Paul
the apostle did not want the church members in Corinth to be
“ignorant”
concerning “spiritual gifts”,
and in chapter twelve and verse two of
First Corinthians, Paul referred
to the how the church members were, “Gentiles,
carried away unto these dumb idols”,
where we read:
You
know that you were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even
as you were led.
The
verse begins, “You
know that you were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols,
...”. Paul
began with the words, “you know that
you were”
which means “the church members perceived, noticed, discerned and
discovered they had been” “Gentiles”
which means “foreign nations not worshiping the true God and
pagans” “carried away” which
means “lead off to trial, prison or punishment” “unto”
or “towards and with regard to” “these
dumb” which
means “voiceless and without faculty of speech”
“idols”
which refers to “images that represent the form of an object which
is either real or imaginary”. Paul referred to the former “pagan”
nature of the “Gentile”
church members and how they followed after “idols”
that could not speak.
The
verse continues, “... even
as you were led.” Paul
added the word, “even as you” which
refers to “the same way and like the Gentile church members”
“were led”
or “accompanied into a place, brought along, conducted, guided and
directed”. Paul declared this was the way to which the “Gentile”
church members were “guided and directed”.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we notice before he shares more
about “spirituals”, he refers to the origin from which
these Corinthian church members came. These “Gentile”,
formerly “pagan” believers were used to worshiping “idols”
that could not speak or do anything for them. These were “guided
and directed” or socialized to follow after the “idols”,
and their culture dictated that they worship them. Jesus Christ came
to turn people from their “idols” to worship the true and
living God, and as we study through these “spiritual things”, let
us be challenged not only to identify “idols” or “objects
of worship” that may be within our lives and turn completely toward
Jesus Christ our Savior.
Next
time Paul tells the church member, “no
man speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed”,
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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