Latest / Scripture Central / 1 Corinthians 8-13: New Testament with Lynne Wilson (Come, Follow Me)

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1 Corinthians 8-13: New Testament with Lynne Wilson (Come, Follow Me) · Scripture Central

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Welcome back to Scripture Central.
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I'm Lynn Hilton Wilson. To talk with you about the come
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follow me lesson, First Corinthians chapters 8 through
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13. And in this chapter, Paul
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discusses a lot of misunderstandings.
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He wants to correct their misunderstandings on dietary
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needs and idolatry, on ordinances and gifts of the
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Spirit. And this is one of the best
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chapters in all Scripture on the gift of spirit.
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I absolutely love this section of scriptures and hope that you
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can feel the Spirit of the Lord as you study these chapters just
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by way of review. If you want to go back and look
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at some of these charts that I've used from John W Welch's
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Charting the New Testament, you can see where the book of
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Corinthians falls in place. It's quite early.
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It's during his third mission. He's already spent 18 months
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with them, last weeks. In chapters one through 6, it
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addressed the disturbing reports that were made about the
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Corinthian church. But now in Chapter 7 through 15,
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we're talking about these answers to the Corinthian
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questions. Today we're starting in chapter
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8, but it's all part of these answers to the questions.
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Paul actually wrote probably 7 letters back and forth, but
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we've only got two of them. So we only know a portion of the
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story and we don't know all the issues.
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And as a result, it's very confusing at times.
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Also, this was a letter of correction.
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He's constantly correcting them and so it is easy to
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misunderstand, especially if we're just reading the King
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James translation. I think some of the words in the
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ancient 16th century make it even more difficult to
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understand. So I'd encourage you to pray
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before you read the scriptures and to check other translations.
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Just as a reminder, he is writing this from Ephesus,
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probably during the spring time, and he's telling them that he's
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going to be coming there. And if you look at the book of
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Acts, you can see where this book falls chronologically
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between Acts chapters 18 and 21 is when he's on his time both in
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his second mission serving in Corinth in Greece, and then his
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third mission when he's writing them, where he's stationed now
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over in Ephesus. Chapter 8 begins in the ESV
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translation, now concerning foods offered to idols.
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Now, in the Greco Roman world, almost every type of meat that
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was used it in the stores to buy for people to consume had been
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first offered to an idol and then taken to the stores and
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sold generally. And so as a result, as a good
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Jewish man or woman, you would not want to eat that food
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because it's already been contaminated by idolatry.
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But Paul goes forward to say in verse four, we know that an idol
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is nothing. You don't need to be worried
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about these kind of things. It's not an issue because it
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doesn't matter if it's offered toward idol, except if it's
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going to offend someone else. And if it's going to offend
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someone, then don't eat it. Be more sensitive to people than
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you are. The food.
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The food is going to be the same in your body, whether it's
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falsely prayed over in a temple or whether it's just freshly
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taken for your consumption. If it's a healthy piece of food,
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it's going to be just fine for you.
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We live in a day and age though where idolatry is still a real
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problem. We may not have temples to
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Diana, but we have so many self-serving and selfish
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behaviors as we think about sports and commercialism and
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drinking and gambling, pornography, entertainment, soap
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operas, sleazy books, laziness, foods, electronics, self
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indulgence. I just think we are saturated in
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a world with things of that take us away from God.
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And anything that takes us away from God is idolatry.
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And I hope that we can remember our baptismal covenants and
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strive to take upon ourselves the name of Christ and do all
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that we do every day in his name.
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First Corinthians chapter 8, verse 6 continues on.
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There is but one God, the Father and of whom we are all things
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and we in Him and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things.
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And we by Him He's separating out the Godhead.
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We are of the Father and we are of the Son.
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The Father is the creator of our spirits, and the Son is the
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creator of all things and we are by Him especially because of his
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gift of immortality. Paul continues on in chapter 8,
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verse 12, talking about the problems of offending other
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people. He's already talked about the
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problem with offending because you're eating foods that are
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offensive to other people. And now he moves on and says by
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sinning against the brothers and sisters, you sin against Christ.
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So whether you're offending A fellow member of the church or
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someone else, it's the same as King Benjamin said you've done
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it unto me. Chapter 9 now begins with Paul
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answering their questions on authority, and he claims his
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Apostolic authority as well as the use of church funds.
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He's very concerned that they are not appreciating the
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leadership of the Church as they should and their funds are not
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being allocated correctly, he begins in verse 9:00 AM I not an
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apostle, are not ye my work in the Lord?
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Now remember this whole section are the questions that they
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asked him. And so he's defending himself
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and he's equating himself with the other great apostles.
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And in fact he equates himself with Peter.
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In verse two he says you are the seal of mine Apostleship in the
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Lord. 16 times in the New Testament we find this use of
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this word seal. Now remember in the ancient
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world the Caesar or whoever it was that was the ruling
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authority has a signet or some sort of a ring that he could
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press into a wax that would allow either a letter or
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something to be sealed. They also had sealing units that
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are much stronger that are done with leather or done with even
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metal to make seals. But usually letters and other
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things like that were sealed because the mail system isn't as
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good. You don't want something opened
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up until you're in the right hands.
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And so then if you're the one breaking the seal, you know that
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no one's tampered with it. And you can tell by the signet
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or the ring or the stamp on this wax seal what it was be like.
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And he says, you should have the image of Christ.
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I have brought you to Christ and you are my seal because I am
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laboring for you and you have now that seal on you.
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It's a beautiful image that he's using here, but we also use this
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image in Christianity in regards to the ceiling power that God
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provides. And this is something that the
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early church knew about, was lost during the apostasy, but it
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was restored again by our prophet Joseph Smith when I
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studied other faith traditions on what they believe about the
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seal. It's a beautiful idea, but there
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is more that is restored in the Restoration and we'll talk about
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that more in a few verses, Verse nine in the BLB reads.
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This is a very literal translation.
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Have we no authority to take about a believer as a wife, as
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also other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Kay
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Foss, Kay Foss would be Peter. And we know that Peter's
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married. Because you remember, back in
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the Gospels, one of the earliest miracles that Christ performs in
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capernum is healing Peter's motherinlaw.
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But I just love this idea that Paul identifies himself as
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married right here in this epistle where he we just had
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questions about it and we'll have more questions about it
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later. We don't know his marital status
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right now. Is he a widow or is he just on a
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mission without serving with his family nearby?
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I don't know. But the early Saints knew and
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they also knew that he was married.
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And he is claiming that his marriage is part of his
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authority to work, which is really interesting because
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that's coming also from the Ferrisaic traditions.
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All men had to be married if they wanted to have a position
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of authority. He also mentions the brothers of
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the Lord that were also married. This is great because remember,
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John mentions a couple of times that Jesus's siblings did not
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believe in him during his ministry.
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But we have a lot of evidence in the Book of Acts and in the
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Epistles that they came in and in chapter 15.
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We'll talk a little bit more about that next week, How James
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even saw the resurrected Lord. Chapter 9, verse eight in the
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BSB reads, are Barnabas and I the only possibles who must work
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for a living? So it sounds like some people
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are confused or questioning the need for paid clergy.
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And Paul says I've always paid my way.
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Do you remember back in the book of Acts we learned that he was a
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tent maker and that he was working with a Quila and
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Priscilla? And in fact, in First
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Corinthians Chapter 9, verse seven through 14, he talks about
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how the servant is worthy of being hired.
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Paul mentioned in Chapter 9, verse 13 in the NIV, Don't you
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know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the
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temple? This goes back to the times when
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he was living as a Pharisee in Jerusalem.
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And the priests who are serving in the temple for at least five
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weeks a year are able to receive their their portion of food from
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the offerings on the altar. They received the meat from the
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animals that were sacrificed. So he says the priests were
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getting paid and yet I'm paying my own way.
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And we need to make sure that no one is accusing me because you
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know, he's answering their questions.
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Now we don't know what the question is, but the answer is I
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I work, I pay my own way. Verse 19 continues on.
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Yet I have made myself a servant for all that I might gain all
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the more. I also feel like the reason why
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Paul wants to use this title as the servant of all is because he
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is following the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
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You know, I emphasize this a lot in the gospels.
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Christ came to serve and not to be served.
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He wanted to change the social hierarchy and teach masters how
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to serve. And Paul is saying, I came to
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serve, but he is not only serving the people of Corinth,
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He came to serve his master, Jesus Christ.
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Chapter 9, verse 20 to 22. And the NIV says to the Jews I
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became a Jew and to those that having the law I became like 1
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not having the law. And I have become things to all
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people. He is a great missionary.
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He knows when he's in one culture to be sensitive to their
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cultural needs and to respect them.
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I find myself doing the same things even in within my own
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nation. But when I'm talking to people
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with different understandings, I use different vocabulary.
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I try to explain things differently.
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Paul was a master missionary saying when I'm talking to a
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Pharisee, I'm going to be more sensitive about those oral laws.
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Or when I'm talking to a educated Greek on Athens, Mars
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Hill, I'm going to use that vocabulary.
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I'm going to quote those prophets.
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And as we see the book of Acts and in his epistles he lived
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this, we can see lots of examples of him actually doing
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this. Chapter 9, verse 24 in the ESV.
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In a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize
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so run that you may obtain it. Remember that the marathon was a
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Greek tradition and it has continued to go through the
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Roman Empire. And this race and other Olympic
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races are well known by their community, and people ran to
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receive a crown of leaves. Sometimes it was made from oak
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leaf, sometimes celery leaves and sometimes Laurel or or olive
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leaves. But this wreath, this crown of
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green leaf, people would train and do everything for in order
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to receive this wreath, Paul is saying, if people are committing
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hours a day in training for these things, shouldn't we also
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be preparing and realizing that life and our service can be
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likened unto a race and that we too are here to receive the
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reward? But under Christ graces gospel.
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All that strive can receive this great blessing.
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Chapter 9, verse 25 and 27 continue on.
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Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.
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They do it to receive the perishable wreath, but we and
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imperishable I discipline my body and keep it under control.
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I read the ESV translation. You know, I've got some really
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great runners in my family, and they're careful what they eat,
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they careful what time they go to bed, they're careful how much
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they drink. They are real athletes in the
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idea that they want their body to be functioning at top level.
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And I really appreciate this analogy that Paul's using,
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saying let's control every aspect of our thoughts and our
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words so that we too can win the prize.
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And ours, of course, he calls here imperishable.
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It will be eternal. It'll be the gift of immortality
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and hopefully eternal life. Chapter 10 begins with a
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beautiful reminder echoing back to the Exodus cycle.
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Now this is very interesting because so many of his audience
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are Gentile converts, but I think I mentioned earlier they
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did find a synagogue in Corinth. So we know that there were some
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Jews there that perhaps converted to Christianity and
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that's why he's giving these examples from the Old Testament.
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And I love the parallel about this Exodus cycle that
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everything in the cycle of the Old Testament children of Israel
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from Egypt all the way through is a type and shadow of Christ.
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We have many prophecies, including Hosha 12/10 that refer
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to those things as types and shadows of Christ.
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But here in chapter 10, verse one through 5, he foreshadows
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the plan of salvation. I'm going to read from verses
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one to six. Our fathers were under the cloud
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and all passed through the sea. And then he talks about that as
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a symbol of being baptized in the cloud and in the sea.
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And then, skipping down a little bit, he said they eat the same
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spiritual meat and they all drink the same spiritual drink.
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And that rock was Christ continues on.
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But with many of them, God was not well pleased, for they were
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overthrown in the wilderness. So those that chose to drink and
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realize that it was a type of Christ or a type of their
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Messiah, and those that were leaving Egypt and left their
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cares of the world behind and tried to focus on their covenant
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relationship now with God. And those that saw the cloud as
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the Spirit of God, the Shekinah as the pillar of fire, Those
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people that saw those and internalized it were very few in
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number. It was only the younger
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generation that got to actually enter into the promised land.
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And interestingly, in the Promised Land, remember they go
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in with Yeshua Joshua. And so as we look at that whole
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40 years of purification, remember 40 is the number for
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the purification period after a son is born.
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Symbolically, that's how it always plays out in the
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scriptures. As we started from Egypt and
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went down, there's a type of Christ.
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And on my chart I have each one listed so you can see where they
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tied in. And then they end by returning
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into the promised Land under the direction of Joshua.
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Or we as Christians go through our covenants, go through our
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periods of purification, and then we will be taken into our
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promised land by Yeshua Jesus, our Messiah, the Christ.
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It's also interesting to look at the Exodus cycle in light of the
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plan of salvation. And on my handout and on my
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slides I have a chart here As we saw the Passover lamb slain,
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which were fulfilled in Christ as the Son of God being slain in
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the plan of salvation, we realized that that sacrifice
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became an atoning sacrifice, and it is allows all of us to become
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at one with our Savior. Moses as the prophet is
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typifying of Jesus Christ as the great High Priest.
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And in the plan of salvation we are told that we are to become
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like Him and we are to follow him.
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And we already mentioned that crossing the Red Sea is similar
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to baptism, and we have to go through baptism, and then the
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cloud is representative of the spirits, guidance and the fire.
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The pillar gives that great protection as well as a
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direction. Then Moses received the law on
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Sinai, and Christ gave the higher law on the Sermon on the
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Mount. And we have the law of the
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Gospel restored to us in its purity.
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The Exodus cycle had problems with children of Israel becoming
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idolaters and immoral, and Christ also was able to overcome
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temptation, just as in the plan of salvation we too must
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overcome anyway. It keeps going all the way down
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until the entrance into the Promised Land.
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And it's very fun to see how Christ has created, has been
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able to beautifully bring together the types of his people
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in the past so that we can recognize his Son and so that we
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now can follow him to our eternal home.
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It's absolutely exquisite, the way the Father's plan is carried
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out here in mortality. Let's continue on Now in First
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Corinthians chapter 10, verse 16, and for the next 5 verses,
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up until about verse 21, he talks about the sanctity of the
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sacrament. He says in the BSB translation,
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Is not the cup of blessing that which we bless a participation
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in the blood of Christ, and is not the bread that we break a
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participation in the body of Christ.
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Now, anytime we can talk about the sacrament, I just want to
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slip off my shoes and realize we're talking about sacred
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space, we're talking about the Last Supper and the Lord's
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passion and resurrection. I'm so grateful that we have the
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image of this bread and water every week, every week, to help
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us remember what an important part this isn't our lives to try
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to internalize the teachings of our Savior.
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When he talks about the cup of blessings, he's quoting the
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Psalms. You know, Paul really knew his
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scriptures. He's always quoting the Old
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Testament. But here he's using that phrase,
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a cup of blessings from the Psalms.
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But it's also called the cup of redemption, as we talked about
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when we discussed the Last Supper.
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And the cup of redemption was the cup that was taken after the
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sacrament, which then Christ says take eat.
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This is in remembrance of my blood.
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Continuing on to verse 18, also in the BSB, those who eat the
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sacrifices will become fellow partakers in the altar.
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Now this is great. Paul is remembering back to the
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Israelite priests and the Levites as they shared their
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sacred sacrifices of the meat with God.
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Now he's sharing the teachings of the sacrament with all the
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members or all those who are going to be reading his letters.
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He continues on talking about the sacrament in chapter 10,
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verse 21. You cannot drink the cup of the
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Lord and the cup of devils. He goes back to that same theme
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of the idolatry. You know, as Christ said, you
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can't serve 2 masters in the servant on the mount.
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He said don't partake of the cup unworthily and he expounds on
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that. But before he does he has a
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small little digression. We quote some of their
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statements and then gives answers.
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So at least we get something more substantial on what their
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letter said. Here he says in the NIVI have
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the right to do anything you say, but not everything is
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beneficial. Another quote from them is I
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have the right to do anything, but not everything is
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constructive. So he's trying to teach them,
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Yes, you have agency now, the gospel is a gospel of freedom,
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but that doesn't mean you don't have to be accountable.
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That doesn't mean there's not going to be consequences for
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your behavior. And if you are a disciple of
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Christ, you need to fulfill your covenants to do things according
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to his mind and will. In First Corinthians chapter 10,
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verse 24 we've got some nice Joseph Smith translation
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changes, so I'd like to read it to you then.
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Let not man seek therefore his own will, but every man
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another's good. And interestingly, those words
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that Joseph Smith changed are consistent with the words that
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were chosen in many modern language translations like the
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RSV and the Nas and the NIV. To me, my mind goes back to the
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Last Supper since we're still talking about the sacrament
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generally, where he is showing to be a servant and chooses to
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wash the disciples feet. He's saying I want you to serve
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one another. I want you to not seek your own
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good, but other people's good. In verse 25 in the BSB, it says
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you can eat anything sold in the meat market without raising
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questions of conscience. And in the King James Version it
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uses the word shambles. Shambles is the meat market.
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It was just one of the earlier words that was used in the
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English language. And so that's carried on.
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And then in Chapter 11, he says, I want you to follow my example
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as I follow the example of the Savior.
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Wouldn't that be wonderful if all of us could say that not
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only in our family settings and in our work settings, but even
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in our communities, If you're going to follow that person,
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you're following a disciple of Jesus Christ.
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Chapter 11 continues talking about the ordinances.
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We just finished talking about the sacrament, and now we're
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going to talk about another ordinance.
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And then later on he talks about other ordinances and baptism for
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the dead. And so he begins using this word
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that is often translated as teachings.
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But in King James, it says in Chapter 11, verse two, keep the
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ordinances as I delivered them unto you.
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I think this is a really significant word in the
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historical tendencies because it's not really popular in
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Protestant Christianity to refer to ordinances or saving
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ordinances as being necessary. They believe Christ is necessary
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and in the Catholic faith they have their seven sacraments that
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take them to heaven. So part of the departure from
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Catholicism included, let's not emphasize the sacraments and
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let's stand on the authority of the scripture.
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Let's stand on the authority of the Bible.
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And let's not necessarily make 7 sacraments to get to heaven
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because it's Christ who takes us to heaven.
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So as Joseph Smith is restoring ordinances, he is going
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counterculture to his era where he's living.
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But Paul came from a tradition with many, many, many, many many
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ordinances, a lot of ritual in the temples.
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And so this is something he loves.
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But it's interesting to see how Paul uses this word.
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I mentioned other people don't translate it ordinances anymore,
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they prefer teachings. So I went through and said how
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does Paul specifically use this Greek word?
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And I went through every single reference that Paul uses.
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And every time he does, he goes back to the Greek setting that
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means to hand over, to transmit, to deliver up.
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But he also says when he uses it.
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I am sharing with you what Christ shared with me.
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I believe according to the 6th article of faith, we believe in
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the same organization that existed in the primitive Church.
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So do we have the same ordinances?
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Well, we certainly have the same sacrament.
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We certainly have the same baptism for the dead and the
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prophet Joseph Smith said Paul knew all the ordinances and
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blessings that were in the Church and he says this when he
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is in Nauvoo. So this is after many of the
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others had been revealed. So I feel pretty good about that
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confident statement that Joseph said no, no, no.
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The early Christians had their endowment and they taught from
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that perspective. Verse 3 continues on.
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But I would have, you know now anytime Paul says, but I would
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have, you know, he's praised them and then he turns around
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and corrects them. He's trying to get them turned
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around in the right direction. He's going to point out that
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something they're doing wrong. And in this case, he talks about
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women in a significant type of prayer and prophesying, where
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they're worshipping in a public setting, where they are given
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the gift of prophecy, and he wants them to veil their faces.
23:40
In Paul's Judaic, Ferrisaic culture, the women never left
23:44
their house, not even stood at their doorway, unless they were
23:47
completely covered head to foot, not showing their ankles, not
23:50
showing their eyes or their fingertips.
23:53
And then in the Greco Roman tradition, the veil was more of
23:57
a fashion statement, and you see coins of the wives of the
24:01
Caesars who have beautiful ribbons and laces and fabric
24:05
silks on their hair and their head as a statement of beauty.
24:09
But the Christian veil is different.
24:12
Paul is now describing something that has nothing to do with
24:15
either of those. And instead of saying, I want to
24:17
talk to you about the dress code, about times when there's
24:21
certain prayers, when you need to have your head covered,
24:23
instead of doing that, he goes back and talks about the
24:26
theology that underlines why a woman's head should be veiled
24:30
during these times of ordinances where there are special prayers
24:35
and prophecies. He begins in verse 3 by setting
24:38
up this order of creation. And in the King James they use
24:41
the words God, Christ, man, and woman.
24:44
And this is a linear order. They also use the word head so
24:48
that God is the head of Christ who is the head of man, who's
24:51
the head of woman. But it's interesting to look at
24:54
the Greek words for head here. It means source or origin, sort
24:59
of like the headwaters of the Nile or something.
25:01
He is not using the word Archon that means ruler or chief.
25:05
So he's not saying that the woman has a ruler over her.
25:10
He's saying the father is the source of the son who was the
25:14
creator of Adam and it was through Adam's side and similar
25:19
DNA and maybe even stem cells. I have no idea how Eve was
25:24
created. So make sure you you go back
25:27
sometimes when there's a question of what is he talking
25:30
about. Just just look up the Greek
25:31
words and see what they mean. It's very easy now on the
25:34
Internet through things like Bible hub verse four, he says
25:37
every man praying and prophesying having his head
25:40
covered dishonorth his head. And again he's using that same
25:44
word head. That means source or origin.
25:46
And he's using it both the physical way and the symbolic
25:49
way. So if a man is covering his head
25:51
physically, he's doing it wrong. Now many times in artwork they
25:55
show Jews covering their head at the time of the New Testament,
25:58
but that did not happen. Men did not cover their head at
26:01
the time of the New Testament. That came after the temple was
26:04
destroyed. And in the temple, the priest
26:07
would cover their head out of humility before their God.
26:11
And so the after the temple, the rabbi said let's have all of us,
26:17
since we don't have a building to go to when we pray, let's
26:20
let's use our prayer shawls as a Tabernacle.
26:24
Let's make our own little tent so that everyone man can go
26:27
before God in their prayers. And hence they began covering
26:31
their heads for prayers and then covering their heads all the
26:33
time. But that's a later tradition.
26:35
Paul is accurate on this one. Paul quotes part of Genesis 126.
26:40
Let us make man in our own image.
26:42
However, he doesn't quote the whole thing.
26:44
We have the rest of the verse in Genesis 127.
26:49
Male and female made he them. But Paul is trying very hard to
26:53
say. Man is created after the image
26:55
of God. He's trying to form this linear
26:57
creation here and in verse five he says every woman that prayeth
27:02
and prophecyeth. Before I finish the verse, I
27:04
just want to pause and say this is a significant change in all
27:10
the ancient religions. I have studied as many as I can
27:12
from this time period and never is a woman a voice for the
27:16
church or worshipping and having significant roles.
27:20
And here in Christianity we see a wonderful change where the
27:24
Christian women are preaching and praying and joining in the
27:29
worship services. But he also uses this word,
27:32
prophecy, a little different than we did to prophesy or to
27:36
have. The gift of prophecy is to speak
27:38
forth under inspiration. And as we learn in the Book of
27:41
Revelation, chapter 19, verse 10, the gift of prophecy is the
27:46
gift to testify that Jesus is the Messiah.
27:50
You have had a witness of the Spirit, and that is the gift of
27:54
prophecy. And we're going to talk about
27:55
that again in chapter 12 when we talk about the gift of spirit.
27:58
But here in Chapter 11, he's saying these women who are
28:01
filled with the testimony that Jesus is their Messiah, is their
28:05
Savior, are allowed to pray and to testify of that in these
28:10
special meetings, these ordinances.
28:13
In verse five he says every woman that prayeth or prophesith
28:16
with her head that's physically uncovered dishonoreth her head
28:21
meaning her source or origin meaning God and Christ.
28:26
In verse seven he explains why and he says the man Adam was
28:32
created in the image and glory of God but the woman Eve is in
28:36
the glory of man. Now remember the word man Adam
28:41
is also plural most of the time in especially in the King James
28:45
it refers to humanity. So he's saying man is made in
28:50
the image of God, but woman represents the glory of
28:54
humanity. It is through woman that all of
28:58
mankind has come. And so woman represents the
29:02
glorious nature of the next, next and next posterity.
29:08
So he says a woman needs to have her head veiled in reverence and
29:13
respect to her head because she is a glorious being, but she
29:18
needs to honor her creator and honor her God as well.
29:22
How is woman else the glory of mankind?
29:25
Do you remember in Moses chapter one?
29:28
This is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality
29:31
and eternal life of man. This is also the role that
29:36
Christ our Creator has given to women.
29:39
They too are to bring about the humanity on this earth.
29:44
Woman is also the glory of mankind because it was through a
29:47
woman that Jesus Christ was born.
29:50
And so when we see woman in the singular, we can also think of
29:54
Mary, the mother of the Lord, And she is the one that the
29:58
glorious nature of all the descendants of Adam and Eve will
30:02
have an opportunity to be saved. So during this ordinance, as the
30:07
man and the woman come together before God in prayer, the woman
30:10
represents humanity's glory, and so she veils humbly before God.
30:16
But verse 10 says for this cause ought the woman to have power on
30:22
her head because of the angels and on the NIV it says the woman
30:27
needs to have authority on her head because of the angels.
30:30
Now these verses have been misunderstood even even in our
30:34
own culture. Where on the chapter heading of
30:36
our Bible that says this is about a hairstyle, this is not
30:39
about a hairstyle. He's talking about the sign of
30:43
authority. A veil is a sign of authority to
30:47
act in these ordinances. And Paul says you have to have
30:51
this power on your head to communicate to the angels that
30:55
you are worthy to be functioning in this ordinance.
30:58
This is a very different interpretation than most
31:02
scholars come up with or most people just reading First
31:04
Corinthians on their own. So the veil not only represents
31:08
the need to have humility before our creator, but it also is a
31:12
sign of the woman's authority to be acting in the Christian faith
31:17
in these ordinances. This is a powerful message.
31:20
You know, this whole setting is taking us back to the Garden of
31:23
Eden, and it's in the Garden of Eden where the angels were given
31:26
direction to guard the way of the tree of life.
31:29
And now angels are able to acknowledge this woman's
31:34
authority as she is striving to return to the presence of God in
31:38
prayer. Brigham Young taught that angels
31:41
guard the entrance to heaven, where both women and men give
31:44
them signs and tokens to return to the presence of God.
31:48
Continuing on in First Corinthians Chapter 11, verse 10
31:51
in the BLB, it reads the woman ought to have authority on her
31:54
head on account of the angels, which I think is quite
31:57
significant. We have a good biblical scholar
31:59
who's also spoken on these verses.
32:01
He doesn't come from the traditions of the Restoration,
32:03
but he is honest to the text and he's very sincere in his what
32:07
he's saying. I'd like to read to you what he
32:08
says. The veil is not a sign of a
32:11
woman's submission to her husband's authority, nor even of
32:14
her social dignity and immunity from the molestation.
32:18
It is a sign of her authority. In the synagogue service a woman
32:22
could play no significant part, but in Christ she received
32:27
equality of status with man. She might pray or prophesy a
32:31
meetings of the church. And her veil was a sign of this
32:35
new authority. It's ordinary social
32:38
significance was thus transcended.
32:40
Women manifest hers by wearing a veil and by discarding the veil,
32:46
the Corinthian women were ignoring these blessings from
32:49
Christ. You know, this is a powerful way
32:52
to look at these verses, and I hope that you can share this
32:56
interpretation with others because I feel like we do
32:59
disservice by thinking this is about hairstyles.
33:02
There's only one change in the JST in this section and that
33:05
comes in Chapter 11, verse 10. The women should have a covering
33:10
on her head because of the angels.
33:12
That's even more beautiful because the word covering,
33:15
remember, goes back to the idea of the atonement, the cafar.
33:20
This idea of being covered in the robes of righteousness as
33:24
Nephi describes in his song. Paul continues on talking about
33:27
eternal marriages verse 12. For as the woman is of the man,
33:32
meaning Eve came from Adam, Even so is man meaning the rest of
33:38
humanity, also by the woman, but all things of God.
33:42
So even though Eve was created out of Adam, the next male and
33:46
the next female are created out of Eve.
33:48
And so we have this interdependency, this mutuality,
33:51
this wonderful relationship that each are grateful for their
33:55
source. There's another aspect of the
33:58
woman's veil that I just like to mention briefly.
34:01
The woman's body becomes a veil as the new life is born, and the
34:08
image of a veil and a woman seems quite consistent as these
34:12
spirit children from heaven come through the veil and enter
34:16
mortality through the woman's body.
34:18
So there's many reasons why the symbolism of the veil fits
34:21
beautifully. And as we read in Paul's
34:24
discussion of the relationship between men and women in this
34:28
interdependency, I like to think of it as the closer we get to
34:32
each other, the closer we get to God.
34:34
And this image is used often by our church leaders, and I find
34:38
it not only in my relationships with family members, but in my
34:41
relationships with anyone. The closer we become to our
34:44
Savior, the closer we come together as people, as humanity.
34:48
He now changes to talk about another ordinances.
34:51
And he says in Chapter 11, verse 23, I received from the Lord
34:57
what I also passed on to you. The Lord Jesus Christ, on the
35:01
night he was retrained, took bread.
35:04
This is the oldest record we have of the sacrament.
35:08
We believe that the Gospels were compiled in the order that we
35:11
have them. After these earliest epistles,
35:14
the Gospels were probably in, you know, in some form or
35:17
another. We probably had a lot of people
35:19
who had notes taken down from what Christ said, But in this
35:22
form, this is our first time. Chapter 11 Verse 28 in the NIV
35:26
reads everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat the
35:29
bread and drink the cup. He's going back to the sacrament
35:32
and says don't partake of it without a thorough
35:36
introspection. Make sure you've repented, make
35:39
sure you've taken the time to examine yourself, because we
35:42
don't want you eating it unworthily.
35:44
In verse 29 he says he or she that Edith that drinketh
35:47
unworthily. Edith and drinketh damnation to
35:50
himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
35:54
If we are eating unworthily, we do not appreciate what our
35:58
Savior has done. We are flagrantly abusing the
36:02
atonement when we do not honor the gift of repentance and
36:06
forgiveness as we should. Chapter 12 now talks about the
36:10
spiritual gifts and this becomes some of the most well known
36:13
scriptures in all of Paul's writings.
36:15
He loved the gifts the Spirit, and I believe many of the ideas
36:18
from Paul's writings become part of Joseph Smith's favorite
36:22
subjects as well. We have the gifts, the Spirit in
36:25
all four standard works. First Corinthians, chapter 12.
36:29
Moroni, chapter 10. Doctor in Cabinets 46, the 7th
36:33
article of Faith and also in some sort of a degree.
36:36
Paul mentioned some of them again in Romans, Romans 12.
36:39
If you remember. He had a few of them, but his
36:42
longest discourse on it is right here in Chapter 11 and on my
36:45
chart and in my handout. I've got them written parallel
36:48
columns so you can see which ones are repeated where, and
36:51
we're told that this is not an exhaustive list.
36:53
I was so grateful a few years ago in General Conference when
36:56
Sister Sharon Eubank said there are so many more spiritual gifts
37:00
than are listed there and that we need to seek them in our
37:03
lives depending on what we need to better serve God.
37:07
But all the gifts are used to serve others.
37:10
In chapter 12, verse three in the BLB, it reads no one is able
37:14
to say Jesus is the Lord if not in the Holy Spirit.
37:18
I really appreciated that slight, more literal translation
37:22
there. When we are testifying of
37:24
Christ, make sure the Spirit is there in our heart so they can
37:28
be communicated. If we are going to bear witness,
37:31
make sure we are bearing witness in the Spirit.
37:35
Verse seven in the NIV, the Spirit is given for the common
37:39
good. So he's talking about these
37:40
gifts, the Spirit. They're not for your own
37:42
selfangredized, but they're to bless other people.
37:45
And that message is repeated five times in section 46 when
37:49
Joseph Smith is elaborating on what the gifts of the Spirit
37:51
are, he keeps saying they're only given to bless others.
37:54
They're only given to build up the Church.
37:56
Don't pray for yourself for these things, for your own
37:58
grandizement. The reason why God has given
38:00
them is to bless others is to bless our fellow men in the
38:04
middle of this beautiful list of the gifts, the Spirit of faith
38:07
and healing and visions and miracles.
38:10
In verse 11 he says all these are the work of 1 and the same
38:15
spirit, and he distributes them to each one.
38:18
He's identifying how to know when it's the Spirit and when
38:21
it's a satanic counterfeit, because satanic counterfeits
38:25
were huge problems not only in the early Christian Church but
38:29
also in the Restoration. Verse 12 to 26 emphasizes how
38:33
the body has many members and he's referring to the body as
38:37
the Church of Christ. And he reads in verse 12.
38:40
For as the body is 1 and hath many members, Alter was Christ.
38:45
I think what he's trying to say here is the church has room for
38:49
all of us, and we all need different strengths as he
38:52
continues on a few verses later. If the foot shall say, because I
38:56
am not of the hand, am I not of the body?
38:59
Is it therefore not of the body? You know?
39:01
He says, just cause you're not the hand, don't worry about it.
39:03
If and sometimes I feel like I'm an eyelash or a or a toenail,
39:06
you know, but I'm just grateful to be part of this body of
39:09
Christ. I'm so grateful that we can all
39:12
contribute something and I just love the ability to have a
39:16
church calling. Verse 28 reads in the NESB.
39:19
God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets,
39:23
third teachers, then miracles, then the gifts of healing helps
39:27
administrations and then he ends with tongues.
39:30
Then he repeats all of them except for helps in reverse
39:32
order. And I just wanted to find a
39:34
couple of words for you. Apostles is first because that's
39:37
who is running the church. It is the quorum of the 12
39:39
apostles. The word prophets throughout the
39:41
New Testament is not one person who's running the show.
39:44
It is the persons who have the gift of prophecy.
39:48
It is a group of people. It is many people and sometimes
39:51
that comes and goes who these people are, But we've mentioned
39:54
this in the book of Acts as well.
39:55
So in the New Testament, make sure you're using the
39:57
definitions that they use for these different words.
40:00
In chapter 12, verse 31, Paul encourages the Saints and he
40:04
says now covet the greatest gifts or in the NIV, it reads.
40:08
Eagerly desire the greatest gifts in the JB, it reads.
40:12
This is the Jerusalem Bible. Be ambitious for or else In the
40:17
more recent Jerusalem Bible, earnestly pursue.
40:20
And I love this translation by FF Bruce.
40:23
Beyond all this, I am showing you a way to reach the highest
40:28
goal, and that's when he ends the gifts, the Spirit and
40:32
focuses now on charity. That's chapter 13.
40:36
As we know, this word for charity agape is 1 pronunciation
40:41
Jesus uses almost entirely only once in all of the gospels.
40:45
When Christ is talking about his love, he is reusing that one
40:48
word. It's only once, when he talked
40:50
to Peter at the very end of his life, that he changes it that we
40:53
talked about in the Gospels. In chapter 13 verse one, he says
40:57
if I have not charity, I must become a sounding brass or a
41:00
tinkling symbol. Here I am spending my whole life
41:04
preaching the gospel, but it's no different than hearing a
41:07
drum, being beaten if I'm doing it without the gift of charity,
41:11
without unconditional love, he continues on in verses four to
41:15
seven in the NIV. Love is patient and kind, does
41:19
not envy and I'm going to skip down a little bit.
41:22
Does not boast, is not proud, does not dishonor others, is not
41:27
selfseeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of
41:32
wrongs love, does not delight and evil, but rejoices with the
41:36
truth it always protects and trusts and hopes.
41:41
And then skipping under verse 7 perseveres.
41:43
And this is such a great handbook on how to learn to
41:47
develop charity. I remember one time in my life I
41:50
kept a list of all the things wrong someone did and it finally
41:54
dawned on me that was hurting me more than was hurting the other
41:57
person. And I tore it up and apologized
42:01
and have so grateful for these words of Paul.
42:05
Actually, I just gave credit to Paul.
42:07
But we have found other ancient sources where these words are
42:10
attributed to the Savior. So we assume that Paul is
42:13
actually quoting the Savior, which makes more sense as to why
42:17
they would be in Moroni. But they're a little bit
42:19
different in Moroni. And for those of you that have
42:21
done your homework and written them outline by line, you can
42:24
see there's always changes in innuendos.
42:27
But both are powerful messages. In one of the attributes of
42:30
charity, he emphasizes in verse 5, Thinketh no Evil.
42:35
Now this is amazing because lots of times when we do things on
42:38
our own that we have a bad thought or we're perhaps even
42:41
something as awful as pornography, we're we're
42:44
thinking evil, but it's maybe we're not hurting other people.
42:47
And Paul points out here or our savior, if he is the source of
42:50
these words, No, if you really have love for other people, you
42:55
will not be thinking evil. You will not be having those,
42:58
even those thoughts. The pure love of Christ should
43:02
saturate all of our interactions and all of our behaviors.
43:06
And when we have a sin, we can trace it back to not having love
43:09
for other people or for God. First 12 continues on.
43:14
For now we see through glass darkly, but then face to face.
43:18
Now I know in part, but then shall I know even also as I am
43:22
known. This is such a beautiful hope
43:26
for those of us who are losing our eyesight as we age.
43:31
We do see through glass darkly. We do not see as clearly as we
43:34
used to, especially without glasses on.
43:36
And what a blessing to know that someday the darkness and the
43:41
confusion will be removed and we will be able to see and Christ
43:45
will be able to see us as we really are. 1st 13 ends and now
43:49
abided faith, hope and charity, these three.
43:53
But the greatest of all of these is charity.
43:56
Paul repeats that over and over. And then we also find the same
44:00
thing in other ancient literature that is not
44:02
canonized. Barnabas and Polycarp also quote
44:06
this. Peter quotes this.
44:07
This is one of the major foundation stones of the gospel
44:12
of Jesus Christ that we are to strive to have love.
44:16
And I pray that as you study these chapters in Paul, you can
44:21
use this as a handbook so that we can all become greater
44:25
disciples of Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ,
44:28
Amen.