Biblical Theology for Transformation - 5th Posting

1 Corinthians 2:2, 4:1

2:2-"For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."

4:1-"This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. "



First of all, it is important to understand what Paul means when he says "mysteries of God". Within the context of the first letter he wrote to the Church in Corinth, Paul is dealing with a Church that is completely out of control. They are not growing spiritually as they should and Paul charges them with this; "I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh." (1 Cor. 3:2-3a). With that thinking in mind, Paul addressess the "mysteries of God". This mystery is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul, whether he was speaking to those who are "babies" in Christ or those who are mature, always starts and ends with the gospel of Jesus Christ. He begins his first letter to Corinth by giving thanks to God for the gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:4) and end the second letter to Corinth explaining his personal experience of the power of the gospel (2 Cor. 12:9-10). Paul's message is clear: "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul, sets for us THE example of the Christian life. If we are saved by the gospel of Jesus Christ, then we must live by the same gospel. Imagine you are locked up in jail and someone comes to free you from jail. You bolt out of the jail and get to the street where the getaway car is waiting and the one who freed you jumps in the car and takes off leaving you at the sidewalk in front of the jail where the police are there to take you back. You are essentially left on your own. This is NOT what Jesus has done for us. He has not only freed us, but He sustains our walk. If it is His gospel that saves us, it must be His gospel that sustains us. And if it is His gospel that sustains us we must FIRST OF ALL consider ourselves to know NOTHING except the gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I encourage you, as well as myself, to live out our walk in a way that is centrally focused on the saving work of Jesus in our lives. There can be nothing good that is produced from starting anywhere else. If our beginning of everything is anything but the gospel, we are headed down a dangerous path that will only leave us with false doctrine and poor Biblical and Christian theology. Theology is the way we think of God. If we start our thinking of God without first thinking of Jesus, it is like trying to start our cars without gasoline. We either get nowhere or we stop short of the desired destination. So my encouragement to you is this; our understanding of God, our spiritual growth and our direction in life NEEDS to start with Jesus and Him crucified. CJ Mahaney wrote a book called "The Cross-centered Life" (one of the most influencial books I have ever read). In his book, he drives home the point that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. The main thing is the gospel. As I reflect on my own life I notice that I do not always start my thinking with the gospel, and when that occures, I begin to fade from Biblical truth. God's Word, from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, always points us to Jesus. So if Jesus is the desired outcome of our Biblical theology or our Biblical thinking, then we must START with the presupposition that Jesus is the desired outcome of ANY text.

As believers, we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. Having this security(Ephesians 1:13), we can rely on the Holy Spirit to ALWAYS point us the Jesus. With that thought in mind, we HAVE TO ask for the filling of the Spirit in our lives. Ephesians 5:18 tells us, "be filled with the Spirit." The word "be" literally translated means, "be being", this is a continual state of being filled. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit we will see Jesus and have implanted in our hearts the gospel of Jesus Christ in all situations. Romans 8:30 says that we are justified and then glorified and the idea that we are sanctified is implied in the text. Let me help break this down. Justified is the single instantaneous act by God in which he declares our sins, past, present and future, forgiven and takes from us our sin and gives to us the righteousness of Christ (Romans 3:21-26). Martin Lloyd-Jones called this the "great exchange". Sanctification is the process that begins the moment after we are justified and continues until our physical death on earth. Sanctification is our spiritual growth, or God working in us to make us more like Jesus (Philippians 2:13). Glorification is what takes place after our lives on earth, when we are finally face to face with Jesus and He gives us our crowns of righteousness to glorify us and we will throw them back at His feet in complete recognition that He alone is worthy of ALL GLORY!(1 Corinthians 13:12). As we see this process played out in the Bible, and also in our lives, we can not help but see Jesus at the center of all three places! He saves us, He grows us and He glorifies us. By which we must respond, "All glory belongs to Jesus!" (Revelation 4:11, my paraphrase).

In Conclusion, this is to be an encouragement. That Jesus be the beginning, the middle and the end of our Biblical thinking, our practical life, and our world view. We, as Paul made clear of his own life and mission, must always carry the gospel with us in the forefront of our minds to see Him magnified and glorified!

"Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amem." (Hebrews 13:20-21).