Tag Archives: Paul

Love not power.

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In my role at work, I have some authority. Today I have to review a person to give a second opinion as to him being under an Act: if must accept treatment, or if this person can be certified for a benefit or excused from work and other responsibilities. In addition, over the years I have built up some goodwill and influence.

And I have learnt that holding onto these things means that they slip through your fingers. You have to give them away. The reason you have power is to help others. Now, this has to be done properly — or as the sad case of Nick Smith shows, you can move into corrupt practice. Nick, quite properly, resigned this week). Paul moves from talking about the people who minister to the church and the temptations of power to what should be our real motivation.

1 Corinthians 12:27-13:3

27Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

1If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Now, Calvin himself shows that the stereotype is wrong. He comments..

And if I should give up my body. He speaks, undoubtedly, of martyrdom, which is an act that is the most lovely and excellent of all; for what is more admirable than that invincible fortitude of mind, which makes a man not hesitate to pour out his life for the testimony of the gospel? Yet even this, too, God regards as nothing, if the mind is destitute of love. The kind of punishment that he makes mention of was not then so common among Christians; for we read that tyrants, at that time, set themselves to destroy the Church, rather by swords than by flames, except that Nero, in his rage, had recourse, also, to burning. The Spirit appears, however, to have predicted here, by Paul’s mouth, the persecutions that were coming. But this is a digression. The main truth in the passage is this — that as love is the only rule of our actions, and the only means of regulating the right use of the gifts of God, nothing, in the absence of it, is approved of by God, however magnificent it may be in the estimation of men. For where it is wanting, the beauty of all virtues is mere tinsel — is empty sound — is not worth a straw — nay more, is offensive and disgusting. As for the inference which Papists draw from this — that love is therefore of more avail for our justification than faith, we shall refute it afterwards. At present, we must proceed to notice what follows

There is no question that martyrdom occurs in this time. There is also no question that some of us will have power, either in the secular world or in the church. But that power is transient. Nick Smith went from being quite a powerful member of government, to a local MP, broken and in tears, in five days.

Power, Riches, Giftedness, should be seen as a set of tool thatwe can use to serve and love, not something to be proud of. For when we say we are rich, we and powerful and need nothing we forget we are poor, broken, and spiritually hungry. Power is suborrinate, among Christians, to love. For love will remain, Our positions on this earth are ephemeral.

The truth is not tolerant of error.

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This is a time when to be offended is to have power. There is a culture of compliant. All corporates have a department that encourages such feedback: the benign reason is that it allows for services to improve. The less benign reasons are that it makes people cautious, as they do not want such a compliant on their record.

In Christ we have liberty, but we have to use this carefully. Paul starts with that principle, and then applies it to an issue — where do you buy meat.

1 Corinthians 10:22-33

23“All things are lawful,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24Do not seek your own advantage, but that of the other. 25Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience, 26for “the earth and its fullness are the Lord’s.” 27If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience – 29I mean the other’s conscience, not your own. For why should my liberty be subject to the judgment of someone else’s conscience? 30If I partake with thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

31So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. 32Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved.

The systematizer in me notes that the two principles that we have: look for the other’s advantage and do everything to glorify God — fall into the two great commandments of the old Law — Love the Lord your God and love your neighbour as yourself.

Well and good. We should live not to give offense. We should dress in such a way, eat in such a way…

But this is Paul. Paul offended people. Paul caused riots. He was described as the person who turned the world upside down. Because… what he said was offensive, and it is offensive. Our actions should glorify God. We should not flaunt our liberty foolishly.

But we should not stop saying that in Christ and Christ alone is there entry into the kingodom of God and live everlasting. All other ways lead to the pit.  We need to say this despite the fact if offends, it is intolerant, and reminding people that they, like us, are sinners, containing and doing evil, on a road to perdition will decrease their self esteem.

The truth is not tolerant of error. Nor should we be.

The savage ain’t noble.

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Without Christ, we are going to follow our own ends. This leads to tribalism. We need limits on our behaviour. God is merciful. He saved the people of Israel and those who joined them… and gave them a law that is sustainable. But no one can keep it.

We thus need the work of Christ. For he will rescue from all parts of humanity, the distant and the near, those who have gone before and those in the future.

Psalm 22:27-31

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the LORD;
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him.
28 For dominion belongs to the LORD,
and he rules over the nations.

29 To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord,
31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.

In the end, it is not us that have saving power. We are flawed. We are fallen. We cannot do it. It is not the church that has saving power, for that is made up but of men. It is Christ. For Christ’s spirit should guide us, Christ will perfect us, and Christ will preserve the church. As Paul says, we work because we are under obligation: we do good because we are compelled. Left to our own devices, we would Party Hard (For various values of partying).

1 Corinthians 9:16-27

16If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! 17For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. 18What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.

19For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. 20To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. 21To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. 22To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. 23I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

Now, we are where we are. Our duty is to do good in the circumstances we find ourselves: we are not to wait for perfection or a time of no responsibility, for that will not happen.

Simple things.

  • We should aim for excellence in what we do: as we miss (which is the usual course of events we will end up with something that is good enough.
  • We should have interests. You can’t be a Jew to Jews, or a Gentile to Gentiles, unless we can do things with them. Now, for many women, this can be play dates and coffee — for their children and school are shared interests. For guys, it is more likely to be work or sports. I follow rugby, not because I love the game (I don’t) but because it allows me to talk to the average bloke around here.
  • And, in this Lenten season, we must be gentle with each other. Some will use the rituals of the church, special days and festivals . Others will not, for every day is holy.  Here I have to watch my sense of humour — the Presbyterians may be God’s Frozen People, but we don’t have to be sarcastic about others.

One of the current virtues of the interwebz is that we can say, still, what we think. But we lose information. We have but our bare words. The non verbal means by which we modify our discussions cannot occur with text.

This means that we can hurt each other quickly, deeply… and at times unintentionally.  Now, for men… Iron sharpens Iron. We do not mind confrontation. If you push, we push back. But for many women, this is very hurtful.  As a result, the men tend to talk to the men and the women to the women… which is not bad — and in fact good — provided that we do not follow our natural tendencies to (a) see all women as stupid and servants (men) or (b) see all men as violent, dumb, brutes with useful wallets (women).

God uses marriage to force us to be together. It is a holy institution because it forces us to grow. Which is why the enemy rejoices whenever there is a divorce, and celebrates when a generation chooses not to marry. But in marriage (by God’s rules, not the current legal ones)  we can gently lead each other, so that we do good and not pain.