1 Corinthians 4:1-21

A letter like Corinthians is where we have to keep on getting our heads around something ancient,

another land in another time with another customs,
with different lives to ours

still what they faced also still feels very present in the temptations we face and the times we endure

where we find our soul anchored
where our lives are most prone to wander
where joy sits on our heart in Jesus

to be able to simply answer
where the community of Christ Centered people in your life is

in Corinth we find ourselves dealing with a church
that had descended into factions
they argued over who their favoured teacher was

they argued over the future - they argued - well about anything

if we were a fly on the wall at a Corinthian Church service
we'd witness disharmony in all its forms
arguments, disputes, lovelessness

factions over the Paul camp and the Apollos followers and the Cephas disciples

here in ancient Corinth some local Church teachers started teaching they had some special revelations of wisdom they wished to share that was superior than the tin pot itinerant Apostle Paul who'd been with them 3 years earlier

their message was it's time to move on
you don't need that apostle anymore,
it's time to move with the times

in fact what they shared they said was even far superior than any eye witness to the resurrected Christ could ever teach them
far wiser than anything a leather working tent maker could ever share

in short the Corinthians were being taught to believe
they had already arrived spiritually

spiritually they were to think themselves superior
morally they were encouraged to live as though
they had it all now

what was done in the body no longer mattered
you could do what you liked

they were taking credit for successes that only grace can produce
they were being less than watchful and protective
when it came to temptation and sin in their lives

they were smug and felt entitled to what they could never earn or achieve

in attitude this view of arrival was endemic
it showed when they expected of others
the perfection that you think you have achieved yourself

self glory is poisonous
it's self referencing, self congratulating attitude of pride

Paul writes in pastoral love for them to put their pride aside and to clothe themselves in humility with a Christ shaped love
demonstrating his love in this letter
to warn, to shame, to correct
to do all he can to see they get back on track

even sending his trusted fellow worker Timothy to speak with them and pastor them in the way Paul knows they need to be steered back towards their relationship with God

so lets walk through what Paul has to say to the already arrived Corinthians about attitude

this passage breaks 3 ways
as we navigate the text itself

Paul directs the Corinthians attention to their divisive pride
In attitude to how well they serve or self serve in love

we read about it in verse 1

4:1 So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.

then down to verse 6

6 Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one over against the another.

Paul's standing argument is to combat the attitude of smug superiority is to show that humility begins with our recognition we are not our own, we were bought at a price it is Christ we serve and not ourselves.