Craig

In I Corinthians 13:13 writes that faith, hope, and love will last forever but love is the greatest of all. Faith, hope, and love are main moral principles center to and characteristic of Christianity. These graces of the Holy Spirit are superior to the gifts of the Spirit and they are more lasting. The fruit of the Spirit is more important to than the gifts of the Spirit. Love is the greatest of the graces because it is most useful and a greater blessing to others. It is not self-centered but others centered. A central theme in the Bible. Humility is a rare thing to find even in the church among Christians. Everyone wants to rule the universe but few want to walk humility with God. The fruit of the Spirit is eternal and more excellent.

1 Corinthians 13:8-10: Having described the qualities that characterize those who exercise their gift in love earlier in Chapter 13, Paul now takes up the permanence of love in verses 8-10. He contrasts the permanence of love with the temporary character of spiritual gifts. Love never fails. Throughout eternity, love will go on in the sense that we will still love the Lord and love one another. These gifts on the other hand, are of temporary duration. They were provided to believers for the earthly purpose of building up the church and presenting the gospel to the world throughout the ages. I believe that verse 8 says it all. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages or tongues and special knowledge will become useless, but love lasts forever. Love will never cease. The prophecies which have existed from the time of Penecost until this present time will be ended when God's people are at home in heaven. When Jesus Christ returns all things will be made perfect. While there is the gift of knowledge now, this will no longer be needed when we reach the final consummation in glory. When Paul says knowledge will vanish away, he cannot mean that there will be no knowledge in heaven. He must be referring to the gift of knowledge whereby divine truth was supernaturally imparted. All truth is from God and supernaturally imparted. See John 17:17. We have the completed cannon but all things are not perfect. Only when Jesus returns at the end of this age will all things will be made perfect. I believe that God decides how he is going to interface with humanity choosing his methods as situations warrant it. The completed cannon is there for our daily guidance and insight into God's mind and purpose on this planet with this race of creation. The church is full of people with a knowledge of the completed cannon but their lives are not Holy Spirit-filled. They don't manifest the fruits of the Spirit in their lives. Without the Holy Spirit in one's life the completed cannon just sits there. Nothing in this world is complete or perfect.

1 Corinthians 13:4-6: Irritability is the aspect of agape love that I struggle with the most. I pray when I am irritable that I don't be unkind and mean spirited to those who are causing the irritation. I am aware of it and I am working on downplaying it in my life through the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3: Paul writes in these verses that without love nothing whatsoever we do amounts to anything. Like Paul, without love we are nothing and have gained nothing. When virtue is displayed to attract attention to self then it has no value. One of the Biblical imperatives is that we love others and do unto others as we want them to do to us. Spiritual gifts cannot be exercised in selfishness. The fruits of the Spirit Paul describes in Galatians 5:22-26 makes a person more spiritual not spiritual gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:27: God gave believers gifts to administer and carry out the mission of the church. That being to systematically spread the gospel throughout the world and built and grow churches and the Christian community throughout the world. Thus, God though the Holy Spirit has given believers spiritual gifts in addition to their talents to carry this mission out. When church members recognize and utilize their gifts churches will be dynamic, loving, and a true joy to be a part of. However, when only a portion of the church is willing to run with their gifts that church will be ineffective for the Kingdom of God and will often be divided.

Jesus modeled the way for his followers to live and minister to those around them. The Holy Spirit is the force and means for the Christian to do as Jesus Christ did. Jesus said in John 14 that his disciples would be able to greater things than he did. Jesus modeled what it means to be a complete human-being which includes the ability to minister to those around us in extraordinary ways. The same Spirit who descended upon Jesus at his baptism and raised him from the dead is the same Spirit that enters a Christian upon repenting from sin and asking Jesus Christ to enter their lives as personal savior and redeemer. The Holy spirit enables Christians to do extraordinary things. The lack of faith and belief limits the Christian. Jesus is our example.

The Holy Spirit has given me the core gifts of preaching, teaching, administration, and leadership. I have used my gifts in some of the following ways: as a Sunday school teacher to various age groups; Director of Mens' Ministry; Deacon; small group facilitator; outreach and prayer coordinator, and as a preacher/pastor in order to encourage and build up the churches I have been a member.

1 Corinthians 12:7: The purpose of spiritual gifts is to help others in the faith and to carry out our role in the service of God in building up the church and presenting the gospel to the world around us. When spiritual gifts are not carried out as intended by God it hurts the church and doesn't accomplish the will of God. In fact, misused spiritual gifts can be a bad witness within and outside the church. When an entire church uses their spiritual gifts as God intended that church will be on fire for Jesus Christ. It will be totally alive and people will be drawn to it. It will be a strong and loving church -- a true heavenly family with Jesus as head. The body of that church will be spiritually alive and growing. That church will be able to do anything in Christ. It will bring people to Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:28: Self-examination is appropriate before and during communion. Examination of the motives and state of the heart is a must to honor Christ and fuel spiritual development. This examination should include our relationship with God The Father and others. The confession of sin against God and others. Communion should be taken with a pure heart and motives. This comes with reflection or evaluation of self, confession of sin against God and others, and preparation to honor Jesus Christ in participating in communion. A Christian doesn't grow spiritually without reflection/evaluation, confession, and a commitment to an intentional movement in our character toward Christ-likeness.

1 Corinthians 11:26: The Lord's Supper proclaims and explains why Jesus died on the cross for the atonement of human sin to both believers and non-believers alike. The central message of the Church is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the redemption of the human race -- especially for those who believe in Jesus Christ. To shift this message from the death and resurrection and its purpose -- the gospel -- is to turn the message in something other than the gospel that Paul preached..

I Corinthians 11:25: The new covenant between God and his people was ratified or sealed in the sacrificial blood of Jesus on the cross. The old covenant is laid out in the Mosaic Covenant God gave Moses on Mount Sinai to establish a relationship between the Israel and himself. The new covenant between God and all humanity is that Jesus died on the cross and shed his blood for the forgiveness of human sin. Whoever repents of their sins in Christ and calls upon his name shall be saved. Read John 3. "For God so loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 (NLT).

1 Corinthians 11:23-25: It is important to remember Jesus' historical death on the cross or we will forget it. Human-beings have short memories. If we forget we disconnect from Jesus' death on the cross and lose sight of why Jesus was sacrificed on the cross. Every time we participate in communion we reconnect with Jesus' death on the cross in a fresh way. It helps keep us focused on Christ and the importance of his death on the cross - the universal atonement for human sin. Jesus said at the last supper when he initiated the new covenant that the bread represents his body broken for our sin. The wine represents his blood shed to wash away human sin. When we participate in communion we remember and participate in Jesus' death on the cross.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27: In this passage Paul is comparing his personal self-discipline in living a godly life to athletes preparing for competition in sporting events. It takes self-discipline and training in one's sport to be competitive. Likewise, Paul is preparing himself for the new kingdom coming as we all should be doing. Spiritual development and living a godly life requires training and self-discipline. As followers of Christ not everything is appropriate or good for us. Sin is never appropriate and it takes prayer and self-discipline to train ourselves to stay away from those sins we like.

1 Corinthians 9:15-22: In this passage Paul says that he becomes all things to all people in order to bring them to Jesus Christ. I think that Paul was authentic in doing so because his motive was for people to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Paul felt comfortable in identifying with Jews or gentiles. It wasn't a matter of playing a role, but a matter of knowing how to relate to these two different groups of people. I will give up what is required in any given situation or relationship I am presenting the gospel in or group I am ministering with.

1 Corinthians 9:15-18: According to this passage of scripture Paul doesn't have a choice in regard to preaching the gospel. God compels him to preach. Life for him would be terrible if he wasn't preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe reward comes with obedience to a calling. Whether a person is a salaried minister, pastor, etc. or volunteer it doesn't matter. Answering the call does matter. God calls men and women into different roles in the gospel ministry. Some full time vocationally, bi-vocationally, volunteer, etc. Reward is based on how ministry is carried out not whether or not it was a person's vocation. A worker is worthy of his wage here on earth. One has to pay bills, eat, raise a family, etc. So how does one define reward? That is up to God in relationship to each person. I think Christians should concern themselves with carrying out the mission, being joyful, and being a blessing and not being always being consumed with what they are going to get. I personally get tired of the "getism." Eternal life with God is a pretty grand, uncomprehensible gift in and of itself.

I Corinthians 9:13-14: In supporting the ministry Jesus ordered that those who benefited from preachers should help in supporting them. Thus enabling them to focus on the gospel ministry. A few scriptures that support this principle are: Matthew 10:9-10; Luke 10:7; Leviticus 27:30-32; and most of I Corinthians 9. There are many more. Church support of focused preachers and pastors is critical to the world-wide gospel ministry. Men and women of God who follow their calling and give their lives and vocations to Christ to spread and grow Christianity and the Christian community should be supported as directed by scripture and God will hold individual Christians as well the church accountable as in everything else.

Paul preached that the laborer is worthy of wages -- a Biblical principle. Enough though Paul deserved wages or support in turn for preaching/teaching the gospel among the Corinthians, he chose not to take help to make it easier on the new church. Paul didn't want anything to get in the way of the gospel ministry. Additionally, Paul had a source of income independent of the ministry as a tent maker. In not taking support from the Corinthians Paul was taking the focus off the material and placing strictly on the spiritual. Paul wanted the church to know that his motivation was not support but their spiritual growth and welfare in Jesus Christ. His motives were pure in Christ. Sometimes the material can get mixed up with the ministry and confuse and distort that ministry. Paul was keeping it separate.

In this passage, I Cor. 10:19-22, Paul is saying that the food offered to these idols are not real gods but demons. So while self-professing Christians are eating meat offered as sacrifices to idols may not brother them they are still participating in offerings made to demons. So they are participating with demons. That is sin and an affront to God. Idol worship is demon worship and alienates a person from God.

The priests of the Old Testament participated in sacrifice in that they ate a portion of the meat that was to be sacrificed on the altar to God. God set this procedure up to help take care of the priests who were living in the service of God. When Christians take part in communion they are participating in and connecting with Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.

Koinonia means sharing or participating in something common with others. As applied to the Christian walk it means sharing in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Participating in communion symbolizes this koinonia among Christians. Participating in communion symbolizes the unity in Christ that all believers have in Christ. Christians are one in Jesus Christ. The sharing of one loaf of bread and one cup of wine during communion symbolizes the unity of Christians have in Jesus Christ.

Human-beings are a fallen race in rebellion against God. Sin, as defined by God's Word contained in the Bible, is the way of life for humans. When people repent of their sin (the sin of this world), walk away from world, and strive to follow God's way it goes against our nature. We are tempted to do what is natural for natural man. Temptation is common to all people because it is the way of this satanic world order in which we were born into. Therefore, every human-being is susceptible to sin and temptation to sin. However, God strengthens us to endure temptation and to overcome temptation. God will show us a way out of temptation.

Liberal Christians in Corinth justified eating in pagan temples in that their superior knowledge of God and Christian living informed them that even though many believed in pagan gods they didn't, therefore if they ate in a pagan temple it just didn't matter. They believed in the One True God and that is what counted. It just didn't matter if they ate in a pagan temple because they didn't acknowledge nor worship pagan gods. Paul countered this saying that if their example caused weaker or new Christians to stumble in their faith they should stop eating in the temples. Limit their freedom for the sake of spiritually developing Christians. To the new Christians pagan temples were pagan temples and eating meat that had been sacrificed to pagan gods was just wrong and sinful. We should bounce our behavior off the scriptures and examples of the Apostles with honesty. We need to care about our witness and example to all around us whether new Christian or not. We need to be sensitive to our actions and how they are perceived by others.

The advantages of being an unmarried Christian is that you don't have many of the detractions and cares that come with being married and operating a family. Distractions that divide time spend in serving the Lord and being wrapped in the mundane things of this world. In all things do to the glory of God. As a married Christian man all I do is involved in my devotion to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. My Christian walk involves all of my life. Remember, God instituted marriage and said it is good. Part of participating in creation is being married and having a family. Life is not compartmentized. A married couple and family can be and should be devoted to God.

Strictly speaking divorce among Christians is allowed if adultery is involved per Jesus. Divorce is not permitted nor is it proper just because a spouse is not a Christian. Remarriage is permitted where adultery is not involved.

Paul is teaching that sex is for the married and to be practiced within the confines of marriage. If an unmarried couple engaged to be married cannot control their sexual desires they should get married.