Drunk on Blessings
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We in America can easily take for granted the amazing blessings that we have. We worship in a beautiful church with heat and air conditioning, while sitting on pretty comfortable chairs. We have a sound system which allows you to hear when I talk, instead of me having to yell.
We have a Live-Streaming option, so that if someone doesn’t feel like coming to church, they can sooth their conscience by watching online, or if they truly cannot attend, they can feel semi-connected by watching all of us together.
You all will get into your cars after service and drive to your houses, without too much difficulty, without any fear. You will eat your dinners from an adequately stocked pantry and refrigerator.
Do I need to continue all the amazing blessings that we have? These are blessings from God. However, Satan can use these blessings for his own gain.
All of these blessings can sometimes cause us to forget what we desperately need.
Sometimes what Jesus said in Mark 8 can be applied to us:
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
We can get so focused on the stuff that we have that we are in danger of losing our own soul.
In our excess, we need to remember humility for the sake of the Gospel. Let’s read our text.
Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you! For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.
Paul urges the Corinthians to embrace humility for the sake of the Gospel
Pray
Let’s look at the proud.
The Proud
The Proud
The Corinthians were proud.
Paul writes:
Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
They were puffed up, because of which human teacher they were following.
Those of you who have been around since the beginning remember that the Corinthian church was split between those who were followers of Apollos and followers of Paul. Apollos and Paul were both Biblical solid teachers. They had different teaching styles and slightly different theologies, but both of them were orthodox and able to lead someone to maturity in Christ.
But, the Corinthians were saying, “I’m better than John because I follow Apollos instead of Paul.”
It’s like us saying: I’m more spiritual because I sit on the right side of the church instead of the left. Which It is, as the road less travelled.
We as humans seize on the most absurd things to take pride in.
Paul, however, cuts down their pride by asking some direct questions:
For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
Who makes you different from anyone else?
The Corinthians are presumptous.
A good English embellishment of that phrase is: “Who in the world do you think you are, anyway? What kind of self-delusion is it that allows you to put yourself in a position to judge another person’s servant?”
They believed that they were super spiritual and full of godly wisdom as to climb into God’s judgment seat and say what was what. But, as we know, they are not that person. In fact, most everyone who has the presumption to climb into God’s judgment seat does not deserve to be there.
What did Paul just say?
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.
Not only were the Corinthians presumptuous, but they were ungrateful.
Paul asks them
For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
As Gordon Fee writes: “This is an invitation to experience one of those rare, unguarded moments of total honesty, where in the presence of the eternal God one recognizes that everything—absolutely everything—that one “has” is a gift.”
The Corinthians looked at themselves and said: Look at me! I have these specific gifts of the Spirit. I am able to understand these deep truths of God. I am able to speak well and do some great things. I have done this. I have earned who I am, therefore I can turn around and use these gifts to judge and condemn my brothers and sisters in Christ.
They had a misunderstanding of grace, which caused them to be blinded to the fact that they deserve nothing. They were ungrateful.
Their presumption, their lack of gratitude, have caused them to become spiritually luke-warm and blinded.
Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you!
Paul, tongue-in-cheek, says:
“These Corinthians are lucky. Already they enjoy favours that the apostles dare only hope for. They no longer ‘hunger and thirst after righteousness’; they are filled; in the theory of the Spirit, they have eaten to satiety.… In short, the Messianic kingdom seems to have come to Corinth and these people have been given their thrones, while the apostles dance attendance and are placed with the servants.”
It is a sad place to arrive at, when we are so filled in our pride as to say: I do not hunger and thirst after righteousness anymore. I do not need Christ daily in my life because I have arrived. I am filled up. I am good.
But that is what the Corinthians were doing. They were acting like they were already living in paradise. God had already called them home. Perfection was theirs.
Well, when one is presumptuous, ungrateful, spiritually luke-warm and blind. One really doesn’t have fruitful ministry.
The Corinthian church’s pride hurt their ministry. The Corinthian church was a large church, but it wasn’t growing larger. They were not reproducing through evangelism and church plants. They were content with bickering and tearing each other apart.
That doesn’t work in families. That doesn’t work in churches.
We know what the Proverbs says:
Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall.
We know what Revelation says:
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
Pride and all that goes with it does not produce a body of believers that shines like a city on a hill.
It produces a group of believers that are like a cess pool that is about to be removed and scattered.
Which is why Paul says in the passage we will discuss in two weeks:
I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children.
We in the church of America needs to take this warning. Why are so many of our churches dying? Because in our pride we have declared that we have enough. We, the independent farmer and rancher, have provided everything we need in life. If we lack anything, we can provide it ourselves. That’s the message of so many of the political candidates: if we want to make our state or our nation great again, we must look to ourselves and do what is necessary.
In our pride, we have refused to remember the God who has given us so much, including our salvation. We have become shy about declaring that we owe God everything, being in awe of his grace so much that our lives are changed. Being in awe of his grace so much that we do not care who hears how much we love him, whether our families or our friends or our government officials.
In our pride, we have convinced ourselves that we do not need God’s grace and help daily, being swept up in our own learning and wisdom, forgetting what it means to hunger and thirst after righteousness. We have allowed everything to blind us to the fact that we desperately need Christ everyday, all day.
The Corinthians were proud.
Paul was humble
Paul was humble
Paul was humble.
Listen to what Paul says:
For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.
To the godly one, to the Spiritually mature, humility is the only acceptable posture. The humble one remembers that God gives a wide variety of gifts on the basis of grace alone, and therefore is alone deserving of praise.
But, Paul goes even further in humility from that sentence.
He grabs the Corinthians by the shoulder and points them to the cross.
We have looked at these verses several times in the past few months, but listen to them again.
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Listen to what the author of Hebrews writes:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Jesus in humility embrace suffering and ridicule. He embrace pain, both physical and emotional, out of humility. Why? Because of the joy that would come after the suffering and pain.
Sitting down at the right hand of God.
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Paul says:
I identify with Christ, the crucified One, in his humility.
Paul is not bragging about his suffering. He is not saying that all he has gone through has been kicks and giggles. He is not a fool. He does not enjoy suffering.
But, as a follower of Jesus Christ, he has been called to follow Jesus. To follow the path of humiliation.
As He marched a parade route to His death, so did they.
Paul says in 2 Cor 2 14.
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.
As Christ had suffered deprivation and defamation, so did His servants, and in His Spirit they endured and responded with grace.
The Corinthians thought that Paul was a fool for what he went through. They thought that he was not a good poster child of what a follower of Christ should be. He was too humble and allowed too much pain in his life.
Paul does not ridicule them. He owns how people view him. He is the scum and garbage of the world. The imagery is the rotten food left on a plate to be scraped off into the trash heap.
He is is being roughly scraped off of the world, and Paul does not ridicule the Corinthians for what they say about him. He doesn’t care about what they say about him. When cursed at, he blesses. When slandered, he answers kindly.
Why? Because he wants to live out the message of the Cross. It is about the cross, It’s about Christ, not about him.
Paul says, a true follower of Christ will live in humility. For it is in humility, that Christ shines through us.
As Jesus said:
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Jesus brings out that concept again: living in humility, embracing suffering and pain, for the joy that is coming.
Because of the joy set before him, Paul took up his cross, identifying with Christ and embracing the suffering which comes with it, he lived his humble life.
And what happened?
Paul, in his Christian life, started at least 20 churches and influenced countless more. He trained up elders and pastors to lead those churches, and who started more. He wrote most of the New Testament, faithfully serving God in all the situations he was brought into. To the point of preaching the Gospel to Caesar’s household, because he was a prisoner there.
As we follow Christ in obedience and faith, identifying with him in suffering and humility, he shines through us, producing fruit in keeping with repentance.
The Corinthians were proud. Paul was humble.
Our choice
Our choice
Which do we want to be? We each have a choice, whether to live in pride or in humility, whether to embrace the culture around us or the culture of the cross.
We talked about our own pride here in America already. What does it look like to life in humility, identifying with Christ?
Well, let’s look at some case studies.
Let’s look at a kid with his or her parents.
We are blessed to have some great families in our church. However, that may not always be. There might be some kids who will come and they will have a choice whether to follow Christ in obedience or to follow their parents.
I’ve worked with international students who accepted Christ and wanted to be baptized, but they knew that the moment they were baptized their parents would disown them.
They chose to be baptized, accepting the life of suffering because Christ suffered for them.
I remember when I sensed the call to ministry. After praying a bunch and talking with my pastor, I told several people who were close to me, including my parents. I am grateful that my parents were thrilled and supportive. But, I know several pastors whose parents are still against them being in the ministry. I had someone very close to me say that I shouldn’t become a pastor because God had not designed me as a pastor, my personality was meant for politics. He made it clear, rather vocally that he was against this decision.
Sometimes a child must humbly follow Christ in obedience rather than his parents.
We have a hard time saying that, because we as the church have always stressed obeying parents and honoring them. However, a time is coming when a child will be forced to choose between obeying Christ or obeying parents. That child must choose Christ, and embrace the humility of suffering which comes. We as a church must be prepared to surround that child in strength.
Let’s look at a kid in school.
This case study isn’t so hard to imagine, because it is happening.
Every kid in school who is a Christian must make a decision whether to humbly follow Christ or to act in pride against Christ.
I can clearly see kids feeling like they are the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world. And, when one is surrounded by it all day everyday, it is hard to imitate Christ and bless those who curse us and answer kindly those who slander us.
It is easier to react in anger and lash out, fighting, but that is not what we are called to do.
It is also easier to condemn those around us. To look at Christians who may not be living right and say that we are so much better than they are. Pride.
But, it is easy to do what they are doing, and just slide under the radar, to keep our Christian standards hidden. Just try to survive. That is not what we are called to do.
A kid must make a choice whether they are a Christian first or a school-kid first. That kid must make a decision to humbly follow Christ in obedience, no matter the cost, no matter how they feel.
When a kid does this, they will be ridiculed. They might lose out on rewards. They may not be able to play sports. Their grades might suffer. They probably won’t have friends.
But, they will have Christ. And the Gospel will shine through them. People will be watching. And one kid might want to know Christ, because of the consistent humility displayed in front of them.
Humility for the sake of the Gospel.
Let’s talk about an adult.
Say this adult is married and has kids. It is a blessing to be part of a family who knows Christ and tries to follow Christ. Some families do not have that blessing. One parent might be the only who who is actively following Christ.
That parent has a choice what they will do in their family. Will they consistently live their faith in front of the rest of the family, in humility? Or will they bow to pressure?
Several weeks ago, we talked about endurance. It take endurance to faithfully live ones faith next to someone who does not have that faith. Many of you have done this and know the endurance needed. You know the pain, and you have experienced the struggle.
What does it mean to live in humility for the sake of the Gospel. It means to consistently pursue a relationship with Christ as a first priority, studying one’s Bible and praying daily.
It means practically living one’s faith, loving and respecting one’s spouse regardless of who he or she is.
It means not reacting with pride against them because of any perceived sinfulness in them, allowing the Holy Spirit to work. Working on your own sin instead of theirs. Making sure your walk with Christ is strong.
Sometimes, you might face ridicule for wanting to go to church, or reading your Bible so much, or how much you pray or what you pray. That is where humility comes in. Faithfully, identifying with Christ in his suffering, so that he might shine through you.
Realizing that life is not about how your spouse views you, but whether you are faithfully following your savior.
Let’s talk about an adult with peers.
We are to walk in humble obedience to Christ, for the sake of the Gospel.
We do not like to be considered scum. In fact, many of us may have never experienced being considered garbage because of our faith.
That might be an indictment of our spiritual life. Gordon Fee wrote:
“Perhaps if we were truly more like our Lord, standing more often in opposition to the status quo with its worldly wisdom and more often in favor of justice, we too would know more about what it means to be scum in the eyes of the world’s “beautiful” or “powerful” people. In any case, we greatly need to recapture Paul’s eschatological perspective so that neither wealth nor want tyrannizes us.”
It is for us to humbly follow Christ, standing up for what is right Biblically in a Biblical way, so that the Gospel might shine through us.
We all have a part of the Christian life that we easily let slide, because we are not humbly following Christ. Maybe it is not treasuring a day for God, like Sunday. Maybe it is the subjects we talk about, or the jokes we laugh at. Maybe it is the things we look at. Maybe it is not sharing our faith.
Whatever it is, we are to humbly follow Christ, so that the Gospel might shine through us.
If we truly did that, we would probably lose friends. Lose reputations. Maybe lose our job. But, the Gospel would shine.
Humility means that life is not about us, but about our king.
Let’s talk about politics, briefly. Shall we?
What does it meant to humbly follow Christ for the sake of the Gospel.
It means that we are not defined by a political party or a political candidate. We are defined by Christ.
It means that we support candidates based upon what the Bible says is true and accurate, and we hold all candidates to the standard of what the Bible says is true and accurate, even candidates who are popularly supported by our best friends and our family. Even if we are voted off the island and called horrible names, including traitor to our party.
It means that we humbly fellowship with people who believe differently than ourselves, confessing that we do not have everything together, but we know the one who does.
The bottom line, is that we don’t place our faith in a human, or in our intellect. Our faith is in Christ. We need him. We desperately need him.
The world around us needs him.
We get to show their need, but revealing our need, and living in humility for the sake of the Gospel.
We are blessed in America. But, those blessings are slowly being taken away. Instead fighting and screaming for our rights, in a proud belligerent way. Let us take the opportunity to remember who we so desperately need. Let us walk in humility for the sake of the Gospel.