Paul
the apostle asked the Corinthian church members, “who
make you to differ from another?”
and “what do you have that you did
not receive?” He
questioned, “if you received it, why
do you have glory as if you had not received it?”,
and in chapter four and verse eight of
First Corinthians, Paul told the Corinthians
“you
are rich, you have reigned as kings without us”
where we read:
Now
you are full, now you are rich, you have reigned as kings without us:
and I
would to God you did reign, that we also might reign with you.
The
verse begins, “Now
you are full, now you are rich, you have reigned as kings without
us:” Paul
began with the word, “Now” which
means “even by this time and already” “you
are full”
or “the church members are satiate, sate and satisfied”, “now”
which means “even by this time” “you
are rich”
which refers to “the church members have abundance of outward
possessions and are richly supplied and affluent in resources”,
“you have reigned as kings”
which means “the church members had exercised kingly power,
influence and control” “without us”
which refers to “not having Paul and his companions near them”.
Paul noted the way the Corinthian church members were living: “full,
rich and reigning like kings”
without Paul and his companions being with them.
The
verse continues, “and
I would to God you did reign, that we also might reign with you.”.
Paul added
the words, “and I would to God”
which is all
one Greek word “ophelon”
and
means
“where one wishes indeed and truly that a thing had happened which
has not happened or a thing be done which probably will not be done”
“you did reign”
which refers to “that the church members did exercise kingly power,
influence and control”, “that we
also” which
means “Paul and his companions also” “might
reign” or
“would possess supreme honor, liberty and blessedness with one in
the kingdom of God” “with you”
which means “alongside the Corinthian church members”. Paul
wanted the Corinthian church members to “rule” in the manner they
thought they did so he and his companions could “reign”
with them.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we sense a mordacious tone in his
writing as he notes the church members “fullness, riches and
reigning” without he and his companions being present. The idea was
that they had no need for anyone else because they were sufficient in
themselves. Of course, this was not the case, but Paul desires to
demonstrate their need for Jesus Christ in their lives. They had not
“received” anything on their own, and particularly the
“gospel of Jesus Christ”. Yet, the Corinthians thought
themselves self-sufficient and without need of anyone. As believers
in Jesus, we must remember the source of our salvation, and we should
keep in mind what we would have been like if Jesus never came for us.
May we always realize that our “fullness, riches and rule” comes
from God above, and these are “gifts” from His provisional hand.
Next
time Paul shares how he thought “that
God has set forth us the apostles last”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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