When Is The Church Going To Get Serious? (Part 3 )

As I started these series of articles on 1 Corinthians, both on my blog pages and on Facebook, my intention was to show what happens to the body of Christ, mainly the church, when it drifts from the biblical structure and purpose God intended for it to have. I also wanted to show, and will continue to do so in future writing on my daily Facebook post, just how easy that drift can happen whether it be a small local congregation or a mega church.

We discussed in the first article about how crafty Satan is in scheming against individual believers, as well as congregations.  Unless believers get smarter about Satan’s ability to masquerade lies as truth we will constantly be deceived into embracing these lies as legitimate. To say that the average believer is quite gullible is an understatement because, like the Corinthian church and its believers, we seem to keep stepping into those lies and then creating theology and doctrines in our belief systems to justify them. Creating false doctrines only to comfort us in our deception will only continue to poison our relationship with God while also hurting the next generation of believers. Have you ever seen a dog chasing its own tail? It seems like that is a good illustration of many people in the body of Christ, and that especially goes for the pastors and leaders of bible college and seminary. Just look at collages like Princeton, Yale and Harvard, just to name a few.  These institutions were top notch bible training colleges to prepare people for ministry which now are run by liberal unbelievers who educate young minds to think the same way they do, which is not to believe.

Becoming what Paul termed a “Carnal Christian” in the first part of 1 Corinthians doesn’t happen in a vacuum but when teachers in the body of Christ put their trust in philosophies of this world rather than on the Word of God. Remember that Paul planted and taught these early believers in Corinth for a full 18 months before moving on to plant new churches. I can’t imagine what his classes were like except they had to be awesome, yet within a few short years the Corinthians are so corrupt in their beliefs and practices that Paul says they look more like the world than Christ. Today I hear proclaimed in mainstream Christian magazines and articles that the average pastor only studies a few hours a week to prepare for his sermons. That means they are relying on their charisma and talent as a speaker more than on their understanding of God’s word. Is there any wonder the church is drifting from Jesus and the Holy Spirit?

Paul says in the first chapter that this congregation exercised all the gifts of the Spirit and yet they were displaying deep carnality. This should warn us that using the gifts God gave us is not guarantee of maturity or that we are truly being led by the Holy Spirit. The fruitfulness of a transformed life should be the main test of whether or not we are being led by the Holy Spirit or man’s ingenuity. There are too many churches that once proclaimed the real gospel which are now hollowed out social clubs with little to no care for lost people.

Paul also said he was capitalizing on the “Message of the Cross” with these Corinthians predominantly because it has the power of God to change the human heart and soul. The Corinthian church was relying more of their skills than on the message of the cross and it being anointed by God. Later on in this same book of 1 Corinthians, Paul states that the most important thing for all believers should be that Christ died for our sins. He later goes on to say that if it were not for Christ’s resurrection we would have no real faith and would still be burdened with our sin.

1 Corinthians 15:3                                                                                                                                                                                        For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 

1 Corinthians 15:12-14                                                                                                                                                                                 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 

Here lies a fundamental fault that the Corinthians had in their theology. They put more stock in their ability to run the church than in trusting the power of God and the Holy Spirit. Paul stressing the importance of the cross and the resurrection was not meant to exclude the other things in scripture but rather to point to the foundation of our faith and that is the supernatural power of God that can undo our sinfulness and brokenness. It’s not our theology or our reason or our humility that creates our transformation. Christian drifting happens because we lose our footing in what Jesus was able to do.

When Paul finishes up with chapter 10 he then moves into the importance of the power of the Holy Spirit, which is released in a believers life because of what Jesus could do. This is God’s 1-2 punch that knocks Satan out of our lives and the ruin he had established through his scheming lies. Make no mistake, we as believers who love God and follow hard after Jesus STILL struggle with Satan’s lies. We know this because scripture says that the unbelieving world is still under his power and we live in the world. The world affects us even when we try not to let it happen. Secondly, our own temptations bring us back in old habits. I wish this was not so but I’m afraid it is true.

Ephesians 2:2                                                                                                                                                                                                  In which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 

Ephesians 6:12                                                                                                                                                                                              For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 

Paul knew the only way to get the church back on track with Jesus and the Holy Spirit was to take them through what I imagine was his foundation class 101 that started with Jesus and the importance of the supernatural rescue and then move into the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Ever heard the phrase “Talk Is Cheap“?  Well, the Corinthians were getting a wake up call to return to the foundation they left and so should we if we discover we have lost our gratitude and amazement of what Jesus did for us. We should be stirring our own souls to hunger for the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, not just think about such empowerment

Don’t be fooled by sermon titles or Christian book titles that talk about the Holy Spirit as a distant relative or in the third person. We were meant for so much more and it is that relationship that makes all the difference in the world of whether we live a sub-standard Christian life or a victories one.

Questions:

1) How would you rate your gratitude for what Jesus did for you? Gratitude will grow if you keep your eyes on Jesus rather than circumstances. (Heb 12:2)

2) How would you rate your walk with the Holy Spirit? If he is not your guide and empowerment it is because you aren’t letting him lead (Rom 8:14)

Loving to reason with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Dale