(#018) 1 Corinthians 3 - The Lord Stands for Unity and not Division

Class Outline:

---

We are not the same but we are all equals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome To 

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

 

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with worldwide impact.  My name is Pastor Rory Clark.  At Barah Ministries we know this truth…that Jesus Christ is God.  As Lord He is 100% Deity…He is God the Son.  He is also 100% human just like you and me.  His name is Jesus Christ.  The Lord…God the Son…became flesh…Jesus Christ...and lived among us.  He is the Sovereign God of the Universe…He is the Savior of the whole world…and He is the Jewish Messiah.  

 

Those who make Barah Ministries their spiritual home, believe in Jesus Christ.  We are Christians, and we have a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  Christianity is a relationship, not a religion.  The Lord Jesus Christ is a Person, not a thing or a concept.  Just as we would do with any person we love, we spend time getting to know the Lord through the study of His Word.  You can’t get to know the Lord without knowing His mind, and the Bible is His exact thinking.

 

What is your attitude toward the Lord?  For most people, their attitude is described well in Isaiah, Chapter 53, Verses 3 to 5…

 

ISAIAH 53:3

The Lord Jesus Christ was despised and rejected by men…He was a man of much suffering and He was well acquainted with grief…and like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised…and we did not esteem Him.

 

ISAIAH 53:4 

He Himself bore the suffering which was due to us…and our suffering He bore in His own body on the Cross…yet we ourselves enjoyed His suffering…this One whose beatings and afflictions were allowed by God the Father…

 

ISAIAH 53:5

…and the Lord Jesus Christ was pierced through for our transgressions…

He was crushed for our iniquities…the suffering to provide our well-being fell upon Him…and by His affliction we are healed.

 

The best time we spend each week is the time we invest in getting to know Him and His Word…the time when we make Him exactly what He is…our number one priority.  How does it look in your life when the Lord is your number one priority?

 

Barah Ministries makes a difference by teaching the Word of God from the Lord Jesus Christ’s perspective, and not from man’s perspective.  We search the Scriptures to learn who the Lord is as a Person, and to learn what our God has to say about Himself, about His plan for all mankind, and about His personal plan for each of us.  We are here to learn how to see our lives from His perspective.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

BLANK

 

LESSON INTRODUCTION

 

I remember a television commercial from my youth…back when commercials were commercials…  

 

         My dog’s bigger than your dog

         My dog’s faster than yours

         My dog’s shinier ‘cause 

         He gets Ken-L Ration 

         My dog’s better than yours.

 

Prettier…smarter…bigger…better…cooler…richer…taller…these are the things that the enemy of God, Satan, sews into the hearts of men…that we would consider ourselves superior to others for any number of reasons.  For the first four chapters of Paul's letter to the Corinthians, he has been addressing the rivalries that come about as a result of this puerile mindset.  In today's lesson, we'll hear Paul's closing remarks on this passage that we've been reflecting on for over twenty hours. Who do you feel superior to?  Who are the people that you look down on?  What rivalries are manifesting themselves in your life as a result of this poisonous mindset?

 

SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s listen to some music!  In First John, Chapter 1, Verse 5, the apostle John, an eyewitness to the Lord’s glory, describes our Lord beautifully…

 

FIRST JOHN 1:5

This is the message we have heard directly from the Lord Jesus Christ and announce to you believers in Christ … that God is Light … and in Him there is no darkness at all.

 

In the darkest periods of our lives, it’s nice to know that Psalm 46, Verse 1 is absolutely true…

 

PSALMS 46:1

God is our shelter and our strength…a very present help in times of trouble.

 

The group NeedtoBreathe captures these ideas in their song BROTHER.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

BROTHER

NeedtoBreathe

 

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…

 

Father, we have overwhelming gratitude for You…thank you for always being there for us as the perfect Orchestrator of our lives…we know You work all things together for our good, and all the tribulations that befall us is part of Your grand plan to lead us to the highest and the best You have to offer…thank you for bringing out the best in Your believers…

 

Open our hearts to the truth You want us to hear in this message today…help us to know how important it is to us when we make time for You…show us how to make You and Your Word number one in our lives…

 

…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s

name...Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord Stands for Unity and Not Division

 

I was thinking a lot about black people this week…how we allow the world to attach labels to us…we allow the world and to call us “minorities.”  Whether the label is nigger (which in its origin had nothing to do with the color of skin)…or whether its coon…or jigaboo…or spade…or spear chucker…or African-American…a term designed to devalue the fact that we are simply American…a term designed to rob black people of their heritage as builders of America and the American dream…any of the terms that have been connected to black people…we have allowed ourselves to be denigrated by accepting the terms and by attaching them to ourselves.  We believe what the world thinks about us.  We believe we are “minorities.”  We believe we are inferior.  The world can’t fix this problem.  Only black people, one person at a time, can fix this problem.  Mexican have the same issue.  They think of themselves as inferior.

 

The church in Corinth was dealing with the same problem in the first century that we deal with today.  Some people in the church elevated themselves to the status of superior.  To do so, they made some people in the church feel inferior.

 

In a very long passage, which extends from Chapter 1, Verse 10 to Chapter 4, Verse 21, the apostle Paul has been addressing the issue of superiority and inferiority in the first four chapters of this letter to the Corinthians.  The passage began this way…in First Corinthians, Chapter 1, Verse 10…     

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 1:10 

Now I (Paul) exhort you fellow believers in Christ, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree…and that there be no rivalries among you…instead that you be made complete…in the same mind and in the same purpose.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 1:11 

For I (Paul) have been informed concerning you, my brethren (in the church at Corinth) … by Chloe’s people…that there are rivalries among you.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 1:12 

Now what I (Paul) mean by this is that each one of you is saying, “I belong to Paul” … and “I belong to Apollos” … and “I belong to Cephas (Simon Peter)” … and “I belong to Christ.”

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 1:13a

Has Christ been divided (into parts)?

 

Paul is sarcastic and biting for most of this passage as he addresses these believers who are “legends in their own minds.”  His letter is intended as discipline…proper training in a character pattern.  In this last section of the passage, Paul’s tone changes from biting sarcasm to the compassion of one who is fathering, from a distance, the congregation he started.  

 

Let’s listen to the last section of this passage…First Corinthians, Chapter 4, Verses 14 to 21…     

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:14

I (Paul) do not write these things to shame you (Corinthian believers) … but I write to counsel you…my divinely loved children.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:15 

For even if you had ten thousand tutors (boy keepers) … you would not have

many fathers…for in union with Christ myself, I fathered those of you in union with Christ Jesus through the gospel message.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:16 

Therefore, I exhort you, be imitators of me.

 

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:17 

For this reason (to show you how to imitate a leader), I have sent to you

Timothy, who is my divinely loved and faithful child in union with the Lord…and he will remind you of my ways which are (the ways of one) in union with Christ (not the ways of a not spirit-filled person)....and Timothy will teach the same ways and the same things I teach everywhere…in every church.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:18 

Now some of you have become arrogant (puffed up) … as though I were not coming to you (face-to-face).

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:19 

But I will come to you soon (face-to-face)…if the Lord wills it…and I shall find this out…not the words of those who are arrogant (puffed up)…but I’ll find out the source of their power.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:20 

For God’s kingdom is not based on talk…it is based on power.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:21 

What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod (to kick your butt) … or shall I come to you in unconditional love with a gentle spirit?

 

When we return from our five-minute break, we’ll take your offering, and then we’ll continue our study of this section of the passage verse-by-verse.

 

FIVE MINUTE BREAK

NOBODY

Casting Crowns

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord Stands for Unity and Not Division

 

When we give at the offering, we are bringing a part of the wealth God has given us, and we lay it at the feet of the God who has provided it.  This is the perfect opportunity for us to examine our own attitude toward God by noticing where we place Him in priority as we distribute the wealth He has given us.  It is recommended that God be given the place He deserves…that He receives from our harvest the "first fruits" … that we give to Him first and to all others second.  Every offering is an opportunity to communicate to your God just how much you love Him.  Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with today’s offering message.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

ROMANS 5:19

For as through the one man (Adam’s) disobedience the many were made sinners…even so through the obedience of the One (the Lord Jesus Christ) the many will be made righteous. 

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

David Bauer, Instrumental

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord Stands for Unity and Not Division

 

SONG INTRODUCTION

 

In Matthew, Chapter 11, Verse 28, the Lord says…

 

MATTHEW 11:28

“Come to Me…all who are weary and heavy-laden,…and I will give you rest for your souls.”

 

Fear is an emotion that disturbs our rest.  Hebrews, Chapter 4, Verse 1 warns us…

 

HEBREWS 4:1

Therefore…if we believers in Christ fear anything let us fear that while a promise remains of entering His rest, and of course it does, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.

 

The Lord is One on whom we can lay our burdens.  Zach Williams encourages us to reject fear…and to see it for exactly what it is…FEAR IS A LIAR.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

FEAR IS A LIAR

Zach Williams

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

The Lord Stands for Unity and Not Division

 

Let’s investigate this section of the passage verse by verse, beginning at First Corinthians, Chapter 4, Verse 14…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:14

I (Paul) do not write these things (about rivalries and divisions) to shame you (Corinthian believers) … but I write to counsel you…my divinely loved children.

 

Paul wants the believers at Corinth to change their approach to life by changing their approach to each other.  He invites them to the Christian Way of Living…the sanctification life…a lifestyle that does not consider partiality…a lifestyle where one person does not elevate himself above another person…a lifestyle where people value each other as equals.  Paul wants the Corinthian believers to accept instruction in the matter of the rivalries and the divisions that are created when we puff ourselves up and when we place ourselves above others.

 

 

Paul does a great job of separating the doers from the deeds…he is talking about actions and not people.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:15 

For even if you had ten thousand tutors (boy keepers) … you would not have

many fathers…for in union with Christ myself, I fathered those of you in union with Christ Jesus through the gospel message.

 

A bit more sarcasm from Paul as he is shifting to gentle speech…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:16 

Therefore, I exhort you, be imitators of me.

 

Is Paul being arrogant here?  Hardly…First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 1 illuminates what Paul is saying…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:1

Be imitators of me, just as I (Paul) also am an imitator of Christ.

 

Believers in Christ are not, and never will be “Christ-like.”  Leave it to Satan, the enemy of God to suggest a standard that even he can’t live up to.    As believers in Christ we are to reflect Christ, through the power of God the Holy Spirit, shining the fruit of the Spirit.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:17 

For this reason (to show you how to imitate a leader), I have sent to you Timothy (he is on his way to Corinth)…the one who is my divinely loved and faithful child in union with the Lord…and he will remind you of my ways which are (the ways of one) in union with Christ (not the ways of a non-spirit-filled person)....and Timothy will teach the same ways and the same things I teach everywhere…in every church.

 

Paul wants the Corinthians to live the truth…not simply to know the truth.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:18 

Now some of you have become arrogant (puffed up) … as though I were not coming to you (face-to-face).

 

Arrogance is the sponsor of divisions and rivalries.  The people in Corinth were social phonies…showing a face that appears superior while an inspection of their mentalities shows them filled with termites…eating away at the very foundation of their lives. 

 

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:19 

But I will come to you soon (face-to-face), if the Lord wills it…and I shall find this out…not the words of those who are arrogant (puffed up)…but I’ll find out the source of their power.

 

If the source of our power is the world and not God then we are not powerful at all.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:20 

For God’s kingdom is not based on (worldly) talk…it is based on (divine) power.

 

The enabling power of God the Holy Spirit.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 4:21 

What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod (to kick your butt) … or shall I come to you in unconditional love with a gentle spirit?

 

Next week we’ll look at this passage on rivalries as a whole to remind ourselves of what we learned. One thing we learned…for sure…is that the Lord is not fond of rivalries.  He placed us into unity…let’s live it!

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

The closing moments of our study are for the benefit of anyone who does not have a personal relationship with the Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We want you to know that GOD WANTS YOU. 

 

How often do you think about eternal things?  

 

It’s easy for human beings to be concerned only with the here and now… a concern with the things that busy us in our time on earth…a concern with the things that are temporary.  Yet we know that nobody gets out of this life alive, so there are the questions about what people call “the afterlife” … the things that happen when we die…the things eternal.

 

How often do you think about eternal things?  

 

The bible tells us that God's enemy, Satan, is the one who deceives us into being short-sighted. Satan wants to keep our focus on temporary things so we don't prepare ourselves for eternal things.  First Peter, Chapter 5, Verse 8 warns us to…

 

FIRST PETER 5:8

Be of sober spirit…be on the alert. The adversary…the devil (Satan) … prowls around like a roaring lion…seeking someone to devour.

 

Satan busies us with things that distract us from eternal matters.  He diverts our attention to meaningless things.  For example, the bible tells us how easy it is to be deceived by material wealth, a problem that pervaded the church at Laodicea.  Revelation, Chapter 3, Verses 15 to 18…

 

REVELATION 3:15

“I (the Lord Jesus Christ) know your deeds…that you (like the water in your homes) are neither cold nor hot…I (the Lord Jesus Christ) wish that you were cold or hot.”

 

REVELATION 3:16 

“So because you are lukewarm (like the water in your homes) … and neither hot nor cold…I will vomit you out of My mouth.”

 

The Lord is not fond of indecisiveness.  He doesn’t want us to be oblivious.

 

REVELATION 3:17 

“Because you Laodicean believers say, ‘I am rich…and have become

 wealthy…and require nothing,' and you do not know that you are

 (spiritually) wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked…”

 

REVELATION 3:18 

“…I (the Lord Jesus Christ) advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become (spiritually) rich…and white garments so that you may clothe yourself (not the black wool that gave you material wealth)…so that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed…and I advise you to buy from Me eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.”

 

Material wealth often blinds us to our spiritual poverty.  We think only about now and not about eternity.  What is it that the Lord wants us to see?  Matthew, Chapter 6, Verse 24…

 

MATTHEW 6:24

“No one can serve two masters…for either he will hate the one master and he will love the other master…or he will be devoted to one master and he will despise the other master. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

 

The Lord wants us to see the two ways to get to heaven.  The first way to get to heaven is to be perfect like God is perfect, because God demands perfection from us.  Material wealth can’t buy perfection, nor does it buy a relationship with God.  Are you perfect enough to get into heaven?  

 

Once we sin, we are no longer perfect according to James, Chapter 2, Verse 10…

 

JAMES 2:10

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point (when he breaks one law) … he has become guilty of breaking the whole law.

 

Once you realize you’re not perfect enough to get into heaven, the only other way to get to heaven is by means of God’s grace, which is free of charge.  In John, Chapter 14, Verse 6, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself said… 

 

JOHN 14:6

…to the doubting apostle, Thomas, “I am the way (to salvation), and I am the truth (through the Word of God…the gospel message), and I am the resurrection life (eternal life)…and no one comes to God the Father (in heaven) but through believing in Me.”

 

Once you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, God makes you perfect.  At the moment of your salvation, the Lord imputes His absolute righteousness…His perfection…to you.  Accepting the Lord Jesus Christ’s grace gift of eternal life saves you.  As a result of the Lord’s work at the Cross…the work that paid for the sins of all mankind, including yours…sin was eliminated as a barrier between you and God.  Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 21 says…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:21

God the Father made Jesus Christ who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in union with Him.

 

So, if you are imperfect, and you are if you don’t have a relationship with Christ, you can be made perfect by God…your admission ticket to heaven…by asking God the Father to credit your account with real wealth… spiritual wealth…His own righteousness…His own perfection.  Having God’s righteousness makes you spiritually wealthy.  God will honor your request when you ask for His righteousness, and you will be saved.  Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…

 

ACTS 16:31 

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

John, Chapter 3, Verse 36 warns…

 

JOHN 3:36

“He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment… but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”

 

John, Chapter 3, Verse 17…

 

JOHN 3:17

For God the Father did not send God the Son into the world to judge the world…but God the Father sent God the Son into the world that the world might be saved through Him.

 

Who is this God who saves you?  The apostle Paul describes the Lord Jesus Christ…in First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 3 and 4… 

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3

For I (Paul) delivered to you as of first importance what I also received (the gospel message) … that it was Jesus Christ who died for our sins according to the Scriptures…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4 

…and that He was buried…and that He was raised from the dead on the third day…according to the Scriptures…

 

Take the free gift of eternal life right now!  There’s no time to waste!  Just tell God the Father that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is the moment of perfection…that is the moment of eternal life…for you.  NOW is the time to think about eternal things.  God wants you.  Real wealth happens when you decide to have a relationship with Him. 

 

SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 28 says…

 

ROMANS 8:28

And we believers in Christ know that God the Father causes all things to work together for good to those who love God…to those who are called according to His purpose.

 

Right June?  Here’s June Murphy to tell us about it in her song GOD WORKS ALL THINGS

 

CLOSING SONG

GOD WORKS ALL THINGS

June Murphy

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

www.barahministries.com

We are not the same but we are all equals.