The Corinthian Crisis: Spiritually Gifted but Spiritually Empty?

The Corinthian Crisis: Spiritually Gifted but Spiritually Empty?

A Haunting Mirror

The sharpest rebuke in the New Testament wasn’t hurled at Rome’s pagans but at Corinth’s believers. Overflowing with gifts, miracles, and eloquence, they were still called “people of the flesh” (1 Corinthians 3:1). That warning echoes today: it is possible to speak Heaven’s language while living Hell’s logic.

Paul reminds us: “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). If your faith is a platform for ego rather than a grave for pride, you are not walking with God—you are decorating yourself with His name. The Spirit does not empower performance; He crucifies self so Christ may live: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

The Infancy of Competition

Corinth divided itself between Paul and Apollos: “For when one says, ‘I follow Paul,’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos,’ are you not being merely human?” (1 Corinthians 3:4). We divide ourselves between movements, teachers, and tribes. Beneath the robes of “discernment” often lurks envy.

If you measure your worth against another’s blessing, you are still an infant in Christ: “For you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?” (1 Corinthians 3:3). The carnal mind craves being “first”; the spiritual mind bows deeper into the humility of the Cross: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).

Building with Straw or Gold

Has the Messiah Already Come? A Message to My Jewish Friends

✡️ Has the Messiah Come? A Message to my Jewish Friends

For generations, Israel has longed for the coming of their Messiah—a deliverer who would bring peace, restore Israel, and establish righteousness. This hope is not a Christian idea; it is deeply Jewish, rooted in the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. But what if the Messiah has already come? What if the Scriptures themselves point to Jesus of Nazareth as the one foretold?

This post is not about abandoning Jewish identity. It’s about fulfilling it. It’s about seeing the promises of God come to life—not in contradiction to Judaism, but in its prophetic fulfillment.

Messianic Prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures

Let’s begin with the credentials of the Messiah according to Tanakh:

• Born in Bethlehem Micah 5:2 – “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah... out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel.” 
  Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1), fulfilling this prophecy precisely.
• From the line of David Jeremiah 23:5–6 – “I will raise unto David a righteous Branch... and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
  Jesus’ genealogy traces through David (Matthew 1:1), and He is called “Lord” and “Righteous.”
• A suffering servant who bears sin Isaiah 53 – “He was wounded for our transgressions... with his stripes we are healed.” 

The Stages of Christ's Ascension and Return (Part 3)

As mentioned in Part 2 of this multi-post topic, it is important to look at the ascension of Jesus, and the stages that it occurred in, in order to fully understand the stages of Christ's return. We'll continue therefore, in this part, to look at the details of the second stage of Christ's ascension, and later, when we look at Jesus' whole second coming, we will see how this part will mirror the same stage of His multi-part return. There are some very interesting things to learn from these stages and the events that tie into them.

The second stage of Christ's ascension into a new position and glory.