Remember: Only YOU Can Prevent Reward Loss Fires (1 Corinthians 3:5-23)

I came across this list of slogans taken from church marquees:

“Download your worries, Upload peace”
“This church is prayer-conditioned”
“God answers knee-mail”
“Body piercing saved my life”
“For all you do, His blood’s for you”

Suppose for a moment that the first century church at Corinth had a marquee. Here are some of the things that, according to the apostle Paul, might be posted on it:

“Babes in Christ”
“Still carnal”
“Behaving like mere men”
“Envy, strife, and division among [us]”
“[Building] with wood, hay, and straw”

Take the next step with me. If Calvary Hanford had a marquee sign, what would we say? What would Paul say?

Let’s cut to the chase: What would Jesus say?

Before answering, let’s take a look in our passage at one of the apostle Paul’s favorite illustrations of the church:

He describes himself as a “wise master builder” who was one of the grace-gifted guys called by God to, as he states it, “lay the foundation [of the church]… which is Jesus Christ” (v10&11).

He will go on to say that believers are simultaneously the builders who continue working on the foundation; and we are the building being built upon the foundation.

Buildings get inspected as they are being built. So do we as we are building and being built, and upon completion of our earthly life. We should welcome it because Jesus is the one doing the inspecting. Paul is going to encourage us to build well heading towards our final inspection.

I’ll organize my comments around two questions: #1 What Will Jesus Say To You As His Builder? and #2 What Will Jesus Say To Us As His Building?

#1 – What Will Jesus Say To You As His Builder? (v5-15)

I think it was A.W. Tower who described some Bible teachers as “spinning straw from gold.” One way of doing that is to dive-in too early and miss the big-picture; to begin dissecting before admiring the beauty of the rose.

The big picture here in our text is this: God has given us the incredible opportunity to assist Him.

When you consider all the ways God could have done His work, it is stunning to think He solicits our participation.

If you are in Christ, you are a builder; and you can build things that have eternal value. You can build from the moment you are born-again, until the moment you exhale for the last time. You need no natural talent or ability because you are gifted by God to build when and where He directs you.

I like what David Guzik said, that in general, “We cannot work without Him, [but] He will not work without us.”

The Corinthians had several builders – notably Paul and Apollos.

1Co 3:5  Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?

Paul and Apollos were the two men most responsible for laying the foundation and building upon it in Corinth. They were “ministers,” or better translated, servants. They preached the Cross and many “believed” and “the Lord gave” the gift of eternal life.

1Co 3:6  I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.

Paul and Apollos are compared to sowers in a field. Some seed fell on good ground and “God gave the increase.”

I thought we were talking about building – not farming? We are, and maybe this will help:

In Matthew 13:44 we read, “… the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” The man represents Jesus; the field is the world; the purchase of the field refers to the Cross by which Jesus provides salvation for the sins of the whole world.

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus said that the field being sown was the world (Matthew 13:39).

We could say that Jesus has acquired a field in the field of the earth by His crucifixion. He sends laborers to sow the Word of God. The fruit from their sowing is the salvation of those who believe.

In that field, set apart spiritually from the world, a foundation has been laid by the apostles. Jesus is building His church on that foundation with your assistance.

There were lots of temples in Corinth to the various so-called gods. There never was a temple like the one built of the foundation of Jesus. It’s members were and are living stones. Unique hardly describes the temple of the Holy Spirit on earth.

1Co 3:7  So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

It wasn’t that Paul was a great sower; or that Apollos knew just how to water. They simply served God and He saw to it that the Gospel changed lives.

1Co 3:8  Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

Certain gifts or posts of service seem more exciting or encouraging than others. All that matters to a servant is that he or she is faithful. Each of us will be rewarded according to our “own labor,” not in comparison to anyone else’s.

1Co 3:9  For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.

We are all “workers,” on equal footing, with equal, full access to the Holy Spirit. We are sowing the Word and building a spiritual building in the field of the world where none previously existed. Our impact ought to be so remarkable that nonbelievers see the light in the darkness and find spiritual rest and refuge.

1Co 3:10  According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.

Paul was given the particular “grace,” or gift, of establishing churches. We need to be a little careful about establishing churches. You’re dealing with people’s lives, their spiritual lives. There needs to be a real leading from the Lord to establish a new work.

“Wise master builder” translates to architect but in usage the idea is more like the person we would call the General Contractor. Paul was given the plans and he established the foundation then turned it over to the others who would build upon it.

That would make all of us subcontractors who should “take heed how [we build] on it.” Taking heed means two things: Trusting the foundation, and building with appropriate materials.

1Co 3:11  For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ:

Albert Barnes says of the foundation:

No true church can be reared which does not embrace and hold the true doctrines respecting Him – those which pertain to His incarnation, His divine nature, His instructions, His example, His atonement, His resurrection, and ascension. The reason why no true church can be established without embracing the truth as it is in Christ is, that it is by Him only that people can be saved; and where this doctrine is missing, all is missing that enters into the essential idea of a church.

1Co 3:12  Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,

One thing to consider that is sometimes overlooked is that all these were possible building materials that were used in temples being constructed in the first century:

“Wood” was used for doors and posts, “hay” was dried grass mixed with mud and used for walls, and straw could be used as roofing material.

“Gold” and “silver” referred to the costly ornamentation in temples while “precious stones” might refer to the granite or marble that would be overlaid with gold and silver.

Paul is going to describe these materials being tested by fire. It seems clear enough that “gold, silver, precious stones” will survive the test, whereas “wood, hay, straw” won’t.

You’ve seen those eerie photos of homes destroyed after a fire. Often all that is left is what? The foundation and a brick chimney. All the other materials did not survive the test by fire.

One way to approach what is being said is to simply say that you can build with materials that are either costly, or that are common.

Think of the projects around your house. There are always choices in materials. Some will do the job but won’t last as long. You might choose them when you’re putting your house on the market. Common.

Other materials have a much higher quality. You choose them if you plan on living in your house for a long time. Costly.

1Co 3:13  each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

The “Day” is when believers stand before the Reward Seat and have their choice of materials tested by fire. We read in Second Corinthians 5:10,

2Co 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

It’s a review of your serving, not a determination of your salvation. To avoid any confusion, Paul insisted, “he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

A word about “rewards.” Because of imagery in the Revelation, at the Second Coming, I’ve come to see rewards as adornments we can add to our robes of righteousness as we serve Jesus. What bride doesn’t want to have a great dress, and be as beautiful as possible for her Groom?

What will Jesus say to you as His builder? Let’s restrict Him to these two words: Costly… Common.

It’s obviously overly simplistic, but that’s OK. Sometimes we over complicate things, and it keeps us from the gist of the inspection. Looking at your life as a whole, can you say that it has cost you, or it is costing you, anything to be a believer in Christ?

What’s the cost? What, or who, have you given up… Or lost… Or been denied… For serving God?

Exclude any troubles or suffering that is part of the human condition. We’re examining our lives for the cost of being a Christian.

Is it costly? Or is your life pretty much common and comfortable? We’ll have time at the end of the service for you to call for inspection.

#2 – What Will Jesus Say To Us As His Building? (v16-23)

If you Google Calvary Hanford you’ll see we have a rating of 4½ stars out of 5. What???? Someone gave us 1 star without commenting. Must have been the Sunday we took multiple offerings… Kidding!!!

1Co 3:16  Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

The word “you” here is plural, meaning the believers corporately as the church. These verses are not really about us as individuals.

True, our individual bodies are in-dwelt by God the Holy Spirit. But so is (or should be) our gatherings on earth. After all, we are that building in the field into which folks come to be saved.

BTW: One overlooked argument for being part of a local fellowship is that the Holy Spirit is (or should be) there in a special way. Folks who avoid church are ignoring a personal invitation from God to meet with Him. Instead, they insist He come to them.

1Co 3:17  If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

The first part of the verse is a kind of common proverb. It boils down to meaning that the defiler will be disciplined. You don’t have to leave Corinth to see this in action.

In chapter eleven we will be introduced to believers who were defiling the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. As a result, we read, “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep [die prematurely] (v30). The defilers were being disciplined; some by death.

“The Temple of God” – corporately – is “holy” – it is set apart. Again, the idea is our unique existence in the world.

No example will do this justice, but we have to try. If you are a fan of The Lord of the Rings, think about the refuge that was provide the nine weary travelers in Rivendell. It was a beautiful, refreshing, seemingly timeless stop along the harsh road. That is what our gatherings ought to be like.
1Co 3:18  Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.

The wisdom of men versus the wisdom of God has been a major topic in this letter. Paul returns to it here to emphasize once again that someone who is “wise in this age” – meaning they trust in mans wisdom – should rather trust God’s wisdom.

How can you tell if you are trusting God’s wisdom? One way is that you will “become a fool” in the eyes of the world. Do any of your choices seem foolish to others? They should.

1Co 3:19  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “HE CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR OWN CRAFTINESS”;

The quote is from Job. It is a profound statement indicating human wisdom falls in on itself.
Quite simply, men contradict themselves, and their methods don’t work. Every religion, philosophy, psychology, is built on a foundation of shifting sand.

1Co 3:20  and again, “THE LORD KNOWS THE THOUGHTS OF THE WISE, THAT THEY ARE FUTILE.”

This is quoted from the ninety-fourth psalm. Human wisdom is ultimately futile in that it cannot accomplish what needs to be done. A man needs to be forgiven of sin, justified, declared righteous, and become a new creation in Jesus Christ. Those things can only be received by grace at the Cross where Jesus took our place in death to give us eternal life.

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours:

This “boast[ing] in men” harkens back to a problem previously brought up, namely, that the believers in Corinth were putting too much emphasis on particular teachers rather than look past them to God.

If I asked you who Buddhists follow, you’d say “Buddha.” Likewise for Muslims, “Mohammed.”

We do not follow Paul, or Apollos, or Peter – or any human teacher. We follow Jesus Who has given men like those to His church for centuries, so we might be built-up.

“For all things are yours.” Before you get too excited, “all things” includes things like “death,” as we’ll read in a moment. Paul wasn’t telling me that I can have that Ferrari I want. Or that I can be CEO of a chain of PastorsPour cafes.

He’s telling us that as the building of God on the earth, His temple in the field, we have an entirely new and different perspective on everything.

1Co 3:22  whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come – all are yours.

In our attempt to assign everything a quick, easy meaning, we can overlook just how multi-faceted the words of Scripture really are. The things Paul listed as all yours have multiple applications. I’ll suggest a couple for each.

“Paul… Apollos… Peter…” are yours. These first century men made an impact on the world that can be traced forward to you getting saved. They are part of your spiritual ancestry. They are your spiritual fathers.
We also get from this that God still sends us to. plant and sow. You are somebody’s Paul.

The “world” is yours to work in, as a laborer with God. It is meaningful, life-changing work.
Then, too, He has given you the world to struggle against – honing your skills in spiritual warfare as a good soldier of God.

“Life or death” is yours can’t help but remind you of Paul’s epic statement that “to live is Christ, but to die is gain.” It is a powerful, liberating way to live.

“Life or death” is also yours in the sense that you have every spiritual resource you require to live for God; and that you know all about the afterlife.

“Things present or things to come” are yours in that you are to live now in such a way that you are ready for the things the Bible says are coming upon the world. For us, that means the imminent rapture.

“Things present or things to come” also reminds you that you can be in the world, enjoy it, without becoming enslaved by it. In the future, rewards await.

This is a very small example of what we saw earlier: the “deep things of God.” Think of your own applications.

1Co 3:23  And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

In the plan of salvation, God the Father sent Jesus because He “so loved the world…” Jesus died on the Cross – lifted-up on it so all would be drawn to Him. He is thus the Savior of all men – especially those who believe. From God, to Jesus, to you.

What is on our spiritual marquee? It’s ultimately up to the Lord. Let’s concentrate on serving Him, and having it cost us something, so He can write something worthy of eternity.

We’ve Got the Spirit, Yes We Do, We’ve Got the Spirit, How About You? (1 Corinthians 2:6-16)

Gandalf had a plan. Keep the Dark Lord, Sauron, distracted while a Hobbit marched the one ring of power into the heart of Mordor and destroyed it in the fires from which it was forged. It was the one thing that the forces of evil would never expect.

At the Council of Elrond, in the film adaptation, Boromir emphasized just how incredibly foolish a plan it was:
“One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its black gates are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep.” And then, making a circle with his hand, he says, “The great eye is ever watchful.”

Against all odds, and incredible evil, the plan worked. Sauron was defeated on his own turf.

J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, is considered to be a believer in Christ. I wonder if he might have been inspired, by the foolishness of the Cross when he came up with the idea of destroying the ring?

The Cross of Jesus Christ – His death on the Cross – seemed incredibly foolish to the world and to its rulers. They could not conceive of what it would result in – their defeat on their own turf.

Our text this morning says as much when, in verse eight, the apostle Paul proclaims that the Cross was a “mystery” that “none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

What the world sees as foolishness is really the wisdom of God. Why can’t they see it? They can’t see it because it is known only to those who have received the Spirit of God. That’s where we who have received the Spirit come in.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 Realize That You Are In The World That Renounces The Wisdom Of God, and #2 Remember That You Are In The World To Reveal The Wisdom Of God.

#1 – Realize That You Are In The World That Renounces The Wisdom Of God (v6-9)

The Lion King is still in theaters. Director Jon Favreau did a great job, but you just can’t improve on the voice actors in the original animated version. Especially Jeremy Irons as Scar.

Once Scar is king of the Pride Lands, everything goes wrong, and all is ruined.

We could call earth the Pride Lands. The devil fell on account of his pride. He encouraged our original parents to disobey God, bringing ruin upon the earth. He is now known as the god of this world. His reign is marked with malevolence. The world is teeming with evil.

We are in that world. What should we be doing to affect it?

1Co 2:6  … we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

“Mature” means perfect. I don’t think Paul was referring to those we sometimes call “mature” believers, but rather to all believers of any maturity. From the moment you are saved, you are positionally perfect in God’s sight and you are being perfected – matured – by grace. It’s called sanctification.

“We speak wisdom among those who are mature” means that believers should stick to sharing God’s wisdom regardless of how foolish it seems.

Two times – in verse six and in verse eight – Paul mentions “the rulers of this age.” Bible scholars and commentators are split as to exactly who Paul was referring to:

Some argue it is the earthly “rulers” who signed-off on Jesus’ death, e.g., Pontus Pilate and the Jewish High Priest.

Others think that the “rulers of this age” are supernatural beings – Satan and the angels who followed him in his fall.

It’s obvious to me that the rulers are human authorities being instigated by supernatural forces:

Elsewhere Paul calls Satan “the god of this world” (Second Corinthians 4:4).

The Gospel of John records two separate occasions when Jesus referred to Satan as the “prince of this world” (12:27-31 & 14:30).

Ephesians 2:2 says Satan is the “ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”

Later in Ephesians we are made aware of beings called “principalities… powers… the rulers of the darkness of this age, spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (6:12).

In the Old Testament Book of Daniel we see a character called the Prince of Persia. We know it is a supernatural being who is antagonistic to God because he fights the angels Gabriel and Michael.

The satanic forces at work in the world instigated the crucifixion of Jesus. What a bunch of losers. They did not realize that by crucifying Jesus they were “coming to nothing.”

Here is another way Paul puts it: Jesus “disarmed principalities and powers, [and] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in [His crucifixion]” (Colossians 2:15).

They thought the Cross was their victory when it was their total defeat.

1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,

In the New Testament usage of the word, a “mystery” is something that was previously concealed but has now been revealed.

Since Paul earlier in First Corinthians said he preached the Cross, that is what he means by “we speak the wisdom of God.” We reveal the victory of the Cross that defeated Satan and sin and death.

It was no mystery Jesus was going to die. He said as much Himself. The mystery was the far-reaching effect of His death on the Cross. It was “God ordained before the ages for our glory.” In other words, it was at the center of His eternal plan to redeem and regenerate us; and to restore the ruined creation.

1Co 2:8  which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Satan was in the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve fell into sin, God said to Satan, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 2:15).

Looking back, having the full revelation of God in the Bible, we understand that statement as the first preaching of the Gospel. The “Seed of the woman” would be Jesus Christ, the God-man, born of a virgin.

But think about it apart from God’s full revelation. To Satan, before the New Testament is written, it reads like a draw rather than his total downfall. God’s wisdom in the Cross was too profound for even a super-intelligent angel like Satan to consider. If he had gotten it, he would never have incited Judas to betray Jesus.

He gets it now. He can read about it in the rest of the Bible that he wasn’t privy to:

He knows he will be bound in the Abyss for one thousand years.

He knows he will for eternity suffer conscious torment in the Lake of Fire.

He knows that he will not rule Hell, as Dante portrayed. Hardly.

A couple of thoughts before we move on:

First – Do you think it is merely liberal ideology that is responsible for some of the heinously immoral decisions and programs in the US, and in California? It isn’t. It is being instigated by supernatural forces. That’s why what some politicians are doing makes no logical sense.

Second, and more importantly – Realize that your real enemy is supernatural, and the way to defeat his last-ditch efforts in the Pride Lands is to speak the wisdom of God. It is to present the Cross to all those who are perishing.

If that seems foolish to you, it’s the wisdom of God.

#2 – Remember That You Are In The World To Reveal The Wisdom Of God (v9-16)

It’s embarrassing to misapply a Bible verse. One Christmas, I chose the verse for our card. It was a really great verse – about the birth of John the Baptist. Idiot.

The key verse in our next section is one we’ve all probably misapplied:

1Co 2:9  But as it is written: “EYE HAS NOT SEEN, NOR EAR HEARD, NOR HAVE ENTERED INTO THE HEART OF MAN THE THINGS WHICH GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”

The quote is from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. It is almost always quoted to refer to the wonders and the glory that await us in Heaven.

You guessed it: Not about Heaven. I know it isn’t looking toward Heaven because, in the very next verse we read, “God has revealed them to us through the Spirit.” Verse nine is happening now – not later.

One version of the Bible paraphrases verse nine, saying, “No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this, Never so much as imagined anything quite like it – What God has arranged for those who love him.”

God “arranged” for lost, perishing sinners to be justified by His grace and declared righteous because Jesus died on the Cross. Then He sanctifies us – completing the work He has begun until we are glorified in the resurrection or by our rapture. It was an unimaginable plan – a mystery – until it was revealed.

Who are “those who love” God? Any and all who receive His free grace and are saved. Loving God is the response of someone He has saved.

One of the main points of verse nine is to again emphasize that God’s wisdom, the Cross and the plan of salvation, could not and cannot be discovered through human efforts.

1Co 2:10  But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

I didn’t find God; He wasn’t lost. I was lost; He found me. The Holy Spirit draws men and women and kids to the Cross, where they can be saved. The Spirit of God frees the will so a person can choose to receive or to reject Jesus.

Some folks don’t like this idea of being freed to choose. They think it adds human effort to God’s grace. They argue that it makes your choice the decisive factor in salvation.

Theologian Roger Olson suggests the following illustration:

Imagine a beggar who is homeless and hungry. A generous person gives him a money order of sufficient value to rent a nice little apartment, live in it comfortably, and to buy groceries for a month. All the beggar has to do is sign the money order and cash it. He does that and settles comfortably into his new digs and eats heartily. Now he is able to go out and find a job and the man who gave him the money has already set up several interviews for jobs the former beggar is qualified to have.

Now imagine that the former beggar begins telling people that his decision to accept the money order and cash it was the “decisive factor” in his having this new lifestyle. First, would anyone really agree with him or would they frown and think “He’s an ingrate”? Second, would anyone think the gift was any less a gift because the man accepted it (even if some others rejected an identical gift offered)? I don’t think so.

It is biblical to believe that we must receive the indescribable gift; but receiving it is not a work we do.
Salvation is by grace through faith plus nothing.

Paul mentions “the deep things of God.” He doesn’t mean there are certain deep secrets that can only be known by a select, elite few. Not at all. He means that any believer, because of the indwelling Holy Spirit, can plumb the deepest things about God.

There was a commercial some years ago for high-speed internet in which a guy said he had just finished surfing the entire internet. I don’t think so. It isn’t infinite, but you can’t exhaust it.

You can never exhaust learning about God. For example: In His Word, the same passages will yield new insight. You can never exhaust their depth.

1Co 2:11  For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

No matter how well someone else knows you, only you know you best. The Holy Spirit knows God best; after all, He is God. God is One, in three Persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Only He can reveal God to you.

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

If you are in Jesus Christ – a Christian – you have first-hand information about exactly what God has done in the past, is doing in the present, and will do in the future. For example: You already know the future history of our planet:

Sometime after the resurrection and rapture of the church, there will be a seven year Great Tribulation on the whole earth.

The Great Tribulation will end with the Second Coming of Jesus.

He will rule a one-thousand year Kingdom of God on the earth. We will co-reign with Him.

At the end of the thousand years, God will destroy this earth and make a new one.

We will go on with Him for eternity living in the new heavens and the new earth in our gloried bodies. No tears.

In the mean time, we’re know-it-alls. We know how to live, and how to offer eternal life to others.

1Co 2:13  These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

One of the big issues in the church at Corinth was their wanting to integrate the wisdom of the world with God’s wisdom. That’s a problem because God’s wisdom, the Cross, means we go forward by grace, empowered by the indwelling Spirit; whereas man’s wisdom teaches we go forward by works, but offers no power to aid us.

Jesus said the religious leaders of His day added heavy burdens of human effort but wouldn’t lift a finger to help. Jesus, on the other hand, said His yoke was easy, and His burden light. They are mutually exclusive.

We must compare “spiritual things with spiritual.” It’s like saying apples and oranges. We can’t compare spiritual things to the wisdom of the world. Two different things altogether.

1Co 2:14  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

We started this series in First Corinthians here in verse fourteen by talking about the spiritual man, the natural man, and those who are carnal:

The spiritual man is a believer in Christ.

The natural man is a nonbeliever.

Those who are carnal are Christians living more for the flesh; they are worldly.

Verse fourteen is saying that, without the indwelling Holy Spirit, the things of God are not understood by the unsaved, and, in fact, they seem foolish to them.

This is one reason why we cannot successfully counsel nonbelievers. They will not understand what Jesus is telling them to do; and, even if they try to apply our counsel, they have no power to do it.

Thus our objective with the unsaved is what? To preach the Cross by which the Holy Spirit may free their will so that they might see Jesus dying for them, and believe.

This doesn’t mean we can’t help people either emotionally or materially. It does mean that nothing is more consequential than they get saved.
1Co 2:15  But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.

In other words: God’s wisdom about the human condition and salvation is right, while man’s wisdom about it is always wrong. It isn’t up for debate as if the nonbeliever is judging between two valid alternatives.

If your counsel to a nonbeliever is to be saved, they often can’t see the connection between that and their circumstances. You do see the connection. You’re right; they’re wrong. Stick to your compassionate guns.

1Co 2:16  For “WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD THAT HE MAY INSTRUCT HIM?” But we have the mind of Christ.

The natural man does try to “instruct” God. Every religion; every philosophy; every psychology; is some man’s or women’s attempt to ignore the clear revelation of God and in its place propose an alternate theory of how to deal with the problem of the heart. Every one of them suggests works – human effort – by which you improve or perfect yourself.

God says you can’t work your way to Heaven; you can’t get there by deeds.

“We” – any believer – “have the mind of Christ.” We can both understand God’s plan and live by it.

The “mind of Christ” has a lot of applications. One is overall worldview – that we see the world the way Jesus saw it, and sees it.

Another application is that we can focus on the Cross and its implications. Jesus was lazered-in on the Cross. He spoke of it often. He understood it was His primary mission. He was born to die – in our place, for our sins.
To accomplish it, He humbled Himself to live as a lowly servant, ultimately being obedient unto the death on the Cross.

The Cross of Jesus is a way of living as though you were dead to yourself and alive to God.

Are you dead to yourself? Or would Miracle-Max say that you were only “mostly dead?”

You’ve probably heard it said that the best commentary on the Bible is the Bible. The best commentary I can offer is to read a section from the Book of Colossians. It starts by reminding you to die to yourself, then encourages you how to live:

Col 3:5  Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Col 3:6  Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,
Col 3:7  in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
Col 3:8  But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.
Col 3:9  Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
Col 3:10  and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
Col 3:11  where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
Col 3:12  Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
Col 3:13  bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
Col 3:14  But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
Col 3:15  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
Col 3:16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Col 3:17  And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Wise Men Say Only Fools Trust Him… But I Can’t Help Being a Fool for Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5)

Incredible moment: Doctor operates on biker’s heart in middle of road – and saves his life.

It happened earlier this year in England. John O’Brien, age 47, was involved in an accident. Before he could be airlifted, he suffered cardiac arrest.

Doctor Mark Forrest realized the only option was to operate. He opened O’Brien’s chest in the middle of the road, exposing his heart and lungs, to allow treatment of his internal bleeding, lung injuries and to massage his heart back to life. Incredibly within a matter of minutes his heart was beating strongly and the bleeding had been controlled.

A doctor who can successfully perform heart surgery is rightfully praised for his or her skills. Someone who can do it successfully without being in an operating theater, and without the proper implements or support team – well, that’s some doctor.

In the first Iron Man, Tony Stark is captured by a terrorist group who demand he make them one of his weapons of mass destruction. He instead makes a weaponized Iron Man suit and escapes. It is powered by an incredibly sophisticated Arc Reactor.

When his nemesis, Obadiah Stone, tries to replicate the suit, his best scientists fail to duplicate the Arc Reactor. At one point, he angrily lashes out, saying, “Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave – with a box of scraps!”

It’s one thing to be a genius inventor with every conceivable resource at your disposal. It’s really something quite remarkable to do it in a cave, with a box of scraps.

These two illustrations are far from perfect, but they capture some sense of what our passage is going to highlight. We’re going to read that, “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not…”

God is like the doctor operating with inadequate implements; or the inventor using crude parts. Only in this case, He’s working on and then through us.

You and I – believers in Jesus – we are the weak, base, despised fools Paul is referring to. He describes us further saying, “not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.”

Why choose such people to work in and then work through? “That no flesh should glory in His presence.”

God takes that which is crude and base, and crafts us into the image of His Son. We’re His church, made from a box of scraps, so that “HE WHO GLORIES, LET HIM GLORY IN THE LORD.”

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 God’s Message To You Is So Foolish It brings Him Glory, and #2 Your Mission For God Is So Foolish It Brings God Glory.

#1 – God’s Message To You Is So Foolish It brings Him Glory (1:18-25)

Last time, we stopped in the middle of verse seventeen:

1 Co 1:17  For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

We stopped in the middle of that verse because the second half introduces Paul’s next topic, the contrast between “the wisdom of words” and the Cross.

Scan the verses and you see the phrases “the wisdom of words,” “the wisdom of the wise,” “the understanding of the prudent,” “the wisdom of the world,” and “human wisdom.”

Scan them again and you see “the Cross of Christ,” “the message of the Cross,” ”the power of God,” and “the wisdom of God.”

There is the “wisdom of God,” and there is “the wisdom of man.” In Corinth, the believers were bringing “the wisdom of man” into the church, thinking it augmented and strengthened “the wisdom of God.”

The wisdom of God is the power of the Cross to save men.

How can we summarize “the wisdom of man?” One scholar put it this way: “The wisdom of man is, at very least, a use of the human mind which comes up with ideas contrary to the power of Christ’s death on the Cross to save lost mankind and restore all things.”

It includes all religions and philosophies and psychologies that postulate a theory of mankind that deny we are sinners in need of the Savior Who died on the Cross as our Substitute.

When we say “the wisdom of man,” we’re not talking about things like mathematics, or biology, or physics. We’re not suggesting all learning is contrary to God.

We are talking about the most important thing in everyone’s life; and that is, how to be saved and have a relationship with the living God.

My go-to example of looking to mans wisdom today is the effort to integrate secular psychology with biblical truth. Freud… Jung… Skinner… Maslow… Discovered nothing that remotely integrates with the ministry of our Wonderful Counselor and His indwelling Comforter. It can only taint and distort biblical counseling. Yet Christians insist on utilizing it.

1Co 1:18  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

“The message of the Cross” is more than just the historical event of Jesus’ crucifixion itself. It is everything leading up to it, starting in Genesis; and it is everything coming after it – culminating in the Revelation. It is God’s eternal plan for saving sinners.

“Us who are being saved” are those who come to the Cross to have their sins forgiven. Only there will a man find “power” to be saved and to go forward walking with God.

Until then, the Cross seems foolish to “those who are perishing.” Nonbelievers are perishing now and will perish eternally, conscious in torment, unless they come to Jesus crucified for them.

1Co 1:19  For it is written: “I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND BRING TO NOTHING THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRUDENT.”

It’s from Isaiah. It’s here as an illustration of God’s wisdom vs. man’s wisdom. The viscous Assyrian Empire had destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Judah, to the south, paid tribute to Assyria. Wanting to get out from subjection to Assyria, King Hezekiah of Judah refused to pay the tribute, and “rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not,” but entered into a league with Egypt. This led to the invasion of Judah by Assyria, who took forty cities, and besieged Jerusalem with mounds. Hezekiah yielded to the demands of the Assyrian king, and agreed to pay him three hundred talents of silver and thirty of gold.

The Assyrians returned to besiege Jerusalem a second time. Hezekiah sought the Lord, relying on Him to save them. The Lord dispatched one mighty angel, who killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers as they slept. Siege over.

Human wisdom said, “Make an alliance.”

God’s wisdom said, “Stay in reliance.”

1Co 1:20  Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

“The wise” refers to nonbelieving Gentiles; “the scribe,” to nonbelieving Jews. They are both “disputers.” The mercy and grace of God’s plan makes them look foolish, in that their best efforts in religion or philosophy or psychology save no one.

1Co 1:21  For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

It was wise of God to devise a plan in which man cannot know Him by his own wisdom. Human wisdom always defaults to some work or works, some self-effort or self-sufficiency. Human wisdom gives you cause for boasting; it inspires pride – not giving glory to God.

1Co 1:22  For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;

Didn’t Jesus give the Jews plenty of signs that He was their Messiah? The Jews were looking for a Deliverer. They thought their Messiah would be a man who would set them free from Rome. They were waiting for some sign that their conquering hero had come. Jesus told them the only sign they would get was His death and resurrection. It was the utmost folly to them that their Messiah must be the God-man Who had to die a criminals death to deliver from sin and Satan.

Gordon Fee describes the Greek mind, saying, “No mere human, in his or her right mind or otherwise, would ever have dreamed up God’s scheme for redemption – through a crucified Messiah. It is too preposterous, too humiliating, for a god.”

1Co 1:23  but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,

Even though the Jews were stumbled by the message of the Cross, Paul preached it.

Even though Gentiles seemed unlikely to receive it, he preached the Cross.

1Co 1:24  but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Don’t let the word “called” throw you. All are called. Jesus said that by being lifted-up on the Cross He would draw all men to Himself (John 12:32). He is “the Savior of all men, and especially of those that believe” (First Timothy 4:10).

There is zero “power” in man’s wisdom to transform you. Nothing human wisdom has suggested can cause you to be born-again, and become the residence for God the Holy Spirit.

1Co 1:25  Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

The foolishness and weakness of God are better than human wisdom or strength. Not that God is foolish or weak; quite the contrary. But His plan to save you seems that way, on purpose, so that no man may glory.

We are to share a simple message: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (First Corinthians 15:3-4).

#2 – Your Mission For God Is So Foolish It Brings God Glory (1:26-2:5)

In Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 there is a running dialog between Drax and Mantis (“the chick with the antenna”) about how ugly and disgusting Drax thinks she is. Not exactly great for your self-esteem.

Self-esteem is still a thing. According to Psychology Today, “Confidence in one’s value as a human being is a precious psychological resource and generally a highly positive factor in life; it is correlated with achievement, good relationships, and satisfaction.”

Strap in. Your self-esteem is about to take a big hit.

1Co 1:26  For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

Looking around at a gathering of Corinthian believers in Christ, you’d see few who were “wise” by worldly standards. Few who were “mighty,” i.e., in positions of authority.

Few who were of the upper classes. To be frank, they were a bunch of social losers, with few FaceBook friends and no one to SnapChat.

1Co 1:27  But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28  and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,

At first read, any self-esteem a Corinthian might have had left was trampled upon. “Foolish,” “weak,” “base,” and “despised.”

Where is the encouragement? How many times in those two verses does it say “God has chosen” just those kind of people? That’s right – three times.

And what do those kind of people do? They “put to shame the wise” and “the mighty.” They “bring to nothing the things that are.”

The “things that are,” those are the folks who put stock in being wise, mighty, and noble in the eyes of the world.

Albert Barnes says of the phrase, “bring to nothing,”

That which is nothing; which is worthless; which has no existence; those flyings which were below contempt itself; and which, in the estimation of the world, were passed by as having no existence; as not having sufficient importance to be esteemed worthy even of the slight notice which is implied in contempt. For a man who despises a thing must at least notice it, and esteem it worth some attention.

It reminds me of what Jesus said to the Laodiceans. They thought themselves rich and having need of nothing. In fact they were, spiritually speaking, “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17).

How will believers “bring to nothing the things that are?” One example of this is at the Second Coming. Jesus returns with His saints, and those who have survived the Great Tribulation marvel at the transformation.

These descriptors are not only for the Corinthians. They are every believer. They are you.

Do you think of yourself as wise, mighty, and noble? Maybe not. But how about foolish, weak, base, and despised? Before you answer, read verse twenty-nine:

1Co 1:29  that no flesh should glory in His presence.

The more foolish, weak, base, and despised – the more glory to God in regenerating and transforming you.
1Co 1:30  But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption –

This is how God, in His wisdom, sees you because you’ve come to the Cross – “in Christ,” “redeemed,” “righteous,” “sanctified.” Those are works of God, impossible for human wisdom but made possible by Jesus.

1Co 1:31  that, as it is written, “HE WHO GLORIES, LET HIM GLORY IN THE LORD.”

It’s a reference to the ninth chapter of Jeremiah. The prophet knew that God’s judgment was coming. The Babylonian Empire, who defeated Assyria, would overrun and destroy Jerusalem – if the Jews did not repent. In their wisdom, they put faith in the Temple, thinking God would never allow it to be destroyed. He would; He did.

If the Corinthians wanted to know if the foolishness of God was greater than the wisdom of man, they need only look at themselves.

1Co 2:1  And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.
1Co 2:2  For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
1Co 2:3  I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
1Co 2:4  And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
Paul arrived in Corinth. There were no believers, no church. By the time he left, eighteen months later, many in that city had been saved by the simple preaching of the Cross.

They couldn’t credit Paul. He had been weak, afraid, and trembling. He had not appealed to any human wisdom. He wasn’t a good speaker.

Still – many were saved. By choosing the lowly Corinthians God declared that he has forever ruled out every imaginable human system of gaining his favor.

Gordon Fee imagines Paul saying this to them:

Look at the message; it is based on the story of a crucified Messiah. Who in the name of wisdom would have dreamed that up? Only God is so wise as to be so foolish. Furthermore, look at the recipients. Yourselves! Who in the name of wisdom would have chosen you to be the new people of God?” Finally, remember my own preaching. Who in the name of wisdom would have come in such weakness? Yet look at its results.

1Co 2:5  that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

This verse is a call to action.

In order for “your faith” to be “in the power of God,” you are at times going to have to reject human wisdom, and thereby look to the world as if you are an absolute fool.

The base word for “foolish” can mean dull or stupid. Strong’s Concordance says it can be translated “blockhead,” e.g., that lovable loser, Charlie Brown.

Our word “moron” derives from it; or, as Bugs Bunny would say, “What a maroon.”

Ask yourself: Has there been a time, or times, in your life when you put your faith in God and it made you look like a moron to others – especially nonbelievers? You can also ask yourself negatively: “Have there been times when you refused to put your faith in God because you knew it would make you look like a blockhead?”

If I’m reading First Corinthians correctly, we ought to be thought of as moronic blockheads more often.
Not stupid; not ignorant. We’re talking about reliance on God rather than human wisdom with regard to spiritual things.

God will never seem strong to others if you are not willing to appear weak, in fear, and trembling.

Isn’t that just the opposite of how we want to appear? Yeah… But you might think of Jesus on the Cross. Naked… Bleeding… Suffering… Dying… Despised… Rejected… Abandoned.

Is it really too much for you, for me, to be thought fools for Him?

Come Together, Right Now – Just Not Over Me (1 Corinthians 1:10-17)

Anastasia Davydova… Natalia Ishchenko… Svetlana Romashina. No, they are not Natasha’s sisters in the upcoming Black Widow film. They are real Russians who have won the most gold medals in their sport – five apiece.

Their sport was originally known as “Water Ballet.” In 2017 its name was changed to “Artistic Swimming.” You probably still refer to it as “Synchronized Swimming.”

It is a hybrid form of swimming, dance, and gymnastics, consisting of swimmers performing a synchronized routine of elaborate moves in the water, accompanied by music.

We use the idiom, “in synch,” or “out of synch” to mean working well or working badly together.

The believers in Corinth were definitely out of synch. In our text today we’ll see it said of them that there were “contentions” leading to “divisions.”

To help them get back in synch, the apostle Paul will emphasize the body of Jesus in two ways:

His mystery body on the earth, the church.

His physical body lifted up from the earth, on the Cross.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 You Are To Perform As The Body Of Jesus On The Earth, and #2 You Are To Preach That Jesus’ Body Was Lifted Up From The Earth.

#1 – You Are To Perform As The Body Of Jesus On The Earth (v10-11)

The human body was one of the apostle Paul’s favorite illustrations for the proper performing of the church. In chapter twelve he will write, “For as the [human] body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ… Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” (v12 & 27).

As we begin, in verse ten, Paul is thinking about the church as a body. You may not see it at first, but it’s there in his choice of words.

1Co 1:10  Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Paul definitely had the body of Christ in mind. “Joined together” is a medical term. It is (and I quote), “used of knitting together bones that have been fractured, or joining together a joint that has been dislocated.”

He was reminding the believers in Corinth that collectively they were like a human body. In their case, it was a body that was dislocated and fractured.

He mentions having the “same mind.” A body requires a mind. The Corinthians had a mind of their own. We are told, as believers, to “have the mind of Christ” (Philippians 2).

One way we have His mind is by submitting to His authority as the Head of the body, letting Him direct the body.

Finally, “judgement” can be translated purpose. We are the body of Jesus on the earth, and with Him as our Head we ought to perform the purpose(s) that He desires and directs.

Instead, the church in Corinth was marked by “divisions.” Divisions in the earthly body of Jesus would be like your body suffering a dislocation or a fracture. At very least, it would halt any progress. If left untreated, it could be devastating.

1Co 1:11  For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you.

“Chloe” seems to have been a well-to-do businesswoman in the city of Ephesus. Paul was in Ephesus at the time. She undoubtedly was saved through his preaching of the Gospel.

Some of her “household” stewards – also believers – went on a business trip, and Corinth was one of their stops. While there, they visited with the church and attended a service or two.
Think of how excited they must have been looking forward to fellowship with believers in another town. Their excitement didn’t last long. As Marlin put it to Dory, “Good feeling’s gone.”

Hanging with the Corinthian Christians was more of a bummer than a blessing. They witnessed “contentions.” They must also have witnessed many of the other terrible things occurring there, telling Paul all about it upon their return.

In elementary school, the lowest you could go, the absolute rock-bottom you could sink to, socially, was to be labeled a Tattle-Tale.

Was this tattling? Backbiting? Gossip? No; it was “declared.” It’s a legal term; it was something like a deposition. Paul used the term to divest their report from any hint of impropriety. Besides, what they reported was going on openly, publicly.

There were “contentions.” This is elsewhere called a work of the flesh. It means disputing rather than discussing.

The best contemporary example I can give has to do with believers who are drawn to what has been called New Calvinism. Others in the movement label themselves “Young, Restless and Reformed.”

I want to be respectful and not exaggerate or misrepresent as I present this. The New Calvinists I’m talking about are usually friends of yours who have come under the influence of certain Bible teachers who rabidly promote what are commonly known as the Five Points of Calvinism as the only true biblical theology. Anyone who doesn’t agree with them is more than just ignorant; they may be a heretic. All that they want to talk about is their doctrine – it’s ‘rightness,’ and your ‘wrongness.’

In essence, they expend all their energy trying to convert saints to their system, rather than converting sinners to the Savior.

Let me cut to the chase. It is disputing, rather than discussing; and it’s contentions have led to unnecessary yet severe divisions.

I could cite several churches – some Calvary Chapel’s – that have agonizingly split over these contentions. We have seen believers affected by this over the years and leave our own fellowship.

I’m not going to get into the doctrine, except to say this. One of their arguments is that there is no biblical, intelligent, scholarly alternatives to their position. If you have never studied it for yourself, it sounds convincing. It’s not true. Calvinism is not the only theology in town. It’s not even a good one.

Causing division is just as wrong, just as evil, today as it was in first century Corinth.

There was a phrase back in verse ten – “that you all speak the same thing.” It doesn’t mean we will always agree on everything. Unity does not require uniformity. It has more to do with the spirit of our interactions.

Albert Barnes wrote, “On the great and fundamental doctrines of Christianity, Christians may be agreed; on all points in which they differ they may evince a good spirit; and on all subjects they may express their sentiments in the language of the Bible, and thus “speak the same thing.”

Why can’t we do that? One reason is because we elevate some doctrine, or some position, to an essential, rather than a non-essential. It’s not just the New Calvinists. There are King James Only groups… Groups that teach you must be baptized to be saved… Or that you must speak in tongues… Or keep the Sabbath. To them, those things are as important as the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

Anytime a non-essential is elevated to an essential, contentions will lead to divisions to our detriment. As the body of Jesus on the earth, our purpose isn’t to go into all the world converting sinners to New Calvinism… Or to King James Only. It is to share Jesus Christ. We make disciples, not divisions.

#2 – You Are To Preach That Jesus’ Body Was Lifted Up From The Earth (v12-17)

The question we should have at this point is, “What is it we all agree on?” Or we could put it this way: “What should we all speak the same thing about?”

Paul tells us it is the Cross (v17) upon which Jesus was crucified (v13).

In verse twenty-three he further says, “We preach Christ crucified…”

In chapter two, verse two, we read, “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

Paul will fill-out the Cross in chapter fifteen, explaining the Gospel by saying:

1 Cor 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the Gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,
1Co 15:3  For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
1Co 15:4  and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

Jesus, referring to His death on the Cross, said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, [I] will draw all people to Myself” (John 12:32).

Theologian Roger Olson proves this baseline for belief: “I would say he or she must believe in the God of the biblical revelation, creator and sustainer of all that exists outside of Himself, and that God became uniquely incarnate as Jesus Christ, fully God and fully human, crucified for our redemption and raised bodily for our new life, and that our only hope of salvation is in God’s grace through Jesus Christ accepted by faith.”

We simply cannot afford contentions and divisions that by their very existence undermine lifting-up Jesus on the Cross.

1Co 1:12  Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.”

A long time ago, in a sanctuary far, far away, Pam and I were visiting Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, where Greg Laurie pastors. He came out after the worship, and before the teaching, and gently rebuked the church. Apparently whenever the believers knew beforehand that Greg would be out of town, and one of the assistants would be teaching, attendance went down by half. It kinda means people were only coming to hear Greg – not to meet with Jesus. Point taken.

Do you have a favorite Bible teacher? Either to listen to, or to read? There are guys I’d rather listen to or read more than others.

I don’t think there’s necessarily anything wrong with that; and I don’t think it is what Paul meant; at least, that isn’t all that he meant.

If it was anything like it is today, most likely these groups were appealing to Paul or Apollos or Cephas to defend their behavior. Paul, Apollos, and Cephas had very different emphases in their ministries:

Paul was known for, and criticized for, his emphasis on God’s super-abounding grace. He emphasized it so much that in one place he made sure he explained that we shouldn’t sin just so that grace might abound (Romans 6:1). Later in this letter we will see some of the believers celebrating sexual sin as if it was causing grace to abound. Who knows? Maybe they thought it was the kind of grace Paul would recommend.

Apollos is described in the Bible as “eloquent” and “mighty in the Scriptures.” That was before he understood, and was filled with, the Holy Spirit. People were obviously taken by his oratory more than the Lord’s anointing. A big problem Paul will deal with in this letter is the preference the Corinthians had for man’s wisdom versus God’s wisdom. A contemporary example would be the introduction of secular psychology into the church. Believers think it a wisdom of man that is somehow needed even though we have God the Holy Spirit as our on-board counselor, and the Word of God to divide between our soul and our spirit. The Apollos group may have been like that – thinking it was OK to bring in to the church the wisdom of man.

Cephas is another name for the apostle Peter. He had a tendency to hold on to Jewish traditions. It got him into trouble when he visited the church in Antioch. At first he ate meals with Gentile believers. But when some Jews came, Peter separated himself from the Gentiles, and would only eat with his fellow Jews. Paul had to rebuke Peter publicly (Galatians 2). There were Jews in this mostly Gentile church in Corinth. It is believed that Peter visited Corinth, and we could speculate that he affected the Jewish believers similarly to Antioch.

What about the “I’m of Christ” folks? Well, it was about 54AD. There were still lots of people alive who had seen Jesus before His death on the Cross in the 30’s. It’s possible there were those in Corinth who could say they had seen Him, heard Him. Maybe they thought they needed no human teacher.

It’s not unlike believers today who refuse to attend church because they worship Jesus everywhere but the one place where they are commanded to – in the gatherings of His people.

1Co 1:13  Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

“Is Christ divided?” No; and since believers are His body, divisions are simply wrong.

The other two statements, about Paul being crucified, or being baptized in his name, show more of the seriousness of divisions. They give the impression believers are following a mere man, not the Savior.
Whether it is New Calvinism… Or King James Only… Or baptismal regeneration… Or speaking in tongues as evidence of salvation… Or Sabbath keeping… Or some other such thing.

The adherents who contend with you are in fact minimizing the Cross of Jesus Christ. They are keeping nonbelievers from their Savior.

Paul had some additional things he wanted to say to them about water baptism. It was something they were confused about. Later in the letter he talks more about it, dealing with the idea of baptism for the dead. For now, he drops the truth that water baptism is expected, but not essential, for salvation.

1Co 1:14  I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,
1Co 1:15  lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name.
1Co 1:16  Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other.
This puts to rest, once and for all, any argument that a believer must be baptized in order to be truly saved. No matter how you try to twist Paul’s Spirit-inspired words, he was saying that baptism does not save, and is not a necessary component of salvation. If it was, then salvation would no longer be by grace alone through faith alone.

Why get baptized? Jesus said to. If you are a believer, and want to follow Jesus, you do what He says. When you get water baptized, you give an outward physical representation of the inward spiritual transformation that Jesus has wrought in you:

Jesus died, was in the grave, then rose from the dead.

We identify with Him in His death by going under the water, then declare our new life in Him, and the power of His resurrection, as we emerge from the water.

If you’re still not sure water baptism isn’t part of the formula for getting saved, read on.

1Co 1:17  For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel…

On one level, it was just smart pastoring to not perform many baptisms. It kept folks from boasting.

Pam and I were baptized in the pool at Calvary Chapel’s Twin Peaks Conference Center. It was pretty cold. We assumed that the senior pastor would do it, but we ended up dunked by the assistant. It didn’t matter; it doesn’t matter.

Any believer can perform a baptism. The only credential necessary is that both the baptizer and the baptizee be born-again.

Don’t go somewhere and get baptized or re-baptized by someone famous. It’s just weird.

The only re-baptism you might seek is if you were water baptized sometime in your life before you were a believer. It should follow getting saved – not precede it.

Paul was in Corinth for eighteen months. Does anybody think that he had only one evangelistic sermon and never taught anything else? That would be absurd. In the Book of Acts we’re told that Paul, “reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks” (18:4).

After getting booted out of the synagogue we read, “he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (18:11).

Paul reasoned and taught but always kept the Cross of Jesus central to his messages. The Gospel, i.e., the death and resurrection of Jesus, was present in every talk.

1Co 1:17  For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

This last phrase, about wisdom, introduces the remaining verses of the chapter. We’ll look at it with them next time.

During a synchronized swimming routine, the judges don’t get to see everything. Each judge bases his or her score on what they see above the surface from where they are sitting.

They don’t see what’s going on below the surface – only its results above. Out of synch below will affect what is seen above.

The world looks upon the church and they see what is visible. If we have contentions internally, it will result in divisions, and when sinners see that, they don’t see the Cross.

There’s a famous saying that nicely summarizes all this for us. It is always attributed to Augustine, but its true origin is much later – 17th century – by a minister named Rupertus Meldenius.

In essentials unity;
In non-essentials liberty;
In all things charity.

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Grace (1 Corinthians 1:1-9)

A rare Bible went on display for several months starting in April of this year. Only three copies are known to exist. It’s called the Slave Bible. The 200+ year-old book was used to justify slavery in the British West Indies during the 19th century. 

How so? Most of the Bible is missing in the Slave Bible. The editors removed 90% of the Old Testament and half of the New Testament.

References to freedom and escape from slavery are missing, while passages encouraging obedience and submission to masters are emphasized. “They removed portions that could inspire hope for liberation,” said museum director Seth Pollinger.

It was originally published in London in 1807 and (get this) distributed by a missionary group, the Society for the Conversion of Negro Slaves. Or should I say, the Society for Deceiving Negroes into Remaining Slaves.

Something was missing in the church at Corinth. Missing was the grace of God.

That’s not entirely true; at least, it isn’t the whole story. God’s grace was abundant; it was being showered upon the believers – so much that Paul could say that they were “enriched in everything.”

But we will see that God’s abundant, enriching grace was not being displayed in their personal walk or their corporate worship.

They had experienced God’s grace, but they were not expressing it.

If there is one takeaway from being with a believer, or being in a gathering of believers, it ought to be the grace of God. He has declared it; we ought to display it.

I’ll organize my comments around those two points: #1 God’s Declares His Grace Wooing You, and #2 You Display Gods Grace Worshipping Him.

#1 – God Declares His Grace Wooing You (v1-3)

I’m still convinced that the most significant reason people immediately reject God is the problem of evil in the world. If He is God, why doesn’t He do something about it?

He has. Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” This He said, signifying by what death He would die” (John 12:31-33).

Jesus was talking about being “lifted up from the earth” on the Cross. It accomplished two things:

The “ruler of this world,” Satan, would be “cast out.” We can see what Jesus meant in the Book of the Revelation. All evil will end, for eternity.

Second – The Cross made it possible for God to justify sinners – to save for eternity anyone who calls upon Jesus.

The problem of evil is on us, not God. Even our Sovereign, omnipotent God cannot create beings in His image without giving them genuine free will to reject His goodness and blessings. We’re the sinners; He’s the Savior. We’re at fault; He is faithful.

With so much evil in the world, the more significant question is, “Why don’t you get saved?”

His longsuffering waits for people to hear the Gospel and be saved. Got has an endgame, and it’s a good one – laid out logically and chronologically for us in the Bible’s final chapters.

The Cross was the ultimate sacrifice. It proves God so loved the world; and by it, Jesus has sent His Spirit into this world to woo sinners to salvation. He wooed them in evil Corinth:

1Co 1:1  Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

The apostle Paul had founded the church in Corinth. He spent eighteen months there – the longest he was anywhere except for three years in Ephesus. It’s interesting to note that even with Paul as their teacher for an extended time, it didn’t take the believers long to revert back to carnality.

As we get deeper into this letter, we’re going to find that many of the believers were doubting Paul’s authority as an apostle.

He starts out reminding them he was “called” by God. It wasn’t a ministry he was appointed to by men. It wasn’t his will; it was God’s will. He was struck down by Jesus, overcome by His glory, on the way to murder believers in Damascus.

“Sosthenes” is most likely the same guy mentioned in the Book of Acts who was ruler of the Jewish synagogue in Corinth. If so, he got saved through Paul’s preaching of the Gospel.

Stop for a moment, and put on your grace-glasses. Jesus Christ confronted Paul (Saul at the time) on the road to Damascus, saving him. Not only did Jesus save Paul; He called him to be His apostle. Some twenty years later, Paul was directed divinely by the Holy Spirit to go to Corinth. He preached a simple Gospel message in the most vile city in the Empire. The Corinthians were “unrighteous… fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners…” (First Corinthians 6:9-10). God freed their will to receive Jesus and some did.

It’s almost impossible for us to realize the amazing grace of God in saving then sending Paul, then establishing a church. It was all part of the plan we have in the Bible – starting in Eden, ending in eternity.

It was a stunning display of grace. Instead of dispatching an angel to Corinth à la Sodom and Gomorrah, God sent an apostle to plead with them.

1Co 1:2  To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

The church is believers in Christ. It is His church; He is its foundation and builder. We are living stones set in His building as He sees fit.

“Sanctified” means set apart or saved. It involves three stages:

The moment you receive Jesus, you receive the indwelling Holy Spirit and you are saved.

For the rest of your life on the earth, Jesus works to finish the work He has begun in you.

At your resurrection or rapture, you will have a glorified body, be eternally free from sin, and enjoy eternity in Heaven with Jesus and all the saints.

The moment you believe, you are a saint. It isn’t a title given to certain believers after they die.

Ever been to a meeting of the Lions Club? The members must address each other as Lion So-and-so. If not, they pay a fine. They are all Lions. We are all saints.

“Called to be saints” is better translated “called to be holy.” The emphasis is that God will make you holy; that holiness is possible on account of His grace. Without Him, you’ve got no chance.

The last clause of verse two reminds the believers in Corinth they are part of something much bigger. A geography-defying, centuries-spanning, supernatural building project. Again: Grace is on display as we see the Gospel as the universal solution to mankind’s universal problem – Sin.

1Co 1:3  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Theologian Karl Barth was once asked if he could summarize what he believed in a sentence. He replied, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

Ray Ortlund summarizes his theology, “The Lover of our souls won’t let the romance die, but is rekindling it forever.”

How would you answer? If you ever get asked, and feel stumped, just cite John 3:16.

One of the commentators I read said that Paul’s entire theology is summarized by verse three.

By grace, God woos the undeserving, Hell-doomed sinner, seeking to save you. Nothing can be deserved or achieved; it is offered to all as a gift to receive.

Then this commentator wrote: “The sum total of the benefits as they are experienced by the recipients of God’s grace is found in the word “peace,” meaning “well-being, wholeness, welfare.” The one flows out of the other, and both together flow from “God our Father” and were made effective in human history through our “Lord Jesus Christ.”

God’s amazing grace changes everything. It saves; it sanctifies; it glorifies.

#2 – You Display Gods Grace Worshipping Him (v4-9)

How would you like to earn $100.00 an hour? That’s the going rate for Human Mannequins. You pose in display windows, as if you were a mannequin.

Clowns creep-out some people. Mannequins are a close second. Whenever I see one, I am drawn back to episode 34 of The Twilight Zone, “The After Hours.” Marsha White is shopping in a department store, but things are not what they seem. Turns out, Marsha White was a store mannequin. Within their society, the mannequins take turns, one at a time, to live among the humans for one month. Marsha had enjoyed her stay among “the outsiders” so much that she had forgotten her identity.

A mannequin is a frame that gets adorned with items to be put on display. Do you realize that when the church returns with Jesus at His Second Coming we will be adorned and put on display?

2 Thessalonians 1:10  when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.

This is not the rapture, when Jesus comes for His saints. This is His Second Coming, ending the Great Tribulation, when He comes with us.

He will be glorified “in His saints,” in us, because we will be in our glorified, eternal bodies – blameless, without blemish, perfected by Him. The people on the earth, who survive the Tribulation, will marvel at what Jesus has done for us.

We will be on display then… We are on display now. Our display isn’t so much a list of particular behaviors; it isn’t do’s&don’ts. It is a display of how grace changes things. It is showing what is so amazing about grace.

1Co 1:4  I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus,
1Co 1:5  that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge,

In the “grace” “given” to them God “enriched” them “in all utterance and knowledge.” This refers to the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

You might already know that the Corinthians were abusing the gifts of the Spirit. The most obvious example, found in chapter fourteen, is that they were all speaking in tongues, all at once, without any interpretation. Paul will say that, as a result, visitors to their gatherings thought they were crazy. Grace was definitely not being displayed.

The thought here, in our verses, is that the gifts were given to the believers to adorn them in a way that they displayed the grace of the Giver. Someone exposed to a gift being exercised ought to be able to deduce something supernatural and self-less is occurring – not something natural and selfish. Certainly not fear that God drives you mad.

1Co 1:6  even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,

One ay God confirmed Paul’s “testimony of Christ,” the Gospel he preached, among them by giving them these spiritual gifts. (BTW – Those who opposed Paul’s apostleship would thus have to wonder if their gifts were false).

1Co 1:7  so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

This may mean that all the spiritual gifts we can find specifically listed in this letter were present in their gatherings. More likely it means they had all the gifts necessary for them.

The Holy Spirit gives gifts as He chooses. There’s no gift exchange. We can’t steal a gift from someone else because it seems better. Neither are we to think we are stuck with a gift. It is from God; it is His perfect choice for you.

Local gatherings of the church are going to have different emphases on the gifts, based on how the Holy Spirit has distributed gifts to the believers.

1Co 1:8  who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ever see a honeycomb dripping with honey? Verses eight and nine are dripping with grace.

Grace is unmerited; it is unearned; it is undeserved. We just saw in verses one, two and three that God takes all the initiative to save you by grace. Now you are promised He will “confirm” you to the very end by grace. The word means, “guarantee.” We are so used to loopholes, and fine print, in guarantees that we don’t take God at His Word.

How would you answer this question: “Is salvation a work of God?” Of course it is; “Yes!”

What we sometimes overlook is that salvation is His work from start to finish. He will “confirm you to the end” means if you are in Christ, you cannot be lost. He Who began His good work in you must complete it. It’s on Him, not you, to complete it.

Is there a passage of Scripture that indicates God starts to save you, but then leaves it up to you to make it to the end? Did Jesus, on the Cross, say, “It has begun?” No, He said, “It is finished!”

What about professing believers who are sinning? I’d recommend you read, or listen to, last week’s study on the Carnal Christian. You’ll see why that initial study was crucial.

These verses mean what they say. Even the carnal, baby believers in Corinth – they were already confirmed to the end. I’m not going out on a limb. Gordon Fee writes:

Paul… express[es]… confidence about a community whose current behavior is anything but blameless and whom on several occasions he must exhort with the strongest kinds of warning.

He can express “confidence” because God is the One making these promises. His grace cannot fail.

What “end” is Paul referring to? Their death, or the coming of Jesus for His church.

The words, “that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ,” refer to the rapture.

The Corinthians were far from “blameless.” But so am I. You, too. When we see Jesus, at death or in the rapture, we will be made blameless.

Between now and then, we really ought to cooperate with Him in becoming more like Him every day.

1Co 1:9  God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The God Who “called” them is “faithful” to keep them. This word, “called,” is powerful. Albert Barnes writes:

The word “called” here does not refer merely to “an invitation” or an “offer of life,” but to the effectual influence which had been put forth; which had inclined them to embrace the Gospel. In this sense the word often occurs in the Scriptures, and is designed to denote a power, or influence that goes forth with the external invitation, and that makes it effectual. That power is the agency of the Holy Spirit.

We briefly discussed prevenient grace last study. It is the grace Barnes is writing about. It is the influence of the Spirit to free your will to receive Jesus or to go on rejecting Him.

“Fellowship” with Jesus – that’s what it’s all about. A relationship with the living God.

“I’ll establish the church in Corinth,” God thought.

A light in the darkness of human depravity.

Salt to season and preserve.

Truth to defy error. Power to transform lives from the guttermost.

A display of longsuffering, not willing any should perish, but rather that they would repent.

That church, like every church, is nothing more than a gathering of believers in Christ. We are the way God has chosen to display His grace.

The mannequin in the Twilight Zone got too comfortable out in the hustle and bustle of the store patrons. She forgot what she was created for – to adorn and display. Let’s not make her mistake.

I mentioned the Lions Club. Lions wear vests that are adorned with patches. I read on their website that “There are more than 20 award programs to acknowledge their accomplishments.”
Some of the Lions have many, many such adornments, encouraging the younger Lions to do the same.

In the supremely glorious passage in the Revelation that describes our return with Jesus, we read,

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
Rev 19:8  And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Our return is likened to a wedding banquet. The church is the bride. It appears that we are given a “fine linen” garment, like a wedding gown, and that each of us can further adorn our garment by the “righteous acts” we perform for Jesus on earth prior to the resurrection and rapture.

We can have tons of ‘patches,’ as it were. Not for pride’s sake; for the Lord’s sake.
Answer me this: Does a bride want to be as beautiful as possible on her wedding day? So too ought you want to be beautiful for Jesus.

Jesus makes all things beautiful in His time. But we can further adorn ourselves while we are on display on earth in our own Corinth’s.

One final question: Is my display of God’s grace missing? Or is it amazing?

Christian Con Carne (1st Corinthians 2:14-3:4)

He was given five… maybe six, months to live. His doctor somberly advised Joe, “You have some life left… live it well.”

The diagnosis: Brain Cloud. Might as well travel to a South Pacific Island and satisfy the natives by throwing yourself into a volcano.

The “Joe” was Joe Banks, played by Tom Hanks in Joe Versus the Volcano.

He didn’t really have a Brain Cloud; it was a scam to get someone to volunteer as a human sacrifice.

Brain Cloud is a real thing, only it’s not fatal. I suffer from it. So do many of you. It’s a temporary inability to think properly, or to remember something.

(It’s not to be confused with a Brain Freeze).

You didn’t think I’d start with something that serious, did you? I hoped to lighten the mood a bit because I am going to use medical diagnoses as an illustration. I didn’t want it to bring some of you immediately back to a traumatic memory. To quote Nick Fury, “I’m nice like that.”

Something is wrong… You go to the doctor… After the exam, and running all the pertinent tests, you receive the diagnosis. Whether it’s something mild or major, you are smart to take it seriously and take the steps necessary to cure or help counter or control what you’ve got.

We’re going to begin our studies in First Corinthians with the diagnosis that will greatly help us in understanding what was going on in that church. Not a physical diagnosis, of course; a spiritual one. It was presented to the believers in Corinth by the apostle Paul after he had ‘examined’ a first-hand report about what their church life was like.

It’s found beginning in chapter two, verse fourteen, and it carries on into the fourth verse of chapter three:

1Co 2:14  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1Co 2:15  But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.
1Co 2:16  For “WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD THAT HE MAY INSTRUCT HIM?” But we have the mind of Christ.
1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2  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;
1Co 3:3  for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
1Co 3:4  For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

There were problems in the church at Corinth; lots and lots of problems. With the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, Paul was able to diagnose their toot condition 350 miles away: “For you are still carnal.”

“Carnal” means flesh, or of the flesh, or fleshly. In this context, it describes a believer in Jesus Christ who still thinks like, and behaves like, they did before they were born again, one who yields to the influence of their unredeemed flesh rather than to the in dwelling Holy Spirit.

Since it is possible to be in Christ and “still carnal,” it makes sense that we let the Holy Spirit examine us; run some tests; then heed His diagnosis.

I’ll organize my comments around two questions that must be asked and answered:
#1 Are You Still Natural And A Nonbeliever?, and, if not, #2 Are You Still A Carnal Believer?

#1 – Are You Still Natural And A Nonbeliever? (2:14-16)

“The doctor will FaceTime with you now.” Sounds odd, but what is being called TeleHealth is growing in popularity.

Paul diagnosed the church in Corinth from Ephesus. He told them their condition using three states of being: Natural… Spiritual… and Carnal.

The natural man, woman, or child is a person who has been born once, born physically, but not born a second time, not born spiritually. It is a word that describes all nonbelievers.

“He who is spiritual” describes a person who has been born again. It doesn’t mean they are mature. We sometimes use that word and say, “That person is really spiritual.” That’s not the sense here. It simply means the person is saved. The moment you are saved, you have the Spirit, therefore you are spiritual.

Then there are those who are “still carnal.” When we get there, in our second point, you’ll see Paul was definitely describing a believer – but one whose behavior was being influenced by the world and not by the Word.

1Co 2:14  But the natural man…

Adam and Eve have been given new names. Titles, really. They are now called, by geneticists, Y-chromosomal Adam and Mitochondrial Eve. Genetics has finally caught-up with the Bible – realizing we all descend from an original Eve.

The natural man is the descendant of the first biblical couple – Adam and Eve. Their legacy is that they exercised their free will in Eden to disobey God. It brought upon them the consequences God had clearly warned them of, namely, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:15-16).

The moment they disobeyed God, they immediately died spiritually.

The moment they disobeyed God, they began to die physically.

And the moment they disobeyed God, they were destined to die eternally – to be separated from God for all eternity in a place of conscious torment we refer to mostly as Hell.

This event we call the Fall of Man, or simply, the Fall. A result of the Fall is that every descendant of Adam and Eve, i.e., every human being ever conceived, inherits a sin nature, and we commit acts of sin, that disqualify us from entering Heaven.

The natural man – the way we all start out – is physically alive and soulishly active, but is spiritually dead. Without divine intervention, he or she will die physically and then eternally.

1Co 2:14  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

WiFi allows your SmartPhone or tablet to connect wirelessly to a network on the world-wide-web. It sends out a signal those devices can receive.

The Spirit of God is omnipresent, but the natural man cannot “receive the things of the Spirit of God” because he or she was born with no capacity to connect. The spirit of the natural man is dead; his receiver, as it were, is not functioning.

The “things of God” are “spiritually discerned.” Thus the natural man, hearing unaided about the “things of the Spirit,” considers them “foolishness.”

The Bible is full of stories that seem foolish but turn out to reveal a wisdom that can only be attributed to God.

1Co 2:15  But he who is spiritual…

You don’t become “spiritual” (in this context) by spending lots of time fasting and praying. You don’t become spiritual by giving of your time and talents. Being spiritual isn’t an achievement; it’s a receive-ment.

It means you’ve been born again. In the very first Nic-at-Night, the Jewish leader, Nicodemus, came to Jesus after dark to ask the Lord a few questions. As He usually did, Jesus turned the tables on His questioner, telling him that he must be born again in order to go to Heaven. Jesus pointed-out that Nicodemus had already been born once – born physically. He needed a second birth, a spiritual one. He needed to be quickened; regenerated; saved.

Jesus is the Savior of the whole world – especially those who believe. That means His death and resurrection are sufficient to save anyone, anywhere, at any time.

He said no man could come to Him unless He draws them. But He also said that by being lifted up in death on the Cross He drew all men to Himself.

How is that implemented? Let me read a short doctrinal statement that I agree with:

We believe that humanity was created in the image of God but fell from its original sinless state through willful disobedience and Satan’s deception, resulting in eternal condemnation and separation from God. In and of themselves and apart from the grace of God human beings can neither think, will, nor do anything good, including believe. But the prevenient grace of God prepares and enables sinners to receive the free gift of salvation offered in Christ and His Gospel. Only through the grace of God can sinners believe and so be regenerated by the Holy Spirit unto salvation and spiritual life.

God’s prevenient grace is the grace that “goes before”; that’s what the word means. It is all the ways God works in our lives before we really know Him at all. It reveals God’s heart for His creation.
It testifies to God’s being the initiator of a relationship with Him and reveals Him as the One who pursues us – not willing that any would perish, but that all would come to repentance (Second Peter 3:9).

God calls all people everywhere to repent and believe the Gospel, and graciously enables those who hear the Gospel to respond to it positively in faith. God the Holy Spirit frees your will to receive the Lord. The natural man is thus by the Spirit of God enabled to receive Jesus by grace, through faith; or to go on rejecting Him.

1Co 2:15  But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.

This verse is too often taken out of context to defend someone who claims they have authority from God that cannot be “judged,” but must be accepted. What this verse is really saying is that, once born again, you can discern and understand the things of the Spirit. The natural man cannot judge you; he is ignorant of spiritual things.
1Co 2:16  For “WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD THAT HE MAY INSTRUCT HIM?” But we have the mind of Christ.

It’s a quote from the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah. It’s a rhetorical question. The answer to it is, “No one.” The natural man has his philosophies and religions – all of which seek to supplant the Creator and “instruct Him” on how they want to be saved.

If God says the Cross of Jesus Christ is wisdom in saving those who trust the Lord, who receive Him and are born again – then it is wisdom.

Paul quickly adds, “But we have the mind of Christ.” He’s saying that, once saved, we can understand “the mind of the Lord.”

We wouldn’t be so foolish as to think we could instruct Him. Instead we are able to be instructed by Him. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned, and by the second birth, we can discern them.

How many times have you been born? Once, for sure. Have you been born twice – born spiritually? No question could be more important to answer.

#2 – Are You Still A Carnal Believer? (3:1-4)

Some say that the Carnal Christian is not a Christian. Paul disagrees:

In verse one of chapter three he addressed those who were “still carnal” as “brethren.” Since Corinth was a mostly Gentile church, Paul cannot mean fellow Jews. They were his Christian brothers and sisters by virtue of the second birth.

Same verse – he called them “babes in Christ.” If you are “in Christ,” you are saved.

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal…

My paraphrase of this would be, “Brothers and sisters, you’re saved, but I have to conclude from your behavior that you are carnal.”

It might be good to pause and discuss the Corinthian carnality crisis. We’ll read in a moment, in verse three, that there was “envy, strife, and division” in the church. Those are behaviors of the natural man. When a spiritual man – a believer – behaves that way, he or she is yielding to their unredeemed flesh. He or she is thinking like the world. They are thinking like they thought before having “the mind of Christ.”

There’s a lot we could say about Corinth, the city. This ought to suffice. In ancient Greece, “Corinthian” was an insult addressed at vagrants, drunkards and sexual deviants.

Bible commentators universally compare it to places you go to in order to sinfully over-indulge your physical passions.

You might think Vegas, but it has slipped to #4 on the list of most sinful cities in the world. Amsterdam would have been my guess; it is #8. A city I can’t pronounce in Thailand ranks #1.

Some of the carnalities in the church in Corinth:

Sexual sin was being tolerated, even celebrated. Example: There was a man among them who was living incestuously with his father’s wife.

The Lord’s Supper was being defiled. Some among them would not share their food in the potluck preceding Communion. They hoarded it and, like Emile in Ratatouille, “hoarked it down.” Others were getting drunk prior to partaking.

Believers were suing other believers, dragging them into the secular courts, making a mockery of the wisdom of God, and of love for one another.

Some of them were continuing to visit the temples of various idols, and eating the meals that were a sacrifice to false gods. Their belly was leading them – not their beliefs.

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2  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;

We immediately associate “milk” with immaturity, and “solid food,” like meat, with maturity. People like to say things like, “That church is teaching milk; we’re getting the meat.”

The Word of God is compared to lots of great foods besides milk and meat, e.g., bread and honey. Milk doesn’t always refer to something less nourishing than meat.

I think Paul was comparing them to babies. Babies are super-cute, but they are super selfish. They are the epitome of the sin nature. They cry for no reason, usually at the worst time. They poop whenever and wherever they feel like it. (Even cats use a litter box). They throw tantrums.

They definitely want their way; especially if you’re “not the mama.” No way you want them to remain babies all their lives.

1Co 3:3  for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

They weren’t “mere men,” i.e., unsaved. But they were “behaving” like the natural man they once were.

1Co 3:4  For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

The believers were rallying around different Bible teachers. Paul noted that their motive for doing so was “envy,” producing “strife and divisions.”

Anytime you can identify envy, strife, and divisions among believers, they are carnal. It doesn’t matter the reason; or the excuse. It’s easy to think we are right and, therefore, can act wrong in defense of it.

We’re not off the hook if we’re not doing any of the things Paul addressed in his letters to the Corinthians. There are other ways to remain carnal:

We can be doing the work of God in our own strength, not His. Carnal.

Our basic worldview itself can be materialistic. Carnal.

We can make our own plans to live comfortably and avoid the commitment of discipleship. Carnal.

One of the news stations has a motto, “Be informed, not influenced.” (Of course, their news reports lean to the far left).

We might adapt the motto to say of believers, “Be in-filled by the Spirit, not influenced by the world.”

If you are committing sexual sin… Or causing division… Or suing another believer. Or getting drunk… Those are defined for you as being carnal.

The Holy Spirit wants to go deeper, deconstructing your thinking to see where your fundamental approach to life and godliness is “still carnal.”

Paul didn’t label them “carnal” as if it was something to be commended. It should have shocked them. It should have been like a medical diagnosis that rocks your world. Those of you who’ve heard your doctor say, “You’ve got cancer,” know what I mean.

If God says, “You’ve got carnal,” then you ought to want to eradicate it before it spreads.

Commentators stress over, “How much sin is too much sin since a saint still can sin?” They admit there is such a thing as the carnal Christian, but they insist it is only a temporary, a momentary state. They seem afraid to say, as if it is a heresy, that a believer can remain carnal.

Is there a carnal believer in the Bible that can serve as our example? I’ll give you a clue: This man’s wife was a pillar in the community.

Lot was the nephew of Abraham. Here are some of the highlights (or we might say, lowlights) in his biography:

Given a choice of grazing land for his flocks, Lot chose the well-watered plain in the direction of the notoriously wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Lot kept moving closer to Sodom and Gomorrah until he settled there.

He became a city leader, but had zero testimony for God, and exerted zero influence.

When the men of Sodom and Gomorrah surrounded Lot’s house wanting to sexually assault the two visitors inside, Lot offered to send out his two virgin daughters instead.

When the two visitors – who were angels – told Lot to flee so they could destroy the place, he lingered. He and his wife and two daughters were literally drug out of town.

Told by the angels to flee to the mountains, Lot refused, and told them he would go to another city. Then he decided to hide in a cave instead.

While holed-up in the cave, on successive nights, Lot’s two daughters got him drunk and had sex with him – becoming pregnant with sons Moab and Ammon, whose descendants would long trouble the nation of Israel.

If you read your Bible straight through, you get the story of Lot pretty early in Genesis. By the time you open Second Peter, about 60 books later, you haven’t thought about Lot for a long time. Here is what you read:

2Pe 2:7  [God] delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked
2Pe 2:8  (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) –
2Pe 2:9  then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,

Godly? Righteous? Wow. Who said? God said.

We thank God for super-abounding grace. Should sin abound so that grace might more abound? God forbid we would think that way. Do you really want to be a believer like Lot?

Since there are these three categories – Natural, Spiritual, and Carnal – What man are you?

If the diagnosis you receive is “You are still carnal,” your prescription is, “Repent!”

If it’s that you are natural – “ You must be born again.”