GALATIANS+—An Illustrated Summary of Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible by G. Campbell Morgan

"On every page of the God-breathed writings are many thoughts that stretch out like long, clear arms of light across the darkness, discovering things otherwise hidden and illuminating wider areas than those of the immediate context. They are searchlights. I have selected one in each chapter of Scripture, for at least one central thought in every chapter should arrest the mind and affect the life," wrote G. Campbell Morgan, a skilled, wise, warm-hearted Bible teacher who conducted a classic 3-year study called Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible. Here is the fruit of that research—summarized, illustrated, and amplified with useful details—on all 66 books of the Bible.

GENESIS, EXODUS, LEVITICUS, NUMBERS, 

DEUTERONOMY, JOSHUA, JUDGES, RUTH, 

1 SAMUEL, 2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS,  2 KINGS, 

1 CHRONICLES, 2 CHRONICLES, EZRA, 

NEHEMIAH, ESTHER, JOB, PSALMS, 

PROVERBS, ECCLESIASTES, 

SONG OF SOLOMON,  ISAIAH, JEREMIAH,

 LAMENTATIONS, EZEKIEL, DANIEL, 

HOSEA, JOEL, AMOS, OBADIAH, JONAH, 

MICAH, NAHUM, HABAKKUK, ZEPHANIAH,  

HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH, MALACHI,

 MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, JOHN, 

ACTS, ROMANS, 1 CORINTHIANS,

2 CORINTHIANS, GALATIANS, EPHESIANS, 

PHILIPPIANS, COLOSSIANS, 1 THESSALONIANS,

2 THESSALONIANS, 1 TIMOTHY,  2 TIMOTHY, TITUS,

PHILEMON, HEBREWS, JAMES, 1 PETER, 2 PETER,

1 JOHN, 2 JOHN, 3 JOHN, JUDE, REVELATION

Galatians 1:16 "To reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him." The apostle Paul gives fascinating background information about his calling that is revealed only here in his letter to the Galatians. They were the people he ministered to on his first missionary journey, and also visited on his second and third journeys, so Paul and the Galatians had significant ties to one another. He writes to correct a serious problem, which obliges him explain the inspiration of his preaching and the authority of the Gospel he proclaimed. The risen Christ from heaven uniquely called Paul to faith in Himself and to apostleship, literally turning Paul's life around. He went from persecutor of Christians to proclaimer of Christ's Gospel throughout the known world. Christ personally discipled Paul for 3 years before Paul's main time of service, and the other apostles affirmed Paul's teaching. God used this time of divine revelation in Paul's life to help him preach effectively. A person who knows much about Christ may talk about Him, but a person who knows Him can preach Him. That is the secret of preaching. The words God inspired Paul and the other apostles to write about the Lord Jesus Christ help us to know Him today.

Galatians 2:21 "If righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly!" Galatians has been rightly described as an explosive letter. Its force lies most in the truths it declares, but also in the powerful way they are stated. Here Paul hammers away at the main problem addressed in Galatians: the wrong idea that justification, being declared righteous by God, comes through human effort at Law keeping rather than by faith in the righteousness the Lord Jesus Christ purchased for His people on the cross. False teachers then and now who proudly hold that a person may earn righteousness through the Law are compelled, when pressed by logic, either to deny the atoning death of the Lord or to say God was mistaken, both of which contradict Isaiah 53 and other Scriptures. It is because His Law could not make sinful men and women righteous that our merciful triune God provided a way of salvation for His people through the Son of God taking on human flesh, perfectly obeying the Law, and paying the just penalty for our sins on the cross. That inaugurated the New Covenant, which enables His people by His Spirit to obey God's Law from the heart. This truth must be humbly embraced by faith in Christ alone.

Galatians 3:3 "Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" With these questions Paul applies the saving truth he just affirmed to practical Christian living. If we embrace the biblical logic that righteousness comes only through faith in Christ alone, to avoid foolishness we must see the good sense that we cannot experience increasing personal holiness by relying on methods that could never confer righteousness. Sanctification necessarily involves a battle with one's fallen nature in this life (what Paul calls "the flesh" here), but through the power of the Holy Spirit within, a Christian can have victory over the flesh and be progressively changed into the likeness of Christ. God's Law, Paul goes on to explain in this chapter, shows us our need for a Savior; that is the first of three uses of God's Law. The Pilgrim's Progress famously likens that first use of the Law to a man with a broom in a stuffy room, stirring up the dust to make one choke. It takes the clean water of the Gospel to cleanse the room with ease, and the Holy Spirit of God to enable believers to benefit from the third use of the Law, which is guiding them into the good works God has planned for them. As Paul wrote elsewhere about justification and sanctification, "By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

Galatians 4:19 "My little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!" Here suddenly amid the anger, satire, and severity of this letter the heart of its author shines through. There we find tenderness, compassion, and love. Paul was angry, but why? Because the danger threatening these Christians jeopardized the highest and best things in their lives. Paul was satirical, but why? Because such a method was likely to arouse them from the false sense of security coming from superficial rituals replacing faith and trust in Christ. Paul was severe, but why? Because the practices they were pursuing under false teachers undermined their life and growth in Christ. All the anger, satire, and severity resulted from a love as fierce as that of a mother for her children's wellbeing. As Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians, the one next to Galatians in the New Testament, "The daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches" (11:28) was his most significant concern. That kind of love for the spiritual welfare of others is to govern our defense of the truth. Here is the primary truth Paul proclaimed: "Christ in you [is] the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me."

Galatians 5:14 "The whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" The Law is the revelation of God's way of life for humankind. In it are many words dealing with every significant phase of human life—personal, social, and religious. They cover all its relationships—political, economic, and family. They prescribe attitudes and activities regarding food, clothing, lodging, health, and sanitation. They arrange its worship, make its calendar, and define its responsibilities from cradle to grave. Behind all those words are ten: the Ten Commandments. They, in a sense, gather up all the other words and express them so perfectly in broad and general statements, that if people lived according to them personally and socially, they would taste the Kingdom of God. Paul knew that well, but here he reduces the ten words to one: love. He is saying what the Lord Jesus said before him, but here he takes for granted the first activity of love, which is Godward, and names only the resultant one, which is manward. Those who love God by His grace through Christ will, by His Spirit, love others as themselves when they submit to His leading. Paul devotes the rest of this chapter and part of the next to the work of the Holy Spirit in producing the types of fruit that reflect God's nature in His people.

Galatians 6:17 "From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus." Those words display a touch of independence, as if Paul were claiming exemption from interference—like if anyone broke in on his peace and quiet, the intruder would be guilty of a misdemeanor. After reading this letter with its clear logic and pure passion for the Gospel, we know he has won the right to write like this. Yet it is not upon that ground that Paul bases his claim. His ground is the wounds on his body, much like those of a slave, which were in a sense branded on him because of his association with Christ. Some have interpreted Paul's words in a mystical sense, thinking that the stigmata or 5 physical wounds Christ received on the cross, somehow appeared on Paul's body, but that is not what the historical records of the New Testament reveal. For example, Paul provided a numbered list of the many wounds he received in Christ's service. He had been repeatedly bruised and broken by the brutality of those who had opposed him. He carried actual scars from that, but they were precious signs of his love for the Lord Jesus and faithfulness to His Gospel. Paul was probably the inspiration for Mr. Valiant-for-truth in The Pilgrim's Progress, who says, "I am going to my Father's House, and though with great difficulty I have reached this point, yet now I do not repent of all the trouble I have been through to arrive where I am. My sword I give to him who shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him who can get it. My marks and scars I carry with me to be a witness that I have fought the battles of Him who now will be my Rewarder." What marks do we bear to show our love for our King?

Read All the Applications for Yourself!

2 CORINTHIANS+—An Illustrated Summary of Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible by G. Campbell Morgan

"On every page of the God-breathed writings are many thoughts that stretch out like long, clear arms of light across the darkness, discovering things otherwise hidden and illuminating wider areas than those of the immediate context. They are searchlights. I have selected one in each chapter of Scripture, for at least one central thought in every chapter should arrest the mind and affect the life," wrote G. Campbell Morgan, a skilled, wise, warm-hearted Bible teacher who conducted a classic 3-year study called Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible. Here is the fruit of that research—summarized, illustrated, and amplified with useful details—on all 66 books of the Bible.

GENESIS, EXODUS, LEVITICUS, NUMBERS, 

DEUTERONOMY, JOSHUA, JUDGES, RUTH, 

1 SAMUEL, 2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS,  2 KINGS, 

1 CHRONICLES, 2 CHRONICLES, EZRA, 

NEHEMIAH, ESTHER, JOB, PSALMS, 

PROVERBS, ECCLESIASTES, 

SONG OF SOLOMON,  ISAIAH, JEREMIAH,

 LAMENTATIONS, EZEKIEL, DANIEL, 

HOSEA, JOEL, AMOS, OBADIAH, JONAH, 

MICAH, NAHUM, HABAKKUK, ZEPHANIAH,  

HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH, MALACHI,

 MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, JOHN, 

ACTS, ROMANS, 1 CORINTHIANS,

2 CORINTHIANS, GALATIANS, EPHESIANS, 

PHILIPPIANS, COLOSSIANS, 1 THESSALONIANS,

2 THESSALONIANS, 1 TIMOTHY,  2 TIMOTHY, TITUS,

PHILEMON, HEBREWS, JAMES, 1 PETER, 2 PETER,

1 JOHN, 2 JOHN, 3 JOHN, JUDE, REVELATION

2 Corinthians 1:11 "Help us by prayer so that many will give thanks ... for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many." This is preeminently the Comfort Chapter of the New Testament. The apostle Paul, writing to his children in the faith, recalls here a dark experience in Asia when he and his traveling ministry companions came so near death, they felt they could taste it. Looking back, he realized the experience made them not rely on themselves, "but on God, who raises the dead." In all that time of suffering they had known the comfort of God, and now knew that experience prepared them to comfort others, including all who read this letter. That deliverance of the past filled him with confidence about whatever the future might bring. Notice in the highlighted verse the important role of prayer. We learn that our prayers for others help God work to deliver them from similar difficulties. There are things God chooses to do only when we pray. When the prophet Samuel retired his judgeship to make way for the new king, he told the people, "Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you." Notice he did not say the sin would be primarily against them, but against God. When we do not pray as we should, we disobey God and also wrong our friends. We may not understand this as well as we like, but we ought to act on it. By our prayers, we help others by working with God in the answers He brings to the fervent prayers of those we ourselves are praying for. When the answers come, many more people will praise God and give thanks, being strengthened in their faith.

2 Corinthians 2:7 "Forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow." When we studied 1 Corinthians 5 we considered the sad case of an unrepentant man in the Corinthian assembly  who had to be put out with the hope that would lead him to repent and be brought back in. Happily, this chapter discretely suggests that's exactly what happened! Now, however, that man was open to what Paul calls one of the many wiles of Satan we dare not be ignorant of. The man must not be led to think there could be no mercy for him. Therefore the duty of the church was clear: they were to forgive him and comfort him, not at all treating him with harshness or suspicion. It is true there should be no toleration of evil in the church, but it is equally true there should be no lack of delight in forgiveness. Love never slights holiness, but holiness never slays love. Comfort goes a step beyond forgiveness, taking the forgiven brother or sister to heart, forgetting the past. That is how God forgives, and so should we who are His children.

2 Corinthians 3:14 "The veil is taken away in Christ." That is a contrast between the Old Covenant represented by Moses and New Covenant represented by Christ. Moses veiled his face when speaking to the people because it became alarmingly radiant after he spent time with God on Mount Sinai receiving the Old Covenant. The Old had a definite glory, but it is nothing compared to the superlative greatness of the New Covenant. The Old was veiled or shadowy, made up of types, pictures, symbols, and mystery. Without Christ the Old Testament is unintelligible. When a person comes to Christ, the veil is lifted, and his or her spiritual perception is no longer impaired. Believers are able to see the glory of God revealed in Christ. They understand that God's Law was never given to save them, but to lead them to the One who would. As they gaze at the glory of the Lord, believers are continually being transformed into Christlikeness "from one degree of glory to another," says Paul at the end of this chapter. That is progressive sanctification, for as the Old Covenant promised about the New, God is writing His Law on His people's hearts for them to obey with delight.

2 Corinthians 4:17 "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." Light affliction is a striking way to describe what Paul writes a few verses earlier about what was happening to him and his fellow ministers: "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies." Those are no mere figures of speech, as 2 Corinthians 11 reveals in Paul's detailed account of his sufferings over his apostolic career. Beyond that, Paul above says all those afflictions are not foes but instead allies because they are "working for us"—for great good and glory beyond compare with anything this temporal world has to offer. That work has benefits in the present as well as in the future. Fellowship with the suffering Savior is also fellowship in the glory of His triumphs.

2 Corinthians 5:20 "We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God  were pleading through us." What urgency breathes through these words! Paul speaks about the ministry of reconciliation, which is the weighty responsibility and privilege of proclaiming the good news of the reconciliation made possible between God and man because of Christ. All Christians, especially those called to preach, are ambassadors on behalf of Christ. We must deliver our message in a way worthy of the One who sends us. The New Testament shows us how Christ and His apostles preached: with great earnestness, sincerity, dignity, and love. They are our models. The terror and peril of human need and the marvel and glory of God's provision in Christ compel such a presentation; indifference to results or coolness in presentation are unthinkable. Eternal destinies are at stake.

2 Corinthians 6:4 "In all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God." To commend is to  present as suitable for approval or acceptance. How do you want others to think of you, and what rightfully is the first thing they should think about you? The answer tells what you think most important and where you have most invested your time. For Paul and those who stood with him then—and those who would stand in their company now—nothing surpasses serving God and His people. This chapter details what that service looks like:  "great endurance in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything." All that is done "working together with Him," as Paul says at the beginning of this chapter. Whatever we are called upon to be or do, we find the necessary resources in our fellowship with God Himself.

2 Corinthians 7:4 "I overflow with joy in all our affliction." What were the circumstances Paul was writing about?  He tells us: "Our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus." He goes on to explain that this faithful co-laborer in Christ told them how well the Corinthian church had responded to Paul's first letter to them. They had treated Titus kindly and had genuinely repented over the hard things Paul had to confront them with. Their godly grief produced strength and maturity throughout the church, reflecting their true Christian character. Paul felt so proud of them and thankful to God! That was the reason for his overflowing joy. His fellow apostle John explains the principle involved here like this: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." No circumstances of personal affliction can dim the gladness of seeing souls grow in "the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 

2 Corinthians 8:21 "We take thought for what is honorable not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men." That is the governing principle expressing God's will for all the business and financial matters of every true church. This chapter and the next discuss a collection of funds for needy believers. Titus was appointed to that work, but he was not to go alone. Paul, in conjunction with the churches involved, appointed another man to go with him. The reason is that all the monetary matters of the churches are to be dealt with in such a way that gives no ground of suspicion to people of the world. Those who love Christ serve with a sincere heart, as they would Christ Himself, "not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will." Fellow Christians understand that, but worldly people do not. They look for the guarantees of oversight by other men and women. They are not prepared to accept the view that the Christian who lives before God is to be trusted. It is the business of the Christian community to do its business in such a way that no one has any just cause to suspect anything contrary to righteousness in its affairs. 

2 Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" That exclamation reveals the inspiration behind all that Paul has been saying and all the good that the churches did then, and are continuing to do now. That especially includes generosity toward fellow believers in need. What motive is sufficiently strong to inspire this sacrificial service? Knowing we are children of God because God had given His only begotten Son, His indescribable gift. Perhaps nothing in human history has been spoken of more often than this gift of God, yet it still remains indescribable. However much we ponder and discuss God taking on human flesh and giving His own flawless life to rescue fallen human beings, it is impossible to say all that could be said. What we do say and study rightly lead to the speechlessness of adoring awe, wonder, and praise. Whenever we are called upon to give, let us first think of the indescribable gift of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Then love will be the inspiration of our giving, self-sacrifice will be its measure, and real blessing to others its result.

2 Corinthians 10:18 "Not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends." Sadly, Paul had to deal with people in the church who tried to discount his authority. That problem continues to this day with similar types of people criticizing the apostolic writers. They need to pay attention to this chapter, where Paul outlines the principles upon which individual men and women should test themselves: 1. The opinion of others concerning a man is no true standard of what a man really is. 2. A woman cannot discover the truth about herself by comparing herself with others. 3. A man's commendation of himself is of no value. What matters is what the Lord thinks of that man or woman. He reveals His thoughts in His Word, which is what the wise person measures his or her life against. That Word is powerful. This is what Paul tells true believers to focus on instead of thinking about themselves or criticizing others: "Though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ." 

2 Corinthians 11:28 "The daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches." As we have seen more than once in 2 Corinthians, Paul experienced many afflictions and pressures. This one here he singles out as his most significant concern. It naturally flowed out of Paul's love through Christ for all the churches God used him to plant and establish. He so obviously cared for each person! Several of his letters include personal greetings to many specific people. In addition, Paul's prayers for the churches serve as model prayers for us today.  All those churches were widely scattered and very diverse in their experiences, achievements, and needs, but Paul carried them all in his heart, laboring for them daily in prayer and every other way possible. That is true Christian ministry. While denominational or other ties between churches can be good, they must never exclude other faithful churches from our concern. We may differ with other churches over secondary matters such as organizational structure, but in the primary matters of the faith we are one in the Spirit with them. Therefore we must pray for all and labor for all as we are given opportunity.

2 Corinthians 12:4 "Inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak." That word inexpressible is similar, but not identical, to the one translated indescribable in 2 Corinthians 9 about the Lord Jesus Christ as the superlative love gift from the God the Father. This gift is beyond the power of human language to express fully, but the words Paul talks about here he heard clearly in a vision yet was ordered to keep them to himself. Notice the effect that vision had on his life and character: a holy reticence to speak, except what God told him to communicate. Most memorable in this chapter are these encouraging words: "[God] has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses [instead of visions], so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, insults, distresses, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong."

2 Corinthians 13:4 "We also are weak in Him." That statement logically flows out of what Paul wrote in the previous chapter, but is striking in its context of final warnings to rebellious members of the Corinthian church: "This is the third time I am coming to you.... I warned those who sinned before ... that if I come again I will not spare them—since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For He was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but in dealing with you we will live with Him by the power of God. Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves! Or do you not realize ... that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail the test!  I hope you will realize that we have not failed the test. But we pray to God that you do ... what is right.... We cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong; this we also pray for, that you be made complete.... Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for completion [spiritual maturity], comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you." In what sense was Christ "crucified in weakness"? In one sense only: He was unable to rescue Himself from the Cross and complete His mission of delivering men and women from their sins. As Jesus Himself said, He could have ordered a legion of angels to scatter His enemies, but He chose not to so He could save them and countless others. This then is our weakness: in proportion as we are identified with Christ, we are unable to spare ourselves at His and His people's expense. What comfort that brings when our strength is exhausted in His service! We might conserve it by parting company with Him and His people. When we refuse to do that, we choose to become "weak in Him." That brings on the mighty power of God. It was so in Him. It is so in us.

Read All the Applications for Yourself!

1 CORINTHIANS+—An Illustrated Summary of Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible by G. Campbell Morgan

"On every page of the God-breathed writings are many thoughts that stretch out like long, clear arms of light across the darkness, discovering things otherwise hidden and illuminating wider areas than those of the immediate context. They are searchlights. I have selected one in each chapter of Scripture, for at least one central thought in every chapter should arrest the mind and affect the life," wrote G. Campbell Morgan, a skilled, wise, warm-hearted Bible teacher who conducted a classic 3-year study called Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible. Here is the fruit of that research—summarized, illustrated, and amplified with useful details—on all 66 books of the Bible.

GENESIS, EXODUS, LEVITICUS, NUMBERS, 

DEUTERONOMY, JOSHUA, JUDGES, RUTH, 

1 SAMUEL, 2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS,  2 KINGS, 

1 CHRONICLES, 2 CHRONICLES, EZRA, 

NEHEMIAH, ESTHER, JOB, PSALMS, 

PROVERBS, ECCLESIASTES, 

SONG OF SOLOMON,  ISAIAH, JEREMIAH,

 LAMENTATIONS, EZEKIEL, DANIEL, 

HOSEA, JOEL, AMOS, OBADIAH, JONAH, 

MICAH, NAHUM, HABAKKUK, ZEPHANIAH,  

HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH, MALACHI,

 MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, JOHN, 

ACTS, ROMANS, 1 CORINTHIANS,

2 CORINTHIANS, GALATIANS, EPHESIANS, 

PHILIPPIANS, COLOSSIANS, 1 THESSALONIANS,

2 THESSALONIANS, 1 TIMOTHY,  2 TIMOTHY, TITUS,

PHILEMON, HEBREWS, JAMES, 1 PETER, 2 PETER,

1 JOHN, 2 JOHN, 3 JOHN, JUDE, REVELATION

1 Corinthians 1:9 "Called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." Paul addresses this letter "to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints." He begins a similar way in his letter to the Ephesian church: "to the saints who are in Ephesus ... faithful in Christ Jesus." Saints, in the biblical usage of the term, are all genuine Christians, whom Christ saved to be increasingly faithful and holy in this life and perfected in the next.  That sanctification process takes place in the context of fellowship with the risen Christ. Those who are in fellowship have resources and responsibilities in common. All our Lord's resources are at His people's disposal; all our resources are at His. We are committed to His responsibilities; He is committed to our responsibilities. When there is any failure in this relationship of resource and responsibility, it is in us, never in Him. Are our resources all at His disposal? Are we availing ourselves of His resources? Are we facing His responsibilities? Are we trusting Him to help us with our responsibilities? Thus we may profitably question our souls when we are alone with the Lord.

1 Corinthians 2:12 "We have received ... the Spirit who is from God that we might understand." Just before that encouraging declaration is this quote Paul gives from the prophet Isaiah: "As it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him'—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit." There are secrets God keeps from us temporarily or even forever for His good pleasure and our own good, but our great privilege is all He has been pleased to reveal to us so we might understand and obey Him! As Deuteronomy 29:29 states, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this Law." Divine wisdom about redemption and salvation cannot be apprehended by the seeing eye and hearing ear of human intelligence. They need divine revelation and interpretation, being made known by the Spirit of God, who alone knows the deep things of God. We are not to live in ignorance of these things when He makes them known to us. The child of God, who by definition has the Spirit of God, has no right to be content not to understand the deep things of God. The Spirit is ours that we may know. Therefore, we should give all diligence to know, depending on the teaching of that Spirit.

1 Corinthians 3:15 "Saved, yet so as through fire." Those sobering words describe the possible condition of a Christian in the Day of final testing. The testing is of one's service, not eternal life. It is not a reference to the non-biblical doctrine of purgatory. As we have seen, the saint of God is in fellowship with the Lord in responsibility. That means work, and here Paul describes it with the analogy of building on a secure foundation, which is Jesus Christ and His saving Gospel. All that we build will be tested with fire, which in the Bible is a word picture for difficulties and trials. That which is true and precious will be made more beautiful by the fire. That which is false and unworthy will be destroyed by the fire. Can anything be more calculated to give us pause in our work? What are we building? What sort of material are we laying on the foundation? Things of "gold, silver, and costly stones" represent eternal things. Those of "wood, hay, and stubble" are only of time. When the saints of God are tempted to forget the spiritual and eternal implication and application of all they do, they are in danger of doing work that must be destroyed. We are humbled by the grace that will destroy our unworthy works, yet preserve our salvation. Therefore, we are constrained to take heed how we build, "making the best use of the time because the days are evil." 

1 Corinthians 4:7 "What do you have that you did not receive?" That question is a prescription for pride, either for those subtly proud of themselves or of their favorite teachers, such as Paul and Apollos. All such pride is foolish. "Grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift," as Paul explains elsewhere with detailed teaching on the different types of spiritual gifts Christ chooses to give those who love and serve Him. We are to thank God for these gifts in others and ourselves with all humility, which is the virtue opposite to the vice of pride. The gifts by which we serve, and the gifts that bless us from the service of others, are all gifts from God. We do not create them; we are to receive them joyfully and with gratitude.

1 Corinthians 5:13 "Remove the wicked man from among yourselves." That was the Apostle's final word in dealing with a specific case in the Corinthian church. One of its members had been guilty of  flagrant immorality, but no church discipline as outlined by Jesus Himself  had taken place. Incredible as it may seem, Paul tells us with horror that in some way the church was glorying in the matter! They probably were not happy about the sin itself, but apparently were congratulating themselves on their tolerance of it. Paul protests strongly against that attitude of disobedience to the Lord's clear command for the purity of His Bride, the Church. Using the analogy of removing leaven before the Passover feast, Paul explains that the life of the Church is a perpetual Passover feast that must be maintained in sincerity and truth. No defiling leaven must be permitted to remain. The Church is always weakened when it lacks the power to maintain its purity. Our one business is to represent the Lord to others, individually and corporately. Tolerating evil in our fellowship is treachery to the Great Commission Jesus gave His disciples then and now. Church discipline, however, is always to be carried out in a spirit of love. As Jesus Himself said, the goal is to gain back our brother. Paul ordered the unrepentant church member to be removed from their fellowship so he would be moved to repentance. By God's grace through the church's obedience to Christ's command this time, the man was apparently restored to fellowship and the church was purified.

1 Corinthians 6:5 "Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers?" There is a gentle but definite note of sarcasm in that question. Some members of the church in Corinth were engaged in litigation and taking their cases before the courts of the city. Paul tells them that is wrong. He presents each true church as a society, a household, self-contained, and having the power and right to deal with all matters arising within itself. It has no need to seek guidance or directions from those beyond its own borders. In fact, doing so would lower the church's standard of life and weaken the power of her testimony. In cases where the principles and practices of righteousness have to be maintained between members of a church and those outside, it is right and necessary to appeal to civil courts, as we see Paul himself doing more than once in the latter chapters of the Book of Acts. But the relationship between Christians in Christ is so close and so wide, there can be no dispute or difficulty that cannot be adjusted by the church itself through our Lord's wisdom and grace.

1 Corinthians 7:24 "In whatever condition each was called, let him [or her] remain with God." These words teach us that circumstances are of minor importance in spiritual growth and godliness. They neither help nor hinder believers in Christ from developing purity and strength in character and service, which are the outcomes of their faith. Note the applications of that truth in this chapter: married or unmarried, Jewish or Gentile, slave or free—major social differences like that make no difference in the believer's spiritual progress. On the contrary, his or her faith in Christ changes and qualifies all such conditions. The pressures and frictions of conditions that seem to make the Christian faith difficult to practice actually contribute to maturing Christian character. Therefore the tempting idea that if we change our circumstances, we may develop our saintship is unwarranted. The secret of life is that it be lived with God. Such fellowship transfigures circumstances, changing forces that hinder into forces that help. How freeing to realize that whatever your calling may be as a believer—whatever your family relationships, education, employment, and social standing—you may remain there in the company of God and make the circumstances of your life occasions for manifesting His glory in you!

1 Corinthians 8:1 "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." This contrast is repeated often in the Bible. For example the prophet Habakkuk is given this message from God about the proud man: "Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith." Paul here contrasts knowledge with love. Is he saying knowledge is wrong? No, for he just said, "We know that all of us possess knowledge" in the matter under discussion in this chapter, which is food offered to idols. He goes on to explain that mature Christians understand "an idol has no real existence, and there is no God but one." All such knowledge is of supreme value. When does it become dangerous? When we develop pride in what we know and allow that to increase what we think of ourselves, but to diminish what we think of others, which will adversely affect how we treat them. Love will condition our use of knowledge so it becomes useful to others, building them up instead of tearing them down (and ourselves in the process). The person who knows, but lacks love, is dangerous. The one who knows and loves is a perpetual blessing to everyone in his or her sphere of influence.

1 Corinthians 9:22 "I have become all things to all people that by all means I might save some." Does that seem like a startling  statement? The examples Paul gives are striking: becoming like one under the Mosaic Law to fellow Jews, becoming like a Gentile to those outside that Law, becoming weak to those who are weak. How far may we go in that direction before we damage our testimony and usefulness? A second look will save us from all doubt in the matter. Paul tells us he became all things to all people "that he might save some." That goal qualifies our accommodations. It is always wrong to endanger our chances of leading people to saving faith in Christ. The idea Paul is communicating is not that the ends justify any means, but that the end qualifies or guides the means. For example, we may travel sympathetically with men and women along the pilgrimage of their doubts, but we must not go so far as to deny the Christian faith in any aspect. If we do, we cannot help them come to sound faith in Christ. To help save others, we may enter into their social life and share their recreations, but never in such ways that jeopardize our power to help them in spiritual matters.

1 Corinthians 10:6 "These things took place as examples for us that we might not desire evil, as they did." The historical examples in Scripture are meant to strengthen the faith of God's people in all times. The ones Paul gives in this chapter point to the miraculous deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt through the Red Sea and into the wilderness, where God sustained them with bread, meat, and water. "Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness" by their evil desires and ungrateful hearts. They became idolaters, engaged in immorality, and complained against God. We can easily commit similar evils today, even though we have been blessed with much more revelation from God than they had. Let us then read to our profit these historical accounts of God's dealings with others, remembering with holy fear that we have at our disposal in Christ greater spiritual resources than they had. Such remembrance will not make us careless, but more careful to avoid failing as they failed. Indeed, "if they did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him [Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant] who warns from heaven?" (Hebrews 12:25).

1 Corinthians 11:28 "Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the Bread and drink from the Cup." Participating in the Lord's Supper proclaims fellowship with our Risen Lord and the reality of His death and resurrection on behalf of all who come to Him in repentant faith. It is an act of worship. Before this time of worship and fellowship for the church, there should be solemn self-examination. It should not take place in the service, but before it. The Table of the Lord is not the place for confession of sin; that should precede it. Forgiveness from Jesus, our Great High Priest, and anyone we've sinned against, is to be sought before we enter into the sanctuary to offer our corporate worship. We are to eat the Bread and drink the Cup together as cleansed worshipers. It is at our peril if we neglect such preparation.

1 Corinthians 12:18 "God arranged the members in the Body, each one of them, as He chose." As the psalmist proclaims, the human body is "fearfully and wonderfully made."  That made it the inspired choice for Paul's illustration in this chapter of unity in the Church, described as the Body of Christ, a picture of all God's people of all time. The astonishing unification of the most diverse powers and capacities, all fitting instruments for life and expression, is beyond wonder. God's Spirit works through them all to accomplish the will of the One who arranged the Body as He chose. These words bring rest and comfort for every Christian. Our place in the Body of Christ is not the result of our own choosing, neither is it the result of appointment by other members of the Body. We are where we are in the Body, and we are who we are there, by the good pleasure and placing of God Himself. To realize that is to be saved from any dissatisfaction. No service or position is unworthy if it is what God has chosen, either for ourselves or for others. Knowing that helps us esteem one another. It also helps us take seriously and joyfully whatever our appointed work may be. As we do so, we are enabling the other members of the Body to do the same.

1 Corinthians 13:8 "Love never fails." Since that is true, how much of what we have called love should be called by another name? Love from God never fails because its final proof is in God Himself, who never fails or falters. What is His love like? Jesus famously described it this way: "

For God so loved the world," that so meaning this is how the Father showed His love for the people of the world:  He

  gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." Later Jesus said to His disciples on the night He was betrayed, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you." Loving one's neighbor was not a new command, but loving with this divine sacrificial love was. This is the kind of love that never fails. By that standard we are rightfully almost afraid to call anything of ours love at all. There is so much selfishness lurking in us. We love those who love us, but as Jesus said, what reward is in merely that? True love, the love with which God loves, continues to love in spite of unworthiness and failure. That kind of love inspires and compels sacrificial love. All the attitudes, habits, and activities of this love are set like jewels in this magnificent chapter, for 1 Corinthians 13 is rightly called the love chapter of the Bible. The more we ponder it, the more we are prompted to practice it, laying ourselves at our Lord's feet for this love from God Himself to master us.

1 Corinthians 14:26 "Let all things be done for edification." That is the standard for all the ministries in any genuine church. We learned in 1 Corinthians 12 that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to every member of the Body of Christ for the common good. This chapter emphasizes that edification, a common theme in the apostolic writings, is not focused on deepening the spiritual life of the individual, but on the whole Body. The test of any ministry is its value in perfecting and building up the Church, which is Christ's Bride or all His redeemed people. No member has the right to exercise a gift, even a gift given by the Spirit, to secure attention or popularity. That needs to be emphasized because this selfish temptation is subtle. Some things need to remain between you and God, but in church life the law of ministry is ministering to each other for the common good. When there is no seeking for glory or personal profit, ministry becomes powerful.

1 Corinthians 15:19 "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable." This chapter is rightly called the Resurrection Chapter of the Bible since Paul by the Spirit talks extensively about the literal, bodily resurrection of Christ, about the future resurrection of all the dead, and about what a resurrected body is like. He begins with these facts: "I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,  and that He was seen by Cephas [Peter], then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain alive, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me." That is sober eyewitness testimony, not wishful thinking. The idea that the resurrection of Christ is meant only as a comfort for this life is patently absurd. Is it conceivable that a delusion could so powerfully and persistently create Christian hope and joy, even amid suffering for testifying faithfully to the reality of the Risen Christ? Jesus said the night before His crucifixion, "In My Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?... I will come again and take you to Myself.... I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Jesus not only tells the truth, but is in fact the essence of truth. Our eternal destiny depends on it.

1 Corinthians 16:2 "On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper." This apostolic command establishes how churches are to be financed. Whether money is needed to help saints in need, maintain the work of God in a given center, or send the Gospel to the remotest parts of the world, if this rule is obeyed by all true church members, there will be no lack. Giving is an activity for an appointed day, the first day of the week. That is Sunday, the day Christ rose from the dead, when His people ever since have gathered to worship Him in faithful local churches around the world. That corporate worship prepares us to be spiritually fruitful during the remaining days of the week. Giving is an individual responsibility between the believer and God without any third party directly involved. That guards against the temptations of not being generous or of trying to appear generous before others. Giving is also to be set aside from all your other possessions, devoted to God's use through your church, so that it will be available each Sunday. That is not raising money to pay debts, but instead providing so that no debt be incurred. The amount we give should be directly proportional to how we prosper. That means continual readjustment. "The point is this," said Paul to the Corinthians in his second letter to them:  "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."

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