1Corinthians 4
"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! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world."
1Corinthians 4:10-13
Man those Corinthians were a conceited bunch. Paul says that they thought they knew all about Christ and were strong in Him, even more so than Paul and all of the apostles. They honored and congratulated themselves for being so wise and knowing so much about spiritual matters. No wonder he uses sarcasm and irony to show these people how poor they really are because their “wisdom” in spiritual things could not possibly compare with the apostles’.
But wait…isn’t that what I do? I catch myself thinking “oh sure, if anything awful were to happen to me I wouldn’t doubt God’s motives. I wouldn’t fall away. I’m strong.”
Mark 14:29 “Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
There seem to be a lot of “I”s in these sentences. Who am I without Christ? In pRAISE tonight there were two speakers who talked about trust. The Bible tells us to put our trust in God (Proverbs 3:5; John 14:1) not in other, worldly things (Psalm 146:3; 118:8). There is nowhere to go when we trust in anything other than God; especially ourselves. For don’t we then put ourselves at the center when we say “maybe I can’t trust anyone or anything else, but I can certainly trust myself”? Well, let me tell you I have had lots of experiences that underline that there is nothing in that saying; particularly when it comes to speaking. When we depend on our own earthly knowledge instead of on God's wisdom that's when we get into trouble.
“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.” 1Corinthians 4:5
God knows the innermost thoughts of His creations. He knows the reasons of our hearts. When we learn to put our trust in God and not in ourselves then we can be strong through Him. Even though we may be in rags, starving, homeless, persecuted, and cursed we can answer in love and be true apostles of Christ.
1Corinthians 4:10-13
Man those Corinthians were a conceited bunch. Paul says that they thought they knew all about Christ and were strong in Him, even more so than Paul and all of the apostles. They honored and congratulated themselves for being so wise and knowing so much about spiritual matters. No wonder he uses sarcasm and irony to show these people how poor they really are because their “wisdom” in spiritual things could not possibly compare with the apostles’.
But wait…isn’t that what I do? I catch myself thinking “oh sure, if anything awful were to happen to me I wouldn’t doubt God’s motives. I wouldn’t fall away. I’m strong.”
Mark 14:29 “Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
There seem to be a lot of “I”s in these sentences. Who am I without Christ? In pRAISE tonight there were two speakers who talked about trust. The Bible tells us to put our trust in God (Proverbs 3:5; John 14:1) not in other, worldly things (Psalm 146:3; 118:8). There is nowhere to go when we trust in anything other than God; especially ourselves. For don’t we then put ourselves at the center when we say “maybe I can’t trust anyone or anything else, but I can certainly trust myself”? Well, let me tell you I have had lots of experiences that underline that there is nothing in that saying; particularly when it comes to speaking. When we depend on our own earthly knowledge instead of on God's wisdom that's when we get into trouble.
“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.” 1Corinthians 4:5
God knows the innermost thoughts of His creations. He knows the reasons of our hearts. When we learn to put our trust in God and not in ourselves then we can be strong through Him. Even though we may be in rags, starving, homeless, persecuted, and cursed we can answer in love and be true apostles of Christ.
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