve water and come from the language of Jesus.
All 4 gospels report that John the Baptist baptizes with water, but Jesus Christ will baptize with the spirit.

“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ” – John the Baptist speaking in Matthew 3:11 (Also, Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:26)

The Gospel of John records two places where Jesus says the thirsty should come to him for living water. One is speaking to the woman at the well (John 4). The other is John 7.

^7:37Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'” ³⁹But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. – John 7:37-29.

Baptism is an outward cleansing with water the symbolizes conversion and becoming a disciple of someone.
The true baptism is the baptism of the Spirit where the Spirit cleanses our hard hearts and truly makes us people who want to follow Christ.
It is an inward washing and transformation of which water baptism is a sign.
When we are physically thirsty, we drink water to quench our thirst. But the true drink is a water of the Spirit, which quenches our spiritual thirst.
The reality behind these metaphors is the same idea Paul introduced in 1Corinthians 12:1-3: No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Spirit working in him to give him faith and understanding.
The basis for our unity is that all believers were washed by the same Spirit; and all believers quench our spiritual thirst with the same Spirit.

In this section, Paul highlights two ways the Spirit works.

The Spirit gives all believers the same faith, the same spiritual awakening, the same perseverance in the faith and the same desire to follow Jesus.
The Spirit gives each believer a different role to play in the body of Christ.

Just as different parts of the body have different jobs to fulfill to keep the body healthy, so believers have different jobs to fulfill in the history of God’s people to bring about His glory and His purposes.

Should everyone speak in tongues?

Should I be worried if no one in my local church has healed anyone or spoken in tongues?

Paul has not answered this question, and does not intend to answer it in this passage.
He says there are miracles of healing but he does not say that every local church throughout history will have someone who can miraculously heal.
From the New Testament, we know sometimes people were inexplicably healed. We have stories that this same kind of miraculous healing is happening today and has happened at times in history.
From what Paul has said here, I think we can conclude that if God wants miracles or tongues to happen at any particular point in history to any particular person for any particular reason, then the Spirit of God will make it happen. If that kind of activity is not happening now, then that too is part of God’s plan.
The Bible does not say whether God intends to keep acting in miraculous ways. It does not tell us whether the New Testament was a unique period of church history or the beginning of some new way of working.
We do know the sign gifts (miracles, healing and tongues) were given to confirm the authority of the speaker (usually an apostle or prophet).

What were tongues in Corinth?

The Greek word translated tongues simply means languages. To speak in tongues is literally to speak in languages.
Acts presents a coherent picture that people speak in normal human languages they have not been taught.
Today we see what is called “glossolalia” were someone speaks in a language no one understands, usually including the speaker.
I suspect Paul is referring to the Acts event where someone speaks a normal language he/she has not been taught.
I suspect the Corinthians were practicing glossolalia or something closer to it.

What about the charismatic movement?

I am not criticizing the charismatic movement we see today.
From this passage, Paul has not said anything that rules that modern phenomenon of tongues in or out.
But IF any group believes that everyone must speak in tongues and IF their theology is that those who don’t speak in tongues are not spiritual, that’s the same mistake Paul is pointing out in Corinth.
Paul has just argued that gifts are diverse and you cannot judge someone’s spirituality by whether or not they have the gift of tongues.
There’s a sense in which both charismatics and non-charsimatics could peacefully and gracefully agree to disagree, except both sides tend to see the other side as deficient.

Paul’s points so far

Here’s what I think Paul has clearly said so far. I know both charismatics and non-charismatics who hold these views (and I know some on both sides who don’t).

The mark of true spirituality is not having a particular spiritual gift, including speaking in tongues, but rather the mark of true spirituality is to say and mean that Jesus is Lord
Jesus has brought us together to be His people and to belong to each other as his family.
God gives every individual a role to play serving and bringing about His kingdom.
It is wrong to judge others based on whether they have a particular gift or what role they have been given or not given.
The purpose of having these roles is to build each other up in the faith.

For more detail and explanation, please listen to the podcast.

Next: 38 1Corinthians 12:14-31 Understanding the body of Christ

Previous: 36 1Corinthians 12:4-11 What are spiritual gifts?

Series: 1 Corinthians: Pride & Prejudice in the church

Study: 1Corinthians Resources

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

36 1Corinthians 12:4-11 What are spiritual gifts?

March 4, 2020 by Krisan Marotta

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Paul argues that while all believers have the same Spirit, God distributes different gifts to different believers on purpose. Paul’s point in this section is not to give a catalog of gifts, but examples of the diverse ways the Spirit works.

Review

Passage

^12:4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. ⁶There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. ⁷But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. -1Corinthians 12:4-7

Paul contrasts unity (what is the same) and diversity (what has variety).
All God’s people have the same Spirit. But that same Spirit gives different gifts to different people.
These gifts are given to us for the common good (12:7). They are meant for service to the body.
Compare with 1 Peter 4:10.

^12:8For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. -1Corinthians 12:8-11

Paul’s purpose in giving us the list 12:8-11 is not to give a catalog of gifts so we can find our own. His purpose is to give a few examples of the variety of ways the spirit works.
To be wise is to have God’s perspective on things.
To have knowledge is to understand the truth God revealed.
Faith in 12:9 is not saving faith but a particular kind of confidence despite outward circumstance. Compare with 1Corinthians 13:2.
Healing and miracles could refer to the person who is benefits from the healing or miracle; or to the the person allowed to be the instrument through which God heals or performs a miracle.
Prophecy, I think, is the general kind of teaching or explaining God’s word.
Tongues, I think, are the kind of thing we see in Acts where people speak in a language they haven’t been taught.
Distinguishing of Spirits is the discernment to recognize right from wrong and truth from error.
12:11 is his main point. The variety we see among God’s people is by God’s design.
I think we should understand spiritual gifts as roles and opportunities, rather than supernatural talents.

Handout: What are spiritual gifts

For more detail and explanation, please listen to the podcast.

Next: 37 1Corinthians 12:11-13 Should everyone speak in tongues?

Previous: 35 1Corinthians 12:1-3 The mark of spirituality

Series: 1 Corinthians: Pride & Prejudice in the church

Study: 1Corinthians Resources

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

What are spiritual gifts?

March 3, 2020 by Krisan Marotta

Contrary to the popular view, I understand spiritual gifts as roles and opportunities to serve, rather than supernaturally given talents. For example, if I have the “gift of teaching,” the gift is the opportunity to teach, not the talent to teach.

This following questions compare my understanding of the Biblical view with the popular view and is a handout for this podcast #490:

36 1Corinthians 12:4-11 What are spiritual gifts?

What are spiritual gifts?

Biblical View: Roles or assignments God graciously gives us to accomplish His purposes.

Popular View: Supernatural abilities, similar to talents.

Are spiritual gifts the same as talents?

Biblical View: No, they are opportunities and roles we are privileged to play. However, there is some correlation between our roles and our talents.

Popular View: No, in that they are supernaturally given by God, rather than naturally developed through practice.

How many spiritual gifts does a believer have?

Biblical View: One role that is diverse and multifaceted.

Popular View: Usually a set of gifts while one primary gift.

How many spiritual gifts are there?

Biblical View: There are as many gifts as there are believers. Each believer plays a unique role in bringing about God’s plan.

Popular View: Usually the 20 or so that are listed in 1Corinthians 12 and Romans 12.

Are spiritual gifts identifiable?

Biblical View: Not necessarily, as they are as unique and diverse as believers.

Popular View: Yes, all gifts are distinguishable from each other and we should be able to tell who has what.

Are my gift(s) correlated to my livelihood?

Biblical View: Not necessarily, although your livelihood is part of the role you play.

Popular View: Usually not.

Is it important to identify my gifts?

Biblical View: No, the opportunity to serve is the gift. It is not important to be able to define the role or the abilities required to fulfill it.

Popular View: Yes, otherwise you can’t use them.

How do believers discover and exercise their gifts?

Biblical View: By pursuing wise choices, pursuing opportunities to serve, and growing in faith and wisdom.

Popular View: Trial and error; tests with feedback and analysis,

Will my gifts change?

Biblical View: They will probably change with the seasons of your life. There are no limits to the how God might call you to serve.

Popular View: Usually not. Our gifts place “limits” on what God will call us to do.

For more detail and explanation, please listen to the podcast.

Series: 1 Corinthians: Pride & Prejudice in the church

Study: 1Corinthians Resources

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35 1Corinthians 12:1-3 The mark of spirituality

February 26, 2020 by Krisan Marotta

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35 1Corinthians 12:1-3 The mark of spirituality | WednesdayintheWord.com

Paul starts the topic of “spiritual gifts” in 1Corinthians 12. The Corinthians are confused in thinking that speaking in tongues is the mark of true spirituality. In 1Corinthians 12:1-3, Paul lays the foundation for his argument which will run through 1Corinthians 14.

Review

In this section of the letter, Paul is responding to questions the Corinthians have asked him. In 1Corinthians 11, he begins addressing issues concerning their public gatherings. Now he turns to their perspective on speaking in tongues.

Paul is speaking to a group of believers who are grading and judging each other by whether or not they speak in tongues. Through the next chapters (12-14), Paul makes a series of points to give them perspective on that situation.

Passage

^12:1Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. ²You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. ³Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. – 1Corinthians 12:1-3

The word “gifts” is not in the Greek text. The translators add it because they think it is implied.
My translation: “Now concerning spiritual things” or “now concerning manifestations of the spirit.”
Today the term “spiritual gifts” has become a technical term with a specific theology behind it. I think it’s a mistake to read the modern understanding into this section.
The phrase “spiritual gift(s)” occurs once in the New Testament in Romans 1:11-12. There Paul is clearly not talking about our modern understanding.

^12:2You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.

The Gentile Corinthians’ concept of spirituality was formed by growing up in pagan temples.
Priests and worshipers in pagan temples drank wine and danced themselves dizzy until the were “led away” by the temple-god and babbled incoherently. The Gentile Corinthians expect a similar experience in Christian worship, something like tongues.
Paul’s addressing that question: Is that true? Are tongues really the mark of being a spiritual person? If not, what’s the nature of spirituality?

^12:3Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

Paul says you can tell a spiritual person by what comes out of their mouths. BUT it’s not ecstatic utterances. The spiritual person will say and mean that Jesus is Lord.
The mark of a spiritual person is how he/she responds to Jesus.
The mark of the Spirit of God at work in our lives is not what kind of ecstatic outward experience we have.
The mark of the Spirit of God at work in our lives is that we say and mean in a profound way that Jesus is Lord.

What does it mean to say “Jesus is Lord”?

Jesus is Lord is a shorthand for the specific beliefs that make up the gospel.
The gospel is sometimes summarized as Jesus is Lord and God demonstrated that by raising him from the dead (Romans 10:9; Acts 2:36).
When I come to faith, I realize that I have been created by God, God has the right to tell me what is true and to determine my destiny.
God appointed the Christ (Messiah) to represent Him and to proclaim the truth and the way to find life.
The Messiah is Jesus of Nazareth. I know this because God raised him from the dead.
What Jesus Christ said is true. His teaching is the truth I have to follow. His words are the words of life. He is the one who has the power to forgive my sins and grant me eternal life. He is the one who has the power to judge and condemn me. His commands will set the course of my life. He is the one I will worship and obey.
To say Jesus is Lord is to look at the life and message of Jesus of Nazareth and say I believe he is the Messiah. He is the one who speaks for God. If I want to find eternal life, he is the one I must listen to.

Summary

Paul is speaking to a group of believers who are grading and judging each other by whether or not they speak in tongues.
Because of their pagan background, the Corinthians think that the mark of spirituality – the mark that the Holy Spirit is at work in a someone’s life – is that speaking in tongues.
Paul says, the mark of a truly spiritual person is the person who can say and mean in a profound way that Jesus is Lord.
Spirituality for Paul is very specific. It is not necessarily flashy outward ecstatic utterances.
It is not a feeling I have after singing the right songs.
It is not the feelings I have after a motivational sermon or devotional talk.
It is not vague mystical feelings I get when I meditate on God’s word.
It is not marked by social justice causes or giving away lots of money to worthy causes.
It is not marked by my choice of profession or my lack of material things.
It is not even being a good, nice person.
For Paul to be a spiritual person is to be someone who can say and mean in a profound way that Jesus is Lord.

For more detail and explanation, please listen to the podcast.

Next: 36 1Corinthians 12:4-11 What are spiritual gifts?

Previous: 34 1Corinthians 11:27-34 Taking communion in an unworthy manner

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34 1Corinthians 11:27-34 Taking Communion in an unworthy manner

February 19, 2020 by Krisan Marotta

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What does it mean to take communion in an unworthy manner? How are we to examine ourselves before participating? In this podcast, we look at what Paul found wrong with the way the Corinthians were handling the Lord’s Supper and what he wants them to do instead.

Review

In this section of the letter, Paul is responding to questions the Corinthians have asked him. In 1Corinthians 11, he begins addressing issues concerning their public gatherings.

The Corinthian church was having a community meal and celebrating communion. But rather than celebrating as a community, the church was dividing along class and economic lines. Paul finds their actions particularly inappropriate because of what they are gathered together to do.

The Lord’s Supper reminds us that Jesus Christ died to bring about these blessings for us:

God’s judgment is coming but His people will be spared because of the blood of the Jesus Christ.
God forgives and delivers His people from slavery to sin, death and futility through Jesus.
Through Jesus, God inaugurated a new covenant.

We are to remember Jesus death and what his death did for us through the teachings in and the symbols of this ceremonial meal.

The Lord’s Supper includes the specific teaching about what God has done through Christ.
The Lord’s Supper has symbolic elements to remind us about what God done through Christ.
The Lord’s Supper is an event we do together as the people of God because of what Christ has done for us.

Passage

^11:27Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.²⁸Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. – 1Corinthians 11:27-29

The Greek word translated “unworthy” (Strong’s G371) has the idea of unfitting or inappropriate.
The rich Corinthians see themselves as privileged and more important than their poor brethren in this meal that celebrates how unworthy everyone is before God.
The rich Corinthians see this meal — that celebrates that Christ has bought us an inheritance in something much more valuable than material things in this life — as an opportunity to feast while their poor brothers and sisters go hungry.
The rich Corinthians have separated themselves and ignored the needs of their poorer brothers and sisters in a ceremony that celebrates how we have been united as the people of God through what Christ did for us.
11:27 “guilty of the body and the blood” – Your actions show your disdain for Christ’s sacrifice. You ought to understand what his sacrifice means, but you aren’t judging it rightly.
11:29 You “drink judgment on yourself” – ff the way you participate shows you don’t really have faith and could care less about the cross of Christ because your actions actions indicate that you will receive judgment.
11:28: Examine yourself: What do you truly believe? Do you really understand why Jesus died?
The answer to examine yourself is a simple one. Do you see yourself as a sinner destined for judgment before God and understand that the cross of Christ is your only hope? If so, you are participating appropriately.

^11:30That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. ³¹But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. ³²But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. ³³So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— ³⁴if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come. – 1Corinthians 11:30-34

Paul is not saying all physical sickness results from sin.
See John 9:1-3 among other passages.
Option 1: Paul means physically sick. Paul knows (somehow) that a particular epidemic hitting Corinth is sent by God to wake them up so that they repent.
Option 2: Paul means metaphorically sick (weak in the faith). Paraphrase: Many of you are spiritually weak and immature, and some of you are spiritually asleep. If you were awake, you would understand the truth and act accordingly. However, if you assess yourselves correctly (that is wake up and realize that you are sinners in need of a savior), then you are not condemned.

For more detail and explanation, please listen to the podcast.

Next: 35 1Corinthians 12:1-3 The mark of spirituality

Previous: 33 1Corinthians 11:23-26 Significance of the Lord’s Supper

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Study: 1Corinthians Resources

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33 1Corinthians 11:23-26 Significance of the Lord’s supper

February 12, 2020 by Krisan Marotta

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What’s the connection between Passover and Communion? Why are we suppose to celebrate the Lord’s Supper? In this podcast, we look at how Paul explains the significance of the Lord’s Supper.

Review

In this section of the letter, Paul is responding to specific questions the Corinthians have asked him. Starting in chapter 11, the issues relate to how they are handling their worship services. First, he addressed the issue of whether or not married women should uncover their heads when they pray or teach. Next, he turns to how they are handling the Lord’s supper.

The Corinthian church was having a community meal and celebrating communion. But rather than celebrating as a community the church was dividing along class and economic lines.

Paul finds their actions particularly inappropriate because of what they are gathered together to do. Their actions reveal that the believe the opposite of what they ought to believe and calls into question why they are doing the ritual at all.

In 11:17-21 he gave us the specifics of the problem. In 11:22 he begins to explain why he’s so concerned.

Background

Jesus and the twelve are celebrating the Passover on the last night before Jesus is crucified. Jesus takes the element of the Passover meal and reinterprets them for the disciples, instituting the Lord’s Supper.
In order to understand the Lord’s supper, we first need to understand the Passover meal and how Jesus changed it.

^11:4Moses said, “Thus says the LORD, ‘About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, ⁵and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well. – Exodus 11:4-5

The descendants of Abraham are enslaved in Egypt. God sends a series of plagues and eventually the Egyptian Pharaoh agrees to let them leave.
In the last plague, God tells the Israelites all the first born will die on a certain night, but they will be spared if they sacrifice a lamb and put some of its the blood on their doorposts (Exodus 12).

For our purposes, note the Passover involves forgiveness, deliverance and a covenant:

God visited His judgment on the land but the Israelites were spared because of the blood of the sacrificial lamb.
God delivered His people from slavery in Egypt.
God inaugurated a covenant with the Israelites such that He would be their God and they would be His people.

^12:14‘Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance. ¹⁵Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. ¹⁷You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance.’ – Exodus 12:14-17

The Passover meal was to remind them what God had done for them.

They remember these events through the teaching during the meal.
The meal has symbolic elements to remind them what God had done.
The meal is an event they do together as the people of God.

Passage

^11:23For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; ²⁴and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁵In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” ²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. -1Corinthians 11:23-26

Paul is a reliable witness even though he wasn’t there because the risen Jesus taught Paul what it meant.

We have the same 3 elements in Jesus’s death on the cross that we saw in the Passover: deliverance from judgment, freedom from slavery and the inauguration of a new covenant.

God’s judgment is coming but His people will be spared because of the blood of Jesus Christ.
God forgives sins and delivers His people from slavery to sin death and futility through Jesus.
Through Jesus, God inaugurated a new covenant such that He would be our God and we would be His people.
See Luke 22:14-20 and Matthew 26:26-28.
See Jeremiah 31:31-34.
See 1 Corinthians 5:7 and John 1:29

We are to remember Jesus death and what his death did for us through this ceremonial meal.

The Lord’s Supper includes the specific teaching about what God has done through Christ.
The Lord’s Supper has symbolic elements to remind us about what God done through Christ.
The Lord’s Supper is an event we do together as the people of God because of what Christ has done for us.

For more detail and explanation, please listen to the podcast.

Next: 34 1Corinthians 11:27-34 Taking communion in an unworthy manner

Previous: 32 1Corinthians 11:17-22 Situation with Lord’s supper

Series: 1 Corinthians: Pride & Prejudice in the church

Study: 1Corinthians Resources

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32 1Corinthians 11:17-22 Situation with Lord’s Supper

February 5, 2020 by Krisan Marotta

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32 1Corinthians 11:17-22 Situation with Lord’s supper | WednesdayintheWord.com

What’s the problem with the way the Corinthians are handling the Lord’s Supper? Some think the key issue is that they were profaning a holy ritual. Others think the key issue is mistreating the poor. I think the key issue is their lack of belief.

Review

In this section of the letter, Paul is responding to questions the Corinthians have asked him. Starting in chapter 11, he is addressing questions that relate to how they are handling their worship services. In 1Corinthians 11:17, he turns to how they are handling the Lord’s supper.

What’s at stake?

Some people think the main problem is the way the Corinthians are handling a sacrament. They are profaning the holy ritual of communion and Paul wants them to handle the sacrament properly.

Others, who focus on the language about the poor, conclude that Paul’s emphasis is social justice. They think the key teaching is that no poor person should have any less or be treated differently than a rich person.

I think the key issue in this passage is their lack of belief. The way the Corinthians are handling the Lord’s supper reveals a profound problem with what they believe. If they understood what this ritual means, they wouldn’t act in this way.

Passage

^11:17But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. ¹⁸For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, ¹⁹for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. ²⁰When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. ²¹For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. ²²What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. – 1Corinthians 11:17-22

Paul opens this section with a harsher and firmer tone than the first half of the chapter.
He thinks it would be better not to have communion at all than to have it the way they are handling it.
We know from chapters 1-4 there are divisions in the Corinthian church over Paul’s authority as an apostle. Some reject Paul in favor of Apollos. In this issue, the divisions are along economic lines, but it could be the same group of people.
11:18-19 paraphrase: ‘I can believe that there are divisions among you, because I would expect that the worldly and foolish among you will ultimately show themselves to be different than those who are mature in the faith. Those who follow the world are on a different path and that will eventually become evident.’
The divisions are inevitable in the sense that worldly values will eventually conflict with gospel values.
Wealthy homes often had a courtyard or atrium in the middle which could hold 30-50 people. Off the courtyard, there was typically a dining room which would hold about 10-12 people. When a large church gathered, it appears the wealthy and social elite were eating in the dining room. Leaving the poor, the freed slaves, the lower class to eat in the courtyard.
It was common for people to bring their own food to these gatherings. People of different status would bring different amounts and types of food. The poor are going hungry while the rich are feasting to the point of getting drunk.

^11:33So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— ³⁴if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come. – 1Corinthians 11:33-34

Paul’s conclusion is wait on each other (like a waiter). Serve each other and attend to everyone’s needs before attending to your own.
Instead of bringing a feast and ignoring those who have nothing, wait on them. Serve them and make sure they have enough.
If your primary concern is being fed, then eat at home, because that’s not what the meal is about.

Summary

There will always be division between those who follow the world and those who follow the gospel.
Sometimes it is appropriate to compromise and accommodate (as we learned in the meat to idols and head coverings sections).
But when fundamental issues of the gospel are at stake, it is not appropriate to compromise or accommodate.
In this situation, the way they are conducting themselves casts doubt on whether they really believe the gospel. In a ceremony that is supposed to celebrate unity in Christ, they are ignoring those who are going hungry while indulging themselves .
Their actions are so incompatible with the gospel that Paul is concerned that they might not really believe it.

For more detail and explanation, please listen to the podcast.

Next: 33 1Corinthians 11:23-26 Significance of the Lord’s Supper

Previous: 31 What does Paul mean by head, 2?

Series: 1 Corinthians: Pride & Prejudice in the church

Study: 1Corinthians Resources

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31 What does Paul mean by head, 2?

January 29, 2020 by Krisan Marotta

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30 What does Paul mean by head, 2? | WednesdayintheWord.com

Most everyone agrees that Paul is speaking metaphorically, but few agree exactly what he means by the metaphor of head. To understand Paul’s use of head in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, we look at Paul’s use of head in all his other letters, particularly in Ephesians.

In the first podcast I gave you the bottom line. I went straight through 1Corinthians 11:2-16 explaining my conclusions.

In the second podcast we talked about the cultural background that informs Paul’s advice.

In the third podcast we begin tackling what Paul means by head by looking at Genesis 2 and why he appeals to it.

In this podcast, we look at Paul’s use of head in the New Testament.

Review

I argued that in Corinthian culture married women kept their heads covered in public as a sign of respect for their husbands while husbands removed their head coverings when they stood up to pray or prophesy as a sign of respect for God.

Women did not participate in the Jewish worship service. In the Christian church, women begin participating alongside men, creating a conflict of symbols.

What’s a married woman to do when she stands up to pray or teach? If she removes her head covering that is seen as respectful to God but disrespectful to her husband. If she keeps her head covering on, that is seen as respectful to her husband but disrespectful to God.

I understand Paul to be saying wives in Corinth should keep their head coverings on because that symbol speaks the loudest in their culture.

Passage

But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. – 1 Corinthians 11:3

As I argued in the last podcast, when Paul appeals to the creation account, his concept is:

Husband headship is the biblical concept that God assigned the husband responsibility for the marriage and resulting family.
Being a Helper is recognizing who is responsible and granting him the freedom to follow his conscience.

Egalitarian View of Head

Some egalitarians argue that the metaphorical use of “head” means source, like the head of the river is its point of origin. They argue that the order of creation does not imply any kind of authority or difference in roles. It is merely and only the idea that the woman was made from the man.

Complementarian View of Head

Some complementarians argue that head means to have authority over.

The head chef is the boss. The head teacher is the one in charge. The head of the company is the one who gets the last word. The husband as the head of the wife has authority over her and she has an obligation to submit to him.

The hard complementarian tend to emphasize the authority of the head, while the soft complementarians tend to emphasize the responsibility of the head.

What is a hard complementarian?

What is a soft complementarian?

What is an egalitarian?

Paul’s use of the head-body metaphor – Ephesians 1

^1:22And He [God] put all things in subjection under His [Jesus] feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, ²³which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. – Ephesians 1:22-23

Christ solves the problem of sin, death and futility, and brings everything in subjection under his rule so that all creation might find fulfillment and completion in him.
His completion arrives when he stands as king and lord over a new creation with a people washed, clean and holy who confess that he is Lord. Our role is to be those people. His body (the church) completes the one who completes everything else.
Jesus’s role is to be the Messiah, the redeemer and rescuer of mankind. Our role is to be his body. There is a lack of symmetry in our roles. Christ has responsibilities we do not have.

Ephesians 4

^4:14As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; ¹⁵but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, ¹⁶from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. – Ephesians 4:14-16

Here the context is teaching. The head gives growth to the body and that growth is worked out through the various parts of the body.
As head of the body, Christ laid the foundation of truth. Then the various parts of the body administer the truth and teachings of Christ.
Christ gave us the truth. The pastors, apostles, prophets and evangelist’s role is to administer and teach that truth to the body so it grows. Their role is dependent on Christ’s role.

Colossians 2

^2:18Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, ¹⁹and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. ²⁰If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ²¹“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” – Colossians 2:18-21

In this context, the issue is whose doctrine you listen to. Why are you listening to this nonsense about do not taste, do not touch? Don’t submit yourself to these foolish decrees, rather hold fast to the head.
Christ has taught us the truth. Growth comes from his truth working its way through the various parts of the body.

Ephesians 5

^5:22Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. ²⁴But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, ²⁶so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. ²⁸So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; ²⁹for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, ³⁰because we are members of His body. ³¹FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. ³²This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. – Ephesians 5:22-32

Headship in practice looks like Christ dying to save his people. His goal was to sanctify and redeem his church so that he could present the church to himself in spotless holy glory.
As head, Christ’s agenda was not to be boss, not to rule with an iron fist, not to always get his own way or have his people serve him like slaves.
As head, Christ’s agenda was the salvation, and welfare of his church. His agenda was that his church reach full maturity, wisdom and holiness. His agenda was to lay down his life for her so that she might be his people.
What does being the head look like? It looks like what Christ did: self-sacrificing love and service while holding fast to the truth of the gospel.