1 Corinthians 3:1-23
1 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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We talked last week about living a life that is focused on building Christ’s legacy rather than ours. We said “Die to self, preach the Gospel, and remember our weakness” the super catchy quote for how to live a life making God’s wisdom and power known. Tonight the question is
What is the foundation for living?
How do we build Christ’s legacy and make Him known?
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 yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and 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?
Paul is pointing out one of Corinth’s many character flaws. These are immature Christians. Babies. Paul says that his desire was to speak to them as Spiritual men but really he has to talk to them like men of the flesh and as infants in Christ. They were very experienced with the ways of the world. They had been to the temples and been with the prostitutes. They had eaten the food for idols. They had been murderers and liars and thieves. These things were familiar to them. What they weren’t familiar with was Christ and this new way of living they had been called to. This is a natural part of sanctification. It was expected of them to be like this for a time. The issue comes when it has been years and these people are still infants in the faith. He said this is the way I spoke to you before. Years ago. When He was planting the church. I spoke to you as men of flesh but you are STILL fleshly.
What was Paul’s evidence for this?
He says there is still jealousy and strife among you. This is the proof of immaturity.
“Jealousy is a terrible thing. It resembles love, only it is precisely love’s contrary. Instead of wishing for the welfare of the object loved, it desires the dependence of that object upon itself, and its own triumph. Love is the forgetfulness of self; jealousy is the most passionate form of egotism, the glorification of a despotic, exacting, and vain ego, which can neither forget nor subordinate itself. The contrast is perfect.”
A good antonym for jealousy would be contentment.
Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
It is maturity in faith that makes a person content in their savior. In every circumstance Paul has learned to be content. It wasn’t a natural tendency of his. It wasn’t something he had since birth. It was something he learned from years spent trusting in the Lord. As Christians it is something we should all strive to grow in every area of our life.
What areas are the hardest to find contentment in?
It what areas of your life do you feel like you have been growing in contentment?
A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the Lord will be enriched.
What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?
Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it Than a house full of feasting with strife.
Paul also points out that discontentment or jealousy is directly leading to strife within the body.
How have you seen strife effect a church?
What were some of the reasons for strife?
Paul says that jealousy and strife are not from walking with Jesus. This doesn’t mean that temptation is a sin. It doesn’t mean we won’t have desires or wants that creep up. It also doesn’t mean we will have conflict or disagreements. What Paul does point out is that there is a difference in the response to these things between someone who is mature in their faith and someone who is immature.
Specifically, Paul is referring to the Corinthians’ division over earthly teachers. I was trained by this person well I was trained by this person. Paul says cut all that foolishness. That is immaturity.
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 who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each 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.
Paul says all these people that they are dividing themselves over are just regular people used by God. Paul planted, Apollos watered, but it was God working behind the scenes to cause the growth. What is the reason for their immaturity? Their hope was in earthly teachers and human leaders rather than growing in God. There was a sense of competition between one another. A need to one up each other or prove that they were the more intelligent student to the more intelligent teacher. We see some of that competition today. We see some debating and attempts to prove ourselves the smarter, more intelligent party. Or we find ourselves on the other end. As a teacher its tempting to want people to come to me and sit under my teaching because I’m the guy with all the answers. It is easy to feel like growth is something measured in twitter followers and attendance when really the growth is done by God. It isn’t up to me. My job is to just be faithful in doing what God has called me to do even if there is no growth. I shouldn’t be jealous of other churches because they’re bigger and more popular. I shouldn’t be boastful in myself or ashamed of myself because the church is or isn’t growing. My focus is on being faithful to whoever God brings into my mission field. Whether that is 30 students on a Wednesday night, 3 students on a Thursday night. It doesn’t matter. Be faithful to serve where God has called you to serve and do it to the best of your ability.
On top of all this, Paul points out we are all part of God’s field. His building. We all have something to contribute as fellow workers. It isn’t the Phillip Wright show although that would be easy to make ministry out to be that way. It isn’t about my preferences and my tastes. We all have spiritual gifts to contribute to the Body of Christ. We all have a role and responsibility to play in God’s Kingdom.
Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
What do these two passages have in common?
What do they communicate about God’s people?
According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than 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.
Christ is our foundation. This is what Christ said He would build His church on. What Paul is talking about isn’t salvation. I would probably say that the Peter and Matthew passage are about salvation or about finding the correct foundation. Paul knows who the foundation of the Corinthians is. He knows they’re Christians he just thinks they are really bad at it. If Christ is their foundation, what they build on top of that is essential for maturity and unity in the Body. Paul is concerned what people contribute to the household of Faith. What people bring to the table. Paul laid this foundation of Christ and others contribute to what he has established.
What do we bring to the foundation?
This isn’t about tithing although I could see why people might try to use this as a passage about tithing. Some people are bringing gold and precious jewels while others are bringing hay. Someone could easily say that your financial gifts aren’t worth much unless you give a lot of money. I could see how someone could manipulate this into that, but I really don’t think money is Paul’s concern. My reason for thinking that? Paul says we are God’s building. It isn’t our money. It is us.
For a while my contribution to the church was that of a consumer. I contributed nothing to the health and value to the church other than a body in a pew. As I grew in my faith I began to learn how I could contribute. As I listened to the Holy Spirit in my life God was able to produce something of value in me. It isn’t my talent or ability that makes me valuable. It is maturity and unity. These fruits that the Holy Spirit is growing in me are the currency of the church.
Love - Joy - Peace - Patience - Kindness - Goodness - Faithfulness - Gentleness - Self Control
These are the things that make a church healthy and valuable and they are only produced by the Spirit. Do you want to contribute to the Church and make a difference in the lives of God’s people? Do you have the Holy Spirit? Good news! God wants to use you to change lives and eternities. It is work produced by the Spirit that withstands the fire. When ministry gets hard. When conflicts enter the church (Covid, business meetings, elections, staff hires, death of a congregant, a moral failure) when these things confront the church we will see if the appearance people put on with the church is real or not. I have seen this countless times as a pastor’s kid and as a pastor. When life gets hard you can tell the difference between genuine maturity of faith as opposed to pathetic posturing. Covid was easily the most damning thing I have seen for maturity in the church. It was clear to see what people saw as valuable in the church.
Does the way we live or spiritual maturity really matter if our foundation remains?
If I can be a Christian without having to be a good church member why is it important for me to contribute? Why does any of this matter?
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.
Our lives are not our own. We are a vessel for the Holy Spirit to demonstrate His power and wisdom through. When we withdraw from the church and refuse to contribute and serve we deny the Spirit the opportunity to glorify Himself through us. When we do contribute but do so in our own strength or for our own praise we deny the Spirit opportunity to glorify Himself through us. This isn’t about us. Our faith isn’t a journey of self discovery. It is a living organism made up of other believers coming together to serve and glorify God together. What we do individually is important. We are each a temple of the Holy Spirit and we are responsible for how we maintain that temple, but we do so for the purpose of growing with God and serving others. A temple isn’t a private place. It is open to the public for people to gather and worship. My story what God has done in my life, my testimony of God’s faithfulness, my spiritual gifts, my talents aren’t mine to hoard but are gifts from God to be shared with others so that God might be praised through me.
I imagine some people heard what Paul said and their response was, well watch how good of a temple I can be. I’ll show all these other losers how much wisdom I can contribute.
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; and Christ belongs to God.
This is kind of Paul’s closing statement on this idea. He will move to a more practical look of Godly wisdom and maturity, but here he wraps up this concept with a reminder to trust in God.
To be wise we must become foolish. There is a humbling that is necessary for maturity. Our lives aren’t built on human wisdom or understanding but are instead built on a wisdom that comes from God.
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Paul also deals with this idea of jealousy by reminding us we have everything in Christ. All things belong to us in Christ and God. The Wisdom of God is ready and accessible. We don’t have to envy or be jealous because the things that have eternal significance and relevance have been given to us in Jesus.
