Living out scriptures is hard, so with soberness of mind I write as Paul: Food is for the stomach and stomach for food, but God will destroy both. 1 Cor 6:13.
Paul writes as a servant of God who is entrusted in the mysteries of God being reveled to us. we have to be faithful to the lord Jesus. In here, faith is seen as it attributed to a person it becomes faithful. we often attribute faith to things we need to get but rarely to people because for one to work faithfully it requires in integrity. Paul says indeed if I don’t judge myself, my conscience is clear, but it doesn’t make me innocent.
Innocent means free from guilt, bearing no responsibility for wrongful act. Meaning one may be free from guilt because of the stance we take in Christ Jesus, but we may not be clueless. So, I’d like to think of innocent as simple mindedness of a child as result of low knowledge or without motives.
As Christians, we have motives for Christ to preach the gospel, to stand on the side of truth, righteousness and justice. And I guess this is what gives us a clear conscience before God that because we are saved, we can abide in truth.
Paul goes on to say it is God who judges him, so he has to bring to light what is hidden in darkness around him. While he does this, he prays that he as we are not puffed-up followers of Christ because ALL we have received comes from Christ.\
I personally love the interplay of his words here: it says, and I quote “Already you have all you want, and you have become rich! You have begun to reign – and without us!
so, there were a selected group of people who became rich and reigned without Paul. He goes on to say “How I wish that you had really begun to reign, so that we (Paul inclusive) may reign with you!
If you understand you know why this interjector was made. As this column was on NIV was titled “The nature of true apostleship”.
