Self, Selfishness And The Spirit
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Two friends met for dinner at a seafood restaurant. Each requested filet of sole, and after a few minutes the waiter came back with their order. Two pieces of fish, a large and a small, were on the same platter. One of the men proceeded to serve his friend. Placing the small piece on a plate, he handed it across the table. "Well, you certainly are selfish!” said his friend
"What's troubling you?" asked the other. "Look what you've done," he answered. "You've given me the little piece and kept the big one for yourself."
"How would you have done it?" the man asked. His friend replied, "If I were serving, I would have given you the big piece." "Well," replied the man, "I've got it, haven't I?"
Historical/Cultural Context -
Historical/Cultural Context -
Paul preached the gospel in Corinth in the early 50s AD during his second missionary journey (Acts 18:1–18). When opposition grew fierce there, the Lord Jesus spoke to him in a vision assuring him that he had ‘many people’ in the city (Acts 18:10). With this encouragement, Paul stayed on for eighteen months, ‘teaching them the word of God’ (Acts 18:11). God used Paul’s ministry to bring about the birth and establishment of the church in Corinth.
Biblical Text -
Biblical Text -
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;
for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
-[Prayer]-
-[Prayer]-
Life Principle - Walking In The Spirit Means Getting Rid Of Self.
Life Principle - Walking In The Spirit Means Getting Rid Of Self.
Life Point - The Believer Must Walk In The Spirit
Life Point - The Believer Must Walk In The Spirit
Exegetical -
Exegetical -
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;
for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?
Homiletical -
Homiletical -
Paul just got telling the Corinthian church that those that are Christ’s are spiritual and that we should have the mind of Christ by being in His Word.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Now He gives them a scathing rebuke. Stating that they should be spiritual and not carnal. Christians should be in the mind of Christ. They should not be thinking on the carnality of man all around them.
This applies to us today.
We are admonished through scripture time and again to set our minds on the things that are above, not on the temporary trappings of this world.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
What is spiritual?
The word means to have a pattern of behavior like God’s
To be controlled or direct by The Spirit of God
How can someone say they are spiritual if they aren’t in God’s Word allowing The Holy Spirit to illuminate that Word to Our understanding?
You can’t. Like I always say. You can tell me all day long you are a refrigerator, it doesn’t make it so.
Why?
Because you don’t have the characteristics of a refrigerator or refrigerator-ness
What is carnal?
Carnality is human nature without God. It is sin. It is all about your base desires being met and then some. It is about whatever feels good, Do It! It is worldly.
It is selfishness personified.
Every notice that babies are born inherently selfish? It’s all about them, all about what they want.
You have to teach them as they grow up, how not to be that way.
The problem is we have a couple of generations who have forgotten about God and so their lives is all about self, selfish, what they want. No one else matters.
So who is teaching their children to behave selflessly? The schools? Nope. The Government? Definitely Not!
It should be the churches all around the nation, but how can they when Christians are acting selfish themselves! They are acting carnal
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
If your entire life is marked by the flesh and not the Spirit at all, then you need to check to see if you are in Christ.
Don’t be like those in Matt. 7:
“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.
On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’
But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’
Going back to our main text:
I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;
for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?
What’s interesting about this church is that it saw itself as spiritual because it had a lot of spiritual gifts happening in it. Which we will look at more later. They were speaking in tongues, prophesying, healings and the like, in their churches.
But these splashy gifts seem so amazing that people mistake the miraculous sign and wonders as them being spiritual.
They are separate. A gift is given, Transformation to be more and more like Christ is grown. Sanctification is a life long process. It is a process of relationship with Christ. With The Holy Spirit.
Their character was not up-to-par with what they were portraying themselves as. They were being carnal.
We see this all the time in churches across America and around the world. We see selfishness raising its’ ugly head everywhere.
Have you ever notice that those churches today who claim they have the spiritual gifts like the Corinthians tend to have more babes in Christ? Focusing on spiritual gifts, not the giver?
You can go to some of these churches and not hear the name of Jesus spoken more than at the end of a prayer. Then its’ all about a particular gift or gifts of the Holy Spirit. I will say that most of the time, what they call a gift of God is nothing but selfish carnality on display. Sometimes I think it is even demonic false signs and wonders.
Every gift, if it is truly a gift and not just man-made or done in an hypnotic trance, was given to the church to point the unsaved to Jesus. What He did for us and continues to do for us on a daily basis.
The father points to Jesus and the Holy Spirit points to Jesus.
Why?
Because Jesus is the redeemer, He is the savior. Everything here is temporary. It is all passing away, but not our redemption. That is eternal.
How can we tell a church that is carnal then?
Paul tells us.
for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?
If there is envy, strife and division in a church then that church has people working in their carnality. They are babes in christ.
The example Paul gives them is the division amongst them, that they created. Saying they follow Paul or Apollos.
To their shame I had some people coming to a church where I was the Associate Minister who were mad at the pastor. About what, I don’t even remember anymore. You see they come to my Sunday School Class and would promptly leave before service started.
They caused all kinds of havoc in the church over this and other things. They tried to get people to side with the Pastor or myself. Now most of this I didn’t find out about until after they were disfellowshipped from the church. When they left, they took a group of people with them.
They split the church, the problem wasn’t the pastor. The problem is that they didn’t even try to make amends with him and unfortunately vice-versa.
All of that to say this. Don’t let your flesh dictate your thinking and actions. Walk in the Spirit so that you do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
If you are about to get mad at someone or something, ask yourself this one question and it will clear things up for you a bit. “Does [inset whatever you’re mad about] have any eternal value?”
If not, calm down, take a breath and start over.
Life Point - Selfishness Has No Place In The Life Of The Believer
Life Point - Selfishness Has No Place In The Life Of The Believer
Exegetical -
Exegetical -
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
Homiletical -
Homiletical -
Division even happened between John’s supporters and what was going on with Jesus.
A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing.
So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”
John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven.
You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’
It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success.
He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
“He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else.
I’ve got some news brothers and sisters. This is going to blow your minds.
Your life, is not about you. It is lived for and because of Jesus. If you are His then your life belongs to Him. Don’t be selfish when you don’t even own yourself.
I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course.
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,
John the Baptist knew that His life was to make way for Jesus.
he said, he must increase, and I must decrease.
This should be our attitude as well.
Is what I am doing with my life really what Jesus wants me to do?
Am I doing my calling?
In everything I do, am I pointing to Jesus Christ?
Am I putting anyone or anything in my life before Jesus?
Some people have placed their boats, their cars, their motorhomes on the throne in their lives. That spot belongs to Jesus only.
But you can’t do that, if you aren’t truly saved.
Some people think they are, but they aren’t.
“Well, I was baptized so I know I am good”
Nope on that day you went down a dry sinner and came up a wet one. Baptism don’t save you.
Being a church member or deacon or Sunday School teacher won’t save you.
No amount of works will save you.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
not of works, lest anyone should boast.
You know what else?
You favorite teacher, preacher or evangelist can’t save you. Only Jesus can do that.
So like Paul said:
It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.
The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.
Your favorite teacher will be rewarded for their hard work, but as for who should be followed and how gets the credit, that belongs to Jesus Christ alone.
Life Principle– Walking In The Spirit Means Getting Rid Of Self.
Life Principle– Walking In The Spirit Means Getting Rid Of Self.
Call to Action – altar call….
Call to Action – altar call….