Introduction to 1 Corinthians

Written by the apostle Paul from Ephesus around 54-56 AD during his 3rd missionary journey.
The theme is to pursue unity and morality. The phrase, "to Corinthianize" means to live a life of immorality, such was the reputation of the city of Corinth which stood the pagan temple of Aphrodite (goddess of love).  It was full of temple prostitutes (1000).


Outline of the book:
I)   Rebukes for division and disorders (ch 1-6)  "Now I exhort you, brothers ..."  (1:10a)

1. Divisions

• Intro (1:1-19)
• Divisions exposed (1:10-17)
• Divisions explained (1:18-4:5)
• Divisions applied (4:6-21)

      2. Disorders

• Moral (5:1-13)
• Legal (6:1-11)
• Fleshly (6:12-20)

II)  Replies to difficult questions (ch 7-16)

• What abt marriage? (ch 7)
• What abt Christian liberty? (ch 8-10)
• What abt Church conduct? (ch 11)
• What abt spiritual gifts? (ch 12-14)
• What abt the resurrection? (ch 15)
• What abt the collection for the poor? (ch 16)

Paul took pains to unite the different parties to the cause of Christ, so should we whenever we see factions forming.  The temptations that Satan uses to cause people to fall are still the same: Money, Sex and Power.  I remember reading a book by the same title by Richard Foster when I was much younger.  Those questions asked by the Corinthians are good questions which we in our day and age should be asking but possibly in a different angle such as "Does God accept gay marriages?" or "Can I go to a movie house?".   It is only in asking that we do get the answers - that's what I usually tell my students to do.  Somehow, we wish the Corinthians could have asked more and we would have the inspired word of God to inform us.  Nevertheless, whatever has been preserved for us (in fact two other letters written to Corinth that were lost) is sufficient to enable us to live a God-directed life. The point is - keep asking and learn and grow! That's the whole crux of 1 Corinthians as well - Grow Up, Don't be immature!

Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? (Ps 24)

David the psalter gave the answer to this question.


He who has clean hands and a pure heart.  This reminds me of what was said similarly in James 4:8, "Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."  I believe 'hands' here speaks of actions - do we lie, cheat, backbite, slander, gossip, ill-treat, etc against humanity? 'Hearts' speak of our attitude or motive - do we silently wish others harm or harbour jealousy and unforgiveness towards others?


Let the Spirit of God convict us of sin, righteousness and judgment so that we may repent of our sins and seek the cleansing that comes from Jesus' blood. This is the righteousness that comes from God (v 5b). Only then can we continually stand in God's holy place to worship and adore Him (v 3).


The wonderful promise for us who seek God is that we would receive a blessing from the LORD (v 5).  Such is the generation of those who seek after God (v 6).  Reflecting on our own generation and time, we see the demands placed on the family unit - work and school commitments, apart from taking care of close relationships esp in an aging population.  Our children are now more tech-savvy and able to access information from the web.  We have to monitor and guide (and possibly set a guard over unhealthy websites) our children concerning what is good wholesome and healthy.


As parents, we are to raise and perpetuate a godly generation (Mal 2:14-15) in the midst of an ever changing world environment that grows more sinister which each passing day.  Family devotions will come under attack due to lack of time.  One way we overcome this in our family is to spend time praying in the car on Sunday nights while making our way back from our parents' place.  Each one is to say a prayer of thanksgiving (reflecting on the past week) and supplication (new grace for the coming week). 


Another Christian discipline that would come under attack is our own personal devotional time with the LORD.  Are we modelling the way for our children?  Do our children see not only the times we spend with the LORD but our attitudes and behaviour that reflect Christ-like character?  We have to recognise that as adults, we play an instrumental role in moulding and shaping the lives of young ones that we come into contact with on a regular basis.  Of course, the moulding and shaping cut both ways, it can be for good or bad. 


Let's raise a godly generation starting with us.  It will have a multiplying effect if we do it right because our children will grow up and influence those that come after them in a godly way.

Where is God enthroned on earth? (Ps 22)

Psalm 22 is an example of a Messianic psalm whereby Jesus the Messiah fulfilled the words quoted in many portions. The opening line, “My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?” was the anguished cry of our Saviour on the cross of Calvary (Mt 27:46). God the Father turned away from His Son when He hung on the cross bearing the sin and shame of the whole world. Indeed, by His stripes we have been healed! (Is 53:5).




Despite the difficulties and problems we faced in life, and even though God may seem far from us, the psalmist realised that God is still enthroned on high. He is still holy and will always be; He cannot be overtaken by evil (v 3). This fact should comfort us as we see the increase of wickedness and perversity that is taking place on our planet. We can still put our trust in Him just like our forebears did (v 4), knowing that He will deliver us eventually (v 24).


Another rendition of v3 says, “Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.” When Israel or we sing praises to our God with whole-hearted devotion, we build a throne of praise for God to inhabit. In the words of the song, “Jesus we enthrone you …. We proclaim you are King … as we worship build your throne …”, God literally comes down to manifest His holy presence amongst us; that’s where miracles, signs and wonders can take place.


When we come into the assembly of God’s people, be it in church or at oikos, let’s worship God with a whole heart (v 22,25). When we feel that God is far away from us, begin to declare His praises, for He is as close as the mention of His name.

The fine art of small talk by Debra Fine

Picked up this book at Marine Parade Library a few weeks back.  The reason is that there're many opportunities for us do small talk, apart from church (after service). 
This book lays the foundation as to what type of questions one can ask and how to go about asking them, even to strangers.  The benefit, of course, apart from building friendship, is networking. 
I particularly liked the chapter on Crimes and Misdemeanours.  Debra liken conversation killers to criminals and she listed eight of them:


1.  FBI Agent: relentless assault at asking a series of qns
2.  The Braggart: boasting of his accomplishments with great embellishment
3.  The One-Upper: will top someone else story
4.  The Monopolizer: hog the conversation
5.  The Interrupter: cutting people's conversation short by jumping in
6.  The Poor Sport: will not play by the rules; will not return the ball back when thrown at
7.  The Know-it-all: interested in no other person's opinion but his own
8.  The Adivser: a veritable agony aunt


The poor sport can figure prominently in family conversations when a question is asked and the perpetual response is "Don't know".  This part was shared and talked about during our family vacation recently.


I also like the part on 50 ways to fuel a conversation in chapter 11.  Here's a sample:


1.  Be the first to say hello.
2.  Introduce yourself to others.
3.  Take risks and anticipate success.
4.  Practice different ways of starting a conversation.
5.  Make an effort to remember people's names.  (often times i need to write down to remember them)
6.  Show curiosity and sincere interest in finding out about others.
7.  Tell others about the important events in your life.  Don't wait for them to draw it out.
8.  Demonstrate that you're listening by restating their comments in another way.
9.  Smile, make eye contact, offer a handshake, and go find the approachable person.
10.Greet people that you see regularly.


That would get you started.  BC has been told to be a people-oriented church and how else can we be unless each one of us make the first move.  So, this Sunday, go out on a limb and take the first step in connecting with someone new.  You'd be surprised what you can gain along the journey.

Driven by Eternity

Just completed reading book of the abovementioned title by John Bevere. It's very readable and with his usual style of writing he peppers his message with stories and personal anecdotes.  One difference about this book compared with his other writings is that he uses parables to convey his teaching.  The Kingdom of Affabel serves to highlight the kind of personalities that would ultimately get their just reward or punishment at the end.  For those who would like to know the distinction between the millennial reign and the time of the new heaven and earth, Bevere writes with compelling evidence as to how they are to be panned out.  In the appendix, there is a list of Scriptures detailing the rewards awaiting saints for their works done on earth.

The concept of eternity is explained in the beginning and how our limited time on earth pales in comparison with it. The key message is that all of us should be driven (or motivated) in our actions and attitudes toward the goal of meeting our Creator in eternity unashamed.  One clear thought that struck me as I read the book was that if we fail to fulfill the plans and purposes God has for our lives, He would bypass us and choose someone else to do the job.   There is a chapter on Heaven and Bevere quotes a real life story of someone who died and went to heaven and back again to tell his story.

I believe this book would help you set your bearing in life and make your life count for all eternity. I particularly like the chapter on Multiplication and how it has implications on us as we impact and influence lives through the generations.                                                            

Interpreting the Parables

A parable is a short simple story from which a moral lesson may be drawn. It is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.

Jesus often spoke parables using the realm of
 Creation – using symbols such as seed, wheat, tares, fish, leaven, pearls, sheep, etc.
 Human relationships – such as father and son, servant and master, bride and bridegroom, friends, etc.

There are various kinds of parables:
 True parable: eg. the Good Samaritan or the Prodigal Son
 Similitude: eg. the leaven in a meal

A few points to note in interpreting parables:

1 Every parable is designed to conceal and reveal one fundamental spiritual truth. All details of a parable find their significance in relation to its main point. The intended response by the audience is crucial to the point of each parable.

2 Parables involving symbols must be properly interpreted before the lesson of the parable can be rightly discerned. Scripture should interpret Scripture. Parables are different from allegories whereby elements in stories have quite different meanings from the stories themselves.

3 Interpretation should be based on the cultural context of what has been said.

4 Doctrine should not be solely founded on parabolic teaching.

Looking at an example used by our Lord where He gives the interpretation:

Parable: Matt 13:24-30                                       Interpretation: Matt 13:36-43

Kingdom of heaven like a man …                           Wheat gathered to barn Sower – Son of Man


Sowed seed                                                           The good seed – children of the kingdom


In his field                                                              The field is the world


The enemy                                                             The devil


Sowed tares                                                          Children of the wicked one

Wheat and tares grow together until harvest            End of the world


The reapers                                                           The angels


Tares bundled to burn                                            Wicked gathered and cast into fire


Wheat gathered to barn                                          Righteous shine in the kingdom

The main point of this parable is that the wicked and righteous would be separated into their eternal destinies at the end.

As you read the parables of Jesus, don’t miss the point of each story and know who His intended audience was.