Learning to live selflessly isn\u2019t only about setting aside our pride as we talked about last week. It\u2019s also about choosing to set aside certain rights for the good of others. Setting aside our rights paints a much broader stroke across our lives and affects more than just our eating habits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our lives reflect back on who Jesus is. If we want to imitate him\u2014who gave up all of his rights as God to save us\u2014we\u2019ll also have to make sacrifices for others. But if we don\u2019t, we show non-Christians that following Jesus doesn\u2019t really change all that much about our lives. And that simply isn\u2019t true. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At first glance, 1 Corinthians 9\u201310 might seem like it derails what Paul\u2019s trying to say. Keep in mind, though, that chapters 8, 9, and 10 form an entire argument about eating food sacrificed to idols. As we walk through 9 and 10 this week, we\u2019re going to discover that Paul\u2019s getting at something much deeper than what we discussed in chapter 8. The big idea for chapters 9 and 10 in her teaching. She said it\u2019s all about laying down our rights\u2014 about giving up the things we feel like we\u2019re owed so that other people can thrive. But what exactly does that look like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul spends the first half of chapter 9 answers that question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you read 1 Corinthians 9:1\u201318, look for how Paul describes giving up rights.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/strong> Am I not as free as anyone else? Am I not an apostle? Haven\u2019t I seen Jesus our Lord with my own eyes? Isn\u2019t it because of my work that you belong to the Lord? 2<\/strong> Even if others think I am not an apostle, I certainly am to you. You yourselves are proof that I am the Lord\u2019s apostle.<\/p> 3<\/strong> This is my answer to those who question my authority. 4<\/strong> Don\u2019t we have the right to live in your homes and share your meals? 5<\/strong> Don\u2019t we have the right to bring a believing wife with us as the other apostles and the Lord\u2019s brothers do, and as Peter does? 6<\/strong> Or is it only Barnabas and I who have to work to support ourselves?<\/p> 7<\/strong> What soldier has to pay his own expenses? What farmer plants a vineyard and doesn\u2019t have the right to eat some of its fruit? What shepherd cares for a flock of sheep and isn\u2019t allowed to drink some of the milk? 8<\/strong> Am I expressing merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same thing? 9<\/strong> For the law of Moses says, \u201cYou must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.\u201d Was God thinking only about oxen when he said this? 10<\/strong> Wasn\u2019t he actually speaking to us? Yes, it was written for us, so that the one who plows and the one who threshes the grain might both expect a share of the harvest.<\/p> 11<\/strong> Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren\u2019t we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink? 12<\/strong> If you support others who preach to you, shouldn\u2019t we have an even greater right to be supported? But we have never used this right. We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ.<\/p> 13<\/strong> Don\u2019t you realize that those who work in the temple get their meals from the offerings brought to the temple? And those who serve at the altar get a share of the sacrificial offerings. 14<\/strong> In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it. 15<\/strong> Yet I have never used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that I want to start now. In fact, I would rather die than lose my right to boast about preaching without charge. 16<\/strong> Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn\u2019t preach the Good News!<\/p> 17<\/strong> If I were doing this on my own initiative, I would deserve payment. But I have no choice, for God has given me this sacred trust. 18<\/strong> What then is my pay? It is the opportunity to preach the Good News without charging anyone. That\u2019s why I never demand my rights when I preach the Good News.<\/p>1 Corinthians 9:1\u201318 (NLT)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Paul could have made different decisions during his life. He could have taken a wife. He could have charged money for people to hear him speak. He could have asked the Corinthian church to support him\u2014 there are biblical grounds for taking a salary while in ministry. But Paul didn\u2019t. He abdicated his rights so people could hear the gospel without being distracted by his life or financial burdens.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Re-read the verse in 1 Corinthians 9:12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why would charging people money to hear the apostles teach hurt the spread of the gospel?<\/strong> Who would be getting the glory if the apostles had people pay to hear them speak?<\/strong> Who\u2019d get the glory if they didn\u2019t?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul was concerned with exalting Jesus through his ministry. He isn\u2019t worried about where the money for his next meal will come from. He simply wants people to hear the gospel, encounter Jesus, and become disciples. If he asked people to pay to hear him preach, he\u2019d become the main focus of his ministry instead of Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul\u2019s life and teaching show us we can let go of control over our lives. There\u2019s an underlying fear in all of us that says if we don\u2019t take care of ourselves, no one else will. But there\u2019s a different way\u2014the self-giving way Jesus lived out and asks us to imitate. Paul gave up his right to control where his salary came from for the sake of God\u2019s mission and God\u2019s people. He gave up control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Think about one area of your life that you like to keep under your control. Maybe it\u2019s your budget or your schedule or your children. Picture what it could look like to control those things for the rest of your life.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s one tangible step you could take today to give control over to God? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Text your response to the above prompting questions to your group and\/or share it as a comment below<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Learning to live selflessly isn\u2019t only about setting aside our pride as we talked about last week. It\u2019s also about choosing to set aside certain rights for the good of others. Setting aside our rights paints a much broader stroke across our lives and affects more than just our eating habits. Our lives reflect back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"\n Welcome!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Welcome to the book of 1 Corinthians. As we study this letter, we\u2019ll step into ancient Corinth while reading the words Paul wrote to the fledgling church. We\u2019re going to see that, like all churches, the Corinthian church wasn\u2019t perfect. They had a problem. A big problem. And it grew to such an epic proportion that it poisoned the church in various ways. Paul wrote to provide the antidote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In this study, we\u2019re going to explore Paul\u2019s solution to both the problems in Corinth and in us. Through his words, we\u2019ll learn more about Jesus\u2019s plan for a people who live radically different lives than the world around them. But we\u2019ll also take a hard look in the mirror and ask the Spirit to point out our own self-centered attitudes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reading the Bible isn\u2019t just something we do to impress people or to check off on a to-do list. It\u2019s about getting to know God. It\u2019s about shaping every minute of our lives to reflect Jesus. It\u2019s about thinking differently in the power of the Spirit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So as we approach each week, we\u2019ll focus on one main idea. That main idea will point us to change how we think, feel, and act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This week, we\u2019ll see that resolving relational disunity begins in our hearts because division is a symptom of self-focus. From this main idea, we have three goals: <\/p>\n\n\n\n First Corinthians will take us on a journey. We\u2019ll look at the struggles of one of the first local churches in all of history. We\u2019ll see that the Corinthians weren\u2019t much different from us. And we\u2019ll realize that Paul\u2019s words to them still ring true today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But before we jump into 1 Corinthians, spend a few minutes writing out a short prayer to God. Ask him to use this study to change you. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Open up your Bible to 1 Corinthians. Go ahead and read the entire first chapter. As you read, ask yourself this question: What was the problem in the Corinthian church?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 Corinthians 1:1\u201331 (ESV): <\/p> 1\u00a0Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, \u201cI will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.\u201d<\/p> 20\u00a0Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21\u00a0For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22\u00a0For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23\u00a0but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24\u00a0but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25\u00a0For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.<\/p> 26\u00a0For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27\u00a0But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28\u00a0God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29\u00a0so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30\u00a0And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31\u00a0so that, as it is written, \u201cLet the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The Corinthian church suffered from division. We\u2019ll see it all throughout the book. The struggling church fought over leadership, spiritual gifts, food, marriage, and theology. Since the theme of disunity runs throughout the letter, it\u2019s tempting to think that was the church\u2019s problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it wasn\u2019t. Disunity was only a symptom of a far more insidious\u2014and common\u2014 disease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you catch the real issue that was going on in Corinth? It was selfishness. They were so consumed with themselves that they tried to solve their problems their own way, held on to their culture, and, as a result, blasted chasms between them and other Christians.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n No one likes to admit to selfishness\u2014 especially people who claim to follow Jesus. But it often sneaks into our lives in ways we don\u2019t readily see. And then it spills over in ways we never expect. For the Corinthians, their selfishness led to severe divisions in the church. What is it for us? We\u2019ll spend the rest of the study unpacking that very question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that we know the main problem Paul\u2019s tackling in 1 Corinthians, take a moment to be honest with God. Write down any fears or concerns you have about confronting the problem of selfishness. Ask God to use this study to turn your gaze to him.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-224009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1corinthians"],"yoast_head":"\n
2\u00a0To 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:
3\u00a0Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4\u00a0I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5\u00a0that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge\u2014 6\u00a0even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you\u2014 7\u00a0so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8\u00a0who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9\u00a0God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
10\u00a0I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11\u00a0For it has been reported to me by Chloe\u2019s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12\u00a0What I mean is that each one of you says, \u201cI follow Paul,\u201d or \u201cI follow Apollos,\u201d or \u201cI follow Cephas,\u201d or \u201cI follow Christ.\u201d 13\u00a0Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14\u00a0I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15\u00a0so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16\u00a0(I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17\u00a0For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
18\u00a0For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19\u00a0For it is written, <\/p>