6
Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. 7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? 8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings—and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you! 9 For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. 10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! 11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. (1 Corinthians 4:6-13 NIV)
We all want to be someone special. And some people think they are more special than they really are. I remember hearing one person say, "It’s hard to be humble when you are as great as I am!" Well, for some, humility is a problem because they have so much pride. They think they are greater than they really are.
One of the biggest problems that they had in the church in Corinth, and something that we still struggle with today, is the problem of arrogance and pride. It’s the problem of thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. Many people think that there is a great lack of self-esteem, or self-confidence today. They encourage people to plug into seminars that teach you how to have a positive self-image and how to build self-esteem.
What we need to do is face squarely the reality of who we are not, so that we can come to a realization of who God wants us to be in Christ. If you’re always excusing or covering up or pretending, you’ll never face the reality of your own situation or be able to do anything about it. We have a lot of people who live in fantasyland today. They just will not acknowledge their own sinfulness or come to Christ and seek his forgiveness.
Even after we face our own need and come to Christ there is still a real danger of pride. We can become puffed up in our new spiritual relationship. Now that we’ve come to know Jesus and had our sins forgiven, there is the temptation to think that we deserved God’s forgiveness. There is the temptation to think that we are somehow better than those who are not following God. It’s true that we are indeed better off, but we are not better than.
This was what was happening in Corinth. Paul rebuked them for dividing up into parties, or factions. Some were saying, "I’m of Paul, I’m of Apollos, I’m of Cephas." This is like people today saying, "Well, I’m of Billy Graham." or "I’m of Kenneth Copland" or "I’m of Jack Hayford" or "I’m of James Kennedy." And sadly, some do! We divide up into our little groups and exalt a human teacher and teaching. We take pride in the fact that we number ourselves among the followers of those teachers. This has to grieve the heart of God.
Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? (vv 6-7)
And so he comes to them with a word of correction here. You see, one of the things we have to see is that everything we have is from God. You are all so blessed. Think about what God has given you. Salvation is the biggest blessing that any of you have. If you didn’t have anything else, that would be enough. But that is not all there is. There is so much more.
One day we’re going to leave this planet and blast off on Rocketship Jesus. We’re going to launch out into eternity and forever be with God. We’re going to look back on this life as just a split second in time. So whatever we suffer down here is just going to be as a momentary affliction then. Paul says it is not even worthy to be compared to the glory that is going to be revealed.
But you have all been blessed beyond that, haven’t you? Look at you! You’re well dressed. You’ve been blessed with health. You’ve been blessed with family, people who love you. Isn’t that wonderful? All of you have an abundance of food to eat. None of you are sitting here hungry this morning. All of you have been blessed with prosperity. That’s right. You may not have a hundred million dollars in the bank, but the poorest among us is richer than 90% of the world. Did you know that? If you haven’t traveled outside this country you might not be aware of that. You might be complaining that you don’t have as much as the guy down the street because you’ve not seen real poverty. You’ve not seen people who live on dirt floors and don’t have electricity, people who only eat occasionally. If you’d saw that, you’d realize that you are rich. You have been blessed with so much!
Where did you all those blessings? Are you responsible for what you have? Some people may think so. Some may think that they produced all these wonderful blessings themselves, that their hard work made it happen. But I would differ with that conclusion. You see, I don’t think that you are responsible for it. I believe God gave it to you. He gave you the life you have. He gives you the ability to do the work you do. He gives you the brainpower to be able to function. Everything you have you have gotten from God. If you’re smart, God has given you that gift. Why do you look down on somebody who may not be as smart as you are? God could take it away in a second. You could have a stroke or a heart attack and where would you be? If everything you have has been given you by God, why do you look at it as a source of pride?
We should be humbled by it. We should say, "I am just so blessed. It humbles me that God has blessed me so much." And we would be humbled if we saw how much we have in comparison to the rest of the world. I remember watching a television program some time back that focused on people in third world countries. There on the screen was a man laying on a mat, skin and bones, curled up looking like he was in the last stages of life. Flies were buzzing around him. In an instant the question came to my mind, "Why is that not me?" Have you ever thought about that? Before we were born, we were not citizens of the United States, were we? God could have taken my soul and put it in that body. I don’t know how he does that sort of thing, but I could have been born there just as easily as being born in America. I didn’t do anything to deserve being born in America, did I? No, and neither did you! We didn’t do anything to deserve being born in a prosperous, blessed country. That man could have been me!
For whatever reason, it was God’s choice that you and I were blessed with being born in the richest land in the world with the opportunity to succeed. Now if that doesn’t humble you, you don’t really see it. That should humble you and make you so appreciative of all of the gifts that God has given you. God has blessed you. You are blessed. And we ought to be humbled by this and say, "God thank you for this. What can I do Lord to be a blessing to somebody else? How can I take all of these blessings you’ve poured into my life and help somebody else be blessed?" Rather than looking down upon somebody else in a superior way, we ought to say, "How can I help you in your need?" Remember, sharing the Gospel is like one beggar telling another beggar where he found the bread.
Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings—and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you! For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. (vv. 8-13)
Paul used a little sarcasm here. He was saying, "You think that you have gained a high status without any help from us. You really don’t have what you think you have. And you don’t appreciate all that God has given you." They needed to see that they were not the source of the blessings they had. They also needed to see that the things they were so proudly glorying in were not the things that mark a life fully given in service to God. He’s saying to these Corinthians, "You are not seeing things clearly. You think you’re better than other people. You’re not. You’re proud when you ought to be humble. You’re blessed but you don’t appreciate the blessings you have." And then he paints a picture for them of what true service to Christ may involve.
He points out that the apostles were literally laying down their lives for the sake of advancing the Kingdom of God. They were paying a price for their ministry. Rather than exalting themselves, they were suffering persecution and harsh treatment for the sake of the Gospel. He said that the apostles often end up being like the prisoners who get led into Rome at the end of the triumphant procession of the Roman army. They are at the back in chains because they’re going to be led into the Coliseum where they will be killed. They were suffering in many ways so that the Gospel of Christ could go forth.
Last week we talked about the passage prior to today’s that indicated that those who had been given a trust need to prove faithful. You’ve been given the keys to the Kingdom. You’ve been saved, but God didn’t save you so that you could sit on your salvation until he comes back. God saved you so you could propagate that Gospel. Use whatever means God has given you, whether it’s money, or possessions, or personality, or ability. However God has blessed you, he expects you to use that for spiritual ends, not simply to live a better life, or to be more comfortable.
Our problem is that we’re too comfortable in this country. Vance Havner, a great preacher who is now with the Lord, once said, "The tragedy is that the situation is desperate, but the Saints are not!" We feel like we have all the time in the world–– so we can sit back and take our time. But we don’t have any time to waste. Now is the time. None of us has any higher calling than to share the good news of Christ today. You don’t have a guarantee that you’re going to be able to do it tomorrow. Now is the time. Today is the day of salvation. You need to go out and do something about it now.
We are so blessed here in America. Do you not think that God expects more out of his church in prosperous America than he does of any other place? He certainly does, because we have more. But we sit back in our comfort in the false assurance that we have all the time in the world and that difficulties will not arise that will keep us from doing it later. We are so complacent.
Do you know that there are now other countries sending missionaries to America! The church in South America is praying for North America. There is a church in South America with over 250,000 people whose pastor said, "We’re praying for God to bring a great persecution on the church in America so that you will go to your knees in prayer." They see our comfortable complacency and know how deadly it can be to spiritual passion. Perhaps that is what we need to wake us up!
Remember the Book of Judges? The whole Book of Judges is all about how God raised up a prophet of God to proclaim the truth of God’s word. And when that happened, the people straightened out their act and got serious about following God. And then God, as a result of their commitment, God blessed them. When you’re right with God, you will get a blessing. It’s automatic. You get right with God and you will be blessed. But every time they were blessed, they became complacent. They became satisfied. And they quit following God.
And then what did God do? He brought in persecution. He brought in hardship. He brought in tribulation. He put them flat on their faces until they called out to God to save them. And then God would raise up another prophet. They would repent and be restored, become blessed and then backslide again. They did this over and over again. You would think that eventually the message would get through.
You see our problem is that we seek God for the wrong reasons. We seek him for the blessing. The blessing comes and we look at the blessing. You will be blessed if you seek God, but you should seek God, not for what he can give you, but for who he is. Seek God for who he is. The blessing is a by-product of your relationship with God, and God wants you to use that blessing to minister to others. And as you use what he gives you, he will replace it. Remember, you can’t take any with you. You’re going to leave all that you don’t use behind.
I remember a little inscription on a tombstone in a cemetery. The man who died wanted people who passed by the tombstone to read it and think of it in light of where he was. The inscription said, "What I saved I left. What I spent I lost. But what I gave I have."
Think about it. Jesus said that we should store up for ourselves treasures in heaven. If you save it you leave it. If you spend it you loose it. If you give it, it goes there and waits for you to get there. Thieves can’t break in and steal it. People on Wall Street can’t embezzle it. No one can destroy it. God keeps it secure for us.
So give and God will keep giving into your life. He will bless you with all you’ll need for this life, and you will have treasure in heaven.
Let me close with this statement from James 4:10: "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." Our job is to humble ourselves. God’s job is to lift us up. That is one of the emphases of our text today. We need to see that all that we have is given by God and be humbled by that realization. And we need to be willing to use all that we have been given for the sake of the Gospel.
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