PLAY YOUR PART (Eph 4:7-16 ) (part2)

We all as believers have a role to play and we have to play it effectively. In God's scheme of things of accomplishing things on earth, He wants us to work as a team. [Eph 4:16]. In Col 4:7-12, Paul acknowledged all those that assisted him in fulfilling his ministry. We see the same pattern of teaming up even in the Old Testament where Aaron and Hur stayed up Moses hands on both sides so that his hands were steady until the going down of the sun, in order that they could win the battle, while Joshua was at the forefront fighting the battle [ Exodus 17:9-13]. Also, Moses in Numbers 11:10-17, overwhelmed by the burden of leading Israel alone, was given seventy men of the elders of Israel to assist him in the work. Even in the life and ministry of Jesus, we see this principle in place. With the exception of dying for us, almost every other thing he did he had people (the apostles/disciples) assisting Him. This is God's pattern for the Church with respect to the work of the ministry. It is very wrong for us as believers to want to do it all alone.

God has given us different gifts so that His manifold wisdom will be displayed for the world to see. However,, the display of His manifold wisdom is not the only reason why we have different gifts and why we should all play our parts. Another reason why we should is because the Church is a body (Rom 12:5, Eph2:22), and if we do not individually play our respective parts (roles), then we will be depriving the Church of some vital nutrients and components, since every joint and part is expected to make a contribution [Eph 4:16]. Even if we have the same gift, the operation of the gift might/will be different.

 

Eph 4:7-16 likens the Church to a human  body, with believers likened to different parts supplying what is needed so that there will be growth. Many times we perceive the Church as museums where we keep and hoard things that no one is using.  So many people make themselves nominal member of churches, refusing to use their gifts. However, we must realise that whenever we do not use our gifts, we are depriving the Body of nutrition and a vital component that the Body should have received. It is as each part of the body does its work that the whole body grows. For as long as we do not exercise our gifts, then not all parts are doing their work. The parts not exercising their gifts are depriving the whole body. Contrary to contemporary conception of the Church, it is not a multinational organization led by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with a board of directors; rather, it is an organism made up of different parts with different gifts.

What is a spiritual gift?

Spiritual gift is a God given ability that serves as a channel through which God ministers to the body. The agency by which these gifts are given to us is the Spirit of God. It is instructive to bear in mind the following important points about spiritual gifts.

1.      The gift is an ability, not an office or a post.

Being given a post or office by the church does not necessarily mean a person has the gift. The gift is a God-given ability. Sometimes, we may even have a gift and we are not given a corresponding office in the Church. This should not be an impediment since the exercise of spiritual gift should not necessarily be in church. For instance, the gift of pastoring can be exercised in your home (your children and those around) and in your place of work.

Furthermore, the modern church has replaced the biblical concept of the Church as an organism made up of parts for growth with that of an organization or a multi-national corporation led by a CEO. Consequently, modern day pastors are expected to be like modern CEOs, and as such are now erroneously expected to have qualities like: being a good marketer, orator, and have ideas and inclinations about growth, etc. All these qualities have nothing to do with spirituality, much less the office of the Pastor. Since to pastor means to shepherd, a pastor does not necessarily have to be a good counselor, or orator – for that is not what He has been gifted with or called to do.

1.      The gift is also not an arm of ministry

Feeling inclined towards an office does not mean a person has the gift e.g.  having an inclination towards children is not equivalent to having the gift of children. Having an inclination towards music does not mean a person has the gift of music.  It is important to realize that the foregoing arms of ministry and other channels used in ministry are not the gifts, though they serve as channels for us to express and utilize our gifts. A good illustration of this is the arm of ministry involving children. Children will need every gift. They will need to be pastored, encouraged, taught, and these are the gifts that will be utilized in this arm of ministry. The same applies to every people-group. Every people-group and age group needs the working of the gifts

3.   Spiritual gifts differ from natural talents

When we compare spiritual gifts with natural talents, we realise:

i. They are both from God [I Cor 4:7] - Everything we have is given to us by God. [Compare also Acts 17: 26-27 in which we see that God has determined even the time of our life and the places where we should live].

ii Natural talents are given to us by God through our parents while Spiritual gifts are given to us spiritual gifts are given  independent of parentage - Our natural talents are a product of the combination of genes. It is by virtue of how we were born. If we had come from a different set of parents, we would not have our present talents. Whether they were used or developed or they were not, they were present at birth.

iii Natural talents were given to us at birth, while spiritual gifts at conversion -  This is a reason  why it is very wrong to attempt to duplicate gifting.  It is God that determines each person's spiritual gift. They are not inherited, or given at birth, but at conversion. We may not discover it but it is there nonetheless. Spiritual gifts are given through the Holy Ghost, therefore we could not have possessed before we got saved. The reception of the Spirit at conversion also gives/brings spiritual gift.

iv. Natural talents are given to benefit the whole of mankind but spiritual gifts are given to benefit the Body in particular

 

We may use your natural talents for God and we may not. Oratory is a natural talent, but it is not equivalent to the gift of teaching.  Being good marketers before we got saved does not translate to becoming preachers after we got saved. God giving the gift of teaching to someone who was an orator must be distinguished from an attempt to carry on the former life of an orator in a new cloak. However, every believer has a mix of talents and gifts. Therefore, it is not wrong to employ the use of natural talents in service to God but we must know the difference. Singing, for instance, is a natural talent. In singing we can teach and encourage, which shows how a natural talent can be a channel for employing a gift. The same goes for poetry and writing. In doing this we have to ensure that we are not attempting to carry over our natural talents into spirituality, as though it is a spiritual gift.

Discovering and developing our gifts

First, we must bear in mind that everybody born again has been given at least a spiritual gift [ 1 Cor 7:20, Rom 12:3-4], but nobody has all the gifts.  If a person were to have all the gifts then such a person will constitute the “Body of Christ”, and that will be contrary to scriptures. In fact, one of the ways a person can think highly of himself is when he thinks he has all the gifts [Rom12:3]. Second, we must remember that spiritual gifts are different from natural talents as defined above, and not as used in Matt 25:14-30 which was not talking about innate ability, but about stewardship in general.

Discovering our gift(s) starts from dedication and devotion to God [Rom12:1, Eph 4:1] and deploying faithfulness to God in any service that we find yourself doing, recognizing the facts that we are stewards. As we do these, we will discover our gifts. Philip Is an example, he started as a deacon (serving food), then became an evangelist. Stephen is another good example, who was initially serving tables and ultimately turned out to be a powerful witness for Christ, and ended up even giving his life for Him.

Developing our gift, on the other hand, requires preparation and faithfulness (1 Tim 4:14, 2 Tim 1:6)

·       Preparation: We should not feel we do not need preparation at any point in time because we are gifted. Sometimes those who are gifted feel that way. Preparation is necessary to ensure that we deliver what God has for the Body. If we do not prepare adequately, we will taint the end-product. Preparation is not momentary but something we do throughout life.  Regardless of gifting, most of the preparation we will need to do will be in the study of the word and prayer, so that you will be able to know and understand the mind/heart of God, and will be able to express God’s heart in whatever gift He has given us.

·       Exercise: The more we exercise our gift, the better we become [2 Tim 1:6].

     ·       Dedication and Willingness to do anything for God.

Conclusion

Our natural talents, learnt abilities and spiritual gifts form a composite of what we can use in service to God. We should be ready for God always, by preparing ourselves always, and as good stewards we should seize every opportunity that will make us play our respective parts a member of the Body of Christ. 

PLAY YOUR PART (Col 4:7-18) (part1)

This portion of scripture is easy to gloss over or completely ignore, perhaps because we do not consider it as containing deep revelations or anything doctrinal. However, just like many other greetings found in the epistles, there is a lot we can learn from it. Consider Eph 1: 3-14 where Paul was thanking God; and in the course of his thanksgiving, he made several important statements that are essential to our Christianity. Without those things he said, we would have been grossly deficient in our knowledge of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Yet, Paul was not addressing the Ephesians but thanking God and there is a lot we learn from it.  Although Col 4:7-18 does not contain as much revelation as contained in Eph 1: 3-14, nevertheless, there are still very important principles we can glean from there.

The prevalent focus and trend in the world is towards a life of self pre-occupation and self absorption. It is always about the individual's identity and what the person can achieve by himself. From Col 4: 7-18, Paul gave us a picture of how he accomplished his ministry. It is easy to think very highly of Paul and elevate him above others, forgetting that in carrying out his different duties and tasks, he needed the assistance of other people. These people are the ones he mentioned in this portion of scripture. We probably would never have heard about them if not that Paul mentioned them. Just as heroes of faith of the Old Testament were mentioned in Heb 11, so also did Paul mentioned the heroes of his ministry in Col 4:7-18  -  people he worked with, and who contributed in some ways to his ministry. This principle of accomplishing God’s purpose (work, ministry) for our lives in partnership with others is established in scriptures even from the Old Testament.

An example of the foregoing can be seen in Exodus 17: 8-13 where Israel led by Joshua were fighting Amalek. However, behind the war scenes, Moses hands were raised. For as long as Moses hands were raised, Israel prevailed; but when his hands were lowered, Amalek prevailed. By reason of tiredness Moses could not maintain raised hands by himself. His hands had to be supported by two men -Aaron and Hur - to ensure that Joshua won the battle. If we look at it without knowledge of what was going on behind the battle scenes, we will consider Joshua the hero. Yet, looking behind the scene, we see Moses. Even still behind Moses, we see Aaron and Hur. Without the help of Aaron and Hur, Moses would not have been able to keep his hands up and Joshua and Israel would have lost the battle. Aaron and Hur did not hold swords - all they did was hold Moses hands up. Consequently, some would regard what they did as insignificant. However, what they did was significant and important, for without them the battle would have been lost.

Numbers 11:10-17 is also quite instructive. Moses cried out to God because he found the burden of leading the children of Israel too much to bear. Ironically, in this present time, we fall into the error of trying to do all by ourselves. We want the glory to accrue to us. This is why we find people naming ministries after themselves and even draw up a succession plan lining up their children to take over from them in order to perpetuate themselves. This ought not to be.  Consistent with God’s pattern of partnering with others in fulfilling divine purpose,  God's response to Moses' cry was to put of His Spirit upon seventy men of the elders of Israel so they could help shoulder the burden [See also Ex 18:13-26].  One of the things we can learn from this story is that perhaps the reason why things are not going the way they should, or why we are over-burdened and distressed, is probably because we are trying to do too much on our own. God has fashioned it in such a way that the accomplishment of His task is shared in functions that is supposed to be fulfilled by different people. It's never achieved by only one person. Paul recognised this principle and walked by it. This same principle is essentially what Proverbs 27:17.

Another way to approach Col 4:7-18 is to do a character study by taking a closer look at each of the individuals mentioned there and then examine all the references to the person in the scripture. This will  show how they lived their daily lives and enable us learn good examples from them. In this regard, we will examine just three characters – John Mark, Demas and Archippus.

John Mark listed as a fellow labourer of Paul in Col 4:10 was once deserted Paul and Barnabas during their first missionary journey. Consequently, Paul was unwilling to take him along on a subsequent trip. This occasioned such a serious dispute between Paul and Barnabas that they had to go their separate ways (Acts 12:25, 15:36-39). Years after these incidents, we see Paul now reconciled to John Mark and mentioned as his fellow minister. He probably did it to reassure believers who might have been reluctant to receive John Mark because of his past. We learn from this episode the virtues of forgiveness and the need to bear with weak and those that have sinned. God never gave up on John Mark. What do we do with our weak? Doe we throw them away, or encourage them to be better and move on?

Demas story is also instructive. At this point of Paul's writing here in Colossians 4:14 and in Philemon verse 24, Demas was a faithful minister, but by the time Paul was writing in 2 Tim 4:10, Demas had forsaken Paul. How committed are we today, and what shall they say about us in ten years time?

We also learn from Paul’s instruction to Archippus in Col 4:17: Paul there gave an encouragement (not a rebuke) to Archippus to fulfil the ministry he received in the Lord.  This should stir up certain salient questions in our hearts. We ought to ask ourselves what our ministry is and if we are fulfilling it. Would we be found faithful years from now or would we have forsaken the ministry? God’s plan is for every single believer to play a role, and we have to realize that we have a part to play. An illustration of this is a statue which was reconstructed after a war, which unfortunately could not be completed, and as such the statue of Jesus had no hands. Consequently the sculptures decided to write under the statute the inscription, "Jesus has no hands but yours". On earth, we are Jesus' hands, feet, eyes, and voice. This is pictorially depicted in Rom 12.

From Rom 12: 3-8, we see clearly that God has given us a variety of gifts. Unfortunately, the Church has elevated some gifts above others just like they did in the Corinthian church. The Corinthians loved the sensational and boisterous things. In the same way, we have grown into a culture in Church where we elevate only some ministries (e.g pastors and preachers), and anyone wanting to serve thinks only of these ministries. All the gifts listed in this portion of scripture are important. We must however realize that this list is not all-encompassing. In I Cor 12 and I Pet 4, we find more gifts being made mention of.

1 Cor 12 gives a similar illustration as that in Rom 12. In many places people try to duplicate and covet others gifts (role) and even emulate their mannerisms, forgetting that the essence of the aforementioned scriptures on the gifts is uniqueness and variety. The gifts differ so much that two people having the same gift could manifest it in different ways (e.g. teaching). We all have the same Spirit but our individual gifts differ. We have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office. In following our leaders, we ought not to assume we are to manifest the same gifts as they do. We should know we all are unique. Nevertheless we could have an overlap of gifts (have more than one gift). This should occasion some introspection and stir certain questions.  We should ask ourselves what gifts we have, what role are we playing, and what has been committed into our hands. We all have a part to play. There should be no such demarcation as workers and non-workers in the Church.

Two Salient points

Identification of gifts: The identification (discovery or recognition) or the use of our gift must start from a place of dedication of the entirety of our lives to God (Rom 12:1). This is essentially why Rom12:1 precedes the instructions given in the subsequent verses on spiritual gifting. This total dedication is not something occasional, but something we are devoted to on a continual basis. It is when this prerequisite of total dedication to God has been met that we can move on to faithfulness
Faithfulness (I Cor 4:1-2, Mt 25:14-30): The whole of our lives including our gifts is a stewardship for which we shall give account to God, and o account of which faithfulness is crucial. The use of our gifts becomes better if we are faithful. The use of our gifts does not necessarily have to be in Church gatherings. For example, one who has the gift of encouragement should be faithful in using it anywhere - work places, homes, etc.

In conclusion, we should  bear in mind that we are God's workmanship [Eph 2:10] or masterpiece. The reason why He has given us diverse gifts is so that we can display the manifold glory of His Person (1 Pet 2:9, 4:10). If we copy someone else's gift instead of discovering our, it means there is an aspect of God's glory we are not displaying. He's committed something to us that He expects us to fulfil. Can we, like Paul, be able to look back at the end of our lives and say that we have finished our course (2 Tim 4:7-8).We can only do that when we realize all He gave us, and that He committed to us and empowered us to do; and then go ahead and do them so that the glory returns to Him. 

The Peace of God – Col 3:15

It is not impossible for a Christian to have his life void of peace because of what he goes through in life. However, irrespective of whatever we go through, good or bad it does not change the injunction upon the believer in Col 3:15 to allow the peace of God rule in his heart. This peace is a fruit of the spirit, with the implication that every man born again can experience it. This implies that if you are not born again you cannot experience this peace. They may run helter-skelter outside of God seeking it – but such search is futile, for true peace can only be found in God. For those who born again, Jesus brought us peace by His sacrifice at Calvary (Eph 2:13-14,Rom 5:1,Col 1:20). This peace was not given us because we have done anything, but as gift – and this is the basis of the peace which the believer is to allow rule his heart.

Peace here speaks of an inner calm resulting from confidence in one’s salvation. May Christians do not experience peace, not because they have not been given it, but we do not always focus on what matters. As long as we are in this world we cannot avoid turbulence or problems. Tribulations are not something strange or unique to us (1 Cor 10:13). Peradventure we feel we are the only ones going through a difficult circumstances, the truth is that we are not. Jesus declared that as long as we  are in the world we shall have tribulations (John 16:33).What makes the difference is what Christ did for us which enables us to experience peace, irrespective of what we go through (John 16:33).

How can someone be at peace amidst calamitous or troubling situation? Only the peace of God can give that calmness. It is difficult not to be disturbed without it. It calls for constant refocusing on the truth when it eludes us. Situations are not just supposed to just keep us under. Whatever circumstances we go through is not indefinite or forever. It is a phase, and it  is not permanent. We have to constantly strive to ensure that our hearts are constantly in a state of peace. We might not be able to identify what the cause of our tribulations are, but nevertheless God’s word still makes it incumbent upon us to make peace our experience. This peace is not based on our circumstances or situation – rather it is a fruit of the spirit, just like joy and other fruit of the spirit(Gal 5:22). We should never let this peace elude us.

In Rom 8:35, Paul asked the question, “who shall separate us from the love of Christ”, and then went to list tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or sword, death, life, angels, things present, things to come, height and depth, etc. The point is Paul concludes that nothing was potent enough to spate the believer from the love of God, not even tribulations. This should breed a sense of confidence and foster an experience of peace, irrespective of whatever problem we go through. Is it problems in the areas of a job, family, health, children or finances? We should know that God is more than enough and allow that to put our minds at rest. We should never allow such problems to let our minds be in a constant state of disturbance, but rather allow His peace rule constantly. This is why we have to remind ourselves who we are in Christ and what we have in God, then the experience follows .If He said take no thought for your life, then he means we should allow His peace rule in every spectrum of our lives (Mt 6:24-35).

THINGS THAT ARE NECESSARY WHEN TROUBLE COMES OR WHEN PEACE ELUDES US

1.  See the invisible (2 Cor 4:16-18): Rather than focus on our troubles or tribulations which are temporal, we should rather focus on eternal realities, which though invisible are very much real. We should always bear in mind that whatever situation we go through all things work together for our good (Rom 8:28). We should never focus on our problems, but rather keep we should focus on God and keep looking unto Him (Heb 12:2) who is invisible (Heb11:27). We may not see Him, but He is real nonetheless. This calls for constant refocusing and redirection of our minds. When we are in turmoil, if all we can remember is that God is us that alone is sufficient. No matter what, we should remember God is committed to us forever.
1.  Pray (James 5:13) - it could be the last thing on Christians’ minds during when peace eludes, and even when it is resorted to it may not be inspired by faith. But James 5:13 specifically says, “if anyone is afflicted, let him pray”. This would promote the experience of the peace of God in our hearts, even amidst trouble (Php 4:6-7). You can also pray in d spirit, especially where you do not even have the words to pray. Praying in the spirit edifies believers and contributes to enabling us to allow God’s peace rule in our hearts.

Conclusion

There is a peace that ought to rule our hearts borne out of our relationship with God. We should never let it elude you us no matter what we go through. We should always keep our focus on God.

 

THE ISSUE OF EVIL AND SUFFERING IN THE WORLD

The world is dangerous and filled with so much evil

How can you say this is God?! Seeing all the evil and suffering in the world

People can’t conceptualize the biblical God in a world filled with chaos, scandals and sufferings. They just can’t resolve it!

Most people can’t resolve a God who is all powerful in a world full of chaos; hence they diminish God!

People therefore tend to find excuses for the evil in the world, holding Adam and Evil responsible; blaming the devil for the evil, chaos and calamities and yet wondering why God created them in the first place!

There’s no way we can give a legitimate answers to all the sufferings without pointing back to God as being responsible!

There’re however different kinds of evil:

• Supernatural evil – distorting the truth of God’s word
• Moral evil – sin and iniquities present in the heart of every being born into this world; human beings are morally corrupt
• Natural evil – calamities, diseases, volcanoes, earthquakes, troubles, tsunamis etc
  The concept of natural evil
  
  
  Things just going wrong
  Things just going against you
  
  
  Important things to note about natural evil
  • Evil exists in this world
  
  
  • God exists; He’s sovereign and in control of everything
  Many people see God as a God that’s not in control of things; a God in the process of getting better
  Any concept of God that He couldn’t anticipate what is going to happen or that your will is greater than that of God is not a God of the bible. 1Chr 29:11, Psalm 115:3
  God does what He likes, whatever He chooses to do
  Daniel 4:35, Exodus 4:11, Psalm 105:16, 2Kings 17:25, Lam 3:37-38
  God exists as sovereign and He allows evil. 1Tim6:16, Job 33:13, Psalm 33:9-11, Psalm 103:19, Isaiah 14:27, Isaiah 46: 9-10
  The greatest evil ever done to man on earth was the crucifixion of Jesus and it was orchestrated by Good
  Evil doesn’t disrupt God’s purpose, it compliments Amos 3:6
  
  
  • God wills for evil to exist, otherwise, evil will not exist
  
  
  If evil exists and God is sovereign, that means He wills it Isaiah 45:5-12
  The reason why there’s evil and calamity in the world is for God’s glory!
  And this can be seen in the story of Job: Job asked questions like we would ask and God responded with His sovereignty Job 38, 39, 40, 41, and 42
  Also, the story of Habakkuk, Habb 1, Habb 2:1-4
  
  
  
  
  
  

COLOSSIANS 4:5

•  If Paul had written to colossians about wisdom,it could imply that some were being foolish. Man is born into congenital/natural foolishness (Titus 3:3).We live in a fools’ world where foolish men do foolish things.

·        

•  In the comtemporary world, it is generally assumed that wisdom comes from experience therefore old people are normally categorised as been wise, but this is not true from the bible.

·        

•  Foolishness starts from the denial of God in the heart and this culminates into foolishness in conduct or lifestyle (Psalm 14:1, Ps 53:1)

·        

•  A foolish man replaces God with himself and his mouth disseminates folly (Proverbs 12:15, 15: 2,Romans 1:19-22)

·       

•   Christ has become our wisdom therefore christians do not have any excuse to be foolish. 1 Cor 1 :30, col 2:2-3, 9- 10, Eph 5 : 15-17)
  
  
  
  Key Points
  1)      For believers, walking in wisdom implies following God’s principles for life. Christians are bound to walk in foolishness if they do not understand these principles or whenever they choose to compromise them (Eph 5: 8-14)
  2)      When we disbelieve and disobey God’s principles, we walk as fools (Gal 3:1-3)
  3)      When we act on our disobedience (James 3 :13-18)
  4)      Misuse of time is the greatest act of disobedience (Col 4:5,Acts 17:24-26,Job 14 :1-2,5,14, James 4:13-14, Psalms 39:4-5, 89:47,Romans 13:11. In the parable of the ten virgins, the five foolish ones could not meet up with time despite the oil they finally got into their lamps.
  
  Conclusion
  ·         As Christians we have to take the opportunity of time to do God’s purpose for life
  ( Jhn 9:4, Col 4:2-5,Jhn 13:33, Jhn 12: 35-36).
  ·         We must maximise God given opportunities doing his will per time.

EXPOSITION ON CORINTHIANS

The aim of the local assemblies, aside from reaching out to the lost is to be able to present men to stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. God‟s primary tool for building believers and making good Christians out of us is His word. Prayer, fasting, fellowship, and church attendance are beneficial, nevertheless His primary tool to accomplish the aim set out above is His word (2 Tim 3:16-17, 1 Pt 2:1-2, James 1:21).That is why the teaching of God‟s word in church cannot be downplayed. It is the key to making disciples of men.

There are two things the word of God will do” (1) it will save the unregenerate; and (2) It will build believers. No other thing can do that. However, for it to be accomplished, it has to be the gospel. Even in respect to being a good and effective minister, the word of God is integral. Some have the wrong idea that only the teacher needs to be grounded in doctrine, and that a prophet does not need such grounding. However, from God‟s word it does not matter if the person is an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher, or ministering in some other capacity in the Body, the man of God must be well grounded in doctrine – that is the way to be EQUIPPED unto every good work (2 Tim 3:16-17,2 Tim 2:15). The so-called five-fold ministry are meant to uphold God‟s word and through it to achieve the goal of building the Body (Eph 4:11-12).

2 Tim 3:16-17 gives us different facets of how God‟s word builds up a believer – (a) doctrine (b) reproof (c) correction (d) instruction in righteousness. Doctrine means “teaching” in this context. The word of God is beneficial for teaching believers. Reproof in this context, does not mean to admonish someone. The word, „reproof‟ is from the Greek word “elegchos”, which means conviction, evidence or proof. It is the same Greek word that is translated “evidence” in Hebrews 11:1. God‟s word is the key to conviction. Where we doubt we can always go back to God‟s word again and again for proof, assurance, evidence, and conviction of the reality of things spiritual, the Person of God and His word. When we are discouraged is not the time to run away from God‟s word. Church is not meant for people who “feel spiritual” alone, it is also for people who are downcast, depressed, weary, and in need of conviction or reassurance. God‟s word is useful for achieving that. The usefulness of God‟s word in “Correction” means that His word shows us what the wrong thing is, so we can desist from walking such path. While the usefulness of God‟s word in “instruction in righteousness” means His word is useful in showing us the right path or conduct so that we can walk in it. The cumulative outcome of these four operational dynamics of God‟s word is that the believer is thoroughly furnished unto ever good work. In the light of the foregoing, exploring the book of 1 Corinthians would be immensely beneficial to us as believers.

The book of 1 Corinthians contains several lessons for believers. It has issues on personal lives, ministry, relationship with believers, marriage, etc. The city of Corinth was in Achaia (in modern day Greece), which was then a Roman province. At that time, the Roman Empire ruled the world –they were in Africa, Europe, Israel, etc. Corinth was diverse, cosmopolitan and highly populated. It was also a city filled with depravity, like the modern day Las Vegas in America which has been called “Sin City” in some quarters. The modern day Las Vegas has acquired notoriety for gambling, prostitution, drugs and other vices. Corinth had its fair share. It was a city filled with idolatory, immorality, unscrupulous business dealings and prostitution.

Of the several heathen religions practised in the city of Corinth, it was well known for the worship of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, whose temple was built on the most prominent part of the city, called Acrocorinth and which housed a thousand “temple prostitutes”. Part of the worship of Aphrodite was to sleep with the priestesses (temple prostitutes), and it was not considered a sin. It was also the place from which the modern day Olympics (the Isthmian games) evolved. This was the Corinth of Paul‟s day.

Paul preached the gospel at Corinth, helped by Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:1-18), and with an attitude of reverence towards God (fear and trembling [1 Cor 2:2]). Despite the fact that the city was a terrible place, the best way God deemed fit to affect lives was for men to preach the gospel. That was why Jesus encouraged Paul to keep at it despite opposition (Acts 18:9-10). Paul did not go to Corinth with words of human wisdom; Greece was a centre of Philosophy, and they had Philosophers in abundance with enticing words of man‟s wisdom. He came simply to proclaim the gospel of power (1 Cor 2:5), which was a different brand of wisdom – God‟s wisdom (1 Cor 1:24). This yielded fruit as people got saved and the Corinthian church was established. Given the background of Corinth, the Church in Corinth had manifold problematic issues.

The Corinthian church had issues bordering on divisions, factionalism, strife, fornication, disorder in worship, disorder at communion, fornication, spiritual manifestations, lawsuits, and all manner of carnality. They also had questions on whether to eat meat offered to idols, on the resurrection, on marriage, on exercise of Christian liberty and other questions, which Paul addressed in some portions of the epistle.

Paul commenced the epistle my identifying himself as an apostle (1 Cor 1:1). An apostle is a “sent one”. A person is not an apostle because he is given a title, but because he has been given a specific work to accomplish by God. Generally all believers are “sent ones”, but it does not mean all believers are apostles. An apostle is someone sent for a particular task, and is backed up with the tokens of an apostle - awesome manifestations of God‟s authority/power in great dimensions (2 Cor 12:12). Paul also had to commence the epistle with it, because he needed to validate his apostleship in view of doubts in some quarters in the Corinthian church about his apostleship.

He went further to mention Sosthenes as a brother. This is quite significant in the light of what Bible reveals of Sosthenes in the book of Acts. Paul‟s style of reaching out anywhere he went to preach was to start from a synagogue (Acts 18:4) which was prevalent in many gentile cities. Sosthenes was the chief ruler of the synagogue in Corinth (Acts 18:17). The Jews in Corinth felt Paul was preaching heresy by bringing the gospel/Christianity. Therefore, they seized him, and presumably led by Sosthenes their chief ruler, brought him before Gallio. When Gallio refused them favourable audience, they turned on Sosthenes, their chief ruler and beat him up. Sosthenes was a man of religion, a “church leader”, but was not bornagain/ Christian at the time of the incident. The lesson that can be learnt here is that it is possible to be a leader in a church and yet be in danger of eternal perdition because salvation has not occurred! Years later, Paul addressed him as a brother (1 Cor 1:1). Sosthenes had become a Christian through faith in the gospel.

Paul went on to address the believers in Corinth as those “sanctified in Christ called saints”(1 Cor 1:2). There is a wrong conception of who a saint is in our contemporary world. The idea of saints that has been sold to the world by the catholic “church” is some dead persons who were Catholics while alive, who lived a good moral life (though not saved or born again through faith in the gospel of Christ), and after death are beatified and have a number of miracles happening because of prayers made to them. Based on it, MEN confer sainthood on them! However, while that is the picture presented in the world; it is not the picture presented in the word! Bible refers to those born again/Christians as saints! It refers not only to Christians who have died, but EVERY Christian who IS ALIVE! Paul addressed members of the church in Corinth as saints. This is mind-blowing considering the degree of carnality and sinfulness in their midst. He called members of the Body of Christ ( the church of God) in Corinth „saints‟ from the onset of the epistle, before he even began to address their sinfulness. The Body of Christ is not a Body of sinners, but a Body of saints, every single one!

The word, “church” means the assembly of the “called out ones” – those who through the gospel have been called out of the world (1 Pet 2:4-10). It is also called the Body of Christ. It is a misnomer to belong to the Body of Christ and claim not to be a saint, because it is exactly those who are members of the Body through faith in the gospel that are called saints! A person is not called a saint because of what he did, but because he obtained mercy. The problem we have is the mentality of works which fosters a sense of inadequacy and the mindset that we are not deserving. However, God does not confer sainthood based on merit, or the scale of works, but the basis of the blood of Jesus and on the platform of grace. That was why despite against the background of carnality and sinfulness of the Corinthian church, Apostle Paul could still address them as saints! He pointed them back to their true identity as saints – washed, sanctified and justified (1 Cor 6:9-11), as foundational to a saintliness or walking as a saint.

Paul went on to recognize the grace of God at work in their lives (1 Cor 1:4-5), manifested in the fact that they came behind in no gift (1 Cor 1:7). The Corinthian Christians were given over to great spiritual manifestations. He commended them for it, though he went on to address the disorderly dimensions of it ( 1 Cor 14:26). Despite the fact that they were not walking saintly, he did not deny the fact that they were saints. He did not doubt their salvation, instead Paul affirmed it. First, he affirmed it by declaring that the testimony of Christ was confirmed in them (1 Cor 1:6), and that by virtue of their faith in the gospel. Secondly he expressed his conviction of their blamelessness in the day of Christ (1 Cor 1:8) – which in essence speaks of the security of their salvation. What a platform we stand upon as believers!