[0:00] Take your Bibles and go with me to 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, last week we began making our way through this book of 1 Corinthians. We continue to dive into it as we move forward and we will finish up the first chapter this morning.
[0:15] So we're in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 being verses 10 through 31. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 10 through 31. As we gathered together last week, we looked at the first nine verses.
[0:25] Really first nine verses serve as an introduction as Paul introduces the church and the letter. He was very familiar with the church. He is the planter of this church.
[0:37] He was there for 18 months to two years with this church. He was heavily invested in it. And he's writing to these saints by calling. He is writing to his people that he has seen come to Christ and those who came afterwards.
[0:51] And as we looked at, he will be addressing some major issues. The book of 1 Corinthians is not necessarily an easy book to read. There's a lot of great truth within it. But there's also some difficult things that he will cover.
[1:03] And he begins to address some of the problems here in verse 10. He gets right to it very quickly. He gets right to the heart of the matter. And he's introduced the matter.
[1:13] He said, hey, how are you doing, if you will? It's nice to write to you. I want to remind you who you are in Christ. And then he gets right to the heart of the issue and begins to address one of the major issues, which we will see this morning, that was not only present in the church at Corinth, but my friend is present in just about every church today, if we're not careful.
[1:31] And it is the matter of division. So let's stand together, if we are physically able and desire to do so, standing together as we read the Word of God, starting in 1 Corinthians 1, starting in verse 10, and going to the end of the chapter, which gets us down to verse 31.
[1:45] Paul writes, Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.
[2:02] For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ.
[2:15] Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say that you were baptized in my name.
[2:29] Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.
[2:45] For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.
[3:00] Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
[3:20] For indeed, Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness.
[3:30] But to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
[3:43] For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world, and the despised God has chosen, and the things that are not, so that he may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.
[4:08] But by his doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, so that just as it is written, let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.
[4:24] Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this day. We thank you we've had an opportunity of gathering together and lifting up voices. We thank you for opportunities of fellowship.
[4:36] But Lord, how great it is to be able to stand together, to hear together, and to read together the word of God. We pray now that as we have seen it and heard it, Lord, that you would speak to us.
[4:48] May it be so much more than words on pieces of paper. Lord, may it not be the opinion or thoughts of man, but may it be the very words of God which penetrate to the very depth of our being.
[4:59] We pray that as it penetrates us and it searches us out, that it would show us who we are, but more importantly, it would show us who you are, that you would be glorified by it, and we ask it all in Christ's name.
[5:11] Amen. You may be seated. As Paul is writing this letter to the church at Corinth, we have seen that the city of Corinth was a very instrumental and a very important city in the Roman Empire.
[5:26] We have seen that it was also a very wicked city, that it was affected by the influences of the world. It was a conglomerate of people, of nationalities, and even generations.
[5:41] It was a very instrumental town in which ships were taken across, actually, the land of the Isthmus where Corinth resided, and that it was a trade town.
[5:52] It was wealthy, it was prosperous, but it was wicked. The influence of the world, unfortunately, began to make its way into the church, and rather than the church dictating to the world what they should be, the world was dictating to the church how they should behave.
[6:09] And Paul is going to address a number of those issues. One of the things which took place during that time would be people who would take great pride in who they learned from or who they sat under or who was their discipler.
[6:24] They were disciples of certain individuals. Paul addresses this even on Mars Hill in Acts chapter 17 when he's in the city of Athens, and people would go there just to discuss whatever new thing they had learned.
[6:38] And it's the thing that was taking place there is the same thing that's taking place in the city of Corinth, and that is people would sit under the feet of someone, and they would take on the personality of that person that they had sat under the feet.
[6:50] They would learn from this individual. They would speak like this individual. They would behave like this individual, and then they would defend this individual. You would have disciples of individuals giving debates of wisdom and fine speech, and they would do this rhetoric.
[7:05] There would be these people who would give these public speeches in competition, if you will, saying that the one who taught me is better than the one who taught you. And unfortunately, that began to take place within the church.
[7:17] People were so moved by the men that God was using that they began to imitate them, to look like them, and even to identify with them.
[7:30] And it is that issue that Paul is addressing. The first issue which we see Paul addressing to the church is an issue which must be addressed, unfortunately, in a number of churches today, and that is overcoming divisions within the body.
[7:45] How to overcome divisions in the church. Because a divided church is an ineffective church, and an ineffective church is a church that is not serving its purposes for the kingdom of God in the realm of earth.
[8:01] One of the great tasks that Satan sets himself out to do is to divide the body. It is to cause schisms and divisions within the body so that those divisions would render the body useless.
[8:13] This is why we see this happening so often. When you read church history and you see how God was using a church modely or using a group of people in a grand way, it is almost inevitable that there will be some schism or division that comes along and eventually not only debilitates but ruins the ministry of that local assembly.
[8:37] Division is a major issue. It is addressed throughout Scripture. It is addressed in the Old Testament as God speaks to His people, being united in their worship, that they could come together, should come together for certain festivals throughout the years.
[8:50] It is considered in each letter that Paul writes to his churches. It is something, the subject of matter, even in the book of Revelations. Division is something that seems to take a grand place within the bodies because the church really is an ecclesia, that is the called out ones, and the reality is that none of us are the same.
[9:10] So one of the greatest testimonies of the gospel is how so many people, so different, can come together and be so united. And we refer to that as oneness. Jesus, in the high priestly prayer, John 17 says, Father, I pray that they may be one as you and I are one, and that the oneness of the church would be a testimony to the world.
[9:32] Because the greatest testimony the world can ever see is people so different, yet being so united. When they come together as a body of believers and they serve the purpose of the kingdom, Paul would say to be intent on one purpose, to be moving forward with ambition.
[9:49] And we see here in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, the very first thing that he's addressing is this division. And he shows us how to overcome divisions within the church. The first thing we see is there has to be a redirected focus.
[10:04] The first way to overcome divisions in any church is to have a redirected focus. He says, Now I exhort you, brethren. I love this, that Paul here, even in his exhortations and even in his rebukes, refers to these believers as brethren.
[10:24] He reminds them of their common bond. You are my brothers. You are my brothers and sisters in Christ. He says, Now I exhort you what we would say in today's time.
[10:35] Now, brother, I'm telling you something. Now, I know people who will use the word brother or sister because they cannot remember the name of the individual they're talking to. And they just use that as a replacement for the name.
[10:47] I have since become very cautious. How do I do that? Because I don't want to refer to someone who's a brother that's really not a brother. It means I don't want to give a false sense of security to someone who really doesn't possess it because the family relationship matters.
[11:05] Right? We are brothers and sisters in Christ. And I don't mean this in a bad way. But if Christ is not your savior, then you are not my brother. Because the Bible says you have either one or two fathers.
[11:21] You're either a child of Satan or you're a child of God. And if you're not a child of God, then you're not my brother. That's not a bad thing. That's a true thing.
[11:33] So Paul uses these words specifically. Now, he is not referring to brethren as countrymen because the church at Corinth is not made up of only Jewish people. You remember they are both Jews and Gentiles.
[11:46] So he says, Now, I exhort you, brethren. We're of the same family. We have a common bond. And he uses that word a number of times.
[11:56] He says, Now, I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our... Did you notice that? The name of our Lord Jesus Christ. His exhortation comes with a common bond.
[12:09] And that common bond is found in a common savior. That we are both under the lordship of Jesus Christ. Therefore, what I am about to say bears weight to you and to me because we are united in this.
[12:22] We are under one savior. And he says, Do not let there be divisions among you, but to be of the same mind and to be of the same judgment, that you ought to be going in the same direction.
[12:33] He says, Now, Chloe's people, we don't know who Chloe is and we don't know who Chloe's people are. Right? Chloe's people have reported to me that there are divisions among you. And he begins to speak of this. That some people say, Well, I am of Paul.
[12:43] I have of Apollos. I have Cephas or Peter. Or I have Christ. He says, This is nonsense. Why would you do that? People begin to identify themselves with the leaders that God has used to speak to them and to empower them.
[12:56] Now, Paul was there for 18 months to two years. Apollos follows him. Remember that? We can read that in the book of Acts. Apollos was a little bit more eloquent of speech. He was a great rhetorician.
[13:08] He could speak very clearly. Paul probably not so much. Apollos was one who was fluent but was a little weak in his theology and had to be strengthened in his theology. But he was also a great debater for the things of Christ.
[13:21] We don't know that Peter ever went, Cephas here. We don't know that Peter ever went to Corinth. But some people wanted to get back to the root of the matter and say, Well, I'm not going to claim my lineage from Paul. He was an apostle born out of due season.
[13:33] Apollos never refers to himself as an apostle. I'm going to go all the way back to Peter because Peter is the foremost of the apostles. I'm going to identify with Peter. And some say, Well, I'll do you one better. I'm going to bypass the apostles and I'm going to go all the way to Christ.
[13:46] So I am of Christ. And these divisions began to arise within the church because different segments within the body were identifying with different people. Because the reality is, friend, listen to me, your personality gets along with other people's personalities, sometimes greater than this one.
[14:03] So you may relate more to Paul. You may relate more to Apollos. You may get along more with Peter. Peter and I could get along, by the way. You may get along with Peter over here. You may say, Well, I'm going to be a little holier than everybody else.
[14:15] I'm going to go over here with Christ. And there begins to be these divisions because I like that guy better. And I like this one better. And I like that one better. And see, there began to be divisions because people were focusing on the leaders that God was bringing, not the Lord that was over them.
[14:33] In today's church, that happens. You would be astounded by how many pastors I know whose ministries were ruined because of divisions within the body because of a former pastor.
[14:50] Well, you're not like so-and-so. Well, you know what? No, I'm not. And he's not like me. And I praise God that there's not another one like me. Well, you're a lot different than this one.
[15:02] And we hear it all the time of pastors. This is why it's so hard. And I have to think about these things. When pastors retire, most times pastors never retire. But when a pastor retires, he has to graciously leave the church he was serving because sometimes his influence over the body begins to be so detrimental to the new man that God has brought.
[15:24] When Adrian Rogers died in 2005, he was a pastor emeritus of the church there, Bellevue Baptist Church. He himself had selected Steve Gaines to be the pastor. And he was still kind of on staff and things were going well.
[15:37] When he died in 2005, Joyce Rogers left the church. He said, well, that's... And it was a big write-up. I remember. It was a big deal. Like, oh, Joyce doesn't get along with Steve because she left the church.
[15:49] No, she did the most gracious thing she could because Steve's wife would have never been a pastor's wife as long as Joyce was present. Because Adrian had served the church so long, people kept looking to Joyce, kept looking to Joyce, kept looking to Joyce.
[16:06] And there were people who were identifying with Joyce. You know what she said? You don't need me. God has brought another leader. I'm not the most important one here. And began to redirect their focus.
[16:20] This has been a cause for division within the body for a number of years. And Paul says it was going on at Corinth. They were looking at the men and the individuals that God had brought rather than looking at the Lord that was reigning over them.
[16:35] If you could go back in time, I believe it was Warren Wearsby who said that if he could be transported back in time at any time in history, he would have wanted to have been at any place at any time, he would have wanted to have been in the late, the mid to late 1800s around Britain and London in particular because at any given Sunday, at any given moment, you could hear any given world-renowned pastors preaching.
[17:00] Charles Spurgeon was preaching here right down the road, literally across the corner. Joseph Parker is preaching over here. Spurgeon had his thousands.
[17:10] Parker had his thousands. Hudson Taylor from the China Inland Missionary was in. At any given Sunday, D.L. Moody from America could be in there. You could go hear Richard Baxter who was also from America.
[17:22] He was going back and forth there. All these world-renowned, I know you know them all, right? All these world-famous pastors were there and their congregations were huge and they were selling tickets to get into the congregation.
[17:34] You had to have a ticket to go into the Metropolitan Tabernacle, which is where Spurgeon preached. And if you didn't have a ticket, you couldn't come in. You got a key to your pew. There were doors on the end of your pews and you were given a key based upon how much you contributed to the church.
[17:48] The more you gave, the closer you set. Not the further back. That's kind of astounding, right? So the more you gave, the closer you set. And you could unlock your pew and you could go in there. Only the people you wanted could go in there.
[17:59] And then there was this challenge of Joseph Parker's church over here. It was this world-renowned church and it was packed out. And is it any wonder that the people of London and the people of Britain began to magnify the men that God was using and forgot to listen to the message they were proclaiming?
[18:18] Because if you go there today, the churches tend to be empty and the faith tends to be weak. Though there was such an impact, though there was such a work of God going on, they forgot to listen to the message and began to magnify the man.
[18:33] People would say, we got to go hear Parker because he is so eloquent of speech and he is so great of sound and he is so flamboyant in his actions. You need to go see Joseph Parker.
[18:44] And people say, and don't forget to go see Charles Spurgeon because he's the prince of preachers. But friend, listen to me. They've started focusing on the men and began to listen to the man more than they began to listen to the message.
[18:57] And before you know it, division crept into the body and the body broke apart. And is no longer present. See, the problem that Paul is addressing is a problem that continued on throughout the ages.
[19:11] It's a redirected focus. A redirected focus. The men that God puts behind the pulpit or puts in front of the church are just tools to be used.
[19:28] They're not the focus. And Paul reminds them of this here. He says, quit looking there because he goes on.
[19:40] He says, has Christ been divided? Or was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? He says, it's not about me.
[19:51] It's not about Apollos. It's not about Peter. It's all about Jesus. Stop looking at us and look to them, he says.
[20:03] The greatest way at overcoming divisions, first and foremost, is a redirected focus. to thank God for the leaders, both men and women and pastoral and Sunday school rooms and teaching positions and discipling positions.
[20:18] We thank God for the leaders that God brings and uses. But understand this, this is one of the things I was taught, I went to early in the years ministry. You probably know that was a long time ago.
[20:30] I went to early in the ministry thing for the Tennessee Baptist Convention. Randy Davis was there. I remember it was one of the humbling things. It was one of the very first things that I learned as a pastor.
[20:41] I was in the first five years of pastoral ministry. The gentleman stood up. He was a pastor. He said, wear your church lightly. He said, because it was there before you got there and it'll be there when you leave.
[20:56] It's not your church. You're just the man God has appointed at that moment to deliver the message to his people. He says, it's not about you, pastor. It's not.
[21:10] And we see this, what Paul says, redirected focus. It's not about the men that God puts to lead the church or the women that God puts in Sunday school capacities and leads the church.
[21:23] By the way, you know, we see this as we get to it later on, the men and women being used within the body. It's not about those. It's about Christ. It's a redirected focus. The second thing we see here is a reaffirmed message because Paul continues on and he speaks of those that he baptized.
[21:43] He says, I didn't baptize anyone besides Crispus and Gaius and then there's also Stephanus. He kind of like remembers that. He goes, oh yeah, also don't forget about the household of Stephanus. He says that.
[21:53] He says, before that, beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other and then he makes this astounding statement. In verse 17, for Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel not in cleverness of speech so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.
[22:06] So here we see that Paul understood what his calling was. Paul's calling, by the way, it pertains to baptismal regeneration, that is baptism being essential to one's salvation.
[22:17] Now these are some key passages that you need to look at because Christ did not call me to baptize but to preach the gospel. So now, if baptism is essential for salvation, stay with me here, I'm not belittling baptism, we're putting in its right priority.
[22:33] If baptism is essential to salvation and Paul was about the salvation found in Christ, do you not think that Christ would have said, Paul, be sure you baptize everybody that hears the message.
[22:44] Paul says, Christ did not call me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel. He is reaffirming the message. And then he goes on, he says, for the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who believe or are being saved by the power of God.
[23:04] He begins to reaffirm this. It is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the cleverness of the clever I'll set aside for where is the wise man and where is the scribe and where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
[23:16] For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God. That is, he said, man does not come to God based upon his own abilities, his own strengths, his own weaknesses, he says, he does not figure God out, he does not kind of find a way there.
[23:30] He said, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. Again, go back to this reality, he is reaffirming the message. How does he save those who believe?
[23:40] Through the foolishness of the message. It is not the message plus the baptism, it is the message that is preached that is those who believe are being saved. For indeed, Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach, here it is, Christ crucified.
[23:56] He reaffirms the message, the message is, Christ crucified. Now, baptism is important as an act of obedience. It is your first step of obedience as a born again believer.
[24:08] It is something we are given. Baptism is a means by which we may be united in fellowship with other believers. It is a means in which it shows our unity unity among one another.
[24:20] It is a means in which God declares publicly that we are a part of a body. I believe baptism is important, but let's put it in its right relation.
[24:32] Baptism is not the message. The message is Christ crucified. He reaffirms that. Because of the crucifixion of Christ, those who believe in the crucifixion are saved or are being saved.
[24:50] We'll get to that in just a moment. And therefore, they are united with other believers in that they all do the same thing. Baptism. And this is important because it doesn't matter who baptizes you.
[25:03] There are some people who say, well, I've got to be baptized by such and such person. I've got to be baptized in this location and I need to make sure that I do it at this time and I need to do it at the right day and the right place and the right locale. It doesn't matter who does your baptism, Paul says.
[25:16] Because the main thing, the message, is Christ crucified. And when we begin to build our identity based upon our baptism, baptism is a work of man.
[25:30] I'm not trying to get into a theological debate right now, but I think we need to line this out, okay? It is a work of man. By the works of man, no man should boast, right? In the works of man, no man should boast. That is, it's something you do and something that someone has to do with you and for you.
[25:43] Every time we have a baptism here, there are two works that are taking place. There's an individual who has to step into baptismal pool. That's their work. They have to get there and they are dependent upon me to take them under and bring them back up, right?
[25:58] Which is my work and my effort. So it is a work of man and there are people that identify based upon that work. He said, that's not the message. The message is Christ crucified. And he reaffirms that and he reaffirms that because he says, this is what my ministry is all about.
[26:14] It's not about baptism. It is about proclaiming the message. And it doesn't matter, he says, who baptized you. What matters is what saves you.
[26:26] It is that message of Christ crucified. And he said, now to be honest with you, he said this is foolishness to the Jews. It's foolishness to the remainder of the world. The Jews asked for a sign and they want this great sign and everywhere Christ went, they asked for this sign.
[26:39] But to them, it is no sign of the Messiah that one would be weak enough to be captured by the religious leaders and even the political leaders of the day and therefore be declared guilty and hung upon a cross.
[26:51] That is a terrible sign. That is a weak sign to them which is foolishness to them. Greeks searched for power and wisdom and how wise is an individual who would be hung upon a cross and would give his life.
[27:02] It doesn't make sense to them because in the weakness of man they cannot figure out what God is doing in his strength. And in the foolishness of man we cannot see the greater sign of the resurrection.
[27:13] And he says the message seems to be foolish to everybody else but to those who believe there's the power of God because we begin to see what God is doing. It is Christ crucified.
[27:26] That's all we preach. But to those who are the call both Jews and Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
[27:40] He reaffirms the message. It is Jesus Christ crucified. The greatest way a church will ever be united is to focus on Christ and to reaffirm that message.
[27:51] It's about the crucifixion of Christ. It is his death in our place. Third, we see a redirected focus, a reaffirmed message, and a recognized standing.
[28:06] So he goes from speaking of the message he proclaims to reminding them of who they are. He says, for consider your calling, brethren. He calls them brothers again. This doesn't make us very comfortable but it's a true biblical statement.
[28:21] He says, for consider your calling, brethren. Think about it. Let's put yourself in this position. I know we're not in the city of Corinth and I know this letter isn't addressed to us but essentially it is addressed to us because it is the word of God which speaks to the people of God in all generations and in all times.
[28:35] For consider your calling, brethren. For those of you who know Christ is your Lord and Savior, Christ crucified, being saved because of Christ, not because of a baptism, or being saved because of what he did, consider your calling.
[28:49] That there were not many, it doesn't say not any, okay, but not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. that is, on our own, we don't have much to offer.
[29:04] He reminds them of who they are in society and who we are in society. That on our own, in our own efforts, we don't have a whole lot to offer.
[29:15] Maybe compared to other people, we have a little bit more going our direction than other people do. Maybe we have a little bit more wisdom, a little bit more might, a little bit more riches, a little bit more, you know, nobility about us than everybody else.
[29:28] Maybe, maybe we look around and say, well, I'm better off than that guy. He says, but consider your calling in light of who he is, that is, who God is, consider who you are. But God has chosen, I don't really like this because it's speaking of me.
[29:44] God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. When God called me, he chose a foolish thing to shame the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world.
[29:57] So he's chosen a foolish and weak thing in me, a weak thing in the world to shame those which are strong. And the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not so that he may nullify the things that are so that no man may boast before God.
[30:15] The reality is, is when I recognize my standing, when I consider my calling, I see the reality that I am not who I am because of anything I brought to the table.
[30:30] My own efforts, my own works, my own goodness are not enough. And these things remind me, you know what they remind me?
[30:41] That I cannot promote myself above any other because when I consider my own calling, I had nothing at all that was appealing to make me who I am. And it puts me on an equal footing with every other believer because none of us are who we are because of who we are.
[31:02] None of us possess the standing before a holy God that we possess because of who we are in the flesh. I've had the great opportunity over a number of years to be involved in a number of public worship services in various places.
[31:21] I've been able to worship with Moody Bible Church even though I never went to school there, went to Founders Week there just because it would be awesome to go to Founders Week and I only go to Founders Week so we went to Founders Week because it's open to the public.
[31:33] Heard some great preaching. Decided I would sit in the choir, or not in the choir, that would have been even more odd if I had to sit in the choir loft, sit in the balcony of Moody Church because it's a horseshoe balcony and I wanted to sit right dead center and I didn't know that's where all the college students sat when they went so me and my family were there and we were all gathered around right in the middle of the college section and it was awesome to be able to worship with the college students and we're all on equal ground.
[31:59] Here I am, I'm a pastor and I'm a family and here's all these broke college students gathered together and we're worshiping together. I've been on the other end of that spectrum and I've been able to sit beside very wealthy individuals and worship and I've been able to sit beside people.
[32:12] I remember I was in a public worship section and I was really the odd man out. It was only men in there and I was the odd man out and I was looking around and during the fellowship time the guy behind me that didn't really want to talk to me at first when he got there just sporadically in the fellowship time he said, brother, would you pray for my nephew?
[32:30] He got shot last night and the man that killed him had just been arrested. So sure and this is the people I'm sitting around with right and everybody from all walks of life are together but I've been able to worship. You know what I have found?
[32:42] No matter who I'm standing beside it doesn't matter who we are by the world's standards because none of us when we really consider our calling deserve to be able to go before a holy God and worship him but we are who we are because of who he is and it puts me on an equal ground.
[33:02] I don't look down upon anyone. I don't look up to anyone because when I consider my calling and I consider their calling we have no reason for division because none of us have a reason to be there.
[33:18] He says, you are who you are because of what God has done. It says in verse 30 but by his doing by his doing you are in Christ Jesus.
[33:30] When you consider your calling the reality is the only reason you're in Christ is because of what he has done not what you have done. And we will remember that.
[33:43] There can be no division within the body no self-promotion or self-exaltation because I am who I am because of his work not mine. I stand where I stand by his doing not what I have done but by his doing you are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God and look at this and righteousness and sanctification salvation and redemption.
[34:06] Three words there that reflect all of salvation. That means your complete salvation is the work of God found in the work and purpose and person of Jesus Christ.
[34:18] You are who you are because of Christ not because of you. He says he became our righteousness. Righteousness literally means to be in right standing with a holy God.
[34:29] We are in right standing with a holy God not because we're good people. We're in right standing with a holy God because Christ paid our price. It is an imputed righteousness.
[34:41] Right? It is poured out upon us. We are who we are because of Christ. So we are in right standing with God because of him. Sanctification that is being set apart for holy service.
[34:51] Something that's sanctified. It is set apart for holy service. You know the only reason God is setting you apart to use you for his service is because of what Christ did not because of who you are.
[35:01] So we're in a right standing with God because of Christ. We are being set apart to be used by God because of Christ. And redemption redemption is the final full price paid for ownership and freedom.
[35:17] It is that auction block terminology used that someone redeems a slave that was on the auction block of sin and when they redeemed them they paid the price in full and therefore they are eternally free.
[35:28] So we are in a right standing with God because of Christ. We are being set apart by God for his use because of Christ. We will one day be fully free from all of sin because of Christ.
[35:41] And when we recognize our standing salvation from beginning to end if you've accepted Christ there is a time when you were saved past tense you are being saved present tense which means each and every day you are growing closer and you are drawing in and you are becoming more like him you are not yet what you will be but you are more than you used to be right?
[36:08] So you were saved you are being saved and someday soon praise God you will be saved. Your salvation is both past or all past present and future.
[36:19] There was a time when Christ came into your life there is a day today that he is drawing you closer to him and there will be a day where you will be free from all temptation sin and guilt but every bit of it is his doing not our doing and when we understand that it puts us all on level ground overcome the division of the church fourth and finally and this one will be quick you have a redirected focus to reaffirm message a recognized standing and a repeated refrain a repeated refrain so that it says in verse 31 just as it is written let him who boasts boast in the Lord Jeremiah 9 23 and 24 I hope you underline in your Bible I hope you put little asterisk marks circle it highlight it do whatever you want to to call your attention to it and I'm not saying that you need to deface your Bible but you need to call attention to things when
[37:19] God speaks to you through your Bible one of the ones that is penciled in even in this my preaching Bible I don't always write in this one though I do it with a pencil and it's in this one is Jeremiah 9 23 and 24 thus says the Lord God let not him who is wise boast in his wisdom let not the man who is mighty boast in his might let not the man who is rich boast in his riches verse 24 but let him who boasts boast in this that he understands and knows me that my righteousness and loving kindness will not depart the Bible says let not the wise boast in his wisdom let not the mighty boast in his might you know some things well that's good but it doesn't mean much in the sight of God you're pretty strong you're mighty but that's good but it doesn't mean much in the matter of he who holds the earth in the palm of his hand let not the rich you say well I got a little money well God owns the cattle in a thousand hills and he uses the things we count as valuable to pave his roads let not the rich boast in his riches but let him who boasts boast in this that he knows and understands me see when the church is full of people who repeat the refrain that the only thing
[38:43] I got to brag about is that I know the Lord God because of who Jesus is when the boast is the church is the refrain of heaven that all that matters is that I know Jesus Christ and because I know him I understand him and because of what he's done for me see when the bragging of the body becomes the boasting of heaven then the people quit dividing themselves when it's no longer about look at me look what I've done look what I've gained look how far I've come look at what I've accomplished look what I can say look at the wisdom I possess look at the riches that I have look how strong if the boast of the church is you know what I finally got it figured out God loves me and spotted me he sent his son to die for me and when he died for me he redeemed me and because I believe that I am his forevermore and eternity is secure the only thing I got to boast about is what Jesus did on the cross for me the only thing I got to brag about is the fact that the cross I could not hold him and that the tomb was not fitting for him and that on the third day he came out because of me the only thing
[39:50] I can brag about is that he is the first fruits of the resurrection and he's preparing a place for me see the only thing I got to brag about is what he is doing for me and when we all bragging about the same thing we got no reason to be divided among one another the problem is is we get too busy talking about our accomplishments rather than exalting his accomplishments and Paul says the church needs to be united and the greatest unifying factor of the church is when the church is boasting about the same thing see the world hears a lot of boasting but it doesn't hear let him who boasts boast in this that he knows and understands me let's pray Lord we thank you for this day I thank you for your faithfulness to us I thank you for giving us an opportunity of gathering together Lord I pray that the bragging of this body would be the work and purpose of Jesus Christ Lord may it be the only thing that counts and may it be all that matters in our life may you be our boast and may that boasting be unifying to us for your glory and we ask it in Christ's name amen would you take out your hymnals and turn with me to hymn number so I asked so so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked so I asked
[41:39] Thank you.
[42:09] Thank you.
[42:39] Thank you.
[43:09] Thank you.