Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 288

October 15;      I Corinthians 1:7;       134/260(III);        ‘Come Short in Nothing’

1 Corinthians 1:7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.    NIV

Paul, as in all of his letters (epistles) to the churches, expresses sincere caring for the church and assures them that he is praying for them.  The church in Corinth was fascinated with and experienced the supernatural.  This is the church that Paul teaches about the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  He spends a great deal of time teaching on the public side of praying in tongues and prophecy.  It had to bless Paul that this church was so excited about the power of God manifested in their services.  The church in Corinth was also extremely carnal.  There were factions in the church as to who they followed.  They would be drunk during communion services.  Paul had to teach them that every person in the Body of Christ was valuable and to be treated as such.  Paul taught this church all about God’s love.  I said all of that to say that the supernatural of the Lord is more exciting than anything the world could ever offer.  Conversely, carnality will stop the supernatural very quickly.  The Lord wants us to have both a Christ like character and the supernatural flowing in our lives as we continue the ministry of the Lord Jesus.  If we are Christ like, that is wonderful and very noticeable.  But if we have no power, our impact on others is greatly limited.  We could flow in the power of the Holy Spirit.  But if we behave carnally, as the world does, we are hypocrites.  We can and must have both.  The love of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.  What an impact on others.