Disorder, Disunity, and Division

January 30, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁷But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. ¹⁸For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, ¹⁹for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. ²⁰When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. ²¹For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. ²²What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. – 1 Corinthians 11:17-22 ESV

Disorder, disunity, and division. All three took place in the church in Corinth. That is partly the reason Paul had to address the issue of authority and headship. It appears that some were uncomfortable with his teaching on headship and submission. Once again, the issue of freedoms and rights had come up. In the opening verses of this chapter, Paul addressed women in the church who refused to cover their heads during worship. This was not about value or worth; it was about God-ordained headship, authority, and responsibility.

Paul said, “The head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God” (1 Corinthians 11:3 ESV). It is noteworthy that Paul makes it clear that both the husband and the wife, the male and the female, were free to prophesy and pray when the church assembled. But the man was to do so with his head uncovered, because to pray or prophesy with his head covered “dishonors his head” (1 Corinthians 11:4 ESV). In other words, he would be blatantly rejecting Christ’s headship in his life. And if a wife prophesies or prays with her head uncovered, she “dishonors her head” (1 Corinthians 11:5 ESV). Her actions would be construed as dishonoring her husband’s God-appointed headship.

For Paul, it was all about order, unity, and submission to God’s will. That’s why he now addresses their attitude toward the Lord’s Supper. Ordained by Jesus Christ Himself, this ordinance was to be a regular occurrence in the church, and the early church commemorated it as a feast. Unlike our modern version of the Lord’s Table, theirs was a meal. In the book of Acts, we read, “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people” (Acts 2:46-47 ESV).

This “love feast” was a communal gathering at which they commemorated the Lord’s death with the bread and the cup. But they also shared a meal, and that’s where the problem began. Paul says, “When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat” (1 Corinthians 11:20 ESV). In other words, they had turned the Lord’s supper into something altogether different. Their supper was marked by selfishness, division, and even drunkenness. They were making it all about the meal instead of memorializing Christ’s crucifixion. The food had taken center stage, not the celebration of Jesus’ sacrificial death, which made their salvation possible.

Paul doesn’t sugarcoat the problem. “For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk” (1 Corinthians 11:21 ESV). The gladness and generosity mentioned in Acts 2 had long since passed. It was as if everyone was in it for themselves. Some ate, while others went without. The meal had lost its communal aspect because people were eating without any regard for others. And then there were those who were using the “love feast” as an excuse to get drunk. There was little difference between this Christ-ordained event and the feasts held in pagan temples. Paul was shocked by their behavior and couldn’t understand why they didn’t just eat their meals at home if they couldn’t control themselves. The Lord’s Supper was meant to remember all that Christ had done to make their salvation possible, not to satisfy their fleshly appetites.

In a not-so-subtle attempt to shame their actions, Paul asks them, “Do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?” (1 Corinthians 11:22b ESV). Their actions reflected a lack of love for their brothers and sisters in Christ. There was no sharing of meals or compassion for the needy among them. The church in Corinth bore little resemblance to the early church recorded in the Book of Acts.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. – Acts 2:42-45 ESV

How easy it is to lose sight of our purpose as followers of Christ. We can turn our times of corporate worship into individually-focused moments of self-satisfaction. If we forget that we gather to worship God, we end up making it all about ourselves, demanding that the music and the message cater to our personal preferences. We can go through an entire Sunday service, neglecting those around us and never truly worshiping God. In doing so, we miss the whole point of corporate worship.

For Paul, the Corinthians had missed the message behind the Lord’s Supper. It was not about enjoying a good meal; it was to be a celebration of their common bond in Christ and a commemoration of His sacrificial death on their behalf. Luke records the words of Jesus on the night that He instituted this sacred service.

When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”

Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.”

He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.”

After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.” – Luke 22:14-20 NLT

Just moments after this sobering sequence of events, the disciples would argue over who was the greatest among them. They had missed the point. So Jesus said to them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:25-27 ESV).

The Kingdom of God was about selflessness, not selfishness. Followers of Christ, in imitation of Him, were to be servants, not self-serving. When we focus on the self, we end up loathing the body of Christ. When we make it all about ourselves, we neglect the fact that Jesus died, not just so that we might enjoy the self-satisfaction of our salvation, but solidarity as the people of God.

Father, You are all about unity and oneness. That is what Your Son prayed for in His high priestly prayer on the night He was betrayed. He pleaded that we would be one just as You and He are one. Yet, our sinful natures are prone to selfishness and self-centeredness. We have the unique capacity to make everything about ourselves. We can even turn a communal meal, designed to commemorate the selfless sacrifice of Your Son into a me-centered moment of self-aggrandizement. Yet, You have called us to live selflessly and sacrificially. You have even provided us with the Holy Spirit to make our unity possible. But as Paul said, “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants” (Galatians 5:17 NLT). It is not that we lack the power to live in unity; it is that we lack the desire. Open our eyes to the danger of selfishness. Help us to see that there is no place for self-centeredness in the body of Christ. We are to live in oneness and reflect the unity You enjoy with Your Son. As Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35 NLT). Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

What Would Jesus Do?

January 27, 2026January 27, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

²³“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. ²⁴Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. ²⁵Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. ²⁶For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” ²⁷If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. ²⁸But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— ²⁹I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? ³⁰If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

³¹So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. ³²Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, ³³just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. – 1 Corinthians 10:23-33 ESV

Paul revisits a point he made back in chapter six. “‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12 ESV). The Corinthians had made a big deal of their liberties or freedoms in Christ and were convinced that there were certain things they were at liberty to do because of their newfound freedom. Paul doesn’t contradict their conclusion; he simply argues against their motivation. They were only looking at things from a self-centered perspective, motivated by their own rights and focused on selfish pleasures. That is why Paul repeats their point of reference back to them again.

“I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial.– 1 Corinthians 10:23 NLT

Yes, they had certain freedoms in Christ, but they were not to let those freedoms be driven by selfish desires or motivated by self-centeredness. They were to ask themselves whether those freedoms were helpful and edifying. Throughout this section of his letter, Paul places the emphasis on others. In the very next verse, he writes, “Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.” (1 Corinthians 10:24 NLT). Paul was elevating compassion over lawfulness and promoting selflessness over selfishness.

Paul concedes that they were free to eat any meat sold in the marketplace, even if it had been sacrificed to idols. He supports his stance by quoting from the Psalms.

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. – Psalm 24:1 NLT

Even if they were invited to an unbeliever’s house, they were free to eat whatever was served. But should their host acknowledge that the meat had been sacrificed to idols, the circumstances took on a different light. They were no longer “free” to eat what was served. Paul explains that disclosing the meat’s origin made it a matter of conscience. Not their conscience, Paul asserts, but the conscience of their lost friend and anyone else who might be in attendance.

Don’t eat it, out of consideration for the conscience of the one who told you. It might not be a matter of conscience for you, but it is for the other person.) – 1 Corinthians 10:28-29 NLT

The lost friend would not know of or understand the concept of freedom in Christ. In telling their Christian guests that the meat had been sacrificed to idols, they would be assuming Christians would not want to eat such meat because it would violate their faith. Should the Christian go ahead and eat the meat, the message conveyed to their pagan friend would be confusing. Should a less mature believer be in attendance at the same dinner and see the more mature believer eating meat sacrificed to idols, he or she might be caused to follow their lead, even though their conscience told them it was wrong.

Paul follows this with two logical questions he knew the Corinthians would ask.

For why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks? If I can thank God for the food and enjoy it, why should I be condemned for eating it? – 1 Corinthians 10:29-30 NLT

In other words, why should a Christian let the conscience of a lost person dictate their behavior? Or why should a more mature believer allow the ignorance of a less mature believer determine their actions? Paul answers both questions with a single answer.

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. – 1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT

The more important question a believer should ask is whether their actions will bring glory to God. If the primary motivation behind our behavior is our personal pleasure, we miss the point. The bottom line for Paul was God’s glory and man’s salvation.

I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved. – 1 Corinthians 10:33 NLT

He was willing to give up his freedoms so that others might know what it means to be free in Christ. He was willing to die to his rights so that others might be made right with God.

In chapter 13, the great “love chapter,” Paul says that love “does not insist on its own way” (1 Corinthians 13:5 ESV). Instead, love cares about others and focuses on building up and edifying them, even at the expense of self. Christ-like love focuses on the good of others and the glory of God. It is selfless, not selfish. It is sacrificial, not self-centered. And the greatest example of this selfless, sacrificial kind of love was Jesus Himself. Even before He willingly laid down His life on Calvary, Jesus declared His intention to put the needs of others ahead of His own.

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45 NLT

In his letter to the believers in Philippi, Paul challenged them to follow Jesus’ example of selfless, sacrificial love.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
  he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross. – Philippians 2:3-8 NLT

Jesus died so that we might live. He willingly relinquished His divine rights and humbled Himself, even to the point of enduring a gruesome death on a Roman cross, all for the sake of others. And Paul is asking the Corinthians, the Philippians, and every other person who has placed their faith in Christ to follow His example. We are called to die to self because love trumps liberty every time. Giving up our rights for the sake of others and for the glory of God is well worth any sacrifice we may have to make. And, in the long run, it will produce fruit that is far more valuable than the fleeting pleasures we may have to give up.

Father, dying to self is hard. It goes against everything in our fallen human nature. Because of sin, we are inherently selfish and self-centered. We have a natural capacity and propensity to make everything about us. But Paul calls us to make it all about You and others. Your Son demonstrated what that kind of love looks like when He willingly went to the cross on our behalf. He took our place and took the full brunt of Your wrath against sin, so we wouldn’t have to. Now, we have the opportunity to follow His example and love those around us by placing their needs ahead of our own. You are not asking us to die in their place; You are simply asking that we die to our rights. Thank You for providing the Holy Spirit to make it possible and thank You for showing patience as we continue to struggle with obedience. May we continue to see Spirit-empowered progress in this area of our lives for the good of others and for You glory. Amen

All For the Sake of the Gospel

January 22, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁹For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. ²⁰To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. ²¹To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. ²²To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. ²³I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. – 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 ESV

Paul knew his rights all too well, but he didn’t let his rights get in the way or become a hindrance to his God-given assignment to share the gospel. In fact, Paul says that he made himself a servant to all. The Greek word he uses is δουλόω (douloō), which means “to make a slave of” (“G1402 – douloō – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 16 Aug, 2016. <https://www.blueletterbible.org).

Paul used the word in a metaphorical sense, indicating that he gave himself wholly to meet the needs of another, as in slave to his master. As far as Paul was concerned, he would rather consider himself a slave to everyone than to demand his rights or selfishly flaunt his freedoms in Christ. In fact, while he understood himself to be “free from all” — free from their judgment, criticism, demands, legalistic requirements, false accusations, and unrealistic expectations, he willingly chose to act as a servant to all. He even describes what he means by that. When he was with his fellow Jews, he lived like they did, even though he was free from having to do so. When in their company, he would keep the law out of a desire to win them to Christ. When he was with Gentiles, he would set aside the law of Moses, because they were not obligated to keep it (and neither was he). Instead, he would live under Christ’s law, the law of love.

Paul told the Galatians, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 ESV). This is the exact opposite of how the Pharisees lived. Jesus said of them, “They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.” (Matthew 23:4 NLT).

Paul’s philosophy of ministry and life was simple: “When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22 NLT). His ultimate goal was their salvation. His freedoms took a back seat so that he might help them find freedom from sin and death through faith in Christ. Everything he did was for the sake of the gospel. To him, it was unacceptable to put his needs above anyone else, including the saved or the lost. He spent his life selflessly sacrificing himself and putting his needs and rights in second place. He describes the impact this attitude had on his life in his second letter to the Corinthians:

I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. – 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 NLT

Why was Paul willing to go through all of this? So that he might share the gospel with those who had not yet heard it. As he so clearly states, “I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:23 ESV).

He had experienced the blessings of the gospel firsthand and was not willing for anyone to miss out on hearing the same message that had radically transformed his life. While many Christians are highly appreciative of what the gospel has done for them, they are unwilling to share its life-changing message with others. They allow their rights and freedoms to get in the way and hinder them from telling others of the good news of Jesus Christ.

As Christians, we can develop the attitude that we have a right not to associate with those who don’t believe as we do. But Paul would ask us, “How can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” (Romans 10:14 NLT).

We are not free to do as we please. We have an obligation, an assignment from God, to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. God has given us a divine task to perform, that of “reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!’” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20 NLT).

We exist for the sake of the gospel. We sacrifice for the sake of the gospel. We die to self for the sake of the gospel. We give up our rights for the sake of the gospel. We forego our freedoms for the sake of the gospel. We do all things for the sake of the gospel. And for the soul-saving, life-transforming sake of a sin-enslaved world.

Father, I love the good news of the gospel because it radically transformed my life. But I have to admit that I tend to treat it like a secret that I refuse to disclose to others. I’m like a gospel horder, filling every area of my life with the blessings and benefits of salvation while others suffer spiritual starvation. I have been blessed so that I might be a blessing to others. I have been given spiritual sight so that I might lead the blind to the One who can open their eyes to the truth of the gospel. I am reminded of the words of Your Son: “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:14-16 NLT). I want to live my life with that kind of purpose and commitment. But I can only do it with Your help and the Spirit’s power. Show me how to do all things for the sake of the gospel and for Your glory. Amen

When Rights Become Wrong

January 19, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. ²If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. ³But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

⁴Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” ⁵For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— ⁶yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

⁷However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. ⁸Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. ⁹But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. ¹⁰For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? ¹¹And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. ¹²Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. ¹³Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. – 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 ESV

With the opening words of this chapter, Paul reveals that he is answering yet another one of the questions sent to him by the church in Corinth. This one had to do with eating food that had been offered to idols. To modern, 21st-century Christians, this will sound like a strange discussion that has little in the way of practical application for us. But Paul’s primary point has to do with knowledge and what we do with it, especially in our interactions with “weaker,” less spiritually mature Christians and with the lost.

There are two major views as to what was going on in the Corinthian fellowship that caused them to raise this question with Paul. The more traditional view is that there were former pagans in the church who had come to faith in Christ and who were still buying meat in the marketplace that had been offered as sacrifices to false gods. It was a common practice for pagan priests to offer for sale in the market some of the meat offered as a sacrifice to their god. Its use as an offering would have ensured that it was the highest quality meat and, therefore, in high demand. The converted pagans in the church would have known that the meat was of excellent quality. This fact, coupled with their new understanding that their former gods were actually non-existent, would have made the meat highly attractive and perfectly acceptable for purchase.

Paul confirms their conclusion when he writes, “we know that ‘an idol has no real existence,’ and that ‘there is no God but one’’ (1 Corinthians 8:4b ESV). In his estimation, their “knowledge” or understanding of the matter was correct, but that same knowledge had become a source of pride. It was causing them to look past the negative influence they were having on their fellow church members. There were younger, less mature believers in the church who did not yet understand the truth regarding idols. Paul writes, “not all possess this knowledge” (1 Corinthians 8:7a ESV).

These less-informed individuals were confused by the actions of their fellow church members. If a more mature believer were to serve this meat to a new Christian, the less mature believer might view the meat as unclean and, therefore, unacceptable for consumption. To eat meat sacrificed to an idol would cause them to sin against their consciences because they were being unfaithful to God. The spiritual arrogance of their brothers and sisters in Christ would cause them to stumble regarding their faith.

But there is a second view regarding what was going on in Corinth that carries an even more shocking indictment on those who were eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. It seems that this was more than just a case of buying meat at the market and serving it for dinner in your home. The problem involved a continuing practice of eating meat sacrificed to idols in the very temple dedicated to that idol. In verse 10, Paul writes, “For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols?”

It seems that there were believers in the church in Corinth who were still celebrating at the feasts held within the temples of their former false gods. These were common affairs in Greek culture and were well-attended. They were social gatherings where the community came to worship their god and share a celebratory meal together. Evidently, there were believers in the church in Corinth who were attending these meals and justifying their behavior based on their “knowledge” regarding the non-existence of idols. Their reasoning was that if idols do not exist and God is the one true god, then what difference does it make whether or not we eat meat in the temple of an idol? While their logic made perfect sense, they were leaving out the Savior’s admonition to put the needs of others ahead of our own. They were disregarding the spiritual well-being of those within their fellowship who might be confused by their actions and caused to follow their lead.

For Paul, the issue had little to do with meat sacrificed to idols, eating in temples, or spiritual knowledge. In fact, he simply states, “this ‘knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1b ESV). Their knowledge had led to pride and arrogance, rather than love. They cared more about their so-called rights than they did about the spiritual well-being of their fellow believers. They enjoyed eating meals in the temple because the food was good and the fellowship was great. Attending these feasts allowed them to enjoy the company of their pagan friends and act as if nothing had changed in their lives. They may have even used the excuse that being in the temple with their lost friends and neighbors allowed them to share the gospel. But Paul knew that their actions were motivated by selfishness, not selflessness; they were doing what they did for themselves, not for the sake of others.

Paul makes it clear that the issue has nothing to do with meat. He writes, “Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do” (1 Corinthians 8:8 ESV). The issue was about rights.

But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. – 1 Corinthians 8:9 ESV

For Paul, it was simple; he would rather give up meat altogether if it was going to cause a brother to stumble. It wasn’t worth it. If our freedoms in Christ cause a brother or sister in Christ to become enslaved to their own sin, we have missed the whole point of the gospel. Not only that, Paul says that we have actually sinned against them and against Christ. We have become a stumbling block in their spiritual path.

As Christians, we have certain rights based on our newfound freedom in Christ. But when we let those rights tempt our brothers and sisters in Christ to do wrong, we stand as guilty before God. My rights should never deter another believer in their pursuit of righteousness. It would be better to die to my rights than to die for them.

Father, when we demand our rights, we lose sight of Your call that we be righteous. You are far more concerned with our holiness than our happiness. It’s not that You are some kind of cosmic killjoy who is out to make our lives miserable; it is that You are in the business of transforming us from self-obsessed, what’s-in-it-for-me individuals into loving members of the body of Christ. I am reminded of Paul’s words to the believers in Philippi, who he encouraged to follow the example of Christ.

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:3-8 NLT).

Show us how to model our lives after Jesus, so that we might die to self and live for others, just as He did. Amen

A Healthy Perspective on Life

January 17, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

²⁵Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. ²⁶I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. ²⁷Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. ²⁸But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. ²⁹This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, ³⁰and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, ³¹and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. – 1 Corinthians 7:25-31 ESV

For the second time, Paul uses the phrase, “now concerning.” It would appear that he is answering yet another question that he had received from the church in Corinth regarding particular matters they were struggling with. He opened this chapter with the words, “Now concerning the matters about which you wrote” (1 Corinthians 7:1 ESV). He has addressed the topic of sexual abstinence, agreeing that it is good, but that due to sexual temptation, it would be better to get married than to “burn with passion.”

He has warned that sexual abstinence within marriage is viable only under one condition: that the couple do so to dedicate themselves to prayer. Otherwise, they should act as if their bodies do not belong to themselves, but to one another. Paul has indicated his desire that those who are single remain so, so that they might dedicate all their energies to serving the Lord. But he knew that to do so and remain sexually pure would require a special gifting from God. Without divine assistance, they would be better off getting married.

Those married to unbelievers should not seek a divorce, but remain in their marriage and have a godly influence on their spouse and children. In summary, Paul was encouraging everyone to remain as they were when God called them. There was no need to seek a radical change in circumstance. What God required of them was a change of heart. Slaves should seek to be godly slaves, rather than spending all their time obsessed with gaining their freedom. Believing husbands should not seek to divorce their wives. Everyone needed to understand that the greatest change in their lives had already taken place; they had been restored to a right relationship with God Almighty. They were children of God, whether they were free or enslaved, married or single, circumcised or uncircumcised. It was their relationship with God that set them apart, not their particular circumstances.

Now, Paul turns his attention to the singles within the church. The Greek word he uses is παρθένος (parthenos), and it can refer to a virgin, a marriageable woman, a single man who has remained sexually pure, or an unmarried daughter. In this context, it would seem that the term, as Paul uses it, “refers to young, engaged women who were under the influence of various groups within the Corinthian church, not to go through with their marriages. The central issue would then be whether the young men and women should continue with their plans and finalize their marriages” (NET Bible Study Notes).

In Paul’s day, fathers were the ones who determined who their illegible daughters would marry, so he is addressing them with these comments. But he most likely has single men in mind as well. The issue remains the same. The Corinthians have a misunderstanding regarding the spiritual and physical dimensions of life. They had been heavily influenced by the philosophy of dualism, and there were those within the church who were advocating abstinence from marriage altogether. Why? Because they viewed sexual activity as evil and unspiritual, because it involved the body. Dualism taught that anything done in the body was either evil and to be avoided or didn’t matter at all. This latter view could lead to license, where anything was permissible because the body was non-essential. It could result in asceticism, a rigorous form of self-denial.

To address this issue and to deal with the singles in the church, Paul repeats that it would be best to remain as they are. If they were single, they should remain so. And he gives a more detailed explanation of his answer this time.

Because of the present crisis, I think it is best to remain as you are.– 1 Corinthians 7:26 NLT

It is unclear what Paul means by “the present crisis”, but it would appear from the context that he is talking about the end times. He also says, “the appointed time has grown very short” (1 Corinthians 7:29 ESV). Paul held a strong belief that the end of the age was near, and it strongly impacted his approach to life. He told the Corinthians, “the present form of this world is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:31 ESV)because he strongly believed that the return of Christ was near and that each believer should live with a sense of anticipation and eager expectation that He could appear at any moment. With that in mind, Paul encourages the singles within the church to remain as they are. But he also makes it clear that they are perfectly free to marry should they choose to do so.

But if you do get married, it is not a sin. And if a young woman gets married, it is not a sin. – 1 Corinthians 7:28a NLT

He plainly refutes the false view of the ascetics and dualists. But he also makes it clear that he believes the days ahead will be difficult for everyone.

…those who get married at this time will have troubles, and I am trying to spare you those problems. – 1 Corinthians 7:28b NLT

Paul knew from first-hand experience that life as a believer was difficult. Persecution was an everyday reality for Christians in that day. Rejection and ridicule were to be expected. Even Jesus warned His disciples, “The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you” (John 15:19 NLT). He went on to warn them, “Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you” (John 15:20 NLT).

The bottom line for Paul was that every believer needed to focus on living for Christ. They needed to have a single-minded devotion to their faith, living with their hopes and passions fixed on the future, not the present. He even provides some curious and seemingly confusing advice.

…let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. – 1 Corinthians 7:29-21 ESV

He is not advising married individuals to act as if they aren’t married, and he is not advocating the neglect of your spouse. He is simply saying that marriage cannot be your sole focus in life. As believing couples, they were to make it their mutual goal to live for Christ and to make an impact for the kingdom through their marriage. Those who found themselves experiencing difficulty were not to spend all their time mourning over their problems, but they were to replace their temporal concerns with an eternal focus. Those with money were not to live as if material things were the most important thing in life. Those who enjoyed all the things this world has to offer, such as power, possessions, and pleasure, should hold them with open hands, because this world is passing away.

Debates about marriage and singleness, abstinence and avoidance, spirituality and worldliness, were all a waste of time if believers do not remember who they are in Christ. The distractions and difficulties that come with living in a fallen world can cause us to forget why we are here. Paul’s life was gospel-driven; he saw himself as a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, not of this earth. He lived with the end in view, and he longed for the Corinthians to have the same mindset and embrace his outlook on life

I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. – Philippians 3:13-14 NLT

Father, Paul can sometimes come across as harsh and a bit of a spoilssport. Yet, he had a healthy view of reality. He knew that salvation came with high expectations and the high probabiliity of tribulation. The Corinthian believers were already suffering for their faith and wrestling with how to balance their devotion to God with the everyday pressures of life. Paul was simply focusing their attention on what really mattered: that their lives would bring glory to God. I want that same thing for my life. I don’t want to get distracted by the cares of this world. I want to be a good husband, father, grandfather, pastor, employee, neighbor, friend, and citizen of my community. But more than anything else, I want my life to glorify You and I want to live with the end in mind. Amen

A Change for the Better

January 16, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁷Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. ¹⁸Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. ¹⁹For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. ²⁰Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. ²¹Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) ²²For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. ²³You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. ²⁴So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. – 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 ESV

Three times in this passage, Paul tells the Corinthians to remain as they were when God called them. He is really addressing the issue of contentment, of remaining in the circumstances of life in which they found themselves when they first came to faith in Christ. The change that God is looking for in the lives of His followers is an internal one. Divorcing your spouse because they are an unbeliever will not make you more spiritual. For a believing slave to somehow get out from under his master’s rule would not make him any freer than he already is in Christ.

God is interested in heart change. But as human beings, we tend to focus on external changes that have little or no impact on our spiritual development. We think a change of circumstances is the answer to all of life’s problems. If our marriage is less-than-satisfactory, divorce seems to be the best option for us. If our job is not as fulfilling as we would like, a change in employment must be the answer. This mindset was especially true for the believers in Corinth who seemed to believe that their new faith in Christ was a license to start all over.

Social status was an important concept within the Greek community. It would have been easy for a recently saved slave to immediately assume that his salvation gave him the right to experience freedom just like all the other believers in the church. But Paul wanted them to understand that their “calling” had nothing to do with their career choice, social standing, marital status, financial outlook, or any other circumstantial condition. God’s call on their life was to live in obedience and submission to Him, regardless of what their external circumstances might be. If God called them while they were a slave, He had a perfectly good reason for doing so. His Son did not die to set them free from physical slavery, but from bondage to sin. If they were married when they came to Christ, they should remain so, regardless of whether their spouse shared their faith in Christ.

Jesus did not sacrifice His life so that they might experience freedom from the demands of marriage, but so that they might love their spouse sacrificially and selflessly. Their calling was to Christ-likeness, a radical change in their heart that would have a dramatic impact on their behavior. Paul told the church in Ephesus, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV).

He prayed for the Colossian believers that they would “be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9-10 ESV).

The Corinthians were convinced that a change in circumstances was the key to contentment. But Paul wanted them to understand that God called them where they were so they He might change who they are. His Son died so that they might be new creations and experience a new nature, not get a new lease on life through a change in circumstances. After coming to faith in Christ, the Philippian jailer most likely remained a jailer. After accepting Christ as his Savior, the Ethiopian eunech was no less a eunech than he was before. Zacchaeus didn’t give up being a tax collector after having met Jesus; he simply became an honest one.

The most important line in this passage is the first one:

Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. – 1 Corinthians 7:17 ESV

This has nothing to do with our career path. Paul isn’t talking about job titles or employment opportunities. God has a unique calling on each of our lives as believers. He has redeemed us for a reason, and rather than worrying so much about what we do for a living, we would do well to think about what God has for us to do on behalf of His Kingdom. Our jobs are simply opportunities to live out our faith in daily life. Our marriages are to be less about self-satisfaction than they are about self-sacrifice and the contexts within which we can model our Christ-likeness in tangible ways.

A new job may make you happy, but it won’t make you a better Christian. The idea of a new marriage partner may sound appealing, but God would rather make you a godly husband or wife and teach you to selflessly and sacrificially love your current spouse just as He has loved you.

Father, we are always looking for external changes as the key to our contentment or happiness. But Jesus didn’t die so we could have our best life now. He didn’t sacrifice Himself so that we could escape an unhappy marriage or walk away from an unfulfilling career. His death on our behalf was intended to pay the debt for our sins and restore us to a right relationship with You. The circumstances of life are to be the backdrop upon which the transformed nature of our lives are to be displayed for all the world to see. May we learn to embrace the outlook that Paul had. “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11-13 NLT). Amen

Run, Don’t Walk

January 12, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁸Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. ¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. – 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 ESV

The Corinthians were not taking their union with Christ seriously. Due to their dualistic approach to life, they seemed to believe that what they did with their bodies really didn’t matter. This led them to look on any sins they committed with their bodies as somehow separated from their spiritual lives. One can see the logic behind their thinking from the popular phrase they used.,

“All things are lawful for me.” – 1 Corinthians 6:12 ESV

This was a common expression among the Corinthians that was used to excuse their behavior. It had led them to commit all kinds of sin with impunity, including sexual sin. The very fact that they had refused to deal with the man in their church who was having sexual relations with his stepmother shows how skewed their thinking had become. But Paul is out to confront and correct their improper views of the body and its relationship with sin.

Paul commands them to “flee from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18a ESV). He uses the Greek word, φεύγω (pheugō), which means “seek safety by flight or to escape safely out of danger” (“G5343 – pheugō – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible). It is the same word he used when writing to Timothy.

But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from (pheugō) all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. – 1 Timothy 6:11 NLT

Paul had warned Timothy about those who have “an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions.These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy” (1 Timothy 6:4-5 NLT).

Paul told Timothy to flee from these things and, instead, to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness. The word Paul used means “to run swiftly in order to catch a person or thing, to run after” (“G1377 – diōkō – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible). It is not enough to simply run from something, but we must also run to something else. However, if the Corinthians did not see sexual sin as wrong and dangerous to their spiritual well-being, they would continue in it. That was unacceptable to Paul.

So he attempts to paint a vivid picture of the dangers of sexual sin by emphasizing that every other sin a person commits is “outside the body,” while sexual immorality is a sin “against” the body. The word he uses is a Greek preposition that is most often translated “into.” When committing sexual sin, a physical union takes place that sets this particular sin apart. All sin requires the use of my body. To lie or slander, the tongue is necessary. Stealing requires the use of the hands and feet. To murder another human being requires the mind to plan the deed and the body to carry it out. And while these sins are no less serious than sexual immorality, Paul’s point is that there is a difference. Sexual immorality is a blatant sin against the body, and that body, Paul stresses, “is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God” (1 Corinthians 6:19b NLT).

As followers of Christ, we enjoy a mystical, but real union with Him. His Spirit lives within us, and we take Him with us wherever we go. Paul told the Colossians, “Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory” (Colossians 1:27 NLT). So, when someone commits sexual sin with his or her body, they are dragging Christ into that experience. Paul asks the Corinthians, “Don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her?” (1 Corinthians 6:16a NLT). There is an intimacy and interconnection established, and this led Paul to ask, “Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute?” (1 Corinthians 6:15 NLT). And just to clear up any possible confusion, Paul provides the correct answer: “Never!”

For Paul, union with Christ was an essential doctrine that needed to be understood and incorporated into every aspect of a believer’s daily life. John Murray wrote that “union with Christ is . . . the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation. . . . It is not simply a phase of the application of redemption; it underlies every aspect of redemption” (Redemption – Accomplished and Applied, Eerdmans, 1955, pp. 201, 205).

We are one with Christ. We share His identity. We are progressively being transformed into His likeness. We not only share in His death and resurrection, and all that those things imply, but we also share in His righteousness. We have the capacity to live like Christ in this lifetime. The very same power that raised Him from the dead lives within us and is available to us. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Ephesians 1:3-4 ESV).

He went on to emphasize their oneness with Christ.

In him we have redemption through his blood – vs 7

In him we have obtained an inheritance – vs 11

In him you also … were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit – vs 13

We are in Christ. We are one with Christ. Sexual sin uses the body that belongs to Christ and re-purposes it for immorality. It takes what God has bought with the precious blood of His Son, our body, and uses it for ungodly purposes. In so doing, we degrade and desecrate the very temple of God. Which is why Paul ends this section with a call to “honor God with your body.” Why? Because “You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT).

We belong to God – body and soul. Our bodies are no longer ours to do with as we want. Each believer’s body is the temple of God’s Spirit and is to be used to bring God glory and honor. Paul reminds us, “Give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind he will find acceptable” (Romans 12:1 NLT).

All of this is in keeping with the prayer Jesus prayed in the garden on the night He was betrayed. As He prepared for his pending death, Jesus took the time to pray “for all who will ever believe in me through their message” (John 17:20 NLT). That includes us.

“I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.” – John 17:21-23 NLT

The reality of our unity with Christ should motivate us to pursue righteousness in all that we do. We are His body and serve as the temple of the Holy Spirit. As individuals, we contain the indwelling presence and power of God. As a community of believers, we serve as His temple on earth and display His glory to the world around us.

Father, we live in a world that is obsessed with sexual sin. It is everywhere and the enemy is constantly tempting us to not only participate in it but to accept it as normal and natural. Our children are being exposed to its allure and lies at increasingly earlier ages. The gift You created has been turned into a cheap substitute for love and offers a self-obsessed pursuit of personal pleasure at all costs. It is destructive and antithetical to the selfless and sacrificial life we have been called to live. Open our eyes to the danger of sexual sin and give us the strength to pursue righteousness at all costs — for our own good and Your glory. Amen

Set Apart But Not To Stand Alone

December 25, 2025December 25, 2025 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

²To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

³Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— ⁶even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— ⁷so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. – 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 ESV

Paul begins this letter in his usual manner. The first thing he does is introduce himself, which was a common letter-writing style in Paul’s day. It was not because the recipients of the letter did not know him, because he had actually lived among them for 18 months (Acts 18:11) after he had helped found the church in Corinth on his second missionary journey. Paul’s point in re-introducing himself was to establish his calling as an apostle of God. This will become an important factor as his letter unfolds. This letter was likely written from Ephesus, where Paul spent three years on his third missionary journey.

Paul was cordial, even complimentary, in his greeting to the believers in Corinth. But there was a subtle, underlying purpose behind his words. He referred to them as “the church of God in Corinth.” This, too, will prove to have a purpose behind it. Paul wanted them to understand that they belonged to God and no one else. He was preparing to deal with a problem of division that had made its way into the church there. He refers to them as being “sanctified in Christ Jesus” and as “saints.” He uses two words, ἁγιάζω (hagiazō) and ἅγιος (hagios), to describe the believers in Corinth. At salvation, they had been set apart as God and dedicated for His purposes, so they belonged to Him. This also made them saints, or set-apart ones (“G37 – hagiazō, G40 – hagios – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible). They no longer belonged to themselves or to this world. And yet, as Paul eventually points out in this letter, they were not living up to their calling as saints. Their actions did not reflect their set-apartness.

Paul’s emphasis in the opening of his letter is on God. He even thanks God for all He has done to bring the Corinthians to faith. It had been God who extended grace to them by allowing them to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. The “testimony about Christ was confirmed” among them (1 Corinthians 1:6 ESV) as they came to faith in Christ and their lives were radically transformed. The believers in Corinth had received the gift of the Holy Spirit and the spiritual gifts He provides. In fact, Paul states that they were “not lacking in any gift” (1 Corinthians 1:7 ESV). God had been good to them; He had called them, and He would be faithful to continue His work among them, and would sustain them to the end. The problem, Paul seems to be saying, was not with God, but with them. It was the Corinthians who were proving to be unfaithful. They had lost sight of their unique standing as God’s holy, set-apart people. His calling on their lives had taken a back seat to their own selfish agendas and worldly outlooks on life. They were missing the point.

Paul was preparing to deal harshly with his readers and was setting them up so that he might call them out. He would tolerate their behavior. The honor of God and the integrity of the gospel were at stake. Their behavior was not in keeping with their status as God’s chosen people. Rather than living as set apart and distinctly different from the world around them, they were allowing themselves to blend in and take on the ungodly characteristics of the society in which they lived. Their professed beliefs and their behavior were inconsistent and contradictory. There was a disconnect between their faith and daily practice. Their spiritual talk and their daily walk were in conflict. So Paul started his letter by reminding them of who they were and to whom they belonged. Later in this same letter, he writes, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV).

Paul was about to call out the called-out ones. He was going to sit down the set-apart ones and give them a piece of his mind – in love. He would not tolerate their actions or excuse their sinful attitudes. God had sacrificed His Son on their behalf, paying a high price for their salvation. So, Paul was not willing to sit back and watch them waste God’s grace or bring shame to His name. Their profession of faith needed to show up in their walk and talk. Their conduct needed to match their confession. Their status as sons and daughters of God was to be reflected in their actions and attitudes.

One of the mistakes we make when reading the letters of Paul is to take every personal pronoun and make it personal. So every time we read the word “you,” we believe he is talking to us as individuals. But in most cases, Paul uses a plural personal pronoun. That’s because most of his letters were written to churches, not individuals. In this case, he was writing to the believers in Corinth – all those individuals who made up the corporate body of Christ in that city. So his words are to be taken in a corporate context. But because of our intense individualism as Western Christians, we attempt to make it all about us as individuals. We read these verses and fail to see the community focus of Paul’s words. The New Living Translation renders verse 5 in this way: “God has enriched your church in every way…”

In this letter, Paul is addressing the issue of spiritual gifts. He wants the Corinthian believers to know that they have been given spiritual gifts as individual believers, but those gifts are intended and designed for use within the body of Christ. The gifts of the Spirit were meant to enhance life within the community. My spiritual gift is not for me, but for the benefit of others with whom I live as part of the body of Christ.

In verse 7, Paul makes it clear that he is talking about spiritual gifts when he writes, “Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The body of Christ in Corinth had been blessed by God with a full assortment of spiritual gifts designed to enhance and encourage their spiritual growth and vitality as a community. Even when Paul writes, “He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns” (1 Corinthians 1:8 NLT), he has a community focus in mind.

Through the proper use of their spiritual gifts, God would keep the church in Corinth strong until the Lord returned. Paul knew that their spiritual well-being and health depended on the proper use of their individual gifts. But there were abuses of the spiritual gifts going on in Corinth, and Paul was going to address this vital issue. From the outset, he wants them to understand that the gifts were God-given and designed to be life-giving to the community. A healthy body is one in which all the members are performing their intended tasks faithfully and with the overall well-being of the body in mind. There is no place for selfishness or self-centeredness within the body of Christ.

Father, how easy it is to make it all about me. We are wired to think about ourselves and to neglect the needs of others. Our instincts of self-preservation and survival have allowed us to misunderstand the spiritual life. We make it an individual pursuit and fail to recognize that You intended it to be a corporate experience – a team sport. As we read through the letter to the Corinthians, remind us again of the power of the gifts used in the context of community as You designed them to be used. Amen.

Overwhelmed, But Never Overlooked

April 26, 2025 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Of David.

¹Hear my cry, O God,
    listen to my prayer;
²from the end of the earth I call to you
    when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
    that is higher than I,
³for you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the enemy.

⁴Let me dwell in your tent forever!
Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah
⁵For you, O God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

⁶Prolong the life of the king;
may his years endure to all generations!
⁷May he be enthroned forever before God;
appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!

⁸So will I ever sing praises to your name,
as I perform my vows day after day. – Psalm 61:1-8 ESV

No context is given for when this psalm was written, but its content clearly indicates that David was under tremendous pressure and feeling completely overwhelmed by his circumstances. He opens with a pleading request for God to hear his prayer. He states that his heart is faint. The Hebrew word he used to describe the condition of his heart is ʿāṭap̄ and means, “to be wrapped in darkness, to languish, to faint.”

He was experiencing a dark moment of the soul, a time when all looked hopeless, and he felt helpless. But what did he do at that moment? Did he give up? No, he looked up. He called out to God.

O God, listen to my cry!
Hear my prayer! – Psalm 60:1 NLT

In the darkness of his situation, he turned to the One who could shed light on his condition. He longed for safety and security, a place where his enemies couldn’t reach him and where he could enjoy peace from all the turmoil. David knew that his only hope was to be found in God.

I cry to you for help
    when my heart is overwhelmed.
Lead me to the towering rock of safety,
   for you are my safe refuge,
    a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. – Psalm 61:2-3 NLT

Remember, this man was a highly successful warrior and a mighty king who was not afraid to strap on the sword and fight his way out of difficult circumstances. But in this case, he knew that God was his only hope. David appeals to God’s unfailing love and faithfulness as he has done in so many other Psalms. He asks God to extend his life and prolong his kingdom, so that he can continue to praise and serve Him.

David wants more than a long life; he wants to enjoy all that life has to offer. He wants to continue his life of service to God, keeping his vows and praising Him for all that He has done.

Add many years to the life of the king!
    May his years span the generations!
May he reign under God’s protection forever.
    May your unfailing love and faithfulness watch over him.
Then I will sing praises to your name forever
    as I fulfill my vows each day. – Psalm 61:6-8 NLT

Trials tend to turn the prayerless into prayer warriors. When faced with difficulties and seemingly insurmountable odds, even the most complacent and non-communicative Christian will become a virtual chatterbox, begging God to rescue them from their predicament. But the truth is, we often beg God to save us for purely selfish reasons. We may make pious-sounding promises to pay Him back with acts of service or a behavior change, but those vows usually go unfulfilled. Once the trial has passed and the heat of the moment has subsided, we quickly revert to our old ways.

Far too often, our prayers for God’s assistance are based on a selfish desire to continue living lives focused on our own desires rather than His. We long for God to rescue us from our difficult circumstances, not so that we might serve Him more, but so that we might enjoy life on our own terms.

David’s circumstances seemed to have prevented him from worshiping in the Tabernacle, which means he was unable to offer sacrifices to God. He was isolated from the presence of God’s glory that dwelt in the inner recesses of the Tabernacle, and he longed to return home and worship. He wanted to see his life preserved, so that He might praise God more.

Let me live forever in your sanctuary,
safe beneath the shelter of your wings! – Psalm 61:4 NLT

David expressed his deep desire to dwell in the presence of God. For him, the Tabernacle was the dwelling place of Yahweh, and the Holy of Holies was where His shekinah glory rested above the mercy seat on top of the ark of the covenant. That was the place of safety and security David sought. It was in God’s presence that he could find hope, help, and a sense of overwhelming protection from his enemies. he expressed this same sentiment in Psalm 27.

Though a mighty army surrounds me,
my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked,
I will remain confident.

The one thing I ask of the Lord—
    the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
    delighting in the Lord’s perfections
    and meditating in his Temple.
For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
    he will hide me in his sanctuary.
    He will place me out of reach on a high rock. – Psalm 27:3-5 NLT

Yet, David also understood that God was not limited to a single location or bound by time and space. He was the omnipresent King of the universe, whose accessibility was unhindered by human circumstances. David expressed his belief in God’s all-seeing, all-knowing, and always available presence in Psalm 139.

I can never escape from your Spirit!
    I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
    if I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
    if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me,
    and your strength will support me.
I could ask the darkness to hide me
    and the light around me to become night—
    but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
    Darkness and light are the same to you. – Psalm 139:7-12 NLT

But for David, the sanctuary was a place of peace, hope, and security, where he could offer acceptable sacrifices to God as expressions of gratitude and love. In the Tabernacle, David could worship safely and enjoy an overwhelming sense of God’s presence. Whatever prevented David from accessing the Tabernacle motivated his request for God’s intervention. He wasn’t asking for an easy, trouble-free life; he longed to return to the place of worship and give God the glory He deserved.

What is your motivation for calling on God? Why do you want Him to save you? Is it so that you might see His power on display and worship Him? Or is your request more self-centered and selfish? Could your rescue request be so that you might return to enjoying life and escaping the inconvenient circumstances in which you find yourself? David’s focus was on God. Yes, he wanted God to rescue and preserve him, but only so that he might spend his life serving and praising Him.

Father, how often I beg You to save me when my only motivation is to get back to life as usual. My focus is not on You, but me. I simply want to enjoy life, not Your presence. Give me a new perspective. Give me a heart like David’s that desires long life so that I might have more time to serve and praise You. Amen

Do Unto Others

January 25, 2025January 25, 2025 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

⁷“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

¹²“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 7:7-12 ESV

Verse 12 contains what has come to be known as “The Golden Rule.” It is most commonly recited as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” This moral principle is sometimes referred to as the ethics of reciprocity. But Jesus’ original statement is contained within the context of His Sermon on the Mount and is addressed to a large gathering of Jews who have been attracted to His messages and miracles. So, it is essential to keep verse 12 within the context of Jesus’s message. It is not intended to be an isolated principle or a moral maxim for regulating behavior. This “rule” is intended to describe the lifestyle of the true disciple of Jesus.

Sitting in the crowd that day were His 12 disciples, the men who would spend three years sitting under His tutelage and absorbing all He had to say. The sermon He preached on the hillside was intended primarily for them. It was a primer on all that was to come due to His earthly ministry, eventual death, and resurrection. They believed Jesus to be the long-awaited Messiah and expected Him to set up His earthly Kingdom. They did not yet understand that He had not come to rule and reign but to suffer and die. And His death would pave the way for them to carry out every aspect of His sermon and fulfill every command it contained.

In His message, Jesus addressed all those who desired to be blessed or approved by God, which would have included every person in His audience. He wanted His predominantly Jewish audience to understand that their relationship with God was based on something other than their adherence to the Mosaic Law. Jesus was not discounting the law but simply exposing its inability to make anyone truly righteous in God’s eyes.

Yet, Jesus told His eager listeners, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7 NLT). To them, this must have sounded like a list of obligations or duties they must perform. But Jesus described an intimate relationship with God the Father that provides His children with constant access to His presence. With three simple words: ask, seek, and knock, He was letting them know that all who are approved by God will enjoy a special relationship with Him that will be far greater than any earthly relationship they have known.

Some try to interpret these verses as evangelistic, turning them into an invitation to salvation. But if kept in their context, it is clear that these verses are not inviting anyone into a saving relationship with Jesus. Instead, they encourage those already approved by God because of their faith in Christ to take advantage of their newfound relationship with Him.

“For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” – Matthew 7:9 NLT

We can ask of God and receive from Him, seek Him and find Him, and knock, and He will open the door to us. Gone are the days of trying to gain access to God’s presence through vain attempts to keep the law. There is no longer any need to try to win God’s approval and get His attention through human effort or achievement.

These verses tie directly back to the opening lines of Jesus’ sermon. Those who are approved by God, even the poor in spirit, will be citizens of God’s kingdom. Though they will experience days of mourning in this life, they will receive comfort from God. And their willing submission to the will of God for their lives will garner them the earth as their inheritance. When they hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God, they will be completely satisfied. When they choose to show mercy to others, they will continue to receive mercy from God. And their purity of heart will allow them to see God in their lives. When they seek to be at peace with men and introduce them to the means to have peace with God, they will be recognized as the sons of God. And finally, any persecution they face in this life because of their faith will be well worth it, because they have been guaranteed a place in God’s kingdom.

All of this helps to provide context for Jesus’ recitation of “The Golden Rule.” He wasn’t giving behavioral advice or a principle for improving human relationships. Verse 12 is essentially a summation of all that Jesus has said, and acts as a bookend to verse 17 of chapter five:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

These two verses comprise what is known as an inclusio, bracketing all that is contained between them and forming a single unit of thought. The over-arching theme has been Jesus’ treatment of the Law and the Prophets or the Old Testament revelation. Here, in verse 12, Jesus brings His thoughts to a conclusion, summarizing all that He has said in one succinct and simple statement: So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them. This is the law of love, and it supersedes and fully expresses all that was written in the law. Paul summarizes it well:

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. – Romans 13:8-10 ESV

He simplified it, even more, when he wrote to the believers in Galatia:

For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Galatians 5:14 NLT

And not long before Jesus went to the cross, He told His disciples “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:34-35 NLT).

In our sinful, self-centered state, it would be easy to draw a faulty conclusion from His words that allows us to focus on what we want from others. In other words, if we want our back scratched, we will reluctantly scratch someone else’s back, expecting them to do the same to us in return. Our seemingly gracious actions would be selfishly motivated. The Book of James contains a powerful warning against this interpretation of verse 12.

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. – James 2:8-10

James specifically mentions one law in particular: The royal law. Then, to ensure they understood what he meant, he quoted the law for them.

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself…” – James 2:8 ESV

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus affirmed this “royal law” when He stated, “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12 NLT). Jesus was not recommending the practice of preferential treatment to get a preferred response. He was promoting the practice of equity and selfless love. We are not to love based on what we get out of it. Christlike love is not a form of quid pro quo where our love becomes reciprocal in nature. It is not a you-scratch-my-back-and-I’ll-scratch-your-back kind of equation. Yet the practice of partiality is almost always selfish and self-centered.

But that is not the kind of love Jesus is talking about. He refers to a selfless kind of love that expects and demands nothing in return. It is focused on giving, not getting. The apostle Paul warned against turning the law of love into a self-centered mechanism to get what you want.

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. – Philippians 2:1-4 ESV

No one enjoys being hated, so why would we choose to hate others? There is no joy in being taken advantage of, so why would we treat someone else that way? If the idea of someone having an affair with your spouse offends you, it should also prevent you from ever considering doing the same thing to someone else. Jesus’ statement is intended to be other-focused, not self-centered. He was telling the Jews in His audience that the law was essentially about loving God and loving others, not themselves. Those who end up as citizens of His Kingdom will love as He loves. They will do as Jesus did, which Paul sums up in his letter to the Philippians:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. – Philippians 2:5-8 ESV

Jesus knew that the life of love and self-sacrifice to which He called His audience would not be easy. He was fully aware that His words were difficult to hear and that what He had been commanding them to do was impossible to pull off. The crowds who followed Jesus to the hillside in Galilee had been attracted by His miracles. They were enamored by His ability to heal the sick and cast out demons. There was something attractive about this man who could do the impossible. But now, they were hearing that He expected the impossible of them.

If they wanted to be part of God’s Kingdom, they would have to live radically different lives. Their status as descendants of Abraham was not going to be enough. Their adherence to man-made laws and religious rules could not win them favor with God. But faith in Jesus as their Saviour would radically alter their behavior and restore their relationship with God. It would allow them to ”do unto others” with a selflessness that mirrors that of Jesus. Jesus was not calling His disciples to practice partiality or to live with a what’s-in-it-for-me mentality. He was commanding them to love as they had been loved. The Golden Rule is nothing more than a summation of the law. Jesus put it this way: “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34 ESV).

Love is the ultimate expression of all the Law of Moses. To not commit adultery requires love for the other person and their spouse. It is difficult, if not impossible, to murder another person if you love them as Christ loved you. To steal something that belongs to someone else reveals a hatred and disdain for that person, but we are called to love them. Love sacrifices and gives rather than takes. Love protects and defends rather than hurts. Love is the driving force behind all of the law. Paul reminds us that all of the laws are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does NO wrong to others. So one who loves as God intended, fulfills the law of God.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Devotionary

The Bible Made Accessible and Applicable

selfishness