Author: Calleen Hough

The spiritual decline of the nation of Israel

The spiritual decline of the nation of Israel began after King David’s son Solomon turned away from the LORD and worshipped other gods. First Kings 11:1-4 states:

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.

The LORD was angry with Solomon and told him:

“Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.” (1 Kings 11:11-13)

God’s anger with Solomon was appropriate because he had warned Solomon against worshipping other gods, and specifically told him about the consequences of his sin; that Israel would be cut-off from the land that he had given them (1 Kings 9:6-7). About the temple that Solomon had built, God said, “And this house will become a heap of ruins. Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on others gods and worshipped them and served them. Therefore the LORD has brought all this disaster on them’” (1 Kings 9:8-9).

The kingdom was divided after Solomon’s death as God had predicted. Solomon’s son Jeroboam took possession of all the tribes except Judah (1 Kings 12:20), and made two golden calves for the people to worship, stating, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt” (1 Kings 12:28). Several kings succeeded Jeroboam who led Israel further and further into spiritual decline. Ahab, who is noted as being more evil than all his predecessors (1 Kings 16:30), “took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshipped him. He erected an altar to Baal, which he built in Samaria. And Ahab made an asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him” (1 Kings 16:31-33). During Ahab’s reign, the prophet Elijah was raised up by God to confront the evil that was dominating his kingdom. First Kings 18:17-19 tells us, “When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, ‘Is it you, you troubler of Israel?’ And he answered, ‘I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals. Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat as Jezebel’s table.’”

Elijah’s arrangement of a show-down between God and Baal was intended to convince the people of Israel that the LORD was the one and only true god and that He deserved their worship. It says in 1 Kings 18:20-29:

So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

When it was Elijah’s turn to make an offering to God, he cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood, and then, made a trench about the altar large enough to contain about three and a half gallons of water. Elijah filled four jars with water and poured them on the burnt offering and on the wood. “And he said, ‘Do it a second time.’ And they did it a second time. And he said, ‘Do it a third time.’ And they did it a third time. And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water (1 Kings 18:32-35). First Kings 18:36-39 goes on to say:

And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”

Following his defeat of the prophets of Baal, Elijah fled from Jezebel because she threatened to kill him (1 Kings 19:2). First Kings 19:4 indicates that Elijah “went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, ‘It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life for I am no better than my fathers.’”

Elijah thought that Jezebel would succeed in killing him, and because he was the last prophet in Israel, that would be the end of God’s kingdom on earth. When Elijah told God, “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away” God responded, “Go, return on our way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-melohah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him” (1 Kings 19:14-18). God corrected Elijah’s view of the situation as being hopeless by letting him know that he had control of all that was going on. The LORD was able to remove Ahab from his position as King of Israel whenever he wanted to, and even, decided to replace Elijah the prophet as well. The key takeaway from Elijah’s encounter with God (1 Kings 19:9-18) was that Israel’s spiritual decline was a part of God’s plan of salvation, and he was going to allow them to continue down that pathway until it was time for them to go into captivity (Deuteronomy 28:36-68; 30:1-20).

The resurrection of the dead

The Apostle Paul’s ministry ended when he was martyred for his faith in Rome. The book of Acts tells us that Paul was first arrested in the temple in Jerusalem (Acts 21:27-36). When he was given the opportunity to address the chief priests and all the council, Paul indicated, “It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial” (Acts 23:6). Later, when Paul appeared before the governor, Felix, he stated, “But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust” (Acts 24:14-15). In his defense before King Agrippa, Paul talked about his conversion (Acts 26:12-18) and, then argued on his own behalf:

“Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.” (Acts 26:19-23)

Festus, the leader of the Roman Tribunal, reacted to Paul’s personal testimony by stating, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind” (Acts 26:24).

Paul’s assertion that he was saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass was corroborated by Peter’s message to Cornelius, “a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household” (Acts 10:1, 39-43). In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul clearly stated what he meant by resurrection of the dead. Paul said:

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17)

Paul indicated that his revelation about the resurrection of the dead came directly from the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:15). Paul told the Thessalonians that Jesus himself will descend from heaven, “And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). The event that Paul described has come to be known as “the rapture of the church” (note on 1 Thessalonians 5:2). Zechariah 14:1-4 explains that the events pertaining to Christ’s Second Advent are included in the day of the Lord, “that extended period of time when God will deal with Israel after the rapture of the church. It will continue through the second advent and the millennial age, which precedes the creation of the new heaven and new earth.”

Jesus mentioned the resurrection of the dead in his conversation with Martha about her brother, Lazarus’ death. “Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again” (John 11:23). The Greek word that is translated rise again, anistemi (an-isˊ- tay-mee) means “to stand up (literal or figurative; transitive or intransitive” (G450). Jesus went on to tell Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” and then, asked Martha, “Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). In this statement, Jesus used the word anastasis (an-asˊ-tas-is), which means, “a standing up again, i.e. (literal) a resurrection from death…Spoken of the future and general resurrection at the end of all things (John 11:24; Acts 17:32; 24:15, 21; 26:23; 1 Corinthians 15:12, 13, 21, 42; Hebrews 6:2)” (G386). Jesus referred to himself as the resurrection, the author of resurrection. What Jesus meant by that was that he would establish the resurrection as a known fact, a real thing that people could understand and believe. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul referred to the fact that Christ’s resurrection was established by eye witness accounts of more than 500 people. Paul said:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)

Paul began by stating that what he was about to say was of first importance, meaning that it was the primary fact upon which everything else depended in his message that followed. Paul indicated that Jesus was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:4). One of the scriptures that Paul was referring to was most likely Hosea 6:2, which states, “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.” The Hebrew word, chayah (khaw-yawˊ), is translated as both revive and live in this verse, suggesting that the restoration of life and the resurrection of the dead do not occur at the same time. The Hebrew word that is translated raise us up, quwm (koom) has the same meaning as the Greek word anistemi, “to stand up” (H6965).The Greek word that is translated raised in 1 Corinthians 15:4, egeiro (eg-iˊ-ro) is “probably akin to the base of 58 (through the idea of collecting one’s faculties); to waken (transitive and intransitive), i.e. rouse (literal from sleep, from sitting or lying, from disease, from death; or figurative from obscurity, inactivity, ruins, nonexistence)” (G1453).

Paul went on to explain that it was necessary for Christ to be raised, to waken from death, in order for there to be a resurrection of the dead. Otherwise, there would be no such thing as a resurrection of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:12-19). Paul concluded his argument by stating, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:20-26).

Paul’s discussion of the resurrection of the dead was likely prompted by questions about his teaching on this topic. The book of Acts indicates there was a division among the Jews about the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6-8), and it seems likely that the division carried over into the church. Paul explained to the Corinthians:

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:35-44)

Paul compared the transformation that will occur at the resurrection of the dead to a kernel becoming a stalk of wheat and then, provided the details of what he knew about our bodies’ future state. Paul said that our spiritual body will be imperishable or will have unending existence (G861). In addition to that, Paul said our new bodies will be raised in glory and in power. In other words, our spiritual bodies will display the attributes of God that have been at work within us, which God will develop to the point that they become visible to everyone around us, as with the grain of wheat that sprouts up out of the ground.

Paul concluded his discussion of the resurrection of the dead by making note of the mystery surrounding the rapture of the church. Paul exclaimed, “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). The Greek word allassō (al-lasˊ-so), in this instance, has to do with a change for the better, and Paul’s next statement suggests that the change will be connected to our immortality. Paul stated:

For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:53-57)

Paul described the resurrection of the dead as a victory, a conquest or triumph over death (G3534), and said that God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. In his letter to the Romans, Paul elaborated on the conquest that believers will one day achieve. Paul said:

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)

Paul’s image of the believer’s conquest over death had to do with nothing being able to separate us from the love of God. In Paul’s mind, death was not about the absence of life, but about being separated from our Creator. From that standpoint, the resurrection of the dead means that our physical connection with God is what needs to and will be restored when Jesus returns.

Spiritual Communication

Paul’s in-depth discussion of love in his first letter to the Corinthians was followed by a topic that may have seemed irrelevant, but was extremely important for the Corinthian believers’ understanding of how the body of Christ achieves spiritual maturity and maintains its spiritual health over time. Paul began by encouraging the Corinthians to, “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1). The primary focus of the Old Testament prophet Joel’s warning to the people of Israel was the day of the LORD, a time that is associated with God’s judgment, but in his message, Joel identified a period of time when God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh and prophesying would be a common practice among believers. Joel stated:

“And it shall come to pass afterward,
    that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    your old men shall dream dreams,
    and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit.”

There is a controversy over the time when this prophecy was (or will be) fulfilled. Some people believe that the ‘first stage’ of this prophecy was fulfilled at Pentecost (Acts 2:17-21), when Peter cited these verses from Joel in response to the question from the multitude, ‘What does this mean?’ (Acts 2:12). They claim Peter connected the events of that day with Joel’s prophecy about the coming ‘day of the LORD’ (v. 31). However, many of the parts of the prophecy were not fulfilled in Acts: sons and daughters did not predict; young men, as a group, did not see visions; and old men did not dream dreams (cf. Joel 2:28). Those who believe that Pentecost was the ‘first stage’ claim that Peter was saying that only the first part of Joel’s prophecy was being fulfilled. Others claim that none of this prophecy was fulfilled at Pentecost. Instead it was merely used by Peter, in response to those who said the disciples were drunk (v. 13) as an example of how the work of the Holy Spirit may be marked by extraordinary phenomena. The ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy will take place at the second coming of Christ at the end of the great tribulation. The day of darkness and gloom, along with the wonders of the heavens, will follow the opening of the sixth seal (Joel 2:2, 30, 31, cf. Revelation 6:12)” (note on Joel 2:28-32).

Jesus substantiated the content of Joel’s prophecy about the Holy Spirit being poured out on all flesh when he said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Jesus went on to say, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:22-23). The day that Jesus was referring to was the “Day of the Lord when Christ will return to judge the world and fully establish His kingdom” (G2250). Jesus talked about the final judgment in his Olivet Discourse. Jesus told his disciples, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31-32). The fact that people will have to be separated one from another indicates that the two groups, identified as the sheep and the goats, have similar characteristics, but do not belong together. Jesus said, “And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left” (Matthew 25:33). Jesus explained the reason for this separation in the conclusion of his message. Jesus said:

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:41-46)

The goats thought that they had done what was expected of them, but Jesus pointed out that they had not actually ministered to him in the way that they thought they had. The Greek word that is translated minister, diakonos (dee-akˊ-on-os) refers specifically to “a Christian teacher or pastor (technically a deacon or deaconess)” and means “an attendant, i.e. (genitive) a waiter (at table or in other menial duties)” (G1249). A word that is comparable to diakonos is dioko, a word that Paul used in 1 Corinthians 14:1, to introduced the topic of prophecy and tongues. Paul encouraged the Corinthian believers to, “Pursue (dioko) love.” Another way of saying it might be, minister love or follow Jesus’ example of love. With that in mind, the reason why the shepherd determined that the goats had not ministered to him may have been because their actions were not motivated by love, the standard that God established when he gave us his only Son so that we would not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Paul contrasted prophesying with speaking in tongues in order to show the Corinthians that spiritual communication serves multiple purposes. Paul said:

For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. (1 Corinthians 14:2-3)

Paul identified three things that result from a believer prophesying: upbuilding, encouragement, and consolation. When believers prophesy, they are speaking under the divine influence of the Holy Spirit and are acting as interpreters of God’s mind and will (G4395).

Paul indicated that upbuilding could result from both prophesying and speaking in tongues, but one had an internal effect whereas the other produced an external result. Paul said, “The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but he one who prophesies builds up the church” (1 Corinthians 14:4). The Greek word that is translated builds up, oikodomeo (oy-kod-om-ehˊ-o) is used figuratively, “to build up, establish, confirm. Spoken of the Christian Church and its members who are thus compared to a building, a temple of God, erected upon the one and only foundation, Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:9, 10) and ever built up progressively and unceasingly more and more from the foundation” (G3618). Paul called the process of building up the church, edification and said of Jesus in his letter to the Ephesians, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 411-16).

Paul used the word comfort to link together the concepts of encouragement and consolation in his second letter to the Corinthians. Paul wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3-7). Paul said that God comforts (encourages) us in our affliction, “so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:4). The way that we comfort others is by sharing scriptures with them that God has brought to our minds in times of trouble or distress so that it encourages them as they go through the same kind of situation.

Paul made his case against speaking in tongues as opposed to prophesying by emphasizing the importance of knowing the meaning of what is being said. Paul told the Corinthians:

So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will speak into the air. There are doubtless many different languages in the world and none without meaning, but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. (1 Corinthians 14:9-11)

The Greek word that is translated meaning in this passage is dunamis (dooˊ-nam-is), which means “force (literal or figurative); specially miraculous power (usually by implication, a miracle itself” and is “Spoken of the essential power, true nature or reality of something (Philippians 3:10; 2 Timothy 3:5). As opposed to logos (G3056), speech merely (1 Corinthians 4:19, 20; 1 Thessalonians 1:5). Metaphorically of language: the power of a word, i.e. meaning, significance (1 Corinthians 14:11).

Paul went on to explain that the mind plays an important role in the fruitfulness of our spiritual communication. Paul said, “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful” (1 Corinthians 14:14). The Greek word that Paul used that is translated unfruitful, akarpos (akˊ-ar-pos) appears in Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the sower. Jesus told his disciples, “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). It seems that the effectiveness of spiritual communication is linked to the believer’s mind being able to keep God’s word from being crowded out by thoughts that contradict it. Paul used the example of an unbeliever being convicted of his sins to convey his point that the clarity and simplicity of God’s word are powerful enough to bring a sinner to repentance. Paul said, “If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you” (1 Corinthians 14:23-25).

Love

The Apostle John wrote in his first letter, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:15-16). John stated that God is love, meaning that God is “the author and source of love, who Himself is love” (G26). There are multiple words in the Bible that are translated into the English word love. The kind of love that John was talking about when he said that God is love is “spoken especially of goodwill toward others, the love of our neighbor, brotherly affection, which the Lord Jesus commands and inspires (John 15:13, 17:26; Romans 13:10; 1 Corinthians 13:1; 2 Corinthians 2:4, 8: 2 Thessalonians 1:3; Hebrews 6:10; 1 Peter 4:8; 1 John 4:7). Paul indicated that agape (ag-ahˊ-pay) love was a more excellent way (1 Corinthians 12:31). The Greek word that is translated way, hodos (hod-osˊ) means “a road.” Paul used the word hodos to express the idea of getting somewhere, reaching a destination. Paul had been talking about spiritual gifts and being a member of the body of Christ, and wanted his readers to understand that love was the ultimate goal with regard to achieving spiritual success as a member of the body of Christ.

Paul started his discussion of love by making it clear that none of the spiritual gifts that a person might receive from God would be beneficial to him or the body of Christ without love being present in is life. Paul said:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

Paul emphasized the point that nothing could be gained by making extreme sacrifices unless love was the motivation behind it. John tells us in his gospel account, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Paul identified love as a fruit of the Spirit in his letter to the Galatians (Galatians 5:22-23). Jesus often used the concept of fruit in his teaching (Matthew 13:8, 26; 21:34, 43; Mark 4:29; 11:14; Luke 13:6; John 4:36). John the Baptist told the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to him to be baptized, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the foot of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:7-10). John associated bearing fruit with repentance. The Greek word metanoia (met-anˊ-oy-ah) means “A change of mind” and in a religious sense, implies “pious sorrow for unbelief and sin and a turning from them unto God and the gospel of Christ” (G3341). John indicated that bearing good fruit was a requirement for spiritual survival, stating that, “Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:10).

Jesus said of a tree and its fruit, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-20). Jesus said that a healthy tree bears good fruit and a diseased tree bears bad fruit. The terms healthy and diseased have to do with the spiritual condition of a person’s heart. Jesus said “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person” (Matthew 15:19-20). Jesus clarified this point even further when he told the Pharisees, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:33-37).

Jesus indicated that the evidence, or fruit if you will, of the spiritual condition of a person’s heart is the words that come out of his mouth. The Greek word logos (logˊ-os) appears two times in Matthew 12:33-37. Logos is translated as both words and give account. Logos means “something said (including the thought); (by implication) a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty or motive; by extension a computation; specifically (with the article in John) the Divine Expression” (G3056). John used the word logos three times in the opening statement of his gospel. John said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). It could be that the words that will justify or condemn us are directly related to the Word, Jesus Christ. Paul interjected into his discussion about spiritual gifts the statement, “You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:2-3). According to Paul, the Holy Spirit controls the believer’s speech and will align it with his faith in the Lord. Thus, confirming or denying that a relationship with the Lord exists.

The Greek word hodos, which is translated way in 1 Corinthians 12:31, was used by Jesus in his discussion about the golden rule. Jesus said:

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:12-14)

These statements were followed by Jesus’ comment about a tree and its fruit, so it seems safe to assume that the way had something to do with the result that was produced by spiritual activity. When hodos is used metaphorically, it refers to “a course of conduct” or “a way of thinking” (G3598).

Paul told the Corinthians that he was going to show them “a still more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31) and then, started talking about love (1 Corinthians 13). Paul was most likely referring to the Corinthian believers’ lifestyle and may have been concerned about their behavior not being consistent with a follower of Christ. Paul described love for them so that the Corinthian believers would know exactly what he was talking about. Paul said:

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Paul’s description of love made it obvious that love was not the norm for human behavior. In fact, it seems likely that love was the opposite of what Paul was seeing in the Corinthians’ behavior. Paul set the bar high when he said that love was “a still more excellent way,” but his description made it seem like love was an impossible thing for anyone to achieve.

Paul went on to explain that love is an eternal quality that is evidence that believers have been born again and are in the process of becoming like Christ. Love is an indicator of spiritual maturity and cannot be attained apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s heart. Paul stated:

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:8-13)

Paul indicated that faith, hope, and love will abide, meaning that these qualities are permanent and will still be evident in us after we are resurrected. Paul’s statement, “Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:13) seems to suggest that faith, hope, and love have to do with us being able to know God and others that we have eternal relationships with. The Greek word that Paul used to indicate knowing someone fully and being fully known was epiginosko (ep-ig-in-oceˊ-ko). Epiginosko means that you know someone well enough to recognize them, you are fully acquainted with the person (G1921). This type of recognition is not based on physical characteristics, but an internal understanding of the person that gives you the confidence to boldly approach him, as believers are instructed to do with Jesus, our great high priest in Hebrews 4:16.

Paul’s statement, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13) makes it seem as if Paul wanted believers to realize the extreme importance or value of love being evident in their lives. It’s possible that the list: faith, hope, and love; was meant to show the progressive ordering of how the Holy Spirit develops these three qualities in believers. The Holy Spirit starts by developing our faith, then he develops a hope for something more in our relationship with God. Finally, the Holy Spirit produces love, the actualization of our intimacy with God. Another way of looking at faith, hope, and love is that each of these qualities has a varying ability to help us know God and others. If love is the greatest of the three, then that would mean love is the best way we have of knowing God and others intimately. This makes sense from the standpoint that love usually involves personal contact with another person. Paul said, “Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face” (1 Corinthian 13:12), indicating that there was a change in the quality of the contact. Paul talked about this in his letter to the Romans. Paul wrote:

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)

Paul said that we gain access to God by faith, but hope is what draws us closer to him as we go through the process of spiritual maturation. When our hope reaches a point of coming to fruition, Paul indicated, God’s love is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. The phrase poured into suggests that love is an all or nothing type of quality (G1632). It doesn’t increase over time, as seems to be the case with hope. It’s possible that Paul viewed love as the greatest of the three qualities, faith, hope, and love because its production capability is limitless, since we receive the full measure of its potential all at once. The presence of love is an indicator that we have reached spiritual maturity, we are adults in God’s eyes (1 Corinthians 13:11).

The body of Christ

Jesus first hinted at the special qualities of his body when the Jews asked him to show them a sign as evidence of his divine power. Jesus responded to the Jews’ request by stating, “’Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘It has taken forty six years to build this temple, and will you raise it in three days?’ But he was speaking about the temple of his body” (John 2:19-21). Paul elaborated on the connection between the temple and Jesus’ body in his first letter to the Corinthians. Paul talked about the difference between people of the flesh and spiritual people (1 Corinthians 3:1-4) and then, referred to believers as “God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9). Paul asked the Corinthian believers, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16) and went on to say, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, ‘The two shall become one flesh.’ But he who is joined in the Lord becomes one spirit with him” (1 Corinthians 6:15-17). Paul used the Greek word kollao (kol-lahˊ-o), which is translated joined, to describe the spiritual union that takes place when a believer is born again. Paul compared this union to sexual intercourse between a man and woman, but indicated that rather than becoming one flesh, the believer becomes one spirit with Christ.

The Greek word kollao means “to join fast together” and refers to a personal attachment that is similar to glue or cement (G2853). In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul compared the relationship between a husband and wife to that of Christ and the church. Paul said:

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

…In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:22-32)

The Greek word that is translated hold fast, proskollao (pros-kol-layˊ-o) is a combination of the words pros and kollao. Pros indicates movement toward something or someone “with the dative by the side of, i.e. near to” (G4314), whereas kollao on its own suggests that a physical connection already exists.

Paul indicated that the church, all who are born again, are members of the body of Christ and referred to this doctrinal truth as a profound mystery. What Paul meant by a profound mystery was that being a member of the body of Christ or being able to comprehend what it means to be a member of the body of Christ is too big of an idea for us to comprehend, it is above human insight. Jesus first introduced this idea through his institution of the Lord’s Supper. Matthew’s gospel tells us:

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:26-29)

The Greek word that is translated body in Matthew 26:26 is soma (soˊ-mah), “A noun meaning body, an organized whole made up of parts and members.” It is “spoken of a human body, different from sarx (G4561), flesh, which word denotes the material of the body” (G4983). One way of interpreting Jesus’ statement, “Take, eat; this is my body” (Matthew 26:26) might be let my parts and members become a part of you.

Paul prefaced his discussion of the body of Christ in his letter to the Corinthians with an overview of spiritual gifts. Paul likely connected these two topics because of the dependency of one upon the other. Paul began by stating, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed” (1 Corinthians 12:1). Paul didn’t want the Corinthian believers to ignore the fact that spiritual gifts were linked to the activities of the body of Christ. Paul said:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)

Paul indicated that gifts were a manifestation or expression of the Holy Spirit and were intended for the common good of the body of Christ. The Greek word sumphero (soom-ferˊ-o), which is translated common good, literally means “to bring together” (G4851); the idea being that the common good is an incentive for membership in the body of Christ. Paul told the Corinthians:

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

Paul said that we are baptized into one body and made to drink of one Spirit, suggesting that a connection exists between participation in the Lord’s Supper and membership in the body of Christ.

The Greek word that is translated baptized in 1 Corinthians 12:13, baptizo (bap-tidˊ-zo) means “to wash, to cleanse by washing” (G907). John recorded in his gospel that during the Lord’s Supper, “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (John 13:3-5). Jesus told Simon Peter, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand” (John 13:7). Jesus used two different Greek words that are both translated understand. In reference to not understanding now, Jesus used the word eido (iˊ-do) which has to do with perception (G1492). Whereas, the Greek word ginosko (ghin-oceˊ-ko) has to do with knowing “in a completed sense, that is, to have the knowledge of” (G1097). When Peter responded to Jesus, “’You shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.’” (John 13:8). “By this statement, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no share with me,’ it seems that the Lord was referring to the necessity of regular spiritual cleansing to remain in fellowship with him. Jesus did not say, ‘you have no share in me (en [1722] emoi), which would indicate Peter lacked salvation, but ‘you have no share with me’ (met’ [3326] emou), meaning Peter would have no communion and fellowship with him. Christians need constant cleansing and renewal if they are to remain in fellowship with God” (note on John 13:8).

Paul elaborated on Jesus’ comment about Peter not having a share with him in his explanation of how the body of Christ functions in a way that is similar to the human body. Paul said:

But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”

In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. (1 Corinthians 12:18-27, NLT)

Paul’s statement, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it,” was intended to emphasize the fact that both unity and individuality are necessary for the body of Christ to function properly. One of the keys to understanding how this works can be found in 1 Corinthians 12:24, which contains the statement, “God has so composed the body.” The Greek word that is translated composed, sugkerannumi (soong-ker-anˊ-noo-mee) means “to commingle, i.e. (figurative) to combine or assimilate” (G4786). Assimilation has to do with taking in information, ideas, or culture and understanding them fully. In reference to the body or any biological system, assimilation means to “absorb and digest (food or nutrients)” (Oxford Languages). Therefore, Jesus’ instruction during the Lords’ Supper to, “Take, eat; this is my body” (Matthew 26:26), had the connotation of becoming assimilated into the body of Christ.

Paul talked about unity in the body of Christ in the context of spiritual gifts and maturing as a believer in his letter to the Ephesians. Paul said of Christ:

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

Paul noted that the goal of Jesus’ ongoing ministry was building up the body of Christ, and also indicated that when each part was working properly, it made the body grow so that it built itself up in love. Working properly means that each part is active and is doing what it’s designed to do; the body of Christ is efficiently using its resources. In order for that to happen, there can’t be any division or gap in the body’s members. Paul admonished the Corinthians about this early in his letter. Paul stated, “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10). The Greek word that Paul used that is translated united is translated perfectly joined together in the King James Version of the Bible. Katartizo (kat-ar-tidˊ-zo) means “to be suitable, such as one should be, deficient in no part” and implies that an adjustment has to be made in order to fit everything together so that it is finished, complete (G2675).

Paul indicated that the parts of the body are joined and held together by Christ, who is the head of the body (Ephesians 4:16). The head describes Christ as being the one to whom others are subordinate. In the context of a building, Jesus was described as being the cornerstone. In relation to architecture, a cornerstone is traditionally the first stone laid for a structure, with all other stones laid in reference. A cornerstone marks the geographical location by orienting a building in a specific direction. It is the rock upon which the weight of the entire structure rests. Jesus referred to himself as the cornerstone after telling his followers The Parable of the Tenants (Matthew 21:33-40). Jesus stated:

But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. (Matthew 21:38-45)

Jesus spoke of the cornerstone in a way that was counter intuitive to its intended purpose. Jesus indicated that a person could fall on the cornerstone and said, “When it falls on anyone, it will crush him” (Matthew 21:44). What I believe Jesus meant by this statement with regard to his method of joining and holding together the body of Christ was that those who interfere with or perhaps imitate the building up of the body will be destroyed in the process, as opposed to those who are working properly being strengthened by his support.

The Lord’s Supper

The institution of the Lord’s Supper is recorded in all three of what are considered to be the synoptic gospels, the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which describe events from a similar point of view, as contrasted with that of John (Oxford Languages). Although the context and details of each gospel writer’s account of the Lord’s Supper varies, the key characteristics are the same. “Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 28:26-28). In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul indicated that he had received a revelation from the Lord about this important event and was sharing it with the Corinthians in order to clarify the intention of the Lord’s Supper. Paul wrote:

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:23-32).

The main point that Paul wanted to make was that the Lord’s Supper was intended to be a way for believers to avoid being condemned along with the world. The Greek word that is translated condemned, katakrino (kat-ak-reeˊ-no) means “to condemn by contrast, i.e. to show by one’s good conduct that others are guilty of misconduct and deserve condemnation” (G2632). Paul’s comment about condemnation had to do with the last judgment when unbelievers will be judged for their rejection of Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross. Jesus told his disciples, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18).

Paul indicated that believing in Jesus should involve remembrance of him through repeated celebration of the Lord’s Supper. The Greek term anamnesis (an-amˊ-nay-sis), which is translated remembrance, is a derivative of the words ana (an-ahˊ), a “preposition meaning on, upon, in” (G303) and mimnesko (mim-naceˊ-ko). Mimnesko is a prolonged form of the word mnaomai (mnahˊ-om-ahee), which conveys the idea of something being a fixture in one’s mind or of mental grasp (G3415). Remembrance of Jesus through the Lord’s Supper has to do with keeping his sacrifice on the cross in the forefronts of our minds so that we are continually aware of the fact that the penalty for our sins has already been paid by him. According to Luke’s gospel, Jesus said that his body was “given for you” and his blood was “poured out for you” (Luke 22:19-20). In other words, Jesus’ sacrifice was for our benefit, he died on our behalf. That is what Paul wanted the Corinthians to be completely aware of when they participated in the Lord’s Supper. Paul said, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27). An unworthy manner means that you treat the Lord’s Supper as a common meal. You don’t look at the bread and the wine as being symbolic of Jesus’ body and blood. Paul said, “If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home” (1 Corinthians 11:34), suggesting that people were eating and drinking to satisfy their physical appetites rather than partaking in the Lord’s Supper to remind themselves of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.

Paul instructed the Corinthians to “examine” themselves before they ate of the bread and drank of the cup (1 Corinthians 11:28). The Greek word dokeo (dok-ehˊ-o) “refers to a person’s subjective mental estimate or opinion or something…It always signifies a subjective estimate of a thing, not the objective appearance and qualities the thing actually possesses. Paul seemed to be concerned about whether or not the person who was participating in the Lord’s Supper thought it was appropriate to do so. Paul went on to say, “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Corinthians 11:29). When Jesus said that the bread was his body, he was talking about an organized whole made up of parts and members (G4983). Discerning the body would therefore have to do with a person determining whether or not he was an active member of the body of Christ. Paul later explained, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).

According to Paul, the key to examining oneself and discerning the body seemed to be the individual’s opinion of his involvement in Christ’s activities on earth. The reason why this is a subjective estimate rather than the objective appearance and qualities of the person’s walk with the Lord is because a believer’s involvement in God’s kingdom is visibly undetectable. Jesus told the religious leaders, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is! or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:20-21). The Greek word that is translated midst, entos (en-tosˊ) means “inside” (G1787). The internal location of the kingdom of God makes it necessary for us to pay attention to what is happening on the inside of our bodies, in our souls and spirits. When we examine ourselves, we are looking for evidence of Christ’s work in our hearts.

Paul said, “But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:31). Paul used two different words that are both translated judged in this verse, diakrino (dee-ak-reeˊ-no), which is also translated discerning in 1 Corinthians 11:29, and krino (kreeˊ-no), which means to give an opinion or decide something judicially (G2919). The point that I believe Paul was trying to make was that when believers look at themselves from an internal perspective, they are able to see themselves the same way that God does. It is obvious to them whether or not they are functioning as a member of the body of Christ. Paul may have emphasized the importance of believers being able to discern that for themselves because he didn’t want unbelievers to assume that participation in the Lord’s Supper would exempt them from God’s judgment (Matthew 25:31-46; John 13:27).

Participation

The gross immorality that was taking place in Corinth caused Paul to focus most of the message in his first letter to the Corinthians on idolatry. Many of the members of the Corinthian church had recently been converted from paganism and were having difficulty breaking habits of their former lifestyles (Introduction to the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians). After he talked about the prize he expected to receive for his faithful service to God (1 Corinthians 9:24-27), Paul went on to explain that participation in idol worship was a form of demonism. Paul told the Corinthian believers, “I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” (1 Corinthians 10:20-22). The Greek word that is translated partake, metecho (met-ekhˊ-o) means “to share or participate; (by implication) belong to” (G3348). Paul connected participation in certain activites to membership in an organization or belonging to a cultural group. Celebration of the Lord’s Supper was an exclusive practice of believers in Christ and Paul wanted the Corinthians to understand that pagan sacrifices were intended for those who were worshippers of Satan.

Paul said that he didn’t want the Corinthians to be participants with demons. The Greek word that is translated participants, koinonos (koy-no-nosˊ) is derived from the word koinos (koyˊ-nos) which means “common, i.e. (literally) shared by all or several, or (ceremonial) profane” (G2839). According to the Mosaic Law, priests were expected to distinguish between the holy and the common. Something that was considered to be holy had been sanctified or set apart, something that was consecrated to God (H6942). No one that was common or unsanctified could be in the presence of God (Exodus 19:9-25). When Paul talked about participation in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 10:16), he used the word koinonia (koy-nohn-eeˊ-ah). Koinonia is derived from the Greek word koinonos and means “partnership, i.e. (literal) participation, or (social) intercourse” (G2842). Koinonia is most often translated as fellowship. Paul used the word koinonia in 1 Corinthians 1:9 where he said, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” The fellowship of believers was first discussed in the book of Acts. Not long after the church in Jerusalem was established, Acts 2:42-47 tells us:

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Luke indicated that “all who believed were together and had all things in common” (Acts 2:44). The Greek word that Luke used that is translated common is koinos. Koinos is believed to be derived from the word sun (soon) which denotes “union; with or together i.e. by association, companionship, process, resemblance, possession, instrumentality, addition etc…Particularly of society, companionship, consort, where one is said to be, do, suffer with someone, in connection and company with him” (G4862). Sun is often used in the gospels to indicate that Jesus’ disciples were with him. Luke used the word sun the most of any other New Testament writer. Sun appears 24 times in the gospel of Luke and 51 times in the book of Acts. One of the things that may be connected with the Greek term sun is culture. It’s possible that culture is a byproduct of sun or that the development of culture is evidence that the type of union that sun represents has actually taken place. The four activities that are mentioned in Acts 2:42, the apostles’ teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers could be identifying features of the Christian culture and would thus be evident whenever sun has taken place in a group of believers.

Paul used the example of the Israelites journey through the desert after God delivered them from slavery in Egypt to explain to the Corinthians that the activities associated with a culture do not in and of themselves make someone a participant or sharer in that particular society. Paul said:

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. (1 Corinthians 10:1-5)

Paul noted that all of the Israelites had done the same activities and made special mention of the fact that they had all drank from the spiritual Rock that was Christ. “Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased” (1 Corinthians 10:5). What Paul meant by God not being pleased was most likely related to his comment about receiving the prize in 1 Corinthians 9:24. Paul asked, “Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.” Paul went on to say, “But I discipline my body and keep it under control lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27). The point that I believe Paul was trying to make was that God is not pleased with fake Christians. Being disqualified means you complete the race, you participate in all the activities, but don’t get any credit for it because you were just going through the motions, you weren’t really saved.

An imperishable prize

Paul spent a lot of time in his first letter to the Corinthians rebuking them for their bad behavior, but about halfway through his message Paul shifted his attention to the reason why it was important for believers to keep themselves pure. Paul explained that his responsibility of preaching the gospel made it necessary for him to live his life in a way that would attract others to Jesus. Paul began by stating:

Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. (1 Corinthians 9:16-18)

Paul described his responsibility as a stewardship. The Greek word that is translated stewardship, oikonomia (oy-kon-om-ee-ah) means “administration (of a household or estate); specially a (religious) ‘economy’ (G3622). Oikonomia is used in Ephesians 1:10 in reference to God’s plan of salvation. Paul said of Jesus, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan (oikonomia) for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:7-10). Paul believed it was his responsibility to administer or dispense the riches of God’s grace and he did it “free of charge” (1 Corinthians 9:18) so that he might receive a reward that was more important to him than monetary compensation.

Paul indicated that God’s spiritual economy operates based on the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7, 10). Paul’s concept of God’s spiritual economy may have come from Jesus’ parable of the dishonest manager. Jesus taught his disciples:

“There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Luke 16:1-13)

Jesus differentiated between sons of this world and the sons of light. The two categories that he was referring to were the unsaved and believers. The dishonest manager represented the unsaved person who works for God. The dishonest manager was shrewd because he realized that the goal was to cancel people’s debt (forgiveness of sins). That is what God’s grace does for believers, but the dishonest manager took credit for cancelling the people’s debts so that his master’s debtors would show their gratitude to him.

Paul associated preaching the gospel free of change with his reward for being a faithful servant. Paul explained in his second letter to the Corinthians that the reason he did not take any money from them was because there were false apostles who were disguising themselves as apostles of Christ so that they could make money from preaching the gospel. Paul told the Corinthians, “I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way…And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds” (2 Corinthians 11-8-15).

Paul concluded his discussion about his motive for preaching the gospel free of charge with a brief illustration of the spiritual contest that all mature Christians must participate in. Paul asked:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

Paul likened preaching the gospel to a race and said “all runners run, but only one receives the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24). The race that Paul was referring to was one that took place in a stadium. Paul most likely wanted to convey the idea of living in a public arena where one’s actions were on display and were being scrutinized or perhaps, judged by others. Paul said, “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things” (1 Corinthians 9:25). The Greek word that is translated athlete, agonizomai (ag-o-nidˊ-zom-ahee) is used figuratively to mean “(to contend with an adversary) or genitive (to endeavor to accomplish something)” (G75).

Paul’s illustration of a runner in a race suggests that he was referring to public life in general. Paul said, “All runners run, but only one receives the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24). This seems to suggest that in spiritual conflict it is typically for a single Christian to be competing against a mass of unbelievers for the victory. This viewpoint makes sense from the perspective that in the 1st Century, Christians were very few in number compared to the masses of the Roman Empire and were scattered throughout the regions that Paul visited on his missionary journeys. In reference to the runners, Paul said, “They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable” (1 Corinthians 9:25). Paul contrasted the physical aspect of the runner’s race to the spiritual in his reference to the perishable and imperishable wreaths that could be obtained. Paul’s use of the pronoun we indicated that he was talking about all believers when he said we do it to receive an imperishable prize. I believe the point that Paul was trying to make was that a believer’s public life always involves spiritual conflict due to the presence of unbelievers in the world. Therefore, a believer’s life needs to be lived in such a way that it is viewed as a public contest that can only be won from a spiritual perspective if the believer remains faithful to his commitment to Christ.

Paul stated, “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things” (1 Corinthians 9:25) and said of himself, “I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:26-27). Paul reference to being disqualified was probably meant to convey the same idea as what happened to the dishonest manager in Jesus’ parable. Jesus said the rich man called the manager in and said to him, “What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager” (Luke 16:2). The rich man removed the manager from his position. Paul indicated that in order to receive the prize, he had to exercise self-control, discipline his body and keep it under control. The King James Version of the Bible states it this way, “But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:27). The Greek word that is translated keep under, hupopiazo (hoop-o-pee-adˊ-zo) means “to hit under the eye (buffet or disable an antagonist as a pugilist), i.e. (figurative) to tease or annoy (into compliance), subdue (one’s passions)” (G5299). What Paul was talking about was beating himself up rather than letting his opponent do it. In other words, Paul needed to be tough on himself so that he didn’t get overpowered by his spiritual enemy. Paul said, by doing this, he could win the contest and he would receive an imperishable prize.

Paul elaborated on the concept of an imperishable prize later on in his message to the Corinthians. Paul said:

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:50-58)

Paul said he was revealing to the Corinthians a mystery, something into which they must be initiated or instructed before it could be known (G3466). Paul said, “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). Paul was referring back to something that Jesus said to the Jews who wanted to kill him because he made himself equal with God. Jesus told them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live” (John 5:25). Jesus went on to say, “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29). According to Jesus, the imperishable prize is the resurrection of life. In other words, believers will not only have imperishable bodies after the resurrection, but they will also have imperishable lives, “i.e. blessed life, life that satisfies” (G2222).

A wounded conscience

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was intended to correct the gross immorality that was evident in the church that Paul had established there. “Corinth was an important cosmopolitan city located in the Roman province of Achaia (the southern part of modern-day Greece) on a large isthmus about fifty miles west of Athens. It was situated along a major trade route and had a thriving economy. For this reason, large numbers of sailors and merchants from every nation flocked to the city of Corinth. During the first century, it was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire, and by the end of the second century, it had become one of the richest cities in the world. Corinth was a strategic center of influence for the gospel since those travelers who heard the gospel there could carry it to all parts of the world. The city of Corinth, however, was one of the most wicked cities of ancient times. Immorality, unscrupulous business dealings, and pagan practices abounded. Of the scores of heathen religions that were practiced in the city, the most well-known was the worship of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. The temple of Aphrodite stood on the most prominent point in the city, a hill called Acrocorinth, and housed one thousand ‘temple prostitutes’…Paul received a report from the members of the household of Chloe concerning the bad conduct of some in the church (1 Corinthians 1:11). Many of the members had recently been converted from paganism and were having difficulty breaking habits of their former lifestyles. There were such deep divisions among them that some of the believers were bringing lawsuits against one another and allowing unbelieving judges to settle the disputes (chap. 6)” (Introduction to The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians).

Idol worship was a problem for the Jews that was rooted in their bondage in Egypt. Not long after God delivered the Israelites from slavery, they made a golden calf, “And they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt’” (Exodus 32:4). Early in his reign over Israel, King Solomon, “made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David” (1 Kings 3:1). First Kings 11:1-4 tells us, “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, ‘You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after other gods.’ Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.” God warned Solomon of the consequences of idolatry. He said, “If you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And this house will become a heap of ruins. Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshipped them and served them. Therefore the LORD has brought all this disaster on them’” (1 Kings 9:6-9).

Paul began his discussion of food offered to idols with the statement, “’Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that all of us possess knowledge.’ This knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). The Greek word that is translated builds up in this verse is oikodomeo (oy-kod-om-ehˊ-o). Oikodomeo means “to be a house-builder” and is “spoken of the Christian Church and its members who are thus compared to a building, a temple of God, erected upon the one and only foundation, Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:9, 10)” (G3618). Paul’s conclusion that love builds up was intended to emphasize the point that love was supposed to be directed toward God, and was in essence, an act of worship when it was used to increase a believer’s faith in Christ. Paul contrasted love with knowledge in order to make it clear to the Corinthians that worship needed to be based on a personal relationship with God, not just an awareness or understanding of what pleases him.

Paul said, “If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God” (1 Corinthians 8:2-3). Paul referred to two different kinds of knowing in this passage. The Greek word eido (iˊ-do) comes from the Hebrew, “with the idea of volition: to know and approve or love; hence spoken of men; to care for, take an interest in (1 Thessalonians 5:12; Septuagint; Genesis 39:6)” (G1492) Paul used eido in the phrase “if anyone imagine he knows something.” The Greek word ginosko (ghin-oceˊ-ko), on the other hand, refers to knowing something in an absolute sense (G1097). Paul was referring to the kind of knowledge that Jesus had, a type of spiritual perception that enable him to “see” what was in the hearts of the people around him. Matthew 16:8 states, “But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread.” And in Matthew 22:18, it says, “But Jesus, aware of their malice, said ‘Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?’” Paul said that we do not know (ginosko) as we ought to know (ginosko), “but if anyone loves God, he is known (ginosko) by God” (1 Corinthians 8:2-3). Being known by God means that there is a relation between the person knowing (God) and the object known (us). “In this respect, what is ‘known’ is of value or importance to the one who knows, and hence the establishment of the relationship” (G1097).

Paul went on to explain:

Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. (1 Corinthians 8:4-12)

Paul indicated that a wounded conscience is the result of a believer who lacks spiritual truth doing something that he is unaware of is a sin. In other words, a sin has been committed, but there is no confession of it because the believer’s conscience isn’t making him aware of it. Paul used the example of eating food offered to idols because it was a common cultural practice in Corinth. Today, it might be looking at pornography or driving under the influence of alcohol.

Paul admonished believers who knew that an idol had no real existence because they were becoming a stumbling block to the weak. Their example gave the impression that eating food offered to idols was an acceptable practice as far as God was concerned, when in actuality, it was not (Acts 15:29). Paul argued that an idol could be real to a person with a weak conscience because his conscience was defiled by eating food offered to it. In other words, the person would feel the effect of having done something that offended God. Paul blamed believers who knew that idols had no real existence because, he said, “by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed” (1 Corinthians 8:11). Paul believed that a wounded conscience was just as bad as a person not being saved. When a person’s conscience condemns him, rather than justifies him before God, his salvation is essentially worthless. Therefore, Paul concluded, “if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble” (1 Corinthians 8:13).

A permanent structure

King David wanted to build a temple for God that would be a permanent structure for him to live in. After David shared his plan with Nathan the prophet, 2 Samuel 7:4-16 tells us:

But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

Nathan told David that the LORD was going to build him a house rather than the other way around. Nathan said, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13). David’s desire to build a house for the Lord set the stage for one of the key passages in the Old Testament concerning the coming Messiah. Verses 8-16 of 2 Samuel 7 are referred to as the Davidic covenant. Verse 13 of this passage referred initially to Solomon “but was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the ‘Son of David’ (Luke 1:31-33; Acts 2:25-35) who reigns at God’s right hand (Psalm 2:7; Acts 13:33)” (note on 2 Samuel 7:4-16).

The temple that David wanted to build for the Lord was eventually constructed by his son Solomon (1 Kings 6). It says in 1 Kings 6:21, “Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold.” One of the qualities of gold is that it is “durable to the point of virtual indestructibility” (britannica.com). Solomon’s intention in building a house for the Lord was that it would be a place for him to dwell in forever (1 Kings 8:13). The temple that Solomon built was destroyed when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded Jerusalem and took the Jews into captivity (2 Kings 25:8-12). Another temple existed during the time that Jesus’ lived on earth. During one of Jesus’ visits to the temple, he was confronted by the Jews. The incident is recorded in John’s gospel. John stated, “So the Jews said to him, ‘What sign do you show us for doing these things?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘It has taken forty six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in in three days?’ But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture, and the word that Jesus had spoken” (John 2:18-22).

God’s promise to King David that his offspring would “build a house for my name” (2 Samuel 7:13) was about him building a permanent structure for God to dwell in, but it wasn’t the kind of structure that David was imagining. In his first letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul talked about his ministry being comparable to a building project that started with the foundation of Jesus Christ. Paul said:

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (1 Corinthians 3:5-17)

Paul’s illustration of building a temple on the foundation of Jesus Christ concluded with the important spiritual truth that God’s Spirit dwells inside believers. Paul said, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him” (1 Corinthian 3:17). In the King James Version of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 3:17 reads, “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy.” The Greek word that is translated defile and destroy, phtheiro (fthiˊ-ro) is properly translated “to shrivel or wither, i.e. to spoil (by any process) or (genitive) to ruin (especially figurative by moral influences, to deprave)” (G5351). Paul was talking about a person being brought to a worse state than he was presently in from a moral perspective. Paul said that God’s temple is holy (1 Corinthians 3:17). The Greek word that is translated holy, hagios (hagˊ-ee-os) is “spoken of those who are purified and sanctified by the influences of the Spirit, a saint” (G40). Instead of saying “God’s temple is holy” (1 Corinthians 3:17), Paul could have said, more specifically, God’s temple is purified ones. Paul used hagios throughout his first letter to the Corinthians to refer to both saints and the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2:13; 6:1, 2, 19; 12:3; 14:33; 16:1, 15), as well as, to refer to God’s temple being holy (1 Corinthians 3:17).

Paul went on in his letter to talk about the church being defiled by sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 5:1-13) and about the need for believers to flee sexual immorality because “the body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (1 Corinthians 6:13). Paul explained, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, ‘The two will become one flesh.’ But who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:15-20). Paul indicated that a person who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her (1 Corinthians 6:16). Paul wasn’t referring to sexual intercourse, but to a type of relationship that usually involves two people living under the same roof. The Greek word kollao (kol-lahˊ-o), which is translated joined, means “to glue, i.e. (passive or reflexive) to stick” (G2853). In other words, there is no separation of the two people. There is a permanent connection between them.

Jesus’ teaching about divorce made it clear that there is a permanent bond between a husband and wife. Jesus said, “’Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:5-6). The separation that Jesus was referring to was chorizo (kho-ridˊ-zo), which means “to place room between that is part; reflexively to go away” (G5583). The fact that God joins two people together when they are married has to do with their placement in space. Paul was building on Jesus’ teaching when he said in his letter to the Corinthians, “To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife” (1 Corinthians 7:10-11). Paul used the word chorizo when he said the wife should not separate from her husband. The point that I believe Paul was trying to make was that the wife continuing to live under the same roof with her husband was necessary for God’s spiritual work in her and her husband’s lives to continue. Paul went on to say, “If any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?” (1 Corinthians 7:12-16).

It seems that the building up of the body of Christ does not involve the random placement of individual believers into a permanent structure, but the growth or extension of a believer’s faith into the lives of those she is permanently connected to. Paul told the Ephesians, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-22). Paul went on to say, “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16). Paul indicated that the building grows when each part is working properly and that the body of Christ is joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped. Paul used body movement to make his point that believers need to not only function as a single unit, but also to function as a strong and healthy unit in order for the body of Christ to grow. Jesus said the only way we can do this is by abiding in him. He explained to his disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). The Greek word that is translated apart, psallo (psalˊ-lo) is derived from the word chora (khoˊ-rah) which properly denotes “the space lying between two limits or places” (G5561). If you think of Jesus as a power outlet, in order for the body of Christ to live, and move, and have its being, (Acts 17:28) it must remain plugged into Jesus at all times. Through this connection, we become a part of a permanent structure that will one day be the dwelling place of God (Revelation 21).