WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.919 Well, if you've been in church consistently since 00:00:02.919 --> 00:00:05.160 the beginning of our study in 1 Corinthians, 00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:08.539 perhaps you've noticed that thus far Paul has 00:00:08.539 --> 00:00:11.460 spent an excessive amount of time talking about 00:00:11.460 --> 00:00:15.320 one particular issue, one problem in the church, 00:00:15.539 --> 00:00:19.059 and that is the issue of division. I think we've 00:00:19.059 --> 00:00:21.480 gone 10 or 11 weeks straight where that single 00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:24.440 issue has, if not in the forefront, is in the 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:27.739 backdrop. of everything that Paul has been instructing 00:00:27.739 --> 00:00:31.079 us about and exhorting us to. It started way 00:00:31.079 --> 00:00:34.119 back in chapter 1, verse 10. It ran through most 00:00:34.119 --> 00:00:37.119 of chapters 2 and 3. And he's not going to stop 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:39.799 talking about the issue of division until the 00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:42.719 end of chapter 4. Finally, once we get to chapter 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:45.920 5, his focus is going to turn to some new issues, 00:00:46.060 --> 00:00:49.899 sexual sin and church discipline. But even in 00:00:49.899 --> 00:00:52.939 that, it's in relation to the idea of church 00:00:52.939 --> 00:00:57.549 health. and church unity. So for this Sunday 00:00:57.549 --> 00:00:59.590 and next, we're still looking at this one serious 00:00:59.590 --> 00:01:01.729 problem in the church. And by the way, when you 00:01:01.729 --> 00:01:04.709 see a subject that is that intense in scripture, 00:01:04.969 --> 00:01:07.819 you know it's important for us, right? It's important 00:01:07.819 --> 00:01:10.659 for us even 2 ,000 years later. God thinks this 00:01:10.659 --> 00:01:13.700 is a very important issue for us to study. Now, 00:01:13.700 --> 00:01:16.060 to be fair, every message that we've walked through, 00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:17.700 even though division has been in the backdrop, 00:01:18.019 --> 00:01:22.219 each section has had a unique nuance to it. And 00:01:22.219 --> 00:01:24.680 that's true of our passage this morning. Today, 00:01:24.819 --> 00:01:27.640 Paul is going to highlight for us the character 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:31.439 trait that drives almost every conflict you will 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:34.859 see in the life of the church. Almost every one. 00:01:34.980 --> 00:01:37.019 And because that's true, this is something that 00:01:37.019 --> 00:01:39.620 every one of us should pay close attention to 00:01:39.620 --> 00:01:43.040 and consider. And the issue is, you probably 00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:46.200 guessed it, pride. Or what the New American Standard 00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:49.180 Bible is going to call arrogance. Perhaps the 00:01:49.180 --> 00:01:52.500 ugliest of all human sins. And the gateway to 00:01:52.500 --> 00:01:56.400 so many other sins. Pride or arrogance. There's 00:01:56.400 --> 00:01:58.939 a great quote out there from C .S. Lewis that 00:01:58.939 --> 00:02:01.459 describes this well. Let me read it to you. He 00:02:01.459 --> 00:02:07.159 says, of which no man in the world is free, one 00:02:07.159 --> 00:02:10.259 which everyone in the world loathes when he sees 00:02:10.259 --> 00:02:14.560 it in someone else, and one of which hardly any 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:18.800 people ever imagine that they are guilty of themselves. 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:22.879 The essential vice, the utmost evil is pride. 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:27.060 Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness and the 00:02:27.060 --> 00:02:31.389 like are mere flea bites in comparison. Pride 00:02:31.389 --> 00:02:34.169 leads to every other vice. It is the complete 00:02:34.169 --> 00:02:41.250 anti -God state of mind. Wow. This morning, Paul's 00:02:41.250 --> 00:02:43.009 going to talk about the type of pride that is 00:02:43.009 --> 00:02:47.090 blind to one's own shortcomings, blind to one's 00:02:47.090 --> 00:02:49.689 own pitiful condition, while at the same time 00:02:49.689 --> 00:02:52.969 looking at other people and judging them harshly. 00:02:53.569 --> 00:02:56.090 Here's another important quote to get your mind 00:02:56.090 --> 00:02:57.949 sort of going this morning. This one comes from 00:02:57.949 --> 00:03:00.949 John Piper. He says, there is a very close relationship 00:03:00.949 --> 00:03:05.490 between unbelief and pride. Unbelief is a turning 00:03:05.490 --> 00:03:08.870 away from Jesus in order to seek satisfaction 00:03:08.870 --> 00:03:12.729 in other things. Pride is a turning away from 00:03:12.729 --> 00:03:16.629 God specifically to take satisfaction in self. 00:03:18.590 --> 00:03:21.509 Very insightful. And this was the foundational 00:03:21.509 --> 00:03:24.969 problem in Corinth. People thinking far too highly 00:03:24.969 --> 00:03:28.840 of themselves and of their own wisdom. And at 00:03:28.840 --> 00:03:30.900 the same time, blind to their own shortcomings, 00:03:31.020 --> 00:03:35.419 clueless as to their own immaturity. And yet, 00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:38.060 still confidently, they manage to judge their 00:03:38.060 --> 00:03:40.560 teachers and their leaders, attaching themselves 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:44.020 to this one, rejecting others, putting one man 00:03:44.020 --> 00:03:46.740 on a pedestal which he doesn't deserve, while 00:03:46.740 --> 00:03:49.479 showing contempt to the other leaders who now 00:03:49.479 --> 00:03:52.300 they've wrongly judged as not meeting the standard 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:57.379 of my guy. Clueless. And then once they'd identified 00:03:57.379 --> 00:04:00.099 with a particular group under a preferred leader, 00:04:00.300 --> 00:04:02.439 they were all looking around and saying, well, 00:04:02.620 --> 00:04:04.879 we're superior to everybody else. We're in the 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:08.039 best group. We have the best guy. And of course, 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:11.639 what comes from that division? Obviously. So 00:04:11.639 --> 00:04:14.360 becoming a fanboy or a fangirl of one teacher 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:18.220 over others, it leads to cliques. Cliques in 00:04:18.220 --> 00:04:20.779 the church. It leads to a fundamental lack of 00:04:20.779 --> 00:04:23.759 unity. And Paul has been dealing with this, as 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:26.100 I said, since chapter one. First, with the matter 00:04:26.100 --> 00:04:28.720 in principle, contrasting two important things. 00:04:28.860 --> 00:04:31.199 What is weakness and foolishness in the eyes 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:33.680 of the world versus weakness and foolishness 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:36.240 in the eyes of God? He was trying to get the 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:38.899 Corinthians to lay aside all of their cultural 00:04:38.899 --> 00:04:41.939 baggage from that city they grew up in, which 00:04:41.939 --> 00:04:44.980 encouraged them to be prideful and to get them 00:04:44.980 --> 00:04:47.600 to renew their thinking, to begin to see things 00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:50.439 the way God does. And then he addressed the problem 00:04:50.439 --> 00:04:52.540 by pointing out that all the apostles that God 00:04:52.540 --> 00:04:55.379 was sending to Corinth, they're just servants. 00:04:56.379 --> 00:04:58.279 They're not to be boasted in. If you're going 00:04:58.279 --> 00:05:02.360 to boast in anything, boast in the Lord. Neither 00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:05.399 should the apostles be seen as competitors. They're 00:05:05.399 --> 00:05:08.879 not competing to get a following. They're co 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:11.839 -laborers for the gospel. And each one of them 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:14.240 has a unique role to play. Paul described himself, 00:05:14.540 --> 00:05:16.620 hey, I was the first one to get there, so I was 00:05:16.620 --> 00:05:18.920 out there planting all the seeds of the gospel. 00:05:19.100 --> 00:05:21.740 Then later, Apollos came, and he watered those 00:05:21.740 --> 00:05:24.680 same seeds. And his point was simply this. We're 00:05:24.680 --> 00:05:29.079 both laboring as one for the same cause. And 00:05:29.079 --> 00:05:30.819 because of that, he said, each one of us is going 00:05:30.819 --> 00:05:33.660 to get our own rewards at the judgment seat of 00:05:33.660 --> 00:05:37.060 Christ. So you guys, Corinthians, stop judging. 00:05:37.850 --> 00:05:40.350 You're actually not qualified to do so because 00:05:40.350 --> 00:05:42.870 you don't know the heart of man. Stop judging. 00:05:43.170 --> 00:05:45.490 Wait upon the Lord. He will do it perfectly. 00:05:46.829 --> 00:05:49.889 Do you remember all this? Good. So Paul's been 00:05:49.889 --> 00:05:51.870 walking through this step by step. Let's see 00:05:51.870 --> 00:05:54.189 now what he's going to say next. Grab your Bibles 00:05:54.189 --> 00:06:00.870 and let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 4. 1 Corinthians 00:06:00.870 --> 00:06:05.790 4. We're going to cover verses 6 through 13 this 00:06:05.790 --> 00:06:09.040 morning. But let's do this. Let's back up to 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:11.639 the very top of the chapter to verse 1. And we'll 00:06:11.639 --> 00:06:13.420 read last Sunday's passage and we'll read it 00:06:13.420 --> 00:06:16.740 in context so that we know exactly what Paul's 00:06:16.740 --> 00:06:20.540 flow of thought is. 1 Corinthians 4, beginning 00:06:20.540 --> 00:06:25.600 in verse 1. Paul says, this is the way that any 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:29.759 person is to regard us, meaning himself and the 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:32.819 other apostles. This is how you should regard 00:06:32.819 --> 00:06:38.290 us. Regard us as servants of Christ. And stewards 00:06:38.290 --> 00:06:42.129 of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, 00:06:42.149 --> 00:06:45.129 it's required of stewards that one be found what? 00:06:45.810 --> 00:06:48.850 Trustworthy. And then we were shocked by what 00:06:48.850 --> 00:06:51.649 he said next, right? Last week. But to me, it's 00:06:51.649 --> 00:06:54.509 an insignificant matter that I would be examined 00:06:54.509 --> 00:06:59.050 by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not 00:06:59.050 --> 00:07:02.230 even examine myself. For I'm not aware of anything 00:07:02.230 --> 00:07:05.670 against myself. However, I'm not vindicated by 00:07:05.670 --> 00:07:08.750 this. But the one who examines me is the Lord. 00:07:09.290 --> 00:07:11.370 And if you need an explanation of all that, go 00:07:11.370 --> 00:07:15.029 onto our YouTube channel and listen to that message. 00:07:15.550 --> 00:07:18.170 Verse five, therefore, do not go on passing judgment 00:07:18.170 --> 00:07:21.110 before the time, but wait until the Lord comes 00:07:21.110 --> 00:07:24.889 who will bring to light the things hidden in 00:07:24.889 --> 00:07:27.529 the darkness and disclose the motives of human 00:07:27.529 --> 00:07:31.449 hearts. And then, then and only then, praise 00:07:31.449 --> 00:07:35.670 will come to each person from God. Now, verse 00:07:35.670 --> 00:07:38.519 six. Now these things, brethren, brothers and 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:41.740 sisters, I have figuratively applied to myself 00:07:41.740 --> 00:07:46.060 and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you 00:07:46.060 --> 00:07:48.980 may learn not to exceed what is written, so that 00:07:48.980 --> 00:07:51.920 none of you will become arrogant on behalf of 00:07:51.920 --> 00:07:55.939 one against the other. For who regards you as 00:07:55.939 --> 00:07:59.899 superior? What do you have that you did not receive? 00:07:59.959 --> 00:08:02.899 And if you did receive it, why do you boast as 00:08:02.899 --> 00:08:06.209 if you had not received it? Now, let's stop there. 00:08:06.230 --> 00:08:07.709 We're going to read the rest a little bit together 00:08:07.709 --> 00:08:11.040 later. For now, that's enough to bite off. And 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:13.660 let's go back to verse six and let's see the 00:08:13.660 --> 00:08:16.000 logic that Paul is beginning to walk through 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:18.120 here. Because as Adam prayed, this is not an 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:21.060 easy passage to interpret. Verse six, now these 00:08:21.060 --> 00:08:23.319 things, brethren, I have figuratively applied 00:08:23.319 --> 00:08:26.300 to myself and Apollos for your sakes, for your 00:08:26.300 --> 00:08:29.120 benefit. And this is important for us to see 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:31.360 right out of the gate. That phrase, for your 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:33.840 sake, is so important. See, here's what's gonna 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:36.409 happen. Paul's gonna get progressively. I would 00:08:36.409 --> 00:08:39.610 say more harsh and more sarcastic as he moves 00:08:39.610 --> 00:08:42.850 through this passage. But know that this is his 00:08:42.850 --> 00:08:45.909 starting point. This is very important. This 00:08:45.909 --> 00:08:49.350 is his starting point. All this is for your benefit, 00:08:49.570 --> 00:08:53.769 he says. Everything I've written to you so far 00:08:53.769 --> 00:08:56.570 about wisdom and about foolishness and about 00:08:56.570 --> 00:08:59.340 division in the church. All of it is for your 00:08:59.340 --> 00:09:02.200 sake. I'm doing this for your benefit. I'm trying 00:09:02.200 --> 00:09:04.799 to point out something critically important that 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:07.779 will make your church healthier and you as Christians 00:09:07.779 --> 00:09:10.940 more fruitful. This is his goal. This is what 00:09:10.940 --> 00:09:13.860 Paul wants. So he says, these things I'm now 00:09:13.860 --> 00:09:17.460 going to apply to myself and to Apollos and to 00:09:17.460 --> 00:09:19.840 your teachers and leaders in general as an illustration 00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:23.179 for you. And it's my hope through this illustration 00:09:23.179 --> 00:09:26.210 about myself and about Apollos. that you will 00:09:26.210 --> 00:09:29.809 come to understand just how prideful you're becoming. 00:09:30.870 --> 00:09:34.809 That's the point here. See, all things that you 00:09:34.809 --> 00:09:37.629 Corinthians are using to compare one teacher 00:09:37.629 --> 00:09:41.389 against another, your guy's wisdom, his gifts, 00:09:41.549 --> 00:09:45.190 his insight, his popularity, none of those things 00:09:45.190 --> 00:09:48.029 are grounds for you to take pride in them because 00:09:48.029 --> 00:09:51.570 they're not self -generated. Those guys didn't 00:09:51.570 --> 00:09:54.830 arrive with those things on their own. They're 00:09:54.830 --> 00:09:58.169 gifts from God. So you have no reason to be prideful, 00:09:58.250 --> 00:10:02.830 even in the guy that you love. So if there are 00:10:02.830 --> 00:10:05.549 good things received there in Corinth, the proper 00:10:05.549 --> 00:10:09.070 response is this, gratitude and faithfulness. 00:10:09.750 --> 00:10:13.870 Not arrogance and not boasting and not dividing 00:10:13.870 --> 00:10:17.029 people. As I've said before, if you're going 00:10:17.029 --> 00:10:21.899 to boast, boast in the Lord, not in men. Now 00:10:21.899 --> 00:10:24.240 what follows in verse six is the goal of the 00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:26.940 illustration that he's gonna use here, and Paul 00:10:26.940 --> 00:10:29.600 really writes it in the form of a rebuke. And 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:31.240 you can see the purpose statement right there 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:33.379 in the middle of verse six. Whenever you see 00:10:33.379 --> 00:10:37.000 the words so that, that tells you that here comes 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:40.740 the purpose for what I've just said. I'm gonna 00:10:40.740 --> 00:10:43.779 apply these things to me and Apollos so that, 00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:48.980 he writes, in us, you may learn what? Not to 00:10:48.980 --> 00:10:52.320 exceed what is written. So here's the lesson. 00:10:52.740 --> 00:10:56.220 Don't go beyond what God has spoken to his people 00:10:56.220 --> 00:10:58.860 in the past and is currently speaking through 00:10:58.860 --> 00:11:02.299 his chosen apostles. This is a focus on what 00:11:02.299 --> 00:11:04.960 God has said in his word. Don't go beyond it. 00:11:05.580 --> 00:11:08.059 Right now, you're going way beyond it. I want 00:11:08.059 --> 00:11:11.340 you to backtrack. Do not go beyond what is written. 00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:14.980 Don't be seduced by the philosophies of the world, 00:11:15.059 --> 00:11:17.399 right, that tell you that you can pick one man 00:11:17.399 --> 00:11:20.240 over another, that you can elevate one teacher 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:24.879 while downgrading others. Don't be fleshly. We 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:26.620 talked about that in a previous chapter, right? 00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:30.039 Don't act fleshly. Don't act worldly. Don't act 00:11:30.039 --> 00:11:32.539 like mere men. Do you remember when he used that 00:11:32.539 --> 00:11:36.240 phrase? You're a follower of Christ. Don't act 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:38.379 like a mere man like everybody else in Corinth. 00:11:39.340 --> 00:11:43.720 Stop it. Think biblically, live biblically. And 00:11:43.720 --> 00:11:45.360 the verse goes on. The Corinthians should not 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:47.919 go beyond what God has said for this reason. 00:11:48.100 --> 00:11:50.600 You ready? It says, so that you won't become 00:11:50.600 --> 00:11:54.679 arrogant or puffed up on behalf of one man against 00:11:54.679 --> 00:12:00.759 the other. One man against the other. So don't 00:12:00.759 --> 00:12:03.919 favor one teacher over another and become such 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:07.539 a devoted follower of that one man that you sinfully 00:12:07.539 --> 00:12:11.139 misjudge all the others. Guys, we do this all 00:12:11.139 --> 00:12:12.919 the time in the church. We find our teachers 00:12:12.919 --> 00:12:15.019 that we love, and we set a standard where we 00:12:15.019 --> 00:12:18.899 say, nobody's as good as so -and -so, right? 00:12:19.059 --> 00:12:20.899 And then we look at everybody else and go, eh, 00:12:21.220 --> 00:12:24.720 they're gifts, all gifts from God, but we're 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:27.419 like, no, no, no, no. I've determined the standard, 00:12:27.539 --> 00:12:30.320 my guy, and nobody else can live up to that. 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:36.389 It's pride. It's pride. I'm going to use myself 00:12:36.389 --> 00:12:38.990 and Apollos as examples to teach you this principle 00:12:38.990 --> 00:12:42.570 and to do it for your benefit. So listen, do 00:12:42.570 --> 00:12:45.610 not go beyond what scripture says in esteeming 00:12:45.610 --> 00:12:49.169 your favored leader and rejecting the others 00:12:49.169 --> 00:12:51.850 that God has also given to you. Because that 00:12:51.850 --> 00:12:54.570 teacher that you love so much, what is he? What 00:12:54.570 --> 00:12:56.710 did we find out last week? What is that teacher 00:12:56.710 --> 00:13:00.720 that you love so much? He's an under rower. Right? 00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:03.179 Remember that last week? He's the guy at the 00:13:03.179 --> 00:13:05.799 bottom of the trireme who is rowing the oar. 00:13:06.340 --> 00:13:09.960 He's just a servant. He's just a steward of things 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:14.360 that Christ has entrusted to him. All these men, 00:13:14.500 --> 00:13:17.440 me, Apollos, Peter, we all belong to you anyway. 00:13:17.559 --> 00:13:19.799 You don't have to choose one over the other. 00:13:21.240 --> 00:13:24.779 God has gifted you, all of us, as teachers and 00:13:24.779 --> 00:13:27.240 leaders. By the way, it is a healthy question. 00:13:27.879 --> 00:13:30.700 To ask yourself, what do the scriptures say about 00:13:30.700 --> 00:13:34.740 how you should treat the men whom God has called 00:13:34.740 --> 00:13:37.120 to lead you and to teach you? We should know 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:39.240 what this is. I'll just briefly give you four 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:42.340 things that are very explicit in scripture. That 00:13:42.340 --> 00:13:44.840 you should respect and esteem them in love for 00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:48.519 their work. That they should be yielded to as 00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:51.399 they give watch over your soul. You should follow 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:54.679 after them. That they should be honored, especially 00:13:54.679 --> 00:13:56.960 those who labor in the word through preaching 00:13:56.960 --> 00:14:00.000 and teaching. You should honor those men. And 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:03.139 that their calling sometimes requires to rebuke 00:14:03.139 --> 00:14:05.700 and correct you. And that should be received 00:14:05.700 --> 00:14:10.000 with a teachable spirit. That's the proper way. 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:12.419 But listen now, all those things should be done 00:14:12.419 --> 00:14:15.159 and nothing more. Don't go beyond those principles 00:14:15.159 --> 00:14:17.840 that are specifically laid out in scripture. 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:20.559 Don't go beyond it. Don't turn them into celebrities. 00:14:22.059 --> 00:14:25.039 They don't deserve it. If you knew their heart, 00:14:25.059 --> 00:14:27.440 you would understand that. Only God knows the 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:30.159 hidden places of the heart. Don't turn them in 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:32.799 celebrities. Don't venerate everything that they 00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:35.779 say. Don't go around ranking them. Well, here's 00:14:35.779 --> 00:14:40.600 my top 10 list of preachers. Don't do it. Because 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:43.179 what starts out as love for a particular leader 00:14:43.179 --> 00:14:45.840 or teacher can so quickly turn into negativity 00:14:45.840 --> 00:14:49.279 towards others. And to the point of sin where 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:51.100 you say, well, look, I've come to the conclusion 00:14:51.100 --> 00:14:53.440 that's the only guy I'll listen to. That's the 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:55.899 only guy that I will respect. That is straight 00:14:55.899 --> 00:14:59.240 up pride. And there's no grounds for it. Because 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:03.240 you're not qualified to even judge this. When 00:15:03.240 --> 00:15:05.720 that happens, when we start dividing in those 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:11.059 ways, do you know who celebrates? Satan. You've 00:15:11.059 --> 00:15:13.500 given him a foothold of division in the church. 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:17.519 A foothold to divide the body of Christ universal. 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:22.580 And that was happening in Corinth. And that's 00:15:22.580 --> 00:15:25.559 why Paul's taken four chapters to talk about 00:15:25.559 --> 00:15:29.820 it. Now, verse seven is so amazing. It's just 00:15:29.820 --> 00:15:32.740 three questions. Look at verse seven, three rhetorical 00:15:32.740 --> 00:15:36.419 questions. And here's where Paul's headed by 00:15:36.419 --> 00:15:39.740 asking these questions. He wants the Corinthians 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:43.850 now to compare how they view themselves with 00:15:43.850 --> 00:15:46.289 how they view the men whom God has called to 00:15:46.289 --> 00:15:49.789 lead and serve them. And it shocks our mind as 00:15:49.789 --> 00:15:51.889 we read this, as we go through this. Guess what? 00:15:52.029 --> 00:15:54.149 The Corinthians thought they were pretty great. 00:15:55.549 --> 00:15:57.370 And that's shocking enough. You know what's more 00:15:57.370 --> 00:15:59.330 shocking? They didn't think the apostles were 00:15:59.330 --> 00:16:02.950 great at all. That's so hard for us to understand 00:16:02.950 --> 00:16:05.370 2 ,000 years later. But that's exactly what we're 00:16:05.370 --> 00:16:07.929 going to see. So Paul asks these three, rather, 00:16:07.970 --> 00:16:10.879 I would say, blunt questions. in order to show 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:13.720 them the seriousness of their sin and their self 00:16:13.720 --> 00:16:16.320 -deception. And the first one is, who regards 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:21.019 you as superior? Who regards you as superior? 00:16:22.139 --> 00:16:25.539 Now, in our American cultural tradition, what 00:16:25.539 --> 00:16:28.559 that means is, who made you better than anyone 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:31.179 else? Or, if you really want to be blunt, who 00:16:31.179 --> 00:16:35.399 do you think you are? That's what Paul said. 00:16:35.460 --> 00:16:39.299 Who do you think you are? Imagine feeling the 00:16:39.299 --> 00:16:41.419 wrath of an apostle of God like this as a church 00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:44.259 member. Who do you think you are? You prefer 00:16:44.259 --> 00:16:47.580 this one teacher, you're in his clique, and because 00:16:47.580 --> 00:16:49.419 of that, you think you stand above everybody 00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:53.559 else? That your wisdom and your insight, and 00:16:53.559 --> 00:16:56.340 now you're superior to all the rest? What kind 00:16:56.340 --> 00:16:59.539 of self -delusion are you under that gives you 00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:02.419 the right to now make all these judgments about 00:17:02.419 --> 00:17:07.140 other people? All believers in the church, All 00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:08.960 teachers in the church have different gifts. 00:17:09.420 --> 00:17:11.359 They play different roles. They have different 00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:15.200 styles, different strengths and weaknesses. So 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:17.160 what right do you have to say, well, this servant's 00:17:17.160 --> 00:17:19.940 better than that one? Who do you think you are? 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:24.119 Paul's shocked by this. Stop passing judgment. 00:17:24.779 --> 00:17:27.079 You're not qualified to do it. You don't know 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:30.400 the hidden things. You don't know the heart motives 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:32.920 of the saints around you. Again, just wait for 00:17:32.920 --> 00:17:35.599 the Lord to come and judge. He will do it perfectly. 00:17:35.980 --> 00:17:39.180 Be patient. Let God be God. And in the meantime, 00:17:39.400 --> 00:17:44.019 you grow in humility. That's what he's saying 00:17:44.019 --> 00:17:47.380 here. Who do you think you are? Number two, question 00:17:47.380 --> 00:17:50.740 number two. And friends, this is a question every 00:17:50.740 --> 00:17:53.849 one of us should ask ourselves. This should be 00:17:53.849 --> 00:17:56.509 a daily, you want a daily exercise of spiritual 00:17:56.509 --> 00:17:58.829 discipline? Ask this question of yourselves. 00:17:59.170 --> 00:18:03.930 What do I have that I've not received? What do 00:18:03.930 --> 00:18:06.950 I have that I've not received? Paul's like, have 00:18:06.950 --> 00:18:08.750 you lost sight of the fact that everything you 00:18:08.750 --> 00:18:11.210 have has come to you by God's grace? That you 00:18:11.210 --> 00:18:13.990 haven't deserved it? You haven't earned it? It's 00:18:13.990 --> 00:18:18.069 just from the goodness of his hand. James tells 00:18:18.069 --> 00:18:21.710 us every good gift, every perfect gift is from 00:18:21.710 --> 00:18:24.309 above. Right? Coming down from the Father of 00:18:24.309 --> 00:18:28.349 lights. How many gifts? Every good gift comes 00:18:28.349 --> 00:18:31.230 from the Lord. So listen, if you think you're 00:18:31.230 --> 00:18:34.789 wise, it came from God, Paul says. If you think 00:18:34.789 --> 00:18:38.829 you're so learned, it came from God. You think 00:18:38.829 --> 00:18:40.890 you have special talents and abilities or gifts? 00:18:41.349 --> 00:18:43.670 If so, they came from God. If you're thinking 00:18:43.670 --> 00:18:47.009 to yourself, well, I'm a Corinthian. I'm a Greek. 00:18:47.509 --> 00:18:52.670 I'm the best there is. Who made you be born in 00:18:52.670 --> 00:18:55.910 Corinth? Who is it that gave you the parents 00:18:55.910 --> 00:18:57.829 that you have? Do you think you arranged that? 00:18:59.990 --> 00:19:03.349 It's all from God. And most importantly, do you 00:19:03.349 --> 00:19:06.750 think you're responsible for you coming to faith 00:19:06.750 --> 00:19:10.650 in Christ? No, that's grace alone. That's a gift 00:19:10.650 --> 00:19:14.250 from the Lord. And central to Paul's argument, 00:19:14.349 --> 00:19:16.950 don't you realize that all of the teachers and 00:19:16.950 --> 00:19:20.259 leaders that have been sent to you, are gracious 00:19:20.259 --> 00:19:23.960 gifts from the hand of God. So how could you 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:25.920 be prideful about the gift of this teacher or 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:28.220 that teacher? Something you didn't earn, something 00:19:28.220 --> 00:19:30.859 you don't deserve. And how could you reject the 00:19:30.859 --> 00:19:33.000 gift of other teachers that have been given to 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:38.319 you? You're so prideful and so, so immature. 00:19:39.480 --> 00:19:42.299 And then Paul's logic concludes with the third 00:19:42.299 --> 00:19:45.259 question. And if you did receive all these things, 00:19:45.380 --> 00:19:48.920 why do you boast as if you had not received them? 00:19:50.279 --> 00:19:53.880 Think about this. Consider a person who lives 00:19:53.880 --> 00:19:58.640 100 % on the charity of somebody else. Every 00:19:58.640 --> 00:20:01.640 month gets a big old fat check from somebody, 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:04.359 not only enough money to pay all their bills 00:20:04.359 --> 00:20:07.339 and to live well, but more money than they could 00:20:07.339 --> 00:20:10.460 ever spend. And then that person stands up and 00:20:10.460 --> 00:20:15.859 boasts about how wealthy he is. Didn't earn it. 00:20:16.579 --> 00:20:18.660 Didn't deserve it. It was a free gift to him. 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:21.059 All he could ever want. And he stands up and 00:20:21.059 --> 00:20:24.160 goes, look at me. Look how wealthy I am. That's 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:27.859 what's going on here in Corinth. What would you 00:20:27.859 --> 00:20:32.539 think of such a person that did that? Arrogant. 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:40.519 Clueless. Ungrateful. Obnoxious. Absurd. When 00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:42.720 you recognize that you possess all things by 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:45.440 God's grace. your reaction is going to naturally 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:48.660 be, thank you, Lord. And that should be the trajectory 00:20:48.660 --> 00:20:51.160 of our lives, right? But when you come to think 00:20:51.160 --> 00:20:53.640 that you possess things by your own hand, your 00:20:53.640 --> 00:20:57.279 reaction is going to be, look at me. And those 00:20:57.279 --> 00:21:01.420 are two completely different directions. There's 00:21:01.420 --> 00:21:03.500 no question which of those two options was happening 00:21:03.500 --> 00:21:07.140 in Corinth in the first century. So to summarize, 00:21:07.299 --> 00:21:09.119 guys, you have no grounds to think you're better 00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:11.259 than anyone else. You have no grounds to play 00:21:11.259 --> 00:21:13.359 judge of the teachers and leaders in your life. 00:21:13.480 --> 00:21:15.599 You have no grounds to think you've earned anything 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:18.480 or deserve it from God. So Paul says, why are 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:23.759 you so prideful? I love Jeremiah 9, 23 and 24. 00:21:23.940 --> 00:21:27.019 You want a great verse to memorize? Listen to 00:21:27.019 --> 00:21:30.160 what it says. Thus says the Lord. Who says this? 00:21:31.180 --> 00:21:35.640 The Lord says it. Don't miss that. Let not the 00:21:35.640 --> 00:21:38.819 wise man boast in his wisdom. Let not the mighty 00:21:38.819 --> 00:21:40.859 man boast in his might. Let not the rich man 00:21:40.859 --> 00:21:44.440 boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast 00:21:44.440 --> 00:21:48.960 in this, that he understands and knows me, that 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:53.579 I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, 00:21:53.660 --> 00:21:57.599 and righteousness in the earth. Amen? That's 00:21:57.599 --> 00:22:01.220 a great passage. Now, let's get to verse 8 and 00:22:01.220 --> 00:22:03.799 to the end. This is where it gets really interesting. 00:22:04.430 --> 00:22:07.369 Because Paul is going to use the gift of sarcasm. 00:22:08.349 --> 00:22:10.950 Anybody else have the gift of sarcasm? It can 00:22:10.950 --> 00:22:16.309 be an effective literary tool. There's boundaries, 00:22:16.390 --> 00:22:18.670 right? You've got to be careful. But Paul's going 00:22:18.670 --> 00:22:22.170 to use some godly sarcasm here designed to drive 00:22:22.170 --> 00:22:25.910 home a point. By the way, you see the elder team 00:22:25.910 --> 00:22:28.049 recently. We read all the way through 2 Corinthians 00:22:28.049 --> 00:22:31.849 together at our elder meetings. Man, Paul's godly 00:22:31.849 --> 00:22:34.509 sarcasm is all over that book. It's an interesting 00:22:34.509 --> 00:22:38.589 read, specifically to the Corinthians. So verse 00:22:38.589 --> 00:22:41.150 8, by divine inspiration and his own observation, 00:22:41.529 --> 00:22:46.109 Paul begins to sarcastically describe the thinking 00:22:46.109 --> 00:22:49.569 process of the Corinthians, what they think of 00:22:49.569 --> 00:22:52.589 themselves. That's what he's doing. Here's what 00:22:52.589 --> 00:22:55.670 you think of yourselves, he says, verse 8. You're 00:22:55.670 --> 00:23:01.849 already filled. You've already become rich. You've 00:23:01.849 --> 00:23:05.069 become kings without us, meaning the apostles. 00:23:05.730 --> 00:23:08.849 You've become kings. Now, notice the use of the 00:23:08.849 --> 00:23:12.349 word already, twice. The Corinthians are under 00:23:12.349 --> 00:23:16.869 the impression that already in their spiritual 00:23:16.869 --> 00:23:21.410 condition that they have arrived, that they're 00:23:21.410 --> 00:23:25.329 good. They have everything that they need. They've 00:23:25.329 --> 00:23:29.420 got the Christian life figured out. And for those 00:23:29.420 --> 00:23:31.180 of us who know the whole book, it's laughable, 00:23:31.220 --> 00:23:35.119 isn't it? It's laughable. It wasn't laughable 00:23:35.119 --> 00:23:39.140 to Paul, I can tell you that. He's upset. It 00:23:39.140 --> 00:23:42.059 comes out in this passage. They think they've 00:23:42.059 --> 00:23:43.799 got the Christian life figured out. In their 00:23:43.799 --> 00:23:46.079 pride, they're like, we're already filled. We 00:23:46.079 --> 00:23:48.980 have all that we want, all that we need. We're 00:23:48.980 --> 00:23:52.019 already rich, so rich, in fact, that they believe 00:23:52.019 --> 00:23:54.960 that they've begun to reign on the earth as kings. 00:23:56.039 --> 00:23:58.579 which is obviously hyperbole on Paul's part, 00:23:58.660 --> 00:24:02.660 but he's sarcastically saying, boy, you guys 00:24:02.660 --> 00:24:06.099 are really something, aren't you? Man, you guys, 00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:09.019 you're something. You're fully satisfied. You 00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:11.079 have everything. In fact, you don't even need 00:24:11.079 --> 00:24:14.500 me. You don't need any of the apostles because 00:24:14.500 --> 00:24:19.200 you're so filled already. You're perfected. Here 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:22.380 we are, apostles. We're struggling. We're suffering. 00:24:22.500 --> 00:24:25.099 We're getting kicked around. And you guys have 00:24:25.099 --> 00:24:30.240 advanced right past us. It's dripping with sarcasm, 00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:34.160 isn't it? In effect, these Corinthian believers 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:36.480 were somehow convinced that they'd entered into 00:24:36.480 --> 00:24:38.500 the full benefits and blessings of God's kingdom, 00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:41.619 that they had spiritually arrived. And I started 00:24:41.619 --> 00:24:43.720 thinking about it this week. What's going on 00:24:43.720 --> 00:24:46.140 here is similar. It has some parallels to what 00:24:46.140 --> 00:24:48.759 we might call the prosperity gospel that we're 00:24:48.759 --> 00:24:51.500 familiar with even today. The folks are out there 00:24:51.500 --> 00:24:53.559 going, look, we have everything here on earth. 00:24:53.640 --> 00:24:56.579 We've claimed it. And therefore it's ours. Health, 00:24:56.759 --> 00:24:59.940 wealth, wisdom, knowledge, power. It's all ours 00:24:59.940 --> 00:25:02.559 now. We expect everything now to go our way. 00:25:02.700 --> 00:25:05.359 There's no need to correct us. There's no need 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:07.700 for us to go through trials or affliction or 00:25:07.700 --> 00:25:10.039 suffering because God has given us all things. 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:16.200 We're filled. How far off the mark is that? Do 00:25:16.200 --> 00:25:17.819 you ever listen to a prosperity? No, don't listen 00:25:17.819 --> 00:25:20.190 to a prosperity preacher. But if you ever listen, 00:25:20.430 --> 00:25:24.869 you're like, how did they arrive at this? With 00:25:24.869 --> 00:25:27.990 all that the scriptures tell us about the need 00:25:27.990 --> 00:25:31.210 for you and I to go through suffering and trials 00:25:31.210 --> 00:25:35.130 and affliction for our benefit. The world's going 00:25:35.130 --> 00:25:38.549 to hate you, Jesus said. It's going to hate you 00:25:38.549 --> 00:25:42.569 just as it hates me. In this life, you will have 00:25:42.569 --> 00:25:48.210 what? Tribulation. How do they miss that? To 00:25:48.210 --> 00:25:50.529 you, it's been granted for Christ's sake, not 00:25:50.529 --> 00:25:54.029 only to believe in him, but to suffer for his 00:25:54.029 --> 00:25:57.809 sake. Paul's greatest desire was to know Jesus 00:25:57.809 --> 00:25:59.769 in two ways, in the power of his resurrection 00:25:59.769 --> 00:26:03.430 and the fellowship of his sufferings. Right? 00:26:03.789 --> 00:26:06.490 It's all over scripture. Paul says, I want to 00:26:06.490 --> 00:26:09.809 be conformed to Christ in his death. Peter writes, 00:26:10.009 --> 00:26:14.150 listen, beloved, don't be surprised at the difficulties 00:26:14.150 --> 00:26:16.049 that you're going through. He says, it's not 00:26:16.049 --> 00:26:18.569 a strange thing. that you're going through difficult 00:26:18.569 --> 00:26:22.750 things. You should expect it. So Paul and Peter, 00:26:22.789 --> 00:26:25.369 even James, they confirm, listen now, that this 00:26:25.369 --> 00:26:29.289 I'm already filled prosperity mindset is not 00:26:29.289 --> 00:26:32.289 only wrong, it's destructive to the maturity 00:26:32.289 --> 00:26:34.990 process that a Christian needs to go through. 00:26:36.609 --> 00:26:39.750 Peter says, look, these fiery ordeals that you're 00:26:39.750 --> 00:26:43.049 going through, they are given to you by God. 00:26:43.640 --> 00:26:46.319 for your testing and refining. They are preparing 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:49.779 you for the day when Jesus is revealed in glory, 00:26:49.940 --> 00:26:53.000 and on that day, having shared in his sufferings, 00:26:53.000 --> 00:26:57.940 you will exult in great celebration. James specifically 00:26:57.940 --> 00:27:01.400 says what? Trials come upon us as a time of testing 00:27:01.400 --> 00:27:05.799 to build into our character endurance, perseverance. 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:10.640 We are like the athlete. That is going to succeed 00:27:10.640 --> 00:27:13.960 in the game that's coming up next month. But 00:27:13.960 --> 00:27:16.079 first he has to go through all the painful workouts. 00:27:16.900 --> 00:27:21.460 Right? To get ready for the game. You think you 00:27:21.460 --> 00:27:23.539 win in the game without the painful workouts? 00:27:24.599 --> 00:27:28.240 Of course not. We need these things. But the 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:29.940 Corinthians don't think they do. We're filled 00:27:29.940 --> 00:27:34.259 already. We're kings. It's laughable. It's immature. 00:27:36.019 --> 00:27:38.539 How is it possible that they could be so wrong? 00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:44.700 Well, to me, it's a dangerous combination of 00:27:44.700 --> 00:27:48.859 two things, arrogance and self -deception. And 00:27:48.859 --> 00:27:51.059 it's not hard to fall into this if we're not 00:27:51.059 --> 00:27:54.380 careful. A combination of arrogance and self 00:27:54.380 --> 00:27:57.220 -deception. They're so immature, but they're 00:27:57.220 --> 00:28:00.480 so confident in what they think they know. Have 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:03.079 you ever met someone like this? So immature, 00:28:03.299 --> 00:28:07.339 but still so confident in what they think that 00:28:07.339 --> 00:28:10.019 they know. I have to tell you, just as an aside, 00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:12.640 as an elder in the local church, man, I've seen 00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:14.680 this so many times. All of my fellow leaders 00:28:14.680 --> 00:28:17.880 and elders and counselors here in the church 00:28:17.880 --> 00:28:20.140 have seen this. And it usually happens when you're 00:28:20.140 --> 00:28:22.339 talking to somebody younger. This isn't a dig 00:28:22.339 --> 00:28:25.920 at any age group or anybody in particular. It's 00:28:25.920 --> 00:28:27.779 just my experience over decades of ministry. 00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:30.839 You sit down and you talk to a young man or a 00:28:30.839 --> 00:28:34.180 young lady and you share some wisdom with them, 00:28:34.299 --> 00:28:37.529 say, I don't know, say 22 years old. And you're 00:28:37.529 --> 00:28:39.589 talking to them, and you realize as you're talking, 00:28:39.670 --> 00:28:43.170 they're not really listening. They're hearing, 00:28:43.250 --> 00:28:45.809 but they're not listening, right? And you get 00:28:45.809 --> 00:28:49.609 this feeling they're not really listening for 00:28:49.609 --> 00:28:52.430 application. They're not going to take your advice. 00:28:52.970 --> 00:28:55.170 And you know why? It's because they called to 00:28:55.170 --> 00:28:57.210 meet with you. Why? So that you would confirm 00:28:57.210 --> 00:29:00.849 what they want, not readjust their thinking. 00:29:01.650 --> 00:29:04.130 So they're hearing but not listening. And why 00:29:04.130 --> 00:29:09.099 should they? They've got life figured out. We 00:29:09.099 --> 00:29:12.519 giggle, right? Right, Dave? It happens all the 00:29:12.519 --> 00:29:15.720 time. Why should they listen to an old guy? They've 00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:17.900 got life figured out. They're filled already. 00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:23.359 They know what's best at the age of 22. So confident 00:29:23.359 --> 00:29:26.819 in what they think they know. It's true I may 00:29:26.819 --> 00:29:29.960 have 40 more years of life experience, decades 00:29:29.960 --> 00:29:34.460 of ministry and counseling experience, but they're 00:29:34.460 --> 00:29:38.650 already kings. They're already ruling. They know 00:29:38.650 --> 00:29:40.690 exactly what they want. They know exactly what 00:29:40.690 --> 00:29:43.750 they deserve. And that's what they want to hear 00:29:43.750 --> 00:29:46.930 from you. And the reality is, look, as elders, 00:29:47.049 --> 00:29:48.769 we talk about it sometimes. We're like, okay, 00:29:49.289 --> 00:29:51.009 you know what? The best thing we can do is what 00:29:51.009 --> 00:29:53.670 Paul does here. We can point out their foolishness 00:29:53.670 --> 00:29:55.930 and then stand back and let the consequences 00:29:55.930 --> 00:29:59.569 happen. Let God show them what they need to see 00:29:59.569 --> 00:30:02.130 and learn the lessons they need to learn in his 00:30:02.130 --> 00:30:04.410 perfect timing. And God is always faithful to 00:30:04.410 --> 00:30:06.900 do that, right? But sometimes you bump into this. 00:30:06.980 --> 00:30:11.119 They just think they're already filled. Here's 00:30:11.119 --> 00:30:14.140 the truth about the Corinthians. In their pride, 00:30:14.220 --> 00:30:16.980 they become just like the Laodiceans of Revelation 00:30:16.980 --> 00:30:20.039 3. Do you remember what Jesus said to the Laodiceans 00:30:20.039 --> 00:30:22.220 in Revelation 3? Oh, I don't have it. It says 00:30:22.220 --> 00:30:25.299 this. Jesus rebukes them with these words. You 00:30:25.299 --> 00:30:30.160 say, I'm rich. I'm rich. I've become wealthy. 00:30:30.339 --> 00:30:34.079 I have need of nothing. But you do not know. 00:30:34.180 --> 00:30:36.680 This is Jesus. This is his diagnosis. You do 00:30:36.680 --> 00:30:38.660 not know that you are wretched and miserable 00:30:38.660 --> 00:30:42.700 and poor and blind and naked. That's all. You 00:30:42.700 --> 00:30:47.240 think you're rich. God knows otherwise. This 00:30:47.240 --> 00:30:49.359 is a truism. There's nobody as poor as the man 00:30:49.359 --> 00:30:54.799 who thinks he has it all. Now. If that part of 00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:57.220 the passage isn't shocking enough, it gets even 00:30:57.220 --> 00:30:59.960 more tense as he continues in verse 8. What we're 00:30:59.960 --> 00:31:02.200 going to find in these last five verses is not 00:31:02.200 --> 00:31:04.500 only did the Corinthians pridefully believe they 00:31:04.500 --> 00:31:06.940 were something, they thought very little of the 00:31:06.940 --> 00:31:13.119 apostles. Can you imagine? And Paul's brutal 00:31:13.119 --> 00:31:15.200 in his sarcasm here. He says, you become kings, 00:31:15.359 --> 00:31:18.359 and indeed, I wish you had become kings. Why? 00:31:18.839 --> 00:31:22.849 So that we also might reign with you. See, if 00:31:22.849 --> 00:31:25.150 the kingdom were here and you were reigning, 00:31:25.230 --> 00:31:27.170 we'd be reigning with you. Wouldn't that be awesome? 00:31:28.509 --> 00:31:32.150 But newsflash, the kingdom hasn't arrived. And 00:31:32.150 --> 00:31:35.130 you're not reigning as you think you are. And 00:31:35.130 --> 00:31:36.910 newsflash number two, you are still going to 00:31:36.910 --> 00:31:40.049 have to face correction and suffering and trials. 00:31:41.950 --> 00:31:45.470 And then in verses 9 to 13, Paul gives this amazing 00:31:45.470 --> 00:31:49.220 list of contrasts. Very strong statements. And 00:31:49.220 --> 00:31:51.980 honestly, these are intended to shame the Corinthians 00:31:51.980 --> 00:31:55.440 into seeing the depth of their arrogance. These 00:31:55.440 --> 00:31:58.660 contrasts between the apostles and them. Verse 00:31:58.660 --> 00:32:08.500 9, he says, You guys, you're comfortable. You're 00:32:08.500 --> 00:32:12.380 satisfied. We're condemned to death. Do you see 00:32:12.380 --> 00:32:16.720 the contrast? And this... This part of the passage, 00:32:16.859 --> 00:32:19.759 very specific. We don't understand this so much 00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:22.119 today, but if you lived in the Greco -Roman world 00:32:22.119 --> 00:32:24.279 in the first century, you knew exactly what Paul 00:32:24.279 --> 00:32:26.940 was talking about here. When a Roman general 00:32:26.940 --> 00:32:30.660 won a great victory off on the battlefield somewhere 00:32:30.660 --> 00:32:32.859 else in the world, he would come back home with 00:32:32.859 --> 00:32:35.259 his troops and there'd be this amazing parade 00:32:35.259 --> 00:32:38.079 of triumph, right? And the crowds would line 00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:40.799 the streets, ticker tape parade, right? Cheering 00:32:40.799 --> 00:32:44.940 them on. Who's in the very back of the procession? 00:32:45.839 --> 00:32:49.960 It's the captives, the prisoners. And they're 00:32:49.960 --> 00:32:53.900 chained to each other. And the crowd is mocking 00:32:53.900 --> 00:32:58.380 them. And do you know where they're headed? Probably 00:32:58.380 --> 00:33:01.319 to a gruesome death in the arena. And this is 00:33:01.319 --> 00:33:03.680 what Paul says about himself and his fellow apostles. 00:33:04.799 --> 00:33:07.819 God has put us on display at the end of the procession, 00:33:07.819 --> 00:33:11.880 condemned to die in the arena. That's who we 00:33:11.880 --> 00:33:15.450 are. And then he goes on in verse 9. We have 00:33:15.450 --> 00:33:19.170 become a spectacle to the world, both to angels 00:33:19.170 --> 00:33:22.490 and to men. And so this is his sort of subtle 00:33:22.490 --> 00:33:25.009 jab at the Corinthians. You guys have arrived. 00:33:26.049 --> 00:33:28.430 You're the heroes getting all the applause at 00:33:28.430 --> 00:33:31.549 the front of the parade. But us apostles, we're 00:33:31.549 --> 00:33:34.950 at the back. We're a spectacle for the world 00:33:34.950 --> 00:33:37.150 to make fun of. You're satisfied. You're comfortable. 00:33:37.869 --> 00:33:46.059 As for us, we teach, we serve, and we die. Verse 00:33:46.059 --> 00:33:50.299 10, we're fools for Christ's sake, but you, you 00:33:50.299 --> 00:33:52.900 are so prudent in Christ. We are weak, but you, 00:33:53.099 --> 00:33:56.299 you are strong. You're distinguished. We're without 00:33:56.299 --> 00:34:00.019 honor. And catch the juxtaposition there, right? 00:34:00.119 --> 00:34:01.740 Because Paul talked about this already in the 00:34:01.740 --> 00:34:05.259 letter. Being foolish versus being wise. Being 00:34:05.259 --> 00:34:08.079 weak versus being strong. Which does God desire 00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:11.900 for us? It all depends on the standard, right? 00:34:13.099 --> 00:34:14.980 If you're seeking the world's approval, yeah, 00:34:15.059 --> 00:34:18.280 go out there. Be strong. Be wise. And the world 00:34:18.280 --> 00:34:21.840 will applaud you. But if you're seeking the kingdom 00:34:21.840 --> 00:34:24.239 of God, then become a fool for Christ. Become 00:34:24.239 --> 00:34:26.280 weak so that the Spirit of God can work through 00:34:26.280 --> 00:34:30.920 you and bring glory to God. You've got to choose 00:34:30.920 --> 00:34:32.739 every day whom you're going to serve, right? 00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:35.360 Are you going to seek after the applause of the 00:34:35.360 --> 00:34:38.860 world? Is that the goal? Or are you going to 00:34:38.860 --> 00:34:41.929 be faithful to Christ? So Paul's challenging 00:34:41.929 --> 00:34:45.610 these Corinthians with. Verse 11, to this present 00:34:45.610 --> 00:34:48.570 hour, we are both hungry and thirsty, poorly 00:34:48.570 --> 00:34:53.750 clothed, roughly treated, homeless. So while 00:34:53.750 --> 00:34:56.909 you guys live in that beautiful Greek city, all 00:34:56.909 --> 00:35:00.349 comfortable, wealthy, we're out here struggling. 00:35:00.849 --> 00:35:04.139 And we're struggling for you. We're struggling 00:35:04.139 --> 00:35:06.280 on your behalf. We're praying for you. We're 00:35:06.280 --> 00:35:08.539 teaching you. We're seeking to love you. We're 00:35:08.539 --> 00:35:10.539 correcting you. We're doing all these things. 00:35:10.699 --> 00:35:14.039 And yet, just like Jesus, we have no place to 00:35:14.039 --> 00:35:19.360 lay our heads. No place. But we'll gladly forsake 00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:22.500 worldly comfort if only we can reach your hearts 00:35:22.500 --> 00:35:26.829 and move you towards maturity in the faith. We 00:35:26.829 --> 00:35:29.570 will gladly accept this. He's not whining for 00:35:29.570 --> 00:35:32.289 like, hey, give me money or give me more stuff. 00:35:32.349 --> 00:35:34.730 He's saying, we will gladly suffer all these 00:35:34.730 --> 00:35:38.250 things if only we could break through with you. 00:35:40.570 --> 00:35:43.150 You almost sense the frustration, don't you? 00:35:44.409 --> 00:35:47.670 Verse 12, and he says, and we toil, working with 00:35:47.670 --> 00:35:51.530 our hands. We're not even supported materially 00:35:51.530 --> 00:35:54.860 by those that we serve. And we're happy to go 00:35:54.860 --> 00:35:57.460 out and work to do manual labor. Look, I know 00:35:57.460 --> 00:35:59.800 as Greeks, you think that's dishonoring. That's 00:35:59.800 --> 00:36:02.880 fine. We're happy to do it. You know why? Because 00:36:02.880 --> 00:36:05.599 we don't want to be a burden to anyone. We don't 00:36:05.599 --> 00:36:09.000 want our material needs to be a stumbling block 00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:11.340 to the spread of the gospel. So we're happy to 00:36:11.340 --> 00:36:16.059 do that. That's fine. And he says, when we're 00:36:16.059 --> 00:36:18.980 poorly treated, we respond in a godly way. Look 00:36:18.980 --> 00:36:21.400 at continuing in verse 12. He says, this is how 00:36:21.400 --> 00:36:26.130 we respond. When we're reviled, we bless. When 00:36:26.130 --> 00:36:29.389 we're persecuted, we endure. When we're slandered, 00:36:29.469 --> 00:36:31.969 we try to conciliate, meaning we respond with 00:36:31.969 --> 00:36:35.889 grace. Man, that's a challenging section, isn't 00:36:35.889 --> 00:36:39.969 it? How hard is it to do those things when you're 00:36:39.969 --> 00:36:43.849 treated poorly by people? And still Paul says, 00:36:43.969 --> 00:36:45.769 this is what the world thinks of us. We're doing 00:36:45.769 --> 00:36:48.090 all these things. We're striving to love. And 00:36:48.090 --> 00:36:50.309 still the world thinks this. We have become, 00:36:50.469 --> 00:36:53.730 what does he say, as the scum of the world, the 00:36:53.730 --> 00:36:55.989 dregs or the garbage of the world, even until 00:36:55.989 --> 00:37:01.010 now. Here were the Corinthian believers, puffed 00:37:01.010 --> 00:37:03.610 up, wise in their own eyes, thinking that they're 00:37:03.610 --> 00:37:06.369 already filled, already rich, already reigning. 00:37:06.769 --> 00:37:09.610 And what do they think of the apostles? Spectacles. 00:37:10.980 --> 00:37:20.239 Fools, garbage. What arrogance. I've seen a parallel 00:37:20.239 --> 00:37:23.800 drawn here between if you're older like me and 00:37:23.800 --> 00:37:27.000 you have kids that are now grown, you may have 00:37:27.000 --> 00:37:29.860 experienced something similar to what Paul is 00:37:29.860 --> 00:37:31.820 going through here. Let me see if I can lay this 00:37:31.820 --> 00:37:35.300 out. If you're in my age range with grown children, 00:37:35.420 --> 00:37:38.039 do you remember doing everything possible to 00:37:38.039 --> 00:37:40.059 bless them when they were young and growing up? 00:37:40.440 --> 00:37:42.300 Right? As parents, we do everything possible 00:37:42.300 --> 00:37:44.119 to bless them and to love them and to care for 00:37:44.119 --> 00:37:46.360 them as they're growing up. And do you remember 00:37:46.360 --> 00:37:49.079 in those early years how much your kids depended 00:37:49.079 --> 00:37:51.239 on you? How they actually, they clung to you. 00:37:51.280 --> 00:37:54.880 They thought you were great. Love you, mom. Love 00:37:54.880 --> 00:37:57.559 you, dad. Do you remember those years? And then 00:37:57.559 --> 00:38:02.360 they become teenagers. What on earth happens? 00:38:04.260 --> 00:38:08.400 They suddenly know everything. They're filled. 00:38:09.480 --> 00:38:11.500 They know everything they need to know. They've 00:38:11.500 --> 00:38:14.579 got life figured out. Not only do they not need 00:38:14.579 --> 00:38:17.260 you anymore or want you to be around, you're 00:38:17.260 --> 00:38:23.039 now an embarrassment to them. Every one of us 00:38:23.039 --> 00:38:25.539 goes through this. We did it as teenagers. Our 00:38:25.539 --> 00:38:28.780 teenagers will do it. They just need to work 00:38:28.780 --> 00:38:32.659 through it. But that's the way the prideful Corinthians 00:38:32.659 --> 00:38:35.489 were looking at the apostles. You guys are now 00:38:35.489 --> 00:38:37.929 a spectacle and embarrassment. Yeah, we needed 00:38:37.929 --> 00:38:40.010 you at one point, but now we're filled. Now we're 00:38:40.010 --> 00:38:47.110 reigning. They're like clueless teenagers. And 00:38:47.110 --> 00:38:50.409 listen, as I was studying this passage this week, 00:38:50.429 --> 00:38:52.969 it made me step back and just all the more admire 00:38:52.969 --> 00:38:57.309 these men that put up with this. Paul and Apollos 00:38:57.309 --> 00:38:59.630 and Peter, all the other teachers, these were 00:38:59.630 --> 00:39:02.469 really humble men. I don't think I would have 00:39:02.469 --> 00:39:06.440 reacted this graciously. They joyfully lined 00:39:06.440 --> 00:39:08.719 up as captives at the back of the procession. 00:39:08.719 --> 00:39:11.239 They accepted the world's verdict against them. 00:39:11.280 --> 00:39:13.519 They were content with all of these hardships, 00:39:13.699 --> 00:39:15.980 and they were even willing to put up with the 00:39:15.980 --> 00:39:18.559 immaturity of those they were trying to love 00:39:18.559 --> 00:39:22.860 and serve with joy. They rejoiced through all 00:39:22.860 --> 00:39:25.280 of it. They knew that, look, even though I'm 00:39:25.280 --> 00:39:27.739 last in the eyes of the world, someday I'm going 00:39:27.739 --> 00:39:29.599 to be first in the kingdom of God, and that was 00:39:29.599 --> 00:39:34.119 enough. Think about that. As you walk out the 00:39:34.119 --> 00:39:37.000 door tomorrow morning to whatever you have in 00:39:37.000 --> 00:39:40.159 front of you, think about that. I may be the 00:39:40.159 --> 00:39:43.000 last in the eyes of the world, but I want to 00:39:43.000 --> 00:39:47.699 be first in the eyes of my Savior. And we know 00:39:47.699 --> 00:39:49.940 it's true, by the way, from Scripture. The apostles 00:39:49.940 --> 00:39:52.099 are going to reign on thrones in the kingdom 00:39:52.099 --> 00:39:56.260 to come. Amen and amen. So let me wrap up with 00:39:56.260 --> 00:39:58.539 just a couple more observations. The obvious 00:39:58.539 --> 00:40:01.469 application of this passage. It's very simple. 00:40:01.530 --> 00:40:05.030 It's humility. It's humility. And let me lay 00:40:05.030 --> 00:40:06.989 out just a quick biblical definition of what 00:40:06.989 --> 00:40:09.070 I think we should think of when we think of humility. 00:40:09.730 --> 00:40:12.150 Not thinking of yourselves more highly than you 00:40:12.150 --> 00:40:15.090 ought. Start with that. Start with that. That's 00:40:15.090 --> 00:40:17.889 a command. Don't think so highly of yourself. 00:40:18.210 --> 00:40:23.190 And then with sober judgment, know yourself truthfully 00:40:23.190 --> 00:40:28.510 before the holy God that we serve. What a great 00:40:28.510 --> 00:40:32.150 self -examination that is. Don't lie to yourself 00:40:32.150 --> 00:40:35.750 and don't lie to God. He knows. But with sober 00:40:35.750 --> 00:40:39.789 judgment, before God, as holy as he is, know 00:40:39.789 --> 00:40:44.070 your own heart. And it will drive you to humility. 00:40:45.469 --> 00:40:47.690 As we mature in the faith, we ought to live more 00:40:47.690 --> 00:40:50.210 and more with a deep sense of awareness that 00:40:50.210 --> 00:40:53.329 everything that we have is by God's grace and 00:40:53.329 --> 00:40:55.210 that without that grace, we'd all be in big, 00:40:55.230 --> 00:40:59.760 big trouble. Amen? And when we forget that basic 00:40:59.760 --> 00:41:02.320 truth of the Christian life, we're going to be 00:41:02.320 --> 00:41:05.539 arrogant. We're going to grow in arrogance. Self 00:41:05.539 --> 00:41:07.340 -deception is going to creep in. We're going 00:41:07.340 --> 00:41:10.179 to start to feel superior to others. We're going 00:41:10.179 --> 00:41:12.079 to start feeling like we're owed certain things. 00:41:12.199 --> 00:41:14.559 And then we boast in ourselves. And then we look 00:41:14.559 --> 00:41:17.860 around and judge everybody else. It's a progressive 00:41:17.860 --> 00:41:21.920 thing that we allow ourselves to do when we don't 00:41:21.920 --> 00:41:26.780 do this type of self -examination. All of a sudden, 00:41:26.800 --> 00:41:29.619 we're not so impressed by the teachers and leaders 00:41:29.619 --> 00:41:32.519 that God has put in our lives. We no longer need 00:41:32.519 --> 00:41:34.639 their wisdom because we are filled, rich, and 00:41:34.639 --> 00:41:38.900 reigning. It's been said that humility is the 00:41:38.900 --> 00:41:41.460 soil that helps all the other spiritual fruit 00:41:41.460 --> 00:41:44.840 grow. And I think that's a pretty wise statement. 00:41:44.940 --> 00:41:47.880 I have no doubt that if you pursue humility and 00:41:47.880 --> 00:41:51.480 make that a point of prayer, make it a point 00:41:51.480 --> 00:41:54.510 of prayer, seek after it diligently. That if 00:41:54.510 --> 00:41:56.989 you grow in humility, you will be less prideful, 00:41:57.110 --> 00:42:00.769 less judgmental, less selfish, and less envious 00:42:00.769 --> 00:42:03.369 of others. And on the flip side, you'll be more 00:42:03.369 --> 00:42:06.849 loving, more compassionate, more kind, more teachable, 00:42:06.889 --> 00:42:10.849 more joyful, and more content. So it's to your 00:42:10.849 --> 00:42:14.929 benefit that you grow in this basic character 00:42:14.929 --> 00:42:18.789 trait of a Christian. I like the way Peter summed 00:42:18.789 --> 00:42:20.590 it up in his first letter. It was part of the 00:42:20.590 --> 00:42:23.090 call to worship. He said, clothe yourself with 00:42:23.090 --> 00:42:27.329 this. Clothe yourself with humility. Be intentional 00:42:27.329 --> 00:42:30.269 about putting this on every day like a garment. 00:42:30.449 --> 00:42:34.329 Wrap yourself in it every day. Make everybody 00:42:34.329 --> 00:42:38.090 else around you the priority, especially those 00:42:38.090 --> 00:42:42.349 in the body of Christ. Because we know both sides 00:42:42.349 --> 00:42:44.449 of this coin are true. In first century Corinth, 00:42:44.610 --> 00:42:48.329 there was great pride and that led to division. 00:42:49.849 --> 00:42:52.489 But where there is humility in the church, there 00:42:52.489 --> 00:42:57.210 will be Great unity. And that pleases the Lord. 00:42:58.429 --> 00:43:02.590 So may God make us a humble church and continue 00:43:02.590 --> 00:43:07.070 to draw us closer together as one. Amen? Let's 00:43:07.070 --> 00:43:14.329 bow our heads. Heavenly Father, as difficult 00:43:14.329 --> 00:43:17.289 as this moment in time must have been for Paul 00:43:17.289 --> 00:43:21.090 and Apollos and the others, I am so grateful 00:43:21.090 --> 00:43:24.570 that you have given us this example for us to 00:43:24.570 --> 00:43:28.030 learn from, an example of an immature group of 00:43:28.030 --> 00:43:31.150 believers who thought so highly of themselves 00:43:31.150 --> 00:43:35.030 and thought so poorly of the apostles. It's shocking 00:43:35.030 --> 00:43:37.630 to us, Lord, but we know that if we're not careful, 00:43:37.769 --> 00:43:39.750 if we're not on alert, that we can fall into 00:43:39.750 --> 00:43:43.320 similar traps. So I pray, Lord, that you will 00:43:43.320 --> 00:43:45.760 seal these truths in our minds and hearts that 00:43:45.760 --> 00:43:48.159 we would do some self -examination even this 00:43:48.159 --> 00:43:50.820 week about our own pride, our own arrogance, 00:43:51.019 --> 00:43:55.579 and have we become judgmental. So work in us, 00:43:55.639 --> 00:44:00.539 God. Conform us to the image of our Savior. We 00:44:00.539 --> 00:44:02.219 thank you, God, that you're always at work in 00:44:02.219 --> 00:44:04.760 us by your Spirit. Help us to cooperate. Help 00:44:04.760 --> 00:44:06.739 us to yield to the work he wants to do in us. 00:44:06.920 --> 00:44:09.340 For your glory and our good, we pray. Amen.