OUR FATHER PUT ALL THINGS UNDER THE FEET OF HIS SON

1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 12 - 28.

12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

The apostle Paul, having established that the gospelˋs foundation was the death, burial and ressurection of the Lord Jesus Christ, points out that some of the Corithians were claiming that there is no such thing as the ressurection of the dead.

Paul counters the claim by saying that if there is no ressurection of the dead, that meant that Christ himself had not risen and if Christ had not risen, what Paul had been preaching was pointless and their faith was in vain.

Paul proclaimed that the entirety of Christianity pivots on one point; Jesus Christ rose from the dead. If Christ did not rise from the dead, faith in Him is fultile and we are all still in our sins and we will perish along with everyone else and believers would be the most pitiable for having placed our faith what was not going to save us.

However, with all the witnesses who were still alive at that time to attest to the factuality of Christˋs ressurection, Paul asserted that the ressurection from the dead for believers was going to happen because death came to mankind through one man named Adam and likewise, life would come to mankind through the one man Jesus Christ.

20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27 For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

Paul, looking far into the distant future, builds on the assertion that there will indeed be a ressurection and that this ressurection represents the  last enemy that Christ will destroy which is death.  When Christ is revealed at the time of the end, He will have dissolved the heirachies the kingdom of darkness made of rulers and authorities and powers and all things will have been put under Christˋs feet and as Paul indicates, the ˋall thingsˋ excludes the One who put all things under His feet. 

At this time, Christ will then hand the victorious kingdom to His Father and will Himself be subject to the one who put all things under Him and this final state unifies everything in God.

Amen.

2

 OUR FATHER WHOSE GRACE MAKES ROOM FOR US TO LABOUR IN HIS KINGDOM

The Aposte Paul, in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 1 -  11, urges the Corinthian believers to hold fast to the gospel that he had brought to them because if they fell way it, their original belief would have all been in vain.

Paul summarized the sequence of events that form the tenets of the gospel and these important tenets were attested to by many people.

1. Christ dies for our sins according to the scripture
2. Christ was buried
3. Christ rose again on the third day
4. The risen Christ was seen by 
1. Cephas (The Apostle Peter)
2. All the twelve apostles together
3. Five hundred at once (most were still alive as the time of Paulˋs writing)
4. James the Apostle
5. The twelve apostles again
6. Seen by Paul

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Paul, acknowledging that he started off as an enemy of the church of God, writes that he was given grace to believe and that he, by that same grace laboured abundantly for te sake of the gospel.

Amen.

2

OUR FATHER WHO ADOPTED US AS HIS SONS

The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verses 26 - 40, writes to establish decency and orderliness in church meetings by prescribing in what way  spiritual gifts should be expressed.

26 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. 30 But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. 32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

The chart below lays out how the various gifts should be operated during meetings;

• Edification - A Psalm, a teaching, a revelation or an interpretation can be brought by anyone
• Tongues - Two or three can speak  (with one interpreting if available)
• Interpreter - If none, tongue speakers should speak only to themselves or to God
• Prophecy - Two or three can speak and the other propets can judge the prophecies. Prophets should also prophecy one by one as their spirits are under their control.

34 Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. 35 And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.

Paul then prescribes that women should not speak in churches but are to be submissive. Here, Paul is reiterating the discussion in an earlier passage related to women covering their heads in church. In that context, Paul was alluding to the grand stage upon which all people perform the parables of the temporal that reveal the eternal. Men play the part of Jesus the groom and the women play the part of the bride. In the same way that women cover their heads to illustrate that the church is to cover her glory and point all glory to Christ, men play the part of Christ who is the head of the church and has the sole directive voice on matters of the kingdom of God and women play the part of the church who is to heed the voice of her groom and submit herself completely to Christ.

Controvercy has surrounded this question. Some point to the emergence of female leaders of Israel like Deborah and in the new testament church like Phoebe and Junia to show that women were not relegated to the sidelines in church life but were integrated key players.

With one passage saying that women should not speak in church and yet bible-certified women leaders clearly existed, what could be made of this controvercy.

The key is to understand the progression of the Christian from infancy to maturity.

Ephesians chapter 1 verses 4b - 5,  Paul writes that all believers are chosen from before the creation of the world and they are then matriculated for adoption into sonship through Jesus Christ.

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will

This  adoption into sonship is indistinguishably applied to men and women and so in the spirit, men and women are equally required to pursue spiritual growth and maturity. Once a woman is adopted as a son and matured, she is qualified to be a leader in the church as a mature son would be in his father's household. If she is not mature in faith, she is to remain silent as any immature man would be required to be.

36 Or did the word of God come originally from you? Or was it you only that it reached? 37 If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord. 38 But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant.

39 Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues. 40 Let all things be done decently and in order.

Paul advises the Corinthians to submit to the scripture (including his letters)  because they did not originate it and it a universal word that applies to all believers and not just to the Corinthians. 

Therefore, if anyone believed they were a prophet or a spiritual person, they could only be considered to be so if they submitted to the words Paul wrote concerning their practice and conduct.

The apostle again encourages the believers at Corinth to desire the gift of prophecy but on this occasion, he also instructs church leaders not to forbid the speaking of tongues. 

Amen.

1

OUR FATHER WHO SPEAKS TO UNBELIEVERS USING MEN WHO SPEAK WITH OTHER TONGUES

1 Corinthians chapter 14 verses 20 - 25 continues with the Apostle Paulˋs advice to the Corinthian church were he adjures them to be mature in understanding of spiritual things and yet to be like children in things like malice and vengeance. Paul then points to an old testament scripture that references the speaking of other tongues and with foreign lips that would be used to speak to the children of Israel and yet they would not hear the Lord.

20 Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.

21 In the law it is written:

“With men of other tongues and other lips to

I will speak to this people;

And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me,” says the Lord.

22 Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe. 23 Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. 25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.

Paul tells the Corinthians that the gift of tongues is not a sign to believers but to unbelievers while prophecy is a not a sign to unbelievers but to believers. He envisions a scenario where a believer who does not know of tongues or an unbeliever enters a building where all members are speaking in tongues,  would they not say that the people are out of their minds and reject them?  This is what the scripture why the scripture was saying that those who heard the speaking of tongues would not listen to the voice of the LORD.

On the other hand, Paul says that if they all prophecied instead of speaking in tongues, the unbelievers and skeptical people might hear the prophetic excavation of their lives and fall down and worship God which would contradict the scripture.

Thus Paul says that speaking in tongues is the proper prescription for public spiritual expression if unbelievers and skeptics are present. Prophecy is for the edification and guidance of believers and not unbelievers or skeptics.

Amen.

1

OUR FATHER WHO PRIORITIZES LOVE OVER FUNCTION 

In 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verses 1 - 19, the Apostle Paul embarks on establishing the best practices related to the use of spiritual gifts. He begins by setting the order of operations as  1)  - ˋPursue Loveˋ and  2) -  ˋDesire spiritual giftsˋ.

This could be understood to mean that we are to pursue love and then desire spiritual gifts to help facilitate the exercise of that love.

Paul identifies prophesy as the ideal gift to desire because doing so edifies the body of believers while speaking in tongues ( which is the spirit of a man praying) does not edify the body of believers because no one can understand the words being spoken unless there is a person around who has the gift of the interpretation of tongues who can render the mysteries being spoken in an unknown tongue into a comprehensible language.

Paul thus counsels the Corinthian believers, who were zealously seeking spiritual gifts, to make the edification of the church their prime directive when it came to developing their giftings. If some only spoke in tongues, Paul advised them to pray for an interpreter so that the words of direction, confirmation or encouragement could be understood and acted upon.

1 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. 2 For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. 3 But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.

6 But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching? 7 Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played? 8 For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? 9 So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. 11 Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me. 12 Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.

13 Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. 16 Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? 17 For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.

18 I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; 19 yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Paul thus concluded that individuals should engage in prayer in the spirit and also in prayer in their understanding and they should also sing in the spirit and sing in their understanding and also bless with the spirit and bless with understanding if their efforst were going to have any benefit for the listeners.

The apostle clarified that even though he spoke in tongues more than all the Corinthian believers, he nevertheless would rather have only spoken a few words in the common language than do so voluminously in an unknown tongue.

Amen.

1

OUR FATHER WHO KNOWS US AND WHOM WE WILL KNOW

1 Corinthians chapter 13 verses 1 - 13 is the famous ˋlove chapterˋ often referenced at weddings and convocations. The apostle Paul, in the previous chapter, described the subject of  this chapter as 'the more excellent way'.

Paul, having laid out the array of spiritual gifts that are made available to believers for the florishing of the body, now discusses an ingredient to all the gifts that, if missing, renders all the functions of the gifts as moot and profitless

Paul is of course speaking of love which he describes as the greatest of all the virtues that are measured when transactions between the seen and unseen realms take place. (The virtues or stances are faith, hope and love).

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Paul lays out a panoply of lofty exploits that believers could engage in and all the sacrifices they could offer but he unequivocally states that doing all these things without love is pointless.  Love can then be understood as the primary prerequisite or qualifier of any spiritual transactions associated with the kingdom of God. It is like the pin number of the company credit card and transactions that are carried out on that credit card without the pin number are unauthorized transactions and are thus nullified.

Paul then lists the characteristics of love by describing the things that it does and some of the things that is does not do.

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Itemizing the list of the characteristics of love can help to comprehend the nature of love especially when we understand that God Himself is love and so these characteristics are also the expressed nature of God.

1. Love suffers long  ( is patient )
2. Love is kind and thoughtful
3. Love does not envy but wishes well for others
4. Love does not parade itself or boast
5. Love is not puffed up ( is not proud )
6. Love is not rude or dishonor others
7. Love does not seek its own way ( is not selfish )
8. Love is not easily provoked or angered
9. Love harbours no evil or vengeful  thoughts or keep record of wrongs
10. Love does not delight in evil things
11. Love rejoices at the truth
12. Love always bears or carries all things and lets nothing fall away
13. Love always believes or trusts all things
14. Love always hopes or looks to the best of all things to comes
15. Love always endures or withstands all things

8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

Paul changes gears and moves far into the future where the dispensation we are currently partakers of is no longer in operation and so all the mechanisms of transacting between the spiritual realm and the natural realm are no longer needed and so these partial mechanisms such as prophesy, speaking in tongues and words of knowledge will cease and give way to the perfect connections which is the eternal mechanism of love. 

This is why practicing the gifts of the Spirit without love is pointless because the ultimate aim of these gifts ( which are temselves merely temporary substitutes for the real connection between God and man) is to facilitate the establish an eternal loving relationship between God and those who believe in Him.

Paul discusses this further by using  the progression from childhood to adulthood  as an analogy of the progression of the use of gifts to learn the rudiments of knowing God to directly knowing God and being loved by God and experiencing him face to face and knowing Him as much as He knows us.

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

The greatest and the ultimate and the final state is love.

Amen.

1

OUR FATHER WHO GIVES GIFTS TO MEN

The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians Chapter 12 verses 12 - 31, continued on the subject of spiritual gifts by comparing the body of Christ with the human body and even as each body part has a function that benefits the whole body, each person has a spiritual gift that benefits the whole body of believers.  

As such, Paul advises the people at Corinth understand that they are a single unified body and each individual should humbly and gratefully supply to the the body what they were gifted to provide. Paul cautions against divisions that could arise from some wishing for greater honor and being unwilling to participate in functions of lesser honor.

12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 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. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many.

15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? 18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. 19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be?

20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, 24 but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, 25 that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.

The Apostle Paul speaks to the crucial role that each person has in the body of Christ and there is a unity that the interdependence on each other brings.

Paul lists the appointed positions that are distributed to the individual members of the body of Christ from which the spiritual gifts could be dispensed but for most of these appointments, he rhetorically asks if all are appointed to them to clarify that not everyone is given the particular positions. However, the assignment to the office of helps and admistrations are not questioned which implies that all members of the body are appointed to these positions and can assist with the tasks of organising suport efforts and helping people in need.

1. Apostles - Are all apostles?
2. Prophets - Are all prophets?
3. Teachers - Are all Teachers?
4. Miracle workers - Are all able to do miracles?
5. Healers - Are all healers?
6. Helps - 
7. Administrations - 
8. Varieties of tongues -  Do all speak with tongues?
9. _________   -  Do all Interpret?

The interpretation of tongues is not included in this list but is mentioned rhetorically as being a given only to some people which suggests that Paul included the interpretation of tongues in the broader category of  ˋvarieties of tonguesˋ.

To conlude the subject, the apostle Paul encourages believers to desire greater gifts meaning that they should seek to develop their giftings so that they operated at higher levels of quality and power so as to be more edifying to the body of believers they served. Also implied is that believers should desire different gifts that would be more useful to the members of the churches.

For as much as spritual gifts are astonishing and desirable, Paul finalizes his discussion on the subject by telling the Corinthian believers that there is a far superior thing than gifts and he goes on to discuss this better thing in the famous 1 Corinthians chapter 13 often called the ˋloveˋ chapter.

Amen.

1

OUR FATHER WHO GAVE US GIFTS BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

In 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 1 - 11 ( NIV ), the Apostle Paul discusses the spiritual provisions that are made available to believers so that they can be equipped to navigate the hazards of the spiritual realm and also to care for and guide each believer in their midst.

1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

The first utility Paul mentions is the basic discernment of spirits. Many believers at Corinth were already familiar with spiritual entities and had engaged with them on their pagan practices so Paul gave them a litmus test to determine if the spirits they came across as christians were friends or foes. The test was an uttered allegiance test that would definitively inform them of which kingdom the entity was from. 

If the entity could curse the name of Jesus, that spirit was from the kingdom of darkness no matter how dressed up in light it was. If the spirit could say "Jesus is Lord", the spirit was operating in the kingdom of light.

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

The Holy Spirit of God is the arbiter of spiritual gifts and distributes them at His discretion and below are the categories of gifts and their general description and an example of the gift in action from scripture;

1. Message of wisdom - Gives the ability to get spiritual guidance on the best course of action to take in a situation ( When Jesus met with his disciples at lake galilee while they were fishing, they said that they had fished all night and had caught nothing. The word of wisdom Jesus gave them was to drop their nets on the other side of their boat and they quickly caught so many fish they could barely bring them in )
2. Message of knowledge - Gives the ability to supernaturally know a piece of information pertaining to a person or a situation ( When the Lord Jesus was speaking to the woman at the well, He received a word of knowledge about her marital status and she was astonished how He knew about the private matters of her life )
3. Faith - Gives the ability to spiritually handle the substance the things hoped for and perceive the evidence of things not seen. ( When the Prophet Elisha and his servant were in Samaria, the servant was afraid because they were surrounded by enemy forces and he could not see how they would escape, Elisha prayed that the servant would have the ability to see the evidence of the invisible spiritual army that was on their side )
4. Healing - Gives the ability to bring physical or mental healing to others from the spiritual realm ( The Apostle Peter and John, when passing through the beautiful gate in Jerusalem, were asked for alms by a man who could not walk and Peter grabbed the manˋs arm and  lifted him up to walk and he was healed  )
5. Miraculous powers - Gives the ability to perform signs and wonders to establish the superiority of the kingdom of light ( In the book of Acts, when the Apostle Paul touched handkerchiefs and these were taken to people in remote places, they were being healed and demons were being cast out of them )
6. Pro phecy - Gives the ability to collect information on the occurences, intentions and directives of heaven and transmit this information to people. ( Prophet and Apostle John, having been given access to the spiritual realm, was able to see the future and the fates of nations and he recorded his experiences in the book of Revelation )
7. Distinguishing spirits - Gives the ability to sense the true nature and intention of a spirit or a person so that friends and foes can be distinguished from one another. ( When Apostle Peter ancountered Simon in Samaria asking to buy the power to lay hands on people so they could get the Holy Spirit, Peter was able to discern that Simon was not operating out of sincererity and was not right with God )
8. Speaking in tongues - Gives the ability to speak in spiritual languages and in doing so, builds up the inner man ( spirit ) of the speaker. ( After Jesus had returned to heaven, his earnest followers gathered in the upper room and the Holy Spirit alighted on those who had tarried there and a flame of fire could be seen on their heads and they spoke in other tongues )
9. Interpreting tongues - Gives the ability to interpret a spiritual language  and translate the spiritual language into an accessible language. ( e.g. - Prophet Daniel read the spiritual writing that was written on the wall of the king Belshazzarˋs palace and interpreted its meaning for the king )

The gifts given to believers are means of interacting with the spiritual realm in order to bring down information and power to supply requirements in the physical realm.

For example, if knowledge is needed, a person operating in that gift can connect to a channel in the spiritual realm and receive the otherwise hidden knowledge and speak it.

Likewise, if a person has a physical or mental ailment, a person gifted in healing can connect to a spiritual channel and bring down the power to heal the sick person.

All these are provided by the Holy Spirit to the glory of the Lord Jesus.

Amen.

1

OUR FATHER WHOSE SON WE REMEMBER WHENEVER WE ATTEND THE LORDˋS TABLE

The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verses 17 - 34, speaks solemnly of the Lordˋs table where bread and wine are shared with the gathered believers to represent their shared faith in partaking of the body and blood of Christ by which our salvation is gained.

17 Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.

The Apostle Paul began with rebukes of the church of Corinth for two primary issues;

• Disunity among the members
• Dishonorably handling the Lord's table

Paul was especially appalled that believers were gathering together and treating the Lord's supper as an unruly festival with some being over-drunk while others remained hungry.

Paul prescribed the proper solemn occasion of sharing the Lord's table and warned them that inappropriate conduct surrounding the Lord's table could invoked judgement upon themselves and some were becoming sick and even dying.

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.

Paul summarized the proper practice of sharing the body and blood of Christ by instructing the believers not to come to share communion hungry such that eating to became satiated was the objective but rather to be patient and wait for each other to arrive and then solemnly breaking bread and drinking the cup together.

They should then examine themselves to ensure that their hearts and minds are properly aligned to the solemnity of the occasion of rememberance of the sacrifice that the Lord Jesus made for us by the laying down of His life.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO MADE MEN AND WOMEN TO REPRESENT GOD'S RELATIONSHIP WITH MANKIND

1 Corinthians chapter 11 verses 1 - 16 begins with the Apostle Paul advising the believers at Corinth to imitate him as he in turn imitated Christ where he patterned his life after the pattern of Christ and he did so in such a way that those who observed him would be able to themselves imitate Christ just by seeing the example set by Paul.

Paul commended the Corinthian believers for upholding the traditions that he had established among them but in upholding those traditions related to head coverings for women only, he wanted them to remember the foundational precepts that undergirded them.

1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.

2 Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved. 6 For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered. 7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man is not from woman, but woman from man. 9 Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man. 10 For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. 12 For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.

13 Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? 15 But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.

Paul first laid out the spiritual covering progression of headship;

• Every womanˋs head is the man
• Every manˋs head is Christ
• The head of Christ is God

This headship structure mirrors the representation that each category serves in revealing the uncreated to the created orders.

• Christ represents God to mankind as the Lord of all.
• Men represent Christ to believing manking as the Groom
• Women represents believing mankind to Christ as the bride of Christ

As such, the practices that Paul taught them were  visible representations of the concentric realms of representations so that looks at a man with his head uncovered, he represented the glory of Christ in His eternal being while seeing a woman with her head covered, one is seeing a representation of the bride of Christ who is the one who has submitted to Christ and is under His covering.  A woman whose head is not covered represents the portion of mankind that has charted its own course and has declined the covering of Christ.

The men by remaining uncovered ( representing Christ ) reveal the principle that Christ should be glorified at all times while the covering of women reveal the principle that believing humans should conceal their own glory that they reflect from Christ and instead, full throated glorify Christ.

In the symetrical spriritual structure, a man, representing Christˋs glory, counterbalances the glory of Christ with short hair while the woman, who represents a lesser glory of mankind, is appropriately able to wear long hair which is a glory to her.

The practices that enact the appropriate relationship between God and man are object lessons for observers to learn the heirarchies of spiritual covering but Paul concludes his explanation by saying that the traditions are for the benefit of observers and thus if contentions arise from their practice, they can be dropped.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO LOVES US AND WANTS US ALL TO COME TO THE K OWLEDGE IF HIM

1 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 23 - 33;

23 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. 24 Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.

25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience’ sake; 26 for “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.”

27 If any of those who do not believe invites you to dinner, and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for conscience’ sake. 28 But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for conscience’ sake; for “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.” 29 “Conscience,” I say, not your own, but that of the other. For why is my liberty judged by another man’s conscience? 30 But if I partake with thanks, why am I evil spoken of for the food over which I give thanks?

31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

In this passage, the Apostle Paul delved deeper into the clarification of the matter of whether Christians should eat food offered to idols.

The principles he delineated establish that food offered to idols was harmless to believers and as such, they could eat anything bought at the market or anything put in front of them when they are guests in someone's home.

However,  whether a believer should eat such food depended on the effect that doing so would have on those who offered the food or were observers.

If food sacrificed to idols was offered as a test to a believer, the believer could decline the offer so as to make clear that the believer is not unaware of the implications of eating such food hold for the person offering and this because Paul also established the precept that the primary calculus believers should compute when handling ceremonial matters or matters of conscience is that the well-being of others should be placed ahead of themselves.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER CAN BE PROVOKED TO JEALOUSY BY THE SACRIFICING TO IDOLS

The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 14 - 22, calling the believers in Corinth ˋhis belovedˋ, speaks a word of advice to them about idolatry.  Surrounded as they were by pagan practices of idolatry, many of the believers in Corinth had come out of that culture which means that there was constant societal pressure to participate in the seasonal sacrifices and worship to idols and  and Paul strongly advises them to flee from these activities.

Whereas Paul declared (in 1 Corinthians chapter 8 ) that eating food offered to idols was of no consequence because the idols were nothing, regarding participating in sacrifices to idol, Paul unequivocally counsels against that.

The apostle supports his contention by reminding the Corinthians that they are communal participants in the one cup of blessing that represents the blood of Christ and in the sharing of the broken bread that represents his one body that was broken for us.

Paul asserts that we are joined together in one body through the partaking of the Lordˋs table and therefore we should not participate in the sacrifices to idols which is actually the sacrificing to demons. To drink the Lordˋs cup is to recreate the Lordˋs sacriffice and those who are participants in the Lordˋs table must not also be participants in the sacrifices to demons lest the Lord be provoked to jealousy and, as proverbs 6 verse 34 says,  For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. If the Lord were thusly provoked, no one would be strong enough to withstand Him.

The final position is that a believer can eat food that was sacrificed to idols by other people but  he cannot participate in anyway in the worship of and sacrificing to idols.

14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

18 Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? 19 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. 22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SAVED US FROM  BONDAGE

1 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 1 -  14 contains the Apostle Paulˋs caution to believers to avoid idolatry, immorality and ungrateful complaining for it is these types of things that caused the children of Israel to fall in the wilderness even as they were on their way to the promised land having been saved from slavery in Egypt.

The children of Israel all shared in the spiritual water that was provided for them in the desert and yet their conduct displeased God and they died with their bodies strewn over the sand. These realities were record for the benefit of believers in Christ so that they understand that there are behaviours that can invoke the displeasure of God.

1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. 7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” 8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Believers are subject to temptation but God regulates the temptations that they are subjected to and provides a way of escape for them.

With this in mind, we should always take and be careful to watch ourselves because if we presume we are able to stand, we can fall.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE PERFECT LAW IS FULFILLED IN CHRIST

The apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verses 19 - 27, speaks to those who believe in Christ and understand the excellencies of Him who died to save us.

In the marvelous light and freedom that the salvation that Christ gives us, Paul encourages believers to conceptualize their journey while on earth as a race to run and to undertstand that there is a crown of life to be gained for those who endure to to the end. In this race, we encounter obstacles and challenges but if we perservere and use our liberty to seek first the kingdom of God and with certainty, struggle against our opponents with a view to victory, an eternal prize will be given to us.

Paul used his freedom to become all things to all men that some among those he served and related to might be saved and thus be his seal of apostleship which was his calling.

The leverage that we believers have in this world is that we have a body that can influence outcomes in this world and therefore Paul adjures us to bring our body into the subjection of our spirits to compel it to do the needful things for the kingdom and to avoid getting entangled in the things and patterns of this world.

19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; 20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; 22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.

24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Amen.

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 OUR FATHER WHO MAKES PROVISION FOR HIS SERVANTS IN THE LAW

1 Corinthians chapter 9 verses 1 - 18 records the apostle Paulˋs defense of his spiritual authority over the church of Corinth.

He asserted his apostleship as being one who was operating under his own volition and that he had also directly seen the Lord Jesus Christ. He pointed to the existence of the Corinthian believers as the seal of his apostleship towards them.

Paul, in that authority, wrote to the Corinthians about the rights of apostles and the obligations that the churches had towards them in response to the questioning that was aimed at him regarding his methods and practices likely related to his unmarried status and employment.

1 Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the [a]seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 Do we have no right to eat and drink? 5 Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working? 7 Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock?

8 Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also? 9 For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it oxen God is concerned about? 10 Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. 11 If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? 12 If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more?

Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? 14 Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.

15 But I have used none of these things, nor have I written these things that it should be done so to me; for it would be better for me to die than that anyone should make my boasting void. 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel.

Other apostles were full time ministers who made a living from the work in the ministry and travelled with their wives as they carried out their callings in the regions they were assigned to. Paul commended this model of ministry as a scripturally valid mode of operations using verses from the law that verified that it was proper to get financial support from those whom the minister served.

Paul however, worked a secular job to earn a living and remained unmarried so that he could serve in the midst of the Corinthians without imposing the burden of his upkeep on them and to those who questioned this pattern, he wrote  that he had volitionally forgone the right to require a living from the Corinthians so that the propagation of the gospel would have no impedance whatsoever from the liability of his sustenance.

He declared that he would rather die than give up the boast that he sustained himself while preaching the gospel and he made the case that because of his calling, preaching the gospel was a duty that he had to fulfill and as such, would get no special reward for fulfilling his duty and so he undertook to derive a reward from his work by doing so at his own expense.

Amen.

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OUR FATHERˋS VULNERABLE CHILDREN SHOULD BE LOVED AND SHIELDED FROM STUMBLING BY THEIR BROTHERS IN CHRIST

In 1 Corinthians chapter 8, the apostle Paul turns his attention to the questions posed to him about whether believer werre permitted to eat food offered to idols.

Because the church at Corinth was embedded in a pagan culture with pervasive idol worship, much of their contact with city life would include food that was offered up on alters of the idols of the city.

Paul explained that love needed to be the primary driver of moral dicisions rather than the statutory law and as such, when judging whether food offered to idols was permissible to eat, believers needed to understand that in the face of God, idols were nothing and so all functions and ceremonies pertaining to them were of no consequence to those who lived in Christ.

Here is where love becomes efficacious; Even though a brother was free to eat any food including that which was offered to idols, out of love for a fellow believer who was not confident in their faith regarding eating such food, the brother would refrain from eating such food so that the weaker brotherˋs conscience would not be defiled because they ate food with guilt. 

Out of love, a believer must be aware of those around them who may see him eating food offered to idols and be instigated to eat food offered to idols but without the prerequisite knowledge of their freedom in Christ and as a result, eat it and injure their consciences.

Paulˋs counsel on such matters is that all things are permissible in Christ but not all things are profitable and if a precious believer is injured by the liberties of a fellow believer, then it is a great loss and so therefore, believers should be willing to forgo their own liberties if their liberties would cause a weak believer to stumble.

1 Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 2 And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.

4 Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

7 However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.

9 But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? 11 And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? 12 But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER FOR WHOM WE SHOULD FORGO TEMPORAL THINGS IF WE CAN

1 Corinthians chapter 7 verses 36 - 40 concludes the Apostle Paulˋs guidance on the subject of marriage by addressing two questions. 

First, if a man has an unmarried daughter who is of age, is he obligated to give her hand in marriage or should he prevent her from getting married. To this question, Paul says that the father is free to permit his daughter to marry and he is free not to but Paul suggests that it is better for the daughter not to be given in marriage. If the believing father, seeking fairness towards his daughter, judges that it is good for his daughter to marry, he can freely choose to allow it while if in his own judgement he feels that marriage would be bad for his daughter, he can decline to permit it and be under no compunction of law either way.

The second question pertains to the persistance of marriage after the death of a spouse. In this case, Paul clarifies that the remaining believing spouse is legally free to marry ( on the condition that the person they marry is also a believer.) Paul, speaking as one with the Spirit of God, again recommends the single life over the married life which he says would be a happier life than that of a married person.

36 But if any man thinks he is behaving improperly toward his virgin, if she is past the flower of youth, and thus it must be, let him do what he wishes. He does not sin; let them marry. 37 Nevertheless he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has power over his own will, and has so determined in his heart that he will keep his virgin, does well. 38 So then he who gives her in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage does better.

39 A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. 40 But she is happier if she remains as she is, according to my judgment—and I think I also have the Spirit of God.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER TO WHOM WE OWE OUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION

1 Corinthians chapter 7 verses 29 - 35 says this;

29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, 30 those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, 31 and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.

32 But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. 33 But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. 34 There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. 35 And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.

The apostle Paul, in explaining his position on avoiding marriage if possible, points out out that the time is short and that any incumberance on time will limit what is possible to do in the kingdom of God.

The demands of relationships distract from the prime directives that should be sustained in our minds and we finds ourselves sidetracked from the most important tasks that pertain to eternity.

Amen.

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