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The Lord’s Prayer.
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
This week we continue our study focusing on Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.
Today we are talking about Fools For Christ’s Sake.
Text
1 Corinthians 4:10 NKJV
10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored!
Scripture Reading
1 Corinthians 4:1-13 NKJV
Stewards of the Mysteries of God
1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.
4 For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.
5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.
Fools for Christ’s Sake
6 Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.
7 For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
8 You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you!
9 For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.
10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored!
11 To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless.
12 And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure;
13 being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.
Prayer
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Introduction
The apostle Paul was a gifted man in many respects.
He used various techniques to get his message across, one of which was irony.
That is the technique he was using when he spoke of himself as being a fool for christ.
- Let’s examine the words Paul used in this statement.
The word “fool” is the first consideration today.
The word comes from the greek word from which moron comes from.
It means empty or useless
The words “for Christ’s sake” are the second consideration here.
The phrase means “because of Christ”.
Thus it does not mean being a fool in order to advance the cause of Christ but rather to be considered a fool by some because of what Christmas done for each person.
The words in Matthew 5:11 are a commentary in the meanings of these words.
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.”
2. Examine the irony of Paul’s statement.
It stems from the attitude of the Christians at Corinth.
Suffering was the lot of Christians in that day.
However, the Corinthians had a different idea.
They spoke as if they needed no instruction from Paul or any other person.
They believed they had already attained the highest Christian advantages.
They also behaved as if the trials of Christians were over.
They thought they had attained superiority to all disturbances, trials, and need of teaching.
Paul used certain words to scorn such ideas.
Some of the words he used in a general way were derived from wisdom, power, and honour.
They were such words as full, rich, strong, and honourable.
But they were used in scorn and do not depict the normal meaning.
Some words that Paul used more specifically were hunger, thirsty, naked, buffeted, and no dwelling place.
These words wee used to denote the true feeling.
Some words Paul used in this passage that sum up his attitude were, reviled, persecuted, defamed, and made as the filth of the world.
Christians are to rise above such things as these, and when they do, they are considered fools by some people.
3. Examine a modern day concept of the idea.
When people are devi=oted enough to live by faith and cast aside human wisdom, they may be considered by some as “folks for Christ’s sake.
This can be demonstrated by being totally honest in every respect of every business dealing.
This is also demonstrated by being willing to let God retaliate on your behalf and by not demanding personal rights.
It is that “second mile” that Jesus spoke about
Another application is for Christians to live a life that is completely clean in deed, word, and thought.
Living by faith is seen when believers rely on the hidden power of the gospel rather than on using cheap means of impressing people.
When people are devoted enough to take the initiative in doing their Christian duty, they may be considered by some as “fools for Christ’s sake.”
Christians should seperate themselves from things that are wrong or questionable.
They should take a positive stand against things that are wrong or for those that are right.
All of us should dedicate ourselves to God to the extent that nothing will come between us and God.
Conclusion.
You will notice that Paul uses three sets of contrasts to carry out his irony.
1 Corinthians 4:10, “We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ!
We are weak, but you are strong!
You are honoured, we are dishonoured!”
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
Giving
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
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