Month: October 2021

Reflection on 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1

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Scripture

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Observation

While we can do anything or eat anything, not everything is beneficial. It is not about law any more, but about grace.

We can eat anything without raising questions of conscience. If a person who isn’t a believer invites us to share a meal, we can eat anything put before us. However, if they say the meat was offered to an idol, then we should not eat it, out of consideration for the conscience of the other person.

Eat or drink, whatever we do should be done for the glory of God. Like Paul, we should try to please others for the sake of their salvation.

Application

Paul is very pragmatic about the issue of food offered to idols. He advocates a” Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy so that Christians are not put in a position where they may inadvertently offend an unbeliever.

We are free to do many things, but we should exercise freedom wisely, in order to glorify God. If my dogmatic freedom turns others away from the Kingdom of God, where is the benefit?

I read the other day of someone who is known as a christian shouting through the door of a cafe denouncing the use of vaccine passports. He is free to do that, and he is free to refuse the vaccination. But why be aggressive in this freedom?

Jesus tells us to be wise as serpents and gentle is doves. Sometimes I think we get it the wrong way around.

There are times when it is right to demand justice for christians and for the church. There are times when it is right to show that we treat idols with contempt. We just need to make sure we do this in a way that honours the Lord.

Prayer

Please help me, Lord, to receive every freedom that is mine in Christ. Grant me wisdom in the way I express this grace. Amen

Ephesians 5:28

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Here is my commentary on Ephesians 5:28. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 5:28

“In the same way men should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.”

Just as Christ loves the church and continues to make the church holy, so husbands must love their wives.

The word used for love here is not eros, the normal word for romantic love, but agape, the love that God has for his people. Christian husbands are not to love their wives because they are attracted to them physically, but because their wives are to be loved. Agape love gives for the sake of the beloved. It never gives up and does not keep a record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13).

Marital love then is to mirror God’s love in being perfect and unchanging.

Just as we love our own bodies, husbands are to love their wives. We are usually acutely aware of the needs of our bodies, whether we are hungry, thirsty, hot or cold, distressed, or in pain. We unconsciously monitor the state of our bodies with our various senses. When something is awry we take remedial steps. We might even take preventive steps, for example putting on a coat before we get too cold.

Husbands should have the same awareness of the needs of their wives that we have for our own body. This includes not just the bodily needs, but also the emotional, social, and spiritual needs that she has.

This is not to suggest some kind of controlling policy where the husband micromanages every part of his wife’s life, being the sole provider of everything she might need.

Rather, this is a sensitivity to a wife’s needs in the same way that we are sensitive to our own needs.

The question that is at the heart of this instruction is, “How can I help my wife to flourish and become all that God wants her to be?”

In verse 31, Paul explicitly references Genesis 2:24. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” But already in this verse this reference is hinted at in the expression that a man who loves his wife loves himself.

The “ one flesh” description of marriage is more than the shallow “happy wife happy life” mantra. It suggests that in marriage a spiritual union is made under the hand of God. This union means that marriage is more than a convenience or a legal institution.

Unity in marriage is such that when one partner flourishes so does the other. When one is struggling so is the other. The marriage bond is more than two individuals coming together. It is a new creation.

Key points in this verse:

  • husbands are to love their wives in the same way Christ loves the church
  • husbands must love their wives with the self-giving agape love of god
  • husbands should concern themselves above all with their wife’s physical, spiritual and emotional well-being

Carson Weitnauer: How can we discern who really loves Jesus?

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From Reasons For God:

So many people claim the name of Jesus.

But sometimes, what looked like love for Jesus turns out to be a mask that conceals a lust for money, power, fame, or sex. It is a stunning and painful experience to realize that someone would intentionally violate our deepest values to take advantage of us.

So what if we could find out what separates those who love Jesus from those who want to use Jesus? 

In all honesty, sometimes we can’t. Cunning operators are often successful in their deception and manipulation. They tell us what we want to hear, and it works.

Still, in John 6, we have one story that can help us. 

A little boy offers his five little barley loaves and his two little fish, and Jesus blesses the weakness of this humble offering. We see the beauty of bringing together human weakness and God’s power: a crowd of many thousands eats their fill.

And why did Jesus do this astounding miracle? He explains it the next day, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” If you depend on Jesus to feed you bread and fish, then do you trust Jesus to satisfy your deepest longings? 

Sidebar: What are your deepest longings? Does Jesus fulfill them for you?

But what does the crowd want from Jesus? They want what they want! John tells us they are on the precipice of forcibly demanding that Jesus be their king. His powers are fantastic; he can overthrow the Romans! 

So what does Jesus do? He withdraws to a mountain by himself. And when the crowd chases after him, he challenges them.

Notice the contrast? 

Jesus draws close to the weak — and blesses them.

Jesus moves away from the power-hungry — and confronts them.

Read the rest here