{"id":16886,"date":"2021-08-02T22:00:29","date_gmt":"2021-08-03T05:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1corinthians-3_1-9-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-08-02T22:10:11","modified_gmt":"2021-08-03T05:10:11","slug":"1corinthians-4_1-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1corinthians-4_1-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Chase Success in God\u2019s Eyes + Beware Spiritual Pride"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 Corinthians 4:1-8\u00a0 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Corinthians 4:1-8.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 4:1-5 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore 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. At that time each will receive his praise from God.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-5:\u00a0\u00a0The people in the church in Corinth had their share of \u201cPaul groupies\u201d and \u201cApollos groupies\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0The Paul groupies loved to talk about how great Paul was and how much better he was than any other Christian leader.\u00a0\u00a0They would boast about their allegiance to Paul and look with disdain at those who were led by other Christian leaders.\u00a0\u00a0The Apollos groupies loved to do the same as it related to Apollos.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In response to all this, here Paul is basically saying, \u201cStop putting Apollos and me on a pedestal.\u00a0\u00a0Stop comparing us as if we are in some beauty contest or talent show.\u00a0\u00a0The fact is that Apollos and I are both servants of Christ, entrusted with the \u2018secret things of God\u2019 (v1), that is, the gospel and the revelation of God\u2019s Word.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We answer to God and are seeking to be faithful\u00a0to God<\/em>\u00a0with what He has entrusted to us (v2).\u00a0\u00a0So however you or any other human being wants to judge us means very little to me (v3), because it is God\u2019s judgment of us that really counts (v4).\u00a0\u00a0On that note, instead of trying to judge things based on the limited evidence that you see, leave it to God to be the judge since God sees everything, including what you don\u2019t see, such as people\u2019s motives and hearts (v5)\u201d.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t be so quick to judge people with such finality and conclusiveness, since you are not the judge anyway and you don\u2019t see everything.\u00a0\u00a0It is God\u2019s judgment that counts, not yours.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0All of us have been entrusted by God with something precious.\u00a0\u00a0May we seek to be as faithful as we can with what God has entrusted to us.<\/strong><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Since God is the judge, may we not get caught up in what other people think or say about us.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0May we simply focus on doing what pleases the real judge, which is God Himself.<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 4:6 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not take pride in one man over against another.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 6:\u00a0\u00a0What does Paul mean here, especially by the saying, \u201cDo not go beyond what is written\u201d?\u00a0\u00a0I believe when taken in context Paul means at least three things:\u00a0(1) when people who don\u2019t know you well praise you from a distance, don\u2019t get a big head; (2) when people who don\u2019t know you well judge you from a distance, don\u2019t take it too personally; and (3) don\u2019t get caught in comparisons with others.\u00a0\u00a0Instead, anchor your worth, your identity and your purpose in \u201cwhat is written\u201d, that is, what God says about you.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0When you don\u2019t go beyond what is written, and you anchor yourself in God\u2019s Word, that\u2019s where you find peace, purpose and security.<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 4:7-8 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?<\/em>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings–and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you!<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 7-8:\u00a0\u00a0The Paul groupies and Apollos groupies were taking pride in how much they had learned from and experienced with Paul and Apollos respectively, as if being taught by Paul or Apollos was a badge of honour that showed superiority over others.\u00a0\u00a0Yet Paul says, \u201cHow does that make you better than anyone else?\u00a0\u00a0If this is all God\u2019s grace, you have nothing to boast about concerning yourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul is showing that, in the end, the problem with these Paul groupies and Apollos groupies was their own pride.\u00a0\u00a0These groupies had assumed that they had reached some kind of elevated status as Christians, that they were better and wiser (\u201ckings\u201d) compared to other believers, and that they already knew everything they needed to know.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, these prideful Christians were simply using their connection with Paul and Apollos to prove their own self-perceived superiority.\u00a0\u00a0So here Paul makes it clear that neither he nor Apollos ever taught them to think this way (\u201cYou have become kings\u00a0[which is Paul being sarcastic]\u00a0<\/em>\u2013 and that without us\u201d).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from all this?\u00a0\u00a0Beware spiritual pride.\u00a0\u00a0Beware thinking, because of your experience, your connections, or your past ministry success, that somehow you are superior and better than everyone else.\u00a0\u00a0Remember that pride precedes a downfall, but humility comes before honour (Proverbs 18:12).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, when people praise me from a distance, may I not get a big head.\u00a0\u00a0When people judge me from a distance, may I not take it personally.\u00a0\u00a0May I not be controlled by the praise, the judgments or the comparisons people give, but instead may my identity, worth and purpose be anchored in what Your Word says about me.\u00a0\u00a0I pray I would never be spiritually prideful, thinking myself better than others.\u00a0\u00a0Rather may Christ-like humility fuel my thoughts, words and attitude toward others.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Corinthians 4:1-8.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 4:1-5 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
\n3\u00a0\u00a0I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.
\n4\u00a0\u00a0My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
\n5\u00a0\u00a0Therefore 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. At that time each will receive his praise from God.<\/p>\n

On verses 1-5:\u00a0\u00a0The people in the church in Corinth had their share of \u201cPaul groupies\u201d and \u201cApollos groupies\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0The Paul groupies loved to talk about how great Paul was and how much better he was than any other Christian leader.\u00a0\u00a0They would boast about their allegiance to Paul and look with disdain at those who were led by other Christian leaders.\u00a0\u00a0The Apollos groupies loved to do the same as it related to Apollos.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In response to all this, here Paul is basically saying, \u201cStop putting Apollos and me on a pedestal.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16888,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16886"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16887,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16886\/revisions\/16887"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}