Paul states that: "No-one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit... and there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord... one has the gift of the message of wisdom... another the message of knowledge... another the gift of faith... to another gifts of healing... to another miraculous powers... another the gift of prophecy... another discernment of spirits... another the gift of tongues... to another the gift of interpretation... all this is the work of one and the same Spirit which God distributes as he wills". Then Paul goes on to talk about the body of Christ showing that as there are many parts in the human body "so it is with Christ... and Jew, Gentile, slave or free in Christ have the same Spirit... and all parts of the body are important and valued... and you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it... and in the church are apostles, prophets, teachers, workers of miracles, those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those that speak in tongues... so eagerly desire the greater gifts... and next (in the next chapter) I will show you the most excellent way!"
Tuesday, 15 September 2026
1 Corinthians 11 (résumé): Head Covering + the Lord's Supper
Initially here in chapter 11 Paul teaches on the question of head covering which was an important cultural matter. He says "the head (or source) of every man is Christ, the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God... so every man that prays with his head covered dishonours his head... but a woman's head uncovered dishonours her head... for a man's head must be uncovered for prayer because he is the image of the glory of God whereas woman is the glory of the man... and for man to have long hair is a disgrace whereas for a woman it is her glory... but let's not fight about these matters!" Then Paul goes on to teach about the Lord's Supper... again criticizing the divisions in the church and the callous unruly way they were eating and drinking at the Lord's supper "whilst one remains hungry another gets drunk". Then Paul teaches the right way to break bread together and to drink the cup representing the body and blood of Christ. Paul insists that one must take care not to partake of the communion unworthily, but should examine oneself before God".
1 Corinthians 10 (résumé): Warnings from Israel's History
Paul starts chapter 10 warning the church to learn from historic Israel which was greatly blessed of God yet went away from the Lord. "These things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did". so don't "be idolaters... or pagan...or commit sexual immorality... don't grumble... be careful that you don't fall... and God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear... so flee from idolatry... for is not the cup of thanksgiving participation in the blood of Christ... and the bread his body?... but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons... so you have to chose one thing or the other!... everything is permissible but not everything is constructive... however eat what you like from the market because the earth is the Lord and everything in it... and whether you eat or drink do everything for the glory of God... but avoid making people stumble... and follow my example as I follow the example of Christ".
1 Corinthians 9 (résumé): The rights of an Apostle
Paul starts 1 Corinthians 9 defending his apostleship as he had "seen Jesus" and pointing to his fruitful ministry at Corinth as proof that he was an apostle. He then goes on to argue that he has a right be supported in his ministry by the church. However he points out that he has never demanded this right. He in fact is very flexible in his ministry adapting to Jew and Gentile as necessary so that "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some". "All the athletes compete in a race, "but only one gets the prize... so run in such a way as to get the prize... for secular athletes compete to get a crown which won't last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever!... so I beat my body to make sure that after I have preached to others I will myself not be disqualified from the prize!"
Wild Cats
The Wild Cat researchers from the state of Maranhão were at Green Pastures yesterday exchanging the memory cards and batteries from their dozen automatic cameras. They drive down 1,400 km every 3 months from the state of Maranhão to the state of Paraiba!
I have been preparing for the Pastors and Leaders Family Conference which starts on Friday. I have been resolving a number of administrative issues for different churches too.
I have now finished half the Book of First Corinthians and boy didn't they have a load of problems!
Monday, 14 September 2026
1 Corinthians 8 (résumé): Food sacrificed to idols
Paul discusses in 1 Corinthians 8 attitudes to eating meat which had been part of sacrifices to idols. Paul recognizes idols are not gods at all and that there is only one true God, but he sees that not everyone feels this way so the Christian must care about the others on this matter and let love govern how this controversial issue is dealt with. Paul says: "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up... and food doesn't bring us near to God.. but be careful that exercising our freedom doesn't become a stumbling block to the weak... in which case your weak brother would be destroyed by your knowledge... so if eating meat causes my brother to sin I will never eat meat again!"
1 Corinthians 7 (résumé): Marriage
1 Corinthians 7 discusses Christian marriage, singleness and faithfulness to God under whatever circumstance we face. So Paul starts: "you wrote that it's good for a man not to marry... but no... faced with the rampant immorality it's good for each man to have his own wife and each woman to have her own husband... and husband and wife should fulfill their marital duties... with their bodies belonging to each other... and only abstain from relations for short periods for dedication to prayer... I wish that all men were single like me but everyone is gifted in different ways... the unmarried and widows should stay single unless they can't control themselves... but the married should not separate or divorce... and inter-faith marriages should stay that way... and the believer might be an instrument of salvation to their partner... and if you are a circumcised Jew stay that way... and if you are a slave stay that way unless you can gain your freedom... so each Christian should remain in the situation God called him to... time is short so live in the light of this reality because the world is passing away... so live in undivided devotion to the Lord... and avoid marriage if you can... but if you marry the partner must belong to the Lord".