Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31).

Throughout the first four chapters of this book, Paul does something unusual. He extols folly over wisdom and weakness over strength. He deprecates himself and Apollos as simply "servants" and their efforts as "nothing". What is his purpose?

Paul wants to demonstrate without the shadow of a doubt that it is all about Christ, not about them. It is not about worldly wisdom gained through study and effort but the wisdom of God, which comes only by revelation. There is no place for cults of personality, for all are totally dependent on Christ in every way. There is no room for boasting, for nothing was attained by effort, and everything was given as a gift. 

Friends, what do we defend? Surely, not ourselves. In what do we take pride? Surely, not in our knowledge or abilities? Yet, some of you will read these questions and answer, "yes" and "yes." If so, you would have failed Paul's test of spiritual maturity (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:1-4). You are still "carnal" (i.e. "men of flesh") and mere "infants in Christ". 

Yet, if you boast only in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you are more mature. If you defend God's Word and authority rather than your own wisdom and position, then you are more mature. If you are not anxious about what other people think about you and simply trust and obey God with a clear conscience, you are more mature. If you honor the boundaries of the written Word, correcting yourselves and others when you exceed these bounds, you are more mature. 

Let us grow in maturity in Christ Jesus our only Lord and Savior.

1 corinthians 4
20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 21 What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?

And this said by an apostle. People have died for not dealing well with them. Miracles happen at their word. What he is saying is I will not come with words, but there will be effects, consequences, there will be the option for God's rod or God's gentleness.

That'll tuck your tail.

Paul writes to the church in Corinth about disagreements they have between who they follow - Christ, Paul, Apollos,...

(1 Corinthians 3:5-9)

5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

This passage is one that I have referred to many times, because it clearly explains our role as Christians when sharing the gospel. As goal oriented people we like to see the end of our tasks - we want to see the final product of our hard work. I know that as I have shared the gospel I greatly desire to see an unbeliever - believe. If I have passionately shared he gospel I would like to know that I made a difference.

Here Paul brings out an important truth, that we (Christians) are not responsible for others salvation - it's truly in Gods hands. Our responsibility is to share the gospel or maybe to encourage someone - one plants, another waters. The key is that God will make the plant grow not us. We should give thanks for the opportunity to share and let the seed grow according to Gods plan.

Friends, as I keep sharing, I pray that you will not be offended by either the frequency or the length of my comments. And those that read everything, I pray that it will not be tedious for you but that you would be blessed, even as I am blessed to share.

Although I've commented already on certain passages today, there's another passage that is often misunderstood that I wanted to mention. The whole section begins from 1 Corinthians 3:1 and goes to verse 17. The passage is often quoted at verse 15, where we read, "If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."

This verse is most often understand in a personal way, as though Paul is addressing an individual Christian with respect to his Christian walk. This is a case, where failing to see the context can lead to misapprehension of the truth.

Notice that the context is with respect to divisions over personalities, like Paul and Apollos. Some were saying that they follow Paul, while others, that they follow Apollos. Paul argues that both he and Apollos are nothing in themselves except servants of God. He uses the analogy of cultivation to show that, as servants, they merely plant and water, but God is the only One that brings forth the fruit. Then he uses the analogy of construction to argue that one lays a foundation and another builds, but that there is only one foundation, namely, Jesus Christ, and that God will test the quality of the building, whether it is built with enduring materials or perishable ones.

The work is the work of ministry, not one's personal walk. Remember, he is still speaking of the ministries of himself and Apollos. The nature of the work is the evangelization and discipleship involved in growing the church of Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:14, which reads, "If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward," is parallel to 1 Corinthians 3:8, which reads, "Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor."The reward in both analogies are in keeping with the work of ministry, particularly the ministry of God's Word.

With this contextual background we can then understand 1 Corinthians 3:15, which reads,

If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

The "burniing" here does not have to do with the quality of the worker's character but the quality of his work. Is it founded on Jesus Christ? Is it based on a pure doctrine that "does not go beyond what is written"? Is it based on the wisdom of God or human wisdom? The issue is doctrine. What is tested is the quality of one's doctrine. If it is based on God's truth, then there is a reward. Otherwise, it will be "burned up."

The expression "but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire" means that the builder, who is presumably a Christian, will be saved by virtue of his true conviction, but his every work, which was not based on the enduring Word of God, will be destroyed.

Furthermore, when we read in 1 Corinthians 3:16, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and the the Spirit of God dwells in you?", it is important to understand that the 2nd-person pronoun ("you") here is in the plural and that all believers are in view. They constitute the temple of God. The individual believer is not in view in this context (compare with Ephesians 2:19-22).

That said, consider the declaration, "If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. " (1 Corinthians 3:17). In what sense could a person "destroy" God's temple, that is, the church of Christ. In keeping with the context, a person could destroy the church with wrong doctrine. That is why Paul gives as the reason for God's judgment as "for God's temple is sacred (or "holy")." This is also the reason why the King James translates this verse, "If anyone defiles the temple of God..." In what sense can a person "defile" the temple of God? They do it by building a foundation other than the foundation of Jesus Christ. They do it by going "beyond what is written," that is teaching something contrary or outside of what the Bible teaches. These are the two things given in this chapter that serve as the boundaries for the ministry of the Gospel.

Therefore, a person's work is measured and rewarded according to how closely what they do and teach align with the Word of God.

Friends, how awful it would be for us to get to heaven and discover that all of our efforts are discredited because we did not do it in keeping with God's Word. We will not be judged on the depth of our emotions, nor on our purported efforts at prophesy and doing signs. If this is all we have, Jesus may well say, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" (Matthew 7:21-23). We will be judged on our correct perception of the Gospel and our true teaching and practice of God's Word.

Friends, we come to one of the most divisive books in the entire Bible; that is to say, the book is not divisive, but people, particularly from the last century until this day, have made it so. What is ironic is that the book was written to rebuke and heal divisions. What is more, the very thing, spiritual gifts, around whiich there is such turmoil in the church today, again ironically were given for the building up of the body of Christ.

Therefore, let us revisit the messge of this book, for I believe it is a lack of clarity in understanding that has caused what was given as the instrument for unity to be used as a force for division in the church.

Notice that in the first ten verses of this first letter to the Corinthians you can hardly read two verses without seeing a reference to the "Lord Jesus Christ." By this Paul wants it to be clear where his interest is and where his focus is. While he will touch on many matters, they are all secondary to the message of "Christ and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 1:23; 2:2).

Right from the beginning Paul addresses the matter of spiritual gifts. It is spoken of summarily in the words "the grace of God which was given you" and "enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge" and "that you come short in no gift." The NIV renders it more clearly:

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed (1 Corinthians 1:4-7).

The "grace" by which the Corinthians were "enriched" points to the "all kinds of speech and with all knowledge," which reference the two broad categories of manifestational gifts mentioned in more detail in 1 Corinthians 12. Interestingly, Paul argues from the outset that these particular gifts were given by God to confirm their testimony about Christ to the Corinthians. This is consistent with the purpose of the giving of supernatural signs and gifts of the Spirit:

This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will (Hebrews 2:3-4).

This passage in Hebrews parallels Paul's point in 1 Corinthians 1:6, where he writes regarding these gifts that God was "confirming our testimony about Christ among you." Now, this does not in itself resolve the issue of whether or not the manifestational gifts of the Spirit have ceased; however, it does give some perspective to the discussion. The "miraculous" nature of certain signs had at least this primary purpose, namely, it served to confirm the athenticity of the message of the apostles.

What confuses the matter is that the idea of confirmation appears again in 1 Corinthians 1:8, where we read, "who [God or Jesus] will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." Verse 6 speaks of a confirmation of the message, namely, the apostolic "testimony about Christ;" however, verse 8 speaks of a confirmation of the hearers, namely, the Corinthian believers. While the former is confirmed by the miraculous signs, it appears the latter is confirmed by God Himself (1 Corinthians 1:9).

Some verses later, Paul will speak of Jews that "demand signs" (1 Corinthians 1:22). We note this because there may be a sense where the confirming signs were not primarily for the Gentiles but for the Jews. Signs will again be mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14:22, where the particular sign of "speaking in tongues" is said to be a sign for unbelievers. Unbelieving Jews may be in mind here because Paul cites a passage from the Old Testament that clearly refers to them (1 Corinthians 14:21 cites Isaiah 28:11,12).

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After Paul's introductory comment on spiritual gifts he immediately moves into the topic of divisions in the Corinthian church. Today, the expression "don't create division in the church" has been bandied about almost as often as the expression "don't judge me" -- so much so that anytime anyone finds themselves on the receiving end of one of these expressions, they feel they need to shut up and comply. Yet, these critics neglect the very clear biblical commands to correct and rebuke error in the church, as well as the command to defend the truth.

In our text today we have perhaps the most famous passage on the matter of divisiveness in the church. And Paul makes clear his desired end in this matter for the Corinthians: "that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisioins among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10). In other words, Paul desires unity in the church.

I have observed that this is as far as many people go when using this passage to argue against anyone they feel is being divisive in the church. So, if there is anyone that teaches something different from what they believe or what a pastor may teach, it is labeled as creating "division" in the church. But is this really what this passage teaches? Let's look at it.

After Paul's injunction against division, he explains the nature of the division he has in mind in the following verses. He has been given a report from members of Chloe's household that there are certain quarrels among them. Paul explains the essential nature of the quarrels:

What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:12 NIV; see also 1 Corinthians 3:4).

The Corinthians were trying to align themselves with a personality, namely, Paul, Apollos, Peter or Christ. A modern-day equivalent might be the cult-like following of some to a political party, whether Democrat, Republican or Libertarian. The various denominations can sometimes descend to this kind of partisan bickering. Some churches experience this kind of divisiveness between the Elder Board and the Senior Pastor. In the latter case, I have found that it is rare that these divisions revolve around doctrine. Just as in the first century Corinthian church, the quarrels were more personality-based.

When Paul goes on to explain the folly of this personality-based division, he first contends rhetorically, "Is Christ divided?" In other words, does Paul have a piece of Christ, Apollos have a piece, and Cephas have a peace? Expected response? Or course not!

Then, Paul, in his typical self-deprecating way, asks rhetorically, "Was Paul crucified for you?" "Were you baptized into the name of Paul?" (1 Corinthians 1:13) Again, in a later text Paul would argue,

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).

Friends, do you see that the division in the Corinthian church, like many things that divide churches in our day, was based on juvenile, non-doctrinal, personality-based prejudices and favoritism. This is why Paul writes, "

I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal... For when one says, 'I am of Paul,' and another, 'I am of Apollos,' are you not carnal?" (1 Corinthians 3:2-4).

Dear friends, don't be like some, merely children in your thinking and carnal. I often write things here that are different from what certain pastors or elders believe. Indeed, even in our Youn Wha Martial Arts organization, I daresay there are likely pastors and members that hold different views from what I present here.

My purpose in sharing is not to gain a following for myself, such that regardless of what I say, people will believe it because I said it. Nor is it my purpose to take away the influence of other leaders or to diminish their authority. Any of you that have spent any amount of time with me will know that I have testified that I'm merely a pointer to the truth of God's Word. I have declared with all conviction that all authority rests on the Word of God, the Bible, and that each of you should learn to read it for yourself and come to your own conclusions.

However, I have contended with those that accuse me of being divisive or undermining authority, that their accusations are not based on Scripture or fact. I am simply following the biblical command to "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15), understanding this principle that Paul lays down for leaders and members alike:

Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.

If there is an acceptable dividing force for the church, it would be this: the Word of God, even as the Gospel separates believers from everyone else. While Paul argues against frivolous quarrels over personalities, he will strongly contend with false teaching and practices throughout the rest of this letter to the Corinthians, showing that no matter who you are, there is no authority beyond the authority of God's Word, and we are all "servants of Christ and those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed" (1 Corinthians 4;1). And we are commanded in all humility to "not go beyond what is written."

This echoes a similar command in the Old Testament, where Joshua is told, "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it" (Joshua 1:8) and Moses is told, "Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you" (Deuteronomy 4:2). So, too, we are called to be "faithful" (1 Corinthians 4:2) to the Word of God, so that we do not go beyond what is written, claiming no authority to ourselves but acknowledging that all authority is in His Word. So also, at the end of his life, in passing the baton of his ministry to Timothy, Paul gives this strong counsel:

Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:14-15).

This site was created to encourage people to daily get in the Word for themselves, to challenge conventional thinking and teaching, and to come to their conviction solely on the basis of the truth and authority of God's Word. May the Lord be pleased with my efforts to this end.

Friends,

A key Scripture that guides my thinking in this world of many and confusing ideologies, even within Christendom, is 1 Corinthians 4:6, which is in a context where Paul discusses faithfulness in ministry, final judgment, unity through humility, and church discipline. The verse reads in the NIV, “Do not go beyond what is written." Protestant evangelical faith is the only religion in the world that gives final and supreme authority to one book, namely, the Bible. Other faiths combine their "holy" book with traditions, pronouncements by religious authorities, experiences, etc. But our faith is wholly based on the authority of Scripture. And this is part of the meaning of Paul's words here, "Do not go beyond what is written." What is written is the final authority. When you go beyond it, you are no longer on "safe" ground. When you go beyond it, you are entering into the realm of speculation. When you go beyond it, you are in danger of arrogance because you are not relying on the sufficiency of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17) but establishing your own personal experience as another basis for understanding. When you go beyond it, you are no longer submitting to God's instruction but standing in judgment of it.

Today, people have turned the teaching, "test the Spirit by the Word" (cf. 1 John 4:1; Revelation 22:18-19; Deut 13:1-5; ) into "test the Word by the Spirit." It is just a simple change in placement of two words, but this little change has led to a firestorm of deception within Christendom of large swathes of people throughout the world.

Friends, do you remember how Eve was decieved by the serpent? First, she was made to question God's command (cf. Genesis 3:1). Then she added to what God commanded (cf. Genesis 3:2-3). Then the serpent told her what God did not command, but which sounded more appealing, and so persuaded her to violate God's command (cf. Genesis 3:4). It is a slippery slope to "go beyond what is written."

Today, in certain charismatic and so-called "prophetic" movements there is much that goes "beyond what is written." Let me join my voice with what seems an increasingly minority group of voices that calls on believers everywhere to 'watch out!" As there is "spin" in the political realm, there is also "spin" in the religious realm as well. And if you are not well versed in the Scriptures, you can be easily convinced to believe in a lie (cf. 2 Timothy 4:3-5). Anyone can quote you a verse that supports their point of view, but do they understand the context, even the who, what, where, when, and why of any given passage? And if they understand it, do they apply it so that they draw out the correct teaching?

Consider the famous verse in Scripture, 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." How many times have we heard this as a promise for Christians to claim today? But on what basis? This was spoken during the dedication of the temple of Solomon. And it was God's specific response to Solomon's prayer that the people of Israel might receive forgiveness for their sins when they pray toward this specific Temple in Jerusalem, a temple that no longer exists today. And what is "their land"? It is the promised land of Israel. God's promise to "heal their land" is directly in keeping with His covenant with Israel to watch over and care for that particular land, which He chose for them (cf. Deuteronomy 11:8-15). How can we claim this for our church or for America? Can we just take out certain words and replace them with our own names and countries? On what basis? Friends, "Do not go beyond what is written." Let us "correctly handle the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:14).