Ryan Hale

I needed to read this story this morning. The disciples were clearly not understanding who Jesus was and what their response should be. Jesus had previously fed more than 5000 people from a few loaves and fish and his disciples had picked up 12 full baskets of bread that were left over. Now, he fed more than 4000 people and they picked up 7 full baskets of bread that were left over.

In both cases, there was a confrontation that followed the events. In the case of the 5000, it was with the crowd of people who followed Jesus to the other side of the lake, wanting to make him king so that they could have more bread. They loved to eat free bread! But Jesus wanted them to understand who he was, so he began to explain himself, saying that he was the manna, the bread that came down from heaven. He said that the people must eat his flesh and drink his blood if they wanted to live. That was the only food and drink that he would offer them beyond what he had given them already.

Now, after feeding the 4000, the confrontation this time was with his disciples. Jesus had told his disciples that they should watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod. They should be looking out for religiosity that simply demands another sign, then demands another sign, then demands another sign. If only they had another sign, then they might believe. In short, this “yeast” was that of unbelief despite knowing what was true, despite having seen things that only God could do with their own eyes.

The disciples didn’t get it, so Jesus spells it out for them and calls them to account:

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,” they replied.

“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

Mark 8:17-21

Jesus is telling them to not be like the Pharisees or Herod. Don’t be the people that have eyes and perfectly good vision and yet do not see. Don’t be among those who have ears and perfectly good hearing and yet do not listen and comprehend what you are hearing.

And what is more… Do not forget.

Remember what I have done.

And this is the lesson for me this morning. In the middle of difficult times, in the middle of challenges, in the middle of one problem after the next, I need to remember that God has done miracles before. He has been faithful over and over. He has taken care of us, taken care of all of us, even in the midst of difficulty. And he will do it again.

My role, what I must do, is believe.

Yes, I must act. I must continue forward. I must do what he has called me to do. But Jesus promises that he will go with me. He will be with each of us. And it will be his power that will work all things out. Now, will I walk today in that belief? Or will I walk in anxiety and unbelief, living instead by the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod? That is the question for me today and the same question for each of us throughout our lives. Upon whom am I depending? Me? Or God? I pray that I will depend on him today. His strength and not my own, for his glory.

Our tendency is to build ourselves up. Our tendency is to show ourselves to be great, to have accomplished many things. Our tendency is to try to make ourselves look good in the eyes of other people.

Paul tells the Corinthians that he has the credentials. In fact, he wears the credentials on his body. He has the scars that he has obtained by the preaching of the Gospel, and carries around the scars for the preaching of the Gospel. He has worked hard, been in prison many times, been beaten and flogged, and near death several times.

He has received the severe punishment of 40 lashes minus 1 five times. Five times!

Beaten with rods, pelted with stones. Shipwrecked. A day and a night on the open sea. Danger on every side, he has gone without sleep, without food, and without shelter.

These are Paul’s credentials. But these are not the credentials of someone who is powerful. These are not the credentials of someone who has become rich or built himself up as he has traveled to preach the Gospel. These are the credentials of someone who has poured himself out compeltely for one cause, for one simple idea: That Christ would be glorified in him and would receive all of the glory because of the people that would believe in him and live for him.

That’s it. It is worth all of that for that one reason. Paul lives his life for that reason, and that reason alone, and so he boasts of his weakness. He isn’t a strong man. From an earthly, human perspective, he is actaully quite weak, but everything he is doing, he is doing for the glory of God.

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

2 Corinthisna 11:30

If Paul will have something to boast about, he will actually boast as a result of his weakness. That is his goal. That is his desire, that he would be known only for the power that he has because of the power of Christ within him. It is easy to see the weakness with which he is living his life and doing his work. But looking at his life, you can see the incredible effect, the great result of this work in his life. Not through strength. Not through riches, and not through any power that Paul has obtained. Instead, this result came as a result of his weakness and the power of Christ working through him.

This must also be our aim, to live as those who are weak. Not because we are deliberately trying to be weak, but because we are living singularly for the glory of Christ. We must no longer live to build ourselves up, but we live to build up Christ. We no longer live for our glory, but for his.

This is the transformation that God makes within us as we continue to grow in our faith. We no longer live for ourselves, but we live for him. We no longer look to increase ourselves, but we give Christ every part of our lives. This is who he has created us to be and what he has created us to do, to live as weak vessels, completely dependent upon him, for his glory.

Paul isn’t completely sure that the Corinthians are ready to give. He has been talking them up, bragging about them to the people in the Macedonian churches, but in truth, he does have a little doubt in his mind that the Corinthians are ready to follow through, ready to actually give to see through the collection for the church in Jerusalem.

So he is writing to the Corinthians to prepare them. He is also sending Titus and at least one other person to them to prepare them. He wants to make sure that they will be ready and that the Macedonians will continue to be encouraged by their brothers in sisters in Christ in Corinth, encouraged that they are doing this together as one body and not just on their own.

So Paul encourages the Corinthians that they can be like the one who supplies seed to the sower in the field:

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

2 Corinthians 9:10-11

This got me thinking this morning: What is Paul’s real goal in speaking this way to the Corinthians?

I believe, of course, Paul wants to motivate the Corinthians to give. He wants them to understand how their giving can be like sowing seed in a field with the goal of reaping a harvest.

Then I thought: How do Paul’s words get twisted in our day today?

Reading small portions of even that which I have quoted above, and taking those words out of context, you could easily read him to say that if you give money, you will get even more money.

And this is exactly how many of our “prosperity gospel” preachers or televangelist-types today will preach, saying that those who are listening to them will, in the end, receive more and more money. They tell people that if they just give…and if they just keep giving…God promises that they will receive. Their “harvest”, which they interpret as their own personal bank account, will increase. They make people believe that God wants to give them more money.

But that is not what Paul is saying. He says that their righteousness will increase. He is not talking about a harvest that necessarily includes a bigger bank account. He is talking about investment and return in the kingdom of God. He is talking about sowing and reaping righteousness. He is ultimately talking about living for God’s glory. Not the glory of the one who is sowing. Not even the one who is providing the seed. No, instead, he is talking about the one who is the Lord of the harvest, God himself. He is the one who will receive the glory. It is for him, not for us.

So, do you wish to enlarge the harvest? The harvest of the kingdom of God? If so, then you must give from which you have been given. From that which you have received, you must sow again. Your funds. Your time. Your life. That is what Jesus did. He took the life that he was given and he gave it for us. The return on his investment, the harvest, were the souls of the people for whom he died, that would then be given to the Father. The harvest of the Jews and the Gentiles. And now that is what Paul is calling the Corinthians, and each of us, to do as well. Not to enlarge our own harvest, but to enlarge the harvest for the Lord of the harvest because it all belongs to him.

Paul was working on a donation that the churches would offer to the church in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the home of the first church, the mother church, if you will. Jerusalem was the city where the apostles were continuing their work, but they were continuing the work under persecution and under significant financial stress as well.

So Paul’s desire was to share with the church in Jerusalem, and as he shared this desire, the vision to share with the church in Jerusalem, Paul began to also hear from the other churches in their desire to share in the work. And the response from the Macedonian churches was astounding:

For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.

2 Corinthians 8:3-4

The Macedonians were not rich. In fact, they were quite poor, yet their hearts had been changed such that they wanted to participate in giving. They wanted to be generous. In fact, they urgently pleaded with Paul so that he would accept their gift. We don’t know if Paul had suggested that they not give, or possibly give less, but it seems that may have been a possibility. Yet the Macedonian churches truly wanted to participate. They truly wanted to be a part of what was happening. They urgently pleaded with Paul that they could give.

So Paul used this example as he wrote to the Corinthians to help them understand the heart of giving as a result of the change that Christ has made within us. Jesus had given all in his love for the Macedonians, and now the Macedonians are giving all that they could give for the body of Christ.

This is the change that Christ makes within us when we realize the truth of salvation that he has given to us. Not only does he give us eternal life, but a new heart. This changes everything, and as a result, makes us want to no longer live for ourselves, but to live for him and for his glory. We no longer want to keep everything for ourselves, but we want to give everything to him and for him.

This is the example that Paul is putting on display for the Corinthians. He is helping the Corinthian church to see that God has so completely changed the hearts of the Macedonian churches that they would plea with him to receive the gift that they had prepared, asking him to take their money such that it would be a blessing for the people living in Jerusalem.

What does this teach us? What do we do? How have we been changed? Are we living in this same way that we would urgently plea that someone would receive the gift that we have been called to give?

Or do we live for ourselves? Do I instead simply live for me?

We each, whether we make a lot of money or a little, have the privilege of sharing with another. This could be through our finances, or it could be through our time, or in giving what we have. Each person has received and so each person, as a result of what Christ has done in them, should also give. And in giving from what we have, we do not only give from our plenty, but we give urgently and pleadingly because of the great gift that has been given to each of us.

Paul called the Corinthians to a life of purity, a life devoted to God. He called them to not associate with the impure, dallying with that which is not from God, but instead to only associate themselves with that which comes from God.

So he says that, because we have these promises, let us purify ourselves. Let us leave all that is impure behind:

Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

2 Corinthians 7:1

Hang on a second, though… The reason that we are doing this is because we have “these promises”. Which promises are we talking about? What is Paul actually referring to when he says that we have “these promises”?

Paul is referencing back to chapter 6 when he listed out these three promises. First, he says:

“I will live with them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.”

2 Corinthians 6:16

This is a summary of the covenant that God made with his people, the Israelites, and it is directly connected to the covenant that God made with his people even today. From the time of Abraham and subsequently through Moses, then noted again by both Jeremiah and Ezekiel, God makes a covenant with his people that if they will follow his commanments, if they will obey him, then he will be their God and they will be his people.

In our time today, Jesus makes a New Covenant with us. At the last Passover supper, Jesus said that, like the cup that he was sharing with his disciples, his blood was poured out as a sign of the New Covenant.

What does that mean? Jesus is saying that, through his blood, God will be our God and we will be his people. Anyone who believes in him and places their faith in his blood will receive forgiveness for their sins, making them perfect and able to come before God based on his blood.

So originally Jesus, and now Paul, restates the covenant that God made with his people. He is pointing back to the Old Testament, to those various points at which God made his covenant with his people, but noting that we have the opportunity to be the people of God through the blood of Christ.

However, Paul continues by making the point that it is important that God’s people recognize the seriousness with which he takes the requirement of obedience. He quotes Isaiah and Ezekiel and shows that, not only through the original statement of the covenant, but also through the prophets, God calls his people to obedience of his commands, following him:

“Come out from them
and be separate,
says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you.”

2 Corinthians 6:17

God calls us to look to him. God calls us to be his people, and his people leave behind the things of the world. God’s people shoul not want that which is unclean, but instead, God’s people should want him and him alone.

Jesus said it yet another way. He said:

If you love me, keep my commands.

John 14:15

How can you show Jesus that you love him? By obeying him. Do what he says to do and you will be showing him that you love him. You will show that you are his people, the people of God in Christ, by obeying what he has commanded us to do.

So we aren’t just talking about obeying rules. We are talking about loving him. We are talking about showing him who he is to us. We are returning to him the love that he first showed to us by giving himself completely to us.

But then Paul looks back one more time to Samuel’s writings that spoke of David and the nation of Israel and relates those promises to those that God makes to us even today:

“I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.”

2 Corinthians 6:18

That is an even greater promise! God is making the promise that he will not only be our God and we will be his people, but going much further, he says that he will be our Father and we will be his sons and daughters. So yes, we are within his kingdom and he is our king, but the relationship is even more intimate. The connection is even closer. We are in God’s family. If we are in Christ, God is our Father and we are his sons and daughters. That is the type of love that God shows for us. Not master and servant, but Father and child.

It is for that reason, then, that Paul says that we must put away the things that contaminate our body and spirit. We must leave behind the things of the world. We are in a family relationship with God himself, the creator and king of the entire universe. The one who made us and the one who saves us, who redeems us. He wants us as his child, adopted into his family through the blood of Christ. This is the God that we look to and call Father. These are the promises that God has made to each of us who come to him through Christ.

Last night, a new friend of mine from Iran, one of the most unreached places on earth, told me about his attempt to share what God has been doing in his life with some men and women from his own country. He explained that so many had walked away from Islam but yet they were unwilling to listen to what he was saying because of the pain that was in their lives. He had attempted to share the Gospel with them to help them understand that they can know God through Jesus, not just know a religion with its rules and regulations. He explained, though, that it seemed as if they had been blinded, that they couldn’t see. They couldn’t hear. For all of his trying, it seemed that they just couldn’t understand what he was trying to tell them.

I was reminded of this as I read Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians this morning. He explains something very similar:

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:4-6

Paul says that Satan has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. They are wounded. They are hurt. They are unable to accept the Gospel, and that unfortunately the case for many different reasons. Maybe it is a relationship rift within their family. Maybe it is a misplaced expectation of God. Maybe it is a disappointment from their religion. Whatever the situation is, the “god” of this age has discouraged them, has blinded them such that they cannot see the light that has come from God.

Jesus himself is the light. He is the image of God, the true image of God here on the earth. God is spirit and cannot be seen, yet in Jesus we can see him. However, if we are blind, it is impossible to see Jesus. Therefore, it is impossible to see God.

Paul says that he does not preach himself. He does not call people to follow him. Instead, he calls people to follow Christ, to believe in Jesus. He, and by extension, we, are servants of others so that would believe in Christ.

How different and upside-down is what Paul saying when we compare it to our experience in this world? Do we sometimes actually have the impression that, as people who go to a church, or to a mosque, or to a temple, that we are there to serve those who are leading? If that has ever happened to us, we should understand that this is something that we can expect to cause harm because that is not what God intended. He intended for us to know him and for those who serve the Lord to serve others, bringing them to Jesus, not bringing them to us.

My Iranian friend told me that he had spoken recently with another man from Russia, telling him how he felt that God was with him, that God had been helping him in the moments when he was the most lonely. He had moved to a new country where he didn’t know anyone and yet now he was connected to a community where he felt that he could grow together with others. He wasn’t necessarily even intending to try to share the Gospel with his Russian friend, but it seemed that God was working within him, someone that had not been interested in talking about the things of God before, where instead now he was suddenly open and said that he had felt a similar loneliness himself, that he could relate to the loneliness that my Iranian friend had experienced. We are praying, and will continue to pray that God will lift the veil of blindness and will help his Russian friend to know Christ.

It is clear that this a war for the hearts of the people all around us. It is not a physical war, but a spiritual war. The Father is calling people to come to Christ. He wants that all would be saved. Yet Satan is attempting to obscure that call, to blind everyone possible from the call that the Father is giving. His hope is to destroy God’s people by blinding them, by preventing them from knowing Christ.

Like the situation with my Iranian friend, though, God places us in the path of people every day with whom he is speaking. We must be sensitive and listen to those around us, preparing ourselves for the moments in which the veil is torn away, the moments in which God opens the door and we can simply encourage people to come to know Jesus, the one and only one who can fill the one true need of that person’s life: To know God and to live for him forever.

In Paul’s time, this was a familiar scene. As the Roman emperors returned from conquest and war, they would enter the city triumphant, led by trumpets and fanfare with the streets lined with people waving palm branches in a show of victory and celebration.

But trailing behind the triumphant emperor, and behind the legions of troops who had fought the battle, were the captives, the spoils of the war. These were the people that they had won. They were the ones that were conquered, that were overtaken in the war that they had fought. These might be some of the soldiers that had surrendered, or they may have been the civilians of the lands that that been won. In either case, they were the people who now overtaken, now conquered such that they would be the captives, and what had been theirs was now the property of the Romans, including their very lives.

I believe this is the type of scene that Paul is thinking about as he refers to his experience in going to speak with others about Christ. He says that he – they, including others with whom he is doing this work – are like those people who are at the end of the procession.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?

2 Corinthians 2:14-16

Paul is saying that they are captives in Christ’s triumphal procession. He is painting the picture of Jesus as the returning king, the one who has defeated the enemy, and they are trailing behind him, their king.

But we can imagine that these people probably didn’t smell very well. They had probably marched a long way from their homeland. They had probably sweated and maybe soiled themselves at times. They were probably being drug along by ropes and chains. They were like those people who were bringing along the end of the king’s triumphant procession.

Except this procession is led by Jesus who came to conquer sin and death. He came as a conquering king, carrying each of us along behind. Yet only to those who will be saved does the “stench” actually smell like the smell of life. On the other hand, to those who will not believe or those who will not follow Christ, to them our smell is that of death.

So in this way, we also are like Paul. We are like those who are being carried along as the captives, as the spoils of war. We are those who have been conquered, who were won by Christ and by his blood. And we also produce this smell, either of death or of life. Either life to those who are being saved, or of death to those who are perishing.

One of the most difficult conversations for most churches that I have been associated with, is the conversation related to the use of money. It is ironic because this has often been one of the objections by people who have been part of a church and have since left, saying that they felt like all the church ever talked about was money.

But in the majority of churches where I have been, it is spoken about, at most, once per year, usually around the time that the church is setting its budget for the year. Possibly in that time that was the point at which we would hear a message about tithing, or it might even be just a practical discussion about the plan for the budget.

But I have also heard other people simply say that there is no reason to talk about money in the church, that God would provide all that is needed.

Yet there is one signficant problem with this point of view: Money, and the use of money, is one of the most common themes for instruction throughout the course of the Bible. It was one of the main themes that Jesus used in the course of his teachings.

Why would that be?

It wasn’t that Jesus was trying to collect more money. It wasn’t that the early church was trying to build a new building. No, the main reason for these discussions was the condition of the heart of the people who were to give. The question was, at that time, and is even still today:

Where is your treasure?

In what are you placing value?

Do you value the things of this earth? Do you, essentially, value that which money can buy today? Or do you place your treasure in heaven, valuing those things that are beyond this earth?

Paul was direct with the churches with whom he was working with regard to the discussion about money. The church in Jerusalem was suffering and they were the original church, the “mother” church, we could say. So Paul felt that it was important that the other churches contribute to help the church in Jerusalem continue on, relieving their burden, even from far away.

So to do this, he looked to each church to contribute:

Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.

1 Corinthians 16:1-4

Paul is writing to the churches and telling them that they needed to contribute to the collection for the church in Jerusalem. Even further, he even went on to tell them how to do it. This would be a sacrifice for them, but that sacrifice should be made regularly, on a weekly basis, not all at once, probably so that it wouldn’t seem like such a burden to give a lot of money in one pressure-filled moment.

So Paul is clear, not only in the need to contribute, but even also in the manner in which the collection should be done.

In our churches today, we need to teach about the need for using the funds that the Lord has given us as well. We need to explain even how it should be done, just as we see with Paul in this circumstance. Of course, we should also be clear about how the funds should be used for the kingdom of God, not only for the building of ever-larger buildings or other questionable expenses. Instead, let’s teach the use of money, helping those who wish to follow Christ learn to do so with all that God has given us, including the sum of money that the Lord has called us to use for his purpose.

Without the hope of the resurrection, there is no hope. Without the resurrection, there is nothing more. And there were some in the Corinthian church were saying that resurrection is not possible.

So Paul makes the point that if there is no resurrection, their faith is useless.

And if there is no resurrection, then Jesus was not resurrected.

And if Jesus was not resurrected, our faith is in vain. There is nothing to hold onto.

In that case, Paul says that you should then go and have a party!

If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

1 Corinthians 15:32

He is quoting from Isaiah 22 where the people were called into repentance, to come back to the Lord. Yes the Israelites were not interested in repenting. They were not interested in returning to the Lord. No, instead, they were only interested in living for today. They were interested in only what they were interested in. They went on eating meat. They went on drinking wine. And in themselves these are not necessarily bad things, but in the context of the call to come to the Lord, they essentially ignored God.

And so, in the same way, Paul says that the Corinthians should do the same thing. If they deny the resurrection, they might as well just enjoy their day. They should do what they want to do. They should live their best life. Each one should “do you”, if you will.

In other words, live the life that you have because in the end, it really means nothing. There is no significance. There is nothing more to live for. Live it up. Eat and drink. Do whatever makes you feel good or whatever you want. You might as well because there is nothing else with which to concern yourself.

But if you believe in the resurrection, you live for Christ today as a result of the resurrection, and you live for Christ forever as a result of the resurrection. The hope of the resurrection of Christ, which defeated death, is our hope. When we say that we have faith, we mean that we have faith that Christ’s death was God’s sacrifice for our sins, just as was foretold by the scriptures, and that his resurrection to eternal life will also give us life forever with him.

Without the resurrection, we have no hope. Without the resurrection, there is no life, so we should go and do as we like, for tomorrow we die. But Jesus was raised from the grave. Jesus was raised to life and lives even today. We live for him today and we will continue to live for him in eternity.

The theme in the book of 1 Corinthians continues, chapter after chapter. This time, Paul is making the distinction between people who are speaking in tongues in the church and those who are prophesying. The core issue that he brings up is this:

Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.

1 Corinthians 14:4

What is Paul talking about here? He is saying that if you speak in tongues, you are speaking the language of the Spirit of God. And that is good. We should speak the language of the Spirit.

But within the church, Paul is saying that there is little to no benefit in this. No one else can understand what you are saying. Yes, there can be – in fact, must be – an interpreter. Without the interpreter, Paul says that there should be no speaking in tongues.

Yet even still, even if there is an interpreter, who is being edified? Who is being built up? According to Paul, it is the one who is speaking, and only the one who is speaking, not anyone else who is listening.

So Paul says that we need to begin to think like adults and no longer like children:

I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. In the Law it is written:

“With other tongues
and through the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people,
but even then they will not listen to me,
says the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 14:18-21

What does he mean that we should think like adults and not children? Children think about what they want. They think about what makes them happy. Children think about what pleases them in the moment, what pleases them now.

Adults should think about the good of what others want. In fact, they are thinking about the needs of the children. They should be thinking about what others need, not just what they want in that moment.

This theme fits directly into the conversation of unity that Paul has been carrying throughout his letter to the Corinthians. One very important way that they can have unity is to no longer think about what they want, but what is needed to build others up, to build up the body of Christ.

Instead, Paul says that words of instruction and words of prophecy are the words that are needed to build others up. In fact, he makes a direct distinction with prophecy, telling the people to desire the gift of prophecy so that they can prophesy within the church.

What does that mean? Is Paul saying that we should have a church that is full of people who are telling the future all of the time?

Think about a person who has a prophetic gifting. This person, a prophet, speaks in two primary ways:

First, yes, they speak of the future. They tell of what is to come. They speak words of encouragement for God’s future work and the significance of his work upon our lives. As believers, we are humbled and come in fear of the great power of God, but that same power is where we place our hope and faith for eternal life and that all of the evils of the world to be set right. God’s work is an encouragement for each one of us, both because it will come to a righteous and holy end, and also because he includes each of us that are in Christ and within his kingdom within his work. These prophecies, when properly aligned with the word of God, are a great encouragement to the body of Christ, to the church, and should edify the church each time that they are heard.

However, a second type of message of a prophet is that of realignment to God, a call to God’s people to come back to the Lord. The prophet prophecies, speaking to God’s people that they will hear the clear call to repentance. They speak a clear word from the Lord when the people have strayed from the path that God has laid out for them, calling the people to return back to him.

So these calls to repentance, these calls to return, are also encouraging for the entire church because they are calls to return back to Christ. They are calls to return back to the one who unites his entire body. And what is more, Paul says, if an unbeliever is there while the believers are prophesying, they will understand that God is truly there among them. Not because they are hearing a strange tongue spoken, but because they will be convicted of sin as a result of the prophetic message.

But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

1 Corinthians 14:24-25

There are different ways in which we might make the point that Paul is making. He is calling the people to unity and to edify one another within the church, building up the church, building up the people around him.

Another way that I have also heard this expressed and that I tend to subscribe to myself is to ask this question: Whose kingdom am I building? The kingdom of God where Christ is king? Or my own kingdom?

In other words, am I spending more time thinking about what I want and what I prefer? And am I then acting based on those thoughts? Or am I spending more time thinking about what will build up the body of Christ, thus being part of the solution that will build the kingdom of God and bring him glory…and then acting upon that?

Those are important questions, I believe, even for the church today. There are many other silly types of issues that divide us today based on our own preferences. There are many different types of churches that branch off of other churches based on stylistic choices. Choices in music. Choices in preaching style. Choices in the types of chairs that we sit in. Choices in the temperature of the room. So in reality, as the saying goes, if we point the finger at others – as we might here with the Corinthian church – we have three more fingers pointing directly back at us. That which we might accuse the Corinthians of doing, we do the same, and worse.

So we must look for ways in which we can edify the body of Christ, ways in which we can build others up in Christ, not tear them down.

God help us to edify the body for building up your kingdom, to your glory.