The Last Will Be First (1 Corinthians 4:6-21)

Okay, like I said, we are in 1 Corinthians chapter 4.

1 Corinthians 4 · chapter mention

We're going to be reading verses 4 through 21 here this morning.

So would you please stand for the reading of God's word?

Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of this saying, nothing beyond what is written.

The purpose is that none of you will be arrogant, favoring one person over another.

For who makes you so superior?

What do you have that you didn't receive?

If in fact you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn't received it?

You are already full.

You are already rich.

You have begun to reign as kings without us, and I wish you did reign, so that we could also reign with you.

For I think God has displayed us, the apostles, in last place, like men condemned to die.

We have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to people.

We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ.

We are weak, but you are strong.

You are distinguished, but we are dishonored.

Up to the present hour we are both hungry and thirsty.

We are poorly clothed, roughly treated, homeless.

We labor, working with our own hands.

When we are reviled, we bless.

When we are persecuted, we endure it.

When we are slandered, we respond graciously.

Even now we are like the scum of the earth, like everyone's garbage.

I'm not writing this to shame you, but to warn you as my dear children, for you may have countless instructors in Christ, but you don't have many fathers.

For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Therefore I urge you to imitate me.

This is why I have sent Timothy to you.

He is my dearly loved and faithful child in the Lord.

He will remind you about my ways in Christ Jesus, just as I teach everywhere in every church.

Now some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.

But I will come to you, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk, but the power of those who are arrogant.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power.

What do you want?

Should I come to you with a rod or in love in a spirit of gentleness?

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for this passage.

We thank you for your word that we get to hold in our hands here.

Lord, I pray that you would be the one doing the speaking here this morning.

That I would simply just be your mouthpiece of the exact message that you have for your body here this morning.

Lord, would you do the work?

Would you do this speaking?

Would you help me to rightly divide your word?

Lord, I pray that we would come in all humility, just ready for whatever it is that you want to speak to us.

And that you would do that, and that our hearts would be soft, that our eyes would be open, that our ears would be ready to hear the things that you want to encourage us in, that you want to convict us in, that you want to grow us in.

So Lord, I pray that you would do all of those things here this morning.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

So last week we talked about God's job as judge and his job as rewarder.

And we talked about how we shouldn't try to sit next to him on those thrones, trying to help him out.

We talked a lot about not elevating humans and not judging them either.

Paul talked specifically about his role as a spiritual leader in the church and how he is simply a servant.

And we talked about how that actually meant an under rower, like somebody in the belly of a ship that's helping move the ship along.

Not the captain, not set in the course, but just somebody underneath in a very lowly role that's trying to move that ship forward.

Yet he and Apollos and Cephas, that's Peter, had been given authority by God to not just be underrowers, but to also be stewards of the mysteries of God.

Someone that had been given authority to manage those things over the other servants that make up the church.

And we'll see that Paul is reminding those in Corinth that he is a steward.

And in a lot of ways, a chief servant is another way that we might be able to say that.

Because he's about to lay in to the Corinthians.

And he's not going to mince words.

He is going to just kind of tell them like it is as we move forward in Corinthians.

And by setting up his authority first, it seems as if Paul wants to nip any comments in the bud that the Corinthians might have along the lines of, who does this Paul think that he is?

He can talk to us like this and address these different things about us.

How, who does he think he is, and what authority does he think he has to start talking to the church like this?

So this is really Paul just kind of setting up.

Remember, this is the authority that God has given me as an apostle.

I have a right to address these things.

And then today he's gonna jump in and start addressing those things.

And that's where we pick up today in verse 6.

So look at verse 6 with me.

Now, brothers and sisters, I've applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, nothing beyond what is written.

Paul's saying, I've talked about all these things.

You know, I've talked about servants and underrowers and managers, so that you can see my role more clearly.

And then he says, so that you may learn from the saying, nothing beyond what is written.

Now, there's no evidence of where this saying comes from, but it's obvious that Paul knows what it means, and it's obvious that the Corinthians know what it means, so they're both familiar with this saying.

You know, and maybe it's something that Paul taught them when he was with them for those 18 months.

You know, just kind of a general rule of thumb, Corinthians.

If you can't find it in Scripture, just don't go there.

Just don't accept it.

So, really, you know, keeping this in the context of everything that we've gone through in 1 Corinthians, don't use your worldly wisdom and what you know from Corinthian culture and then apply it to the apostles.

Or apply it to the church for that matter.

Don't go beyond anything that you see in Scripture.

You know, and this is something I think that we really struggle with just as much today as the Corinthian church did back then.

Placing unbiblical expectations on spiritual leaders or unbiblical expectations on the church as a whole.

I'm speaking of the individuals that make up the church.

So I really want to challenge us this morning, and myself included, because I do the same thing, that the next time we have an unmet expectation from the church, or from its leadership, or an elder, or an elder's wife, or another church member, that we ask if our expectation is biblical?

Or was it something that was simply placed there by the culture?

You know, and if I'm gonna be completely honest with you, I spend a fair amount of time with individuals within the church regarding unmet expectations.

And a lot of times those unmet expectations are not biblically found.

And I promise this is not me complaining, this is just a reminder for all of us.

Nothing beyond what is written.

Don't apply the world or our culture or outside expectations to God's church because I promise it never ends well.

If we have expectations, we need to ask, okay, where did that expectation originate?

And then we need to search the scriptures and see if those expectations are appropriate.

That's how we need to go about that.

And then look at the second part of verse 6.

The purpose is that none of you will be arrogant, favoring one person over another.

You know, Paul flat out says, elevating humans above the role of a servant is arrogance.

It is putting ourselves either in the judgment seat of Christ or the great white throne of judgment, which we talked a lot about last week.

We don't belong in those seats.

And there's no room for us to sit in those seats because it's just pure arrogance to think that God needs our help in that way.

So now Paul will move on to these three questions that we're going to see starting in chapter 7.

To give the Corinthians some perspective of what they're doing when they're elevating and when they're judging.

So the first question is just that first chunk of verse 7.

It says, For who makes you so superior?

Ouch.

Paul's really starting to dig in here, isn't he?

He's saying, you're acting like you have some superior role or intellect when you're judging others or when you're judging the apostles.

Then the second question, this is the next part of verse 7, says, What do you have that you didn't receive?

Anything you have that's of worth, that has value, is not of your own doing, Corinthians.

If it's of worth, it's only because God gave it to you.

You know, it'd be like maybe you meet somebody for the first time, and then their eye color is just stunning, you know, and it just kind of takes you aback.

And you say, wow, your eye color is amazing.

And then they respond, thank you.

I've worked really hard on attaining this specific eye color.

You'd be like, uh, what?

Well, you know, I've spent years concentrating on getting this specific color.

You know, I eat a lot of carrots and I close my eyes when I sleep, and I wear sunglasses when I think about it, you know?

You'd be sitting there like, um, that's great, but none of those things have anything to do with your eye color.

And then they press back again.

Oh no, I've worked hard to achieve this superior eye color, and nobody can take that from me.

That'd be ridiculous, wouldn't it?

I really think Paul is saying here, you're acting like superior people, and you have nothing to do with what you have.

And you have nothing of worth that wasn't completely given to you by God.

So stop acting like you have something to do with it, and stop acting like you're better than me or like you're better than anyone else.

We're all servants, Corinthians.

And then the third question at the end of verse 7, it says, If in fact you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn't received it?

And even if you do have an amazing eye color, why do you boast as if you made it that way somehow?

Now, as we move into verse 8, Paul's gonna get really sarcastic with the Corinthians.

Look at verse 8 with me.

You are already full.

You are already rich.

You have begun to reign as kings without us.

Isn't it amazing, Corinthians, that you're so superior and so rich, and you get to reign as kings when we lowly apostles are living hand to mouth and are literally being abused.

He goes on in the second part of verse 8, and I wish you did reign, so that we could also reign with you.

You know, it would probably be really nice to reign as kings, wouldn't it?

But Paul's about to tell them the truth of what it's truly like to be a chief servant in the kingdom of God.

Look at verse 9.

For I think God has displayed us, the apostles, in last place, like men condemned to die.

We have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to people.

You know, this is most likely a reference to a Roman military parade after winning a battle or conquering a people group, when they're returning back to Rome.

Where they would return to Rome with the officers in the front and the army right behind them.

And then, second in that parade would be all the spoils of war, all of the things that they collected, kind of just showing off.

Hey, look at what we did and look at the riches that we're bringing home.

And then in last place in those parades would be those that were captured in battle.

And they'd be led in the back of that parade all the way into an arena to be killed as a source of entertainment.

Which would explain Paul's statement.

I think God has displayed us, the apostles, in last place, like men condemned to die, as they march to their death for entertainment in an arena.

And then Paul refers to the apostles in this verse as spectacles.

Notice that word.

You know, sometimes that word is translated as theater, you know, like where you go for entertainment.

Their persecution is often public, and it's for everyone to see, and for everyone to even be entertained by as well.

You know, we should be thinking like gladiators, arenas, colosseums, and things like that as Paul's using this language.

People showing up to be entertained by violence.

Those are the people that are seeing the apostles as spectacles, enjoying the violence and persecution that's being displayed on them.

But that's what the apostles face.

Remember, ten of the eleven good disciples, excluding Judas, of course, were martyred for their faith.

Were spectacles in that way.

So Paul paints this picture of what it looks like if you truly want to be a chief servant in the kingdom of God.

And it doesn't look anything what like the Corinthians think it should look like.

Or anything like what the world would say a leader should look like.

So Paul continues in his sarcasm in verse 10.

We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ.

We are weak, but you are strong.

You are distinguished, but we are dishonored.

Up to the present hour, so Paul's talking about himself right in this moment.

We are both hungry and thirsty.

We are poorly clothed, roughly treated, homeless.

This is the current state of Paul and the apostles.

This is the current state of the people that Jesus did give authority to.

These are the stewards and the co-workers with each other and with God, and this is the state that they're living in.

But you know, this really does line up with what Jesus said that the last shall be first and the first shall be last.

The apostles are literally living in last place.

And Paul's telling the Corinthians, but you want to judge us.

You know, there's a good possibility that the Corinthians were embarrassed that Paul was one of their spiritual leaders.

Someone that came to them in weakness, that came to them with speech that wasn't eloquent, that came to them in humility.

He wasn't well dressed, he didn't come with an entourage.

He didn't come with self-confidence, putting his best foot forward.

Because if we're honest, I think that's what our flesh desires from our spiritual leaders.

We want spiritual leaders, you know, that seem presidential, that don't take any crud from anyone, that, you know, are self-confident, always know the right thing to say right at the right time, you know, that have a certain look and a certain way that they dress and a certain way that they carry themselves.

We want people that we can look to and say, I follow that person.

Yeah, I'm on the same team as that person.

But Paul didn't check any of those boxes.

And I wonder if the Corinthians were struggling with this.

Like, yeah, I don't follow Paul.

Like, he doesn't check any of the boxes of somebody I would want to follow.

You know, I follow Apollos.

That guy's eloquent.

That guy knows exactly what to say at all the right times.

Or I follow Peter.

You know, now that's that's a real leader.

He was with Christ for all those years.

He knew him personally, he was personally discipled by Jesus Christ.

I follow that guy.

So I think this is Paul's attempt to stop this with the Corinthians.

Paul's telling them what they're going through as disciples and what it truly looks like to be in last place in the world's eyes, but in first place in God's kingdom.

He goes on in verse 12 with, we labor working with our own hands.

You know, we need to understand that in Corinthian culture at this time, they looked down on manual labor.

They saw it as something for slaves to do.

If you had any social stature whatsoever, you weren't involved with manual labor.

So Paul's telling them, here's one more thing that we're doing that you're probably looking down on, but this is what we have to do to support ourselves.

Now, as we read the rest of verses 12 through 13, I want you to ask yourself if this reminds you of anything that Jesus said.

So look at the second part of verse 12.

When we are reviled, we bless.

When we are persecuted, we endure it.

When we are slandered, we respond graciously.

Now this reminds me of the Beatitudes that we find in Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

And the beatitudes are the perfect example of being the opposite of worldly wisdom, which Paul is speaking so much about here in 1 Corinthians.

And I want to just read you a chunk of the Beatitudes.

So you can kind of see how opposite it is of how we naturally react, and how opposite it is of how the world thinks about these things.

Jesus' words, he says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who per who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you, and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me.

Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven, for that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The apostles are getting a firsthand opportunity to live out the Beatitudes.

To live out the opposite of what worldly wisdom tells us.

If you want to be first in the kingdom of God, you have to be willing to serve like this, like the apostles are, and still act like Jesus when he faced the exact same things.

And I think Paul's just saying, how does that sound in Corinthians?

You still want to be first?

Still want to be superior in the kingdom of God?

Because this is what it looks like.

He goes on, second half of verse 13.

Even now, we are like the scum of the earth, like everyone's garbage.

Again, this is something the Corinthian culture would understand well.

Because both of these words, uh, the word scum and the word garbage, are words that were used regarding an ancient Athenian custom, where they would yearly throw the lowest of a criminal into the sea as an offering for Poseidon.

They would also do this if calamity broke out or a plague or pestilence of some sort.

They would offer a human sacrifice, again, a lowly criminal to hopefully appease the gods, to end whatever that calamity was.

You know, scum was the word that was used to describe that criminal in that offering, often called an off-scouring.

And garbage was the word used to describe the sacrifice that was being made to appease the gods.

So Paul's saying, we're being treated like these despised criminals that are offered for religious purposes.

Does it get any lower than that what Paul is describing to their current state of being a chief servant?

He goes on in verse 14.

So Paul's just revealing his heart here.

He's telling them that he loves them so much and he cares about them so much.

That this is why he's addressing these things with them.

Since Paul led so many of these people to Christ, he sees them as his kids.

And he sees himself in this fatherly role to the Corinthian church.

And Paul's letting them know you need correction in this way.

He's like, I love you enough to correct you and to speak to you in this way.

Verse 16.

Therefore, I urge you to imitate me.

He's telling him to be okay with being last, to be okay with being treated poorly, being persecuted for the sake of Jesus Christ.

He says, imitate me in that way.

Not just for the heck of it, but because the glory of God and the furtherance of God's kingdom are worth it.

Imitate me because my life is truly a living sacrifice for God.

So, Corinthians, don't think you're above me.

Don't think you're superior to me.

Instead, you need to be more like me.

Look at verse 17.

This is why I have sent Timothy to you.

He is my dearly loved and faithful child in the Lord.

He will remind you about my ways in Christ Jesus, just as I teach everywhere in every church.

Again, we get to see Paul's humble confidence here.

And it's just incredible.

He already told us in last week's passage that he operates with a clear conscience.

And now he flat out says, imitate me.

And that Timothy can tell you how I operate is what he's telling him.

I've discipled him, and now he can help you in your continuation of discipleship that Paul first started with him.

And I want us to notice what he says.

He says, Timothy will remind you.

Not tell you for the first time, but he will call to remembrance these things that Paul has already taught to them.

But this Corinthian church seems to have forgotten.

He's just saying, listen to Timothy.

This guy's got it figured out.

He's my disciple.

You can trust this guy.

Verse 18.

Now some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.

So when we were kids, I have an older brother and an older sister, my brother's the oldest, but when we were kids, my mom had this thin switch about this lung that she had trimmed off of the tree in our backyard and had peeled the bark off of.

And let me tell you, that thing could cut through the air and sting your behind like nobody's business.

But one day while my mom was gone, my older brother was feeling a little, I don't think brave is the word, maybe a little arrogant, with my sister and I, and so he got the switch, and in defiance says, I don't care what mom thinks, and he broke it over his knee.

He was acting as if my mom was not coming home.

He didn't realize what he did.

I still remember just calling two pieces and just kind of going, oh, what did I really just do?

He immediately ran out in the backyard, cut an exact same-size switch, immediately started peeling the bark off of that thing, and replaced it exactly where he found it.

And to this day, I'm pretty sure my mom doesn't know that story.

I'm dead serious, this really happened.

Now I want us to read verse 18 again.

Now some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.

He's telling them, stop acting like you won't have consequences just because I'm not there with you.

Because, and now look at verse 19.

But I will come to you soon if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk, but the power of those who are arrogant.

Corinthians, the proof is gonna be in the pudding when I show up.

You might talk a big game now, and you might break a switch over your knee when I'm not with you.

But we'll see how powerful you are in God when I'm standing face to face with you.

And you can prove to me your superiority in God's kingdom, but only by the power of God inside of you, and not by the mere words that you're speaking in such arrogance.

Look at verse 20.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power.

What do you want?

Should I come to you with a rod or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

What would you that are arrogant prefer?

For me to come and discipline you or come and instruct you with a spirit of gentleness?

Corinth, you pick.

Get it right now before I show up.

Pick which direction you want things to go when I come back and visit you if the Lord wills.

But I guarantee you that Paul would prefer to come and visit with a spirit of gentleness.

Because when spiritual discipline does need to be enacted within a church, we'll talk a lot about this next week.

Or not next week.

Not on Christmas.

Benzman Thomas, we shouldn't do the spiritual discipline on Christmas Eve.

Totally joking, though.

But it'll be New Year's Day.

We're gonna be talking about church discipline.

But when spiritual discipline does need to be enacted by church leaders to a church member, it's never enjoyable for anybody that's involved.

And if it gets to the point where the elders have to step in and have to enact that spiritual discipline on a church member, it is always because of a lack of humility by the one that's being disciplined.

You know, I've never seen an exception to that.

You know, by the time it gets to that point, they have had multiple opportunities to repent and they have not.

And from a leadership perspective, every time that I've been a part of it, it has been so painful.

And it has been so sad to see somebody come to that place of complete defiance to God.

So Paul says, humble out now.

And it's gonna make our next visit so much more enjoyable for everybody that's involved.

If you do it yourself and not through church discipline, it's gonna be so much better for all of us.

You know, churches function so much better when everyone is acting from a place of humility.

You know, have you ever heard of a church splitting because of an argument over who gets to serve more?

Or somebody leaving a church because they weren't allowed to serve as an under rower?

You know, church drama doesn't come from a place of humility.

You know, oh yeah, those two people, they were too humble.

And then a fight broke out.

It's like, no, that's not how that works.

It's always because of pride.

So Paul says, please pursue humility before I come back and see you again.

It will make it so much more pleasant for all involved.

And I really believe that Paul is hoping that that is what would happen, that he could come in that place of love and gentleness to the Corinthians.

So that's the end of chapter four.

So I always want to ask the question: what is here for each and every one of us to apply to our relationship with God?

I think the first thing is the last will be first, and the first will be last.

If you want to be first in the kingdom of God, serve with humility.

I think that's the first thing.

I think the second thing is we need to live the opposite of what our flesh tells us, and the opposite of what the world tells us.

As we just read, when we are reviled, we bless.

When we are persecuted, we endure it.

When we are slandered, we respond graciously.

And then I think the third thing be humble.

Have the right perspective that we are simply servants, that we are simply co-working with each other and with God for the same purpose, which is God's kingdom.

Realizing that we're not any better than anybody else that we're sitting around right now.

And if we're going to argue, let's argue about who gets to serve where others don't want to serve.

You know, at this point you might be thinking, wow, Jesus requires a lot of his disciples, doesn't he?

Remember that he doesn't require anything he didn't already do.

Remember that he doesn't require anything that he hasn't already walked through and experienced for himself.

You know, God doesn't take pleasure in watching his kids being persecuted.

All of the persecution and the backwardness of the way that the world thinks all came because of our sin.

But the thing is, God can use that persecution and that hardship to make us more like Jesus, because he can turn all things together for good for those that love him.

You know, Jesus said, You will have suffering in this world, but be courageous, because I have conquered the world.

So, yes, Jesus requires a lot of his disciples.

But this life is so short in the scope of eternity.

It's just a vapor.

It's a little dot on the line that never stops.

But it's gonna be so worth it to live as Christ did in a complete surrendering to God because in the end it will all be worth it.

And we're gonna come face to face with Jesus Christ and live in an amazing eternity of bliss with our Savior that has done all of this for us, and God's calling us to be a part of that.

And yes, it's gonna include hardship and it's going to include suffering, but if we remain humble, if we remain following Christ with all of our heart, I promise it will all be worth it in the end.

Will you please pray with me?

Lord, I thank you again for your word.

I thank you for the one for the gift of Jesus, but also for the example that he left.

For the words like we got to read in the Beatitudes here this morning, of how worldly thinking is completely opposite of how you think, God.

Teach us how to not bring in outside expectations and things that we've learned from our culture and then apply them to your church.

Teach us to see things through a biblical lens, to see things the way that you see things.

And Lord, we realize that that can only come through the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us, teaching us and showing us and guiding us and counseling us in our thoughts and in our words.

Lord, our flesh stinks.

Lord, it gives us bad advice all the time.

It tells us to do all the wrong things.

Help that voice to quiet down as we listen to the Holy Spirit and that as his voice becomes clearer and clearer in our hearts on a daily basis.

We truly desire to be more like you, Jesus, on a daily basis.

Can you show us how to do that?

Can you teach us?

Can you bring to mind everything that we need every step along the way?

We cannot do this on our own.

Lord, we need you above all else.

Help us to abide in you closer and to walk by the Spirit step by step, we pray.

Lord, encourage us as we go out these doors to walk the walk that you've set before us.

To only listen to your direction and to leave worldly wisdom behind.

Amen.