2C05

He made the One who did not know sin to be sin FOR US, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. -v21

God did FOR US what we could never have done for ourselves. He became sin FOR US, so that we did not have to pay the awful penalty for sin. Jesus lived a righteous life FOR US. Jesus died a sinner's death FOR US. Jesus conquered sin and death by His resurrection FOR US!

No wonder Paul makes an appeal to all of us. He says, "we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him." No one will ever do more for us than Christ has already done. He did what we could NOT do. What we CAN do is live in a manner that is pleasing to Him. 

So what pleases God? In this chapter Paul is appealing to believers to share with others this "good news". He says the reality of knowing Christ should compel us to "persuade people" to believe in Jesus. Who are we currently sharing with?

2Co4

How do we see ourselves? Are we servants of God or do we desire God to serve us?

I am constantly convicted and challenged by Paul's self-discription. His most common phrase used for himself was "servant of God" (literally "slave"). Generally, I expect God to serve me! This is totally backwards.

How is it for you? 

2Co3

How many "living letters" have we written with our lives? Paul's entire life was given to write these "living letters". I believe this would be his desire for all of us.

Paul recognized that it is only Christ and His gospel that changes lives. He also recognized that Christ used him as a tool to share the gospel with the Corinthians, and therefore, they became "his living letters"! These letters were not written with ink and paper, but rather with the gospel and hearts! The "letters" were the changed lives, "recognized and read by everyone"! People were being "transformed" into the image of Christ from "glory to glory". 

I believe we should live with the same challenge. "Who" are the letters that God has used us to write? What better investment could be made of our lives?

2Co2

The gospel is the fragrance of life to all who believe, but it is the stench of death to those who refuse to believe! - The Apostle Paul

Our sense of smell is closely associated with memory. Personally, I know that some smells always remind me of certain things. I remember the smell of moms cooking (especially breakfast). I remember the smell of Pam's perfume when we were first dating. I remember these smells, and instantly good memories come.

But what if my mom's cooking was horrible? And what if Pam had broken my heart rather than become my bride? These same smells would have brought back completely different memories! These same smells would have produced bad memories!

Paul says our lives smell! Hopefully it is the "smell" of the gospel. Some will love us for it. Some will reject us for it. It is the gospel.

 

2Co1

It's Good Friday! My son asked, "Why do we call it "Good" Friday since it is the day that Jesus was crucified? That wasn't a good thing!" I responded, "Because Jesus' death, though a horrible crime committed by men, was God's greatest expression of love and goodness." He said, "Oh yeah, Jesus died for our sins. That is really good."

But we know that we can only celebrate His death because He was raised. Sin was paid for by His crucifixion, death was conquered by His resurrection. Paul's confidence in ministry rested in this fact. Even though he thought he might be put to death he said, "we trust in God who raises the dead."

Celebrate Good Friday today. Our sins have been paid in full. Celebrate Easter. Death is only temporary. Eternal life has been made possible for everyone who believes.

1Co16

Are we quick to see conflict or difficulty as a "closed door" for the gospel? If we encounter "push back" do we assume God is not in it? Paul definitely was not that way!

Paul saw opposition at times as affirmation that he was doing the right thing. He said, " I will stay in Ephesus for a while because a wide door for effective ministry has opened for me - yet many oppose me." Paul believed the words of Jesus when He stated that many will oppose the gospel. Opposition didn't detour the apostle Paul.

Sharing Christ will always be resisted by those who are rejecting Him. Don't let their resistance keep us from sharing the good news. Let it be a something that actually fuels our desire to share!

1Co15

Christ is risen! As christians, we celebrate this fact. If Christ is not risen, christians are to be pitied. Since He is risen, we celebrate the reality of Easter and the hope of eternal life!

Paul was not unclear in his teaching on following Christ. We don't follow Jesus to have "our best life now".  We follow Jesus to have the security of eternal life and eternal glory. Faith holds no guarantee for happiness and success in this life. Faith does guarantee joy and reward for all eternity.

Celebrate Christ this week! He is risen. He has conquered sin. He has conquered death. We have full access to God through Him.

1Co14

When we gather as a church, do we experience the presence of God? If not, is that because of our church or us?

I was struck by vs. 25 in today's chapter. It says (in relationship to someone attending a worship gathering), "The secrets of his heart will be revealed, and as a result he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, "God is really among you.""

This should be the response of unbelievers who visit our worship gatherings. But is it? I would say, too often not. But why? Is it because the music in not good? Is it because the pastor didn't give a great message? Look at the text.

God is experienced in worship when the worshipers are fully engaged and have "brought something to share with the others"! When worshipers come prepared to give and edify each other, those who are visiting will experience Christ.

Don't just attend worship gatherings. Prepare to be a worshipper. Go to give and build up each other. It is in this context that we will experience Christ.

1Co13

The best view we have this side of heaven is only partial. A time is coming when we will see Jesus face-to-face! What we now see as beautiful is only a small taste of what is to come.

In light of the certain future that Jesus has sealed for us, we should live a life of love. God has poured out His love on us. We should pour out love on others. "Love never ends."

Consider how to express Christ's love this week. It is the best week to celebrate Christ. Easter is coming.

1Co12

Spiritual gifts are given by God to every believer for the good of the whole church. We need every gift to fully function as a believing community. Therefore, we need each other.

God is most clearly seen in us as we work together in His church. We each have the spirit and individually have at least one spiritual gift. We need each other for the full expression of the body of Christ. We might know about a family by knowing one member, but we don't know the family until we know the whole group.

Working together requires that we value each other. We need to believe and function in light of this truth. We need each other. As we pursue unity and community, we better see how Christ has gifted us to be together for His glory.

1Co11

When our church gathers are people more likely to be motivated to love and good deeds, or more likely to become more distant from God and each other? Paul said the Corinthian church's gatherings were more harmful than helpful!

I have attended church gatherings in the past that actually distracted my relationship with Jesus. As a child, "church" was likely one of the main reasons I never wanted to be a christian. There was no gathering of people that was more boring or uneventful. Going to church was purely a religious duty. I could not wait until I got old enough to not go!

My biggest problem was that I was not a believer. The Spirit of God was not living in me. But some of the problem was on my church. In a word, it was BORING. My thought was, "if gatherings in God's name are the most boring times of my life then God must be boring."

I pray our church gatherings are actually promoting Christ. Nothing should be more exciting.

1Co10

"I try to please all people in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, so that they may be saved." (33)

So was the apostle Paul a "people pleaser"? Definitely not! He lived to please God. He also did not live for his own pleasures, but rather to do God's will. His desire to "please people" was rooted in a desire for their salvation, not a desire for their acceptance.

How do we act toward others? Do we live in a manner that would draw them to Christ? Are we aware of how our choices are effecting the opinions of others about Jesus. Paul was really clear on this principle. He knew that living to please God would result in drawing others to Christ.

Who has come to know Jesus because of us? Who are we hoping to share Christ with today?

1Co9

Leadership is not demanding my rights, but rather, laying them down for the good of others and the advancement of the gospel.

Next to Jesus there has never been a man who had more authority in churches than the apostle Paul. He had "proven" his apostleship many times over through the work of church planting. Much of New Testament is not only written by him, but also, written as a result of churches that he planted!

Yet, Paul did not demand submission and funding! In fact, the opposite was true. He worked without charge. He continue to lay down his life to serve the church, rather than to be served by her. Paul was a great example for everyone to follow. Yet Paul himself said (in scripture) that his method of funding was not the pattern to follow.

God's people who benefit from pastoral leadership should joyfully pay for the ministry they receive. It is right for the church to generously pay her staff.

1Co8

True love always has the other's best in mind! Self-love elevates self and makes others expendable! Loving God means loving people! No matter what we "know" about life and doctrine, it should never trump what we know about the preeminence of love.

Paul has just instructed the church on dealing with sin, judging others (a good thing by the way), and the supreme value of a relationship with Christ. Now he turns to "preferences and practices". These are the things that most often divide us!

In a nutshell his instruction was simple. No matter what we know, if we use our knowledge to hurt others, it's wrong. And no matter how smart we become, we are still obligated to "love one another."

1Co7

Paul's desire for every believer was to have "undivided devotion to Christ". He was not "anti-relationships", he was primarily interested in Christ's followers actually following Christ!

Those of us who are married and have children are divided in what it means to "follow Jesus". Following Jesus means being a good spouse and a good parent! Our relationship with Christ is complicated with our other God-given relationships. The single person can be wholly devoted in mind, time and body.

Paul was not discouraging marriage or relationships. He was elevating the most important relationship. Live to please God! It's easier when we don't have other God-given relational responsibilities. 

1Co6

"You are NOT your own, therefore glorify God with your body." 

When we believe the lie that we somehow "own" anything, we tend to do with it what we want! Our thought is, "this is mine and I bought it for this purpose or this pleasure." On the other hand, if something belongs to someone else, we are more reluctant to do with it "whatever we want". In fact, we tend to be mindful of the owner and generally do what they would want.

Paul applies this principle to our lives. We are not our own. Jesus paid for our sinful lives by His sacrifice on the cross. We do not have the right to do whatever we want with our lives. He owns us! Our responsibility is to live our lives in a manner that pleases Him.

God's ownership of our lives should be reflected in the way we live!

1Co5

When the church celebrates sin, it has lost its gospel witness! The church is a place to be set free from sin, not a place to celebrate it! if our church is not a place that convicts us of our sin, we need to find a different church.

Having a church that tolerates and even promotes sin would be like having a hospital that gave out sickness and death! We go the hospital because we are sick and don't want to die! The purpose of the hospital is to help us recovery from our sickness so we can live!

God help our churches to be hospitals for sinners. We welcome sinners and offer the healing message of the gospel. Paul is clear in this chapter. We are to "judge" each other and remove any "so-call believer" who is not willing to deal radically with their sin.

We need these words for our churches today.

1Co4

Anyone who believes that God owes them worldly comforts because they follow Jesus, has not read their bibles! Jesus Himself was denied many of the comforts of this world. The apostles rarely saw worldly comforts. Look closely at Paul's testimony.

"Up to the present hour we are both hungry and thirsty;we are poorly clothed, rough treated, homeless;" - The Apostle Paul

The beauty is Paul and the apostles were NOT living for this world! They knew this world was only temporary and living for this world would cause them to waste their life. Their life was the one opportunity they were given to live for the world that is to come.

The joy they experienced in this life was rooted in the promises of the life that was to come. We should be challenged by this reality. We are called to a deeper life. It's a scary thought.

1Co3

"If anyone's work is burned up it will be lost, be he will be saved; yet it will be like an escape through fire." 

In this chapter Paul is not diminishing "working" for the Lord, he is teaching that works without proper motives are useless. There will be two judgements for all of us when we see Jesus. The first is purely a judgement of faith! The second is a judgement of works.

Paul never confused faith, works and salvation! He taught about them all. He said, "each one's work will be revealed; …the fire will test the quality of each one's work." This is not a test of salvation! The test is the quality and quantity of our works! Why we did what we did and what we did!

Don't believe our work doesn't matter. Jesus Himself promised a reward beyond heaven for all of us who choose to "live not for this world, but for the kingdom."

1Co2

The apostle Paul must have loved the prophet Isaiah! He quotes him twice in this chapter and more often than any other prophet in the rest of his writings. Paul was a diligent student of the scriptures.

From Isaiah 52 he writes: "What eye did not see and ear did not hear, and what never entered the human mind- God prepared this for those who love Him." Then again from Isaiah 40, "who has know the Lord's mind, that he may instruct Him?" Earlier in 1Corinthians 1 Paul quotes from Isaiah 29.

Paul was always referencing and quoting the scripture he knew. He serves as a example for us to follow. How often do we reference scripture in our conversations? How often do we use scripture in our writings? If we were to write a book, what biblical author would we quote the most?

It is good to know scripture. Knowing scripture is knowing the mind of Christ. Paul wrote, "We have the mind of Christ."

1Co1

"The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God's power to us who are being saved." Are we united around this gospel message? This is the heart of Christianity.

Many "christians" talk way more about what they disagree with among themselves than about the gospel. Most christians I know are more apt to talk about differences in doctrine than they are to share Christ with someone who has yet to believe.

The Corinthian church was a mess and needed to get "fixed" in the worst way, but notice how Paul begins this letter. First he expressed gratitude for them. Secondly, he reminded them that Jesus, not their earthly leaders, should be the focus of their conversation. And finally, he said that the gospel is the foundation for unity among believers.

We should be clear on this basic truth in every christian church! "Christ died for our sins." Therefore, we should live for Him.

Rm16

Do we work to bring unity to the church or are we more likely to create conflict and division? Paul was a relational guy. He was constantly praying for and encouraging others. It was a high value for him to maintain relationships in the churches he started.

At the same time, Paul never compromised truth! His relationships were not rooted in his desire for unity among all people, they were rooted in truth. In the midst of his encouragement and gratitude, he also gave a strict warning. "Avoid them (people who reject doctrine and cause division), for such people do not serve our Lord Christ!"

We become like who we hang out with! I tell my children, "you are your friends." If we want to be among those who are pursuing hard after Jesus, we need to be found in the midst of people pursuing hard after Jesus.

Rm15

Paul's passion was to share Christ with those who had never heard of the Messiah. He lived his life, not for himself, but for those he desired to reach.

The gospel compels us to live for others not ourselves! The gospel demands that we give up our selfish pursuits and choose to love and live for others. Many of us have this idea totally messed up. We are somehow convinced that the gospel was given to us to make our lives better.

WE are not the "end game" for the gospel. The good news has come to us so that we would have life and forgiveness, SO THAT we would share that life and forgiveness with others. WE are to be vessels. WE are to be conduits of God's grace for others.

Who knows Jesus because of us? Don't be the end. Be the beginning. Be a conduit for others.