It was fairly early in my pastoral ministry career that I decided I really did not like counselling people through difficult situations, especially regarding marriage issues. Looking around, I’ve always seen others who were better at this task and who enjoyed doing it as a gift from God to be exercised in His service. What I have done of it, I feel I have given sound biblical advice. Yet, so often, it has also seemed to me that many people had already made up their mind about what they wanted to do and were going to do; they were really hoping to merely get a pastoral stamp of approval in order to feel good about their intentions.

The following is an exaggeration for sure, but I have sometimes quipped that a majority of people I know are unhappy in marriage and wish they were single, whereas a majority of single people are sad that they have not found a matrimonial partner. Reading in this portion of 1 Corinthians, I suspect Paul might just about make the same wisecrack!

Paul was a single guy, and he truly believed this was the best status in order to most effectively serve God. Yet throughout his discussions, he repeats that those who marry have the freedom to do so and that they should honor that relationship with the highest degree of fidelity.

Relative to Paul’s opinion of promoting singleness, he now supports this position with three reasons …

1. Persecution and stress from the surrounding world. He says …

7:25 – Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. 26 Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. 27 Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.

The “present crisis” that Paul is writing of here has some reference to the realities of difficulties and opposition that the Corinthians were either facing at that time or that the Apostle knew would surely come their way. The Greek term used here is one that Paul writes on several other occasions in contexts of persecution. It is easy to imagine how facing hostility from those who oppose Christ and the gospel would be complicated by marriage and family, as a person has so much more to worry about and care for than merely oneself.

2. The pending return of Christ and the temporal nature of this world. Paul writes …

7:29 – What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

Paul is not saying to avoid responsibility. He is putting priorities in order, noting that the things of this world (like marriage and the satisfaction of the flesh and material pleasures) are passing away rather quickly. This is consistent with so many admonitions of Paul throughout his writings. He constantly urges his readers to live in light of the brevity of life, always prioritizing rather the great significance of knowing God and working toward realities that are eternal.

3. The distraction and encumbrances of marriage and family. Paul writes …

7:32 – I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. 33 But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— 34 and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.

Marriage is work, no doubt about it. It takes time and commitment. There are many blessings, but those come as the fruit of time investments. By illustration: Let’s say that it is announced one Sunday in a men’s class at church that the men’s ministry is going to take a full Saturday to put a new roof on a widow’s home. The question calls for a commitment as to how many can make it. What is the first thing that goes through the married man’s mind?  Yes, he (rightly) needs to think about what his wife and family will be doing that day, if there are other plans already, and how does it fit within the rest of a busy week ahead, etc., etc. Though the single man in the class may not be free of obligations and conflicts, they are likely to be fewer.

The following paragraph is just about the most convoluted couple of sentences in all of Scripture. Whatever version you follow will have many footnotes and marginal references. Commentators are all over the place on interpreting meanings of several words, whether the subject is a bridegroom (as this NIV translates) or the father of a bride. And that’s just the beginning. It was probably not unclear to the Corinthians who were asking questions, or to Paul who was answering. Let’s move past it without me getting into hundreds of words of explanations and conjectures on Greek words.

7:36 – If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. 37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better.

Paul again repeats an opinion on wives/widows. Stay married, but if a husband dies there is freedom to remarry. Paul once more renders his personal opinion that singleness leads to greater happiness and opportunity for fruitful service.

7:39 – A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. 40 In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

Come back tomorrow, when we can talk about something easier, like, oh, say … food sacrificed to idols!

Contentment with the circumstances of our lives can be illusive. For most of us, though we may feel blessed on many fronts, there are usually more than a couple situations we might like to see different. We may wish for a better home in another neighborhood or for a higher position at work. Single people want to be married, etc., etc.

The Apostle Paul understood this natural, human tendency to have some discontentment with earthly circumstances. He addresses this theme in several of his writings. Paul tells Timothy that “godliness with contentment is great gain.”  This sets up his famous statement just verses later that the love of money is a root for all sorts of evil.

The Corinthians, being quick to follow varied teachers and form cliques, were also quick to form alliances around ethnicities, marital status, and social class. Paul’s emphasis was to point out that these earthly classifications were transcended by their new classification as fellow servants of the Lord. Becoming a Christian should not motivate them to seek to be something different. Rather, they should – as the famous phrase goes – “bloom where they are planted.”

Those who were from a Jewish background should not insist upon Gentile believers coming under the elements of the Law, such as their oft-emphasis upon circumcision. Neither should there be some insistence in the other direction from the Gentiles.

Likewise with slavery – a very big issue in that era where about 50% of the Roman world lived as an indentured servitude/slave class of people. Both masters and slaves would end up in the same church family. Becoming a Christian should not, in an of itself, motivate a person to seek a higher station in life such as freedom from servitude. If this happened, great!  If not, live a life of obedience to God in that classification.

Toward the end of our reading today, it is interested to see how Paul tells the slaves that they are free in the Lord spiritually, yet he tells masters that they are servants now of God.

Paul’s rule (meaning his strong teaching and opinion that would be wise to follow) was for these new Christians to find contentment where they are at in life … yep, to bloom where planted. Or, to go back to Christ’s word picture, to serve in the place of God’s vineyard where he has assigned you.

Pastors are not exempt from this occasional feeling of some fraction of discontent.

Just recently I was at a denominational gathering of pastors in our Maryland/Virginia district, a group of about 25 guys of all ages. There was a very, very blunt and open discussion about the experiential nature of our calling in life. Several of us (who are now on the older end and who have been friends together for 25-30 years in the same churches) shared with the younger guys that 40 years ago we honestly expected that our church ministry careers would have led us into more expansive situations than the outworking of our callings gave us. But we were also able to tell the younger men that, looking back, we have seen the faithful hand of God putting us at the most perfect places for our own service, enrichment, and family blessings.

Whatever we do, wherever we are, we should awake each day with a desire to serve God obediently in whatever the day brings to us. It may not be glamorous … probably won’t be. But when you do that with some consistency over multiple decades, you can look back and find a peaceful and pleasurable contentment with your circumstances and the experiences of God’s faithfulness in and through your life.

I Cor. 7:17 – Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. 18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. 20 Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.

7:21 – Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22 For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings. 24 Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.

There are certain teachings and doctrines that I have greater confidence in being surely correct than I am about some others. There is no uncertainty about what the Scriptures teach on the matter of Christ’s atoning work and salvation. As I read it, there is not much debatable on that doctrine.

And I feel really quite good about the matter of eschatology – the doctrine of the last times. In the broad sweep of God’s plan for the ages, I believe I understand the future, though the exact times and names of the players will not be known until it happens. And if I get to heaven before the return of the Lord, and He tells me that I totally missed it on this doctrine, I’m going to say something like, “Really?  You’re kidding me, right?”

But if in that time of review when all things become certain and clear, and He tells me I was rather messed up in my understanding of marriage, divorce, and remarriage, I think my response might be more in the category of, “Well, I’m not entirely surprised; that was difficult to know for sure in light of the many others who had very variant ideas on the subject.”

Yes, it is complicated. The Scriptures give us some very strong guidelines, as in this passage today that we turn to in 1 Corinthians 7.  At the same time, there are so many situations that introduce shades of gray that are not specifically addressed in the Word of God. Over the years of ministry in a handful of churches, we have attempted to write policies to serve as interpretive guidelines on this subject of marriage, divorce and remarriage. Even so, it is not rare to have situations come before leadership with unique circumstances that are not addressed, and the policy gives scant help in making a decision about the validity of the divorce or the remarriage.

Here are some statements we can make about this broad subject from these 16 verses today …

• Marriage is a good thing, including the physical relationship aspect of it that provides for a fulfillment of natural desires, greatly easing opportunities for Satanic temptation.
• Paul gives a first statement of his own preference for singleness (that he’ll elaborate upon later in this 7^th chapter), though he acknowledges this perspective is not universal by any means.
• Those believers who are married should not seek a divorce and remarriage. If divorce happens, reconciliation and singleness are the remaining options. (Yes, there are other passages that expand on this further and with more nuance, and Paul here is not talking about complicating factors like abuse, chronic adultery, etc.) The main idea here is that people cannot just decide they don’t like the other person over disagreements about chocolate cake versus white cake, and run off and marry someone else.
• The Christian man or woman who is currently married to an unbeliever should not initiate a divorce for that reason of a faith variance. But if the unbeliever leaves, let them go. Are they then free to remarry? Some think that this is assumed from the passage, whereas others say it is not correct to make any such assumption.

This is not my favorite chapter in the Bible; I’d rather be writing today about Hebrews 11 and the heroes of faith. Beyond that, for this series, I’ve given Tim Lester the blessing of preaching on this topic since he is our highly-compensated counselor dude at church. I’m very nice. Go Tim! … Don’t mess up!

7:1 – Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

7:8 – Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

7:10 – To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

7:12 – To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

7:15 – But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. 16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

Appetites are natural things and part of the creative order of life. When you need nourishment, your hunger cravings tell you it is time to eat and replenish. Nothing wrong with that.

The Corinthians had an expansive view of this appetite(s) thing. As we see in this passage we read today, they had slogans that essentially communicated something like: “When my stomach says I’m hungry, I eat; and when sexual cravings come naturally upon me, I likewise fulfill them. They are both natural and normal, and therefore I have total freedom to indulge without guilt or consequence.”

Paul is going to challenge them that their thinking is entirely wrong and that there is no correspondence between these appetites. There is a categorical difference. The sexual appetite within marriage is a good thing, as by its nature it brings two people into one relationship.

But sexual immorality is not a mere physical thing. It brings two people into a larger one-flesh relationship that is far beyond the physical realm. And when one who is a believer (being united in spirit with the Lord) does this, the action is bringing Christ and the “prostitute” (mere sexual/physical partner) into a spirit relationship that is incongruously wrong.

His advice (vs. 18) is to do what Joseph did in Egypt – flee from it as fast as your running legs will take you!  The reason is that this sin is categorically different than others. Think of it as computer hardware versus software. Sexual sin affects the hardwiring and interior components.

This was illustrated one time by a professor I had in a class. Introducing this concept he said to think about what was the first time you did or experienced ______ or ______, as he mentioned a whole host of ideas. And most in the class were thinking for practically each item that they really were not sure when or where that was. Then he said, “Can you recall your first sexual experience?”  And I think everyone immediately had that memory pop up without any dredging whatsoever.

Paul concludes with a powerful thought. He reminds the readers that in knowing Christ as Savior they have the Spirit living within them as if they were the temple housing for God’s presence that goes with them. Beyond that, they should remember that this was all possible because of a price that was paid – a price that no person could ever pay, but that was paid for them by grace.

Wow, that puts a spin on it for sure. And the final exhortation is to honor God with the body as well as the soul and spirit. It all makes sense.

6:12 – “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” [Gen. 2:24] 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

6:18 – Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

When I look back at one particular period of my childhood, I am surprised that I ended up being a pastor all of these years. Within the church that so many of my family attended (four generations at once), there was a huge fight that was ridiculous on so many fronts. Even watching it as a 10-year-old, I recall thinking that these silly adults were far less mature than my own circle of friends. It was embarrassing. The church split, and even now, 53 years later, it has never really recovered from that time.

Imagine a family where two brothers are in business together, let’s say in the construction industry. They have a disagreement that becomes very public and well-known. Various family members side with one or the other. As you look at it, you don’t know what to think, especially if you are friends with family on both sides of the dispute. It gets worse. They end up going to court, where the contention becomes even more public, and the settlement sets up long-term resentments. Would you want to be a part of that family?

So why would unsaved people in Corinth want to be attracted to the church when there were disputes between church members in the public arena?  That certainly wasn’t a very good testimony that the concepts being taught about knowing God through Christ would yield a better life.

Unity in the church and a testimony before the unbelieving world were issues that were bigger and more important than whatever controversies were leading fellow believers into court proceedings adjudicated by mere people of the world. This was very upside-down and shameful, according to Paul’s rebuke. Rather, these disputes should be settled within the church family. There is a role for friends, fellow saints and leaders to work together toward resolution and peace.

In fact, Paul says it would be better for the one being cheated and wrongly dealt with to, rather than continue the fight for justice, accept the situation and bring it to an end. But the Corinthians appeared to be quick to seek to take advantage of others, and likely to retaliate by upping the stakes.

This sort of behavior was not different than the rest of the world, and it called into question the reality of their faith and allegiance to the gospel truth. This was a life pattern that was not the Christian way. And just as those who had consistent life patterns of common, Greco-Roman activities of sexual immorality of varied sorts, idolatry, greediness, drunkenness, slandering others and swindling were clearly not connected to God’s kingdom, so also was this wrongful issue of public lawsuits.

Bottom line: the Corinthians needed to understand that genuine faith should yield genuine life change. They needed a commitment to be who they were now in Christ – redeemed sinners – and not who they were when lost and separated from God. And that is a timeless truth with application coming down to our own time.

6:1 – If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? 2 Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4 Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? 5 I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6 But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers!

6:7 – The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. 9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

As we begin this week by going to chapter 5 of 1 Corinthians, we are going to enter multiple upcoming chapters dealing with difficult and unpleasant subjects. The immediate three upcoming issues involve Paul addressing an immoral situation that was well-known within the church, the difficulty of dealing with interpersonal disputes, and the call for sexual purity.

Frankly, I’d rather not be writing about any of these things; I’d rather be addressing some deep point of theology. But the issues in the upcoming chapters are not isolated to Corinth or the first century. And some of them (particularly in the area of marriage and remarriage) do not always have simple and clear answers. As they say, “It’s complicated.”

Even so, there are issues that are truly black and white. And this first of these is confronted by Paul in 5:1-5 …

5:1 – It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? 3 For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. 4 So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.

Even in the secular world of Corinth, sleeping with one’s mother-in-law would not be acceptable behavior. Yet for some reason the church was overlooking this commonly-known sin. Likely they were proud of their tolerance (doesn’t that sound like 2019?). Rather, they should have put the man out of the church (the woman, by not being spoken of similarly, was apparently not associated with the church). The Corinthians should have been grieved by this and confronted it.

Confronting is the challenge, the difficult thing to do. It remains this way. Trust me … these situations are awful to deal with. Yet by not dealing with them, they tend to merely get worse. Sometimes it is necessary for leaders in a church to take a strong stand and say that a person’s sin needs to stop, or they need to be put outside the family of faith.

Always, the goal of church discipline and confrontation is not to be overly judgmental or condescending. The issue needs to be clearly one of sinful rebellion, and the desired outcome is to see the offender repent – to stop the sin and walk toward Christ and restored fellowship. It does not help the person to not confront the sin. Just as with disciplining your young children, you don’t do it because you like coming down on them, you do it to see their behavior corrected. It is not loving to not discipline – be it children in the home or family members in the church.

The meaning of the word for the “flesh” in this passage – speaking of the person being turned over to Satan for the destruction of it – is argued by theologians as either the physical body or the sinful nature. I can see it both ways. But in any event, it speaks of a person being put out from under the protective umbrella of the church family, thrust exposed into the storms of the world that Satan controls. The desire of this is that whatever “destruction” happens will result in the person’s soul salvation and final restoration at the end of it all … even the end of life.

But there was another reason for putting this man out of the church …

5:6 – Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Allowing the sin to go unchecked within the church family would inevitably lead to more of the same, though maybe not the exact same sin. The lackadaisical attitude would lower standards of holiness and righteousness to the extent that immorality would expand.

The illustration is that of yeast. We know what it does in the baking process, something that is really quite amazing. This was of course not a new illustration. It went back to the flight of the Israelites out of Egypt and the centuries of remembrance of that in the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The application was to move forward without the “yeast” of wickedness, but with the unleavened reality of truth and righteous obedience.

And Paul’s exhortation goes beyond the one individual …

5:9 – I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

5:12 – What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.” [from: Deut. 13:5; 17:7; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21,24; 24:7]

We know that the world will always be full of sexual immorality and the purveyors of such. Beyond that are other people habitually practicing other blatant sins that dominate them: idolatry, slanderous speech, drunkenness, financial abuse of others, etc.  We cannot avoid being around these people in the world; but in the church family, this is not tolerable. Eating with people in that culture represented acceptance, and the church services involved meals shared together. It is one thing to have some association with people who are seeking to get their lives in place, but quite another to see them as full-fledged members while ignoring their ongoing errors.

Open rebellion and sin by those fully a member of the church family needs to be confronted, as that is the loving thing to do; and those who won’t repent need to be put out of the church. That is clear.

Around churches, then and now, people come and seek to learn more about life and truth, often being seen regularly though not fully engaged in an official way. And it is not rare for these “seekers” or “immature believers” to bring some messes with them. Our policy at TSF has been to say that we want to walk in life with those who are moving consistently toward the Lord, even if far from ideal, while also growing to know and love others enough that, when they are walking away from the Lord, we speak to them of the dangerous and downward slope upon which they tread.

Yes, it’s complicated.

Sometimes it is difficult to be a father. There are occasions when you look at your children and you are disappointed in their behavior and attitudes. Though it may be easiest to overlook the issues and hope that they somehow resolve, more often it takes an intervention, as difficult as that will be. Hard things may be verbalized. Punitive actions may be necessary. It is going to hurt.

The Apostle Paul saw the Corinthians as his children – the children of faith. Though many others may have come along to be instructors or presumed leaders over them, he was their father in terms of bringing the gospel of life to them in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Paul felt comfortable in encouraging them to imitate him and his disposition on truth and relationships. Though he could not be with them in the near term, he was going to send Timothy to them. Here was another “brother” in the faith who had grasped from Paul what it meant to believe and to live the Christian life. He had imitated Paul in terms of this new teaching and revelation, and they could imitate him.

And the Apostle hoped that by God’s grace he himself would be able to visit them at some point. But what would that be like? What would he find?  Would there still be a contingent of arrogant leaders whom he would have to rebuke?  It was Paul’s hope that he could come in love and with a gentle spirit, not with a rod of discipline. That would be up to the Corinthians and their reaction and actions upon the receiving of this letter of communication.

Again, we recall that the messy situations in Corinth were much the result of this being a very new group of Christians who were uninformed about how to live the Christian life together. Yes, they should have been more advanced than they were at this point. Yet it remains true that there were few models of mature Christians communities to follow as an example. Bold personalities in the group surely reverted easily to domineering patterns of life from their former way of life.

Yes, bold and arrogant personalities are not the hallmark only of the first century world. They can be as prevalent in the modern age, even in the church – as such can also revert to the power-mongering of a former way of life in the outside world. Life in the family of faith is not to be controlled by such patterns; rather, the model of Christ’s life of humility in serving others is to prevail. And there are times when leadership in a church needs to confront arrogant personalities who bring to the faith family the modalities of the system of this passing world. And Paul will soon be speaking about that as well.

I Cor. 4:14 – I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. 15 Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17 For this reason I have sent 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.

4:18 – Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. 19 But 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. 21 What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

Understand that by what follows today, I’m not complaining about my life as having had it so terribly bad as a minister and pastor. Quite the opposite is the actual truth, relatively speaking. Over the four decades now of working in churches and meeting hosts of others in the same “occupation,” I’ve met few who have lived the charmed and good life of church labor that I have been blessed to enjoy.

Even so, it has not been without some incidents and criticisms, along with occasional harsh and unfair verbiage. There have been accusations at times of both doing something I should not have, or not doing something I should have. Most hurtful is the occasional “wrongful motivation accusation.”  Hey, I was not headed toward ministry as a youth in high school. Probably I was moving toward a career in financial investing or something like that … if I did not make it in Major League Baseball with the Baltimore Orioles!  Along the way, through circumstances not of my planning, I ended up in a Bible college doing music education, only to be roped into a greater interest in theology – leading to seminary and an inevitable life in the local church ministry. It wasn’t my big idea!  God said to get to work over there in that local church portion of the vineyard until He gave me another assignment. I’m still waiting for Him to come give me something else to do instead. Hasn’t happened yet.

Paul surely felt like this. He wasn’t on the Road to Damascus to become an apostle of Jesus Christ. Apollos likewise was headed in another direction. And remember that Peter was rather content with his fishing career. But God had other plans for all of them, and here they were (Paul and Apollos being referenced here in chapter 4), serving in the Corinthian church to a mixed bag of reviews across the spectrum. Paul is going to give the Corinthians some perspective on how they should see these varied servants and leaders …

1 Corinthians 4:1 – This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

Let me go Greek on you for a minute. It is interesting that Paul does not on this occasion use the regular word for a “servant” that is most often used (sometimes referencing the idea of a slave). Rather on this occasion, the word is one that speaks of a rower in a boat – the “under rower” to be specific – the guy who is on the very bottom.

And when Paul writes here of themselves as being “entrusted” or “given a trust,” this is a term that speaks of the steward or manager of a household. The master/owner who had many hired hands needed a foreman sort of person to oversee all that went on. This word is a combination of “oikos” (house) and “nomos” (law or rule) … so it described the ruler of the house, under the owner. The primary responsibility of the “oikonomos” was to be found faithful in his tasks.

So Paul and Apollos were guys who were merely the most basic servants on one hand, yet also those tasked with responsibilities. And Paul was not really that worried about what the Corinthians thought of him …

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. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

Yes, God is the judge. So it does not really matter if you are wrongly accused in your work for Him. And likewise, it is not our role to be final judges on the ministry of others, especially since we cannot see and know everything. God is the best bookkeeper. He will remember all that has been done, and He also knows the exact nature of the underlying heart motivation.

4:6 – Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other. 7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? 8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you!

Whatever we have as gifts in service have come from God. There is no place for pride in judging others, though the Corinthians were rather proud and thought they had really arrived in a high place.

Paul would wish to not have the adversities of ministry and the conflicts and difficulties that came along with it. But the role he was called to play was one that positioned him for the hardships that naturally followed …

4:9 – For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. 10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! 11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.

You would certainly not expect Paul to be so criticized and harshly treated as he was in Corinth (and many other places). Here he is – the guy who brought the life-changing gospel to the majority of these people in the first place – being written off by those people who now saw themselves as experts and authorities. Yet Paul and his teammates endured through it all, responding as Christ did to those who persecuted him.

We simply cannot expect that it is always going to go swimmingly well while serving Christ in a fallen world of sinners, not even by those redeemed who yet remain quite short of final sanctification. Opposition, even from those supposedly on the same team, is not going to be rare. But the faithful steward, the faithful “under-rower” in the boat, will continue to daily take up the cross and do the work at hand. God sorts it out in the end.

Diana and I have owned three homes over our 40+ years. The first was a rancher in Texas that was a starter home in every way. But we hit the market just at the right time, and the gain in value made it possible for us to do one of the most bold and crazy things I’ve ever done. My father-in-law and I built a 2500-square-foot, two-story colonial home in New Jersey in a field very close to the elementary school I attended two decades earlier.

When I say that “we built” it, I mean that in the most literal sense. Other than the poured foundation, the drywall, and sanding the hardwood floors, we did every last bit of it between us (frankly he did much more, since he was the one who knew what he was doing!). My own father was totally skeptical that this would work out; he thought we were crazy to attempt this. I now find myself looking back on that and understanding his point of view more clearly.

As we were nearing the end of the construction, I can very clearly recall several occasions of doing some finishing work inside the house while violent storms were raging outside. And I remember wondering to myself, “Is this place really going to withstand this? Did we build it appropriately and strong enough? I know we used a lot of nails!” (Actually, with 2×6 exterior walls, the place was a fortress!)

The proof of the quality of any construction project comes when storms arrive, or time passes. Does it stand? What remains on the other side?

Paul picks up this analogy when talking to the Corinthians about the labors that Apollos and he and others were doing in the process of building the church of Jesus Christ. Just as in my NJ house, someone else did the foundation and others merely built upon it. Jesus Christ is the foundation of the church that others over time build upon through their labors. The quality of that construction may vary according to the diligence and care of the laborers and the composition of the materials. But a day comes when it will be revealed – a day that Paul pictures as one with fire, speaking of the Day of Judgment. There will be reward for excellence, while nothing but the smell of the fire on the clothing of those who escaped alone with nothing to show in terms of reward.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3 …

3:10 – By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

There is great comfort in knowing that God sees and remembers our labors for him in the church of Christ. Though we may be forgotten and our efforts at advancing the truth of the gospel and the mission of the church may be lost to human memory, God does not forget nor fail to reward that service. The church universal is going to be successful. The gates of hell will not prevail against it. This is the winning team.

Also looking back many years, I will admit that there are elements of the traditional church ministry that were a part of my childhood and early pastoral years that I enjoyed and now grieve as a loss – believing we’ve sadly moved away from at least a few things that were good and healthy.

But there is one tradition that I am very, very glad to be beyond. That is the obligatory singing of the Doxology at the end of the service which gave walking time for the pastor to make his way to the central door at the rear of the auditorium for the hand-shaking of congregants as they exited.

In my New Jersey church, I had a cranky and eccentric elderly man who EVERY week sat on the center aisle about two rows from the back. As I walked past him to take my position at the door, he would reach into his pocket and pull out a wintergreen lifesaver for me. It often also contained pocket lint.

Rather than having the focus upon me or the sermon, I attempted to make the event more about asking the passing congregants about things in their lives, etc. Yet at the same time I had to keep the line moving and not irritate those who wanted to get out, but who also felt an obligation to LIE/say something to the pastor about his wonderful sermon.

Many of you will remember one of my famous professors from Dallas Seminary – Howie Hendricks – who was well-known around the country from Christian radio, Focus on the Family, Promise Keepers, etc.  He called this weekly ritual at the back door of a church “the ceremony of the worm.”  We might also recall a worm allusion from the famous hymn that speaks of Christ’s death as “for such a worm as I.”

The fact of the matter is that being rooted in Scriptural truth and the fruit that comes from it is about the message itself and not the deliverer of the message – no matter how gifted he is. The power is in the message, not the worm delivering it. To pedestalize (I just made up that word) preachers is sort of like being sent a million dollars from your grandfather on the other side of the country, but thinking little about thanking or honoring him while throwing a party for the mailman simply because he delivered the check!

But the Corinthians were doing this when they made a big deal about different public, upfront personalities around them. In these final words of chapter 3, Paul basically says, “Stop thinking you are so smart, quit being groupies, stop having a ceremony for the particular worm you like, and focus on God as the source.”

1 Cor. 3:18 – Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”[from Job 5:13]; 20 and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”[from Ps. 94:11] 21 So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas[Peter] or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

It really is all about God and his Word. The power is in the truth, quickened by the work of the Holy Spirit, merely delivered through the mouths of worms who only know anything or have any ability because God first gave it to them. So don’t be rooted in the ministry of people (especially preachers), but be rooted in the Word of God, trusting also that he will use you as an effective worm to help others.

So remember, at the end of the day, not only is our situation I’m a mess, you’re a mess, it is also I’m a worm; you’re a worm!   

Paul returns to his confrontation of the Corinthians for their pattern of breaking into various factions around certain teachers and leaders. The passage in chapter one includes Peter/Cephas, who is not mentioned here, as well as a group who identified themselves only as “of Christ.”  We are merely guessing, but perhaps some of the following characteristics might give some idea as to how these various factions thought.

The first group that favored Paul probably liked his aggressive, type-A personality and style of getting straight to the point and doing things boldly. These were probably those who were the early-adapters to technology and iPhone applications. The git-r-done types.

The group that preferred Apollos was likely the highly-educated and sophisticated crowd. Apollos was the university dude. Surely his teaching was very deep and the crease in his trousers perfectly slick. Every word was well-spoken. He oozed classiness and gravitas.

Peter likely appealed to the blue-collar crowd – the Teamsters Union types in the transportation industries of trans-peninsular shipping. He was raw and rough, rugged and personable. Likely he also appealed to those who had a long-standing connection to the Old Testament Law – Peter coming from that tradition and having been a close associate with Jesus.

I’ll let you all sort out which of the three of these relate to the three primary teachers we’ve had here at TSF over the past decade. Maybe you’ll see Chris Wiles as the blue-collar Peter, Tim as the university dude, and me as the aggressive Apostle Paul!?!  (insert smiley face and other appropriate emojis)

And then there was a fourth group – the Christ Crowd. Probably this group was turned off by the antics of the other three factions, but due to their critical and condescending posture they inadvertently ended up having their own high-minded, erudite clique.

Whatever, it was a mess. And Paul essentially says to them: “you’ve got issues; repeat after me, ‘I’m a mess, you’re a mess.’”  Actually, here is what he specifically wrote …

1 Cor. 3:1 – Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

What Paul is doing here is bringing to the front of their understanding that this issue of divisions among them is a spiritual one that does not speak well of their maturity. They should have been bigger and more advanced than to become bogged down by something so terribly silly as preferring one leader over another and becoming groupies.

They were still “worldly,” acting like the people around them rather than being different and living by the power of the Spirit … acting like mere infants in Christ. They thought they were so mature and that Paul had given them deep truth, when in fact, Paul had been actually rather basic. Just like a baby in our infant nursery is not ready yet for Texas Beef Brisket and would choke on it, they weren’t ready for deep doctrine (like what we’re going to have this summer with our series “The Dog Days of Deep Doctrine)!  What I’m saying is that they were not really ready to live life like Ezekiel Elliott plays football for the Cowboys!  (insert here his “feed me” video with a first down sign!)

Such quarreling was simply not the way they should be behaving. He calls it merely human, and they should be thinking and acting on a higher, spiritual plane.

To illustrate this, Paul brings these “iconic teachers” down to the appropriate earthly level so that the eternal gospel of life in Christ can be emphasized correctly…

1 Cor. 3:5 — What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.

After some years away from growing a garden, I grew a few things this past summer. I’m always amazed when that little packet of seeds that could fit in your shirt pocket grows an entire row of plants filled with fruit. And it really grew this past year!  Should I feel really proud of myself for planting those seeds?  For watering them? (not that anyone needed to do that in 2018!)  No, the miracle is that a little seed grows into a big plant.

And so it is with the seed of the gospel message. One person may plant it with a communication about the gospel and another water it by giving some further explanation about that truth, but the real miracle is when it takes root in the life of a person and they are united into the kingdom of light and life … even producing more fruit.

A couple of times in the last year I’ve had instances of people communicating with me about how they came to Christ during my time at the previous church in New Jersey … or that they grew in some way and are now serving in ministry. One of them who contacted me is a person I can barely even remember. Diana’s uncle passed away a couple of weeks ago at age 88, and I asked her about what she knew of when he and his wife came to faith. Diana reminded me that they did it in our house in Texas 40 years ago!  I had forgotten that.

See, it’s not about the messenger, it’s all about the message. Messengers come and go; the message is the eternal and timeless Word of God embodied in the gospel message of Christ’s work. All of us – not only the career types like Tim/Trent/me – have a job to know and communicate the gospel. Sometimes we have seeds in our hands, so we plant them. Sometimes we find ourselves with the bucket or hose, and we water the plants around us. We’ll be rewarded someday for that faithfulness.

Paul says explicitly here who we all are … we are co-workers … and he finishes the metaphor about agriculture before transitioning to a building metaphor that we’ll look at tomorrow …

1 Cor. 3:9 – For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Yes, we are in it together … in the big things and the small things, planting and watering. Just be faithful today with the next opportunity at hand to serve God.