The Devotional - 1028 - Foot Steps in First Corinthians, ongoing

The Devotional – 1028 – Foot steps in First Corinthians, ongoing

If tending a garden is anything like tending to one’s responsibilities in life under the sun then there shall be a lot of wood, hay and stubble in the warehouses behind the Bema Seat where Christ will judge all believers for the work they have accomplished in the church they have as a home church. Our churches are a picture of our spiritual prosperity. Today with just a quick overview I believe we can see that most churches represent prosperity, but it is the secular gold, silver and precious stone of temporal entertainment and not the Spiritual edification of growing in eternal Faith, Hope and Love of which the greatest of these gifts is Love. 1 Cor 13:13.

Comments and Challenges:

1 Corinthians 3:5-17

Someone planted the garden of Faith, Hope and Love (The Gospel) seed in our heart at one point and we responded. Then we found a home church and someone began watering that seed so that you and I could began our growth in the sanctification process of 1 Cor 3:7. So there is one who brings the message and one who builds on the message; but it is God who gives the increase of Spiritual Wisdom. Thus we could say as some might (I will just sit back and enjoy the ride) as they may see this as just hopping on the Bible Bus on its way to eternity and I will just sit here in this comfortable seat; but wait just moment.

The reward for those who plant and sow is discussed by Paul in verses 8 through 10, then in the last sentence of verse 10 there is a shifting of responsibility from church leadership to those who are sitting under the authority of that leadership. The foundation is laid which is Christ who is the Chief Cornerstone and the teaching of the apostles and messengers are a part of that foundation, Eph 2:19-22.

What is interesting is that for you and me who stand by faith on this foundation is that while we know this we seem to easily forget that this foundation is a “habitation” or “dwelling place” for us “the foundation belongs to God” we are to abide in Him in the Spirit, Eph 2:22. So my comment for us is this; “What should our dwelling place in the Spirit of God resemble at the Bema Seat where it will be judged by the LORD Jesus Himself?

When standing there someday at this Seat of Judgment each of us will not have to say much since the work we have accomplished will be in the care of our SOUL and very visible to the LORD. This Living Temple we will take back to God. If we have defiled our soul (destroyed it) or rendered wood, hay and stubble as work, that part of who we are will be burned up and of course you know the end result – that portion of our soul will suffer loss. This is what the Holy Scripture and each of us should take care of our soul.

So which temple are we; I know that I love God and I love putting the good things of God in my soul; but I also know that there were and are and will be days where I will seek to store up a bit more wood, hay and stubble. And the question that comes to mind is why? The only answer in found in the truth that the Holy Bible does not lie. We sometimes seek to be wise in this age, that is to use the wisdom of the world which is base and sinful rather than using the Wisdom of God. We will cover that on another day when it arrives.

The Devotional 1027 - Foot steps in First Corinthians, ongoing

The Devotional – 1027 – Foot steps in First Corinthians, ongoing

It takes a good two weeks or better to flush out the home life way of doing things in every military man or woman; even longer if you are a young “boot” someone who has just entered the service. During these transitional periods when a man or woman is adopting to the readiness of the military way of life they are most vulnerable in an enemy attack. They are not focused, they are partly military and partly civilian. If you understand this; then you can see the potential of failure in any military campaign be it on the ground, in the air or on the sea. This is why the leadership in the military spend much time training and exercising strategies to force the mind of those who will be facing the enemy to react apart from any thought other than a military command. This same training is necessary for the child of God; notice!

Comments and Challenges:

1 Corinthians 3:1-4

The apostles, Paul, Peter, James and John; even the LORD Jesus warns the children of God against carnality or fleshly living. Fleshly living is mixing or behaving like the natural minded person. This reminds me too of a river as it empties into the ocean. When the tide is running out the fresh water empties into the ocean and becomes brackish at the opening and when the tide is coming in a portion of the river becomes brackish.

Are you getting the picture, this is an ONGOING problem in our relationship with God as His child. We desire to be with Him and glorify Him, yet when the tide is pushing against us, we become rancid, and we are no longer fresh in the Spirit of God and we have diluted our way and become “fleshly or carnal”. The writer of Hebrews makes this very CLEAR. And of course when there is no resistance to living in the Spirit we become relaxed and let the rancid flesh in to work its deeds. 

Now we do not have the time to break open the entire passage of Hebrews 6:1-8, we will need to read that on our own, but we will look at the “better estimate” of things that this same writer has to say concerning the children of God. Hebrews 6:9-12. The writer says that he is confident of better things for the children of God, things that GO ALONG with SALVATION. (O what a fore taste of His glory and mercy!)

God is not unjust to forget those times of our love we have shown toward His Name. There are times in the past when we have ministered to the saints and even in our carnality we still minister, do we not? Our pastors, teachers and conference speakers desire that we walk as spiritual children of God and NOT as babes who are always fed with milk. We are no longer sojourners in darkness, we are now in the Light; walk as children in unity; Ephesians 4:1-6. Better yet; lay hold of Ephesians 5:1-21 and walk in love, in the Light and in the WISDOM of God.

This is one of the most serious areas of the failure in churches today as many of the leadership are full of carnality. They fill the pulpit with a brief moment of prayer, a short sermon of love thy neighbor and spend the next hour and a half on entertaining the troops. This type of exercise is evident all across this land and the push of the world’s influence is rapidly making the CHURCH nothing more than a social club, or a mixture of fleshly gobbledygook (sour-milk).

The devotional 1026 - Foot Steps in First Corinthians, ongoing

The Devotional – 1026 – Foot steps in First Corinthians, ongoing

Have you ever received a gift from someone and opened it up and said to the person. “O what a wonderful gift” but only to see that gift several years later sitting in the closet UNTOUCHED! I know you have and so have I, we may have had good intention, even real excitement over the initial moment in time when the gift was given. Yet for whatever reason; maybe you have one like it and it is useable so you wait. Or any other good excuse and the gift sits on the shelf and gets old and dusty.

Comments and Challenges:

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Teachers and expositors of the Holy Bible speak the wisdom of God. They are mature in this Wisdom and they do not mix the wisdom of this age into their training or preaching sessions. Yes they may speak of the wisdom of this age but they do not mix up a mystical or a liberal solution to seek to make the Righteousness of God agree with the unrighteousness rulers of this age who are coming to nothing.

The Wisdom of God is a MYSTERY, it is hidden to mankind. You might say “well why is that”? Good question but easily answered. Frist God predetermined His Wisdom before the ages (all times and dispensations) and secondly this means that God’s WORD is eternally established and that the wisdom of the ages (time) is established as temporal and inferior to the Wisdom of God. 

Isaiah quoted here by the apostle Paul says that the human eye, ear or heart has no wisdom of God and yet God has prepared man to have this Wisdom. That is if a man or woman loves God they can HAVE the Wisdom of God; Isaiah 64:4 and Isaiah 65:17. How might those who love God obtain this Wisdom? It is a GIFT given to everyone who has the Spirit of God in them, Romans 1:16-17. If you are not SAVED by the grace of God through (by) faith, then you do not have the Spirit of God and you do not have all of the gifts freely given to the one who is saved.

But what about you and I who are saved, we have the gifts freely given at the POINT of believing the gospel, so another question that this passage seems to stir up is. Are we using what God has ordained (predetermined) before the ages to overcome the unrighteousness of the world around us? Or do we like many religious people mix our righteousness with the unrighteousness of the world. We MUST be willing at all times to accomplish our daily activities as the Spirit of God teaches and not as the spirit of the world teaches. This means holiness to the LORD.

In the list found in Ephesians 1:1-14 the apostle records in verses 8-9 that the Holy Spirit has made all Wisdom and understanding abound toward us. When I think about this I am reminded of our pets who, after we have been away for a while, they come rushing or abounding with joy toward us because they are so excited were back. Thus the mystery is that it is God’s Will and that it is according to His Good Pleasure (joy), something He has purposed within Himself to share with us.

Therefore if you as a believing saint (child) of God have taken hold of the Spirit of God and placed the initial gifts of God on the shelf because you understand the wisdom of this age and still have some of that intoxicating PUNCH in you and say in your heart, I will just put the Wisdom and Understanding of God on the shelf for now! Then I say… SHAME ON YOU my friend, you are missing OUT BIG TIME!