A More Excellent Way
Self-interest is restrained within due bounds when love supervenes; for then it rejects evil things altogether, prefers better things to those merely good, and cares for the good only on account of the better. ~St. Bernard of Clairvaux, On Loving God
I read this quote one morning during my devotion time, then turned to where I had been reading in 1 Corinthians:
But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse (11:17 ESV).
“Not for the better but for the worse.” Better, worse; good, better; do well, do even better; folly, power of God; infants, spiritual. Three-fourths of Paul’s first letter to the Christians at Corinth is full of such comparisons. He addresses their questions in this manner: You are arguing about this, but you should be doing a better thing. You are allowing evil behavior, but you should know better.
Paul upends the things the Corinthians thought they knew. He didn’t preach to them with words of eloquence but preached only the cross of Christ. God chose what is foolish to shame the wise, and he chose the weak to shame the strong. The best way for those who are wise in this world is foolishness.
In chapter 12, Paul gives instructions concerning spiritual gifts. He doesn’t want the Corinthians, or us, to be uninformed. But it seems that often, we stick right here, as though this is the climax of the letter. We think, “Aha, here’s the best way. If only we could all find our one true gift. And perhaps mine will be one of the important, flashy ones.” As significant as this is, it has all been an introduction.
And I will show you a still more excellent way (12:31).
Now he’s coming to the climax. There is good and there is better, but there is a way that is still more excellent. Here Paul uses a word we know as hyperbole; the parts of which mean to throw beyond. A yet hyperbolen way. Go beyond; excel!
What is more excellent than good gifts? Love.
Paul doesn’t assume we understand what love means. He explains thoroughly in chapter 13. But again, he doesn’t allow us to rest there. What does love look like in practice? He has said, in chapter 10, “All things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” As he goes on to give instructions on public worship in chapter 14, he uses the phrase build up six more times. In this way, Paul expands on what he meant when he said, “love doesn’t seek its own way” (13:5).
So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church (14:12).
But wait a minute. Is everything I’ve been given for other people? Don’t I have my rights? Paul asks this same question in chapter 9. He basically says, Hey, I’m an apostle! Can’t I do the same things the others do? Yes, he can. But he has, “made no use of any of these rights” (9:15). Why?
- For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them (9:19).
- I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some (9:22).
- Just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved (10:33).
How was Paul able to give up his rights in order to live as a servant?
So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified (9:26-27).
What would my life look like if I were trying to be all things to all people; if I were pummeling my body and making it my slave; if I made myself a servant to all? What if I never let my freedom be a stumbling block to anyone else; if everything I did was for God’s glory?
I pray with Paul:
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith–that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that suprasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:14-19).
Scriptures for Reflection
Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:12-16).
Reach for More
Make time this week to read the book of 1 Corinthians in one sitting. Focus on the themes of freedom, order, and peace, rather than doctrinal questions. Allow God to show you his best way for your life.
Through the gift of a faithful mother and grandmother, grew up knowing Jesus as a friend. Married for nearly two-thirds of her life, there has been time for several seasons, from homeschooling to owning a coffee shop. She has three grown children and eight grandchildren. An element of this season is writing about literature and life at Plumfield and Paideia.
Photograph © Nathan Karas, used with permission
