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1 Corinthians 8:1, 11 (ESV)

1 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up.

 

11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died.

 

            It is fascinating to see how Paul speaks of knowledge in 1 Corinthians 8. As we see in verse 1, knowledge puffs us up with pride. On the other hand, love builds up the body of Christ. Paul speaks this way about knowledge relating to the issue of food sacrificed to idols. However, we, if we will be wise, can apply it to many issues in Christian life.

 

            As Paul builds his argument in chapter 8, he starts with the groundwork that knowing and loving are different things. He then establishes what the knowledgeable Corinthians know: There is only one God, and thus food sacrificed to idols is not food sacrificed to actual gods. Many Corinthians have concluded, with their superior knowledge, that they should be able to eat food that had been sacrificed to an idol without any qualms.

 

            However, Paul continues, not every Christian grasps the fact that idols are nothing. Some who were saved out of idolatry struggle mightily with the concept of eating food sacrificed to idols. If those people see “strong” Christians eating food which, with their “weak” knowledge, they assume to be offered to false gods, the weaker brothers can have major problems. In fact, the weaker brothers might be led to throw over their consciences and to do other things they believe to be wrong because they have seen other Christians crossing what they assume to be similar lines. Thus, as verse 11 says, the strong brother hurts the weak brother because of his living out of superior knowledge rather than living out of love.

 

            OK, it is far too easy to grab hold of this issue and make some sort of case about modern Christians and alcohol, and I don’t have any interest in doing that today. It has been done many times, and often with different conclusions being drawn. So how about we dig down to the principle instead of seeking simplistic application? Sometimes, if a mature believer is not careful, he can, with his knowledge, do damage to the local church. Sometimes a person can stand and spout his or her understanding of an issue with great passion and strong arguments. Sometimes the person will even be correct in what he or she is saying, at least correct so far as the rule of law goes. But, in making the argument, in unloading his or her knowledge, the “strong” Christian can hurt others who are not ready to receive such knowledge.

 

            Christians, if you are honest, you will acknowledge that you have not always been as mature as you are now. You know some things to be true now that you did not grasp earlier on in your faith journey. You grow, at least you should be growing. When you were a younger believer, a baby Christian, you were not ready to grasp the implications of issues of Christian liberty, intricate eschatology, studies of soteriology, and all the rest. In fact, had you, when you were just saved, been dragged into an argument between two “mature” Christians about some of the more complex issues of your faith, it probably would not have done you good.

 

            Please do not hear me saying that hard issues are not important. Of course they are. However, there is a wisdom that we must use in throwing knowledge around. Parents are careful how much detail about the real world they let their children see. It can hurt kids to give them too much knowledge when they are not ready. Similarly, we can hurt the local church if we flaunt all the knowledge we receive.

 

            So, the next time you have grasped a hard doctrine or come to understand your Christian liberty in a more free way than have other Christians in your local church, will you be careful? Your newly-acquired knowledge may not be the key to building up the body of Christ. No, knowledge, even if it is real truth, might only puff you up with pride. If you want to build up the body, love is what does that. Sometimes loving others means that you don’t flaunt every freedom you have in front of them. Sometimes love means that you don’t correct every error in a person’s thinking—of course with wisdom understanding that some errors are devastating and some are not. Sometimes you do best for the body by closing your mouth about the new thing you have learned and just caring for others who have not yet made it to your conclusion.

 

            I can’t say how this must be applied for you for sure. There are too many possible applications. I also know that legalism and false doctrine are very big deals, and I do not support letting those things go. But God’s word is clear that we need to be wise and not merely have knowledge. We need to love and build others up, and we need to be careful that our knowledge does not get in the way of that. So, pray, examine yourself, and do what you can to build up the body of Christ, in love, for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

 

            We live in a culture in which people believe that privacy and personal rights are everything. We assume, because it has been handed to us by others, that we have full right to personal autonomy. We are taught to be true to ourselves above all things. Sure, we are taught to be good to others and that to harm others is wrong, but we are also taught that, when it comes to ourselves, we are the masters of our own ships, the captains of our own souls.

 

            Contrast the view that we are handed by the world with the declaration of Scripture, and you will see why, to some people, Christianity is so very strange. One truth of being a believer is the fact that, in Christ, we are not our own. This is not to say that we lose all concept of personality. Rather it is to say that, in our relationship with God we are servants to a Master, children under the authority of a Father. Or, in this passage, redeemed slaves, purchased to serve a perfect Lord.

 

            Before we turn up our noses at the sacrifice of such human freedom, let us remember that God has created us in his image and for his glory. He has designed us in such a way that to serve and honor him is the source of ultimate happiness. When we obey God and show the world around us his greatness, we do the thing for which we exist. Nothing can truly satisfy our souls like doing the thing for which we were created. Thus, being a servant to the Master is joy, not begrudged duty.

 

            Remember, believers, that we are not our own. Freedom is not the ultimate to the Christian. Yes, we love political freedom, freedom to worship God without government control or restriction. However, we dare not think that we are free to dishonor God in our lives. God has not granted us that freedom. God has called us to serve him, to obey him, to be his. He bought us at a price. We are his. We owe him glory. And, the best news of all, when we give him that glory, he grants joy to our souls, because our souls are then doing the very thing for which they exist.

1 Corinthians 4:7 (ESV)

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?

 

            If the above verse is not a perfect call to humility, I don’t know what is. Why boast? The proud person boasts as if he somehow brought about his own good. He boasts as if his own strengths and abilities are to be praised.

 

            How things change when we take a step back and remember God and his grace. All that we have, every good thing, is a gift from God. We cannot boast. We did nothing to make our good. Even if we have worked hard and fought long for where we are in life, God is still the giver of all good things. God is still the one who made us, who shaped us, who gifted us, who opened doors of opportunity for us, who protected us from evils we could never have seen, who determined our times and places, who gave us everything. We have no place to boast, because God is the ultimate source of all the good that we have and all the good that we are.

 

            Perhaps it would be good to take a moment today to thank God for all the good things you have. Perhaps today would be a good day to remember that nothing good in your life has come apart from God’s grace. Perhaps today is the time to remember that all your strengths, all your learning, and all your accomplishments are gifts from God. Ephesians 2:8 reminds us that even our faith is a gift from God. Let this humble you toward gratitude for the glory of the God who graciously gives all good gifts.

1 Corinthians 4:6 (ESV)

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.

 

            For the first 3 chapters of 1 Corinthians, Paul has been teaching the church in Corinth to stop bickering with each other about which teacher they follow. Some bragged about following Paul. Others claimed Peter or Apollos. Some claimed to be beyond such men and to simply be followers of Christ. Paul wanted to stop such divisive in-fighting, and he addressed it in a variety of ways over the first chapters.

 

            Now, in chapter 4, Paul pulls his argument together, and we see a bit of the conclusion in verse 6. Paul says that he has written about himself and Apollos in order to stop the people from being so prideful about the teachers they follow. But Paul does not merely admonish them to stop what they have been doing. He also gives them in verse 6, a key to true, biblical humility that will allow them to hear their teachers, but without the divisive pride of choosing sides based on personality or oratory. Paul calls the people not to go beyond what has been written. He calls them to Scripture.

 

            The point that God has for us here is simple: the word of God trumps any delight in human personality or teaching skill. There are many who follow one pastor or teacher over another because they are drawn to his communication style or appearance. Maybe they like the way that a guy throws humor into a message or how another weeps while telling touching tales. But God does not call us to follow people based on these things. Do not go beyond what is written. God’s word is the standard.

 

            Do you have a pastor who teaches the word of God, really teaches the word of God? Love such a leader. Even if his style or persona is not what you like best, it is a treasure to have someone who stands before you, opens the word of God, and clearly lets the people of God know what God has said. Such teaching is more valuable than any skill in management, any talent in preaching, or any gregarious personality.

 

            We should add, in our learning, that the Scripture is super valuable for us all. If the church is not to divide over personality, but is to not go beyond what is written, then we too ought not go beyond what is written as we figure out what we believe to be true about our Lord. Let our doctrine, our rules, our standards for living be from the word of God. Let our grasp of how to help people change and how to make churches grow come from the word of God and not the world of business or secular psychology. May we love the living word of God and trust that the God of that word will change lives and change the world for his glory as we hold high his perfect revelation of himself to humanity.

1 Corinthians 3:6-7 (ESV)

6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

 

            In his call for the Corinthians not to elevate one evangelist or Bible teacher above all the rest, Paul shows how each man contributed to the faith of the Corinthians. Paul originally preached the gospel in their city. He planted the seed of the gospel in their lives. Apollos, like one watering a seed, continued to share with the people the truth of God.

 

            Which man was more important? Which man really did the ministry in Corinth? The answer is clear; neither man was more important. If a seed is never planted, nothing will grow. However, a planted seed without water will also not grow. Both men contributed. Both were important.

 

            But notice what Paul says about them. Paul says that the one who plants and the one who waters is nothing. Why? God is the one who causes real, spiritual growth. It is God, not men, who brings the increase. It is God who saves souls.

 

            I would like to draw two points of application for myself and for whoever might happen upon this. First, each of us plays a role in the process of evangelism. And, in truth, evangelism is a process. You might share the gospel with someone who appears totally disinterested. That does not mean, however, that you have not planted a seed by the grace of God. Or you might get into an argument with someone about their beliefs that leaves you feeling like you have done more harm than good. However, you do not know that God might not be watering the seed of the faith through your inept attempt. You have a role to play. Do not despair. Take part, even if you do not see a harvest right away.

 

            A second point that I will make is that God, not man, brings the increase. It is God who makes a seed sprout and grow. It is God who saves souls, not me in my cleverness. Thus, I need not fear to share my faith, even with my shaky and halting efforts. God brings the harvest. God breaks through the hardness of men’s hearts. God brings life where we think it impossible. And if God does this work, I need not fear that the work is impossible. I simply must tell the truth, trust God’s providence, and leave the results in his capable hands. I might plant a seed. I might water it. God will truly be the one who does the work. And it will be God who is worthy of all the glory and praise for the results.

1 Corinthians 2:14-16 (ESV)

14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

 

            What difference does having the Spirit of God in our lives make? To some, the presence of the Spirit should be a source for powerful and spectacular gifts. To others, the presence of the Spirit of God is a truth, but not one that makes a real difference in their day-to-day lives. As chapter 2 of this letter comes to a close, Paul shows us that God’s Spirit is very important to our lives, and he does so without focusing on the manifestation of some sort of spiritual power or supernatural giftedness.

 

            Earlier in the chapter, Paul helped us to understand the Spirit of God by asking, “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him;” and, Paul went on to say, “So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:11). Thus, as Paul talks about the Spirit of God, he points us to the fact that God’s Spirit is how we can really know our Lord’s mind, as the Spirit of a person is the only one who truly knows the inner thoughts of that person.

 

            Take that thought into the final verses above, and you will see something spectacular. Christians have the Spirit of God. We are connected to the person of God in a very direct, very real way. We, unlike the lost world, actually have access to the mind of our God. We are too finite to ever grasp all of who God is; but we certainly must not assume that knowing God is an impossibility for God’s children. With God’s word and God’s Spirit, we have the ability to understand what God is like, what God demands, and what will please him. We can know Gods standards for life and godliness and ethics in all areas of life.

 

            One caveat here is to remember that God’s primary way of revealing himself to his people is the holy Scripture. God is not going to reveal to us his mind in a way that ever contradicts the word of God. However, only those who have access to the Spirit of God will be able to read God’s word and see the sweet truth it communicates. This is not because the Bible is impossible to interpret, but because the natural mind of man will reject the perfect standards of God. We see an example of natural man every time we see somebody look at the Bible and say that they don’t think God would do things that way.

 

            What does this mean for us today? Christians, recognize that the gift of God’s Holy Spirit is an even bigger gift than you have ever considered. God has allowed you and me to know his mind. Without the Spirit, we cannot know God. With the Spirit ,we can understand our Lord’s ways, at least to the extent that our finitude will allow.

 

            Also realize that those who have not received God’s grace, and thus who have not received his Spirit, do not have access to the mind of Christ. They will distort and reject God’s word, because their access to wisdom is merely their own and not that of God. Let this lead you to share a simple and clear gospel for the glory of God, and do not let the criticism of those who reject that gospel get you down. Press on in simple evangelism, knowing that when God enlightens the minds of the lost, they will understand the truths of Scripture and respond rightly.

1 Corinthians 2:1-2 (ESV)

1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

 

            The apostle Paul is thought by many to have been one of the great geniuses of his time. Paul had the ability to match wits with any philosopher of his day. In fact, just before Paul came to Corinth he had stood before the Greeks in Athens and shown that he was at least their intellectual equal.

 

            It is interesting, then, that Paul, just after leaving Athens went to Corinth. There, as Paul declares above, he did not preach based on his own wisdom. Paul did not use flowery speech or rhetorical devices of the day. Paul did not constantly fill his speech with complex arguments that the uninitiated could not understand. No, Paul very intentionally kept his message simple.

 

            The context of the above passage still flows from Paul’s point in chapter 1 that the Corinthians should not separate from one another based on following Paul, Peter, Apollos, or some other teacher. There is one gospel. Paul had even pointed out that God had saved these people through the message which seems foolish to the supposedly wise. And the people God saved were not the smartest of the smart, but were ordinary folks who could only boast in the Lord, not in their own abilities.

 

            In the light of Paul’s continuing argument, he declares that, when he arrived, he preached a very simple gospel. Paul told them about Jesus Christ and him crucified. Of course, this is Paul’s way of saying that he preached a very simple message of what this all means. Paul told the simple gospel, and he watched as God, by the power of God’s Holy Spirit, brought people to spiritual life.

 

            So, have you ever thought that you have nothing to present to others? Have you ever believed that you lack the eloquence or rhetorical skill to do any good for the kingdom of God? Have you ever thought that you must leave evangelism to those trained in philosophy and apologetics? Think again. Paul preached a simple gospel in Corinth. It was that simple gospel message that God used to save many people in a bustling city of the first century. And, if you will be faithful to tell others about Jesus Christ and him crucified, who knows that God might not empower your message to see people saved today.

1 Corinthians 1:26-30

 

26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

 

            God does not do things the way we might plan to do them. God did not plan to win the world by building a team of the strongest, wisest, and most popular. Nor did God choose to save his people through means that the world expects. He chose grace, not works. He chose faith, not ritual. He chose to save the needy, not the best of the best.

 

            As Paul points these things out to the Corinthians, he lets them know that they too should consider their own calling. You and I need to do the same. If we are saved, it is not because we brought something special to the table. O, we are valuable and special; but that value comes to us because God gives it, not because we earn it. Not many of us have anything to brag about. We who follow Jesus are sweetly ordinary. There is humility that comes to the believer who grasps that he or she is saved by God and not because he or she is in a special category of greatness.

 

            Then, at the end of the verses above, Paul tells us the reason God has done things in the way that he has. God chose to save the weak and the poor through means the world believes to be foolish. Why? Verse 29 tells us that God did things in this way so that no human being can boast before God. The fact is, we have nothing to brag about, and God wants us to know it. It is God and God alone who is worthy of all praise.

 

            So, what does thinking this through do for a modern believer? In a word, it brings us a God-glorifying humility. He is wiser than us. His ways are beyond our comprehension. His mercy is magnificent. And we are small, weak, needy recipients of grace. We have great reason for joy, as God’s love has been lavished upon us. But we also smile knowingly, realizing that we are sinners saved by a grace that the world around us, until they know Jesus too, simply cannot fathom.

1 Corinthians 1:18 (ESV)

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

 

            Early in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul warns against the cult of personality that can often form, even in churches, around different favorite leaders. As Paul tries to extricate himself from any discussion of being the hero of the faith to any of the people at Corinth, he makes the above statement. You see, Paul did not minister based on his own skill set, but simply based on the cross.

 

            What does Paul tell us about the cross? He lets us know that the message of the violent, sacrificial, substitutionary death of Jesus Christ to pay the price for the sins of God’s people is a message that will meet with two radically different responses. Those responses are not based on the skill of the one delivering the message. Neither are those responses based on the cleverness of the argument. No, the response of people is simply based on what God is doing in the hearts of the hearers. The responses will either be to see the cross as salvation or foolishness.

 

            To some people, the message of the cross is folly, utter foolishness. Paul tells us that this is true of those who are perishing. It is not that these people are particularly mean. It is not that these people are somehow not as good as you or me. No, the only difference here is that they are perishing. There are people whose hearts are not alive to the gospel. To those people, the message of the suffering Savior sounds simply senseless. You see this all the time in media. You hear it in the mocking tone of those who reject the gospel, and who do so with utter incredulity as to how any reasonable and rational person could allow themselves to be taken by such a scam.

 

            There is something for us to grasp here. Those who reject the gospel, even those who think us total idiots for believing it, are only doing what Paul predicted. Those who are perishing, who are walking toward the judgment of God if they do not repent, will think the message of the cross hollow and foolish. We do not “win” such people by developing more clever arguments. We do not change their minds by becoming more socially acceptable to them. No, if we are wise, we will recognize that the message of the cross is folly to them, and then we will continue to share that simple message for the glory of God in the hope that, perhaps, God will enliven their hearts and bring them to faith.

 

            On the other hand, the message of the cross is the power of God to those who are being saved. One thing that this means is that, to one who is being saved by God, the message of the cross is powerful like our Lord is powerful. God spoke, and a dark and empty void exploded with light and life. God commanded, and an immovable sea split in two to allow a nation to cross. God has shown us in Scripture that there is no limit to his power. And, to those who are being saved, there is no limit to the impact of a simple message of the cross.

 

            What’s the final conclusion? It is pretty simple. Paul was telling the Corinthians that their salvation was not about him, the messenger. People are not more likely to be saved when your or my favorite preacher really gets on a roll. No, salvation is about the message of the cross—sweet, simple, and unadorned. To some, this message will be foolishness. We should expect that to be the case and pres on for the glory of God when we are seen as fools. To others, that message will electrify the soul of a hearer as if God spoke to them for the very first time. Some people will come to life as they hear the same simple message that they may have scoffed at fifty times before. So we tell the truth and trust the Savior.