Deceived by Image
Being a product of the 1980s there was a spike in interest in the wonderful sport of tennis. On TV it looked easy, fun, and because of a certain player and a slogan, many kids became interested in giving it a try. Andre Agassi did a campaign for a camera company and the slogan he made famous was, “Image is everything!” They had used him to promote tennis to the masses and recruit a new generation of players and consumers. I was one of them. Before I took a lesson or really played, I made sure to have the right shoes, clothes, and racket because the image meant more than actually being able to play. Just to confirm, tennis was not my sport!
In 1 Corinthians 3:18-4:14, Paul contrasts his image wearing rags and even comparing himself to scum or garbage versus the wealthy and highly thought of people in Corinth. His point was simple, image is everything and it can deceive easily. He did not want people to fall easily to the deception the world offered and wanted them to look at what mattered, the heart. Paul had visited and written this group of believers and his desire was for them to grow in spiritual maturity. He wanted them to not worry about the image they created, but instead allow Christ to transform them. He wrote them as children he loved and wanted the best for them so they could take steps to maturity.
Sometimes it is easy to worry about our image more than our heart. We try to make everything on the outside look a certain way which then doesn’t actually reflect what is on the inside. I tried to look like a tennis player more than just learning to be one. Paul did not want that for the church in Corinth and that is not what is needed today. Let’s not be deceived by image and instead allow Christ to work in and through us. Is there a way you are portraying an image more than living out your faith? Is there something you are hiding behind that you need a little help overcoming? God is there for you, go to him in prayer and ask him to help. We are here to pray and help you!
Pastor Jeremy Johnson
Family Pastor
What Makes You Special?
How long would it take to make a list of 3-5 things about you that makes you special?
Take a look at the list. What parts of the list are you responsible for and what parts should be to God’s credit? Understanding this distinction is a big part of Paul’s gripe against the people in Corinth. Look at what he wrote in 1 Cor 4:7, “For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” Paul seems to think that everything we have that makes us special comes from God.
Looking at Paul’s words for the folks in this book makes it seem like the believers in Corinth may have been proud of their wealth or their status in the world’s eyes. It also seems like they were judging Paul for not living up to that status or their worldly ideals. Naturally, Paul tries to dissuade them of that folly and those misplaced priorities. That is why he points out that all they have, everything they have, whatever they have, and whatever they place their value in, really comes from God.
Since everything that makes us special comes from God, it shouldn’t be a source for pride, it should be a source of thankfulness. Over and above that, salvation through Jesus and the connection with God via the Holy Spirit gives believers so much that Paul continues in verse 8, “Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich!” This spiritual wealth is what Paul wants them to focus on and be content with. The people were looking at worldly wealth and status and thinking that is what made them special. Paul wants them to focus on their spiritual blessings and status. Towards that mindset, he adds, “Without us, you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!” He wants them to know and embrace the righteous status they actually have in, through, and from God. He gives them some sarcasm here because they had access to kingly spiritual positions but they were focused on the earthly ones.
How about you? How about me? Do we realize that there is so much that makes us special and all of it comes from and through God?
Pastor John Riley
Jr. High Pastor
Build with Care
But each one should build with care. - 1 Corinthians 3:10
In a few months, I get to take a team of about 50 High School students and leaders down to Mexico to build some houses. I absolutely love this trip! I love seeing students work harder than they ever have before. I love helping them to get a glimpse of the way that much of the rest of the world lives. I love seeing them wake up exhausted at the crack of dawn every morning to go put in a full day’s work of service on their Spring Break! I absolutely love how this trip builds character in their lives! And as a Pastor, I really, really love being able to walk away from a finished house at the end of the week.
The truth is that I don’t actually get to finish too many things as a Pastor. I get the amazing opportunity to teach and guide people. I get to pour into people and to plan programs that help build people into disciples of Jesus who live in His way with His heart. I love that, but I almost never get to walk away from a finished project. All of us, myself included, are “works in progress.” So, that’s one of the reasons why walking away from a finished house is so satisfying for me.
However, every time I go, I’m reminded about a devastating story that a Youth Pastor friend told me about a similar trip that he took with his youth ministry. They did the same thing. They worked hard, they woke up early, they poured themselves into the project and finished a beautiful new house. However, as they were getting ready to leave, he told me that his entire team watched in horror as a crew of workers from the city came with a bulldozer and tore down the house they just built!
What happened? Well, apparently, the ministry that they were working with did not do their homework correctly. They did not have the correct building permits and the deed for the land hadn’t been finalized, so the entire project was destroyed!
I can’t imagine how demoralizing that would have been for a group of teenagers. However, the point is one that we need to remember when we are building into people spiritually. This is not a sprint! There is no need to rush the process. We must never take shortcuts when we are witnessing to people, when we are training them, and when we are helping to build disciples. We must “build with care.” There are no quick fixes for developing fully devoted disciples of Jesus. It takes time, it takes effort, and it is a team project. We need to work together as a church to build with care.
My question for you today is, are you a part of the team? What part can you play in building up people with care?
Josh Rose
Teaching Pastor
The Work and the Reward
If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.
1 Cor 3:14-15.
I used to read this passage imagining a scene from a movie with a stunt man crashing through the flames as a perilously engulfed, heat-soaked building crashed around his dramatic escape.
I read the passage with a different image today. In this chapter, Paul is discussing Christian maturity, growth, togetherness, and legacy. He switches illustrations, in verse 9, from that of a farmer working the fields to that of a building being built, “For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” There, that was the swap, from farming to building. The builders are Christians who are building up the church. The quality of their work will be tested by fire. Today when I read the passage, I don’t picture a building burning, I picture the people I know as the parts of the building that will be tested by fire. My family, friends, partners in ministry at the church, neighbors, anyone in my life or circle of influence is going to be shown for what they are on “the Day” (verse 13) of judgment. Has what I’ve done helped people around me escape the fire?
Their future is a reflection of the quality of my work. Am I building people upon the foundation of Jesus Christ (vs 11)? If my work and influence are not leading people to live for or know Jesus, then my work will burn up before my eyes, “the builder will suffer loss” (vs 15). If my life is helping people know Jesus, trust Jesus, and walk in the way and with the heart of Jesus, then those people are the “gold, silver, costly stones” of verse 12 that survives. The way I imagine it now, is that those people, unscathed by fire, are all the precious reward I need. How about you?
Pastor John Riley
Jr. High Pastor
What You See is Not What You Get
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
1 Corinthians 3:6-7
Recently our oldest daughter decided she wanted to become a gardener. She wanted to plant and grow a few spices in a planter in our backyard. So she did what all who are gardeners do - she went to the local home improvement store and bought, with my money, a small planter, some soil and fertilizer, and some seeds. Then she filled the planter with the soil and the seeds and began the process of watering and waiting, and watering and waiting, and waiting and waiting. Eventually, some green began to poke its way through the soil and a small spice plant slowly began to emerge. Success!
In 1 Corinthians 3:5-9, Paul reminds us of our role in other people’s spiritual growth - we are the planters and the waterers. And he reminds us of God’s role - He is the grower. Knowing this moves us to adopt a posture of recognizing that while we do have an important part to play, we don’t get to control the ultimate outcomes. We don’t get to say how fast or slow someone’s growth will occur. We don’t get to say how much growth will occur. We don’t even have a guarantee that any growth will occur (how many of us have planted seeds that never grew?). What we get to do is plant and water. And wait, and wait, and wait, hoping that what we see is not what we’ll get.
As it is with gardening, so it is with the investments we make in the spiritual lives of others - it requires persistence and patience that is rooted in God’s desire and ability to bring growth, and it’s also based on a faith that knows that something is always going on beneath the surface, even if we can’t see it now. And what is true of the planting and watering we do in others’ lives is also true of the planting and watering they do in ours. Just like we are waiting to see some growth in “their lives,” so too they are waiting to see some growth in ours.
Regardless of whether you’re waiting to see growth in someone else’s life or your own, know that it is God who causes the growth and ask Him to help you wait well, remembering that what you see now is not what you’re going to get later.
Scott Smith
Connection and Growth Pastor
Jealousy vs. Partnership
Have you ever worked really hard at something only to realize that the recognition you think you deserve is going to another person? Or have you watched someone take credit for your idea and then receive opportunities that you long for? Areas in which you know you could succeed but instead, someone else receives the applause? But what if the results are the same regardless of who makes the suggestion or proposes the great idea? The mission is accomplished and people still grow, change, and are drawn to the grace of Jesus. Yes, even as Christ-followers, it is easy to give in to the temptation of jealousy.
In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul continues to address the self-centered immaturity and immorality of the people at the church in Corinth. Verse 3 says, “for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?” Immaturity harbors jealousy whereas a mature believer recognizes that the work is about Christ, not themselves. Notoriety, fame, and prestige are solo expeditions.
Verses 9-10 go on to say, “For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.” We could expand verse nine to say, “You are God’s non-profit ministry. You are God’s generosity, supporting missionaries all over the world. You are God’s hands, planting a seed, that someone else will water.” The point is not who gets credit for the work, but rather how it is received. Proverbs 14:30 does not mince words, “A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like a cancer in the bones.”
When we come to the realization that all we do is for the glory of God, it takes away the weight of needing recognition for ourselves. When our hearts are attuned to the message of Christ, to the hope that he offers, we are free to lose sight of ourselves and give God the glory for all!
Lynette Fuson
Director of Care & Counseling
Time to Grow?
1 Corinthians 3:1
Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ.
The City of Corinth was bustling with commerce, had an outdoor theater that could seat 20,000 people a diverse population, but also a temple of 1,000 prostitutes and abundant taverns on the south side of the marketplace. Can you picture it, this place of affluence but also of darkness? Paul was preaching in the city of Corinth to believers who had not grown in their faith though they had believed for years. The church had divisions, aberrant beliefs, and practices. The consequence: stunted spiritual growth and idolatry. How does the church in Corinth compare with churches in our country today?
I remember when our sons eventually weaned from milk to baby cereal, and then pureed vegetables and fruit. Nothing solid until they could chew and digest it. Can you imagine feeding an infant a big hunk of steak? I remember the first few spoonfuls of baby food being spit out because they didn’t even know how to swallow it from a spoon. It was a little frustrating (and messy) until they got the hang of it, and most parents persevere until they do. Paul was concerned for the believers in Corinth and persevered in teaching them how to grow and mature in their spiritual walk.
How does a person go from spiritual immaturity to maturity? What is your spiritual calorie intake? What is your steady diet, spiritually speaking? Are you spending more time or at least an equal amount working on your spiritual self as your physical self? The choices we make spiritually determine how long we stay infants, adolescents, and teenagers in our spiritual growth. I know I was stuck in adolescence and teenagerhood much longer than I could have been because I was ignorant of the importance of spiritual growth and how to achieve it. Because of that immaturity, I made unwise choices and decisions and reaped the unpleasant consequences.
Spiritual growth occurs when the believer is transformed by the renewing of his/her mind. And the renewing of your mind happens at the rate by which we learn the Scripture and obey it. Scripture states of itself in Hebrews 4:12: The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Powerful, yes?
Even mature Christians have moments when emotions get the best of them, but emotions out of control and ruling your life consistently isn’t evidence of a Spirit-filled life but rather an out-of-control infant. Spiritually mature individuals, because of their regular diet of the Word, can discern truth from error. They see life through the lens of the Book penned by the Author of life. Regardless of your level of spiritual maturity, there will always be areas of your life God needs to work in. Will you pray Psalm 25:5 (NLT) with me:
Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All-day long I put my hope in you.
Deb Hill
Executive Assistant
The Mind of Christ
“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.
- 1 Corinthians 2:16 (NIV)
After talking about the miraculous discernment that we receive from the Holy Spirit, Paul quotes this passage from Isaiah 40:13. It’s a very simple question that Isaiah asks, but it is also a not-so-subtle recognition that God is God and we are not. So, while we can try to understand God’s ways, we can’t and won’t fully understand everything. This is the very same passage that Paul quotes in the book of Romans after 11 chapters of the densest theological content ever written: “Who has known the mind of the Lord?” It’s as if Paul is saying, “I’m doing my best here to understand and explain all this to you, but God is bigger and so far beyond us that no one will ever be able to completely explain God’s mind.”
This is the same force with which Isaiah asks the question in the original context. He is asking a bunch of humbling questions, as if to say, “stop being so arrogant, and just trust Almighty God!” However, in the original Hebrew of Isaiah 40:13, there are some interesting clues as to why Paul would bring this verse up in I Corinthians when talking about the Spirit. The word that Isaiah uses for “mind” is the Hebrew word Ruach, which can also be translated as “spirit” or “wind” or “breath.” Many English versions of the Bible even translate it as “Spirit” with a capital “S” in Isaiah 40:13. This means that the question that Isaiah might have been asking is, “Who has known the Spirit of Yahweh?”
This would explain why Paul goes to this passage here in the context of 1 Corinthians 2. However, when he translates Hebrew into Greek, he doesn’t use the word for “spirit,” which is pneuma, he uses nous, which is the word for “mind” or even better “soul.” Ok, let’s put these all together now. Paul is taking the Hebrew concept of “spirit” and translating it into the Greek concept of “soul.” In other words, Paul is asking the question, “Who has really known the soul (or the essence) of God?”
I think this is a great question in and of itself, but it gets even better! Because Paul doesn’t stop there, he actually answers the question. Notice the last phrase of chapter 2… “But we have the mind (or soul or essence) of CHRIST.” He substitutes “Lord” the Greek translation of the Hebrew “Yahweh” with “Christ.” What?!! There is so much going on here, it is amazing! But for now, I just want to point out that this isn’t like a theological punt, as if Paul is saying, “Who knows?” No! Paul is suggesting that we can finally, for the first time, answer Isaiah’s ancient question in the affirmative! Because we have Jesus we can say, “YES! We know the Spirit of Yahweh!!” And this changes EVERYTHING!
Josh Rose
Teaching Pastor
What did you say?
Wait, wait… What did you say? Or some variation on the sentiment is a rather constant anthem of those unfamiliar with my speech. I have a speech impediment along with some other fun things that come with my Cerebral Palsy. It’s nobody’s fault, but my speech sounds like total gibberish! If I'm unlucky enough to hear myself on a recording, I’m just as clueless as anyone else about what is being said. I like to joke around and warn people that I speak an obscure dialect of old martian. If I talk at a snail’s pace and painfully enunciate everything, I can passably imitate English. There are those who seem to magically understand every word I say right off the bat, but most people have to fight for understanding.
When someone asks me to repeat myself, they are often scared of offending me. Ironically, it’s the most efficient way to compliment me. They are communicating that they value understanding what I am saying enough to disrupt the rhythm of the conversation to ask me to repeat myself.
It is a great joy to help people understand me, if that is what they want, I’ll spell out every word if it helps. I can’t help but feel that when we pursue our Father’s treasures, we are communicating the same thing to him. He will help us and enter into the process with us. Asking him for guidance or insight into what on earth he’s getting at might just be the highest praise we can offer him.
Jonathan Duncan
The Gift of Discernment
My husband has been a youth baseball umpire for almost 25 years, and it is something that he loves to do in his spare time. He has invested time and study into umpiring to hone his skill plus has all the gear to be safe and look professional. Being an umpire requires concentration, focus, knowledge of the rules, patience, and good judgment. A good umpire wants to make the right calls and knows that making a wrong call at the home plate can affect the outcome of the game. But all umpires make mistakes because judgment is relative and ten people can see a play and judge it ten different ways. Sometimes coaches and parents aren’t happy with a call the umpire makes–especially if it is their child who strikes out or is called out on the plate.
I was thinking about umpiring as I studied wisdom and discernment this week. To be wise in our confusing culture today, we need to learn wisdom from God's Word and then make decisions using spiritual discernment. Proverbs 3:21 says, ” Do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion” (NIV).
Paul prayed in Philippians 1:9–11 for discernment for the believers: "And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent . . .” Clearly, discernment is something that we should all desire and it is necessary to help us to grow in our faith and keep us from being deceived. The gift of discernment helps us distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil, truth and lies. Society tells us that we gain wisdom by study, accumulation of knowledge, and application of common sense. These are good pursuits, but they won't result in spiritual discernment.
Discernment is a gift we ask for and seek if we truly desire to live like Jesus. Hosea 14:9 says, "Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them." We can’t follow the ways of the Lord without discernment.
We need discernment in order to understand Scripture.. Our human minds can’t understand it without the discernment that comes from the Holy Spirit. "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Like a prepared umpire in full gear, we need to put on the whole armor of God as Ephesians 6 tells us, to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. There is so much in our world grappling for our attention. Because of this, discernment is more important than ever before to protect against false teaching and help us live holy lives. We can gain spiritual discernment by prayerfully asking God for it, studying Scripture, relinquishing control to the Holy Spirit, and learning to listen for his leading. Finally, don't jump to conclusions or judgments, pray and wait for all the facts. (Prov. 18:13)
Deb Hill
Executive Assistant