Epistle for March 3, 2024

 

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Paul’s “theology of the cross” is central to his understanding of the way of salvation.  It is grounded in paradox, which is a recurring theme in Scripture — death leads to life, weakness leads to strength, foolishness is true wisdom.

Paul intends to undercut any effort to establish human pride or merit or accomplishment as grounds for a solid relationship with God.  Wisdom, the law, human philosophy, and miracles are insufficient grounds for salvation.

God chooses to reveal himself through the weakness and folly of the cross because this requires complete surrender to him. Human effort is insufficient to reach God.

Paul even goes so far as to say that the cross is a stumbling block to those who cannot believe.  The Greek word here is skandalein — a scandal, an offense!  The thought of the Lord of Life crucified for sedition and heresy is indeed a scandal to those who seek to establish their own righteousness.  But as we know from the other letters of Paul, the only righteousness that endures is the righteousness of Christ.

Not only is the cross the foolishness of God, the preaching of Christ crucified is also foolishness.  Yet to those who hear and believe:

the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

APPLY:  

The cross is still the dividing line between believers and non-believers.  I once wrote a paper in seminary on this very passage. I paid to have the paper typed by a professional typist. She happened to be a non-Christian, and she suggested that this idea of “believing in foolishness” is the very problem with the Christian faith.  And another non-Christian who had watched Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ pointed out that for the non-believer it was just a long movie about some guy getting beaten up and tortured for three hours (granted, much of the violence in that film was gratuitous).

But for those who have been confronted with their own sin, and found the self-help methods of our culture insufficient; for those who have realized that human knowledge is easily perverted for immoral purposes; for those who have realized that their own attempts to be “good” fall dreadfully short of the glory of God; for those who have grown weary of the “signs” and spectacles of the modern age — for them:

 the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men (emphasis mine).

What is implied in this passage about the cross, but left unsaid, is what Paul will explain elsewhere in his epistles, including 1 & 2 Corinthians.

The cross is God’s means of reconciling sinful people to a holy God by the very substitutionary nature of Christ:  

 For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

And Paul will clearly elaborate on the fullness of the story in 1 Corinthians 15, including the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus:

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

I venture to say that the cross for us who are being saved: 

is the power of God.

RESPOND: 

Even forty years after my first awakening to the grace of God as a 19-year-old freshman in college, when I think of the cross and the crucifixion of Jesus, tears come to my eyes.

For me, it is a solemn and yet joyful reminder of the self-emptying, dying love of my Savior.  Undeserved, unearned by me, and unselfish by him.

Although I value knowledge and books and philosophy, the cross holds a power in my spirit that transcends all human understanding.

Our Lord, all my attempts to learn all I can, to establish my own righteousness, to achieve and succeed, all fall short of your glory.  Yet in your foolishness and weakness you reveal your wisdom and strength — that you have come to me, and have taken my sin upon yourself, and have given me your righteousness in exchange! For me, you are my wisdom, and strength, and justification, and sanctification, and glory.  Thank you!  Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
“Close up eye red - Jesus – Cross” by Gerardofegan is licensed by Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for February 12, 2023

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Corinthians 3:1-9
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Paul is very blunt with the young church at Corinth.  He tells them that they are still immature in their faith and understanding — they are babies in Christ.

He continues this metaphor, pointing out that when he taught them Christian doctrine he had to feed them milk, not meat.  Like babies, they weren’t ready to digest “solid” doctrine.

Paul then supplies evidence to prove that they were too immature for the deeper things of God, and are still too immature — they are fussing with one another!

For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren’t you fleshly, and don’t you walk in the ways of men?

The prime example of the factionalism at Corinth is their cliquishness and division into groups loyal to their favorite preachers — Paul and Apollos.

This gives Paul the opportunity to clarify the relationship of preachers to Christ:

 Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?

He also is able to explore the different roles of preachers and apostles in Christian ministry:

I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase.

Paul is able to differentiate the stages of a vital ministry, and also anticipates the variety of spiritual gifts that he will describe later in this same letter:

There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord. There are various kinds of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all (1 Corinthians 12:5-7).

But ultimately, the focus is to be on God who works through his servants and who gives the increase:

So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

He also makes clear that there is no superiority or subordination of planter or waterer — they both receive a reward based on their work.

Finally, Paul returns to his agricultural metaphor, and adds a metaphor from the world of construction:

For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.

Paul makes it clear that he labors for the church because the church belongs to God, even if its members are still immature.  He is rooting for them to grow up into the church God intends them to become.

APPLY:  

One of the goals of the Christian life is growing up.  The Apostle Peter uses language very similar to Paul’s metaphor:

Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation (1 Peter 2:2).

All Christians begin as spiritual babies who need to be nurtured carefully so they can grow up in faith.  Paul’s frustration is that the Corinthians are acting immaturely — fussing and fighting with one another instead of humbly admitting what they don’t know.  Such factionalism is a symptom of spiritual immaturity.

Paul makes it clear that the source of our Christian growth and maturity is not our favorite pastor, or some extraordinary preacher — the only task of a pastor, preacher, evangelist or teacher is to serve God, whether they are planting or watering in God’s garden.  God gives the growth.

The focus, both for the preacher and the people, is to make the “main thing the main thing” — the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

RESPOND: 

Over the years as a pastor, I have noted a long succession of plans and programs that were designed to “help the church grow.”  “Church growth” was the battle cry in my denomination, and we used various metrics to measure growth.

Some of these programs were actually helpful.  But over time it has become clear to me that the role of the pastor/preacher is not to “grow” the church.  The role of the pastor/preacher is to humbly serve God, preach the Gospel, and get out of the way!

We may plant.  We may water.  But it is God who gives the increase.  One layman in my congregation said something very wise that I never forgot — “What good does it do for the church numbers to grow if the church members don’t grow with it?”

Lord, you call us to grow in grace as individuals and as a church.  Help us to focus on your Gospel, and not pick sides on issues and personalities in the church, so that we may become what you mean for us to become.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
"1 Corinthians 3 verse 6" used this photo:
"rice stages, seed germination" by IRRI Photos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for January 29, 2023

 

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

A NOTE FROM CELESTE LETCHWORTH:

As most of you know, Tom went to be with the Lord in June, 2018.

Since the lectionary cycles every 3 years, I am able to copy Tom’s SOAR studies from the archives and post them each week with our current year’s dates.

You’ll notice that this week’s Epistle reading is supposed to include verses 18-31. Sorry, all I could find in Tom’s archives are postings for verses 18-25.

The following is his post from January 29, 2017.

OBSERVE:

Paul’s “theology of the cross” is central to his understanding of the way of salvation.  It is grounded in paradox, which is a recurring theme in Scripture — death leads to life, weakness leads to strength, foolishness is true wisdom.

Paul intends to undercut any effort to establish human pride or merit or accomplishment as grounds for a solid relationship with God.  Wisdom, the law, human philosophy, and miracles are insufficient grounds for salvation.

God chooses to reveal himself through the weakness and folly of the cross because this requires complete surrender to him. Human effort is insufficient to reach God.

Paul even goes so far as to say that the cross is a stumbling block to those who cannot believe.  The Greek word here is skandalein — a scandal, an offense!  The thought of the Lord of Life crucified for sedition and heresy is indeed a scandal to those who seek to establish their own righteousness.  But as we know from the other letters of Paul, the only righteousness that endures is the righteousness of Christ.

Not only is the cross the foolishness of God, the preaching of Christ crucified is also foolishness.  Yet to those who hear and believe:

the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

APPLY:  

The cross is still the dividing line between believers and non-believers.  I once wrote a paper in seminary on this very passage. I paid to have the paper typed by a professional typist. She happened to be a non-Christian, and she suggested that this idea of “believing in foolishness” is the very problem with the Christian faith.

Many years later, another non-Christian who had watched Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ, commented to me that for the non-believer it was just a long movie about some guy getting beaten up and tortured for three hours (granted, much of the violence in that film was gratuitous).

But for those who have been confronted with their own sin, and found the self-help methods of our culture insufficient; for those who have realized that human knowledge is easily perverted for immoral purposes; for those who have realized that their own attempts to be “good” fall dreadfully short of the glory of God; for those who have grown weary of the “signs” and spectacles of the modern age — for them:

 the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men (emphasis mine).

What is implied in this passage about the cross, but left unsaid, is what Paul will explain elsewhere in his epistles, including 1 & 2 Corinthians.

The cross is God’s means of reconciling sinful people to a holy God by the very substitutionary nature of Christ:  

 For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

And Paul will clearly elaborate on the fullness of the story in 1 Corinthians 15, including the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus:

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

I venture to say that the cross for us who are being saved: 

is the power of God.

RESPOND: 

Even forty years after my first awakening to the grace of God as a 19 year-old freshman in college, when I think of the cross and the crucifixion of Jesus, tears come to my eyes.

For me, it is a solemn and yet joyful reminder of the self-emptying, dying love of my Savior.  Undeserved, unearned by me, and unselfish by him.

Although I value knowledge and books and philosophy, the cross holds a power in my spirit that transcends all human understanding.

Our Lord, all my attempts to learn all I can, to establish my own righteousness, to achieve and succeed, all fall short of your glory.  Yet in your foolishness and weakness you reveal your wisdom and strength — that you have come to me, and have taken my sin upon yourself, and have given me your righteousness in exchange! For me, you are my wisdom, and strength, and justification, and sanctification, and glory.  Thank you!  Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
“Close up eye red - Jesus – Cross” by Gerardofegan is licensed by Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for March 7, 2021

 

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Paul’s “theology of the cross” is central to his understanding of the way of salvation.  It is grounded in paradox, which is a recurring theme in Scripture — death leads to life, weakness leads to strength, foolishness is true wisdom.

Paul intends to undercut any effort to establish human pride or merit or accomplishment as grounds for a solid relationship with God.  Wisdom, the law, human philosophy, and miracles are insufficient grounds for salvation.

God chooses to reveal himself through the weakness and folly of the cross because this requires complete surrender to him. Human effort is insufficient to reach God.

Paul even goes so far as to say that the cross is a stumbling block to those who cannot believe.  The Greek word here is skandalein — a scandal, an offense!  The thought of the Lord of Life crucified for sedition and heresy is indeed a scandal to those who seek to establish their own righteousness.  But as we know from the other letters of Paul, the only righteousness that endures is the righteousness of Christ.

Not only is the cross the foolishness of God, the preaching of Christ crucified is also foolishness.  Yet to those who hear and believe:

the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

APPLY:  

The cross is still the dividing line between believers and non-believers.  I once wrote a paper in seminary on this very passage. I paid to have the paper typed by a professional typist. She happened to be a non-Christian, and she suggested that this idea of “believing in foolishness” is the very problem with the Christian faith.  And another non-Christian who had watched Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ pointed out that for the non-believer it was just a long movie about some guy getting beaten up and tortured for three hours (granted, much of the violence in that film was gratuitous).

But for those who have been confronted with their own sin, and found the self-help methods of our culture insufficient; for those who have realized that human knowledge is easily perverted for immoral purposes; for those who have realized that their own attempts to be “good” fall dreadfully short of the glory of God; for those who have grown weary of the “signs” and spectacles of the modern age — for them:

 the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men (emphasis mine).

What is implied in this passage about the cross, but left unsaid, is what Paul will explain elsewhere in his epistles, including 1 & 2 Corinthians.

The cross is God’s means of reconciling sinful people to a holy God by the very substitutionary nature of Christ:  

 For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

And Paul will clearly elaborate on the fullness of the story in 1 Corinthians 15, including the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus:

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

I venture to say that the cross for us who are being saved: 

is the power of God.

RESPOND: 

Even forty years after my first awakening to the grace of God as a 19 year-old freshman in college, when I think of the cross and the crucifixion of Jesus, tears come to my eyes.

For me, it is a solemn and yet joyful reminder of the self-emptying, dying love of my Savior.  Undeserved, unearned by me, and unselfish by him.

Although I value knowledge and books and philosophy, the cross holds a power in my spirit that transcends all human understanding.

Our Lord, all my attempts to learn all I can, to establish my own righteousness, to achieve and succeed, all fall short of your glory.  Yet in your foolishness and weakness you reveal your wisdom and strength — that you have come to me, and have taken my sin upon yourself, and have given me your righteousness in exchange! For me, you are my wisdom, and strength, and justification, and sanctification, and glory.  Thank you!  Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
“Close up eye red - Jesus – Cross” by Gerardofegan is licensed by Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for February 16, 2020

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Corinthians 3:1-9
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Paul is very blunt with the young church at Corinth.  He tells them that they are still immature in their faith and understanding — they are babies in Christ.

He continues this metaphor, pointing out that when he taught them Christian doctrine he had to feed them milk, not meat.  Like babies, they weren’t ready to digest “solid” doctrine.

Paul then supplies evidence to prove that they were too immature for the deeper things of God, and are still too immature — they are fussing with one another!

For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren’t you fleshly, and don’t you walk in the ways of men?

The prime example of the factionalism at Corinth is their cliquishness and division into groups loyal to their favorite preachers — Paul and Apollos.

This gives Paul the opportunity to clarify the relationship of preachers to Christ:

 Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?

He also is able to explore the different roles of preachers and apostles in Christian ministry:

I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase.

Paul is able to differentiate the stages of a vital ministry, and also anticipates the variety of spiritual gifts that he will describe later in this same letter:

There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord. There are various kinds of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all (1 Corinthians 12:5-7).

But ultimately, the focus is to be on God who works through his servants and who gives the increase:

So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

He also makes clear that there is no superiority or subordination of planter or waterer — they both receive a reward based on their work.

Finally, Paul returns to his agricultural metaphor, and adds a metaphor from the world of construction:

For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.

Paul makes it clear that he labors for the church because the church belongs to God, even if its members are still immature.  He is rooting for them to grow up into the church God intends them to become.

APPLY:  

One of the goals of the Christian life is growing up.  The Apostle Peter uses language very similar to Paul’s metaphor:

Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation—(1 Peter 2:2).

All Christians begin as spiritual babies who need to be nurtured carefully so they can grow up in faith.  Paul’s frustration is that the Corinthians are acting immaturely — fussing and fighting with one another instead of humbly admitting what they don’t know.  Such factionalism is a symptom of  spiritual immaturity.

Paul makes it clear that the source of our Christian growth and maturity is not our favorite pastor, or some extraordinary preacher — the only task of a pastor, preacher, evangelist or teacher is to serve God, whether they are planting or watering in God’s garden .  God gives the growth.

The focus, both for the preacher and the people, is to make the “main thing the main thing” — the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

RESPOND: 

Over the years as a pastor, I have noted a long succession of plans and programs that were designed to “help the church grow.”  “Church growth” was the battle cry in my denomination, and we used various metrics to measure growth.

Some of these programs were actually helpful.  But over time it has become clear to me that the role of the pastor/preacher is not to “grow” the church.  The role of the pastor/preacher is to humbly serve God, preach the Gospel, and get out of the way!

We may plant.  We may water.  But it is God who gives the increase.  One layman in my congregation said something very wise that I never forgot — “What good does it do for the church numbers to grow if the church members don’t grow with it?”

Lord, you call us to grow in grace as individuals and as a church.  Help us to focus on your Gospel, and not pick sides on issues and personalities in the church, so that we may become what you mean for us to become.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
"1 Corinthians 3 verse 6" used this photo:
"rice stages, seed germination" by IRRI Photos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for February 9, 2020

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Corinthians 2:1-12, 13-16
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This is the Apostle Paul’s  personal apologia ­— a defense of his message and character.  It would seem, from a review of 1 & 2 Corinthians, that Paul has come under fire by a faction in the Corinthian church.

In this passage, he reminds the Corinthians that he came to Corinth with no pretentions to:

excellence of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.

We are instantly reminded of two things:

• The Greeks were famous for their fascination with eloquence and philosophy.
• Apollos, a Jewish convert to Christianity from the cultured and sophisticated city of Alexandria, was well-known for his brilliant eloquence.

Paul , however, focused simply on the straightforward message of the cross:

 For I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

What was central to Paul’s message were not his own words, or his own character, but only Christ.  For Paul, the message of the cross is the pivotal point of the Gospel.  The life and teaching of Jesus lead to the cross, and the resurrection occurs as the result of the cross.  He will remind them later in his letter:

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Some translations more emphatically say that this message was of first importance (1 Corinthians 15:3, NRSV). 

Of himself, Paul is self-effacing.  He is essentially saying “I am of no importance. Christ and his message are of utmost importance.”  He declares that he preached to them:

in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.

Paul’s low self-image seems odd when contrasted to his boldness as described in the book of Acts, or even his personality as revealed in his letters. Some speculate that he alludes here to a possible physical affliction, his thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7) that may have flared during his tenure in Corinth.   Or perhaps he had been chastened by his recent supposed setbacks in Athens (Acts 17).

I’m not sure it is necessary to read so much into his self-deprecation.  He is making the point that the success of his preaching and ministry derives not from himself but from God:

 My speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,  that your faith wouldn’t stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

As Paul will again insist in his second letter to the Corinthians:

For we don’t preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake….But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves (2 Corinthians 4:5,7).

Having said all of this, however, Paul makes it clear that the Gospel is not naive or simplistic — rather, it is the spear-point of the mysterious wisdom of God:

We speak wisdom, however, among those who are full grown; yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing. But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds for our glory,  which none of the rulers of this world has known.

This wisdom, given only to those who are spiritually mature, transcends worldly wisdom and political power.  Paul is reiterating what he claimed in the previous passage (1 Corinthians 1:18-25), that even God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest human power, and God’s supposed foolishness is wiser than all human knowledge.

As evidence for the ignorance of the rulers of this world, Paul points out:

had they known it, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory.

The mystery of God’s wisdom, hidden from human understanding and yet woven into the very fabric of the universe, has begun to be revealed.  This is a spiritual reality that human senses and intellect are unable to perceive, but is only revealed by God.  Paul quotes Isaiah 64:4:

But as it is written,
“Things which an eye didn’t see, and an ear didn’t hear,
which didn’t enter into the heart of man,
these God has prepared for those who love him.”

Paul begins to explore the unique work of the Spirit of God, which he has earlier said reinforced his preaching with the:

demonstration of the Spirit and of power.

And it is the Spirit who reveals God’s wisdom, and who searches both the deep things of God and the Spirit of human beings:

For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.  For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God, except God’s Spirit. But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God.

Part of Paul’s understanding of the work of the Spirit is that the Spirit is a kind of liaison between God and human beings.  Note that the Spirit is God — Paul uses the phrase God’s Spirit and speaks of the Spirit which is from God.  He elaborates on this in Romans 8 when he describes how the Spirit dwells in us and testifies to our own spirits that we have become children of God through faith, and even penetrates the very mind of God and our own spirits through prayer:

 He who searches the hearts knows what is on the Spirit’s mind, because he makes intercession for the saints according to God (Romans 8:27).

I  prefer the translation from the NRSV:

And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit  intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

APPLY:  

Although Paul protests that he came to the Corinthians without  excellence of speech or of wisdom, I think he protests too much!

In this passage, he explores the mystery of grace, hidden from the foundation of the ages yet now revealed fully in Christ.  In this passage we see Paul explore the work of the Trinity, without ever using the term.

The power and wisdom of God the Father are revealed in the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and are declared through human preaching.  But it is not the preaching in and of itself that has power to save — it is the demonstration of the Spirit and of power that drives the message home.

God’s mysterious wisdom and power are disclosed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and then confirmed in the human spirit through the Spirit of God.  This is a  wisdom not of this world, disclosed to people who respond in faith and grow into the maturity of grace.

RESPOND: 

I remember when I first stood up in a pulpit to preach the Gospel, so many years ago.  How I identified with the Apostle Paul!

I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.

I confess that more than 40 years after my first sermon, which lacked all eloquence and wisdom, I still  experience weakness, fear and trembling when I preach — until I remind myself that I am preaching Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 

I resolved long ago to always focus on the message of Christ and about Christ in every sermon — whether it was a sermon based on an Old Testament text or a New Testament text.  This doesn’t mean I do damage to the integrity of the text and import meaning that isn’t there.  No, what it means is that Christ is the key to understanding the entire Biblical witness, and that through the witness of the Holy Spirit, that key is placed in our hearts to open the mystery of God’s power, wisdom, grace and love.

Lord, wherever I go enable me to disappear so that you may appear.  Help me to share the Good News of Jesus Christ so that there is a demonstration of your Spirit and power. Amen. 

PHOTOS:
"Corrie Ten Boom Quote" by the Corrie Ten Boom Museum is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for February 2, 2020

 

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

A NOTE FROM CELESTE LETCHWORTH:

As most of you know, Tom went to be with the Lord in June, 2018.

Since the lectionary cycles every 3 years, I am able to copy Tom’s SOAR studies from the archives and post them each week with our current year’s dates.

You’ll notice that this week’s Epistle reading is supposed to include verses 18-31. Sorry, all I could find in Tom’s archives are postings for verses 18-25.

The following is his post from January 29, 2017.

OBSERVE:

Paul’s “theology of the cross” is central to his understanding of the way of salvation.  It is grounded in paradox, which is a recurring theme in Scripture — death leads to life, weakness leads to strength, foolishness is true wisdom.

Paul intends to undercut any effort to establish human pride or merit or accomplishment as grounds for a solid relationship with God.  Wisdom, the law, human philosophy, and miracles are insufficient grounds for salvation.

God chooses to reveal himself through the weakness and folly of the cross because this requires complete surrender to him. Human effort is insufficient to reach God.

Paul even goes so far as to say that the cross is a stumbling block to those who cannot believe.  The Greek word here is skandalein — a scandal, an offense!  The thought of the Lord of Life crucified for sedition and heresy is indeed a scandal to those who seek to establish their own righteousness.  But as we know from the other letters of Paul, the only righteousness that endures is the righteousness of Christ.

Not only is the cross the foolishness of God, the preaching of Christ crucified is also foolishness.  Yet to those who hear and believe:

the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

APPLY:  

The cross is still the dividing line between believers and non-believers.  I once wrote a paper in seminary on this very passage. I paid to have the paper typed by a professional typist. She happened to be a non-Christian, and she suggested that this idea of “believing in foolishness” is the very problem with the Christian faith.

Many years later, another non-Christian who had watched Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ, commented to me that for the non-believer it was just a long movie about some guy getting beaten up and tortured for three hours (granted, much of the violence in that film was gratuitous).

But for those who have been confronted with their own sin, and found the self-help methods of our culture insufficient; for those who have realized that human knowledge is easily perverted for immoral purposes; for those who have realized that their own attempts to be “good” fall dreadfully short of the glory of God; for those who have grown weary of the “signs” and spectacles of the modern age — for them:

 the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men (emphasis mine).

What is implied in this passage about the cross, but left unsaid, is what Paul will explain elsewhere in his epistles, including 1 & 2 Corinthians.

The cross is God’s means of reconciling sinful people to a holy God by the very substitutionary nature of Christ:  

 For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

And Paul will clearly elaborate on the fullness of the story in 1 Corinthians 15, including the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus:

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

I venture to say that the cross for us who are being saved: 

is the power of God.

RESPOND: 

Even forty years after my first awakening to the grace of God as a 19 year-old freshman in college, when I think of the cross and the crucifixion of Jesus, tears come to my eyes.

For me, it is a solemn and yet joyful reminder of the self-emptying, dying love of my Savior.  Undeserved, unearned by me, and unselfish by him.

Although I value knowledge and books and philosophy, the cross holds a power in my spirit that transcends all human understanding.

Our Lord, all my attempts to learn all I can, to establish my own righteousness, to achieve and succeed, all fall short of your glory.  Yet in your foolishness and weakness you reveal your wisdom and strength — that you have come to me, and have taken my sin upon yourself, and have given me your righteousness in exchange! For me, you are my wisdom, and strength, and justification, and sanctification, and glory.  Thank you!  Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
“Close up eye red - Jesus – Cross” by Gerardofegan is licensed by Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for March 4, 2018

 

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Paul’s “theology of the cross” is central to his understanding of the way of salvation.  It is grounded in paradox, which is a recurring theme in scripture: death leads to life, weakness leads to strength, foolishness is true wisdom.

Paul intends to undercut any effort to establish human pride or merit or accomplishment as grounds for a solid relationship with God.  Wisdom, the law, human philosophy, and miracles are insufficient grounds for salvation.

God chooses to reveal himself through the weakness and folly of the cross because this requires complete surrender to him. Human effort is insufficient to reach God.

Paul even goes so far as to say that the cross is a stumbling block to those who cannot believe.  The Greek word here is skandalein – a scandal, an offense!  The thought of the Lord of Life crucified for sedition and heresy is indeed a scandal to those who seek to establish their own righteousness.  But as we know from the other letters of Paul, the only righteousness that endures is the righteousness of Christ.

Not only is the cross the foolishness of God, the preaching of Christ crucified is also foolishness.  Yet to those who hear and believe:

the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

APPLY:  

The cross is still the dividing line between believers and non-believers.  I once wrote a paper in seminary on this very passage. I paid to have the paper typed by a professional typist. She happened to be a non-Christian, and she suggested that this idea of “believing in foolishness” is the very problem with the Christian faith.  And another non-Christian who had watched Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ pointed out that for the non-believer it was just a long movie about some guy getting beaten up and tortured for three hours (granted, much of the violence in that film was gratuitous).

But for those who have been confronted with their own sin, and found the self-help methods of our culture insufficient; for those who have realized that human knowledge is easily perverted for immoral purposes; for those who have realized that their own attempts to be “good” fall dreadfully short of the glory of God; for those who have grown weary of the “signs” and spectacles of the modern age – for them:

 the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men (emphasis mine).

What is implied in this passage about the cross, but left unsaid, is what Paul will explain elsewhere in his epistles, including 1 & 2 Corinthians.

The cross is God’s means of reconciling sinful people to a holy God by the very substitutionary nature of Christ:  

 For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

And Paul will clearly elaborate on the fullness of the story in 1 Corinthians 15, including the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus: For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance:

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

I venture to say that the cross for us who are being saved: 

is the power of God.

RESPOND: 

Even forty years after my first awakening to the grace of God as a 19 year-old freshman in college, when I think of the cross and the crucifixion of Jesus, tears come to my eyes.

For me, it is a solemn and yet joyful reminder of the self-emptying, dying love of my Savior.  Undeserved, unearned by me, and unselfish by him.

Although I value knowledge and books and philosophy, the cross holds a power in my spirit that transcends all human understanding.

Our Lord, all my attempts to learn all I can, to establish my own righteousness, to achieve and succeed, all fall short of your glory.  Yet in your foolishness and weakness you reveal your wisdom and strength – that you have come to me, and have taken my sin upon yourself, and have given me your righteousness in exchange! For me, you are my wisdom, and strength, and justification, and sanctification, and glory.  Thank you!  Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
“Close up eye red - Jesus – Cross” by Gerardofegan is licensed by Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for February 19, 2017

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Paul continues to enlarge on the metaphor he introduced previously, that the church is God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:9). This applies to the Christian Church in general and the Corinthian Church specifically. He decisively resolves any doubt about where the church’s allegiance should be. Although he claims credit as a wise master builder, who laid the foundation for their church upon which another pastor may build, he makes it crystal clear that Christ is central:

For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Paul also calls Christ the chief cornerstone in Ephesians 2:20.

The lectionary editors have chosen to skip verses 12-15, which continue to develop this metaphor of building.  In these verses, he uses interesting imagery, declaring that if a church leader builds with good material or shoddy material (gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble) their workmanship will be revealed on the Day of the Lord.  All of it will be tested by fire, and only the good material will endure.  The good workman shall be rewarded, the poor workman’s work will be burned up and his work come to nothing, although he himself may be saved, but as through fire (verse 15).

This suggests that there are degrees of reward — much like the parable of the talents that Jesus tells in Matthew 25:14-25.

But in 1 Corinthians 3:16-23, Paul returns to his description of the church, and the threat of divisive arrogance.

He calls them the temple of God, because God’s Spirit lives in them.  Note the distinction — they are not God’s temple because they are inherently unique — they are God’s Temple because they are filled with the Holy Spirit (for more on this metaphor of the temple of God please see the Apply section).  Here Paul is speaking of the church collectively as the building of God. 

And Paul has a stern warning for those who would undermine or harm this temple:   

If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, which you are.

Paul continues with this warning tone:

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise.

This theme of human wisdom versus God’s foolishness is recurring.  It seems that there was a clique of believers at Corinth who thought they were superior to other Christians, that in fact they had a superior knowledge.  It may well be that this was an example of the proto-Gnostic theology that would later plague the church.  Gnosticism stressed a hidden, esoteric knowledge that was given to the wise. 

So Paul is saying that those who think they are wise should become fools — i.e., humble themselves and acknowledge their ignorance — so that then they may learn wisdom.  Only those who are humble are teachable.

And Paul once again asserts the same thing he does earlier in 1 Corinthians 1:25:

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He has taken the wise in their craftiness.” And again, “The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless.”

He quotes from two Wisdom books of the Hebrew Bible to provide more evidence — Job 5:13 and Psalm 94:11.

Finally, he points out that there are grounds for boasting, but not in human wisdom or accomplishment.  He says that he and other teachers may have taught them these things but all that they have comes from Christ. And this includes present reality as well as the reality to come:

the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours.

The reason for this clear:

 you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

APPLY:  

The key metaphor in this passage relates to the building and establishment of the church as the temple of God.  Paul, as the founding pastor at Corinth, was the master builder.  Other builders came and worked on the temple also — he names Cephas and Apollos.  But the most important feature of this temple is that Christ is the foundation:

no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.

A little later he will use the same metaphor to describe the physical body of the individual Christian, as a means of warning them about sexual immorality:

don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

This is a little like a Russian Nesting Doll — the individual Christian who is filled with the Holy Spirit is a smaller version of the corporate Body of Christ, also filled with the Holy Spirit.  Both are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  And their holiness is derivative — it comes from the Holy Spirit, not from themselves.

Another image that reinforces this metaphor of the temple of God, made up of many smaller stones, comes from Peter:

You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5).

RESPOND: 

There are several great hymns and songs that celebrate this metaphor that the people of God are themselves the temple of God,  a building made of living stones.

One that comes to mind immediately is the old hymn from the 19th century written by Samuel J. Stone:

The church’s one foundation
is Jesus Christ her Lord;
she is his new creation
by water and the Word.
From heaven he came and sought her
to be his holy bride;
with his own blood he bought her,
and for her life he died.

This hymn reminds me that the cornerstone — the solid foundation of the church — is Jesus Christ.  Another verse reminds me that though the church may be shaken by the winds of change, as we are today, she will prevail, despite schisms and heresies.

As the temple of God, we are filled with the Holy Spirit even when we are buffeted by hurricanes .

Our Lord, forgive us if we ever try to lay down some other foundation than Jesus Christ in our ministries.  Christ alone can withstand the winds and the earthquakes of our culture and our times.  Help us to build in such a way that we use the same precious material that Paul and Apollos and Peter all used.  And remind us that we are your temple, because your Spirit dwells in us.  Amen.

PHOTOS:
“Omaha North Presbyterian Church cornerstone” by Ammodramus is in the public domain.

Epistle for February 12, 2017

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Paul is very blunt with the young church at Corinth.  He tells them that they are still immature in their faith and understanding — they are babies in Christ.

He continues this metaphor, pointing out that when he taught them Christian doctrine he had to feed them milk, not meat.  Like babies, they weren’t ready to digest “solid” doctrine.

Paul then supplies evidence to prove that they were too immature for the deeper things of God, and are still too immature — they are fussing with one another!

For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren’t you fleshly, and don’t you walk in the ways of men?

The prime example of the factionalism at Corinth is their cliquishness and division into groups loyal to their favorite preachers — Paul and Apollos.

This gives Paul the opportunity to clarify the relationship of preachers to Christ:

 Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?

He also is able to explore the different roles of preachers and apostles in Christian ministry:

I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase.

Paul is able to differentiate the stages of a vital ministry, and also anticipates the variety of spiritual gifts that he will describe later in this same letter:

There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord. There are various kinds of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all (1 Corinthians 12:5-7).

But ultimately, the focus is to be on God who works through his servants and who gives the increase:

So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

He also makes clear that there is no superiority or subordination of planter or waterer — they both receive a reward based on their work.

Finally, Paul returns to his agricultural metaphor, and adds a metaphor from the world of construction:

For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.

Paul makes it clear that he labors for the church because the church belongs to God, even if its members are still immature.  He is rooting for them to grow up into the church God intends them to become.

APPLY:  

One of the goals of the Christian life is growing up.  The Apostle Peter uses language very similar to Paul’s metaphor:

Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation—(1 Peter 2:2).

All Christians begin as spiritual babies who need to be nurtured carefully so they can grow up in faith.  Paul’s frustration is that the Corinthians are acting immaturely — fussing and fighting with one another instead of humbly admitting what they don’t know.  Such factionalism is a symptom of  spiritual immaturity.

Paul makes it clear that the source of our Christian growth and maturity is not our favorite pastor, or some extraordinary preacher — the only task of a pastor, preacher, evangelist or teacher is to serve God, whether they are planting or watering in God’s garden .  God gives the growth.

The focus, both for the preacher and the people, is to make the “main thing the main thing” — the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

RESPOND: 

Over the years as a pastor, I have noted a long succession of plans and programs that were designed to “help the church grow.”  “Church growth” was the battle cry in my denomination, and we used various metrics to measure growth.

Some of these programs were actually helpful.  But over time it has become clear to me that the role of the pastor/preacher is not to “grow” the church.  The role of the pastor/preacher is to humbly serve God, preach the Gospel, and get out of the way!

We may plant.  We may water.  But it is God who gives the increase.  One layman in my congregation said something very wise that I never forgot — “What good does it do for the church numbers to grow if the church members don’t grow with it?”

Lord, you call us to grow in grace as individuals and as a church.  Help us to focus on your Gospel, and not pick sides on issues and personalities in the church, so that we may become what you mean for us to become.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
"1 Corinthians 3 verse 6" used this photo:
"rice stages, seed germination" by IRRI Photos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.