1 Corinthians 11: The Motives of Our Heart

 

1 Corinthians 11

The motives of our heart

Scripture

1 Cor 11: 31-32 ³¹ If we were properly judging ourselves, we would not be judged, ³² but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined, so that we may not be condemned with the world.

Observation

These verses of reflection follow Paul expressing his disproval of the Corinthian church in the way they take the Lord’s Supper. A sacred act of remembering and honoring our Lord Jesus for His body that was broken for us and His blood that paid for the wages of our sins.

Application

We honor Jesus by looking honestly inside our hearts and our minds and confess our sin and wrongdoings and make right with people (forgive them) whom have wronged us. In these actions we humble ourselves before God and allow Jesus Christ to remove the stones from our own hearts and bring restoration in our relationship with Him.

But when it so happens that we are disciplined by the Lord, it is to turn our attention and hearts back to Him. Being disciplined is not nice, but in the life of a true believer of Jesus Christ, we should be grateful and rejoice in it as the Lord’s discipline saves us from the condemnation of the world.

Let us reflect

·       Do we stop to really examine the motives of our heart regularly and honestly?

·       Are we quick to repent of our sins?

·       Are we even quicker to forgive?

·       How do I respond to being disciplined?

Prayer

Psalm 139 ²³ Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. ²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.

 

AMEN

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PASTORA HESMA - JCRC CAPETOWN

 

1 Corinthians 10: DO IT ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD

 

1 Corinthians 10:31. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (ESV)

In this verse we are instructed to do all that we do to the glory of God. So, what does this mean to us practically? How do we give glory to God? Do we know what gives God glory?

What does the Bible tell us give glory of God?

·      Ascribe (recognize, acknowledge) to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendour of holiness (1 Chron 16:28–29, Ps 96:7–8)

·      Worship the Lord (Ps 29:2, John 4:23)

·      Serve the Lord …by the strength that God supplies—that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. (1 Pet 4:11)

·      Give thanks to the Lord with your whole heart. (Ps 86:12)

·      Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matt 5:16)

·      Bear much fruit. (John 15:8)

·      Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2:11)

·      Acknowledge that from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. (Rom 11:36)

·      Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col 3:17)

·      Offer thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;(Eph 1:12)

Giving glory to God can be in many ways. We can give God glory by serving and worshipping in church, in our personal life, in our everyday working tasks, in our everyday relationships with other people.

We give glory when the condition of our heart is right before God.  We show respect to and honour God by acknowledging him for the Good Father he is to us and praising His name. We glorify God when we:

·      Obey Him and live according to His instructions he gives us in the Bible.

·      Confess our sins and truly come back to Him with a heart of repentance and turning away from our old sinful habits every day.

·      Accept his will and what God wants for us.

·      Stay humble and continuing doing the good deeds He called us to without seeking for praise from others.

·      Grow in love and become better, more obedient disciples of Jesus.

Even simple everyday actions like sharing a meal, doing our work with integrity, praying for the colleague at work who is suffering, showing grace and mercy to those around us honour God – with a loving heart and a right attitude without grumbling. Over time, these small habits change our desires and love toward others and help us live for God and become more like him.

Prayer

Lord we pray and ask that through your sanctification process you convict us of the things we entertain in our lives that does not bring You glory. Help us Lord to hunger for You and surrender ourselves for Your glory and to not live for ourself and our fleshly desires. In Jesus name.

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PASTORA HESMA - JCRC CAPETOWN

1 Corinthians 9: Preaching the Gospel of Jesus: A Necessity Laid Upon the Servant of God Scripture

Preaching the Gospel of Jesus: A Necessity Laid Upon the Servant of God

Scripture
1 Corinthians 9:16–18 ESV

“[16] For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! [17] For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. [18] What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.”

Observation
Paul shows us the way he sees preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a necessity laid upon him. That is why he said that he would not make full use of his right in the Gospel, even though, as an apostle and evangelist of Jesus, he had a genuine right to receive support for his ministry.

Application
Our calling, like Paul's, is to:

“[2] preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”

(2 Timothy 4:2 ESV)
And, like Jesus:

“[6] who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.”

(Philippians 2:6 ESV)
Then, our reward in the Kingdom—and an important characteristic of Christian disciples—is to become a servant of the Lord and therefore a servant of His people.
Then we could say, as Paul said:

“[19] For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.”

(1 Corinthians 9:19 ESV)

Prayer
Lord, like Paul, we come to You today because we are running the race of faith, and the prize we are running for is to preach the Word as much as we are able and to win more people for Your Kingdom.
May Your Holy Spirit make us servants, like Paul and our Lord Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.
May we serve Your Body as our supreme goal.
In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

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Pastor Johny - JCRC Latin 

1 Corinthians 8: LOVE ABOVE KNOWLEDGE and FREEDOM

 

In 1 Corinthians 8, we see that knowing a lot about God is not enough. We may know the Bible, have experience, and distinguish right from wrong, but if this is not accompanied by love, we can harm others.

Verse 1 states: Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.

We find three lessons here:

1. Knowing more of the Word does not make us better than others. On the contrary, the more we know God, the more humble we should be.

2. There are things that may not pose a problem for us but could be a difficulty for another believer. Christian freedom does not consist of doing everything we can, but of choosing what helps and edifies.

3. Paul was willing to give up something he had the right to do if it might cause another brother to stumble. That is true love: always doing what helps our brothers and sisters.

Before making a decision, let us ask ourselves:

Does this please God?

Could this negatively affect another person?

Am I acting out of love or simply defending my rights?

“Knowledge can help us grow, but love makes us useful to God and to others.”

SPANISH:

1 Corintios 8, acá vemos que saber mucho de Dios no es suficiente. Podemos conocer la Biblia, tener experiencia y saber que está bien o mal, pero si no va acompañado de amor, podemos dañar a otros.
En el versículo 1, dice: El conocimiento envanece, pero el amor edifica.

Encontramos 3 enseñanzas:

1. Conocer más de la Palabra no nos hace mejores que los demás. Al contrario, cuanto más conocemos a Dios, más humildes debemos ser.

2. Hay cosas que quizá para nosotros no representan ningún problema, pero pueden ser una dificultad para otro creyente. La libertad cristiana no consiste en hacer todo lo que podemos, sino en escoger lo que ayuda y edifica.

3. Pablo estaba dispuesto a renunciar a algo que tenía derecho a hacer si eso podía hacer tropezar a otro hermano. Eso es amor verdadero: siempre hacer lo que ayude a nuestros hermanos.

Antes de tomar alguna decisión, preguntémonos:
Esto agrada a Dios?
Esto puede afectar negativamente a otra persona?
Estoy actuando por amor o simplemente defendiendo mi derecho?
“El conocimiento nos puede hacer crecer, pero el amor nos hace útiles para Dios y para los demás”

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PASTOR GERMAN - JCRC BOGOTA

1 CORINTHIANS 6: Glorify God with Your Body

 

1 CORINTHIANS 6

In this chapter, Paul reminds and teaches us that we were bought at a very high price: the precious blood of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice cleansed, sanctified, and justified us. Our lives and bodies no longer belong to us; we are His property, and the Lord has made us a temple of the Holy Spirit.

Our bodies no longer serve sin; instead, they exist to honor God through every thought, word, and glance, through what we hear, and through our actions and decisions. Everything about us must reflect the holiness of the One who dwells within us.

Paul warns us about sexual sin because it affects not only our physical bodies but also the believer's moral and spiritual life.

It is not merely a matter of considering whether something is a sin or not; this chapter reveals something deeper—asking ourselves daily:

Does what I am about to do glorify God?

- Glorify God with your body, and the  spiritual aspect will take care of itself -

1 Corinthians 6:20

For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 

1 CORINTIOS 6

En este capítulo Pablo nos recuerda y nos enseña que fuimos comprados por un precio muy alto: la Sangre Preciosa de Jesucristo, Su sacrificio nos limpió, nos santificó y nos justificó. Nuestra vida y nuestro cuerpo ya no nos pertenecen, somos de su propiedad, el Señor nos ha convertido en templo del Espíritu Santo.

Nuestro cuerpo ya no sirve al pecado, nuestro cuerpo es para honrar a Dios con cada pensamiento, cada palabra, cada mirada, con lo que oímos, con nuestras acciones y decisiones. Todo en nosotros debe reflejar la santidad de Aquel que habita en nosotros.

Pablo nos hace una advertencia acerca del pecado sexual porque éste tiene efecto no solo en nuestro cuerpo físico, sino también en la vida moral y espiritual del creyente.

No se trata de pensar si algo es pecado o no, este capítulo nos revela algo más profundo, es preguntarnos a diario:
¿Esto que voy a hacer glorifica a Dios?

- Glorifica a Dios con tu cuerpo y el
lado espiritual se cuidará solo -

1 Corintios 6:20
Porque habeis sido comprados por precio; glorificad, pues, a Dios en vuestro cuerpo y en vuestro espíritu, los cuales son de Dios.

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PASTORA ANGELA - JCRC BOGOTA

1 CORINTHIANS 2: THE WISDOM OF THE CROSS

 

1 Corinthians 2:2 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

In the dictionary, Wisdom is the ability to use your knowledge, experience, and deep understanding to make good choices, sound judgments, and sensible decisions in life. It goes beyond merely collecting facts by knowing how to apply what you have learned to solve complex problems and help others

In the Bible, James 3:17 says “17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”

Every day we are in need of wisdom. When we wake up in the morning what is the first thing we do, do we pray first or simply thank the Lord for the new day or turn on our phones and start scrolling social media and checking feeds. What are we going to eat or what to wear? When we talk to our colleagues or subordinates, or correct the mistakes of our students. When we talk to our children. When we need to make an important decision, do we ask God or rely on our own understanding.

 

Wisdom indeed plays a major role in our daily lives.

But what wisdom operating in us and what we are preaching to others?

Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

 

We need to fear the Lord first before we can have His wisdom.

We fear the Lord when we -

Obey His Word: Keeping God's commandments and following His instructions faithfully show that His authority matters more than our personal desires.

Completely hating Evil: Rejecting dishonesty, malice, and sin demonstrates an understanding of how much God dislikes wrongdoing.

Humble and Contrite Living: Approaching God and others with humility, a tender heart, and a willingness to accept correction.

Reverent Worship: Honoring God with awe, gratitude, and a lifestyle that reflects His majestic character.

Living Mindfully of His Presence: Recognizing that God sees all actions and motives, which purifies intentions and choices

 

On our reading today from 1 Corinthians 2, Paul is determined to proclaim only the wisdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is nothing that he wanted to know and preach to the people but the Cross of the Christ.

Paul is certain that Jesus wisdom is all that he needs.

In 1 Corinthians 1:5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—

And the very purpose why we only need Christ wisdom is for us to be blameless on Jesus Christ second coming.

1 Corinthians 1:8

8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Only through Jesus Christ wisdom that we can be –

v  Righteous in the eyes of God: because we have relationship with God, our lives match God's goodness, loving justice, and treating other people right.

v  Holy and have a sanctified living: Heart completely devoted to God, He rules our deepest thoughts, desires, and choices. Living in trust and obedience to the Lord.

v  Redeemed and forgiven from all sins: we reject all bitterness and unforgiveness in our hearts and have peace with everyone

Paul preaches Christ crucified (V1-5) –

    Focus on the Message, Not the Messenger: When we share the gospel, we avoid fancy words and instead testify the goodness of God in our lives. How God change our hearts from loving ourselves to leaving ourselves through walking away from our comfort zone to loving people.

    Center on Christ: Are we decided and determined to live in obedience to Christ and nothing can hinder us to follow Him because He is our priority? Or time, personal relationship, ability, work or even finance still becoming a stronghold in us disabling us to really make Him as our Lord.

    Embrace Humility: We admit our weakness, fear and limitations, but we still persevere to serve God’s people on the ministry that He entrusted us or we let our pride to rule in us justifying why we cannot serve?

    Rely on the Spirit: Do we allow the Holy Spirit to correct us and grow silently reflecting what is the will of the Lord when we face arguments or we tend to fight back insisting our points believing that they must follow us?

    Anchor Faith in God: Do we give all the glory to God in every success of the ministry, every personal achievement that we had pointing that all comes from the Lord or we claim those are from our talents and abilities? Do we point people to believed only in Jesus by encouraging them to go the church and study His work or we let them to stay ignorant not telling them the consequences of their actions?

Jesus died for us on the Cross, His body is beaten, wounded and pierced for our healing and restoration – Isaiah 53:5

Ø  So, we can be His hands to others as healing. Not to neglect His word and grieve the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Ø  So, we can be a blessing to others through material or spiritual aspect. Not to be worried of having not enough or focusing to self.

Ø  So, we can also deny ourselves from comfort, pride and self-righteousness taking up our cross and be fully committed to choose a life of obedience no matter what the circumstances are. Not to point everything to self, “I” deserve to be happy even it comprises faith, “I” deserve to sleep well even if we know we have to wake up a bit early and do devotion scripture.

Ø  So, we may live Holy and pleasing to His sight. Not to live in our own terms, not to live in our way, pleasurable and comfortable forgetting the very purpose of God in us.

Jesus shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins so we may have eternal life in heaven with Him – Hebrews 9:22

Ø  So, we may forgive others even if they have deeply hurt us or wronged us. Not to suffer of carrying the grudge in our hearts and loosing peace that is not God’s will to His children.

Ø  So, we may remember that everything we have is from the Lord and for the Lord and that it will show humility in us at all times. Not to lift up our status and not to show that we are “someone”, because we are nothing without God.

Ø  So, we may endure the sufferings for the Lord joyfully and persevering to reject all evil words, thoughts and actions that are still in us relying to the power of the Holy Spirit that is able to transforms us. Not to insist the laziness, Luke warmness and complacency leading to Spiritual death.

Ø  So, we may sacrificially lay down our lives to the Lord in all area of our lives. Giving Him the first fruit of our time daily, our service to His people, our salaries and resources, and our hearts loving and focusing on Him alone. Not to give the left overs all areas of our lives because Jesus is coming soon, we will face Him and His word will judge us from the smallest to biggest sins that we have committed.

·       Does our daily choices on our speech, thoughts, decisions and actions reflects the wisdom of the cross or still the wisdom of the world?

·       Is the wisdom that operates in our lives leading us to Jesus in eternal life or pushing us away from Him?

·       When we face difficulties, hardships and challenges in area of our lives, do we still choose to follow God’s wisdom even if it places us to give up the most important part of us?

·       Can we confidently say that we have God’s wisdom because the transformation is visible in our lives bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control)?

·       Just like Paul, are we also determined to know and preach only the wisdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the wisdom of the Cross?

Let us come to the throne of grace, our Heavenly Father and pray.

Father God in the Name of Your Son Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we praise and thank you for your word in 1 Corinthians 2. There is none like you Lord, there is no one beside your Name Father, thank you that even now your love, mercy and faithfulness is upon us. Thank you for letting us understand more of your wisdom that is all we need, that our lives are from you and for you alone, that our lives are for us to glorify you alone and you have given us your knowledge so we may not fall away from you. Father God, forgive us for those times that we still follow worldly wisdom justifying laziness, stinginess, selfishness and pride in us. Forgive us Lord Jesus when our words, thoughts and actions are still not reflecting your teachings because we are not yet becoming a vessel of your encouragement and enlightenment to those that don’t know you yet, we are sorry Lord God for our disobedience. Father God, we pray that today and onwards, we may remember that you are sovereign in this world, in heaven and even under the earth. Put into our hearts Father God that Jesus is our only savior and Lord and that only His wisdom may rule in our daily choices to all area of our lives. May we walk humbly and surrendered, may we live, love and serve in your likeness Lord Jesus. All glory and honor belong to your Father God. In your Holy and mighty Name Lord Jesus we ask and pray, Amen.  

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ELDER ERNELYN - JCRC CAMBODIA

ROMANS 16: OBEDIENCE WITH DISCERNMENT

 

Scripture

Romans 16:19 — “Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil.”

Paul closes the book of Romans by recognizing the obedience and faithfulness of the believers. He encourages them to remain wise about what is good while staying innocent and separate from evil.
This reminds us that following Christ is not only about knowing what is right but also about living it out through obedience. God calls us to be careful about what we allow into our hearts and minds. We should pursue what is good, pleasing to God, and beneficial to others, while refusing to be drawn into things that lead us away from Him.

Romans 16 also shows the importance of Christian community. Paul mentions many people who faithfully served God alongside him. This reminds us that we are not meant to walk with God alone. We should value, encourage, and serve together with other believers.

Today, let us examine what influences our thoughts, words, and actions.

Choose what is good and pleasing to God.
Be careful about influences that can lead us toward sin.
Practice obedience instead of merely knowing God’s Word.
Encourage and appreciate the people who serve God alongside us.
Ask God for wisdom to recognize what is good and discern what is harmful.
We want our lives to show that we truly belong to Christ—not only through our words, but through our obedience.

Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word, for the revelation and conviction it brings. Give us wisdom to recognize what is good and courage to reject what is evil. Help us to obey You even when it is difficult. Keep our hearts pure and our minds focused on You. Thank You for the people You have placed in our lives. Help me to encourage them, serve them, and grow together with them in faith. May our lives bring glory to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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ELDER MAYEN - JCRC CAMBODIA