1 Corinthians (Session 3) Chapter 3

but we're going to continue our study of first corinthians chapter three and as most of you know i'm fond of calling this first californians chapter 3. and that's more than just a little play on words the word corinth wrapped up in their world what we today would wrap up by combining las vegas hollywood and new york and so the the word corinth not only meant geography it also became a term to imply a fornicator and it's interesting that in many respects in our own society the uh the lack of commitment and marriages and so forth tend to get typified as californians so the the play on words is deliberate tend to give us a coloration that we might be able to relate to a little better but i want to start before we get into our study tonight just to touch on a piece of background that i think is going to be very crucial to bear in mind and if we look at john chapter 10 at verse 28 jesus says i give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand that's quite a statement he goes on to say my father which gave them me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hands i want you to notice something here that he says he shall never perish in the greek that's a double negative now in english a double negative reverses but in greek it's a way of emphasizing it makes it more emphatic they shall never and so it's especially emphatic but then he goes on here neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand well where are we then in the palm of his hand but he goes on my father which gave them me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand i want you to be sensitive here that there are two hands involved the lord's hands and the father's hands now if we're in there do you think we could get out if we wanted to see i don't think so and so see one of the questions that's going to alert behind many of our thinking is what kind of security is it that offers no security against our own weaknesses that's a form of weakness that gives us worry so if there is a way for you to lose your salvation once you have it then i have a new name for god and that's butterfingers and i'm being a little flippant here deliberately because you'll remember that then but the point of what i want you to do as we approach chapter 3 of first corinthians i want you to realize that the issue here is not our eternal security one of the things that i hope you already have done and if not i hope you will do and that's do a very specific study of that issue internal security and we have a a a to a double dvd package on that you'll discover that your security is committed to by the father by the son and the holy spirit all three are committed to your security when you really get into that it will i believe eliminate any anxiety you might have in terms of your personal security in fact there are many doctrines that different good scholars have different views on but this is one unless you have clarity of this you can't be effective for him there's no way you can be a testimony to somebody else if you're not sure of your own position so it's very it's very fundamental very crucial so we're going to jump into first corinthians 3. of one and two are very good chapters very provocative the foolishness of god and all of that but chapter three zeroes in on the primary reason paul wrote this letter he's going to talk about the challenges of what we call carnality the challenges of carnality it opens up right away in the first verse paul says and i brethren could not speak unto you as unto spiritual but as unto carnal even as unto babes in christ one of the things that you want to be sensitive to there are only two categories in the scripture from genesis 1 to revelation 22. believers and non-believers only two there's no middle ground and those that are born twice or we'll go to that notice he says and i he's calling them brethren i want you to realize that the epistle to first corinthians was written to and regarding christians we're not talking about unbelievers here we're talking about christians that's easy to forget as we get into the details here and uh brothers equals it's interesting the old testament prophets never addressed their readers but admonish them from above but paul is right among them and again there's only two classes of people from genesis 1 to revelation 22 believers and non-believers and in your notes there there's a handful of verses from both the old and new testament that will come there is no third class we need to come to grips with that because it has disturbing implications and so there's only two category scriptures those that are born once and those that are born twice and are on their way to heaven and uh remember now paul is speaking to christians that's the emphasis they are sanctified in christ we learn in both chapter one and chapter two that was emphasized and they received the spirit we discovered in chapter two so these are issues that are behind us when we get to chapter 3 just keep in front of us and here paul even calls them brothers so let's get that context very clear but within the category of believers there are two natures carnal and spiritual and that's the dilemma that paul is dealing with here carnal what do we mean by that still controlled by the old nature failing to make progress in spiritual growth sensual and fleshly so the term carnal is reasonably descriptive a little old-fashioned but descriptive see maturity here is an eschatological category it's reached at the time of the resurrection of the dead from philippians 3 and other passages so i want to dwell on something else dr earl rademacher was always famous when he walked into the classroom he would announce to his class i have been saved i am being saved and i will be saved and he said that deliberately to get them confused what does he mean by that and he's talking about the fact that the word salvation has some ambiguities we need to deal with it's actually a a term that has three tenses a past present and future tense and so the para i'm going to deal with it like a parody of a verb the paradigm of salvation okay the past tense of salvation is called justification what do i mean by that justification is a gift of god of everlasting life by faith alone in christ alone period that's it it's a gift you can't earn it it was paid for by the lord jesus it's a gift from god of everlasting life received how by faith alone and in christ alone he did it all to try to add to that as blasphemy justification no problem there the present tense of salvation we call sanctification that's a different thing altogether that's a work in progress that involves faith and works of the believer all of us in this room are works in progress he's not finished with any of us we are all in a process of sanctification hopefully but then of course the future tense of salvation for lack of another name i'll call glorification and that's the result of the previous aspects you're with me so far let's go after sin all believers will be glorified that is resurrected and given a body like christ but some will have more glory than others more reward and that is amazingly controversial it's amazing there's some major major biblically oriented groups that think everybody's equal and they find great offense in the suggestion that everybody in heaven is not equal jesus went to some great lengths to emphasize that and we're going to be hitting that head on as we go here so we have the past tense of salvation that's separation from the penalty of sin and we call that justification the present tense is separation from the power of sin and we call that sanctification and the third tense the future tense is separation from the very presence of sin past tense separation from the penalty of sin jesus did that on the cross 2000 years ago done deal completed present tense separation from the power of sin that's a day-to-day struggle that you and i face every day moment by moment the future tense will be the separation from the very presence of sin and that's devoutly to be wished glorification justification that's why we try not to use the word salvation because it's too fuzzy justification sanctification glorification all three of them describe the past present and future tense of what we collectively call salvation that's the suggestion and hope that's helpful justification is for us sanctification is in us justification declares the sinner righteous sanctification makes the sinner righteous justification removes the guilt penalty of sin sanctification removes the growth and power of sin the very distinctive aspects of what we call collectively called salvation now something else that you should study when you as you get at it salvation itself involves all three persons of the godhead we call christ as our redeemer and he certainly is but all three persons of the godhead are involved the father is electing grace the son's loving sacrifice the spirit's ministry of conviction and regeneration so paul now we'll get down to verse two we're making progress here tonight paul says i have fed you with milk and not with meat for here the two ye were not able to bear it neither yet now are ye able he's giving them a scolding here he calls them babes in christ if somebody says da da that's cute for a one-year-old but it's embarrassing for an 18 year old and he's arguing that they haven't matured they're still back at square one they should have gone far beyond that this language he's using is reminiscent of hebrews 5 which deals with the same issue and paul develops that in depth in hebrews 5. now by the way is paul the author of hebrews i absolutely believe i think you can prove it despite some scholastic debate the three epistles by paul are a trilogy on habakkuk 2 4 the just shall live by faith who are the just romans chapter 1 verse 17 quotes havoc 2 4 and answers that question who are the just and it's the it's the epitome of that of of the epistles in that regard how are they then to live that's galatians 3 11. again it's quoted and it describes how we live and then of course they're lived by faith in hebrews 10 38 a verse just a verse or two before the famous hall of faith in the episode the main point of this i think is that all three epistles romans galatians and hebrews are clearly a trilogy designed by paul on or the holy spirit on the trilogy of havoc 2 4. so i'll leave that to you to study and come to terms with but we'll continue with verse 3. paul says for ye are yet carnal for whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions are ye not carnal and walk as men and so see the natural man can be learned gentle eloquent fascinating but the spiritual content of scripture is absolutely hidden from them we need to understand that you can run into very bright intellectual people that are very lovable very attractive in many ways but they can be totally blind the spiritual truth because they're still in the carnal nature the christian is able to comprehend only the simplest truths or the milk if you will the early christians so you're yet carnal and the word sarcomas is fleshly or essence thereof in verse three it is a very similar word and uh it's in contrast to sukakos the senses and the pneumaticos the spiritual are reborn or spirit-filled but he asks are you not carnal that's paul's question that means natural or are you unspiritual so to speak and the isv would call it still worldly new bystander says of the flesh the new jerusalem bible natural inclinations the new american bible in in a natural condition not spiritually minded and uh not merely on the natural plane controlled by the fallen nature those are all ways of saying pretty much the same you're being you're still in the world in effect now the real point here paul's pointing out there appears to be no discernible difference in conduct between them and the unsaved whoops does that describe us is there a discernible difference in our conduct from those that are unsaved they often ask if you were on trial for being a christian is there enough is there enough evidence to convict you the world can't tell that we are they are christians and i'm putting the we in there because what paul is saying to the carnal christians of of corinth may be applying to us here we need to see if the shoe fits they that is we are filled with jealousy and strife all kinds of examples devoid of love for one another how guilty we are that from time to time these people have a holy or no attitude spiritual applied separistic contentious those are all things that are undesirable and this this is the very message that got to paul from chloe's household that caused him to write this epistle he says for one for while one saith i am a paul and another i am apollos are ye not carnal it was those very messages from from the household of chloe full circle paul rebukes their lack of maturity and he encourages them to grow in grace and knowledge faith and love and holiness that's basically the gist of both this and peter's two letters who then is paul or who is apollos but ministers of whom he believed even as the lord gave to every man see a christian worker is never to be idolized only christ should receive glory and honor you need to be very careful about i know many of you try to encourage me in various ways and you mean well but be very careful of that because it's christ that gets the glory not not the workers here and there is a something else that needs to be talked about here and that's the concept of the nicolaitans people who are men of the cloth that's a concept that's had been adapted from paganism and what's astonishing is that from the third century on that format has in infer in infused itself into our religious world the whole concept of the laity and the clergy is latinism and jesus hates that twice in his letters in his seven letters twice he points out he hates the nicolaitans this idea that you're a man of the claw no no no no and we need to understand that so uh it's interesting uh walter martin was a very close friend i was on his board and he had a very difficult ministry he had an a counter cult ministry which is a very tricky thing to manage in the first place but walter had a very key uh policy he never attacked a person he would attack what they published in contrast to what the bible said that kept him on solid ground with only one minor exception did he ever attack an ad hominem or a person it was always the the published assertion in contrast to the bible and that kind of diligence is what kept him out of trouble for many decades and so a pastor is not a minister of a particular church but a minister of christ's gospel pastors our servants table waiters if you will and we need to keep that in front of us now by the way apollo and paul mentions of paul and apollos and others those mention these names are mentioned three times but always in a different order because he's trying to de-emphasize any particular one and he does that by the he focuses he wants to focus on the work not the person and we're going to be talking about the work not the person when we get to 11 12 and 13 the core of this epistle and we convert verse 6 paul says i have planted an apollos watered but god gave the increase so there again both apollos and paul were instrumental and yet it's god that gives the increase and should get the glory the greek verbs here by the way indicate that the work of paul and apollos was in the eras tense it was completed but the work of god was imperfect continuous it's never completed it's always continuing even in the subtlety of the greek verbs we find those things emphasized verse 7 so then neither is he that planteth anything neither he that watereth but god that giveth the increase fair enough and uh the word theos or god stands last in the greek structure of the sentence which where you get the emphasis at the end that's a little different that structure is different than english now he that planteth and he that watereth are one and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor and it's interesting uh someone's pointed out in higher mathematics zero plus zero plus zero is still zero so that's the the workers but if you put a one in there zero plus zero plus one christ is the only one is the idea but you want to put the 1 first because that makes 1 1 0 0 that's a million times more than if you go .0001 so you always put christ first someone has played around with that that's a cute little thing but anyway the main point is individuality is a factor god does not overlook and rewards are the result of faithfulness they are not the reason for nor the goal of service laborers so let's get that out of the way many people have hesitated to teach or study rewards for fear of improper emphasis no jesus emphasizes a great deal we're going to plunge right into the middle of the subject we want to understand that okay and paul refutes by the way in all of this the notion that he and cephas and apollo's word variants are rivals and there's more verses on that that we'll get before the the first corinthians is finished but let's move on verse nine for we are laborers together with god ye are god's husbandry ye are god's building and uh see without him we can't but without us he won't he's chosen to accomplish his work through us and that's uh that's astonishing and that's what he's chosen to do so paul continues according to the grace of god which is given unto me as a wise master builder i have laid the foundation and another built it thereon but let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon oh there's a caution there let every man take heed that's a solemn warning see we are god's building we're only subcontractors and so what you need to do though to put this in pragmatics is you need to find out what your gifts are and then go ahead and apply them if you're not apply applying your gifts you're defrauding the body but now we get right to it here we're moving into the core of this whole epistle for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is jesus christ no surprise there the foundation has been laid by jesus christ i think we're all that's a good place to that's where we start and no theologian counsel or committee can change the gospel without incurring god's wrath it's astonishing to realize how many people running churches are very careless about that that they ignore what is really the gospel in exchange for pursuing social justice issues not that those issues aren't legitimate issues but they compete with what the calling is is to deal with the gospel and let's not get confused on that point now we get right to it in verse 12 first corinthians 3 12. now if any man build upon this foundation gold silver precious stones or wood hay and stubble i want you to notice here we've got six things in two groups gold silver precious stones and wood hay stubble two different groups six commodities two groups in descending order of worth it starts with the best and ends with the worst with me so far three are products of a creative act gold silver precious stones were created by god would hay stubble our products of growth and development and so the old nature if you will so we're going to see that three of them are are prized and three of them are cast off see they're all building on the same foundation but with vastly different results that's the concept that's going to come through here okay the first three are permanent gold silver precious stones they don't wear out the second three will perish they're designed to perish would hate stubble see the contrast many people as they read that don't pick up the fact there's two distinct groups here the largest load of any hay or wood may be worth less than the smallest diamond so you've been saved praise god what have you done with it you see we're all heading for a final exam most of us that study eschatology are all excited about the rapture rapture of this that aren't we excited to hardly wait and so forth wait a minute what's the thing that happens immediately after the rapture the bema seat of christ we have a final exam everybody present will be saved that's why they're there but they're all going to have a final exam the other thing i want to clear about clarify some other confusion about the term bema seat that's a greek term and somehow some people argue that the bema seat was just for the giving of rewards that's not true it may be the primary truth and the one we're talking about but the point of the word bema seat was a tribunal seat a judicial bench a judgment cedar throne herod agrippa the first addressed the people of tyre and sion from the bema seat jesus was brought before pilate who was on the his bema seat paul was accused before the pro council of galileo uh in acts 18 and that relic is still around no the the bema seat is exactly what you think it is it's the throne it's the judgment seat for whatever's going on it happens that the one we're going to focus on is where jesus is offering rewards but don't see that as any diminution of authority here paul was brought before festus at caesarea at the bema seat in acts 25. now let's talk a little bit about the order of events that's not the primary subject of this thing but it's a little background review here i think most of us who studied eschatology understand the central role of the 70th week of daniel is a definitive time and we are at the end of an interval between the 69 weeks and the 70th an extended interval daniel 9 26 but we're heading for the 70th week as described in daniel 9 27 the last verse of that chapter and of course we're looking for the harpazzo which we believe for a number of reasons occurs prior to the 70th week not necessarily immediately before many people who make their charts link those together know there's a space of indefinite duration between the harpazzo and the beginning of the 70th week let's keep that in mind it might be one hour might be 30 years we don't know but the main point is the seventh week as you know it's divided right in the middle by an event called the abomination of desolation worthy of very careful study and that splits that seventh week into two halves each half is labeled as three and a half years 42 months or 1260. holy spirit did everything he could to make sure that that didn't get allegorized okay in fact those two halves were named one of them the second one was named by the per by the lord jesus himself that's the great tribulation it's notice it's three and a half years not seven years everybody calls them speaks of the seven year tribulation they're being sloppy what they mean is the seventh week of daniel is seven weeks fine but the great tribulation is the definitively the last half of that seven year period and of course it gets climaxed in armageddon which is interrupted by the second coming of jesus christ that's why we have that so clearly in our studies okay and when jesus comes back satan is bound he's not destroyed his two buddies the two beasts of revelation 13 are cast into the pit but satan is just bound for a thousand years strangely enough okay and that starts a period of a thousand year reign by jesus christ called the millennium and it's not just because it shows up in revelation it's all through isaiah and elsewhere most of what we know about it comes from isaiah not revelation and there's a couple of periods that scholars ponder 12 90 days and 13 35 we don't have to get in that here but right about that time is also another judgment of the sheep and goats we'll talk about that a little bit here in a minute at the end of the millennium this is not the scale obviously satan is released and that's where we have a final rebellion sage released and gog and magog the second time occurs again and so that of course is uh is jesus comes back deals with that and the great white throne judgment wraps that all up and leads to a new heavens and a new earth it's interesting that even the heavens are redone the worth the earth read had no surprise but even heaven is redone strangely enough and of course we have then the new jerusalem and all of that now there are three judgments that get confused the first judgment is the one we want to we we are going to encounter in first corinthians three the bema seat judgment everybody there will be saved it's the first thing that occurs after the hapazo apparently we're raptured we're in heaven great whatever is going on in the earth is going on but we are going to be in a final exam that second corinthians 5 10 to really get into the details of it now that's a very important thing to understand because the primary thing you and i should be focusing on is our ability to improve our position in that final exam every day that goes by we can improve our situation the other thing that occurs in the father's house during that period is the marriage of the lamb and then not to be confused with the wedding supper though mary's supper is on the earth john the baptist will be there and the friend of the bridegroom and so on it was i think we're indebted to arnold frucklinbaum who really clarified that those two things are separate in separate locations the marriage takes place in the father's house the marriage supper is in the kingdom and but the main point we have the bema seat the sheep and goat judgment very the more you study that the more questions it raises and then of course you have the great white throne those three judgments are very very different from one another and you need to make take some effort to understand the distinctions here and the bema seat of christ is one we're focusing on it's all about rewards crowds and assignments and that's where the kingdom parables the talents the virgins and the uninvited guests all deal with that it's the call to the bride to the marriage of the lamb then we have the sheep and goat judgments which is in matthew 25 it's on the earth strangely enough and there's three separate parties involved the sheep and the goats and christ's brethren israel and so the more you study it the more questions it raises because mortals are judged on the basis of works that's a disturbing issue and of course the great white throne at the end in revelation 20 is the big wrap up the end of the millennium the unsaved dead and so forth then we have the new heavens new earth new jerusalem and so on something else that emerges in all this are five crowns there's five crowns that have specific names one of the crown of righteousness and second timothy iv the crown of glory and in first peter 5 the crown of life in revelation 2 the incorruptible crown in first corinthians 9 and the crown of rejoicing in first thessalonians 2. now this might be five different descriptions of the same crown or there might be five five distinct crowns some most people tend to look at it that way there might be 20 crowns these are just the five that are mentioned so i wouldn't make too much of it but there are specifically five definitive illusions here and so the question is what would you do with these when you if you earn them what happens to them if you earn them what happens if you're going to cast them on the glassy sea before the throne of god well let's continue where we left first corinthians chapter 3 verse 12. now if any man build on this foundation gold silver precious stones or would a stubble notice now here's a verse that most people misunderstand every man's work shall be made manifest for the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is notice what's being burned is not the guy is work see it's a way of evaluating the work and if you instead of using the word work substitute the concept of fruit bearing it makes a lot more sense okay the guy is and he's it'll be clarified in the next verse to make sure you don't misunderstand but i want you to understand every everybody's work is going to be evaluated and some of it will stand and some it will not because they're going to the fire is the metaphor being used to separate the two if any man's work abide which he hath built thereon he shall receive a reward wow so he's going to get rewarded if his work stands the test if any man's work shall be burned he shall suffer loss but notice the next phrase so you don't misunderstand but he himself shall be saved yet so is by fire okay see whatever you've done for christ will remain everything else will burn and but you need to understand this has nothing to do with his salvation his salvation has been taken care of before he even gets to this this stage but the work that he's committed himself to if it's done by the holy spirit in accordance with god's plan he will be rewarded because his fruit bearing will stand to his credit if by chance what he's committed himself to is not what god has ordained it'll be burned and he'll suffer a loss loss and sense he he won't get the reward he would have gotten if it had stayed but in either case it's not his salvation that's an issue have i over is that clear i'm getting a lot of blank stares i hope that's okay let me distinguish rewards here salvation is invariably expressed as a free gift not rewards salvation is a free gift and there's several verses there for your perusal rewards are earned by works i'm going to call that fruit bearing and there's lots of verses on that one salvation is a present possession your salvation is something you have right now it isn't rewarded later you've got it now because jesus took care of it two thousand years ago on a cross in judea rewards are a future attainment given by him in his coming see the difference your salvation you have now the rewards you may be entitled to will be something of the future let me use a lot as an example lot was vex daily peter tells us abraham was not vexed he'd separate himself from the world god destroyed sodom but saved lot yet as by fire in other words he got out of there but like he he's like a refugee everything he had was burned up okay remember that in peter uh peter 2 8 2 peter 2 8 for that righteous man dwelling among them and seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with her unlawful deed so lot was vexed but he's right in the middle of it because he stay he's he's stuck around there a lot of people do that today by the way they stay with a denomination they're uncomfortable with or they stay in politics they're not whatever and they're they hate it it's fruitless and they stay there that raises a question i wouldn't try to presume to advise but it deserves some serious prayer because a lot finally got out of there everything he had lived for was burned up and many people are in that situation everything they're working for is destined to be for nothing that which is done for the sake of personal gain for popularity for influence or its impression on the world will be for naught that's not what god's interested in okay our greatest joy should be winning souls and not just winning them they're sustained growth that's been probably our major burden for four decades someone accepts christ praise god then what what happens next how does he grow how the the biblical illiteracy in most pulpits are the problem so that's the edification ministry of the coinage institute uh we're we're not really an evangelistic organization oh we're glad to lead people of christ that's not the point our primary focus though is to deal with people who have decided to take him seriously there's a lot of debates among our leadership here a lot of many people like to say ki coiny institute's for everybody it's certainly not excluding anybody but that's not what it's for it's really for those who are really serious it's a place where people are really serious can go because surprisingly there's very few places they can and so let's move on here you know ye not that ye are the temple of god oh that's quite a phrase know you not that ye are the temple of god he's going to deal with that again in chapter 6 in depth know you not that you are the temple of god and that the spirit of god dwelleth in you that don't you know you know you're not that's a rhetorical question used ten times in this letter as a form of mild rebuke don't you know did you know that ye are the temple of god now for a detailed study of this aspect i encourage you to look at our little briefing pack called the architecture of man or better yet study the the take the studies in the textbook that my wife has published the way of agape because of all the things i've seen it's it does the most thorough job at exploiting this very concept the temple of god and if you take the tabernacle i assume you all study that you're familiar with it and uh we have the the core of the temple proper of course uh is what most people zero in on but there is the labor and the older sacrifice outside but as you look at that you discover that there's a holy place and the holy of holies with the menorah in the you have the table of showbread the golden altar associated with but just outside of the holy of holies in the holy of holies you've got two things that are separately defined the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat are separate one sitting on top of the other but don't confuse them one has a future one doesn't and we can that's a whole another study that we deal with and so now jesus made claim on every one of these things as i am the door i am the light of the world i am the bread of life i'm the intercession and he's our sin bearer and our propitiation each one of these things are personified in yeshua now that's the old testament version of it you have the holy holy and you have the holy place and the new the solomon's temple is a little different because you had an inner court in the holocaust altar and the molten sea but what's strange about it you also had an outer court and you also had two two pillars that had names jacquin and boaz they didn't hold up anything they're there symbolically why and there's a porch included and uh that where people that's where decisions were made and then we've got a personal storage for the priests where priests hid their idolatrous terms each one of these things are analyzed in practical spiritual terms and in the way of agape and subsequent books so but if any man defile the temple of god if you're the temple of god can you be defiled well if any man defile the temple of god him shall god destroy for the temple of god is holy which temple ye are well that gets kind of scary when you realize you're if you abuse yourself in ways that are inappropriate that's a crime against god let you chew on that for a little bit that's a little scary factors that can destroy god's temple were present when paul was writing this epistle those who are devoid of god's spirit now our sufficiency in christ let's keep keep that clear we have forgiveness for past sins that's righteousness we have strength for the present sanctification and we have hope for the future of in christ let no man deceive himself if any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world let him become a fool that he may be wise that sounds like for earlier chapters remember warnings against self-deception by enthralled worldly wisdom those do not deceive yourselves there's no way to summarize this that's the present imperative verb used here nowhere else and so the ultimate barrier to truth the ultimate barrier to truth is the presumption you already have it and that's the challenge for all of us now i love the old persian proverb i couldn't resist throwing it in here he who knows and knows not that he knows is asleep wake him he who knows not and knows that he knows not as a student teach him he who knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool shun him he who knows and knows that he knows is wise follow him i like that but moving on for the wisdom of the world is foolishness with god for it is written he taketh the wise in their own craftiness do you see how this ties into chapter 1 and chapter 2. this puts a ribbon on it in a sense of speaking it's an echo of the foolishes of god thing take the wise known craftiness and again the lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise that they are vain and now the the paul replaces the of the wise of the men when he quotes the psalm but that's all right arrogant men boast that they are safe because the lord neither sees nor pays attention you've got to be kidding you've got to be kidding a little boy asked his grandpa does god does god know what i do what i do when no one's around he says god loves you so much he can't take his eyes off you i like that anyway such opinions of course are obviously faint and foolish let therefore no man glory in them for all things are yours and pretty straightforward everything in the earth belongs to god all things are yours two words those are two words in the greek whether paul apollos or cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come all are yours and ye are christ and christ is god's wow does that remind you of another passage it's not like romans 8 i can't resist going there world life death present future five ultimate tyrannies of human existence to which people are in lifelong bondage as slaves and so christ made the world redeemed it upholds it and appoints the people as to be a stewards in it but that leads in my mind an excuse i can use to go to what i like to call the ultimate tour de force and that's seven questions that paul raises and answers that concludes the eighth chapter of his epistle to the romans romans 8 31-39 seven questions the first two basically ask him the opposition defeat the christian okay well let's take a look at that what shall we then say to these things if god before us who can be against it that's really two questions the first two questions the if is a first class conditional we would translate that since not if god sensed god before us you see there's in greek there's four conditions the first condition is what we would more properly translate as since but okay obviously satan's demonic hosts are against all believers no surprise but they cannot ultimately prevail and triumph over believers god is the self-existent sovereign creator since he is for believers no one can oppose believers successfully that's the premise that's going to be developed here okay and will we next question is will we have the resources okay he that even spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things and both the king james and the rv failed to translate the greek particle even he that even spared they don't that's not your king james it should be he that even spared not his own son and uh and the same word is used in the septuagint and so forth remember abraham never withheld his son was the whole point and god offered his own son on that very spot as a sacrifice for sin and since god sacrificed his own son he will not hesitate to give believers all things pertaining to and leading to their ultimate sanctification will our failures reverse our justification that's one of the questions we raised when we open this chapter well who shall lay anything to the charge of god's elect it is god that justify it and the charge is a formal accusation in court is a term there satan has identified as the accuser of god's people his accusations are valid because they are based on the believer's sinfulness and defilement satan's accusations will be thrown out of court because it is god who justifies the accused person is righteous on the basis of his faith in jesus christ and as a result all accusations are dismissed and no one can bring an execution that was fanned okay then can anyone condemn us for any reason at all that's the next question who is he that condemneth it is christ that died ye rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of god who also maketh intercession for us see jesus is god's appointed judge jesus is whom the believer has trusted for salvation furthermore he's the one who died more than that who was a raise to life that is at the right hand of god and he is presently right now interceding for us while is right that's the having justified the ungodly god will will not and cannot contradict himself by charging them with evil who is he that condemneth 34 30 sources paul gives four answers each of which are taught elsewhere in the scripture but are gathered here to underscore the unconditional security of the believer christ died that he has risen that he advocates and that he intercedes for specific answers okay if god has already justified the man who believes in jesus how can he lay anything to the charge of his already justified one his justification comes from the imputed righteousness of christ and is legally ours it is not the subject of merit it cannot be lost by demerit get that that's important it's not a subject of merit therefore you can't lose it by demerit because you didn't merit it in the first place like a father god can and does correct his earthly sons but they always remain sons that's the lesson of the prodigal son he may have blown his inheritance but he never lost his sonship what kind of assurance can we have in a victory i love this this is the big wrap-up who shall separate us from the love of christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword the the apostle suggested seven setbacks a believer might experience and paul experienced all of them we'll see in second corinthians 11. and uh seven setbacks and i won't go through each one of these tribulation distress persecution famine nakedness peril or sword they're all they're all there they're all dealt with all listed as is written for thy sake we are killed all the day long we are counted as sheep for the slaughter in all these things we are what more than you ought to make a collection of the more thans in paul's letters and in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us so in all his rather than being separated from christ's love believers are more than conquerors and this is present tense meaning keep on being conquerors to a greater degree or keep on winning a glorious victory the present tense is important through him that loved us okay but his final guarantee this is the final wrap-up here's final guarantee for i am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth or any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of god which is in christ jesus our lord that's his final guarantee praise his name perhaps includes angels principalities demons whatever you have nothing you've nothing to fear the powers of darkness what else is there and so this should re-prioritize our outlook on everything on everything daily hourly the 16th century theologian zechariah says what is your only comfort in life and death that i am not my own i belong body and soul and life and death to my faithful savior jesus christ but don't forget the other thing you want to carry away from these discussions is the christian's bar of sober first john 1 9. let's always remember if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness what a precious verse that is you might want to mark it put it on your bathroom mirror or whatever that's the christian's bar of soap okay well for the next session i want you to read the entire epistle first corinthians no problem not a big deal but study carefully chapter four we'll zero in on chapter four next time and uh and with that we'll conclude our exploration of first corinthian first californians chapter three and let's do that with the word of prayer let's bow our hearts

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Length: 52min 51sec (3171 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 15 2020