For ye are yet carnal:.....the Wayfarer 2/8/16

For ye are yet carnal:
2/8/16

³ For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

⁴ For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

⁵ Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

⁶ I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

⁷ So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

⁸ Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

⁹ For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

(1 Corinthians 3:3-9)

Envying, strife, divisions; plagues on the church during the time of Paul, requiring that it be addressed in this epistle to the Corinthians, unfortunately remain yet and still today in a time when unity should and must be paramount among God’s chosen bride for Christ Jesus.

Those divisions led to various churches of that time competing for the attention of all around them, each claiming that their particular teachings were the only correct teachings, their way, as given by their individual founders the only way to achieve salvation and acceptance by Christ Jesus for the remission of sin and provision of eternal life.

Paul used this epistle to redirect attention to the fact that those leaders, those founders were not what the church was about, and that their founders and teachers were not to become about.

John 14 King James Version (KJV)

14 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

² In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

⁴ And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

⁵ Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

⁷ If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

⁸ Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

⁹ Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

¹⁰ Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.

¹² Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

¹³ And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

¹⁴ If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

¹⁵ If ye love me, keep my commandments.

¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

¹⁷ Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

¹⁸ I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

¹⁹ Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

²⁰ At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

²¹ He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

²² Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

²³ Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

²⁴ He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

²⁵ These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

²⁶ But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

²⁷ Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

²⁸ Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

²⁹ And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

³⁰ Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

³¹ But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

Jesus was explicit in that sixth verse just quoted! There was no stutter, no equivocation, no vagueness and no latitude given for any interpretation that could possibly give meaning other than that which was intended by HIM as it was given.

Over the centuries since the crucifixion and Christ’s resurrection, the envying, strife and division has intensified, and continues to do so… all based on teachings delivered by scholarly well meaning men who would interpret the gospel in their own manner, each firmly believing their way is the only way, convincing others of their own way, forgetting that they were only men, and that Jesus was THE way, truth and life.

Their writings influenced and influence still millions.

Calvin, Wesley, Luther, and a plethora of others that is only increasing daily place emphasis on THEIR way, THEIR  interpretation when in fact what mattered and matters most is that given in the Gospels themselves by none other than the ONE the Gospels were written about.

I to have far too often stated the fact that I was licensed and ordained by a particular denomination.

Though this is true, it should and does not hold any bearing whatsoever on what is to be preached, what is to be stressed in a time that is so direly in need of only the TRUTH of Christ Jesus.

⁹ For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

¹⁰ According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

¹¹ For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

¹² Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

¹³ Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

¹⁴ If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

¹⁵ If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

¹⁶ Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

¹⁷ If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

¹⁸ Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

²⁰ And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.

²¹ Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are your's;

²² Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are your's;

²³ And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.

(1 Corinthians 3:9-23)

Our purpose should have no envying, strife or division.

Our mission, our function and our purpose was defined by Christ himself.

If we are to make any difference, if we are to reach any still reachable, teach any still teachable, let us reach them with the teachings of Christ Jesus, let us teach them of the promise left them by HIM.

Let us emulate and embody that which will rescue those willing to be rescued instead of refusing to abandon the various dogmatic doctrines of denomination and appellation that are anything other than what was asked of us by Jesus.

Let us remember that God’s will will be done, God’s plans will not be stymied, altered or in any way delayed for the pleasure of  men and their teachings which were what necessitated the sacrifice of Christ Jesus that we might find that WAY, TRUTH, and LIFE as is promised in that familiar and precious scripture so often used by myself and others.

Let us remember that salvation and redemption is indeed an individual necessity, for EVERY individual. And that EACH individual may attain that redemption only through Christ Jesus, whose crucifixion, resurrection and ascension is what the Gospel is about.

Let us hear with open ears, see with open eyes and proclaim with open mouths that necessity proclaimed by Christ Jesus to:

“REPENT; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

Let us proclaim the promise of eternal life as well as the warning that was given by our Saviour, and extend the invitation to accept the gift so freely given by him to those of us willing to accept it.

Let us remember that it is indeed only through the acceptance of HIS terms and HIS promise that eternal life may be obtained.

⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.

¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

(Ephesians 2:8-10)

And let us remind ourselves constantly that what is required of us is no less than the commandment and commission given us Christ Jesus.

 ³⁴ A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

³⁵ By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

(John 13:34 & 35)

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen

(Matthew 28:18-20) 

There can be no room for dissimulation, no room for envying, no room for strife, no room for division, but there must be room for the WORD!

There must be room given the simple  message of redemption given for repentance, room for the blood shed for that very message, room for the resurrection that remains the promise of that message...There must remain room for the direction given by Christ himself that remains both warning and promise!

2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Amen and Amen

the Wayfarer