back to index2015-04-30 Study of 1 Corinthians: Week 2
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Lord, we truly do thank you for your blessing. 00:00:14.200 |
And I pray, God, that here tonight as we study your Word and try to dig deep, I pray, Father 00:00:20.360 |
God, that we would as ones who truly love you, we would love the reading and the studying 00:00:25.800 |
of your Word, and God, that we would seek to be changed, be impacted into our lives 00:00:37.240 |
All right, I want to begin off by doing a little bit of review. 00:00:48.180 |
To say that we're doing an inductive study obviously isn't like some profound rocket 00:01:14.640 |
Observation, interpretation, and observation. 00:01:17.640 |
And obviously, after time, over time, as your skill improves on what sorts of things you 00:01:26.100 |
should notice in the scriptures, and also as the breadth of your knowledge of scripture 00:01:30.460 |
broadens, how to interpret various parts of scripture, and by practice, how to apply various 00:01:37.180 |
parts of scripture, you're going to improve just year upon year. 00:01:41.660 |
As we talked about the Corinthians, the church at Corinth, we, let's see, oh, I asked you 00:01:54.640 |
After having read 1 Corinthians just in broad scope, how would you describe the church? 00:02:01.600 |
In what ways are they healthy, and what deadly ailments do they suffer from? 00:02:06.000 |
Can I have some volunteers to answer that question? 00:02:08.680 |
Yes, there's a list, there's a laundry list of things that they do wrong, but what are 00:02:14.240 |
maybe some things that are actually healthy, and also let's list those things that are 00:02:41.200 |
So, if you didn't hear what he said, the church was actually really kind of striving to practice 00:02:52.960 |
The bad part was they were seeing their gifts as better than others, and they were competing 00:02:58.560 |
What are the things that you guys notice about the church? 00:03:07.200 |
You could say they really worship God, if anything the problem was that their worship 00:03:19.200 |
If anything, we're so not the opposite, actually. 00:03:28.200 |
So, if you guys didn't hear him, he says they're worshiping, and they're expressive, and you 00:03:33.200 |
know, but obviously the downside to that could have been that it was disorderly, and they 00:03:43.200 |
How would you describe Paul's relationship to these believers? 00:03:50.200 |
How's about the other full table ladies, the sisters over there? 00:04:18.200 |
As a spiritual father, I made the mention that Apostle Paul probably spent one of the 00:04:23.200 |
lengthier times at this church, over a year and a half, and he actually obviously wrote 00:04:28.200 |
multiple letters, but the church history believes that his interaction with them went way more 00:04:33.200 |
than the two letters that we have in the Bible, but that he was interacting with them. 00:04:37.200 |
He obviously cared so much about them that he would hear reports about them, so he's 00:04:43.200 |
He would even send other people to go there and minister to them. 00:04:46.200 |
All around, Apostle Paul really loved this church. 00:04:51.200 |
Now, in thinking about that, here's some other questions by way of review. 00:04:58.200 |
Was it all Gentile church because it was in Corinth, in Greece? 00:05:05.200 |
Who remembers the demographics of this church? 00:05:19.200 |
Obviously, because it is in Greece, and it's really close to a lot of traffic and whatnot, 00:05:25.200 |
there were a lot of the Gentile people, but because of Rome and a lot of these Jewish 00:05:31.200 |
sects running away from the persecution that was existent in Rome, there was a huge contingency 00:05:39.200 |
I said, "What can we compare the city, Corinth, to as compared to a city in our day?" 00:05:52.200 |
Yes, I said the city of Corinth was compared to Vegas. 00:05:57.200 |
If you think Vegas, yeah, it's a lot of gambling and stuff, but actually Vegas is the hub of 00:06:02.200 |
auto shows, technology shows, even cowboy conventions. 00:06:06.200 |
Basically, just about any kind of business convention you can think of, they would have 00:06:11.200 |
As a matter of fact, Bia, my wife, worked for a salami company, and they have conventions 00:06:20.200 |
Corinth was like that because it was in that ... Remember the geography picture I showed 00:06:25.200 |
It was a channel that went right through, so a lot of commerce. 00:06:28.200 |
But what's more, it was a derogatory term to be like, "Oh, you're a Corinth girl. 00:06:33.200 |
You're a Corinth boy," to say you're a pagan to the core. 00:06:37.200 |
Immorality, debauchery, you just lose lifestyle. 00:06:41.200 |
So, the city of Corinth can be likened to, in modern day, Vegas. 00:06:47.200 |
So to that church, I said, to a church that's in the midst of such, I guess, a mixture of 00:06:52.200 |
things and an environment that's hostile to pure Christian faith, Apostle Paul writes 00:06:58.200 |
a letter challenging the church to be pure from the worldly influence and effects. 00:07:03.200 |
Last week, we talked about how Apostle Paul, warmly, in his introduction, so to speak, 00:07:09.200 |
of the letter, he laid the foundation of their salvation. 00:07:14.200 |
And he was both thankful, he was praising God for them, and it's almost weird. 00:07:20.200 |
It was weird because we know what's contained in this letter, some of the harsher rebukes. 00:07:26.200 |
But Apostle Paul was very fatherly with them. 00:07:29.200 |
Well, today we begin with one of the first challenges and exhortations to this church, 00:07:36.200 |
and that comes from verse 10 through 17 of chapter 1. 00:07:39.200 |
So let's all turn there, 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 10 through 17, and then we'll take 00:07:45.200 |
it step by step in observing what the word has in store for us today. 00:07:58.200 |
So, it says, "Now, I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that 00:08:05.200 |
you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in 00:08:13.200 |
For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people that there are 00:08:19.200 |
Now, I mean this, that each one of you is saying, 'I am of Paul, and I am of Paulus, 00:08:35.200 |
I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say 00:08:42.200 |
Now, I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. 00:08:45.200 |
Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 00:08:49.200 |
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of 00:08:54.200 |
speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void." 00:09:00.200 |
So, we have this exhortation from Apostle Paul. 00:09:03.200 |
And I want to begin by taking a look at the first verse, just the first phrase of it. 00:09:08.200 |
"Now, I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, for you, when you 00:09:13.200 |
read this," as I just kind of, I tried to do like a dramatic reading of it, "how do 00:09:29.200 |
And yes, someone please volunteer and answer this one. 00:09:50.200 |
I asked the question because when I did my like reading through, I thought, yeah, he's 00:09:58.200 |
He says, "I'm so thankful for you, and I'm sure of your basically salvation, and then 00:10:06.200 |
So, I almost felt like he did like a, "Hey, guys, this is my letter to you, and now I'm 00:10:11.200 |
going to lay this smack down," you know, almost like a setup, and then, well, bam, it's coming 00:10:16.200 |
But I'm questioning that, and I wonder if that's the case. 00:10:21.200 |
And I remember last week when I was kind of talking about it with you guys, I even used 00:10:25.200 |
this tone in my own reading, with my own voice, like, "And now, I'm going to tell you how 00:10:42.200 |
That's great that you observed that because one of the practices you guys want to do is 00:10:48.200 |
If you're working off the ESV, how many of you guys are working off the ESV? 00:10:55.200 |
If you're working off the NASB or the King James Version, it'll use the word exhort. 00:10:59.200 |
And that's because that one verb, depending on context, is sometimes used differently. 00:11:04.200 |
But what I find is that, although I read it harshly, given that he began with such warm 00:11:12.200 |
words of, like, "Grace and peace to you," and then, given that he's calling them brethren, 00:11:18.200 |
and given that he's using this word that typically, yes, does mean to try to at least plead with 00:11:28.200 |
And so, I realize, depending sometimes, we do this, on your personality, you read stuff 00:11:35.200 |
Sometimes if you're goofy and stuff, and you're looking for silly things, I read sometimes 00:11:41.200 |
And other times, if you're the type where you're confrontational, perhaps you're reading 00:11:49.200 |
But actually, Apostle Paul, I believe, is using a word where the word appeal is the 00:11:58.200 |
And the reason why I remember this is because the word for the Holy Spirit, when he's our 00:12:02.200 |
helper, the paraklete, when I was in Samaria, I remembered it, memorized it by saying the 00:12:11.200 |
He's the one who come alongside you and helps you. 00:12:16.200 |
So you see Apostle Paul's choice of words, because there are other words he could have 00:12:19.200 |
chosen, and you realize his tone has a nice balance. 00:12:24.200 |
Where it's authoritative, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:12:28.200 |
But it also is loving and pleading with them. 00:12:33.200 |
That from the very, I guess, the first exhortation that he has, it's not just a harsh, confrontational 00:12:42.200 |
rebuke, but there is a balance where he mitigates the harshness. 00:12:51.200 |
So, Paul harmonizes both the authority and compassion. 00:12:59.200 |
He's seeking their benefit whenever he speaks. 00:13:03.200 |
So he harmonizes the authority and the compassion. 00:13:06.200 |
And now you guys will always remember the parakeet. 00:13:12.200 |
Looking at the second part of verse 10, he says, "Now exhort your brethren by the name 00:13:17.200 |
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and that there be no divisions among you. 00:13:23.200 |
But that you be made complete in the same mind, and in the same judgment." 00:13:29.200 |
I asked you guys if you guys had the time to look at this passage. 00:13:34.200 |
How would you describe the command that he's giving? 00:13:49.200 |
So basically he's saying the same thing in two different ways. 00:14:04.200 |
You know, like, as you guys read the passage, throw out a guess. 00:14:08.200 |
Throw out a, you know, hypothesis, so to speak. 00:14:11.200 |
What do you think he means by, "I want you to just agree"? 00:14:37.200 |
To make it kind of more specific, let's just take the plain meaning of agree. 00:14:50.200 |
Now, question to you is, as Apostle Paul is challenging this church to agree, 00:14:55.200 |
what sort of things do you think he wants them to agree upon? 00:15:01.200 |
What sort of things do you think he wants them to agree upon? 00:15:04.200 |
Okay, you can throw out any hypothesis, guess. 00:15:17.200 |
So if you didn't hear, she said, "Perhaps they should agree about who to follow 00:15:22.200 |
because they're obviously disagreeing about -- no, probably maybe they're thinking, 00:15:29.200 |
And maybe the other guy is saying, "No, Apostle Paul is, like, the better leader 00:15:34.200 |
And the other guy is like, "No, we just need Jesus." 00:15:38.200 |
So anyway, maybe they're just disagreeing about leaders, and he's saying, 00:15:42.200 |
That's a great observation that, in the context, that's maybe what it seems. 00:15:47.200 |
But what else do you think that he expects this church to agree upon? 00:15:59.200 |
Did you say that because of something you observed in the passage, 00:16:01.200 |
or did you say that maybe, like, just in other passages in general, 00:16:25.200 |
And absolutely, if we think about it in general, 00:16:29.200 |
the Christian church should absolutely agree, 00:16:34.200 |
should agree about the person of Christ, who he is. 00:16:38.200 |
And the reason why I keep saying, "Oh, that was a good observation," 00:16:40.200 |
is because, remember, so far for me, as I read the first passage, 00:16:45.200 |
I always try to do one of these tallies of what's the most repeated concept. 00:16:49.200 |
And still, the most repeated concept is Jesus. 00:16:57.200 |
And I've read that verses 1 through 9 or 1 through 8, 00:16:59.200 |
the name of Jesus appeared many, many, many, many times. 00:17:29.200 |
That's -- I think that's -- if you guys didn't hear what he said, 00:17:32.200 |
I said, "Because later in context of this book, 00:17:38.200 |
There's much talk about fornification and all sorts of things. 00:17:41.200 |
Determining, evaluating, and judging what is evil, what is right and wrong, 00:17:49.200 |
And actually, if you think about this, take a look at the goal here. 00:17:58.200 |
He says, "I want you all to agree and that there be no divisions among you, 00:18:04.200 |
but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment." 00:18:11.200 |
So if you are in your packet, it says, "What is the goal of Paul -- 00:18:24.200 |
So that starts to tell us Paul expected this church to definitely agree upon 00:18:30.200 |
judging, evaluating what is valuable, what is right, what is wrong, 00:18:39.200 |
But, you know, if we think a little broader about this, 00:18:43.200 |
if you turn your Bibles over to Philippians 3, verse 15 through 17. 00:19:05.200 |
He says this, "Let us, therefore, as many are perfect, have this attitude." 00:19:11.200 |
And in ESV, what does it say for the word "attitude"? 00:19:25.200 |
So, "Let us, therefore, as many are perfect, have this same -- 00:19:43.200 |
One is, "Let us have this attitude, otherwise think this way." 00:19:47.200 |
It says, "And if in anything you have a different attitude, 00:19:52.200 |
However, let us keep living by the same standard to which we have attained. 00:19:59.200 |
Observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us." 00:20:04.200 |
This passage in Philippians, it doesn't limit what you're supposed to agree upon, 00:20:11.200 |
It doesn't limit what you're supposed to agree upon just in terms of leadership, 00:20:15.200 |
As a matter of fact, he says, "By way of attitude, by way of thinking, 00:20:21.200 |
By way of pattern of living, I want you guys to agree. 00:20:27.200 |
And this is a huge theme in the Bible, that there be no disagreement in the 00:20:31.200 |
church even to that kind of specific realm of living. 00:20:35.200 |
There's a passage -- I'm kind of jumping around a little bit, 00:20:39.200 |
In Romans 16, verse 17, which I have in your packet, 00:20:42.200 |
"Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and 00:20:46.200 |
hinders, and contrary to the teaching which you learned and turned away from." 00:20:50.200 |
So, yes, Apostle Paul wants us to be united in doctrine and teaching, 00:21:06.200 |
Is there room for disagreement in the church? 00:21:11.200 |
Right now, if you guys kind of get the flow of what I'm saying, 00:21:14.200 |
I'm actually making the point that even to very specific things, 00:21:19.200 |
how we think, how we judge, how we evaluate, how we live, 00:21:23.200 |
there's a sense in which we need to agree, okay? 00:21:30.200 |
In a culture, especially like ours, where we highly value diversity, 00:21:40.200 |
there might be something of a kind of perspective that is at odds, 00:21:47.200 |
when you think about how much Apostle Paul desires there to be unity and 00:22:00.200 |
let's say Berlin Community Church, can we have disagreements? 00:22:05.200 |
Are we allowed to have disagreements about stuff? 00:22:08.200 |
Is it okay for members to be members when they disagree about various things? 00:22:33.200 |
All right, so she said things that aren't explicit in the Bible, 00:22:36.200 |
obviously they're different, like if it's kind of a gray area that's not spelled out in Scripture, 00:22:41.200 |
there's different approaches, different applications probably. 00:23:11.200 |
So do we disagree in the sense of having different views or do we disagree in the sense of I think they're wrong? 00:23:22.200 |
I'm not going to repeat it, but that's actually, I mean, 00:23:25.200 |
I think that's really wise to discern what we mean by disagree. 00:23:35.200 |
Let's just take the more extreme view of that term disagree to make the case. 00:23:44.200 |
So amongst just saying, oh, I have a certain perspective, I'm applying, 00:23:47.200 |
and then the other person is applying and all that stuff, 00:23:50.200 |
whereas the extreme is you actually think this should be the standard and you're wrong for not doing the standard. 00:23:58.200 |
So for the sake of argument, let's just say it's the more extreme of the two. 00:24:01.200 |
What's really interesting is the scriptures highly, highly value unity to a degree that which if it's at all possible, 00:24:17.200 |
And so there are passages in the scripture that talk about and command us basically in as much as it is possible with you, 00:24:27.200 |
And furthermore, as you guys know, the scriptures talk about for the sake of the body of Christ in unity, 00:24:33.200 |
you need to also combine together to obey the leadership. 00:24:37.200 |
So what I mean by that is it's one thing for, let's say, different pieces of the community to say, hey, 00:24:42.200 |
we just need to come to a middle ground, compromise and agree. 00:24:46.200 |
Or you can say, look, there's one standard and we all need to agree to that standard. 00:24:50.200 |
And by agreeing to one standard, we're naturally in agreement. 00:24:55.200 |
I would say the Bible is more for the side of seeing that. 00:24:59.200 |
Where the leadership of the church is entrusted with teaching, with directing, with vision casting, 00:25:05.200 |
and applying the scriptures in the local body context. 00:25:09.200 |
And the members of the church need to in as much as they can in their own study of the scripture, yes, 00:25:16.200 |
So if you look at some of these passages, Hebrews chapter 13 verse 17, 00:25:20.200 |
pray your leaders and submit to them for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. 00:25:25.200 |
Let them do this with joy and not with grief for this would be unprofitable for you. 00:25:30.200 |
Another passage, Acts 4 32, the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul. 00:25:37.200 |
I'm going to read another passage, Philippians 2 verse 2 and following. 00:25:41.200 |
Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, 00:25:45.200 |
if there is any fellowship of the spirit, any affection and compassion, 00:25:48.200 |
make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, 00:25:55.200 |
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, 00:26:00.200 |
regard one another as more important than yourselves. 00:26:03.200 |
Do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others. 00:26:09.200 |
Now, as I'm reading this passage, this is what I'm hoping to kind of make the point of. 00:26:14.200 |
You see, when it comes to the local church, our local body of believers, 00:26:22.200 |
I believe we are to seek and continue seeking greater and greater agreement. 00:26:28.200 |
The world might look at that and be like, ha, bunch of drones, bunch of sheep. 00:26:33.200 |
You guys are just listening to one concept, one perspective, and you guys are all the same. 00:26:37.200 |
But in my mind, just because we're all in unison about philosophy of ministry, about conviction, 00:26:48.200 |
If we do the due diligence of studying the scriptures and applying and having our own conviction. 00:26:56.200 |
But actually, I think it's a beautiful thing that the Lord desires when the church is harmonious, 00:27:04.200 |
Practically speaking, if there is a member at our church who says, 00:27:08.200 |
yeah, I know the church is all about membership, but I think it's just whatever. 00:27:14.200 |
Or if the church says, yeah, I know the church has a vision for this, but for me, I have a different vision. 00:27:18.200 |
Or if they disagree with how we place leadership, let me use that as an example. 00:27:22.200 |
Even a disagreement about who is in leadership. 00:27:26.200 |
If you see that individual who you don't think should be a leader, and they're on top of the stage, 00:27:31.200 |
or they're preaching and teaching, it's hard to be a happy participant in the local body. 00:27:39.200 |
So, that is why I don't necessarily speak on behalf of all the elders, 00:27:45.200 |
but I know that they generally agree with this. 00:27:49.200 |
If an individual comes to us and says, yeah, I don't agree with you guys about even something, 00:27:57.200 |
Highly debated topic in the Christian circle. 00:27:59.200 |
And says, I don't agree about that whole issue with you guys. 00:28:04.200 |
We're okay with saying we're not going to try to make you stay here. 00:28:07.200 |
If you're convicted about that, maybe you need to go. 00:28:10.200 |
They're like, whoa, I never thought about that. 00:28:13.200 |
Because there are certain issues that the church leadership has said, this we have a conviction about. 00:28:19.200 |
Like Hannah said, there are things that are, again, not clearly explicit in the Bible, 00:28:23.200 |
and there are things that the leadership says, this is clear in the Bible, and this is our stance. 00:28:28.200 |
If the church has come out and said those type of things, the congregation needs to agree. 00:28:33.200 |
They need to come together in unison and be in one accord with that, right? 00:28:38.200 |
And if a member disagrees with the things that the church sees as vital, 00:28:41.200 |
even if it's not, let's say, explicit in the Bible, but they see it important enough, 00:28:46.200 |
that it's a part of church policy, church philosophy, church ministry, 00:28:51.200 |
then the members of the church need to agree, okay? 00:28:56.200 |
So, the goal that he has in mind is same mind, same judgment, broadly speaking, 00:29:03.200 |
what they believe, how they decide, standards, attitudes, and even principles of living. 00:29:12.200 |
I just wanted to make this case because I do believe it is kind of contrary to current kind of ideologies. 00:29:20.200 |
I think it's kind of contrary, like, oh, it's a beautiful thing that you have all these people 00:29:23.200 |
of different beliefs just trying to come together. 00:29:26.200 |
Actually, our perspective is it's a beautiful thing when there is true harmony 00:29:31.200 |
based on each individual through their conviction of the word, 00:29:34.200 |
having the result of being in one accord of mind and spirit, that is a beautiful thing. 00:30:24.200 |
So, he poses a good question, you know, like, there's kind of a line where you draw, 00:30:31.200 |
One, there is a line that you draw based upon context. 00:30:35.200 |
So, on your packet I wrote universal church, ministries, and local church, okay? 00:30:41.200 |
The universal church at large is every single Christian in the world. 00:30:47.200 |
And I don't think anybody is going to draw strict lines, like you meet another Christian on the street, 00:30:51.200 |
and you're like, you and I need to agree, brother, and you just start hashing things out. 00:30:55.200 |
But also in different ministries, ministry to ministry, there's great differences as well. 00:31:00.200 |
The kind of unity that I just mentioned that needs to be really pursued 00:31:04.200 |
is what I was talking about in the local church. 00:31:08.200 |
Okay, so the line that you draw, they're first based upon what context. 00:31:11.200 |
But also the line that you draw, again, is there is great precedence and weight 00:31:17.200 |
and responsibility on the leadership of the church. 00:31:20.200 |
There are certain times you cannot draw a line 00:31:22.200 |
because God never gave us that kind of sharp tool from the scripture. 00:31:28.200 |
And sometimes he doesn't give us a broad stroke and says, "This is how it is." 00:31:32.200 |
And the leadership of the church has to be aware of that. 00:31:37.200 |
There's one sense in which we can disobey the Bible 00:31:40.200 |
where you go against explicit things in the scripture. 00:31:43.200 |
But also, just as worse of a sin was presumptuousness in the Bible 00:31:52.200 |
like applications the same weight as biblical principle. 00:31:56.200 |
And that's where the church just needs to exercise great wisdom. 00:32:10.200 |
"You guys need to be of the same mind and of the same judgment." 00:32:13.200 |
And I want to just expound, again, the goal that he has in mind is 00:32:19.200 |
The word for complete is kind of a medical term. 00:32:23.200 |
When things are broken, like let's say you have a shattered bone 00:32:26.200 |
and you bring those things together, that's the word he uses for complete. 00:32:30.200 |
So, he desires that church, the local body in Corinth, 00:32:36.200 |
And as he's doing that, he's going to start examining, 00:32:40.200 |
like a good doctor would, what is at the core of their problem. 00:32:48.200 |
What is the core problem that Apostle Paul is addressing 00:33:40.200 |
So, perhaps they're weak in theology and doctrine. 00:33:43.200 |
They're easily influenced as like maybe, you know, 00:33:47.200 |
different teachers have come and all that kind of stuff. 00:34:13.200 |
So, both by culture and both by what they expect and stuff like that, 00:34:18.200 |
there could be difference between the Gentiles and the Jews. 00:34:43.200 |
So, if you guys are taking notes, jot some of these ideas down. 00:34:47.200 |
Potentially, I mean, I think this is one that I think we need to 00:34:51.200 |
spend some time on is Jesus Christ was not a priority. 00:34:55.200 |
Like, they were looking to different leaders. 00:34:58.200 |
And so, this kind of like the kind of actually mental flow that I took to is 00:35:03.200 |
for when I was reading, it's like, okay, so there's a report. 00:35:09.200 |
And then I wondered, pastoral loyalty, you know, like, so what ends up 00:35:14.200 |
happening is when people say, oh, I'm a Paul, you know, Apostle Paul, 00:35:22.200 |
I mean, like, you guys, you know, I have no shame in talking about it. 00:35:27.200 |
I see Pastor Peter as a spiritual father, and he's ministered to me for the 00:35:33.200 |
And it's crazy because I just realized the other day, I'm the age that he was 00:35:41.200 |
And so, literally, for like a generation of time, he's been like my mentor. 00:35:48.200 |
If someone were to ask me, like, are you loyal to him? 00:35:51.200 |
And so, you can imagine that kind of stuff happening. 00:35:55.200 |
So, when Apostle Paul left for his second journey, he sent Apollos over there to 00:36:01.200 |
Peter's ministry, you know, Andy mentioned that there were these Jews. 00:36:05.200 |
Peter was apostle to the Jews, okay, remember? 00:36:09.200 |
In the Book of Acts, Chapter 5, Apostle Peter is the one ministering to the 00:36:13.200 |
Jews, and many were converted under his teaching. 00:36:15.200 |
So, he mentions Cephas, that's Apostle Peter. 00:36:21.200 |
And then, I'm sure there are people who, you know, like, hey, I need no human 00:36:25.200 |
leader above me, I'm all about Jesus, you know. 00:36:28.200 |
And so, they're saying, I don't need all these people, I'm just committed to 00:36:35.200 |
And I think there's a sense in which what Karen said, and what you guys said is 00:36:37.200 |
all true in the sense that they're theologically weak and they're being 00:36:43.200 |
But there's also this idea, where's the priority of Christ in this, right? 00:36:48.200 |
Now, the other thing that I wanted to mention too, though, is trying to think 00:36:53.200 |
about why are they fighting in this way, you know. 00:36:57.200 |
Like, we, at our church, we have a senior pastor, but we're in a context where we 00:37:04.200 |
Where some of us, if you guys, you know, really, if you guys went to UCLA, you 00:37:08.200 |
want a grace on campus, you love MacArthur, you know. 00:37:11.200 |
If you love John Piper's ministry, you love Piper. 00:37:15.200 |
And sometimes people have disagreements about who they enjoy. 00:37:20.200 |
And they have all these disagreements about who's your kind of hero in the 00:37:23.200 |
faith and who's your favorite preacher and all that kind of stuff. 00:37:26.200 |
Why would they go to the degree of fighting each other? 00:37:30.200 |
Well, some of the commentaries ask this question of, in their identifying with 00:37:36.200 |
leadership, okay, identifying with leadership, the way that it reads in this 00:37:45.200 |
And if you notice, Paul talks about being baptized, and then when you're 00:37:50.200 |
baptized, you're baptized in someone's name, okay. 00:37:53.200 |
So by identifying and associating with the leadership, they're saying I have 00:37:57.200 |
that kind of authority or that kind of clout. 00:38:02.200 |
By identifying with certain individuals, they are seeing themselves as what? 00:38:09.200 |
What are they doing when they say, hey, I'm of a Paulist? 00:38:14.200 |
What they're doing is trying to one-up each other, okay. 00:38:19.200 |
So the greatest sin of losing sight of Christ's priority is when you place 00:38:25.200 |
An argument I'm going to make is, these individuals were just haughty men 00:38:30.200 |
theologically one-upping each other, having the arrogance, having the 00:38:34.200 |
arrogance to say I'm better than you because I was under him, okay. 00:38:43.200 |
Take your Bibles and we're going to do a little flip through. 00:38:52.200 |
Actually, as a matter of fact, if you guys look at chapter 1 verse 29, he 00:38:55.200 |
talks about how you guys are all weak, and God chose the weak, why? 00:39:05.200 |
For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly and are 00:39:14.200 |
For I am conscious of nothing against myself. 00:39:21.200 |
Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and a 00:39:23.200 |
Paulist for your sake so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is 00:39:28.200 |
So that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against 00:39:36.200 |
Now some have become arrogant as though I were not coming to you. 00:39:41.200 |
But I will come to you soon if the Lord wills and I shall find out not the 00:39:44.200 |
words of those who are arrogant but their power. 00:39:49.200 |
It says you have become arrogant and have mourned instead so that the one who 00:39:54.200 |
had done this deed would be removed from your midst. 00:40:00.200 |
You see what a major problem in the church has been, right? 00:40:04.200 |
A huge problem in the church is the arrogance of man where they take 00:40:09.200 |
something good, the loyalty to a pastor, the appreciation for a man who 00:40:16.200 |
God has blessed the church with awesome leaders. 00:40:18.200 |
They take something good and they turn that into exclusivity. 00:40:26.200 |
I bet you those people who said I'm of Jesus, I am of Christ alone, I bet you 00:40:33.200 |
You guys look at a pastor, you guys look at Paul, I don't even need him. 00:40:37.200 |
And they make a claim to Jesus Christ not as a reason to be humbled. 00:40:42.200 |
They make it a reason to be arrogant and prideful. 00:40:46.200 |
That's one of the big or huge issues in the church that's hard to address but 00:40:54.200 |
James in James chapter 4 verse 1 through 2 says this, "What is the source of 00:41:01.200 |
It is not the source of your pleasures that wage war in your members. 00:41:04.200 |
You lust and you do not have so you commit murder. 00:41:07.200 |
You are envious and cannot obtain so you fight and quarrel. 00:41:12.200 |
You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives so that you may 00:41:21.200 |
So the problem, yes, is individuals trying to identify with specific leaders. 00:41:28.200 |
But we can tell their motivation from what Apostle Paul is saying. 00:41:39.200 |
The only way for us to have unity is for us to humble ourselves, for us to say, 00:41:44.200 |
"I'm not going to specifically get my preference and what I want but rather I'm 00:41:49.200 |
going to be empty of this kind of conceit and I'm going to seek the goodwill, 00:42:06.200 |
So I think about that a little bit and really I want to ask, like, you know, 00:42:15.200 |
Are there elements of this same kind of pride in our modern day? 00:42:22.200 |
If you sit there and you're always name dropping like, "I met this guy, 00:42:27.200 |
If you sit there and you're always talking about this. 00:42:37.200 |
But I did see some things that were pretty arrogant, you know? 00:42:42.200 |
Everybody else who's not a MacArthurite is like, "Just weak sauce." 00:42:46.200 |
And then there are guys who are like, "I met MacArthur." 00:43:10.200 |
But when by name dropping, by association, you start thinking of yourself better, 00:43:17.200 |
And that's the heart of who we are sometimes. 00:43:20.200 |
We want to be linked to the greatest and the best. 00:43:26.200 |
I don't know if anybody went to Harvard here. 00:43:32.200 |
We want to be linked to the greatest and the best. 00:43:34.200 |
And I can see why these guys, in that time, when they -- 00:43:37.200 |
the culture of, you know, like they're close to Athens, they're in Greece, 00:43:42.200 |
they mention their mentors, they mention the philosophers. 00:43:49.200 |
So they're sitting there like, "I'm a Paulist. 00:43:57.200 |
And I bring all that up because you can see how that could happen potentially 00:44:03.200 |
Pride, arrogance, and pride and self-righteousness by way of association, 00:44:09.200 |
it can happen in our day, and we need to be careful. 00:44:12.200 |
So Apostle Paul, like a good father and also a good doctor, 00:44:40.200 |
I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 00:44:44.200 |
so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. 00:44:48.200 |
Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. 00:44:51.200 |
Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 00:44:55.200 |
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, 00:45:01.200 |
so that the cross of Christ would not be made void." 00:45:05.200 |
That whole section, Verse 13 through 17, is Apostle Paul reasoning. 00:45:11.200 |
I want to ask, what do you see as his strategy in addressing division and fighting? 00:45:21.200 |
Do you see maybe one big punch, like, "This is where it's at, guys, boom!" 00:45:26.200 |
Do you see a little jab, jab, jab, jab, jab of little thingies? 00:45:31.200 |
What's his strategy here, and what point is he getting at? 00:46:10.200 |
Good Sunday school answer is always the best, Jesus. 00:46:15.200 |
But to make it more specific, you know, Karen earlier said, 00:46:19.200 |
"There is a priority of Christ that in the perspective of every man 00:46:22.200 |
needs to exist in order for the world to be right." 00:46:28.200 |
When there is a whole lot of pain in your life and you can't make sense of things, 00:46:31.200 |
perhaps the priorities have been mixed and jumbled by your difficult circumstance. 00:46:35.200 |
Sometimes you feel like you've lost sight of why you're doing what you're doing. 00:46:38.200 |
Probably the priorities of what you're investing your time and energy into 00:46:42.200 |
is starting to be in question and suspect now is, where is your priority? 00:46:48.200 |
By individuals starting to level up and try to put themselves above 00:46:52.200 |
and advance over others, where is your priority? 00:46:56.200 |
So Apostle Paul says through this weird argumentation of, 00:46:59.200 |
"I'm so glad I didn't baptize. I'm so glad I didn't baptize these people. 00:47:05.200 |
He is making this argument, "My priority in the whole time that I was doing this 00:47:09.200 |
was Christ and the cross of Christ and the gospel message of Jesus Christ preached. 00:47:22.200 |
It's kind of like asking, "What are you building?" 00:47:25.200 |
Our church leaders have been saying this from the day one that this church existed. 00:47:32.200 |
If we want to one-up our church above another church, we've lost sight of Christ. 00:47:38.200 |
If I want to build my pastoral ministry where now I want to be a PhD, 00:47:41.200 |
a book-writing pastor with a huge flock, what am I building? 00:47:46.200 |
If I'm gathering attention to myself, where is my priority? 00:47:52.200 |
We're not gathering the flocks to Berean because Berean is awesome. 00:47:57.200 |
We're gathering to Berean to hear the gospel and to be edified through the gospel, 00:48:04.200 |
Ultimate priorities need to always be set, revisited, reestablished, examined, 00:48:15.200 |
"I'm glad I didn't baptize a whole mess of you guys 00:48:18.200 |
because if I did, you would think you were baptized in my name 00:48:27.200 |
because I want you to be absolutely clear my priority was to preach the gospel." 00:48:34.200 |
And I think for us as we think about this, we have to reassess too 00:48:42.200 |
that question of what are we trying to build, what is our priority? 00:48:47.200 |
A lot of times the answer to some of the spiritual questions that we have, 00:48:53.200 |
"How do you encourage a guy who is being arrogant and prideful? 00:48:56.200 |
Do I go up and beat him up so he knows he's weaker than me?" 00:49:01.200 |
That's kind of like the crane of the brethren. 00:49:03.200 |
It's like, "Oh, I think you're all good, huh?" 00:49:05.200 |
And then you go over and you pound him down and now you know your place. 00:49:12.200 |
Paul's apologist gets their perspective straight. 00:49:15.200 |
And oftentimes that's what we need spiritually. 00:49:17.200 |
We don't necessarily need to get beaten down into the right position. 00:49:20.200 |
We need our perspectives and priorities straight. 00:49:24.200 |
And so that whole section as he starts to ask this question, 00:49:28.200 |
he is centering his attention on Jesus Christ and he says, "Who am I? 00:49:36.200 |
Was I trying to get you to be my disciple so that we can have a nice cult?" 00:49:47.200 |
And so we come at this last point of verse 17 that we need to focus on too. 00:49:53.200 |
"For Christ did not send me to be baptized but to preach the gospel, 00:49:57.200 |
not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void." 00:50:04.200 |
I love Apostle Paul because he truly is a guy who has his priorities 00:50:07.200 |
and he's always seeing eternal perspective, huge vision. 00:50:14.200 |
He wants the church complete in Christ, sanctified, presented as a mature man, 00:50:20.200 |
He's always thinking ultimate vision, huge goals, right? 00:50:24.200 |
He says here one of the things he wants to make sure that he doesn't do ultimately 00:50:30.200 |
is to work and labor and do all this stuff, build a church, plant a church, 00:50:33.200 |
but then the cross of Christ to be made void. 00:50:36.200 |
I ask this question to you guys as a wrap up. 00:50:47.200 |
Maybe take a look at the verse again and try to make sense of what he's saying. 00:50:53.200 |
This was my priority, and I made sure not to do certain things 00:51:17.200 |
What would cause, you know, after toiling and trying to build a church 00:51:20.200 |
and ministering to people, what would cause, you know, 00:51:23.200 |
the cross of Christ to be void in the midst of that ministry? 00:52:07.200 |
I think we should take moments to think about that, you know, 00:52:12.200 |
as we think about what Alex suggested a moment ago. 00:52:18.200 |
When an individual or a church makes it its ambition simply to become successful. 00:52:25.200 |
When a church desires to draw people to the church so that the church can succeed. 00:52:29.200 |
When a pastor desires to draw people to his pastor pulpit 00:52:34.200 |
When we use all sort of tactics to draw people, 00:52:37.200 |
when the drawing is not being done by the cross of Christ, 00:52:43.200 |
When the main attraction becomes anything other than Christ crucified, 00:52:52.200 |
And so we need to determine the right priority. 00:52:54.200 |
We need to determine that Christ truly needs to be priority and central. 00:53:01.200 |
So by way of summary in this passage, okay, by way of summary in this passage, 00:53:11.200 |
Unity is quite powerful, and he wants the church to agree. 00:53:16.200 |
Just think about that for a moment how powerful unity is, okay? 00:53:19.200 |
Many cults draw people by just their unity, you know? 00:53:25.200 |
So many people are tired of the churches, the Protestant churches, 00:53:29.200 |
where the elders are fighting in the parking lot, 00:53:31.200 |
and they're punching each other and boxing it out, you know? 00:53:34.200 |
So many people are tired of like, "Why are there millions of denominations, 00:53:41.200 |
And so when they find a group where they're like committed to each other 00:53:44.200 |
and they're in absolute unity and they're striving together, 00:53:47.200 |
although it might be entirely wrong, they're attracted by that, right? 00:53:51.200 |
But the thing about it is those cults are drawn together 00:53:58.200 |
They're knitted together by simply what the cult is trying to accomplish. 00:54:03.200 |
But for those of us who are in the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:54:13.200 |
And that should be actually something so powerful as a testimony 00:54:18.200 |
And so so many times in scripture and according to Christ's own words, 00:54:27.200 |
Jesus prays in his high priestly prayer before the cross 00:54:32.200 |
to God he prays that the people would be one. 00:54:39.200 |
to that measure, Christ prays that the people would be one. 00:54:45.200 |
"Be diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace." 00:54:50.200 |
And if you would, turn your Bibles over to Romans chapter 15. 00:54:54.200 |
In a context where Apostle Paul challenges the church and says, 00:55:03.200 |
why don't you bear the weakness of those who are weaker? 00:55:07.200 |
Why don't you bear the burden for the edification of the church?" 00:55:14.200 |
"Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement 00:55:16.200 |
grant you to be of the same mind with one another 00:55:21.200 |
so that with one accord you may with one voice 00:55:26.200 |
glorify God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:55:29.200 |
Therefore, accept one another just as Christ also accepted us 00:55:35.200 |
So, in thinking about that, Apostle Paul's ultimate vision, 00:55:40.200 |
he sees the glory of God as the ultimate reason 00:55:44.200 |
for us to give 100%, give all the energy and persevere 00:55:48.200 |
in trying to be of one accord and agreement with each other. 00:55:54.200 |
Any questions about the passage or the stuff that we covered so far? 00:56:06.200 |
Maybe you guys can think about, list as many negative examples 00:56:11.200 |
or negative ramifications that can result from disunity. 00:56:26.200 |
What can disunity in the church do for fellowship, 00:56:30.200 |
do for witness, do for worship, do for practical sanctification? 00:56:42.200 |
But here's another one that I think would be interesting. 00:56:46.200 |
How do you react when there are differences of opinion? 00:56:59.200 |
And, you know, just, again, I put this in there because I know how I typically react. 00:57:05.200 |
It's like, I'm not going to deal with you anymore. 00:57:09.200 |
And then you just leave them alone forever and you don't talk with them, you know? 00:57:14.200 |
How do you typically resolve or maybe not resolve? 00:57:18.200 |
And then three, I do hope that, again, you guys, you know, 00:57:23.200 |
there isn't like a small group leader in your small group. 00:57:28.200 |
Are there any relationships or problems that are still unresolved? 00:57:32.200 |
And you guys can all just be like, "Okay, guys, this stays here." 00:57:40.200 |
Are there things that you've ignored for a long time? 00:57:42.200 |
And how can you apply, be diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit 00:57:50.200 |
But also please brainstorm, how do we strive for greater unity in-- 00:57:59.200 |
Dang it, I thought I was doing so good until the end. 00:58:06.200 |
If it is just to the degree of like, "Hey, maybe I just need to be more open," 00:58:10.200 |
you know, "Maybe I just need to be more vulnerable." 00:58:14.200 |
Again, we actually struggle with this at a church as a church is growing. 00:58:21.200 |
We have sisters who are resting like, "I'm pregnant. 00:58:29.200 |
Do I wait until the first trimester is over?" 00:58:45.200 |
And then lastly, your homework assignment is going to be a big chunk. 00:58:50.200 |
Verse 18 through Chapter 2, Verse 5, please make all the observations as you can. 00:58:55.200 |
If you guys need a rule, I typically go by the rule, 00:58:59.200 |
"At least make two observations for every verse." 00:59:03.200 |
And then I always try to ask a question per verse. 00:59:06.200 |
Now, it takes a while, but it's a good practice. 00:59:08.200 |
But I have some questions for you to answer after that, 00:59:12.200 |
and then you guys can come prepared with that homework. 00:59:20.200 |
Let me pray for us, and then you guys can get into your discussion groups. 00:59:23.200 |
Heavenly Father, I pray, God, that all the more the spiritual realities would impact us. 00:59:34.200 |
That God, although, yes, we are not physical brothers, 00:59:39.200 |
God, now that we are Christians in the spirit, we are more than brothers. 00:59:45.200 |
God, that spiritually we are tied, and we are to be one. 00:59:49.200 |
Father, I pray that these spiritual truths would impact us and cause us, God, 00:59:53.200 |
to then both function and think underneath that truth. 00:59:58.200 |
God, I pray that you would forgive us for any time we've been so prideful. 01:00:03.200 |
That, God, we would touch your glory, and we would continue striving for our name to be magnified. 01:00:10.200 |
Forgive us of times when we used, especially of times if we've ever used the church, 01:00:18.200 |
I pray, Father, God, that you would humble us, and then, God, that you would restore us 01:00:28.200 |
For, God, we know that then we are strong in you. 01:00:31.200 |
Lord, I pray that you would cause us to be a church, not arrogant and not prideful, 01:00:35.200 |
thinking that we are more than that we truly are. 01:00:38.200 |
But, God, that you would cause us to be a church truly humble in the spirit. 01:00:42.200 |
Father, Lord, we thank you for your word. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.