Compelled By Love - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

"For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.

There are two ways to live a holy life, two versions of sanctification.These verses describe the right way our sanctification should be manifested or lived out in our lives.

In one version, we try to find favor with God by being good. In the other version, we are good because we have received God's favor, His mercy, His love!

Yet, there is an important yet subtle distinction between these two versions of sanctification.

Evil Intentions - 2 Corinthians 2:11

"I have done this so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes."
 
Prior to this verse the Apostle Paul had just admonished the Corinthians to forgive the person among them who had sinned and caused them pain (vs. 5).

Paul may have been referring to the man who was in a relationship with his father's wife in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 or an incident involving the the false apostles in 2 Corinthians 11:1-5.

In either case Paul explains that the discipline administered to the offender by the Corinthian church was punishment for his sin, but was also meant for restoration. They should "forgive and comfort" (vs. 7) and "reaffirm your love" (vs. 8) to the offender.

What Are You Doing With Your Immortality? - I Corinthians 15

"What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow--you are not sowing the future body, but only a seed, perhaps of wheat or another grain. But God gives it a body as He wants, and to each of the seeds its own body...For this corruptible must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal must be clothed with immortality...Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord's work, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (vs. 37,53-54,58).

Some in the Corinthian church were apparently denying the resurrection from the dead. The Apostle Paul argued that all they believe is in vain if there is no resurrection from the dead: "If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone" (vs. 19).

The Love Test, 2nd Edition - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

(The following meditation is a re-posting of one of the more popular posts on this website, The Love Test. As I read I Corinthians 13 again this year, I think the original meditation warrants publishing again. However, I have posted it with some revisions based on the language used in the HCSB and as it specifically relates to the discussion of spiritual gifts presented in Chapters 12 and 14.)

I Corinthians 13 is known as the "Love Chapter" in which the Apostle Paul describes how love should be the primary influence or motivating factor for serving in the Church. It is embedded between Chapters 12 and 14 where Paul explained the different spiritual gifts God has given to the Church in order to unify and strengthen it.

Paul says that spiritual gifts are good for building and strengthening the Church, but love is a better way. Spiritual gifts will end some day but love and what one does from love are eternal, lasting forever (vs. 9).

What if Paul's description of love were made into an eligibility test for ministry to determine if our faith and our desire to serve God, the Church, and one another is motivated by love? Would you be qualified? Should you get the job?

It's a Wonderful Life - Judges 13:18-19

"'Why do you ask My name,' the Angel of the Lord asked him, 'since it is wonderful' ... and he did a wonderful thing while Manoah and his wife were watching."

Manoah and his wife were unable to conceive and had no children. But Manoah and his wife (we're never told her name) eventually became the parents of Samson through God's intervention into their lives.

One day the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said she would give birth to a son who would save Israel from the Philistines.

The woman told Manoah and he prayed for God to send His angel again to instruct them in what they should do for the boy who would be born to them.

A second time the angel appeared to Manoah's wife but this time she ran and got Manoah and they both had an encounter with this messenger from God.

Fallen - Judges 7:2

"The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many people for Me to hand the Midianites over to you, or else Israel might brag: ‘I did it myself.’"

Having proven to Gideon that He was present with him, God next demonstrated that His presence was all Gideon really needed to defeat the Midianites.

But, if an Israelite army of 32,000 won against the innumerable hordes of the Midianites, Israel might take credit for the victory.

To show that the victory was entirely His doing, God had Gideon reduce the size of his army dramatically to only 300 men!

God's Rule = God's Rules - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

"Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body."

In Chapters 5 and 6 of 1 Corinthians the Apostle Paul discusses specific immoralities that had been reported to him. The misconduct of the Corinthian church that Paul addresses in these chapters are sexual immorality and lawsuits against one another.

Paul concludes his verbal assault on the moral failures of the Corinthian church by emphasizing that not only should they have the mind of Christ (vs. 2:16), but they also must glorify God in their bodies because it is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit.