When you listen to the promptings of the flesh they say, “You are your own, your life is yours, and it is within your right and your power to choose that which pleases you”. And the promptings of the flesh will ever stir you in this direction, for have I not already told you that the basic problem behind that which My servant Paul speaks against here is self- interest. But what does he declare is the safeguard and the antidote to the excesses that inevitably are expressed by one who is committed to self- interest? He declares that you are not your own, for you have been purchased with an awesome price. If you indeed will be motivated by that heart which continually is thankful that you were bought with a price, if you will not only remember that your body is the temple of My Spirit, but will consider the full implications of that, will you not be safeguarded against living as if you were your own? But not only will you avoid the expressions of self-interest in both great and small things, but you will be truly eager to glorify Me, both in your body and your spirit, for you will not only be motivated by thankfulness that you are Mine, but you will be prompted by the love that made this possible. I want to remind you again that the things spoken against in this portion were not addressed to unbelievers but to believers. And you know that they were not limited only to those to whom Paul wrote in Corinth. For do you not see today these things practiced in ever increasing measure by those who profess the name of My Son? But do not just observe with sadness and grief the practice of these things among them. And do not just guard against self-interest by your own natural effort, but also rather receive into your heart the joy and the thankfulness of truly and wholly being Mine. And then certainly you will be prompted to glorify Me in your body and in your spirit. This is truly My way of dealing with self-interest and all that flows from it.
Archive for the ‘I Corinthians’ Category
Do you see from this portion how My servant Paul recognized when he came to this city that was gripped in darkness, in the power of the evil one, that he had the awareness of his own utter inadequacy? Do you see how he was aware of his own weakness? Do you see how that out of this awareness, he determined that no powers of human wisdom and human persuasion were adequate to challenge that darkness and make a way for My light to come to those who would receive it. Do you see how, in recognizing this, he determined that he would know nothing and proclaim nothing except My Son and Him crucified? And do you see that he recognized that in order to do this, he had to depend completely, without reservation, upon the power of My Spirit? Furthermore, he recognized that if he did not completely depend upon the power of My Spirit, not only would the message not be able to be received, but also any response would rest only in the wisdom of men rather than in My power. And if that response was the result of human wisdom and persuasion, it would be something other than that which would be genuine faith, resulting from and resting in the power of My Spirit. And it was not only dependence upon the power of My Spirit that enabled My servant Paul to proclaim My message, but it was also that dependence which enabled him to impart that revelation, that hidden wisdom which only My Holy Spirit could make real to the hearts of those who have believed, so that they could grow into the maturity of those who could truly receive and know the things which I have prepared for those who love Me. My son and My daughter, if your dependence upon My Spirit is as My servant Paul’s was, you will leave behind the appeal to human persuasion and human wisdom. Out of your weakness, your fear, your trembling, will come that which is the demonstration of the Spirit and of My power. And even though there will be struggles, challenges, many battles, and much sacrifice involved in this way, I want to assure you that there really will be both good and lasting fruit. I call you to this. I call you not to despise your weakness, but as it was with My servant Paul, yield it up to Me as the vehicle by which I can make My strength perfect. Don’t appeal to the wisdom of man. Don’t expect that those who are committed to the wisdom of this world will embrace what you have to declare. But be assured that as you go this way, however great the darkness, My true light will penetrate it, and as I said before, bear good and lasting fruit.
Though I have given you many words from this portion, I want to speak to you further about awareness and appreciation for the other members of the body. From the words written here by my servant Paul you can gather that those to whom he addressed these words needed to come to a greater appreciation of the value of the other members of the body. And so would I have you and many others come to that place of greater appreciation. And from these words, can you not see how important, how necessary it is for you and for each member of the body to recognize how much they need and should depend upon the other members? This is both for the gifts that I have given to each one which are necessary for the building up and the functioning of the other members, but it is not limited to valuing the other members simply because their gifts are needed. For My servant writes that if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, and if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. And as this is true in regard to the physical body, he affirms that it is also true in regards to the body of My Son. So then, it is not only because of the value of the gifts that each one has received, but truly because of the value of who they are as fellow members of the body of My Son, that they are to be honored, appreciated, identified with, and shared within all of the circumstances of life. Thus you and every other member are called to highly esteem one another. In truth, as My servant goes on to affirm, this is the practical expression of love, that is of my love which is the perfect bond of unity that truly binds you together, even as My servant Paul declares in another portion. And this is not expressed to you merely as an ideal to be admired, but as what is to be held in your hearts and practiced more and more. It is only in this way that you truly represent how the members of the body are to regard one another. And it is also truly only in this way that they represent that they are genuinely the body of My Son. Let it be so with you in increasing measure.