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For a description of the journey phases referred to in this devotion, go to the Journey Phases page. Earlier articles can be accessed by clicking the buttons on the left.
Paul's thoughts on Christian spiritual journeying . . . Paul’s Seven Great Spiritual Journey Principles Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge—because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. (1 Corinthians 1:1-9)
Each of Paul’s letters to the churches of Asia Minor and Europe are written in order to enable new Christians to successfully negotiate and fulfill their spiritual journeys. They are not theoretical works. Paul prefers to share spiritual journey priniciples within the context of real life journey problems and issues. In this way, he follows Jesus, who in His parables and sermons responds to the actual situations His disciples found themselves in. There is not better way to learn than from real life. In 1 Corinthians, Paul is confronted with a host of problems. The spiritual journey of the Corinthian congregation is in trouble, and Paul understands that all of their journey issues must be addressed at the same time because they are so interrelated. Even a cursory reading of the letter reveals some of the major issues: divisions within the church (chapter 3), mistrust of Paul’s apostleship (chapter 4), immorality (chapter 5), lawsuits (chapter 6), marriage issues (chapter 7), idolatry (chapter 8), worship issues (chapters 10-11), use of spiritual gifts (chapters 12-14), and the meaning of resurrection (chapter 15). Accordingly, Paul begins his letter to the Corinthian church with a succinct greeting which creates a spiritual journey context for the discussion to follow. Throughout the letter, Paul will be very specific in his critique, and to get the ball rolling, he hints at seven great principles which should guide our spiritual journeys (1:1-9). Our Journeys Find Their Origin in God’s Call We journey in response to God’s call (phase 2). In each of his letters, Paul reminds the churches that their journeys are a response to the call of God upon their lives. There is no better way to grapple with phase 3 issues than to start with remembering the call that sets the journey into motion in the first place. Paul reminds the Corinthians that he was "called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus" (1:1). Similarly, the church in Corinth has been "called to be holy" (1:2). Therefore, both Paul and the church have been given legitimate, though differing, journey goals to live out. The Corinthians should submit to Paul’s authority because his call as an apostle has a divine origin. They would not even have a journey if it were not for him. Here’s a general principle: each of our journeys is dependent upon the journeys of others. We should respect and submit to the people whom God has placed in our lives as journey initiators. Their greater maturity should serve as a source of strength for our journeys. God’s Will is the Goal We journey in order to fulfill God’s will. Paul makes a point of saying that his call is based on "the will of God" (1:1). This should be true of all of our journeys. A spiritual journey should not be lived out as a response to our own needs, desires or wishes. Only the will of God is a sufficient vision for an authentic spiritual journey. The implication here is that the Corinthians were missing the boat in this regard. Having started off well - having heard and embraced the call of God - they now find themselves in a position where they have detoured. They must align their lifestyles with God’s will in order to get their journeys back on track. Holiness is God’s Will Paul reminds the Corinthians that they were "sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy" (1:2). As a general principle, the church’s journey goal is to be holy because we have been sanctified (set apart) to be God’s people. This involves embracing both redemptive (moral and ethical) as well as mission (evangelism and worship) level journeys. The Corinthians were lax in their growth on a redemptive level, and it was hurting their witness. Our Journeys are Linked Paul asserts that the call to holiness comes to not just the Corinthian church, but also to all of the churches (1:2). This is significant because the Corinthians were in danger of divorcing their journey from Paul’s journey as their apostle. This implied an independence from the other churches under Paul’s authority, and Paul will have none of this. It is not possible to journey in isolation or independently of others. In the body of Christ, all of our journeys are linked and therefore we must nourish and affirm one another. Interestingly, this independent streak was also affecting the internal journey of the Corinthian church - there were divisions within the local fellowship and egos were out of hand. Grace Greases the Journey Paul thanks God for the "grace" provided by Jesus Christ for our journeys (1:4). God’s grace prepares us for our journey challenges and gives us all we need to succeed in our journeys. Specifically, Paul links God’s grace to the gifts of the Spirit (1:5). Gifts are not ends in themselves; nor are they emblems we wear to show off how spiritual we are. Spiritual gifts are concrete signs of God’s empowerment so that we might be able to live out our journeys through God’s power (instead of our own). The Corinthians "did not lack any spiritual gift" (1:7), but unfortunately they were not using their spiritual gifts properly. As a result, their journeys were impaired. Our Journeys and Christ’s Return In verses 7-8, Paul relates our present journeys to the future journey of Jesus’ second coming. Our earthly journeys will indeed culminate in the return of Jesus Christ. We journey in the present in light of our future hope. In a very real sense, our spiritual journeys take on added meaning in light of the second coming - we prepare Christ’s way (phase 1). Faithfulness is the Key Paul saves the best for last! Our journeys will succeed because "God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful" (1:9). Faithfulness is the key virtue of our spiritual journeys. God’s faithfulness is sufficient to keep God’s people "strong" and "blameless" until the end of each journey (1:8). God promises to act faithfully throughout our journeys, and if we respond in faithfulness, our journeys will be a testimony to our deep and abiding relationship with Jesus. Our fellowship with Jesus is manifested in and through our faithful embracing of our journeys.
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