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I Corinthians says to me:
Without Christ Jesus and our God the Father, Who am I? What am I? The answer in finality is nothing. Regardless where we live, what vocation we have, how high we have climbed on the so-called ladder of success, if the Father had not arranged it and provided opportunity etc. it would not have happened. Oh yes we do play a part in it but the bottom line is God the Father is in control.

So when we feel like boasting let us boast in the Lord Jesus. When we feel we must follow someone, follow Christ Jesus. When we feel we are wise, remember where that wisdom comes from. When we feel we are foolish, remember it is the foolish God chooses to confound the wise. When we feel weak, remember it is the weak that can become strong in Christ Jesus to shame the so-called strong. Remember you are in Christ Jesus because you are chosen by the Father to be ______________!
(You fill in the blank)

I Corinthians 2:11
When I personalize this, it goes something like this. Who can know what I am thinking? The answer of course is "no one." Also is it possible for me to convey my thoughts to you so you can understand them?
The answer is the same, "not at all." You cannot understand me because I cannot instill my spirit in you.

God on the other hand is able to place His spirit within us so we are able to understand His thoughts, (will) We can know what He is saying to us because the Spirit within us is the same Spirit that comes from Him. If I do not have His spirit I cannot understand Him.

That is what the writer is saying to me which brings me to a conclusion or two. First of all I have no right or authority to judge another person by some rule or law established by others which does not contain the mind of Christ or thoughts of God. Something we all do this on a regular basis. Our church believes or our pastor says are phrases that tell me up front the Spirit has not communicated with the author
of phrases. Or the person using them to explain a rule or thought has not communicated with the Spirit. Either way what is believed is just someone's personal thought. I want to know, "what does the Spirit say to you personally about it?”

Secondly, we are often too prone to take other's teachings or messages as truth without examining the scriptures in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Experience has taught me and the Spirit tells me as well, "As I listen to thoughts of others, regardless of the venue, if a truth is being proclaimed there is a sense of connection within my spirit and the message." By the same token when untruth is being spoken
there is a sense of caution within my spirit that says be careful here. Reality tells me more times than not when an agenda of some sort is being sought by the speaker enough truth is given to make it believable but enough error to raise the red flag of danger. As it says in verse 14 the man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God........
Likewise the person with the Spirit of God does not accept unspiritual things coming from man.

Bottom line----will I listen to sound spiritual teaching or will I listen to just any teaching that comes along?

I Corinthians 3
One of the joyous rewards of the preacher/teacher is to see those being taught turn their hearts and mind toward God. One of the saddest results is to see those being taught turn their hearts and mind
toward the teacher.Certainly one must have faith in the integrity of the teacher/preacher but the real
faith must be in the God who has called and prepared them to preach/teach.

Two things we need to remember in this area. First our goal should be to become vessels to be used in the Kingdom of God. We want to grow from spiritual infancy into spiritually mature men whom God can trust to help advance His Kingdom. Hearing the Word preached is one way to help that along. But constantly hearing the Word with no following actions of faith is, for the most part, useless. Don't let it be truthfully said of you, "you are still infants not ready for solid food."

Second make sure the one preaching/teaching is building on the true foundation Jesus Christ. How can you be sure? Check the goals, the methods, and previous results. If they are not Christ centered be very careful in what direction they are heading. Success has a way of changing men. It is easy to forget the original purpose or goal when success comes. History has recorded many who have been spoiled by success.

I Corinthians 4
Verses 1-5 contain some interesting thoughts for me.
Paul knew he was a servant entrusted with the mysteries of God yet he never wanted to be thought of in some high and mighty way. On more than one occasion he went to great lengths to tell us that. He knew those who have been given a trust must prove faithful and the responsibility was great. He also knew he was not perfect although his conscience was clear. He was aware in the final analysis it was the Lord whose approval mattered. He tells us not to make judgments too early. When Jesus comes on the scene He will bring to light things hidden which will expose the motives of a man's heart.

Personally I do not believe we must wait until a physical return of the Lord appears for judgments to come which exposes a man's heart. I am convinced Jesus comes to make judgment today in ways we don't recognize. We tend to call it fate, coincidence, luck, or we have some other description. My spirit within tells me God is not someone who will sit by for ages and watch an injustice go on and on without making some judgment and adjustments. God does allow anyone enough time and sends enough warnings in different forms for the person to adjust. But when that time is used up and the cautions are not heeded judgment comes. In reality we just don't know when it will happen.

I believe we error when we get caught up in the thought that by and by, someday when the end is near then we will be judged and sentenced. If today is the day of salvation, I believe it is, then likewise today is the Day of Judgment. History speaks the same thing.

Someone once said, "You can fool some of the people some of the time, you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time" to which I agree. Eventually and given enough opportunity the hearts of men are revealed. Much if not all happens before the end of time. This is of the Lord God.

1 Corinthians 7 gives us some commands, some suggestions and some reality issues about marriage and sex. In the final analysis in any situation one might find themselves, it is always best to take the high road. Paul tells us it is okay to marry, but we could be better off if we didn't.

Spiritually speaking that is reality. It gives us opportunity to dwell on the things of God without the necessary realities of the marriage. But at the same time if a person is not capable of fulfilling his life in the spirit without the sexual needs being met, surely then it is better to marry. Just remember marriage is from God, sex is from God, but so it the opposite.

I would think if our relationship with the Father and Son are pure enough, whether we marry or not is not really important. And the same can be said of nearly any and all other questions about do's and don'ts. Whether we do certain things or not do other certain things does nothing for our spiritual life if we choose to allow our personal relationship with the Father to deteriorate.

Remember, Jesus said "If you love me you will keep my commandments" and there were only two main commands on which all the others rest. Love God with all your being and your fellowman as your self. When I can do that I will most likely not find it necessary to check out all the do's and don'ts unless my doing or not-doing something would interfere others

I Corinthians 8
Here is an example of how rules tend to get out of hand. The church members had been told not to eat meat offered to idols. Now it appears certain foods which were commonly offered to idols had become an issue even when in fact the food itself had not been offered to them. It had become a food issue not an idol issue.

This reminds me of a time not too long ago when in the church circles it was often taboo to patronize a restaurant that served alcoholic beverages. I can hear Paul telling the church, "Eating at the Red Lobster does not bring us near God nor does it separate us from Him. But then on the other hand if your brother does not understand this and sees you coming out or going in the restaurant, his weak conscience may be wounded. Therefore it would be better not to do it."

Our problem most likely is we are not willing to give ourselves up for the weaker brother. If we are confident in our relationship in the Spirit we tend not to think of the other person that much. Too bad for them if they can't enjoy the crab legs dipped in butter in a restaurant that serves wine. (yum yum)

I Corinthians 9
It appears Paul has been wrongly accused about taking money for his travels etc. and is answering his critics. I can speak from experience. It is a whole different outlook, both for the giver and the receiver when ministering the gospel goes from a voluntary basis to a paid position.Something changes. I cannot describe it but I do know it changes.
Sharing the good things God has done for me and using the gifts He has given me because I just want to, or just because I cannot contain myself is so different than doing it for money. For me when ministry became a "job" it lost its beauty and sometimes its joy as well. Of course this may not apply to anyone else. I just share my experience. I know I would prefer not to receive money for ministry rendered if
there is any other way to "make ends meet."

I Corinthians 10
This letter to the church can seem a non-issue to the modern American church.
After all we have no connection to meat offered to idols; unless of course it has been offered to the idol of money. (Think on it and the use of steroids) We in America are an educated bunch of people so we know what is best for us, if we don't know personally, the government will tell us and we can certainly depend on the good old political system to keep us properly educated. NOT! Their knowledge and decisions will not be based on some happenings from the ancient Hebrew writings or even the less ancient historical writings of the early centuries. These writings are too old fashion for us. Paul's writings are absurd to such an educated people. NOT! What a travesty for us when education and politics are more knowledgeable than God.

The above may be the belief system of today in America and in the western world but never-the-less Paul's writings are just as true for all today as they were when he wrote them if not more so.

America is just as obsessed with idols today as any time in the history of man. Money is still the number one idol, sexual immorality is still on the rampage among the entire population beginning at an earlier and earlier age. Food is not far behind as we hear more and more teens and pre-teens are obese. Power and control has never given up its hold on people. It would seem anything God has pronounced as un-clean for His creation is what His creation is bound to seek. On the other side, the things which God has shown us to be best are what we shun. I say so much for our education as a nation. We just may be the dumbest of all God's creation even animals do not treat other animals the way human beings treat other human beings.

The good news is anytime we are tempted to ignore the truth of God and take undesirable actions, regardless of what they might be; we have the power to choose. We can choose life, (truth) or we can choose death, (error). God delights in those who choose life. We can learn from the past and apply those lessons to the now. Our way of life depends on it.

I Corinthians 11:2-15
Much has been written and spoken about the issue of authority regarding men and women. I want to stir a bit of interest within you about the idea behind this particular writing of Paul's.

I am persuaded most of us are aware there is no difference in the genders as far as "the image of God." Both are created in His image. Neither is one more important than the other. Paul writes, man comes from God, and woman comes from man, yet men are born of women. Which one is more important where authority is concerned is debatable from now to the end of time. I am not sure this is the subject Paul wants discussed from these writings.

More fitting to remember about these writings is the fact that the people of the Corinthian church were very immature in their spiritual lives. Lust of the flesh of all kinds was rampant within the church. Paul was trying to help them along into a different and a more pure way of thinking about themselves and their relationship with God and one another.
He had talked about the sexual immorality going on, about eating food offered to idols etc. Now he gets to the place of worship or prayer time. This is about the hair covering of a woman's head.
For us today it could be the way a woman dresses. Hair in that time was an object of lust for men much like a bikini is for men today. With that in mind think in this way. If a woman stood in front of your church next Sunday morning with very revealing clothing it would be a distraction for most men including me. It would bring disgrace to her husband, if married, and disgrace to God her creator in either case. The same could be said for a man who takes a womanly approach in clothing. (There is much more to be said about this but at a later time)

When we fail to make a distinction between the male and female body, not the spirit--but the body, we are a disgrace to each other and to God. Regardless of what may be going on whether prayer, praise, prophesy, singing, dancing or anything pertaining to worship it is a disgrace for men to act/dress like women or women to act/dress like men or to dress in a provocative manner that would entice either
gender into lust.

I Corinthians 12
Paul continues on with less than commending thoughts. He was challenging those who had, what they believed was special gifts for the church from the Holy Spirit and evidently thought they were more important than others.
Something we should look at very seriously today in the church circles. Seems there are still divisions among denominations, members, and believers alike. There are still those who believe they have a special gift and therefore better than others. Sad but true.

I have found this an easy pitfall of the enemy for me to fall into. I must be careful. Sometimes we tend to abuse the gift/s we are given. We get the idea it is to be used to glorify self rather than God and His church (Kingdom)

I Corinthians 13
Corinthians is one of several books of the Bible that should be read as they were written, that is read through as you would any letter you might receive in the mail. Actually that is what Paul's letters to the churches were. Although they did not come in the mail they were written as letters. Paul seems to be answering questions he had been asked either in letters from the church or by a person or persons relaying information to him about the life of the church in question.
He moves along with his answers identifying each of them then giving instructions to follow.

In the 13th chapter he tells them about a more excellent way in all the matters discussed previously. Love is at the heart of all the issues. Keeping the legal aspects of what he has written has no value at all if there is not love as the bottom line.

The "love aspect" requires actions that the "rule aspect" cannot understand or carry out. Anyone who loves will want to do what is right in any given circumstance without needing to look up a rule about it or checking out some one else's thoughts. Usually when mistakes in actions are made the person who loves will feel enough remorse to make the necessary apologies and correct the wrong action in future
events. Love is the greatest of all attitudes or emotions.

I Corinthians 15
as we read the 15th Chapter of Corinthians we realize once again the necessity of repetition. It appears likely even though it has only been a short time since Paul's preaching/teaching established the churches around the area, already different teachings had sprung up. These were contrary to the original message and were causing discord and division. Paul goes back to his original teaching and explains it further and deeper. Beginning with what he had received from the Lord he carefully makes a case for his teachings.

This is still a problem in our times. A message of truth can help to establish a church body. It is no secret; people are looking for truth and when they find it they are drawn to it. A body of believers is established who come together to hear, experience and live out the message of truth. But all too soon different teachings or actions invade the body. The teachings or actions that first established the church are soon lost in all the other mish-mash of perverted gospel. When the pride of man begins to surface the truth begins fade away. It is those times when it is necessary to take inventory of where we are in relation to where we started. As a body are we a more significant tool in the Kingdom that really makes a difference or are we just another group going along talking the talk, acting the actions, but not really a force in the battle for the lives of our selves our families and our fellowman?

Paul reminded those churches he helped established; where they came from and where they were headed. Don't we all need that same kind of warning?