Tag Archives: ILMA BARAYUGA-DOHERTY

1 CORINTHIANS 11 A SYMBOL OF SUBMISSION TO AUTHORITY

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July 22

1 CORINTHIANS 11

10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God. – 1 Corinthians 11:10-16

1 CORINTHIANS 11 A SYMBOL OF SUBMISSION TO AUTHORITY

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

As a wife, a woman needs to acknowledge her head

The member of the church has to submit to God

It is by succumbing to authority that we show obedience

When we concede to our heads, we honor Christ

The man follows Christ and by doing so, he honors God as well

The wife submits to her husband which means following God’s order.

In this letter, Paul could not stress enough the order that God has laid down for all his people. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit comprises our Trinity. Three persons in one God. Each of them has certain distinct roles that are unique to one another, but they are one.

Just as a man and a woman when they marry becomes one flesh and united, so is the body of Christ or the communion of saints is also one with Jesus Christ. Though they are one, there is an order in which they came about.  God’s order is that he created man for himself. The man serves God and God has authority over him. The woman was created for the purpose of being the man’s helper. She was taken out of the rib of the man himself, so the man has authority over the woman. God instituted marriage and when a man and a woman is married, they become one flesh.

According to a commentary, in Corinthian culture, a woman who covered her head during worship or when she was in public displayed her submission to authority. Although we don’t follow such practices anymore, it is good for us to remember who to submit to.

REFLECTION

·       What wrong notion of submission did the culture propagate in our world today?

1 CORINTHIANS 11 THE HEAD OF MAN AND WOMA

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July 21

1 CORINTHIANS 11

Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wifeis her husband, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5 but every wifewho prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. 6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. 7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. – 1 Corinthians 11:1-9

1 CORINTHIANS 11 THE HEAD OF MAN AND WOMAN

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When God created man, he gave him dominion over creatures

Man was supposed to steward all of God’s creation

God made a woman so that she could be man’s helper

So, she is to submit to her man because he is the leader

Man’s head is Christ himself, so he must submit to his Lord

The woman is under the authority of her husband and not of the world.

In this letter, Paul explains the concept of leadership and authority. He points back to the beginning of time when God created the world and human beings. It seems to me that he was explaining this to the Christian church in order that they won’t put him on a pedestal. Instead, he points to the purpose of why God made man and woman. If you go back to Genesis 1, we can recall how God created all things in a sequence. Each day, he made something different from the day before. God was pleased when we finished all creatures but was very pleased when he made man. Even though he made both man and woman in his own image as verse 27 says, what Paul is emphasizing here is the order of creation and also the purpose why they were made. Man was made for God and woman for man.

That is the order. God is the head of the man, the man is the head of the woman.

REFLECTION

  • Why do you think Paul points out God’s concept of order in this letter?

1 CORINTHIANS 10 DO ALL THINGS FOR THE GLORY OF GOD

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July 20

1 CORINTHIANS 10

29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? 31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. – 1 Corinthians 10:29-33

1 CORINTHIANS 10 DO ALL THINGS FOR THE GLORY OF GOD

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

As believers, our focus must be on giving God all the glory

To praise and honor God, we must be undefiled and holy

If we do things to feed our flesh and satisfy our cravings

It is not honoring God because the self becomes first

But if we do all things to bring pleasure to God

We will stay faithful and continue to give him laud.

In this letter, Paul explains the importance of giving all the glory to God.  In John 3:30, John the Baptist says this statement: “He must increase, I must decrease.” Just as John acknowledges that God must get all the glory and whatever he does must point to the Lord, Paul reiterates that concept.  According to Wikipedia, Charles Spurgeon, a well-known evangelical Baptist preacher in London, used the phrase “what would Jesus do” in quotation marks several times in a sermon he gave on June 28, 1891. In his sermon he cites the source of the phrase as a book written in Latin by Thomas à Kempis between 1418 and 1427, Imitatio Christi (The Imitation of Christ). If we reflect on WWJD, wouldn’t we be giving God the glory? As the Son of God, Jesus never did or said anything that didn’t come from His Father. He never operated on his own and his whole life on earth was to fulfill his Father’s plan, He worshiped and praised his Father all the time by the way he lived and by speaking only the truth. We were given the Holy Spirit the moment we believed in Christ and the role of the Holy Spirit is to bring praise to God and to the Lord Jesus Christ. If we walk in the Spirit, we will surely be giving laud to God and our Lord.

REFLECTION

  • What would it look life if a believer does all things for the glory of God?

1 CORINTHIANS 10 FLEE FROM IDOLATRY

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July 18

1 CORINTHIANS 10

14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? – 1 Corinthians 10:14-22

1 CORINTHIANS 10 FLEE FROM IDOLATRY

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Be pure and holy as you serve the Lord your God

There are many things that can easily be considered idols

Anything that takes your focus away from the Lord

You are already following the systems of the world

Make sure that you put God first in all your daily routines

If you don’t, you will surely have challenges in staying loyal to Him.

In this letter, Paul emphasizes the importance of allegiance to one God alone. He points out the value of making God first in all that the believers do. Why would he say “Flee from idolatry” instead of just cautioning them to be aware of it?  In the corrupt world that we inhabit, we are constantly bombarded by temptations left and right in order that the devil can change our minds in pledging allegiance to Christ. Why does he use the word “flee” as if someone was chasing us? One of the quickest ways that the devil can distract believers from being faithful to God is by shifting their focus from God to themselves. Since the world system is about gratifying the “self,” anyone can easily be derailed in their faith walk when Satan presents things that would make their lives easier such as conveniences or avoiding suffering and connecting with other believers.

REFLECTION

  • Why do you think they needed to flee from idolatry as Paul instructed them?

1 CORINTHIANS 10 ON ENDURING TEMPTATIONS

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July 17

1 CORINTHIANS 10

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

                                                             – 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

1 CORINTHIANS 10 ON ENDURING TEMPTATIONS

In this letter, Paul encourages the Corinthian believers not to be disheartened when facing temptations. He reminds them of the people in the Old Testament like Moses who led God’s people into the wilderness and into the promised land. He explains to them that God purposely gave them the commandments so that they can be guided how not to go against God’s plans. Many of the children of God didn’t follow some of his laws and they faced consequences for what they did. God dealt with sin right away when it happened before Christ came in the picture. I would say that was gracious of him to do so. In this way, he is saving the others who might be demoralized by those sinful acts. Cutting those rebellious people will protect the rest of them. Paul reminds the Corinthian church of their responsibility to follow the laws for their own benefit. He warns them to be wary of discouragement when faced with temptations because the Holy Spirit will be with them to give them a way out of it. They will not be given anything that they cannot handle.

REFLECTION

  • How can we develop endurance against temptations?

1 CORINTHIANS 9 GROUND FOR BOASTING

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July 15

1 CORINTHIANS 9

15 But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. 19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.

                                                                        –1 Corinthians 9:15-20

1 CORINTHIANS 9 GROUND FOR BOASTING

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Do not boast of anything you accomplish on your own

As a servant of Christ, boast only of bringing his kingdom to come

If you expect to be paid for doing what is expected of you

What else are you going to look forward to when you face Jesus?

Paul continues to assert letting go of his right to be compensated for his apostleship. He was preaching the gospel for free because he knows the reward awaiting him when he faces Jesus in his second coming. He took pride in doing this because in those days, there were a lot of religious entrepreneurs who would preach any message to get money. Paul was glad that he could be free from being identified with these crooks. His reward was that he was not reliant on the support of anyone. His conscience is clear that he is doing what was expected of him by God without any compensatory expectation from anyone.

How many Christians have the same viewpoint as Paul’s regarding foregoing his wage? He was doing his kingdom work for the sake of truth and to bring the gospel to as many people as possible without any obstacles for truth to be preached. His ground for boasting is that his apostleship was unadulterated and not motivated by self-seeking gains.

REFLECTION

·       Share how Paul’s purity of service is such a novelty in our world today?

1 CORINTHIANS 9 GIVING UP RIGHTS

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July 13

1 CORINTHIANS 9

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?

                                                                     – 1 Corinthians 9:1-7

1 CORINTHIANS 9 GIVING UP RIGHTS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When you serve Jesus, you deny your rights

You do not fight for entitlements but you rely on Christ

This shows that you are giving up self-reliance.

Instead, you lean on God and let go of independence.

In this letter, Paul foregoes his right to be compensated as an apostle. Instead of his entitlement for wages for his labor of love, he emphasized the importance of self-sacrifice in order to prioritize bringing the gospel to the Corinthian church. He asserts his apostleship and mentions that he worked hard to ensure that the gospel reached everyone in Corinth. He wasn’t expecting them to pay him for all the things he did in order for God’s kingdom to come to Corinth. He focuses on the aim of the gospel preaching which is to save everyone’s soul if they believe in Jesus Christ.

In our world today, many ministries have risen and online platforms are being used to bring the gospel to our homes. It isn’t hard to find many mega-churches who have prospered because of certain media platforms they used to reach people. It even went overboard as to preaching the gospel, but has become a venue for prosperity gospels which have nothing to do with God’s kingdom. It seems to be the opposite of the sacrifice that Paul did in the time of writing of this letter. Some spiritual leaders have forgotten that they’ll be remunerated in heaven and not here on earth.

REFLECTION

·       What rights have you given up as a Christian? Why did you give it up?

1 CORINTHIANS 8 AVOID BEING A STUMBLING BLOCK

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July 12

1 CORINTHIANS 8

7 However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothersand wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. – 1 Corinthians 8:7-13

1 CORINTHIANS 8 AVOID BEING A STUMBLING BLOCK

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

As you grow your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

Watch out that you do not hinder the walk of the weak

Do not be trivial and legalistic towards their practices

Be patient and kind with the ones who just discovered Christ

It is considered a sin if you hinder their growth and confuse them

They will be divided in their spirit and weakened in their faith

Like a good father, Paul admonished the Corinthian believers of their trivialities regarding practices in eating food. Because the Jews have so many rules about what to eat and what not to eat, He wanted to give them a glimpse of how God is not trivial. He is all-knowing and can see all the hearts of men. He understands the process of growing their faith and is not legalistic about continuing their belief system. Just as a good father will be patient and understanding of their children, so is Paul with the believers. Paul called the attention of the believers and that they must ensure that they do not get in the way of the progress of the walk of the new believers. He reminds them that it is sin if they become a stumbling block to the growth of their faith by being legalistic about certain rules that they used to follow. They should be resilient and understanding and get out of the way of the Holy Spirit’s work in the hearts of the new believers.

REFLECTION

  • What are some ways we can be a stumbling block to new believers in Christ?

1 CORINTHIANS 8 KNOWLEDGE PUFFS UP BUT LOVE BUILDS UP

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July 11

1 CORINTHIANS 8

 Now concerningfood offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. 4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. – 1 Corinthians 8:1-6

1 CORINTHIANS 8 KNOWLEDGE PUFFS UP BUT LOVE BUILDS UP

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Be watchful if knowledge is something you seek regularly

You can be puffed up and make you proud of yourself

Seek only the knowledge that comes from God’s word

It is the only wisdom that makes you overcome this world

God wants you to walk in love and instead think of others

It will give God glory and praise if you do this to one another.

Paul cautions the Corinthian church of the downside of seeking too much knowledge. He says that it makes a man puffed up with pride when they obsess about knowledge. Why do you think he warns them not to be so consumed by it? When we seek too much knowledge, it usually is to appear superior or much better than others. We can easily think we are right and others are wrong or we can be obsessed with our reputation for knowing more than others. Comparisons set in and then we marginalize those who do not live up to our standards. We become presumptuous and assume that people will look up to and respect us because of such knowledge that we have. So, one desire to look accomplished turns into more discrimination over others or a competitiveness against others. We believe in ourselves and go against being “loving.” We become impartial to those who have different views than ours. It brings about “idolatry” in us wherein we are the gods ourselves. It doesn’t give God glory when we do this.

REFLECTION

·       How is wisdom different from knowledge? How does knowledge make us proud?

1 CORINTHIANS 7 ON CONTROLLING ONE’S DESIRE

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July 10

1 CORINTHIANS 7

36 If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin. 37 But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. 38 So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better.39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. 40 Yet in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.– 1 Corinthians 7:36-40

1 CORINTHIANS 7 ON CONTROLLING ONE’S DESIRE

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

As humans, it is inevitable to have our own desires and passions

A desire is a strong longing or yearning for something or someone

A passion is an intense emotional reaction to a particular thing or person

Be careful that your desires and passions do not consume you

If you serve Jesus, you will let the Holy Spirit guide your desires

Crave only for things that are holy and those that build up others.

In this letter, Paul weighs whether it is better to stay single or married. He discussed desires and passions. He gave examples of situations where one may be unable to control their desires or passions. In verse 36 he points out the importance of controlling their desires with their fiancée but if they cannot regulate such passions and it overwhelms them, he advises them to marry so that they will not sin. In verse 37, he commends those who are able to control themselves and wait for that period of engagement. For the widowed, Paul recommends for them to stay single and he thinks that it is wise advice for them to follow so that they could focus on serving the Lord.

In our world today, many people cannot have desires and passions that are under control. We live in a society where instant gratification is the norm and delaying getting what we want is a novelty.

REFLECTION

  • How can Christians become more aware of earthly cravings and control it?