ordinary christianity for the world.
Arsy Varsy—Reclaiming the Gospel in First Corinthians
First Edition, 352 pages.
Introduction
I find that expositional preaching provides the best exposure to a truly biblical perspective of Scripture. By simply preaching through a book of the Bible we cannot avoid those particular Scriptures or ideas that we don't like. And if we are honest, we will admit that there is much in God's Word that we don't like. If we were God, we'd do things quite differently. Thank God we aren't. God has given us His word in the order, and with the terminology and the emphasis He wants it to have. I will endeavor to receive it as He has given it to us.
It seems to me that the contemporary American churches are in a situation that is remarkably similar to that of the ancient Corinthian church. So, I decided to work my way through Corinthians with the hope that Paul's work with the Corinthians will have some pertinent analysis of and application to our own situation. I have tried to approach the text without clouding my mind with other people's thoughts. So, I have not read everything I could find about Corinthians in the hope of adding something new to the dialog. Rather, my intention is less grand. I hope to see and reveal the trouble the Corinthians had gotten into as a church as clearly as possible in order to understand what Paul was saying to them in the hope of shining some light on our own problem. Their problem is our problem.
"Corinth was a city of wealth and culture, seated at the crossroads of the Roman Empire, where all the trade and commerce of the empire passed through. It was a city of beauty, a resort city, located in a very beautiful area, but it was also a city of prostitution and of passion. It was devoted to trade and commerce, but also to the worship of the goddess of sex" (The Corinthian Crisis, by Ray Steadman). Many of the people in the Corinthian church didn't understand why Paul was so troubled with them. After all, they were a large, successful church. They were growing leaps and bounds. They thought they were doing great.
But Paul was troubled by what they were doing. And his trouble is our trouble because his trouble with them is his trouble with us. Unfortunately, the Evangelical approach to Christianity has left too many people thinking that the pinnacle of Christianity comes at conversion, when we first give our hearts and lives to Jesus Christ. The initial change of heart and mind that captures new Christians is so stark a contrast that it is described as going from death to life, from darkness to light. And it is!
But for far too many Christians the emotional high that accompanied their initial conversion and the wonderful feelings associated with the release from the burden of sin establishes a kind of emotional "high water mark" in their lives. It is a "mountain top experience" and tends to fade as people return to the daily drudgery of ordinary life. The release from sin releases a stream of endorphins. This, of course, is not a bad thing, but is a good thing because it associates good feelings with God. However, being awash in endorphins is not the state of heart and mind that God wants His people to live in day in and day out. Nor does God want His people to get stuck in an emotional rut, forever pining for and pursuing the pleasures of emotional indulgence.
Too many Christians today are like converted hippies of a former time. "I used to get high on drugs, but now I get high on Jesus!" Too much Christianity today is patterned after an endorphin rush. Please understand me. There is nothing wrong with feeling good, but it's not the heart of Christianity.
Rather, God wants His people to grow — emotionally, intellectually, relationally, in every way. We are to grow "until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love" (Ephesians 4:13-16). And more often than not growth — real growth — is hard work.
It is amazing how much application Paul's words to the Corinthians have to the American churches at the beginning of the 21st Century. It is amazing how Paul's analysis of their problem fits the contemporary situation. And of course it is true that Paul was writing to them in their time about some very specific problems. So, understanding Paul's words from their perspective, from the perspective of that First Century Corinthian church is very important to the study of Corinthians today. However, if we only understand Paul from a First Century perspective we will only have a history lesson. As important as it is to understand what Paul was saying to those who first received his letter, to place our primary focus there will blunt the sharp edge of Paul's analysis and prescription, and quench the Spirit's teaching for us today. (1 Thessalonians 5:19).
Of course Paul was writing directly to those First Century Christians. And it is important to understand what he was saying to them. But we must understand that Paul was not writing merely to them. Paul was quite aware of his own position as an apostle of Jesus Christ, of the importance of his words, and of their place in history should God be willing to preserve them. And He did preserve Paul's words for us. Why did God preserve Paul's words for us? Because they were not just for those First Century Christians at Corinth, but they were intended by God and by Paul for us who would come later. Consequently, our task is to understand, not merely what Paul was saying to the Corinthians, but also what he is saying to us today.
It is in this sense that the Scriptures are living documents. They are alive, just as Christ Himself is alive, and they speak the Words of Christ to us through Paul across two millennia. This is the sense in which I have approached this series on Corinthians. And I pray that the Lord will bless these meager efforts to help make Paul's words come alive in the minds and hearts of His people in our day.
Whatever success toward this end that may accrue to this work belongs to our Triune God who lives in the words of Paul, the words of Scripture, the Word of God. Where my words fail to communicate God's message accurately the fault is my own. I am a weak reed. But our God is truly great! And I pray that He will intercede between writer and reader to communicate and bless you as you engage my words, that He may show you His purpose in Paul's words and their application to your life and to His churches today.
