If I Were a Rich Man...

Introduction

We are beginning a new series today called Jesus Changes Everything. We will be journeying through the book of 1 Corinthians this fall. I would encourage you this week to catch up on the birth of the church in Corinth by reading Acts 18.

Paul’s letter can be broken up into five major sections, and in each section, Paul is going to address a problem that has been reported about the church. And he is going to respond, every single time, with the same solution: the message of the gospel. Now for some of you here, you’ve never heard the word “gospel” and have no idea what it means or why it’s important. I’m so excited for you, because you get to hear that every time you walk through the doors of Creekside church. If you have not yet heard the euangellion, the announcement of King Jesus, it’s good news for you. It is for me. And it will change everything you know about life, goodness, beauty, love, contentment, happiness, and peace.

Now some of you may think that the gospel is not something you necessarily need anymore. When I say “gospel,” you hear “salvation message,” because that’s how it was explained to you at one time. You were given an invitation, you walked up or raised your hand, you prayed the prayer, and now you are good to go! And you don’t want to hear that message anymore, you’re ready to talk about the next thing, five steps to a better marriage or a more fulfilling job or something like that. I am so excited for you, because you get to hear how the gospel is better than any self-help guide you could ever hear. The message of Jesus is not a one-time announcement. It is the answer, the corrective, that aligns your desires and your actions with the king of heaven. Jesus is not kid stuff. He’s not an additive, a special aside in the story of your life. Jesus’ story is THE story, and you have been graciously written into the narrative. We don’t just revisit the gospel. We live it everyday. That’s what this series is all about.

PRAY

The Wealth in our Worship (1 Cor. 1:1-9)

1 Corinthians 1:1–9 CSB

Paul, called as an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Sosthenes our brother: To the church of God at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord—both their Lord and ours. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in him in every way, in all speech and all knowledge. In this way, the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Paul’s welcome comes with a word of thanks and gratitude for this Gentile (non-Jewish) church, one of the first in which he brought the gospel after his own people rejected the message of Jesus. That’s not new for Paul; he does this with every letter, for the most part. It’s like the Feedback Sandwich. Have you ever heard of this? It’s where you start out with a word of encouragement and positivity, then you jab and jab and jab with criticism, and then you end with encouragement and positivity, and this apparently helps people stomach the bitterness, with just a bit of sweetness on the ends.

What’s Paul’s sweet word? God has given them so much grace that they are filthy rich with it. The word here for enriched is the image of opulence; think Hollywood star mansion wealth, just stupid amounts of wealth that they don’t know what to do with it, it’s just pouring out of their pockets. But instead of money, we’re talking about spiritual words and knowledge and charismata, moments of grace gifts where people in the church are just being built up and encouraged. The church was full of spiritual conversations and service. It is truly a lavishly wealthy community. Paul at one point in his letter actually calls them pneumatikoi, the Spirit-people, because of how richly blessed they were in this area.

But see, there’s something that happens when you are this rich, and you know it. Spiritual wealth can create a similar attitude as physical wealth. In the same way that financial stability changes your status and takes away your dependence on others, spiritual knowledge and service can build up your own importance, change your status, and make you less dependent on others. You start to believe in your own hype; there must be a reason why you are so awesome, and others are obviously less awesome. You become arrogant, egotistical, hierarchical, and competitive. And as we read on in the church, that is what happens to the church in Corinth.

So Paul has a quick word for them here: I’m so glad you are doing well in this area. You are experiencing life in Christ! But the end has not yet come, the King has not yet returned, so while you wait for him, keep working, keep loving, keep being strengthened by him, and keep leaning into you spiritual family. And you will need this church, because of what I’m about to say next…

THE PROBLEM: Follower Syndrome (1 Cor. 1:10-17)

1 Corinthians 1:10–17 CSB

Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction. For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by members of Chloe’s people, that there is rivalry among you. What I am saying is this: One of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. I did, in fact, baptize the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t recall if I baptized anyone else. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.

What’s the problem here? Division in the church. Wait, didn’t we just read about division in the book of Romans? Yes we did. It’s sadly a recurring theme in God’s church. This division is a bit different, and perhaps more familiar to us today.

Don mentioned this several weeks back, but it’s worth repeating here. A study in 2012 (that’s 11 years ago) found that in 1800, there were 500 different denominations of Christianity around the world (a denomination is simply a grouping of churches marked with a separate name—baptist, episcopal, Methodist, Lutheran, etc.—that serves as an identity marker for a slightly different belief system. Still Christian, but different enough to stop joining together in the same community). In 2008, that number grew to 39,000. By 2012, it was 43,000. And that same study found that a new denomination is formed globally every 10.5 hours, or 2.3 denominations a day.

Why the recent surge in division within Jesus’ church? If I’m reading Corinthians right, I have a theory. We suffer from follower syndrome.

Scholars suggest that the Corinthian Church is made up of between 50 to 100 people, not a lot bigger than our church right here. It’s not a massive community. And yet he’s hearing reports of the church splitting up into factions of followers, not of Jesus, but of teachers and leaders, based on their preaching skills!

I belong to Paul. He’s so good at connecting the Hebrew stories to Jesus. And he was the first one to tell us this message!

I belong to Apollos. He’s such a good speaker! I love his style of preaching, so engaging and persuasive.

I belong to Peter (Cephas). That guy tells it like it is. Straightforward, hard-hitting, pulls no punches. So bold. What a leader.

Well, I belong to Christ. Jesus Juke! I’m officially better than you!

Oh, and when they say I belong to? In Greek, it’s the phrase, ego eimi Paulou, I am of Paul, born of Paul, in other words. It’s a word of identity, like you’ve been born into that family. It’s like giving yourself the same last name as your favorite leader. That’s actually the idea of baptism. Coming out of the water is like coming out of the womb, born into a new family, with a new father and new brothers and sisters. And Paul is calling this out—I didn’t baptize you in MY name? I barely baptized any of you! All I did was share the cross of Christ.

Now you may think this isn’t you. You aren’t naming yourself after your favorite preacher or teacher like it’s a school crush scribbled in your notebook (at least I don’t think you are). But 43,000 denominations says something about the human heart. There is carnal urge in us to follow, to line up with the human voice or leader that will bring the most glory.

You don’t change your name, but you do have identity markers. I was going to name a few, but you know yours. And you know you are a follower when that marker is defined by someone influential to your life. The podcast personality you listen to and share constantly. An author who tugs at your heartstrings. The mentor/boss whose success you want to copy. The pastor/elder you listen to on Sunday. It’s someone whose words and phrases live in your head and get parroted during the conversation. It’s also your source of division. If anyone disagrees with that voice, it’s time to end the fellowship.

For some of you, that thought leader has popped right into your mind. For others it may not be so obvious. But I’m willing to bet quite a bit that you have fallen into followers syndrome. And whether it’s theological or stylistic or preferential, following creates separation. It puts up walls and barriers and says that this family, and all the rich benefits that come along with it, is only for those who believe ______________. And most of the time, because what we believe is human and who we follow is human, we point our guns at true brothers and sisters and instigate civil wars where there should be peace.

So what’s the solution? Paul is clear: it’s the cross of Christ.

THE SOLUTION: The Scandalous, Foolish Cross (1 Cor. 1:18-25)

1 Corinthians 1:18–25 CSB

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the intelligence of the intelligent. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish? For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of what is preached. For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Listen to what Paul says here. I preached about the horrific execution of the Savior King on wooden cross, because to those who want to align themselves with power and influence and intelligent speech and rhetoric, it doesn’t make any sense. But for those who set aside their man-made hopes and dreams and put their hope in a cross, they will find a power they could never dream of.

In fact, Paul quotes the prophet Isaiah here about the coming of Jesus, and listen to what he says:

Isaiah 29:14 CSB

Therefore, I will again confound these people with wonder after wonder. The wisdom of their wise will vanish, and the perception of their perceptive will be hidden.

We just saw this in our series on the seven signs of John! Jesus comes on the seen and points people to the gracious, compassionate, life giving God with wonder after wonder. In each case, he pushes people out of their human limits to wisdom and knowledge and invites them to experience a God who reframes their perspective and shows them who he is, and who they are as well.

The cross of Christ is the most confounding wonder of all. Paul says that the crucifixion of Jesus is a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks. Paul says it is foolishness to proclaim this truth. In Greek that word for foolish is moria, where we get our word moron. It is the testimony of an idiot to believe and proclaim Christ crucified. Paul also says it shows weakness, unbefitting to an all powerful God.

That’s why he says the Greeks count the gospel as stupid and the Jews see it as a stumbling block to their faith. If the cross truly does bring about salvation from death and despair, then all the human means to success and importance and value—what we call the good life—is wrong. But then I look at the kings and presidents and tech billionaires and academics, and I think, they seem to have all those things I crave, so maybe the cross is a silly thing to believe in.

And then I look at the moral system, and justice and doing right and being a good person, and how good that makes me feel and how much better I am than others, and then I look at Jesus, who died a criminals death for treason and heresy and who seemed to think a relationship with his father was more important than observing all those good laws, and that messes up all my plans. Jesus is weak. I need strength to do al this right.

Foolishness to the Greeks, a stumbling block—weakness—to the Jews. The cross of Christ confuses, because it does not make sense with the ways in which humans from the dawn of time have sought to find their identity, their purpose, their value, their worth.

And yet, they all pale in comparison to the wonder of the cross.

VAMP HERE

THE RESULT: Humble Brag! (1 Cor. 1:26-31)

1 Corinthians 1:26–31 CSB

Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, so that no one may boast in his presence. It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption —in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.

The result of the cross is that you have nothing to boast about except Jesus.

All the “somethings” of this world fall short. They are brought to nothing. Your strength, your wisdom, all the things that make you something to the world, is nothing compared to Jesus. You have nothing to boast in, and nothing to divide over. Because you are not the answer to the question, where do I find my security, my importance, my worth? Jesus is.

Jesus is your Righteousness. Not You.

Jesus is your Sanctification. Not You.

Jesus is your Redemption. Not You.

PRAY