Shalom,

Today's "Sparkling Gems From The Greek" devotional by Rick Renner is SO exciting for us!

For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what has thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
— 1 Corinthians 4:7

In the January 17 Sparkling Gem, I wrote about the feeling of inferiority that once tried to rule my life. If you are struggling with inferiority, I encourage you to go back and read that teaching again. However, today I want to address an issue at the opposite end of the spectrum — a spirit of superiority. When a person has this attitude, he feels he is spiritually superior to other people because of giftings, experience, social or economic status, or position in the church. But regardless of the reason a person feels superior to others, make no mistake — this attitude is absolutely unacceptable for a Christian.

In First Corinthians 4:7, we find that an attitude of spiritual snobbery was beginning to surface in the church of Corinth. This spirit of superiority was so prevalent that it had begun to permeate the entire Corinthian congregation. Paul responded with a sharp rebuke, saying, “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what has thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?”

From its very beginnings, the church at Corinth had experienced an amazing amount of supernatural grace, which had manifested in a variety of ways. However, one way it had especially manifested was in the gifts of the Spirit that operated in their congregation. In fact, Paul even told them, “So that ye come behind in no spiritual gift…” (1 Corinthians 1:7), implying that the Corinthians had a greater measure of spiritual gifts operating in their midst than any other New Testament church. The phrase “come behind” is a translation of the Greek word hustereo, which means to be behind, to fall short of, or to be inferior. Thus, this verse could be translated, “You fall behind no one else in respect to spiritual gifts…” or “You are not inferior to anyone when it comes to spiritual gifts.…” In modern language, it could read, “When it comes to the gifts of the Spirit, you are second to none!”

The Corinthian believers were aware of their unique status as a congregation, and they allowed it to go to their heads. Essentially, they developed a superiority complex and a snobbish attitude concerning their spirituality as compared to other churches. That is why Paul reminded them in First Corinthians 4:7, “…What hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?”

When Paul wrote “…why dost thou glory…,” he was referring to believers in Corinth who were boasting of themselves and putting others down who didn’t share their same spiritual experiences. In Greek, this word “glory” is kauchaomai, which means to boast of oneself, to uplift yourself, to imply that you are better than others, or to speak so highly of yourself that you derogatorily imply others are less than you. It can simply be translated to vaunt, and it conveys a pride that says, “I am better than you.” It is the very word that Paul used in First Corinthians 13:4 when he said, “Charity [that is, agape love] vaunteth not itself…” (see September 11 in Sparkling Gems 1). In other words, people who are motivated by love do not go around boasting about themselves in a way that leaves others feeling inferior!

It is important to note that the problem in the church of Corinth did not stem from the gifts of the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit don’t foster pride. The problem was the character of the Corinthian believers, which needed to be dealt with by God!

Paul’s rebuke to the Corinthian believers tells us that we have no right to be prideful about our spiritual experiences. When you and I have been blessed by God with an extraordinary supernatural experience or knowledge of spiritual matters that exceeds that of many others, we should strive to demonstrate humility. We must not carry ourselves with an air of superiority, thinking we are better than others because they haven’t had our experience or attained to our level of knowledge. We must remember that everything we have, we received from God. We did nothing on our own, so we really have no reason to gloat about it as though we did! If we’ve really received something special from God, we need to show only humble gratitude for His gift.

Have you ever known a person who was snobbish toward other believers because of his great spiritual experiences or spiritual knowledge? To me personally, it’s a huge turn-off. The root of that superior attitude isn’t what the Holy Spirit has done in him; rather, it’s just a sign that He needs to do more in him!

So don’t get offended if you know someone like this. Just pray for that person — and pray for yourself, too, so that you never fall into the trap of acting like you’re better than others!

AMEN! Here is Brandon Lake with "Nothing New":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share Kenneth and Gloria Copeland's "From Faith To Faith" devotional!

Defeat Your Giant

Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? 1 Samuel 17:26

You may be facing a giant today. He may be a giant of sickness or failure, of financial shortage or another kind of trouble. But don’t let him scare you. You have a secret weapon. A weapon that once turned a shepherd boy into a bear-busting, lion-killing, giant-slaying champion. That weapon was a blood covenant with Almighty God.

Back in David’s day, circumcision was the sign of that covenant. So, when he called Goliath uncircumcised, David was saying: “This guy may be a giant; he may be strong; but he has no covenant with God and that’s why I will defeat him.”

Just like David, you, too, have a covenant. But yours is better. You see, the covenant David had, offered a wealth of blessings to those who kept it, but it also included curses for those who broke it.

Yours doesn’t. Yours is a new covenant that Jesus bought with His own blood. It doesn’t depend on your ability. It depends on Him and what He has already done. He has done it all! All you have to do is believe it and receive it.

Right now, read Deuteronomy 28:16-68. That’s a list of the curses Christ has freed you from. You might even call it a list of the giants Jesus has already slain for you. It contains every diabolical thing the devil could ever use to destroy you.

Read them and rejoice. Those are the things God has healed you of and delivered you from!

Don’t let any giant intimidate you. You have a blood covenant with Almighty God. There’s no uncircumcised circumstance on the face of this earth that can take your victory away from you.

HALLELUJAH! Here is Brandon Lake with "Adoption Song" which speaks to what belongs to us as GOD'S OWN CHILDREN!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share again from Joseph Prince's "Daily Grace Inspirations" devotional!

God Can Turn Your Evil Day into Good Days

Rest from their enemies . . . sorrow to joy . . . mourning to a holiday. Esther 9:22

Today, many Jews still celebrate the feast of Purim. The name Purim is derived from “the lot” which a Gentile, Haman, cast concerning the fate of the Jews when they were in Persia under King Ahasuerus.

Haman, the villain in this story in the book of Esther, hated the Jews and sought to exterminate them. He got King Ahasuerus to allow him to issue a decree to annihilate all the Jews in one day—the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of Adar. But God used Queen Esther and her uncle Mordecai, both Jews, to turn the tables on Haman and save the Jews.

Haman was hanged on the very gallows that he had constructed for Mordecai! Then, the king allowed Queen Esther and Mordecai to issue a counter-decree to allow all the Jews to defend themselves and destroy their enemies in one day—the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of Adar!

So instead of the Jews being exterminated on that fateful day, their enemies were destroyed! God turned an evil day for the Jews into good days. He turned their mourning into rejoicing and gave them victory over their enemies.

My friend, God can do the same for you today. He only wants you to remain in your position of rest in Christ. You see, because of Jesus’ finished work at the cross, you are seated in heavenly places in Christ, far above every principality and evil assault the devil can throw at you (Ephesians 2:6).

Just as Mordecai sat within the king’s gate and refused to stand up and bow to Haman, let’s not “bow” to the devil by being persuaded to move from our position of rest in Christ. Don’t allow him to get you worried, frantic, and doing things to save yourself.

Queen Esther was also in a position of rest before Haman was executed (Esther 7). She was seated on a couch as Haman pleaded with her for his life. While doing so, he accidentally fell over the couch where the queen was. The king, thinking that Haman was assaulting his queen, sent him to the gallows!

Beloved, remain at rest in Christ’s finished work, and He will turn your evil day into days of rejoicing and feasting!

AMEN! Here is Brandon Lake with "Turnaround":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I LOVE today's devotional from Jerry Savelle Ministries!

Grace Will Give You What You Don’t Deserve

For by grace you have been saved [blessed, healed, delivered, made whole] through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV (brackets added by author)

The biblical definition of grace is unmerited favor. It is something you didn’t earn; it is the gift of God. So when you see the word grace in your Bible, you can accurately interchange it with the word favor.

God’s grace, His unmerited favor, is simply God giving you something you don’t deserve. The Bible says, “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Romans 4:4-5 NKJV). 

Simply put:

Grace makes a way for God to bless you in life—regardless of your merits.
Grace will give you what you did not earn.
Grace will qualify you for what you do not qualify for.
Grace will give you what you do not deserve.

Have you ever wondered why some believers are more blessed than others? Is it because of their spiritual performance, the hours spent reading the Word, praying, and fasting? No! They are blessed because they actually believe God has justified them. And they’ve received His grace, knowing that grace will give them what they don’t deserve.

Confession: Through faith in Jesus Christ, I have been saved by the grace of God. I did not earn this grace. It is a precious gift that has given me what I don’t deserve: God’s favor, blessing, health, and wholeness—spirit, soul, and body.

AMEN! Here is UNITED with "On Repeat" which speaks about God's GRACE!:

Shalom in Him!