Christ's Instructions

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89) 1Cor 9:13-14 . . Don't you know that those who work in the Temple get
their food from the Temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what
is offered on the altar? In the same way: The Lord has commanded that
those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

The covenant that Moses' people agreed upon with God in the Old Testament
doesn't allow Levitical priests to own land where they can provide
themselves sustenance by working their own farms and ranches. It's God's
decree that a number of the sacrifices and offerings that the priesthood's
constituents bring are dedicated to not just sustaining a friendly association
with God, but also to nourishing His servants. (e.g. Ex 29:31-32, Lev 2:1-10,
& Lev 7:11-15)

Obviously then, 1Cor 9:13-14 is saying that Christian congregations ought to
pitch in and help provide their church's full-time Pastor with a decent
standard of living. This is not optional; no, it's something that "The Lord has
commanded."

** Though pastors may not always preach the gospel, many are at least
capable of doing so. Of course pastors who never preach the gospel should
be required to maybe go out and get a job somewhere and support
themselves rather than depending upon a congregation for their care.
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90) 1Cor 9:24-25 . . Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but
only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who
competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown
that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

The prize that Olympians won back in those days wasn't much. No medals:
just a simple garland for the head consisting of a wreath made with wild
olive leaves from a sacred tree near the temple of Zeus at Olympia. In time
the leaves dried out and crumbled.

The important thing to note about 1Cor 9:24-25 is that the prize isn't a pass
into the kingdom of God. No; the prize is an award rather than a wage; and
there is more than one kind; e.g. Phil 4:1, 1Tim 4:8, Jas 1:12, 1Pet 5:4, and
Rev 14:14.
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91) 1Cor 10:6-7 . . Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is
written: The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to play.

The Bible doesn't provide much detail at Ex 32:1-6 as to what went on in
camp while Moses was up on the mountain. But one thing we know for sure
is that there was a golden calf; and the "eat and drink" to which the apostle
refers was a ritual where people sacrificed to the calf and afterwards
consumed the sacrifice as an act of communion with it; as a sort of
unlicensed Passover celebration:

The Hebrew word translated "play" in Ex 32:6 is somewhat ambiguous but
it's the same word at Gen 26:8 where Isaac's conduct with his wife Rebecca
strongly suggests something more than merely athletics. In other words: the
play going on in Ex 32:6 could very well have been a full-on cult orgy; and
probably was.
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92) 1Cor 10:8 . . Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them
committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.

That event took place at Num 25:1-9. The fornication he's talking about
wasn't believers with believers. It was believers with unbelievers. In other
words; Christ's followers need to avoid getting romantic with unbelievers lest
unbelievers lead his followers down the primrose path into something
shameful and very unbecoming.

● 1Cor 15:33 . . Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.
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93) 1Cor 10:9 . .We should not test The Lord, as some of them did-- and
were slain by snakes.

That event took place at Num 21:5-9.

The obvious lesson is that it's risky to complain about the quality, the
quantity, the elements, and/or the absence of God's providence.
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94) 1Cor 10:10 . . And do not grumble, as some of them did-- and were
slain by the destroying angel.

That incident took place at Num 14:2-38. The "grumbling" grew into a pretty
large anti-God protest. Anon it became violent and within a hair's breadth of
culminating in Joshua's and Caleb's assassination. That was a very grave
moment in Israel's history.
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95) 1Cor 10:11-12 . .These things happened to them as examples and were
written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has
come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!

The Old Testament has given Christians a tremendous advantage. It tells
them what sells with God's people and what doesn't, so to speak.

Communism, cultural revolutions, book burning, and Islamic fanatics etc,
have thus far failed to eradicate the Bible; which is very fortunate because
without a knowledge of His people's history, God's modern-day followers
would find it very easy to repeat their mistakes.

Moths that circle too close to the flame sometimes end up scorching their
wings. That's an old proverb that pretty much echoes Paul's warning.
Christians should never think that their favored position in Christ's body
somehow insulates them from God's oversight.

The substandard compliance of Moses' people with God's expectations didn't
bring about their return to Egypt; no, "once saved always saved" applied to
their rescue from Egypt just as it applies to our rescue from sin and its
ultimate consequences. However, their conduct did cause them to "fall" that
is: fall out of favor with God.

That's a risk even for Christ's followers whose destiny in heaven is a sure
thing; iron clad and set in concrete. The good shepherd's sheep will never
again be in danger of eternal suffering; but they are always in danger of
losing out on the benefits of providence due to conduct unbecoming.

"If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have
kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love." (John 15:10)
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96) 1Cor 10:14 . .Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

There's that word "flee" again; which in many of its applications in the New
Testament means to run for your life.

There's more to idolatry than just bowing and/or praying to sculptures,
shrines, and paintings. It's possible to be an idolater without even being
especially religious.

"Don't be greedy for the good things of this life; for that is idolatry." (Col
3:5)

Greed then, is one of the characteristics of an idolater. In other words:
idolatry is both a personality disorder and a religious issue. Even atheists
qualify as idolaters if they have a greedy personality; e.g. Wall Street's
investment bankers and commodities traders. Their "golden calf" is capital
gains

It's okay to want the good things in life: after all; God has given us richly all
things to enjoy (1Tim 6:17). It's the insatiable desire for good things that
makes people idolaters; in other words avarice; which is never content; no,
avarice always wants more, more, more, more, and then some. Nowhere is
that more rampant than corporate practices that walk over the dead bodies
of their employees if that's what it takes for a better quarterly report.

I'm not exaggerating. Made-in-China outlet WALMART used to take out life
insurance policies on its employees-- not for the families; but for itself. In
other words; it named itself the beneficiary so that when an employee died,
the big-box chain recovered some of the wages and benefits they had to pay
the employee while they were on the job.

The policies are called COLI-- corporate-owned life insurance. But they're
better known in the insurance industry as "dead peasant" and/or "dead
janitor" policies. WALMART isn't the only big business doing this sort of
thing. An attorney for the Hartford Life Insurance Co. estimates that one
fourth of the Fortune 500 companies have them; which cover the lives of
between 5 million and 6 million workers.

COLI policies seem to me a ghoulish way to make a buck; but then it
shouldn't surprise us that idolaters have no soul to speak of seeing as how
they revere profitability rather than God.
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97) 1Cor 10:24 . . Nobody should seek only his own good, but also the good
of others.

That's not saying it's wrong to seek your own good; just wrong to seek it at
the expense of another's good; viz: selfish ambition might be an acceptable
modus operandi in professional sports, politics, and big business; but it's
totally unacceptable in one's association with fellow believers for whom
Christ died.

And there's nothing new in that; I mean after all; it's just another way of
expressing the so-called golden rule; which states: "All things whatsoever ye
would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." (Matt 7:12)
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98) 1Cor 10:25-26 . . Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising
questions of conscience, for the earth is The Lord's, and everything in it.

(The human conscience has an intrinsic inclination to feel guilty where no
real guilt exists; which is no doubt due to the forbidden fruit incident
depicted in the 3rd chapter of Genesis.)

One of the Greek words translated "lord" in the New Testament is despotes
(des-pot'-ace) from which we get our English word despot; defined by
Webster's as a ruler with absolute power and authority.

A percentage of the meat sold by vendors in Corinth was either blessed by,
and/or dedicated to, pagan deities. Paul instructed his friends to avoid
asking which was which since it doesn't matter to God if the foods Christians
ingest are religiously tainted without their knowledge: and since it's The
Lord's earth, then if He says it's okay; then it's okay; but again, only if we're
unaware of the meat's religious significance; so don't awaken a sleeping
tiger.
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99) 1Cor 10:27-29 . . If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to
go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience.
But if anyone says to you "This has been offered in sacrifice" then do not eat
it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience' sake-- the
other man's conscience, I mean, not yours.

If we go ahead and dine in someone's home knowing in advance the food is
either dedicated to, or blessed by, a pagan deity, or that when they say
grace around the table it will be to a god other than our own, or to a sacred
personage that we do not accept; then our host is quite possibly going to
come to the conclusion that his religion is just as valid as ours if we don't
decline.

But please, when declining; be kind, gentle, thoughtful, tactful, and
diplomatic about it, i.e. considerate of the other person's feelings about their
religion just as we wish for them to be considerate of ours; especially here in
the USA where religious tolerance is normally regarded as good manners,
i.e. civil.
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100) 1Cor 10:31 . . So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all
for the glory of God.

One of the meanings of the Greek word for glory is "honor" which in this
case can be defined as conducting one's self in a manner that's thoughtful of
the principles and moral values of someone admired and/or held in high
esteem; for example:

● Eph 5:1 . . Be followers of God, as beloved children.
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101) 1Cor 10:32-33 . . Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the
Gentiles, nor to the church of God: even as I please all men in all things, not
seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

The main idea here is courtesy with respect to cultural differences, viz:
tolerance; roughly defined as sympathy or indulgence for beliefs, practices,
and/or life styles differing from, or conflicting with, one's own.

No doubt a whole Sunday-morning sermon could be devoted to that passage
in regard to how people are turned off to the gospel by the thoughtless ways
they're treated by someone reputed to be a Christian.
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102) 1Cor 11:1 . . Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

In the Catholic religion, a "saint" is a role model for others. Well, 1Cor 11:1
lists an exceptional model for everyone regardless of their age, race, gender,
and/or religious affiliation.

Christ is very famous 'round the world for exemplifying the virtues of
kindness, loyalty, forgiveness, lenience, and generosity.
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103) 1Cor 11:3 . . But I would have you know, that the head of every man
is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is
God.

It never seems to fail that somebody will actually attempt to refute Paul's
statement by quoting another of his own statements.

"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were
baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew
nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ
Jesus." (Gal 3:26-28)

(chuckle) Paul pitted against Paul; the clash of the titans, only in this event,
both titans are one and the same titan. Yes, both genders are one in Christ;
but then Jesus and God are one also, yet there is a hierarchy in the Divinity
because "the head of Christ is God"
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104) 1Cor 11:4-5a . . Every man who prays or prophesies with his head
covered disrespects his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies
with her head uncovered disrespects her head

That's a little tricky seeing as how the word "head" can refer to a skull
and/or a superior; so to clarify this a bit, I'm going to revise some of the
above a little.

"Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered disrespects
Christ. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered
disrespects Adam."

Some of the world's women have made disrespecting men their life's work;
and nothing makes them happier than finding ways to chafe one. When they
become a Christian, it's imperative they give up that particular ambition.

This issue isn't really a gender issue, it's a progenitor issue.

The woman wasn't made directly from the dust of the ground like the man
was. She was constructed with material taken from the man's body; which
makes him every woman's father. So that when women disrespect men,
they are actually disrespecting their paternal ancestor; which is a shameful
thing to do in any culture; not just the Christian religion.

Christian women aren't required to cover their hair all the time; only
whenever they pray and/or prophesy; especially in the presence of men.

No doubt this is very disagreeable with a certain number of Christian women
whose heart's ambition is to assert their independence and demand equality.
Well, if they don't want to cover their hair when praying and/or prophesying
out of respect for men, then they should at least woman-up and do it out of
respect for Christ's feelings about it; after all, he's supposed to be every
Christian woman's lord and master. In other words; this is more a test of
one's loyalty than a test of their politics.

● John 14:15 . . If you love me, you will comply with what I command.

● John 14:21 . .Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one
who loves me.

● John 14:23-24 . . If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching . . He who
does not love me will not obey my teaching.

● John 15:14 . .You are my friends if you do what I command you.

According to 1Cor 14:37 and 1Thess 4:1-2, the apostles' doctrine is Christ's
doctrine; it's a domino effect all the way to the top.

● Luke 10:16 . .Whoever listens to you; listens to me. Whoever rejects you;
rejects me. And whoever rejects me; rejects the one who sent me.

NOTE:It was a woman who first joined forces with the Serpent to bring
about the destruction of her source of existence; so I think we should take
that event into consideration relative to this particular commandment. (Gen
3:1-6)
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105) 1Cor 11:5b-6a . . it is just as though her head were shorn. If a woman
does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off;

It's tempting to construe these rules as demeaning to women; but we're
getting at something fundamental here that goes all the way back to the first
few chapters of Genesis.

Women, by nature, are far more alluring than men. And that's okay @ home
and/or out in the world where they're allowed to pour on the glam and look
amazing. But in the presence of God, they ought to dull their shine a bit due
to Adam's supremacy in the grand scheme of things which, in the long run,
professes a Christian woman's belief in intelligent design. (The principle
underlying this rule is quite a bit different than the reasons why
conscientious Muslim women wear hijabs.)

● 1Cor 11:6b . . If it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or
shaved off, she should cover her head.

If Christian women would be somewhat embarrassed to show up in church
with a man's haircut, then they have only one other option; and that's to
show up in church with a women's. But in order to retain their femininity in
the presence of God; they are simply going to have to tone their allure down
a bit by obscuring their hair with something or heaven will have no choice
but to assume the worst about them.

NOTE: Christianity's gender hierarchy is based upon primogeniture, i.e. the
man was created before the woman; plus she was constructed from the man
and for the man; and thus owes her existence to a man; and her role is a
supporting role rather than a starring role. These rules are no doubt
unacceptable to modern feminists, but if we attempt to appease their
discontent we'll only end up disappointing our superior in Heaven.
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106) 1Cor 11:27-30 . .Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord
in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood
of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and
drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the
body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many
among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.

The Greek word for "unworthy" basically means: irreverently; which
Webster's defines as: lacking proper respect or seriousness. In other words
"sacrilege" which is gross irreverence toward a hallowed person, place, or
thing.

"sinning against the body and blood of the Lord" is very similar language to
1Cor 6:18, which states: The immoral man sins against his own body. There,
as here, we're not talking about suicide and/or homicide; were talking about
desecration; which Webster's defines as: to violate the sanctity of, to
profane-- viz: to treat with disrespect, i.e. irreverently and/or outrageously.

People sin during the Lord's supper when they fail to take it seriously that
the elements represent his body-- not his so-called glorified body; but the
one that was crucified; viz; his disfigured, bloodied body.

What do you suppose went on during those three hours of thick darkness
around the cross? (Matt 27:45) Well; the abuse that the Romans inflicted on
Christ was merely a warm up for the main event. When the darkness came;
that's when God stepped into the ring; and the gloves came off. When the
darkness lifted, people saw a Jesus so beaten and bloodied beyond
recognition that they could scarcely tell he was the same man.

● Isa 52:14 . .There were many who were appalled at him-- his appearance
was so disfigured beyond that of any man, and his form marred beyond
human likeness.

● Isa 53:10 . . Jehovah was pleased to crush him, putting him to grief

I have to wonder how ever a father could do something like that to his own
son; especially for a world that wouldn't even appreciate that the injuries
God inflicted upon His own son were for their benefit.

"A man ought to examine himself" is an imperative to make double sure that
one's heart is in the right place when consuming the elements (a.k.a.
species). Some people gulp them down as if they were nothing more than a
snack of hot wings and cold beer during a Super Bowl game instead of a
sacred reminder of what God's son endured to ransom their souls from a
second death in the lake of brimstone depicted at Rev 20:11-15. Those
people have to expect that a very indignant father is going to come down on
them for that-- maybe not with sickness, maybe not with death, and maybe
not right away; but eventually with something; and really, who can blame
Him?

NOTE: Observance of the Lord's supper isn't a mandatory requirement; so if
you are a bit nervous about going about it in the wrong way, then don't take
chances; play it safe and refrain.
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107) 1Cor 11:33-34 . . My brethren, when you come together to eat, wait
for each other. If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when
you meet together it may not result in judgment.

The command doesn't frown upon things like church banquets, men's'
breakfasts, ladies' luncheons, and/or potlucks per se. What it's criticizing is a
lack of congregational unity. Here's some comments leading up to that
verse.

● 1Cor 11:17-22 . . Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you,
since you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all,
when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among
you, and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, that
those who are approved may be recognized among you.

. . .Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat The
Lord's Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others;
and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to
eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who
have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not
praise you.

Their lack of courtesy and unity during church functions was nothing short of
hypocrisy seeing as how The Lord's supper speaks of sacrifice rather than
selfishness, elitism, and hoarding. In other words; seeing as how Christians
all share in Christ's blood equally-- and deserve Hell equally --then everyone
should be given equal treatment at church regardless of age, gender, skin
color, intelligence, income level, nationality, what side of the tracks they live
on, or social status.

None of Christ's body parts are untouchable as if Christianity is a caste
system; nor are any expendable. God forbid that there should be some sort
of value system in a gathering of people for whom Christ suffered and died
equally for each one. That just wouldn't be right: it would be an insult to the
principles underlying The Lord's supper.

● Matt 26:27 . . Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them,
saying: Drink from it, all of you.

If Christians are all drinking from the same cup, then they should all be, at
the very least, eating the same food and not be overly concerned about
where they sit and/or who they sit next to and/or who they're seen with.
And they should also make double sure that everyone gets enough to eat
and that no one gets left out and nobody gets more than his fair share. And
they should all sit down together at the same time. I just hate it when
people don't wait for each other. Some get back to the table and start in
gulping, slurping, clattering, and clanking while others from their table are
still in line.

And they should also take into consideration the possibility that a number of
their congregation are in assistance programs like TANF and SNAP. In other
words; don't just bring enough food from home for yourself; but, if you're
able, bring enough for those among you who can't bring anything at all. And
for heaven's sake, don't bring a side dish of gourmet food along just for
yourself. Leave your special gourmet stuff at home. There's just no excuse
for flaunting your "sophistication" around church thus giving everyone the
impression that everyone else's tastes are below yours.
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108) 1Cor 12:24-27 . . God has combined the members of the body and has
given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no
schism in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each
other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored,
every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of
you is a part of it.

In the beginning, Man was made in the image and likeness of God, which is
a degree of kinship with deity that makes all of us equals on the human
plane. It's likely because of the image and likeness of God that the Golden
Rule so appropriate; same as capital punishment is so appropriate for
murder. (Gen 9:5-6)

In other words: the Golden Rule gives your fellow man the respect and
dignity that the image and likeness of God deserves. I believe the very same
principle applies to fellow members of the body of Christ.
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