The Grace of God; November 21, 2023

Posted on November 22, 2023 by jgarrott

1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them–yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

Paul was well aware of all that he had done, both before and after encountering the risen Lord on the way to Damascus. That made him very sharply aware of God’s grace, because his life could be explained no other way. I don’t think he’s putting the other apostles down here, but he is recognizing the sheer volume of work the Lord had accomplished through him. Paul was indeed a special case. We know definitively that Peter was married, and in 1 Corinthians 9:5 Paul seems to imply that the majority of the other apostles were married as well, but Paul stayed single, and seemed to enjoy the liberty that gave him. Some use such liberty to carouse, but Paul used it to labor for the Lord. That said, recognizing that Paul was a special case, what he said about himself can actually be applied to every believer: “By God’s grace I am what I am.” We sometimes speak of a “self-made man,” but even such a person is as they are only by the grace of God. The things about ourselves we can’t control, such as our genetics and our environment, might go without saying as being by God’s grace, but even the things we accomplish personally fit into that category, because it is God who has given us the abilities involved. All the way back in Deuteronomy 8:18 Moses pointed out explicitly that it is God who gives us the ability to produce wealth. Perhaps the biggest problem with celebrity is that when we get it, we tend to think we deserve it. The flip side of that is called “imposter syndrome,” where people can become paralyzed by the awareness that they don’t deserve all the accolades and attention being poured out on them. Paul’s attitude, expressed here, is the answer to both sides of that. Only an awareness of God’s grace can give us a clear-eyed appreciation for what He has done and can do in and through us.

This certainly applies to me! For too much of my life I wallowed in pride, not recognizing sufficiently that it was God who had supplied my genetics and I could take no credit. By most counts I have been a considerable underachiever, not being a very good steward of all the things God poured out on me. That current awareness gives me a very sharp appreciation for God’s grace! I am currently in the process of writing my autobiography, simply to record the magnificence of that grace, but I find I’m not very consistent or persistent in that process either. I need not only to appreciate God’s grace but appropriate it and exercise it, letting it empower me to do all that God desires of me, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for getting me to finally start making the candles for Christmas yesterday. Help me follow through consistently. Thank You that I only have about a month more of school classes to deal with. Lord, every year I tend to dread the holiday season because of all that I see as demands on me. Help me rest, relax, and rejoice in You, allowing You to carry me through everything by Your gracious power, so that all with whom I interact may see You and be drawn to You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Purpose of Gifts; November 20, 2021

Posted on November 21, 2023 by jgarrott

1 Corinthians 14:12 So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.

Having been involved with the Charismatic Movement since the 1970s, I find I empathize and agree with this whole chapter to a very high degree. As I wrote in relation to chapter 12 just two days ago, I was privileged to work with Don and Katie Fortune in their teaching on Motivational Gifts from Romans 12:6-8, which gifts are analogous to personality types and are present in every human being. The gifts Paul is talking about here and in chapter 12 are what most people think about when they say, spiritual gifts. You could say they are the “flashier” gifts, and that is why people tend to seek them. However, the principle Paul mentions here must be remembered: gifts have a purpose, and that purpose is to build up the Body of Christ, not to inflate egos. We’ve all seen people who, on discovering that they had a spiritual gift, thought that made them an “instant apostle,” or something of the sort. If they really understood apostleship, they wouldn’t want it. Paul’s description of his experiences that he gives in 2 Corinthians 11 isn’t something that any sane person would aspire to! However, being used by God to build up the Body of Christ is a worthy goal for any believer. When it comes to spiritual gifts, our focus should be on the Giver and what He loves best, which is His Body.

Recently I have been realizing the high number of parallels between me and Paul, which is in a sense ironic, since my wife has never really cared for Paul as a person! I could see myself writing this chapter verbatim, since I agree completely with every word in it. Even this morning I almost wrote on verses 18-19, since they express my position on the gift of tongues so accurately. My own experience of spiritual gifts has shaped my life in many ways, not the least of which being keeping me out of a major missionary-sending organization. That deprived me of financial support, but it also freed me to do what I felt the Lord was saying, and not what an organizational bureaucracy was demanding. Today as I lead others, I would love to see more gifts actively displayed, both for the sake of the individual believers and for the sake of the church, and the Church, as a whole, but I am not the one dispensing the gifts. I am to seek to recognize and encourage gifts for the purpose mentioned in this verse, and give the glory to God.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the gifts that are manifested here, and for the increasing level of spiritual health, as I see it. May we indeed be healthy in Your eyes, being and doing what You desire, so that Your will may truly be done right here as it is in heaven, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Maturity; November 19, 2023

Posted on November 20, 2023 by jgarrott

1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

Maturity is a strange thing. We desire it, but at the same time we almost seem to fear it or even regret it. The two terms, childish and childlike, reflect that ambivalence. We know, on a logical basis, that being childish is not good, but at the same time we elevate being childlike to a place of honor. That gets all the more complicated by the fact that we have trouble defining either term concretely. One clear component is the matter of patience and tolerance for delayed gratification, as many psychologists have pointed out. The more we have of that, the happier everyone is! However, too much of that would bring progress to a grinding halt, because we would stop pressing for improvement. Thus, the Serenity Prayer, “O God, give us the serenity to accept what cannot be changed, the courage to change what can be changed, and the wisdom to know the one from the other,” is actually a prayer for maturity. So what are the things we admire about being childlike? I think it’s a matter of innocence of evil and delight in good. The world being what it is, we become all too familiar with evil all too soon, but we can still delight in good. I’m reminded of a video of a family that thought they were pranking their young son by telling him an empty cardboard box was his present. (I don’t remember if it was for a birthday or Christmas.) The tables were turned when he absolutely delighted in the box, immediately thinking of all sorts of things he could do with it. Putting aside the whole matter of whether it was wise or nice of them to try to prank him like that, his response to the box was in my eyes the epitome of being childlike but not childish. As children of God we should be constantly maturing, and part of that should be in seeking to maintain a childlike delight and wonder at our Father’s goodness toward us. As a refrigerator magnet we once had said, “Happiness is seeing a beautiful sunset and knowing Whom to thank.” God can turn even air pollution into something beautiful!

When people comment on my supposed “youthfulness” at my age I generally say that the secret is that I never mature, but I actually hope that isn’t the case. I desire to be a mature child of God, able to be trusted to do as He tells me, but I certainly want to keep delighting in Him, even in difficult circumstances. A friend of mine was recently told that his wife has three to six months left because of her metastatic cancer. Hearing that was like a punch in the gut for me, but I know that she is certainly ready to “graduate,” and he is increasingly ready to allow her to do so. At this point he is rejoicing in the cessation of the side effects of the chemotherapy drugs that she has now stopped. That is maturity! When my wife just had her 76th birthday yesterday, and she has a litany of ailments, that hits very close to home. I too desire the maturity to rejoice in my Lord whatever is going on around me, resting in the assurance that His plans are always good, acceptable, and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all You had planned for Cathy’s birthday yesterday. Thank You for Your plans for today. I pray that every one of those plans would be fulfilled as You desire, drawing people into Your family and defeating the plans of the devil, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Spiritual Gifts; November 18, 2023

Posted on November 19, 2023 by jgarrott

1 Corinthians 12:1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.

I can’t read this verse without remembering what my mother’s younger sister said about her response to her many suitors when she was the youngest child of an esteemed seminary professor. Changing only the location of a comma, she quoted (at least in her mind) the KJV translation of this verse: “I would not have you, ignorant brethren.” That tale is tempered by the fact that my father was one of the many seminary students who proposed to her, but my mother was away in college at that point. All humor aside, believers should not be ignorant of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but sadly, very many are. And to be honest, that includes many “Pentecostal” Christians. The problem is twofold. First, many don’t really understand that such gifts are available, and second, even those who know about such gifts have no grasp of their purpose and how they operate in the Body of Christ. This whole chapter is worthy of a lot of thought and meditation! I’m reminded of when I was in Basic Training in the Army, and we were taught to familiarize ourselves with our weapons. We could literally disassemble and reassemble an M16 rifle blindfolded, and many of us could do the same with an M60 machine gun and the 45 caliber pistol of the day. The same could be said of many craftsmen with their tools; it’s not limited to weapons. We all need to be familiar with what our Lord expects us to use in His service, and how to apply each item. To go back to the military analogy, I wouldn’t try to use a grenade launcher for precision targeting, for example, but a rifle isn’t much good against something that is out of sight. In the same way, some Christians misuse spiritual gifting. As the saying goes, when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Having said all of this, the most important point is listening to the One who gives us the gifts, that is, Holy Spirit. He knows what He’s given us and why, and He knows how those gifts should be used. The point that I think is most often missed is what Paul stresses later in this chapter, that everyone is gifted differently but all the gifts are necessary. We have a strong tendency to want and expect everyone to be like us, when as Paul points out, that would end up with there being no Body at all. It is wise and important to know and recognize gifts, in ourselves and in those around us, but our focus isn’t to be on the gifts but on Jesus Christ our Head. (Ephesians 4:15)

I have been very grateful to have worked with Don and Katie Fortune, interpreting for them several times here in Japan and knowing them as dear friends. Their ministry was focused on what they called Motivational Gifts, based on Romans 12:6-8, but they also talked about the list here, which they called Manifestation Gifts, as well as the short list in Ephesians 4:11, which is individuals given to the Body, rather than gifts given to individuals. That experience has helped me understand myself and those around me much better, making me more tolerant of differences and understanding of how to cooperate with others. I have been tempted to focus on such teaching myself, but I realize that isn’t the role the Lord has for me. I have experienced all of the gifts listed in this chapter at least once, but I do find that the Lord grants them when and as needed, and they aren’t continuous. As a pastor I want everyone in the congregation to know and utilize their own gifts, as well as recognize and appreciate the gifts of others, but interest and understanding vary widely. As in every other area of my life, I am totally dependent on the Lord! All I can do is express the truth in love, and ask Holy Spirit to work it into the heart and life of each believer.

Father, thank You for this reminder. There really is so much I want to teach the congregation, yet I feel such limited opportunities to do so. Help me be faithfully obedient to whatever You want me to do, wherever and whenever You want me to do it, so that the Body of Christ may be built up indeed, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Differences; November 17, 2023

Posted on November 18, 2023 by jgarrott

1 Corinthians 11:19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.

This is a very interesting statement, particularly in view of the strong things Paul said earlier in this same letter about factions in the Church. However, there is also a lot of logic behind this, so there is a tension between the two truths. As Paul said to the Romans, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:18) At the same time, we aren’t to compromise God’s truth on essential things. As Paul again wrote to the Romans, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2) The NIV translates this verse as, “which of you have God’s approval,” but the Japanese says, “who is a true believer.” We tend to use “true believer” in casual, secular ways, but this is deadly serious. The fact of the matter is, there are assorted heresies in every Christian grouping, and as C. S. Lewis famously said, when we get to heaven we can be sure that we will find out that we were all wrong somewhere. We are to hold to our faith strongly and sincerely, but with humility and love. Paul dealt with that repeatedly in regard to dietary matters. There are things, like throwing Biblical standards of sexuality and marriage out the window, that automatically create divisions, and we need to be very careful of those. That’s the sort of thing Paul is talking about here.

This is something I have thought much and felt strongly about for a long time. As I have written before, there are various Christian traditions I could not join, but I still have brothers and sisters in Christ who are in those traditions. I will let God be the judge of who is a “true believer,” but I need to focus on the essentials of faith and not the peripherals. As I quoted Ben Wong just recently, “The important thing is to keep the important thing the important thing.” I am not to deny for a moment that Jesus is the divine Son of God, the only Savior who died to take the penalty for our sin and rose again to demonstrate His victory over sin, death, and the devil, but I am not to reject a brother or sister who holds to that truth while differing with me on other points. Pride is the big danger here, because I can certainly be proud that I am “right.” God is the judge of that! (1 Corinthians 4:3)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me be an instrument of Your grace and love to all, while holding fast to Your truth, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Sharing the Gospel; November 16, 2023

Posted on November 17, 2023 by jgarrott

1 Corinthians 9:16 Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

I find it difficult to write on this verse, not because I find it in any way offensive, but because emotionally I don’t see how any believer could be any other way. That said, the sad fact of the matter is that the vast majority of believers never share their faith with anyone. I personally find I tend to doubt the depth of their faith, though that isn’t necessarily fair. The title song from a Christian musical of 50+ years ago comes to mind: “It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around can warm up to its glowing. That’s how it is with God’s love: once you’ve experienced it, you spread His love to everyone. You want to pass it on.” America has the problem of Christianity being cultural, so you expect everyone to know the Gospel, whereas Japan has the problem of faith being very private, and for most people largely irrelevant to their daily lives, so no one ever talks about it. (There’s certainly some of that in the US, too.) The actual fact of the matter is that no one knows God’s truth as completely as they could, and you just might have that piece of God’s truth that they are missing. Likewise, just as the song says, God’s love is so magnificent that when we get a real taste of it, failing to tell others about it becomes an exercise in self-centered narcissism. This doesn’t negate the principle Paul states just before this, that Christian workers should be materially compensated for their labors, but it is very clear, to me at least, that the clergy/laity divide is artificial at best. Expecting the “professionals” to do all the evangelizing makes everyone lose, which is why the devil encourages that attitude in any way he can.

As several people have pointed out, there are a lot of parallels between Paul’s life and mine. I did receive a salary when I pastored a church in the US before coming to Omura, but in the 40 years this church has been in operation I have never received, over the course of a year, as much from the church as I have given to it in offerings. Like Paul, I’m proud of that! However, that’s a pretty silly pride. I feel like this verse expresses my own attitude very well. I don’t know that I’m a very effective evangelist, but it’s pretty obvious that as soon as I open my mouth, what comes out quickly becomes a sermon! I have friends in ministry with different gifting who labor over sermon preparation, when I tend to feel like I could burst if I don’t get to preach! That makes it awkward when it comes to passing this church on to the next person, because as much as I might enjoy another person’s message, I still want to preach! However, just yesterday I was asked to speak at a 3-day conference in February, so the Lord does have other avenues for me to pour out what He pours into me. Whatever happens, I need to remember that I’ve got to apply God’s truth before my sharing that truth will have any power. Like Paul said, I’m the chief of sinners, and I need God’s truth in my own heart and life!

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for the incredible privilege of sharing Your truth. Help me be faithful to receive, apply, and share it as You intend, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Marriage; November 15, 2023

Posted on November 16, 2023 by jgarrott

1 Corinthians 7:15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.

This is a statement of immense importance and practicality. Since the marital bond is one of the strongest possible on this earth, this is an issue that cannot be avoided. I know of quite a few couples to whom this applies, both personally and at a distance. (I’m very grateful it has never applied to me personally.) I deal with marriage a great deal, performing weddings at a local “marriage palace” and conducting counseling with each couple before the ceremony, so I am constantly reminded of the factors in a Biblical marriage. Sadly, such marriages aren’t all that common, for quite a number of reasons. Divorce is a huge issue, especially in America but increasingly so in Japan as well. I know of couples where one partner is a believer and one not a believer who started out that way, others where one partner became a believer after their marriage, and some where both seemed to be believers at marriage but one discarded their faith along the way. All of them have their problems, and all of them need this verse. As the next verse says, you don’t know if you will save your partner, but the possibility is always there. To a degree, this counterbalances what Paul famously said to the Philippian jailer: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household.” (Acts 16:31) It makes it clear that the offer of salvation is open to the whole household, but each one is responsible to accept that offer for themselves. This verse makes it clear that if someone, even a spouse, declines that offer we can’t force it on them, nor should we try. However, we are always to speak the truth in love to them. As Peter, the only certifiably married apostle, said, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8) Life with an unbelieving spouse is far from ideal, but God can work miracles in it even so.

As I said, I’m very grateful not to have had to deal with this in my own marriage, but at the same time, I am aware that our respective level of faith has not always been equal. Each of us has had times of needing to support the other’s faith, and we should always be encouraging each other in faith. That’s because neither of us is perfect; we both have plenty of room to grow. I am not to put my wife down, either verbally or in my own thinking, and I pray she would express the same grace toward me. As I always tell couples, God designed marriage so that we would help each other out in our weak areas, because those are different for each individual. My wife and I are to be an example and an encouragement to the many people who are watching us, to let them know how good marriage can be.

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for the privilege of interacting with so many couples. May I point everyone with whom I interact to You, whether they have a partner or not, so that they may open their heart to receive all that You have prepared for them, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Forgiveness; November 14, 2023

Posted on November 15, 2023 by jgarrott

1 Corinthians 6:11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Verses 9 and 10 are currently some of the most politically incorrect in the whole Bible, because they not only say that homosexual behavior disqualifies you for God’s kingdom, they lump that in with various other despicable behaviors. People ignore the marvelous grace expressed in this verse and instead want their sins affirmed as not sinful, as even normative. How foolish! All sins require repentance, but if that is present on the basis of faith, then forgiveness is available for all sins. As countless teachers have pointed out, we always think the other guy’s sins are worse than our own. Having been a flagrant sinner in the past is nothing to be proud of, but it is also not to be denied, because God’s grace is sufficient. This verse is actually triumphant, declaring that we are not trapped by what we have done in the past, but in Christ we are purified and made holy and righteous. How glorious, and actually miraculous! I personally know some examples of this, and I know this verse to be true indeed. The point is, we are not to remain in such behaviors, but rather repent. A recent case in point is that of Kat von D, a tattoo artist with a reality TV show who was noted for her occult, demonic obsessions, which she has recently said were rooted in alcoholism. God got through to her and she has discarded all of that, quite literally, and has posted a video of her baptism. That sort of thing scares some people to death, because it points out very clearly that they have no excuse, because “they weren’t as far gone as she was.” For that matter, God has always been in the business of saving the “dregs of society.” Jesus was noted for associating with “sinners,” and Himself proclaimed, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32) Until we recognize that we too are sinners, none of us will be saved.

Of course this applies to me. I’m in the process of writing my autobiography, and I’m having to ask the Lord what to include and what not, because I don’t want anyone saying, “If he did that and it was OK, then it’s no big deal if I do it.” I too am “Only a sinner, saved by grace,” as the old hymn expresses it. None of my sins have been OK, but none have been too big for the blood of Christ to cover. For that matter, I still haven’t achieved “sinless perfection;” repentance is an ongoing thing. As I have received forgiveness, I need to extend forgiveness to those around me. Jesus said a number of things that are pretty scary if you think about them, and one of those is certainly, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15) I cannot insist that someone else’s sins are worse than my own, but rather seek to lead them into the same repentance and forgiveness that I have experienced.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I believe You are bringing many more people into this church, and we all need to maintain this awareness. Help us all rejoice in Your grace toward us and extend that grace toward all, never excusing sin, in ourselves or others, but always remembering that “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7) Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Gratitude; November 13, 2023

Posted on November 14, 2023 by jgarrott

1 Corinthians 4:7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

This is an extremely important principle that is sadly lacking in society today. Particularly young people, but people in general seem to expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter. Luxury has become commonplace, and people seem to have no appreciation for what is genuinely valuable, like human relationships and particularly, a right relationship with their Creator. We brag about having the latest iPhone, when we don’t really have anyone to talk to on it. The devil, hating mankind because God loves us, does all he can to foster this, encouraging us to seek handouts and get-rich-quick schemes of one sort or another and denigrating faithfulness in every area, from work to parenting to marriage. We need to wake up and resist his lies, recognizing the grace of God and being grateful. It is ironic that we focus so much on the material and the physical, when even human psychologists tell us that the key to happiness is gratitude. That’s precisely what Paul is talking about here. Even if what we have is because of our own efforts (and not much of it is) we need to be grateful that God has enabled us to put in the effort necessary. Without God, we wouldn’t even exist! I have long said, and still do, that without God we wouldn’t be able to draw a single breath, but it actually goes even deeper than that. Without God, not even our atoms would hold together! Physicists have gotten pretty good at describing the physical universe, but they get stuck on the why of a lot of things, throwing around terms not even they understand, like “dark energy” and “strong force” and “weak force.” Human intellect is a marvelous gift, but it certainly has limits, and it is hubris to think otherwise. The ultimate key to happiness is humble gratitude toward our Creator, seeking to know and do what He desires of us, for His glory.

This is something I have had to learn, and to be frank, I am still learning. I love to know stuff, but the more I learn, the more I understand that I don’t know. The term, sophomore, has applied to me for much of my life: “wise fool.” Because I have known some things, I have felt I knew all things! That’s the very definition of foolishness. I have a wide variety of abilities, but just as Paul says here, every one of them was given to me, sometimes with my involvement but often not. I didn’t ask for my genetics, or my home environment, or the many life experiences that have shaped me. I am to be grateful for all of the above, but not proud. I am not to think or feel that what I have been given makes me any more valuable or superior than the next person.

Father, thank You for Your incredible patience with me. As I have commented many times, if I had been You, I would have squashed me a long time ago! Help me indeed recognize Your grace, toward me and toward all Your children, and walk in the humble gratitude You intend for me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Church; November 12, 2023

Posted on November 13, 2023 by jgarrott

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

A lot of people confuse this passage with another famous passage in this same letter: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) The difference is very easy to overlook in English, because “you” and “your” can be either singular or plural. This passage is talking about the corporate Body, all the believers together, whereas the one in chapter six is talking about our individual bodies in terms of sexual purity. We are indeed accountable for our stewardship of our physical bodies, but the language there isn’t nearly as dire as what is said here. Few people deliberately destroy their own bodies, but the same can’t be said of churches. Whether or not it is deliberate, there are countless cases where a few people, or even one person, have done things that tore apart a local church. Without repentance, their end is dire indeed! We are so prone to associate “church” with a physical building, when the Bible never uses that terminology. The words in both Hebrew and Greek that have been translated as “church” actually mean “congregation,” a gathering of people. Numbers of teachers have rightly talked about “the church assembled” and “the church dispersed,” because we are no less the church when we are going about our daily lives than we are in a worship service. Since Jesus prayed for unity among believers just before He was crucified, (John 17) we must never take that unity lightly. That’s not to say that we aren’t to stand for truth, or that church splits are always wrong. As in cellular biology, sometimes division is a method of multiplication. What Paul is talking about so strongly is destruction, through jealousy, pride, or any of a number of very human faults. If we are all humbly connected to our Head, (Colossians 1:18) then such destruction will not happen.

I have never been involved when a local church was actually destroyed, but I have had people attempt it even with this congregation. It’s neither pretty nor fun, but God is faithful. Right now I feel God is about to do some pretty remarkable things with this church, and I can only guess at some of them. I need to be a faithful “sheep dog,” protecting against attacks and rounding up strays, so that God’s plans, and His alone, may be fulfilled on His schedule for His glory.

Father, I am in awe of just the little bit that I am seeing. I pray that all of Your plans, not just for this congregation but for the whole Body of Christ, may be fulfilled indeed, destroying the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) and bringing Your rule and reign, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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