‘Spiritual Syndromes’

..... We began this module with ‘the Spiritual test’ from 1 Corinthians Chapter 1, to demonstrate Paul’s premise that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith: "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:11). Nevertheless, the Corinthians kept missing the part about Jesus! Somehow, no matter how often Jesus was preached to them, they kept leaving Him out of it!

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.... Now consider, for a moment, who this was happening to. The Corinthians were lead to the Lord by Paul, and he personally discipled them for two years. Men like Silas, Timothy, Titus, Luke, Apollos and Cephas (Simon Peter) kept teaching them, and each of them had focused on Jesus as well: .

.... "For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake."

(2 Cor 4:5)

.... There was a complete unity in the message they shared: "Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed." (1 Corinthians 15:11). Jesus was preached to the Corinthians very purely, very consistently and even repetitiously, over a period of many years. Nevertheless, they still left Jesus out of their understanding! Somehow all of that focus on Christ was still eluding them, and they could simply never grasp the concept of abiding in Him.

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.... Now if this could happen to the Corinthians, being taught so purely by such men of God over such a long period of time . . . do you think it could happen to us, today? Or is there anyone who thinks we’re beyond it?

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.... Earlier, we raised another interesting possibility. Perhaps the Corinthians had started out on a better note, but they had gotten sidetracked at a later time:.

.... "By this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food."

(Hebrews 5:12)

.... This possibility brings our module to an important shift, as we consider three specific symptoms of the Corinthian disorder. Seeing these errors made plain may help to steer us clear of them point us in the right direction as part of the remedy. By understanding these problems, perhaps we can diagnose the same symptoms among ourselves and learn to correct them, and prevent their rising again in the future. We will discuss the first of these ‘spiritual syndromes’ in our next posting.

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Daily Bible Reading: John 2