Words of God: 1 Corinthians 2

1 Corinthians 2

¹When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.^{a]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[a]} ²For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. ⁴My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, ⁵so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

Wisdom From the Spirit

⁶We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. ⁸None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.⁹However, as it is written:

"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"^{b]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[b]}— ¹⁰but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.¹²We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.^{c]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[c]} ¹⁴The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:
¹⁶"For who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct him?"^{d]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[d]} But we have the mind of Christ.

Some Important Notes:

- (v. 1-5) when we try to spread the good news whether if we are the pastor, or a member of the church, we need to realize that it is GOD in the works. Not you. It isnt your persuading words or your enthusiasm, but it is GOD working in the other person. This shows God's power and having faith in HIM instead of they believing because of yourself.

- (v. 6-10) No one has FULLY understood God. If someone did, everyone would believe and therefore would cancel out the essential part of God's plan, the crucifixion. If Jesus was never crucified, we wouldnt be able to have the privilege as sinners to be with God in heaven.

- (v. 11-14) One's spirit will ever know one's thoughts. So God's spirit would know God's plan and thoughts. We must obtain and understand the spirit of God. If we dont, we cannot understand God and what he wants for us.

- (v. 15-16) Through the spirit, we understand God's plan and our purpose.

So What? We need to understand and retain the spirit of God. Without it, we cannot see from God's perspective and what he wants.

How? through prayer, daily devotionals, sharing, accountability, talking with others, friends, mentors, pastors, we can connect with God's spirit and God himself more.

Significant Verses:

1 Corinthians 2:4

1 Corinthians 2:9

1 Corinthians 2:16

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Smij Nahc †
God Bless You ♥

Words Of God: 1 Corinthians 1

I've decided to read more of the bible and here are my findings as I start on this journey. 1 Corinthians 1.

¹Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

²To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

³Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

⁴I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. ⁵For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge— ⁶because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. ⁷Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. ⁸He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Divisions in the Church

¹⁰I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. ¹¹My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹²What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas^a]">[a]"; still another, "I follow Christ."

¹³Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into^b]">[b] the name of Paul? ¹⁴I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. ¹⁶(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

¹⁸For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."^c]">[c]

²⁰Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²²Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

²⁶Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."^d]">[d]

Verse Dissection:

v8 ~ Paul tries to tell us to stay strong in Christ until his second coming.
v9 ~ God wants us to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
v10-17 ~ We as a Christian Community (worldly and globally) need to agree with one another. We need to preach and understand God's word accurately and correctly. Disputes would show that we "dont know our stuff" and that there may be flaws in the word when there are none.
v18 ~ the message of the cross IS the power of God.
v21 ~ "human wisdom" meaning proof and evidence, not faith. We need to believe through FAITH and not physical proof.
v26-29 ~ God doesnt care about power or wealth. He uses things we find useless and uses it to bring God glory.
v30 ~ (my translation) We are with Jesus, Jesus was created as wisdom, to be wise (his teachings), Jesus made it right and holy, Jesus freed us from all sin (because of the cross).
v31 ~ ONLY boast about God.

Significant Verses:

1 Corinthians 1:8
1 Corinthians 1:9
1 Corinthians 1:10
1 Corinthians 1:26-27
1 Corinthians 1:30-31

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Smij Nahc † [pray i can keep it up!]
God Bless You ♥

Sermon On The Mount Series: Salt and Light

I've noticed that I have previously done certain parts of the Sermon On The Mount, and Salt and Light is one of them. This passage is from Matthew 5:13-16. Here is the link to go to that post. Hope you enjoy and learn something new. :D Here a quick preview if you want. haha.

¹³"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

¹⁴"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

matthew5:13-16

There are two main concepts in this passage. Salt. and Light. We are ALL Salt and Light of the world if we believe and have recieved Salvation. There is NO OPTION.

Check out the rest of the post... HERE.

SUB it,
Smij Nahc † [Be the salt and the light of the world.]
God Bless You ♥