Speaker 1: 0:00

when you know it's the last official time for you to speak to a congregation that you've been somehow involved with, deeply involved with, intimately involved with for 11 years, and we've been involved with the Bay Area even longer than that when we arrived, when I first came out here to Mission Peak Baptist Church in 2007. What do you preach to a congregation that lives in the Bay when you have gotten a sense of what the particulars are? Now that you are leaving, I don't know what you preach, but I know what I'm going to preach because I'm preaching a text that I've been meditating on for a long time and it has been a sense of blessing to me and I think if I can transfer that blessing to you, then mission accomplished. So it's not a particularly farewell message, it's really just a message that I think resonates with all of God's people everywhere and in any place, because it's a message that is relevant and, as I've reflected upon it, I think it's really relevant here in the Bay Area, where the church of Christ is not numerically strong, where we are definitely in a minority compared to where I'm going and we are definitely in the thick of spiritual battle. So I'm going to invite you to turn to 1 Corinthians, chapter 1. I won't give you the title of my message yet until we've read some verses. My text is going to be 1 Corinthians 1, 2, and 3. That entire section, that's been the source of my meditation and comfort to my soul. But I don't have the time to read all of that, so I'm going to read segments out of it. I'm inviting you to follow it, and it's on the screen as well.

Speaker 1: 1:56

So 1 Corinthians, chapter 1. Paul called by the will of God to be an apostle and our brother Sothenes to the church of God. I just realized it's not on the slide there, but this is the passage I wanted to read to the church of God that is in Corinth. This is the passage I wanted to read To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be saints, together with all those who and if you've got your open Bible in every place, in every place, in every place, that's how he opens it who, in every place, all over the world, call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Speaker 1: 3:05

There's a certain universality to this message that Paul is writing to the people in Corinth, but there's a problem in Corinth that is a universal problem and he immediately addresses it in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 10. And he immediately addresses it in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 10. And I'm going to read 10, 11, 12, and 13. I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and same judgment. But that you be united in the same mind and same judgment, for it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is a quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says I follow Paul or I follow Apollos, or I follow Cephas or I follow Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you or were you baptized in the name of Paul? The problem is universal.

Speaker 1: 4:15

Everywhere it shows itself and presents itself differently than it did in Paul's day. But in Corinth the church, which was a minority in the city, had already started to invest themselves emotionally in factionalism. And factionalism in our day can show itself in ideas or idealism. There's the large church and the small church people. There's the seeker-sensitive idea and there's the high liturgy idea. There's the idea of reformed faith and the idea of not so reformed faith. Then there's all of the different ideas regarding the end times that we might align ourselves to.

Speaker 1: 4:56

It's not just about personality, because personality can also be a cause of factionalism, where people might say I'm of Apollos man, that guy is the best preacher in town and I'm going to give my loyalty to him. And another says well, I'm of Cephas, that was Peter, he's the oldest guy and he's been the first one Jesus talked to him directly. I am of Cephas, and they give all of their rationale for following that tribe and committing their loyalty to the Cephas or Peter tribe. And others may say well, I'm of Paul. Clearly, the Spirit of God has been on Paul and he's the first missionary, the best missionary, and he's suffered so much and by him we've come to know Christ and some of us were baptized by him. I am of Paul, and so they align with Paul's thinking. And others may say, well, I am of Christ, which is generally code for saying I am of me, right, but they have all their alignment. Or there might be people who truly were sincere. Oh, I don't like all of this. Different views and different ideas and different rivalries, and sometimes it was downright nasty, and I think among the people in Corinth it was downright nasty and I think among the people in Corinth it was downright nasty.

Speaker 1: 6:06

But the issue on a high level applies to me and to you is where is our loyalty? Where is our loyalty rooted in? Ultimately, what grounds us more than anything? Because certainly we do have opinions about end times, the eschatology, and we may want to go to church with people who are pre-millennial or amillennial or whatever, and we certainly have opinions about the way the service of the church ought to be structured. And that's fine to have opinions in all those things, and we certainly may have a favorite preacher that we really like to listen to. That is all fine. But the issue is at the heart what settles us and what calms us is an issue of loyalty. It's an issue of loyalty and Paul keeps repeating this in one way or another throughout these three chapters.

Speaker 1: 6:58

Look at 1 Corinthians 1, verse 26, through chapter 2, verse 2. 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. 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. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are. And because of you, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption. So that it is written let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom, for I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Speaker 1: 8:01

What is Paul saying? The whole purpose of God is to say that Jesus is first, he's the only one. And if we're going to really glory in something and find satisfaction in something and wholeness in something and ultimate loyalty in someone, it has to be in Jesus Christ. And if you analyze the followership of all of the ideals, whether seeker-sensitive type of ideal, or whether it's charismatic, lift up your hands and shouting all the time, ideal, whether it's the Stoic, reformed Baptist or Presbyterian ideal, whatever it may be, wherever you look, if you study it closely, you're going to be surprised that God uses it. Surprised that God uses it Because ultimately everything is through Jesus and Jesus alone. And we have to know that in the core of our being, that our ideas and our ways, and our people and our favorite preachers.

Speaker 1: 8:58

There will be no success outside of this and that's why Paul obsessed with this. He didn't even want to baptize many people, he wanted to obsess with this. I determined to know nothing among you and in fact I even wanted to dial down my rhetoric a little bit so as not to draw attention to my intellectual powers and whatnot. I dialed it all down so that Christ would be lifted up, and not only that, christ crucified. And he wraps up this section in chapter 3 with verse 21. So let no one boast in men, for all things are yours. All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world, or life or death, or the present or the future. All are yours and you are Christ and Christ is God's. Now I thought how can I make that practical for the 12-year-old, the 18-year-olds, the non-pastors, the pastors and for all of us who are Christians? How can I make this practical? Because we do see the tribalism, we see what I sometimes call side-ism. Well, whose side are you on? We see alignments happening all over when it comes to ideas or ideals and all that thing. How can I make that practical for us to understand what Paul means when he says don't boast in any of that, boast in Jesus, the Lord. I'm going to try to do that, but I have to do a good sermon. So I have given you a title for my sermon today. Now look at this title. It's impressive.

Speaker 1: 10:47

The Apostle Paul employs apostolic authority and Aristotelian rhetoric to persuade the Corinthians to boast in the supremacy of Jesus Christ, the Lord, and over all the leaders and ideals, and emphasize the sufficiency of Jesus for the satisfaction of the individual soul and the peace of the church. Amen, that's a good title. You say that's a terrible title. It is. It's a terrible title. It's like the Puritans used to do when they wrote a book. They would give a title that was a whole page long loaded with it. We modern preachers sometimes like to do it secretly or surreptitiously by saying the big idea. You know what that big idea is? It's the title of the message. Basically, it's a Puritan title of the message given out. I got a super long sentence, so I'll read it a little bit slower. It's a terrible title. I got a better one coming up, don't worry.

Speaker 1: 11:40

The Apostle Paul, in these three chapters, employs apostolic authority and Aristotelian rhetoric to persuade the Corinthians to boast in the supremacy of Jesus Christ, the Lord, over all other leaders and ideals, and emphasizes the sufficiency of Jesus for the satisfaction of the individual soul. Understand the Aristotelian rhetoric right at the moment, but everything else you can agree with. So I had to simplify the title to be a good preacher, and here's the title that I use. Paul says the main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing. Paul says the main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing. And I don't have the time to exposit all three chapters, so I am going to use just one verse in all of these three chapters. That helps us do it. It helps us think, because when he says, boast in the Lord, it doesn't matter. How do you think about the Lord? As a man thinks in his heart, that's how he is. How are you processing this? How are you generating what's going on in your brain right now? And what Paul does is he gives us verse 13,. Three questions Is Christ divided Is? Was Paul crucified for you or were you baptized in the name of Paul? Those three questions. Now.

Speaker 1: 13:26

Aristotle was a philosopher 300 years before the time of Paul, who studied rhetoric. That's the art of persuading through speaking. Paul wants to persuade these people through speaking. Paul wants to persuade these people through speaking. And Aristotle said that there are three ways that you persuade somebody with the logos, the pathos and the ethos. Go ahead and show the next slide, the logos. That's from the Greek word where we get our word logic. That's the mental part. Right, that's the mental part. I, that's the mental part. I'm going to park on this. I want you to understand this really well and then we'll fly through the rest of the message.

Speaker 1: 14:07

He asks a question that appeals to the mind Is Christ divided? He's addressing the mindset there, the intellectual part of you. Was Paul crucified for you? That's the pathos. That's the word where we get empathy or pathetic. It's talking about feeling. It's talking about emotions good emotions, sad emotions, happy emotions, dancing emotions, sorrowful emotions, and and he asked the emotional argument that addresses the mood and and and I'm going to say one of those questions is answered is what is my value? Is christ divided? Who am I? Was paul crucified for you? What is my value? And number three, where were you baptized in the name of Paul? That's ethos, where we get our word ethic. Okay, behavior, what do I do? That's a manner of what we do. Now, every good argument and every good persuader has these three components. You have used these three components without realizing that.

Speaker 1: 15:21

Imagine with me a toddler who is about three years old. I don't know how this comes to my head, but a toddler who's about three years old, her mother makes for her every day a peanut butter and jelly sandwich cut into a circle. The crust is off, it's cut into a circle and it's a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And she makes for her toddler that lunch every single day. One day the mother surprises the toddler with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich cut into a square. The toddler is scandalized, upset and cries I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And the only difference for those of us with intellectual powers is to know the shape. That's the only difference. But the us with intellectual powers is to know the shape. That's the only difference.

Speaker 1: 16:22

But the toddler is determined that something drastic and terrible has happened. And so the patient mother says to the toddler she says Is a peanut butter, jelly and jelly sandwich different just because it's square or circle? Now, it's got the white wonder bread. It's got the very thin layer of peanut butter, the thick layer of jelly, the other layer of bread, and she's asking a question that is called a rhetorical question. She's asking a question that she knows her toddler is able to answer. She knows that the toddler is going to say no, it's not really different, but the toddler still doesn't want it. So then mother says to the toddler did your favorite dolly, your favorite stuffed animal, make this peanut butter sandwich for you? And the toddler's going to say no, mommy, you made my peanut butter sandwich, but she's still not sure that she wants it.

Speaker 1: 17:42

And then mother's going to say have you forgotten that mama made this peanut butter sandwich and put it right in front of you for lunch? And the toddler's going to go no, now congratulations to the mother when she said is a peanut butter sandwich any different, whether shaped in a triangle or a circle? And the toddler says I know already no, it's definitely not. The toddler has acknowledged intellectually that it's not any different. And did anybody else in the world care enough for you to make a sandwich for you, to get you fed every day? No, mommy. The toddler already knows the answer and already says I know, it's not true, no one loved me. You loved me, you made the sandwich for me. And then the mother says did you forget that I'm the one that put it in front of you for your lunch and you're not going to have anything else because I'm the one that put it in front of you for your lunch and you're not going to have anything else because I'm the one that said here it is. And the toddler's going to say no, I didn't forget. And the toddler already acknowledges what she already knows, and that is that mother has the authority to put in front of her what she wants to put in front of her. That is Aristotelian rhetoric from a mother to a three-year-old Are you with me? She has done it, and that is exactly what Paul is doing right here.

Speaker 1: 19:08

Paul is saying is Christ divided? And the answer we all know. You don't have to be a Christian very long to know he's not. He's not divided, and this gives me an idea of who I am. I am in Christ and I was saved by Jesus Christ. I'm one of his people. Christ cannot be divided, and so the answer to that question of who am I is this this is my first point In Christ I am a complete person, an image bearer, called by God to be a member of Christ's one body, the church. In the specific place where I live, my mindset is rooted in the oneness of Christ.

Speaker 1: 19:55

You see that Paul said I'm going to write to you, corinthians, that you understand something because you're in Corinth, and what I'm talking to you about is something that is relevant for all of the believers everywhere, in all places. This is about your place, where you are, and your circumstances and your situation, and you need to know when there's a well man, I don't know big church or small church, or this personality or that personality, there's some confusion going on and you want to start thinking biblically. You can ask yourself that rhetorical question is Christ divided? And we know from all over the scripture there is one Christ, there's one body, there's one spirit.

Speaker 1: 20:37

We actually know that if everybody was perfectly, with all integrity, integrated into Christ, with perfect submission to him, we know that disunity would be impossible. We know that, and so we know Christ is not divided. There is only one Christ, there is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, as Ephesians 4, 1 through 6 say. And so we can say you know, I as a broken and fragmented person outside of Jesus Christ. When I repented of my sins and I received him as my savior and I was baptized, I became. The beginning of my wholeness started, the beginning of my glorification started and I'm on my way. It's as good as done to be an ultimately whole, without any blight or perfection. In the context of the bride of Jesus Christ and I have a mindset with all of the confusion around me, christ is one, cannot be divided. Was Paul baptized for you or crucified for you? And this is the second point In Christ, I am a saint radically loved by God to be a joyful beneficiary of his favor. In the specific place where I live, my mood is grounded in the crucifixion of Jesus.

Speaker 1: 22:17

Think about this, think about this God loves you and think about how much he loves you. I mean, we talk as mothers, fathers, spouses, how we would die for the ones we love, but even then there's some limitations, right? My wife and I were talking about this the other day, about the limitations of our love for each other, because she's like if you do anything to Delaney, I'll kill you, okay, and I know that if I were to do something terrible, a terrible crime, hurt her or whatever, she would not say you know, I'll go to jail for him. I love him so much. She would not do that. She'd say go to jail. There are some and we love each other very much. 34 years, june 22, and we're best friends. But there are some limitations.

Speaker 1: 23:13

I'm here to tell you nobody loves you like God through Jesus Christ. There is no greater love than this that he gave his life for us. Nobody would take the penalty of the wrath of God. Nobody would hang on a cross. There is nobody that's got your back for you. And it's a tremendous assurance to know that you're loved.

Speaker 1: 23:38

And when you think about this, when you think about this was Paul crucified for me or was anybody? Would anybody die for me? You have to think of this. Not only is my value determined by the fact that I am loved, but by virtue of Jesus dying for me, I am holy, I am set apart by God, and my existence, my reason, my walking about on the earth has a divine, predestined, predetermined reason for existence. And set apart for the holiness of God. Why? Because Jesus died for my sins. He died for me. This connection is all throughout the Scripture, where we see in John 1.12,. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God. Romans 8.16.17,. The Spirit himself bears witness, with our spirit, that we are the children of God. Galatians 4, 6 through 7. You are no longer a slave, but a son and an heir through God, or first Peter, 2, 9 and 10, but you are a chosen race of royal priesthood, a people of his own possession. And then, my favorite for this context, 1 John, 3, 3.1,. See what kind of love the Father has given us, that we should be called the children of God, and so we are.

Speaker 1: 25:08

So, with all of the confusion, and even if it descends into nasty rivalries, and even if it descends into nasty rivalries and it descends into bad behavior, we need to remember that confusion about ideologies or what way is best, or battles that may happen along theological lines or whatever it may be, and that has happened a lot in the Bay Area. That's why I'm addressing this. I'm not addressing anything specific here in our church. What I'm addressing is but we ourselves have gone through several years ago, a devastating church division, Whatever it may be along the Bay Area. It's all over the place this kind of rivalry. We need to understand that these kinds of confusion, this kind of division is never a personality or a theological problem. It's a gospel problem and the gospel says this.

Speaker 1: 25:59

The gospel says that my mindset in that moment can be rooted in the oneness of Christ and my mood can actually be governed by this fact, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And thirdly, paul answers this rhetorical question were you baptized in Paul's name? And I say that answers the what do I do? Question. I tell you it's very comforting to be able to say who am I? I am in Christ. Nothing can separate me from the love of Christ. Circumstances may happen that I don't like, but nothing can separate me from the love of Christ. Trials may come, burdens may be born and all of these troubles, but I am in Christ and I'm one with Him and that governs my mindset and I am loved by Christ. Nobody's got me like God has me. Nobody has you like God has you. And that controls my mood. That literally affects my mood in real time.

Speaker 1: 27:14

If you're a parent and you're struggling with a child that's rebellious, it can really affect you in a negative way, but your mood can be overruled by the fact that you're loved by God If you're a child that's struggling with parents that don't understand you, or you're feeling alone and you don't have friends, or you're going through all kinds of trials, or there's some division in your family or in your church. One thing that can actually shape your mood in the crisis is the fact that Jesus was crucified for you. That gives you the power to say I'm sorry. It gives you the strength to say forgive me. It gives you the strength to pray forgive me. It gives you the strength to pray for those who may hurt you. It gives you the ability to say I love my enemies.

Speaker 1: 28:03

And listen, redeemer Church. You're going to accrue enemies here in this neighborhood. And what is it said, jesus, if you love those people who love you, your circle will get smaller and smaller and smaller. But what's miraculous is gospel power. When you love those who spitefully love you, your circle will get smaller and smaller and smaller. But what's miraculous is gospel power when you love those who spitefully use you, when you love those who are trying to undermine you, when you love those who are trying to attack you. That's going to happen, I promise you, because you're bearers of the gospel of Jesus Christ and you will be persecuted for the gospel, you will be persecuted for the gospel. And if you just think Jesus died for me, I can actually pray sincerely for these people. But then you ask what do I do Well?

Speaker 1: 28:47

Was I baptized in Redeemer Church of Union City's name? No. Was I baptized in Enrique's name? No. Was I baptized in Bob's name or Royce's name or Ricky's name? No. Was I baptized in Enrique's name? No. Was I baptized in Bob's name or Royce's name or Ricky's name? Was I baptized in the name of a reformed thinking or non-reformed thinking? Was I baptized in the name of a Presbyterian or a Baptist or a denomination of whatever kind? No, no, no, no, no. You were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and this is my third point. In Christ I am baptized publicly, marked by his name, to be a testimony of his lordship in the specific place. See, I'll repeat that every time To be in the specific place where I live, be in the specific place where I live. My manner is grounded in the authority of Jesus Christ Baptism, and this is one reason why I love believer's baptism, because baptism is a statement of who do I belong to, who is my Lord, who's the boss of me?

Speaker 1: 29:54

My wife was the youngest of five children and her father entertained big-name preachers from around the country all the time and she was about I don't know four or five, and they had one of the biggest names in their circles at their house and everything was the best. China was out, everything was the best, the best. And this man, in all of his austerity, was there. And I don't know if Jenny could sense that everybody was just kissing up to him too much or not, because she walked up to her in her petulant four or five-year-old state of mind. She went right up to that man, looked him in the face and said you are not the boss of me. Well, there's a sense, baptism says, that gives us the power to say that to everybody in this ultimate sense. And we always know. We always know what to do in every circumstance. God never leaves us completely in the dark.

Speaker 1: 30:55

Now I admit there's a lot of things about my future. I don't know, but I do know some things. I know one thing in everything give thanks. I know that. I do know that. I know that if I'm stressed or something, I know, be kind to one another, tenderhearted toward my family. I know that Love your wife even as you love yourself. There's a lot of things I do know, and I've been baptized in Jesus' name, so my manner is grounded in the authority of Jesus.

Speaker 1: 31:24

So let me close with this how do we boast in Jesus? In Jesus, paul said in 1 Corinthians, 3, 21 through 23, let no one boast in men, don't boast in yourself, don't boast in other people, don't boast in the best way to do church, don't boast in your favorite doctrinal ideation. All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world, or life or death, or the present or the future. Think about it. Think about it everybody. All are yours and you are Christ, and Christ is God.

Speaker 1: 32:27

Now, I don't know what I would preach for the last official message in any congregation where I was, but I know one thing it's not about me and it's not about you, it's about Christ. That's what I do know, and I do know that every one of us, because of the power of the good news of Jesus Christ, can just answer as confidently as a toddler can to the rhetorical question is Christ divided? We'd say no, and we now have a better understanding of who we are. Was Paul crucified for you? No, no, nobody here in this room was crucified for me. I was not crucified for you. Nobody here would pay what Jesus paid for you're worth. I know what I'm worth and that crucifixion tells me I'm loved and I'm set apart and holy.

Speaker 1: 33:45

Were any of you baptized in anybody else's name besides Jesus Christ? No, no, you were baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. His seal of authority is on you. You know what to do and to me, whether it's transition or whatever, that's a good starting point for thinking properly as we go into our next chapters. Amen, the main thing is to keep the main thing. The main thing and the main thing is to glory in Jesus above anyone and anything else. Amen.