Proverbs 19:1-16
There are quite a few proverbs today contrasting the poor and the wealthy. On the one hand, they stress that it is better to live in poverty and have knowledge and wisdom than to be a fool and have everything. On the other hand, with poverty comes loneliness - "a poor man is deserted by his friend."
v. 11 "Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense."
1 Corinthians 3
In v.1-4, Paul talks about how he has to treat the Corinthians like infants in Christ, as if they were still "people of the flesh" because that is what they were acting like in promoting these factions, even though they were "sanctified in Christ Jesus." Paul refutes the factions by reminding them that spiritual leaders are God's servants; they have different roles, but it is God who causes all the growth (and therefore gets all the credit).
He turns from this to talking about the manner in which spiritual leaders and teachers build into people. The foundation that must always be laid is Jesus Christ - the gospel. After this, Paul emphasizes that the spiritual formation must be of quality to survive, not shallow or of bad quality or error.
Another rebuke against those promoting the factions is found in v.16-17. Since the Corinthians are God's temple, are holy and must be unified, these factions are actually attempts to destroy God's temple. He warns that if anyone attempts this, God will destroy him.
His final warning - v21, "let no one boast in men." Especially in those who think they are wise (in eloquence and philosophy). The reason is because ALL of these men are the Lord's servants, and the Corinthians have everything they need in Christ.
0 comments:
Post a Comment