Devotionary

Suffering. Not exactly a topic most of us want to dwell on. But for Paul, suffering was an ever-present reality of his life. He had grown accustomed to it and had learned that it was part and parcel of his life as an apostle of Jesus Christ and a messenger of the good news. You see, Paul had an eternal perspective that allowed him to see present suffering with a future outlook. And in 2 Corinthians 4:8-18, Paul is going to provide the Corinthian believers with a glimpse into how he viewed the trials and tribulations of life. His perspective may sound a bit odd to us, but it is actually the same attitude that Christ had while He was on earth. He knew that His suffering was all a part of God’s divine plan. He was fully aware that His rejection by men was inevitable and His death at the hands of man, unavoidable. It had to happen. His death was God’s will and the only way in which the sins of man could be atoned for – once and for all. So, Paul had no problem accepting the struggles in his own life. Who was he t

In today’s episode, based on 2 Corinthians 4:1-7, we will hear Paul describing himself as a jar of clay, a seemingly value-less vessel, made of the basest of materials, but containing the very glory of God in the form of the Holy Spirit. For Paul, the unbelievable reality of his position as a son of God and a spokesman for the gospel of Jesus Christ was never something he took for granted. He was not impressed with himself, and so, he really saw no reason to waste his time trying to impress others. It was enough to him that he was used by God. So, all the hub-bub about his credentials or qualifications to be an apostle meant nothing to him. He knew he was being used by God because he had seen the life change among the believers in Corinth. And he was content in knowing that the power of God dwelt within him, and shown out of him to all those around him. His resume was of no significance. His accomplishments were pointless and meaningless. It was all God. He was the one who was doing the work. Paul was simply

Ever since the fall, mankind has been attempt to restore their broken fellowship with God by trying to do things to please Him. Even as man eventually created false gods to replace the one true God, they still felt obligated to keep that god pleased by offering sacrifices and paying homage. Measuring up has been and continues to be a full-time job for men and women. It shows up in all kinds of way. We try to find success through everything from sports and work to relationships. We feel the constant pressure to do more and work harder to impress others, so that we might be accepted and achieve some measure of success in our lives. For Paul, the arrival of Jesus onto the stage of human history was a game-changer. Gone were the days of striving and attempting to earn favor with God through self-effort. For Paul, as a good Jew and former Pharisee, the old covenant of the Mosaic law had been the primary way in which men attempted to get back into and remain in God’s good graces. But it had failed miserably. All th

In today’s episode, based on 2 Corinthians 3:1-6, Paul is going to deal with the ongoing debate regarding his qualifications as an apostle. But rather than continue to defend himself and wax eloquent about his obvious gift sets and credentials, Paul is going to defer and give all credit to God. He knew that he was being used by God, and that anything he had accomplished had been as a result of God’s power, not his own. He knew full well that many lives had been changed in Corinth as a result of his ministry there, but he also knew that he had been nothing more than a messenger, spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. Any transformation that had taken place had been the work of the Spirit, and he deserved none of the credit. But Paul was firmly convinced that his calling was real and his position as an apostle of Jesus Christ had been proven. The changed lives of the Corinthians were more than enough proof. And he felt no need to continue to defend himself against those who wanted to disparage his motives and

Fortunately for us, we don’t live in a culture that condones slavery. It is an embarrassing and indefensible part of our past that we would prefer to forget. But as we look at 2 Corinthians 2:14-17, we will hear Paul using slavery as a way to describe his relationship with Christ. This will probably be somewhat of an assault on our modern sensibilities. But for the average Corinthian, slavery was a normal and ubiquitous part of their daily lives. Slaves were everywhere. There were slaves of war. There were indentured servants. There were those who had been forced into slavery because they couldn’t pay their bills or settle their debts. While slavery in that day certainly had an ethnic and racial component to it, it was really more about economics and power. Those nations that were conquered by more powerful foes, often found their subjects turned into slaves and having to do the bidding of a foreign king. Their freedoms were lost and their rights to live as they pleased, taken from them. And that is the pictu

Welcome to Devotionary, where we make the Bible accessible and applicable.   In this episode, titled, “Tough Love”, we’ll learn about another letter Paul had sent to the church in Corinth that has long since been lost. But that letter evidently contained some harsh words from the apostle. He had stepped on some toes and offended some of the members of the local congregation. But his intent had been to bring healing, not hurt. He had been out to call the church to accountability and obedience. As a result, he had been forced to say some things that were, at face value, offensive and hard to receive, but which, in the long-run, had their intended impact on the Corinthians. As Christians, we can sometimes find it hard to say what truly needs to be said. We don’t want to offend anyone. We don’t want to be accused of being judgmental or holier-than-thou. So, even when we see fellow believers acting in ways that are not honoring to Christ, we tend to keep our mouths shut. Afraid of turning a friend into a potential

Are you a man or woman of your word? Can people trust what you say? As we look at verses 12-24 of 2 Corinthians 1, we’re going to see Paul defending his integrity against attacks from an undisclosed group of individuals within the church at Corinth. He was going to have to give them proof that he was trustworthy and as good as his word. They had no reason to doubt what he said or question what he taught. There were those who were basically accusing him of lying because he had promised to make another visit to Corinth, but had failed to do so. But rather than asking Paul what reason he might have had for the delay, they simply spread rumors about his veracity and reliability. But this kind of accusation wasn’t going to sit well with Paul, not because he cared that much about his personal reputation, but because he was an ambassador and representative of Jesus Christ. As an apostle, he couldn’t afford to have his word questioned, because he spoke on behalf of Jesus. Truth was paramount to Paul. False gospels an

As Paul opens his second letter to the church in Corinth, he does so with his normal salutation, offering them grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. But in verses 1-11 of 2 Corinthians, he gets right to the point of his letter. Much of what he is going to attempt to do with this letter is defend himself against those who have questioned his motives and raised doubts about his apostleship. After all, Paul wasn’t one of the original twelve. He had received his calling on the road to Damascus and had, since that time, claimed to be an apostle on an equal standing with Peter, James, John or any of the other disciples of Christ. He claimed to have been called and commissioned by Jesus Himself. So, his words carried divine weight. His admonitions and teachings were not his personal opinion, but the words of God. And Paul will begin his letter by conveying the suffering he has endured as an apostle of Jesus Christ. His life had been anything but easy. He had endured a great deal for the caus

Today, we begin a new series on the book of 2 Corinthians. As we make our way through this letter, be sure to read each day’s passage in order to better follow what is going on. 

ThIs it is. The final part of Paul’s letter. And he ends it with a bang, not a whimper. He has not run out of steam or things to say, but like all good things, they must come to an end. So, he wraps it all up with one last admonition to be wary, watchful, faithful, courageous and strong. Oh, and to love. That one was especially important to Paul. This final charge, found 1 Corinthians 16: 10-24 is simple, yet powerful. In it, Paul provides the Corinthians, and us, with a strong message to which anyone would be wise to listen. The overall theme of Paul’s letter has been one of community in the face of the constant temptations to live in disunity and isolation. The body of Christ is meant to be an organism, not an organization. The members of the body are gifted by the Spirit of God in order that they might encourage and serve one another. There is no place for competition or conflict. Pride, arrogance and self-centeredness are to be avoided at all costs, recognizing them as cancers that can destroy the body fr

The church, the body of Christ, is bigger than you think. It goes far beyond the walls of your local church building. It reaches into distant lands and encompasses people groups who speak languages you've never heard of and would not understand. In this final chapter of his letter, Paul begins to wrap things up by reminding the church in Corinth of his expectations that they participate in the collection of funds for the needy believers in Judah. He wants them to give and to do it gladly and generously. For a congregation that was struggling with issues of pride, self-centeredness and comparison, it was a great way to remind them that the church of Jesus Christ was far bigger than their local congregation. While they were bickering over who had the most important spiritual gift or who was baptized by the more important leader, the churches in Judah were suffering from persecution and a famine. They were struggling to survive. But the Corinthians were arguing over food at their love feasts and wasting money ta

In this episode, based on 1 Corinthians 15:35-58, Paul is nearing the end of his letter and begins to focus this reader’s attention on the end of life and the return of Christ. It is as if he is trying to refocus their attention on what really matters. Not only should they believe in and look forward to the resurrection of their bodies, they should understand that the bodies they will receive will be sin-free and death-resistant. This Greek idea that had permeated the church in Corinth that the human body was somehow evil and the soul good was unbiblical. And while our earthly bodies are dying and decaying, subject to acting out our sinful inclinations, and prone to resisting God’s will and the Spirit’s leading, they will be renewed one day. We will receive resurrected bodies. Spanking new, God-created bodies that will be free from sin, pain, suffering, disease, and death. And as Paul states earlier in this same chapter, that hope is based on the reality of Christ’s bodily resurrection. He too received a new

Paul could be a patient pastor, but there were a couple of things he wasn’t going to put up with. One was anybody attempting to alter the message of the gospel in any way. He felt so strongly about that one that he issued a curse on anybody who tried. “…even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse! (Galatians 1:8 NIV). The second thing Paul was unwilling to tolerate was the questioning of the validity or veracity of the resurrection of Jesus. And then, as now, there were many who had a difficult time getting their heads around the idea of someone bodily raising from the dead. And in Corinth, it was especially difficult because their Greek culture taught that the body of man was evil, while his soul was good. So, the idea of there being a resurrection of what was essentially evil, made no sense to them. They believed that when you died, your soul went to be with God, but your body was left behind. But Paul begged to differ – beca

In today’s episode, we’ll be in verses 1-11 of 1 Corinthians 15. I’ve entitled this episode “Back to the Basics”, because Paul is moving from his discussion about division within the body of Christ at Corinth, to a much more pressing and important issue: The resurrection. There was some unhealthy debate going on at Corinth regarding the issue of the resurrection. Some within the church were questioning the validity and veracity of Christ’s resurrection. Others were simply saying that there would be no bodily resurrection of the dead. We don’t know the source of these controversies, but it’s obvious that Paul is not happy about what is going on. For Paul, the resurrection was not up for debate. It was not a fable, the result of wishful thinking, or some pastoral ploy to get people to buy into becoming a Christian. It was the heart and soul of the gospel. Without the resurrection of Christ, every man, woman or child who has placed their faith in Christ remains in their sinful, condemned state. They are separate

Order versus chaos. Peace rather than confusion. Paul wasn’t asking for much. After all, he was addressing the members of the local congregation in Corinth. So, why was he having to spend so much time dealing with all the disunity and unnecessary disputes going on with the fellowship? Because they were becoming a real problem. And in 1 Corinthians 14:26-40, Paul calls for order in the house – the house of God. Now, this is another one of those passages over which there has been more than a little debate and disagreement. And, as usual, we need to make sure we stick with the context. If not, we can get off into the high weeds and find ourselves reaching conclusions that Paul never intended or establishing precedents for the global church that he never meant to go beyond the particular circumstances taking place in Corinth. Yes, there will be principles we can apply, but we must be careful not to infer things that were not part of Paul’s original agenda. His intent, as always, was to build up the local body of

What’s your purpose? Why are you here? For the believer, the answer to these two questions should be quite simple: To love and build up the body of Christ. As we begin 1 Corinthians 14, looking at verses 1-25, we’ll be looking on as Paul continues to admonish and encourage the believers at Corinth to get their spiritual act together. Pride was everywhere, but love was in short supply. Well, they had plenty of self-love, but that’s not what Paul was looking for. He was wanting to see each and every believer in the church there take their focus off themselves and begin to think about how they might strengthen the local body of Christ. To do that, they were going to have to let go of their own self-centered agendas and over-the-top concern for their own personal well-being. They were members of the body of Christ. They had been gifted by the Spirit of God in order to minister to the body of Christ. But they were too busy trying to impress one another with their particular spiritual gifts to actually worry about

The lasting legacy of love. That’s the title for this episode as we dig into 1 Corinthians chapter 13, a very well-known and often-quoted portion of Scripture, especially in wedding ceremonies. But for us to get the full impact of what Paul has to say in this chapter, we must keep in mind the context of all that has been going on in the church there in Corinth. Pride, arrogance, self-centeredness and a demand for individual rights, within the local church body, had resulted in an unhealthy atmosphere of disunity and division. They had spiritual gifts, given to them by the Holy Spirit for the building up of the body of Christ, but they were using them with selfish motives in mind. They had become badges of honor and points of dispute. So, in the midst of all the problems Paul is attempting to address, he writes this incredible treatise on love. For Paul, love was the glue that held the body of Christ together. Without love, the church is nothing more than just another man-made organization with little or no po

The church, the body of Christ, is NOT an organization. At least, not in a biblical sense. Sure, the local church has leadership, by-laws, terms of membership, a staff, a budget, operating procedures and a myriad of organizational attributes, but it is, first-and-foremost, an organism. The body of Christ, of which each local congregation is a part, is not an organization that people choose to join, but an organism which God has created and into which He has placed those whom He has called. For Paul, this distinction was essential. Within the local church at Corinth, the believers were losing sight of the true nature and function of the body of Christ. For them, it was no different than being a member of the local synagogue or attending a pagan temple. But for Paul, it was the mysterious and divinely ordained creation of an interdependent group of diverse individuals who shared a common belief in Jesus Christ as Savior, who each enjoyed the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, and who, together, formed a to

Pride is a powerful and potentially destructive force. It rarely builds up or edifies anyone but the one who harbors pride. And pride within the body of Christ is especially dangerous, as it is antithetical to God’s expectation of unity and unanimity among His children. So, when Paul discovered yet another manifestation of pride among the Corinthians believers, he addressed it with his usual loving, but nevertheless in-your-face style. Today, we’ll be looking at 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 1-11. I’ve entitled this episode “All for One and One for All.” You probably recognize that as the slogan or mantra of the Three Musketeers. But it nicely applies to what Paul has to say to the Corinthian church. The issue he is having to deal with is that of the spiritual gifts and the Corinthian’s misunderstanding and misuse of them. They saw them as symbols of importance and tended to compare their gifts with one another in order to determine who had the more important of the spiritual gifts. It became a competition

You didn’t want to get on Paul’s bad side. He was a loving, patient man, but he also had a strong intolerance for anything or anyone who would dare disturb the unity of the local church. He was willing to go to the mat with anyone who felt they had the right to reach inside the body of Christ and wreak havoc on the love and unity that was supposed to be there. In this episode, we’ll be in 1 Corinthians, chapter 11, verses 17-34. I’ve called it, “Family Dysfunction” because Paul is going to deal with a situation within the local family of God that was resulting in some serious problems. And it all revolved around one of the most important ordinances of the church, given to us by Christ and designed to commemorate His sacrificial death on behalf of sinful men and women. The divisions and disunity that marked the church in Corinth had made their way into the celebration of the Lord’s Table or communion. Intended to be a unifying and community building experience, the taking of the bread and wine, symbols of Chri