All Hail King Jesus! - Palm Sunday 2015 - Matthew 21:1-17

All Hail King Jesus!

Matthew 21:1-17

Introduction: The final week of Jesus’ time on earth had arrived. It would be a week full of irony. He came and fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of a suffering Messiah to the letter, including those which pointed to the fact that he came unto his own but his own received him not.  We’ll see children involved in this story as they often are throughout the ministry of Jesus. Children seemed to be attracted to Him in the gospels, and he told his disciples to let them come! Wouldn’t you have loved to see Jesus talking to children, leading them along toward faith?  Some of you are gifted in holding the attention of kids and conveying sometimes profound biblical truths in ways they can understand. Sometimes after prayer meeting I am able to come over and hear the children receiving their Bible lesson at Word of Life Olympians.  I am thankful for those who God has given us to work with our kids in this church!  One of the challenges in teaching children for me is that they are always asking questions!  Part of the motivation of the gospel writers seems to have been to answer some difficult questions.  The gospel writers all, from different perspectives, respond to the question: How could it be that Jesus was the promised Messiah, yet he was rejected by his own people?  They all want to show that every detail of Jesus’ life and death happened in precise fulfillment of Scripture, and so all of it in fact vindicates his claim to be the Messiah.  Questions are good, it was part of the way rabbis taught their students, and we see that in Jesus’ ministry.  As we approach a biblical passage like this, we can ask some questions about the text, and I think that can help us uncover the message God has for us. I think it was Rudyard Kipling who gave us a short poem that we can use as a guide:

I have six faithful friends who taught me all I know;

their names are What? and Where? and When? and How? and Why? and Who?

Those are some good questions that we can take to the biblical text, and we’ll see that…

The Big Idea: There is no question that Jesus came into Jerusalem in full control, intending to fulfill the Father’s plan. He is the King, who took the form of a servant.

Context: The first two questions we might ask in this context “when” and “where”?  The timing of Jesus’ visit that we celebrate on Palm Sunday, the visit known as the “Triumphal Entry,” is in relation to the approach of Passover, one of the “pilgrim feasts” of Israel. Jewish Law and tradition required faithful Jews to travel to Jerusalem for these feasts.  Though the synoptic Gospels don’t tell us much about Jesus’ ministry outside of Galilee, we know from John that this was by no means the only time Jesus had made this trip. Way back in Luke 2 when Jesus was only 12 years old, Luke gives a little vignette of one of those trips. You remember that the boy Jesus was left behind by Mary and Joseph, and they came back and found him in the temple speaking with the rabbis! He no doubt knew well the road to Jerusalem. But from the perspective of the unfolding drama of redemption this trip would prove to be the most important. Passover was cause for all Jews to look back and to remember how God had delivered his people from bondage in Egypt. The final plague, the death of the first born in all of Egypt, the deliverance of the firstborn of the Jews, those whose doors were marked with the blood of the Lamb, that night set into motion the Exodus.  When Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah on the mount of transfiguration some days earlier, Luke tells us that they spoke of His “departure” which would soon be accomplished in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). The word “departure” used there is “exodus,” the only time it appears in the Gospels (it is used only one other time in the entire New Testament, in 2 Peter 1:15).  Coincidence? I don’t think so. Just as Passover led to the Exodus, a delivery of the nation from Egyptian bondage, the sacrifice of the Lamb of God would lead to the deliverance of a people for him and to him.  That is the “when” and the “where” of the triumphal entry and the beginning of the Passion week…

     1. When was this happening?  Passover was approaching… Later Jesus directs his disciples about making arrangements for the Passover meal.  As I noted, Passover was one of the “pilgrim feasts” of Israel (Ex 23; Dt 16). Jewish males were required to travel to Jerusalem to the temple for worship and sacrifice.  What makes this Passover stand out is that Jesus knew it would be his last, that his hour had come, the Lamb would indeed be slain, once and for all. 

     2. Where did Jesus come from and where was he going? This was the final trip to Jerusalem (Mt 20:17-19)…

¹⁷ And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them,  ¹⁸ "See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death  ¹⁹ and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day."

And so Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem.  Luke tells us way back in 9:51 of his Gospel, the beginning of that final trip to Jerusalem, that Jesus “…looked resolutely toward Jerusalem…” He was not simply looking at a geographical destination, he was looking toward the unfolding plan of the Father, all that would happen when he got there. The disciples understood that they were going to celebrate Passover there, but they did not seem to hear and understand what Jesus told them about what would be happening when they got there: including his betrayal, scourging, crucifixion, and resurrection! They are so oblivious that what is the first recorded response to his prediction in Matthew 20?  We read in the very next verse, “Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something…” (Matt 20:20)! What?! Jesus’ actions will epitomize selflessness, thinking first of the needs of his sheep. Even willingly laying down his life for his friends. The mother of James and John, “…with her sons…” comes, revealing still selfish hearts. “Can we have the best seats in your Kingdom?” What Jesus just spoke of, including scourging, and the cross, are seemingly brushed aside in favor of “what’s in it for us?”  The disciples still had much to learn. There must have been questions. But there is no question that Jesus came into Jerusalem in full control, intending to fulfill the Father’s plan. He is the King, who took the form of a servant.

Part I. The Arrival of the King (1-11)… The ESV translates the scene as follows,

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,  ² saying to them, "Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.  ³ If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord needs them,' and he will send them at once."  ⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,  ⁵ "Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'"  ⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.  ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.  ⁸ Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  ⁹ And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"  ¹⁰ And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, "Who is this?"  ¹¹ And the crowds said, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee…" (Mt 21:1-11)

     That brings us to question 3. Why did he give such a strange order to his disciples? Jesus and the disciples arrive at Bethphage, just on the northeast outskirts of Jerusalem, near the Mount of Olives. It is from there that Jesus will later give his famous Olivet Discourse, and talk about his return and the End of Days (Matthew 24-25).  But now the time had come for him to pause and prepare to enter the city, at the beginning of the Passion Week. This entrance would happen in fulfillment of Scriptures, revealing that he is the One of whom the Scriptures speak, He is in fact a King, but a different kind of King than even the disciples understood or imagined.

            Why such an odd instruction? V.4 explains, “This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet saying…” And what follows is a quote from Zechariah 9:9.  Two things stand out: 1) the idea of “fulfillment,” and 2) how unexpected this is, that the king would come in such a “lowly,” i.e., “humble,” manner.  First, the gospel writers, from the birth of Jesus to his death and resurrection, take pains to show that every aspect of the life of Jesus was revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures.  As the story unfolded, those fulfillments were a witness to who Jesus is. Dozens of prophecies being precisely fulfilled would leave no question, Jesus is the promised one, and everything, including the Cross, happened exactly as the Father had planned.

            Secondly, the means of his entering the city, intentionally choosing the humble mode of entering the city on a donkey, hinted that this Messiah was coming in the unexpected garb of a humble servant. Messiah, a Servant King? That was the plan the Father had woven into the Scriptures and that almost everyone in the time of Jesus had failed to recognize and discern.  He came “gentle and lowly, seated on a donkey.” Would you have planned an entrance like that? For a King? I might have thought of a white stallion, or chariot drawn by a team of horses! He is a king, the King of kings, but Jesus would later say to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world…” He is a different kind of King, a servant king.

     That brings us to question 4. What was the meaning of the actions and words of the crowd?

            The crowd apparently is making the connection with that prophecy in Zechariah 9:9, they hail him as a messianic figure, as a king riding into the city in victory. 200 years earlier Judas Maccabee had entered the city and was hailed by the people.  “Could it be that he was the messiah?” they apparently wondered?   That “victory” proved to be transitory. Here, the crowd cites Psalm 118, “Hosanna to the Son of David… Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord…” They speak the truth, but still their words fall short of adequately describing who Jesus is.  He is the Son of David, in terms of his human descent. Later, when asked, they’ll call him the prophet from Galilee. But He is so much more. He is a prophet, but much more than a prophet. There is no question that Jesus came into Jerusalem in full control, intending to fulfill the Father’s plan. He is the King, who took the form of a servant.  So we see the unexpected arrival of the King followed by a demonstration of His authority…

Part II. The Authority of the King (12-17).  What would be the first action of the King in arriving in the city?  Not what you might have expected!  We read in Mt 21:12-17,

¹² And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.  ¹³ He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers."  ¹⁴ And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.  ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant,  ¹⁶ and they said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise'?"  ¹⁷ And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany...

In answer to question 5, “Who did Jesus encounter?”  we see several groups in these verses, the money changers and venders (well, that wasn’t a happy meeting! They are chastened for their business in the temple!), the blind and the lame (who he heals, a little glimpse of the blessings of the future kingdom, the kingdom is present because the King is present!), the chief priests and scribes (who are indignant and who he rebukes for their unbelief), the children (who hail him as messiah and deliverer).  Instead of what we might have expected at this moment (like a discourse on the arrival of the Messianic age or something like that) Jesus enters the Temple area and drives out the money changers and venders! That was a business that was perhaps providing a service to the pilgrims who came to worship, but it didn’t belong in the temple area, that was a place for prayer and worship. So we see a contrast between contentment and seeking, between unbelief and faith.

      The sixth question:  How did He demonstrate His authority to do these things? Notice that immediately v.14 follows, and the miraculous healing of the blind and lame confirmed his authority to do what he had done. Remember back in John 2, at the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus, He had a similar encounter in the Temple.  The response to the leaders then is an interesting contrast to here…

¹⁸ So the Jews said to him, "What sign do you show us for doing these things?"  ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  ²⁰ The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?"  ²¹ But he was speaking about the temple of his body (John 2:18-21).

 Then the leaders asked for a “sign” to show Jesus’ authority and He made what must have been an enigmatic prediction of his death and resurrection. Now, that time had come and Jesus is in the Temple again. This time He gives a sign, but the leaders do not respond. The signs were evidence that the Kingdom was at hand, because the king was present, exercising his power and authority. No one could do these things except God be with him!  Yet rather than recognizing what this revealed about Jesus, the leaders saw the “wonderful things” he did, the miracles, and heard what the children were saying “Hosanna to the Son of David!”, and rather than recognizing the truth and joining right in with them, what did they do? They “became indignant”! Palm Sunday, triumphal entry, yes, but the seeds of Good Friday, betrayal, the Cross, had taken root in the hearts of men. Jesus knew that full well, yet He came.

A seventh question that we always need to ask when we come to the Bible is “So what?” What difference does this make to me?  First of all, the question is always how will we respond to Jesus?  Will we agree that He is so much more than a prophet or teacher, He is God, the Son, and that he is worthy to be praised?  “Worship” means to bow down before Him. Is that your desire? Are you overwhelmed by His majesty?

     Secondly, consider his example, Him, the creator of the universe, also the servant-King, who came to give his life as a ransom for many.  To the Philippians Paul said, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant and being made in the likeness of men…”  Do you want to have the mind of Christ, to think like him? Attitude is demonstrated by actions. Are we willing to put others before ourselves?  Are we willing to serve Him by serving others?

     It also means He has authority to send us as his witnesses.  In the Great Commission He said, “All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth.  Therefore go, and make disciples of all the nations...” That is not a suggestion; it is an imperative, a commission that the Lord of Creation gave to the apostles and through them to us. We are here to know God and to make Him known. Next week we will specifically focus on the Hope that we have in Christ because of the resurrection. It is one day of the year when some folks who normally don’t come might be open to an invitation. Is there someone in your sphere of influence who you can invite to be here?   Let’s share the sure hope we have in Jesus,   AMEN.

Family Life: Love, Learning, and Law I Corinthians 4:14-21

Family Life: Love, Learning, and Law

I Corinthians 4:14-21

Introduction: In this letter Paul has used different images to express the life of believers and of the church. We, like the Corinthians, are saints, set apart for God from the world. You might not feel “holy,” and like the Corinthians we might not always act “holy” but because we are His, we are “set apart” for God from the world. We are also servants, who seek to do the master’s will (or should!), who work alongside other servants to do our small part in God’s mission. We are stewards, who take seriously the call to use what the Master has entrusted to us. And because we have taken Him at His Word, and trusted in the message of the cross, we are “wise” even though in the eyes of the world we might be considered “fools.” Repeatedly Paul has also used the term “brothers” to address the Corinthians.  He wanted to convey the image of a family, and to assure the Corinthians of the brotherly love he had for them.  Implicit in the idea of “family” is the love that we have (or should have!) for one another. The church isn’t like a family, it is a family. Because we are a family in Christ we love each other. That includes watching out for one another, bearing each other’s burdens, and being willing at times to risk showing “tough love.” As Paul seeks to instruct and correct the behavior of the Corinthians he establishes here his unique relationship with them in the family: out of all their teachers, only he could be called their “father.”

Remember the famous Mark Twain quote, “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in just seven years.” The Corinthians were still 14. Well, maybe younger since he did call them “babes in Christ” in the preceding context! And like a parent who will not stop loving their adolescent, Paul will continue to reach out, guide, and direct them.

The Big Idea: Love in a family means sharing in each other’s lives, learning from each other, wanting the best for each other, and even being willing to confront sin because we care.

I. Love in the family: Guided by love in the family (14-15). 

¹⁴ I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children.  ¹⁵ For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 

       The tender affection that Paul has for his fellow believers is evident in these verses.  The word order in v.14 sets up the emphatic contrast.  Grammatically it is laid out in a kind of parallelism called “chiasm.” The verb is the first word of the first part of the verse, and it is being contrasted with the last word of second part of the verse. We read in v.14,

“Not to shame you do I write these things

                                                BUT as my beloved children

                                   To admonish you…”

He had no desire to shame them (well, at least that wasn’t the goal, that isn’t where he wanted to leave them!).  That wasn’t why he was writing such a direct, confrontational letter.  He didn’t want to “beat them up” because they weren’t where they should have been in their Christian experience. He didn’t desire to put them down or embarrass them. Quite the contrary he had another motivation, another goal in writing to them.  He wanted to correct their understanding, knowing that sound doctrine and right thinking would lead to right living. Theology for Paul is always practical, the “indicative” of who we are and what we have in Christ leads to the “imperative,” the emphatic call to live in the light of that truth. We see here Paul’s heart as a pastor and as their spiritual father,

“…BUT as my beloved children…”

Koine Greek uses a few different words that are translated “but” in English, and this is the most emphatic.  Paul is saying most emphatically, “not THAT, but [quite the contrary] THIS.” The first clue to his intent is the descriptor he uses of the Corinthians. Not “brothers” this time, but “as my beloved children” he addresses them.  He is speaking as a parent to the children whom he loves. In the light of that relationship he is writing to them, not to “shame you”, but…

“…to admonish you…”

Some translations render this, “to warn you,” though “admonish” may convey the idea of the word in this context better. The context clearly shows warning that is motivated by love for the one who is straying, with the desire of drawing them back to the path God would want them to walk. The idea seems to be “confronting, not wanting to alienate or embitter, but to gently correct.” Paul used this word as he spoke to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, knowing that imprisonment awaited him and that he might not see them again: “Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.”  This is not brow beating someone into obedience, but like a father, loving, directing, correcting, all with a view to the good and the growth of the people.  As a parent, have you ever said to your child, “This is going to hurt me more than it’s going to hurt you”? That really is true, isn’t it? Paul admonished the Ephesians with “tears” during his time there, and there were probably a few tear stains on this letter to the Corinthians.

“You have many ‘guides…’” = paidagogous.  You have many “tutors,” not teachers in the modern sense, but the word referred to the servants who watched after the children in the family, trying to direct their behavior as they matured. Paul uses this image to describe our mutual interdependence in the church: we need each other, we learn from each other, build each other up.  A great study on what God intends for the church is to go through the New Testament and start underlining all of the “one another” statements!  Those statements remind us of what the church should look like. We should love one another, care for one another, encourage one another, bear one another’s burdens. God intends for us to grow, together, as a body, as a family, as a community of faith.  “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).  We need each other.  It’s how God designed us. If we think otherwise it only exposes our arrogance.

“…you have many guides, but not many fathers…

for in Christ Jesus through the gospel I became yours…”   

That is all good, we need each other, and Paul in this context is especially emphasizing the idea of the church as a family. He has done that repeatedly through this letter by calling the Corinthians “brothers.”  He has used the word seven times already in this letter, and by the time he finishes he will have used it 39 times, more than any New Testament book except Acts. But Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians here is even more personal than that: he is their spiritual father, God used him to bring them the gospel and get the church started in Corinth.  It was through Paul that they first heard the Word of the Cross and believed.  There might be a few who, like Mark Twain, thought their “father” was so ignorant they could barely stand to have the old man around, but he loved them nonetheless, and the news he had heard about what was happening in the church no doubt broke his heart. And so, like a father to his children, he wrote this letter.  Love in a family means sharing in each other’s lives, learning from each other, wanting the best for each other, and even being willing to confront sin because we care.

II. “Learning” in the family: Follow my example, like father like son (16-17). Paul is more direct in inviting the Corinthians to consider his example than most of us would be…

¹⁶ I urge you, then, be imitators of me.  ¹⁷ That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. 

“I urge you, then…” “Then” has the sense, “therefore,” in light of the fact that I love you like my children, I urge you to change your behavior, to remember who you are, follow my example.  The verb here, “parakaleo,” is related to the word used for the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, in the upper room discourse in John. Paul is coming alongside of the Corinthians because he cares about them, he loves them as a spiritual father and he doesn’t want to break them or bully them, he wants to help them get back on track so they can learn and grow and reach their full potential in Christ.  The noun form of this root word is used to describe Barnabas, “the son of encouragement.” Paul wants to teach right doctrine and encourage right thinking, and for Paul that will always lead to right actions. Notice the end of v.17, “as I teach everywhere in every church.” It wasn’t only for the Corinthians that Paul was emphasizing practical theology, Christian living based on the Word of Christ. There is a connection between sound doctrine and right living. It wasn’t enough to know theology for Paul, you had to live it. 

       “…Be imitators of me…” We get the English word “mimic” from this root. Paul is saying, “Follow my example, do as I do.” What a great thing to be able to tell your children, wow!  Whether or not we invite that kind of imitation, whether or not our kids ever admit it, they will be profoundly influenced by the example we set. I’ve told you before about the shortest, most convicting sermon I ever heard.  It was over 20 years ago, but I still remember it, word for word. As we were walking down the darkened stairway of the church I pastored in New Jersey I told Sarah, three or four years old at the time, “Hold my hand honey, stick close…”  She replied, “OK Dad, I’ll follow you, you follow God.” BAM! That was convicting then and it still is today! Our children learn from us, and more than we realize, for better or for worse, they learn from our example. I remember hearing more than once when I was growing up, “Do as I say, not as I do!” Examples speak loudly, often more loudly than words.

“…for this reason I send to you Timothy my beloved child [like you] and faithful in the Lord [not so much like you?]…”  

After Paul says to follow his example, he says that is exactly why he sent Timothy to them. Like them, he is a beloved son in the Lord. Apparently, unlike them, he is faithful in the Lord. Paul seems to be holding Timothy up as an example, as someone in whom they can see Paul’s character and way of life. He knew Paul’s teaching and lived it himself. There is a family likeness that was passed from Paul to Timothy, and he wants the Corinthians to see and learn from it.  Love in a family means sharing in each other’s lives, learning from each other (from our life as well as our words), wanting the best for each other, and even being willing to confront sin because we care.

III. Law in the family: Because Abba loves us, he has given us boundaries, and consequences (18-21)!

¹⁸ Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.  ¹⁹ But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power.  ²⁰ For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.  ²¹ What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?

        When I use the term “law” here (to preserve the alliteration!) I am talking about the limits or the boundaries that families impose for the good of the members, especially thinking of parents and children. Did you ever hear when you were growing up, “Wait till your father gets home!” I certainly did when I was a child!  Often!  My dad was a policeman, and with the large family we had he usually worked two jobs.  Mom did her best.  To be fair, there were seven of us children, and we lived out in the country, surrounded by woods and a couple of family farms. The boundaries were somewhat loose by the time I was 9 or 10 years old or so, and I would still push things as far as I could, along with my older sister and five younger brothers.  I remember one occasion, I am not sure what I did, but my mother said those words, “Wait till you father gets home!” I replied, “I DON’T CARE!”  For a moment I was acting like I didn’t care that Daddy was coming home!  I don’t remember much else about that day, I am pretty sure it didn’t go well for me!  Paul here says some are arrogant, they are talking big, but he was coming home! There would be a confrontation because he knew who he was in Christ, he was sent by him and authorized as his spokesman.  The language he uses here echoes back to the contrast between the wisdom of the world (“their word” = logos) versus the word of the cross which is power (dunamis). 

            Think about it, why does God give us boundaries? Even in the garden, before the fall, he told Adam not to eat of the tree. Did He want to deprive him of some wonderful experience?  He is not seeking to limit us or deprive us or to impede our growth. He loves us and wants to save us from pain and heartbreak!  His way really is the best way. And so He has placed us in a family. A biological family that is designed to nurture, protect, and care for us as we grow up. And a church family, that watches out for us, loves us in the Lord, and wants us to experience maturity in Christ so that we can live the abundant life for which we were created.

What is God saying to me in this passage? Love in a family means sharing in each other’s lives, learning from each other, wanting the best for each other, and even being willing to confront sin because we care.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? The church is not like a family, it is a family.  Sometimes it is very informal times together, like sharing lunch after church or inviting someone over for dinner. One of the best settings that we can experience “family life” is in a small group. Have you experienced that?  Are you experiencing it now? Some of our groups will stop their weekly meetings for a couple of months in the summer, others may continue, but formal or informal God designed us for community, more than that, to be a family. That means we love one another, we learn together, from each other, and especially from Abba. We watch out for one another, pray for one another, and because we care, we’ll ask the hard questions and confront harmful behavior. After all, we want to be more like Daddy – we want to carry well the name He has given us: Christian, children of the King.    Is that your heart’s desire? Should it be? Think about that, AMEN.

20/20 "I" Sight I Corinthians 4:6-13

20/20 “I” Sight

I Corinthians 4:6-13

Introduction: When I was young, even into young adulthood, I had excellent vision, better than 20/20.  Something happened somewhere in my 40s… suddenly the letters on the page started to become blurry, and I found myself holding the books further and further away as I read.  And then the signs on the highway, in the distance, seemed less distinct and started to be harder to read… When I went to my eye doctor and he did his exam, do you know what he said?  “You’re getting to be that age…”!  Great, that’s just what we all want to hear, right?  Though my eyesight has slowly been changing the most difficult thing to see rightly has always been the same. It is difficult to get in focus, and the truth is, sometimes I don’t even want to look at it because when I can see there are things I really don’t like. I’m talking about the man in the mirror.  Sometimes it’s like we have one of those trick mirrors and things are distorted, other times it is like we forgot to turn the light on. Occasionally it all comes into focus… and all I can do is thank God for his grace!  The Corinthians seem like they had been looking into one of those trick mirrors. Rather than seeing themselves rightly, as they really were, they had a distorted view of themselves.  And they liked what they saw, and in fact, they were proud of it. Paul was writing to remove the cataracts, to do some Lasik surgery, to help them recover 20/20 “I” sight. The truth is…

Big Idea: We have nothing to boast about except Jesus, all that is good in us is from Him.

I. Confronting Pride (6-8).

I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.  ⁷ For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?  ⁸ Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you…

Confront pride by encouraging biblical thinking (6).  The language Paul uses here has given commentators a bit of a headache over the centuries, but it seems clear enough in terms of the main point: “I said all that to say this: think about yourselves and your leaders biblically.” Everywhere else Paul uses the phrase “it is written” there is an implicit reference to Scripture. If that is the sense he has in mind here, he is telling the Corinthians that he wants them to view themselves and their Christian life biblically, that is, through the lens of Scripture.

       We’ve been having an adult Sunday School series entitled “Ballast for your boat.”  Basically we have been dealing with Bible doctrine.  One of the subjects we touched on recently was the biblical doctrine of human depravity, or the total inability of unregenerate humans to do anything pleasing to God or to come to Him in their own strength.  The importance of seeing ourselves correctly, in the light of the truth God has revealed in His Word, seems to be Paul’s concern here.  The opening chapters of the Bible present a key part of the story: God created us, so we owe Him our life, our love, and our obedience. Humans rebelled and brought sin and its consequences into the world. We were dead spiritually, without hope, alienated from God, unable to do anything to be reconciled to Him, yet He intervened in human history, sending the Son in human flesh, to provide a way for us to have life. There is not much room for boasting in that story. There isn’t much place to pridefully exalt one human leader over another.  It’s all about Jesus. We have nothing to boast about except Him. In the words of John the Baptist: He must increase, we must decrease.  The more we see of ourselves, the more we’ll be driven by our need to God, the more we see Him as He is, the more clearly our desperate need will be revealed. John Calvin in the famous opening section of his Institutes of the Christian Religion put it this way:

Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves… Indeed our very poverty better discloses the infinitude of benefits reposing in God. The miserable ruin, into which the rebellion of the first man cast us, especially compels us to look upward… from a feeling of our own ignorance, vanity, poverty, infirmity, and—what is more—depravity and corruption, we recognize that the true light of wisdom, sound virtue, full abundance of every good, and purity of righteousness rest in the Lord alone. To this extent we are prompted by our own ills to contemplate the good things of God; and we cannot seriously aspire to him before we began to become displeased with ourselves…

The Corinthians seemed to be rather pleased with themselves, satisfied in their supposed wisdom and spiritual maturity, and consequently they had become stagnated in their spiritual lives. Paul is seeking to prompt them to take a more honest look at the man in the mirror. They needed to think biblically, to "not go beyond what is written." 

We need to understand grace: “…What do you have that you did not receive?” (7). Who sees anything different in you? Do you really think that you are so different, so special? Time for a reality check! And “What do you have that you did not receive?  If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” The Bible and our own experience both confirm this truth: Our life, our salvation, whatever gifts or abilities we have, the material positions we have accumulated, we can’t take credit for any of it!  Spiritually speaking this underscores the doctrine of grace. Like the song says, “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the Cross I cling…” and another says “All that am, and ever hope to be, I owe it all to thee… to God be the glory!” It seems that the Corinthians were struggling at exactly this point.

        What do you have that you did not receive? Nothing. Think about it. You didn’t ask to be born, and when you were you came into the world naked and crying. As surely as you brought nothing with you, you can’t take anything with you. One of the most important themes that has been echoing through our Sunday School series on doctrine, is that we can’t take any credit for our salvation, it is all of God, as the Scripture says: “…of Him you are in Christ Jesus…” Alistair Begg put it this way, “The only thing we bring to our salvation is the sin for which we need forgiveness.” The hands of a beggar, reaching out to receive the gift of a king. That is grace: God’s unmerited favor. As one acrostic puts it, G.R.A.C.E.,  God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.  If we grasp the doctrine of grace, there is simply no room for boasting. Jesus did it all, all to Him I owe.

Understand that you have not yet “arrived” (8)! Paul speaks with intense irony, his tone seems almost sarcastic in places. After reminding them all that they have they have received, and so making clear that there is no room for boasting, he says, “Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you…” In other words, “You talk like you’ve already arrived, like you are already reigning with Jesus in the Kingdom!”  They were like the church in Laodecia that we read about in Revelation 3:17, “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” They thought they had arrived, they were “satisfied,” and consequently they had become Lukewarm in their faith. Listen, the Christian life is a process, it is a walk, though He satisfies our thirst, we are (or should be) thirsty for more.  Though we have peace, we are always longing for home. Though we know Him, we are compelled to be closer to him, to know Him better. 

        The New Testament presents that tension between the indicative statements of who we are and what we have in Jesus, and the imperatives that call us to live worthy of the calling with which we have been called. The already, and the not yet. The Corinthians were acting like they had arrived, and Paul was apparently left in the dust!  Really? Their pride exposed their lack of discernment and their spiritual immaturity. The truth is, we have nothing to boast about except Jesus, all that is good in us is Him.

II. Demonstrating Humility (9-13).

⁹ For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.  ¹⁰ We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.  ¹¹ To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless,  ¹² and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;  ¹³ when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.

God’s strength and our weakness (9-10). Here Paul gets autobiographical. This is how he feels that he and the other apostles are being received and treated by the world. He paints a picture of condemned prisoners, being publically exhibited as they are marched into the coliseum to face the lions. Ironically, Paul is almost prophetical here of the treatment that Christians would receive at different moments in Roman history, marched into the colesium after the games so that the crowds could enjoy the spectacle of seeming them ripped to shreds by the lions. 

The suffering of this present age (11-13). Paul transitions from the biting irony in the preceding verses to a description of the real life experience of the apostles.  After describing the experience of himself and the other apostles, he uses a simile to emphasize the point: “We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.” He uses a word that describes the “offscourings,” left over refuse of the cleaning process. We are like garbage and you think you are kings!

       In contrast to the Corinthians who are proud of their supposed wisdom, gifts, and accomplishments, Paul is saying the predictions of Jesus are being fulfilled in the experience of the Apostles. Jesus had said, “Do not be surprised if the world hates you, it hated me first!” (John 15). He said “Foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the Son and Man has nowhere to lay His head!”  Paul will outline his personal experience in more detail in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 his tribulations,

…far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.  ²⁴ Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.  ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;  ²⁶ on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;  ²⁷ in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.  ²⁸ And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches… 

That would make a great recruitment poster for Christian service would it not?! Of course Jesus did warn his first followers, “If anyone would be my disciple let him take up his cross and follow me!”  Paul is making the same point here in I Corinthians 4. The Christian life is not a promise of comfort and security in this life. If that is what someone told you, they lied. This is exactly where the “health and wealth” preachers go terribly wrong. The truth is, we will reign with Him, but we are not home yet. We are sojourners, pilgrims, looking for something better.

       Though we are not home, however, because God is with us and in us, we have the promise of abundant life, eternal life, and eternal security in Christ.  Thus Paul could say, whether in plenty or in want, in sickness or in health, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…” (Philippians 4:13). We will experience trials and pain in this life, but 1) we will never face those times alone, and 2) we have the promise that “The sufferings of this present age are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us..” (Rom 8:18).  All that we have, all that we are, we owe to Him. That is grace.

What is God saying to me in this passage? We have nothing to boast about except Jesus, all that is good in us is Him. To God be the glory!

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Do you have 20/20 “I” Sight?  I am not asking whether or not you need glasses, I and asking whether you see rightly the person in the mirror, and whether that has compelled you have lifted your eyes to the Lord of all Creation, Jesus Christ.  I remember reading one old commentator who said, “Humility does not mean we think meanly of ourselves, it means we don’t think of ourselves at all.” If we understand grace, we will know that loving Jesus and lifting up his name in the world is our only reasonable response. We have nothing to brag about, except Him. His is a story worth celebrating!   Think about that, amen.

Improving your Serve: A Proper Perspective of Service - I Corinthians 4:1-5

Improving Your Serve: A Proper Perspective of Service

I Corinthians 4:1-5

Introduction:  This week I got an email about tennis lessons at the Y… One of the things the leaders will work on with both the kids and the adults who take those lessons is “improving your serve.” Serving well is an essential part of the game! Well, Paul had similar aspirations for the Corinthians, and he wasn’t talking about tennis!  The divisions and infighting that were happening in Corinth were a manifestation of selfish, prideful thinking that seems to have forgotten the doctrine of grace.  The Christian life should be a life of service, and that must begin in our heart and in our mind, and that will then be revealed by our actions.

The Big Idea: Jesus is Lord, and we are privileged to faithfully serve Him.

I. Know who you really are: servant and steward (1).  We like to have a “nice” way of describing what we do, most companies don’t have a “complaint department” any more, but rather a “consumer relations department.” It sounds better, not so negative!  I like to tell people I used to work as a “landfill reclaiming operating engineer.” I drove a bulldozer at a garbage dump! Paul had a very distinctive pedigree, most importantly he met Jesus face to face and was personally commissioned as an apostle. But he never forgot where he came from, he was overwhelmed by the grace of God. So as he is admonishing the Corinthians, he says…

“This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” 

We are all called to be “servants.”

        The idea of serving is something that is at the core of our Christian faith, exemplified by Jesus himself.  Paul is saying here that rather than pridefully aligning with one human leader or another, this is how he says our leaders should be considered, as “servants of Christ.” In his letter to the Philippians Paul pointed out the connection between the mind of Christ, and the attitude we should have as his followers…

⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,  ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  ⁷ but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form,  ⁸ he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8).

That picture of a servant who would suffer for others was part of the Jewish messianic hope expressed so clearly in Isaiah 53.  If that was the Master’s attitude, it should be ours as well.  Notice that this goes beyond just the leaders like Paul and Apollos, it applies to every Christian. We are His servants. 

       In his letters to the Corinthians Paul uses a couple of different terms to express the idea of serving. The word group associated with the English term “deacon” was one. It expresses the idea that had its New Testament foundation in Acts 6, when the apostles instructed the Hellenists to choose from among themselves seven spiritually qualified men to oversee the distribution of food to the Greek speaking widows who had been neglected. It is selfless service that is focused on meeting the needs of others. Paul also uses the words associated with the idea of a “bond slave,” a doulos, which seems to put the emphasis on carrying out the will of the master.  Our calling in that sense is to do the Master’s will.  Here Paul uses a third word, not so common in his letters. In the older, classical Greek literature it referred to an “under-rower,” one of the slaves below the deck of the ship, pulling on the oar, doing his small part getting the vessel to move in the desired direction. Relatively unknown, insignificant in himself, humbly chipping in to do his part. I don’t see enough clues in this context to be sure of how much of that ancient sense of the word Paul intended to evoke, but remember the historical context: Corinth was a port city, in Greece. The people were constantly seeing ships arriving and leaving, loading and unloading, and in some cases actually being dragged overland from one side of the isthmus to the other. So it may be that Paul here is emphasizing humble, lowly service, that which finds its significance in contributing to the overall mission.  Do you have the attitude of a servant?  Someone said you know if you have the attitude of a servant by how you react when someone treats you like one!”  We are called to serve. Here Paul uses a second term to illustrate his point, that is…

God has also made us His “stewards.”  The idea of being designated a steward is illustrated in the story of Joseph. We read in Genesis 39:1-4,

Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.  ² The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.  ³ His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.  ⁴ So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.

Note that last phrase which literally says, “…he put all that he had into his hands…”  That is the idea behind the word “steward.” Think of what Paul is saying in our context in I Corinthians. He is saying we have been entrusted with God’s mysteries, the Gospel message which was veiled in times past, but worked in history in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and now revealed though the preaching of the apostles, for us, the Word of God. The message of the Cross, the only hope for humans, has been entrusted to us. It is not our message, it is his. We are His servants, stewards of His message. It’s all about Jesus.

       Paul in this first verse is saying this is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ, we are just doing our part, as the master has assigned to us, just one more under-rower elbow to elbow, back to back, rowing away below the decks. We have nothing to offer except what he has given us, the message of reconciliation and life that he has entrusted to us. Jesus is Lord!  We are privileged to faithfully serve Him, we should be honored to share his message.  That brings us to the second point, we should know what that master requires of us.

II. Know what the Lord requires of you: he expects us to be faithful (2).

² Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.

       

       It is one thing to have a right perspective of who we are, but what does that mean to us? What does God expect from us? Jesus told a parable that illustrated the responsibilities of a steward in Matthew 25:14ff.,

"For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.  ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.  ¹⁶ He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.  ¹⁷ So also he who had the two talents made two talents more.  ¹⁸ But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.  ¹⁹ Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them…

It is that “settling of accounts” this is the point of what follows in the parable, and it’s what I want to emphasize here. Each one was held accountable for what had been entrusted to them. Paul is talking here of himself, and Peter, and Apollos, men who had influenced some of the believers in the Corinthian church. The principle applies to every one of us who follow Jesus. Peter said in 1 Peter 4:10-11,

¹⁰ As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:  ¹¹ whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies- in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Each servant is accountable for how he uses what the Master had entrusted to him. “It is required of a steward that one be found trustworthy…” In another parable talking about an unfaithful “steward,” Jesus said “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required…” (Luke 12:48). What has God entrusted to us?  Yes, we have been given material resources and are required to be good stewards of what he has given us. The Old Testament requirement of a “tithe” may not be binding on New Testament believers in a legal sense, but that doesn’t mean we are off the hook!  God requires us to invest wisely and give generously to his mission, and I believe that means not just ten percent, but all that he has given us.  We are stewards, it all belongs to Him. Someone has said that our checkbook reveals much about our heart, maybe more than church attendance or other things we might “do” in the name of service. An old song says “All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give…” If that is our heart, we will be cheerful givers, willing to sacrifice our comfort or our wants for what is needed.

 We have also been given spiritual gifts, which Paul will be talking about later in this letter. If the gifts He gives us are for the building up of the saints and the carrying out of God’s mission, are we being good stewards? Or are we burying our talent in the sand?  In this context the main point is that we are stewards of a message, the gospel, which he has entrusted to us.  It was a “mystery” that was revealed to the apostles, and through them entrusted to the church.  Are we faithfully fulfilling our responsibility to be His witnesses? In the context of the eschatological discourse in Matthew 24 Jesus said, ⁴⁵ "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?  ⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes…” (Matt 24:45,46).  People around us are desperate for the Bread of Life. It is required of a steward that one be found trustworthy.  Is he asking too much? Not if we really believe that Jesus is Lord. If we do, we will count it a privilege to faithfully serve Him.

III. Know who’s approval really matters: His pleasure with us is all that should really matter (3-5). At least everything else is subordinated to that!

³ But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.  ⁴ I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.  ⁵ Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.”

Paul would not be controlled by the desire to be a people pleaser (3). Paul does not say that he doesn’t care what the Corinthians think about him or his ministry. I think we all want people to like us, to appreciate us. He just says that it is “a very small thing” in comparison to the approval that really matters, this is, the approval of Jesus.  It’s important to note, in the context of this letter, that it is clear Paul is not saying we should tolerate sin, live and let live, to each his own. There are absolutes of right and wrong and love requires us to confront sinful behavior. That is not being judgmental, it is the loving thing to do. Not to embarrass someone or put them down, but to encourage them to submit to the Lord. We’ll deal with that question in Chapter 5 of this letter. In this context it is saying that when it comes to our service for the Lord, only He knows our hearts.  It can happen, let’s face it, that we can more easily “inspect the fruit” in some else’s life than in our own.

       I remember a long time ago hearing a Christian counsellor tell the story of a young couple. The husband was very “fastidious” and expected a very neat house. His wife, quite frankly, had other priorities. They started a family and the wife was a stay at home mom, and the husband would come home, and not too inconspicuously begin the inspection. Well one day he saw a chicken bone under the dining room table! And they weren’t having chicken that day! He decided he wouldn’t say anything, he would waith and see how long it took his wife to pick up that chicken bone. Day after day passed, and that chicken bone was still there! He couldn’t believe it! How could she be so careless? Finally, after a week had passed he could take it no longer and he exploded, “Don’t you see that chicken bone under the table?” His wife looked, and kind of shrugged and said, “Well look at that, you’re right there it is.” And she turned and started on something else. His anger began to well up and louder still he shouted, “DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG THAT BONE HAS BEEN THERE UNDER THE TABLE? FOR A WHOLE WEEK!” She looked at him and said, “Did it ever occur to you to pick it up?”  He was so focused on judging her, it never even occurred to him that he could help!  We need to avoid becoming self-appointed “fruit inspectors!” Sometimes we can get so “focused” on inspecting someone else’s faithfulness, that we neglect our own responsibilities.  

A “clear conscience” is not enough either.  Paul says in 3b-4, “In fact, I do not even judge myself.  ⁴ I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.” Having a clear conscience is a good thing, maybe it will help us sleep at night, but even that is not enough. Why? Because humans have an amazing capacity to justify their actions and excuse their own conduct. I can’t say how many times I’ve heard people evoke the “exception clause,” ie., “As a general rule that might be true, but my situation is different, the Lord has given me peace about it, besides, don’t I have a right to be happy?” Most of the “shades of gray” are in our own minds, and not in the Word of God. Paul understood that even he was fallible in his application of God’s truth to himself and his ministry, so he said though he was not conscious of anything against himself, that did not mean he had it all right. God would be the judge, and ultimately that is the only judgment that matters.

We see Paul’s motivation, the assurance that kept him faithfully serving even when he constantly experienced rejection and heartbreak and persecution: “…do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.” He is saying to his critics, “You don’t know my heart, God does, and one day he will judge our faithfulness, yours and mine.”  His commendation should be what we long for, it is all that matters. That is a motivation to constantly seek Him, to always desire to be closer, to know Him better, to love Him more. The closer to Him we get, the more clearly we’ll hear his voice, the more honestly we’ll desire His will.

What is God saying to me in this passage? Jesus is Lord, and we are privileged to faithfully serve Him.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage?  Do you covet the approval of other people?  Everyone likes to be liked, and that is not necessarily bad, but it shouldn’t be our overriding motivation.  We certainly shouldn’t be judging the “chicken bones” under someone else’s table. God will judge our faithfulness. Do you long to hear the Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your salvation”? “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant…” Tennis, anyone?  Improving your serve, that is something worth striving for…     Think about that,              AMEN.

Build Wisely! I Corinthians 3:10-23

Build Wisely!

I Corinthians 3:10-23

Introduction: This week I looked at the church one morning and then did a double take. The sun was just rising, and as I looked at the side of the roof facing the parking lot, there was a very eerie shadow that was cast along the entire peak, from one end to the other. It looked like the roof was concave, as though it had bowed. Like you, I had heard reports of roofs collapsing under the weight of the snow this winter, but the more I looked, I thought, “That can’t be, there isn’t that much snow up there!”  I just couldn’t explain to my own satisfaction what I was seeing, so I went out and walked around the building, and when I got on the street side, I thought, “Uh oh, that is a lot of snow, I think we may have a problem!” I came inside the building and I couldn’t see any cracks or issues in the ceiling, but that blasted shadow was still out there, looking very ominous to me.  What to do? Well I picked up the phone, first I called Chuck, he was up on a roof somewhere, shoveling snow! He said he could come, but it would take awhile. I tried Tim B., he and Robin had just gotten home like 3 that morning I think, and it went to voice mail. I called a couple of guys from the building and grounds committee, and Dan Cusumano was the first one here. Jeff Keyes followed a short time later.  Well, since we are in the building you know all was well! Dan went up into the attic and inspected everything and it was all good.  What we were seeing was a weird shadow effect caused by an even layer of snow across the entire ridge of the roof!  It is good to have guys around who know about building! Paul is using “construction” as an illustration in this context, a picture of the work we have been given to “build with care” the church of Jesus Christ. You know when I say “the church” I am talking about the people, not the building.  A certain web site purports to give consumers objective reviews by customers of the contractors they have worked with. I really don’t know much about that web site or the accuracy of its reviews, but (let’s change a couple of letters) if there was an “Angel’s List” for the church, how would we do? What kind of rating would we get? Are we faithfully carrying out the mission the Lord has entrusted to us, doing our part as He builds His church?

The Big Idea:  We need to build the church, God’s Temple, with care, according to the blueprint He has given us.

I. We must build on the right foundation:  We need to get the Gospel right (10-11).  One of my former professors wrote a book subtitled, Getting the Gospel Right. That is certainly the heart and the foundation of our “building.”

¹⁰ According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled [“wise”] master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.  ¹¹ For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

       Notice first of all the norm or standard that guided Paul in his ministry: “According to the grace of God given to me…” He was confronting the Corinthians and calling them out for perverting God’s design for the church, and it seems to me that it started at the foundation, with their twisting the doctrine of “grace.” I think Paul’s experience on the Damascus Road left him profoundly changed, overwhelmed with the sudden realization that He deserved nothing, he would have no hope were it not for the undeserved intervention of God in his life. Not only had he been spiritually blind, he was going 180 degrees in the wrong direction.  Had the Lord not intervened, he had no hope. He knew he was saved only by the grace of God, and also that he was privileged to have a part in God’s mission in the world only by His grace. And so it was what guided him: no pride, no lifting up himself, simply serving in the way that God had gifted and called him. Is that your heart?

       Paul describes himself as a “wise master builder”. Let’s look at that phrase a word at a time…

First, he is a wise master builder. Though the ESV translates “skilled master builder,” it is the same word, “wise,” that we see in the preceding context (see I Cor 1:19,20,25,26,27) and will appear four more times in the immediately following context (in I Cor 3:18-20).  It seems certain that Paul is contrasting the Corinthians’ love for the wisdom of the world, essentially human philosophy, with the wisdom of God revealed in the Gospel, which is what guided Paul. He is a master builder that knows the creator and designer of the universe and is committed to building according to God’s plan. The background here seems to be the instructions given in the Old Testament book of Exodus for the men who would lead the construction of the Tabernacle,

 ^35:30 Then Moses said to the people of Israel, "See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;  ³¹ and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship,  ³² to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze,  ³³ in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft.  ³⁴ And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan.  ³⁵ He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver- by any sort of workman or skilled designer.  ^{ESV 36:1}Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded" (Exodus 35:30-36:1).

The Septuagint translation of the Hebrew text in Greek uses the word “wise” repeatedly to describe these builders.  Notice 36:1, in the “…construction of the sanctuary…” they “…shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded.” The idea seems to reflect skills that were dedicated and submitted to the Lord, and dedicated to carrying out God’s revealed plan. Paul may be reflecting on that when he says he laid the foundation in Corinth as a “wise” master builder. His skills and abilities were submitted to Jesus.

     He uses the term “master builder.” The Greek word will sound familiar to you, architekton, obviously the source of the English word, “architect.” In English it has taken on a different sense than the Greek, where it is a compound word, not just a designer, but a “builder,” and not just a builder, but a “master builder.”  We’ve got a few builders in the church that have probably earned that title, several who have skills in different areas of the construction process. Paul is saying that he built wisely, carefully, according to the blueprint God had given, with care and with skill. 

            According to that perspective Paul did his work, he “laid a foundation.” It is important to have a good foundation. One of my earliest memories is helping my father build a chicken coop. I was small enough that I wasn’t much help, but I remember the two by fours going up for the walls, and then suddenly after things reached a certain point, the creaking, twisting sound as the whole thing came crashing down.  My dad was a policeman, not a builder! I guess he had decided it was only a chicken house, it didn’t need any kind of a solid base that it would be built on. After that he changed his mind and calmly said, “OK, this time, we’ll do it right!”   Chuck mentioned last week some of the challenges the Haiti team faced when they arrived at the site and found a foundation and slab that was not level.  It complicated the building process! Paul is saying he acted carefully in his foundational ministry in Corinth. He laid a sure, straight foundation, preaching the message of the Cross, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  As Paul planted the church in Corinth, other teachers came in after him and built on that sure foundation.  We need to build the church, God’s Temple, with care, according to the blueprint He has given us. It starts with a solid foundation, and, secondly…

II. We must build with the right materials: We must build in obedience to Christ and in submission to God’s revealed plan (12-15). We have to make sure we are building on the right foundation, and then we need to make sure we are using the right materials.

¹² Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-  ¹³ each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.  ¹⁴ If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.  ¹⁵ If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. 

The big question here is; are we building with materials that will endure (12-15)?  The philosopher William James said “The great use of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.”  Whether he realized it or not, many things will outlast us, a least for a while, life is short!  But only what is done for Christ, with a pure heart and with right motivations, will last for eternity.

The materials. Paul is not referring here to the material things that have been entrusted to us, or to our abilities, or even to our spiritual gifts. All of those things are good and have been given to us by God (I Cor 12:11).  It seems to me whatever our gifts or abilities, however much we have, the question here is our attitudes, our heart, our motivations, as we use them. In the near context Paul will remind the Corinthians that God “…will bring to light the things hidden in darkness and expose the motives of men’s hearts…” (I Cor 4:5).  It’s not about how much we give, but our attitude in giving, are we “cheerful givers”? It’s not about how gifted we are or even how much we do, but are we serving with a right attitude, “as onto the Lord”?  Remember we are “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, unto good works, which God before ordained that we should walk in them…” (Eph 2:10).

 The testing. You’ve seen those little statements: I learned everything I need to know in Kindergarten? Here is one in the form of a poem…

"ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN"

by Robert Fulghum

Most of what I really need
To know about how to live
And what to do and how to be
I learned in kindergarten.
Wisdom was not at the top
Of the graduate school mountain,
But there in the sandpile at Sunday school.

These are the things I learned:

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life -
Learn some and think some
And draw and paint and sing and dance
And play and work everyday some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world,
Watch out for traffic,
Hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.

There you have it! You learned Paul’s lesson about building in Kindergarten too. You remember the three pigs, right? The straw house and the stick house might have looked nice, but they didn’t stand up when the wolf came!  
       You know the story of the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse.  After being commissioned by John Quincy Adams it was built using salt water from the ocean to make the cement that held it together. 
Just a few years later, as the salt started to leach out, it it began to crumble. Such a small thing! Yet it had to be taken apart and rebuilt.  We need to build with the right materials.  Paul says if you build with wood, hay and stubble, it’s all going to burn. It doesn’t mean losing your salvation, that’s clear; you will be saved “as through the fire.”  The picture seems to be someone being rescued from a burning house, their clothes smell like smoke, but they are safe!  If you build well, with a right heart, you will receive reward. To me the greatest reward would be to hear from Jesus: “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your salvation!” Don’t you long to hear that someday? We need to build the church, God’s Temple, with care, according to the blueprint He has given us.

III. Know rightly what we are building: You are working on God’s Temple (16-17)! What is our vision for this church?

¹⁶ Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?  ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

If you are trying to put a puzzle together, it is very helpful to look at the picture on the box! Paul uses a question to give the basis of his plea for careful building: “Do you not know that you are God’s Temple…? He’ll come back to this idea in Chapter 6 and apply it to the “body” of the believer.  Here he is talking about the church as a “body” of believers: you (plural) are a temple (singular) of God. 

       Different terms were used to describe the tabernacle in the wilderness before Solomon’s temple was built. It was the mishkan, the “dwelling place,” and so spoke to the presence of God in the midst of the community. It was the ohel moed, the tent of meeting, emphasizing that it was the place where the transcendant God met with his people. It was the miqdosh, the holy place, since the presence of the Holy One set it apart from what was common, so much so that only the high priest could enter the most inner part, the holy of holies, and that only on the Day of Atonement. His holiness exposes our sin and highlights our need for a Redeemer.  But now, (and don’t miss this) in this age, God’s Temple is no longer a building, it is a people, the assembly of Christ followers. Do you understand that YOU are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  God’s Temple is holy, and YOU are that Temple!  

       You might think, “I don’t feel very holy!” And practically speaking every one of us falls short of that description. But what makes us holy is the presence of God. Remember Moses at the burning bush? Take off your shoes, you are standing on holy ground! God was there. You are standing on Holy Ground. He is here, present in our midst. The God who spoke the Universe into existence is with us and in us. We are not building a club or a business, we are building His church.  And so we need to build the church, God’s Temple, with care, according to the blueprint He has given us.

IV. We must build with the right perspective of our place in God’s story (18-23).

¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.  ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness,"  ²⁰ and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile."  ²¹ So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,  ²² whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future- all are yours,  ²³ and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.

True wisdom means to recognize our ideas and plans, if they are not submitted to God’s blueprint spelled out in His Word, are foolish and futile. It is His church and it will be built in accordance with His plan! True wisdom comes from recognizing our dependence on the Creator and sustainer of the universe.  Life or death, the present or the future, He is at work and He has included us in his story. He is working all things together for our good, and for His glory. Will you trust Him? Will you follow Him?

We don’t need to “market” the church. We need to BE the church, His church, submitting to His design, not our will.  That’s the big idea…

What is God saying to me in this passage? We need to build the church, God’s Temple, with care, according to the blueprint He has given us.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? We’ll talk quite a bit about spiritual gifts as we go through the later chapters of I Corinthians. But while we are on the subject, we know that God gives gifts to his people, so that we can build each other up, grow into more mature followers of Jesus, and work together to carry out the mission He has entrusted to us.  That is God’s plan. We read in Revelation 14:6-7.  

⁶ Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.  ⁷ And he said with a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water."

An angel flying through the heavens proclaiming the Gospel to all the world. That is a missionary method I can understand! But now, in this age, instead of angels sent in the heavens he has sent us!  Are you willing to submit your will to His, and to allow Him to work through you? It means we acknowledge our weakness, our foolishness in thinking we could do things on our own, and praise Him for His amazing grace, and thank Him for the part He has given us.  We’ve been going through the psalms in our Wednesday night devotionals before prayer meeting for a couple of years. The last two weeks we looked at Psalm 103 and Psalm 104. They both begin and end with a thought provoking declaration: “Bless the Lord, O my soul…” How can we bless Him? Trust, and obey.  Think about that,   AMEN.