Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from 1 Co 9:1 and following. Indeed, swollen by their gifts and knowledge, some men had given themselves a prominent place in the assembly of Corinth. And, as rising oneself always leads to belittating others, they had come to challenge the authority of the apostle, that is, that of God. As a result, Paul is compelled to justify his ministry and conduct. Evangelizing was his duty, received from the lord’s mouth, and he had not been disobedient to the heavenly vision (Acts 26:15-20).
The apostle was the servant of all in order to win them over to the gospel. Should we understand then that he lent himself to all compromises? Absolutely not. Like Jesus himself at the well of Sichar, he knew how to find each soul on his own land and speak to him the language she could understand. To the Jews he presented the God of Israel, their responsibility in the rejection of the Savior, Son of David, and the remission of sins (Acts 13:38-41). To the idolatrous Gentiles, he announced the one God, patient to his creature, ordering repentance (Acts 17:22-23). The apostle had constantly before his eyes the price that was to crown his efforts: all souls saved by his ministry (1 Thes 2:17-20; Ph 4:1-7). Stretched towards the goal, he ran like the athlete in the stadium, strictly disciplining his body, thinking only of victory. But the sporting champion has before him only an ephemeral glory, laurels that tomorrow will be wilted (1 Co 9:25). Our Christian race, it has for stake an unalterable crown. Let’s each run in order to win it. But a very important intermediate thing, which is properly neither the house nor the body, but the Christian profession that was once formed, and today fills the civilized world.
We cannot recommend this study of the Word enough to those who begin in the path of faith, but it must be done under the gaze of God, in dependence on the Holy Spirit, and with prayer. These three things make us capable of appropriating its treasures. Dealing with it superficially is a sure way of not knowing it. For our knowledge can only be partial, but by making progress in it, we walk towards perfection, towards the moment when what is partly will have disappeared and when we will know the Lord, as we have been known to Him. This progress has been compared to a lamp, placed at the end of a long dark corridor. As we move towards this focus of light, we receive more clarity from it, and when we have finally attained it, we can hold it in our hands and possess it entirely. This is how the Christian walks towards Christ.
Every man who professes to belong to Him is responsible for attaining Him. The apostle, in the passage we have read, first speaks of this responsibility (1 Co 9:24-27), giving himself as an example. He did not treat her lightly. For the Corinthians should have known this, but they did not walk according to this knowledge. The Apostle then places before them the need for the Christian life to be a real and public witness before the world. For the Christian, there is an interior life and a public witness; it is the latter that he is talking about here. Let us remember that we have to run in the presence of thousands of witnesses. In order not to be covered with confusion, we need not only that effort that the Word calls “virtue,” but patience, a free heart, eyes invariably fixed on the goal to be achieved, which is Christ. No doubt, many will in fact reach it, thank God, but each of us must tell ourselves that there is only one prize, and run as if one person were to win it. What zeal such a thought must produce.
Besides the race, there is the struggle: our struggle is with the spiritual powers. Let us not allow ourselves to be stopped in our race by fatigue, discouragement, or by the world; let us not allow ourselves to be weakened, in battle, by the traps that the Enemy constantly sets for us. One of the preliminary conditions for victory is to live “by regime in all things”; you have to be prepared for the fight before you enter the race. Dieting is a painful thing that requires sustained attention, and continual renunciation of ourselves.
When the truth of the gospel was in question, and the Enemy sought to destroy it by bringing souls back under the law; or when he sought to cancel the cross of Christ by enslaving the Corinthians to the principles of the world, he found the apostle on his way. But much more, to fight this battle, he lived by regime: he mortified and enslaved his body, yielding in no way to the flesh and dominating it by the energy of the Holy Spirit, because he felt all the responsibility of the Christian profession. He does not say: lest after believing, but: “lest I preach to others, I myself be reprobated”, for this is about the profession, and not about faith, responsibility, and not about grace. It is possible that a person has received remarkable gifts and is using them; let us even say that, by his means, God converts souls, and after all this person will himself be reprobated. After having set an example for himself through his profession, he addressed the question of professing Christianity. Here, one cannot repeat enough, contrary to what is often said, that there are no two kinds of professions, one true, the other false: there is only one but, as in the parable of the ten virgins, it may or may not be accompanied by the life of God. We will talk about the non-value of the lifeless Christian profession, but let us begin by doing as the apostle did, that we apply the reality of the Christian profession to ourselves, before applying it to others.
In 1 Co 10:1-4, he discusses: What is the Christian profession, and what right does it give to eternal salvation? In response, he pronounced the most complete judgment on professing Christianity. Taking the example of the people of Israel, he applies it to what comes from Christianity. For Israel had manna and water from the rock: spiritually, these things represent the Son of God, descended from heaven to nourish the people, and the Holy Spirit to quench their thirst. These blessings also belong to Christendom, which is said to have “tasted the heavenly gift” and became a participant in the Holy Spirit (Heb. 6).
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
- Soul winners, special references to their work
-Show the greatest wisdom Pr 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the wise takes over souls.
-Will shine Dn 12:3 Those who have been intelligent will shine like the splendor of heaven, and those who have taught righteousness to the multitude will shine like the stars, forever and in perpetuity.
-Formed by Christ for a new vocation Mt 4:19 He said to them: Follow me, and I will make you fishermen of men.
-Sacrifice their personal rights and privileges 1 Co 9:19-20 For, although I am free towards all, I have made myself the servant of all, in order to win the greatest number. 20 With the Jews I have been as a Jew, in order to win over the Jews; with those who are under the law, as under the law (although I am not myself under the law), in order to win those who are under the law; John 5:20 let him know that whoever brings a sinner back from the way he had gone astray will save a soul from death and cover up a multitude of sins.
-tear men from fire, like weaves Jude 23 save others by tearing them from fire; and for still others, have pity mixed with fear, hating even the tunic soiled by the flesh.
- Shepherds
Gen 4:2 gave birth again to his brother Abel. Abel was a shepherd, and Cain was a ploughman. Gen 13:5: 7 Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had sheep, oxen, and tents. 7 There was a quarrel between the shepherds of Abram’s flocks and the shepherds of Lot’s flocks. The Canaanites and The Phérésians then lived in the country. 1 S 16:11 Then Samuel said to Isai, “Are these all your sons? And he replied: He is still the youngest, but he grazes the sheep. Then Samuel said to Isai: Send him for, for we will not place ourselves until he has come here. 1 Ch 4:39 They went from the side of Guedor to the east of the valley, in order to seek pastures for their flocks. Mt 25:32 All nations will be assembled before him. He will separate one from the other, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; Lk 2:8 There were shepherds in the same land who passed through the fields on the eve of the night to guard their flocks.
- Self-Sacrifice, Paul
Acts 20:24 But I do not make any of my life for myself, as if it were precious to me, provided that I carry out my race with joy, and the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus, to proclaim the good news of God’s grace. Acts 21:13 Then he answered: What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready, not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. 1 Co 8:13 Then he answered: What are you doing, crying and breaking my heart? I am ready, not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. 1 Co 9:23 I do everything because of the gospel, so that I can share in it. 1 Co 10:33 in the same way that I too strive in all things to please all, seeking not my advantage, but that of the greatest number, so that they may be saved. 2 Co 12:15 For me, I will spend very willingly, and I will expend myself for your souls, due to me, loving you more, being less loved by you. Phil 3:8 And even I look at all things as a loss, because of the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord, for whom I have renounced everything, and I look at them as mud, in order to gain Christ;2 Tim 2:10 That is why I endure everything because of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Jesus Christ, with eternal glory.
- Pressure of duty
-He burns like an inner fire Jr 20.9 si I say: I will no longer mention him, I will no longer speak in his name, There is in my heart like a devouring fire That is enclosed in my bones. I try to contain it, and I cannot.
-He calls forcefully like a lion Am 3.8 The lion roars: who would not be frightened? The Lord, the Lord, speaks: who would not prophesy?
-He binds the soul to his task Lk 12:50 He is a baptism of which I must be baptized, and how long I look forward to it being accomplished!
-He urges us to hasten Jn 9:4 I must do, while it is day, the works of the one who sent me; the night comes, when no one can work.
-It makes the message imperative Acts 4:20 because we cannot fail to speak of what we have seen and heard. Acts 18:5 But when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, he gave himself the whole word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. Acts 20:22 And now behold, bound by the Spirit, I go to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me;
From all the above, we note what had aroused God’s wrath and judgment against this people; namely: 1° They had coveted evil things. 2° They had been idolatrous; and note that he does not quote here the golden calf, but the feast that had accompanied it, and which can just as well characterize professing Christians: “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they got up to play.” 3° They had committed fornication with the daughters of Moab, with the enemies of God. 4° They had tempted Christ. 5° They had whispered. Doesn’t all this apply equally well to professing Christianity, which will be judged by the same judgment as Israel? Let us notice this word of the apostle: These things happened “as types of what concerns us.” He now speaks to those who are not mere professants, but who have the life of God. Each of them is called to ask himself: Is this my case? Does my heart covet bad things? Do I find my joy in material enjoyment? Do I doubt christ’s love? Am I unhappy to encounter the ordeal in my career? Let us be careful. God’s judgment reaches those who follow this path. For if we feel how much we have failed in our responsibility, let us say by humiliating ourselves before God: I have sinned against you! However, there is only one thing we can count on, and that is that God is faithful. In His grace, He brought me to Him. Will I default? Never. If I give up his hand for only a moment, I will fall; and how many shameful and often resounding falls in the life of the Christian came from the that, trusting in himself, he abandoned the powerful and faithful arm that alone could sustain him. Our prayers support you all in your efforts to remain clinging to god’s powerful and faithful arm.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may be shining in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby watering point to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow about “the example of Israel in the wilderness, the Lord’s table opposed to the pagan altars.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.