From 1 Corinthians 4

Paul encourages the Corinthian Christians to emulate him after saying things like “we have become, and are still, the scum of the world, the refuse (trash) of all things.”

What?!

Thankfully, he then provides some clarity as he encourages them to remember the ways of Christ and to live in those ways.  Sometimes we need that simple reminder, so let this devotion be that for you today.

Remember the ways of Christ.

Strive to live as He instructs you to.

Consider yourself a servant of others and a steward of the Gospel.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses of the simplicity of the Gospel.

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to remember the instructions Christ left for us.

Topics to Pray About                                                            

• Thank God for the foundation we have in Christ.
• Confess to God the times you have ignored the impact your faith ought to have on your life.
• Ask God to guide you in His ways.

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

From 1 Corinthians 3

In these verses, Paul rebukes the Corinthians for a practice that the modern church can resonate with (probably more than any of us would like to admit). The Corinthians are struggling with division that comes from their identification with specific leaders in the church. This has caused them to lose their focus on the calling that God has put in front of them and on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Now you might be thinking to yourself, “I don’t think we struggle with this – sure, some people put too much focus on their favorite celebrity preacher, but I don’t think it’s a really widespread issue.” But I want to reframe this a little bit, the Corinthians were too focused on the people who had impacted them the most, and they stopped thinking about the larger body of Christ like they should have. When we frame Paul’s concern in that light, it challenges how we think about some pastors today but it also challenges how we think about our churches sometimes. I’ll use the churches in my own life as an example – Christ the King planted, Mt. Calvary watered, but God gave the growth. We forget that we aren’t just a bunch of individual churches, we are individual instances of the Church. As such, we should work to support and build one another up – rather than looking at one another as rivals or opposition – in support of the Gospel message that is our one foundation.

This does raise another question about the division that we see in the Church regarding denominations. This too is a sinful division; however, it is less simple than a focus on individual leaders or churches. The core of the division between denomination is the plethora of theological differences that set us apart from one another. We should actively work to resolve those differences, but we cannot operate as if they do not exist for the sake of nominal unity. Overcoming these divisions is difficult, and we should strive for true reconciliation with one another, not just ignore those things that divide us to pretend we are united fully.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that we are build on an unwavering foundation of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to view the Church more holistically than we usually do.

Topics to Pray About                                                              

• Thank God for the foundation we have in Christ.
• Confess to God the times you think of the world divided by things that have impacted you personally.
• Ask God to bless His Church with genuine unity.

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

From 1 Corinthians 2:6-16

Our understanding of who God is and how He works is completely limited by one thing.  There are other things that can further limit our understanding, but ultimately we are limited because we can only understand the things that He has told us about Himself.  This is what Paul is talking about in these verses from Corinthians.  The wisdom and authority of the world cannot lead us to understand God.  Take, for example, the central event of all Scripture – the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  That doesn’t look like victory, that doesn’t look like salvation, that doesn’t look like something an almighty being would do – according to the wisdom of the world. But the wisdom that we are given by the Spirit looks at the crucifixion, and many other things about God, and concludes that they do make perfect sense.

This means a couple things for us today.  First, it should instill in us a sense of humility.  There is no place for us to get inflated egos about how much we know about God, or how familiar we are with Scripture, or how experienced we are with church.  Any understanding or knowledge or wisdom we have spiritually is a gift from the Holy Spirit, it doesn’t come from us and we have no reason to boast in it.  Second, it should encourage us to put ourselves in the path of the Spirit.  If we want to understand God and His will for our lives better (and I’m assuming those reading this do have that desire), then we should regularly put ourselves in those places that He has promised to be – in the Word, in the community of believers, in church, and in participation with the Sacraments.  We put ourselves in those places and pray that through the Spirit’s work we would grow closer to God.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that the Spirit blesses the people of God with transcendent wisdom.

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to have a humble attitude in all spiritual things.

Topics to Pray About                                                            

• Thank God for the wisdom of faith that He has given you.
• Confess to God the times you think of things through a worldly lens or get an inflated sense of your own abilities.
• Ask God to bless His people with faithful wisdom.

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

From 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Let me tell you a little bit about Paul.  Paul was well educated.  Before Paul was Paul, Paul was Saul and he was a rising star in the temple among the Pharisees.  Paul was a Roman citizen and had access to more education than most.  He would’ve been familiar, at least on some level, with philosophy and rhetoric.  Paul was not a fool, he was ignorant, he was not stupid.

So when Paul writes “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified,” that is a decision.  He knew more, and he make the intentional move to rely only on the incredible reality of what Christ did.

When we talk about bringing people to faith sometimes we get sucked into gimmicks or strategies or convincing approaches – instead of relying on the incredible nature of what Christ did and the amazing power of the Holy Spirit.  Don’t underrate the power of Jesus’ sacrifice, it’s enough to give us eternal salvation – just imagine the impact news like that can have if we really focus our lives and witnesses around it.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that Jesus was crucified for us.

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to focus on what Jesus did for us.

Topics to Pray About                                                               

• Thank God for His Son.
• Confess to God the times you get sucked into things that aren’t centered on Jesus.
• Ask God to bless His people with faithful wisdom.

In His Service,

J. LeBorious

From 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

A little bit of context is helpful for these verses.  Corinth and other cities that had been influenced by Greek culture had an emphasis on philosophy, wisdom, and debate.  As a result, the attitude towards these things could be described as idolatry. This created problems because the way God instructs His community to act, the way that Jesus Christ accomplished everything that He did do not conform to how fallen humanity conceives wisdom.  So Paul warns and encourages the Corinthians with these words, reminding them that “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”  In a little bit of a shift, Paul then reminds the Corinthians that they came from humble beginnings as a way for God to humble the wise, the strong, and the proud.

These truths still resonate for us. I don’t know how accurate it is to say that our world elevates wisdom – that’s highly debatable.  What our modern world does seem to idolize at times is information, intelligence, and debate.  As with the Corinthians, the way God works and the way He calls us to live can conflict with these values.  We can receive the same encouragement, remembering “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” So we stay humble and focus on the cross.

Focus on God

We are reminded in these verses that God graciously elevates us beyond what we used to be.

Function in Our Lives

We are encouraged to not idolize wisdom or intelligence.

Topics to Pray About                                                               

• Thank God for wisdom and intelligence that brings you closer to Him.
• Confess to God the times where you elevate your own understanding above the Word of God.
• Ask God to bless His people with faithful wisdom.

In His Service,

J. LeBorious