Sermon Tone Analysis

Pre-Sermonette: Paul’s Humility

Pre-Sermonette: Paul’s Humility

[Due to concluding that verses 8-11 are an inspired side note that offers us a helpful view into Paul’s perception of himself, I decided to take a moment earlier in the service to summarize and offer a few observations on these few verses.]

Pre-Sermonette: Paul’s Humility

In a few moments, we’ll be looking a little deeper into .

Last week we stopped in verse 4. I would like to take a moment, separate from the main message to acknowledge and be encouraged by a side not that Paul makes here.

I think it is a divinely inspired side note, but I don’t think it necessarily has to do with his main point in this section.

The main point is to discuss the importance of the resurrection and the consequences of rejecting the resurrection.

Verses 5-8 offer to the reader, individuals that were still alive and could verify the reality of Christ’s resurrection.

After summarizing the core of the Gospel – that being the death, burial, and resurrection, Paul goes on to write:

ESV).

Verses 9-11 then offer what some may perceive to be a weird mix of self-deprecation and outright arrogance.

Verses 9-11 then offer what some may perceive to be a weird mix of self-deprecation and outright arrogance.

For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.

On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

( ESV).

Instead of seeing either self-deprecation or arrogance in this passage, I believe we find here a beautiful picture of humility.

Let me offer a few observations.

First, humility is not false modesty.

It deals and acknowledges reality.

You may have a friend, family member, or acquaintance that seems to frequently have false modesty.

What do I mean by false modesty?

I am referring to behavior that, on the outside appears to be humble, but is really fake, pretend, and not truly genuine.

I had a friend like this in high school.

He always was the first to admit that he wasn’t good at something, but would then show everyone up.

It was unattractive and wasn’t genuine humility.

You may have experienced this at some point.

This is not what Paul is doing when he writes in verse 9, “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

He is not offering false humility.

He is offering a transparent and real assessment of his credentials.

No other apostle had ever persecuted the church.

No other apostle had killed people for following Christ.

Paul had.

If you were to open Paul’s file and look at his record, you would never conclude, “this guys going to be a leader in the church.”

Instead of seeing either self-deprecation or arrogance in this passage, I believe we find here a beautiful picture of humility.

Let me offer a few observations.

First, humility is not false modesty.

It deals and acknowledges reality.

You may have a friend, family member, or acquaintance that seems to frequently have false modesty.

What do I mean by false modesty?

I am referring to behavior that, on the outside appears to be humble, but is really fake, pretend, and not truly genuine.

I had a friend like this in high school.

He always was the first to admit that he wasn’t good at something, but would then show everyone up.

It was unattractive and wasn’t genuine humility.

You may have experienced this at some point.

This is not what Paul is doing when he writes in verse 9, “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

He is not offering false humility.

He is offering a transparent and real assessment of his credentials.

No other apostle had ever persecuted the church.

No other apostle had killed people for following Christ.

Paul had.

If you were to open Paul’s file and look at his record, you would never conclude, “this guys going to be a leader in the church.”

And yet, secondly, humility can still appropriately acknowledge one’s own abilities and effort.

Paul does this.

He writes in verse 10, “I worked harder than any of them.”

Apparently he had.

The storyline of Acts would indicate that this is not likely an underestimation of his work and effort.

Humility doesn’t reject reality and one’s own gifts.

It accepts them, but immediately leads us into the third observation.

Third, while acknowledging one’s own abilities and effort is acceptable, it must be immersed in deflection to the glory of God’s grace.

“by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.

On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” ( ESV).

While Paul acknowledged his tremendous effort, he only does this to show the power and product of God’s immense grace.

There was no glory that landed with Paul in these statements.

It was all deflected to God who enabled Paul to do these works.

And finally, at the end of the day, humility doesn’t care who accomplishes the task.

It just desires that it is accomplished.

For Paul, it didn’t really matter who proclaimed the message.

Whether it was Paul or Peter or one of the other apostles or a new believer is irrelevant.

What matters is that the Gospel was proclaimed and that they believed.

So then, drawn from this passage, we could conclude the following.

Humility is not false modesty or self-deprecation but instead is an honest assessment of one’s self with immediate deflection of any glory back to God for his immense grace.

Introduction

If I were to tell you that everything you hold dear and precious is false, that you are living a life of delusion, that everything in which you place your happiness and satisfaction is empty and meaningless, how might you feel?

This is in essence what Paul does for the Corinthian believers, if it is true that Jesus Christ has not been raised from the dead – as some of them contend.

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.

16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

( ESV).

Purpose Statement.

If there is no resurrection, Christians are living empty and pointless lives and need to be pitied.

Paul begins this conversation with the negative, and so this purpose statement reflects that reality; but probably within each of us, we want to jump to verse 20 and acknowledge that this is not the case.

Paul writes in verse 20, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead.”

So we know that these things are not true.

We would prefer to make a positive out this negative purpose statement.

There is a resurrection, therefore, Christians are not living empty and pointless lives and need not be pitied.

We could take it a step further.

Because Christ did rise, Christians can live full, purposeful, and hope filled lives.

This statement is positive and refreshing.

Yet, in the spirit of the text, we will continue to view this passage through the negative perspective that Paul uses.

Let’s consider 4 consequences if there is no resurrection.

Consequence 1: Our message of hope is in vain (15:14-15).

Our preaching is in vain, if Christ did not rise.

“And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” ( ESV).