Latest / Scripture Central / 1 Corinthians 14-16: New Testament with Lynne Wilson (Come, Follow Me)

Transcript

1 Corinthians 14-16: New Testament with Lynne Wilson (Come, Follow Me) · Scripture Central

0:00
Welcome back to Scripture Central.
0:01
Come follow me. I'm Lynn Hilton Wilson, and
0:04
today we're looking at First Corinthians chapter 14 through
0:07
16. Paul is trying to correct a lot
0:10
of misunderstandings. He's answering their questions
0:13
that the Corinthian Saints had written to him about.
0:15
We've got evidence that there's several letters going back and
0:18
forth, even though we just have two, possibly even 7 letters.
0:21
But in these misunderstandings, we get some of the most
0:24
beautiful chapters in all of Scripture.
0:26
In fact, I think the message of the resurrection is more
0:30
beautiful in these chapters than in any other text in the New
0:33
Testament epistles. He also talks about the gifts of
0:37
Spirit again and worship. Remember, this First Corinthians
0:40
comes in the historical time period of Acts 18 through 20.
0:44
He's finished with his second mission where he served in
0:47
Corinth for 18 months. He's now in his third mission in
0:51
Ephesus and he's writing to them.
0:52
It appears that he's writing in the springtime, shortly before
0:55
he wants to come and visit. We don't know exactly when.
0:58
It is somewhere between 54 and 57.
1:01
He's probably writing this letter to them.
1:03
And he begins in chapter 14 talking about the problems with
1:06
the gift of tongues. And for 19 verses he goes
1:10
through all these challenges. I'm going to read first of all
1:13
from the new rendition. I hope some of you have had the
1:16
chance to find this. Over the last several decades,
1:19
Brigham Young University has been working on a translation of
1:23
the Bible by those who are richly ingrained in the
1:27
Restoration. And so they go back to the
1:29
original Greek, and they are looking at all the other
1:34
resources available to them and coming up with a translation
1:38
that is consistent with the doctrine of the Restoration.
1:40
Each book of the New Testament gets its own book in this large
1:44
volume of commentary and in chapter 14, verse one in the new
1:47
rendition, it reads seek after love and strive for spiritual
1:51
gifts, and especially that you might speak with divine
1:55
inspiration. He may be talking to
1:57
missionaries, he may be talking just to all the Saints, but
2:00
whoever has the opportunity to speak, he's saying make sure
2:04
you're speaking from divine inspiration.
2:07
In verse two we've got a nice Joseph Smith translation change.
2:10
He says for he that speaketh in another tongue the word unknown
2:16
is crossed out, because all languages are known to God,
2:19
speaketh not unto men, but unto God.
2:22
Now this problem with another tongue and tongues is mentioned
2:26
six different times. This unknown tongues he takes it
2:29
out. And in fact not only did you
2:31
take it out, but Joseph Smith spoke on the exact same subject
2:33
in a sermon in Nauvoo. He says the gift of tongues is
2:36
the smallest gift, yet it is one that is most sought after.
2:40
Be not so curious about. Tongues do not speak in tongues,
2:44
except there is an interpreter present.
2:47
The ultimate design of tongues is to speak to foreigners.
2:50
The gifts of God are all useful in their place, but when they
2:54
are applied to that which God does not intend, they prove an
2:58
injury, a snare, a curse instead of a blessing.
3:01
And just on a small tangent, I have to let you know that I've
3:03
read many writings from other groups of Christians in the
3:08
early 19th century and they identified members of the
3:11
Restoration, followers of the Prophet Joseph Smith as those
3:15
that spoke in tongues and had the gifts of the Spirit.
3:17
It was one of the ways that they identified us and and they said
3:21
they were crazy, they were crazy.
3:23
And so Joseph is saying stop it. We're not we're not blessing the
3:26
Kingdom this way. Let's seek the gifts of the
3:28
Spirit that will help grow the Kingdom.
3:31
Continuing on, in chapter 14, verse three and four, the NIV
3:35
reads the one who prophesies speaks to people for their
3:39
strengthening and encouraging and comfort and edifies the
3:42
church. We talked a little bit last week
3:44
about the word prophecy and prophecy and to be a prophet.
3:48
They all refer to someone who has a testimony of Jesus Christ.
3:52
You can read more about that in the Book of Revelation, chapter
3:54
19, verse 10. But I appreciate the fact that
3:58
this whole section is for men and women.
4:02
And even though the King James says now brethren, in verse 6,
4:06
if you read the NIV or others, you'll see that it's brothers
4:09
and sisters or disciples of Christ or anyone.
4:13
So make sure you keep this open mind that this is for our young
4:16
men and our young women and our children.
4:18
It doesn't matter your age or your gender, it matters the
4:21
level of your faith. And he continues on in chapter
4:24
14. If I come onto you speaking with
4:26
tongues, what shall I profit you for, if the trumpet gives an
4:29
uncertain sound, who should prepare himself for battle?
4:32
This is the time of the Roman Empire, when the battle cry was
4:36
well known and the Roman soldiers were occupying most to
4:41
every city, and so the trumpet call would tell the soldiers
4:44
what to do. And before loudspeakers,
4:46
trumpets were used to communicate a lot of things.
4:49
Verse 12 continues on as ye are zealous of the spiritual gifts
4:54
seek that you may excel in edifying the church.
4:57
So he's addressing their problems, remember?
4:59
And he is now answering their questions and he says, you know,
5:02
I'm glad that you're zealous, but let's make sure that you're
5:06
edifying that you're doing things to build the Kingdom.
5:10
Continuing on in verse 15 and 16, also again in the NIVI will
5:14
pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding.
5:19
I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my
5:23
understanding otherwise and then skipping down a little bit to
5:26
16. How can someone else say Amen?
5:30
Paul is trying to unify the church.
5:32
There's a lot of divisions in their worship.
5:34
They have a lot of disunity and it sounds to me like a lot of
5:38
people are speaking at the same times and languages that no one
5:40
can understand. Their worship services were not
5:43
a spiritual feast at this time. According to this letter, as I'm
5:46
reading some of the challenges that are there, he continues on
5:49
in verse 22 again in the MIV. Tongues, then, are a sign not
5:53
for believers, but for unbelievers.
5:56
Prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers.
6:00
And that is the gift of the testimony of Jesus Christ that
6:04
we can testify, that we can prophesy, that Jesus is the
6:08
promised Messiah, that He is our Savior and Redeemer.
6:12
Continue on to verse 26 and skipping down all the way to
6:15
verse 33 in the MIV He starts out brothers and sisters.
6:19
Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.
6:22
Speak one at a time, for God is not a God of disorder, but of
6:28
peace. You know, I think once Paul left
6:31
after 18 months, different leaders would come in and
6:33
different people would do things.
6:34
And I I feel like they didn't have a lot of continuity.
6:39
And Paul is hearing about these things from Chloe and other
6:42
people who have come to visit him.
6:44
And he is very concerned. This is probably not his first
6:48
letter. In fact, we're told he already
6:50
had earlier letters. So we they've been going back
6:52
and forth. And he's addressing these very
6:54
fundamental issues of reverence during worship.
6:57
In verse 31. He talks about the need for
6:59
order. He says, for we may all prophesy
7:03
one by one, that all may learn and all may be comforted.
7:07
This idea of being comforted by the Spirit is beautiful because
7:11
sometimes the word comfort is the word Spirit.
7:14
They use it interchangeably. Sometimes in the New Testament
7:17
it has beautiful implications. Right in the middle of this
7:20
discussion on the gifts of the Spirit, the text seems to be
7:23
ransacked and we get two very strange verses that contradict
7:28
about 23 verses that Paul says elsewhere.
7:32
These two verses do not fit in. In fact, if you take them out,
7:35
it flows better and they talk about women's worship in public.
7:40
So not only is Paul trying to address their misunderstandings,
7:43
I will now try to address the misunderstanding of these two
7:46
verses, because this is a strange one.
7:49
Joseph Smith gave us a translation change, which is
7:51
very helpful. It doesn't solve all the
7:53
problems, but it's very helpful. He's reading this thing that
7:56
says women aren't supposed to speak in church.
7:57
He says no, no, no, no. In verse 34 he says let your
8:01
women keep signing in the churches, for it is not
8:03
permitted for them to rule in the church.
8:06
And then he crosses out. They are commanded to be under
8:09
obedience, and he says they should be under obedience as it
8:13
says in the law. And if they want to learn
8:15
anything, let them go home and learn from their husbands.
8:18
For it's a shame for a woman to rule in the church.
8:21
So Joseph Smith goes back to the theme that Paul's been
8:23
discussing authority and order. However, Joseph did not ever go
8:28
back to the original Greek. He did not cut these verses out.
8:31
I don't know why, but not all of the changes that are wrong in
8:36
the New Testament were corrected by Joseph Smith.
8:38
I believe he did the best he could, but he himself kept going
8:42
back and making more changes and more additions.
8:44
It was not necessarily like it was in the Book of Mormon, the
8:47
word of God coming out. So if we are assuming that if
8:51
Joseph didn't change it, then it's correct.
8:53
I think we don't understand what the Joseph Smith translation
8:56
actually is. Remember, the most dramatic
8:58
changes in the Joseph Smith translation are those first 24
9:02
chapters in Genesis and everything else is is a lot
9:05
lighter, a lot lighter touch. As I mentioned before, I like
9:08
reading other translations and in these verses 14 through 35, I
9:13
appreciate John W Welch's translation here and charting
9:15
the New Testament. Instead of saying women should
9:18
keep silent like the KJV, it reads, women should be reverent.
9:23
And instead of saying women should not speak as the KG V, it
9:26
says, women should not chatter or women should be supportive.
9:32
They're wonderful. Other words that can add to the
9:34
worship service and help us see that the women are
9:37
participating. This idea of them keeping silent
9:39
contradicts what he's just said about the gifts of the Spirit
9:43
and about women praying and prophesying in Chapter 11.
9:45
And I can keep going back every chapter he practically he's
9:48
mentioned something about female participation.
9:51
In fact, I've got some of them written out here.
9:53
You can all prophesy. That was just two verses back in
9:56
chapter 14, verse 31 and in 39 he goes on and says sisters be
10:01
eager to prophesy and do not forbid speaking in tongues.
10:05
That's in another translation. And then in chapter one, verse
10:08
two, he said women are also consecrated in Christ.
10:13
And in Chapter 11, remember he said that women were going to be
10:15
praying and prophesying in public worship.
10:17
That's verse 5 in chapter 12. In verse one women were to
10:21
exercise the gifts the Spirit. That's repeated in verse six and
10:24
seven and eleven of all of chapter 12 and also in chapter
10:27
12. Do you remember in verse 13 and
10:29
14 he talked about women being baptized with the Spirit and
10:32
then verse 11 of chapter one he talks about Chloe.
10:35
Is this female trusted source who is giving authentic
10:40
information to Paul? I have a few other lists of many
10:44
many other verses where Paul is allowing women to speak.
10:47
Their voices are heard. They are acting as witnesses.
10:50
In fact, in the letter of First Corinthians, there are five
10:53
different verses specifically that say women are to speak in
10:56
church meetings, whether they're prophesying or preaching or
10:59
praying. And if we look at all of the
11:01
greater Pauline epistles, we sweep 12 more references where
11:05
he highlights specifically women should be participating in
11:08
worship services. So these two verses completely
11:11
contradicted. It is also inconsistent with
11:15
Jesus's example. Jesus called women to speak all
11:19
the time. In fact.
11:19
Remember at the tomb the angels came and told the women, Go tell
11:24
the apostles, I want you to testify and witness to the
11:27
leaders of the church. It is completely inconsistent
11:30
with what Christ taught and what is taught in the restoration.
11:33
Jesus not only called women as witnesses, but they traveled
11:36
with him. He had them testifying with him.
11:39
It's totally out of context. Almost every biblical scholar I
11:43
read on this verses outside of the church and inside of the
11:46
church have said it's disruptive.
11:48
There's something wrong here, and in fact in some Greek texts
11:52
they took the two verses out and stuck them at the end because
11:54
they didn't seem to fit. So they put them out of order.
11:56
In the 4th century text, we can see these being moved around in
12:00
addition to all these things like it doesn't flow and it
12:03
doesn't fit, It's not consistent with Paul's and Jesus's other
12:07
teachings. We also see that these teachings
12:10
are part of the heresies. They come out of the Judaic,
12:13
Farisaic ideas. There's a heretical Christian
12:17
view in the 1st and 2nd century that taught these same things.
12:20
So I finally went back and looked at the early Greek
12:23
sources. Now remember the King James has
12:25
not taken. That's the Texas receptionist.
12:28
It's not one of the earliest versions, although it's a very
12:30
good accurate one. But I like more the Ephesus
12:34
Greek, the text that was kept in Ephesus.
12:37
I go back there and these verses are not included.
12:41
This was quite startling to me. They aren't even there.
12:44
I think it's a later addition. We also see in the Restoration
12:49
that the Prophet Joseph Smith restored just the opposite.
12:52
In fact. In section 25 verse seven he
12:54
called Emma and he says Emma going to be ordained, which we
12:58
refer to as that the women will be called and set apart.
13:02
And he says, Emma, I want you to be ordained to expound the
13:05
scriptures, to exhort the Church according as it shall be given
13:09
thee by. He's referred to God's spirit.
13:12
I also see in the restoration, in addition to these wonderful
13:15
verses, they given very early in the restoration that Emma had
13:20
the responsibility to teach and testify.
13:23
I also see the restoration of Eve as a good woman.
13:26
That's starting in the Book of Mormon, a complete change on the
13:30
history of the world. We also have the restoration
13:32
that there is actually a mother in heaven.
13:35
We also have the restoration of the temple ordinances for all
13:39
that women can act in the highest order of the priesthood
13:42
in their relationships in temple ordinances, and that all the
13:46
powers and authority of the priesthood and blessings of the
13:50
priesthood can be shared in relationships for endowed
13:53
sisters. This is a powerful change not
13:57
only in the 19th century, but in the early ancient church as
14:00
well. And I don't think that Paul's
14:03
verses there need to be a concern to us.
14:07
I think they're inaccurate. Chapter 14 continues on in verse
14:11
36 with the gifts of the Spirit, right where we left before and
14:15
he says, did the word of the Lord originate with you or are
14:19
you the only ones who have received it?
14:21
If you go from verse 32 you can see what he's talking about and
14:23
then just skip down to verse 36. That's what I just read in the
14:26
BSB translation where he's saying, you know, the gifts, the
14:29
spirit are for everyone, we all need them.
14:32
And then in verse 37 he concludes here in the NIV on the
14:36
gifts the Spirit. If anyone thinks that they are a
14:38
prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge
14:42
that what I am writing to you is the Lord's commandment.
14:46
My brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy and do not
14:50
forbid speaking in tongues, but everything should be done in a
14:54
fitting and orderly manner. So it's very consistent from
14:57
there on. Now perhaps there were some
14:59
women who are trying to usurp authority, as Joseph Smith said,
15:02
and perhaps the gift of tongues, where women all speaking at the
15:06
same time. You know, perhaps there was a
15:08
reason why those verses were there.
15:10
I don't know. All I know is it's not
15:12
consistent with our living prophet and the restoration.
15:16
And next we come to chapter 15, which is the best chapter in all
15:20
the epistles on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
15:24
We start out in chapter 15, verse one through 11 Speaking of
15:26
Christ resurrection and then the resurrection of the dead, verses
15:30
12 through 28 and then the resurrection of the body versus
15:33
35 to 39 and the heavenly kingdoms versus 40 to 55.
15:39
Starting in verses 3 through 5 we get a wonderful little hymn
15:43
or prayer or other Christians call it the first credo that
15:47
Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,
15:50
that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day
15:54
according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to K Foss or
15:57
Peter and then to the 12. The word that hoti is repeated 4
16:03
times here and it's a Greek statement of belief or fact.
16:06
And then this little group of two verses was expanded on to
16:11
become the foundation of the nice and creed.
16:14
So this became an important part of Christian tradition.
16:19
He continues on in verse 6 and says that Christ appeared to
16:22
more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at the same time.
16:27
And we know that many of them are still living and testifying
16:30
that the early Christian Church had the Commission by Christ to
16:33
go and spread the message to the whole world that every member
16:36
was a missionary then just as we are now.
16:39
In verse seven, he claims that Christ was seen of James.
16:43
I was not talking about Peter, James and John.
16:45
He's talking about the James that's alive right now when Paul
16:48
is living, and that is James the brother of the Lord.
16:52
And James did not believe the Savior when he was growing up,
16:54
according to the Gospel of John. But after Christ appeared to
16:59
Mary and to Peter, he appeared to James.
17:04
And the brother of the Lord was humble and meek enough to
17:07
receive this visitation and to change and become a mighty
17:11
leader in the Church. And in fact, most people refer
17:14
to him as the Bishop of Jerusalem, most Christians or a
17:17
great leader in Jerusalem. And verse 7 continues on and
17:21
ends with saying, last of all he was seen of me.
17:25
So Paul has mentioned these 500 and James and Peter.
17:30
And then he says I have also received a Commission from him.
17:34
I am also an apostle of Jesus Christ and he commissioned me to
17:38
testify that I am an eyewitness. In verse 10 he reads by the
17:42
grace of God I am what I am now. The word grace can mean merciful
17:50
forgiveness, kindness. It has a lot.
17:54
It's a beautiful word with lots of depth and plug those other
17:58
things in here. The kindness of God allows me to
18:01
be who I am or the forgiveness of God.
18:03
And that's the way I feel in my life too.
18:06
It is God's grace. It is God's forgiveness.
18:08
It is the gift of repentance that allows me to be able to
18:11
speak with the Spirit instead of being the man that I was.
18:15
The resurrection message continues on in verse 12 to 28
18:19
as he talks about the resurrection of the dead, how
18:22
say some that there is no resurrection of the dead.
18:27
So obviously one of the questions that the Corinthian
18:29
Saints are writing Paul had to do with this and he answers with
18:32
these beautiful poetic words that handle has now put to music
18:36
in our Messiah. Since by man came death, by man
18:40
came also the resurrection of the dead.
18:43
So since by Adam came death, by Jesus we have the resurrection,
18:47
and he makes all these beautiful parallels.
18:49
Verse 22 continues on. For as an Adam all die, Even so
18:54
in Christ shall all be made alive.
18:56
But every man is his own order, Christ the first fruits, and
19:01
afterward they that are at his coming.
19:05
Now the word his coming refers to the second coming.
19:08
It's mentioned 38 times in the New Testament, but it always
19:11
refers to the Second coming of Christ.
19:14
The Second Coming isn't used until like the 2nd century of
19:16
Christianity. It's always His coming because
19:19
they're expecting it so soon. They aren't expecting to have to
19:22
wait hundreds and hundreds and centuries in Millennium like we
19:25
are. Verse 24 continues on in the
19:27
BSB. You're referring to Jesus and he
19:30
says that he will hand over the Kingdom of God the Father after
19:34
he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.
19:37
That's the BSB translation and Christ is accountable to the
19:41
Father and their relationship is very close.
19:44
And then comes the verses on the baptisms for the dead.
19:48
This is one of our favorite verses that talk about the
19:52
ability for the resurrection to cover all not just those who are
19:56
fortunate enough to have had a Bible in their hands, but all
19:59
humanity who had the chance to learn about Christ.
20:02
Whether on this side of the veil or the other side of the veil.
20:05
All can be redeemed and received that gracious gift.
20:09
This is the most wonderful message I feel and all of
20:14
Christianity to understand this doctrine, and we alone are the
20:19
only Christian denomination who practices this as an ordinance.
20:23
Verse 29 reads elsewhere. Shall they do which are baptized
20:26
for the dead? If the dead rise?
20:27
Not at all, why are they baptized for the dead?
20:30
He's saying of course we have the resurrection.
20:32
We're all baptizing. Why would we be baptizing if we
20:34
didn't need the resurrection? And of course he's fighting this
20:37
problem about the physical body and the spiritual body because
20:40
they don't realize the beauty of coming together again as an
20:44
immortal soul. Joseph Smith also taught on this
20:47
in the Restoration. In his journal History, it
20:50
reads, the Apostle Paul was talking to a people who
20:53
understood baptism for the dead, for it was practiced among them.
20:57
And he went on to say that the people could now act for their
21:00
friends who had departed this life, and that the plan of
21:03
salvation was calculated to save all who are willing to obey the
21:07
requirements of the law of God. And he went on and made a very
21:10
beautiful discourse. That's all Joseph Smith.
21:13
But we do read in section 128 what is the subject.
21:17
It is the baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be
21:21
made perfect, and neither can they without us be made perfect.
21:25
Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have
21:29
died in the gospel also. For it is necessary for the
21:33
ushering in of the dispensation of the fullness of times.
21:36
There is such mutuality, there is such need.
21:38
We need our forefathers. They need us.
21:41
We need our progenitors. We need to work together in
21:43
harmony. And whether we are gathering
21:45
Israel on either side of the veil, we are building the
21:48
Kingdom of God in preparation for the second coming of our
21:51
Savior. And that first baptism of
21:53
service happened right after his sermon.
21:55
They went down to the water and Jane Nyman was baptized in
21:59
behalf of her son, Cyrus Livingston.
22:02
Nyman brother Harvey Olmsted did the performing of the baptism
22:06
and Vienna Jacques was the witness.
22:09
So we had women witnessing. Then we also had a horse as the
22:12
second witness. We didn't have anyone else
22:14
besides the horse because Vienna rode her horse out to watch it.
22:17
So we see what happened. But back to the New Testament
22:20
time. Let's go back to chapter 15,
22:22
verse 31. The Joseph Smith translation
22:24
adds some interesting changes. I protest.
22:27
And then Joseph changed the words and says unto you the
22:31
resurrection of the dead. And this is my And then it goes
22:34
back to King James rejoicing, which I have in Christ Jesus the
22:38
Lord. And Joseph adds daily though I
22:42
die. And in the Neb, it reads a
22:45
little bit differently as well. I swear in my pride in you, my
22:48
brothers, for in Christ Jesus our Lord I am proud of you.
22:53
So very different meanings to many of these verses, depending
22:55
on your translation. I feel like the best translation
22:59
is the translation of the spirit.
23:01
So I encourage you again to pray as you read and study these
23:04
verses. Continuing on to chapter 15,
23:07
verse 32, he says an interesting word here.
23:09
He says he fought with wild beasts.
23:12
Now Paul's a Roman citizen. He's not going to be in an
23:14
amphitheater fighting with wild beast.
23:16
The strongest concordance tells us of the Greek of these words
23:19
means that he's exposed to fierce hostility.
23:23
And I think that's exactly what happened.
23:24
And he continues on and talks about the fierce hostility is
23:27
often Bad Company. 1st 33 of the NIV reads Bad company corrupts
23:32
good character. And he's quoting here one of
23:34
these old Greek comedies. It's sort of like me quoting
23:36
Shakespeare, you know, to be or not to be, you know, he's
23:39
quoting that bad company corrupts these people, would
23:41
have known this, you know, Paul is so well ready, knows his old
23:44
testimony, knows his Greek classics.
23:46
It's terrific. He continues on with the last
23:48
part about the resurrection and verses 35 to 39.
23:52
But someone will ask how are the dead raised and with what kind
23:56
of body will they come. That's the BSB translation of
23:59
verse 35. And then he moves on to talk
24:02
about the kingdoms of glory and he refers to the celestial and
24:06
the terrestrial and elsewhere Paul talks about the three
24:09
heavens, but here he just refers to those two.
24:12
But we see them as these great kingdoms of heaven.
24:15
Verse 40. There are also celestial bodies
24:18
and then in the Joseph Smith translation we've got that
24:20
changed, the JST adds and bodies telestial and then going back to
24:26
the King James. But the glory of the celestial
24:27
is 1 and the Joseph Smith crashes it out and says the
24:31
terrestrial and the telestial another he keeps adding in the
24:36
third one. Paul later talks about 3
24:38
heavens, but right here we've just got these two in the King
24:40
James translation it's not until Joseph adds in the third.
24:43
I love the parallel ways that Paul writes.
24:46
And looking at verse 42, he says the resurrection of the dead and
24:50
skipping ahead a little bit, is sown in corruption, but it is
24:54
raised in incorruption. It is sown in weakness.
24:58
It is raised in power. You know, we take all of our
25:01
weaknesses before the Lord. We take our sins, we take our
25:04
shortcomings, we take our faults, our ignorance, and we
25:07
give it to Christ. And we strive to draw closer to
25:10
Him. And He nurtures us and He helps
25:12
us grow. And we become Saints through His
25:16
name, through His witness for the purification of His spirit,
25:20
we are raised in power. It's a wonderful promise.
25:24
Again we get another beautiful tie between Christ and Adam.
25:27
In verses 45 to 47. The first man, Adam, was made a
25:31
living soul, and the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
25:35
The first man is of the earth, earthly, and the 2nd man is of
25:39
the Lord from heaven. This beautiful relationship
25:43
between Adam and Christ is also good for all of us because we
25:48
are all part of humanity. Remember, Adam also is male and
25:52
female here. And as we continue on in verse
25:54
50, neither death, corruption inherent in corruption.
25:58
You know the fallen man could not do it without a savior.
26:02
We absolutely need a Redeemer every day in our life and the
26:07
whole world would be wasted without the atonement of our
26:10
Savior Jesus Christ, he concludes in chapter 15 versus
26:14
51 to 52 by saying we shall all be changed in a moment in the
26:18
twinkling of an eye at the last trump And he's talking about one
26:22
of the mysteries he continues on in verse 55.
26:26
Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory?
26:31
You know Paul has been close to death many times.
26:34
He's gone through horrendous torture and yet he knows he has
26:38
such faith. He has such hope that the sting
26:41
of death is gone. And handle use this one as well.
26:44
In verse 57 he ends thanks be to God who gives us the victory to
26:50
the Lord Jesus Christ. Then Paul moves ahead and he
26:53
says in verse 58. I want to read the BSB
26:57
translation. Always excel in the work of the
27:00
Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in
27:03
vain. So he's now moving away from the
27:06
message of the Restoration in the kingdoms.
27:08
And he's talking about I need all of you to excel.
27:11
You know, I think of our wonderful missionaries.
27:13
I think of our wonderful members of the Church who accept
27:15
callings and are willing to stretch beyond their current
27:19
capacities. He then goes on to Chapter 16 to
27:22
talk about the need to gather the tithings and the offerings.
27:26
And in the King James, it's called your liberality.
27:28
And he says, when I come, I'm going to want you to have all of
27:31
the all of your offerings already gathered.
27:34
So I want you every Sunday to put a little bit aside, you
27:37
know, put it aside, your ties and your offerings.
27:39
And then when I come, I will take your contributions to
27:43
Jerusalem. This is a wonderful sign that
27:45
the church was unified, that we have the leadership in Jerusalem
27:49
working with those people, even out on the outskirts in in
27:52
Europe, here in Corinth. Paul also tells them in verses 5
27:56
through 9 that he's going to come and visit.
27:58
He wants to spend the winter there in Corinth and he hopes to
28:02
travel soon. It says in the new rendition, I
28:05
will come to you. I do not want to just see you in
28:08
passing. I hope to spend some time
28:11
without, if the Lord should permit.
28:13
We read about this also in Acts chapter 20.
28:15
Chapter 16, verse 10 through 12 says I can't come yet though, so
28:19
I'm sending you Timothy. And he says in verse 10 when
28:23
Timothy comes skipping down a little bit, he is carrying on
28:26
the work of the Lord just as I am.
28:28
So he's saying please accept him as if you were accepting me.
28:31
And then down to verse 12 and is touching our brother Apollos.
28:35
I greatly desired him to come. Before you talked about the
28:38
divisions with people saying I'm of Apollos, I'm a Paul.
28:41
He said no, no, no. Apollos and I are unified in
28:43
this work. I've asked him to please come,
28:45
but the Lord has something else for him.
28:47
He concludes this letter in chapter 16, verse 13 to 20.
28:51
With this conclusion and starting with verse 13, the NIV
28:54
reads, Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be
28:59
courageous, be strong. And then he moves on to verse
29:02
14. Do everything in love.
29:05
And he talks about the love of the churches.
29:07
He said the churches of Asia agree.
29:08
You remember he's an emphasis. So that's modern day Turkey, the
29:11
western coast, but that's called Asia or Asia Minor.
29:14
And then he starts talking about the household of Stefanus and
29:16
Aquila and Priscilla. These people that they knew are
29:19
now over an emphasis with him and he's referring to them by
29:23
name. And then he adds his own little
29:25
postscript in verse 21, the salutation of me, Paul, with
29:30
mine own hand. And then we have a very strange
29:33
verse. If any man love not the Lord
29:37
Jesus Christ, let him be an anathema Marina.
29:40
Now that's the King James Version.
29:42
But in the BSB we get it actually translated and it says
29:46
be under divine curse. Come, oh Lord.
29:49
So he's saying, if you're going to deny the faith, you're going
29:52
to be cursed. But just hang in there, wait for
29:55
the coming of the Lord. I feel like so much of the
29:58
message that he has here. For the Saints and Corinth apply
30:01
to us now. We need to endure to the Second
30:04
Coming. There may be things that go
30:07
against our culture as they did in Paul's culture, but our
30:10
prophet is a servant of God and we are servants of Christ, and
30:15
we need to build his Kingdom so that he can come again.
30:19
I think this is a wonderful book of scripture, especially with
30:22
the blessings of inspiration and prophetic help.
30:25
I pray that you might draw closer to Christ by studying it
30:29
in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.