Tawa Baptist

Paul’s Parenting

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12

Video Link: https://youtu.be/-WsJU41EXAg

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Paul’s love
  • Paul’s model
  • Paul’s coaching
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Today is Father’s Day. You might wonder when and where Father’s Day originated. Well, it depends on what part of the world you come from.

The Eastern Orthodox church has been celebrating Father’s Day for centuries. However, in their tradition it is not a celebration of your own dad. It is called Sunday of the Forefathers and commemorates the ancestors of Christ, listed in Jesus’ genealogy near the beginning of Matthew and Luke’s gospels.

In the Catholic countries of Europe, Father’s Day has been celebrated since the 1500’s. Although again, it’s different from the way we celebrate Father’s Day. The focus is on Joseph, the step-father of Jesus.

Our modern version of Father’s Day, which is about honouring our own dads, comes from a movement among Christian women in early 20th Century America.

Saint Matthews Church in Auckland first celebrated Father’s Day, as we know it, in 1929. By the early 1930’s other kiwi churches began adopting it as well.

People these days have mixed feelings about Father’s Day. For some it is a day of joy and coming together as a family. For others it is a day of sadness or regret, perhaps a day to avoid coming to church.   

Our reading this morning comes from First Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 7-12. In this passage, the apostle Paul describes his parenting style. From First Thessalonians 2, verse 7, we read…

7 … Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. 9 Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

As I said earlier, in this reading Paul describes his parenting style. But before we get into the detail, I need to clarify; there is more than one way to be a parent.

The weight of Biblical and historical evidence strongly suggests the apostle Paul did not have a wife or biological children. Paul chose singleness as this freed him to do the work of an apostle. Although Paul did not have children of his own, he was a spiritual parent to many.

In First Thessalonians chapter 2, Paul is not giving advice to parents specifically, although what he writes here is helpful to parents. Rather, Paul is describing how he was a like a mother and a father, in a spiritual sense, to the new believers in Thessalonica.       

There is more than one way to be a parent. Like Paul, you may not have children of your own, but if you provide pastoral care for others, then you are a spiritual parent to those you care for.

Maybe you serve as a leader in kids’ church or youth group or run a Bible study, or otherwise support, nurture, feed and protect someone in their faith. This sermon is for you, as much as it is for mums and dads with young children at home.

Three verbs to describe Paul’s parenting style: love, model and coach.

Paul loved the Thessalonians. He modelled a good example for them. And Paul coached the Thessalonians in the Christian faith. Let us begin with love, because that is a very good place to start.

Paul’s love:

The Sound of Music tells the story of a young woman, Maria, who is sent to be a nanny for seven children who have lost their mother.

The children’s father, Captain Von Trapp, is a retired naval officer and a strict disciplinarian. He controls his children with a whistle. Since loosing his wife, the captain has become distant and cold. Fraulein Maria is quite the opposite.

She is kind and warm, fun but also firm. 

One of my favourite scenes in the movie is when Fraulein Maria has a stand-up argument with Captain Von Trapp in which she tells him off for being such a grump. Maria says to the captain…

Maria: Children can’t do all the things they’re supposed to if they have to worry about spoiling their precious clothes.

Captain: They haven’t complained yet.

Maria: Well, they wouldn’t dare! They love you too much. They fear you too much!

Captain: I don’t wish you to discuss my children in this manner.

Maria: Well, you’ve got to hear from someone! You’re never home long enough to know them.

Captain: I said I don’t want to hear anymore from you about my children!

Maria: I know you don’t, but you’ve got to! …Friedrich, he’s a boy, but he wants to be a man and there’s no one to show him how.

Captain: Don’t you dare tell me about my son.

Maria: Brigitta could tell you about him if you let her get close to you. She notices everything… And Kurt pretends he’s tough not to show how hurt he is when you brush him aside, the way you do all of them… and the little ones just want to be loved. Oh, please, Captain, love them! Love them all!

Eventually, Captain Von Trapp comes round to seeing it Maria’s way. Through love and music, something inside the captain is healed and the father is restored to his children once more.  

In verse 7 Paul describes his way of relating with the Thessalonians. Paul is much like Fraulein Maria. Paul says: Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.

There is a real tenderness in Paul’s words here. The Thessalonian believers were brand new Christians, toddlers in the faith. Paul, Silas and Timothy cared for their spiritual needs like a mother nursing young children.

One of the characteristics of a true parent is that they know their children and the child knows them as well. Personal knowledge goes hand in hand with love. One of Fraulein Maria’s points was that Captain Von Trapp did not know his children and they did not know him. There was a distance between them.

This was not the case with Paul, for he not only shared the gospel with the Thessalonians; he shared his very life with them. They knew him as a real person and he knew them as a mother knows her children.    

Love, in a Christian understanding, is a commitment to another person’s wellbeing. Love is not out for what it can get. Love wants to give.  

In verse 9 we see the evidence of Paul’s love. Paul, Silas and Timothy worked night and day to support themselves in order not to be a burden to anyone while they preached the gospel to the Thessalonians. Paul’s love was the real deal.

We are talking about Paul’s parenting. Paul loves the Thessalonians like a mother and one of the ways he expresses that love is by modelling a good example for them.

Paul’s model:

Years ago, before we had children, Robyn and I had a dog, a little Jack Russell we called Chip. He was a good-natured dog, full of beans.

Chip had been abused as a pup by his previous owners and consequently would hide under the house if he could, whether he was in trouble or not. Although we were quite soft with Chip, his first owners had left an impression of fear on him by the way they had behaved.

I remember one sweltering hot summers day in Papamoa, when a swarm of flies came into the house. I rolled up a newspaper and went around swatting the insects. After a few minutes, we noticed Chip was cowering under a chair.

The poor little dog was trembling all over, scared out of his wits.

I had never used a newspaper on Chip, but we guessed his original owner had. Swatting the flies seemed to trigger Chip’s PTSD. I quickly stopped my fly killing spree and gave Chip a cuddle to calm him down and show I wasn’t angry.     

The model Chip had been given, as a young pup, was one of cruelty and anger. Consequently, he lived in fear and interpreted otherwise benign actions as a threat.

People and dogs are similar in that both are shaped by the example they are exposed to. If a child is given the model of fairness, consistency and kindness, they will learn to feel secure and be more likely to make better choices in life.

But if a child is treated like Chip was as a puppy, well they need to be shown a better model.  

In verse 10 of Thessalonians 2, Paul writes: You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.

Paul is talking here about the example he modelled for the Thessalonians.

Holiness is about being whole, being one, having integrity, being the same on the inside as you are on the outside. Righteousness is about relating to other people in a right way and being blameless is about doing no harm.

The three go together. They speak of treating God and the people around you with fairness and respect. Paul provided a good model for the Thessalonians in the way he lived his life and related with others.

Paul’s model, his regular pattern of behaviour, created a pathway for the young Thessalonian believers to follow. They learned how to be Christians by imitating Paul.

So, when Paul was abused or treated unfairly because of his testimony for Christ, they learned how a Christian responds in a situation like that, by observing Paul’s example. Paul did not retaliate with violence. But he did defend himself with words of grace and truth.

The question for us is this: What are others learning about Jesus from our example? Are they learning Jesus is someone to be trusted? Or are they put off by our example?

This question applies whether we have children of our own or not.

If you are a leader in kids’ church or youth group, know that the children and young people you work with are watching your example and learning from you. Some will be leaders themselves in another 5 or 10 years.

For those of you who are a bit older and maybe have less energy to serve in programmes these days, let me ask: what are those in their 30’s or 40’s or 50’s learning about Jesus from the way you live your life and relate with others?     

The older people in our congregation model a wonderful example of what it looks like to provide pastoral care and support for one another. You check in on your neighbours, your church attendance is great, you have lunch together regularly and you pray for others.

We are talking about what it means to parent well, whether you have kids of your own or not. Paul loved the Thessalonians. He modelled a good example for them and Paul coached them.

Paul’s coaching:

Being a father is a bit like being a coach. The coach does not do everything for his players. He teaches them to do things for themselves. After all, the coach cannot be on the field with the players. He can only watch and cheer from the side lines.

Like a coach, a father believes in his children. You show your kids you believe in them by trusting them with responsibility; this builds confidence. Giving kids responsibility is a bit like adding salt to food. Too much and you ruin the meal. Too little and the meal lacks taste. A father’s trust ought to bring out the best in his kids.

One of the most important roles of a father is to be there for their children, in a good way, to remind them they are not alone. Like a coach, a father comes alongside his kids when he is needed, to lend strength and understanding.

Or simply to share the experience.   

The right kind of fatherly presence is like being handed a torch when you are lost and in the dark. It is light for your mind.

The right kind of fatherly presence is like coming inside to sit by a fireplace when you have been outside in the freezing cold. It is warmth for your spirit.

The right kind of fatherly presence is like being served your favourite home cooked meal when you are famished. It is nourishment for your soul.

The right kind of fatherly presence is like crawling into a freshly made bed at the end of the day when you are exhausted. It is rest for your whole being.      

Who is there for you, when you need it? Who can you be there for? 

From verse 11 Paul says: For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 

Notice here that Paul dealt with each of the Thessalonians personally.

Paul came alongside them and got to know each one in a fatherly way.

How do fathers come alongside their children? How do they get to know them? By playing with them of course. The father / child relationship is not a formal relationship. It is a fun relationship. The father / child relationship is not an awkward or cold relationship. It is an affectionate, warm relationship.

By the same token, the father / child relationship is not a permissive relationship, in which the child can do whatever they want. It is a safe relationship, in which the father protects the child by putting reasonable boundaries in place.     

The next thing we notice (in verse 12) is the three verbs Paul uses to characterise the way in which he relates as a spiritual father to his Thessalonian children: encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God…

There’s quite a bit of overlap with encouraging, comforting and urging.

They are not three separate things. They offer three lenses on the same thing.

Encouraging, comforting and urging are done by teaching, believing in and being there.

To encourage literally means to put courage into someone. Children need courage to face the world; they don’t need fear. We put courage into children by speaking good words into their life and soul.

We also put courage into children by believing in them; trusting them with an appropriate amount of responsibility (when they are ready for it) and rewarding them when they do well.

Children need comfort from their fathers too. Comfort is not about spoiling your kids. Comfort is about showing kindness and tenderness, especially when a child has gone through a hard time. We comfort children by being there for them, being reliable. This makes our kids feel less alone, more brave.

Setting reasonable boundaries also creates a sense of security and comfort.

Last Friday’s Our Daily Bread devotional talked about boundaries. Elisa Morgan writes…

“A team of landscape architects studied the effects of providing fencing around a preschool playground. On playgrounds without fences, children tended to gather close to the school buildings and their teacher and didn’t stray away. But on fenced-in playgrounds, they enjoyed the entire area. The researchers concluded that boundaries can create a greater sense of freedom.”

Urging is about pointing children in the right direction, teaching them to find the right path for themselves. Urging is quite different from controlling or forcing or driving. Urging is about providing internal motivation to achieve a particular goal.

One of the best ways to urge children in the right direction is to tell them stories. Stories of redemption and hope. Stories where the hero wins against the odds. Stories that motivate the child to live the values of God’s kingdom. Gospel stories.  

The main goal with all of this is to live lives worthy of God. In other words, practice justice, mercy and humility. Practice living now how you will one day live when God’s kingdom is realised in its fullness. 

Conclusion:

Whether you have natural children of your own or not, you can still be a parent to others in the faith by loving them, modelling a good example and coming alongside to provide comfort and encouragement.

Let us pray…

Father God, we thank you for loving us. Lord Jesus, we thank you for modelling the best example for us. And Holy Spirit, we thank you for coaching us to live lives worthy of God. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Discuss reflect on the various ways one can be a parent. In what ways have you been a parent to others?
  3. What might love look like in a parenting relationship?
  4. Why is the example we model for others important? What example did Paul model for the believers in Thessalonica? What are others learning about Jesus from your example?
  5. How might we come alongside someone and get to know them?
  6. In the context of 1 Thessalonians 2, what does it mean to encourage, comfort and urge others in the Christian faith? How might we do this?
  7. Who has God used to encourage, comfort and urge you? Give thanks for them. Who can you encourage, comfort and urge to live a life worthy of God?    
Tawa Baptist

Mutually Exclusive

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Video Link: https://youtu.be/FPXWfWBaKQo

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Blood Connections
  • Bread Connections
  • Unseen Connections
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Some things cannot happen at the same time. For example, if you flip a coin, you will get either heads or tails. You can’t get both heads and tails simultaneously.

Likewise, if you take one card from a standard playing deck, then you cannot draw both an ace of diamonds and a two of spades at once. That’s not how cards work.

Or if you are invited to a party then you either attend or you don’t attend. You cannot attend and not attend at the same time. Just as you cannot have your cake and eat it too.

The technical word for this is ‘mutually exclusive’. Mutually exclusive events cannot take place at the same time. Basically, the occurrence of one event means the other event cannot happen.

Today we continue our series in First Corinthians chapters 8-10, where Paul writes about Christian freedom. When it comes to Christian freedom, there are some things which are mutually exclusive. For example, you cannot be a follower of Jesus and be involved with pagan worship at the same time.

Now, in using a term like mutually exclusive, I don’t mean to imply that the Christian faith is closed off from the world or insular. At its heart Christian faith is outward looking. Jesus and Paul were missionaries. They were seeking people they could include.

At the same time, they were not willing to include everything. They held onto their belief in the oneness and goodness of God. They did not sacrifice what they knew to be true.

There is a tension with Christian freedom. On the one hand, we are free to reach out to others with the love of Jesus. But on the other hand, we don’t have a license to compromise our belief or loyalty to Christ. We need to be mindful of this tension as we listen this morning.

From First Corinthians chapter 10, verse 14 we read…

14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. 18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? 19 Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

As we heard last week, some of the Corinthian believers were walking on thin ice by eating the meat of idols in pagan temples. In today’s reading Paul says quite plainly, you cannot do this. Taking holy communion and joining in pagan worship are mutually exclusive. You cannot do both.

Just beneath the surface of these verses is the idea of spiritual connection or partnership. In particular Paul highlights two things that connect people to God and to one another: blood and bread. Let’s begin with the blood connection.

Blood Connections:

Many of you knew the late Bruce Murray. Bruce played cricket for New Zealand during the 1960’s. He toured India and Pakistan with the Black Caps. Bruce told me of an incident that happened during the third test against India in Hyderabad in October 1969.

The Indian crowd had greatly enjoyed watching two of their batsmen play. When these two men (Venkat and Bedi) were leaving the cricket pitch some of the spectators were so excited they jumped the fence and ran on to the field to congratulate Venkat and Bedi.

Now a cricket pitch is a mutually exclusive place. You cannot have players and spectators on the field at the same time. A good number of auxiliary police (armed with long sticks) saw what was happening and intervened to protect the two Indian batsmen from over-zealous fans.

A young boy slipped past the police. One policeman threw his stick at the boy and missed. When the boy bent down to pick up the stick, another policeman hit him over the head.

The boy put his handkerchief to the wound and saw he was bleeding. When he held the bloodied cloth up to the crowd, the people rioted. The sight of blood created an instant connection. The police had done this to one of their own.

The crowd broke down a wire gate, set the score board on fire and ripped hundreds of chairs out of the grandstands, throwing them on the field.

Players were told to stay in their rooms that night. Bruce recalled the uneasy feeling among his teammates.

There’s something about blood that connects us in a deep and visceral way. Blood ties speak of family connections of course, but it’s more than that.

Blood is life to the body. Blood is pumped through the heart, sustaining every limb and digit. If blood flow is cut off, then the limb dies.

In ancient worship rituals, blood was shed in sacrifice to atone for sin, to make people right (or at one) with God. A life for a life.

In verse 16 Paul writes, is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the bloodof Christ?   

Paul is referring to the Christian ritual of communion here, also known as Mass or the Eucharist or the Lord’s supper. Communion was first instituted by Jesus.

On the night before his crucifixion and death, Jesus was celebrating the Jewish Passover meal with his disciples in the upper room. During the meal, Jesus gave the cup of wine new meaning. For Christians the cup signifies God’s new covenant, sealed with the blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sin. 

Jesus’ blood, poured out on the cross, atones for the sin of the world. Through faith in Jesus’ sacrifice we are made right with God.

Paul is saying that when we share the cup at communion, we are participating in the blood of Christ. That word translated as participating comes from the Greek word koinonia. Koinonia and its related cognates appear six times in today’s passage. So koinonia is key to understanding Paul’s thought.

The meaning of koinonia is difficult to translate directly into English. It can mean participation or partnership or fellowship or communion depending on the context. In the New Testament, koinonia speaks of a special bond or deep connection between the people of God.

Koinonia is not a light or superficial connection. Men who have participated in combat together, sharing blood, sweat and tears, have a koinonia connection.

Indeed, people who have survived a long ordeal together are bound by koinonia. They share an intimate and unspoken understanding that can only be gained through a common (and often painful) experience.     

What then does it mean to participate in the blood of Christ? Well, there is a certain mystery here that cannot be penetrated by mere words. But you need some explanation, no matter how inadequate, so here goes…  

In one sense, participating in the blood of Christ, means sharing in the benefits of forgiveness and atonement through faith in Jesus’ death on the cross.

Paul’s argument is this: You cannot be clean and dirty at the same time.

Those two things are mutually exclusive. It’s similar with the blood of Christ.

You cannot participate in the atonement of Christ and participate in pagan rituals at the same time. The cleansing blood of Christ and the defiling blood of pagan sacrifice are mutually exclusive. 

Going a little deeper, participating in the blood of Christ, could also mean sharing in the sufferings of Jesus. We probably won’t be crucified like Jesus was (thankfully), but we may suffer smaller injustices and humiliations because of our connection with Jesus.

You know those times when (through no fault of your own) you feel powerless and vulnerable; they are opportunities for creating koinonia (or communion) with Jesus. Our Lord set aside his power, making himself vulnerable for us, even unto death on a cross. 

Although unpleasant, these smaller sufferings enable us to know Jesus more intimately. There is a surprising joy in sharing Jesus’ suffering. Joy and suffering are not mutually exclusive.

We are talking about the things that connect us. The blood of Christ connects us, as does the bread of Christ. 

Bread Connections:

The English word ‘companion’ literally means to ‘share bread with’.

A companion therefore is someone you eat with. There’s something about sharing a meal that connects people and makes them our companions.

When people eat together, they talk and as they talk, they get to know each other; barriers come down and trust forms. Food has a way too of lingering in our memory. A shared meal creates a feeling of belonging and connection.

Food is a conduit for love. When you cook something special for someone, it is an act of love. And when you eat that meal, you receive that person’s love.

There has been a lot of love put into the shared lunch today.

In verses 16 and 17 Paul talks about the bread of the communion meal saying…

And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. Again, that word participation comes from the Greek koinonia.

Later, in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul will go on to talk about the church being the body of Christ. Paul’s emphasis in this verse is on unity. Sharing the bread of communion is an act of koinonia with the people of God.

Just as bread nourishes body and soul, so too participating in church life nourishes our relationships together. Koinonia with others who share our faith banishes loneliness, creates trust and fosters a sense of identity and belonging.

In verse 18 Paul draws an analogy saying: Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? 

The Old Testament background here is that people would bring their food to the priest to be offered in sacrifice to God. Some of the food sacrificed was given to the priest and the rest was returned to the worshippers who shared a meal together. This sacred meal was a participation in the altar.

There’s that word again; participation, koinonia.

One of the things on Israel’s altar was the shew bread, 12 loaves symbolising God’s holy presence. The imagery is clear; God is the one who provides for all the people’s needs. God is the host of the sacred meal in other words. And, as host, God is present at the meal.   

Our communion bread (symbolising the body of Christ) is sometimes referred to as the host. Christ is the host of the communion table. Jesus is God’s provision for our needs. When we share communion, Jesus is present, by his Spirit. We cannot see Jesus, but we know by faith that Christ is in the room.

The koinonia of the communion table takes us into the realm of mystery, what someone once called ‘the cloud of unknowing’. Some people are comfortable with mystery. Others not so much.

If you like a rational explanation for everything, if you want all your questions answered, then mystery can make you feel uneasy, vulnerable even. The realm of mystery requires us to exercise faith, to trust ourselves to the unseen presence of God.

We’ve talked about the connections created by blood and bread. Now let’s consider those unseen connections in the spiritual realm.

Unseen Connections:

One of the difficulties with spiritual things is that we cannot see them. Spiritual reality may be felt or sensed, but it is seldom seen. In truth, there is an unseen reality to our lives.

There are many things in the physical / material world which we cannot see and yet we know are real because of the effects they have on our lives.

Gravity is perhaps the most obvious invisible force. The gravitational pull of the moon causes the oceans tidal movement. Gravity also keeps our feet on the ground and can inflict some pain if we get on the wrong side of it.

Atmospheric pressure is another invisible force at work in our world. High pressure usually means sunshine and low pressure often means bad weather.

We cannot see the movement of tectonic plates below the earth’s surface, but we know about it when the plates do move.

Love is another unseen power which affects us, not unlike gravity or tectonic plates. Love is not a substance. You cannot put love under a microscope and analyse it like bacteria or dissect it like a frog. But love still makes itself known, holding sway over our thoughts and feelings, like the moon holds sway over the ocean.

The greatest unseen power, of course, is God himself. God is Spirit so we cannot see him, but we can see where he has been. The whole earth and everything in it, is his masterpiece, both beautiful and functional at the same time. 

In verses 19 and 20 Paul talks about the malevolent unseen forces behind idols.

19 Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 

The idols which littered ancient Corinth were just lumps of wood and stone. They were dead, impotent, with no power at all in themselves.

However, behind the idols and pagan temples were demons; evil spiritual beings, aligned with the devil. While we cannot see demons physically, we can see their detrimental effect in this world. Things like greed, exploitation, fear, racism, sexual abuse, poverty, violence and so on. 

The really twisted thing about pagan idolatry is that those who worship idols think they are doing something righteous or good. They are often very devout and sincere people who are not aware of the unseen reality. The evil one presents himself as an angel of light. 

I’m not saying these things to make you afraid. If you remain in Christ, then you have nothing to fear.

Having unveiled the truth about idol worship, that it really is the worship of demons, Paul then states the obvious, in verse 21…

21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.

In other words, you cannot partake of holy communion and indulge in the dinner parties held in pagan temples. These two things are mutually exclusive. You cannot serve Jesus and the devil at the same time. You cannot be in partnership with unseen evil forces and remain in Christ. 

To do so would be to court disaster. For one thing it would arouse the Lord’s jealousy. Jealousy is not the same as envy. Envy is bad. Envy is when you want something that doesn’t belong to you. Envy ultimately destroys.

Jealousy is different from envy. Jealousy is the righteous indignation you feel when someone threatens what is rightfully yours to care for. Jealousy ultimately protects. A jealous father protects his children, just like a good shepherd protects his sheep.   

You may wonder what relevance Paul’s advice has in our world today.

Well, for those who live in countries where people offer food and incense to idols in temples, the connection is clear. If you want to follow Jesus, you cannot go to those temples and participate in worship.

Idolatry is usually more subtle in New Zealand though. While we do have an attachment to certain objects (like our cell phones), I don’t expect anyone here bows down in worship to those objects.

We are more inclined to internalise our idols. For example, we may at times give a greater place to work and wealth than we do to Jesus. Or we might prioritise entertainment and our own comfort over obedience to Christ. Freedom itself can become an idol.  

The problem with internalising our idols is that we cannot see them, which means we are less aware of our own idolatry. We risk becoming like the devout pagans who are unaware of their spiritual reality.

Another danger for us in New Zealand is syncretism. Dipping into more than one religion at the same time. Maybe practicing aspects of Christianity alongside some other belief system. That won’t work.

Just like it doesn’t work to use a Ouija board on Saturday night and then take communion on Sunday morning. Mutually exclusive.

Mixing religions and dabbling in the occult are obvious things to avoid. What about those things that are less black and white, more grey? 

When in doubt, let peace be your guide. If you are uncomfortable, if it feels like something is off but you can’t quite put your finger on it, listen to your instinct. The Spirit of God often nudges our instinct. If someone invites you to an event or activity and you don’t have peace within yourself about it, don’t go there.  

Conclusion:

At the beginning of our message today I talked about the tension that exists with Christian freedom. While we don’t have a license to compromise our belief about God or our loyalty to Christ, we are free to reach out to others with the love of Jesus.

And that’s where our focus should be. Looking for common ground. Looking for those points of connection that allow us to be mutually inclusive so that others might experience koinonia with Christ.

Let us pray…

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, forgive us our idolatries. Help us to walk in freedom and righteousness we pray. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Why does Paul warn the Corinthians against mixing pagan worship with taking communion?
  3. What connects you to Jesus? What connects you to other believers?
  4. Have you ever experienced koinonia? What happened? Why is koinonia important? What are the benefits of koinonia?
  5. What does it mean to participate in the blood of Christ?
  6. What does the ritual of holy communion mean to you? In what sense is Christ present when we share communion?
  7. What relevance does Paul’s advice, in 1 Corinthians 10:14-22, have for us today? What idols are you most vulnerable to?
  8. How might we decide whether something is compatible with Christ or not?     
Tawa Baptist

Thin Ice

Scripture: 1st Corinthians 10:1-13

Video Link: https://youtu.be/G0sJ4VhYD2Q

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The danger of privilege (1-5)
  • The danger of presumption (6-11)
  • The deliverance of God (12-13)
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

The expression, “You’re on thin ice”, is a warning that you are in danger. You are venturing into an area that is life threatening or detrimental to your wellbeing.

The literal meaning of being on thin ice is skating or walking on a frozen lake where the ice could give away under your weight at any moment, probably resulting in a painful death.

Figuratively, a teacher might say to a student who is always late or rude, “You’re on thin ice Mr”. Or your mum might say it when you are testing the limits of her patience. Or you might be on thin ice with your landlord if you miss a rent payment.

Other expressions which mean the same thing as being on thin ice include…

“You’re playing with fire”, or “You’re on shaky ground”, or “You’re dancing with the devil”.

The thing about thin ice is that you know you should get off it as quickly as possible, but there’s something in you (is it curiosity?) that just wants to test how far you can go. Either that, or you are completely unaware of where you are standing.        

Today, after Ascension Sunday, Pentecost Sunday and Trinity Sunday, we return to our series on First Corinthians chapters 8 to 10, where Paul writes about Christian freedom.

Freedom needs to be tempered with self-control. Too much freedom is a dangerous thing. Indeed, unbridled freedom will put you on thin ice. From First Corinthians 10, verses 1-13, we read…      

For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptationhas overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be temptedbeyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

To refresh your memory, First Corinthians is one of the letters the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, during the first century. The believers in Corinth had sent their own letter to Paul with some questions and concerns. Paul wrote back to gently pull them out of the rabbit holes they were going down. 

Some of the believers in the Corinthian church were over-confident in their new found freedom in Christ. They felt at liberty to join in the feasts held in the pagan temples that peppered the city they lived in.

But Paul tells them, no. This is not a right use of your freedom as followers of Jesus. Eating meat in places of pagan worship puts you on thin ice with God. 

Three handles to give us a grip on this morning’s reading from Corinthians 10. First, Paul warns against the danger of privilege and the danger of presumption. Then he reminds us of the deliverance of God.

The privileges we enjoy as followers of Jesus do not make us immune from evil. Nor should we presume upon the grace of God, seeing how far we can push it. The Lord won’t tolerate sin indefinitely.

It’s not all danger and thin ice though. The Lord is faithful; we can rely on him to provide a way out of temptation, so long as we are not looking for a way into temptation. Our first point though is the danger of privilege…

The danger of privilege:

In Roald Dahl’s book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, five children win a golden ticket to meet Willy Wonka and see inside his factory. It is a real privilege to see the secrets of Mr Wonka’s chocolate making.

But this privilege is not without its dangers. Winning a golden ticket comes with all sorts of temptations. One by one, each of the children acted against Willy Wonka’s instructions and disqualified themselves for the prize.

Holding a golden ticket got the children into the chocolate factory, but it did not give them a right to do whatever they wanted once inside. Far from giving them license, the privilege of holding a golden ticket actually required the children to act responsibly and with self-control.

Special privileges can deceive us. They can lull us into a false sense of security and make us over-confident; feeling like we have a license to walk on thin ice and get away with it. Privilege does not make you special or immune from danger. Privilege is like a hand grenade; it needs to be treated with great care.

In verses 1-3 of Corinthians 10, Paul draws an analogy between the Israelites of Moses’ time and the Corinthian believers.

When God redeemed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, they went through a baptism of sorts. Passing through the Red Sea and following the cloud of God’s presence, was a type of baptism which prefigured the water baptism the Corinthians had received on becoming followers of Jesus.

Likewise, the people of Israel received a type of communion in the wilderness. God provided manna for them to eat and water from a rock. This food and drink was spiritual. It nourished their bodies and their relationship with God.

In a very real sense, the supernatural provision of manna and water prefigured holy communion, which the Corinthians partook of regularly.

Being redeemed from slavery, sin and death is a privilege. Baptism and communion are a privilege. But these privileges don’t give us a right to behave however we like. With great privilege comes great responsibility.

Despite their privileged position, God was not pleased with most of the Israelites of Moses’ day, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

Some of the Corinthian believers had way too much confidence. They figured, we’ve been baptised and redeemed. We participate in the Lord’s supper, so we’re all good. We can eat meat sacrificed to idols in pagan temples, no problem. The devil can’t touch us.  

But the privileges of baptism and communion do not make us immune from evil, any more than holding a golden ticket kept the children out of trouble in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

If you walk on thin ice, you risk falling through, whether you’ve been baptised or not. If you participate in pagan rituals, you open your spirit up to a whole world of evil, whether you take communion or not.  

Paul’s message to the Corinthians is this: don’t be like the Israelites. Don’t be deceived by your privilege. Don’t walk on thin ice.

Paul does something quite interesting in these verses, which is easy to miss. The Corinthians were mostly gentiles and yet, in verse 1, Paul talks about the Israelites being our ancestors. The Corinthians were not genetically related to the Israelites, like Paul was. But in a spiritual sense they were related.

If you are in Christ, there is a continuity between you and the people of God in the Old Testament. The stories of the exodus and the exile are our stories too. We, who belong to Jesus, whakapapa back to Abraham, through Christ.

That is a unique privilege, which comes with great responsibility.

The responsibility to learn from Israel’s mistakes. As Paul writes in verse 6: these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.       

One of the dangers of privilege is that we can get so accustomed to it that we forget we are in fact privileged. We can start to view our privilege as an entitlement; something we are owed. Privilege can lead to presumption.

The danger of presumption:

Presumption is behaviour which is arrogant and disrespectful. To act in a presumptuous way is to take liberties and go beyond the bounds of what is considered appropriate.

If you are in a restaurant and someone you don’t know sits down at your table and starts eating food off your plate, then that is presumptuous. It’s not presumptuous, by the way, if your husband or wife eats food off your plate. That is simply marriage.

Or if you are pregnant and a complete stranger walks up to you in the supermarket and puts their hand on your belly, that is presumptuous.

Or if someone parks their car in an accessible carpark, without a permit, that also is presumptuous.

You may have heard of the term ‘diplomatic immunity’. Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law where foreign diplomats and officials are protected from the criminal justice system of the host country. So, if a diplomat commits a criminal offence, they cannot be arrested or sent to jail.

Even though diplomats have this special privilege, most would not be presumptuous enough to shop lift or punch someone in the face or eat chips off your plate.

In fact, in cases where a serious crime is committed, like murder, the sending country may well choose to waive diplomatic immunity and grant the host country the right to press criminal charges against their own official.

In other words, the ice of diplomatic immunity wears thin in some cases and cannot always be relied upon to save the foreign official if they act really badly.

As believers, we are sort of like diplomats from a foreign country. This world is not our home, but we still have a responsibility to behave ourselves.

We must not presume upon the grace of God, seeing how far we can push it, as the Israelites did in the wilderness. The Lord won’t tolerate that for long.  

In verses 7-10, Paul briefly touches on four occasions when the Israelites of old found themselves on thin ice and fell through. Paul highlights the Israelites’ sins of idolatry, sexual immorality, testing the Lord and grumbling.

Idolatry is the worship of idols; basically, the worship of anything that is not God. As I said earlier, some of the Corinthians presumed it was okay to participate in the feasts held at the local pagan temples. But these dinner parties were essentially idolatrous.    

Even if the Corinthians themselves did not believe in idols, they were on thin ice by eating in the idol’s temple. Idolatry in the ancient world inevitably led to revelry. Drunken carousing and loose partying, the kind that uni students during O week might indulge in. Revelry of this sort often leads to fornication.   

In verse 8, Paul warns against sexual immorality. This seems to be a reference to the time when Israelite men indulged in casual sex with strangers; Moabite women who had invited them to pagan worship. Thousands died as a warning.

Sexual immorality was a problem in Corinth too, just as it is a problem in our society today. You may have heard on the news recently how girls as young as 10 are being used as prostitutes. If we who are used to evil are outraged by that kind of exploitation, how much more is God’s holy wrath provoked.

Verse 9 says, we should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes.[1] ‘Testing God’ means trying to prove God wrong, trying to make his word fail, rather than trusting him.

When Satan quoted Scripture, tempting Jesus to jump off the highest point of the temple, the evil one was trying to prove God’s word wrong.

Jesus responded by saying, “Don’t put the Lord your God to the test”.

In other words, don’t presume upon God’s grace. Don’t see how far you can push the boundaries and get away with it.

Putting God to the test is the opposite of trusting God. It puts us on thin ice, where we end up learning the hard way.

Interestingly, Paul says we should not test Christ. Paul gives Jesus the same standing as God. By hanging out in pagan temples, the Corinthians were presuming upon Jesus’ grace.

Now at this point, some of you might be thinking, I don’t bow down to idols or have casual sex with randoms or otherwise test Jesus. I’m not presumptuous like those haughty Corinthians. I’m humble. Today’s sermon is not for me.

Hmm. If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

The fourth presumption Paul lists is that of grumbling. Some of the Israelites in the wilderness grumbled against Moses, just as some of the believers in Corinth were grumbling against Paul, which is probably why Paul mentions it.     

Grumbling? Is that a sin? Really? Apparently it is. Stink. Just when I thought I was in the clear I find out grumbling is not allowed. Many of us are guilty of grumbling. In fact, kiwis are quite good at grumbling. We call it, ‘tall poppy syndrome’. Cutting others down with our words and criticisms.

Grumbling may be more socially acceptable, but it’s still a presumption. Grumbling reflects an attitude of arrogance and entitlement. When we grumble, we put ourselves on thin ice. Secure people, people with their feet on solid ground, build others up.

We’ve talked about the danger of privilege and the danger of presumption. Now let’s consider the deliverance of God.

The deliverance of God:

Sometimes we can find ourselves on thin ice through no fault of own, simply because the ice is melting and we are in the wrong place at the wrong time.  

God is ready to deliver us in situations like that.

In verse 13 Paul addresses the issue of temptation and how God delivers us from it. We will break it down because there’s quite a bit going on in this verse.

Firstly, Paul writes: No temptationhas overtaken you except what is common to mankind.

Now when we hear the word temptation we are probably inclined to imagine a little devil enticing us to do bad things so that we fall through the ice.

But in this context, temptation is more like a test designed to make us stronger, rather than a torture designed to break us.

Running a marathon is a test of your endurance. The temptation is to give up before you reach the end. But if you do make it all the way, without giving up, you are stronger for it.

Likewise, writing an essay or sitting an exam is a test of your mastery of the subject. The essay or exam is not designed to break you or make you fail.

Its purpose is to help you learn and strengthen your mental proficiency. 

Getting a license to drive involves a series of tests. Acquiring the skill and experience necessary to pass these tests makes you a better, safer driver.  

Temptation in the sense of testing is not bad or evil. It is necessary and inevitable if we are to grow and develop and become better human beings.

Being baptised and receiving communion does not make you immune from temptation. Everyone faces testing in this life. It is common to humankind.

Therefore, we should not be surprised by temptation. We should prepare for it, like we would prepare for a marathon or an exam or a driving test. 

The second thing Paul says in verse 13 is that God is faithful; he will not let you be temptedbeyond what you can bear. 

Note here that God is not the one who brings the temptation, but he does allow it, within certain limits. God is good. He knows our limits and cares for our wellbeing. (Not that it always feels like that to us.)

Sometimes it feels like God takes us beyond our limits. We might think we can only run half a spiritual marathon, when in fact God knows we can go twice that distance. Just as we can be overconfident at times, so too we can underestimate ourselves in other situations. The testing of temptation shows us the truth about ourselves.   

Paul reassures his readers saying, …when you are tempted, God will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

The original Greek word translated as ‘a way out’ (in verse 13) imagines an army platoon trapped in the mountains, escaping a seemingly impossible situation through a pass. [2] 

Very seldom is God’s deliverance as easy as Star Trek, where Captain Kirk says, ‘Beam me up Scotty’. God’s deliverance, his way out, usually requires us to show some character and make a conscious choice.

When Joseph was tempted to sleep with Potiphar’s wife, Joseph avoided her, even running out of the room when she got him alone. God’s way out for Joseph was the indignity of being falsely accused and sent to prison, where Potiphar’s wife could not get to him.

Eventually though, that prison became God’s means of elevating Joseph to Prime Minister of Egypt. God is faithful.

Conclusion:

Not many of us are as good as Joseph. A lot of us (given the opportunity) might prove to be more like David and Bathsheba.

At some point we all find ourselves on thin ice, whether by accident or our own deliberate fault. If we do fall, then we need not despair.

God has provided for our rescue through Jesus. Jesus does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Jesus resisted every temptation and test thrown at him, overcoming sin on our behalf. Jesus is our righteousness.

When we do fall, we are honest about that with God. We own it. We don’t try to justify ourselves. We seek his forgiveness and we ask the Lord to restore us; to put our feet on the right path, the firm foundation of Christ our rock.

Let us pray…      

Gracious God, keep us off thin ice. Lead us in the way everlasting, for your name’s sake. Through Jesus we pray. Amen. 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Have you ever found yourself on thin ice, either literally or figuratively? What happened? How did you get there? What (or who) saved you?
  3. What are the dangers of privilege? How might we enjoy our privilege (freedom) without being deceived by it? 
  4. Why do we get baptised and receive communion? What purpose do these rituals serve? What are baptism and communion not to be used for?  
  5. Discuss / reflect on the four sins (or presumptions) Paul lists in verses 7-10; idolatry, sexual immorality, testing Christ and grumbling. In what ways are these sins expressed in our society today? How might we keep ourselves from these temptations.
  6. What is meant by ‘temptation’, in the context of verse 13? What is the purpose of temptation? Can you think of a time when you felt sorely tested? What happened? How did God provide a way out?
  7. How might we prepare for temptation? What rhythms and routines improve your spiritual fitness?
  8. Take some time this week to confess and repent of anything you know that is putting you on thin ice with God.

[1] Refer Numbers 21:4-9

[2] Refer Leon Morris’ commentary on 1 Corinthians, page 144.

Tawa Baptist

Building Bridges

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:19-27

Video Link: https://youtu.be/o7Bdmv-u9XQ

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The freedom to build bridges (vv. 19-22)
  • The necessity of self-discipline (vv. 23-27)
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

I grew up in Kirikiriroa, Hamilton, a city with a river running through it. There are eight bridges spanning the Waikato River in Hamilton. Six vehicle bridges, one rail bridge and one pedestrian bridge. I was there for the opening of the Whitiora bridge in the 1970’s. But the Fairfield Bridge, the one with the humps, is probably the most iconic and my favourite. 

The purpose of a bridge is to connect people, allowing greater movement and better communication. If Hamilton had no bridges, then your options for getting to the other side of the river would be limited.

You could swim across but that’s not ideal; the water is cold, dirty and dangerous. Alternatively, you could travel by hot air balloon but that is time consuming, especially if the wind is blowing the wrong way. 

Without bridges our world would be an even more divided place. Bridges save time and drownings. They promote life and relationships. I like bridges, almost as much as I like trees.

Not surprisingly, the term building bridges has become a metaphor for improving relationships between people who are different from each other; people who may not agree or like one another all that much. 

Today we continue our series in First Corinthains, not the whole letter, just three chapters (8, 9 and 10) where Paul discusses the subject of freedom.

How are Christians to use their freedom?

This week’s Bible reading focuses on Corinthians 9, verses 19-27, where Paul describes how he uses his freedom to build bridges. Not literal physical bridges, but relational bridges. Bridges which span the religious and cultural divides that separate people. From First Corinthians 9, verse 19 we read…

19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

There are two parts to this morning’s message. In verses 19-22 Paul writes about the freedom he has to build bridges and in verses 23-27 he writes about the necessity of self-discipline. Let us begin then with the freedom to build bridges. 

The freedom to build bridges:

The psychiatrist, Dr Milton Erickson, was a master at building bridges of rapport with people.

On one occasion Dr Erickson was working with a man in a psychiatric ward who had only spoken six sensible words in the five years he had been in hospital. Four of those words were, ‘My name is George’. The rest of the time he spoke in ‘word salad’, a long jumble of words and sounds in no apparent order.

In all that time no one had been able to connect with George much less get any sense out of him. Dr Erickson did something different. He got his secretary to record a sample of George’s speech. Erickson then studied this sample until he could improvise a word salad in similar form.

Dr Erickson sat down beside George and introduced himself. George responded with an angry stream of word salad. Dr Erickson then replied with an equally angry stream of the same kind of sounds. George appeared puzzled and spat out more word salad. So Dr Erickson responded in kind.

A few days later Erickson returned and again George spoke in word salad, this time for four hours. The doctor, aware that George had been watching the clock on the wall, replied in word salad for another four hours. He missed his lunch. George listened carefully.

The next day George gave only two sentences of his word salad. After Erickson had returned his two sentences of gobbly gook, George did an extraordinary thing…

He said: “Talk sense doctor.”

“Certainly, I’ll be glad to. What is your last name?” Erickson asked.

“O’ Donavan, and it’s about time somebody who knows how to talk asked. Over five years in this lousy joint…” and then he lapsed back into word salad.

It was the start of his recovery.

A few months later, with Dr Erickson’s input, George left the hospital and found himself a job. He was never readmitted. Before George could move past speaking in word salad, he needed to feel understood; he needed to be met with his own experience of the world. [1]

Dr Erickson did that for him. Milton Erickson built a bridge and helped George to cross it.

In verse 19 of Corinthians 9, Paul says: Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.

Paul is talking here about how he uses his freedom. Paul builds bridges of trust so that others may come know Jesus and the abundant life he offers.

For example, when Paul is with Jews, he eats kosher food so as not to offend Jewish sensibilities. But when he is with Gentiles, Paul eats whatever is put in front him, because the people Paul is building a bridge with matter to God more than food.

For a physical bridge to stand it needs to be anchored on both sides of the river. It’s the same when building a relational bridge with people who are different from us. If we don’t have a firm foundation in knowing who we are and what our purpose is, then the bridge will collapse and we will fall. 

In verse 21 Paul writes: To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law),       

In building a bridge to connect with those who are different from him, Paul does not abandon his principles or beliefs. He does not lose himself in the process. He holds on to himself and to what is important, namely Christ.

When Milton Erickson built a bridge to reach George, the good doctor did not lose himself. He didn’t go home speaking word salad. Erickson remembered who he was and his purpose, to help George.

It’s not always easy to show empathy for someone without compromising who you are and what you value. Before you can build a bridge, you need to have a strong sense of identity and a healthy self-awareness.

Paul’s identity and purpose in life is firmly grounded in Christ. Paul knows that he belongs to Jesus and he is very clear about why he is building a bridge;

in order to share the love and truth of Jesus. 

So how might this apply in our lives? Well, here’s one example. If you are invited to a party by a friend who is not a believer, then you are free to go to the party remembering who you are and what you stand for.

If others are drinking alcohol and alcohol is not a problem for you, then you might have a wine or a beer, but you don’t get drunk. And if alcohol is a problem for you, then you drink ginger ale, otherwise the bridge you are building will collapse.

Whoever we are with and wherever we might go, we hold fast to Christ for we belong to Jesus. He is our foundation. We can’t build bridges without remaining in him.

Now, when it comes to building bridges, it is important to remember that construction happens from the bottom up. Construction of a bridge is never a top-down thing. You have to put the supports in place first, before you lay the top part which spans the divide.

After the emperor Constantine had conquered territory with his great army, he sent preachers in to proclaim the gospel to the defeated people. [2] That is a top-down approach. That doesn’t really work with the gospel. The defeated people might submit to Christ out of fear, but they will struggle to love or trust him.

Paul’s approach was modelled after Jesus. Paul came, not in overwhelming strength, but in weakness. Paul came alongside people, building bridges from the bottom up. He earned their trust. He spoke their language. He received their hospitality and he served them.

Paul’s bottom-up approach often meant he suffered abuse and hardship. But it also meant others came to faith in Jesus, submitting to Christ out of love and not out of fear.

When we build bridges with people, we need to avoid a top-down approach. We shouldn’t come with a superior attitude, like we’ve got all the answers, or we have a monopoly on the moral high ground. Because we don’t.

In our contemporary New Zealand context, a bottom-up approach to sharing the gospel often means we need to start by listening. The first duty of love is to listen. We also need to live our lives in alignment with the gospel; be true to the gospel in other words.

Then, when the opportunity presents itself, we articulate the gospel; we give words to our faith. And when we speak, it’s important not to feel ashamed or embarrassed about what we say. Just say it. Own it and let the other person feel whatever they might feel.  

Listen in love, be true to the gospel and speak without shame. That’s what a bottom-up approach looks like. 

The necessity of self-discipline:

We are talking about freedom. Freedom is a wonderful thing, but it needs to be tempered by self-discipline. If freedom is the accelerator, then self-discipline is the brake to stop you crashing.

If freedom is hot water, then self-discipline is the cold water to stop you burning yourself. If freedom is sky diving, then self-discipline is your parachute. Freedom needs self-discipline. Without self-discipline, freedom becomes a kind of tyranny. Self-discipline makes freedom functional.

Now in using a term like self-discipline I need to be clear about what we mean. Some people associate discipline with punishment, like hitting a person with a stick. This is not what we mean by discipline.

Discipline is another word for teaching or learning. A disciple (from which we get the word discipline) is an apprentice or a learner, someone in training.

Self-discipline, therefore, is about discipleship. It’s about training yourself, through the formation of good habits. Having a rule of life or a rhythm and routine to your day and week which makes your self-control muscles stronger and trains you in the ways of Christ.  

In verses 24 to 27 Paul writes about the necessity of self-discipline. From verse 24 we read…

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 

The city of Corinth hosted the Isthmian games. The Isthmian games were sort of like the Olympics, except they happened every two years and were located in Corinth. Paul is using an image his Corinthian readers were familiar with. 

In order to be eligible to compete in the Isthmian games one had to commit to a strict training regimen for months beforehand. If you failed to do the training properly, then you were disqualified and could not compete in the games.

High performance sport takes a great deal of self-discipline. You have to exercise your self-control muscles and curb many of your freedoms to be able to compete. You might, for example, give up eating pizza and only eat healthy food. You may also have to forego your sleep-in to get up early and train.

Paul says to run in such a way as to get the prize. In other words, exercise self-discipline. Run purposefully, with a clear objective in mind, for the prize at stake is eternal glory, a crown that lasts forever; something even more valuable than coming first at the Isthmian games.

We need to be careful here not to make Paul’s parable walk on all fours. Paul is not suggesting that only one person can win in the Christian faith. Christian believers are not competing against each other for a place in heaven. There’s plenty of room. Paul is simply saying, it takes self-discipline to be a believer.

Indeed, it requires self-discipline to build bridges. In reaching out to others, Paul found that the bridge doesn’t build itself. There is considerable effort involved in travelling to a new place where the culture is different and you have to learn a new language and new customs. It’s hard graft building rapport.     

Paul carries on to say, 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; 

I do not fight like a boxer beating the air

The apostle Paul (God bless him) has a habit of mixing his metaphors.

He switches from the runner to the boxer halfway through verse 26. Just as a runner in the games competes to win the prize, so too a boxer aims to land his punches and knock out his opponent.

The strange thing about Paul’s boxing metaphor though, is that he is throwing punches against himself. In verse 27 we read: No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Please understand, Paul is not advocating self-harm or self-flagellation here. Paul’s opponent is self-indulgence, the opposite of self-discipline.  

Paul exercises self-discipline so that he is not disqualified for the prize.

What is Paul talking about here? What exactly is the prize he has in mind?

Well, in the context of what he has just been saying about building bridges to win others for Christ, it stands to reason that the prize (or the crown) is winning others for Christ. Paul doesn’t want to forfeit the privilege of being an apostle of Christ. He doesn’t want the bridges he has built to collapse.

But, given what Paul is about to say in Corinthians 10 (which we will get to another time), we can’t rule out the possibility that he might be talking about losing his eternal salvation. That’s a scary thought.         

We shouldn’t live in fear though. God is not looking for an excuse to exclude us from his kingdom. He wants a right relationship with us. We do better to remember that God’s grace is sufficient for us, for his power is made perfect in weakness.

Just as we cannot build bridges in our own strength, so too we can’t really teach ourselves. We need the help of the Spirit of Jesus who supports us and encourages us in our self-discipline, like a personal trainer.

If you are sincere in your desire to please God and follow Jesus, then you can be confident that He who has started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (The Lord has got you.)

Conclusion:

Paul was a remarkable individual. We might feel quite inadequate and under achieving by comparison. But comparisons are not always helpful. Kiwi culture (so I’m told) is quite relaxed, quite chill. We might not have Paul’s sense of intensity or passion, but we can learn from Paul.

Can I suggest little steps to start with, whether it’s building bridges or exercising self-discipline, start small and grow with God. 

Building bridges might mean talking with someone at work who may be different from you or making a connection with a neighbour who you don’t know.

If they are a person of peace, then you might make time to get to know them better and let them get to know you. See where the Spirit leads. You don’t have to quote Scripture at them straight away. Take the pressure out of it. They are not a project or a prop. They are a person to be listened to, understood, respected and loved. 

Exercising greater self-discipline might mean being more selective about what you watch on TV or spending less time focused on work in order to create a more consistent rhythm of physical exercise, prayer, Bible reading and practising hospitality.

Self-discipline isn’t always about doing more. Sometimes it’s about learning to be still and quiet your soul.

I don’t want to be too prescriptive. You need to figure out what is right for you in conversation with your personal trainer, the Holy Spirit. What’s good for one person may not be good for another. Know yourself, be yourself, share yourself, in Christ.

Let us pray: Gracious God, establish us in your love we ask. Guide us in paths of freedom and righteousness for your name’s sake. Help us to build bridges where we can and where you lead, through Jesus we pray. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Why do we need bridges? What does it mean to build a bridge?
  3. Why did Paul build bridges? Can you think of a time when someone built a bridge with you (or vice versa)? What happened? How did you feel?
  4. How might we go about building relational bridges with people we don’t know and/or who are different from us?
  5. Why is self-discipline essential to freedom?
  6. What habits or rhythms do you practice to strengthen your self-control muscles and train yourself in the ways of Christ? What sorts of things get in the way of self-discipline?
  7. What are the next (little) steps for you from this message?

[1] The Dr Erickson story came from a book called ‘Transforming Communication’ by Richard Bolstad and Margot Hamblett, page 71.

[2] Refer Kenneth Bailey’s commentary on 1st Corinthians, ‘Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes’, pp. 257-258.

Tawa Baptist

The Freedom Paradox

Scripture: 1st Corinthians 9:1-18

Video Link: https://youtu.be/ZG-yEtPvtoY

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • An apostle’s proof
  • An apostle’s rights
  • An apostle’s responsibility
  • Conclusion – Paul’s freedom

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Less is more. The only constant is change. The more you know, the more you know you don’t know. You have to spend money to make money. It’s hard making elegance look easy.

Each of these statements describes a paradox. A paradox is a statement or situation that seems contradictory or absurd at first but when investigated proves to be true.

Two weeks ago, we started a new sermon series in First Corinthians, not the whole letter, just one section of it: chapters 8, 9 and 10. We interrupted this series last Sunday for Mothers’ Day. We return to Corinthians again this morning.

In this section of Corinthians, Paul addresses the issue of freedom. How are Christians to use their freedom? Well, for Christians, freedom is somewhat of a paradox. When it comes to freedom, less is more. From First Corinthians chapter 9, verses 1-18 we read…

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? 2 Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 3 This is my defence to those who sit in judgment on me. 4 Don’t we have the right to food and drink? 5 Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? 6 Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? 8 Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing?  9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10 Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever ploughs and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. 15 But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast. 16 For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

There are a few twists and turns in Paul’s thinking here. So that we don’t get too lost, let me summarise…

Some of the Corinthian believers were questioning Paul’s pedigree as an apostle because he refused financial support from them. They figured, we pay the other apostles and preachers who come to visit but we don’t pay Paul, therefore Paul can’t be a real apostle.

In a world that attaches value to money there is this false assumption that if you are a volunteer (and not a paid professional) you are somehow less.

Paul counters this assumption by proving that he is an apostle and as an apostle he has every right to claim support. By the same token he is also free to refuse financial support.

Here in lies the freedom paradox. Less is more. If he accepts his right to payment, Paul loses his freedom as an apostle. But by refusing payment he loses his credibility but preserves his freedom.  

In the process of presenting the freedom paradox, Paul illuminates an apostle’s proof, an apostle’s rights and an apostle’s responsibilities. Let us begin then with an apostle’s proof. How do we know someone is a genuine apostle?

An Apostle’s Proof:

If you ever have the misfortune to call your bank or insurance company on the phone, you will have to prove to them that it’s really you. It’s not enough to give your name, you also need to tell them your date of birth, your address, your last eftpos withdrawal and what you ate for dinner on Wednesday three weeks ago. It’s hard to prove who are sometimes.

As I said before, some in the church at Corinth were questioning whether Paul really was a genuine apostle. So, in the opening two verses of Corinthians 9, Paul gives them his credentials by way of a series of short rhetorical questions. This shows humility on Paul’s part and invites empathy from his readers.

Paul’s first two questions are these: Am I not free? Am I not an apostle?  These two questions go together because what Paul is really talking about here is his apostolic freedom.

The word ‘apostle’ literally translates as ‘sent one’. An apostle is one sent by Jesus, like an ambassador of salvation sent to a foreign land. By definition an apostle is free. Not free to do what they want, but free to go where the Spirit of Jesus sends them. Paul is clear in his own mind that he definitely is an apostle.

Paul’s next question is this: Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?  

An apostle bears witness to the resurrection of Jesus. And so, in the first century, one of the qualifications of apostleship was having seen the risen Jesus with your own eyes. Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus and it turned his life around. It transformed his whole outlook.

Not many people these days can claim to have seen the risen Jesus with their own eyes, although we do hear reports of some in the Middle East and Asia who say Jesus has appeared to them. Given the transformation that happens in their lives as a result, we need to take their testimony seriously.

In any case, to be an apostle one must be completely convinced of Jesus’ resurrection and live out of that conviction, as Paul did wholeheartedly.  

After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to 500 people on one occasion. Not all of them though became apostles. Consequently, Paul’s final proof is this: Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?

This is probably Paul’s strongest proof and the hardest one for the Corinthians to refute. They had come to faith in Jesus through Paul’s evangelism and preaching among them. How could Paul have done this if he wasn’t a real apostle?

Indeed, to call Paul’s apostleship into question is to call their own conversion into question. Paul’s intellectual and spiritual leadership is proof that his apostleship is genuine.

The Corinthians are the seal of Paul’s apostleship in the Lord. In ancient times a wax or clay seal guaranteed the authenticity of a document. The presence of the Corinthian church guarantees the authenticity of Paul’s apostleship.

So do we have apostles today? Yes, we do. To say we don’t have apostles implies the risen Jesus has given up on sending ambassadors of salvation to the world, which he hasn’t of course.

In practical terms, we might think of an apostle as someone with special gifts of leadership and preaching, who establishes churches in unreached places.

Paul doesn’t spend too much time proving his apostleship (just two verses), the evidence speaks for itself. Rather strangely, he spends a lot more time talking about an apostle’s rights (12 verses).

An Apostle’s Rights:

The Prime Minister of NZ is entitled to a number of perquisites or benefits.

To start with they are paid close to $500,000 a year. Their official residence while in office is Premier House. They are transported by the Diplomatic Protection Service in a BMW car or by Air NZ or the Air Force.

The Prime Minister and their spouse and children are also entitled to travel allowances and reimbursement for accommodation.

The Prime Minister is given the title ‘Right Honourable’ and retains this title after leaving office. Those Prime Ministers who serve for more than two years get paid an annuity after leaving the role. Usually, they are made a knight or a dame as well and they are entitled to a state funeral.

Most Prime Ministers accept these entitlements and fair enough. It’s a demanding job and they shouldn’t have to pay their own way. There was one Prime Minister though (John Key) who gave up some of his rights by donating his salary to charity.

In verses 4-6 Paul outlines the rights of an apostle to receive food and drink from those they minister to and to take a believing wife along with them, who would also be supported by the church. We are not talking about a Prime Minister’s entitlements here. Just basic food and lodging.

Paul mentions that other apostles (and their wives) receive this kind of support, including Cephas (which is another name for the apostle Peter) and the Lord’s brothers. Apparently, Jesus’ half-brothers became believers after Jesus’ resurrection and had an honoured role in the early church.

Paul and Barnabas, however, chose to pay their own way. They supported themselves by working with their hands to make ends meet, then preaching and evangelizing whenever they could. Paul was a tent maker. He worked with leather (sort of like Suzy from the repair shop).

Paul came from a Jewish background, where rabbis worked at a trade and refused to be paid for teaching the Torah. For the rabbis, using the Torah to make money was like using something sacred as a spade. They wouldn’t do it.

But for the Corinthians, who had a Greek influenced background, the idea of a teacher or philosopher working with their hands was absurd, it was a contradiction. Philosophers were supposed to have lots of free time to think.

How can you think properly if you are laying bricks or sewing tents all day?

This may be why the Corinthians questioned Paul’s apostleship.              

Paul then proceeds to provide a series of justifications for why apostles (like himself) have a right to be provided for. Soldiers, vintners, shepherds, temple workers all get fed on the job. Even oxen get to eat the grain as they work.

How much more right does Paul have to be fed. He was the very first apostle to bring the gospel to them.  

As usual, Paul saves his best argument to last saying in verse 14: In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

Paul is referring to Luke 10, verse 7, where (in the context of sending out some disciples on a short-term mission trip) Jesus says: Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages.

Boom. There you have it. Mic drop. Paul is entitled to financial support from the Corinthians and yet he declines this support. Why?

Well, rights come with responsibilities, something once known as duty.

Rights and responsibilities are two sides of the same coin. The more rights you claim, the greater your responsibility and the greater your responsibility the less free you are. It’s the freedom paradox you see.    

An Apostle’s Responsibilities:

Imagine a future in which you are a scientist and you discover a way to make engines run on water. The great thing about your discovery is that it doesn’t use up water in the environment, it recycles water without causing pollution.

Your discovery means that fossil fuels are no longer needed. The potential benefits for the world’s ecosystems are manifold, reducing humankind’s carbon footprint and saving the planet from ecological disaster.

You now have a choice. You could, by rights, sell your intellectual property for an enormous amount and make a lot of money so that you never had to work again. But that would hinder the roll out of your discovery and millions of the world’s poor would pay the price in the meantime.

Alternatively, you could post your research online, making it freely available to any and all to reproduce. You would still need to work for a living but you would also remove any hindrance to the redemption of the environment and save millions of lives.

It’s a choice between the money or the environment. You can claim your rights by taking the money or you can give up your rights and save the environment from the tipping point of climate change. What would you do?

The apostle Paul did not discover the secrets of the water engine, but by God’s grace, he did discover the key to eternal life when he encountered the risen Christ. And from that point on he chose to make Jesus freely known to as many people as he could.    

After going to great lengths to show he is entitled to the right of support from the Corinthians, Paul then says (in verse 12), But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

This phrase about not hindering the gospel is key. Paul wants to avoid anything which might prevent a clear road for the advance of the gospel. How then does accepting support hinder the gospel?

Probably the main reason Paul doesn’t want to accept support from the Corinthians is that he would lose his apostolic freedom. As an apostle, Paul needs to be free to go wherever Jesus sends him.

If he is on the Corinthians’ payroll then he has a greater obligation to the Corinthian church. He would get sucked into doing a lot of admin for them and he wouldn’t be free to preach to other unreached people groups. Also, he would not be as free to correct the Corinthians when they got out of line.

In verse 16 Paul says he is compelled to preach the gospel. In other words, he doesn’t have a choice. For Paul, preaching the gospel is compulsory. He has been commissioned by Jesus to do it.

He does have a choice however in whether he charges for his services and, as we read in verse 18, Paul chooses to offer the gospel free of charge and so not make full use of his rights as a preacher.

Paul’s pay is to receive no pay, thus preserving his apostolic freedom. This is the freedom paradox. Less is more. Claiming less rights allows Paul more freedom.

I know what some of you are thinking. If Paul didn’t accept payment for his work as an apostle, why don’t I do as Paul did? Why don’t I preach for nothing? Well, I’m not an apostle. I don’t have Paul’s gifts or energy. Besides, preaching is not the only thing I do for the church.

We need to ask the right question. Not the superficial question. The deeper question. The question is not, should we pay people to do Christian ministry? The question is, what will remove any hindrance to the gospel? Or said more positively, what will make the gospel more accessible to others?

If I worked fulltime as an accountant or a business analyst or a teacher or a movie star, I would earn more money, but I would be less free to give myself to preaching the gospel.          

Now please understand, there’s nothing wrong with secular employment.

The world needs Christians to be salt and light for Jesus in the workplace. Accounting and teaching and plumbing are no less sacred than church work.

If I could do both, I would. But if God compels you to preach (like Paul) then you have to give yourself to the gospel.   

For Paul it was all about the gospel. Although he would not accept support for himself, he did ask for money to help other churches in need, and he did ask for travelling expenses for his mission work. Why? Because this promoted the gospel and preserved his freedom.

Paul’s example warns us to avoid self-interest. We don’t want to be like some TV evangelists from the 80’s who always had their hands out for money. It is not right to use the gospel like a spade to dig for cash, taking advantage of the sick and the old. That sort of thing is a hindrance to the gospel. As Bono said, ‘The God I believe in isn’t short of cash’.

Nevertheless, there is still a price to pay in making the gospel accessible to others.

A question for you personally to consider, what are you compelled to do for the gospel? Not everyone is compelled to preach. Not everyone has the same gifts or calling. What are you compelled to do for the gospel?  Maybe you are already doing it. Maybe you are yet to discover it? Don’t look back with regret. Look forward in hope.  

Conclusion:

In thinking about Paul’s freedom paradox, I’m reminded of another paradox. We might call it the life paradox. In Luke 17, verse 33, Jesus says: Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.

Let us pray…

Lord Jesus, thank you for the freedom we enjoy. Help us to spend our freedom responsibly in service to your gospel purpose. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. What is an apostle? How do we know someone is a genuine apostle? Can you think of any apostles in recent history?
  3. Why do some in the Corinthian church question Paul’s pedigree as an apostle? How do you think this made Paul feel? How does Paul respond?
  4. Why does Paul give up his right to financial support? What is the cost to Paul of doing this? What does Paul gain by giving up his right to support?
  5. What would you do if you discovered how to make an engine run on water? Take the money or give your research away to save the environment? Why?
  6. What are you compelled to do for the gospel? 
  7. What sorts of things today are a hindrance to the spread of the gospel? What will make the gospel more accessible to others?
Tawa Baptist

The Spirit & Saul

Scripture: Acts 9

Video Link: https://youtu.be/v9xfsj7_kas

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Stephen
  • Ananias
  • Barnabas
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Over the past two or three weeks we have watched Olympic athletes from all over the world competing at the highest level. These men and women are extraordinary in their ability, their commitment and their work ethic.

But, as capable as they are, most (if not all) of them did not get there alone. Each of them had people in the background of their lives supporting them. Coaches, parents, fundraisers, physios, friends and so on.

During the month of August, we are focusing on four messages from the book of Acts in support of Arotahi, the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society. The book of Acts tells how the Holy Spirit used men and women to share the message about Jesus.

Today our sermon focuses on the conversion of Saul, also known as the apostle Paul. Paul accomplished great things for God. He changed the world.

If Christian mission was an Olympic sport, then Paul would be one of the GOAT’s, one of the greatest of all time.

We do well to remember though, that Saul would not have become the apostle Paul without the help of some key individuals supporting him in the background. From Acts chapter 9, verse 1, we read…

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind and did not eat or drink anything.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

I said before that Saul would not have become the apostle Paul without the help of some key individuals. The Holy Spirit used three people in particular in the process of Saul’s call and conversion: Stephen, Ananias and Barnabas. Let’s begin by considering how the Spirit used Stephen. 

Stephen:

If you have a blocked sewer pipe, it does no good to keep flushing the toilet. The paper and the poo will back up until it finds a way out. The way out might be a vent somewhere onto your back lawn or (if you are unlucky) it might be the actual toilet bowl itself. Either way you end up with a smelly mess.

If your sewer line blocks, you really have to call a plumber who will put a camera down to see what the problem is. Sometimes the blockage can be cleared with an auger or a high-pressure hose. But if the pipe is damaged, you may need to replace it.

The psychologist, Carl Jung, said: “Fanaticism is always a sign of repressed doubt”.

Or, to put this another way, if repressed doubt is like a blocked sewer line, then the fanatic refuses to admit there is a problem and continues to flush the toilet more and more, even as the paper and poo of his fanaticism and anger spew out where it is not wanted.   

A fanatic is a person filled with excessive zeal, often for an extreme religious or political cause. Fanatics tend to be one eyed. They struggle to see things from another perspective. Before Saul met the risen Jesus, he was a religious fanatic.  

As we heard last week, Saul was present when Stephen gave his speech to the Jewish leadership and he approved of the crowd stoning Stephen. In fact, the killing of Stephen became the catalyst for Saul to go from house to house, dragging Christian men and women off to prison.

Stephen’s message was basically this: Jesus is the Messiah of God and the religious leaders (whom Saul aligned himself with) killed Jesus. But God has vindicated Jesus by raising him from the dead.

Stephen was so convinced that God had raised Jesus from the dead that he was willing to die for it. Stephen brought the religious leaders’ hate to the surface, only to forgive it.

This caused Saul to doubt his own belief system. If Stephen was right, then the religious leaders and Saul were on the wrong side of God. If Stephen was right, then much of what Saul believed in was a lie.

Of course, Saul does not want to face the possibility he is wrong. And so, he represses his doubt. He pushes his doubt deeper down into his unconscious. Saul thought he could get rid of his nagging doubt by flushing the Christians away. But the blockage caused by repressed doubt won’t be shifted like that.  

The more Saul persecuted the church, the more the paper and poo of his fanaticism and hate overflowed where it was not wanted.  

Having done as much damage as he could in Jerusalem, Saul moves on to Damascus to round up more Christians there. Damascus is about 140 miles north of Jerusalem. It would have taken about a week to get there on foot.

Saul was probably travelling with temple guards.

As Saul drew near to Damascus, the risen Lord Jesus appeared to him and said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” When Saul asks who is speaking to him, the Lord replies, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting”.

It is characteristic of Jesus to say much with few words. In just two short sentences Jesus removes all doubt and frees Saul from his fanaticism.

Saul now sees first hand, for himself, that God has raised Jesus from the dead and he understands clearly that Stephen was right. He (Saul) is on the wrong side of God’s purpose. By persecuting Christians Saul was in fact fighting against God, without being aware of it.

We must not miss the inference in Jesus’ words here. The risen and ascended Jesus is intimately connected, by his Spirit, to his church on earth. When Saul persecuted Christians, Jesus felt it. ‘What you do to least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you do to me’, is what the Lord says in Matthew’s gospel.     

The point I’m making here is that the Holy Spirit used Stephen to sow the irritating seed of gospel truth in Saul’s heart. Without someone like Stephen to sow the seed, Saul may never have become a Christian. Stephen’s message and death had a profound effect on Saul.

Now most people are not as fanatical as Saul was. But pretty much everyone holds some kind of false belief at some point in their life. And, whether you become a Christian or not, the Holy Spirit is likely to use a person (like Stephen) to challenge your false beliefs.

When that happens, you have a choice. You can either offer your doubts up to God and say, ‘Lord, show me the truth about Jesus and the truth about myself’.

Or you can double down and repress your doubt. But if you do that, your doubt will surface somewhere else in your life as fanaticism. Either way, the truth will come out in the end. You cannot avoid it.   

Who is your Stephen? Who sowed the irritating seed of gospel truth in your life? Whose Christian witness got under your skin? Who caused you to doubt your false beliefs? Who brought your fanaticism and hate to the surface, only to forgive it?

Jesus wants to remove the blockages to faith in him caused by the lies we believe. Be open to the truth. Accept Jesus by faith.

We are talking today about the people the Spirit of God used to bring Saul to faith in Jesus. We have heard how Stephen planted the irritating seed of gospel truth. Now let’s consider how the Holy Spirit used Ananias to heal Saul. From verse 10 of Acts 9, we continue the account of Saul’s conversion…

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Helen Keller once wrote, ‘Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light’.

She knew this from experience. Helen Keller was both deaf and blind. She was also intelligent and courageous, a woman of faith. She wrote a dozen books and became an inspiration to millions. But Helen Keller did not accomplish these things on her own. There were people in the background of her life who supported her and helped her reach her potential.

In particular, Anne Sullivan. Anne became Helen Keller’s lifelong teacher and mentor. Anne used touch to teach Helen the alphabet and to make words by spelling them with her finger on Helen’s palm. Helen soon caught on.

Eventually Helen learned to read Braille and write with a specially designed typewriter. With Anne Sullivan’s tutoring, Helen Keller was admitted to College and graduated with distinction. And, when Anne Sullivan married John Macy in 1905, Helen Keller went to live with them and the support continued. [1]

Without Anne Sullivan, the world may not have been blessed with the insight and inspiration of Helen Keller. 

After his encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, Saul was struck blind. He could hear well enough; he just couldn’t see. Saul’s blindness was quite different from Helen Keller’s blindness. Helen was only physically blind, whereas Saul was both physically and spiritually blind. 

Ananias, a Christian believer, received a vision in which Jesus told him to go and lay hands on Saul to heal Saul of his blindness. Ananias wasn’t too sure at first, but Jesus insisted so Ananias found his courage and obeyed Jesus in faith.

Christian faith isn’t just thinking the right things about God in our head. Real faith always finds expression in obedience to Christ.

The healing wasn’t just for Saul’s benefit. It was also for the benefit of the other Christian believers. The Holy Spirit’s healing of Saul, through Ananias, demonstrated to the church that Jesus had forgiven Saul and accepted him, therefore they could too.

When Ananias entered the house where Saul was staying, he said, ‘Brother Saul…’ Brother. There is no recrimination. No judgement. No accusation. Simply an offer of grace. Jesus had accepted Saul and that made Saul family. 

Saul accepts God’s grace through Ananias and his sight is restored, both his physical sight and his spiritual sight. Then, as a sign of his conversion and commitment to follow Jesus, Saul was baptised with water.

We don’t really hear much else about Ananias after that. His time in the spotlight is brief but significant. For without Ananias’ faithful obedience to Jesus, Saul may not have become an apostle of Christ. The Holy Spirit used Ananias to help Saul at an important crossroads in his life.

Usually, when someone becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit involves a number of different people in the process. But, at some point in that process, we each need to make a decision for Christ. At some point we reach a crossroads, when we must make a commitment and say, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. I surrender my life to you’.  

Are you at the crossroads? Are you ready to commit to Jesus?

Who is your Ananias? Who has the Spirit provided to minister God’s grace?

Who has Jesus sent to hold you through the waters of baptism?

Accept the Lord’s help. Be in Christ. Be right with God.

And for those who have already given their lives to Jesus, are you ready to be an Ananias for someone else?

The Holy Spirit used a number of different people in the process of Saul’s conversion. Stephen diagnosed Saul’s sickness, and Ananias ministered God’s cure. But there is one other person who played a vital role in supporting Saul and that is Barnabas.

Barnabas:

For many days after his baptism Saul stayed in Damascus and began preaching that Jesus is the Son of God. Eventually though he had to leave because there was a conspiracy to kill him. From verse 26 of Acts 9 we continue Saul’s story…

26 When Saul came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. Barnabas told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 

Some trees, in nature, require other buddy trees of the same species planted close by to help promote pollination. For example, apple trees, pear trees and plum trees may need up to three other trees of the same variety around them in order to fruit well.

Christians are a bit like that too. To be fruitful we need other believers around us.

Saul had a problem. People were afraid of him. They wouldn’t let him get close. Saul was like a lone apple tree. He couldn’t be as fruitful or effective in his witness for Jesus by himself. Saul needed an advocate, someone trustworthy who could vouch for him.

Barnabas was just that person. Barnabas believed in Saul and trusted the work of the Holy Spirit in Saul’s life.

Barnabas reassured the believers in Jerusalem that Saul was the real deal and could be trusted. This enabled Saul to stay connected to the church and continue the work Jesus had called him to.

There is much more we could say about Barnabas and Saul’s partnership in the gospel, but we don’t have time today. Suffice to say, that without Barnabas, Saul’s career as an apostle may have been far less fruitful. 

Who is your Barnabas? Who believes in you when no one else does? Who sees you and trusts the work of the Spirit in your life. Who comes alongside you and keeps you connected with God’s people? Who makes you more fruitful for Christ? Take care of that relationship. Your life may depend on it.

Consider also who you can be a Barnabas for.

Conclusion:

Let us pray…

Father God, thank you for including us in your plan of salvation.

Holy Spirit, give us eyes to see your hand at work in the world around us.

Lord Jesus, help us to live in a way that glorifies you. Amen. 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Who do you identify with most in Acts 9? Saul, Stephen, Ananias or Barnabas? Why? 
  3. How does doubt affect human behaviour? How did Saul deal with his doubts? How do you deal with your doubts?
  4. Discuss / reflect on Jesus’ words to Saul on the road to Damascus. What does this tell us about Jesus and his relationship with the church?  
  5. How did Stephen help Saul? Who is your Stephen? Who sowed the seed of gospel truth in your life? Whose Christian witness gets under your skin? Who caused you to doubt your false beliefs?
  6. How did Ananias help Saul? If you haven’t yet committed your life to Jesus, what are the next steps for you? If you are committed to Jesus, are you ready to be an Ananias for someone else?
  7. How did Barnabas help Saul? Who is your Barnabas? Who believes in you when no one else does? Who makes you more fruitful for Christ? What can you do to take care of that relationship? Who can you be a Barnabas for?

[1] From womenshistory.org

Tawa Baptist

Continuity & Transformation

Scripture: 1st Corinthians 15:35-50

Video Link: https://youtu.be/VUUAN9TiW8E

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Symptoms & Cause
  • Continuity & Transformation
  • Before & After
  • Conclusion – application

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

If you are out at sea and the boat you are in is leaking, you need to do two things. You need to bail out the water you’ve taken on board and you need to patch the hole to stop the leak. Patching the hole deals with the cause of the problem and bailing out the excess water deals with the symptoms.

Likewise, if you are running a high temperature you may need to take some Panadol to bring the temperature down but Panadol, by itself, only deals with the symptoms. To deal with the cause of the problem you need to go to a doctor. If the underlying issue is an infection, then you might need antibiotics to treat the cause.  

Today we continue our series in 1st Corinthians 15, where the apostle Paul writes about resurrection. Some in the church at Corinth were saying there is no resurrection of the dead. Having dealt with the symptoms of this problem, Paul also addresses the underlying cause of the problem. From 1st Corinthians 15, verses 35-50, we read…

35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendour of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendour of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendour, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendour. 42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.  45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. 50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Symptoms and cause:

In the first 34 verses of 1st Corinthians 15, Paul writes about the absolute necessity of the resurrection for Christian faith. As helpful and necessary as these verses are, they mainly deal with the symptoms of the problem.  

Now, in verses 35-50, Paul addresses the underlying cause of the Corinthians’ problem. He patches the hole in the sinking boat of their faith. He administers the theological antibiotics needed to treat their infected thinking.

You see, the people of Corinth were strongly influenced by Greek thought. The Greek philosopher Plato (who lived about 400 years before Paul) came up with a theory that each human being has a divine soul of pure fire that, in this life, is imprisoned in a body. At death the soul (or spirit) escapes from the prison of the body and returns to the divine fire from which it came. [1]

To the ancient Greek mind, there was a false dichotomy (or a divide) between body and soul. The body was considered inferior (even bad) relative to the soul or spirit. Consequently, the ancient Greeks had a hard time accepting the resurrection of the body. The idea that God would raise people’s bodies from the dead was revolting to them.

Paul was Jewish and so his thinking started with the story of creation where God made all things and declared them good. For Christians there is no dichotomy between body & soul. Your body is not a prison, it’s not bad. Your body is good; it is sacred even. The problem is with sin and death.  

But Paul’s Greek readers didn’t think like that. They had been conditioned differently and so Paul had to address the underlying cause. Paul had to undo the Greek idea that the body was bad (like a prison) and he had to correct the false notion of a disembodied spirit after death.

People in our society today might also struggle with the idea of a bodily resurrection but for different reasons, perhaps because materialism is so pervasive in our culture. For many people, if they can’t touch it or see it or explain it, then it doesn’t exist. That’s how we are conditioned to think.

In verse 35, Paul imagines two questions some of his readers might ask:

How are the dead raised? (Or how is resurrection possible, in other words.)

And with what kind of body will they come? (Or said another way: what is the resurrected body like?) Paul answers these questions in the verses that follow.

He begins by saying, ‘How foolish’. Paul is not calling his readers stupid or unintelligent. Rather, he is using the term ‘fool’ in the Old Testament sense of someone who fails to take God into account.

How are the dead raised? By God of course. And with what kind of body will they come? A different kind of body, perfectly suited to eternity.

Continuity and transformation:

In short, Paul is saying there is a continuity between this life and the next but there is also transformation. Continuity with transformation.

There is continuity in the sense that just as you have a personal body in this life, so too you will have your own body in the next life. Contrary to Greek philosophy then, you don’t become a disembodied spirit when you die and you don’t lose your individuality.  

Having said that, your resurrected body will be a different kind of body from the earthly body you inhabit now. Your body will undergo a radical transformation in the resurrection.

This principle of transformation was different from what the Jewish Rabbis taught in the first century. The Rabbis believed in a bodily resurrection but they didn’t think the body changed. They believed you just get your old body back, which for most of us (as we get older) is not a happy thought.

When it comes to the resurrection, the Christian belief is continuity with transformation.

Paul isn’t making this stuff up. This is not some ethereal woolly idea without any basis in reality. Paul has a firm (evidence based) foundation for his claims about the resurrection.

In verses 36-41, Paul lists a series of examples from nature which demonstrate the continuity and transformation of resurrection. Paul talks about the bodies of plants, the bodies of animals, fish and birds, as well as celestial bodies like the moon and stars. It reminds us of the account of creation in Genesis 1 & 2. Indeed, resurrection is a new creation.

Paul is showing how the continuity and transformation of resurrection are built into the very fabric of the natural world. From verse 37 we read…

37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 

Take a tomato seed for example. The seed that is buried in the ground looks nothing like the plant that grows from that seed. Yes, there is a continuity between the seed and the plant, the seed has a body and the plant has a body, but God transforms the seed into something different, something more. 

Although Paul doesn’t mention it, we see the twin principles of continuity and transformation in the life cycle of a butterfly. A butterfly doesn’t start life with wings. A butterfly starts as a caterpillar before going into its cocoon and being transformed.

Paul goes on in verse 39 to talk about the different kinds of flesh God has given to animals, birds, fish and human beings. Paul is saying here that God gives all of his creatures a body type which uniquely suits their existence and their environment.

For example, he gives whales a body that enables them to live in cold water and dive to great depths. But, in the same way a whale doesn’t do so well on land, a human body couldn’t survive in frigid waters like a whale can.

Likewise, God gives birds a body that enables them to fly. But if a goat were to jump off a cliff, it wouldn’t fly, it would fall to the ground because God has given it a different body type, one which is suited for climbing mountains.

All of this is Paul’s way of answering the question posed earlier: with what kind of body will the resurrected come? With a body that is suited for eternal life.

The earthly bodies we inhabit now would not be able to cope with the glory of heaven, any more than a goat could fly or a human being could live in the sea.

Before and after:

In verses 42-44 Paul talks plainly about the transformation of the body through resurrection:  42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.         

In these verses Paul notes four differences between our earthly bodies and our resurrected bodies. 

To begin with, our earthly bodies are perishable, they wear out, get sick and fail us until eventually we die. But the transformed body we receive through resurrection is imperishable. Which means it is physically resilient. It doesn’t get sick or tired or wear out. Think Wolverine or Superman or Captain Marvel.

Our earthly bodies are sown in dishonour and raised in glory. Glory is the opposite of dishonour. Glory, for human beings, has to do with honourable qualities like courage, integrity, faithfulness, wisdom and self-control.

In this life we may want to act with honour all the time but in reality we fall short more often than we would like. In the resurrection we will have the kind of transformed character that supports our best intentions to act with courage, integrity, faithfulness, wisdom, self-control and so on. 

Or as William Barclay puts it: we will no longer be servants of our own passions but rather instruments of pure service to God.

Our bodies now are weak but in the resurrection they will be powerful. We will be able to cope with the rigours of God’s kingdom both physically and morally. In thinking of power, don’t think in terms of brute force. Instead, think of Jesus.

Power (in this context) isn’t just about how much you can bench press or how much you can bend people to your will. We are not talking about military or political power here.

Power, in a Christian understanding, is more about moral fitness. Jesus had the power to stand against injustice, to speak the truth and, at the same time, to be gracious and gentle. Jesus had the personal power to turn the other cheek and to forgive. What’s more, Jesus also had the supernatural power to heal people and deliver them from the tyranny of Satan.

Power is defined by the example of Christ, not by the broken standards of this world. Christ-like power appears weak at first but don’t be fooled; the weakness of God is stronger than the might of empires.    

The fourth transformation of the body (named in verse 44) is the change from a natural body to a spiritual body. To be spiritual means to be responsive to God’s Spirit. It means being so close to God, so in tune with him, that you instinctively move at the impulse of his love. 

Imagine finding a piece of drift wood on the beach. Now imagine taking the wood home and transforming it into a finely crafted wooden flute, which you play beautiful music with.

Your body in this world now, is like the drift wood. In the resurrection, God transforms the driftwood of your body into a beautiful instrument that is in tune with him, through which his Spirit works to ‘render the music of perfect worship, perfect service and perfect love’. [2]

We are trying to describe the indescribable. We are trying to imagine the heavenly using earthly images. Words fall short.

Understand this though, a spiritual body is not an immaterial thing. A spiritual body is not a phantom or a ghost. A spiritual body has real substance. You can touch and feel a spiritual body.

When the risen Jesus appeared to Thomas, the Lord said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put into my side…’

Thomas was able to physically touch Jesus’ resurrected body.

If an earthly body is a what we might call a natural body, then a spiritual body is a supernatural body, one that is fit for the kingdom of heaven.

In verses 45-49, Paul compares and contrasts Adam and Jesus. The first Adam was made from the dust of the earth and received life from God. There is no shame in being made from mud, in being earthy. God declared our bodies (and indeed all he made) to be good.

Being people of the earth is a natural and necessary stage in our development, just as being a caterpillar is a necessary stage of development for a butterfly. Or being a seed is a good and necessary stage of development for a plant.

But this life is not all there is. The next stage of our development is to become like the risen Jesus, the last Adam, the heavenly man.

Like us, Jesus was an earthy person. He was made of dust as well. But, after Jesus had died, God raised Jesus to eternal life and gave him a heavenly body, a supernatural body, suited for eternity. Jesus is our model, our pattern.

Those who belong to Jesus will be resurrected like Jesus and given a new body, one made from the stuff of heaven so that we can be close to God and enjoy him forever. The stuff of heaven is imperishable, it is glorious, honourable, (morally) powerful and perfectly in tune with God.

Conclusion:

You might be wondering, well that’s all well and good but how does this apply to us now, today? Let me suggest three points of application…

Firstly, when it comes to the question of how your earthly body is disposed of when you die, from an eternal perspective, it makes no difference whether you are buried or cremated. Our earthly bodies are made of dust and return to dust. In the resurrection we are given new supernatural bodies, made from the stuff of heaven. God doesn’t need your old bones to make the new you.

So you don’t need to tie yourself in knots worrying about how God will resurrect you. This is not his first rodeo. He created the heavens and the earth. He created you. God knows what he’s doing. Nothing is too hard for the Lord.

Secondly, as you get older you will notice your body doesn’t work as effectively or efficiently as it did when you were younger. You move slower. You seem to have more aches and pains and you find you can’t do as much as you once could. Getting older is difficult.

The good news is that in the resurrection you will be given a new body which is resilient and doesn’t let you down or become frail. So, whatever physical pain or limitations you may be enduring now, these will not last.

Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

A third point of application. Whether you are young or old or in between, you may feel at times like a moral or spiritual failure. You may struggle to understand what God wants you to do in any given situation, let alone have the courage or integrity to obey him.

Remember, you are a work in progress. In this life you are like the seed. You are like the caterpillar. You are like the driftwood. God has not finished with you yet.

Be confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

In the resurrection, we who belong to Christ will be so close to God, so in tune with him, that we instinctively move at the impulse of his love. It might be difficult to imagine right now, but God will get you there in the end if you hold to Christ. His grace is sufficient for you.

There are other points of application, but that is enough for today. May our God of grace strengthen our hope as we look forward to the transformation of our bodies in the resurrection. Amen.

(Prayer will be available after the service by the water cooler.)

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • When faced with a problem, why is it important deal with both the symptoms and the cause of the problem? What was the likely cause of the Corinthians’ problem concerning the resurrection?  
  • Do you believe in a bodily resurrection? Why or why not? Has your understanding (or belief) about resurrection changed over time? If so, how? 
  • In what sense is there a continuity between this life and the next?
  • Why is it necessary for our bodies to undergo a transformation in the resurrection?
  • Thinking of what Paul says in vv. 42-44, how is our resurrected body different from our earthly body?
  • Discuss / reflect on the three points of application offered at the conclusion of this message. Can you think of any other ways in which the Christian belief in a bodily resurrection applies to us now?  

[1] Kenneth Bailey, ‘Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes’, pages 454-467.

[2] William Barclay’s commentary on Corinthians, page 177. 

Tawa Baptist

The End

Scripture: 1st Corinthians 15:20-28

Video Link: https://youtu.be/WsylwUo8wpo

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Jesus’ resurrection means the end of death
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

When I was a kid my grandfather took me fishing every holidays. One of the things he taught me was how to avoid making a bird’s nest of your line. If you let your reel go too quickly, it tends to tangle the line. The key is control. Take your time and let your line out slowly.

Today we continue our series in 1st Corinthians 15, where Paul writes about resurrection. There were some in the church at Corinth who were saying there is no resurrection of the dead and this was creating a bird’s nest in people’s faith and thinking. Paul was writing (among other things) to untangle the bird’s nest. From 1st Corinthians 15, verses 20-28, we read…     

20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.  23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us. 

Now, after hearing that, you may be feeling a bit confused. I certainly felt confused the first 10 or 20 times I read it. Paul is untangling a bird’s nest here, so it is little wonder we might be somewhat bamboozled. But really, Paul’s main idea is not that complicated.

Jesus’ resurrection means the end of death.

We could summarise Paul’s thinking like this: Jesus’ resurrection means the end of death.As we work our way through the detail, I want you to keep that bigger picture in mind: Jesus’ resurrection means the end of death.

If I am following a recipe, I always like to have a picture of what the cake is supposed to look like when it is finished. Written instructions are necessary but without a picture of the end product I can’t see the goal I aiming for.

In 1st Corinthians 15, Paul is showing us what the recipe of resurrection turns out like.

When you are planting trees on your section, you need to keep the end in mind. The tree might be quite small when you put it in the ground, so you have to think ahead and imagine what the tree will look like in 10 or 20 years’ time. Is it in the right place? Will there be enough room for it?

In 1st Corinthians 15, Paul is showing us what the tree of resurrection looks like when it is fully grown.

If you think back to your time at high school, you might remember your maths text book. The body of the text book contained problems for you to solve and at the back you could find the answers. Being able to look up the correct answer enabled you to learn from your mistakes. It gave you a clue as to how to approach the problem.

In 1st Corinthians 15, Paul is giving us the answer to the problem of death so we can work backwards from there and learn from our mistakes.

In verse 20, Paul describes Jesus’ resurrection as the ‘firstfruits’ of those who have fallen asleep. The Law of Moses prescribed that the first sheaf of barley harvested from a common field was to be offered to God in the temple. In fact, on the first Easter Sunday, when Jesus rose from the dead, the Jewish priests would have been offering the firstfruits of the barley harvest.  

Offering the firstfruits was an acknowledgement that the whole harvest belonged to God, for the Lord had provided it. The offering of the first sheaf of grain blessed and guaranteed the rest of the harvest.

Jesus’ resurrection was like an offering of the firstfruits. Jesus’ resurrection is a foretaste or a deposit, guaranteeing the resurrection of all those who belong to Christ.    

In verses 21 & 22, Paul draws a comparison between Adam and Christ. Just as those who are descended from Adam die, because Adam sinned, so too those descended from Christ (through faith) will live, because Jesus the Christ was obedient to God.

Christ is both the beginning and the end. Jesus is the first of a new breed of human beings, a new creation, a new race which obeys God in faith. At the same time, Jesus is also the end result or the goal for humanity. If we want to know what God intends human beings to be like, then we look to Jesus. The risen Christ is God’s vision for humanity.

Basically, Jesus does for us what we are not able to do for ourselves. Jesus lives the perfect life on our behalf. He fulfils God’s requirements for us. Our part is to stand in solidarity with him. That is, to trust Jesus.  

The Wellington train lines had some difficulties over the past week. We could think of Paul’s comparison between Adam and Christ as two separate train lines. The train line which began with Adam leads to death. It is going to end in tragedy. But there is a second train line which begins with Christ and leads to life. The destination of Christ’s line is resurrection.

Adam’s line and Christ’s line overlap for a certain period of time in history. God wants to give everyone the opportunity to get off Adam’s death train and get onto Jesus’ life line. Getting off Adam’s train and boarding Jesus’ train requires an act of faith.  

In verse 23 Paul goes on to point out the resurrection happens in two stages. First, Jesus was raised from the dead and then later, when Jesus returns in glory, those who belong to Christ will be raised to life as well.

This means physical death is not a permanent state for those who belong to Jesus. Physical death is a temporary state, sort of like sleep.

Some of you may be wondering, what about those who do not belong to Jesus? What happens to them? Well, Paul doesn’t deal with that subject in these verses and so neither will I.

It is not for us to say how God will deal with people who don’t know Jesus or who do know him but reject him. What we can say with confidence is that God is good; he understands all things and he sees the heart. The Lord is just and merciful, slow to anger and rich in love. Therefore, we can rely on God to do what is right by each individual person.

From verse 24 Paul continues…

24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

The word end can have two meanings. It can mean the termination or destruction of something and it can also mean the purpose or goal of something. Both meanings are relevant here.  

Paul is saying that when Jesus returns in glory, the dead who belong to Christ will be resurrected. This resurrection of Jesus’ followers will mean the end (as in the destruction) of death. At the same time, the destruction of death is God’s end (as in God’s goal or purpose) as far as his creation is concerned.

In short, God’s purpose is to destroy death. Jesus’ resurrection sets in motion a process which will ultimately result in the end of death. So while death was not destroyed 2,000 years ago, when Jesus was raised to eternal life, death will be destroyed when Jesus returns to raise those who belong to him. 

Verses 24 & 25 indicate that the risen and ascended Christ is reigning. Jesus is King. However, despite Jesus’ reign, the enemies of God are still at work. And so we currently live in (what is sometimes called) ‘the now but not yet’. That is, the Kingdom of God is here now, in the person of Jesus, but it is not yet fully realised on earth.

We live in between the resurrection of Jesus and the destruction of death.

Yes, Jesus has conquered sin and death, but sin and death are still doing damage here on earth.

Perhaps we could think of it like a war. Once the heat of battle is over and the war is won, the effects of the war still remain for a certain period of time. Those who have survived the war may be maimed, both physically and psychologically. What’s more the enemy, though defeated, has left land mines in the ground which need to be cleared. 

To complicate matters, those loyal to the defeated enemy remain in the country to stir up trouble. Eventually though, all the land mines and booby traps will be cleared. All the trauma of war will be healed and God will wipe away every tear. What’s more, the enemies of Christ (including death) will be put under Jesus’ feet.

Jesus told a number of parables to illustrate this interim time of the now but not yet, including the parable of the wheat and the weeds, in Matthew 13.

You know the one. A man (aka: Jesus, the Son of Man) sowed good seed in his field. But, while everyone was asleep, the man’s enemies came and sowed weeds in the same field.

The man let the weeds grow alongside the wheat because he knew that if he pulled up the weeds, the wheat would be uprooted too. The man waited until harvest time (that is, the end of the age) and instructed the harvesters to separate the weeds from the wheat. The weeds are destroyed while the wheat (or those who belong to Christ) are brought into the barn (into God’s kingdom in other words).      

Returning to 1st Corinthians 15. Verse 27, where it says: For he “has put everything under his feet”, appears to be a twin reference to Psalm 8 and Psalm 110.

In the context of Psalm 8, putting everything under his feet, means God’s purpose is for humanity to rule over creation (the fish, the birds and animals) in a compassionate and fair way, maintaining the balance and harmony of the natural world.

But in the context of Psalm 110, putting everything under his feet, is a poetic way of saying, the Lord’s enemies (also the enemies of humanity) will be dead and buried, with no possible way of making a comeback.  

It seems Paul is saying two things at once here. Firstly, that the resurrection of Jesus restores God’s order to creation and secondly, that the resurrection of Jesus destroys death.

This makes sense because, destroying death is part and parcel of restoring God’s order to creation.  As long as people die, God’s sovereign purposes are not yet fully realised. Hence the need for resurrection.

Now, in talking about death, it is important to understand that we don’t just mean physical death. Death, in a Biblical understanding, isn’t just when someone’s heart stops beating and their brain function ceases.

Death comes by degrees. It disguises itself in many different ways. Sickness is a form of death. Divorce and the breakdown of relationships are a form of death. Violent acts of crime reek of death as does economic injustice. Addiction and slavery also spell death. And then there is spiritual death, which is essentially alienation from God.   

We live in the now but not yet, between Jesus’ resurrection and his second coming. Jesus has won the war and defeated death (on the cross) but God hasn’t yet destroyed death.

Knowing that, one day, God will destroy death in all its many and varied forms gives us something good to look forward to; it gives us hope. This means, when death touches our lives in some way, we do not need to be afraid. God does not want bad things for us, he wants good for us.

And this is why Jesus taught us to pray for God’s kingdom to come and his will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven. By praying for God’s kingdom to come, we are calling for an end to death, we are asking for eternal (resurrection) life.

In verses 27 & 28, Paul clarifies the obvious; that God the Father will not be put under Christ the Son. Rather, as Paul has already stated in verse 24, when death is destroyed, Christ (the new and perfect representative of humanity) will hand over the kingdom to God the Father, so that God may all in all.

By subjecting himself to God, Jesus is doing for humanity what we failed to do. Jesus is restoring the right order of things: with God in charge, human beings living in faithful, loving obedience to God and the rest of creation subject to (and cared for by) human beings. 

That phrase (in verse 28) where it says, so God may be all in all, sounds a bit cryptic but really it’s not that difficult. It is simply Paul’s unique way of saying, so God’s will may be done everywhere by everyone. That is what God’s kingdom is: A world where God’s will is done perfectly. A world without evil or fear. Relationships characterised by love and joy and peace.    

Conclusion:

To summarise then: Jesus’ resurrection means the end of death is inevitable. We live in the now but not yet, in between Jesus’ resurrection and our own resurrection. While Jesus currently reigns supreme, the enemies of sin and death still have an influence in this world, but it won’t always be like that.

God’s end goal, his ultimate purpose, is to destroy death in all its forms. Which means the best is yet to come.

As we read in the Revelation to John…

3 I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 

May our God of love refresh our hope and strengthen our faith, through Jesus’ resurrection. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Is the meaning of 1st Corinthians 15:20-28 clear to you or a bit confusing at first? 
  • Why does Paul show his readers God’s end goal in verses 20-28?
  • What difference does it make to you (personally) knowing that God’s end goal is to destroy death?
  • Discuss / reflect on the meaning of verse 27a (for he has put everything under his feet) in the context of Psalms 8 & 110.
  • What does Paul mean when he writes: ‘so God may be all in all’?
  • Take some time to pray the Lord’s Prayer slowly (phrase by phrase) reflecting on the meaning of the words in light of what Paul’s says about God’s end goal in 1st Corinthians 15:20-28. 

Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.

For yours in the kingdom, the power and the glory.

Forever and ever. Amen.

Tawa Baptist

Completion

Scripture: 1st Thessalonians 5:23-28

Video Link: https://youtu.be/cLT84c9Vbto

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Completion of salvation
  • Affirmation of friendship
  • Conclusion – Grace

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Sometimes in the music world, you hear the term ‘unplugged’. An unplugged song is stripped down to its bones, so the sound is simpler, more acoustic. Unplugged songs often have an intimate feel.

Today we conclude our sermon series in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians by focusing on the closing verses of chapter 5. In these verses Paul gives us a stripped down acoustic summary of his letter. This is Paul unplugged. From first Thessalonians chapter 5, verses 23-28 we read…

23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

25 Brothers and sisters, pray for us. 26 Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

In this passage Paul sums up the two main themes of his letter. When you strip it all down the letter has been about the completion of salvation and an affirmation of friendship.

Completion of salvation:

Transmission gully is now open. I think we can say it is complete. Complete enough to drive on anyway. We were waiting longer than we expected but with good reason. It was a massive project and it needed to be completed properly.

In verses 23-24 of Thessalonians 5, Paul pronounces a benediction or a blessing over the believers in Thessalonica. His benediction is essentially about the completion of our salvation, which has been one of the main messages of his whole letter. In the first part of verse 23 Paul says…

23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.

Paul describes God here as the God of peace. Gordon Fee reminds us that, in Paul’s writing, peace rarely refers to the well-arranged heart of the individual but rather to the life of the community, that believers live together without conflict.

Probably though, we can’t separate the inner peace of a ‘well-arranged heart’ from the relational peace of the community. I mean, it is difficult to live in peace with others if you aren’t at peace with yourself. 

In any case, God is a God of peace. Which means God is relational. Jesus came to make peace possible in all our relationships. 

Sanctify is a word which means to make holy, pure or clean. If your dishes are dirty you might sanctify them, or make them clean and holy, by putting them through the dishwasher.

Or if you get Covid you must go through a period of isolation until you have recovered and are able to be with others without passing on the virus. The isolation period is like a sanctification process.

To be sanctified through and through means being holy on the inside and the out. It’s like Jesus said: ‘Wash the inside of the cup and the outside will be clean too’.

In view of what Paul has just been saying about the God of peace, it would logically follow that being holy (or sanctified) has to do with the way we treat others; actions characterised by justice and mercy, attitudes shaped by humility and compassion.

Jesus’ stripped down, unplugged, acoustic definition of holiness is to love God, love your neighbour and love yourself.

In the second part of verse 23 Paul says…

May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  

Much ink has been spilled over what Paul means here by spirit, soul and body. But I don’t think Paul is giving a Grey’s Anatomy (medical) type description of the human person. Paul is simply using these three terms to describe a whole human being. It’s another way of saying, may God sanctify you through and through, inside and out.   

Having said that, people are still curious about what the words spirit, soul and body are referring to, so some explanation is needed.

By body Paul’s mean your physical body. The body we inhabit is given to us by God and we need to look after it. For Christians the body is sacred. It is holy and not ours to do whatever we want with. Our bodies are instruments for God’s purpose in the world.

Our body is not separate from our spirit or soul. They all go together as an integrated whole.

The term soul can have a different nuance of meaning depending on the context in which it is used. Sometimes the soul refers to the whole person, like when someone says, ‘there were 54 souls on board’.

More often though the human soul refers to the non-physical (or immaterial) aspects of a person. That is, your life force, your will, your personality, the things that can’t be studied under a microscope but which are nevertheless real and make you uniquely you. We are more than just a collection of biological cells and chemical elements.  

The human spirit can also mean different things depending on the context. Generally, though, we are probably best to think of our spirit as that part of us which connects with God. Our spirit is essentially a conduit for relating with God.

In differentiating the functions of the body, soul and spirit, we might think of the different parts of a computer. The hardware of the computer (the keyboard, screen and circuitry) is like the physical body. The operating system and application software is sort of like the soul.

And the wifi connection is like the spirit. Without wifi, a computer can’t connect with the internet or other computers.

This analogy should not be pressed too far. I’m not suggesting people are machines. Human beings are infinitely more valuable and complex than computers. Nor am I suggesting that God is like the internet.

Another (more organic) metaphor could be that of a tree. The trunk and the branches of the tree are like the body. While the roots of the tree are like the human spirit, because the roots connect the tree to the earth, drawing water and nutrients from the soil.

The sap running through the trunk and branches, together with the fruit of the tree, are a bit like the soul. The sap contains the tree’s life force and the fruit is an expression of the tree’s personality.      

Although this metaphor is not perfect, it is helpful. We human beings receive life by putting our roots (or our spirit) down deep into the soil of God’s love. This spirit connection with God nourishes our soul and body so that we bear the fruit of love, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness and so on, to the praise of God’s glory.

But I digress. We shouldn’t get too caught up with distinctions over body, soul and spirit. Paul’s main point is the completion of our salvation. God is at work to sanctify our whole being, both as individuals and as a community of faith.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we live in the ‘overlap’, the ‘in between’, the ‘now but not yet’. Yes, Jesus has come and he has conquered sin and death. And yes, all those who put their trust in Jesus are saved. But our salvation won’t be fully realised until Jesus returns in glory. In the meantime, we may still struggle with doubt and despair, temptation and suffering.

Paul’s prayer is that the Thessalonians (and all believers) be blameless when Christ returns.   

By ‘blameless’ I don’t think Paul means we can never make a mistake. Sanctification, becoming holy, is a process. Making mistakes is usually part any learning process. So we should not give up if we mess up. We redeem mistakes by learning from them.   

It takes time for a tree to grow and mature and produce fruit. It doesn’t happen overnight. Our job is not to try and force or contrive our own sanctification. Our job is to keep our roots in the soil of God’s love. Stay connected to Jesus and allow God’s Spirit to work in us, in his way and his time.

Paul picks up on this point when he says in verse 24…

24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.   

God is the one who calls us to trust and obey Christ. And God is faithful to his call. He is reliable and trustworthy. He always makes good on his word. While we certainly need to play our part in the process of sanctification, ultimately God is active in completing our salvation, so we do not need to be anxious.

Jesus tells a parable in Mark 4 about the growing seed, which overlaps with this idea of God’s faithfulness in completing our salvation. From verse 26 of Mark 4 we read…

26 Jesus also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

The person who scatters seed, in this parable, is the one who proclaims the gospel about Jesus. The person who scatters the seed does not make it grow. God, by his Spirit, makes the seed grow. God, by his Spirit, brings the plant to fullness and fruition, in time for the harvest. The harvest here refers to Jesus’ return in glory.

There is a certain mystery to this process. Yes, we can give the plant a helping hand. We can water it and put a stake alongside to support it. We can protect it from the wind and insects. But ultimately it is God who makes a human person grow to maturity (body, soul and spirit).

Or, thinking more like Paul, it is God who grows the community of believers (the church) to fruitfulness.           

Okay, so that covers one of the main points of Paul’s letter, the completion of our salvation. The other point is the affirmation of friendship. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians to affirm his friendship with them.

Affirmation of Friendship:

We all need friends. We all need to know we have someone on our side. We need to feel connected and not alone. Developing and maintaining good quality friendships is part of the process of our sanctification.

We need to be careful in church life not to get the cart before the horse. The horse goes first and the cart comes second. The horse, in this analogy, is our friendships. While the cart represents our programmes, the things we do in service to the community.

If we don’t take care of the horse (of friendship), then the cart (or the programme) isn’t going anywhere.  Paul was writing to take care of his friendship with the Thessalonians.

In verse 25 Paul says: 25 Brothers and sisters, pray for us.

Numerous times throughout his letter Paul addresses the Thessalonians as ‘brothers and sisters’. It is a term of affection. A term of close relationship. A term affirming the bond of their friendship. 

So what is a friend? Friends know each other, they have history. They share things in common. Friends do things together. They trust one another. They have each other’s back. Friends are loyal, through thick and thin. They care for each other and support one another. Friends give priority to their relationship. The bond of friendship is a sacred thing.    

And this is one reason why Paul asks his Thessalonian friends to pray for himself, Silas and Timothy. Prayer is an act of spirit (both our spirit and God’s Spirit). Prayer helps to create connections and maintain friendships.

The idea of affirming friendship continues in verse 26 where Paul writes…

26 Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss.

In the culture of that time people greeted each other with a kiss, much like we might greet each other with a handshake or a hug. It wasn’t a sexual thing. Rather it was a tangible, physical demonstration of friendship.

In Maori culture, people greet each other with a hongi. This is when two people press noses together. When you hongi, you inevitably share breath. You connect. It is a beautiful way of honouring the relationship with each other.

Some people don’t like to be touched and we must respect that. But there is still a place for good physical touch. If someone is anxious or up-set we show them they are not alone by holding their hand or touching their shoulder or holding them in our arms.

Conclusion:

In verse 27 Paul instructs the Thessalonians, in strong terms, to ensure his letter is read to everyone. Paul does not want anyone to be excluded. They are all his friends and they are all under God’s umbrella of salvation.

Paul’s final word though is one of grace. He says, 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Paul signed off pretty much all his letters with a reminder of God’s grace. The word grace means gift or favour. Something done for us by God that we do not deserve and cannot do for ourselves.

C.S. Lewis was once asked, ‘What makes Christianity different from any other religion?’ And Lewis replied, ‘Why, grace of course.’

The completion of our salvation and the security of our friendship with Jesus, depends on God’s grace. Not on how we are feeling. Not on our own efforts. Not on luck or circumstances beyond our control. When you strip it all down, the Christian faith, unplugged, is pure grace.

Let us pray…

Gracious God, we thank you for the work of your Spirit in completing our salvation. We thank you too for your gift of friendship. In and through Jesus we share an eternal bond. Give us all we need to go the distance in your will and help us to take care of our friendships. Amen.   

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Why did Paul write to the Thessalonians?
  • What does peace mean for you? What did Paul mean by peace? What are the implications for us of saying that God is a ‘God of peace’?
  • What does it mean to be ‘sanctified through and through’? How are we sanctified? E.g. What role can mistakes play in the process of our sanctification?  What role does God play in our sanctification?
  • How might we understand the terms body, soul & spirit (in the context of 1st Thessalonians 5)?  How do these three aspects of the human person interact/relate with each other?
  • Why do you think Paul wanted to affirm his friendship with the Thessalonians? What is friendship? What do friends do? Are there friendships in your life that you need to renew or affirm? How might you do this?  
  • What makes the Christian faith different from any other religion?