Friday, June 29, 2012

1 Corinthians 15 - An Amazing Hope

Some great truths to cling to are found in this chapter, and we are first reminded that all of it hinges on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  If Christ was not raised from the dead, then none of what He said is worth anything.  But Paul gives us assurance that Christ indeed was resurrected, and that we who believe will follow in His steps (v. 20-22).

Because of Christ, we are destined for immortality in imperishable bodies.  We will never know permanent death.  Because of Christ, eternal victory has been achieved for us.  And we are assured that all the good we do in the name of Jesus will never be in vain (v. 53-58).

Friday, June 22, 2012

1 Corinthians 14: Prophecy and Tongues

I'm still not quite sure what to make of the gift of speaking in tongues, but Paul seems to less than inclined to make speaking in tongues an integral part of a community worship service.  Perhaps there were people in Corinth who were speaking in tongues and wearing the gift like a badge of honor.  He validates tongues as something to build up the individual, but in the corporate setting Paul is much more interested in those who can bring an understandable message from God.

"Eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy" (v. 1)
"But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort." (v. 3)
"Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying?" (v. 8)
"I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue." (v. 19)

You have to admire the practicality of Paul's faith.  If his faith does nothing to build up others, it is far less valuable than a faith that builds the Body of Christ, particularly in the context of the corporate worship setting that Paul is outlining in this chapter.

The end of the chapter provides more direction for orderly worship.  People who have something to say that fails to benefit the entire group are encouraged to do so on their own time.  This applies to speaking in tongues (v. 28), those who are prophesying (v. 30), and women who have questions (v. 35).  The last part about women comes across as a chauvinistic command, and I agree with people who struggle with the line "it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church" (v. 35).  I found something written by Amanda Beattie that  helped me make sense of this passage:

  Paul clearly wasn’t forbidding tongues-speakers and prophets from ever speaking in the church at all. Neither was he forbidding women from doing so.
With all three groups of people, we see two clear points being made. One point is demonstrating theinappropriate time and manner in which to speak, and the other lays out the appropriate time and manner in which to speak. Paul is not regulating the activity, but only the context in which it is done.
We also see that Paul was topically consistent when addressing each group. Paul didn’t tell the tongues-speakers, “Be silent in church. If you have something to say, give a prophecy  between yourself and God.” He told them to be silent, and to speak (in tongues) between themselves and God. The type of speech/silence is consistent.
He didn’t tell the prophets, “Be silent in church. If you have something to say, go speak in tongues when it’s your turn.” He told them to be silent, and to prophesy in turn. The type of speech/silence is consistent.
So why should we then try to say that Paul is telling the women to be silent and not preach, and then if they have something to say, go ask their husbands at home? There’s no consistency in that statement. If Paul is redirecting the women’s speech into the appropriate context, he wouldn’t suddenly change the terms of what they were trying to do in the first place. Again, Paul is not regulating the activity, but only the context. Asking questions in the middle of the teaching was the wrong time and place. The right time and place was later, at home, when they weren’t going to disrupt the whole assembly.

Friday, June 15, 2012

1 Corinthians 13: The Most Excellent Way

What would the world look like if people as a rule were patient, kind, without envy, without boasting, humble, not rude, helpful, not easily angered and forgiving?  It would indeed be a most excellent world.

Interesting that Paul concludes his discussion of love by comparing his old childish ways to his life as a grown man.  In a society that is so confused about what is manly (or womanly), by what separates childhood from adulthood, we see Paul clearly stating that it's love that makes an adult.  The practice or habit of being patient, kind, etc. is the defining characteristic of grown ups.

Friday, June 8, 2012

1 Corinthians 12: Built for Others

Maybe it's just me, but chapter 12 feels like a refreshingly clear passage compared to chapter 11.  Although I guess there's still room for an additional controversy or two, mostly related to the idea of Spiritual gifts.  Do these same gifts exist in today's world?  People are often skeptical of those who claim to heal others.  We don't really seem to know what to think about speaking in tongues.  But regardless, verse 11 sums up the gifts discussion nicely with, "All these are the work of one and the same Spirit and he gives them to each one just as he determines."

This provides a nice transition into one of the coolest ideas found anywhere in Scripture...the Body of Christ existing as the group of believers throughout the world.  We saw that the Spirit allocates gifts to Christians for the common good, and now Paul takes the idea of operating for the common good a step or two further.  We can understand how the different parts of our physical bodies have different functions, and yet together they make up the whole of our physical being.  Similarly, every follower of Christ has been uniquely constructed for a specific role in the Kingdom of God, and together we comprise the Body of believers throughout the world.  We see that "God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be" (v. 18).

I'm not sure we can overemphasize how remarkable it is that God has given each of us such care and consideration as individuals as He has put together the human race as a whole.  And we see that we exist for each other.
"If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it" (v. 26).  I want to live in that world, where we empathize with all who hurt and celebrate with those who rejoice.  It's a beautiful picture.

Friday, June 1, 2012

1 Corinthians 11: Hats?

The second half of the chapter seems easy enough to understand.  In verse 17, Paul writes that the meetings of the Corinthians 'do more harm than good'.  Tough criticism, to be sure, but Paul is clear that in their gatherings the Corinthians have divisions among them.  This is certainly not God's design for the church, as we are called to celebrate together, apparently particularly as it relates to celebrating the Lord's Supper.  And no doubt this is a serious charge, as Paul states that many in the Corinthian church have gotten sick and even died because they have taken the Lord's Supper in an unworthy, selfish manner.  'When you gather to eat, you should all eat together' (v. 33) seems to be the main point Paul makes.

The first half of the chapter is a little more difficult to figure.  Paul seems to be saying that at worship gatherings, women need to cover their heads and men must not do so.  Is this a cultural issue from long ago?  Are these clear commands to be followed even today?  Is it wrong for a man to pray while wearing a hat?  I needed to know more, so I did a little digging.  There's no shortage of explanations and guesses about the whole issue of hats, but probably the best I found comes from a sermon by Rick Stacy, as he writes about the symbolism of the head covering in those times, and how covering one's head indicated they were under the authority of another.  Rick writes:

What do we do about haircuts and hats?
For us, the answer may not be quite as obvious because our culture has changed. The principle has not changed and never will. 
Are we rebellious and arrogantly holding on to power and control. Do we demand our place of honor? Do we simply serve those in our lives?
Remember that what you do with your head often reveals what is in it.
Men, when you pray and prophesy, bow your heads –take off your caps. Let God and man know that you are under his covering and no one else’s. Don’t bring shame to your head.
Women, when you pray and prophesy, dress in a way that reserves your body for your husband. Don’t bring shame to your head.
When you pray and prophesy make sure you are under the authority of Christ, the chief shepherd and those he has given over the shepherding of the body to in his absence – the shepherds of the body.