Our Body Belongs To God

 1 Corinth 6:19.20
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

What in the world is going on here in Corinth! Paul is besides himself to find out that these followers of Christ were behaving in ways that were inconsistent with the teachings of Christ. This is not acceptable behavior if you are a follower of Christ. If you are in Christ and Christ is in you, then act like it. A person who is joined together with Christ will not be committing fornication (sinful sexual behavior) and will call themselves Christian. A Christian cannot argue that his body is his/hers, and he can do as he pleases. Jesus died on the cross, shed His blood, paid the price to redeem us back to Him. We no longer have claims to do whatever we want with our body. We are told to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service to God. We have given up our rights, and now we submit every desire to the will of God. Paul goes on to say that we should not be conforming to what the world thinks, but what God thinks. To the Corinthian, he is adamant about letting them know that if you are part of the body of Christ, then the Holy Spirit dwells in your body, and you are no longer in control. Your desires have been given over to God.
In our twisted culture, this present age has turned the truth into a lie, and people have become reprobates, justifying sexual behavior that is contrary to the teaching of God’s word. God is merciful, and will not turn away those who confess their sins, repent from their sinful way and let God transform their lives to be acceptable to God. When we turn everything over to God, we become self-aware of what we do with our bodies. That is why we should be careful not to abuse it, and to be mindful of keeping it healthy. If we are to be examples and followers of Jesus, it would be only right to let the Holy Spirit work in us and through our body.

No Schisms in the Church

 1 Corinth 12:25
That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.

In an ideal world, all Christians should all get along with each other. There should be no schism (a split or division between strongly opposed sections or parties, caused by differences in opinion or belief) in the church. No schisms would imply that if you don’t agree on something that splitting apart is not the solution. Based on the context that Paul was addressing, it does appear that there was disagreement among believers that was causing strife and division. The admonition was to work together for a solution. The church does not function on the opinion of just one person. The church is made up of people with different gifts and talents. We all need each other, and we are not able to do it alone, so we must compromise to keep the unity of the church. But the history of the physical church has demonstrated that there have been hundreds of schisms within churches. Some schisms were caused by differences of opinion on Bible interpretation, and other causes are because someone did not get their way. Judging the legitimacy of a church split is not always easy to determine. We can see an example in the Bible where there were times that a schism was necessary. When false teaching turns the truth of God’s word into a lie, it is a good reason to leave the fellowship of those who have turned from Bible truth and are living a lie. The acceptance of lifestyles that promote immoral behavior and perversion should be a no-brainer (Eph. 5:11)—"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." Such schism is understood. But we also read in scripture where Paul and Barnabas had a schism, and they departed ways not coming to an agreement. “And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other” (Act 15:39). We understand that this was not a church split, but by two people who chose to disagree, agreeably. It appears that humanity is still part of who we are and how we make decisions. It would be wonderful if we could always agree, but that is not the case. We can agree we all want the will of God to be done, but how that is done may look different for each person. Let there be no schism in regard to who Jesus is, for He is the truth, life, and the way, and any man who rejects this, will not see heaven.

Giving to the Kingdom

 Deuteronomy 14:28-29
bring all the tithes” so the Levites, “foreigners, the fatherless and the widows,” could come and “eat and be satisfied”.

There has been a lot of debate and discussion about tithing. Does the Bible require that Christian tithe to the church? There are many who believe that part of following Jesus is to give at least 10% of your income to support the work of God. There is no doubt that the Old Testament instructed God’s people to bring their tithe to help support the needs of the ministry and to help those who were not able to help themselves. One would argue that we are no longer under the law of the Old Testament and there is no such mandate given to believers in the New Testament. Much is said in the New Testament about giving of your means to help the spread of the gospel of Jesus, but there appears to be no commandment or set rule on how much you should be giving. We know that Paul encouraged believers to give and often thanked those who gave to support the work he was doing to tell others about Jesus. We also know that, in our present day, it requires money to maintain a church ministry, or any kind of ministry that desires to reach out and help people who have physical and spiritual needs.
Let it first be established that it is not possible to buy the favor of God, or give enough to pay for salvation. Salvation comes only through believing Jesus paid the price for our sins and confessing our sins and believing He is God who can reconcile us back to Him. But when a person has given their life to Christ, a transformation of desires begins. We seek to be more like Him and the things that we once desire to please ourselves are now turned toward the things of God. We now want to give all that we can to support the work of the Kingdom. We take inventory of how we are spending our resources. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinth. 10:31)Our life is no longer ours, but it belongs to God, All of it! Our money, time, effort, emotions, and spirit now belong to Him. God does not want 10% of you, He wants all of you. I believe that we are stewards of what we have and none of it belongs to us. What we do with it all depends on what kind of relationship we have with Him. If we love Him, out of a cheerful heart, we give to see others come to Christ. We desire to help those who are in need of a helping hand. We don't give so that God will bless us, we give because that is what Jesus would do. Don’t hold back what God has blessed you with to fulfill your selfish desires, but let Him take full control of everything you have. Don’t be in bondage to only give 10% but give to please the God you serve. Live in moderation, provide food and shelter for your family. Enjoy life, but remember, everything you have belongs to Him, and His desire is for us to first seek the kingdom of God. 

Part of the Body of Christ

 1 Corinthians 12:12
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

How refreshing it is to meet a complete stranger and find out they also are Christians. Our hearts and spirits are seamlessly bonded together as one. We are part of the body of Christ. We may have different opinions on Bible interpretation and application, but this one thing we have in common, we belong to Christ, and are part of the family of God. As part of the body of Christ, we all have our part in building the kingdom of God. Eph. 4:11. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.” Everyone in the body is important. The work that God has called us to do may not seem like much when we compare it to others who have been recognized for their contributions to ministry. It is easy to think that the work we do is not significant and has little impact on the grand scheme of God’s plan. But little is much when God is in it! The little mustard seed that we plant in Jesus' name can bring glory to His name. Luke 13:19. “It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.” How important it is that we be all that God wants us to be. He has not called us to do this work alone. The body of Christ works together to accomplish His purpose. He desires that we be obedient to His will for our lives, whatever that may be. God calls everyone to do their part in the work of the kingdom. Are you willing to use the gifts and talents that God has given you to make the body of Christ functional? The work you do may not be seen by others, but all things done for Jesus is important work, and God sees your heart and will reward you according to your obedience. So find your niche in the body of Christ and do it with all your heart and might. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might”- Ecc. 9:10

Babes in Christ

1 Corinth 3:1
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

At what point is a Christian no longer considered a babe in Christ? When does a person cross the threshold from being carnal to being spiritual? Paul observed that the Christians were demonstrating actions that were not spiritual, but actions done by people who are still living in the flesh. These were people that had just experienced the forgiveness of sin, accepting Christ as their Savior. Yet, they bickered and argued with each other over things that were self-serving. A man or woman who demonstrates a life that is spiritual has put himself on the altar, life no longer is focused around them, but around the Kingdom and the needs of others. A Christian walking in the light of Christ comes to a point in their life where they surrender everything to God, a full submission to the will of God. Wesley called this entire sanctification. A life set apart, made clean by the blood of Christ, and the fullness of the Holy Spirit fills their life. The spiritual life does not dehumanize a person, but equips them to live each day in faith, trusting God in everything they do.