4 Epiphany A

4 Epiphany - Sunday (variable)

Micah 6:1-8 What God Requires

Psalm 1 The Reward of Righteousness

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Boast in the Lord

Matthew 5:1-12 The Beatitudes

Listen to the Word of the Lord: God has a controversy with his people. Who can judge between God and his people? Plead your case before the mountains, before the foundations of the earth.

What has the Lord done to his people to cause them to be weary of the Lord? Remember how he redeemed them from Egypt and slavery. Remember how God raised up Moses, Aaron and Miriam to lead them. Remember what Balak, king of Moab plotted to do against Israel, and how Balaam answered him. Remember what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, so that God’s people will realize the saving acts of God on their behalf.

What can God’s people bring to come before God and worship him. Will burnt offerings and sacrifices gain his acceptance? Would even thousands of animal sacrifices and ten thousand rivers of oil please the Lord? Would even the sacrifice of our first-born make amends for our sins? God has shown us what is good; what God wants is for us to act justly, be loving and kind, and humbly follow God.

God blesses the person who does not follow the counsel or examples of those who are wicked, who scoff at and disobey God’s Word, but instead who delights in God’s Word and meditates on it constantly. That person will be like a tree planted by a stream; its leaves never wither and it bears its fruit in the proper season. That person will prosper in all that he does.

Conversely, the wicked will be like chaff blown away by the wind. The wicked will not be upheld in the Day of Judgment, and sinners will not be admitted into the congregation of the righteous. The Lord knows who has been righteous and who is wicked; he will reward the righteous, but the wicked will perish.

Paul had made the point that the Gospel seems like foolishness to people who are perishing from sin (disobedience of God’s Word), but to those who believe, it is the power and wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:17-25). As an example, believers should consider their own circumstances. Not many Christian disciples are rich, powerful or noble by worldly standards. God uses those who seem foolish and weak to shame those who consider themselves smart, strong and important. God has chosen what are low and despised, and even spiritual things which seem like nothing to the world, to bring to nothing the material things which seem so real to us now, so that no one will be able to boast in God’s presence. God is the source of true, eternal life in Jesus Christ, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness, sanctification (purification and dedication to God’s use), and redemption, so we have no reason to boast except in the Lord.

When crowds gathered around Jesus, he took them up the side of a mountain and had them sit down, and began to teach his disciples. Jesus said that:

· God blesses those who realize they are spiritually poor and needy.

· Those who mourn now (as sinners in a sinful world) will be comforted, strengthened and restored.

· The meek will outlast the arrogant and ruthless.

· Those who realize that righteousness (in God’s judgment) is as spiritually necessary as physical food and drink is to physical life, will have their spiritual hunger satisfied.

· Those who realize their need for mercy, from God and their fellows, will be merciful to others.

· Only those who are pure in heart will see God, [and only Jesus can purify our hearts, through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17)].

· Those who work to bring peace will be accepted by God as his children.

· Those who are willing to accept persecution for righteousness’ sake will enter the kingdom of heaven.

· Disciples who endure reviling, persecution, slander and evil for the sake of Jesus will be rewarded in heaven. This is the way the world has always responded to the Word of God and his prophets.

This Universe is God’s Creation and from the beginning he has intended to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who trust and obey God. God has revealed himself and his plan in his relationship with Israel, recorded as God’s Word, the Bible. He has revealed himself and his plan in the flesh in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ has always been one and only God’s plan from the beginning of Creation. Jesus is the fulfillment, embodiment, and example of God’s Word lived out in obedient trust in this world in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14). This world has been created to allow us free choice whether or not to trust and obey God’s Word, and to learn by trial and error that God’s will is good and our best interest. But God is not going to tolerate rebellion and disobedience of his Word forever, so he has set a time limit on this Creation, and our individual lifetimes.

God is Lord of Creation whether we acknowledge him as our Lord or not. We are his people whether we accept his Lordship or not, because he is our creator. God has made known his standard of righteousness in the Bible and in Jesus Christ. He has designed Creation so that no one is righteous (doing right according to God’s Word and judgment) on his own merit (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). God’s Word declares that the penalty for sin (disobedience of God’s Word) is eternal death. God loves us and doesn’t want anyone to perish eternally (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17), so he gave his only begotten Son Jesus Christ as the only sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sins, salvation from condemnation and eternal destruction, and restoration of peace and fellowship with God (see God’s plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

God’s requirements are not too difficult for us. He wants us to treat others with justice, love and kindness, and to trust and obey God’s Word. He has given us an example of what he requires in Jesus Christ, and through obedient trust in Jesus we are cleansed and freed from slavery to sin, and empowered to live according to God’s Word by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which Jesus makes possible for us to receive.

If we were to face God’s judgment in our own human ability there would be no mediator between our sinful nature and God’s unlimited power and righteousness. We would be in the situation described by Micah, with only the mountains to hear our plea for mercy and forgiveness. Have you tried hollering at the mountains lately? The only reply is an echo.

But God has given us his only completely righteous and sinless Son, Jesus Christ, to be our mediator, to appeal on our behalf for mercy and forgiveness. Unlike the mountains, Jesus is eternally alive, and he reveals himself to his disciples who trust and obey him (John 14:21). When we cry to him he hears and answers!

The Bible is the record of what God has done for his people in Jesus Christ, but do we know and remember them? As we see what God did for Israel through Moses to bring them out of slavery in Egypt, through the wilderness and into the Promised Land, we can believe that God will also do that for us in Jesus Christ as he has promised.

Balak was the king of Moab, who tried to hire a seer, Balaam, to curse God’s people, because Balak was afraid of them. Balaam refused to allow his prophecy to be bought with money, and instead accurately prophesied what God revealed to him: that they would be blessed.

Shittim was the encampment of the Israelites in Moab on the east bank of the Jordan River in preparation to enter the Promised Land. There the Israelites sinned by fornicating with the women of Moab, which was against God’s specific commandment, but the Israelites were saved from the resulting plague by the intervention of the priest, Phinehas, grandson of Aaron (Numbers 25:1-8).

Jesus is our high priest who intervenes for us before God to save us from the just punishment of our sins. The Jordan River symbolizes physical death which separates us from the Promised Land of God's eternal kingdom in heaven. As the Lord parted the waters of the Jordan River so that the Israelites entered the Promised Land without getting their feet wet, Jesus makes it possible to pass through the river of death from the wilderness of this world and into eternal life in the kingdom of God in heaven.

No amount of animal sacrifices, offerings of material possessions, or religious ritual, can buy God’s favor. Even the sacrifice of our first-born would not buy our forgiveness. Only the sacrifice of God’s own first-born is acceptable to God for our forgiveness and salvation. All that God wants from us is our obedient trust in his Word, fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in Jesus Christ.

God blesses those who trust and obey Jesus, and will destroy those who reject and refuse to trust and obey Jesus. God has given us his Word to show us what God blesses and what he will curse and destroy. God’s Word seems like foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved, Jesus is the power and wisdom of God, our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

4 Epiphany - Monday (variable)

To Be used only if there is a 5 Epiphany Sunday - Otherwise skip to 8 Epiphany

Psalm 112 Rewards of Righteousness

Let us praise the Lord! Happy is the person who fears (has proper respect for the power and authority of) the Lord, who greatly delights in God’s commandments. The descendants of the righteous will be mighty in the land; his posterity will be blessed. His household will prosper and their righteousness will endure for ever. “Light rises in the darkness for the upright; the Lord is gracious, merciful, and righteous” (Psalm 112:4).

The Lord will bless and prosper the righteous who conduct their affairs with generosity and justice. The righteous will be secure, and will be remembered forever. They will not be afraid of bad news, but will trust in the Lord with confidence. They will not waver, or be afraid until they see the just punishment of their adversaries. The righteousness of those who are generous and give to the poor will endure for ever and they will be exalted and honored. The wicked see the righteous prosper and are angry; the wicked will not endure; their desires will not succeed.

People who seek happiness and long life should seek the Lord and his Word. The Bible is God’s Word, the “owners’ manual” for blessing and long life.

The meaning and purpose of life in this world is to seek and come to know the Lord, our Creator (Acts 17:26-27). God wants us to seek him so that he can reveal himself to us. The place to begin is the Bible.

Jesus is the only way to have peace and real, eternal, life in fellowship with God (John 14:6); God has intentionally designed Jesus into Creation. Jesus is the fulfillment, embodiment and example of God’s Word lived out in this world in human flesh (John 1:1-5, 14).

This lifetime is our only opportunity to learn to live in fellowship with the Lord, and to be “re-born” to spiritual eternal life. Those who learn Jesus’ teachings and begin to trust and obey him are “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34, only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

God has given us his Word in the Bible and in the example of Jesus Christ, to show us how to get the most out of life. God has revealed himself in the Bible and in Jesus Christ. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus (Romans 8:9), God the Father and Jesus Christ are revealed to us personally and individually (John 14:21; 23).

As we begin to trust God’s Word he reveals his goodness, love, faithfulness and power to fulfill his promises, and as he does so, our faith is increased and strengthened. We learn and come to know from experience that his commands are not burdensome and that his way is our very best interest. We will learn to delight in God’s Word. We will learn to walk by the spiritual light of Jesus (John 8:12; 12:46) without stumbling, through the spiritual darkness of this present world. The light of Jesus is the light of eternal life (John 1:4-5).

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of true, divine, wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10a, Ps 111:10), distinct from what the world falsely calls wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:17-25; 2:1-8). Until we understand that God is our Creator and that he has created us for his purpose, we cannot begin to learn what God wants to teach us. We must understand that God has ultimate power and authority over us and our eternal destiny before we can begin to learn what is eternally important (see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

God’s Word is testimony to God’s existence, goodness, power, authority, faithfulness, and love. Those who have trusted and obeyed God’s Word in the Bible and Jesus Christ affirm that testimony and truth.

Those who trust God’s Word in Jesus Christ have security which the world cannot give. We have come to know that the Lord and his promises are true. The Lord blesses and prospers us daily. There is nothing that can happen to us from which the Lord cannot deliver us, including physical death (Hebrews 2:14-15).

4 Epiphany - Tuesday (variable)

To Be used only if there is a 5 Epiphany Sunday - Otherwise skip to 8 Epiphany

Isaiah 58:5-9a

Does the Lord delight in human fasting where a man humbles himself and bows down in sackcloth and ashes? Will we call that a fasting acceptable to the Lord? Rather, doesn’t the Lord prefer that we loosen the bonds of wickedness and yoke of oppression?

The Lord wants us to share our food with the hungry, our homes with the homeless, and our clothing with the naked, and not ignore the needs of our fellow humans. When we learn to do so, we will be a light in the world like the breaking of dawn and we will be quickly healed. Our righteousness will be obvious and the glory of the Lord will accompany us. Then the Lord will hear and answer when we call on him.

The Lord is not pleased with religious ritual. Religious ritual has the appearance of devotion, but real devotion to the Lord means trusting and obeying God’s Word (John 14:15-17, 21). Religious ritual does nothing to heal us or our society of our spiritual illness. Obedience is the act of self-denial that the Lord desires, which will heal us.

If, as the Lord has commanded, we truly love one another as we love ourselves, then we will work to break the bonds of wickedness and oppression. We will work to change the conditions in society which cause poverty and homelessness.

Don’t blame poverty on the poor! Poverty happens because there is an unfair distribution of the resources God intended for us to share. The gap between rich and poor in America today is greater than it has ever been.

Tax breaks for the rich? “Outsourcing” jobs? Failed retirement programs? Illegal immigration? Gang violence? The symptoms of spiritual illness are all around us.

The Church needs to be the conscience of society and the advocate for the poor, but it is not solely the Church’s responsibility to solve the problems of society. We need to work with the Church to hold government and business accountable and responsive to the needs of all our people.

4 Epiphany - Wednesday (variable)

To Be used only if there is a 5 Epiphany Sunday - Otherwise skip to 8 Epiphany

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Paul did not try to embellish the Gospel or make it more convincing by lofty rhetoric. Paul didn’t claim any worldly wisdom or human insight into the mystery of God’s plan. Instead he acknowledged and accepted his human limitations and merely proclaimed the truth of Jesus, the Messiah, crucified. So the faith of the Corinthians was the work of the Holy Spirit working through Paul and in the Corinthians, and not based on human wisdom or worldly oratory.

God, in wisdom, designed Creation so that mankind cannot come to know God through what the world falsely calls wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:21; 1:17-25). So mankind can never figure out how to possess eternal life through human wisdom. Instead, the only way to come to know God and have fellowship and eternal life in God’s kingdom is through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (John 14:6, Ephesians 2:8-9; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was the prototype and example of a “modern,” “post-resurrection,” “born-again,” disciple and apostle (messenger; of the Gospel) of Jesus Christ, like we can be. He was “discipled” by a “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple, Ananias (Acts 9:10), until Paul was “born-again” (Acts 9:17-18). Paul was making “born-again” disciples of Jesus Christ, as the examples of the Corinthians and Paul’s protégé Timothy (2 Timothy 1:6-7) illustrate, in fulfillment of Jesus’ Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) to his (born-again; Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5, 8) disciples.

Paul was determined to claim no special knowledge except Jesus Christ. Paul didn’t just know “about” Jesus; he knew Jesus personally through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9), and Paul knew personally that Jesus had risen from the dead to eternal life.

The mission of Christ to bring forgiveness and salvation from eternal destruction to a lost and dying world cannot be accomplished in human strength, but only by the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:6). Note also that one cannot testify about what one has not personally experienced.

Paul taught Timothy to repeat the process of born-again disciples making born-again disciples (2 Timothy 2:2). Paul warned Timothy that the time was coming when people would not accept sound teaching but would seek teachers who would teach what they wanted to hear; to “tickle their ears” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

Paul warned that there were many who were [merely] “peddlers” of God’s Word (a way of earning a living; 2 Corinthians 2:17). Paul refused to tamper with God’s Word to make it “popular” (2 Corinthians 4:2).

Sound teaching is Biblical (recorded in the Bible) and Apostolic (as taught by the Apostles, including Paul). The Bible is the standard by which to discern true and false doctrines. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (John 14:15-17) who will teach the “born-again” disciples of Jesus Christ all things, remind them of all Jesus’ teachings (John 14:26), and will guide them into all truth (John 16:13).

Only Jesus “baptizes” with the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

4 Epiphany - Thursday (variable)

To Be used only if there is a 5 Epiphany Sunday - Otherwise skip to 8 Epiphany

Matthew 5:13-20 Jesus and Law

The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:1-7:27, is representative of Jesus’ teachings.

Jesus taught that his disciples are to be the salt (a spice, a purifier and preservative) of the earth; but if salt looses its distinctive qualities, how would one restore them, and what would salt be good for without them? Savorless salt would be worthless.

His disciples are to be the light of the world; the light of righteousness, divine insight, and life in the spiritual darkness of this world. The light of disciples who are following Jesus’ example and teaching cannot be hidden any more than a city set on a hill. No one lights a lamp and tries to keep the light hidden under a basket or under a bed. Instead one places it on a stand where it will give light to everything around it. So let us shine, that people will see our good works and praise God our Father in heaven.

Jesus came, not to abolish the Law of Moses and the prophets (the Old Testament Scriptures), but to fulfill them. This Creation will pass away but God’s Word will continue forever. Whoever relaxes the least of God’s commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in God’s eternal kingdom, but those who keep them and teach others to do so will be called great in God’s kingdom. Jesus warned that unless one’s righteousness is greater than the scribes (teachers of God’s Law; scripture) and Pharisees (strict legalistic faction of Judaism), one will never enter God’s eternal heavenly kingdom.

All Christians are to be Jesus’ disciples (Acts 11:26c). Jesus’ disciples are to be distinct from worldly people, by living according to Jesus’ teaching and example, so that we will influence those we come into contact with in our daily lives, like salt seasons, purifies and preserves what it is put into. People who call themselves “Christians” but who are not “disciples,” who are indistinguishable from worldly people, and are not interacting with the world to change those they come in contact with are worthless and near to being discarded.

Christians are to be the “light” of righteousness, divine wisdom and life in a spiritually dark and dying world. If we have seen the light of Jesus Christ we are to reflect and spread that light. We are to live so that those who are in darkness may see by our good works that we have the light of righteousness, spiritual wisdom and eternal life, so that God will be glorified through us.

Jesus is the fulfillment, embodiment, and example of God’s Word lived out in this world in human flesh (John 1:1-3, 14). Jesus came into the world to give the light of God’s righteousness (John 3:19-21; 8:12), spiritual enlightenment (John 1:9), and eternal life (John 1:4-5) to all who are willing to receive it.

We have all sinned and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin is eternal death. Jesus came into the world to become the only blood sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sins (disobedience of God’s Word), to save from our eternal condemnation by God, and to restore us to fellowship with God (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar top right).

Through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ, we receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). We are spiritually re-born (John 3:3, 5-8) to eternal life and personal fellowship with God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ by the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 14:21, 23). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

The Law was given to teach God’s people what God requires, and to show that we are unable to meet the requirements except by God’s grace through faith in Jesus (Galatians 2:16). It is only by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we are able to meet the demands of the Law

Those who are reborn fulfill the requirements of the Law by grace (God’s unmerited favor) through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9), provided that we walk in obedient trust in the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-10). Through rebirth, we are able to trust and obey God through love instead of through fear of condemnation and punishment.

Jesus warned us not to think that because of God’s grace we don’t need to trust and obey God’s Word or do “good works” (compare Ephesians 2:8-10), but not to think that we are righteous by “keeping” the Law, as the scribes and Pharisees taught, either (Galatians 2:16). These were two false interpretations of God’s Word prevalent in the time of Jesus’ physical ministry and in the first century Church, recorded and refuted in the New Testament, and they continue to be a problem in the Church today (see false teachings, sidebar, top right).

4 Epiphany - Friday (variable)

To Be used only if there is a 5 Epiphany Sunday - Otherwise skip to 8 Epiphany

Jeremiah 17:5-10 Trust in the Lord

The Lord says that the person who trusts in another human or in human ability will be cursed; he will be like a shrub in the desert; he will dwell in desolation, and experience no good. Blessed is the one who puts his trust in the Lord. He is like a tree which grows beside a stream. He will not worry about heat or drought. When drought comes, his leaves will remain green and he will continue to bear fruit.

The human heart is deceitful and corrupt beyond understanding. The Lord searches the mind and tests the heart of every person, and will repay each person according to the results of what he has done.

Trust in any thing or person other than the Lord will ultimately disappoint and destroy us. It is hard to begin to trust the Lord. We believe material and human resources are what we need and the solution to our problems. We have to let go of those physical resources and trust in spiritual resources which seem less substantive and real to us. It is hard to trust in the Lord until we come to the end of our own resources and realize that we need him and the help that only he can provide.

This lifetime has been designed so that we can have the opportunity to learn to trust in the Lord. If we will begin to trust the Lord he will show us that we can believe and count on him. As we learn to trust him he will cause our trust in him to grow.

When I began to seek the Lord in daily devotional Bible reading, meditation and prayer, he began leading me one day at a time. That in itself is hard for us, because we have all sorts of future plans for ourselves, and we plan well in advance.

As we begin to seek his guidance, he will show us things in his Word, and as we begin to act on those things he will cause our faith to grow. The Lord gave me a series of experiences which increased my trust in him (see particularly “Discipleship,” and “Spiritual Growth,” Personal Testimonies, sidebar, top right). The Lord showed me that unlike human and material resources, he is never unavailable and there is no problem too difficult for him to solve.

I didn’t turn to the Lord until mid-life and a career crisis. Since then I’ve been letting the Lord lead me. I haven’t accomplished anything great by worldly standards, but he has given me many great opportunities for ministry of the Gospel. I realize now that the things I did in my secular career were not important or useful eternally. Only what I have done by the guidance and empowerment of the Lord has been worthwhile.

We can’t trust our own hearts, because our flesh causes us to desire what is not good for us. Following our own hearts will lead to disaster. Only when we give our hearts to the Lord and allow him to cleanse and fill them with his Holy Spirit can we seek and do what is truly good and worthwhile.

Don’t come to the end of your life to discover that everything you did is going to burn up in the Day of Judgment (1 Corinthians 3:10-15), and that you failed to do what is truly and eternally important. Be planted by the river of living water, the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39), which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34) only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17), and then you will bear fruit that will endure for eternal life.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

4 Epiphany - Saturday (variable)

To Be used only if there is a 5 Epiphany Sunday - Otherwise skip to 8 Epiphany

1 Corinthians 3:3-23 Spiritual Growth

Matthew 13:44-52 Parables of the Kingdom

The Corinthian Church was divided by factions over loyalty to Apollos, a leader of the congregation, or Paul, who had brought the Gospel to them. Paul told them that jealousy and strife among them indicated that they were living according to their flesh instead of the Holy Spirit, and were no different than worldly people.

Church leaders are servants of the congregation (not rulers of an “empire” as are worldly leaders). In an analogy to farming, Paul had planted, and Apollos had watered, but it was God who produced the growth. Paul and Apollos are merely laborers, and the congregation is God’s field; God is the one over all, to whom all are accountable.

In an analogy to building, Paul laid the foundation like a skilled master builder. Now others were building upon that foundation. Each person who builds upon the foundation must be careful to use good materials and workmanship. The foundation is Jesus Christ; without that any other labor and materials would be wasted. But upon that sound foundation, the workmanship and materials of the builders will be tested, as with fire, on the Day of Judgment. Shoddy materials and workmanship will be destroyed by fire, but good materials and workmanship will be evident and will survive. If a laborer’s work survives, he will receive a reward. If a laborer’s work is destroyed, he will suffer loss, although he himself will survive.

Each “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) believer is a temple of God’s Spirit dwelling within them. As a temple each one is holy. If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him.

Don’t deceive yourself. Worldly wisdom is folly compared to God’s (divine) wisdom which the world considers foolish. In order to become truly wise one must become a fool according to worldly standards (see 1 Corinthians 1:17-25; 2:1-8). God’s Word warns that the wise are snared in their own cunning (Job 5:13), and the plans of the wise are futile (Psalm 94:11). So we should not boast of humans. We don’t belong to any mortal, but to God in Christ, and church leaders belong to us; not we to them.

Jesus used three parables to describe the kingdom of heaven. It is like treasure buried in a field. If one finds the treasure, he will gladly sell everything he has to buy the field so that he can possess the treasure.

The kingdom of God is like a pearl of great value. A merchant looking for fine pearls sells all he has so that he can possess it.

The kingdom of heaven is also compared to a fishing net. When thrown into the sea it collects every fish in its path. When full, it is drawn in and fishermen sort through the fish, keeping the good, and throwing back the bad. The net represents the close of this age, when the angels will separate the evil from the righteous. The evil will be thrown into the fires of hell, where people will spend eternity in sorrow and anguish.

Jesus asked his hearers if they had understood what he was saying, and then said that a scribe (a teacher of the Law of Moses) who is trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who selects from his possessions both what is new and what is old.

The Church is intended to be a disciple-making organization, as Jesus demonstrated, during his earthly ministry. Paul (Saul of Tarsus) is the prototype and example of a modern, “post-resurrection,” “born-again” disciple and apostle of Jesus Christ (Acts 9:1-22), carrying out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) which Jesus gave to his disciples to carry out after they had been “born-again” (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:1-13).

Paul had laid the foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ at Corinth, and was “building” disciples on that foundation. Christian discipleship is a process of spiritual growing to maturity. The Corinthians were immature Christians. They were still living according to worldly ways and standards. They thought that their new knowledge of the Gospel, and which leader they were following, made them superior to others. The fact that there were divisions among them demonstrated that they were spiritually immature.

The foundation of the Church is the biblical apostolic Gospel of Jesus Christ; the Gospel recorded in the Bible and taught by the Apostles including Paul. Congregational leaders build upon that foundation, but each believer is also a builder of his own temple within him on that Gospel foundation. Each builder’s work will be tested at the Day of Judgment.

Instead of developing a personal relationship with Jesus and learning to know, trust and obey his teaching, nominal “Christians” are not building and not growing spiritually. Instead they select a leader to “belong to.” Instead of building on the biblical apostolic Gospel, they emphasize the distinctives of their particular leader, to the effect of division within the Church. In too many instances Churches are settling for making members and building church buildings, and promoting to leadership people who have not been “born-again.”

Discipleship and “re-birth” are not optional but essential. Christians are disciples of Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26c) who have been “born-again” by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. They are to be guided and empowered by indwelling Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God and of Christ within them (Romans 8:9)

In order to make “born-again” disciples one must be a “born-again” disciple, as Paul’s example illustrates (Acts 9:10, 17). In order to be a witness testifying to the Gospel, one must have personally experienced Jesus Christ through the indwelling Holy Spirit which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). It is possible for one to know with certainty for oneself if one has received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2).

If we have understood and believed the Gospel we will be willing to give whatever it takes to acquire the buried treasure, the pearl of great price. The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price, the Spirit of Jesus within us, without whom we cannot be a builder or laborer in God’s kingdom.

Jesus warns that there is a Day of Judgment coming, when everyone who has ever lived in this world will be accountable to the Lord for what they have done in this life. Those who have not been spiritually reborn will spend eternity in the fires of Hell in great sorrow and anguish. Only those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus, who have been reborn to spiritual, eternal life, will spend eternity in the kingdom of God in heaven.

Jesus said that those who had been trained in Judaism did not need to discard everything and start over, but to reinterpret the Old Testament scriptures in the light of the New Testament. It also applies to us. All scripture (the Bible) is inspired by God and useful to know and apply in our lives (2 Timothy 3:16), but the Old Testament must be understood in the light of the New Testament Gospel.