Key verse: "But take care that this liberty of yours does not some how become a stumbling block to the weak" (1 Corinthians 8:9).
In today's Epistle 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, the apostle Paul discusses the subtle deception and destruction of the inappropriate dominion of the mind of the flesh, within witnessing paschal faith communities. Jesus Christ, Paul and other spiritually mature believers, within Christ-centered, spiritually awake, paschal faith community, knew that the normal practice of eating meat previously offered to idols within that culture, did not defile believes (Mark 7:14-15). Some weak and immature believers were convinced this practice defiled them. The practice of believers eating this meat, became a stumbling blocks to both believers and unbelievers, in steadfastly following Jesus Christ in liberty, integrity, compassion, grace and truth, within their different traditions, religions, cultures, ethnic and secular groups, in understanding and embracing the universal Gospel of Christ, as revealed in Jesus Christ (John 3:16-17).
Because many understood, taught and practiced the Gospel of Christ, in the mind of the flesh, they distorted the true knowledge of Godhead and eating foods, as revealed in Jesus Christ. Self-sacrifice, compassion, love, and mutual edification did not reign within their witnessing paschal faith community. Paul described the carnal minded approaches to the Gospel of Christ as idolatrous worship and religious practices. In their self-deception and conceit, these carnal minded believers misrepresented the true nature of God and God's true relationship with mankind in and through Christ, as revealed in Jesus Christ as Messiah (1 Corinthians 8:1-3).
Paul assured these carnal minded believes, that if they would repent, and live their faith and lives in the mind of the spirit, they would discern and know that there in but One God. They would experience God as omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent SPIRIT (John 4:23). Christ-centered spiritually awake believers, who chooses to follow Jesus Christ in living the Paschal Mystery, would experience God as Father, eternal Being. Christ as indwelling and incarnate Son of God, eternally Begotten, in the spiritual body of all people and Holy Spirit as God eternally begetting from the Father and the Son, in our personal lives and throughout all creation (Genesis 1:26-27, John 1:1-5, Luke 4:16-20, 1 Corinthians 8:4-6).
Down through the ages and generations, mankind's ignorance God presence and true nature, have created spiritual deception, spiritual blindness and spiritual immaturity within all traditions, religions, cultures, ethnic and secular groups. In the mind of the flesh, formalism in worship, liturgy, sacraments and rituals may become false gods. When they are not taught and practiced in the mind of the spirit, they may create inappropriate liberty, criticism, stumbling blocks and offenses to the Godhead, believers and unbelievers alike (1 Corinthians 8:7-9).
True knowledge of God is realized when believers in all traditions, religions, cultures, ethnic and secular groups, live their unique faiths and lives in the mind of the spirit. The true human freedom, liberty and civility of the Gospel of Christ are realized by daily practical application of the universal Christ-centered, spiritual mindedness, which Jesus Christ taught and practiced, with the wisdom, integrity, compassion and love of the mind of the spirit. Like Jesus Christ, in the mind of the spirit, spiritually awake believers are empowered by the Holy Spirit to not only teach, heal and cast out evil spirits. They are also empowered by the Holy Spirit to avoid sinning against God, sinning against others, and sinning against God's creation (Luke 4:16-21).
When the Gospel of Christ is taught and practiced in the mind of the spirit, human thoughts, attitudes, feelings and actions are transformed. In the power of the Holy Spirit, they are no longer evil influences and stumbling block to weak believers, with witnessing paschal faith communities (1 Corinthians 8:8-10). By steadfastly following Jesus Christ in living the Paschal Mystery, Christ centered believers are empowered by the Holy Spirit, to live their lives in solidarity with Jesus Christ as Messiah, in the mind of the spirit.
In the power of the Holy Spirit believers discern and cast out the inappropriate thoughts, inconsiderate attitudes and judgments, and the defiling actions of the Man of Lawlessness, the mind of the flesh (2 Thessalonians 3:1-10). In the mind of the spirit, believers learn to embrace the Brotherhood of Man, under the Lordship of Christ. As good examples of agape love, integrity, compassion, grace and truth, within their witnessing paschal faith communities, these believers abstain from practices which are stumbling blocks to weaker believers (1 Corinthians 8:11-13).
In today's epistle the apostle Paul reminds believers in all traditions, religions, cultures, ethnic and secular groups that there is One God, and that God is Spirit. Believers are encouraged to always teach and worshipped God in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). Let us never forget that the Solomon in Ecclesiastes 7:29 made this soul searching declaration about mankind, "See, this alone I have found, that God made human beings straightforward (upright), but they have devised many schemes (inventions)".
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