MPC, 12th May 2002.1 Corinthians 4 - "We're Not There Yet"
Andrew Richardson MPC, 12th May 2002.
We've had a lot of junk mail in our letter box recently. It's been the big mothers day push. And browsing through it there's one offer that's stood out. You might have seen it too. Buy Now, Pay Later. It doesn't matter if it's a car, a computer, furniture or jewelry. Whatever it is you can Buy Now, Pay Later. That's the way we like it in Australia. We love to have things now. We don't want to wait until next year, or next month, or even next week. We want it all now. And if we don't have the money we borrow it. Doesn't matter if we get big a debt. The important thing is to have stuff now.
And that's the kind of attitude the Corinthians we've been reading about have to their Christian life. They want all the benefits of being saved now. Fulfillment, wealth, power. They don't want to wait for Jesus to come back. They want it all now. And they've started to kid themselves they've got it. As they look at their gifts, their smart philosophies, their persausive speaking techniques. They've started to think heaven's already arrived. That they've got everything God has to offer. You can see their attitude in v 8. Paul can't believe what they're thinking. And he's being sarcastic. He says already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings.
At least that's what they think. But they're kidding themselves. Life isn't like that for Christians now. It would be nice if it was. It would be nice if we were reigning as kings now. That's what Paul says in the second half of verse 8, "How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you!"
It'd be great if they were kings now. If heaven was here and we were all there together. But that's not how it is. Living as a Christian isn't easy. It's living like Jesus. And that's hard work. It's tough. Paul says to the Corinthians, think about us apostles. We don't have everything we want. We're not rich. We're not powerful. We're the lowest of the low. We're like prisoners getting dragged along at the end of a victory procession. We're like slaves about to be thrown into the ring as lion food. With the whole world sitting up in the stands laughing and jeering. V 9:
For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men.
All the wisdom and the power and the honour that the Corinthians think they've got. Paul says, the apostles have none of it. If the Corinthians are really wise, the apostles are fools. If the Corinthians have real power, the apostles are weak. But the Corinthians don't have real power and wisdom. God's power and wisdom. All they've got is worldly power and wisdom. And Paul's trying to get them to see that. So he's sarcastic with them again in v 10:
10 We apostles, we' re fools for Christ, but you Corinthians, you're so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!
But then in v 11 Paul gets more serious. This is the kind of life he really lives:
11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands.
Hungry, brutally treated, homeless. It doesn't sound like heaven. And it's the kind of life that would look foolish and weak to the world. But it is the kind of life Jesus lived. And it's the kind of treatment Jesus got when he died on the cross. And as Paul goes on, he starts to refer back to Jesus more clearly. Instead of just talking about all his hardships he starts to talk about the kind of attitudes that led to the hardship. The kind of attitudes that Jesus taught and lived. Listen to Jesus' teaching from Matthew 5. Jesus says, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And a bit further on Jesus says:
43You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Now see if you can pick up how Paul and the apostles are living examples of Jesus's teaching... the second half of v 12:
When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.
Paul doesn't want the Corinthians just to feel sorry for him. He wants them to see his way of life is the Christian way of life. It's the way Jesus taught. And he's saying to them if you think you're kings, if you think you've got it all, you're way off track. Christians don't have it all in this life. Heaven isn't here yet. We're not rich or powerful or wise by worldly standards.
But there's still lots of Christians around who think like the Corinthians. Lots of Christians who think we should have everything in this life. As if heaven's already here. It's the kind of teaching you hear a lot on the early morning TV shows. And its not just American weirdos. Listen to a couple of the books they're selling on our own Australian Hillsong Television. There's one called Get a Life. And Get a Life has this to teach. 'within every individual is the potential to be a complete success in life. Sadly, many settle for so much less'. And then there's 'You Need More Money'. And in 'You Need More Money' they say, 'Brian will challenge you to look beyond yourself, live according to the principles of God, and see his blessing in your life as you become a money magnet.'
Sounds attractive. Who wouldn't want to be a complete success in life? Or a money magnet. But it's about a million miles from the kind of life the apostles lived. It's nothing like the hunger, the brutal treatment, the hard manual labour Paul faced. And it's nothing like the life Paul wants Christians to live.
If the Corinthians are going to start living like Christians, if they're going to stop trying to have heaven now, they need a change of attitude. They need to stop being arrogant. They need to stop judging Paul and looking down at him. And they need to start looking up to him. They need to start treating him like the father he is. Not judging him; imitating him.
You can see the Corinthian's judgmental attitude if you look at the first part of the chapter.
Paul's defending himself. Telling them they need to stop their judging. And reading between the lines it's not hard to see why he'd need to defend himself, if the Corinthians were thinking Christians should be rich and wise and powerful. Plain old Paul wouldn't measure up. They'd be looking down on his simple style. Judging him. But Paul tells them to stop. For a start he says, you're not the judge. I'm not accountable to you. I'm not accountable to any human, not even myself. I'm only accountable to God. He says,
3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
When I worked as a school Lab assistant I was accountable to the head of the science department. He was the one who judged if I was doing a good Job. Not the kids. And Paul's accountable to God. Not the Corinthians. And so they need to stop judging him.
They need to leave the judgement up to God. And that means waiting. They can't have everything now. Just like they've got to wait for heaven, they've got to wait for God to pass judgement. Paul says in v 5,
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
We've got to make sure we understand what Paul's saying here. Because he's not saying don't be discerning. He's not saying never decide if someone is right or wrong. After all, as we'll see next week, in chapter 5 he tells the Corinthians to judge an immoral man. What Paul is saying is, remember you're not the judge. You don't set the rules. You're not the one who determines right and wrong. So if you're going to make a judgement. Make sure you do it on the basis of what God thinks. Make sure you take the time to work out what the bible has to say. And then be humble about it. Remember everything isn't clear now. You can't see people's motives. You don't know how things are going to end up. Paul's saying, don't judge people as if you do.
And if the Corinthians took Paul's advice, maybe they'd stop being proud. They'd stop looking down on him, and they'd start to treat him like they should. Like their father. Nathan's at the stage at the moment where he picks up our words and phrases and starts imitating them. You pick up something off the floor and say 'lets put that where Joel can't get it' and he walks around picking things off the floor saying 'put where Joel can't get it.' I call Simone 'honey hun' and so Nathan walks around calling us 'honey hun' - honey hun put where joel can't get it. Honey hun read book. It's very cute. And it's the way it should be. Kids learn from their parents and imitate them.
And the Corinthians should be imitating Paul. As he reminds them, he's their father in the faith. He was the first one to bring them the Gospel, and it was through his ministry they became Christians.
14 I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. 15 Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
And because he's their father, they shouldn't be judging him. They shouldn't be looking down on him. They should be following his example. And so he says to them,
16 Because I'm your father, therefore, I urge you to imitate me.
And in case they've forgotten what Paul was like, in case they're having trouble remembering enough of his way of life to imitate, he's sending them someone to help them. He says, v 17:
For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.
It's vital that the Corinthians start to imitate Paul. That's the way they should be treating him as their father. It's the way the father child relationship work best. With love and respect. But Paul's worried his relationship with the Corinthians might not work that way. He's worried they might be to arrogant. V 18, "Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you."
And if the Corinthians keep being arrogant, if they won't imitate Paul, if they keep acting like heaven's arrived and everyone should be healthy wealthy and wise, they're going to see another way a father can relate to his kids. Paul says he'll have to discipline them. He'll have to come and show up their empty talk for what it is. He'll have to come and show them their fancy philosophies and speeches don't have the power to save anyone. Only the message of the cross has that power. v 19:
I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. 20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
The Corinthians have a choice. They can keep being arrogant. They can keep looking down their noses at Paul and face his painful discipline. Or they can start imitating him. They can start treating him as their father and enjoy a close and loving relationship with him. That's the choice Paul leaves them with in v 21: "What do you prefer?", he says. "Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?"
And you need to decide what you're going to do with Paul's example. Are you going to imitate him or judge him? Are you going to get on with the tough job of living life as a follower of Jesus? Or are you going to try and have heaven now? Are you going to live a life that reflects the message of the cross? Or are you going to look for the power and the prosperity? There are plenty of people who'll tell you you can have it all now. That living as a christian is about being a success, about having power, about having money. But Paul says People who tell you that are all talk. Their words are empty. They don't have God's power. They won't deliver in the end. Real Christian living. Following Jesus is different. It's about being ready to endure persecution. Not giving up when the going gets tough. Real Christian living is about blessing people who curse you. Speaking kindly to people who slander you. That's the kind of life Paul lived. And if you're going to follow Jesus, that's the kind of life you need to live.