1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 3:18-20

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1 Corinthians 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
 
Paul is telling us here that if we are won over by those that are preaching foolishness the wisest thing we can do is to become foolish man man so we can come to God. He goes own to say that human wisdom which cannot save, also cannot either build a church or prevent its growth. We have to humble ourselves to receive God while the wise are so smart they do not think they need a savior.The wisdom of man is foolishness to God. The wisest man in the world is the one who seeks God and humbly receives Him as his Savior.
1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

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1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
 
Paul begins here asking a question. As a Christian we should know that we are the house that Jesus lives in here on this earth. Remember what we covered in Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Next Paul gives us a warning that if anyone does anything to harm the body of a believer they are also doing harm to the Lord. You are attacking God, when you attack God’s servant. This should help to understand how we should treat all Christians even if they may make a mistake.
1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 3:14-15

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1 Corinthians 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
 
There have been many men of God who have suffered greatly here on this earth to further the kingdom of God. They have been stone, tortured, beaten, and even killed for what they believed in but continued on with their work if they could. All that was accomplished by these and by the ones spreading the Gospel toady in the name of Jesus for His glory and in His power will survive. This last verse gives hope to those who feel they are doing a good work for even though it does not stand the test of fire. Because they tried and God knows where their heart is they will not lose their salvation. No matter how much of what they do is worthless they will not lose their salvation. Our God wants every believer to do their best.
1 Corinthians

1 Cointhians 3:12-13

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1 Corinthians 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

This first verse shows us the difference in what we use to build our foundation on. The first being a symbol of gold,s silver, and precious stones which stands for ones who are strong in faith and when it is tried by fire them become even stronger, just as the precious minerals become purer in fire. Then we have those that are symbolized by wood, hay, and stubble. This is like the ones who are weak in their faith and when they are tried by fire it weakens or destroys them. It does not mean necessarily that they lose their salvation but it could cause them doubt it. when fire is applied to the materials mentioned we know they are burned up completely. we will all be tried by the fire of God’s discerning judgement so let us strive to be as strong in our faith as possible when that day comes. Will we be one of three that are combustible or of three that are incombustible?

 

 

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 3:10-11

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1 Corinthians 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
 
Paul is saying here that as he established the churches in the different areas his foundation was Jesus Christ as the cornerstone. His hope was that those he taught in these churches would continue to teach the way they were taught. As they teach they lay more foundations and they need to be careful that they use the right cornerstone in their teaching. Paul ends this by letting us know that Christ designed the foundation and Paul laid it by preaching Christ. Anyone’s salvation should be built on the foundation of Christ and if any other message is preached it will not stand. If you do not understand nothing else about God’s word know that it says there is only one way to build a life that is acceptable God and that is Jesus Christ as the cornerstone to our salvation.
1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 3:7-9

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1 Corinthians 3:7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
 
Paul is telling again that the messenger is not the important one but God is the the one to be worshiped because He sent the messenger. The message is what is important because it is what God uses to draw sinners to Him. Paul continues and tells us that all those that play a part in leading someone to Christ is important and will receive their reward as long as they follow the will of God that He sent them to do. He goes on to let us know we are the workers for God on this earth just as a farmer has to care for all the crops he grows then God expects us to care for His crop of believers. We are to water them, dig around them, and even trim them from time to time. We are the building blocks in God’s house with Jesus as the chief Cornerstone. It all God’s children working together to build the house that God will dwell in. Attend church today, you will be loved and welcomed at Luverne First Assembly of
God and let the Spirit of God fill your heart.
1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 3:4-6

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1 Corinthians 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
 
Paul is letting the people know here that you are not to base your salvation on a man and that they do not fully understand Christianity. He goes on to to tell them they have their eyes focused on the people who brought them the gospel and not the gospel itself. This is letting us know to that we should not be letting ministers be the focus of our worship They are their to bring the message of the gospel an just be a servant of God. Most of the time it takes the encouragement of several people before someone comes to the saving grace of Jesus
Christ. By this many may play a part in someones salvation but God is the one quickens it. Many can minister the word but the Lord alone is the who can give the faith to the spiritually ignorant and dead. Salvation is God’s work of grace to whom He chooses to give it.
1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 3:1-3

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1 Corinthians 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
 
Here Paul lets the people know they have not gown enough in the Lord since he last saw them for him to give them any stronger message than that of salvation. He lets them know he fed them only the essential things they needed because they could not handle the deeper things of God. He even goes on to say that even now they are not ready for it. They are still acting like carnal people it their fusing and fighting among themselves. Paul here is addressing something i believe we see in too many churches today. People who think they are as close to God as they get and are all holy when in fact they are just the opposite because of all the strife they cause. We need to be careful in teaching as well as learning about the word of God that we do not overdo it to the point that we put ourselves above others.
A Note from Hope

New Babies: a Note from Hope

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Last week, our friend Ms Pam at the police station talked to Mom and told her about kittens that needed new homes. Well, you know Mom.  She loves kittens. Especially solid white kittens and solid black kittens. (Remember my buddy Chip?)

So, Mom and Dad talked, and she went to get the kittens. TWO white kittens. Solid white.

Just like when Delilah came, Dad brought the big crate inside, and put the litter box and food bowls inside. The kittens stayed in for a few days. They didn’t like it when we went in to smell them.  They huddled in one corner and tried to hide. Delilah didn’t like it either- she  walked around the crate and fussed at them for coming to her house – I guess she forgot how it felt a few weeks ago when she got here.

But they’re better this week- the little boy’s name is Duff, and he likes all of us- he comes out of the living room and plays with Delilah and Scout and me. The little girl’s name is Dixie- she’s still scared, but now instead of running away from us, she arches her back and spits at us. (Mom says that’s better?) And she comes out of the living room too, sometimes, and walks around the house.

So now there are five of us…  sounds like a song, doesn’t it?

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 2:15-16

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1 Corinthians 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
 
This begins speaking of someone who has been baptized with the Holy Spirit of God and has the gift of discernment. We judge people by their actions or their fruits and not by whether they are lost or saved. As a Christian we are judged by Jesus and those making carnal judgments about you should not affect you at all. The spiritual man has founded his faith on God’s revelation and he can judge now both earthly and heavenly things. This goes on to say that if we have the mind of Christ just means that He has revealed to us His will. This scripture ask the question who knows the mind of the Lord, well we can say we do because we have the mind of Christ. This means that the Christians possess the Lord’s own understanding, His thoughts, opinions, judgments, plans, and so on. Let us strive each day to get as much of God as we can so we can exhibit the life of Christ in the actions we portray every day.