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Reading 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 and finishing up the chapter with Paul telling the Corinthians that everything belongs to them in Christ Jesus, therefore be content and do not quarrel. Visit wwutt.com for all our videos!
All things belong to us have been given to us through Jesus Christ our Lord. We've been given Christ. We lack nothing. So don't go after the things of this world as though you lacked anything. When we understand the text.
This is When We Understand the Text, a daily study in the Word of Christ for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness. Find all our videos and other ministry resources at www .utt .com.
Here once again is Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. We come back to our study in 1 Corinthians 3. We're finishing up this chapter today. So once again, I'm going to come up to verse 16 or come back to that verse and read through to verse 23.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God, for it is written, he catches the wise in their craftiness.
And again, the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise that they are futile. Let no one boast in men, for all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future.
All things are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's. So I want to come back to these references, these Old Testament references that Paul made. I mentioned them yesterday, and they just kind of moved on.
So in verse 19, Paul says the wisdom of this world is folly with God. What is the wisdom of God? Well, that's what we have in his word, and that's what Paul references. Going back to the Old Testament, for it is written, he catches the wise in their craftiness.
That's from Job 5. And then the next verse, 20. And again, the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise that they are futile. That's from Psalm 94. So let's look first at this reference in Job 5, where Paul cites it this way, and this would have been the Septuagint.
So this was the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the wording that appears there in the Septuagint. He catches the wise in their craftiness. That's Job 5, verse 13. And in the English Standard Bible, you go back to the Old Testament, you'll read it like this.
He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end. Now, in context, this quote comes from Eliphaz. It's not spoken by Job. It's spoken by one of his annoying friends.
And aren't we to not think of what Job's friends said as being truth? It's more what Job said that's truth, because you get to the end of the book of Job, and God rebukes Job's friends as being wrong.
So we shouldn't really regard Job's friends' words as being truth, as being the word of God through their mouths, should we? Well, there were certainly some true things that they said. They were just wrong in their application.
They were blaming and accusing Job of things that were not true. But there were still some things that they said, even about God, that were true. And in this particular case, especially when you consider this comes from the apostle Paul, Eliphaz was being correct in the way that he speaks of God.
He catches the wise in their own craftiness. God does that, and we've read that in the book of Proverbs, that even a fool who lays a net for somebody else, he's going to fall into his own trap, right?
So God catches the wise in their own craftiness. The schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end. Their judgment will come upon them, and not slowly as we count slowness, as Peter talks about in 2 Peter 3.
But God will, in his good time, bring judgment about those who do evil, who go about by their own wisdom rather than according to the wisdom of God in this particular case. So he catches the wise in their craftiness.
The very schemes that they use to try to elevate themselves and bring others low, well, they're going to get caught in their own trap. God will ultimately have the final say in this. So in this particular case, Eliphaz did speak truth about God.
We need to use the other scriptures when it comes to some of these things Job's friends said, especially weigh what they said with some of the other things that are said in the wisdom books, especially there in the context of the wisdom books of Scripture, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon.
Okay, so then the next verse here, as we go on into verse 20 of 1 Corinthians 3, Paul says, and again, the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise that they are futile. That's from Psalm 94, verse 11. And when you go in your English Standard Bible to Psalm 94, you read it like this.
The Lord knows the thoughts of man that they are but a breath. It's not exactly the same word because, again, what we read in the New Testament comes from the Septuagint, or the Septuagint, whichever way you want to say it.
And then the word that you read in the Old Testament is going to be translated from the Hebrew. So it doesn't quite line up word for word, but the meaning is still exactly the same. The Lord knows the thoughts of man that they are but a breath.
They're here for a moment, and then they're gone. You know, even the knowledge of man is going to perish with man. So whatever man has thought up, whatever we have achieved by man's knowledge, by man's understanding, what we have pursued according to the investigation of human beings, all of that stuff is not going to carry with us on into eternity.
It's going to perish with man. You think about the great achievements of man, the hydrant collider, being able to get somebody to the moon. One day, perhaps, if the Lord tarries, somebody may set foot on Mars.
But no matter the accomplishments of man, what are these things ultimately for in the end? When we get to standing around the throne of God and celebrating him, boy, a trip to Mars is going to seem like nothing in comparison to being in the presence of God Almighty, the Creator himself, who made Mars.
He's up in the heavens looking at man's accomplishments, going, so you set foot on Mars. I made that planet. I'm the one that set it out there. Try to get out to Saturn, see if you can do that. And once you accomplish that, I won't be impressed with that either.
That's God sitting in the heavens looking at all these things that we do. Whatever accomplishments man is able to achieve, they're but a breath. They're futile. They're nothing compared to the majesty and awesomeness of God.
Now, here in Psalm 94, the context of this psalm, a little more clearly, a little more clear, rather, than what we had in Job 5, where we're talking about one of Job's foolish friends is the one that's speaking.
Here in Psalm 94, the context of this psalm is that God will not forsake his people. So as we have been talking here in 1 Corinthians 3, about how God is going to build his church, no one is going to thwart God's will in this.
And whoever attacks the church, whoever tries to tear down the church, God's temple, as it says in 1 Corinthians 3, 17, God will destroy him. And I mentioned this week about how attacks can come against the church from the outside as well as from the inside.
But the Lord will not forsake his people, no matter what it is that we go through as a church. And no matter where in the world the church is going through these things, persecution by the government, persecution by militant oppressive regimes, persecution by people within the midst of their own congregation that are trying to cause church splits, maybe accusing the pastor of things that he's not really guilty of.
You could have persecutions from an active shooter who tries to kill a bunch of people in the church. Even false teaching is an attack that comes against the church. But these efforts will not succeed.
Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. And he will judge those who attempt to destroy his church. And so even as we endure these things here in the world, they will not succeed. Christ will build his church.
The gates of hell will not prevail against it. And the Lord will not forsake his people. As it says in Psalm 94, 8, understand, O dullest of the people. Fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see? He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke? He who teaches man knowledge, the Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath, that they are futile.
There's Psalm 94, 11. Verse 12, blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law, to give him rest from days of trouble until a pit is dug for the wicked. That goes right back to he catches the wise in their craftiness.
For the Lord will not forsake his people. He will not abandon his heritage. For justice will return to the righteous. And all the upright in heart will follow it. So we need not worry any of those people that come against the church, whether it's with false teaching or they are physically attacking people of a church.
God will not forsake his people. He will lift us up. He will hold on to us. But those who attempt to come against the church, those who attack the church, those who want to destroy God's temple, God will destroy him.
And so let this be a warning to the church. Paul means it as a warning to the church in Corinth. It needs to be a warning to us as well that we handle with care the way that we instruct and guide the church, not attacking her, but desiring to admonish her.
If any time we need to rebuke somebody in the church, it's an admonishment. What does admonish mean? It means to correct with goodwill, not trying to tear anybody down, correcting with goodwill, according to the word of God, not according to our own prejudices, our biases, what we want to have happen.
We do all things orderly and in a right manner, according to God's word, for the effort of purifying the church, that all things would be done right and to the glory of his name. The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.
Let no one boast in men. Paul goes on to say in verse 21, don't do things according to the ways of men. And here in the church in Corinth, they are clinging on to the wisdom of men and the wisdom of men and the ways of men causing factions and divisions within the church.
But Paul goes on to say, all things are yours. Why are you going after the ways of this world, thinking that you're lacking something here in the church that God is building? You are God's field, remember?
You are God's building. God provides the growth, God is doing the building. So what do you lack if God is doing this work? If you go after the thoughts and ways of men, then you're saying that God's ways are not good enough, that there is a way that's actually higher than God's way.
But as God says in Isaiah 55, my ways are higher than your ways. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts. We can't do better than God. All things have been given to us through Christ Jesus. We've been given Christ, we've been given everything.
What do you lack if you have Christ? As it says in Colossians 1, verse 18, He is preeminent. He is top. He is above all things. There is nothing to gain, there is nothing more to get, if you have Christ.
So let no one boast in men. Let no one go after the ways of this world. We have Christ. All things are yours. If you have Christ, you've been given everything. Jesus even promises in Revelation 3, the one who endures to the end, I will give to him a place to sit with me on my throne.
Paul says in Colossians 3, If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. All things are yours. Paul says this to the church. Take it to heart, Christian, that this applies to you as well.
We who have the Holy Spirit. Paul goes on to say, Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or the present, or the future, they're all yours. Let's go through this in order.
Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas. How are these things yours? How is Paul yours? Because we have the writings of Paul here in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit speaking through Paul, to these churches, and this wisdom is timeless.
It is transcendent. It applies to us even now, 2 ,000 years later. So Paul does this work to the service of the churches that he is writing to. We'll read that further even here as we go through 1 Corinthians.
He talks about doing these things to the service of this church. He's doing that to the service of the church at large. Universal. Everyone, everywhere, who is a follower of Jesus Christ, who has been called out from the world, ecclesia, into an assembly, a gathering of people, that is set apart from the world, that is consecrated, being made holy, being sanctified, we are the temple of God.
That God is building. So you, even 2 ,000 years later, this applies to you as well. Paul is also for you. God working through Paul to do this work, that we might benefit from it also. So as we are reading here from 1 Corinthians 3, Paul is yours.
Paul doing this work for the benefit of the church of God. Apollos, same thing. Same work and same mission. Now, we don't have any books of the Bible that are written by Apollos, but nevertheless, he did great work in Corinth and in Ephesus, and the work that he did trickles down all these years later to even benefit you.
We go back and read the reformers from 500 years ago, and the work that they've done has also been for your benefit. All of this to the glory of God for the benefit of his church, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas.
Cephas is Peter. So, of course, the work that Peter did in Acts, the work that he did in 1 and 2 Peter, writing those two letters, the church is being built up by this work, starting with what Peter did at Pentecost.
Well, you could even go back to, I mean, you can go back further than that. Acts 16, Jesus asked his disciples, who do you say that I am? And Peter says, you are the Christ, the son of the living God.
And Jesus replies, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for this was revealed to you not by the flesh, but according to the will of God. It is God who revealed this to Peter. And so, likewise, when we come to know that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, it is because it has been revealed to us by God.
We read that back in 1 Corinthians 2, seeing how the Holy Spirit brings to our hearts, brings to our minds a knowledge and an understanding of who God is according to his will, not according to the will of the flesh.
So whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, Peter, or the world, the world is even ours. Jesus said in the Beatitudes, in Matthew 5, blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit what? The earth. They shall inherit the earth.
Even the world is ours. We who are in Christ Jesus, we who are meek, humble, not doing what we do to advance ourselves, but doing what we do to advance Christ. These podcasts are free. And I do labor at this for you and for your benefit.
And I am not doing this. I'm not saying this even to boast in myself. I do it for the glory of God, for the advancement of his kingdom. And I hope you are grown and benefited by this exposition of the scriptures.
That's why I do what I do. Yes, we dedicate programs to calling out false teachers, but even those programs are committed to advancing the gospel, that the gospel would not be misrepresented, that heresy would not take hold of God's church.
But we fight back against those powers with the word of God, with the sword of the spirit and the shield of faith, breastplate of righteousness. Helmet of salvation, belt of truth, shoes of the readiness of the gospel of peace.
All of this work being done, not with, not with human weapons, not with those kinds of weapons of warfare, but spiritual weapons of warfare, taking every thought captive and making it to obey Christ. The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are of the spirit.
And I do this work that you may benefit from this. I certainly benefit from it too. I mean, it is a benefit for me to be able to sit down, open the Bible, ponder these things, reflect upon God's word and know how I may communicate it to others so that the church of God would also benefit from the hearing of God's word.
So we all receive the world. We who are in Christ, we get the world. We who are meek, humble, do this work, not to advance ourselves, but to advance Christ. We shall inherit the earth. Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life, we've been given life.
We've been given abundant life, John 10, 10. We've been given new life in Christ Jesus that the old ways would be dead and gone. We walk in newness of life, born again by faith in the son of God. Even death has been given to us because we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
We who are in Christ are likewise going to conquer death itself. For as it says in Romans 8, Christ is the firstborn from the dead. He is the firstborn of many brothers. There are many others who are going to follow after him.
If you are in Christ Jesus, you likewise will rise from death, you likewise will conquer death itself because Christ has done that for us. Whether the present, we live in the present. As ambassadors for Christ, as soldiers in the army of God, as his slaves, his servants, laboring for the kingdom of God in the present or the future, we have the promise of his eternal kingdom in our future.
All are yours and you are Christ's and Christ is God's. We belong to Christ. Christ belongs to God, the Messiah. He is the Messiah of God. As John MacArthur has said about this particular statement, Christ is God's.
Knowing that believers belong to Christ and therefore to each other is the greatest incentive for unity in the church. If Christ is united with God and we belong to Christ, therefore we should be united to one another.
Again, Paul is confronting here the divisions that have stirred up in this church. There should be no division. For those who are Christ's and Christ is God, we are unified. So let nothing divide us. All things are yours.
Be unified in this work of God being done through Jesus Christ in his church. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, let nothing divide us. Let no human passion or desire or wisdom of this world, let nothing come between us.
For as we read in Ephesians 4, there is one body and one spirit. Just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
So let us with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, be eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Let us put aside any of our own selfish ambitions and pursuits and do all things to the glory of your name for the benefit of one another, according to your word.
It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen.
You've been listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Gabe will be going through a New Testament study. Then on Thursday, we look at an Old Testament book.
On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and viewers. Tomorrow, we'll pick up on an Old Testament study, When We Understand the Text.