God's Promises Are Yes and Yes: The Remission Of Sin

For this reason I have sent Timothy to you,

who is my beloved and faithful son

in the Lord, who will remind you

of my ways in Christ, as I teach

everywhere in every Church.

1Corinthians 4:17

            Paul has set forth to the Corinthians the groundwork for what he is about to instruct and condemn for the Corinthian Christians have allowed the world to invade them and make cause for certain things that are in total contradiction to God’s will. Now, Paul is sending Timothy who is in Ephesus across the Aegean Sea to instruct once again the Gospel as Paul had preached earlier to them. The foundations laid by Paul in regards to the Gospel had become cracked and uprooted and needed fixing and this letter along with Timothy was to do just that and God having inspired Paul to write to the Corinthians left for us the principles we need today for our Church and for our lives.

            With the coming of Jesus Christ incarnate the old covenant through Moses, not Abraham for that covenant never loses its meaning or force, and the new covenant now establish by the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross and that new covenant tends to our salvation. To this end, the establishing of the New Covenant Jesus Christ endured to deliver up His flesh to corruption. Why? That we might be sanctified through the remission of sins, and that remission effected by the sprinkling of His blood: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed…. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth” (Isaiah 53:5,7). This Jesus did, for all those the Father given to Him: “I have manifested your name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world; and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word” (John 17:6:Stephens Greek Text, 1550 A.D.). A note: The Greek word for gavest is: “δέδωκας” that is in the perfect tense indicative active and when in the perfect tense then the meaning is sure for the perfect is that which occurred in the past and has continuing results, and it is a statement and active. Therefore we ought to be deeply grateful to Jesus Christ and the Father who sent Him for us for it is God who determines who He will give to the Son. Now the Son has made known to us things that are past, and has given us wisdom concerning things present and we are not left without understanding in regard to things that are to come. This truth, the Gospel, and the pragmatic use of what Jesus taught forgotten by the Corinthian Christians. and they become wrapped up in the gifts, and even allowed things to occur in the congregation that is opposite to the will of God. They were taught differently, but the wisdom of the world has overtaken them and they needed to return to the truth. The Corinthians had knowledge of the way of righteousness but rushed off into the way of darkness. God came to earth and took on human flesh and while here on earth Jesus manifested Himself to be the Son of God. Now if Jesus had not taken on Human flesh, and this He did by being born of a human woman, Mary, then the sin of Adam that has corrupted the souls of every man could not be atoned. Now if Jesus was not God then there was no one who could atone for sin for all men were sinful. The Son of God therefore came in the flesh with this one thing in view: that He might bring to nothing by His propitiation on the cross the sum of sin, and the sins of all of God’s children. Therefore having renews us by the remission of our sins, He has made us after another pattern, as it was His purpose, that we should possess the soul of children for He has born us again through faith and has created us anew by His Spirit.

            God has promised and all His promises are faithful and true, yes and yes, and He has promised to lead us into a new world with new incorruptible bodies, a good land. We are quickened and kept alive by the faith of the promise of His word, and shall live ruling over the earth. We also, the Corinthians, and all of God’s children, are made perfect and heirs of the covenant of Jesus Christ, a new, and lasting covenant. As Paul then instructed the Corinthians and by sending Timothy to them to effect what He had taught and to remind the Corinthians of this truth we are also instructed and we are to apply that instruction in our lives.

            Paul ends this section with this: “Now some of you are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those puffed up, but the power. What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or I love and a spirit of gentleness” (1Corinthians 4:18–21). Those questions are for us today. How will you answer?

Keep Justice, and do righteousness,

            For My salvation is about to come,

And My righteousness to be revealed.

            Blessed is the man who does this,

And the son of man who lays hold on it;

            Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,

And keeps his hand form doing any evil.

                                    Isaiah 56:1–2

Living in the Image of Jesus Christ

Richard L. Crumb

If I Perish: I Perish: Holding Fast To Our Convictions

You are already full!

You are already rich!  You have rained as

Kings without us -- -- and indeed I

could wish you did it reign,

that we also might reign with you!

For I think that God has displayed as,

the apostles, last, as men

condemned to death;

for we have been made a spectacle to the world,

both to angels and to men.

1 Corinthians 4:8 -- 9

            Paul has been speaking to the Corinthian church and what he has spoke falls upon us as well and that it is that we are to be cautious against pride and self -- conceit.  It is that we must remember that all the distinctions that we have both personally and in our church are only to God.  Therefore Paul asked the Corinthians: "For who makes you differ from another?  And what do you have that you did not receive?  Now if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it" (1 Corinthians 4: 7)?  We have no reason to boast in our own accomplishments or attainments, enjoyment, or preferences; all that we have, or all that we are, or all that we do, that is good, simply owed to the free and rich grace of God.  We are simply sinners snatched from the fires of hell and His correction by the sovereign mercy and grace alone of God and to say anything else than that is simply absurd and is inconsistent to the free gifts of God.  After Paul had visited Corinth the Corinthians became more flattering to themselves and especially to those eloquent teachers that were now satisfying and tickling their ears as noted in verse eight as quoted above that they were already full and seem to be in need of nothing.  They were reigning as though they were Kings and had become conceited towards their supposed godliness.  Paul was teaching them and speaking that he wished they had as much true glory as a Christian church as they had in themselves.  Also I should reign with you so I can also be a king!  Then Paul goes on about to set forth his own circumstances: "We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ!  We are weak, but you are strong!  You are distinguished, but we are dishonored!  To the present our we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless" (1 Corinthians 4:10 -- 11).  How different Paul was in regards to the haughty attitudes of the Corinthian church for Paul was not pleasing himself rather he was pleasing God who appointed him even to death.  The apostles, including Paul, exposed to great hardships.  In fact Paul alludes to the fact that he worked with his hands: "And we labor, working with our own hands.  Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we increased.  We have been made as of filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now" (1 Corinthians 4: 12 -- 13).  Yes it is true that the apostles were exposed to continual danger of death, in their faithful discharge of their office.  The apostles did not deny and denigrate their office and the mission that they had been commanded to perform in that mission was to manifest the power of Divine Grace, and to propagate religion in the world.  As Christians we can see what occurred to Paul and the apostles under the hand of Divine Providence that true Christians suffer cruelly for their fidelity to Christ.  We may not be facing the same exact things that Paul faced, but we do face  dangers.  And we have to be brave when we encounter them, and we must be patient as we endure them, and it is by the power of Divine Grace and holding fast to our convictions in regards to Christian principles that as faithful ministers in Disciples of Christ we can contentedly undergo anything for His sake and honor.  Paul was not writing to the Corinthians to bring shame upon them, rather to instruct them and to show them the correct way to being a Christian: "I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you.  For those of you might have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.  Therefore I urge you, imitate me" (1 Corinthians 4: 14 -- 16).  As Paul instructed the Corinthians to imitate him that same instruction to imitate him who is imitating Christ as an ambassador and minister for Him, we are to do the same.  We are fools for the sake of Christ and this is our common account if we are truly faithful ministers then we can bear being despised, so that the wisdom of God and the power of His grace can be displayed.  We are to be wise in Jesus Christ.  Yes, you will be repudiated for your eloquence holding to your commitment to Jesus Christ and not towards human wisdom albeit that many are making this their lifestyle and pass themselves off to be wise men in Christ.  No, we are to be weak for He is strong, we are to suffer for Christ sake, as being weak even when we are in easy and flourishing circumstances.  It is true, not all Christians are alike and not alike in their being exposed for some will suffer greater hardships than others and too often we pass in this world for persons who are people of means and have great endowments and are looking upon ourselves as men.  That attitude in those things are not always the greatest proficients in Christianity, for there are many who think this of themselves, or pass for such with others, it is easy and common for self-love to commit such mistakes.

            Do you have the same commitment to your convictions to hold fast to the truth and be totally submitted to your mission as an ambassador of the gospel of Jesus Christ as did Esther?  I pray that this is true!

Go, gather all the Jews who are present

            in Shushan, and fast for me;

neither eat nor drink for three days,

            night or day.  My maids and I

will fast likewise.  And so I will go

            to the king, which is against the law;

and if I perish, I perish!

                                    Esther 4: 16

Submit today to God

Richard L. Crumb

Living As What Is Written In Scripture: Context, Context, Context

Now these things, brethren,

I have figuratively transferred

to myself and Apollos for your sakes,

that you may learn in us not to think

beyond what is written, that none of you

maybe puffed up on behalf one against the other.

1 Corinthians 4: 6

            There is amazement, or rather a matter of concern that even after reading and hearing the word of God so many turn to other doctrines and false teachings.  Adding to this concern and amazement is the fact that within the churches the influx of the wisdom of this world and its culture has turned many churches to teach what seems by the ear so good and yet it is not Scriptural: "O foolish Galatians!  Who has been with you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?  This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?  Are you so foolish?  Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh" (Galatians 3: 1 -- 2)?  Paul was writing directly to the churches in Galatia as well as the church in Corinth and other churches.  There was a moving away from the truth as it was preached and taught to them for what could be seen in some cases was a senseless moving away from more important things to minor matters, in that they began in a spiritual manner but now approached in any fleshly manner.  There was a turning aside from the depths of the truth in a striving after the higher things stating that they can either be accused of a stupidity by which they cannot distinguish the spirit of the law and the letter of the law.  Furthermore, they were being misled by defect so that they were becoming unteachable, mad, and quite sluggish in respect of wisdom.  The Greek word that is translated bewitched: "έβάσκανεν" carries the meaning to fascinate by false representations primarily a means to slander, and to bring evil on a person by feigned praise, or mislead by an evil eye, so as to charm. This done in many churches today by men who are preaching a message that is simply a misleading even though what is being said sounds so good.  Nothing has changed from the days of Paul and the early church for sin is sin.Those things dividing and leading Christians away from true faith is the same things that are happening in our church today.  Men are going beyond that which is written and as I pointed out in my last blog there are what may be best said as those books that are pretending to be scripture when they are nothing more than a paraphrase. Best use may be to give some thoughts but are not to be used as a teaching tool.

            In Chapter 4 of 1 Corinthians Paul is taking a moment of trying to tell the Corinthian church that they are following the wisdom of the world and becoming divisive.  The Christians pointing to various differences and if they are only a difference of indifference: i.e., should one celebrate the Lord's supper every Sunday or once a month, or use wine, or use grape juice, should it be shaped this way for the building, so on and so on and so on: well, those difference or of little importance.  This is not true if the division has to do with things that are of difference according to Scripture: the differences are matters of importance.  It seemed as though among the Christians there in Corinth one group was pointing to their differences as being more godly than another churches differences: "For who makes you differ from another?  And what do you have that you did not receive?  Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you post as if you had not received it?  You are already full!  You are already rich!  You have reigned as kings without us -- -- and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you" (1 Corinthians 4: 7 -- 8)!  As Paul spoke to the Galatians about being foolish because Paul had preached to them the truth and they heard about what it means to have proof they and this faith was truly experienced.  Now, by becoming in the presence of the Messiah Jesus Christ and there also came the Holy Spirit and the fact that there in invitation to faith with new, the presence of the Holy Spirit was manifested with sensible miracles as recorded in acts chapter 2:4; 10:40 4 -- 46; 13:9 -- 11; 19:1 -- 6; and other Scripture.  The Corinthian church has taken what the Holy Spirit had in part to them in the way of gifts and began to misuse them as will be seen as we continue this study in this letter.  Now some came to subvert the Corinthian church, such men as the Judaizers that were demanding circumcision and Paul had to address that to the Galatian churches.  Now Paul was also had to address the subversion that had come into the Corinthian church.  This is very important: if your salvation were in the works of the law, and or works without true faith, the Holy Spirit would not be granted to you.  If you are not following Scripture how then could one expect to have the Holy Spirit speak to them and showed them what they are not looking for or are willing to follow?

            These are hard words and not easy to read or to hear but this does not eliminate the need to have them spoken and written.  Paul along with other apostles and most importantly Jesus Christ packed that which was in error, false teaching, and those things that were in fact being Christians and leading them to practices and beliefs that were not Scripture.  We are to examine what we are being taught and we are to hold fast to that which is true.  Are you willing to do so?  I pray that that is true!

Your testimonies are wonderful;

            therefore my soul keeps them.

The entrance of Your words gives light;

            it gives understanding to the simple.

                                    Psalm 119: 129 -- 130

True wisdom is from God: snatch it!

Richard L. Crumb