1 Corinthians 15: 35-57

Jesus said to Peter, “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) Jesus had asked Peter to pray for him. Peter wanted to pray for Jesus, but couldn’t.

God inspires our church when we gather in worship on Sunday and we leave with a desire to share Jesus. But, we don’t. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

We see the needs in our community and we hear the call of Jesus to follow him into the world to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and set the captives free. We want to follow, but we don’t go very far. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

We are in a social setting and someone speaks words of hatred, or bitterness, or racial prejudice. We want to speak for God and against injustice, but we remain silent. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

In our passage today Paul says there is coming a glorious day when our Lord shall return and when He returns our flesh will no longer be weak. In his letter to the Romans Paul writes, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”

Here is what Paul believed. God has promised that He will establish His Kingdom on earth where there will be peace and harmony and eternal life. God has given the followers of Christ His Holy Spirit as a sign; the scriptures actually call it a down payment, to guarantee the coming Kingdom. In this present time we live with our hearts longing for the Kingdom. This is the Spirit within us. The Spirit is in our natural bodies which are destined to die. Our natural bodies seek to control our life and thus in our natural life now we are in conflict with the Spirit of God within us. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

But, as we learn to trust God and as we become more willing to surrender our lives to God, the Spirit within us ascends and the flesh or natural life within us descends --- until ultimately when Christ returns He completes the transformation within us and we become like Him: The spirit indeed is willing and without any weakness. Amen

God has now given us two huge promises which together form the foundation for our faith, hope and love: The Resurrection of Jesus and our eventual resurrection and transformation.

1 Corinthians 15: 12-34

Our passage today reminds me how important it is for me to keep focused on the foundation of my faith. Our culture tempts me to believe that if I do the right things in the right way then the church I lead will be successful. The pews will be full and the offering plates will be overflowing. With that thinking, when the pews are vacant and the offering plates are near empty, it can be quite depressing. As well as it should be if I am putting my faith in me doing the right things the right way. Our passage today reminds me that as a Christian my faith rests on one fact and one fact alone: The resurrection of Jesus.

If Jesus has not been resurrected there is no hope for today, much less an eternal future with God the Father. If Jesus has been resurrected from the dead it is still very important that I do the right things the right way. However, the purpose of my service changes from seeking to be successful for God to being faithful to God. My Father has promised me that because Jesus has been raised from the dead, I most definitely have a hope for today and for the future. Because Jesus has been resurrected I can serve God trusting that He is working all things together to accomplish His will.

For me, it makes all the difference in the world whether I go through life trusting in my ability to be good or trusting that God my Father, who resurrected Jesus, knows my name and has saved me from sin and death.

All my faith rests in one basket: The resurrection of Jesus.

What does today’s reading reveal to you about God?
What does it reveal to you about yourself?
Think about what God wants you to do or remember about this passage.

Does God want you to change anything in your life?

1 Corinthians 14:20 – 15:11

Paul covers a lot of ground in today’s passage. First, he concludes his instructions about the public worship services in Corinth. Last Wednesday I noted the danger in trying to develop a doctrine based on just a few verses. Verses 34-35 are a good example of that danger. Some people have read these verses and then concluded that Paul is commanding that women are forbidden to speak in public worship services. However, to reach that conclusion you would have to discard chapter 11 (as well as many others places in the Bible) where Paul clearly expects women to provide leadership in worship through praying and preaching.

Some scholars suggest that these verses were added as an editorial comment by a scribe copying the manuscripts. Others suggest that Paul wrote these verses, but that he was addressing a peculiar situation in Corinth that concerned an issue other than worship leadership.

In Paul’s description of worship he introduces the inclusion of an exhorter that is still practiced in some churches. An exhorter was a speaker that followed the preacher, who encouraged the congregation to apply the lessons proclaimed by the preacher to their daily lives. The situation in Corinth may have involved interaction during the service between the exhorter and their wives. It may be that Paul is suggesting something as simple as that there is a time and place for everything, and the time and place for a woman to criticize or critique her husband is not in the midst of a public worship service.

We do not know for sure what Paul had in mind, other than; this surly is not a prohibition on the leadership of women in the church.

Chapter 15 is one of the most important of all of Paul’s writings. He begins with affirming the resurrection of Jesus which is the foundation upon which everything in the New Testament church rests. As we continue our journey with Paul we will see that he believes the resurrection of Jesus is an event, because of which, the world can never be the same again. AND, those who believe it and live it will never be the same either, as Paul affirmed in what has become one of my favorite verses:

“By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain.” (I Corinthians 15:10a NRSV)

1 Corinthians 14: 1-19

I remember visiting a church many years ago that had a rather unusual form of church prayer. When it came time for prayer all the congregation stood and began praying, out loud. All over the sanctuary people were standing with their arms raise intently praying. Because everyone was speaking at the same time it was impossible to distinguish what was being prayed. It was very disconcerting experience for me.

I suspect the situation in Corinth was somewhat similar. In his response Paul identifies the main goal of corporate worship which is to offer a form of worship that is open and inviting to everyone in the congregation. Under the best of circumstance that is a hard assignment. In Corinth it was made even more difficult because some of the people were exhibiting their own sense of spirituality and thus directing the attention of the congregation to them rather than to God.

Paul affirms the importance of developing our own spirituality and the need for our own personal worship time. He also affirms that the Sunday morning worship service is to glorify God.

1 Corinthians 13

A few things to keep in mind as you read chapter 13, the Love Chapter.

To the great shame of the church this chapter has been relegated to weddings and poems. This chapter is the very essence of everything the Apostle Paul believed.

To continue with the metaphor of the symphony band I used yesterday, do not think of chapter 13 as a ‘stand-alone’ chapter. It is the central part of a great symphony that is chapters 12, 13, and 14. They all go together.

Within this divine music of the Kingdom you can see the core of Paul’s theology. We, the followers of Jesus, are living today by the values of the coming Kingdom of God. Today, we are the children of God; therefore we set our hearts and minds on learning to live as the Beloved of God.

As you read verses 4-7, think of how you see these qualities, attributes, and characteristics in the life of Jesus.

Remember Paul’s words in Philippians 2:5 “Have this mind in you that was also in Christ Jesus.” How do you see the attributes of Jesus, verses 4-7, being revealed in your life? Becoming like Jesus, that is your destiny.

Rest. For me the sweetest words in the Bible are in verse 12: “Just as God now knows me completely.” Yes, even though there are so many days when the attributes in verses 4-7 hardly seem present in my life; yes, even though I am most acutely aware of how much more in me is in need of being transformed to become like Christ; even so, my Father wraps His arms around me and says, “Dear one, you are mine and I love you.” My Heavenly Father knows and loves me. He made me. He knows what it is like for me to be me. I rest in the sweet affection of His smile toward me.

By the way, if you were inclined to have some deep and meaningful private devotional time, like your own personal daily retreat, you would do well to spend a week with chapter 13. Just take two verses each day. Read, mediate and reflect on those two verses three times each day; morning, noon and evening. You would do well.