But You Were Cleansed

Meditations in First Corinthians 

May 10, 2022

But You Were Cleansed

But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:11b

Read: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Corinth was characterized by all manner of sins, especially sexual sins. Paul makes it clear that those who engage in sinful behavior will not inherit the Kingdom of God. He also makes it abundantly clear that God’s saving grace is sufficient to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. For our purposes, I believe it is essential for our grounding in faith to hold to the truth of God’s way of life for his Holy Ones.

On May 1, 2022, a new Christian denomination was launched, The Global Methodist Church. This is a split from the United Methodist Church that is the result on long standing disputes over the understanding of human sexuality. A highly respected UMC Bishop resigned his office to join the new denomination, and in his letter of resignation noted that the disputes mask the deeper and truly significant disagreement over what constitutes fidelity to the historic confession of the Christian faith expressed in the normative nature of Holy Scripture as the primary rule of faith.  Put succinctly, the ongoing argument is over just what constitutes the theological and moral foundations of the contemporary church.

Put even more succinctly, the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 was not optional for the first century church, and it is not optional for the twenty-first century church.

My Takeaway: If 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 is not applicable in today’s church, then neither is verse 11 quoted above. If verse 11 is out, then none of us are saved.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

High Hopes

Meditations in First Corinthians 

May 9, 2022

High Hopes

Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves?

1 Corinthians 6:2

Read: 1 Corinthians 6:1-8

The Apostle Paul believed Jesus had risen from the dead, and thus Jesus was God’s Messiah. He also believed the Christians, because they belonged to Jesus, were the true people of God. He therefore had very high expectations for the church, the people of God. His references in today’s passages to God’s holy people judging the earth is taken from Daniel 7, of which verse 18 is right on point: “But in the end, the holy people of the Most High will be given the kingdom, and they will rule forever and ever.”

As we have already seen in this letter, Paul has repeatedly called the church to a lifestyle that is altogether different from the prevailing culture. Paul was not just setting a high standard for the church; he was using his authority as an Apostle to discipline the church and call them into obedient submission to Christ.

My Takeaway: I see in today’s passage another invitation to sit in quiet meditation and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me how well I have submitted my life to Christ, and to pastoral authority.

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Lives That Are Rooted In God’s Character

Meditations in First Corinthians 

May 6, 2022

Lives That Are Rooted In God’s Character

It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.

1 Corinthians 5:12

Read: 1 Corinthians 5:6-13

Paul makes it abundantly clear that the people of Christ are called to live lives that are rooted in God’s character. The heart of this life is revealed in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.  Jesus’s life and teaching beckon those who follow him to a lifestyle that participates in God’s mission.

This life in Christ is not by human control. Rather, we trust God and do not try to manipulate outcomes.  This lifestyle is unconventional as we allow God to work in us to reconfigure our behavior according to Jesus’s teachings, especially in the areas of wealth, sex, and power.

Paul believed that their lifestyle, their embodied behavior, was intended to reflect their love for Christ. Their behavior said what they believed; it was an enactment of their message of God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ.

My Takeaway: The life in Christ is hopeful; it entrusts the future confidently to God. The life in Christ brings to Christians the life of the Beatitudes and the life of love that Paul celebrates in 1 Corinthians 13. This can be another point of quiet meditation; in what ways does my lifestyle reflect the Beatitudes and the life of love?

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Cheap Grace

Meditations in First Corinthians 

May 5, 2022

Cheap Grace

You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame.

1 Corinthians 5:2a

Read: 1 Corinthians 5:1-5

Paul has made his case that a Christian is a follower of Jesus. A Christian’s allegiance is to Jesus, not to another follower of Jesus. Paul is insistent about this point because “the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power” (4:20). The Kingdom is about the individual followers of Jesus living by God’s power to change lives. To make this point, Paul brings up a scandalous situation in the Corinthian church.

The issue is quite simple. In the Corinthian church, a man was openly living with his stepmother. He was living by the flesh, not by the Spirit. The Church was priding itself for taking a graceful, non-judgmental attitude about this situation.

The church in Corinth was practicing ‘cheap grace.’ “Cheap grace is preaching forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession. … Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship)

My Takeaway: Paul was insistent that the church confront the man and remove the man from their fellowship. Paul was not being judgmental or mean-spirited. It was Paul’s hope that the man, thus confronted, would repent, and be saved on the day the Lord returns. (v.5) Is our love for one another sufficient for us to speak the truth to each other? 

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Living By God’s Power

Meditations in First Corinthians 

May 4, 2022

Living By God’s Power

For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.

1 Corinthians 4:20

Read: 1 Corinthians 4:14-21

Two things caught my attention in today’s passage. First, Paul truly believed his appointment as an Apostle included his having authority over his churches. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul wrote: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (2 Timothy 3:16) Paul believed this truth also applied to his leadership of the churches. I was only in my last pastoral appointment a few months before I had to ask one of the lay leaders to relinquish their position until they got their life in order. Over the next eleven years, I had to make other similar calls, which is part of the pastoral office, at least as Paul models it for us. Regrettably, I do not see many pastors accepting this part of their pastoral responsibilities.

Secondly, I noticed how Paul used the word power. In this context, he is not talking about the exercise of power, or force to achieve goals. He is referring to God’s power to change our lives. On Monday, we looked at Philippians 2:13, “God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” This is the power Paul is referring to in verse 20 quoted above.

My Takeaway: This power of God leads us to vulnerable, self-sacrificial love, as modeled by Jesus, rather than sheer force.

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Living a Life of Gratitude

Meditations in First Corinthians 

May 3, 2022 

Living a Life of Gratitude

What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?

1 Corinthians 4:7b

Read: 1 Corinthians 4:6-13

This is my twelfth mediation on 1 Corinthians, and at least a dozen times Paul has been contrasting his call to seek the life in Christ as our way of life, to living according to the standards of the world’s culture. He will touch on this again tomorrow, and on Thursday when we reach chapter five, Paul’s concern will reach its crescendo.

Today, in the verse quoted above, Paul lays a solid foundation for keeping our eyes on Jesus and not on the world’s way of doing things. All we have is a gift from God, and as we live our lives in gratitude to God for his provision and care for us, we can better fight the allure of going along to get along in the world.

My Takeaway: Do you practice quiet meditation before God? I believe learning to sit quietly with God, learning to listen for the Holy Spirit’s leading in our life is essential to making the life in Christ our way of life. One exercise I find helpful is to ask God to show me whether my interactions with family, friends and neighbors reflect the ways of Christ, or the ways of the world.

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

 

It Is The Lord Who Will Examine Me

Meditations in First Corinthians 

May 2, 2022

It Is The Lord Who Will Examine Me

My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.

1 Corinthians 4:4

Read: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

In Philippians 2:13, Paul noted, “God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Paul seemed to have this thought in his mind when he wrote today’s passage, especially verses 4 and 5. Paul’s words here are for all disciples of Jesus; for those who preach or teach, and for all of us as we seek to speak the truth to one another in love. (See Ephesians 4:15) One of the reasons John Wesley insisted on the establishment of small groups within the Methodist movement was because he took Paul very seriously in verse 4 above. It is essential we strive to hold one another accountable in this life so we will receive the Lord’s praise in the next. (v.5)

In Paul’s discussion about himself and Apollos, Paul is stressing that when we are a disciple of Jesus, there is “Nothing between us and God.” In Second Corinthians 3, Paul elaborates:

“Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.” (2 Cor. 3:18 The Message).

My Takeaway: Being that close to God may seem a bit frightening, but it is oh so appealing to me.

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.