Zealots, whatever their cause, invariably lack a sense of humor.

–Paul Graham

I take exception to that!

I went to a restaurant that serves ‘breakfast at any time.’ So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.

–Steven Wright

My most humorous (or sad) Bible verse:
Acts 17:23

For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

–Paul

What’s yours?

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 16:20
All the brothers and sisters send greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
(NRSV)

In Garland’s commentary on 1 Corinthians he says, “The kiss is more than an extension of social custom, since it is identified as ‘holy.’ It was a distinctive practice that served as a sign of mutual fellowship among persons of mixed social background, nationality, race, and gender who are joined together as a new family in Christ.”

This reminded me of a blog post I came across:

Why You Should Hug In Church

Related Scripture:
Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:26

1 Corinthians

Is this Scriptural? 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

What many fail to realize is that 1 Corinthians chapters 8-10 involves eating food sacrificed to an idol at the temple of an idol, eating food bought from a market which may or may not have been sacrificed to an idol and eating in the home of an unbeliever.

This is a serious enough issue that Paul devotes quite a bit of his letter to it. Socializing and eating together was an important part of the Corinthian culture both personally and for business networking (to use a modern term). At the same time idol worship and sacrificing was so common that it was difficult to avoid. It’s not just a matter of causing others to stumble (1 Corinthians 8:10-11) but that idol worship is participation in the demonic (1 Corinthians 10:20).

Paul tells the Corinthians in 10:12, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” (…back into idol worship and falling away from the faith.)

Some have dissected the phrase “God never gives you more than you can handle” but I don’t see the value in it if it isn’t Biblical.

Jump ahead to 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” I would guess Paul wasn’t thinking, “God never gives you more than you can handle.” Although it did strengthen his faith and he continues to have hope in God. “He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”
(2 Corinthians 1:10)

There are all kinds of questions and issues that go along with this that I’m not prepared enough or wise enough to write about at this time other than to point to some Scripture on God’s Sovereignty from 30nov07. Someday I’d like to expand on “strangely comforting.”

1 Corinthians

Paul speaks against lawsuits among believers:
1 Corinthians 6:1-9:
“When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud–even your own brothers! Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?”

In Garland’s commentary on 1 Corinthians he says, “The aim of the ancient lawsuit was to prevail over another, and that usually involved an assault on the opponent’s character. Paul rejects this philosophy altogether; to try to down a fellow Christian before, and with the aid of, those who do not worship God is completely inimical to Christian love.”

Jesus tells us to love our enemies and not retaliate when an offense is committed. Should not this apply to fellow brothers and sisters also?
Matthew 5:38-48
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

How are we to deal with this? Matthew 18:19-20 is an often (mis)quoted passage when referring to prayer. But looking at the context it can be seen that it’s part of a passage in how to deal with disputes.
Matthew 18:15-20
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

I’m not wise enough to say exactly how to go about this in the present day, when it might be absolutely necessary to go to court etc. I just thought it might be good to mention these things and tie a few passages together even if for only my own benefit.

1 Corinthians

The Corinthians were very much into secular wisdom, individualism, egocentricity, prestige, power, philosophy, debate, etc.

I love how God in His wisdom had Paul preach what is foolish to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 1:21-24
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

It’s interesting how Jesus and Paul made it more difficult to be saved than easy. They wanted to make sure that Christians are true believers who are drawn by God and spoken to by the Holy Spirit instead of those who just agree with the Gospel on an intellectual level and don’t truly believe or love God.

What could be more foolish to people like the Corinthians than a person dying on a cross? David Garland in his commentary on 1 Corinthians says, “To be full of oneself as a golden-tonged orator is the opposite of emptying oneself (of oneself), which is the paradigm presented by the cross.” He goes on later to say, “He does not say that he preached the resurrected Christ, but the crucified Christ. Crucifixion and resurrection belong together as part of the gospel story (1 Corinthians 15:3-5), but the cross was repugnant to ancient sensibilities and assailed the world’s self-centeredness and self-destructive ways. It was not yet the ‘old rugged cross’ sentimentalized in hymns, embalmed in stained-glass windows, perched on marble altars, or fashioned into gold charms.”

There were no altar calls or asking people to pray the sinner’s prayer. The message was simple. The persuasion was left to the Holy Spirit.

As a side note I found that 1 Corinthians 1:21 (a) and 1 Corinthians 1:29 serve as bookends to what is explained in between. Together they are, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”

It’s unlikely that the typical Corinthian (or us) is going to boast in something that seems foolish to us. Salvation through someone’s death on a cross is not something anyone would come up with in their own wisdom. And even if they did, it’s not something they would present as an orator for people to marvel at.