Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20070225.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
1 Corinthians: Discipling Believers With Very Sinful Backgrounds
II. Overcoming Human Personality Followings
G. Aligning With God's Plan For The Humbling Of True Church Leaders
(1 Corinthians 4:8-21)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Over the decades of pastoral ministry, I have noticed that in occasional Church meetings or Sunday School classes, tense moments have arisen where it seems that a Church leader like the Board Chairman or the pastor like myself seems to be publicly and verbally accosted by a hostile party on some sensitive subject! This kind of event has had the effect of not only troubling onlookers, but making the leader "feel like hiding in a hole and pulling the hole in after him"!

Reflecting on this kind of event, a woman who is a member of our Church who had witnessed a number of such events told me after witnessing another one that she had thought at the time: "Oh no, we're not going to go through this again, are we?!"

Her dismay and that of many Christian leaders today reveals the need to understand that this type of humanly demeaning trial is something God allows in order to achieve a specific objective! That objective is explained in the 1 Corinthians 4:8-21 passage we are set to study today (as follows):



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "In view of the demeaning events I've seen Church leaders face, and which you, Pastor Shell, just said is allowed by God, what is God's purpose in it all, and how am I to respond in an edifying way?"
  1. In his 1 Corinthians 1:10-4:21 context of trying to get his readers to cease following human personalities, Paul revealed GOD ALLOWS His TRUE Church leaders to be HUMBLED by DEMEANING EVENTS in ministry so that His people will follow GOD and NOT make IDOLS out of their HUMAN LEADERS, 1 Cor. 4:8-17:
    1. Since the Corinthian Church's body was divided by following different human personalities in their body (1 Corinthians 4:6), Paul used biting irony to assert such carnal leaders appeared falsely to have become full and reigned as kings without the apostles, 1 Cor. 4:8a,b!
    2. In sharp contrast, Paul noted the apostles were not reigning as kings in the Church, that they had not thus achieved such success, 1 Cor. 4:8c!
    3. To illustrate this point, Paul revealed God planned for the apostles to face demeaning hardships that people would not be attracted to them as men, but to the Lord they served, 1 Cor inthians 4:9-17:
      1. Paul revealed that God had intentionally allowed for the demeaning humiliation of the apostles that onlookers might not exalt them as little gods in place of the Lord whose cause they promoted, 4:9-15:
        1. God arranged for the apostles to seem like men appointed to die as "slaves, criminals and conquered people" were seen, 1 Cor. 4:9a; F. W. Grosheide, 1 Corinthians (NICNT), 1983, p. 107.
        2. Indeed, they were made spectacles of contempt to the realms of both men and angels ("world," kosmos has the definite article and the words for "angels" and "men" lack it to reveal "world" means the universe composed of angels and men, Ibid., ftn. 13).
        3. Paul proved this point by writing that, in comparison to what the Corinthian Christians thought of themselves, the apostles seemed like fools, like weak and despised people, 1 Cor. 4:10.
        4. To be specific, Paul listed some of the demeaning sufferings the apostles faced: they lacked livelihood needs, they were often mistreated (Acts 14:19), they had to flee from their dwellings (Mtt. 8:20), they labored hard, they had to respond to being reviled by blessing, they had to respond to persecution by enduring it, they had to entreat when slandered in becoming like the social scum and refuse of the world, 1 Corinthians 4:11-13!
        5. Paul interrupted his self-degrading description to say he did not intend by these words to shame his readers, but to direct them to cease their divisions caused by proud personality followings and humble themselves just as God had arranged for the humbling of the apostles before their onlookers, 1 Corinthians 4:14-16.
      2. Paul then applied this divinely-permitted program of the demeaning of the apostles to all true Church leaders, 4:17a,b,c:
        1. In order to get his Corinthian Christian readers to follow his lead in humbling themselves like he had thus been humbled, Paul had sent them Timothy who was faithful in causing them to recall Paul's truly humble ways, 1 Corinthians 4:17a,b.
        2. Indeed, Paul claimed he taught the need for humble leadership not only with Timothy and them, but in all the churches, 4:17c!
  2. Accordingly, Paul applied this lesson to his readers, suggesting by way of warning that they repent of their false pride in their Church leaders lest they experience God's severe discipline, 1 Cor. 4:18-21:
    1. When Paul had sent Timothy with the 1 Corinthian epistle, he knew [as 2 Corinthians 10:10 reveals] that some of his carnal readers would claim he was too intimidated by their leaders, so he had sent Timothy instead of coming to face them himself, Ibid., p. 114-115!
    2. Accordingly, Paul mentioned this critique 1 Corinthians 4:18, and countered it in 1 Corinthians 4:19-21 by showing he would come in God's spiritual power as an apostle with life-and-death authority and power to discipline the proud if he needed to do so, cf. Acts 5:1-11.
    3. Paul left the choice with his Corinthian readers of either coming to them with a rod of discipline or with love and meekness, 1 Cor. 4:21!
Application: May we (1) believe in Christ to be saved, John 3:16. (2) As "laymen', (a) may we HEED the BIBLICAL MINISTRIES of the human leaders God sets up for us RATHER THAN making little GODS out of THEM, and (b) may WE who FOLLOW as WELL as we who LEAD NOT be SURPRISED at DEMEANING trials LEADERS face since these are ALLOWED by GOD to keep believers exalting GOD and NOT MEN! [(c) If a Christian leader knows only fame and fortune, he is ungodly according to Luke 6:26 and stands in need of repentance regarding his ministry!]

Lesson: GOD lets HIS TRUE Church LEADERS face DEMEANING experiences so His people might TOGETHER WORSHIP CHRIST Who they uphold instead of DIVISIVELY IDOLIZING THEIR LEADERS!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

In giving a message like this, someone will ask, "Pastor, though I can see that God lets Christian leaders face demeaning public events, how are they supposed to handle it and keep serving the Lord?!"

That is God's business, and I must really illustrate (as follows):

Last month, I faced a demeaning experience as a pastor in a men's clothing store. I had researched the store's apparel on its web site, and went there to get a suit when the clerk said, "Today we have a special - two suits for such-and-such a price!" I thought he meant the suits were on sale, and so purchased two suits at the price he quoted.

Later, in reviewing the store's web site, I saw the second suit was much less expensive, that there had been no sale! I had been deceived! I could not return to complain as the clerk knew I was a pastor, and that I might harm of my testimony in complaining, so I felt demeaned and cheated in not being able to do anything about it.

Weeks later, the store sent me a $50 coupon to use on my next visit there. I did not want to return, but felt it was poor stewardship not to use it, so I returned to the store to buy only ties with the coupon!

The ties were expensive, so I picked out only one, and took it to the cash register. There, the clerk noted I was $12 shy of using all of the coupon, and, since the balance was not redeemable in cash, he asked if I wanted to get something else! I said, "No!" as I had made up my mind not to part with any more money in that store. To my relief, he gave me a cedar hangar worth the remaining $12 on the coupon!

In retrospect, I believe God had salvaged me from a second demeaning experience. You see, before I arrived at the cash register, what appeared to be a tall, thin blond woman had been standing there dressed in a long, dark overcoat with a cap pulled down over her head! Though she was there before me, she had signaled with her hand that the clerk help me! I was encouraged by her kindness, and believe her presence may have led the clerk to give me the hangar to look "good" to her! Regardless, God used her presence and body language that I might not face any more humiliation! (Whether this was an angel in disguise, I don't know, but would not be surprised! cf. Hebrews 13:2)

So, may we accept the path of suffering abasement for leaders, whether we are the leader or whether it is someone else, and all as a necessary part of God's discipling program! Then, may we leave the emotional sustenance of the leaders with God!