2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
In looking at our congregations as we have been doing, we must also look at ourselves, the members of those congregations. A congregation can only produce good spiritual fruit if its members do that as individuals. We have to ask, what kind of service to God do we provide? The answer to that question is something only an individual can answer with God’s help. If we are not happy with the kind of service or the quality of service we are providing, we need to have the courage of faith to let our Lord change our attitudes and take the action necessary to make the adjustments to conform to His view of how our service should be. Now, that’s easier said than done. Making these adjustments can be costly to us and sometimes to others around us. Yet, it is necessary to do this to remain on that narrow, difficult path that God asks us to take and which leads to eternal life.
1 COR 3 reveals some of God’s perspectives on how we should view the service we perform. At the time Paul wrote his epistle to the Corinthians, both he and Apollos had been traveling and preaching. There was some controversy amongst the people as to which one they should consider the most important. Paul puts God’s perspective on this in 1 COR 3: 5-9a, a passage containing some valuable lessons for us. “After all, who is Apollos? And who is Paul? We are simply God’s servants by whom you were led to believe. Each one of us does the work which the Lord gave him to do: I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God Who made the plant grow. The one who plants and the one who waters really do not matter. It is God Who matters, because He makes the plant grow. There is no difference between the man who plants and the man who waters; God will reward each one according to the work he has done. For we are partners working together for God, and you are God’s field.”
We can really see a paradigm shift in God’s view of this and man’s. Mankind likes to rank people according to the job they do, making one person or one job more important than another. God says each job is equally important, and each person’s service is necessary. Man works for his own personal agenda: prestige, material wealth, power, or other forms of personal gain. God asks man to serve for the edification and unity of the Body of Christ, in faith-building, and for the good of all over his own personal gain. Man’s approach is selfish and spiritually either immature or even wanting. God’s approach is caring and unselfish. It leads to spiritual growth and eventually to eternal reward. Man’s approach puts himself, the created, at the center of his existence. The alternative puts God at the center, benefits both God and mankind, and glorifies the Creator. By taking a Godly perspective on our service, egos and unhealthy competition are taken out of the picture. Cooperation, care of those working beside us in our congregations, and a desire to share a common Godly purpose are the order of the day.
1 COR 3: 9b-11 uses the metaphor of a building to give further illumination on God’s perspective. “You are also God’s building. Using the gift God gave me, I [Paul] did the work of an expert builder and laid the foundation, and another man is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds. For God has already placed Jesus Christ as the one and only foundation, and no other foundation can be laid.” This is not the only place in the Scriptures where this metaphor is used, and we will get to the others later. This has some interesting connotations when you look at this citation from the OT point of view. God was actually present in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, for example. The Tabernacle was God’s own house. In the NT we see that because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in those who believe, we are God’s temple (2 COR 6: 16). That makes us God’s own house, not a place that should be fouled with sin. To reflect God’s attributes, we are asked to serve God with the perspective He has revealed to us in His Word. There is another metaphor that comes to my mind that may shed light on this. For ice to have its characteristics, the molecules of water must each have two hydrogen atoms connected to an oxygen atom. Ice is a crystal lattice that has its molecules lined up in a very exacting way. If too much heat is added, that lattice begins to break down, changing ice into a liquid. Like the ice lattice, we as parts of God’s temple must align our service with God’s perspective in order for His work to really be done. When sinful man-centered attitudes take over our service to God, His work is hindered or stopped altogether, just like the heat which causes the gradual breakdown of the orderly arrangement of the crystal lattice. The only true and sure foundation for God’s temple is Jesus Christ. That is why it is so important that we look to Him for leadership and build our congregations on His teachings. When Christ is overlooked or ignored, the foundation is not strong enough to hold up to the temptations and evil around it.
1 COR 3: 16-17, “Surely you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives within you! So if anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you yourselves are his temple.” We have been told in RO 6: 23 that “the wages of sin is death.” It is sin that destroys congregations. We have also been told in RO 14: 13, “So then, let us stop judging one another . Instead, you should decide never to do anything that would make your brother stumble or fall into sin.” We can see that God’s message is wholly consistent. When a person commits sin individually as a persistent lifestyle he guarantees that he will eventually be lost. When he commits persistent sin within a congregation, not only he but possibly others are headed for spiritual death. That places an important responsibility on our shoulders to make the choices necessary to adjust our service to conform to God’s view of how it should be. Notice that I made the point about this sin being a persistent lifestyle. We are all sinners. The difference is that those who are faithful are involved in finding the sin that still may be in our lives and expunging it. God will forgive sin that is a one time act followed by repentance and permanent departure from that behavior.
PRAYER: O Lord, You have clearly asked us not to lead man-centered, self-centered lives. We have been charged with the responsibility of serving in love, making that service accurate to Your guidelines set out so clearly in the Scriptures, and enabling You to do your work through us. We dedicate ourselves to doing that. Our knowledge of You and our faith in the Son give us the assurance that we will be blessed beyond human imagination for our obedience to You. That is because You are so loving and compassionate toward Your children. You deserve our praise, thanks, and adoration for Your presence and leadership in our lives. In Christ’s name, amen.
Dear Ones, be encouraged in your faith today and always. Our Lord guides us in how to serve Him and equips us to make the adjustments necessary in our lives to conform to His perspective on how that service should be. When we serve Him in love and guided by Christ’s teachings, we need never feel alone, abandoned, or unloved. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn