Let's turn now to God's word.
We'll turn to 1 Corinthians and chapter 7.
This continues from the previous chapter.
There is only one way to overcome the
temptation to immorality.
And that is what is mentioned in chapter
6 verse 18.
Run away.
When Joseph was tempted by Potiphar's wife, he
ran away.
If we don't flee and stand around exposing
ourselves to temptation, you can be pretty sure
that one day you'll fall.
But if you have the attitude of running
away from anything that is even a temptation
to immorality, if you find that a conversation
or a friendship or a relationship is moving
in dangerous directions, there is only one thing
you must do.
Please remember that all your life, if you
don't want to destroy your life and your
ministry, turn around and run.
Get away from there.
Very, very important.
There are people who have not taken that
advice and have destroyed their whole life and
ministry.
Can you imagine the regret they will have
in eternity because they didn't run.
And in that context, he goes on to
say in chapter 7 about marriage.
He says, yeah, it's good not to be
married if you can be more useful in
terms of time, having more time for the
Lord's work.
But because there's such a lot of immorality
in the world, verse 2, and it's even
more true today, let every man have his
own wife and let every woman have her
own husband.
And that says that marriage is a protection
from immorality.
Now, some people think, oh, that's a very
unspiritual reason for marriage.
Call it whatever you like.
The Holy Spirit puts it there in the
Bible as a very good reason for getting
married.
That is to overcome immorality.
There's such a lot of immorality in the
world.
Don't be so super spiritual as to think
that this is a very low reason for
getting married.
If the Holy Spirit has put it there,
it's a very good reason for getting married.
And that's why later on he says in
verse 9, if you don't have self-control,
it is better to marry than to burn.
A person can burn with sexual desire and
passion, and he does not have the self
-control to limit himself, then it's far better
to get married and avoid that burning and
avoid unnecessary temptation.
The Bible is very down-to-earth and
practical.
It doesn't teach some hermit type of life
where you're away from the world in some
type of monastery or forest.
You live in the middle of the world
just like Jesus lived an ordinary life with
husband and wife.
It says about Enoch, he walked with God
and he had sons and daughters.
You can walk with God and live a
married life and have sons and daughters, and
he walked with God for 300 years.
And so marriage can be a protection for
you in this world, particularly in the ministry.
Then it says when you do get married,
husband and wife must remember that they lose
their authority over their bodies the moment they
are married.
I find in the Indian culture it's very,
very important, especially for women who get married,
to understand this.
Very often there's not enough teaching on this
in the churches.
People are embarrassed to speak about what scripture
speaks so plainly in 1 Corinthians 7, verses
3 and 4, that when a husband gets
married, the husband must fulfill his duty to
his wife, the wife must fulfill her duty
to her husband.
It's called a duty.
That sexual relationship is called a duty.
Nothing to be ashamed of, just like the
duty of cooking the food, taking care of
the house.
The sexual relationship is also a duty in
a married relationship.
Verse 4, once a woman gets married, she
does not have authority over her body.
Her body, from the day she gets married,
belongs to her husband.
And before she gets married, she has authority
over her body.
After she gets married, from that day, she
has to give her body to her husband
anytime.
The husband also, you see, this is the
part which sometimes husbands are very eager to
let their wives know their responsibilities, but don't
recognize their own responsibilities as husbands.
The same verse says, the husband also does
not have authority over his body, but his
wife does.
Now what does this mean for the husband?
I don't believe it's referring primarily to the
sexual relationship, the physical relationship in marriage, because
husbands may be very eager for that.
But it's talking about the fact that your
body, if you're married, belongs now to your
wife.
What does that mean?
That means if you're traveling in a bus,
you're a married man and you see a
pretty girl, please remember that your eyes belong
to your wife.
That's in practical terms, that's what it means.
You're already married, why are you looking at
this pretty girl?
No, you're not considering a second wife, are
you?
Your eyes belong to your wife.
If you don't want your eyes to belong
to your wife, don't get married.
Then you look at the different girls and
see which one you want to marry.
But after you're married, why are your eyes
still roaming here and there?
It's a very important verse.
Your body belongs to your wife.
You have to be careful with your eyes,
you have to be careful with your tongue
in the way you converse with other girls.
I'm not saying you shouldn't, I believe it's
normal to converse with girls and women, but
it's a question of how you do it.
You can do it in a flirtatious, loose
type of way, and there's a lot of
that.
You know the amount of immorality there is
among Christian workers in all denominations?
It's a scandal.
Where does it begin?
It begins in the heart, with thoughts, it
begins with not a healthy relationship with one's
wife, it begins with eyes that are wandering,
and it begins with not running away from
close encounters.
So if you steer clear of these things,
you will not add to the scandals that
already are there in Christendom.
Apart from the scandals, it completely ruins your
ministry for God thereafter, your effectiveness for God.
So it's very, very important.
As a married person, be faithful to your
wife.
And when you find the passion strong, the
answer is get married.
And keep a very close, healthy, happy relationship
as husband and wife, because that's a great
protection in an evil world.
And he goes on to mention here that
it's possible that God may call some people
to a single life.
See, for example, verse 7, I wish that
all men were like me.
Paul was single.
But each man has his own gift from
God.
So he says, I realize that some people
don't have this calling.
See, particularly in a ministry like the Apostles,
in a time in those days when you
couldn't travel too much so quickly, today you
can travel from one end of the world
to the other in less than 24 hours.
Whereas Paul, if he wanted to travel even
50 miles, it would take a whole day.
It's very different today.
And so in those days, an Apostle traveled.
He would hardly ever be at home if
he were married.
That's why it says some of the Apostles
took their wives with them.
And so in such situations, he says that
it's good for an Apostle to be single.
And there may be certain situations today where
it's good for people to be single, but
I think it's perhaps less than 1%
of cases because of the change situation.
And also the other factor there was persecution.
There was a lot of persecution at that
time.
And therefore, he also encourages people to be
like that.
And I want to show you this verse
in verse 35.
He says, the reason why I want to
encourage you to consider single life is basically
this.
To secure your undistracted devotion to the Lord.
He earlier says, if you live in this
world, you can't afford to be taken up
with everything that happens in the world.
Okay, there may be certain times when things
happen and you have to weep, but don't
keep weeping forever.
Finish with it.
And those who rejoice, you don't get so
taken up with the joy of earthly things.
Maybe you built a new house and get
so excited about it.
It's okay, but put it in, get over
it and get on with serving the Lord.
And if you buy something and you're so
taken up with what you bought, don't get
taken up with anything in this world.
That's what he's basically saying.
And he says, even if you're married, verse
29, don't let your wife and your home
life be everything to you.
There is work to be done for the
Lord.
And remember, your devotion to the Lord, verse
35, must be undistracted.
The Lord must be first in your life.
And I want you to notice one other
thing that Paul says here.
More than once he says words like this,
verse 25, Concerning virgins, I don't have any
command from the Lord, but I give my
opinion.
In another place he says, I say, in
verse 8, it's good for unmarried people.
And to the others, not I, verse 12,
I say, but not the Lord.
And somewhere else he says, but this is
what the Lord is saying, not me.
So Paul distinguishes here in this passage, in
this whole chapter, he says certain things, I'm
giving you, verse 25, my opinion.
Now, it's very healthy for God's servants to
distinguish, like Paul did here in verse 25,
between the commands of the Lord and their
opinions when they preach.
There's nothing wrong in giving your opinion.
But make sure you don't confuse your opinion
with God's commands.
Make it clear to the people, this is
God's command and this is my opinion.
This is not what God has commanded.
I'm giving you my opinion.
And the end of the chapter, verse 40,
he says, in my opinion.
And he says, I think I have the
spirit of God.
See the humility of this man.
His opinion is such a godly opinion, but
he doesn't have this arrogance that some people
have today, who say, thus says the Lord.
He says, I think I have the spirit
of God.
And I'll tell you this, after being a
believer for so many years, I would rather
listen to a man who says, I think
I have the spirit of God, than to
somebody who says, thus said the Lord.
Because I've discovered that almost all these people
who say, thus said the Lord, the Lord
is not speaking at all.
It's just they themselves.
Whereas, when a man is humble enough to
say, well brother, I think I have the
spirit when I say this.
Most of the time, God speaks through such
humble people.
And I would rather listen to such a
man, than a man who arrogantly imagines that
he's the mouthpiece of God.
Okay, chapter 8.
He's speaking about using our liberty to do
what we like, in a way that hinders
other people.
You see, those days, all the meat that
was sold in the market, was hung in
front of the idols, in the idol's temple.
And then only sold.
So, you could not be a non-vegetarian
in those days, without eating meat offered to
idols.
There was no other meat.
You had to be a vegetarian.
In Romans 14 also it speaks about that.
And so some believers said, this meat offered
to idols, I'm never going to eat it.
Fine.
So they were vegetarians all through their life.
There were others who said, what is an
idol?
Somebody takes a piece of wood and carves
something and puts it up there.
And then you hang some meat in front
of it.
It doesn't make any difference to me.
Whether it's hung in front of that wooden
block or anything, there's no idol.
I believe in only one God, the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And I give thanks over this meat and
I eat it.
He was also right.
And here Paul is saying, Yeah, there are
both views possible, he said in Romans 14.
And let each respect the other person's view.
That he mentions in Romans 14.
Don't force the other person to conform to
your view.
See, we face this here in India sometimes.
When people give you some Diwali sweets.
And have they offered it to idols or
not?
You don't know.
Well, Paul says, later on in chapter 10.
If some unbeliever invites you.
1 Corinthians 10, 27.
Eat what is set before you and don't
ask any questions.
Otherwise, you may not be able to enjoy
that food.
But if someone says to you, These sweets
were offered to idols.
Then you have to say, sorry.
I'm sorry, then I won't take it.
Not because you're afraid of that idol.
That's only a block of wood.
But for his conscience.
To show him that you don't believe in
idol worship.
It's for his sake.
That's what it says there in verse 28.
So, in 1 Corinthians 8.
He says, the most important thing is not
these issues.
The most important thing is, Do you have
love?
1 Corinthians 8, 1.
Knowledge makes you arrogant.
You know the people who said, What is
an idol?
It's nothing, a block of wood.
You fellows don't have knowledge.
You're all scared.
Okay, you got a lot of knowledge.
You say, that's a block of wood.
Correct, you're right.
But you don't have any love.
You don't have any concern.
That your attitude and the way you're doing
something.
Is causing that person to stumble.
And so, he says, it's true.
Even if there are so many gods and
all that.
In verse 5.
There is for us only one God.
And verse 4.
We know there's no such thing as an
idol.
Because there is only one God.
So, he says, all that is true.
I agree with you.
What you're saying is right.
But, verse 7.
Some people are being accustomed to the idol.
I mean, they came out of idolatry.
And they were used to recognizing that block
of wood as a God.
And their conscience is defiled.
He says, you don't have that.
You didn't have that background.
Now, he says, take care.
Verse 9.
That your liberty does not cause another person
to stumble.
Because if someone sees you sitting in the
idol's temple.
This is the problem.
You're sitting in an idol's temple.
Verse 10.
And eating.
Because you say, what is idol?
It's just a block of wood.
And this man.
His conscience is weak.
And he also does what you do.
And he has a problem when he does
it.
See, the way it applies to us today
could be in things like this.
Now, the Bible does not say that if
you drink a glass of beer, it's a
sin.
There's no verse in the Bible that says
that.
The Bible only says, you shouldn't get drunk.
You take a peg of whiskey, that's not
a sin.
But, that's not the end of the story.
Supposing another person sees you drinking a little
bit of toddy.
Or a little bit of beer.
And you stop with half a glass of
what that's finished.
You've got control.
That person sees you as a leader or
a godly brother.
Oh, he can drink it.
Then it must be alright.
He also starts drinking it.
And he does not have the self-control
that you have.
He begins to take more and more and
more and becomes a drunkard.
Who led him along the pathway of drunkenness?
You.
So, your liberty to take one glass and
stop at that has led to another person
falling into sin.
So, what should you do?
You say, a true Christian will deny himself.
He doesn't say, is it right or wrong?
He says, is it profitable?
All things are lawful.
One glass of beer may be lawful.
But is it profitable?
Will it cause another person to stumble?
If it is going to cause one person
to stumble, I will not drink one glass
of toddy or beer or whiskey in my
whole life.
What do I lose by that?
There are a lot of other things I
can drink.
Because I'm concerned about that person.
That is love.
He says, don't live by your knowledge because
knowledge will only make you arrogant.
Verse 1, love is what builds up.
Please remember this rule.
By your knowledge, verse 11, don't ruin that
weak brother for whom Christ has died.
See, this applies also to many many things.
We have to be very careful.
If you are a pastor or an elder
of a church and you go to visit
a home and the man of the house
is not at home, don't go in.
I've never done it.
Not because I'm tempted, not because that sister
living there is tempted, but because of my
testimony.
I don't want other people to be stumbled.
I may be able to sit there and
have a very pure conversation with that sister
and go away.
But another younger brother would see me and
say, oh brother, I can go and visit
a home when there is only a lady
there.
And he also does it and maybe he
falls into sin.
And I was the one who led him
astray.
These are little practical examples.
Or he may see your scooter parked outside
that house.
He may not even come inside.
And he knows that the man of the
house is not there.
And you become a bad example.
These are little, little things.
If you have love, you'll be concerned about
that other person.
If you only glory in your knowledge and
say, no, I'm keeping myself pure inside the
house, that is a selfish, heathen, non-Christian
way to live.
Okay, and then you sin and you wound
your brother, their conscience, and then you sin
against Christ.
So he says, anything that causes my brother
to stumble like that, I'll never do it.
It's so important when handling money, I always
tell people in our churches, even if you
are the most honest brother in the world,
when you open the offering box, please have
another brother with you.
So that two brothers together can count the
offering.
And that there is a proper record of
it.
And don't let the full-time worker who
is receiving that money, count that money.
That's dangerous.
Let somebody else do it, who is not
getting any money from that offering box.
And let him do it for the sake
of a testimony, that nobody should say he's
pocketed part of it.
So these are little, little things.
It's got many applications.
Chapter 8.
Chapter 9 speaks about, goes on in the
subject of liberty.
He says, am I not an apostle?
Why do I have to work like others?
First of all, why do I have to
remain single?
Verse 5 teaches us that all the apostles
were married, except Paul.
He says all the other apostles are married
and they carry their wife, take their wife
with them wherever they go.
Some people think the apostles were not married.
This verse teaches us all the apostles were
married.
So if there's a church today, which says
that you have to be unmarried, like some
churches do to be a full-time worker,
then Peter and James and all could never
have joined those churches.
That itself shows you that those churches are
wrong.
If the apostles could not join those churches,
what type of churches are they?
And the second thing people say today is,
that if you want to serve the Lord,
you must give up all your secular jobs.
And then Paul and Barnabas could not have
joined those churches, because verse 6, Paul and
Barnabas were working with their hands.
They were supporting themselves and serving the Lord.
Some people like Peter, James and John, Peter
and John and others were not working.
They were supported by others, but people like
Paul and Barnabas were working.
And they also were apostles.
So you can be an apostle doing a
secular job, or you can be an apostle
who is supported by other believers.
You can be an apostle who is unmarried,
or you can be an apostle who is
married.
Marriage and job are no factors in serving
the Lord.
Okay.
Then he goes on to speak about supporting
the Lord's servants.
He says, God has said, verse 9, that
you shall not muzzle the ox that treads
out the corn, while he is threshing.
Is he only talking about oxen?
He says, that was an Old Testament law,
that they thresh the grain there with oxen
going around, and some selfish, hard-hearted farmers
would shut the mouth of the ox, so
that the ox doesn't eat some of that.
He said, no.
God said, keep it open, so that let
the ox eat something.
After all, it's doing some work.
And Paul says, do you think God was
only concerned about oxen?
No.
That is written for our sake, verse 10,
that those who serve the Lord, you must
provide for them to feed themselves and their
families, because they are working so hard, like
the oxen, you know, doing the Lord's work.
And so Paul says, we have sowed spiritual
things to you.
Is it anything great if we reap some
material things from you?
That means we have served you so much
spiritually.
Is there anything wrong if you folks give
us some material help to take care of
our needs?
He's not talking about collecting money to build
houses and lands and buy property in my
family's name.
That's not what he's talking about.
He's talking about survival.
He's talking about getting enough money to just
eat and drink and buy clothes and travel
from one place to another for preaching the
gospel and rent a simple house.
He's talking about things like that, which has
been exploited today by a lot of people
to say you must support me and I
just spend it lavishly to live in grand
style.
It's not that.
And he goes on to say, even in
the Old Testament, the priest could take from
the offerings from the sacrifices in the temple.
So also, here's the word, verse 14.
The Lord has directed that those who proclaim
the gospel must get their living from the
gospel.
So that teaches that those who preach the
good news here and there have got every
right to receive gifts from those who get
the benefit of their ministry.
In fact, it says in Galatians chapter 6
that those who are taught should bless those
who teach with material things.
Now, I find in Christendom two extremes on
this.
One extreme is those who exploit this teaching
to make a lot of money for themselves
on the basis of this teaching.
And the other extreme are people who don't
do enough or anything for those who minister
the word of God to them.
They are also at one extreme.
They think they are better than the others,
but they've just fallen over the cliff the
other side.
Both are out of the will of God.
Those who obey God's word are honored by
God.
But this must not be used by us
to make a lot of money for ourselves.
And Paul says, I'm writing all this.
But he says, now let me give you
my example.
I'm not writing that you should do this
for me.
Because he says, I don't need your money.
I've never taken money from you Corinthians.
And I'm not writing now to say that
you should give me money.
Because I don't need it.
I work with my own hands.
Paul was very careful.
He received money from the church in Philippi.
We read that in 2 Corinthians 11, Philippians
4.
That's Macedonia.
He did not receive money from the Corinthians.
We read that 1 Corinthians 9, 2 Corinthians
11.
He did not receive money from the church
in Ephesus.
You read that in Acts 20.
He did not receive money from the Thessalonian
church.
You read that in 2 Thessalonians 3.
Most churches, Paul did not receive any money.
In fact, as far as we know, he
received it only from the church in Philippi.
So Paul was discerning.
He knew where to take and where not
to take.
He didn't have a standard rule saying, thou
shalt take or thou shalt not take.
In each case, he sensed by the Holy
Spirit.
Do I feel free to receive this from
this group of churches?
Or this church?
Or this man?
So, a true servant of God will be
like that.
And he says here, why do I do
it like this?
This is a very, very important verse.
I do it.
Verse 18.
Why am I serving you without taking any
money from you?
I do it because I want to make
the gospel free of charge.
Verse 18.
The gospel must be free of charge.
People who hear the gospel must know they
don't have to pay one paisa to hear
the gospel.
And that is why, throughout my life, in
any public meetings that I've ever had, where
I've had the opportunity to have a say
in the organizing of it, I've always said,
we will not take a collection.
Because there could be unbelievers here, and the
unbelievers should not feel that they have to
pay even one paisa to hear the gospel.
And I have never regretted that decision in
any place that I've gone.
Only believers have the right to support God's
work.
Unbelievers have no right to support God's work,
because they should not one day stand before
the Lord and say, Lord, how can you
send me to hell?
I gave 100 rupees to Brother Zach for
ministering God's word.
Don't you remember that day he took a
collection in one meeting and I dropped 100
rupees in the bag?
And he lived on that.
Nobody will be able to say that about
me in the day of judgment.
But there are many, many unbelievers who will
be able to say about many organizations and
many preachers, Lord, we supported that man, we
gave money to that man, and he took
it.
And now you're sending me to hell.
What will you say in that day when
the Lord asks you, why did you take
it when you knew this man was an
unbeliever?
So be very careful here.
Paul was very, very careful.
He knew whom to take from and whom
not to take from.
And he says, the gospel must be free.
And he says, though I am free from
all men, I've made myself a servant of
all so that I can serve them.
And then in chapter 24 to 27, he
speaks about keeping his body under control.
So that verse 27, he does not end
up preaching to others and being disqualified himself.
Do you know it's possible for a servant
of God to preach so many wonderful truths
like Solomon, who wrote three books of scripture
and go to hell.
Paul says here in verse 27, if I
don't keep my bodily desires under control, I
can preach wonderful messages about all types of
things to everybody and finally go to hell
myself, disqualified by the Lord in the final
day.
The apostle Paul, the man who established churches,
the man who wrote scripture, the man who
raised the dead, the man who healed the
sick, the man who preached so many wonderful
sermons, he says, I can be disqualified in
the final day if I don't keep my
bodily passions under control.
And I think, oh, God has used me
so much.
So you'll definitely take me into his kingdom.
Not necessarily.
So it's your life that God looks at
primarily, not your ministry.
In chapter 10, he gives an example.
He's speaking about those who preach and are
disqualified.
And he said, I'll give you an example.
The Israelites who came out of Egypt, did
they all get into Canaan?
No, they perished in the wilderness.
He said, the same thing can happen to
you.
He says, these things have happened.
Verse six is an example for us.
Verse 11, chapter 10.
These things are an example for us.
So be careful.
Then we have this wonderful promise in verse
13.
God will never allow you to be tempted
beyond your ability.
Praise God for that.
No temptation will ever come into your life,
which is more than you can handle.
Remember that you can overcome every temptation.
Don't ever say, this is becoming too much
for me.
If you say that, you're saying God is
a liar in 1 Corinthians 10, 13.
It can never be too much for you.
What you need is more grace.
Ask God for grace.
That temptation is not too much for you.
You can overcome.
God will make a way, it says there,
to help you to overcome.
And then it speaks here about this verse
31.
Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink,
do all to the glory of God.
Whenever you're in doubt about God's will in
some matter, always come back to 1 Corinthians
10, 31.
You've tried every other method of finding God's
will and you can't find out what is
God's will here.
Come back to 1 Corinthians 10, 31 and
ask yourself, can I do this for the
glory of God?
If you feel in your spirit you can't
do it for the glory of God, don't
do it.
Whatever we do, even eating and drinking, must
be for the glory of God.
Chapter 11 speaks about two things, women covering
their heads in the church and the Lord's
Supper, the breaking of bread.
Now remember, I told you right at the
beginning in chapter 1, this is the church
of God in Corinth.
He's not talking about how a woman should
behave at home.
Everything is related to the church, chapter 5,
chapter 6 and all these, chapter 11 also.
And he's explaining here the reason for a
woman's head covering.
There are three reasons why a woman should
cover her head in the church.
Number 1, verse 7, a man should not
have his head covered because he is the
image and glory of God.
A woman should have her head covered because
she is the glory of man.
Earlier it says in verse 3, Christ is
the head of man and man is the
head of woman.
So it is a symbol.
A woman is saying, a man is my
head and the glory of man, should it
be covered or uncovered in the church?
Covered.
The glory of man should be covered in
the church and since verse 7, woman is
the glory of man, a woman should be
covered in the church.
Very simple.
Because only the glory of Christ should be
seen in the church.
The glory of man must be covered in
the church and since a woman is the
glory of man, a woman must be covered
in the church.
But a man should not, his head should
not be covered because he is the glory
of God.
The glory of God should not be covered
in the church.
That's why a man keeps his head uncovered.
So I believe a priest who wears a
cap on his head is just as wrong
as a sister who doesn't cover her head.
Just the same.
Okay.
And another reason is in verse 15.
Now all sisters will agree that their long
hair is a glory.
No sister likes to have a shaven head.
Long hair, every woman will agree, is a
glory.
Should the glory of woman be covered in
the church?
Yes.
Therefore a woman's long hair should be covered.
The glory of man should be covered, the
glory of woman should be covered.
A woman's glory is her long hair.
So that should be covered in the church.
That's the second reason and the third reason
is in verse 10.
It's a symbol of submission to authority.
She's saying, I've got a man whose head
over me.
My husband or my father or if you're
an orphan or a widow, the elder in
the church.
I've got a man who is over me.
I'm not a law unto myself.
So those are the three reasons why a
woman should cover her head in the church.
Now this is an area where western influence
has come into India and corrupted this teaching
in India.
Unfortunately, you'll always find wherever western influence has
come into India, this practice is thrown away.
But when you go to churches where western
influence has not come in the villages, they
all practice it.
And then he finally says, he says, now,
if you're going to have a lot of
arguments about this verse 16, I just want
to conclude by saying every church of God
practices this.
You can do what you like, but I'm
not going to get in an argument with
you about it.
Okay, we go on to the Lord's table
in verse 23 to 34.
It says if anyone is when we come
to the Lord's table, we are remembering the
Lord's death.
In in in this, we fellowship together and
we are testifying that Jesus died for us.
And I want to be broken like the
Lord is broken for me.
And also we are testifying, like it says
in chapter 10, verse 17, that this bread
is one body.
That means I'm testifying when I eat that
bread.
I'm saying, Lord, I want to be broken
like you were broken.
I don't want some priest to break it
and put it into my mouth.
He cannot decide whether I want to be
broken or not.
I have to break that bread myself and
put it into my mouth.
Nobody else can decide it for me.
I break it and I put it in
my mouth and I say, Lord, I want
to be broken and fellowship with you.
At the same time, before that bread was
broken, it was one bread.
And I'm saying I'm not only breaking it
as a testimony of my covenant with you.
It's also a testimony of my covenant with
my fellow believers here with whom I am
one, just like this bread was one before
we all broke it.
Now this one bread has gone into all
our stomachs.
But we are one because this bread was
one before it went into your stomach and
mine.
And I'm testifying thereby, like it says here
in this verse we read in 1 Corinthians
10 and verse 17.
We are one bread and one body.
Now, if we don't have this type of
vertical relationship with the Lord and horizontal relationship
with our fellow believers, we should not break
bread.
If there's somebody sitting there whom I've got
a bitterness against, somebody sitting there with whom
I have a dispute about property, somebody else
sitting there with whom I've got a grudge.
Don't break bread.
Because it says if you do, you may
get sick.
Verse 30.
God may punish you.
You will get spiritually sick, physically sick, spiritually
weak, physically weak and spiritually dead as well.
So we should judge ourselves.
Verse 31.
And then the Lord will not judge us.
So it's very serious testimony to break bread
together.
Let me just mention one thing about women
praying and prophesying.
A woman is asked to cover her head,
verse 4, when she prays or prophesies primarily,
verse 4.
That means when she's praying or prophesying, which
teaches that a woman can prophesy.
It's very clear here, 1 Corinthians 11, 4,
that a woman can prophesy.
She cannot teach, but she can prophesy.
That means she can share God's word in
a way that will encourage others, but she
cannot teach in the church.
Okay, we move on to chapter 12 where
we read about the gifts of the Spirit.
And I want you to notice here that
the gifts are seen in relation to the
body of Christ.
It's very important to see this.
Many people think of the gifts all by
themselves, and that's why they get into confusion.
They read the first half of 1 Corinthians
12 and don't read the second half.
You see, it's like some people value the
second half of 1 Corinthians 11 and neglect
the first half.
Why do they neglect the first half?
They say the first half is cultural and
the second half is for everybody.
Then they have become judges of the word
of God.
No, 1 Corinthians 11, the first half and
second half are both for today.
1 Corinthians 12 also, the first half speaks
about the gifts of the Spirit, the second
half speaks about the body.
And if you want to see the gifts
properly, you must see it in connection to
the body of Christ.
You see, he speaks in 1 Corinthians 12,
for example, about the foot, verse 15, the
year, verse 16, the eye, verse 17, and
the hand, verse 15, and so on.
And he says in verse 14, the body
is not one member, but many.
So, what he is saying is, these gifts
are exactly like the different members of our
body, in the body of Christ.
So, he is saying, everybody should not want
to be a year or an eye.
For example, he says something humorous, verse 17,
if the whole body were just one eye,
or many, many eyes, where would the hearing
be?
And if the whole were hearing, just ears,
ears, ears, ears, ears, ears, ears, where would
the sense of smell be?
There must be a nose.
So, what he is saying is, don't desire
somebody else's gift.
Okay, God has made him an eye, or
God has made him a tongue.
He doesn't want you to be a tongue,
he wants you to be a ear, or
a little finger, or a liver, or a
kidney.
See, there are many parts of the body.
He says, for example, some parts of the
body are not visible.
There are some parts of the body which
appear to be weaker, which are very easily,
very sensitive, very easily injured.
Others, which are hard, like the soles of
our feet are so hard, they can take
a lot of rough treatment.
But there are other parts of the body
which are very sensitive, the eyes for example.
One speck of dust goes into the eye,
and we are disturbed.
But our feet can handle so much of
dust, walk on dust, there is no problem.
So, he says, all are important.
There are visible members, and others which are
invisible, like heart, liver, kidney.
All are important.
Some are attractive members, and some parts of
our body we don't show because they are
not attractive.
So, he says, in the church also there
are some people who are very visible.
For example, a man who speaks in the
pulpit all the time, we can say he
is like the tongue.
Speaking, speaking, speaking.
And some people who never stand in the
pulpit are praying, praying, praying, like the heart.
Pumping, pumping, pumping, pumping, pumping, blood, so that
the mouth can speak.
Now, tell me, which is important?
The heart or the mouth?
You know the answer.
Both.
The mouth cannot speak without the heart, and
the heart will die if the mouth doesn't
eat food, and sends some energy down inside.
So, which is important?
Both are important.
The heart is dependent on the mouth, and
the mouth is dependent on the heart.
So, he says, whatever gift of the spirit
you may have, please remember, you need that
brother, and he needs you.
He may be an invisible brother like the
heart, nobody sees, nobody appreciates.
You may be a visible brother like the
face, the eyes, and the hands, and all
that move.
But there is no competition.
There are so many gifts of the spirit,
there is no competition.
One is an apostle, one is a prophet.
He says in verse 28, somebody speaks in
tongues, and somebody has a gift of healing.
All are needed.
And everybody doesn't have to have that person's
gift.
And there should be no competition in the
body.
There is no saying, verse 21, I don't
need you, I can do on my own.
No.
And there is no competition.
For example, do you think this left hand
is ever jealous of this right hand?
This right hand writes all the important letters,
signs all the checks.
Supposing the left hand is very jealous.
Oh, this right hand is doing all the
important jobs, and I don't get to do
any important job.
And one day, I get an injury, and
the right hand is injured in plaster.
And the left hand says, ah, now I
got my chance.
I can do everything.
And the left hand tries to sign a
check, and the bank doesn't accept it.
Signature not recognized.
Because the left hand cannot sign that check.
What should the left hand do?
The left hand should do everything possible to
restore that right hand quickly to health, so
it can sign the check again.
Can you do that in the body of
Christ?
That you see another brother far more gifted
than you are.
He can sign the check so easily.
You even with great struggle, you cannot duplicate
that signature.
Because you are a left hand.
Why should you?
That's not your calling.
One member in the body signing checks is
enough.
Or if you are a foot, you want
to sign checks with your foot.
What all complicated things.
So many competition there is in the body,
because people have not seen the body of
Christ.
I believe one of the greatest needs is
to see the body of Christ.
People have asked me this question through many,
many years.
Brother Zach, why do you keep on emphasizing
holiness, holiness, holiness, holiness, holiness?
I said, why does the kidney, through which
the blood goes, always emphasize purity, purity, purity,
purity, purity?
That's all the kidneys do.
The kidneys don't do anything else.
But the day your kidneys pack up, you
also pack up.
You know that.
But they do only one thing.
Purify the blood stream and keep all the
chemicals balanced in the blood.
That's all it does.
But do you think the kidney can function
without the hand and the mouth and all?
No.
We all need each other.
Evangelism is like a hand taking a chapati
from there, putting it in the mouth, eating
it.
Taking that unbeliever, putting it inside the body
of Christ.
Is that enough?
You just put it in the mouth.
You keep that chapati in your mouth for
ten days, what will happen?
That is evangelism.
After the evangelism, you take the unbeliever and
put it inside.
Somebody else has to take over and break
him down and make him small and humble
him and get him down to the stomach,
pour some acid on him, prophetic ministry.
And then break him down and finally make
him blood, flesh and bones.
He has become a part of the body.
But supposing you just put it in the
mouth or just keep it in the stomach
and doesn't get digested.
After some time, you'll just vomit it out.
The unbeliever goes out.
So you see, evangelism must lead on to
other ministries that teach, that break down his
pride, that humble him, emphasize purity like the
kidneys.
Finally, which is most important?
Everybody is equally important.
Don't try to do somebody else's ministry.
Work along with others.
To me, this has been a great deliverance
in my life once I saw this.
And that's what goes on in chapter 13
to say.
Chapter 13, remember, comes between chapter 12 and
chapter 14, which are both on the gifts
of the Holy Spirit.
Many people forget that.
There are multitudes of people today who are
against the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but
always speak about chapter 13.
From chapter 11, they take a long jump
to chapter 13.
And from chapter 13, they take a long
jump to chapter 15.
And they have missed two chapters in between.
Why?
Chapter 13 comes right in the middle of
the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
How can you be against the gifts of
the Holy Spirit and talk about love?
He says, this whole chapter on love says,
I'm showing you, chapter 12, verse 31, a
more excellent way to exercise the gifts of
the Holy Spirit.
So he's saying, chapter 13 is about love,
telling you how to use these gifts of
the Spirit.
Everything must be done in love.
If you don't have love, you're like an
electric wire without any insulation.
Have you noticed that electric wire always got
a plastic or rubber insulation over it?
Otherwise, it will kill people.
That insulation is love.
And if you have the power of the
Holy Spirit going and you don't have love,
you're just going to kill people.
So let everything you do be done in
love.
Let there be insulation over every part of
the electric wire, then you don't kill people.
You bless people with light and power.
So love is like that.
And that's a whole...
you need a whole session to go through
1 Corinthians 13.
But take time to read it.
It's all about love.
1 Corinthians 14 speaks about how we are
to exercise, particularly in the church, tongues and
prophecy.
Now, 1 Corinthians 14, verse 5 says, I
wish that you all spoke in tongues.
That doesn't mean you must speak in tongues.
In 1 Corinthians 7, he said, I wish
that you all were single.
Now, I know a lot of churches that
quote 1 Corinthians 14, 5, I wish you
all spoke in tongues, who do not quote
1 Corinthians 7, saying, I wish you were
all single.
The same apostle said both.
What did he mean?
Did he mean that everybody should be single?
He said, that's my desire.
But I realize that some people are not
called to be single.
The same thing here.
I realize that not everybody speaks in tongues.
It's very clear from verse 5 that everybody
in Corinth did not speak in tongues.
I don't understand how everybody is forced to
speak in tongues today.
That's how all the counterfeit tongues comes up.
At the same time, it says in 1
Corinthians 14 and verse 39, don't forbid to
speak in tongues.
See, we have two groups today in Christendom.
Some who totally forbid speaking in tongues, disobeying
verse 39.
And some who try to force everybody to
speak in tongues.
When it says in verse 5, only some
do.
And also it says in 1 Corinthians 12
and verse 30, do all speak in tongues?
No, all do not.
And it's also clear from 1 Corinthians 14,
that the speaking in tongues today is different
from the speaking in tongues on the day
of Pentecost.
On the day of Pentecost, there was no
need for the gift of interpretation.
A man spoke in tongues, without interpretation, everybody
understood.
But 1 Corinthians 14 says, that what is
the use of man speaking in tongues, verse
5, unless he interprets.
Now that was not true on the day
of Pentecost.
It was valuable without interpretation.
But here it says, if a man does
not know, if there is no interpreter, what
should he do?
Then he must pray, verse 13, that he
should interpret.
Otherwise, he should just keep quiet.
So, it's clear that tongues had a function
on the day of Pentecost, of being in
another language, which people understood.
But here, it is an expression of what
is in our heart.
It could be a prayer, it could be
an exhortation, it could be a number of
things.
It says here, when you assemble, if I
speak in a tongue, what is the use,
unless, verse 6, that tongue is a revelation,
or knowledge, or prophecy, or teaching.
So, a tongue could be revelation, knowledge, prophecy,
teaching, or it could be prayer.
A man speaks to God.
Interpretation of tongue can be a prayer, can
be a revelation.
Now, an interpretation is not a translation.
Translation is word for word.
Interpretation is thought for thought.
That's why two different people interpreting the same
tongues will give the same message, but may
express it in different words.
And it says, in the church, maximum two
or three people should speak in tongues.
That's all.
Verse 27, and if they do, every one
of those tongues must be interpreted.
Verse 27, when you go into a church
and you hear a person speaking in tongues,
and no interpretation, I would say they are
a church that's thoroughly, 100% disobedient to
the word of God.
I have no respect for that church.
I would like to see a church where
every tongue is interpreted.
It's very clear in verse 27.
There is no such thing as a man
praying in tongues and everybody hearing it, and
there's no interpretation.
We have such a lot of things today
in Christendom, where people are following the traditions
of their grandfathers and not the word of
God.
It's written so clearly here.
Some people forbid it, saying we don't want
it.
Some people just follow the tradition of their
grandfathers.
I say, let's follow scripture.
And in the churches, the most important gift
is the gift of prophecy, which means prophecy
is not foretelling the future.
That was Old Testament.
Verse 3, prophecy in the New Testament is
speaking to men to build them up, to
encourage them, to exhort them, challenge them, and
to comfort them.
If you can speak in such a way
that you challenge, encourage, build up, that is
prophecy.
And every message in a church should be
a prophecy or a teaching or prophetic teaching.
So that's how the early churches functioned.
Verse 29, two or three prophets spoke, not
just one man.
And then others could also prophesy, verse 31.
Verse chapter 15 speaks about the resurrection and
is basically trying to convince these Corinthians that
there is a resurrection.
Take time to read it.
It's basically for those who have a doubt
that there is a body that we're going
to get when we are resurrected.
Just one thing I want to show you,
verse 41 of 15.
There is one glory of the sun, another
glory of the moon, another glory of the
stars.
Star differs from star in glory, so also,
verse 42, is the resurrection of the dead.
That means when we are raised from the
dead, we will be like the stars, but
the stars have got different degrees of brightness,
and there will be different degrees of brightness
among believers.
Those who have been more faithful will be
like the brighter stars, and those who are
less faithful will also shine, but will be
less bright throughout eternity.
So it's good to be faithful here.
Therefore, verse 58, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding
in the work of the Lord.
In chapter 16, I just want to point
out one lovely thing you read in verse
12.
Paul says, concerning Apollos, a brother, I encouraged
him greatly to come to you.
Paul went to Apollos and said, brother Apollos,
you should go to Corinth.
Your teaching ministry is needed there, but he
did not want to come.
A beautiful example of freedom in the church
between God's servants.
Paul felt he should go.
He did not feel he should go.
Paul said, fine, you go when you feel
free.
There is no compulsion, saying you must go
because I told you to go.
No.
What a beautiful example.
In conclusion, verse 14, let all that you
do be done in love.
Let's remember that.
It's a good way to conclude how we
are to build a local church.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for guidance concerning
little details in our daily life and functioning
in the church.
Help us to live in the light of
your word, we ask in Jesus' name.