3:2 - You meet people where they are when it comes to Christianity. You don't assume that just because they aren't where you are spiritually that they are hell-bound heathens. You call them to chase after Christ with you one step at a time.
3:6ff - This is such a great attitude! Paul isn't looking for credit...Paul is looking for kudos or a pat on the back...Paul just wants to see Jesus Christ preached - period! He is excited when other people are building on his ministry and doing things that he couldn't do, because he understands it isn't about the individuals...it is all about God. I often struggle to bring the same kind of enthusiasm to the ministry of others' that I bring to my own...and honestly it all comes down to ego. I need to check my pride at the door and see the bigger picture. There are people out there who can do things that I could never dream of doing - reach people that I could never reach...but God has gifted me in ways that are unique too, and He has put me in this specific place at this specific time in history and I need to quit worrying about what other people are doing and give God everything I have right here. The big picture is Jesus Christ and his resurrection preached...all I need to do is worry about doing that to the best of my ability and let God handle the rest.
3:15 - This is an interesting passage. It seems that it is possible to have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ and still be a person that preaches the gospel so that others will honor them (Which is good, because I have been there on occasion...I'm working on it!). Paul is saying that when you base your ministry on worldly stuff - ego, money, praise, honor, etc. - the only reward you will ever get will be in this world. It will all burn away, and though you may be saved, you can sadly reflect on the life that you wasted serving yourself when you could have been truly serving God. Not a boat I really want to be in!
3:16ff - Do I take care to keep this temple that God has chosen to dwell in (ME!)? As I look at my body, heart and mind, am I daily fighting to make myself a temple worthy of Him (I can never truly be worthy of Him, but I can fight for it and allow the blood of Jesus Christ to wash away my failure)?
4 comments:
Again, the Message 18 & part of 19 – 20 - Don't fool yourself. Don't think that you can be wise merely by being up-to-date with the times. Be God's fool—that's the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid.
How many will be caught off guard at the end because they bought into something that said there was more than one way to God and Heaven. Jesus Christ is the only way – satan will lie and tell you that there are many paths, but this is simply not true. Look up that Oprah video on youtube where she says on her show that there are many paths and only one lady in the audience tells Oprah that she is wrong.
I will be God’s fool – I will rely on His wisdom even though it goes against most of what the world tries to tell us – I would rather be a food for God than the smartest guy in hell.
Peace,
j
It really never struck me before the embedded warning in vs 17 of emptying the cross of Christ of its power if we use human wisdom to explain it.
The biggest human wisdom that comes to my mind is that you save yourself through works. Those words empty of power of the cross. In what others ways might I have doen this or do this. This knowledge is temendous motivator to daily stay focused on Gods wisdom, die to self, give, consider others better then yourself, forgive.....
IS THAT TIM DAVIS!!!
HE LIVES!!!
The middle of the chapter that references sharers of the gospel as builders and talks about testing through fire really sticks out to me. I love the way you put it Brandon, but the way it hit me was this: based on how we teach and what our motivations are, how we raise disciples will be tested through fire, or when they go through the hardships in life. How they come out from those fires will determine how accurate we taught. If we taught on "God wants to bless you," and there's a guy who's lost his wife and job, he's gonna be burned in that fire. If we teach on "Love God, love others; consider it pure joy my brothers when you face trials of many kinds," a guy going through whatever life throws at him has a better chance of surviving the fire. What about when it says "he will be saved, but only as if surviving the flames." When you invest in someone because of the gospel, whether your teachings were accurate or not, it HURTS when people reject the gospel. It feels...like...you've been burned.
May we be accurate, consistent, and true about the teachings of the gospel.
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