As
Paul the apostle concluded his instructions concerning spiritual
matters and order within the church, he instructed the church members
in Corinth to, “let
all things be done decently and in order”.
In
chapter fifteen and verse one of First Corinthians, Paul referred the
church members in Corinth to, “the
gospel which I preached unto you”, where
we read:
Moreover,
brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you,
which
also you have received, and wherein you stand;
The
verse begins, “Moreover,
brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto
you,...” Paul
began with the word, “Moreover” or
“now and also”, “brethren”
which refers to “fellow believers who united to others by the bond
of affection”, “I declare”
or “Paul certified and gave to understand” “unto
you” which
refers to “the church members” “the
gospel” or
“the glad tidings of the kingdom of God soon to be set up and
subsequently also of Jesus the Messiah who is the founder of this
kingdom” “which I preach”
which means “that Paul brought, announced and proclaimed” “unto
you” which
refers to the church members. Paul shared the “good news” of
Jesus Christ by “proclaiming it” to and among the Corinthian
people.
The
verse goes on to say, “which
also you have received, and wherein you stand;”
Paul added
the word, “which” or
“that” “also you”
which means “indeed, even as the church members” “have
received” or
“have accepted, acknowledged and taken in”, “and
wherein”
or “and by which” “you stand”
which means “the church members are set in place, fixed and firm”.
Paul referred to the way the church members
“received”
the “gospel” of Jesus Christ and continued being “fixed and set
in place” in it.
When
we think through these words from Paul, we see how he reminded them
of when he presented “the gospel of Jesus Christ” to the
Corinthian people. The church members in Corinth not only “received”
the “good news”, but also continued to live by it. God desires
for all people to know His “gospel”, and when we become
like the Corinthians who “received” and “stood” within
it, we become the people with whom the Lord is pleased.
Next
time Paul tells
the church members,
“you are
saved, if you keep in memory what I preached unto you”,
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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