What the Bible says about Spiritual Problems
(From Forerunner Commentary)

1 Corinthians 10:11-13 The high-achievers of this world have many of the same run-of-the-mill problems that everybody experiences. Going to the moon did not change the kind of person that Neil Armstrong would have been anywhere: withdrawn and enigmatic, a puzzling person who just wanted to be alone, as he was described. It is the same with others. Their fame, the fortune, the academic and professional accomplishments have not proved to be an advantage to help them avoid the very kinds of things that trouble us, so all of their accomplishments, their fame, and their money are not the solutions. They have these things, yet they face the same kinds of problems. In most cases, they cannot meet them well. So, having more brains, money, ease, and fame has not insulated them from divorce, withdrawn and alienated children, emotional breakdowns, and health problems. By "common," used here in verse 13, God means that the problems are nothing exceptional. They are not beyond the powers of endurance. The word translated "taken" or "overtaken" adds to our understanding of the kind of problem. It is written in the perfect tense and indicates a lasting condition—something one has to deal with every day, a chronic problem. It just does not go away. "Escape" indicates a way out of a defile, a tight spot, as if surrounded. The word "temptation" is one of the more interesting ones in this whole series of verses because, interestingly, it indicates something designed and unavoidable. It suggests a trial that could become a temptation—something that has been designed and is unavoidable rather than being merely a difficult happenstance, such as a "time and chance" occurrence. It is a test such as a teacher would give. One cannot avoid tests when a student in school. Overall, because God is faithful, it shows that we can successfully meet our difficulties in life, so there is a great deal of assurance here for those whom God has called. It leaves those He has not called out of this assurance. Life is difficult, but being a high-achiever in this world does not guarantee that one will escape difficulty. The lessons of the Feast of Pentecost have a great deal to do with pointing us in the right direction to enable us to endure and overcome these lasting, chronic problems common to mankind. John W. Ritenbaugh Rejoice in What We Are (2011) Related Topics: | Accomplishments | Common Experiences | Divorce | Endurance | Fame is Fleeting | Family Problems | Financial Problems | Patient Endurance | Pentecost | Problems, Solving | Rejoice | Spiritual Problems | Way of Escape from Temptation | Way of Escape, the

Galatians 6:9-10 In its broader context, Galatians 6:1-10 has spiritual matters more directly in mind than physical needs. This does not deny that there are times to help out physically, but the chapter begins with, "If one sees a brother in a fault. . . ." This the real foundation of the charge in verses 9 and 10. It is concerned primarily with spiritual matters, where the church's problems really lie. The church's problems are spiritual in nature. In terms of the ministry, from the top of the administration on down, its emphasis must be on "feeding the flock." If there is a spiritual problem within the church, and we are charged first with taking care of the church, then it means that the administration of the church has to shift gears and take care of that spiritual problem first. It has first priority, not the preaching of the gospel to the world. John W. Ritenbaugh What Is the Work of God Now? (Part Four) Related Topics: Church | Church, Function of | Church, The | Church, Work of the | Fault Finding | Faults, Confessing of | Feeding the Flock | Minister | Minister, Duty of | Ministry | Preaching the Gospel | Priorities | Priorities, Spiritual | Prioritizing | Spiritual Priorities | Spiritual Problems | Work Of God | Work of God, Priorities of

 

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