Day 154: NT 1 Corinthians C10-12; For Conscience’ Sake Be Mindful to Judge Ourselves.

Subtitle of Day 154: All Form One Body, Yet Strive after the Greater Gifts.

The First Epistle of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians is pure gold in terms of a source of spiritual insight, understanding, and wisdom!

As such it is presented verbatim in its entirety below with highlighted words and phrase that touch my heart, my soul or raised questions in my consciousness.

For conscience’ sake be mindful to judge ourselves… We all form one body, yet strive after the greater gifts.

God not Pleased with Most of the Jews:

For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized in Moses, in the cloud and in the sea. And all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink (for they drank from the spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ). Yet with most of them God was not well pleased, for “They were laid low in the desert.”

They are an Example to Us:

Now these things came to pass as examples to us, that we should not lust after evil things even as they lusted. And do not become idolaters, even as some of them were, as it is written. “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” Neither let us commit fornication, even as some of them committed fornication, and there fell in one day twenty-three thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them tempted, and perished by the serpents. Neither murmur, as some of them murmured, and perished at the hands of the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as a type, and they were written for our correction, upon whom the final age of the world has come.

Application:

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. May no temptation take hold of you but such as man is equal to. God is faithful and will not permit you to be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also give you a way out that you may be able to bear it.

The Danger of Pagan Sacrificial Banquets:

Therefore, beloved, flee from the worship of idols. I am speaking to men of sense; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not the sharing of the blood of Christ? And the bread that we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord? Because the bread is one, we though many, are one body, all of us who partake of the one bread. Behold Israel according to the flesh, are they who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What then do I say? That what is sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No; but I say that what the Gentiles sacrifice, “they sacrifice to devils and not to God”; and I would not have you becomes associates of the devils. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils; you cannot be partakers of the table of the Lord and of the table of the devils. Or are we provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Practical Directions:

All things are lawful, but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own interests, but those of his neighbor. Anything that is solid in the market, eat, asking no question for conscience’ sake. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” If one of the unbelievers invites you, and you wish to go, eat whatever is set before you, and ask no question for conscience’ sake. But if someone says, “This has been sacrificed to idols,” do not eat of it, for the sake of him who told you and for conscience’ sake—I mean the other’s conscience, not thine. For why should my liberty be called to judgment by another’s conscience? If I partake with thanksgiving, why am I ill spoken of for that which I give thanks?

Give No Offense:

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or do anything else, do all for the glory of God. Do not be a stumbling-block to Jews and Greeks and to the church of God, even as I myself in all things please all men, not seeking what is profitable to myself, but to the many, that they may be saved.

Women to Pray with Head Covered:

Be imitators of me as I am of Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, because in all things you are mindful of me and hold fast my precepts as I gave them to you. But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying with his head covered, disgraces his head. But every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is the same as if she were shaven. For if a women is not covered, let her be shaven. But if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off and her head shaved, let her cover her head. A man indeed ought not to cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God. But woman is the glory of man. For man is not from woman, but woman from man. This is why the woman ought to have a sign of authority over her head, because of the angels.

Nature and Custom Require a Veil:

Yet neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man in the Lord. For as the woman is from man, so also is the man through the woman, but all things are from God. Judge for yourselves: does it become a woman to pray to God uncovered? Does not nature itself teach you that for a man to wear his hair long is degrading; but for a woman to wear her hair long is a glory to her? Because her hair has been given her as a covering. But if anyone is disposed to be contentious—we have no such custom, neither has the churches of God.

Abuses in the Celebration of the Eucharist:

But in giving this charge, I do not commend you in that you meet not for the better but for the worse. For first of all I hear that when you meet in church there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. For there must be factions, so that those who are approved may be made manifest among you. So then when you meet together, it is no longer possible to eat the Lord’s Supper. For at the meal, each one takes first his own supper, and one is hungry, and another drinks overmuch. Have you not houses for your eating and drinking? Or do you despise the church of God and put to shame the needy? What am I to say to you? Am I to commend you? In this I do not commend you.

Institution of the Eucharist:

For I myself have received from the Lord (what I also delivered to you), that the Lord Jesus, on the night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks broke, and said, “This is my body which shall be given up for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In like manner also the cup, after he had supped, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you shall eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.” Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily, will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of the cup; for he who eats and drinks unworthily, without distinguishing his body, eats and drinks judgment to himself. This is why many among you are infirm and weak, and many sleep. But if we judged ourselves, we should not thus be judged. But when we are judged, we are being chastised by the Lord that we may not be condemned with this world. Wherefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together unto judgment. The rest I shall set in order when I come.

Spiritual Gifts through the Holy Spirit:

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. You know that when you were Gentiles, you went to dumb idols, according as you were led. Wherefore I give you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God says “Anathema” to Jesus. And no one can say “Jesus is Lord,” except in the Holy Spirit.

Varieties of Gifts:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of ministries, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all. Now the manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone for profit. To one through the Spirit is given the utterance of wisdom; and to another the utterance of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; to another faith, in the same Spirit; to another the gift of healing, in the one Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another the distinguishing of spirits; to another various kinds of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues. But all these things are the work of one and the same Spirit, who allots to everyone according as he will.

All Form One Body:

For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, many as they are, form one body, so also is it with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not part of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body,” is it therefore not of the body?

Unity Among the Members:

If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were hearing, where would be the smelling? But as it is, God has set the members, each of them, in the body as he willed. Now if they were all one member, where would the body be? But as it is, there are indeed many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need thy help”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” Nay, much rather, those that seem the more feeble members of the body are more necessary; and those that we think the less honorable members of the body, we surround with more abundant honor, and our uncomely parts receive a more abundant comeliness, whereas our comely parts have no need of it. But God has so tempered the body together in due portion as to give more abundant honor where it was lacking; that there may be no disunion in the body, but that the members may have care for one another. And if one member suffers anything, all the members suffer with it, or if one member glorifies, all the members rejoice with it.

Christ’s Mystical Body:

Now you are the body of Christ, member for member. And God indeed has placed some in the Church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers; after that miracles, then gifts of healing, services of help, power of administration, and the speaking of various tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have the gift of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? Yet strive after the greater gifts.

For conscience’ sake be mindful to judge ourselves… We all form one body, yet strive after the greater gifts.

Day 154: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; For Conscience’ Sake Be Mindful to Judge Ourselves… All Form One Body, Yet Strive after the Greater Gifts.

Read and inspired by the New Testament, The First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, Chapters 10-12.

Bible Notes:

Saint Paul in this letter to the Christians of Corinth denounces certain abuses, e.g., rivalries among themselves, incest, appealing to pagan courts, and fornication. He then answers questions they had proposed to him on marriage and celibacy, on eating the meats offered to idols, on abuses in the celebration of the Eucharist, on various gifts of the Holy Spirit, and on the future resurrection.

1 Corinthians Chapter 10:  God not pleased with most of the Jews; They are an example to us; Application; The danger of pagan sacrificial banquets; Practical directions; Give no offense.

God not Pleased with Most of the Jews:

For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized in Moses, in the cloud and in the sea. And all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink (for they drank from the spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ). Yet with most of them God was not well pleased, for “They were laid low in the desert.”

They are an Example to Us:

Now these things came to pass as examples to us, that we should not lust after evil things even as they lusted. And do not become idolaters, even as some of them were, as it is written. “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” Neither let us commit fornication, even as some of them committed fornication, and there fell in one day twenty-three thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them tempted, and perished by the serpents. Neither murmur, as some of them murmured, and perished at the hands of the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as a type, and they were written for our correction, upon whom the final age of the world has come.

Application: Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. May no temptation take hold of you but such as man is equal to. God is faithful and will not permit you to be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also give you a way out that you may be able to bear it.

The Danger of Pagan Sacrificial Banquets:

Therefore, beloved, flee from the worship of idols. I am speaking to men of sense; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not the sharing of the blood of Christ? And the bread that we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord? Because the bread is one, we though many, are one body, all of us who partake of the one bread. Behold Israel according to the flesh, are they who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What then do I say? That what is sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No; but I say that what the Gentiles sacrifice, “they sacrifice to devils and not to God”; and I would not have you becomes associates of the devils. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils; you cannot be partakers of the table of the Lord and of the table of the devils. Or are we provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Practical Directions:

All things are lawful, but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own interests, but those of his neighbor. Anything that is solid in the market, eat, asking no question for conscience’ sake. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” If one of the unbelievers invites you, and you wish to go, eat whatever is set before you, and ask no question for conscience’ sake. But if someone says, “This has been sacrificed to idols,” do not eat of it, for the sake of him who told you and for conscience’ sake—I mean the other’s conscience, not thine. For why should my liberty be called to judgment by another’s conscience? If I partake with thanksgiving, why am I ill spoken of for that which I give thanks?

Edify—to instruct or benefit, especially morally or spiritually; uplift:

Give No Offense:

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or do anything else, do all for the glory of God. Do not be a stumbling-block to Jews and Greeks and to the church of God, even as I myself in all things please all men, not seeking what is profitable to myself, but to the many, that they may be saved.

1 Corinthians Chapter 11:  Women to pray with head covered; Nature and custom require a veil; Abuses in the celebration of the Eucharist; Institution of the Eucharist.  

Women to Pray with Head Covered:

Be imitators of me as I am of Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, because in all things you are mindful of me and hold fast my precepts as I gave them to you. But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying with his head covered, disgraces his head. But every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is the same as if she were shaven. For if a women is not covered, let her be shaven. But if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off and her head shaved, let her cover her head. A man indeed ought not to cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God. But woman is the glory of man. For man is not from woman, but woman from man. This is why the woman ought to have a sign of authority over her head, because of the angels.

Nature and Custom Require a Veil:

Yet neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man in the Lord. For as the woman is from man, so also is the man through the woman, but all things are from God. Judge for yourselves: does it become a woman to pray to God uncovered? Does not nature itself teach you that for a man to wear his hair long is degrading; but for a woman to wear her hair long is a glory to her? Because her hair has been given her as a covering. But if anyone is disposed to be contentious—we have no such custom, neither has the churches of God.

Abuses in the Celebration of the Eucharist:

But in giving this charge, I do not commend you in that you meet not for the better but for the worse. For first of all I hear that when you meet in church there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. For there must be factions, so that those who are approved may be made manifest among you. So then when you meet together, it is no longer possible to eat the Lord’s Supper. For at the meal, each one takes first his own supper, and one is hungry, and another drinks overmuch. Have you not houses for your eating and drinking? Or do you despise the church of God and put to shame the needy? What am I to say to you? Am I to commend you? In this I do not commend you.

Institution of the Eucharist:

For I myself have received from the Lord (what I also delivered to you), that the Lord Jesus, on the night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks broke, and said, “This is my body which shall be given up for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In like manner also the cup, after he had supped, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you shall eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.” Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily, will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of the cup; for he who eats and drinks unworthily, without distinguishing his body, eats and drinks judgment to himself. This is why many among you are infirm and weak, and many sleep. But if we judged ourselves, we should not thus be judged. But when we are judged, we are being chastised by the Lord that we may not be condemned with this world. Wherefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together unto judgment. The rest I shall set in order when I come.

1 Corinthians Chapter 12:  Spiritual gifts through the Holy Spirit; Varieties of gifts; All form one body; Unity among the members; Christ’s mystical body.

Spiritual Gifts through the Holy Spirit:

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. You know that when you were Gentiles, you went to dumb idols, according as you were led. Wherefore I give you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God says “Anathema” to Jesus. And no one can say “Jesus is Lord,” except in the Holy Spirit.

Anathema—a person or thing detested or loathed; a person or thing accursed or consigned to damnation or destruction; a formal ecclesiastical curse involving excommunication.

Varieties of Gifts:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of ministries, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all. Now the manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone for profit. To one through the Spirit is given the utterance of wisdom; and to another the utterance of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; to another faith, in the same Spirit; to another the gift of healing, in the one Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another the distinguishing of spirits; to another various kinds of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues. But all these things are the work of one and the same Spirit, who allots to everyone according as he will.

All Form One Body:

For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, many as they are, form one body, so also is it with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not part of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body,” is it therefore not of the body?

Unity Among the Members:

If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were hearing, where would be the smelling? But as it is, God has set the members, each of them, in the body as he willed. Now if they were all one member, where would the body be? But as it is, there are indeed many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need thy help”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” Nay, much rather, those that seem the more feeble members of the body are more necessary; and those that we think the less honorable members of the body, we surround with more abundant honor, and our uncomely parts receive a more abundant comeliness, whereas our comely parts have no need of it. But God has so tempered the body together in due portion as to give more abundant honor where it was lacking; that there may be no disunion in the body, but that the members may have care for one another. And if one member suffers anything, all the members suffer with it, or if one member glorifies, all the members rejoice with it.

Source of Biblical Humor???

Joke: When The Body Was First Made, Who Was the Most Important

One day, all the parts of the body were talking about who was most important.

THE BRAIN SAID – “Since I control everything and do all the thinking, I am the most important therefore I should be boss.”

THE FEET SAID – “Since I carry him everywhere he wants to go and get him in position to do what the brain wants, I am the most important.”

THE EYES SAID – “Since I must look out for all of you and tell you where the danger lurks, I am the most important body part.”

THE HANDS SAID – “Since I do all the work and earn all the money to keep the rest of you going, I am the most important.”

Of course, everyone got into the arguments and the heart, lungs, and ears all say the same thing.

Finally, the anus spoke up and pointed that he was the most important even though the others didn’t know it. All the other laughed and laughed to think of an anus being boss.

The anus decided to prove the point and refused to function. Blocked up tight.

Soon the brain was feverish, the eyes crossed and ached, the feet were too weak to walk, the hands hung limply at the sides, and the heart and lungs struggled to keep going.

All pleaded with the anus to relent and agreed that the anus was the most important and so it happened… the moral of the story: the anus always ends up being the boss.

Christ’s Mystical Body:

Now you are the body of Christ, member for member. And God indeed has placed some in the Church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers; after that miracles, then gifts of healing, services of help, power of administration, and the speaking of various tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have the gift of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? Yet strive after the greater gifts.