Serving Servants

So as we are yet still working
our way through 1 Corinthians, would God’s people again turn
to that epistle and specifically to chapter 16? 1 Corinthians
chapter 16. As I said last week, not only
do we want to complete our study of this epistle, we also want
to finish well. And I’ve fielded several questions
and comments suggesting that there simply can’t be that much
left here to preach. And I’ve argued again and again
that indeed there is yet preachable, beneficial, spirit-inspired nourishment
even in the remaining verses of this book and chapter. All
Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching,
for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.
And even as we saw last Lord’s Day, from those two simple verses,
verses 13 and 14, there is real spiritual sustenance to be found
even in those less familiar under-explored sections of God’s Word. And we
saw in that rapid-fire series of admonitions an exhortation
to spiritual readiness. Well, that’s fitting, isn’t it,
even for our day? Those two little verses provide
the reader with a working summary of the entire letter of 1 Corinthians. Throughout this letter, Paul
has exposed many sinful ideas and habits into which the Corinthians
had fallen. And so he called them to be alert. How much more practical is that?
And as this was a fickle body of believers operating sometimes
nobly in faith and sometimes in debilitating doubt. They were
fickle. And so Paul urged them to stand
firm in the faith. These believers were further
exhibiting signs of cowardice and weakness, becoming susceptible
to the evil culture in which they were placed. And so Paul
admonishes them to act like men, to be strong. That too is fitting
for our day. And Paul closes that short list
of exhortations with one final, and it must have been a painful
plea, an appeal for the most basic of all Christian graces,
that sadly this church was lacking even in brotherly love, a vibrant,
practical love for one another in everything they did. Let all
that you do be done in love. Why would Paul need to say that
if the Corinthians were already living that way? Those five reminders
are, as I said, an appropriate summary of the entire epistle.
But verses 15 through 18 are not unrelated. They are, in essence,
a practical example of the love that Paul urged of the Corinthians
in verse 14. On the face of it, as I’ve identified,
verses 15 through 18 are an exhortation to recognize a delegation of
men who were serving on their behalf. And everyone like them
is to be treated accordingly. Paul urges three things of the
Corinthians regarding the Lord’s servants. See if you can observe
them in those verses, verses 15 through 18, as I read. Now I urge you, brethren, you
know the household of Stephanas, that they were the first fruits
of Achaia and that they have devoted themselves from ministry
to the saints. that you also be in subjection
to such men and to everyone who helps in the work and labors.
I rejoice over the coming of Stephanus and Fortunatus and
Achaicus, because they have supplied what was lacking on your part,
for they have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore, acknowledge
such men.” So Paul, had received this delegation
of representatives from the Corinthian church, and they brought a report
from that church, which was generally distressing. That’s what the
bulk of the letter has been about. Paul dealing with some of the
things that they mentioned, the division in their midst, lawsuits
with one another, marriage problems, an abuse of the worship service,
abuse of their God-given gifts, They brought to him also a veritable
list of questions to present to this wise apostle. But more than anything, these
three men brought themselves. And in that, they provided fellowship
to this weary evangelist and shepherd, to the Gentiles. In a chapter that is largely
disjointed, the Apostle seeking to address a number of tidbits
and elements and concerns. What he addresses in these verses
is connected, as I said. It’s connected in some degree
with Paul’s previous exhortation in verse 14. Now, Paul has this
delegation, these servants in view. They had evidently volunteered
to make this arduous journey from Corinth all the way over
to Ephesus in order to meet face to face with their pastor and
friend and apostle, Paul. Paul sees great nobleness in
this. And so to a church full of people
who were usually concerned only about themselves, Paul insists
upon changes in their consideration of others. Servants ought themselves to
enjoy being served and to be cared for and loved. If you would, go back to verse
15, where Paul begins a series, as I said, of three Considerations
for these servants and those like them. Believers who are
blessed by the service of others. And that would go to every one
of us. Believers who are blessed by
the service of others ought to grow, first of all, in their
deference to such servants. Would you just look again at
verses 15 and 16? Now, I urge you, brethren, that
you know the household of Stephanus, that they were the firstfruits
of Achaia, and they have devoted themselves for ministry to the
saints, that you also be in subjection to such men and to everyone who
helps in the work and labors. Now, you know our practice, a
basic tool of Bible study, that we want to first identify this
simple sentence. But locating the simple sentence
in verses 15 and 16 is somewhat complicated. And that’s because
there in verse 15, Paul effectively inserts a parenthetical clause. Let me identify that for us. In the ESV, The subordinate thought
is set off by dashes. You can look down and notice
those. In the New American Standard and most others, it’s clearly
marked off by parentheses. And no matter the device that
your publisher used, the words in question are these. You know
the household of Stephanus, that they were the firstfruits of
Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves for ministry to the
saints.” In essence, Paul says, set that aside for a moment.
All of those words are subordinate to the main thought. They’re
not unimportant, as we’ll see in a moment. In fact, they have
a very important function in this sentence. Let’s consider those words just
for a moment. The parenthetic subordinate words of verse 15,
let’s just look at that. He speaks there of the household
of Stephanus. He’s talking about his entire
family, and the Corinthians personally knew this man. He was, and his
household, the first convert in the region. Acts 1734 certainly
tells us there were other individuals who came to know Christ first,
namely Dionysius and Damaris. But Stephanus’ entire family
was the first family to be converted. That’s an exciting thing. And
because of that, they were well known in the church. and that
alone should have at least provided Stephanus and his crew some degree
of notoriety. There goes the original convert
in our region. But even more, this is partly
Paul’s explanation here for his command that the Corinthians
be in subjection to him. He was one of the first converts,
so you should be subject to him. Now hold that thought. That shouldn’t
be difficult for the Corinthians because they knew Stephanus well. That was intended to stir the
Corinthians to this submissive spirit. So with that in hand,
let’s return now to the simple sentence. It starts in verse
15. Now I urge you, brethren, Paul
is insisting that the Corinthians do something. But as of yet,
he has not informed them what that is. But, because of the
parenthetical thought, Paul doesn’t complete his sentence until verse
16. That you also be in subjection. And so, the simple sentence is
this. Now I urge you, brethren, that
you also be in subjection. Paul calls the Corinthians, and
may I just say, every Christian reader, to be in subjection or
to yield or submit themselves to particular individuals. There’s
simply no doubt about who Paul is talking to here. He’s talking to the Corinthian
church but he’s also talking to us. His exhortation is directed to
the Corinthians initially, but also to all future Christian
readers, including us. The question is, to whom is Paul
referring that we should be subjected? That’s a good question. In a
moment, Verse 17, he’ll mention some individuals by name. Just
glance down there for a moment. Let’s get this out of the way.
I’ll introduce you to these men, Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus. But Paul’s exhortation here should
not, indeed cannot, be limited only to those three men. If this
exhortation is for us, how on earth would we submit ourselves
to them? That’s a good question, but that’s
not what Paul says anyway. We can’t be subjected to them.
Had Paul said, subject yourselves to these three men, we would
be exempt from that. Because they’re dead and gone.
We trust in glory. In fact, everyone except the
Corinthians would be exempt. But Paul makes it very clear.
Lance then at the verse again, he says, be in subjection to
such men. Not necessarily to those specific
individuals, but like the three mentioned in verse 17. But such
men, those who meet the same character qualities. Please note
that Paul makes the same point again in verse 18. such men. So Paul is urging several
important principles be observed by God’s people, not only the
Corinthian church, but also by Christ’s church everywhere and
at all times. And who is in view? Who are these
kinds of people? Well, aside from the specific
examples that Paul provides here in verse 17, Stephanus and his
friends, Paul sets forth some features to observe. And these
features, or characteristics, tell us to whom we are to render
these considerations, how we are to respond to them. Glance, if you would, please,
at verse 15. Paul says there that these individuals are those
who have devoted themselves to ministry to the saints. Let’s
think of this first observation in very specific terms. How did
Stephanus and his friends devote themselves to ministry to the
saints? Well, Paul received this delegation of these representatives
from Corinth. They brought him news, some good,
Some very distressing, they also brought him much desired fellowship
from his Corinthian church. And when Paul speaks of those
who devote themselves for ministry to the saints, he’s referring
directly to the example provided by these men. And he uses the
most basic word for their efforts, ministry. The word is diakonia. And you heard it there, that’s
the word from which we get our word deacon. They are the servants
of the church. They serve Christ by serving
Christ’s body in the church. The word means service in its
most basic meaning, and it’s this general service that is
rendered primarily to the church of God, humble, selfless, often
mundane, even tedious service. That’s what these men were doing.
They had come, embarking on a dangerous journey, likely at their own
expense, on behalf of the Corinthian church. They were serving their
church. Further, Paul is now preparing
to send them back, and more than likely, they are the ones bearing
this letter of reply And so to use Paul’s words, ministry to
the saints is what they were engaged in, to the Corinthians
and to Paul. Indeed, it was ministry to Christ’s
greater church. We are to watch for such people,
Paul says. We’re to watch for people operating
in this way, who in various ways have tirelessly devoted themselves,
dedicated themselves for service, ministry to God’s people. They’ve
not only given their life to Christ by faith, they have dedicated
their life to the service of God’s people, the saints. Secondly,
look at verse 16. where Paul identifies them as
those who help in the work, that is, in the work of ministry,
and labors. Paul uses two elements to describe
this characteristic, they help in the work and labor. Both terms
apply to the same undertaking, it’s this work of ministry. When
Paul says that they help in the work, he speaks of those who
engage, those who do something in the church, those who faithfully
take up some ministry responsibility. And this is very undefined. This
would apply to a broad range of people in the church, especially
in ours. Rather, it’s very undefined, and it’s
not as if Paul singles out shepherds, pastors, the evangelists, or
the missionaries, Very undefined. It goes well beyond that. Rather,
everyone who helps in the work is what he says. Paul leaves
it for us to determine. Essentially, to look to your
own conscience and to see whether or not we are engaged, whether
or not we could be considered as those who are working together
for the sake of the gospel, whether or not we are among those who
are doing the work of ministry. There’s a second word to describe
these efforts, and it’ll help you to assess your efforts. There
at the end of verse 16, Paul says, labors. Everyone who helps
in the work and labors. The word here, labor, implies
strenuous and exhausting work. Are you still in the ministry?
Are you still engaged in the work of the ministry? This word
implies toil. This word is akin to suffering. We speak of it in terms of blood,
sweat, and tears. Paul uses this word some 13 times
in his writings, and it refers to hard, toilsome, bone-wearying
work. These people, whoever they are
by name, they work hard in the course of ministry. And he uses
the word to speak of others who had labored in that way. In Romans
16, he speaks of Mary, Tryphania, Tryphosa, who have worked hard
in the Lord, he says. He observes them. The Romans
knew them. In 1 Thessalonians 5.12, he makes
a general appeal to the church there to appreciate those who
diligently labor among you, have charge of you, and give you instruction. They’re working hard for you. They’re working hard on your
behalf. In 1 Timothy 5.17, he instructs Timothy regarding elders
who he says work hard. Such shepherds, he says in 2
Timothy 2.6, are like hard-working farmers, and as such, they should
be blessed accordingly. Essentially, what Paul insists
upon here is an enduring principle that, as one faithful expositor
put it, those who serve should be served. They don’t ask for
service, We can’t serve them in the same way, but those who
serve should be served. Those who work hard deserve,
what Paul says here, a measure of respect from those they serve. What one writer referred to as
respectful deference. I love that. This is a principle
that Paul presents elsewhere in the scriptures. In Galatians
6.6, Paul says that the one who is taught the word is to share
all good things with the one who teaches it. I would call
that respectful deference. You know what? You’re out in
the field laboring. You’re the one engaged in the
work of ministry. This is not something with which
I’m terrifically familiar. Why don’t you make the call?
That’s essentially what he’s saying. The one who serves should
be served by those he serves. This is the way that Paul puts
it as he completes this simple sentence. Would you look again
at verse 16? I urge you, brethren, that you
be in subjection. At first glance, that exhortation
presents a bit of a problem. We know that we’re called to
submit to God-given leaders, not only to civil authority so
far as we can. We submit to the civil authorities
until they command what Scripture forbids or they forbid what Scripture
commands, right? Simple principle. We submit to
civil authority insofar as we can. We submit to authority at
work, at least I wouldn’t advise against that. We submit to authority in the
home. We submit to authority in the
church, the church’s elders. This is Hebrews 13, 17, right?
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch
over your souls as those who will give an account. 1 Peter
5.5 directs his comments to the young men of the church. You
younger men likewise be subject to your elders. Not just to older
men, but the leaders of the church. But on the face of it, we have
a problem. Because so far as we know, these men, Stephanus,
Fortunatus, Achaicus, they’re not elders. They’re not presented
as such. They’re not named in that capacity. But it shouldn’t be a big problem,
really, for us as believers, because we’re called to a mutual
subjection. We’re called to walk in humility.
And I rarely skip the opportunity to point this out. So would you
turn to Ephesians 5 for just a moment? Ephesians chapter 5. Now, we men know this verse well. When a man leans into marriage,
finally, he memorizes this verse really
quickly. And often we’re quick to point
out verse 22, wives be subject to your own husbands as to the
Lord. It takes us about 10 seconds
to memorize that verse. But if you’ll notice the verb
there, if you’re reading in a good translation, should have those
words in italics, be subject in italics. That’s because the
verb isn’t there in that sentence. It’s an application of the much
more general exhortation, and I’m not saying that wives shouldn’t
be subject to their own husbands, but to get at the heart of this,
would you go back to verse 18 of chapter five? Verse 18 says, and do not get
drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with
the spirit. That’s the first of two exhortations
in these verses, be filled with the spirit. Cultivate a walk
with God in which you are spiritually filled. And then he describes
what that looks like in verses 19 and 20, speaking to one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody
with your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks for all
things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the
Father. then verse 21, and be subject
to one another in the fear of Christ. There is a mutual submission
here. This is a submission of anyone
in the church to anyone else in the church. There is humility,
true, perceptible humility in the church. So there is in the
church to be a mutual submission to one another, a deference provided
to one another by those in the church. Now if you went back
to 1 Corinthians. So what Paul’s saying is there
should be a measure of submission to servants such as these that
could not be too difficult to fulfill. What Paul points to
here is that there is to be a measure of respect a measure of deference,
indeed a measure of subjection to those who devote themselves
to the work and labor of ministry. That doesn’t entitle them to
overrun the banks of propriety with their authority to come
bossing everybody in the church around. That would not be a mark
of humility. But it does afford them a measure
of respect. They will, as they should, have
a prominent role and voice in the church because they work
hard in it. They are the ones in the trenches
working and laboring in the cause of Christ, and they ought to
have a greater measure of respect and influence in her. When push
comes to shove, with such people it should be easy to defer to
them. And so as believers who are blessed
by the service of others, Christians who are recipients of such ministry
ought to grow in their deference to such service. But Paul doesn’t
stop there. He could have, but he doesn’t
stop there. There’s a second way in which
we are to grow, and we’ll find that in verse 17. I rejoice over
the coming of Stephanus and Fortunatus and Achaicus because they have
supplied what was lacking on your part, for they have refreshed
my spirit and yours. Believers who are blessed by
the service of others ought to grow not only in their deference
to such servants, but in their thankfulness for such servants. Paul moves here in verses 17
and 18 to his second point, not only should we be subject to
these faithful servants, Paul makes it clear we should rejoice.
And he does so by way of his own example. I rejoice over the
coming of these men. Shouldn’t the Corinthians rejoice
also? That’s the implication. We’ve
already met and considered Stephanus, but what do we know about Fortunatus
and Achaicus? Next to nothing. Scripture is
virtually silent about them. Early church father Clement of
Rome speaks of Fortunatus as the bearer of this letter, 1
Corinthians, but his writings, Clement’s writings are not inspired And it isn’t that big of a revelation
anyway. We think he probably was one
of the carriers of this letter. We know even from Paul’s letter
that these men were likely the carriers of both letters. They
were the emissaries between the churches. And so we can reasonably
assume that they were all members of the Corinthian church sent
on a mission to meet Paul. From a scriptural standpoint,
Fortunatus and Achaicus are nobodies. We know nothing else. Is that
sad? I don’t know. I don’t think so.
I mean, look at what Scripture does say about them. They had
devoted themselves to ministry to the church. They were those
that were serving Christ in the ministry of the church. helping, even laboring, he says,
in the work of ministry, refreshing both the apostle and then eventually
the entire church of Corinth. If you ask me, I’d say that’s
quite a legacy. They may well have been young,
relatively inexperienced, virtually unknown on an international scale,
But Paul speaks of them as a team in elevated and honoring words. All three of these men, while
not famous, were recorded as being faithful and therefore
honorable. They did what they were asked
to do, and they did it well. Because of that, Paul almost
certainly entrusts this profound letter of reply into their hands
to deliver to the Corinthian church. Just as they had delivered
the report from Corinth, they now would be bearing Christ’s
letter, or Paul’s letter, rather, on behalf of the church. And
to Paul, to Paul, this was a cause of great rejoicing. I rejoice
over the coming of these men. Paul has his own little worship
service because God had sent him these three friends. What
Paul is urging is what I would call an exuberant gratefulness. Worship. Thankfulness, yes, but
a thankfulness that results in joy before the Lord. That word
rejoice, you know it. It’s a plentifully used word
in the New Testament, 75 times or more. But fully, a third of
those are used by Paul himself. Paul was certainly a strong and
serious man. We might even think of him as
cranky at times, but he was a joyful man as well. Of the 29 times
that Paul uses this word, all but eight are used in the first
person to speak of his own joy. And you know me, I’m gonna go
through them all. Quickly, Romans 16, 19. For the
report of your obedience has reached to all, therefore I am
rejoicing over you. 2 Corinthians 2, 3. I would not have sorrow from
those who ought to make me rejoice, having confidence in you all
that my joy would be the joy of you all. 2 Corinthians 6,
10. As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. 2 Corinthians 7.7, he reported
to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced
even more. 2 Corinthians 7.9, now I rejoice,
not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful
to the point of repentance. 2 Corinthians 7.13, we rejoiced
even much more for the joy of Titus. 2 Corinthians 7, 16, I
rejoiced that in everything I have confidence in you. Philippians
1, 18, Christ is proclaimed and in this I rejoice. Philippians
4, 10, but I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last
you’ve revived your concern for me. Colossians 1, 24, I rejoice
in my sufferings for your sake. Colossians 2.5, I am with you
in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability
of your faith in Christ. But there’s also this extra special
feature in Paul’s writings, that as he
modeled joy, as he modeled this exuberant thankfulness, he could
justly exhort his readers, his fellow churches, to joy. 2 Corinthians 13, 9. We rejoice
when we ourselves are weak, but you are strong. Therefore, in
13, 11, he says, finally, brethren, rejoice. Philippians 2, 17. I rejoice and share my joy with
you all. Philippians 2, 18. I urge you,
rejoice. Philippians 3.1, rejoice. Philippians
4.4, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. 1
Thessalonians 3.9, we rejoice before our God on your account. Therefore, Paul says in 5.16,
rejoice always. At the very end of verse 17, Paul tells us of a very specific
reason for his joy. Would you look there? I rejoice
over the coming of these men, why? Because they have supplied
what was lacking on your part. And based on everything else
that Paul has said in this letter, it wouldn’t have been unjustified
for the Corinthians to kind of wince and brace themselves a
bit. Are we about to get it again
from Paul? We know that Paul has already
spoken of a financial gift which he would be collecting from them. When he speaks about that which
was lacking, that’s not what he’s referring to here. This
is really beautiful as it unfolds. Watch this. What he’s talking
about here is the void in his own heart and soul that was created
by their absence. He’s not using this as an opportunity
to prime this church for money. He’s telling them in so many
words that he has a fatherly affection for them. He misses
them. But in God’s good providence,
He’s provided these three men as representatives from his beloved
church. He couldn’t come to them just
now, and they certainly can’t all come to him. But these men,
these three men had come, and they were a refreshing reminder
to him of his church. And he further adds, by way of
explanation in the opening words of verse 18, they have refreshed
my spirit and yours. Just the presence of this delegation
brought Paul much needed fellowship. And sure, they had shared some
difficult things about the church, but those things had not damped
Paul’s love for his church. The sentiment went both ways.
Paul states it by faith that these men, these three men, would
be the cause of refreshing the Corinthian spirits as well. This
is just amazing stuff. These individuals have devoted
their lives to the hard work of ministry of Christ’s beloved
church. Look at verse 17 where Paul points
out they’ve supplied what it was lacking. and they’ve refreshed
our spirits. Paul’s setting forth these principles
made possible by observing certain things about these men. We need to look for those. We
need to look for those who have devoted themselves from ministry
to the saints. The help in the work and labor.
We need to look for those that are refreshing others. just by
their fellowship. We need to be thankful for them. Believers who are blessed by
the service of others ought to give deference to such servants. They ought to be thankful for
such servants. And thirdly, they ought to grow
in their knowledge of such servants. Would you look at the end of
verse 18? Thirdly, they ought to grow in
their knowledge of such servants. This is a really simple point,
but it’s a powerful one. Therefore, acknowledge such men. Paul makes this third plea regarding
those in the Lord’s service. It’s very simple. Acknowledge
them, acknowledge such men. This is again the second time
that Paul has made this point. He’s not talking about just these
specific three. To the Corinthians he was, but
he’s telling us to look for people like them. Instead, he’s referring here
to everyone like them. Acknowledge such men. But what
exactly is Paul asking for here? Acknowledge them? Is it a simple
tip of the hat to acknowledge someone’s mere
existence? I don’t think so. There are multiple
aspects to this word. The word literally means to know
them. And then it’s a plentifully used
word in the New Testament, primarily in the Gospels, only about 10
times by the Apostle Paul. And in its basic sense, it means
knowing someone or something well. There’s a difference between
this word, the word used here, and the basic word, to know something. The basic word is gnosco, to
know, and it implies some effort and progress. You’re getting
to know someone. You’re getting to know a thing.
You’re reading up on some things. But the second word, epignoso,
it intensifies the verb. Now I really know. I know now as never before. Earlier in this letter in 1312,
it’s translated to know fully. It’s a deeper knowledge that
only comes as a result of investigation, examination, consideration. And so it’s often translated
as ascertain. They were able to ascertain or
to understand or to perceive, to really know someone or something
Paul says, in essence here, you think you know these men? You don’t. You should really
get to know them. Paul is encouraging the Corinthians
to get to know these men fully. Now seriously, they likely knew
these men, not unlike some of us in this room, we know who somebody is. They’d seen
them around. They knew they were part of the
church. They knew Stephanus and his family. They were the first
converts. They knew the little details. They were familiar with
these guys. But Paul’s appeal suggests here
that they really don’t know them. It’s as if they’re strangers
in their very midst. When they arrived in Ephesus,
they may well have been ministry neophytes. But they had grown. God’s grace
had surely brought out gifts and capabilities that the Corinthians
likely had never even seen. Get to know these brothers, Paul
says. Start afresh. Dig deeper. Get acquainted with them all
over again. There’s another wrinkle to this word. Once we get to
know someone like this. We are to appropriately and generously
esteem them. We’re to know them accurately.
We are to recognize them, understand them. We need to get them. We need to acknowledge who they
are in Christ, how God is using them. The church. Might have thought that they
knew these men at their departure for Ephesus. But they needed
to take a closer look now. And we need to watch people.
We need to allow people to grow. We need to watch God’s grace
growing in individuals among us. So that we can grant them
their due respect. They would have to become thoroughly
acquainted with these men to do so. I wonder how we would
treat people if we saw others as God sees
them, in their giftedness, in their humility, in their graces. If we saw their complete usefulness
for God’s kingdom, I’m certain that we would be more apt to
put aside our petty issues our bitterness, our jealousies, our competitiveness, our one-upmanship? What if we knew each other in
the sense that Paul talks about here fully? What if we esteemed
each other and treated each other based on a true and accurate
assessment, not by the smoke and mirror version that we’re
used to seeing? And I imagine if we are able
to see one another as God sees them, not only would we esteem
them more highly, we might even humbly seek to
emulate some of their ways. When we see and acknowledge others
as God sees them, we are not so much honoring them. We’re
actually giving honor and glory to the Lord who is working in
them. That’s what Paul wanted for the
Corinthians. Acknowledge such men. No wonder one pastor said of
this passage, what exquisite delicacy is stamped on every
line. Would you humble yourself before
our God?