The Strand Study Bible

Written From Ephesus During Paul’s Third Missionary Journey

I CORINTHIANS

1897

7. All believers had to be cleansed before partaking of it (Num 9:4-12/I Cor 11:27) 8. Every believer was required to partake of it (Num 9:13/I Cor 11:28-31) There is no excuse for not partaking of the Lord’s Supper. Not to partake of it is sin. 9. The Lord’s Supper was observed wherever believers assembled (Deut 16:1-6/I Cor 11:33-34/Acts 2:46) 10. The Lord’s Supper was concluded with a hymn (Mt 26:30) 11:25 It doesn’t say, “ After the same manner also he took the wine.” It said he took the cup . People often assume that it was wine that was in the cup . However, wine (fermented grape juice; corruption) would not have pictured the blood that ran through our Lord’s body and paid for our sin. Only grape juice (unfermented wine) would have perfectly pictured the blood of Christ. Ed Reese in Encyclopedia of Christian Biographies informs us as to when wine was first introduced in the Lord’s Supper. He notes: Alexander I (AD 105-115) promoted changes in the ancient service of the Lord’s Supper by using bread without leaven and mixing water with wine, moving the ceremony toward the Roman Mass. 2 11:26 Every time a Christian partakes of the Lord’s Supper he remembers HIM of whom the Passover lamb was a portrayal ( ye do shew the Lord’s death – Exo 12). The physical is often a reflection of the spiritual ( Jere 14:1 ). 11:31 God would not have to chasten us “ if we would judge ourselves ” (II Sam 12:9-13, II Ki 22:18-20, Psa 32:5 and I Jn 1:9). 12:1 Question: As a believer, if you don’t use what God gave you ( Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant ), did He entrust you with something you shouldn’t have? Tim Blanchard in Finding Your Spiritual Gifts notes: Discovering one’s spiritual gifts should not be a difficult process. If it is, it is probably due to one of two things: (1) a lack of knowledge (ignorant) concerning who the HOLY SPIRIT is (Acts 19:1-6), i.e., His Person ( I Cor 2:11b & 3:16 , Eph 4:30 and Heb 9:14 ) and how He operates ( I Cor 12:11a,b ); and (2) a lack of spirituality on the part of the believer due to one of three reasons : * You may not be as spiritual as you think (I Cor 12:1 and Gal 6:1,3 ) Carnality and ignorance always walk hand in hand (I Cor 3:1-3). The longer we refuse to obey what we already know is true, the longer we stay in the dark concerning our spiritual gifts (Jn 8:31-32). Simply put, spiritual gifts are revealed to spiritual people. * You may lack the right motive for why you serve God (I Cor 13:1) All the gifts of the SPIRIT are worth nothing if a Christian does not exhibit the kindness, forgiveness, and loyalty of brotherly love (Jn 13:34-35). A servant’s heart (Rom 12:10, Phil 2:3 and I Pet 5:5), not a selfish heart, is essential to discovering one’s spiritual gifts. A servant is someone who is anxious to see other believers become spiritually successful without receiving any credit whatsoever for their help ( Josh 1:8 b ). We help to discover our gifts whenever we focus on the needs of others rather than on our own needs (Mt 20:25-26 and Rom 1:11 & 12:9-16). Motive for why we do what we do for God means everything to God, and will determine what kind of reward we will receive in eternity ( Mt 20:1,11 , I Cor 3:13 b , II Cor 5:14 and Rev 2:4 ). * You may have unresolved root problems in your personal life (Rom 12:3-8) Of the ten areas of deception that God warns people to beware of within the Scriptures ( Jere 37:9 ), the greatest deception is that of self-deception. Identify someone with an unresolved root problem and more than likely you’ll be identifying someone who resists the suggestion that he or she has a problem. That’s what self-deception is. It’s the inability to resolve unresolved root problems (to see that one has a problem). According to Galatians 6:1, a Christian who is spiritual doesn’t know it. Why? Because he considers himself spiritually weak, as spiritually weak as the people who have fallen. Christians who make themselves out to be some kind of [quote]“spiritual giant” have already persuaded themselves of the existence of that which has no reality. Just as some men think they are God’s gift to women, some Christians, unfortunately, think they are God’s gift to God. It is significant to note that all the gifts mentioned in Romans 12 are not mentioned until the moral conflicts of Romans 1-11 are dealt with. Note, for example, some of the unresolved root problems discussed in Romans 1-11: * Rejection of authority (Rom 1:18-32) * A problem with worldliness (Rom 12:1-2) * A spirit of un-forgiveness (Rom 12:17-21) Until a Christian is willing to admit that he has unresolved root problems, he will have a hard time recognizing the SPIRIT’S voice, thus his spiritual gift(s). NOTE - Unfortunately, many Christians today only equate the work of the SPIRIT and spiritual gifts with but one gift –the sign gift “tongues” (Mk 16:15-20). However, when it comes to the gifts, not only is “tongues” at the bottom of the list of importance (vs 28), but according to the context, not every believer is going to speak in “tongues” (vs 29-30). 12:3 This verse is not teaching us that everybody who calls Jesus “Lord” is a saved person or that the Holy Spirit is always behind the gesture. Quite the contrary (Mt 7:21-23 and Acts 19:13-16). What this verse is teaching is that no saved person can ever deny * A problem with moral purity (Rom 6:11-16-22) * A lack of commitment to Christ (Rom 7:15-25) On the date of our spiritual birth, we receive our spiritual gift. However, we have no innate understanding of what it is or the fact that we have it. We must be taught. We are like the boy who, immediately after he was born, became heir to a fortune. The fortune took on meaning to him only when he learned that he was an heir with vast resources at his disposal. 3

Christ’s deity due to the witness of the Spirit of God within him or her. 1 Keating, Thomas. Crisis of Faith . Locust Valley, NY: Living Flame Press. 1970. Print. 2 Reese, Ed. Encyclopedia of Christian Biographies . Chattanooga, TN, AMG Pub., 2007. Print. 3 Blanchard, Tim. Finding Your Spiritual Gifts , Wheaton, ILL, Tyndale House Pub., 1979. Print.