Pride and Suffering in Service
1 Corinthians 4:6-13 · Bob Eckel · Mar 20, 2016
1 Corinthians, No. 12
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926530561366

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Today's verses are verses 6 through 13, entitled, Pride and Suffering in Service. And actually that's kind of part of this lesson, but it's not the entire lesson. But it's a truncated title that's probably appropriate for the terminus, the last few verses of this particular section. We're going to begin reading in verse 1 of 1 Corinthians 4 to make sure we get into the passage before us in context. Saul reads, this is the New King James Version, actually my bad, this is the American Standard Version.

So verse 1, let a man so account of us as to the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God, moreover it is required of stewards that a man be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment, yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself, yet am I not hereby justified. But he that judges me is the Lord. Therefore, judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then shall every man have praise of God.

And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself, and to Apollos for your sakes. that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. For whom makes you to differ from another, and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst not receive it, why didst thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?

Now you're full, you're rich, you've reigned as kings without us, and I would to God you did reign, that ye also might reign with you, that we might also reign with you. For I think that God hath 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. We are fools for Christ's sakes, but we are wise in Christ. We are weak, but yet we are strong. You are honorable, but we are despised. even unto this present hour we both hunger and thirst and are naked and are buffeted and 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 and we're made as the filth of the world and are the outscoring of all things unto this day."

That doesn't sound like New American Standard. No, that's King James. I read my King James. Yeah, well anyway, it's the word of God. Let's just leave it as such. All right, so let's proceed then. The first verse we're going to look at today is verse 6. Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos. This, by the way, is the new King James. That's where I do my study. Transfer to myself and Apollos, for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other."

What things? What's Paul talking about here? He said, now these things, brethren. What things? It's kind of like therefore or wherefore. It's all those things that were just before this. All right. Good. So it's verses 1 through 5, which we read this morning, in terms of servants and responsibilities, et cetera. But then it's also 1 Corinthians 2, 5, and 6. Let's have someone pull that and read that for us. I think this kind of sets the stage repeatedly about what Paul is addressing to the church at Corinth. Someone read that, please. 2, 5, and 6.

That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God. Albeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world that come to naught." Don't we think that that's kind of a constant reminder of what Paul's dealing with is the wisdom of this world versus the wisdom of God, the foolishness of this world system versus the foolishness of God.

I mean, these things are oil and water. They don't mix. We're talking about two types of citizenship, two types of wisdom, two types of life. And this is a constant theme in the book of 1 Corinthians, the epistle to 1 Corinthians. Then it says, have figuratively transferred is one word in the text, and is best translated as transformed. And this is an active indicative. It's factual.

He's transforming this to himself and to Apollos for your sakes. And notice, this was for Paul and Apollos for your sakes, our sakes. Not just their sakes, but our sakes. And they were to model this condition for the brethren. So Paul's appealing to the believers in Corinth that ultimately These things that I've just mentioned to you, including the wisdom of the world versus the wisdom of God, the foolishness of the world, the foolishness of God, these things were ultimately mirroring for you or transforming you to be more like Papalus and myself. Now, is Paul cocky here? If you pick and choose verses about Paul in the New Testament, you can say this is kind of a cocky guy. You know, be ye followers of me as I am of Christ.

I mean, 1 Corinthians 11.1 sounds pretty good. Hip hop, walking like Christ, be like me.

Now, there's never any element of that. And in fact, the verses that follow here really give us deep insight into this not being a cockiness on their behalf. What condition that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written? What condition is he talking about here? Well, it's not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. That's the condition to which Paul is referring. Not to think, by the way, is omitted from the Interlinear Greek and is not in some of the better texts. So that you may learn, think beyond what is written.

Not to think of, but to look beyond. And what does this really say and how does this affect how we walk? What's your thoughts here? Walk moment by moment. Remember the song, moment by moment? Moment by moment. But it's also to not follow what they do or how they walk, but mainly to focus on what they've taught. A message. Alright, but what's the end of this verse say? That none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. What's that called? What, horizontal vision?

It really is. It's not that the world system, comparing yourself to somebody else, that you may be found to be better, or it's easy to look better if you degrade somebody else, right? So that's the world system. It's always kind of accomplishments. that relate to intellect or athletic skills or ultimately performance on the stage. Or beauty. Beauty, in other words.

Other thoughts about this? For whom makes you different from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? So my question to the class, I just love this verse. Where's cockiness here? Where's overconfidence here? Where's self-esteem here? Don't you hate it when people talk about self-esteem? What's self-esteem? How about Christ-esteem?

By the way, people are different personality-wise. You can't judge someone who's more loquacious, more outward, more animated from someone who's quite quiet and shy. Personalities are independent of the Christ nature in a person versus the old man or the human nature in a person. So personalities don't judge personalities, but judge the atmosphere in which these personalities exist.

So where's the credit go? Any accomplishments that we accomplish in the world, who gets the credit for that? Do we have a responsibility? What's our responsibility? to behold him and listen to him. All right, but what do you talk about, Winnie, in terms of beholding him, etc. We need to live by faith, don't we, that we're ultimately being transformed and conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. And to God be the credit, to God be the glory. To God be the glory.

Next sentence. Great things he has done, right? Unbelievable. So Paul's warning of this idea of you're better than another really is not what the verse indicates. For who makes you different? Each one of us are uniquely created to God's glory. And therefore, personality becomes neutral. We all carry ourselves a little bit differently. It's not wrong or right. It's who we are.

But yet, in fact, to where the credit is due really is related to what these verses are really telling us. Other thoughts here? Anybody? Okay, do you think this first applies to just the teachers who were in Corinth or does it have a broader application? I think we've just kind of approached that before getting to the text on the screen here. No, I think it relates to each and every one of us, each and every day.

And yet some people, you know, basically you would never see this type of behavior and other people you would see it fairly constantly, but we still have a responsibility. The world system measures us with metrics. and to be accomplished in the workplace, or to be accomplished as even a mother in the home, or to be accomplished as a father in the home, or wherever else we find ourselves, the world system is looking at that, that the God be the glory, right? For things that are done. All of what we have is grace, so then what is our responsibility here? And again, it's to live by faith. And what's the faith principle that we live by? What's active faith for the believer? Faith comes in three verb tenses, right?

I was saved, I'm being saved, and I will be saved. I was saved is when? Many of us have dates. Some of us don't. We were raised in Christian homes and we're believers from a very young age. I will be saved, what's that mean? Got a quiet class this morning, come on, come on, come on, get involved. How about the rapture, right? Or how about when we leave these earthly bodies, we'll be eternally with Him in glory, right? How about, what's it like to be, the act of principle being saved, what's that all about?

Living by faith. Alright, living by faith, but what's that faith into? It's the process of being transformed and conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's the faith we operate in is learning how our position above translates into our day-to-day experience. So that's our responsibility to live by faith. We do have a responsibility. If we don't live by faith, we fall back into earthly ways and ultimately then these attributes of cockiness and overconfidence and self-esteem become the principle by which we operate.

All right, good. Verse 8, now ye are full, you're rich, you've reigned as kings without us, and I would to God ye did reign that ye might also reign with us. Now, you're full or satisfied. Satisfied by what? Is he applauding the brethren in Corinth? No, it's just a fact of life. You're blessed with every spiritual blessing. It's your position. Right. But what are they satisfied with? What's the body of Christ in Corinth satisfied with? The darkness to go away. Satisfied by earthly things, are they not?

Chapter 3, if we go back, they're wood, hay, and stubble. That's what they're satisfied with. Not spiritual food. They're partaking of the things of the world system and their satisfaction comes from the world system. By the way, I'm perfectly satisfied with having an automobile that works, wonderful kids around the country. We get comfortable here, don't we?

But what Paul's calling them to is, the earthly system, the world system, only offers so much. And wake up. There's a lot more to be satisfied with besides what the world system offers. Well, it's temporary because you can have all those things and pretty quickly they're gone. And if that's where you put your faith and trust, you're having a hard time. So I think constantly we need to remind ourselves of how fortunate we are to live in an age in which our spiritual hunger can be manifested in an atmosphere of relative comfort.

I mean, how many here don't have some sort of insurance? Is insurance godly? Well, it's not ungodly. It's just saying if our home burns down, if our car gets hit, we have an opportunity to have it paid for. But we pay into that. But insurance, some people claim that insurance isn't godly. That we need to trust God in all things, even in this earth.

Well, I live in a real world right now, even in my positions above. So, nothing wrong with having insurance, I don't think. Now, you are rich in possessions or spiritual resources? What do you think? There is probably lots of stuff. Lots of stuff, Cheryl says. Yeah, I think he's talking about you're rich in possessions of this earth. Especially where he says you have reigned as kings without us.

Yeah. What's that mean? That's the next question. Yeah. I just think it means you just what it says. You've reigned with, you know, in the worldly, in the world. and you're ignoring us. Even though you've been taught this, you're just ignoring us. Remember, these are believers now. This isn't addressing the unsaved world here. Brethren. Okay, I like that, Margaret. That's good. What about the contrast that we might also reign with you? And I would to God ye did reign that we also might reign with you.

Because he's saying, I wish that in fact you were depending on what we've already taught you, and be in that place, as opposed to over here reigning as kings in the world. Right, we're talking about spiritual hunger here, and then you do reign. Keep in mind, you're all reigning right now, positionally. So that's what Paul... really a hunger for the body to reign as he and Apollos reign, in terms of walking in the spirit of the new man. And there is no to God, by the way, in a better translation, saying I would to God. It's that I would, ye did reign, that we might also reign with you.

Paul's not talking about degrading himself and Apollos to the ways of the worldly system. that the Corinthian church is living in, them reigning with them means that what they're walking in by faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, spirit-led, he would have them reign with them as kings. Remember, positional truth really does play out here. Paul is challenging the Corinthian brethren to put aside their earthly possessions and pride and put on the new life based on position. Maybe that's overly spiritualizing this a bit, but I think it really fits the theme of this section of 1 Corinthians.

All right, let's turn to verse 9. For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death. For we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. Paul is doing more than thinking here. It's a present active indicative. Let's go back. Paul's not pondering whether God's displayed us the apostles last. He's saying this is true. I'm thinking this, but yet it's factual. That they're the last. Men condemned to death.

Spectacles to the world, both to angels and to men. Is God has displayed us the apostles last as men condemned to death a prophecy? What are your thoughts here? How do you think we're defining apostles here? Well, they all died pretty violent deaths. Okay, so the apostles of the Twelve, or is Apollos an apostle?

Sometimes it's used more broadly. Yeah. I think that's the use here. Those who are, in fact, spreading the word of God, who are close to Timothy, and Apollos, and Barnabas. I mean, the whole crew now are apostles more broadly defined than simply the Twelve.

How do you interpret last here? So is it a prophecy? I think it kind of is a prophecy. Paul kind of had this sense, perhaps being taught as given to us in the book of Galatians by the Lord Jesus Christ in the wilderness for three years, Paul probably had some insight as to what was ahead here. Last. How do you interpret last? Let's go back to the verse. For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last as men condemned to death. OK, so what about last?

No thoughts about last. Maybe I should have said less. Well, I'm quoting somebody, a gracious supposer. means in the lowest condition, the humblest state, a condition like that of beast. So it's not kind of last in a linear sequence or last temporally in terms of the chronology. It's last meaning least without any value. That's probably the best interpretation.

Don't you think that since Paul has already made the point that the gospel is foolishness, that men despise it, he's saying that you're going to be viewed by the world as being last. You're not going to be the top, you're going to be viewed as last. You're not intellectual if you believe that. The world views that as, you know, it doesn't see that Christ in you or Christ is of any value. It sees that as a detriment. So it views those folks as last.

I think he's referring to that, it seems like. And if Paul would have what he and Apollos are experiencing reign in them, they will also enter into that aspect of being last, right? We see that even today. It's still going on. We're going to personalize this a little bit more in the next few verses in terms of how we put on the hat of perspection in terms of where we currently live.

The word condemned to death is the only New Testament use, it's one word by the way, condemned to death is the only New Testament use and was typically used to denote conspirators who were thrown two at a time to the lions Or also criminals who were hurled to their death from the Capitoline Hill in Rome. And I have one picture of the Capitoline Hill in Rome.

That's from the back. The front is much more like a Colosseum kind of view. But the back, that's kind of the depth. I don't know if you get the three dimension there in the handout. But anyway, it's probably a pretty good fall from there. So criminals were thrown off the back end of the Capitoline Hill to their death. So this is kind of what this relates to, condemn to death. We're thinking about not a gentle death, but one that's quite traumatic and probably frightful. What does having been made a spectacle or theater to the world indicate? I think spectacle is kind of graphic, but theater is even more so, I think. Can you picture Christians of the Lions Coliseum being thrown off? This is theater-like.

Everybody's having a good time. You pay tuition. Or you pay admission and you go and you watch this horrible death. It seems like that was a very popular thing, watching people suffer. That was their sport of the day. We watch people suffer in the sense of football. I was going to say, what about NFL football? Normally they aren't dead. They don't die on the football field, they just don't think well when they get older. You look at hockey. Think about NHL hockey. It's the only sport where fighting is legal. You may get a penalty or you may not. It depends on how long the fight goes on. Anyway, I like both sports. That's why baseball is such a good. Then I think I grew up in Cincinnati. A few of you have seen Pete Rose's slides. in the Fosse at home. And anyway, baseball can be kind of violent too, depending on who you are. Remember personalities, they differ. They're neutral. They're not spiritual or aspirational. They're neutral. Anyway, we're talking about here theatrics, putting people to death. They are the last. They're like beasts.

I think Grodius really describes this probably pretty accurately. World, here is cosmos. What's the world system? Use Frequently in Scripture must be hundreds of times Cosmos is used in the New Testament. You live in it. Describe it. If I ask you in one sentence to describe the world system, how would you describe it? Get rich and live well. Get rich and live well.

Okay. Other definitions? How about self-centered? Any other thoughts? We have a quiet class this morning. Randy. group manifestation of the flesh, the descendants of Adam. Okay, I like that. That's the extension of self-centeredness, right? Alright, we'll take all those three. They all fit, don't they?

And to both angels and to men, the question to the class is, are these good or fallen angels? And by the way, I don't know the answer to this, but the commentators have suggested both. What are your thoughts here? And by the way, and to men, and for posts, mankind in general, not a specific man or men. I'm talking about mankind, all of us. What are your thoughts? Good or fallen angels? Let's read the verse again. Sorry. For I think that God's displayed us, the apostles, last as men condemned to death. For we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. Good or bad? Or both?

Well, Bobby, I've always kind of thought that, and my colleague kind of goes along with it too a little bit, and usually it will clarify if it's a fallen angel. It will add more detail. We don't have any more detail here, so most, I shouldn't say most, I would say the majority possibly, assuming it's a good angel. I think that's fair. I looked at three or four commentators here, and three out of four said good, and one said fallen angels. I like the idea of good. Let's hear some discussion about this.

It's contrasting both the angels and to man. Anthropos, man in general, would be world system kind of man, wouldn't it? We're talking about mankind. So I think the angels, in contrast, it's being displayed to the angels, the good angels, if you will, who are, by the way, watching over us, right?

We know angels are part of our existence, although I think it's one of the poorest understood concepts of the Bible, actually, how angels, in fact, minister to us. And how they're learning from us. Yeah, that's what I was going to say. They're learning from us. So we get a lot more of that, actually, biblically. The watching over us is totally something that I don't know where, because I don't think that's really in here much. It's more they're learning from us. So if that's the case. The scripture represents both though. Show me. Well, the Hebrews 1 passage. Hebrews 1 I think is one place. Hebrews 4, I can't think of all the others. Tom, you had a point to make. When Tom moves his hand around, it's usually to make a point.

Other thoughts about good versus bad angels here? I mean, fallen angels do have a role in the life of a believer. But again, the role of angels, less clear here. We can only speculate on this. There's really no perfect answer. All right, verse 10. We're fools for Christ's sake. But you're wise in Christ. We're weak, but you're strong. You're distinguished, but we are dishonored. This is really a tough verse. In fact, you just look at it out of context. So to whom is Paul speaking here? We versus you. Well, we are fools for Christ's sake. We're weak and we're dishonored.

I would consider that Paul, Apollos, and those walking as mature believers. And then you, wise in Christ, strong and distinguished. Now doesn't that sound like where we want to be? But, I'm describing this as irony embellished. And I think it can be best interpreted as mature believers versus those immature in Christ, emotionally and experientially, who are connected to the ways of the world, but yet claiming They are believers. This is where they think they are wise in Christ. They think they know it all. True. They are wise in Christ. Paul and Apollos who are describing themselves as weak. We're weak because we're our dependencies on the Lord, right? We don't take any credit for this ourselves. We're weak, but before the world we're weak, right? They're last, they're like beasts being thrown to the slaughter, condemned to death.

And they're strong because they're a little bit cocky here, a little bit overly confident, comparing themselves one to another. I'm reading between the lines here a bit, so give me that room. And they're dishonored. I mean, walking believers in the world system are dishonored. They're thought to be fools. Whereas they're in fact distinguished because they've been self-distinguished by their behavior.

Boy, something we all need to be careful of. Everybody okay with this? I think this is really Again, what I call irony embellished. The contrast between the strong who are perceived weak and dependent versus the weak who, in fact, are truly resting in the Lord and having him guide them. Randy?

I think if we look at what we've read all the way up until this point, we can see that Paul has emphasized the servant nature of what's there. In a culture that's proud to be servant, These are the weak ones. These are the ones inside the culture that are serving. We showed up and we served. We taught you. We poured out into you. We took away nothing.

That's weak. And before you came, I kind of dealt with this idea that I almost feel like going back. If you could go back, just for Randy's benefit. No, I think if you go back to the second page, The verse that I said I loved, you know, for whom makes you different from another and what do you have that you didn't receive? Now, if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? Worse cockiness here. Worse overconfidence. Worse self-esteem. I mean, these should be non-existent.

And then back to a point I've made before in many classes that I've had the privilege to be involved with here at Holly Hills. When we look at ourselves and give ourselves credit for our walk, that's not glorifying to God. So the walk of a mature believer is one which exists to God be the glory and we live without really judging ourselves how we're doing each and every day. That's a spirit-led walk and I think that's what we're talking about here. That's what Paul and Apollos are talking about, about being weak and dishonored before the world because they're not taking credit for themselves about what God is doing in their lives.

All right, to the present hour, we both hunger and thirst. So here's the title, Roger, Pride and Suffering and Service. Now we're going to get to the title of the lesson, which, again, just a statement of fact. To the present hour, we hunger and thirst. We're poorly clothed and beaten and homeless. Here, I think this is very simple and summarial.

Here, Paul reflects on the many trials and sufferings that he's experienced throughout his ministry. It's just a statement of this is who I am, this is where I've been, and likely he's indicating where he's going. He's condemned to death, right? 2 Corinthians 11, 23, and 27.

Let's read that together this morning. And if somebody could get that and read loudly, I'll try to bring the microphone closer to you so we can have it recorded. I think it actually gets picked up OK, I think someone please get to the ministers of Christ.

I speak as a fool. I am more in labors, more abundant in stripes above measure in prison, more frequently in death. Often from the Jews, five times I received 40 strikes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I have been in the deep. In journeys often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. In weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. So let's just reflect on this for a moment. I mean, I'm just bowled over. Can any of us position ourselves going through these things? How would we have done?

And you don't have to do that necessarily, but you know, here's a man that the Lord gave us in terms of where he'd come from, killing Christians. They're being taught by the Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, saved on the road to Damascus, taken abroad or out of the arena for three years and taught by the Lord Jesus Christ himself, and then exemplified for us, for us to know what he went through on behalf of the gospel. Absolutely incredible.

And I don't know about you, I have trouble relating to this. God's not put us in that position today. We still are in the position of bringing people to salvation and to God be the glory by our walk and our testimony and the truth of the word of God. But there are people in the world who are experiencing It also maybe helps us to put our particular trials and suffering in perspective and say, well, you know, Paul goes to the end, which is just beyond what most will ever experience. But so maybe our day-to-day trials, and even the very severe ones, you say, well, maybe, you know, if the Lord allowed Paul to suffer, then maybe I'm not so, you know, Lord, OK, it's OK if, you know, I accept what you've given me in my life. You know, you know the end from the beginning.

You're God. I'm the creature, the creator, and it's okay. For your purposes, it's okay. And if Paul were here, I think what he would do would be to encourage us and strengthen us in the testimony. And keep in mind, one of the things that I personally have found most helpful in the small trials and tribulations, I have had many in my life, but I'm thankful that I can look at them from the perspective of just think each one of you of your citizenship. You're not part of this earthly system. Your citizenship's in heaven. And so therefore, when these things come up, as we think about where our true citizenship is, this is just temporary address for us down here.

That doesn't make the trials and tribulations any less. And God's not in the position of changing our circumstances, although we know he could. He's in the position of transforming and conforming us to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ through these trials and tribulations. A whole different ballgame. And the world system doesn't see it that way. Totally different. Any other thoughts about this?

Whenever you get depressed about your own circumstances, go read 2 Corinthians 11.23-27 and put that into perspective. more than 40 was thought to kill you. You're right.

On medically speaking they thought that was the case and the Jews being legalistic added a buffer law and said we'll do it 39 times just in case we're off by one because the law said a maximum of 40 whippings. So what would almost kill you five times is phenomenal to imagine once let alone five times And he did it and he kept serving. I just think about that. That's an excruciating pain that my mind can't fathom by itself.

Good, good, thanks for coming. And that was interesting, at the bottom of that, in 2 Corinthians there, it says, and then, besides this, I had the daily pressures of blah, blah, blah, blah, of the people and situations and all that. Starving to death and no clothing. You know, other brothers in the Lord and other difficulties, so, you know, life was not, you know, so this, quote, prosperity gospel, you think, where do I see that? Yeah, exactly. Where is that?

But remember, Paul said, the greatest among sinners is I. So we have a person here, the Lord is very, very special to us as a body of Christ today, because we have an example of how a human condition can get transformed and conformed by faith. by this great principle of grace that God gives for each and every one of us.

And Paul we can identify with because we're human as he was. Of course, the Lord Jesus was fully human and fully God, but had no sin. And Paul only knew his sin only too well. And Romans 7, just as a hint, that as he grew in grace and understanding, his sin nature became more evident for what it really was.

And we all go through that too. Let's go ahead. Verse 12, and we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure. Being defamed, we entreat. And we have been made as the filth of the world, the offscoring of all things until now. And notice here, and we labor, working with our hands. Just think about us today. How many people here work in a blue-collar area where they work with their hands on a day-to-day basis. Is there anyone who has that type of job?

What reminds me of my late father-in-law, my first wife Sharon, or my late wife Sharon's father, Irv Kress, He said so many times, and by the way, he was a Kierkegaardian philosopher for a long time and came to the Lord after his cancer developed. So he got saved finally after Sharon and I had been saved and were witnessing to him Kierkegaard's out in left field.

The leap of faith, as you know, it's not a leap of faith. We have evidence that the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, dead and buried, and risen from the dead. That's not a leap of faith. It's documented and for every reason we can believe what it says.

Anyway, Jack Kress said, quote, Physical labor. By the way, here's a guy that worked with his hands. Built two houses on his own. Worked for the city of Cincinnati. He was the associate building inspector for the city. Out in the trenches all the time looking at new construction. But himself, quite a laborer. I learned a lot from my late father-in-law.

Physical labor makes you spiritually more hungry or tuned in. Does a desk job produce the opposite? And to some extent, you know, this sounds kind of wild and crazy, but I think to some extent there's something about working hard. People experience this. I know when I'm working hard physically, there's something, you get tuned in to things of the Lord. And I think that the atmosphere of today's workplace to a large extent has changed more to white collar desk-based jobs versus working with your hands. Can anybody relate to this at all? When you're doing a desk job, you're doing more mental work, and because of that, you sort of push the Lord out of the way. Whereas when you're doing physical labor with your hands, you have a lot of time to actually think.

What did God tell Adam? What was his responsibility? He wasn't going to his Dell computer and figuring out some new programs. I'm not saying that being at a desk job is sinful, it's not sinful, but in a sense there's something about, and I can personalize this, and I think my father-in-law is absolutely correct, when you're really hard pressed physically, it starts to alert your intellect, your spiritual curiosity, and he said that repeatedly. So I'll leave it for whatever it's worth. But Adam's responsibility is for not, again, being at the desk.

Being reviled, we bless. So how does this occur? Well, Romans 12, 14, among many verses, bless them that persecute you, bless and curse not. How do we bless someone when they're persecuting us? It has to be Christ in you. If we grit our teeth and say, I'm going to bless you, brother, or whoever offends you, it has to be your Christ life being lived out through you that this is accomplished. Otherwise, you're just sucking it up and putting out, I know I should be blessing them, so I'll bless them.

Well, but the thing is, what's the natural response to being persecuted? Did even the defense of the old man or the sin nature, right? I mean, first of all, our humanness shows up too often here when we're being persecuted. Persecution means that we're unjustly being put on the spot for whatever, what we think, what we say, what we do.

So to take a step back, by the way, this kind of deals with human philosophy a little bit. Reactionary behavior is always wrong. And the Lord would have us take a step back and respond in a way that blesses them in some way. Think of examples. Can anybody think of how we might respond if we're unjustly persecuted? Share Christ with them? I'm sorry? Share Christ with them? Share Christ. You think that's an opportunity to share the gospel?

I guess it could be and may not be. That could be ultimately more offensive. So I think the spirit needs to lead in that circumstance. I think you see it a lot today when people are, especially in the workplace, people send these nasty emails. They feel unjustly wronged by something that was said or some blame that was put in the office. So they fire off some email and copy everybody in.

And as opposed to stepping back and kind of reflecting on what happened and maybe they weren't really to blame but they need to rethink how they respond. But that could be a human response too, right? That doesn't have to be Christ-based, right? I don't know. Yeah, I think there are probably some people who would step back and not respond that way. If you go to Psychology 101 or Logic 101, the point is you could make a case from a human perspective not to be reactionary when we're persecuted, but in fact go back in a different kind of manner and try to solve the problem. By the way, I had an administrative assistant work quite closely with me a few years ago whose email trail got her fired from the university. She was quite good and I was really sorry to see her But anyway, she was reactionary and that doesn't pay off for a believer or an unbeliever. Randy, what's your thoughts?

How to bless somebody who persecutes you? Well, actually in 1 Peter 3, verses 8 and 9, Peter writes something and this was actually a really, really hard part of 1 Peter for me to kind of chew through. And he says, to sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kind-hearted, and humble in spirit. Not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead. For you are called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. And you know what I realized is that we will all quote an Irish blessing on St. Patrick's Day, 364 and a quarter of the other days. I don't think we think about blessing in our culture. It's not how we're taught. We think of blessing as this weird thing because The only thing we ever say is bless you when you sneeze.

This is a challenge. In America, at least. Now, Cheryl, what she said may be appropriate to sharing the gospel with someone. I think just an answer that is really consistent with who we are in Christ is appropriate, not necessarily sharing Him personally, but just giving a response that the world would be totally unexpected of when they're persecuting us and we respond in a manner filled with grace and truth and just Yes, please. I just think, it's been my experience, I have a daughter-in-law that used to, oh my gosh, just bring me to tears because of my beliefs. And I think the best blessing, and God has answered all my prayers, and I think that's the best blessing you can give somebody, is to just pray for them. You know, instead of saying, well you're wrong, you know, I'm right, I think, It just gave me a lot of comfort to just pray a lot for her.

And she doesn't do that anymore. Well, answer to prayer. Praise the Lord. Exactly. Yeah, that could be a very good way to respond, just being a prayerful response. But I think being reactionary and defensive is not what the Lord's calling us to here. And just the way we respond with that in mind, I think, is an appropriate way to respond.

And does this make us a milk toast? Or a doormat? Does the world walk over us because of the way we are? No, it doesn't make you a milquetoast or a doormat. It makes you Christ-like. So we don't equate that. You know, in the world system where in fact, if in fact you just let people tromp over you all the time, I mean, you get a label perhaps as a doormat or a milquetoast and that's not what we, we want to operate out of strength.

And the strength is our position transformed to our condition. And that can be shared with grace and love. That doesn't mean we have to view ourselves as needing to feel like we're trash and the world can do whatever they want. That's not responding with blessing. The blessing is the strength we have on the Lord to respond in the right way. All right. Being persecuted, we endure. Our citizenship's not here. So when we're persecuted, we endure. Being defamed, we entreat. Defame means blasphemed. Entreat means to admonish or exhort, encourage and strengthen.

Right, remember I just commented on if Paul were here and talking to us today, he would encourage us, he would exhort us, he would strengthen us by his message. We wouldn't feel that he was here to unduly criticize us. He was there to encourage and strengthen. And his message to the Corinthian brethren wasn't anything to degrade. It was to lift them up and make them see what they were missing.

This is entirely the other nature, isn't it? We've been made as filth of the world, the offscoring of all things until now. Filth, refuse, only New Testament use for this term. We're talking about just worthless garbage here. Applied to men of the most vile, abject, and worthless character. This term, that's how it's used. Out of scripture, it is a strong term, filth, worthless.

And is this the way the world system sees us? I don't think so much of the time, do they? I mean, but maybe, maybe they do. I don't know. They definitely think we're fools. They think we're idiots for believing in the miraculous and the supernatural. And we set the stage, too, with the idea that Paul's operating with this view of God's wisdom versus the world's wisdom and God's foolishness versus the world's foolishness. Okay, good. How about you? Is the world seeing you this way? And I don't think we, as we think about that, I don't think we have to overly, again, put that unnecessary metric on ourselves.

We walk by grace and truth. and let the world judge however they choose to judge. Offscorings, what is wiped off, something's worthless, applies to the same group of people that are in fact looking at us as filth and refuse. And again, it's the only New Testament use. It's interesting in this section of 1 Corinthians 4, there are three terms I think that are only used once in the Bible, and it's here.

And I've pointed out those to you today. OK, so other thoughts about today's lesson? All right, next week I teach again, I think. So part of my trap, I'm gone all this week and I'm back Saturday and Sunday and I'm gone all the next week. So anyway, pray a little bit about this trip. Lots of issues and pressure before me. So let's close in prayer.

Father, we're grateful today for a very, I think, significant section of the fourth chapter of 1 Corinthians. We're thankful so much for Paul, the way you've used the new creation in him and the spirit-led message that he delivers to each and every one of us. Yes, this was apropos of the brethren in the Corinthian Church, but we really see the coattails of this existing in our lives today. We're thankful again for the fellowship we've shared here in this last hour, and we pray for the service to follow. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.