Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. 1 Corinthians 4:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.4.9.ESV The title of 'apostle' nowadays is like a badge of honour. Not in Bible days. After all, it simply means 'messenger' or 'sent one'. The Biblical apostles were marked men, brutally persecuted by the Roman Empire. They felt like men sentenced to death. Tradition suggests that most of them were literally sentenced to death too. The apostles were a spectacle to the world. They were prepared to be reviled and persecuted for the sake of Christ. They got beaten up, imprisoned, flogged and shipwrecked; among other things. Not only people looking on will have marvelled at what the apostles went through. Even angels marvelled at what they had to endure. Of course, it's all worth it for the sake of Christ, who gave everything for us. 'Fa...

  each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 1 Corinthians 3:13 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.3.13.ESV It is hard in this life to quantify the impact our work has. But a day is coming when everyone's work will become manifest. That day will disclose the quality of what we have done. I'm reminded of the story of the three little pigs. The wolf blew the straw and wood houses down, but the brick house stood firm. Similarly, our work will be tested in the fire of God's justice. All our motives will be evaluated in the light of God's gaze. Not only do we have to build on the foundation of Christ, but we have to build with the right materials. I'm sure using this analogy that the fruit of the Spirit is the bricks we need to use: love, joy, peace etc. We need to make sure our work lasts by doing it not for ourselves, but for the glory of G...

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 1 Corinthians 2:1 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.2.1.ESV We might be impressed by Paul's writings. Even sceptics often respect his evident intelligence and logic. But apparently he wasn't a particularly impressive speaker. I don't think Paul's just being modest here. We know that at least one of his hearers fell asleep during one lengthy address. He wasn't a great orator. This doesn't mean to say that Paul's subject matter was uninspiring. He spoke the very testimony of God. But his speech wasn't particularly dynamic. Paul might not have used rhetoric or worldly wisdom. However, when he did speak he demonstrated the wisdom of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. God can use the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. 'All wise God, thank You for revealing Your wisdom through the likes of us. May we be faithful to d...

  To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 1 Corinthians 1:2 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.1.2.ESV What is a church? It is simply a gathering of the people of God. Corinth was an unlikely place to have a church. It was synonymous in the ancient world with sexual immorality, people used 'corinthianise' as a nickname for such things. I love how Paul phrases his greeting- telling the Corinthian church that they are sanctified, made holy, set apart for God. We might shrug our shoulders, these might be familiar terms to us. But these are the very same people that Paul criticises for being divisive, for taking each other to court, even for incest in one case. We often think of sanctification as being in the present tense: something that God is doing in our hearts on an ongoing basis. Paul here however desc...

to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. Romans 16:27 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.16.27.ESV We might like to think of ourselves as relatively wise. But in the grand scheme of things, we only know a drop in the ocean. God, on the other hand is the fount of all knowledge, thr only wise God. Because God is wise, in a good, godly way, He deserves all the glory we can afford to Him. In His matchless wisdom, He has revealed to us the way of reconciliation to Him. We don't need to be foolish rebels against Him anymore. So often as humans we're fickle. We get enthusiastic about something for a season, and then lose interest. But God is to be glorified forevermore. It's all because of Jesus that the most wise God is to be glorified. This is because He reveals the wisdom of God's salvation plan. In Him, we can know the wisdom of God's salvation. 'Only wise God, we acknowledge You as the omniscient one. We are clueless without You...

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, Romans 15:5 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.15.5.ESV God gives us endurance. He gives us the patience we need to live in harmony with people we might have very little in common with. For many Christians, Christ is their common ground rather than anything else. We might have different genders, political views, ethnicities, languages etc. But if we mutually belong to Jesus we can live in harmony with one another. We might need to be encouraged to do so, and God does, in His word. Jesus died, not simply to bring us peace with God, but with one another too. If we claim to live for Him and don't live in harmony with one another, we betray the fact we don't live for Jesus. If we do belong to Him, He will transform our lives. Just think what a testimony it is to the world to live in harmony, despite our many differences. Gender, politics, ethnicity, lang...

  Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Romans 13:1 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.13.1.ESV Jesus wasn't a revolutionary, and neither was Paul. In fact, they both commanded believers not to rebel. Jesus said to give to Caesar what is Caesar's (and to God what is God's!). Paul here says we should obey whoever rules over us. His reasoning is that it is part of God's sovereign will that they are in power. So to go against the powers that be is to go against God. Bear in mind that Paul is talking about Rome here, who would (most likely) martyr himself and many other Christians. He knew however that Rome didn't just hate Chriatians. Generally, Rome punished wrongdoers and rewarded those who did good. Human authorities are generally about maintaining law and order, and that's a good thing. Obviously, where authorities tell us to go against our fai...

  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." Romans 12:19 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.12.19.ESV If we belong to Jesus, we are the beloved of God. Also, we have to play to different rules to the world. People in the world seek revenge when they are wronged. Christians are to be different though. As Christians, we believe in the sovereignty and justice of God. So we don't need to take matters into our own hands. We can leave vengeance for the righteous wrath of God. Our attempts at revenge are always disproportionate, perpetuating cycles of violence and injustice. God always metes out the right response to our actions however. He may not always be instantaneous in His response, but in eternity at the very least, justice will be served. Paul goes on to explain what we should do instead of seeking revenge. He says we should give food and drink to our enemies, because tha...

For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. Romans 11:24 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.11.24.ESV I love Paul's illustration here to make a difficult concept easier to understand. How can Gentiles be saved by the Jewish Messiah. Let's consider the analogy of the olive tree. Jesus is like the branch of the olive tree. And He is Jewish, His root is Israel. Naturally, the branches are Jewish, but some have been broken off due to unbelief in Him as the Jewish Messiah. Not only have some branches been pruned away, but other, Gentile, wild olive branches have been grafted in, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to be careful to remain in Him, because if not, we too will be cut away. Thankfully, God pruned the ones He loves to make us more fruitful. There is strong reason for hope that there wi...

  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Romans 10:10 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.10.10.ESV I'm not sure the concept of 'secret believers' is very Biblical. Yes, there was Naaman in the old testament who had to fulfil some pagan duties. But in the new testament Jesus tells those who are persecuted for the faith that they are blessed (and to flee persecution). These verses in Romans 10 don't seem to allow for 'secret believers'. We need to confess with our mouths and be saved. We're not saved by confessing with our mouths, but if we are saved, we will confess Christ. Obviously, verbal confession isn't enough. Someone could claim to be a follower of Jesus and not believe it in their hearts. We need to believe in our hearts to be justified by God. So we need to confess that Jesus is Lord. As He Himself said, anyone who's ashamed of Him and His words will not be acknowledged by Him wh...