The devotional - 1024 - Foot Steps in First Corinthians, ongoing

The Devotional – 1024 – Foot steps in First Corinthians, ongoing

Several years ago in a Campus Crusade for Christ Program under the ministry of the “Weekend of Champions” a Bill Glass Ministry out of Texas; I was given the opportunity to teach a ten week Bible Course for new believers in one of our local prisons here in Connecticut. The class sign up was over seventy men (not all were new believers) and many continued for the full ten weeks. Of the several men I remember, two of them stand out. One a young man of twenty years serving a life sentence and an older man who was due to be released within the year. These men were given Bibles, the young man accepted his, but the older man rejected. Holding up the Bible in his hand he said, “I got saved twenty years ago and this is the Bible someone gave me then, so I am going to keep it and use it till the end”.

Comments and Challenges:

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

The Holy Bible through the guidance of God the Holy Spirit and the words of the apostle Paul encourages the church at Corinth to consider the call of God to the brethren. He (Paul) says that there are not many in Christ who are wise according to the flesh, not many are mighty and also not many are noble. The word noble in 1 Corinthians 1:26 can be translated – “well-born”, interesting!

Of the men that attended the ten week course mentioned above, all of them were incarcerated for very long periods of time. Two brothers; carpenters by trade would never see the parole board and the stories of others, including the young man of twenty years old were horrifying and yet they made up the church in this prison. The ten week lesson was for new believers and yet; are we not all “on this side of the sun” somewhat new at living for eternity and should we not all be in a “new beginners class or two”?

I would suppose that it is very easy for us to think that we are something special, but if we do then shame on us. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise as He has also put to shame the mighty in the same way. If your sail is full of the wind (pride) it should not take long for the LORD to knock the wind out, since the “base” (the insignificant or lowly) which are despised by the world are chosen by God, so then why should you boast in your insignificance. 

Therefore as the apostle has recorded earlier in the chapter, those who relish in the sin of sectarianism (I am following Paul, Apollos or Peter) will not glory in the presence of God. We belong to Christ Jesus, He alone is the wisdom from God to us – Jesus is our Righteousness, our sanctification and our redemption. Nothing else matters in that if we do not have the understanding that Jesus is our “All in All”, then even if saved our reward will be small.

Notice what the Prophet Jeremiah says: “Thus says the LORD, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might. Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me. that I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment (justice) and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight says the LORD – Jeremiah 9:23-24.