Does My Identity Matter?

Welcome: Welcome to Hype Student Ministries, for those who don’t know me, my name is Kent and I’m the youth pastor here at Crosspoint.

Announce costume challenge winners (top 3)

Transition statement: Thank you to everyone who participated in our costume challenge this year of dressing up like your parents when they were your age.

Introduction (The Why Question)

Speaking of your parents, how many of you have ever ask your parents the “why question”?

If you don’t know what I mean by the “why question?” let me describe a scenario where the “why question” might take place.

It’s a Friday night and your playing a game. You start to feel tired but since you’re enjoying the game you want to stay awake longer. So you go to get some sort of caffeinated drink but before you can open it, your mom tells you to put it back and not to drink it. What comes next is the “why question”. “But, mom why can’t I have this. It’s a Friday night and I don’t have anything going on tomorrow morning?”

This is an example of a “why question”.

Transition statement: In our passage this evening we see Paul addressing the root of the reason of why he is addressing the problem of division in the Corinthian church. It’s like if Paul was anticipating the Corinthian church reading the first two chapters of this letter and they were about to ask the “why question” of why does this matter.

If you have your scripture notebooks with you please open them to 1 Cor. chapter 3. Also have your pens ready to underline or circle words or phrases that stick out to you.

Read 1 Cor. 3:1-4.

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 3

3 For my part, brothers and sisters, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ. 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready, 3 because you are still worldly. For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans? 4 For whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not acting like mere humans?

Let’s pause here for a moment.

I don’t know about you, but if someone accuses me of acting like a baby, you have my attention because it means that my actions are reflection of those of a baby. So I can only image what the Corinthians were thinking when Paul writes to them that he has to speak to them as babies in Christ. Being babies isn’t the only negative characteristic Paul uses here to describe the Corinthians. He also uses the words “worldly” and “mere humans”.

If fact if you haven’t already, you should underline those three words; babies, worldly, mere humans. When Paul calls the Corinthians babies, he saying that they are acting as if they don’t know how to live in a way to glorify Jesus. When he calls them wordly is means that the Corinthians are acting no different than the ungodly people. Lastly, when Paul uses the phrase, mere humans, Paul is saying that the Corinthians are living as people who follow human masters as if they are slaves to them.

Don’t read- just slides

Babies- acting like they don’t know how to glorify Jesus.

Worldly- acting like ungodly people.

Mere Humans- living as slaves following human masters

Let’s keep reading to see why Paul uses these terms to describe the people in the Corinthian church. We’re actually going to read the rest of the chapter so make sure you are following along.

Read 1 Cor. 3:5-23.

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 3

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So, then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

10 According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, and another builds on it. But each one is to be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. 14 If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience loss, but he himself will be saved—but only as through fire.

16 Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are.

18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become a fool so that he can become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, since it is written, He catches the wise in their craftiness; 20 and again, The Lord knows that the reasonings of the wise are futile. 21 So let no one boast in human leaders, for everything is yours—22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come—everything is yours, 23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Here we see the why question answered in verse 5.

Re-read 1 Cor. 3:5-7

1 Corinthians 3:5–7 CSB

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So, then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

As it relates to identity, identifying with other people is nothing because it’s really about identifying with God who saves a person, who grows a person, and ultimately who will cause that person to be in heaven after their earthly life is over. This should lead us to only boast in God instead of boasting in other human beings.

We see this at the end of chapter 3.

Re-read 1 Cor. 3:21-23

1 Corinthians 3:21–23 CSB

So let no one boast in human leaders, for everything is yours—whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come—everything is yours, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

This should bring us to a spot of exalting God instead of exalting other humans.

How would this truth have helped the Corinthian church?

We have to remember that Paul is addressing divisions in the church in the first couple of chapters and those divisions are a result of exalting human leaders.

I & II Corinthians Applications

We must treat other believers with dignity and respect, not looking down on them or acting toward them with arrogance.

Does My Identity Matter?

1. Identity helps us be rooted in Christ

2. Saved vs. unsaved