Illation on Leaders 4, December 2017
Consider Paul’s Concepts of our Faith as presented in the Book of 1st Corinthians
I calibrate how the church should define itself by using scripture, prayer, meditation, and study. In contemplating the roles of leadership in the church, I have been looking for verses in the New Testament Letters, searching for offices, duties, and topics; to gather information and, therefore patterns and inferences that can be gleaned.
Going book by book, 1st Corinthians, alone, amounted to more than 2,000-words. I have yet to consider the Gospels. I wanted to be thorough but, since many topics appear frequently, I tried to not be very redundant. . . but I could have missed something here or there.
Choose your own version of the Bible to read. I do not promote any particular version, in fact I, often use several versions: after all, the words in one language may not have an exact counterpart in another language and therefore is translated differently.
Here is an example of my thinking: In 1st Corinthians 1: 4-7, giving thanks was a topic Paul touched upon. Hence, Paul mentioned it, even though he did not engage a full teaching about Thankfulness. Never-the-less, by sharing this thankful idea and in the way he shared it, I concluded that leaders in the church need to 1) live a life showing a gratitude towards God’s handiwork and 2) teach / encourage thankfulness to others. Any extraneous thoughts have been bracketed.
Chapter 1
4 Thru 7
giving thanks
grace
spiritual gifts
your Faith can be seen by others
10 Thru 16
harmony among believers
baptism
Chapter 2
1:17 Thru 2:6
mindfulness in preaching the Gospel
human “wisdom”
God’s power
maturity in the faith
Chapter 3
1 Thru 10
attitude to have towards God’s servants
growing in faith
our tasks are assigned by God
growing in the faith
priorities (God = everything)
analogy of faith as a building
18 Thru 23
look out for deception
the wisdom found in this world is foolish, futile
look beyond your church leaders to revel in Christ
Christ gives all things
Chapter 4
1 Thru 4
leaders are trusted servants
leaders be faithful
judgement of leaders
19
power of (or behind) words
Kingdom of God a matter of power, not talk (eloquent words)
Chapter 5 and 6
11 Thru 13
Judgement and sentencing of sin within the church (and outside also).
[These are big sins. And, I will venture to say, they were committed often and regularly. The “swindler”, in this instance, had a lifestyle of making the deal by using deceitful practices; not a white lie or not quite telling the whole story every now and then. Even though sin is sin, no matter what the sin, there is a difference between a child hiking a candy bar and an adult committing grand theft auto.
Anyway, Paul says: throw these people out.
However, a few years later in Paul’s journeys, he talks in Galatians 5:13 thru 6:10, about the same sins but offers a different approach to the situation in order for you to not be out of line with God: gentle restoration.]
Chapter 7
married life
unmarried life
Chapter 8
food given to idols
mature vs immature faith
Chapter 9
Apostleship
ministers’ pay
freedom for believers
self discipline
Chapter 10
Israel’s history
The Lord’s Supper
freedom for believers
Chapter 11
relationships between men and women [some of this is cultural?]
The Lord’s Supper
Chapter 12
All of the chapter!!!
Spiritual Gifts
body of Christ
Chapter 13
All of the chapter!!!
Love matters a whole lot
Chapter 14
All of the chapter!!!
tongues and prophesying
having a gathering that is not confusing
women [some of this is cultural?]
Chapter 15
1 Thru 11
teaching the Gospel’s truths
Grace’s effects
persecution
12 Thru 58
ramifications of Christ’s death / resurrection
1st Adam / 2nd Adam
our own resurrection
Chapter 16
1 Thru 3
money
13 & 14
short collection of important teachings
15 to End.
others in the Faith
