WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.919 Today we are back in 1 Corinthians and back to 00:00:02.919 --> 00:00:06.219 Paul's passionate rebuke and exhortation to the 00:00:06.219 --> 00:00:09.080 believers in the first century city of Corinth 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:12.080 concerning the nature of the church there. And 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:15.259 as we know, it was a bit of a mess there in Corinth. 00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:18.899 Last fall, I had the privilege of teaching the 00:00:18.899 --> 00:00:22.019 history of the church at Masters University. 00:00:22.890 --> 00:00:25.710 And I began the semester by asking the students 00:00:25.710 --> 00:00:28.829 a series of questions on the very first day of 00:00:28.829 --> 00:00:31.329 class. This was my introduction to the course. 00:00:31.489 --> 00:00:34.090 I asked these questions that you see on the screen. 00:00:34.170 --> 00:00:38.750 I said, what is the church? And I got a bunch 00:00:38.750 --> 00:00:42.049 of blank stares. How do we define that? What 00:00:42.049 --> 00:00:47.090 is the church? Is the church visible or is it 00:00:47.090 --> 00:00:55.530 invisible? Where is it located, the true church? 00:00:56.729 --> 00:01:01.869 Will I find it in a particular institution? Or 00:01:01.869 --> 00:01:03.990 will I find it in a particular type of building 00:01:03.990 --> 00:01:09.069 or an ecclesiastical system? And if the knee 00:01:09.069 --> 00:01:11.829 -jerk reaction is, no, Jeff, it's a people, okay, 00:01:12.010 --> 00:01:16.829 which people? And what is it that binds that 00:01:16.829 --> 00:01:19.890 people together that then makes them this thing 00:01:19.890 --> 00:01:23.519 we call the church? The reality is if you've 00:01:23.519 --> 00:01:25.260 grown up around the church in America in the 00:01:25.260 --> 00:01:27.620 modern age, those might be difficult questions 00:01:27.620 --> 00:01:31.900 to answer. Not because the Bible and church history 00:01:31.900 --> 00:01:34.719 are somehow lacking in giving us the right answers, 00:01:34.819 --> 00:01:37.519 but because church leaders, for the most part, 00:01:37.640 --> 00:01:40.180 have done a poor job informing their congregations 00:01:40.180 --> 00:01:43.219 of what God's design for the church has always 00:01:43.219 --> 00:01:46.620 been from the very beginning. Sadly, the things 00:01:46.620 --> 00:01:49.780 that we value most here in the West run counter 00:01:50.620 --> 00:01:53.819 to God's design for the church. The things that 00:01:53.819 --> 00:01:56.760 we love, things we grew up in, they run counter 00:01:56.760 --> 00:01:59.200 to everything that God has said about belonging 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:01.760 to his church. I'll give you a brief list of 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:04.819 them. Individualism. We love that as Americans, 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:08.960 right? Rugged individualism. Consumer choice. 00:02:10.139 --> 00:02:12.800 We want all the choices we can get, right? And 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:17.280 then we pick according to what we want. All kinds 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:20.590 of forms of pragmatism. Whatever works. We make 00:02:20.590 --> 00:02:23.650 it up, but whatever works is what guides our 00:02:23.650 --> 00:02:27.449 choices. The pursuit of comfort and wealth and 00:02:27.449 --> 00:02:32.009 all things. Defining success by, boy, that's 00:02:32.009 --> 00:02:35.590 big or that's popular. That automatically means 00:02:35.590 --> 00:02:40.590 success. Faith. Your faith is actually just a 00:02:40.590 --> 00:02:45.210 personal and private matter. Doesn't impact other 00:02:45.210 --> 00:02:48.669 people. It's about you and God alone. And the 00:02:48.669 --> 00:02:51.830 notion that if I'm just spiritual, that's actually 00:02:51.830 --> 00:02:55.969 better, more valuable than being a part of this 00:02:55.969 --> 00:02:58.669 boogeyman we've created called organized religion. 00:02:58.710 --> 00:03:01.389 I always ask the question, would you prefer disorganized 00:03:01.389 --> 00:03:05.030 religion? But these things are out there, right? 00:03:05.129 --> 00:03:07.030 And all of these trends that you see on the screen 00:03:07.030 --> 00:03:09.629 have led to the degrading of biblical Christianity 00:03:09.629 --> 00:03:13.050 in this country. And in its place, something 00:03:13.050 --> 00:03:16.020 has risen that... would be unrecognizable to 00:03:16.020 --> 00:03:19.360 a Christian who lived in the year 150 or 325 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:24.819 or 450 or even 1600 or 1800. Unrecognizable. 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:29.139 Cultural Christianity in the modern age has reshaped 00:03:29.139 --> 00:03:31.240 how we think about this concept of belonging. 00:03:33.159 --> 00:03:35.400 Rather than viewing our place in the body of 00:03:35.400 --> 00:03:38.120 Christ as faithfully and sacrificially bound 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:42.060 to other believers by covenant, we now tend to 00:03:42.060 --> 00:03:45.810 see the church as optional. It's just optional 00:03:45.810 --> 00:03:50.110 or therapeutic, mostly self -focused, a religious 00:03:50.110 --> 00:03:54.569 add -on to our busy lives that when we do choose 00:03:54.569 --> 00:03:57.389 to participate, we do so with the idea that this 00:03:57.389 --> 00:04:01.550 will personally benefit me. We put ourselves 00:04:01.550 --> 00:04:04.729 at the center of everything. We no longer see 00:04:04.729 --> 00:04:07.289 the church as God describes it, as the place 00:04:07.289 --> 00:04:11.349 where his presence collectively dwells in us. 00:04:13.389 --> 00:04:15.669 And we only have ourselves to blame, and I especially 00:04:15.669 --> 00:04:18.149 blame church leaders, men and women who've written 00:04:18.149 --> 00:04:20.810 book after book and given talk after talk about 00:04:20.810 --> 00:04:24.410 how the church needs to change and adapt to cultural 00:04:24.410 --> 00:04:28.449 trends rather than staying anchored to the eternal 00:04:28.449 --> 00:04:33.269 truths in God's word. And so now if you rub shoulders 00:04:33.269 --> 00:04:35.329 with other pastors, you hear these buzz phrases, 00:04:35.569 --> 00:04:39.050 church strategy, church vision, where the whole 00:04:39.050 --> 00:04:42.959 goal is to tap into religious consumers. rather 00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:46.959 than to form a covenant people. And of course, 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:50.060 what that means is we now emphasize style and 00:04:50.060 --> 00:04:55.699 the vibe, the vibe over real substance. In so 00:04:55.699 --> 00:04:59.560 many churches, it's about the style. It means 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:02.259 making things as convenient as possible for the 00:05:02.259 --> 00:05:05.399 people rather than requiring sacrifice from them. 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:11.860 Striving for big and shiny above. gritty and 00:05:11.860 --> 00:05:15.720 authentic. Just big and shiny, the big show, 00:05:15.819 --> 00:05:19.699 the big lights. It means entertainment over liturgy. 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:23.560 It means teaching that is topical and shallow 00:05:23.560 --> 00:05:27.019 over teaching that is scripturally deep and challenging. 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:30.220 And by doing this, we've allowed the average 00:05:30.220 --> 00:05:32.680 Christian to wrongly think that belonging to 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:37.019 a church is a weekly event rather than a way 00:05:37.019 --> 00:05:40.889 of life. Oh, I belong to that church. How do 00:05:40.889 --> 00:05:45.170 I know? I go there sometimes on Sundays. That 00:05:45.170 --> 00:05:48.029 worship is what we do when we just sing praises 00:05:48.029 --> 00:05:50.990 on Sundays. That's it. That's the extent of worship. 00:05:51.790 --> 00:05:54.129 That ministry is done by the professionals, by 00:05:54.129 --> 00:05:56.850 an elite few. The rest of us, we just attend. 00:05:57.149 --> 00:06:01.329 We attend services and we sit there and we enjoy. 00:06:02.850 --> 00:06:04.649 And by the way, if your church fails to meet 00:06:04.649 --> 00:06:07.329 your expectations, You just go down the street 00:06:07.329 --> 00:06:09.230 and find a new church who might make you more 00:06:09.230 --> 00:06:12.329 comfortable. Because there's so many to choose 00:06:12.329 --> 00:06:16.310 from, and we are consumers at heart. So the problem 00:06:16.310 --> 00:06:19.149 we face today, it just isn't ignorance on the 00:06:19.149 --> 00:06:21.970 part of congregants. It's a problem of church 00:06:21.970 --> 00:06:24.189 leaders and the formation that we've done in 00:06:24.189 --> 00:06:26.449 our local churches. We've allowed our modern 00:06:26.449 --> 00:06:28.970 values not just to seep into the church, but 00:06:28.970 --> 00:06:32.550 to overwhelm what was once an ancient and sacred 00:06:32.550 --> 00:06:35.589 thing described for us in the words of Scripture. 00:06:39.079 --> 00:06:41.379 This morning when I walked in, the band was rehearsing 00:06:41.379 --> 00:06:43.019 the song we're going to sing next. It's called 00:06:43.019 --> 00:06:45.860 Forgiven. And this lyric just jumped out at me 00:06:45.860 --> 00:06:49.079 as I was praying through my morning. We've forsaken 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:54.300 the feast above for all the crumbs below. And 00:06:54.300 --> 00:06:57.160 that's true about the church. All these crumbs 00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:02.589 that we've found acceptable, sufficient. And 00:07:02.589 --> 00:07:05.050 so this morning, as we come into God's word, 00:07:05.110 --> 00:07:07.589 I want to implore you to lay aside what you think 00:07:07.589 --> 00:07:10.550 you know about the church. I want you to lay 00:07:10.550 --> 00:07:12.629 aside your expectations and your preferences. 00:07:12.889 --> 00:07:15.269 Lay aside whatever tradition you were raised 00:07:15.269 --> 00:07:17.449 in or whatever you remember from some church 00:07:17.449 --> 00:07:19.790 in the past that you experienced. I want you 00:07:19.790 --> 00:07:23.189 to completely clear the deck in your minds and 00:07:23.189 --> 00:07:26.069 look afresh at what God's word says about who 00:07:26.069 --> 00:07:29.110 you are as a member of the body of Christ, what 00:07:29.110 --> 00:07:33.589 scripture says. this place is. And what if I 00:07:33.589 --> 00:07:35.670 told you, according to God's word, we're far 00:07:35.670 --> 00:07:37.589 more than just a group of religious individuals 00:07:37.589 --> 00:07:41.089 who come to a gathering spot on Sundays to hear 00:07:41.089 --> 00:07:44.290 the word preached and to sing songs. That it's 00:07:44.290 --> 00:07:46.449 so much more than that. What if I told you we 00:07:46.449 --> 00:07:49.230 are a people bound together as a part of God's 00:07:49.230 --> 00:07:54.569 holy dwelling place? That we embody that. Would 00:07:54.569 --> 00:07:56.310 that not change the way you view the church? 00:07:56.550 --> 00:07:59.360 Would that not change the way you function? within 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:01.600 the local church. Just a quick warning for you 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:05.199 before we jump in. Today's passage might require 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:07.839 you to completely rethink your life as a Christ 00:08:07.839 --> 00:08:11.800 follower. Are you okay with that? Are you open 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:14.259 to that? To have to rethink the way that you 00:08:14.259 --> 00:08:16.279 have always thought about the church, to rethink 00:08:16.279 --> 00:08:18.639 about how you participate in the life of the 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:22.300 church. Okay, grab your Bibles. We're going to 00:08:22.300 --> 00:08:28.589 1 Corinthians 3. 1 Corinthians 3, we're finishing 00:08:28.589 --> 00:08:31.410 the chapter today. Guys, this means we're almost 00:08:31.410 --> 00:08:40.710 20 % into the letter. We are just flying. Chapter 00:08:40.710 --> 00:08:45.629 3, verses 16 to 23 this morning. But first, just 00:08:45.629 --> 00:08:47.590 to get the context, let's back up to verse 10. 00:08:47.750 --> 00:08:49.230 We'll read from there because this is where, 00:08:49.309 --> 00:08:51.049 beginning in verse 10, where Paul starts talking 00:08:51.049 --> 00:08:54.429 about the building of this structure that we 00:08:54.429 --> 00:08:57.090 call the church. And this is very important. 00:08:57.250 --> 00:09:01.149 Verse 10. According to the grace of God which 00:09:01.149 --> 00:09:04.169 was given to me, Paul says, like a wise master 00:09:04.169 --> 00:09:08.789 builder, I laid a foundation. For what? For the 00:09:08.789 --> 00:09:11.789 church, right? For the church in Corinth. And 00:09:11.789 --> 00:09:14.629 another is building on it. But each man must 00:09:14.629 --> 00:09:18.149 be careful how he builds on it. For no man can 00:09:18.149 --> 00:09:20.370 lay a foundation other than the one which is 00:09:20.370 --> 00:09:23.309 laid, which is Jesus Christ. We talked about 00:09:23.309 --> 00:09:25.889 you don't keep laying foundations. There's one 00:09:25.889 --> 00:09:29.450 foundation for the local church, and it's Jesus 00:09:29.450 --> 00:09:32.309 Christ, verse 12. Now, if any man builds on a 00:09:32.309 --> 00:09:34.529 foundation with, look at the beautiful things, 00:09:34.610 --> 00:09:38.590 gold, silver, precious stones, and then look 00:09:38.590 --> 00:09:42.149 at the very ordinary things, wood, hay, straw, 00:09:42.450 --> 00:09:45.970 each man's work will become evident for the day. 00:09:46.919 --> 00:09:49.919 The Bema Seat Judgment of Christ, the day will 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:53.120 show it because it's to be revealed with fire, 00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:57.139 and the fire itself will test the quality of 00:09:57.139 --> 00:10:02.019 each man's work. All the work that we do for 00:10:02.019 --> 00:10:03.740 the kingdom of God, for the local church, all 00:10:03.740 --> 00:10:06.759 the works that we do will be tested by fire in 00:10:06.759 --> 00:10:09.440 the end. If any man's work, which he's built 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:13.659 on it, remains, he will receive a reward. If 00:10:13.659 --> 00:10:16.519 any man's work is burned up, He will suffer loss, 00:10:16.740 --> 00:10:20.799 but he himself will be saved. Yet so as through 00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:24.980 fire. Two weeks ago, or three weeks ago, we talked 00:10:24.980 --> 00:10:27.600 about that, right? The bama seat, judgment and 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:31.279 the rewards and the loss. It's a serious passage, 00:10:31.379 --> 00:10:37.259 isn't it? Now, today's verses, verse 16. Do you 00:10:37.259 --> 00:10:42.240 not know that you are a temple of God and that 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:46.169 the spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys 00:10:46.169 --> 00:10:49.830 the temple of God, God will destroy him. For 00:10:49.830 --> 00:10:53.250 the temple of God is holy and that is what you 00:10:53.250 --> 00:10:58.929 are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among 00:10:58.929 --> 00:11:01.590 you thinks he's wise in this age, he must become 00:11:01.590 --> 00:11:06.090 foolish so that he may become wise. For the wisdom 00:11:06.090 --> 00:11:09.049 of this world is foolishness before God. For 00:11:09.049 --> 00:11:11.710 it is written, this comes from the book of Job, 00:11:11.909 --> 00:11:15.879 he is one who catches the wise, and their craftiness. 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:18.440 And again, from the book of Psalms, the Lord 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:21.639 knows the reasonings of the wise that they are 00:11:21.639 --> 00:11:25.980 useless. So then let no one boast in men, for 00:11:25.980 --> 00:11:29.220 all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos 00:11:29.220 --> 00:11:33.360 or Cephas or the world or life or death or things 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:37.059 present or things to come. All things belong 00:11:37.059 --> 00:11:43.139 to you, Christians. And you belong to Christ. 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:47.259 And Christ belongs to God. Now, I'm going to 00:11:47.259 --> 00:11:49.360 do something unusual this morning. I'm going 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:51.740 to briefly touch on those last six verses first, 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:54.440 verses 18 to 23, and then we'll come back to 00:11:54.440 --> 00:11:56.279 the primary focus for this morning, which is 00:11:56.279 --> 00:11:59.179 just the two verses you see there, verses 16 00:11:59.179 --> 00:12:01.240 and 17. Here's the reason why we're doing this. 00:12:01.620 --> 00:12:04.960 Verses 18 and 23 are very much a summary of what 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:07.159 Paul has been writing since chapter one, right? 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:09.940 This same theme has come through in all three 00:12:09.940 --> 00:12:12.659 of these chapters, and it's a summary. So we've 00:12:12.659 --> 00:12:14.659 spent quite a bit of time studying these things. 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:17.139 What I'll do is just point out some interesting 00:12:17.139 --> 00:12:19.720 nuances in that last section, and then we'll 00:12:19.720 --> 00:12:21.620 come back to the big idea for today. Make sense? 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:24.539 Okay, look back at verse 18, and you'll notice 00:12:24.539 --> 00:12:27.419 that he's talking again about this issue of wisdom. 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:31.259 which was so important to Greeks, right? Wisdom. 00:12:31.399 --> 00:12:34.580 And he's once again making this contrast. You 00:12:34.580 --> 00:12:37.299 have the wisdom of man and you have the wisdom 00:12:37.299 --> 00:12:39.980 of God, divine wisdom. Okay, so there's this 00:12:39.980 --> 00:12:42.539 type of wisdom out there. We see it every day 00:12:42.539 --> 00:12:47.779 that is earthly. It belongs to this age, Paul 00:12:47.779 --> 00:12:51.200 says. Not eternity, but to this age. And there 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:53.320 are many men and women out there, back in Paul's 00:12:53.320 --> 00:12:56.080 day and today, who think they're very wise according 00:12:56.080 --> 00:12:59.759 to this. standard of the world. But in verse 00:12:59.759 --> 00:13:02.700 19, Paul renews our thinking and says, no, no, 00:13:02.700 --> 00:13:05.220 think differently about this. In reality, the 00:13:05.220 --> 00:13:08.220 opposite is true. In verse 19, he says, the wisdom 00:13:08.220 --> 00:13:11.720 of this world at this age is actually foolishness 00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:17.980 before God. It's foolishness before God. So a 00:13:17.980 --> 00:13:21.789 man may be very well read, very impressive. in 00:13:21.789 --> 00:13:25.549 his knowledge of all kinds of topics of math 00:13:25.549 --> 00:13:28.929 and history and science and literature, all kinds 00:13:28.929 --> 00:13:31.690 of things. But apart from knowing God, he's actually 00:13:31.690 --> 00:13:34.870 a fool, right? According to the standard of divine 00:13:34.870 --> 00:13:38.370 wisdom, he's a fool. Because after all, think 00:13:38.370 --> 00:13:40.950 about this, what creature, what creature's thinking, 00:13:41.029 --> 00:13:43.409 no matter how earthly smart they are, is comparable 00:13:43.409 --> 00:13:46.669 to the Almighty Creator. So whose word are you 00:13:46.669 --> 00:13:48.549 going to take, man's or the Creator's, right? 00:13:50.120 --> 00:13:53.000 And the irony is that that earthly wise man or 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:55.340 woman is going to look at you or look at me and 00:13:55.340 --> 00:13:57.679 say, you're a fool for trusting the creator. 00:13:59.179 --> 00:14:01.879 Right? We hear this all the time. And knowing 00:14:01.879 --> 00:14:03.980 this, Paul doesn't hold back in verse 18. He 00:14:03.980 --> 00:14:07.100 says, look, if you think you're wise according 00:14:07.100 --> 00:14:09.460 to the standard of this age, if that's what you're 00:14:09.460 --> 00:14:12.759 looking for, let me warn you, you better become 00:14:12.759 --> 00:14:18.940 a fool before God. Get it straight. And he says, 00:14:18.940 --> 00:14:20.539 if you're willing to become that kind of fool 00:14:20.539 --> 00:14:22.580 before God, then guess what? You're actually 00:14:22.580 --> 00:14:24.899 becoming wise, right? He turns the whole thing 00:14:24.899 --> 00:14:27.460 up on its head. You're actually becoming wise. 00:14:27.580 --> 00:14:29.460 And that's according to the only standard that 00:14:29.460 --> 00:14:32.080 will matter in the end. You can get all the approval 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:34.759 of man in this age. When you pass into eternity, 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:39.100 it is not going to matter a lick. The only standard 00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:41.740 that's going to matter in the end is the standard 00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:44.259 of the eternal judge. So be a fool before him. 00:14:45.309 --> 00:14:47.049 That's what Paul is trying to say here. Now, 00:14:47.070 --> 00:14:49.110 he's been walking through the same argument since 00:14:49.110 --> 00:14:51.190 the beginning of the letter. What's new in this 00:14:51.190 --> 00:14:53.470 section, and I want you to see this, is the very 00:14:53.470 --> 00:14:56.710 opening part of verse 18. He says, let no man 00:14:56.710 --> 00:14:59.090 deceive himself. That should be a warning to 00:14:59.090 --> 00:15:01.850 us. He's writing to Christians, and he's saying, 00:15:01.889 --> 00:15:05.710 don't be self -deceived. The truth is, true born 00:15:05.710 --> 00:15:09.269 -again believers can be self -deceived, especially 00:15:09.269 --> 00:15:13.950 in this area. We can find ourselves getting swept 00:15:13.950 --> 00:15:16.970 up by the wisdom of this age, putting more time, 00:15:17.009 --> 00:15:20.830 more stock, more trust in the opinions of intellectuals 00:15:20.830 --> 00:15:23.870 and influencers than the truths that God has 00:15:23.870 --> 00:15:27.490 shown us in his word. We spend way more time, 00:15:27.590 --> 00:15:32.610 right, on YouTube and on social media and all 00:15:32.610 --> 00:15:35.649 kinds of opinions of intellectuals and influencers, 00:15:35.929 --> 00:15:39.259 right, philosophers of this age. And if we're 00:15:39.259 --> 00:15:41.179 not alert and careful, we can find ourselves 00:15:41.179 --> 00:15:44.779 so absorbed in those worldly pursuits, so absorbed 00:15:44.779 --> 00:15:47.480 in those earthly philosophies that we take the 00:15:47.480 --> 00:15:50.139 mind of Christ and we replace it with the mindset 00:15:50.139 --> 00:15:53.879 of the world. That's easy for any of us. Look 00:15:53.879 --> 00:15:57.360 at how you spend your time. Look at the places 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:00.460 that you put your mind and your heart. It can 00:16:00.460 --> 00:16:03.990 happen to any of us. So be warned. We're all 00:16:03.990 --> 00:16:06.330 capable of deceiving ourselves, thinking that 00:16:06.330 --> 00:16:08.769 we're becoming wise when actually we're acting 00:16:08.769 --> 00:16:13.110 the fool. So Paul says, get this straight. Remember 00:16:13.110 --> 00:16:15.289 that the wisdom of man is restricted to this 00:16:15.289 --> 00:16:18.370 age. It will pass away. God's thoughts are eternal. 00:16:18.570 --> 00:16:24.049 The word of the Lord shall endure forever. So 00:16:24.049 --> 00:16:27.590 how are you investing your time? It's an important 00:16:27.590 --> 00:16:30.750 question. Even worse than being just temporary, 00:16:31.090 --> 00:16:33.429 Paul's making the case here in this section that 00:16:33.429 --> 00:16:35.769 man's reasonings, they're not just useless in 00:16:35.769 --> 00:16:38.429 eternity, they are capable of leading you astray 00:16:38.429 --> 00:16:42.669 in this life. So be careful, right? So in that 00:16:42.669 --> 00:16:44.490 sense, if they're leading you away from the mind 00:16:44.490 --> 00:16:47.690 of Christ, they're actually destructive. That's 00:16:47.690 --> 00:16:49.509 the case that he's making here. So in light of 00:16:49.509 --> 00:16:51.929 that, he concludes in verse 21, he says, look, 00:16:52.029 --> 00:16:55.929 so then don't boast in men. Stop boasting in 00:16:55.929 --> 00:16:57.669 men. This comes back to this again, the same 00:16:57.669 --> 00:17:00.029 argument he's been making since chapter one. 00:17:00.190 --> 00:17:02.730 He says, stop lining up behind your favorite 00:17:02.730 --> 00:17:06.349 teacher. Stop idolizing these men. As wonderful 00:17:06.349 --> 00:17:08.970 a believer as they are, as great a teacher as 00:17:08.970 --> 00:17:12.690 they are, stop lining up behind them, right? 00:17:12.910 --> 00:17:18.069 Stop doing that. The mindset that you're investing 00:17:18.069 --> 00:17:20.910 in when you do that is symptomatic of the wisdom 00:17:20.910 --> 00:17:24.099 of the world. This is what unbelievers do, right? 00:17:24.180 --> 00:17:26.920 They line up behind their philosophers. Stop 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:28.720 doing this. If you're going to boast in anything, 00:17:28.940 --> 00:17:33.140 boast in the Lord, he says here. And then he 00:17:33.140 --> 00:17:36.579 adds this amazing statement. This is, to me, 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:38.539 when I read this and started studying, it just 00:17:38.539 --> 00:17:40.640 blew my mind, this all -encompassing statement. 00:17:40.680 --> 00:17:44.579 He says, besides, all things belong to you. Did 00:17:44.579 --> 00:17:46.839 you see that? It's verse 21. All things belong 00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:51.869 to you. Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or 00:17:51.869 --> 00:17:54.009 the world or life or death or things present 00:17:54.009 --> 00:17:56.250 or things to come, all things belong to you. 00:17:57.869 --> 00:18:00.430 Here's what he means in context. If you have 00:18:00.430 --> 00:18:02.390 the wisdom of God, if that's what you're driven 00:18:02.390 --> 00:18:04.809 by, the wisdom of God, and you're found in Christ, 00:18:05.069 --> 00:18:08.369 you already have everything. You have everything. 00:18:08.869 --> 00:18:11.569 So you don't have to choose between this apostle 00:18:11.569 --> 00:18:15.809 or that teacher. They all belong to you. Isn't 00:18:15.809 --> 00:18:19.109 that great? I mean, we prayed for Crossroads 00:18:19.109 --> 00:18:21.609 this morning. You could go on and listen to Pastor 00:18:21.609 --> 00:18:24.250 Todd teach. He belongs to you as well. We're 00:18:24.250 --> 00:18:26.990 part of the church. You have my teaching and 00:18:26.990 --> 00:18:30.009 Adam's teaching and our elders. It all belongs 00:18:30.009 --> 00:18:33.509 to you because you're found in Christ. And then 00:18:33.509 --> 00:18:36.190 it gets even bigger and better. As a child of 00:18:36.190 --> 00:18:39.410 God, he says, all of creation is yours as an 00:18:39.410 --> 00:18:42.789 inheritance, right? Every moment of this life, 00:18:42.930 --> 00:18:45.779 he says, is yours. Enjoy it. God has given it 00:18:45.779 --> 00:18:49.000 to you to enjoy. Death is yours. Why? Because 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:51.059 it just ushers you into the presence of Christ, 00:18:51.299 --> 00:18:55.160 right? He goes on, things present. They're yours. 00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:58.480 Enjoy them. The future, all eternity lies ahead 00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:02.180 of you. It's for you. What Paul's doing here 00:19:02.180 --> 00:19:04.559 is he's imploring the Corinthian believers to 00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:08.180 lift their eyes, to quit doing earthly things, 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:11.759 seeing the world through that. The lens of this 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:14.619 age, lift your eyes, see the bigger picture. 00:19:14.980 --> 00:19:18.079 Everything belongs to you in Christ. So why would 00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:20.299 you grumble and divide over something as silly 00:19:20.299 --> 00:19:23.259 as that's my favorite teacher or you're my favorite 00:19:23.259 --> 00:19:27.160 teacher? How silly is that in light of the big 00:19:27.160 --> 00:19:30.619 picture? That's what Paul's saying here. And 00:19:30.619 --> 00:19:32.539 the reality is sometimes, guys, we just need 00:19:32.539 --> 00:19:36.349 to step back. from our petty little issues and 00:19:36.349 --> 00:19:38.970 refocus our minds on the things that really matter, 00:19:39.109 --> 00:19:42.670 who we are in Christ, what we have in him, that 00:19:42.670 --> 00:19:46.029 is a game changer for any Christian to have that 00:19:46.029 --> 00:19:48.789 ability to step back and go, I need to change 00:19:48.789 --> 00:19:52.289 my perspective. Because we get caught up, right, 00:19:52.369 --> 00:19:54.509 in the nitty gritty of life and all the frustrations 00:19:54.509 --> 00:19:57.289 and all these things. Step back. Everything is 00:19:57.289 --> 00:20:02.380 yours. Amen? So, okay, let's get on the big idea 00:20:02.380 --> 00:20:04.599 this morning. I want you to refocus on verse 00:20:04.599 --> 00:20:07.779 16. I want you to take this really seriously. 00:20:08.099 --> 00:20:12.319 Look at verse 16. Do you not know that you are 00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:16.859 a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells 00:20:16.859 --> 00:20:20.539 in you? Now, the first thought in your mind might 00:20:20.539 --> 00:20:24.240 be, and this is indicative of modern -day evangelicalism, 00:20:24.339 --> 00:20:26.480 your first thought might have been individual 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:29.119 when you read that. Paul's talking about me. 00:20:30.059 --> 00:20:33.819 As an individual, my body, as a temple of God, 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:37.660 the spirit who dwells my soul. And that's not 00:20:37.660 --> 00:20:40.980 theologically wrong. That is a true thing. But 00:20:40.980 --> 00:20:43.700 that's not what Paul's talking about here. And 00:20:43.700 --> 00:20:47.380 the interpretive clue that we have for this, 00:20:47.460 --> 00:20:50.119 it's built into the original Greek. You wouldn't 00:20:50.119 --> 00:20:52.819 see it in the English language because our language 00:20:52.819 --> 00:20:55.859 doesn't work this way. Both times in verse 16, 00:20:55.940 --> 00:20:58.359 when he says you, it's written in the plural 00:20:58.359 --> 00:21:02.359 form. He's not talking to individuals. It's in 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:05.700 the plural form. We don't have a plural you in 00:21:05.700 --> 00:21:07.720 English. Isn't that ridiculous? Unless you say 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:11.420 y 'all, right? You add y 'all. Okay, then we'll 00:21:11.420 --> 00:21:13.339 speak to a whole group of people, y 'all. But 00:21:13.339 --> 00:21:15.339 when we say you, it can be singular or it can 00:21:15.339 --> 00:21:18.440 be plural. Well, in the Greek, it's plural. So 00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:21.640 in speaking that way, Paul's talking to the Corinthian 00:21:21.640 --> 00:21:24.309 church as a group. He's talking to the entire 00:21:24.309 --> 00:21:26.829 body of believers in that city. He says, you 00:21:26.829 --> 00:21:32.470 collectively are a temple of God. Look around 00:21:32.470 --> 00:21:37.430 at each other. You collectively are a temple 00:21:37.430 --> 00:21:41.529 of God. And the Spirit of God dwells in your 00:21:41.529 --> 00:21:45.400 midst. That's what he's saying here. Now, it's 00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:47.960 true that our bodies are also, right, as individual 00:21:47.960 --> 00:21:50.079 believers, a temple of the Holy Spirit. Paul's 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:52.019 going to talk about that when we get to chapter 00:21:52.019 --> 00:21:55.779 6 two years from now. Just kidding. Just kidding. 00:21:58.539 --> 00:22:01.420 But the immediate context here, again, what he's 00:22:01.420 --> 00:22:03.079 been talking about is divisions in the entire 00:22:03.079 --> 00:22:05.819 church. So he's not yet gotten to the individual 00:22:05.819 --> 00:22:08.279 temple of the believers. He's still talking about 00:22:08.279 --> 00:22:10.819 the church as a whole. By the way, catch the 00:22:10.819 --> 00:22:13.799 little subtle dig. that Paul puts in here. He 00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:18.859 says, don't you know this? You Corinthians, you 00:22:18.859 --> 00:22:22.119 think you're so wise, right? You think you know 00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:26.200 so many things, yet you're not aware of this 00:22:26.200 --> 00:22:30.099 basic truth that you, the body of Christ in this 00:22:30.099 --> 00:22:33.039 city, that collectively you are a temple of God 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:35.480 and he dwells in your midst. How do you not know 00:22:35.480 --> 00:22:39.759 this? And the implication is this is a basic 00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:43.079 truth. But it's lost on so many Christians in 00:22:43.079 --> 00:22:46.900 this country. It's a basic truth that we just 00:22:46.900 --> 00:22:49.640 haven't understood because of our modern mindset. 00:22:50.960 --> 00:22:53.079 Now remember, again, Paul started to draw the 00:22:53.079 --> 00:22:56.000 picture of this building, this structure back 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:58.660 in verse 10. Like a wise master builder, he says, 00:22:58.680 --> 00:23:02.119 I laid the foundation and now others, including 00:23:02.119 --> 00:23:04.319 the people he's writing to, you guys are building 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:06.660 on it. And he says, look, some of you guys aren't 00:23:06.660 --> 00:23:10.339 being faithful in that building. For whatever 00:23:10.339 --> 00:23:12.140 reason, you're not on the construction team. 00:23:13.240 --> 00:23:15.720 You're using these really perishable things, 00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:18.099 wood, hay, and straw, that aren't going to last. 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:21.740 Others of you are stewarding this well, right? 00:23:21.779 --> 00:23:24.220 You're using imperishable materials, good stewards 00:23:24.220 --> 00:23:27.740 of the project. And this building that Paul founded 00:23:27.740 --> 00:23:31.299 and is now being built, he says it's specifically 00:23:31.299 --> 00:23:34.859 designed to be a temple for Yahweh. That is what 00:23:34.859 --> 00:23:38.240 we're building. We're building a temple for Yahweh, 00:23:38.299 --> 00:23:44.420 the living God. How many of us knew that? We 00:23:44.420 --> 00:23:46.740 just come here on Sundays. It's great. We love 00:23:46.740 --> 00:23:49.380 it. Great music. Get the preaching. It's all 00:23:49.380 --> 00:23:52.480 that. You're building a temple with everyone 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:59.019 else here, a temple for Yahweh. Now, think about 00:23:59.019 --> 00:24:00.839 this for a second. If you're a Greek believer 00:24:00.839 --> 00:24:03.220 in the first century, how would you have understood 00:24:03.220 --> 00:24:05.849 this word temple? If you were a Jewish believer, 00:24:06.009 --> 00:24:08.470 you knew right away, right? The temple in Jerusalem, 00:24:08.750 --> 00:24:12.190 right? They understood what that was. But the 00:24:12.190 --> 00:24:14.250 majority Greek believers in the city of Corinth 00:24:14.250 --> 00:24:16.329 in that church, they would have immediately thought 00:24:16.329 --> 00:24:18.329 of what? All the pagan temples in their city 00:24:18.329 --> 00:24:21.670 and throughout Greece, temples to all kinds of 00:24:21.670 --> 00:24:24.910 false deities, Apollos and Athena and Zeus and 00:24:24.910 --> 00:24:27.930 all the rest, right? But this much they would 00:24:27.930 --> 00:24:29.609 have understood because they'd seen it with their 00:24:29.609 --> 00:24:31.750 own eyes. When a temple is built to a particular 00:24:31.750 --> 00:24:37.089 God, That place, that structure is devoted to 00:24:37.089 --> 00:24:40.329 that God. They understood that because it was 00:24:40.329 --> 00:24:42.970 all over their city. Well, now they're being 00:24:42.970 --> 00:24:47.069 told, you as a people are collectively a temple 00:24:47.069 --> 00:24:53.109 for Yahweh. Right? You're part of Yahweh's holy 00:24:53.109 --> 00:24:58.410 creation. You are his holy place. You, the body 00:24:58.410 --> 00:25:01.250 of believers, are the place where he makes his 00:25:01.250 --> 00:25:05.220 presence known. under the new covenant in the 00:25:05.220 --> 00:25:08.500 person of Jesus Christ. This is a giant vision 00:25:08.500 --> 00:25:11.140 for the church, you guys. Far more than we tend 00:25:11.140 --> 00:25:15.660 to think of. It's mind -blowing, isn't it? Peter 00:25:15.660 --> 00:25:18.000 also talks about this. So this isn't just found 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:21.380 in Paul's writings. Peter, in his first epistle, 00:25:21.420 --> 00:25:23.839 describes the building of this very same temple 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:26.579 to the Lord. Describing the believers themselves 00:25:26.579 --> 00:25:31.309 as what? Living stones. Not only are you building 00:25:31.309 --> 00:25:34.130 together, but you're actually stones in the structure. 00:25:34.930 --> 00:25:37.789 Living stones being built up together into what? 00:25:37.869 --> 00:25:42.670 A spiritual house. Not a church building physically, 00:25:42.869 --> 00:25:46.289 a spiritual house. That is very important to 00:25:46.289 --> 00:25:49.630 recognize. A spiritual house. And then catch 00:25:49.630 --> 00:25:52.269 this, Peter says, all the believers in the church 00:25:52.269 --> 00:25:59.160 together constitute a holy priesthood. You're 00:25:59.160 --> 00:26:02.960 a priest if you're a believer. Now you say, wait, 00:26:03.019 --> 00:26:05.319 how is that possible? Biblically, priests are 00:26:05.319 --> 00:26:08.180 the ones who are set apart by God to offer up 00:26:08.180 --> 00:26:12.960 sacrifices to him. And Peter says, exactly. Did 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:16.259 you catch that? Wait, biblically, priests are 00:26:16.259 --> 00:26:19.140 set apart by God to offer up sacrifices to him. 00:26:19.500 --> 00:26:23.880 Yes. Peter says. That's what we are. He finishes, 00:26:23.940 --> 00:26:26.339 look at how he finishes the thought. Together, 00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:29.039 you're a spiritual house for a holy priesthood 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:33.200 offering up spiritual sacrifices. Not physical, 00:26:33.240 --> 00:26:35.819 we're not bringing animals. Spiritual sacrifices 00:26:35.819 --> 00:26:39.819 acceptable to God through our high priest, our 00:26:39.819 --> 00:26:45.000 mediator, Jesus Christ. So not only are every 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:48.359 one of you in ministry, builders in this construction 00:26:48.359 --> 00:26:51.460 project, you're also a part of a holy priesthood 00:26:51.460 --> 00:26:55.539 bringing spiritual sacrifices to God. Giant vision 00:26:55.539 --> 00:27:00.039 for the church. Giant vision. This means when 00:27:00.039 --> 00:27:03.460 you think about spiritual sacrifices. Bringing 00:27:03.460 --> 00:27:06.039 with you into your life in the church offerings 00:27:06.039 --> 00:27:08.779 of praise and worship, offerings of sacrifice 00:27:08.779 --> 00:27:12.099 and service, offerings of obedience and holiness. 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:14.480 These are the spiritual things that we bring 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:17.279 to the altar of God and say, here I am, Lord. 00:27:18.140 --> 00:27:23.460 Here I am, part of your temple. This is what 00:27:23.460 --> 00:27:25.559 it means to participate in the life of the temple 00:27:25.559 --> 00:27:29.720 of God that we share here at Oak Hill, whether 00:27:29.720 --> 00:27:33.349 you knew that or not. You also heard our call 00:27:33.349 --> 00:27:35.230 to worship passage from earlier in Ephesians 00:27:35.230 --> 00:27:38.930 2, the same picture being drawn for us. Paul 00:27:38.930 --> 00:27:41.109 says, you Gentiles are no longer strangers and 00:27:41.109 --> 00:27:43.849 aliens, but now you're members of God's household. 00:27:44.230 --> 00:27:47.569 You're part of the family. Having been built 00:27:47.569 --> 00:27:49.549 on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, 00:27:49.730 --> 00:27:53.529 Christ himself being the cornerstone. You ready 00:27:53.529 --> 00:27:56.789 for it? In whom, here's this building again, 00:27:56.890 --> 00:28:00.869 the whole building being fitted together is growing 00:28:00.869 --> 00:28:05.910 into what? A holy temple in the Lord. Same language. 00:28:07.230 --> 00:28:10.130 God's design for his church is that all of us 00:28:10.130 --> 00:28:14.130 here be fitted together like those stones that 00:28:14.130 --> 00:28:16.549 Peter talked about. Living stones, each with 00:28:16.549 --> 00:28:19.369 a unique shape and size, each carefully chosen 00:28:19.369 --> 00:28:23.630 by God to fit together into this temple that 00:28:23.630 --> 00:28:27.049 we're building as one. We're to be growing together, 00:28:27.269 --> 00:28:29.490 all of us, each member contributing to the overall 00:28:29.490 --> 00:28:32.480 integrity of the structure. that we have as a 00:28:32.480 --> 00:28:34.660 temple here at Oak Hill. Isn't this a beautiful 00:28:34.660 --> 00:28:40.240 metaphor? Can your mind process this? Isn't it 00:28:40.240 --> 00:28:42.720 more than just, oh yeah, there's this place I 00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:47.140 go to on Sundays. It's so bigger than that. Wow. 00:28:48.019 --> 00:28:50.119 Now at the end of verse 16, Paul tells us this 00:28:50.119 --> 00:28:52.700 also. The Spirit of God dwells in you as a church 00:28:52.700 --> 00:28:56.190 body. Yes, he dwells within you as an individual, 00:28:56.369 --> 00:28:59.509 but he also dwells within the body itself. His 00:28:59.509 --> 00:29:03.990 presence is among us. And listen, this is how 00:29:03.990 --> 00:29:06.410 it's always been with Yahweh. I don't know if 00:29:06.410 --> 00:29:09.849 you know this. I went down this rabbit hole yesterday 00:29:09.849 --> 00:29:12.190 on this. I started thinking about all the ways. 00:29:12.839 --> 00:29:16.819 that God redeems a people so that he can be with 00:29:16.819 --> 00:29:19.940 them, so that he can dwell with them. It is everywhere 00:29:19.940 --> 00:29:22.900 from Genesis to Revelation that God redeems a 00:29:22.900 --> 00:29:26.259 people for himself so that he might dwell with 00:29:26.259 --> 00:29:29.359 them, that we might be his people and he might 00:29:29.359 --> 00:29:32.779 be our God. It's everywhere. I mean, it starts 00:29:32.779 --> 00:29:34.680 in the garden, right? You have Adam and Eve with 00:29:34.680 --> 00:29:38.900 this intimate fellowship with God, intimate fellowship 00:29:38.900 --> 00:29:43.359 with him, right? And then we get to the patriarchs 00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:45.859 and we find God coming to Abraham in Genesis 00:29:45.859 --> 00:29:49.859 12 and saying, walk faithfully before me, Abraham. 00:29:51.720 --> 00:29:54.440 And then we get to Genesis 26 and God says to 00:29:54.440 --> 00:29:58.539 Isaac, I will be with you. I will be with you. 00:29:58.559 --> 00:30:01.559 Genesis 28, God says to Jacob, I am with you 00:30:01.559 --> 00:30:05.160 and I will keep you. Genesis 46, God assures 00:30:05.160 --> 00:30:07.180 Jacob, even though you go into the land of Egypt, 00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:11.160 my presence will be with you. During the Exodus 00:30:11.160 --> 00:30:13.900 and Sinai period, in Exodus 3, God says to Moses, 00:30:14.200 --> 00:30:18.819 I will be with you. This is his desire. Exodus 00:30:18.819 --> 00:30:22.500 19, Israel's called to be what? A kingdom of 00:30:22.500 --> 00:30:25.700 priests and a holy nation. Those are the very 00:30:25.700 --> 00:30:28.299 words that Peter then echoes under the new covenant. 00:30:28.460 --> 00:30:32.109 A kingdom of priests. and a holy nation. Exodus 00:30:32.109 --> 00:30:35.750 29, God says to Moses, I brought my people out 00:30:35.750 --> 00:30:39.349 of Egypt, out of slavery, so that I might dwell 00:30:39.349 --> 00:30:43.529 with them. Exodus 25, God instructs his people 00:30:43.529 --> 00:30:47.349 to build what? A tabernacle and a sanctuary in 00:30:47.349 --> 00:30:50.549 the wilderness. Why? So that I may dwell among 00:30:50.549 --> 00:30:55.109 you. This is what God's always wanted. Exodus 00:30:55.109 --> 00:30:57.710 40, the glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle 00:30:57.710 --> 00:31:02.339 as a sign of what? His constant presence with 00:31:02.339 --> 00:31:05.680 his people. From there, we see Numbers 9. They 00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:07.920 have the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:11.420 of fire by night. Why? That's a sign of Yahweh's 00:31:11.420 --> 00:31:14.160 presence with his people. I'm guiding you and 00:31:14.160 --> 00:31:17.579 I'm among you. Deuteronomy 31, we first hear 00:31:17.579 --> 00:31:20.500 God make this famous declaration. I will not 00:31:20.500 --> 00:31:23.319 fail my people, he says. I will not leave you. 00:31:24.299 --> 00:31:29.410 I will not forsake you. Joshua 1, God promises 00:31:29.410 --> 00:31:33.210 this successor of Moses, I will be with you just 00:31:33.210 --> 00:31:37.269 as I was with Moses. And we get to the period 00:31:37.269 --> 00:31:38.809 of the kings and the presence of God becomes 00:31:38.809 --> 00:31:42.190 even more obvious. The temple in Jerusalem is 00:31:42.190 --> 00:31:44.269 built, the Ark of the Covenant is put in the 00:31:44.269 --> 00:31:48.750 Holy of Holies and this house, this temple, this 00:31:48.750 --> 00:31:51.849 structure becomes the place of Yahweh's name 00:31:51.849 --> 00:31:55.150 and his presence, the place that his people will 00:31:55.150 --> 00:31:58.789 come to pray and to worship. God dwells in their 00:31:58.789 --> 00:32:02.750 midst. 2 Chronicles 7, fire comes down from heaven 00:32:02.750 --> 00:32:06.509 and the glory of the Lord fills the temple. His 00:32:06.509 --> 00:32:11.150 presence established in Zion, his beloved city. 00:32:12.029 --> 00:32:14.509 And then during this period, we have this amazing 00:32:14.509 --> 00:32:18.150 prophecy from Isaiah talking about the future 00:32:18.150 --> 00:32:20.809 Messiah. And what does he say? His name will 00:32:20.809 --> 00:32:28.490 be Emmanuel, which means God with us. That's 00:32:28.490 --> 00:32:31.809 the ultimate promise of Christ, that God is with 00:32:31.809 --> 00:32:36.549 us. Are you seeing the trend? This is what God 00:32:36.549 --> 00:32:39.450 desires. Even in exile, the promise of God's 00:32:39.450 --> 00:32:42.349 presence continues. Jeremiah 31, God gives to 00:32:42.349 --> 00:32:44.450 the house of Israel and Judah the promise of 00:32:44.450 --> 00:32:47.730 a coming new covenant, which includes what? I 00:32:47.730 --> 00:32:51.930 will write my law within you. You will know me 00:32:51.930 --> 00:32:56.359 from the inside, he says. Ezekiel 37, the valley 00:32:56.359 --> 00:32:58.819 of dry bones. They will come to life, he says. 00:32:59.180 --> 00:33:02.440 Israel and Judah will have a promise of restoration, 00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:05.640 a promise of a second temple, the promise of 00:33:05.640 --> 00:33:08.440 a revived Davidic kingdom. And God says, my dwelling 00:33:08.440 --> 00:33:13.559 place shall once again be with them. My presence, 00:33:13.680 --> 00:33:15.900 my presence, my presence. Then we come to the 00:33:15.900 --> 00:33:19.299 New Testament. And in John 1, Emmanuel is revealed 00:33:19.299 --> 00:33:22.980 to us. The logos of God becomes flesh for what 00:33:22.980 --> 00:33:27.339 purpose? To dwell among us and to show us the 00:33:27.339 --> 00:33:32.660 Father in a very personal way. Jesus promises 00:33:32.660 --> 00:33:36.039 to make his dwelling with us. He says, abide 00:33:36.039 --> 00:33:39.740 in me. Make your dwelling with me and I will 00:33:39.740 --> 00:33:43.099 abide with you. We will dwell together, Jesus 00:33:43.099 --> 00:33:46.670 says. In John 2, we learn that the temple is 00:33:46.670 --> 00:33:49.190 going to come down someday, but Jesus himself 00:33:49.190 --> 00:33:55.049 will be our temple. John 14 and 16, Jesus says, 00:33:55.069 --> 00:33:57.990 look, I'm going away, but I promise you, I will 00:33:57.990 --> 00:34:00.349 send you the Holy Spirit who will be with you 00:34:00.349 --> 00:34:06.730 and in you, that God might dwell with you within. 00:34:06.950 --> 00:34:09.869 It's amazing. Matthew 28, Jesus says, by the 00:34:09.869 --> 00:34:13.360 way, by the way. Don't be depressed. I am with 00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:16.980 you always. I'm with you always, even to the 00:34:16.980 --> 00:34:21.119 end of the age, he says to his disciples. It 00:34:21.119 --> 00:34:23.320 doesn't stop there. Acts 2, the Spirit of God 00:34:23.320 --> 00:34:25.599 is poured out on the church, and it's announced. 00:34:25.699 --> 00:34:28.260 Our bodies are now temples of the same Spirit. 00:34:29.719 --> 00:34:32.400 Ephesians 2, Jewish and Gentile believers get 00:34:32.400 --> 00:34:35.139 brought together to be a single dwelling place. 00:34:36.300 --> 00:34:39.480 For God to inhabit. Hebrews 10, we're told that 00:34:39.480 --> 00:34:42.739 through Christ, we have direct access into God's 00:34:42.739 --> 00:34:45.300 presence in the truest tabernacle in heaven. 00:34:45.980 --> 00:34:50.780 God with us. God's presence. He redeems the people 00:34:50.780 --> 00:34:53.880 so that he might dwell with them. And then we 00:34:53.880 --> 00:34:56.619 get the grandest vision of all, Revelation 21. 00:34:57.360 --> 00:34:59.860 the new heaven and the new earth, the final state 00:34:59.860 --> 00:35:02.519 of things. And John says this, I heard a loud 00:35:02.519 --> 00:35:05.519 voice from the throne saying, behold, the tabernacle 00:35:05.519 --> 00:35:11.219 of God is among men. He will dwell with them 00:35:11.219 --> 00:35:13.920 and they shall be his people and God himself 00:35:13.920 --> 00:35:20.639 will be among them. Genesis to Revelation. This 00:35:20.639 --> 00:35:24.469 is the story of God. It's always been about him 00:35:24.469 --> 00:35:26.670 redeeming a people for that purpose that he might 00:35:26.670 --> 00:35:29.929 dwell with us. So now we come back to 1 Corinthians 00:35:29.929 --> 00:35:33.610 3. What's Paul's intention here? To grab the 00:35:33.610 --> 00:35:35.289 attention of these Greek Christians and say, 00:35:35.409 --> 00:35:39.650 don't you understand what God's doing? Do you 00:35:39.650 --> 00:35:42.469 not know what he's trying to do here? What he 00:35:42.469 --> 00:35:45.809 is building in you and through you? Do you not 00:35:45.809 --> 00:35:48.170 understand how special you are to God? You're 00:35:48.170 --> 00:35:50.369 not just a bunch of loosely gathered individual 00:35:50.369 --> 00:35:54.849 worshipers. Together you are a sacred and holy 00:35:54.849 --> 00:35:59.090 temple where God dwells with you by the Spirit. 00:36:01.409 --> 00:36:07.409 He desires to be in your church. He desires to 00:36:07.409 --> 00:36:10.829 be in our church. There's a reason why he cares 00:36:10.829 --> 00:36:14.550 for his church so deeply. Because we were purchased 00:36:14.550 --> 00:36:18.599 by the precious blood of his Son. Right? He cares 00:36:18.599 --> 00:36:21.559 deeply for us. It is a blessing. It is a privilege. 00:36:21.679 --> 00:36:25.599 It's also a responsibility. It's a responsibility. 00:36:25.900 --> 00:36:28.539 It's a stewardship responsibility that we all 00:36:28.539 --> 00:36:31.239 have, not just elders, not just deacons, all 00:36:31.239 --> 00:36:34.039 of us, to build and to serve and to sacrifice 00:36:34.039 --> 00:36:39.699 and to care. Is that how you view your life in 00:36:39.699 --> 00:36:42.280 the church today? Is that how you view how you 00:36:42.280 --> 00:36:45.239 function within this local church with this size 00:36:45.239 --> 00:36:51.320 of a vision? All right, let's look at verse 17. 00:36:54.639 --> 00:36:57.619 Look at the warning now in verse 17. If any man 00:36:57.619 --> 00:36:59.599 destroys the temple of God, God will destroy 00:36:59.599 --> 00:37:03.119 him. Why? Because the temple of God is supposed 00:37:03.119 --> 00:37:07.159 to be holy, right? And he says, that's what you 00:37:07.159 --> 00:37:09.539 are. If you're part of the temple, you are holy 00:37:09.539 --> 00:37:12.219 because God's holy presence dwells among you. 00:37:12.420 --> 00:37:17.489 I've declared you holy, God says. Our God's a 00:37:17.489 --> 00:37:19.449 protective God. That's what we find in verse 00:37:19.449 --> 00:37:22.590 17. He doesn't look kindly upon anybody who comes 00:37:22.590 --> 00:37:25.690 to his church to defile it or destroy it. And 00:37:25.690 --> 00:37:27.449 yes, there are people like that in the world. 00:37:27.989 --> 00:37:30.070 There are people out there in this community 00:37:30.070 --> 00:37:32.849 who have set out to destroy the work of God's 00:37:32.849 --> 00:37:36.469 people, to hinder the work of the church, even 00:37:36.469 --> 00:37:39.969 to try to remove that foundation of Christ through 00:37:39.969 --> 00:37:44.500 false doctrine. They're out there. And in the 00:37:44.500 --> 00:37:46.179 process, look what they're doing, setting themselves 00:37:46.179 --> 00:37:49.079 up to be destroyed by God, to suffer the worst 00:37:49.079 --> 00:37:53.500 eternal fate you can imagine. God will judge. 00:37:54.780 --> 00:37:56.659 Now, obviously, I don't think there's anybody 00:37:56.659 --> 00:37:58.579 here this morning that's setting out to intentionally 00:37:58.579 --> 00:38:02.219 defile the church here at Oak Hill, right? I 00:38:02.219 --> 00:38:04.599 don't think that's true. But should we not consider 00:38:04.599 --> 00:38:07.039 that there are ways that we can unintentionally 00:38:07.039 --> 00:38:10.539 bring damage to the bride of Christ? Yeah, we 00:38:10.539 --> 00:38:14.449 can. We can. when our walk with Christ becomes 00:38:14.449 --> 00:38:19.210 lukewarm, we're not building as we should. When 00:38:19.210 --> 00:38:21.650 our commitment to the body becomes just casual 00:38:21.650 --> 00:38:25.750 and inconsistent, we're not building. When we 00:38:25.750 --> 00:38:28.090 use the body as a place to be served rather than 00:38:28.090 --> 00:38:30.670 to serve, when we're not employing our gifts 00:38:30.670 --> 00:38:34.150 and our energy to build the temple here, when 00:38:34.150 --> 00:38:36.690 we become takers and not givers, consumers and 00:38:36.690 --> 00:38:40.469 not participants, we're not building as we should. 00:38:41.150 --> 00:38:43.789 And whether we know it or not, that is damaging 00:38:43.789 --> 00:38:47.590 the building of the structure here. When our 00:38:47.590 --> 00:38:49.929 brothers and sisters are in need, but we don't 00:38:49.929 --> 00:38:52.510 show up, or when volunteers are asked for and 00:38:52.510 --> 00:38:56.510 we don't raise our hand, we can damage the body 00:38:56.510 --> 00:38:58.329 of Christ. When you read the New Testament letters, 00:38:58.449 --> 00:39:00.650 you see every member is called to be part of 00:39:00.650 --> 00:39:03.210 that construction team, building in some way, 00:39:03.349 --> 00:39:06.110 building in some way. And you see in the ancient 00:39:06.110 --> 00:39:08.360 church, In the ancient church, there was not 00:39:08.360 --> 00:39:11.380 even a conception that any Christian would just 00:39:11.380 --> 00:39:16.199 be an attender of services. There wouldn't even 00:39:16.199 --> 00:39:18.980 be a conception of that. I just attend services. 00:39:21.920 --> 00:39:24.320 Now, it can get worse than what I've just described 00:39:24.320 --> 00:39:26.860 because what I just described is unintentional 00:39:26.860 --> 00:39:29.599 damage to the body of Christ. The language that 00:39:29.599 --> 00:39:32.800 Paul uses here in verse 17 is very severe. Destroy, 00:39:33.099 --> 00:39:36.670 he says. Thyro in the original Greek. It can 00:39:36.670 --> 00:39:39.670 mean to defile or corrupt. If any man corrupts 00:39:39.670 --> 00:39:41.869 or defiles the temple of God that I establish, 00:39:42.110 --> 00:39:45.949 I will destroy you, he says. Now, I think what 00:39:45.949 --> 00:39:47.730 Paul's referring to here, and I think there were 00:39:47.730 --> 00:39:50.389 very real people in the city of Corinth who were 00:39:50.389 --> 00:39:52.869 doing this kind of damage. They're causing division. 00:39:53.849 --> 00:39:57.090 They're creating factions. They're undermining 00:39:57.090 --> 00:40:00.599 church leadership. They're stirring up controversy 00:40:00.599 --> 00:40:03.340 over non -essential issues. They're turning away 00:40:03.340 --> 00:40:05.659 from sound doctrine. They're choosing to live 00:40:05.659 --> 00:40:08.340 in open sin. They're injecting doubts into the 00:40:08.340 --> 00:40:10.980 minds of other believers. Guys, those things 00:40:10.980 --> 00:40:14.880 drain the life of a church. They chip away at 00:40:14.880 --> 00:40:18.300 the building of the structure. Not only do they 00:40:18.300 --> 00:40:20.659 not build, they actually destroy the structure. 00:40:21.099 --> 00:40:24.199 So there's a spectrum of things here that can 00:40:24.199 --> 00:40:27.860 damage the church. But those things that Paul's 00:40:27.860 --> 00:40:31.119 talking about here, this division, this strife, 00:40:31.119 --> 00:40:33.900 this conflict, this undermining of church leadership, 00:40:34.260 --> 00:40:37.719 may it never be that anyone in this room ever 00:40:37.719 --> 00:40:41.480 destroys the bride of Christ by doing those things. 00:40:43.860 --> 00:40:48.780 Okay. Time to wrap up. How are we doing? We're 00:40:48.780 --> 00:40:51.380 good. I want to come full circle. Can I come 00:40:51.380 --> 00:40:53.079 back to those questions I asked at the beginning? 00:40:54.670 --> 00:41:01.610 Can we answer them? What is the church? It's 00:41:01.610 --> 00:41:04.269 the ekklesia, right? That's the Greek word, which 00:41:04.269 --> 00:41:06.389 is a compound Greek word that comes from the 00:41:06.389 --> 00:41:10.590 word ek, which means out, and the verb kaleo, 00:41:10.610 --> 00:41:14.170 which means to call. So the church is an assembly 00:41:14.170 --> 00:41:17.349 of people who are called out of the world and 00:41:17.349 --> 00:41:21.989 set apart as a people belonging to God. That's 00:41:21.989 --> 00:41:25.139 what the church is. Now, is it visible or is 00:41:25.139 --> 00:41:31.380 it invisible? Yes, it's both. It's both. And 00:41:31.380 --> 00:41:33.440 you should understand both sides of that. It's 00:41:33.440 --> 00:41:36.420 visible in the sense that, yes, there are physical 00:41:36.420 --> 00:41:38.920 assemblies of God's people all over the world, 00:41:39.059 --> 00:41:42.559 all over the world. But it's invisible in the 00:41:42.559 --> 00:41:45.300 sense that we, with our human eyes, cannot see 00:41:45.300 --> 00:41:49.099 who among these assemblies is truly a believer 00:41:49.099 --> 00:41:53.650 and who's playing a game, who's faking it. Only 00:41:53.650 --> 00:41:56.389 God knows that. So the true church is invisible 00:41:56.389 --> 00:41:59.130 in the sense that only God knows those who belong 00:41:59.130 --> 00:42:01.369 to him. We can only see with our human eyes. 00:42:01.429 --> 00:42:04.369 So it's both. It's both. Where is the church 00:42:04.369 --> 00:42:09.269 located? Is it found in an institution or a building? 00:42:10.369 --> 00:42:14.210 Listen, if you go online today or you go on YouTube, 00:42:14.389 --> 00:42:18.300 you'll find far too many religious leaders. making 00:42:18.300 --> 00:42:21.019 this wildly arrogant and exclusive claim that 00:42:21.019 --> 00:42:26.539 theirs is the only true church. You see it everywhere. 00:42:27.280 --> 00:42:29.539 Arguments, by the way, that when you listen to 00:42:29.539 --> 00:42:32.719 them, they're not rooted in scripture. They're 00:42:32.719 --> 00:42:36.460 rooted in fallible historical traditions. So 00:42:36.460 --> 00:42:38.719 just know that. But according to God's word, 00:42:38.800 --> 00:42:41.539 the true church isn't located just in the east 00:42:41.539 --> 00:42:45.570 or just in the west. It's not found. in the city 00:42:45.570 --> 00:42:50.730 of Rome or Alexandria or Antioch or even Constantinople, 00:42:50.849 --> 00:42:55.230 right? It's not found in any one institution. 00:42:56.030 --> 00:42:58.650 It's not found in any ecclesiastical system. 00:42:59.690 --> 00:43:03.570 It's not confined to any type of building. The 00:43:03.570 --> 00:43:05.650 true church is spiritual. It's not physical. 00:43:05.769 --> 00:43:09.530 This is why it's a spiritual house, Peter said. 00:43:09.789 --> 00:43:13.309 It's not physical. It's located wherever a people 00:43:13.309 --> 00:43:15.789 gather, a people, by the way, saved by God's 00:43:15.789 --> 00:43:18.710 grace through faith, where they're assembled 00:43:18.710 --> 00:43:22.309 in sacred devotion to the worship and exaltation 00:43:22.309 --> 00:43:26.369 of Christ and his word. It's spiritual. The reformers, 00:43:26.369 --> 00:43:29.789 they took a lot of time on this in the 16th century. 00:43:29.889 --> 00:43:31.889 They said, we need to really carefully define 00:43:31.889 --> 00:43:34.090 what a true church is. And they came up with 00:43:34.090 --> 00:43:37.289 three basic things. Wherever the gospel is rightly 00:43:37.289 --> 00:43:41.480 preached. Right? Wherever the sacraments of baptism 00:43:41.480 --> 00:43:44.500 and communion are rightly observed. And third, 00:43:44.619 --> 00:43:46.119 and this one may be a surprise to you, wherever 00:43:46.119 --> 00:43:49.019 church discipline is practiced according to biblical 00:43:49.019 --> 00:43:53.659 guidelines so that the church remains pure. In 00:43:53.659 --> 00:43:55.440 that type of a place where those three things 00:43:55.440 --> 00:43:57.739 are present, God dwells with his people by his 00:43:57.739 --> 00:44:00.239 spirit and they as a people are bound together 00:44:00.239 --> 00:44:03.900 in covenant, living stones being chiseled by 00:44:03.900 --> 00:44:07.460 God and built into a spiritual temple. where 00:44:07.460 --> 00:44:10.579 Christ himself is the cornerstone, our spiritual 00:44:10.579 --> 00:44:14.460 head, and our king. That's what a church is. 00:44:15.920 --> 00:44:18.300 In such a place, we as God people, we make it 00:44:18.300 --> 00:44:21.780 our joy. We make it everything to be in fellowship 00:44:21.780 --> 00:44:23.840 with him and to be fellowship with our brothers 00:44:23.840 --> 00:44:26.679 and sisters in the faith. Loving, caring, serving, 00:44:26.800 --> 00:44:29.380 encouraging, exhorting, comforting, and bearing 00:44:29.380 --> 00:44:32.400 with one another. That's the picture of the church. 00:44:34.039 --> 00:44:37.269 Friends, we are a temple of God. here at Oak 00:44:37.269 --> 00:44:41.429 Hill. We belong to something far greater than 00:44:41.429 --> 00:44:46.590 us as individuals. We are a temple of God. And 00:44:46.590 --> 00:44:48.329 you know what? Life in the church is not optional 00:44:48.329 --> 00:44:51.670 for a believer. It's not to be self -focused. 00:44:52.329 --> 00:44:55.690 It's not an add -on to your busy life. It's not 00:44:55.690 --> 00:44:58.829 the way it was designed. We're members of something 00:44:58.829 --> 00:45:01.869 that is ancient and sacred and in the fundamentals 00:45:01.869 --> 00:45:05.559 is completely unchanging. So we're not to be 00:45:05.559 --> 00:45:08.860 consumers, but participants. We're not to favor 00:45:08.860 --> 00:45:12.300 style over substance. We're not to make convenience 00:45:12.300 --> 00:45:16.519 our idol, but rather we're to sacrifice our time 00:45:16.519 --> 00:45:19.219 and our talents and our treasure for God's glory 00:45:19.219 --> 00:45:23.539 and the good of others. Lay aside the worldly 00:45:23.539 --> 00:45:26.980 wisdom of big and shiny, will you please? Lay 00:45:26.980 --> 00:45:30.900 it aside. It's not about the vibe. It's not about 00:45:30.900 --> 00:45:33.239 feeling entertained by the music or by the preaching. 00:45:33.920 --> 00:45:35.460 It's the last thing you should be looking for 00:45:35.460 --> 00:45:37.739 is that the guy in the pulpit is making you laugh. 00:45:40.340 --> 00:45:44.440 Life in the church is not a weekly event. Worship 00:45:44.440 --> 00:45:48.139 is not just singing. It's your entire life of 00:45:48.139 --> 00:45:50.199 holiness and obedience. Ministry is not just 00:45:50.199 --> 00:45:53.900 done by the staff or by a few. Ministry is for 00:45:53.900 --> 00:45:57.480 everyone. Everyone to do according to your gifts 00:45:57.480 --> 00:46:00.340 and talents and passions. And no, if your church 00:46:00.340 --> 00:46:02.440 disappoints you in some way, the answer isn't 00:46:02.440 --> 00:46:05.579 to bounce. And just find a new one that's gonna 00:46:05.579 --> 00:46:09.219 make you feel more comfortable. These are the 00:46:09.219 --> 00:46:11.800 things that we have to learn as American Christians. 00:46:11.960 --> 00:46:14.480 And I know you guys do. Look, I know I'm preaching 00:46:14.480 --> 00:46:16.980 to the choir somewhat because the fact that you're 00:46:16.980 --> 00:46:18.820 here at Oak Hill means you get some of this, 00:46:18.840 --> 00:46:22.199 right? You understand it. Otherwise, you might 00:46:22.199 --> 00:46:24.559 be in some giant church somewhere, a faceless 00:46:24.559 --> 00:46:28.699 non -participant. But you're here. Praise the 00:46:28.699 --> 00:46:32.730 Lord for that. So lay aside any wrong idea that 00:46:32.730 --> 00:46:34.849 you had about the church when you came in this 00:46:34.849 --> 00:46:38.489 morning. Lay it aside. Take your personal expectations, 00:46:38.809 --> 00:46:41.230 your preferences, and say, Lord, I'm willing 00:46:41.230 --> 00:46:44.570 to have open hands with those things. Show me, 00:46:44.610 --> 00:46:47.670 teach me. Look at what God says about his church. 00:46:47.909 --> 00:46:52.389 Look how he's always desired to dwell with his 00:46:52.389 --> 00:46:56.030 people in a temple, in a temple to his glory. 00:46:56.170 --> 00:46:59.269 And let's, you know what? Today, let's commit 00:46:59.269 --> 00:47:02.309 to one another to keep building this particular 00:47:02.309 --> 00:47:05.849 temple for his glory and for our good, amen? 00:47:07.969 --> 00:47:16.030 Let's bow our heads. Father, as always, we ask 00:47:16.030 --> 00:47:21.769 that you would renew our thinking. I know, God, 00:47:21.789 --> 00:47:25.530 that we are all, we're sinners saved by grace. 00:47:25.530 --> 00:47:28.829 We are fallible. We often think wrongly about 00:47:28.829 --> 00:47:33.230 things. We often look out at the wisdom of this 00:47:33.230 --> 00:47:37.090 age and we apply it to things that you've described 00:47:37.090 --> 00:47:39.170 in your word. And then we battle to say, well, 00:47:39.230 --> 00:47:41.989 which is the right vision? Lord, I pray that 00:47:41.989 --> 00:47:45.289 when it comes to this important topic of the 00:47:45.289 --> 00:47:49.230 church, that we would begin to see things only 00:47:49.230 --> 00:47:52.329 according to your wisdom and not according to 00:47:52.329 --> 00:47:57.590 the wisdom of men. that we would change our thinking, 00:47:57.690 --> 00:48:01.510 that we would redirect our hearts to live out 00:48:01.510 --> 00:48:05.130 this massive vision that you've given us for 00:48:05.130 --> 00:48:09.869 your body. We want to be functioning, participating 00:48:09.869 --> 00:48:15.349 members of your body, Lord Jesus. So help us 00:48:15.349 --> 00:48:18.329 to do that. Cause us to do that. And whatever 00:48:18.329 --> 00:48:21.809 corrections or adjustments we need to make, Lord, 00:48:21.849 --> 00:48:26.510 help us to do that by your spirit. always be 00:48:26.510 --> 00:48:30.449 a place of believers who are set apart to worship 00:48:30.449 --> 00:48:33.969 you and to glorify you. Help us to strive well 00:48:33.969 --> 00:48:37.409 to embody all that you are and to show this community 00:48:37.409 --> 00:48:41.489 what it means to be a Christ follower. Work in 00:48:41.489 --> 00:48:45.829 us, work through us for our good, Lord, but most 00:48:45.829 --> 00:48:48.070 of all for your glory. Thank you for our time 00:48:48.070 --> 00:48:51.090 in your word. We pray in your precious name.