The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

1 Corinthians 2:6-9, “…we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;

7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory;

8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;

9 but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man –all that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Did you ever try to speak to a child as if he were an adult? If you did, you were probably not surprised that he didn’t understand your meaning. Further, the child probably didn’t understand your words. Words are always necessary to make a meaning clear. I was only a child when a woman spoke to me in French. I knew nothing of what she said!

Paul had just denounced the superiority of speech and wisdom. They were all the rage in ancient Greece. Yet, Paul used simple words when preaching and teaching about the LORD Jesus Christ. He wanted everyone to understand the Gospel. At the same time, he recognized that while the LORD intended His words for all mankind, some things were concealed until a predetermined time. None of the rulers of previous ages had understood the LORD’s Words. Had they understood, “they would not have crucified the LORD of glory.”

Then in the ninth verse, Paul shakes the mentality of the Corinthian Christians (to say nothing of what he does to you and me!) when he states, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

It was a quotation of Isaiah 64:4, “For from of old, they have not heard nor perceived by ear, neither has the eye seen a God besides Thee, Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.”

This word from the Father fundamentally concerns the LORD Jesus Christ. None of those in the Old Testament era fully understood Jesus’ coming ministry or sacrifice. Some believers today fail to understand that the LORD has phenomenal “surprise blessings” for us –we just have to wait for His timing! We don’t come close to guessing what blessings He has for us. Yet, in His own time, His blessings will be poured out upon believers in a fury beyond belief! Is it all worth waiting for? Indeed it is! But, how precious and glorious the gifts depends upon our trust and obedience to His promises.

Turn your heart to the LORD! Earnestly study and treasure His Word! Faithfully pray for the lost, for missionaries, for your family, for your pastor-teachers, for you own life! You have no idea how glorious God’s gifts can be! (Thank You, LORD!)

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

1 Corinthians 2:1-5, “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority

of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.

2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.

4 And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in

demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

5 that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”

It was one of those extraordinary situations. I was leaving a meeting where some of the most well-known preachers of that era had spoken. In the huge exodus from the auditorium, one person was overheard to say, “What a marvelous preacher that man that man is!” While in the same crowd leaving the same meeting, another was overheard to say, “What a marvelous Savior that man has!”

Real ministry for Christ excels not in the magnificence of oratorical genius, but in the humility of heart in the one who has been with Jesus. Paul addresses the Corinthians Christians with this simple truth: Christ and Him crucified. All great men of God have

exemplified personal weakness while emphasizing the strength and power of Almighty God!

Why is this true? The secret is that when men sense their own inadequacy in sharing truths about Almighty God, the Holy Spirit countermands that human weakness with the power of Divine Truth. And it is that truth that convinces lost mankind of his lostness and

awakens his dead spirit to embrace the LORD Jesus Christ as his Savior and LORD! It’s not psychological manipulation; it’s the Divine operation of the Holy Spirit of God.

Let your faith rest in the power of God; and He will touch the soul that we cannot.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

1 Corinthians 1:26-31, “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many

wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;

27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has

chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,

28 and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that

are not, that He might nullify the things that are,

29 that no man should boast before God.

30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and

righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,

31 that, just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.’”

The careful reader will quickly discover that this passage from Paul teaches that the LORD delights in showing how much He can do, using base and weak things. He delights in using us! To use those with wealth and power simply exaggerates their self-adulation. What would keep them, for example, from exerting even greater pride over their own accomplishments? It would then appear that they alone had accomplished a fete no one else could accomplish.

But, the LORD uses the poor, the weak, the unpretentious souls, whom no one would expect to accomplish anything. He uses them (us!) to demonstrate His power! And in such demonstration, He shames those who have deceived themselves into thinking that the accomplishments were theirs alone.

Make no mistake about it: “wisdom, righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” are the LORD’s doings alone! We are neither righteous nor holy; yet He declares us such when we turn from sin and embrace His Son, Jesus, as our LORD and Savior! The world does not understand, for it has none of His wisdom.

Are we then to engage in boasting? Yes, provided our boasting focuses on Christ and His accomplishments. When we think we are something, we are nothing! When we reason that in ourselves we are worthless, He makes us something; and He is glorified in the process! Yes, we must boast –but only of our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

1 Corinthians 1:11-17, “…I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by

Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you.

12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, ‘I am of Paul,’ and ‘I of Apollos,’

and ‘I of Cephas,’ and ‘I of Christ.’

13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you

baptized in the name of Paul?

14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,

15 that no man should say you were baptized in my name.

16 Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know

whether I baptized any other.

17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of

speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void.”

If anyone reading this Grands Letter thinks it’s possible for something –anything!—to

occur within a church without someone knowing about it –well, they’re kidding themselves.

There was a four-way split in the Church at Corinth. Three of the splinter groups hailed a leading Christian as their leader. The fourth group said Christ was their leader. Communication was not that swift in Greece in those days, so possibly no one would know. Yet, now comes a letter from the Apostle Paul, saying that he had been informed of the situation; and to certify it, he named people related to Chloe as his informants.

Problems such as this continue into our 21st Century. As justifiable as the adherents to each division believed itself to be, Paul exonerated no one from guilt. Paul, Apollos, and Cephas (Peter) were not crucified for the church. No one was baptized in the name of Paul. He can only name a few whom he baptized; and besides, the preaching of the Gospel was what was important.

Satan is clever! He’s not honest or benefical in any way, but he is clever! He attacked what was possibly a healthy church, dividing it into argumentative groups, causing each to believe that its own group was right. How does a church fight within itself and still share the love and good news of the Gospel? It works the same way with a husband and wife. No one can argue and fight and then go out and share Christ’s love with others. It is simply impossible. The lost will immediately see through the hypocrisy.

The LORD has called each of us to repent of our sin and trust Him to be our LORD and Savior. He then sends us into the world-at-large to share His Gospel (Good News) with those who have never heard. Our lives have to be spiritually clean and devoid of sin that would interfere with our sharing of His Message of love. If churches need to clean up their act, so do individuals. After all, it’s the LORD’s Name that will suffer; and as it does, those who need His salvation will suffer, too. Let’s clean up our act! Get into the Word!

Spend time in prayer! And speak with loving boldness to those who’ve never heard.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

1 Corinthians 5:9-13, “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;

10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and

swindlers, or with idolaters; for then you would have to go out of the world.

11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he should be

an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a

swindler– not even to eat with such a one.

12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within

the church?

13 But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.”

There’s an old “saying” that the reason preachers’ kids are so obstreperous is that they had only the deacons’ kids with whom to play. I used to joke about that until I remembered that my dad was a deacon! All kidding aside, we all –young and old, Christian and non-Christian— tend to blend in with those with whom we associate.

The Corinthian Church members were Christians (at least, for the most part), yet even the Christians had not divested themselves of all the evil that surrounded them daily. Let us be honest: neither have we! That makes Paul’s letters to the Corinthians relevant to us today. What’s worse, is when “Christians” within the church behave more like the lost in the community than like “born-again” believers in Jesus!

Paul’s warning is like a boxer’s right-cross to his opponent’s jaw! “Do not associate with immoral people!” The Corinthians misunderstood and possibly ceased from witnessing to the lost because they were immoral. But that is NOT what Paul meant! He then lists a litany of sins: covetous (those who always want more), swindlers (thieves), and those who worship idols. Note, however, that had the Corinthians taken Paul literally, they would have had to leave the world because everyone in the world sins against God in one way or another!

Further, Paul makes it clear that his current communication is for the benefit of the Corinthian Church; it has nothing to do with the lost (the outsiders). It is not that Paul is not concerned about the lost, but the Church has to get right first. That’s so true of us. It is of little-to-no value that we witness to lost people, if we do the same things they do. How do we demonstrate Christ’s love and change in us –if there isn’t any?

Paul’s final admonition is that they remove the wicked man (???????, poneros means evil-producing) from the Church! How many would be left in our churches today, if we obeyed this Pauline directive? Ouch!! Failure to cleanse the Church of those who live contrary to the Biblical directive for believers, will ultimately result in the Church’s degenerative lifestyle. How are parents honored if their children are allowed to engage in the grossest of evil? How is the LORD honored if His Church allows its members to live degenerate lives?

We cannot be accountable for everyone; but we can and are accountable for ourselves! Check up on your lifestyle? Do you look like Jesus, or more like those He came to save?

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”