For a full description of the (Y3) reading plan, see the “About” page.
- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
1 Cor. 1
We humans think we’re all the stuff; that we’re all “in the know”. The reality, however, is that we don’t know what we don’t know. Whether we are like the Jews, who looked for power or the Greeks who sought wisdom, Christ doesn’t appear like what we’d expect. Jesus was a stumbling block to those Jews because His meekness, humility, and sacrifice didn’t fit their definition of the power of God. And He was foolishness to the Greeks because what kind of God lets Himself be crucified? It makes no sense! “Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:242). When we are willing to drop our definitions and expectations and accept that it is we, not Christ, who are the weak fools, only then do we start to see things as they truly are.
1 Cor. 2
As believers in Christ, we are privy to something very special. God allows us to know Him. We may not fully understand what we know, because honestly – God is just way too big for us. But we do know Him. We know Him because His Spirit is in us, and His Spirit is one with Him. Thus, we are able to understand things that make no sense to those without God.
God has proven this truth in my own life. I grew up a Christian, exposed to the Bible and its teachings almost my entire life. Yet when I decided several years ago, after a long, spiritually dry spell in my life, to start reading the Bible through every year, not much of it made any sense to me. The more I seek understanding, however, making an intentional effort to abide in Christ and allow Him to abide in me, the more I see in His glorious, marvelous, mysterious Word. It’s been an amazing journey that I hope will never stop. And I long for others to be able to see and understand the amazing things I have come to know. Knowledge of these things does not come from man, however, but from God’s Spirit. Such are the mysteries that “God has prepared…for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9b).
1 Cor. 3
“For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans?” (1 Cor. 3:3b). Behaving like mere humans – what a sobering thought! We have the power of God – the same power that rose Christ from the dead – living in us. And yet we so often choose to behave like mere humans. God has made us better than that! Why do we limit ourselves with what we were rather than embracing what we are in Christ? The thought makes me really want to be on the lookout for those times when I am limiting myself to mere humanity so that I can lay that down and let God’s true power and wisdom shine through me. God has freed me so I am no longer stuck with mere humanity. Lord, help me to rise above it!