In the sermon 'Fools for Christ's Sake,' David Green discusses 1 Corinthians 4:6-13, focusing on the issues of pride and division within the church at Corinth. The sermon highlights how pride led to divisions as members aligned themselves with different leaders like Paul, Apollos, and Cephas, creating factions within the church. Green emphasizes Paul's humility, as he refrains from taking sides and instead encourages unity by illustrating that all leaders are equal under God, likening them to farmers and builders who work together for God's increase. The sermon warns against elevating men above scriptural bounds and cautions against the arrogance that comes from feeling superior due to personal preferences in theology or church leadership. Green notes Paul's use of sarcasm to point out the Corinthians' misplaced self-conceit and contrasts it with the apostles' reality of suffering for Christ. The sermon concludes with a reminder that the true hero of the Christian story is Christ, and believers must avoid mixing worldly wisdom with their faith.

Thank you. In your copy of God's word, let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter four, beginning at verse six today. We'll go down to verse 13 for our text. 1 Corinthians chapter four, beginning at verse six. And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes, that you might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, and no one of you be puffed up for one against another?

For who maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou didst not receive it? Now you are full, now you're rich, you've reigned as kings without us. I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.

For I think that God has set forth us, the apostles, last as if we're appointed to death, for we are made a spectacle unto the world and the angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake but you're wise in Christ. We are weak, you're strong, you are honorable but we are despised. Even unto this present hour, we both hunger and thirst and are naked and are buffeted, have no certain dwelling place and labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled we bless, being persecuted we suffer it, being defamed we entreat, we are made as the filth of the world and are the off scouring of all things unto this day." As we've been going through this letter, this epistle to the church at Corinth, we've noted that the church at Corinth was divided.

They were divided over Men. Title of my sermon today is Fools for Christ's Sake. Fools for Christ's sake. At the root of all sin is pride and the root of church division is pride also. Paul as he wrote to this divided church, the church of Corinth, he was involuntarily brought into it because some of the church said they were of Paul, while others said they were of Apollos, and Some said they were of Cephas.

But as Paul wrote to the church, he did not get down into their squabbles as we've seen, but rather as he wrote to them, He applied the analogies of these men, including himself, being equals, being farmers, being builders, being servant stewards. Did Paul have an opinion of who was the better preacher? Probably. I'm sure he did. But for their sake, for the sake of the church at Corinth, he didn't get into that, did he?

He didn't give his opinion as to who he thought was better than the other. He didn't get into their division in that way. In fact, in all humility, he made sure that they were all placed on the same level field. We're all farmers. One planet, one water, but God gives the increase.

We're all builders. We've studied all of that and we've read all of that. We saw how he wrote those things under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In fact, As he says here, he did this in this text, he said, so that you might learn in all, in us, not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. God's faithful men, his faithful slaves as it were, are to be treated with respect only within the bounds of what is scriptural.

And this is true and consistent throughout all of the pages of the Bible in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 12. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and over you in the Lord, and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their worksake and be at peace among yourselves." So that's what he told the Church of Thessalonica over when he wrote to Timothy in 1st Timothy chapter 5 and verse 17 And 18 he says, Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. For the scripture sayeth thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn, and the laborer is worthy of his reward. And then of course there's that text in Hebrews chapter 13.

Hebrews chapter 13. We're not certain who wrote the book of Hebrews. Some say it may have been Paul. Some say it may have been Apollos. But we're really not sure.

Either way, it was Holy Spirit-inspired. It's not really a letter. It may have even been a sermon. If you read it straight through, it's about 45 minutes long. But in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 7, he says, Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation." And then again in verse 17, obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves for they watch for your souls as they that must give account that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you." And so, there's balance.

What the church at Corinth did is they took this way too far on the other side and they made monuments out of men and divided over those monuments. Pastors, preachers, missionaries, Paul, Apollos, Cephas, bringing it into the Church of Corinth there, taking it into our church, Reggie Moore, Doug Newell, Rob Jeffries, David Green, all to be respected though all different, but not to be elevated, not to be divided over, you see, not to have squabbles over. And that goes even beyond the history of the local church. And so, and so we've got 2, 000 years of church history that any one of us could squabble over. So one person might say, oh, I really like Charles Spurgeon.

And someone else might say, well, I really like John Gill. And someone else might say, well, I really... And on and on we go. So Paul puts it here. No one of you be puffed up for one against another.

There were some major problems in that church with pride. Multiple times he brings this up. We'll see that as we go along. I mean, we won't turn there today, but he brings this up in verses 18 and 19, in 1 Corinthians 5, verse 2, he brings that up to them, in chapter 8, verse 1, chapter 13, and verse 4, and even into 2 Corinthians, chapter 12 and verse 20. Back into our text there in verse 7, in 1 Corinthians 4 and verse 7, he says, For whom maketh thee to differ from another?

And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? For who maketh thee to differ from another, or as the LSB puts it, for who regards you as superior? You see, it wasn't just that there was one group in one corner, another group in another corner, another group over here. It was that one group felt that they were superior over the other group, and the other group felt that they were superior over everybody else, and this superiority complex was going on in the church.

Arrogance and pride. If you have a theology, a doctrine, a following, if your thoughts about a favorite preacher, and it's okay to have a favorite preacher, everybody does, You can't get around that. If you have a favorite preacher, if you have a preference on a Bible translation, if you have a favorite method of music, favorite fill-in-the-blank, whatever it is, that's fine. Or method of music. My favorite, fill in the blank.

Whatever it is, that's fine. But if it makes you feel superior to everyone else, you've got something, but it ain't Christianity. You see, The hero in your story, the hero in my story is Christ. It's not about me, it's not about you, it's Christ. For who maketh thee to differ from another?

He says, who makes you feel superior to everybody else? What hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now, if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hast not received it?" This line of questioning that he's asking them is taking them back up to chapter 3 and verse 5. And if you'll go there with me for a moment, 1st Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 5. Who then is Paul and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed even as the Lord gave to every man.

If there's any difference between any of us, if there's any difference between any of our favorite preachers, There's no reason to boast. There's no reason to be proud in the flesh, you see. Later in the same epistle, if you go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 10 and 11, verses 10 and 11. What does Paul say about himself? Let's start back up just a little bit.

Let's start with verse 1. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures, that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve, after that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are falling asleep, some are dead. After that, he was seen of James, then of all the apostles, and last of all, he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time for I am what the least of the Apostles that am not meet to be called an Apostle because I persecuted the Church of God but by the grace of God but by the grace of God but by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace, which was bestowed upon me, was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, But the grace of God which was with me therefore whether it were I or they So we preach and so ye believed you see Paul says to them Look when I was with you, I preached this is what I preached There's witnesses to his resurrection He was seen of all these people.

He could have gotten very arrogant with them. He could have said, hey, you know I was with you from the beginning at the founding of this church. I don't know why you all are even squabbling. I don't know why I have to write this letter. I don't know how quick, I, no, no.

And there were times when Paul wrote to churches and he did have to defend his apostleship. He did have to defend who he was and all that, even sometimes to the Church of Corinth. There's a time and a place for those things. But understand, Paul is a very stern person, but he's also showing true humility here in understanding that the hero in Paul's story as an apostle, As a Bible writer, the hero is Jesus Christ. The Church of Corinth had no reason to be puffed up.

Paul had no reason to be puffed up. And you and I, we have no reason to be puffed up either. By the grace of God, I am what I am. By the grace of God you are what you are. Were it not for the grace of God you and I would be meeting this morning at some Catholic Mass thinking that the the wine and the wafer somehow literally become the body and the blood of Christ.

And how arrogant is it for us to make fun of those people when we ought to have a concern for them and their souls. For were it not for the grace of God we would be mixed up in that mess were it not for the grace of God you and I would be laying on the streets this morning high on some drugs or hung over from some whatever we did the night before. You see... We have no room to be arrogant over anything. Certainly, the church at Corinth had brought their arrogance into their church life.

They were divided over mere men, mere slaves. And when you put it that way, it doesn't make much sense. Who is Paul? Who is Apollos? Who is Cephas?

Who is Cephas? The men by whom you believed. Even as the Lord gave to every man. Paul planted, Paul is watered, but God gave the increase. They should have rallied behind Christ together, but they didn't.

And so Paul, as he writes, he articulates who they were as preachers to illustrate to the people that there was no reason for them to divide over these men. Sadly, far too often this is not the case among preachers and pastors and missionaries all the time. So a lot of times there's a lot of squabbling and fighting and all that sort of thing among us and I and and and and so this is very humbling for us to consider as preachers. In our day something to consider some of the worst divisions and fighting have happened among men in the pulpits, editors of papers and so on and so forth. We've set a terrible example to the churches down through the years.

But I thank God that Paul set this example here in the pages of divine inspired Word of God. And it's good to consider these things. Back into our text in 1 Corinthians chapter 4, Paul was being humble with them, but he does pour out some sarcasm. I hope you don't miss this as sometimes we do when we read. He says to them, now you're full, now you're rich, ye have reigned as kings without us.

And I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you." In his commentary in the 1800s the Baptist commentator Ezra Gold wrote that Paul is writing to them and he says more literally in line with the Greek, you are already filled. You have already become rich. You have ruled without us. How I wish you had ruled indeed so that we also might rule with you. Understand these things have not yet come.

The fullness of the Messianic gifts belonged to the time of the coming kingdom. But these men acted, the Corinthian church acted as if they had already come to them. In their self-conceit, they behaved as if they had them in the present position possession. The statement that Paul gives is bitter irony, and in the last part of it, it's sharpened by the emphatically placed phrase, without us. All the things that you believe that you've got, Church at Corinth, all this that you're attaining, it's not only before the time, but without the company and the aid of the apostles, your natural leaders.

Without them, you would not have become members of the kingdom, you would not have become, there would be no church at Corinth were it not for Paul or Apollos, so on and so forth. He says, I would to God you did reign, and we might also reign with you. Paul feels so sure that if they were reigning then that he would reign with them. You know, this, what he wrote, the way that he wrote, someone says, well, that's kind of sarcastic, writing to them that way. But I would remind you that Jesus wrote that way to the church at Laodicea.

Revelation chapter 3 verse 17. Revelation chapter 3 and verse 17, he says, Because thou sayest I am rich and increased with goods And have need of nothing, knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see." You see, the church at Corinth was no better off than the church at Laodicea. It was a self-satisfied church who felt that they had achieved some Spiritual greatness, far above everybody else. They didn't realize how poor, how wretched, miserable, blind and naked that they were.

They had their cliques. They were divided. The theme was, Let's talk about how great we are in our clique and how terrible everybody else is. Paul and his sarcasm is telling them, I wish I were like you. But understand, this is serious.

In their clique, their division, the Apollos group, the Paul group, the Cephas group, it may have felt good for that group, each group, to pat themselves on the back. We told that they were the cream of the crop in Christianity and that everybody else was doing it wrong. And had Paul not written this letter to correct this issue within that church, had God not intervened with that church, it would have split three different ways, maybe four. Over in Luke chapter 18, This is not the way that Christianity is supposed to be. Luke chapter 18, beginning of verse 9, verse 9.

And he, meaning Jesus, spake this parable unto a certain which trusted in themselves, that they were righteous and despised others. Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God I think thee that I'm not as other men are, extortioners, unjust adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in a week, I give tithes of all that I possess, and the publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.

For every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." Think about that and consider what the scripture is saying here, what the Bible is telling us here at the Church of Corinth and the message throughout the scripture. Our theology, our doctrine is not to exalt us, it's to lift up the name of Christ. And it must always be so. And may God help us to always be faithful to the message of Christ and not the message of self. As Paul continues there with the church of Corinth, he says there in chapter 4, verse 9, he says, He says, for I think that God has set forth us, the apostles, last as it were, appointed to death, for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.

So now he begins to contrast the way they felt about themselves with the reality of how it was for the apostles. The imagery is that of condemned prisoners who were brought out into the Roman arena to die. They were brought out to the theater. In fact, that word spectacle is just that. It's the word theotron, which is where we get our word theater.

God has set forth us, the apostles, last as it were appointed to death. They made a show in the Roman world. Perhaps you've heard of the gladiators and maybe you've read Fox's Book of Martyrs or Martyrs' Mirror. In those times, they would bring out Christians for sport and the slaves for sport and it was a fight to the death sometimes with animals sometimes with other men This was the grand finale of the show He says we're made a spectacle. Their sufferings, Their persecutions for Christ's sake made them a gazing stock of the world.

Christianity was being spread all around the known world. How? By a squabbling church at Corinth? No. By a man who was getting beat up, bruised up, put into prison, stoned, left for dead, all over the known world.

His name was Paul. The others made a spectacle. He'd get beat up in one town, have to leave, and he'd go into the next town still bruised up. We read about it in Acts. The Jews, the Romans, everyone tried to get rid of him.

But there were people being saved. There were churches being started. Paul and the other apostles, what did they do with that? Their sufferings, their persecutions for Christ's sake, made them a gazing stock of the world. They took it humbly.

What did the Church of Corinth have? They had a bunch of squabbles over men. You see, the wisdom of this world is what they had. Paul says to them, in other words, we've got the scars. Show me your scars.

Get in the fight for Christ. As he goes on, verse 10, 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 10 through 13, We'll take this as a unit here. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, you are strong, you are honorable, but we are despised. Even under this present hour, we both hunger and thirst, are naked and are buffeted, have no certain dwelling place and labor working with our own hands, being reviled, we bless, being persecuted, we suffer it, being defamed, we entreat.

We are made as the filth of the world or the off scouring of all things under this day. Again, Paul is using sarcasm here. We are fools for Christ. We are fools for Christ. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ.

You see the sarcasm there? We are weak but you are strong. You're honorable But we are despised. His writing drips with sarcasm. There is a worldly system, beloved.

And what does it think of us? It thinks we're fools. And if we're not careful, even Christians can get caught up in it. In Acts chapter 17, notice you can see the dividing line of it. Acts chapter 17, see Paul on Mars Hill.

Acts 17, Paul knew what he was talking about. There he is on Mars Hill. Acts 17 and verse 16, Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Has your soul been stirred within you? Now he's having to write to this church at Corinth and they're squabbling over mere men.

Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews and with the devout persons and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered him and some said what will this babbler say? Other some he seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection. You see, as he encountered these people, what did he do? His spirit was stirred, he encountered with them, He disputed in the synagogue with the Jews, with the devout persons in the market daily with them, taking the gospel to where it needed to go.

And the philosophers of the Epicureans, the Stoics, they encountered him. And they said, what will this babbler say? He says, he tells the church of Corinth, we're fools for Christ's sake. You're wise. Why?

You've caught up with the wisdom of this age. You're too wise to get down in this. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 18. We looked at it a few weeks ago, but. For the preaching of the cross is to them to perish foolishness.

One unto us which are saved is the power of God." When Paul says, we're fools for Christ's sake, but you're wise, He's telling them, you've caught, you've gotten caught up in the world system. And you've added Christ's name onto it, but you've gotten caught up in the wrong system. Oh beloved, we must not do that. It may, it may seem Whatever, I mean Paul was beat up and all those things, and they felt like they were living it up at Corinth. And they felt that each little group and their little factions, that they were something.

But that's not true Christianity. That's actually the world system. Even though they had the name of Christ mixed with it If you're a true follower of Christ you're full for Christ as Paul was and the others Let's not try and mix the world system into Christianity and squabble over things that really don't matter. At the end of the day, Jesus is the one that's the hero of our story. And he's got to be the message that we take out to the world.

The Church of Corinth serves as a reminder of how things ought not to be, but also how things should be, thanks to the Holy Spirit giving Paul a letter that he sent to them. We'll go ahead and stop there and we'll finish up where we left off more than we'll even next time. Brother Barry, would you please pray for us?