(#067) 1 Corinthians 14 -How You Treat Your Body MattersIf a smile can change someones day imagine what a gift can do.
Welcome To BARAH MINISTRIES
a Christian Church
Rory Clark Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with worldwide impact. My name is Pastor Rory Clark. Welcome to this Bible lesson! Who is Jesus Christ?
At Barah Ministries we know this truth…that Jesus Christ is God. John, Chapter 1, Verse 14 says…
JOHN 1:14 The Word (the Lord…God the Son…100% Deity) became flesh (Jesus Christ…a human being…100% true humanity) and lived among us…and we saw His glory…glory as of the only begotten One from the source of God the Father…and the Lord Jesus Christ was full of grace and full of truth.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Sovereign God of the Universe. He is the Jewish Messiah. He is the Savior of the whole world. In the world, it’s not what you know…it’s who you know. It’s the exact same in Christianity. And who you believers know is the CHRIST!
Why does Barah Ministries exist? At Barah Ministries, we make a difference by teaching the Word of God from God’s perspective and not from man’s perspective. We are Christians and we have a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with the Lord. First Peter, Chapter 2, Verse 1 warns…
FIRST PETER 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you…who will secretly introduce false teachings… teachers denying the Deity of the Master who created them…bringing sudden destruction upon themselves (the Lake of Fire for all eternity).
We ask you to always compare what is taught here to what the Bible says.
Who is God’s enemy? It’s Satan, whom God made ‘the ruler of this world.’ In John, Chapter 12, Verse 31, the Lord says…
JOHN 12:31 “Now judgment is upon this world…now the ruler of this world (Satan) will be cast out (he will be dethroned at a future time).”
Satan is a creature…he is not a “symbol of evil” … he is not a concept. He isn’t red with a pitchfork. He is a perfect, brilliant, gorgeous, well-dressed, officer angel…and he was a genius. If not for God’s protective power, we would be defenseless against him. Our most effective weapon against his insidious deceptions is the Word of God, as the Lord demonstrated in Matthew, Chapter 4, Verses 3 and 4…
MATTHEW 4:3 And the tempter (Satan) came and said to Jesus (after he had fasted in the desert for forty days), “If (1) You are the Son of God…and of course you are (Satan knew who he was talking to)…command that these stones become bread.”
MATTHEW 4:4 But Jesus answered and said, “IT IS WRITTEN, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone (physical food)…but man shall live on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”
Satan deceives the whole world, including you and me. He doesn’t want you to get to know God, and he interferes with your chance to know God.
Believers in Christ are not fighting FOR the victory in this life…we are operating FROM victorious ground…we are in union with Christ, and we have the victory over Satan through our Lord, who has overcome the world.
TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON How You Treat Your Body Matters LESSON INTRODUCTION
We’re not talking about your physical body! We’re talking about the Body of Christ. We’re talking about ourselves as a community. What is a community? Simply stated, a community is a group of people with common interests. Barah Ministries is a community. Our common interests include our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and our desire to learn His Word. How well is Barah Ministries functioning as a community?
Well, what I see is when someone has a birthday, someone takes them out to dinner or someone bakes a cake. When some of the members of the community don’t live locally, someone organizes a homecoming. When a Pastor needs a little encouragement, someone creates Pastor Appreciation Weekend. I’d say we do pretty well as a community. This is a place where our common interest isn’t ONLY the Lord and His Word, our common interest is each other as well. LOVE for the brethren lives here.
In reflecting on our study of First Corinthians, and we study the final one hundred and twenty-two verses…the apostle Paul makes it apparent that he isn’t just talking to the individual believers in the first-century Corinthian church….the elite…he’s also teaching about community. In today’s lesson, we’ll hear Paul’s message about how important it is to build up the Body of Christ.
SONG INTRODUCTION
The memory span of a goldfish is three seconds. Wouldn’t it be great if we had the same ability when it comes to the things that go wrong in our lives? Instead, we like holding onto and rehashing the past, even when doing so does not serve us at all. The apostle Paul, who was committed to wiping out the Christian Church by both killing and by supervising the murder of Christian men, women, and children must have had a horrible time erasing those memories. Yet in Philippians, Chapter 3, Verses 13 and 14 he says…
PHILIPPIANS 3:13 Brethren (believers in Christ)…I do not regard myself as having laid hold of spiritual maturity yet…but one thing I do…forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead…
PHILIPPIANS 3:14 …I press on toward the goal…for the prize of the upward call of God the Father…in union with Christ Jesus.
Are you worried about what others think about you? Don’t worry! As the group For King and Country says in song…GOD ONLY KNOWS…the real you!
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
GOD ONLY KNOWS For King and Country
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
GOD ONLY KNOWS For King and Country
OPENING PRAYER Let us pray...
We're grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Father, we know you take care of the big things in our lives, like our “so great” salvation…You sent Your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to die as a sin sacrifice for us, shedding His blood on a Cross to save us…Father, today we also thank you for all the little things you do for us… thank you for settling our debts…thank you for providing us with soul mates…thank you for the friends you give us…I’m especially grateful for the friends you have given me within Barah Ministries…lifelong friends who are of the same mind…people who have moved across the country to study with me…people who have brought their friends to learn here…thank you for the ability to conceive children… thank you for the healing of our bodies… Father, nothing is too big for You or too small for You when it comes to us…
Father, help us to obey You…teach us how to reject the influences that tempt us to disobey you…show us how to use the gift of faith You have given us to remove doubt…lead us to a life of sacrifice and out of a life of selfishness…
…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.
TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON How You Treat Your Body Matters
We continue our study of First Corinthians, at Chapter 14. Just as how you treat your physical body matters, how you treat Barah Ministries and its members as your spiritual body matters as well. That's what the apostle Paul is teaching us about in this passage that extends from First Cportinthains, Chapter 12 to First Corinthians Chapter 14. We move on in our study to the next section of this three-chapter passage.
The passage began at First Corinthians, Chapter 12, Verse 1…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 12:1 NOW CONCERNING the “spiritually gifted ones” (in your congregation) brethren…(you fellow believers in Christ)…I do not want you to be ignorant (about spiritual gifts since you’re so smart and so knowledgeable).
Chloe’s people have asked the apostle Paul to address the problem of the “spiritual elite” in the Corinthian church who are lording their spiritual gift of tongues over the others in the congregation, acting as if their gift is more special than other spiritual gifts. In Chapter 12, the apostle Paul makes these points…all believers are spiritual because God makes them spiritual at the moment of salvation…each believer in Christ has a grace given spiritual gift from God…the Holy Spirit distributed the spiritual gifts as he chose to do in His Sovereignty…God the Holy Spirit expects us to use the gifts for edification…to build each other up…our spiritual gifts are not to be used to create division.
The spiritual elite in the church at Corinth didn’t get the apostle Paul’s memo. So in First Corinthians, Chapter 13 Paul teaches the foundation on which spiritual gifts and their use must rest…unconditional love. Mark, Chapter, 12, Verses 28 to 31…
MARK 12:28 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that Jesus had answered them well, asked Him, "What mandate is the foremost of all?"
MARK 12:29 Jesus answered, “The foremost mandate is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord…’”
MARK 12:30 “‘…and you shall love the Lord your God unconditionally…with all your heart…and with all your soul…and with all your mind…and with all your strength.’”
MARK 12:31 “The second mandate is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor unconditionally as you love yourself … unconditionally.’ There is no other mandate greater than these.”
Paul teaches that a spiritual gift without love is a miserable cacophony of sound the is screeching to the ears. Then Paul goes on to teach what love is and what it isn’t. Paul closes Chapter 13 with the news that some spiritual gifts end when their usefulness is outlived, and he breaks it to the Corinthian elite that the gift of tongues, the spiritual gift the spiritual elite are flaunting, is on its way out.
Let’s continue our study of this passage at First Corinthians, Chapter 14, Verses 1 to 19…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:1 Keep on pursuing unconditional love…and if earnestly you are zealous for spiritual gifts…especially be zealous for the best gift…the gift of prophesy.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:2 For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God…for no one understands …but in his spirit, he speaks mysteries.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:3 But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:4 One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself…but one who prophesies edifies the church.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:5 Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues…but even more, I wish that you would prophesy…and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues…unless he also interprets…so the church may receive edification.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:6 But now, brethren, if (3) I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you either by way of revelation or by way of knowledge or by way of prophecy or by way of teaching?
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:7 Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp?
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:8 Or if the bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle?
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:9 So also you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:10 There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:11 If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be to the one who speaks a barbarian, and the one who speaks will be a barbarian to me.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:12 So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:13 Therefore, let the one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may also interpret.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit (in the inner man) prays…but my mind is unfruitful.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:15 What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also…I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:16 Otherwise, if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying?
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:17 For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:18 I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 14:19 …however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.
The theme of this section is Paul recommending that the spiritual gifts, built on the foundation of love, be used for the edification of the Body of Christ. Just as it matters how you treat your physical body, it matters how you treat your spiritual body. When we return from the break, we’ll take the offering, and then we’ll get an overview of what Paul is teaching the Corinthians in Chapter 13…because what he is teaching them, is what he is teaching us as well.
FIVE MINUTE BREAK NOBODY Casting Crowns
TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON How You Treat Your Body Matters
God expects us to give one way…the way someone with the spiritual gift of giving would give…Romans, Chapter 12, Verses 6 and 8 says this…
ROMANS 12:6 Since we each have a spiritual gift (the Greek word charisma)…a gift that is different according to the grace given to us by God...each of us is to use the spiritual gift accordingly...
ROMANS 12:8b ...he who has the spiritual gift of giving...he is to exercise the gift with liberality...
When we give with liberality, we choose voluntarily to be generous, without undue influence from past “giving hurts” and without fear of misuse of your contributions. Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with one of his always inspiring offering messages.
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
OFFERING VERSE
FIRST THESSALONIANS 5:16-18 Rejoice always…make it a habit to pray…and in everything (whether adversity or prosperity) give thanks…for this is God the Father’s will for those of you in union with Christ Jesus.
OFFERING SONG THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU Don Moen
TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON How You Treat Your Body Matters
We’ll be studying First Corinthians, Chapter 14, Verses 1 to 19 verse-by verse next week, but in preparing for the study of this section some things jump out that you should be aware of, relating to us as the Body of Christ.
In preparing for our study of this next section, go back and read the first thirteen chapters of First Corinthians. We’ll put a link in the Barah Ministries newsletter that will direct you to a document with all the verses as we have studied them so far. If you don’t have the newsletter, you can simply use your Bible. Feel free to read ahead as well, to see where we are going in First Corinthians as well…read chapters fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen.
What are some of the things that are available to learn in Chapter 14? How we treat the body matters! That certainly applies to our physical body, but much more importantly it applies to our spiritual body…the Body of Christ. When there is a congregation that is “dissing” each other…a congregation where there is DISunity, and DIStrust, and DISrespect and DISorder…a congregation with division and rivalries…what is the benefit of being there? We get all those things in the world! Could this be why so many people are turned off to God because they are turned off to church?
When we as a congregation are reflecting our God, we are manifesting the opposite…we reflect unity, and trust, and respect and order. Being in the company of people who are committed to reflecting these values is a pleasure. It’s rare.
When we think of an idea like “community” we think about a bigness that is impossible to change. I call this “entity thinking.” I remember when I was engaged to be married, and it was apparent to people that I was marrying a person outside my race. When I asked their concern, the constant refrain was, “Well society says…” I kept wondering who “society” is… I wondered if society was going to pay my bills. I was asked, “What about the kids? Society doesn’t like interracial kids.” Society doesn’t like kids, period…but that’s beside the point! J Once again, I wanted to know if “society” was going to be raising my kids.
Community is not such a big idea once you realize what it is, really. Community is a set of agreements among individuals. Individuals change communities much more than communities change individuals.
In First Corinthians, Paul isn’t just talking to individuals about individual conduct…although he is certainly doing that. One Christian taking another Christian to court…women in the church rebelling against authority… individuals engaged in pagan practices after becoming Christians…a man in the church having sex with his mother-in-law with the practice being condoned by church members…abuses during The Lord’s Supper Celebration…people showing up late to church service…people coming to church drunk…the rich “elite” sitting in one area (the box seats) and the poor sitting in another area (the bleachers)…the refusal to share food with each other…lording a spiritual gift over others as if there were right and wrong spiritual gifts.
Isn’t this exactly what we experience in the world today, especially in the United States? Unsuccessfully, and for years, we have been attacking this problem as a society and as communities, and the result has been there are no results. It has not worked. Why? Because individuals change communities much more than communities change individuals. When individuals blame a nameless and faceless entity like “society” or “community” for their issues, it absolves them from the responsibility to fix a problem their individual decisions are creating.
We can choose not to be racist. We can choose not to be elitist. We can choose not to be poor. We can choose not to settle for less than our best. As individuals, we can change. We have will. When we make a change as individuals, it has a ripple effect on those around us…societies and communities included.
Paul wasn’t just talking to the Corinthian believers about their individual conduct. He was also talking to them about the effect their conduct had on the community. Paul was afraid that their conduct would discourage unbelievers from wanting to be Christians. Paul was talking about the chaos built into the Corinthian church worship services that was absolutely not reflective of the Lord.
As we study the next passage, we’ll see Paul teach the elitists how to treat the Body…because the individual choices we make about how we treat the members of the Body of Christ is what makes a community. In Barah Ministries, I appreciate your excellent individual choices. We have a fine community. Let’s keep it up. We will not rest on our laurels. We’ll keep making great choices one choice at a time. We’ll make our Savior proud.
GOD WANTS YOU! Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life
What does the Lord Jesus Christ, the Sovereign God of the Universe think of you? Through the prophet Isaiah in Chapter 64, Verse 8, it says…
ISAIAH 64:8 O Lord…You are our Father…we are the clay…and You are the Potter…and all of us are the work of Your hand.
You are special to God. Is God special to you? Here are seven things for you to consider if you are seeking a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
POINT 1 There is a God, and He is the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth
The first four words of the bible confirm His existence…Genesis, Chapter 1, Verse 1…
GENESIS 1:1a In the beginning, GOD…
Our God isn’t shy about telling you who He is…Joel, Chapter 2, Verse 27…
JOEL 2:27b I am the Lord your God…and there is no other god…
POINT 2 The Creator Created You You are one of the Lord’s creatures and He is your Creator…John, Chapter 1, Verse 3…
JOHN 1:3 All things came into being through the Lord…God the Son…and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
The Lord had a purpose in mind when He created you. Genesis, Chapter 1, Verse 26…
GENESIS 1:26 Then God the Father said, “Let Us (referring to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) make man in Our image…according to Our likeness…”
You are a spiritual being, and as such, you require a spiritual life.
POINT 3 God Has a Plan for All Mankind
God is organized…Acts, Chapter 2, Verse 23 tells us that the earth and the universe were created…
ACTS 2:23a …by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God the Father…
God made all of His decisions in eternity past and we watch them unfold every.
POINT 4 God Has a Personal Plan for You
Because God created you, God knows you intimately and He knows you by name. Matthew, Chapter 10, Verse 30 says…
MATTHEW 10:30 “…the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”
God custom made you and designed a life especially for you. POINT 5 God Reveals Himself in Ways That Make Sense to Human Beings
God wants you to know Him. He is not hiding from you. He is not hard to get to know…Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 20…
ROMANS 1:20 For since the creation of the world the Lord's invisible attributes, His eternal power, and His DEITY, keep on being clearly seen by everyone… being understood even through what has been made (as reflected in the things of nature)…so that all mankind are without excuse (in the matter of knowing of the existence of the Lord).
God doesn’t work in mysterious ways. He is completely predictable.
POINT 6 God’s Enemy, SATAN, Does Not Want You to Get to Know God
Satan does everything he can to keep you ignorant about God. Second Corinthians, Chapter 4, Verse 4…
SECOND CORINTHIANS 4:4 …the god of this world (Satan) has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel message…so they might not see the glory of Christ…who is the exact reflection of God the Father.
Are you aware of the ways Satan is lying to you about God?
POINT 7 You Owe God a Hearing
Since God created you, you at least owe him a hearing. He has placed a desire inside of you to know what is beyond yourself and what is beyond the life that is visible to you. Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3, Verse 11…
ECCLESIASTES 3:11a The Lord has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set a (desire for a) knowledge of eternity in everyone’s heart…
Do you spend ANY of your time getting to know God?
SUMMARY
There is nothing more important for you in this life than a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. John, Chapter 1, Verse 12 says…
JOHN 1:12 …whosoever received Him…to them the Lord Jesus Christ gave the right to become children of God the Father…even to those who believe in Jesus Christ’s name…
Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…
ACTS 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
Heed the warning in John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…
JOHN 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life (right at that moment) … but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”
Consider these things and then get to know the Lord TODAY! Do it now! Believe, and you will be saved!
SONG INTRODUCTION
Once you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, He protects your salvation for all eternity…John, Chapter 10, Verses 27 and 28…
JOHN 10:27 My sheep (believers in Christ) hear My voice…and I know them…and they follow Me…
JOHN 10:28 …and I (the Lord Jesus Christ) give eternal life to believers in Christ…and they will never perish…and no one ever can snatch them out of My hand.
What can separate you from God’s unconditional love? Let’s hear June Murphy sing about it! But the answer is (hint…hint)…NOTHING!
CLOSING SONG WHAT CAN SEPARATE YOU June Murphy
CLOSING VERSES
A Doxology of Praise to Our God
ROMANS 8:37 …in every situation imaginable, believers in Christ keep on overwhelmingly conquering through the Lord who loves us unconditionally.
ROMANS 8:38 For I (Paul) am convinced that neither death nor life...nor (elect) angels nor principalities (demons...fallen angels)…nor things present nor things to come...nor powers...
ROMANS 8:39 ...nor height nor depth…nor any other created thing…will be able to sever us from the unconditional love of God the Father…who is for us through our union with Christ Jesus our Lord.
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
Thanks for coming! Thanks for watching! Thanks for listening!
WHAT DOES GOD HAVE TO SAY ABOUT PRAYING FOR ENEMIES?
Pray for those who persecute you
MATTHEW 5:43-45 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I (the Lord Jesus Christ) say to you, love your enemies unconditionally and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven…for God the Father causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good…and He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
At one time you were an enemy of God and people prayed for you.
The Lord Jesus Christ does not want His believers to repay evil with evil.
The Lord wants us to love others unconditionally, regardless of how they treat us.
The Lord does not want us to be condescending…the “bigger person.”
The Lord wants us to see bad treatment from others as normal in Satan’s kingdom….yet the Lord DOES NOT expect us to be doormats.
The Lord wants us to use prayer as a weapon when relating to our enemies.
We pray for their salvation.
We pray for a disruption of the influence that guides our enemies…the rulers…the powers…the world forces of darkness…and the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
We pray that God will remove the foothold the enemy seeks in our hearts to turn us against others.
We pray that we can be merciful as He is merciful.
We pray that we repay evil with good, reflecting the Lord’s attitude toward His enemies.
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