Let no one boast in men.

John Farley
Pastor-Teacher
Sunday,
May 12, 2019

www.basictraining.org

Basic Training Bible Ministries is led by Gene Cunningham with his wife Nan as his support and companion.

Their mission includes evangelism and the training of pastors and workers in remote regions of the world.

The have established Bible schools in Africa, India and Papua New Guinea. 

They also conduct missions training camps in North America and Australia to train others to do the same.

 

Let no one boast in men

1CO 3:18-4:5

He is giving us the big takeaways from his work in chapter 1:18 - 3:17.

There are two sections or paragraphs here: chapter 3:18-23, and chapter 4:1-5.

3:18 Let no man deceive himself.
 
4:1 Let a man regard us in this manner,

How each individual ought to see himself (1CO 3:18-23), and how each person ought to regard the apostles/leaders (1CO 4:1-5).

The world’s wisdom is foolishness!
(1CO 1:18-2:16)

Human judgments are inherently flawed.
(1CO 2:6-3:17)

Stop thinking like fools and start learning God’s wisdom. 

Let no one boast in men.

PHI 3:3

1CO 1:30-31

So how do the commands in 1CO 3:18-4:5 apply to us?

1CO 3:18-20

Someone who thinks he is wise in this age.

There are two kinds: the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. They are totally opposed to one another.

Wisdom is the mastery of the art of living by learning the “best” ways of doing things to achieve the “desired” result.

Wisdom answers the questions that start with
“How do I” or “How is this [___] done?”

The wisdom of the world provides answers to the questions people have about all aspects of the human condition.

The wisdom of God answers all of these questions as well… the true answers.

How is character built?

How do you deal with the greatest human problem - death.?

“Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

One problem: it’s not true.

Look at who is doing everything: man.

“Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Who’s missing?

God.

So, what is the wisdom of God when it comes to building character?

ROM 5:1-5

Grace is something that the world cannot understand.

How did God in His wisdom solve the problem of death?

JOH 3:14-16
2TI 1:8-11

1CO 3:21-23

All things belong to you

Why? Because you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

EPH 1:18-23

1CO 4:1-5

Servants and stewards serve the Master of the household.

Faithfulness. A servant who was trustworthy.

They do not and cannot know the things that really matter because they are hidden.

The Lord knows what is wrong in hearts of men who judge others.

JER 17:9-10

So Paul pays no attention to the critics who render their verdicts on him.

He also realizes that his own conscience is unreliable.

The world thinks like the Roman philosopher Seneca did in the first century.

He knows that there is only one Judge who counts - the Lord.

And there is only one judgment that will count - the one that will occur when the Lord comes back.

1CO 4:3-5

Any judgment that is made before Christ returns is premature.

When you think this way, you will enjoy a remarkable freedom!

Finally, we are told what the reward for faithfulness will be:
praise from God.