1 Corinthians 13:4c ~ 20141116 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
11/16 1 Corinthians 13:4c Not Promoting or Puffing Up Self ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20141116_1cor13_4c.mp3
4 Ἡ ἀγάπη μακροθυμεῖ, χρηστεύεται ἡ ἀγάπη, οὐ ζηλοῖ ἡ ἀγάπη, οὐ περπερεύεται, οὐ φυσιοῦται, 5 οὐκ ἀσχημονεῖ, οὐ ζητεῖ τὰ ἑαυτῆς, οὐ παροξύνεται, οὐ λογίζεται τὸ κακόν,
1 Corinthians 13 [ESV2011]
12:31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Brace yourselves. This will be painful. Paul's masterful prose in 1 Corinthians 13 is a scathing rebuke to everything that is wrong in us. It is a sharp scalpel that lays open the superficial appearance that we have it all together to show us the disease that lurks just under the surface.
So far, Paul has told us that love, God's kind of love, the love without which we are worthless and will not enter God's kingdom, love that we have because we have been loved this way by God, love that is the work of the Holy Spirit in us, this love is patient. It is long-tempered; it puts up with repeated wrongs done to it without becoming angry or hardened. Love is kind; it is genuinely and generously good hearted to others, even to the ungrateful and evil. Love does not envy; it is not unhappy at the success of others, it is not displeased when good comes to others. It is not jealous, even when others are favored above self.
Next, Paul comes to the root of the matter. Paul says love does not boast, and it is not arrogant. C. S. Lewis writes “The essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” (Lewis, Mere Christianity, p.94)
Pride is insidious. Pride is sneaky. I spent most of this week reading about humility, studying humility, what it means to be humble, how we can love others with humility. Last night as I sat in my office putting together this message, I thought to myself, 'this might well be the best message ever preached on humility' …
To be clear, anything good in this message was probably stolen. I owe Andrew Murray, C.S Lewis, Jonathan Edwards, and many others a great debt in thinking through and clarifying the issues, especially Tim Keller in his insightful little book 'The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness'.
These two words, boasting and arrogance, along with the previous word envy all go together. Envy is what we do when we feel less than someone else and desire what they have. Boasting is what we do to attempt to make others think we are more than we are. Arrogance is when we think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think.
περπερεύομαι
This word translated 'boast' is a very rare word. It is used only here in the entire New Testament, and it is rarely found in any other contemporary literature. It means to play the part of a braggart or windbag. Do you know anyone who is the hero of all his own stories, or who always has a bigger or better story than the next guy to tell? This is often a person who is either insecure or overly sure of himself. They are looking to others to satisfy a need for affirmation and admiration. Or they are so delighted with themselves that they assume you will be delighted with them too.
It seems that eloquent words and boasting were big problems among the Corinthian believers. Paul thanks God in chapter 1:
1 Corinthians 1:5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—
Then down in verse 17, he has to confront their enthusiasm for eloquence.
1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
...20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
1 Corinthians 2:1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
The Corinthians were into high sounding speech, and they were into bragging rights. We could hear the conversation around a Corinthian dinner table: 'Did you know, I was discipled by the eloquent Apollos. Oh yeah, well the apostle Paul led me to Christ. Oh yeah, well Peter, you know, the one Jesus called the rock? He baptized me. Oh, that's nice. Too bad they are out of town at the moment. You see, I commune daily with the living risen Christ.'
This is one way to boast, to speak large about oneself. But this is not the only way to boast. A more insidious form of boasting takes its shape in a false humility. This is a self-abasing self-deprecating boasting. It can take the form of a pity party, where I am seeking affirmation by portraying how wretched and miserable and unfortunate and left out I am. Whether the boasting is self promoting or self defacing, the focus is on the self and attention is drawn to the self.
Love vaunteth not itself; it is not a braggart; it is not vainglorious, it does not sound its own praises, it is not a windbag, it does not seek to gain the applause or admiration or approval of others.
φυσιόω
The word translated 'arrogant' or 'proud' is also a unique word. It shows up six times in 1 Corinthians, and only one other time in the entire New Testament. It is a word that literally means to inflate or puff up.
1 Corinthians 4:6 I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. 7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
1 Corinthians 4:18 Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. 20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 21 What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?
1 Corinthians 5:1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
1 Corinthians 8:1 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.
The Corinthians clearly had over-inflated opinions of themselves. They had ballooned themselves out to be larger than life. They made themselves out to be bigger than they really were.
When is the last time you were walking down the street and you became aware of how well your left ankle was working? My, that ankle is working so smoothly and effortlessly, it bends and flexes in just the right way at just the right time. Left ankle, I am so pleased with how well you are functioning today! It amazes me how you can bear the entire weight of my body with every other step. You help me keep my balance so I don't fall. You can adjust so readily to so many different angles and types of terrain. I have just become aware of how well you are doing your job and wanted to praise you for it.
The ankle asks for no attention. It simply does what it was created to do without applause, without fanfare. But have you ever had a body part that became infected or inflamed? You are only acutely aware of a body part when there is something wrong with it. Then it demands the attention of the entire body. Look, that ankle is swollen to twice the size of the other one. Paul used the metaphor of the different parts of the body working together in the last chapter. A part that is puffed up is unhealthy, it is much more sensitive and tender, and it cannot carry out its intended purpose well. It needs special treatment, special attention special care. The whole rest of the body has to compensate for that swollen inflamed ankle. It demands attention because it has a problem, something is wrong with it.
Lucifer's Pride
Pride was the original sin. Isaiah tells us of Lucifer:
Isaiah 14:12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.
He set his heart on ascending, being above the other angels, on being recognized as great, to be like the Most High. He, a mere created being, puffed himself up and desired the recognition and applause that was due only to the Most High God. In Ezekiel 28 we are told that his “heart was proud” (28:17). He wanted to be the center of attention.
When he tempted Eve, his temptation was centered around the inflated desire to be like God.
Genesis 3:5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Andrew Murray writes “When the Old Serpent, he who had been cast out from heaven for his pride, whose whole nature as devil was pride, spoke his words of temptation into the ear of Eve, these words carried with them the very poison of hell. And when she listened, and yielded her desire and her will to the prospect of being as God, knowing good and evil, the poison entered into her soul and blood and life, destroying forever that blessed humility and dependence upon God which would have been our everlasting happiness. And instead of this, her life and the life of the race that sprang from her became corrupted to its very root with that most terrible of all sins and all curses, the poison of Satan's own pride. ...And our insight into the need of redemption will largely depend upon our knowledge of the terrible nature of the power that has entered our being.” (Andrew Murray, Humility, p.19-20)
God is Not Proud
When we turn to look at the God who is love, we might wonder how these attributes of love fit. Is God proud? Can we really say that God does not boast, that he is not arrogant? We could argue that God is the most self-promoting being in the universe, and that he actively and unashamedly seeks his own glory.
Psalm 106:8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make known his mighty power.
Isaiah 48:9 “For my name's sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. ... 11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another. 12 “Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. 13 My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together.
Ezekiel 20:9 But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ...14 But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. ...22 But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. ...44 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I deal with you for my name's sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.”
Ezekiel 36:22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.
We could look at Ephesians 1 in the New Testament and see that our salvation, from beginning to end, is “to the praise of his glory” (1:6, 12, 14).
How can God act for the sake of his own reputation and pursue his own praise and not be considered an arrogant boaster? The difference between God's self-seeking and ours is that our self-seeking is puffed up or inflated, which means it is empty, and his is not one bit overstated. His claims are not inflated and empty, they are solid and substantial. He is exactly what he claims to be.
Isaiah 44:6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. 7 Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
Paul says in Romans 12:
Romans 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, ...
We are not to think of self more highly than we ought. We often do. God does not think more highly of himself than he ought to think. He ought to recognize himself as the supreme being that is. For him to do anything less, for him to speak or act in a way that does not communicate that he is the supreme all satisfying end-all and be-all would be idolatry.
God is not insecure or in need of our affirmation. He loves us and wants us to affirm that which is most valuable, namely himself.
Christ is Not Proud
When we look to Jesus, we see the perfectly honest humility of God on display.
John 13:3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
Jesus knew who he was. Yet that did not prevent him from acting in a humiliating way out of love and service toward others.
Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus was in very nature God from all eternity. And while he was here, he clearly communicated that he was equal to and one with his Father. But while man could never puff himself up to become like God, God emptied himself by becoming like man and taking on our nature. He humbled himself by taking on our sin and dying in our place on the cross. Being undiminished deity, he aimed not at his own interest but the interest of others; he used his ability for the good of others. Jesus showed us what truly humble greatness looked like.
A God-Focused Gospel Humility
What might this not puffed up not boasting love look like in us? I've heard it said that true humility is not thinking less of self, but thinking of self less. Love is so focused on others that it simply free from that painful self-focus. Our culture is obsessed with self-esteem; we think all our problems stem from an unhealthy self-esteem. But in the bible, we are never commanded to love ourselves; that is taken for granted. We are commanded to love God and others; that is our problem. If our focus shifts from ourselves to others and to God, we will be more satisfied than we could ever be in seeking to improve our self-esteem. Jesus said:
Mark 8:34 ... “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.
Deny self, follow Jesus, lose your life for his sake, and you will find you are truly living. The Psalmist tells us:
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Stop boasting in self, stop focusing on self, instead delight yourself in the Lord. Desire above all that God be rightly esteemed for who he is. Take absolute joy in God being God. Delight that he is who he is. Take pleasure in admiring his attributes. Free yourself from the bondage of comparing and simply admire. Enjoy God for who he is. Humility is not measuring yourself in comparison with God and seeing the vast difference. Humility is being so lost in admiration that you forget to look at yourself at all.
Then take that self-forgetful love for God and turn it toward your neighbor. Stop measuring yourself and comparing yourself. When you
see a person who is beautiful or handsome or strong or gifted or well liked or has accomplished great things, simply delight in them as a person. Praise God for them. Find joy in their ability to be who God created them to be. And when you see someone who is ugly or irritating or struggling or hurting, don't measure yourself and compare yourself to them. Humbly love them. Seek their good.
And when you do become aware of yourself, don't worry too much about what others think of you; don't worry too much about how you esteem yourself; the only opinion of you that holds any weight is what God thinks of you. In spite of who you were, God chose you. He pursued you. He loved you. He bought you. He washed you and cleansed you and made you beautiful. He clothed you in his own perfect righteousness. He calls you a son. He is well pleased with you. He delights in you.
1 Corinthians 1:26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Love does not promote itself. Love does not inflate itself. Boast in the Lord. Delight in the Lord. Let your joy be rooted in the rock solid reality of who God is and how he loves you. Let that joy in God spill over in humble love to others.
Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org