1. DT_Life Of Apostle Paul Week 2 Small Calendar

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3. DT_Life Of Apostle Paul Week 2 Side by Side

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1 Corinthians 9:19-27

What does it mean to “beat my body and make it my slave?” Why is this kind of “struggle” absolutely necessary in Christian life (cf. Heb 12:3-4)?

- To make my body a slave means that I cannot allow my body and what I feel to dictate my actions or inaction. I need to be the master, to tell my body what to do and to force it to obey. When I am feeling tired or fatigued and don’t want to push myself to meet someone and counsel them, when I feel bad about waking my kids up early for a meeting on a Saturday morning, when I don’t want to be the last one out of NL to lock up, when I don’t want to be the one to change the toilet paper rolls in the bathroom or empty the trash, when I don’t want to sit still to reflect or write or pray, THOSE are the times when I need to make my body my slave! And just obey and do what I know to be right.

- This kind of struggle is absolutely necessary in Christian life for a couple reasons, the first being b/c Jesus struggled to the point of shedding His blood for me, and I can do no less for my Lord. More than that though, it’s also b/c Satan is determined to take me out of the battle, in whatever way he can, and he’s crafty and smart enough to know that my body is weak though my spirit be willing. He will take me out through illness, through fatigue, and I need to know his schemes in order to fight him, and I need to push myself to bodily obey, to be quick to move, to move quickly when I do, to be disciplined bodily, not wimpy.

- And according to v.27, it’s also so that I would not be disqualified for the prize, the great reward of seeing Jesus face to face that I will have the privilege to attaining to if I keep running the race with perseverance. How tragic if someone were disqualified for the prize simply b/c they were too lazy to run, can’t make it to the finish line b/c their body told them to stop, to slow down a bit, to stop here and there to look at the daisies, to take a break and not be too intense. I do not want to be like that!

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Submitted by Gary Chang, Gracepoint Hsinchu

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

In today’s passage, Paul responds that though he is free to do many things, he did not exercise these rights in order that no one would be hindered from the Gospel of Christ.  For Apostle Paul it was all about getting people to come to know the Gospel and to receive salvation.  So Paul’s basic life philosophy was very simple: he would put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. In other words, though Paul himself as a minister of the Gospel and as the spiritual father to the Corinthian church is entitled to certain rights, he considers none of his rights to be as important as whether by his exercise of any of these rights it would hinder someone else from the Gospel.  And to the extent it does or it may, Paul gladly lets go of his rights so that at least from him, the Gospel would not be hindered.  But Paul not only withholds from exercising his rights, he also makes himself “a slave to everyone” in order to win as many people to Christ as possible.  So to the Jews he becomes like a Jew, and to the Gentiles he becomes like a Gentile.  And in order for him to live this out, Paul had to basically surrender himself wholly to the need of the Gospel.  This requires that he “beats his body and makes it his slave,” because the body is full of fleshly craving and self-focused desires and appetites.  The body demands to be fed, to be provided with creaturely comfort, to be nurtured and to be pampered.  The body’s instinctive response is to kick against self-restraint and self-denial.  So in order for Paul to make himself a slave for the sake of the Gospel, he had to subdue his fleshly cravings and become a man of discipline who would control his body and his appetites and desires, rather than let the flesh control him.

In the day-to-day realities of Paul’s life, he probably worked harder than anybody else.  Because on top of his ministry demands and the spiritual work of teaching, disciplining and ministering to the churches, Paul had to work to provide for his own livelihood and his won means.  In addition, by making himself a slave to everyone, it meant that his preferences and desires, as far as causing people to become open to the Gospel is concerned, are placed at the bottom in terms of importance.  His schedule, where he would go, how his time would be spent, how much he is disrupted, where his money would go, where and what he would eat, how much sleep he would get, etc. – in each of these areas of Paul’s life one would see that it was all for other people and their schedule and convenience.  Whatever Paul’s preferences would be utterly irrelevant or inconsequential, because for Paul it was simply all about doing whatever he could to get people to come to know the Gospel.

This is a powerful lesson for me as I know that I am still very much attached to comfort and pampering my flesh.  When I lose sleep or when my schedule is disrupted by other demands and needs, I can get easily frazzled.  When I am tired, I certainly fail to “beat my face and make it my slave” so that it would instead show cheerfulness and enthusiasm before people.  Much of my body and its desires for certain level of relaxation, sleep and comfort have not been beaten and subjugated to slavery.  Just recently I think about how these past two weeks with traveling to America, followed by staying up to prepare for the talk at the retreat, to being on high alert at the retreat, to following the retreat having to prepare for message for this past Sunday.  As I was monitoring my heart these past two weeks, I detected a sense of fatigue and not wanting to “put up for the sake of others” in the undercurrent of my emotions.  And this tells me that I have not made myself a slave and that I am far from being willing to put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.  And the ripple effect when I do not make my body my slave is that instead I end up being influenced and affected by my body and how I am feeling.  I have long known that denying my flesh is a perennial struggle of mine, and from today’s DT I am reminded to really prayerfully approach verses 12 and 19: that by the power of God and by my willing embrace to let go of my preferences for the sake of the Gospel and obey, I can grow to become someone who would “put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ,” and who would “make himself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible.”

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Submitted by Kenny Choi, Gracepoint Berkeley

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Note the frequent occurrence of the words “free,” “right(s),” and “win.”  How are these worked out in Apostle Paul’s life?

Apostle Paul is “free” in the sense that he could’ve exercised his rights as a leader to the Corinthian church if that’s what he wanted to choose. He could play the “apostle” card, and insist that the Corinthians support him as ones who were the direct result of his work in the Lord. Apostle Paul goes on to list out all the rights that he could potential insist upon, but he refrains from doing so. And his reason is that he would rather “put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.” In other words, he did not demand these rights because to him, what was far more important than his own rights was that he would “win as many as possible” by offering the “gospel free of charge”.  Winning souls for Christ was his highest priority, and because that was the mission of his life, he would forego all of his rights as a free man, and voluntarily make himself a “slave to everyone”. I find this to be such an inspiring picture. There are a lot of rights that I’m free to exercise right now. I could insist upon my right to come home after a long exhausting day of commuting and work, and spend the rest of the evening winding down watching sports. I could insist upon my right to spend all my vacation days touring all these places with my family that I’ve never seen. I could insist upon my right to use all of my hard-earned salary into buying that dream home in some gated community. These are all nice things to do and there is nothing technically wrong if I were to insist upon these rights. But as a Christian, the context in which I live in is that there are still many people who need to hear the gospel, and that there are still so many people who need to be won over to Christ. Jesus said that the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few. And if this is the case, than there are going to be certain rights that I’m just going to have to let go of, so that I could make myself a “slave to everyone”. As I’ve been serving the Element & Interhigh students, I’ve let go of my right to buy a nice two-seater sports car with a turbo engine, and made myself a “slave” by opting to drive around a minivan instead. I’ve let go of my right to spend my money on that dream house, as my money now goes into things like buying equipment for the many sports and games that we play or other needs that arise in ministry. I’ve let go of my right to just rest on Saturdays by preparing for messages that I have to give on Sunday for the middle school students. All of this so that there would be some youth kid who would be interested in finding out more about who God is and how they could ultimately be won over to Christ. Its still a battle for me to lay down these rights on a daily basis, but I’m thankful for this example of Apostle Paul and how his whole life was oriented around “becoming all things to all men so that by all possible means he might save”, as this the model that I want to follow.

Devotional Sharing Submitted by Pastor Jonathan Lee, Gracepoint Davis.

Reflect on the fact that individual Christians are called to unite to form the body of Christ—i.e., to be Christ to the world today.  What is the personal implication of this for every Christian in terms of his view of himself, how he makes decisions about his life, and how he regards other believers God has placed in the church with him?

One personal implication of a Christian in terms of his view of self is to see self as having significance and worth but all of which are unearned and undeserved.  We are important not because of what we have done to deserve it, but because of God’s generous mercy in blessing us with salvation that allows us to be a part of Christ’s body.  This passage also gives a clear understanding of purpose for one’s existence that goes beyond self-seeking goals—God has brought us together for His purpose to declare the wonders of God (per previous DT’s).  This passage (12:11, 18, 24, 28) reminds us that it is God who gave, arranged, combined, and appointed.  And God gave specifically according to His plan and purpose.  So one implication is that no Christian can have a self-pity party and low self-worth/esteem in view of the body of Christ.

In terms of making decisions about his life, this implies that a Christian should not decide in isolation with just personal goals and plans in mind, but rather, decisions should include the body of Christ.  As a Christian, I am a part of a body of Christ and so I need to think carefully about how my decisions, choices, words, and actions would affect the body of Christ.  When I became a husband, I no longer could do things just based on what I wanted because I was relationally connected to my wife and my decisions would have bearing on her.  And in similar fashion, when I became a Christian, I became connected to the members of the body of Christ and so I must think about the ramifications to the larger body.  I am reminded of the excerpt that we read a while back from Dr. Joe Hellerman’s book,  When the Church was a Family (http://gracepointreadings.org/2010/03/excerpt-when-the-church-was-a-family) where the chapter dealt with how based on historical research on the early church, members of the church ought to make decisions based on commitments to God’s Family first.  This is such a radical paradigm shift for those in the 21st century who are so individualistic but this passage in 1 Corinthians remind us of God’s radical and refreshing plan for the church.

The Christian’s view of other believers God has placed in the church with him should not be one of comparison or competitiveness but rather, should be one of giving and receiving help as members of one body.  Tonight, brothers from Davis will go down to Berkeley to join the special time together.  (Sisters will have their own special time together as well.)  Even in making this happen, there are a lot of members of the body gifted with different talents and functions so that we might experience the strengthening and encouraging that we’re sure to happen tonight.  My best friend Tony is handling all the coordination and logistics for 500+ men!  Matthew is going to make the delicious dinner happen one way or another.  Tech guys will set up all the equipment without which there will only be the sound of silence.    The video crew, the RSF team, the IGSM/Praxis VSM/ECM brothers for the takedown, the testimonies shared, Pastor Ed giving the message, and so many more precious brothers doing as God has appointed.  What a wonderful picture of the body of Christ coming together!  I’m so grateful for all of them and it spurs me on to give even more to the work of the body of Christ, the church!

Hold Firmly

What is the test of genuine faith based on these verses? The test of genuine faith based on these verses is that it perseveres, that it causes the person to hold firmly to what they believe. It says “if you take your stand” otherwise you have believed in vain. Why? Is it conditional? No, it’s just the nature of what it really means to understand a truth that is important.  This truth of the gospel is so powerful that if one really understood it, it will cause you act.  It’s like if I really believed this ceiling was going to cave in in the next 30 seconds, I’m going to jump to my feet and move. It’s because it’s a self-involving truth that if I really understood it, it would cause some kind of response.

What does it mean to “take your stand” and “hold firmly” to the gospel? I think one thing it means is to persevere through difficulty. When  anyone takes a stand on anything, it is always in the face of adversity, e.g. people taking a stand on their principles, people taking a stand against racism in the face of a culture that fully embraces it, etc. Taking my stand upon the gospel means that I’m going to hold firmly to the gospel amidst difficulty, in the face of adversity. What is the adversity that I need to stand against? It’s my own sins and failures, it’s just life happening, kids getting sick, feeling weak, seeing my own character flaws in a more glaring light, temptations to slow down and settle, difficulties in ministry, there’s satan, that sleepless enemy who is constantly looking for ways to dull our faith, make us give up or just slow down. To hold firmly to the gospel means that I’m not just going to sit there and let entropy set in, I’m not going to let satan hurl things at me without defending myself; it means I’m going to do something about it – holding on means going back to my testimony and remembering God’s real hand in my life, it means I’m going to meditate and memorize verses that snap me back to the truth that the one who is in me is greater than the one in the world, that he can do immeasureably more than I ask or imagine, that the spiritual battle is real, it means that I’m going to pray instead of just feeling down, I’m going to act instead of letting satan lull me into spiritual slumber or into my same old cynical attitude.

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Submitted by Susanna Lee, Gracepoint Davis

What does it mean to live so that God’s grace is not without effect? To live so that God’s grace is not without effect means to live a life that testifies God’s grace that saved us from sin.  It is a life that hates and fights against sin daily because it is sin that separates us from God and sin that crucified our Savior on the cross.  When we continue in sin, this has no effect on the grace that we have received from God.  In reality this means that I need to daily die to the self, my sinful nature: self-centered desires, self-elevation/promotion, self-comfort, ego/pride, my temporal/narrow perspective of life, my warped/twisted thoughts, etc.  Unless I willfully die to my sinful nature each day, God’s grace cannot have its effect in my life.

What kind of attitude would be in a person who works hard but knows that it’s not him but the grace of God that was with him? The attitude of humility and gratitude stemming from the sense of privilege (undeservingness) would be in a person who works hard but knows that it’s not him but the grace of God that was with him.  This would result in joy and gratitude regardless of how hard she works or how difficult the task might be.  She would be willing to take on more as she would trust in God’s grace to enable her.  Whatever God asks her to do, regardless of how much personal sacrifice is required, her attitude would be that of a servant’s attitude and the willingness that comes from knowing that this would be an opportunity to personally experience God’s grace and power enabling her to do what is not possible by herself.  Also, the knowing that it is not me but the grace of God that is in me will protect me from getting proud when I do something well or falling into despair when things don’t go well.  Even failure would be seen as a humbling, learning opportunity to depend on God rather than something that diminishes the self.

Submitted by Gina Han, Gracepoint Davis

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Reflect on v.2 and what it says about the centrality of Christ and the cross for Apostle Paul.  To what extent do I share this resolve to make Christ and “him crucified” the central theme of my worldview and my understanding of the gospel? As I grow older and continue to see myself and the patterns that I have built up in terms of how I react to situations and how I relate to people, even now I still get surprised at the things I do and say, and it’s still eye opening to me when God’s Word or the people of God bring out into the light sinful things about my character and my worldview. By default, I am proud and blind to myself, and so I really need to reflect on and know deeper and deeper the meaning of the cross, and the fact that Jesus Christ was crucified for me, my very real sins that come out each and every day. When I know just my own viewpoint and reasoning in my relationships each day, this does not lead to power as the ways of the world would seem to indicate – , but instead leads to others being hurt and relationships being broken, when I am just bent on exalting my own reasoning and pride. True power and love in relationships is instead when I am crucified, surrendered, dead to my own sinful and proud perspective for the sake of others. True power is when I deny my own emotions and pride, and for this, I need to resolve to make Christ and him crucified the central theme of my life. To know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified, what does that look like on a daily basis in my relationships? It’s to know that my Lord, Jesus Christ, had to be crucified in order to deal with the sin in me. It’s to know that I am this sinful, never mind how long I have been a Christian, how long I have served in ministry, what kind of position I occupy in the church – Jesus Christ was crucified for my sin. That means I am a sinner in a serious serious way, and I must never let anything else that is going on in my life allow me to think otherwise. As I have known very well what happens in my life and relationships when I know and insist on my own pride and perspective, I want to make knowing Jesus Christ and him crucified the central theme instead, the thing that I most know – that I am only a sinner in need of forgiveness each and every day. And by the grace of God, I am so thankful for His promise that this message of the cross is what will lead to true power of God being displayed in my life.