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Hello everyone, this is Ainsley Earhart. Thank you for joining me for episode 35 of this 52 episode podcast series, the Life of Jesus. This podcast will begin with 1 Corinthians chapter 7. Paul continues his letter to the Corinthian believers with appeals to the church to turn from the cultural atrocities of the Greek nation. Corinth was a large port city filled with all manner of sin and immorality. As was typical of the Greek culture, they prided themselves in their progressive thinking in the areas of artistic expression, politics, science and philosophy. This corrupt thinking had begun to make its presence known in the church. Paul understands their problem and addresses it clearly.
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Let's listen.
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You're listening to the Life of Jesus.
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Unmarried I have no command of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. I think that in view of the present distress, it is well for a person to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek marriage, but if you marry, you do not sin. And if a girl marries, she does not sin. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles. And I would spare you that. I mean brethren, the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the form of this world is passing away, I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife. And his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman or girl is anxious about the affairs of the Lord how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong and it has to be, let him do as he wishes, let them marry. It is no sin. But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. So that he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do better. A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If the husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. But in my judgment, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I have the spirit of God. Now, concerning food offered to idols, we know that all of us possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if one loves God, one is known by him. Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that an idol has no real existence and that there is no God but one. For although there may be so called gods in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through being hitherto accustomed to idols, eat food as really offered to an idol. And their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. Only take care, lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you, a man of knowledge, at table in an idol's temple, might he not be encouraged if his Conscience is weak to eat food offered to idols. And so by your knowledge, this weak man is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died, thus sinning against your brethren and and wounding their conscience. When it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of my brother's falling, I will never eat meat, lest I cause my brother to fall. Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who would examine me. Do we not have the right to our food and drink? Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a wife as the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Do I say this on human authority? Does not the law say the same? For it is written in the law of Moses, you shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain. Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake because the plowman should plow in hope, and the thresher thresh in hope of a share in the crop. If we have sown spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits? If others share this rightful claim upon you, do not we still more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the Gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple? And those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the Gospel. But I have made no use of any of these rites, nor am I writing this to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting, for necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward. But if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a Commission. What then is my reward? Just this. That in my preaching I may make the gospel free of charge, not making full use of my right in the gospel. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all that I might win the more. To the Jews I became as a Jewish in order to win Jews. To those under the law. I became as one under the law, though not being myself under the law, that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law, not being without law toward God, but under the law of Christ, that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable well. I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air, but I pummel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified. I want you to know, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. And all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. And all ate the same supernatural food, and all drank the same supernatural drink, for they drank from the supernatural rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things are warnings for us not to desire evil, as they did not to be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to dance. We must not indulge in immorality, as some of them did, and 23,000 fell in a single day. We must not put put the Lord to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction upon whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength. But with the temptation will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, shun the worship of idols. I speak as to sensible men. Judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel. Are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar? What do I imply, then? That food offered to idols is anything? Or that an idol is anything? No. I imply that what pagans sacrifice, they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For the earth is the Lord's and everything in it. If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you this has been offered in sacrifice, then out of consideration for the man who informed you, and for conscience sake, I mean his conscience, not yours, do not eat it. For why should my liberty be determined by another man's scruples? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced? Because of that for which I give thanks. So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks, or to the church of God. Just as I try to please all men in everything, I do not, seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me as I am of Christ. I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you. But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ. The head of a woman is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled dishonors her head. It is the same as if her head were shaven. For if a woman will not veil herself, then she should cut off her hair. But if it is disgraceful for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her wear a veil. For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. That is why a woman ought to have a veil on her head because of the angels. Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor man of woman. For as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman, and all things are from God. Judge for yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not nature itself teach you that for a man to wear long hair is degrading to him? But if a woman has long hair, it is her pride, for her hair is given to her for a covering. If anyone is disposed to be contentious, we recognize not no other practice, nor do the churches of God. But in the following instructions. I do not commend you because when you come together it is not for the better, but for the worse. For in the first place, when you assemble as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and I partly believe it. For there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may. May be recognized. When you meet together. It is not the Lord's supper that you eat. For in eating each one goes ahead with his own meal, 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 humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you. That the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning, the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we should not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are chastened so that we may not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together to be condemned about the other things. I will give directions when I come. Now concerning spiritual gifts. Brethren, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were heathen you were led astray to dumb idols, however you may have been moved. Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says, jesus be cursed. And no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Now, there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of service, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of working. But it is the same God who inspires them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit, the utterance of wisdom. And to another the utterance of knowledge. According to the same Spirit to another faith, but by the same spirit to another. Gifts of healing by the one spirit to another, the working of miracles to another, prophecy to another, the ability to distinguish between spirits to another, various kinds of tongues to another, the interpretation of tongues. All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free. And all were made to drink of one spirit. For the body does not consist of one member, but of many. If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, because I am not an I, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the organs in the body, each one of them as he chose. If all were a single organ, where would the body be as it is? There are many parts, yet one body the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those parts of the body which we think less honourable, we invest with the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part, that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret but earnestly desire the higher gifts? And I will show you a still more excellent way.
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Thank you for listening to this episode of the Life of Jesus Podcast series. I'm Loren Greene, host of the Lighthouse Faith Podcast and the author of the Devotional Light for Today. We will be back with more of this series after this. At the UPS store we know being a small business owner means holiday time is still go time, still get those orders shipped time, and still re up on stamps and supplies time. That's why this upcoming holiday, while others close up shop will be open and happy to help you keep being unstoppable. Come into your local store today. Most locations are independently owned. Products, services, pricing and hours of operation may vary. See center for details. The UPS Store Be Unstoppable.
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When we think of idols, we most likely picture golden statues or carved images of mere men. However, an idol is not so much an object as it is a focus of devotion. An idol can be anything over which we obsess. It can be an actual false God, or it can be any aspect of life in which we are excessively involved. Gaming, social media, career, money, prestige, power, notoriety. Any of these can be idols if they command our attention to the detriment of the rest of life. To give unchecked devotion to anything other than God is idolatry. It is to make that thing of greatest importance and the nucleus of life around which all else must pivot. Most of us don't worship gold statues or wooden poles, but we may well be guilty of idolizing any aspect of life. Even people in our lives can become idols. A life lived without God at the center is a life without meaning. To allow anything other than God to determine our purpose is to live lives with no real meaning. This path will lead to a future that disintegrates with time, for only God and His kingdom are eternal. Father, help me recognize the idols in my life and renounce them. Teach me to keep my eyes on and worship only you. Thank you for listening to episode 35 of this 52 episode podcast series, the Life of Jesus. Make sure to spread spread the word. Listen ad free with a Fox News Podcast plus subscription on Apple Podcasts. Amazon prime members can listen ad free on the Amazon Music app.