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Tag: beloved

Members in Christ’s body the Church
And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

1 Corinthians 12:11 KJV – Paul quoting the Lord Jesus

Paul now draws a picture of the human body in order that members of the body of believers might see our own part in the larger Church in Corinth and all places where the saints gather in Christ’s Name.

Spiritualities – ‘I would not have you ignorant’

Previously, when we departed from here in the Apostle’s instructions to the Corinthians, Paul instructs:

And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

1 Corinthians 12:5 KJV

One Body, many Members, different spiritual Gifts

Now to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit, for the common profiting.

1 Corinthians 12:7 BLB

The first implication of this: EACH member of the body of your church and mine will show (manifest) some fruit of the Spirit.

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

1 Corinthians 12:11 LSB

Who belongs as members?
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IF someone in your church does not yet manifest any fruit of the Spirit, is it possible that the Lord has not given them the Spirit OR made these a part of His Body - a member of His Church? 

Are even the best spiritualities of faithful jews and religious adherents of Islam connected to the body of our Lord Christ Jesus? 

Do the best of Hindus Buddhists and other pagan worshipers not oppose Christ? 

Yet some are drawn by the Spirit. 
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The Body of Christ

For just as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body being many are one body, so also is Christ.

1 Corinthia n s 12:12 Berean Standard Bible

Jews and Gentiles
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What is the overriding context of this epistle Paul writes to a church on the Achaian peninsula of Greece ? 

The Apostle to the Gentiles (Hellenists or Greek or Roman) -- seeks to heal long-standing differences in this large Roman city of Corinth situated in the philosophic and cultural center of ancient Europe. 
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- To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom – v.8 (quite Hellenist)
- to another faith.. to another gifts of healing v.9 (the One God of the Jews and ignored signs of the Messiah)
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:13 NKJV

Invisible fruit pictured in the body

For the body does not consist of one part, but of many. 1 Corinthians 12:14 BSB

If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body?

And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
- If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?
  - (Now think of the body of Christ, the church.)
- If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
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Laughable! Hyperbole, yet logical.
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But now hath God set the members

(And the Spirit of God has distributed your spiritual gifts.)

But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

How strange a body would be if it had only one part!

1 Corinthians 12:18 KJV and 12:19 NLT
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Do you get both the seriousness and Paul's practical ridicule of members di-vi-ded by spiritualities God granted to others? 
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The Apostle to the gentiles continues his illustration: 
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- The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.”
- Nor can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.”
Here is Paul’s appeal to draw near to your members divided by opinions concerning spiritual gifts and an order of regulating the body (so to speak).

On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts we consider less honorable, we treat with greater honor. And our unpresentable parts are treated with special modesty, whereas our presentable parts have no such need.

But God has composed the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another.

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

1 Corinthians 12:22-26 BSB

Has the Great Physician not set the parts of the body into their proper place?

Appointment of the Greater Gifts
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The Apostle sent out to the Corinthians, Achaeans, Greeks, Romans and displaced Jews suggests an order of importance in the A.D. first century church. Yet Paul has just instructed the saints that it is the Spirit which places us in our place in the Church -- and that spiritual GIFTS are not ours to choose. 
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27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it. And in the church God has appointed
1. first of all apostles,
2. second prophets,
3. third teachers,
4. then workers of miracles,
5. and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues.
A local (Corinthian) understanding of roles and spiritual gifts

Acts of the Apostles 1-28
1. ἀπόστολος – apostolos
2. προφήτης – prophētēs
3. διδάσκαλος – didaskalos
4. δύναμις – dynamis
5. χάρισμα – charisma
Apostles, Prophets and Teachers

ἀπόστολοι (apostoloi)
Noun – Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong’s 652: From apostello; a delegate; specially, an ambassador of the Gospel; officially a commissioner of Christ.

Am I not an apostle?^G652 am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? If I be not an apostle^G652 unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 12:1-2

1 Corinthians 12:28 – And God has set…

You’ve just studied the list.

So what does the Apostle Paul (#1 on the authoritative list) ask as he further questions the Corinthian saints of differing opinions about their own roles in the local church?

1 Corinthians 12:29-30
- Are all apostles? (#1)
- Are all prophets? (#2)
- Are all teachers? (#3)
- Do all work miracles? (#4)
- Do all have gifts of healing?
- Do all speak in tongues?
- Do all interpret?
  - (these 3 grouped in #5)
SO WHERE DO I FIT IN?

and Who is in charge of who, here in our local gathering of saints in Corinth?

Perhaps in the hearing of Paul’s first letter being read to the Corinthian Church these saints might have wondered what the APOSTLE would prescribe next as a solution to OUR divisions.
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READ the literal Greek text below.
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12:31 ζηλοῦτε δὲ τὰ χαρίσματα τὰ κρείττονα Καὶ ἔτι καθ᾽ ὑπερβολὴν ὁδὸν ὑμῖν δείκνυμι

But covet earnestly the best gifts: – 31a KJV

Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. – 31a NIV

But earnestly desire the higher gifts.- 31a RSV

But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

1 Corinthians 12:31 b – NLT

NEXT – Paul’s connection of GIFTS

Beloved fellow saint, you may know where the Apostle proceeds in his much-quoted list from 1 Corinthians 14.

Perhaps with love in mind you may have a COMMENT here on what the Apostle Paul has instructed us so far.

Comment on Scripture + Share the Gospel
February 26, 2025
Follow After Me -5- Obstinate

Obstinate Anti-Christs leading our Cities of Destruction

U.S. Presidential Politics seem to offer us daily portraits of obstinate stances poised against godliness.

Are these last days of the 21st century after Christ so different from in Jesus’ day? Are politics and leadership in the U.S. and other powerful countries not just as corrupt as ancient Rome and captive Jerusalem?

I want to retell a somewhat familiar story of an encounter with God. The main character believes God. He worships God. He leads his family in worship of God. And, like everyone else, he struggles with all of the day to day issues of work, community and dealing with strangers as a witness to the Lord. In fact, he has a heart to save others and lead men to living more godly lives.

Genesis 18

And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant…

¹⁶Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way…

²⁰Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, ²¹I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

²²So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. ²³Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?

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What is Abraham trying to do?

Sodom is the city where his nephew’s family lives. Further, Abraham likely would have done business with travelers to and from Sodom. Abraham shows a love and concern for his neighbors that asks the Lord to save their city. (Wouldn’t you try to save your family and people you work with?)

Abraham’s negotiation with the LORD continues:

²⁵Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”²⁶And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Negotiations continue…

(UN-united nations of today also delay the inevitable by negotiations.)

³²Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” ³³And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

Abraham’s nephew Lot and some of his family were the only ones saved from the judgment of Sodom. Yet they hesitated to leave their comfortable life in this sinful place.

Genesis 19:

¹⁶But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. ¹⁷And as they brought them out, one said,

“Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.”

¹⁸And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. ¹⁹Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die.

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Yes, even Lot, beloved nephew of Abraham seems obstinate enough to stay in Sodom and die by the judgment of the Lord.

I will suppose that you are now past this resistance, but like Abraham you would like to save other beloved friends and family.

Other than yourself, who would you most like to be saved?

Whose soul is so beloved that you cannot bear eternal life without them?

A family member? Your brother or sister? A dear friend? Even your beloved wife or husband?

You may have turned toward Christ, having one foot out the door of this world while looking back toward one who holds you in your place of hopelessness.

“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62b

In fact, you want this beloved person to change… to follow Jesus with you. Why will this beloved one not join you in looking to Christ for forgiveness and eternal joy?

They are obstinate to remain in their sin. Our beloved old friends of this world (including beloved family members) seem to become more of an anti-Christ, than a tolerant one of every other religion and sin at the mere mention of the Name of Jesus Christ, who is now our Lord.

Therefore, we have a difficult personal choice to make which is not different than the hard choices of those first follows after Jesus who witnessed his miracles, sat on the hillsides and experienced the love of God Incarnate first hand.

Luke 14:

The Cost of Discipleship

²⁵Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, ²⁶“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. ²⁷Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

What does this mean? For Jesus seems to be saying to hate those who love me.

It means that your salvation is a personal choice. You choose Jesus alone. You choose Jesus above all others.

My wife cannot carry my cross for me. My dear friends whom I have known for years cannot save me and regrettably, I cannot save them.

Only Christ can save sinners like you and me. Only Christ can save sinners like our family and friends.

One cost of discipleship is that obstinate anti-Christs will turn against you

You love them. They are beloved family and long-time friends. Mention Jesus Christ and they accuse you of all kinds of things which go against the world of the flesh they crave. It is nothing new. The Messiah of of the Jews was rejected, as were the Prophets before Christ Jesus.

Jeremiah 20

I have become a laughingstock all the day;
everyone mocks me.
8 For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the Lord has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long…

10 For I hear many whispering.
Terror is on every side!
“Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”
say all my close friends,
watching for my fall.

You think, ‘I don’t want to spend eternity without these obstinate beloved friends and family.’ Yet they will not listen; in fact, they oppose you. Your choice is between a beloved one and our loving Father God who has saved you through the grace of the only Son, Jesus.

We must obediently turn our backs on this world of destruction and the perishing flesh of many beloved obstinate souls.

To be continued

NEXT: Pliable ‘christians’

February 2, 2016
Dearly Beloved

If you think only of a moment of marriage vows for these kind words, think again.

How can you claim a relationship to Jesus Christ when you will not witness by your relationships to other Christians that we are dearly beloved by you?

Christ Jesus demonstrated a genuine love for sinners. (Do we not all remain sinners, even in Christ?) Yet some sinners do cling to an earthly love for temporal things, though Christ offers a clear choice to follow Him or be condemned to judgment.

Jesus has genuine compassion for us. Yet His compassion is not enough to save you from Hell unless you embrace a relationship with Him.

Dearly beloved, dear brother in the Lord,

(Though I speak to you as a beloved brother in Christ, I include our sisters in the Lord also by my appeal.)

Do you have love and compassion for other Christians? Do you care about those of your church – the body of Christ?

Dearly beloved,

Are you not beloved believers, near to the heart of our Lord?

Yet how far removed from His love are your hearts of stone which reject fellowship with your fellow disciple.

Who would Jesus embrace? Think of the example of His Disciples, those who gave up everything to follow Christ Jesus.

Who acknowledges the love of Jesus by nearness to His love?

The risen Christ had been asking Peter for the commitment of His love in leading the church after His ascension. Jesus had asked Peter three times: “Do you love me?”

Following this, the Gospel records: Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved— John 21:20

John will so embrace the believers of the church, evidenced by his witness, letters and Revelation. Yet the Apostle John also cautions believers to have relationship with Christ and not to claim Him only in Name.

1 John 1:6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light,

we have fellowship with one another,

and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

The ‘disciple Jesus loved,’ who as a young Apostle reclined at Jesus’ side in the fellowship and communion of the Twelve, instructs the church to ‘have fellowship with one another’ – a relationship. John and Peter both frequently address believers as, ‘dearly beloved,’ as do Paul, Jude and the writer of Hebrews.

Dearly beloved,

Do you claim a relationship to the love of Christ Jesus?

You who call yourselves Christians, why do you boast about your special relationship with him? [see Rom. 2:17]

Dearly beloved,

We must also embrace the relationship of fellowship with our beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord. You know the scripture:

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. [Romans 5:8]

Do you neglect the call of righteousness which follows?

So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. [Romans 5:11]

Let us, dearly beloved, also rejoice in the new relationship with one another in Christ Jesus, our Lord and beloved friend.

The beloved disciple, John, writes to us, the chosen, dearly beloved Bride of Christ:

2 John

I am writing to the chosen lady and to her children, whom I love in the truth—as does everyone else who knows the truth— 2 because the truth lives in us and will be with us forever.

3 Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love…

5 I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. 6 Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning…

Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. 9 Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.

Dearly, beloved,

Remember the example of our loving Lord, Christ Jesus. Remember the example of love and fellowship witnessed through the Apostles of our Lord.

Remember your relationship to our loving Lord by nurturing and embracing the relationship of Jesus’ unfailing love with one another.

Dearly beloved, I pray for you.

Pray also for me.

Roger

October 13, 2014