The Devotional - 1030 - Foot Steps in First Corinthians, ongoing

The Devotional – 1030 – Foot steps in First Corinthians, ongoing

When stationed in Hawaii there was an opportunity for me to purchase half a business; a pizza parlor and so I did. It was not long before I found myself seeking ways to shirk my Navy responsibilities, most days I would go to my Navy job at Camp H.M. Smith a small Marine Corp Post on one of the mountains used by Japan to hide their approach to Pearl Harbor. I would always find ways to shirk the duties of the day by assigning things to others and then leave for the pizza shop. Sometimes before 10am and always before noon. Question! Are you judging those actions of mine which were in the late 1960’s? That was over forty years ago and ten years before I was saved by grace. Don’t ask me to make you a pizza I have forgotten the recipe!

Comments and Challenges:

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

The apostle Paul as he continues to build his case regarding the sins in the Corinthian church has written about the Wisdom of God and the wisdom of the world and the mysteries of God revealed in the LORD. Jesus Christ is the Glory of God and the Spiritual condition of any and all churches. He also explains in short detail that since worldly wisdom drives the world and that even in the apostles’ day that it is impossible to present the gospel of Christ if mixed with human reasoning and go beyond the Spiritual lead of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 

As Paul approaches one of the critical issues of sin in the church he begins establishing his authority and as if that were not enough he claims paternal care over the church in that he says in verse 14 of which we will look at on Monday “For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ Jesus (it is) I who have begotten you through the gospel”. The apostle says in 1 Cor 4:1 that he and those with him are servants of the mysteries of God.

So why; if this is true of the apostle are they judging him? In verse three (now remember the apostle is not there in Corinth) but he has heard from Chloe that the people of the Corinthian church are judging the apostle and his disciples in that they no right or authority to judge the Corinthians. Why even he (Paul/Saul) was a murdered and a slanderer of the WAY (Acts chapter nine), so while the apostle is building his case against the sins of the church, the church is digging into his past in order to discredit the apostle.

We need to look to Christ and not to the person or persons whom the LORD has given responsible leadership to. In any church it is not difficult to find people who complain about the way things should go. Yet if you ask them (and you should not because if you do you are a part of the problem), but if tell you their complaint they have no biblical solution, only complaint. Therefore judge nothing before the time! Jesus, as we have said in an earlier moment in time, judges the holiness of His church daily, leadership is responsible to Jesus and as long as they understand this, you and I are responsible to keep praying for them and nothing more, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-19.

The motives of every ones heart will be revealed and then each one’s praise will come to them from God Himself.