Members in Good Standing

All right, if you would take
your Bibles and turn back to 1 Corinthians chapter 3. 1 Corinthians
chapter 3, great chapter that we’ve enjoyed
for the last month. And I wondered, have you ever
made one of those colossal gaffes? It might have been unintentional
an unintentional mistake, but it made you feel Like you would
like to crawl down through the floorboards. Have you ever done
something like that? Yeah me too Jesus presents such a scenario
in Luke 14 and There he warned his disciples about walking into
a party even a party to which you were invited to but walking
into the party and presumptuously sitting down at a place of honor,
perhaps the head of the table. Jesus says, don’t do that. Know
the rules. Know the situation. Know your
place. We’ve all been in those predicaments,
right? I remember posing for a picture
with one group and Suddenly after the picture, feeling very uncomfortable. And I saw other people coming
into the picture, assuming that they too wanted a picture with
me and everybody, including the cameraman was only trying to
nudge me out of the picture. We’ve all had those moments.
And in those moments, don’t you feel and think. And wonder why
someone, anyone didn’t just inform you of the situation so that
you didn’t have to make a fool of yourself. In the case of the scenario that
Jesus presents in Luke 14, a friend would have come up to
you and said, Hey, sit wherever you want. Just don’t sit at the
head of the table. We need to know the rules, right? And that’s exactly what Paul
is doing here at the end of chapter three. He’s telling us the rules. He’s telling us how we’re supposed
to function in the church. He’s telling the Corinthians,
who had made a big mess of things, He’s telling the Corinthians
that they were embarrassing themselves and in the process of destroying
the church. And they needed some divine instruction
as to the nature of the church and how they were to function
within it. What was appropriate and what wasn’t. Paul presumes
that they want, they desire in their hearts to be members in
good standing. But these believers have a lot
of work to do. They need instruction first and
foremost. As we’ve worked through this
chapter, we found Paul continuing the discussion that he first
introduced back in chapter one, verse 10. The dangerous sign
that he saw regarding the division in the Corinthian church. Then
the nature of the division was equally alarming because there
were camps forming centered around personalities among whom Paul
was one. Paul and Apollos were no more
than God’s servants. Paul will go on to tell them,
but the Corinthian church and their immaturity had elevated
them and was really willing to split over them. In their immaturity, in their
childish behavior, they had not only hindered their ability to
grasp mature instruction. This division would soon destroy
the church completely. Paul tells them that he found
it necessary to speak to them, not as to mature saints. Sinful
behavior had hampered their ability to learn. Verses one through
four. Building off that gentle but very sure correction, Paul
seeks to instruct the church first about the nature of Christ’s
service. They had a wrong perspective
of the Christian ministry. They had a wrong perspective
about what a worker of the gospel was. That’s
what he addresses in verses five through nine. But often, even
leaders imbibe faulty perspectives of Christ’s service. And so Paul
provides instruction and even insights into the nature of the
Christian ministry in chapter three, verses 10 through 15.
And he does so under the metaphor, as we saw last week, of a building
project. And with this illustration, Paul
addressed any and all who would ever participate in building
the greatest edifice ever constructed, that of the church. Every apostle,
every elder, every discipler, evangelist, prophet, Sunday school
teacher, Everyone who is pouring into others with the admonition
or instruction of God’s Word is part of this building project. And so because of that, they,
we, or to take care that the quality
of whatever special task we have is done as unto the Lord. It’s done for the Lord in His
glory, not our own. It’s done to God’s high standards. But there’s still one more major
information gap that unless corrected will only lead to embarrassment
among the Corinthian church. And it would ultimately lead
to their destruction. Paul didn’t want to leave these
would be solid church members unaware of the rules of the church. And that’s what he addresses
beginning in verse 16. If you would, let’s take it in
its entirety. Chapter three. And I, brethren,
could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men
of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not
solid food, for you were not able to receive it. Indeed, even
now you are not able, for you are still fleshly. For since
there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly?
Are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, I am
of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are you not mere men?
What then is Apollos and what is Paul? Servants through whom
you believed even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.
I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So
then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything
but God causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who
waters are one. But each one will receive his
own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow
workers, you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God,
which was given to me like a wise master builder, I laid a foundation
and another is building upon it. But each man must be careful
how he builds on it, for no one can lay a foundation other than
that, the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if
any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones,
wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident for
the day will show it. Because it is to be revealed
with fire. and the fire itself will test
the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has
built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s
work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be
saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are
a temple of God and that the spirit of God dwells in you?
If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy,
and that is what you are. Let no man deceive himself. If
any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must
become foolish so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of
this world is foolishness before God, for it is written, he is
the one who catches the wise in their craftiness. And again,
the Lord knows the reasonings of the wise that they are useless.
So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you,
whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death
or things present or things to come, all things belong to you. And you belong to Christ. Christ
belongs to God. We desire to be members in good
standing, not just members in good standing of this particular
local church. We desire to be members in good
standing of God’s church. And so Paul presents here really
what seemed to me to be instruction for would-be worshipers. Instruction for those who desire
to be members in good standing of Christ’s church. And the first
one, simply that we find in verses 16 and 17, if we would honor
God as a church, We must remember the principle
of consecration, the principle of consecration. Look at verses
16 and 17, even though we just read them. Do you not know that
you are a temple of God and that the spirit of God dwells in you?
If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy
and that is what you are. And so Paul wants to take us
to church. He wants to take the Corinthians
to church in a sense. And he wants desperately to remind
them and us what to expect or rather what is expected of us
at church. And the first truth to which
he directs our attention is to the fact that in a very real
and significant way, we are a temple of God. In the verses immediately
preceding, verses 10 through 15, Paul had changed his metaphor,
remember, from that of a field or a garden to that of a building.
And it’s as if Paul captures the Corinthians muddling along
like so many builders that have completely forgotten the nature
of the project on which they’re working. They’ve forgotten what kind of
building this even is. It has become to them just a
structure. But Paul urges them in a sense
to step back. Calls them across the street
to back away from the construction project and to behold the structure
itself. Because this isn’t just any building. And this is shaming. This is
shaming to them and to us. It’s not as if we didn’t have
the blueprint. We saw that last week. Be careful
how you build. It’s not as if we didn’t have
the knowledge and the know-how and the experience because God
has gifted us, each one of us. Paul himself was one of the builders,
the very one, in fact, who was responsible for setting the foundation
And he added that another, and actually many others were building
on that foundation. That was not a crime. Down through the course of history,
many have built on the foundation, including down to our day, including
us. But as he says there at the end
of verse 10, we have to be careful how we build. We have to construct
the building according to plan. According to the blueprint, we
can’t just wing it. Because this is not just any
building, this is the church. And one day we will all give
account for the end product, at least our portion of it. Our
portion will either stand the test of fire or be burned up
by it. And with it, our reward. This
is, after all, the church. This is the institution for which
Christ died. Paul uses a different term here
than church. As you’ve already noticed, he
refers to the church as a temple. but not just any temple. It’s
a temple of God. It’s a temple, a sacred place
where God himself dwells. There are several different words
that could have been translated temple here on, is often used
to refer to the temple, but it has more reference to the entire
temple grounds. The court of the Gentiles, the
court of the women, But this word, naos, is used of something
most sacred, to the sanctuary of God himself. And it is an
illustration of the church that not only Paul uses, but Peter
as well. Paul, in his second letter to
the Corinthians, referred to believers collectively as the
temple of the living God. Not an astounding image. When
he schooled young Mr. Timothy. In his first letter
to this young pastor, he urged the same rather he used the same
image when he declared his purpose in writing to Timothy. That you
will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God. Which is the Church of the living
God. He uses this image of the household of God, a temple, a
church, in which God dwells. Paul lets the picture paint itself
in Ephesians 2. Could you flip over to Ephesians
2, just for a moment? I want you to see the richness
of this illustration. And it’s a metaphor, it’s an
illustration. Ephesians chapter 2, And glance
down beginning at verse 19, where Paul says, so then you are no
longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with
the saints and are of God’s household. Having been built on the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the
cornerstone. in whom the whole building being
fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord. In
whom you are being built together into a dwelling of God in the
spirit. It’s a fantastic image. When
you think of 2000 years of church history and every believer who’s
ever built is like a brick in that incredible structure. Well, likewise, the apostle Peter
makes use of the same rich illustration. We won’t turn to first Peter,
and as you’re turning back to first Corinthians, Peter uses
the same rich illustration referring even to the scattered saints,
remember, to whom he was writing as living stones that are being
built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood. Same image. So this is, this is no shed that
you’re working on. This is no cabin. This is no lodge or even some
opulent hotel that you’re working on. This is the church of the
living God in which you’re employed, being gifted by God and his grace
to serve. And while the church is composed,
comprised rather not only of individual believers and countless
scores of local churches, Paul refers here to the great institution
for which Christ died, the church. And so Paul asks, Paul has to
ask them as if maybe they had forgotten the nature of the project
on which they were working. Do you not know? Do you not know that you are a temple
of God? It’s a rebuke, no doubt. Have
you forgotten? Do you not remember? Do you not
know? You recall that in this letter,
Paul takes a tone with the Corinthians that he uses in almost no other
church. Perhaps Galatians is stronger
still, but with this church, there is a chiding tone frequently
in Paul’s voice, a corrective, almost a shaming tone, and that’s
what these words are. And he uses this device, a rhetorical
question that is meant to put them on the spot. Do you not
know? And he uses this frequently. Just listen, 1 Corinthians 5.6,
your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little
leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 1 Corinthians 6.16,
do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute
is one body with her? 6.19, do you not know that your body
is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? 913, do you not
know that those who perform the sacred services eat the food
of the temple and those who attend regularly to the altar have their
share in the altar? And 924, do you not know that
those who run a race all run but only one receives the prize?
He keeps on schooling these childish believers. And he does so here
with an embarrassing question. Have you forgotten the nature
of the project for which you’re employed? They ought to be ashamed. They had forgotten or overlooked
a key element of their building efforts. They were busy. They’d forgotten the most important
detail of all, the kind of structure that they were building. And
with that, Paul reminds them not only of the nature of the
project, but of the fact that they themselves are part of the
structure itself. They are a temple of God. Paul has these believers right
where he wants them. He’s got them in the palm of
his hand and he informs them, he reminds them really that they
are the very bricks that comprise this sacred structure. Consider how he explains this.
Remember his stinging question, do you not know? Well, that question
has two parts. Do you not know that you are
a temple of God? Part one. And secondly, do you
not know that the Holy Spirit dwells in you? How embarrassing
a question this was. Why would Paul have to ask that?
Because they were living as if the Holy Spirit were not resident.
How could they have forgotten that, Paul wonders. Just as the
Jewish temple was indwelled by the Shekinah glory of God as
a symbol of God’s future temple, his church is indwelled by his
Holy Spirit. That’s a great description, verse
16, a great explanation of the nature of the project. But we
might be inclined to pause and ask, why is Paul saying all of
this? Why is Paul still dwelling on
the nature of this project? Because. The Corinthians, having
forgotten the nature of this project, were like so many others
down through the centuries, right to our day, destroying the very
project that they were supposed to be building. And this is what
Paul addresses in verse 17, and he does so with a shatteringly
stark warning. If any man destroys the temple
of God, God will destroy him. This word translated here as
destroy is softened inexplicably by some translators. But the
word means to bring into a worse state. We have it in scripture. Bad company corrupts good morals. Bad friends don’t make you better.
They make you worse. Paul will exclaim that at the
end of this epistle. And so this idea of corruption,
decay, destruction, ruin, those capture the meaning of this word.
Well, who would do such a thing to, of all structures, God’s
temple? Who would destroy God’s temple? After all, it’s one thing to
build in a sloppy manner, or to do so half-heartedly, or to
use poor quality materials, but to begin to destroy, to dismantle
what God himself was building? This is the subject that Paul
addressed in verses 10 through 15. But even even such workmen
as that shoddy materials, halfhearted effort. Whose efforts ultimately
would be burned up completely, even if he saved. But not one whose efforts destroy
the temple. He too will be destroyed, Paul
says. This is a completely different scene This is the law of the
temple, even from of old, Leviticus 15, 31, Numbers 19. One could
not defile the temple with impunity. And likewise, one cannot harm
Christ’s church and not expect to be treated in the same manner. If any man destroys the temple
of God, God will destroy him. frightening. Paul states the reason clearly
enough, the temple of God is holy. And then he adds, that
is what you are, that referring not to holiness specifically,
although that is true. He’s pointing back to the truth
that they are the temple of God. Christ’s church, like the temple
of old, is consecrated, set apart for God’s holy use. It’s the
place wherein he dwells. And God, by the person of the
Holy Spirit, makes the believer, and therefore Christ’s church,
his holy abode. The former temple was built with
earthly materials. The church, however, is built
with spiritual materials. And because God’s temple is holy,
consecrated, sacred, purchased with the blood of his son, anyone
who destroys or defiles or profanes God’s temple will himself be
destroyed. That’s a sobering truth. It is the practical outworking
of that biblical principle, an eye for an eye. Destroy God’s temple, God will
destroy you. Peter uses this word in his second
epistle, absolutely, of false teachers who will be destroyed,
he says. It’s infinitely sobering. But
how or by what means, if we’re going to operate, if we want
to be members in good standing, we’ve got to know what it means
to destroy or how we would go about destroying the church so
that we can avoid it. How does a person destroy such
a structure? Well, we know that they cannot
do so in an ultimate sense. Christ’s church will prevail. Otherwise, God himself could
be destroyed, but the efforts, the intentions can be destructive. They can destroy the temple in
a relative sense by their teaching, by their divisiveness, such as
was happening in the Church of Corinth. These had worked. These people
had worked and labored like all the rest of the church members
in Corinth. But their focus eventually became
their own agenda. Their own plan. Their own group
or faction. And thus they were poisoning
and destroying the very church that they thought they were building.
The factiousness of the Corinthian church has been Paul’s focus
since the opening chapter. Not all were guilty of such behavior,
but Paul is aiming at the perpetrators here in these verses. And these
who would divide Christ’s church are those same people who would
destroy Christ’s church. And those who would destroy Christ’s
church will be destroyed. I favored one faithful commentator
who urged that this must not be watered down. This must not
be watered down to mean mere physical punishment, as if he
will be chastised. The exact meaning is nowhere
revealed in scripture, but terrible ruin and eternal loss of some
kind seems to be meant. And with the ears of the entire
Corinthian church, he issues this solemn warning to those
who are still at that moment tearing at the delicate fabric
of the body of Christ. They would produce an immediate.
Rather, this would produce an immediate accountability for
them. Others knew what they were doing, what they were engaged
in. It would produce what one referred to as a holy indignation that could be caught just with
a glance from a true believer against any who was engaged in
this behavior. If we would be members in good
standing, if we want to honor God as a church, we have to remember
the principle of consecration. But there’s a second. We find
it in verses 18 through 20. If we would honor God as a church,
we must also remember the axiom of wisdom. We find it in verse
18 through 20. Let no man deceive himself. If
any man among you thinks he’s wise in this age, he must become
foolish so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this
world is foolishness before God, for it is written, he is the
one who catches the wise in their craftiness. And again, the Lord
knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless. Christ’s
church is a sacred institution. And not only must her members
be peaceable and unified, they must be truly wise. Wise in God’s estimation, godly
wisdom must be their possession. This, as you know, is not a new
subject for Paul. He addresses wisdom. The wisdom
of the world is compared with the wisdom of God in both chapters
one and two. Flip back to chapter one just
for a moment. Chapter one. Verse 20, where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is
the debater of this age? He basically says to the Greek
cultured people, bring him. If you have a wise man that can
escort us into the kingdom of heaven, produce him. Where’s
the debater of this age? Has God not made foolish the
wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God,
the world through its wisdom did not come to know God. That’s
the key point. Worldly wisdom does not save,
doesn’t save anybody. Back to chapter three. And so
here in chapter three, it really is a reiteration, an echo that
points, points that he’s been making all along in this argument
that he, that the world thinks of the wisdom of God as foolishness. And if that is the case, it’s
better to shun the world’s so-called wisdom and embrace what the world
identifies as foolishness. If the world wants to label the
man a fool who is following Christ, so be it. That is a name we must embrace,
we must willingly own it. To be called a simpleton, a fool. to be lumped in with the ignorant,
to be willing to be called simple-minded, non-intellectual. That’s fine. Put me in that camp. Because
when it’s all said and done, worldly knowledge is of no value
whatsoever, Paul says. Doesn’t save you. Far better
to be thought a fool by the world than by God. to divide over this
teacher or that, this faction or the other, was serving to
destroy the church. What Christian in his right mind
would willingly participate in that? No wonder such behavior garners
the strongest rebukes from Paul. Galatians 5, 7, you were running
well. Who hindered you from obeying
the truth? This persuasion did not come from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole
lump of dough. It’s a rebuke. Same thing in
2 Corinthians 11. I’m afraid that as the serpent
deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray
from the simplicity and the purity of devotion to Christ. It’s a
rebuke. Factiousness is destructive,
horrifically destructive. It not only ruins churches, it
destroys lives. No person in their right mind
would engage in such conduct. And so in his reiteration of
his point, Paul initiates his argument here very abruptly.
Let no man deceive himself. Paul thinks of deception as a
pernicious and destructive evil. What makes destruction so evil
is that it’s active treachery. It’s active treachery in the
human mind. Your mind is deceiving itself. Because the person actually believes
that he’s doing the right thing. He actually believes that he’s
better off. He actually believes that his
efforts are even pleasing to God. I have a book on my shelf,
simple title, but it is a profound thought. It’s called Well-Intentioned
Dragons. I’ve never met a person yet.
who has a real problem in the church, going around, shooting
off their mouth, tearing the church apart, who doesn’t believe
in his heart that he’s right. Well-intentioned dragons. But he’s not. Not in reality,
he’s deceived. And just like his repeated use
of the phrase, do you not know, Paul uses this device again and
again 1 Corinthians 6, 9, do not be deceived. 1 Corinthians
15, 33, do not be deceived. The Corinthians were a largely
deceived people. Paul’s insinuation by this challenge
is simple. There were some in the Corinthian
circle who were showing clear signs of having been deceived. They were believing lies. Specifically,
the worldly lie that You needed to be in the best camp. You need
to be in the right group. Following the most charismatic
leader. After all, that’s the Greek way. But these so many factions were
destroying the church. The danger of serving to destroy
God’s holy temple was very real. And it was exceedingly dangerous.
There were real and destructive effects upon the church, and
an individual contribution to such bore real consequences. To participate in this was to
call down God’s judgment. But deception is an evil that
tricks men’s minds into thinking and believing what is not true
and accurate. But this deception is more evil
still because it’s self-deception. And as Paul begins to shine the
light of truth upon this group, he isolates this one. He refers
to one who is among them. Not of them, just among them. The man is fooling himself, but
he’s only fooling himself. He thinks he’s so smart, so smart
in fact, that he thinks he can even outsmart God. And he begins
to convince himself that he knows better. In this case, he reasons,
if you can even call it reason, that differing groups are not
a bad thing. And that one group, just happens
to be his group, is really better than all of the others. To adopt
such thinking, Paul concludes, is to think oneself wise. He
thinks he’s so smart. And so Paul pleads fair warning. If any man among you thinks that
he is wise in this age, he must become foolish. so that he may
become wise, he must, in other words, leave off the attempt
to present himself as smarter than God and humble himself by
adopting what the world will always identify as foolish, such as true wisdom, as Paul has already declared.
Paul cites the simple reason for this appeal again, an echo
from the conclusions he presented in chapter one, that the wisdom
of the world is foolishness before God. And he buttresses this conclusion
with two citations from the Old Testament. Job 5.13, Psalm 94.11,
glance at verse 19 if you would, the quote from Job. He’s the
one who catches the wise in their craftiness. Human wisdom, the
attempt to outsmart God by attempting to employ the world’s means and
measures is not so smart after all, is it? The translation that God catches
the wise may not be strong enough here. The word refers to a strong
grasp. And so the word seizes might
be better. God seizes the wise in the midst
of their craftiness. They think they’re so smart until
they’re stopped dead in their tracks. It’s a very fascinating word.
One commentator elaborated as to its meaning. Versatile cleverness. A readiness for anything in order
to gain one’s own ends. That’s usually the case, isn’t
it? This is the one who looks out
only for his own interests. Such a person is shrewd and clever,
crafty and scheming. But like Haman, the very things
in which men boast become their snare. God will not be mocked. If you would look at the second
citation, verse 20, the quote from Psalm 94, the Lord knows
the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless. Paul utilized
this verse to declare the utter vanity, uselessness, emptiness
of the worldly man’s reasoning. A word that is often used in
scripture of men’s thoughts in opposition to God’s thoughts. Both of these verses declare
God’s omniscience and sovereignty over the puny thoughts of worldly
men. I mentioned this in some context
or another a few weeks ago. You’ve seen the yard signs, I’m
sure. We believe. And then they go down and course
through a whole series of statements. Every single one of them, contrary
to the teachings of scripture. Black lives matter. Who wouldn’t
believe in that? But this goes against the biblical
position that all people are made in the image of God. The Christian man would say,
yes, of course, black lives matter. All lives matter. And as soon
as you say that, you’re declared a racist. No human is illegal. which is a false but a convenient
charge against any nation protecting its sovereignty. It’s the very
reason, right, that your front door has a lock on it. No nation can have completely
open borders and expect to survive. Love is love. which is a not so subtle affront
to the biblical position on homosexuality. Some kinds of so-called love,
according to scripture, are illicit and immoral and inherently dishonoring. Black lives matter. No human
is illegal. Love is love. Women’s rights
are human rights. which is an equally pointed declaration
of war over the subject of abortion. Simple argument here. One of
the Ten Commandments, thou shall not kill. No human being, male
or female, has the right to kill off another person. Science is
real. which is a bold touting of the
whole global warming agenda. And we could not take the destruction
of this planet out of God’s hands, even if we wanted to. It’s an
affront to his sovereign power to think otherwise. Well, think of this. In light
of this verse, God not only knows their thoughts, their schemes,
He knows and declares their complete and utter futility. If you’re going to go to church,
if you’re going to be a member in good standing, if you’re going
to honor God as a church, you must remember the principle of
consecration. You must remember the axiom of
wisdom. And thirdly, you must remember
the rule of possession. Look at verse 21. So then let
no one boast in men, for all things belong to you, whether
Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death,
or things present, or things to come. All things belong to
you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. It’s
the principle of possession. Here Paul, in his final piece
of instruction to would-be worshipers, those who would glorify God in
the church, It’s a conclusion drawn from his previous words.
The question Paul addresses is, in what do you glory? Or as translated
here, in what do you boast? Paul circles back here to this
ongoing subject, that of aligning ourselves with this leader or
that leader. He again is repudiating the arrogant
idea of thinking that our wisdom in elevating some earthly leader
to an improper station to do so is to glory or boast in one
man over another or in ourselves or in our flesh or in our ability. And this contrast is glorying
in the one thing that we ought. Boasting in the Lord alone. It is to place our highest trust
in an individual, a person, not only as our source of assurance,
but moving really in the direction of reverence to elevate them
to a place of deity. As one put it, the spirit of
party has in it a subtle element of shallow arrogance. We’re doing
what we want to do. Charles Hodge explains this whole
thing very well. He says, thus men are said to
glory in the Lord or in the cross because God or Christ as crucified
is regarded as the ground or confidence and the source of
blessedness. That’s the only source of boasting. This Paul says, this kind of
boasting in men, elevating people, Dividing over people is blatantly
wrong. Worldly minded men who had proposed
to make men chiefs and presidents and heroes instead of the mere
servants that God had appointed. This is now the third time that
Paul has addressed this error. First Corinthians 1.12. Each
one of you is saying I am a Paul and I have a polis. I have Cephas
and I have Christ earlier in this chapter. He rebuked the
same idea when one of one says I am a Paul and another of a
polis. Such men cannot save us. They
did not die for us. They did not redeem us and thus
they cannot be the ground of our confidence. Such men as Paul or Apollos,
or as he will reintroduce here from back in chapter one, verse
12, Cephas, such men are not saviors, they’re servants, nothing
more. They’re called and they’re gifted
for God’s own purpose, not their own. The Corinthians do not belong
to these servants, the servants belong to them. This is an astounding
point. I want you to notice Paul’s reasoning
here, the reason that he provides for this straightforward rejection
of boasting in men. Paul says in the latter half
of verse 21, for all things belong to you. Paul’s argument, not
only do you not belong to any one leader over another, any
one camp, any faction, on the contrary, such leaders actually
belong to you. They are your servants. Weeks ago, we considered that
exceptional passage in Ephesians 1, in which we learned that God
gave Christ as head over all things to the church. We read
it in our New Testament reading today. And here, Paul says, similarly,
that the church, being God’s choicest of possessions, the
institution for which Christ died, all things have been given
for the sake of the church. God has granted everything for
the glory and growth of his church. And as the church, we own it
all. Look, if you will, at the list
Paul provides in verse 22, Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life,
death, things present, things to come, all of it. God’s sovereignty
has dictated that all of it belongs to the church. The world, the
divine order of things in the universe. Life and death. The very beginning of our life
down to the moment of our death is all woven into God’s sovereignty. Things present. Things that are
going on today, this week, this month. This season in which we
found ourself is all perfectly sifted through God’s sovereign
fingers, as well as the things to come. And I take that to mean
not necessarily things in eternity, although that is true, but whatever
future things, what’s going to happen next month, next year,
20 years from now, everything coordinates to ultimately favor
God’s plan for the church and her people. God and his sovereignty
is in complete control. All of God’s gifts are for the
glory of his church, whether it’s his servants in the world,
the world in which God has planted his church, or even such basic
states as life and death, present and future. Everything is completely
under God’s loving and caring sovereign control. Romans 8 says it, right? It says
it was such familiarity. God causes all things to work
together for good for those who love God, to those who are called
according to his purpose. Paul’s summary in closing seals
the argument, all things belong to you. You belong to Christ. Christ belongs to God. Paul leaves
nothing uncertain, all things. He says, all things are yours
as the church. All things belong to you just
as you belong to Christ. Christ belongs to God. These
Corinthian Christians, so eager to give themselves over to an
earthly leader, were actually the possessors of all things.
And as part of God’s great body called the church, they were
granted a greater portion than their Greek minds could even
fathom. Their Greek minds wanted them
to be in the best group. Paul says you have it all. This is the glorious testimony
of scripture, this very epistle, 11.3, Christ is the head of every
man. God is the head of Christ. 15.26, when all things are subjected
to him, then the son himself will be subjected to the one
who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all. Or you can trace it back the
other way. Christ has all things because He is subject to the
Father. The church has all things because
she is subject to Christ. And the believer has all things
because he is subject to the church, the one church, and not
some wicked faction of it. And this is Paul’s great design
in these chapters, to dispel this idea, this inclination to
factions and groups and to exalt the proper view of Christ and
his church. Anything short of that is foolish
and destructive deception. Would you humble yourself before
him? Our merciful God, we do see. If we are humble, we see
some of the same potential pitfalls in our churches in this day.
The tendency to follow one over the other, to follow an ideology
and to divide. Father God, we pray that you
would humble ourselves, that you would bring us to an awareness
of our own inclinations. to set aside these simple principles
in pursuit of our own. Lord, we thank you for the privilege
that we have of having your word as a guide for our lives. And we do pray that you would
be glorified in uniting us in Christ for your glory. It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray.
Amen.