God of Order
1 Corinthians 14:33,
1 Corinthians 14:40,
If you know anything about the church in Corinth, you know it was a church in pretty bad shape. They were denying the resurrection. I don't think they were denying the resurrection of Jesus, but denying the resurrection of believers. And Paul argues against that in 1 Corinthians 15. But there was also the problem of overt sexual immorality and it was somewhat chaotic when it came to the use of the charismatic gifts. So Paul is trying to bring this church back in terms of order. And that's why you find that word order used several times in 1 and 2 Corinthians. Here in chapter 14, he picks up that concept of order to define who God is and then also to regulate church life.
What would the world look like or what would America or Western civilization look like if we had never got exposed to the Bible or we didn't have the gospel impacting our society? When Pastor Daniyal was with us from Pakistan, we were going through Canton and were talking. I said, “Pastor Daniyal tell me, what's the big thing that you see different from Pakistan in America?” Do you know what the answer was, “Order, I see order.” And he talked about the homes, the way they're lined up on the blocks or in residential areas.
And when I thought about that, I thought, that's the difference, it is the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is a God of order. Whereas the devil is a god, a little god, of confusion. We go right back to the first story in our Bible, Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 and you see a God of order making the world in an orderly way. He starts with the inanimate creation and then he begins to create the animate creation. So he starts from day one with the sun, the moon, the skies and then the waters and then he makes the earth and then the vegetation, then the birds and the animals and then the final day is the day he makes man, that's the sixth day. Even there you get a sense there's order, there's priority, isn't there? What does he say about that in 1 Timothy 2? “Man was made first.” Man was made first, the woman was made second. That has significance for the church in terms of order, but also in terms of our homes.
And when you think of the temptation by the devil, when he goes after our first parents what does he do? He goes after Eve first. It was a reversal of order. He wasn't seeking to respect God's order. God made the man first. The devil wants to turn God's created order upside down. The devil loves chaos.
And when you think of our salvation you should think of order, right? The sending of the son, Jesus. At a certain specific time in the fullness of time, he sends the son Jesus by way of a virgin womb. Then he sends the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost; salvation accomplished and then salvation applied. When salvation is applied, there's order here too. Go back to what you heard Sunday night from Pastor Mark and from Philippians chapter one, God begins the work, he continues the work and then he finishes the work. Or you go to what has been called the Ordo Salutis, Romans chapter 8, the golden chain, “Those whom he calls, he justifies and those whom he justifies, he glorifies.” Clear order and progression.
And when you think of prayer, is there order? I think the Lord's Prayer is to shape our prayers. It gives priority to God, not to ourselves. “Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Even when Jesus tells us about prayer in 1 Timothy chapter 2, he wants us to be thinking what should be prioritized or what should be first. Here's what he says, “First of all, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people.” And then he focuses on those in authority, for kings and those who are in high positions. But even when we pray, we should structure our prayer. I think it's always wise to begin our prayers with adoration, praise, thanksgiving, hallowing his name.
"For God is not a God of disorder, (or confusion) but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints."
1 Corinthians 14:40,
"But all things should be done decently and in order."
If you know anything about the church in Corinth, you know it was a church in pretty bad shape. They were denying the resurrection. I don't think they were denying the resurrection of Jesus, but denying the resurrection of believers. And Paul argues against that in 1 Corinthians 15. But there was also the problem of overt sexual immorality and it was somewhat chaotic when it came to the use of the charismatic gifts. So Paul is trying to bring this church back in terms of order. And that's why you find that word order used several times in 1 and 2 Corinthians. Here in chapter 14, he picks up that concept of order to define who God is and then also to regulate church life.
What would the world look like or what would America or Western civilization look like if we had never got exposed to the Bible or we didn't have the gospel impacting our society? When Pastor Daniyal was with us from Pakistan, we were going through Canton and were talking. I said, “Pastor Daniyal tell me, what's the big thing that you see different from Pakistan in America?” Do you know what the answer was, “Order, I see order.” And he talked about the homes, the way they're lined up on the blocks or in residential areas.
And when I thought about that, I thought, that's the difference, it is the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is a God of order. Whereas the devil is a god, a little god, of confusion. We go right back to the first story in our Bible, Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 and you see a God of order making the world in an orderly way. He starts with the inanimate creation and then he begins to create the animate creation. So he starts from day one with the sun, the moon, the skies and then the waters and then he makes the earth and then the vegetation, then the birds and the animals and then the final day is the day he makes man, that's the sixth day. Even there you get a sense there's order, there's priority, isn't there? What does he say about that in 1 Timothy 2? “Man was made first.” Man was made first, the woman was made second. That has significance for the church in terms of order, but also in terms of our homes.
And when you think of the temptation by the devil, when he goes after our first parents what does he do? He goes after Eve first. It was a reversal of order. He wasn't seeking to respect God's order. God made the man first. The devil wants to turn God's created order upside down. The devil loves chaos.
And when you think of our salvation you should think of order, right? The sending of the son, Jesus. At a certain specific time in the fullness of time, he sends the son Jesus by way of a virgin womb. Then he sends the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost; salvation accomplished and then salvation applied. When salvation is applied, there's order here too. Go back to what you heard Sunday night from Pastor Mark and from Philippians chapter one, God begins the work, he continues the work and then he finishes the work. Or you go to what has been called the Ordo Salutis, Romans chapter 8, the golden chain, “Those whom he calls, he justifies and those whom he justifies, he glorifies.” Clear order and progression.
And when you think of prayer, is there order? I think the Lord's Prayer is to shape our prayers. It gives priority to God, not to ourselves. “Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Even when Jesus tells us about prayer in 1 Timothy chapter 2, he wants us to be thinking what should be prioritized or what should be first. Here's what he says, “First of all, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people.” And then he focuses on those in authority, for kings and those who are in high positions. But even when we pray, we should structure our prayer. I think it's always wise to begin our prayers with adoration, praise, thanksgiving, hallowing his name.
Posted in Pastor Devotional