Standing For Jesus In The Devil’s World

Paul had a LOT of problems with the Church at Corinth. First of all, they compared him with other preachers and evangelists – and Paul came up short. Second, the Church was compromising with the darkness, and would not stand up and LOUDLY live for Christ.

Paul who founded the Church at Corinth.
But a confused leadership was running it!

Jesus To Be Lifted Up Whether People Like it Or Not

1 Corinthians 4:6-8 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us NOT TO THINK OF MEN ABOVE THAT WHICH IS WRITTEN, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. 7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? 8 Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.

Last week we saw how Paul talked of our stewardship, and that we are stewards of the mysteries of God. We are all stewards of what God has given us. What is necessary for a steward? Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 4:2 … it is required in stewards, that A MAN WE FOUND FAITHFUL

The steward is to be faithful in managing that which the owner has entrusted to him. God has given the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Church. No man will go into Heaven without Jesus. So we are to STAND UP, STAND UP FOR JESUS whether others like it or not. Let’s continue:

1 Corinthians 4:6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might LEARN IN US NOT TO THINK OF MEN ABOVE THAT WHICH IS WRITTEN, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

Neither Paul nor Apollos set themselves above others when fulfilling their stewardship. As Paul preached the Gospel to the lost world, he was attacked. Paul would later write:

2 Corinthians 11:23-28 (ESV) with far greater labors, far more IMPRISONMENTS, with countless BEATINGS, and often near death. FIVE TIMES I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. THREE TIMES IN WAS BEATEN WITH RODS. ONCE I WAS STONED. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea… in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

Preach! Do you know why Paul went through all this trial and tribulation? Because the Gospel OFFENDS LOST PEOPLE. The Christian way of life OFFENDS LOST PEOPLE. Talk about Buddha, people will think you sophisticated. Talk about Confucius, and people will think you smart. Talk about Nihilism, and people will feel you are college educated. But talk about Jesus – live for Jesus – lift up the God of the Bible and honor Him in the name of Jesus – and YOU WILL OFFEND.

Paul warned the Corinthian Church – and us all – to “NOT TO THINK OF MEN ABOVE THAT WHICH IS WRITTEN”. God is to be elevated. God is the Owner of all things. We as humans are but stewards of what God has given us. God has given us life. God has given us Jesus. God has given us the Bible. Look again at the phrase, “ABOVE THAT WHICH IS WRITTEN”. As Paul writes under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, he has quoted or referred to 13 Old Testament passages in 1 Corinthians chapters 1-4. Paul didn’t write the Bible without the Bible. The Apostles quoted the Old Testament – the Bible of that day – and wove its truths into the New Covenant Scripture. For example …

In 1 Corinthians 1:19 he quotes Isaiah 29:14 “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent”

In 1 Corinthians 1:20 Paul quotes Jeremiah 8:8-9 saying “Where is the wise? Where is the Scribe?

In 1 Corinthians 3:20 Paul quotes Psalm 94:11, “The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are vanity”.

In 1 Corinthians 2:16 Paul quotes Isaiah 40:13, “Who has known the mind of the Lord?”

In the 13 quotes Paul lists from the Old Testament up to this point in just the Book of 1 Corinthians, the emphasis is this: God is everything, but man is nothing. Paul has taught us that:

God overturns human wisdom (Isaiah 29:14; Job 5; Psalm 94).
True wisdom comes only from revelation (Isaiah 40; Isaiah 64).
Boasting must be in the Lord alone (Jeremiah 9).
God chooses the unexpected and the weak (Isaiah 52–53; Isaiah 65).

We are NOT TO THINK OF MEN ABOVE THAT WHICH IS WRITTEN”. Humanism and human philosophy sets man up as wise. Paul says that, no, we are none of us wise apart from God. That which we have, we have from God. So Paul tells us as believers “don’t be puffed up against one another”.

Three Questions To Ponder As Professing Christians

1 Corinthians 4:7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?

We as believers are to be “good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10). Each believer in Christ receives a gift from God. The gift is given not to puff us up, but to “MINISTER IT TO ONE ANOTHER”, to elevate your brother or sister in Christ, and to share Christ with the lost. Paul now asks each of us three searching questions:

1 “WHO MAKETH THEE TO DIFFER FROM ANOTHER?”. Who made you? Did you make yourself? No, God made you, and He made you to serve Him. Not to please the world, but to please Him. We are supposed to walk in our faith, to be fruitful, to be apparent Christians in this present evil world. The Bible says …

Ephesians 2:8-10 NKJV – For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that NOT OF YOURSELVES; IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS FOR GOOD WORKS, which God prepared beforehand that WE SHOULD WALK IN THEM.

God made us to do good works. Not everyone does the same thing, but no believer does nothing. God doesn’t ask us to please people, but to please Him. One of the biggest cop outs is when believers hunt for work for others to do. Each of us has a gift from God. Each of us has something God expects us to do. We are not to be welfare chicks, wanting others to wait on us. We are to be salt and light in this present world.

Being salt and light in a dark and unsavory world will offend that world – but we are called to serve the One Who saved us.

2 “WHAT HAST THOU THAT THOU DIDST NOT RECEIVE?”. God gave you the salvation through Christ. God gave you the Holy Spirit. God gave you the gift. Every gift, every ability, every truth, every strength that you have, it was a grace gift from God.

1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV – Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, DO ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD.

We are not told “do all to the glory of God UNLESS YOU OFFEND SOMEONE”. We’re not told that. We are to live out loud for Jesus.

3 “NOW IF THOU DIDST RECEIVE IT, WHY DOST THOU GLORY, AS IF THOU HADST NOT RECEIVED IT?”. If what you have – whether it be physical or spiritual – is a gift that God gave you, why would you boast on yourself? God told His Israel:

Deuteronomy 7:7-8 NKJV – The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you BECAUSE YOU WERE MORE IN NUMBER than any other people, for YOU WERE THE LEAST of all peoples; 8 but BECAUSE THE LORD LOVES YOU, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

He did not save Israel because they were worthy. There were nations a whole lot more worthy than Israel was. But God chose Israel out of loving Grace. Israel was given the Promised Land not because they were better than other people. In many ways, they were worse. But God saved them out of mercy. In the same way, God saved us and gifted us out of merciful love.

Titus 3:4-7 LSB – But when the kindness and affection of God our Savior appeared, 5 He saved us, not by works which we did in righteousness, BUT ACCORDING TO HIS MERCY, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

God chose a broken, enslaved Israel to bring out of Jesus and adopt as His own. God chooses broken, sin enslaved people to bring out of the world and into His Kingdom.

Under the Old Covenant, God chose the most broken people He could find to offer salvation to them. Under the New Covenant, God does the same. “While we were yet sinners, Christ DIED FOR US”. We weren’t worthy – God made us worthy.

The Corinthians are like many churches today. Filled with people whom God saved, they don’t want to have to deal with the others that are not like us. They were happy where they were, and just wanted to go along to get along. They thought they had it all. Sadly, they had nothing.

If You’re Not Serving Jesus, You’re Not
Where You Need To Be

1 Corinthians 4:8 NOW ye are full, NOW ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings WITHOUT US: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.

The Holy Spirit looked into the hearts of the Corinthians, and saw where they really were. They are thinking …

1 Word Study: “NOW WE ARE FULL”. The word translated “NOW” is the Greek ēdē, which means “ALREADY”. The best way to translate this is “ALREADY WE ARE FULL”. We lack nothing. We got there on our own. God didn’t make us this way – WE DID. When Paul asked the question in the previous verse “WHO MAKETH THEE TO DIFFER FROM ANOTHER?”, they didn’t answer “GOD”. They said in their hearts, “WE DID. WE GOT HERE ON OUR OWN”. No one gets there on their own. God gets us there.

Self righteousness not only sends people to hell, it makes the Christian unteachable! Only the humble can be blessed of God. Humble people serve the Lord, and learn of Jesus.

2 Word Study: “NOW WE ARE RICH”. Once more Paul uses the word ēdē, which means “ALREADY”. The word translated “RICH” is the Greek plouteō, meaning “we have all the resources we need. THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN GIVE US”. This violates the second question Paul asked in the previous verse, “WHAT HAST THOU THAT THOU DIDST NOT RECEIVE?”. If you think you have it all, then you have no where to go. If you think you are complete in yourself, then God can’t do anything for you. The Christian is ALWAYS a work in progress – and God will never stop working in us. The Bible says:

Philippians 1:6 LSB – For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you WILL PERFECT IT UNTIL THE DAY OF CHRIST JESUS.

Everything we go through as Christians, we go through it to move us to be more like Christ. We are not what we are going to be YET – but we will get there. Paul wrote:

Romans 8:18-19, 23 LSB – For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared WITH THE GLORY THAT IS TO BE REVEALED IN US. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation eagerly WAITS FOR THE REVEALING OF THE SONS OF GOD. … 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even WE OURSELVES GROAN WITHIN OURSELVES, eagerly waiting for our adoption as sons, THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY.

No Christian is complete – NOW. We are all growing. If you think you’re finished, you are seriously deluded … and God cannot work in your life.

3 The third thing the Corinthians believed in their hearts is the worst thing of all. They believed “we have reigned as kings WITHOUT THE APOSTLES”. This is a common error – a heresy – even among Christians today. It is arrogance. The Corinthians – though founded by the Apostle Paul – were saying “we don’t need the Apostles, nor do we need Pastors or Evangelists anymore. We are complete in ourselves. We don’t even need the Bible”. This violates the third question of the previous verse, “NOW IF THOU DIDST RECEIVE IT, WHY DOST THOU GLORY, AS IF THOU HADST NOT RECEIVED IT?”. God established certain gifts to teach the Church, gifts that every believer needs. The Bible says:

Ephesians 4:11-15 LSB – {God} Himself gave some as APOSTLES, and some as PROPHETS, and some as EVANGELISTS, and some as PASTORS and TEACHERS, 12 FOR THE EQUIPPING OF THE SAINTS FOR THE WORK OF SERVICE, TO THE BUILDING UP OF THE BODY OF CHRIST, 13 UNTIL WE ALL ATTAIN THE UNITY OF THE FAITH, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ, 14 so that WE ARE NO LONGER TO BE CHILDREN, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming, 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to GROW UP IN ALL ASPECTS INTO HIM WHO IS THE HEAD, THAT IS, CHRIST

God gave the Church the Bible through the Apostles and Prophets. God gave Evangelists to preach the Gospel, to lead others into salvation. God gave the Pastor and Teachers to teach the Church the application of the Word of God. The Corinthians believed they had outgrown Paul and the other Apostles. They are like the many confused but professing Christians who sit at home, saying “I don’t have to have a Church to be a Christian”. Beloved, you will never be even close as a Christian until you allow God to lead you to a body of like minded believers. Paul tells the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 4:8 KJV – {You are already full, you are already rich, you are reigning as kings without us} : and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.

Paul said, “I wish you WERE there, so we could relax and reign with you”.It would be nice to take a break, to not have to worry and fret over a people who not only will not listen, but are openly defiant of the call of the spiritual leader. There is nothing better than a Church that has reached a level of maturity, that will do what needs to be done without worrying its earthly shepherd to death.

Few churches are there.
Too many are like Corinth.

Living For Jesus Will Exact A Toll

Paul begins to speak his heart about the treatment he and the other Apostles have suffered at the hands of the self righteous:

1 Corinthians 4:9-13 KJV – For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are MADE A SPECTACLE UNTO THE WORLD, and to angels, and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honorable, but we are despised. 11 Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place; 12 And labor, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: 13 Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.

The Corinthians thought they were wise, strong and honorable, and to them the Apostles were fools, weak, and despised. The reality was that …

A Christian who has never suffered persecution in any form, has never lived for Christ.

Jesus told us in John 15:20, “If THEY PERSECUTED ME, then THEY WILL PERSECUTE YOU”. Too many churches have departed from their God given assignment, so much so that they are indistinguishable from the world. Jesus told us:

Matthew 28:19 LSB – Go therefore and MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you

That is our assignment. To go, and make disciples. To teach others to follow Christ as we follow Christ. But instead, many churches are not making disciples. They are

making politicians
fighting culture wars
promoting social justice

When you become like the world, you will NEVER suffer as the Apostles did. You will also never be a blessing to God, or to others. If you live for Jesus against the darkness, you can expect to “hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place”. You will be “made as the filth of the world”.

That’s what happened to Charlie Kirk.
He stood, and died, for Jesus.
And they mock him even today.

Paul told the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 4:14-16 KJV I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I WARN YOU. 15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU THROUGH THE GOSPEL. 16 Wherefore I beseech you, BE YE FOLLOWERS OF ME.

The Born Again Follow Godly Leadership

Paul called the Church to repent, and follow him as he followed the Lord. He said:

1 Corinthians 4:17-20 KJV – For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church. 18 Now SOME ARE PUFFED UP, as though I would not come to you. 19 But I WILL COME SHORTLY, IF THE LORD WILL, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. 20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but IN POWER.

Paul had taught Timothy, and Timothy learned what Paul taught. Paul intended to go to Corinth, but some of them were of the mindset that “If Paul won’t come, we’re not going to listen”. Paul would not cater to the whim of the disobedient and prideful in Corinth. He sent Timothy in his place – and they could receive him or not.

Were these people truly Christians – or were they just pretenders to the faith. Genuine Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and would respond to Paul’s rebuke. False believers would get mad and leave (thank the good Lord). Paul said, “I WILL COME SHORTLY, IF THE LORD WILL, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, BUT THE POWER”. Saved people will heed the Word of God. Saved people will listen to godly leadership. Lost people will follow the darkness – for all their self righteous talk – and are blind leaders of the blind.

1 Corinthians 4:20-21 KJV – For the kingdom of God is not in word, BUT IN POWER. 21 What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?

It’s not what you say. It’s your fruit. Where’s your fruit.

There was a Wendy’s commercial years ago where three old ladies bought a hamburger, a tiny burger in a huge bun. They asked, “Where’s the beef?” Are you saved by the Grace of God. Are you born again, indwelt of the Spirit of God? If so, let’s see the beef. “Where’s the beef?”