The Who of Love | The Confessions of Communion - 1 Corinthians 10 | May 5

Intro

Hey family! How are we all doing?

Today, we are in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. And we’re going to be wrapping up the first of this three part series centered around love. We are finishing up a focus on the Who of love. The next three chapters will be concerning the Way of love. And the three following that will focus in on the Why of Love.

And there is a reason we have grouped these chapters in sets of three. It is because each set forms a literary unit to address specific concerns, all three of which ultimately bring Paul back to the idea or directive of love. We see it very clearly in chapters eight to ten as Paul begins chapter eight by addressing food sacrificed to idols and we’ll see him conclude chapter ten in much the same way with some words about food sacrificed to idols.

In Biblical literature what something like this typically points to is the use of a chiasm. Which is when an idea is communicated one way and then restated again in the reverse order sometimes in the immediately next verse, sometimes chapters later. And the Bible is absolutely full of chiasms. If we look at Genesis chapter nine verse six we see an obvious example, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”

Another example would be Jesus’ words in Matthew chapter six, “24 No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

I wouldn't be surprised if that’s what’s happening in this literary unit as well. In fact, I very nearly scrapped everything I had planned on talking about and just finished off this theologically packed letter with three final teachings, one on each literary unit to get to the main point that Paul is trying to make through each set. That’s how important this is.

Quite often, when a chiasm occurs, especially in longer chunks of text, you can trace the repeated ideas back to their common center and find the main point, the main principle that is trying to be communicated. This is because chiasm comes from a greek letter that is identical to our letter X. We trace the wings back to the center and find what matters most. If we do that with these passages we find that Paul is using the subject of meat sacrificed to idols to point to a larger truth.

If this were a Chiasm, the very center would be this paragraph found in chapter 9, “19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

We already talked quite a bit about this verse last week, but the important thing to note for Paul, the point he is trying to make throughout these three chapters, is that we lay down ourselves, our desires, our preferences for the sake of our brothers in Christ. And as we’ll see today as he continues his discussion and gets distracted along the way, as Paul turns his attention to the “love feast” of Christ, what we’ll see is how much greater it is to be together as one body than make use of the freedom that is ours in Christ and thus hurt or alienate our brother or sister. Jesus is better than all other so-called gods. And we celebrate Him better when we are together.

A RANT ABOUT COMMUNION

Now, what Paul is primarily going to do in chapter 10 is turn his attention to what happens when believers gather to eat together, when they commune around the table. And in some ways he’s almost utilizing the framework of the feast of the tabernacle that we see in Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 14:22-29 says, “22 “You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. 23 And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the Lord your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the Lord your God chooses, to set his name there, 25 then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God chooses 26 and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household. 27 And you shall not neglect the Levite who is within your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance with you. 28 At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.”

Communion, the Lord’s Supper, references several important feasts throughout the Bible from the Garden, to Passover, and even Revelation, while at the same time it maintains its own distinct purpose and character. But here we see Deuteronomy making some very clear influences on how the early Church practiced communion. It was more than a meal, it was something special as a religious observance and act of devotion. Communion wasn’t a meal in and of itself, but the practice seemed to have been integrated during a meal that included meat and alcohol, borrowing from Deuteronomy and the traditions of Passover. It was very much a mixed bag of status and authority. There were the well-to-do as well as the poor. In fact, in Corinth the wealthier seemed to be using it as an opportunity to party and get drunk, which Paul frowns upon. Overall, it was an opportunity to rejoice before the Lord in their feasting. It was a celebration.

So then, what 1 Corinthians 10 is about, in essence, is the way the Corinthians had overestimated the power of the Lord's Supper as sacramental food, while at the same time underestimating the purpose of the Lord's Supper as spiritual fellowship with Christ and their brothers and sisters in Christ.

“In other words, they saw eating the bread and drinking the cup as a kind of sacramental antidote to any ill effects that might come from tasting the poison of idolatry. And so they overestimated the power of the Lord's Supper.

And they failed to see that the purpose of eating the bread and drinking the cup was to share in the life of Christ and to fellowship with him as one body. And so they underestimated the purpose of the Lord's Supper, and thus its true power in the fight against idolatry and sin.”

Chapter 10 starts out, “1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.”

In one regard, there is no definitive power in the bread or in the cup, or in the act of eating the metaphorical flesh of Christ or drinking the metaphorical blood of Christ. You could do this as often as you like, three times a day or even more, and you could still continue to choose that which is displeasing to God–to choose things that are not God.

Now, there would be consequences to be sure. In chapter 11 Paul will write, “27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” It is of utmost importance to take seriously what we are doing each week.

Hebrews 11 tells us that pleasing God is a product of a faith that seeks the Lord and produces in itself righteousness. Acts of religious devotion such as participating in the Lord’s supper, participating in communion, participating in this “love feast” are only as useful as the heart that would set out to seek the Lord rather than remedy a life of choosing other things.

This is where Paul begins to marry these two ideas of Christian feasting with meat sacrificed to idols and draw comparisons of how the Corinthians were asking these questions to justify going to worldly parties to conduct business where there would be outward idolatry, but their own feasts of fellowship demonstrate their inward idolatrous nature, that they are breaking the laws of love in the way they treat their fellow believers.

“Martin Luther once said the fundamental problem in law-breaking is always idolatry. In other words, we never break the other commandments without first breaking the commandment against idolatry. (A Treatise on Good Works parts X, XI)”

The commandment we all break first is. “You shall have no other gods.” Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord God with ALL of our heart, ALL of our strength, ALL of our minds (Luke 10:27). All of our sin ultimately stems from not loving God with ALL. We look to other things for pleasure, for joy, for satisfaction.

IDOLATRY GETS IN THE WAY

“The human condition is driven by idolatry.”

We replace the Who of love with other things. When those things become what we love we transgress and fall into sin, into idolatry. We trade the ocean of God with a muddy puddle as Bri shared with us a few weeks ago. I wonder if at some point in your childhood you were unconsciously influenced by someone paraphrasing a quote from C.S. Lewis.

In the Weight of Glory Lewis writes, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. (25–26)”

This is right out of the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, “7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”

And I hate to tell you, idolatry is far more subversive than those big three; drink, sex, and ambition. It is as subtle as control. There are plenty of Christians out there who integrate practices into their daily routines to gain a semblance of control over their circumstances: diet, exercise, and health regimes can all be idols. Tribal practices from hundreds or maybe thousands of years ago that have been integrated into our culture and accepted even by Christians such as smudging, the burning of herbs such as sage to cleanse negative energy can be idolatrous practices.

I’ve been meditating on Asa, who was one of the good kings of Judah in the divided kingdom. At the end of his life, Asa drifted from the Lord. And it says that, “Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians.” Now this is not saying don’t get help from doctors but even then we should be seeking the Lord first and not other things.

Idolatry is as subtle as comfort. Building up things in our life so that we don’t have to be inconvenienced. Has that thought or phrase ever influenced any of your decisions making, lifestyle choices, purchasing history, or caused arguments with your loved ones? “I just don’t want to be inconvenienced.”

About once every couple years I have an absolute meltdown. Because the things I want, you see, all cost about $3,000 or more. Like a one-wheel. And so, you can ask Jenny, I’m like I’m going to buy one, I’m going to do it. And then I throw a tantrum because I know I’m not going to actually do it. I’m much too sensible to just drop that much money on something that I don’t really need. Idolatry is as subtle as comfort.

Idolatry is as subtle as security. My friend Joe from New Zealand is so amazed by the culture of Christians in the South, even pastors, to have safes or rooms full of guns. Even for hunting let alone protection that’s a bit much. It has to be justified by a kitschy sign; “This house is protected by the good Lord and a gun, you might meet both if you enter unwelcomed.” Or, “In God we trust, guns are just a backup.” Idolatry is as subtle as security.

And so too, religious ceremonies can be idolatrous when the focus is on the rite at the expense of the God behind it. To easily ceremonies become rituals to win one over on God. They become spiritual tug-of-wars to gain power, control, security over our earthly circumstances which are quite simply out of our control.

There’s a story in Acts 19 that I love where Paul is doing his thing, very similar to what we’re doing right now in fact, and the fear of the Lord falls on the people. And so they all start bringing out these spell books and burning them. They were cut to the heart. And the thing about this story is that these are Christians. These are believers. What “spell books” are you still holding on to?

There is the very real possibility that we too may have lost all sense of the weight and wonder of communion.

WE ARE PARTAKERS

“15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? (1 Corinthians 10:15-22)”

You can’t have your toe in Christianity and your toe in other things. Jesus doesn’t negotiate like we do with our kids at dinner. One more bite? How about five more bites? Two more bites? How about you eat the whole plate, okay?

As such, communion is not an act of eating, but an act of participation. As we partake we identify ourselves fully as in Christ.

Jesus doesn’t offer us a buffet style menu of beliefs and teachings to pick and choose from. He’s patient but he doesn’t negotiate.

Communion is more than just food passing through our mouths and into our digestive systems. It is an opportunity to praise, and rejoice, and enjoy the Lord. To remind us continually what life is all about.

Communion is a picture of you saying, “This is my story. This is who I am. Everything else is a lie.”

There’s another quote from C.S. Lewis in his Reflections on the Psalms where he muses, “The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about… I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation… The Scotch catechism says that man’s chief end is “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”. But we shall then know that these are the same thing. Fully to enjoy is to glorify. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.”

Enjoying God is the essence of praising God. Enjoying God from the heart is essential to glorifying God from the heart. Communion is a picture of you saying, “This is my story. This is who I am. My joy is in the Lord. I delight in God.”

Listen to 1 Peter 3:18: “Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” — that he might bring us to God in whose presence is fullness of joy and at whose right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11).

This is my story. This is who I am. My joy is in the Lord. I delight in God.

IT’S FOR YOUR NEIGHBOR

Paul continues, 23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.” 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience?

Here are those repeated phrases once again which we saw a few chapters ago. The Corinthians had this mantra, “All things are lawful.” People today do the same thing, they start out with a truth and twist it to justify a desire. “We’re free right? God is love so there is no judgment. Do what you want.” “But your freedom is killing your soul”, Paul says. “It’s killing your neighbor.”

Let me ask you a question, “How much is your neighbor’s faith your priority? How about your spouse’s faith? How much are you thinking of your neighbor’s faith when it comes to the way you live?”

And I know that the idea of neighbor can be confusing. Some of us live miles away from our neighbors. Some of us have never even met our neighbors. It was just as confusing back then as it is now. Thankfully, Jesus answers the question, “who is my neighbor” in the parable of the good Samaritan and He defines the term for us. I’m not going to read it for the sake of time, but Jesus directs the question back at us. Whom can you be a neighbor to? Whom can you be for? Whom can you want Jesus for? Whom can you work for their spiritual good? That’s your neighbor. It’s a pretty open ended category. Who is in your life right now that you can be a neighbor to?

Is there anything in your life and the way you live that would confuse them, that would get in the way of their journey toward Christ? The unfortunate part of Christianity sometimes is the people involved. Most people who are dechurched left because of people, not God. We’re not talking about being perfect, but being consistent. Don’t live in a way that confuses those around you.

Communion should be a demonstration of unity, a demonstration that we are equal in our need for Jesus. You will never meet a person that doesn’t need Jesus. That includes you. As Paul writes to these so-called spiritual giants, he is constantly reminding us that we all need Jesus. We are equal in our need for Jesus. Maturity is found as we see ourselves more clearly in need rather than as a people who have it all figured out.

And this position of need should draw us together rather than push us apart. We are all partakers. Not one of us has arrived here on our own merit. We haven’t earned it. We are identified with Jesus in His life, and His death, and His resurrection. It unites us across all barriers. It is the picture in Revelation that says, “9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10)

Communion makes the statement: “These are my people. And nothing comes between us.”

THE OBJECT OF THE LOVE FEAST

This is a family meal. Christ has taken us all in — in all our diversity, in all our stories, in all our sinfulness, in all of our sufferings. Because there is only one true bread from heaven, all who believe in him are one body, eating and drinking spiritually from one great shared hope.

How much greater, then, is the new covenant family meal that celebrates the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins? How much greater that God does not dwell in a temple far away, but instead indwells us as his temple so that when we come to the Table, Christ is with us by his Spirit? How much greater that we are not joined by circumcision into a physical, temporary nation, but instead joined by the blood of Christ into a spiritual, eternal family?

30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? 31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

The Lord's Supper is precious beyond words as a gift from Jesus to his church not only as a reminder of his death for us, but also as an occasion when he draws near to nourish our intimacy with him and strengthen us by his shed blood and his body–by his presence.

In communion we make the firm declaration, “Jesus is my God”. Jesus is my God, and whatever He says goes. All that I am belongs to Him. All that I do is done for Him. Jesus is my God and whatever He says goes.

Do you see that? Do you feel that? To be a disciple means to love God with ALL. Do you see how your occupation is there to serve and glorify God? All that I am belongs to Him. All that I do is done for Him. Jesus is my God and whatever He says goes.

TAG

These are the statements we make every week as we eat this bread and drink from this cup. This is my story. This is who I am. Everything else is a lie. These are my people. And nothing comes between us. Jesus is my God. Whatever he says goes.

These are the confessions we live by as the family of God.

Resources (*the views expressed within the following content are solely the author's and may not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Mountainside Church):

https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2023/08/the-heart-is-an-idol-factory/#:~:text=The%20problem%20is%20not%20that,is%20a%20perpetual%20idol%20factory.%E2%80%9D

https://midtowndowntown.com/sermons/flee-from-idolatry

https://midtowndowntown.com/sermons/5-meals-that-changed-the-world

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/eat-and-drink-with-jesus

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/idolatry-the-lords-supper-and-the-body-of-christ

https://dirtyhands.wordpress.com/2016/07/01/the-commandment-we-all-break/

The Who of Love | Compelled by Love - 1 Corinthians 9 | April 28

Intro

Hey family! How are we all doing?

I know we are getting close to wrapping up a series in 1 Corinthians [whether it seems like it or not I don't know], but there are these verses in 2 Corinthians which I’d love to share with you. They say, “13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. [The NIV version says that Christ’s love compels us. The power of Christ compels you.]

Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.”

What we’re talking about right is motivation. What motivates you? What is controlling your decisions? What compels you in this life? The love of Christ here sort of has two means of interpretation–two ways of looking at it. It is both God’s love for people that motivates Paul to share the Gospel and it is also Paul’s love for God that allows for Christ to control him. There’s this song, maybe we’ll sing it. “Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me”. God’s love for us and Paul’s love for God allow for a life where Paul is driven by His Captain, His King, His Pilot–Jesus.

“The great love of Christ was such that “Christ died for all” people (2 Corinthians 5:14, NLT). Paul’s love for Christ was such that he was willing to die to self (see Galatians 2:20)... When the apostle Paul wrote, “The love of Christ compels us,” he was describing the powerful, Spirit-filled motivation that drives followers of Christ to share the gospel in ways that persuade people to commit their lives to Jesus.”

In these three chapters, we are exploring the who of love. In the next chapters we’ll talk about the Way of love and the Why of love. In some sense these all noticeably blend together. Next week, in chapter 10, and this week in chapter 9 we’re still looking at the Who of love. God is the who of love initiating within us the desire to pursue others in love. The who of love compels us to think of others who are not here and to invite them in.

What we’re going to talk about today is just this. Is the love of God compelling you? What does that mean? What does that practically look like in your life, in your decisions, in your finance? Are you compelled to invite others into this family? The church exists for those who are not here–to share the love of God and bring them in. Does the love of God compel you?

With those questions in mind, let’s get right into our text this morning

COMPELLED TO GIVE

Paul’s really going to hit us over the head with some truth this morning. Listen, what we are compelled to is hard, but what we are compelled by still outweighs the hardship. The prize outweighs the price. We’ll talk about the prize more directly at the end of our time, for now ask yourself, what’s your motivation in life? What drives you? As we saw in 2 Corinthians 5, for the Christian, it is the love of Christ that compels us–we are compelled by love. Since we are compelled by love we are compelled to love, we are compelled to act, we are compelled to do–we are compelled to live…

“The way we live our lives has eternal consequences. Life is a proving ground where we prove who we are, whom we trust, and what we cherish. Eternal life, the upward call, the crown of righteousness—all these hang on what our life says about who we are, whom we trust, and what we love.”

And “God has not saved you to sit on the edge of the pool with your feet in the water. God has saved you to spend yourself for the glory of his Son (Philippians 1:20)… The point of salvation is to make the glory of God visible in the universe.”

So let’s read these verses,

“1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?

8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more?

Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

We’ve encountered some strange stuff so far–no doubt. And this is a bit strange. For some reason Paul goes on this rant to justify his apostleship, a rant about how he and Barnabas still have to work to support themselves even though Peter and the other apostles don’t work, they get their money from the church for the work of speaking the Gospel. He uses several examples to justify his frustration and why he has the right to be financially supported by the churches he plants even though he doesn’t make use of that right with the Corinthians.

And he says some weird stuff like, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” He takes an old testament law about livestock and applies it to the contemporary setting of priestly work. After all, is God not concerned for our sake? Should spiritual work not be financially supported? Why is it important enough to mention. Especially since Paul at times was supported by other churches, but not the Corinthians apparently.

What Paul is doing is setting up a line of argumentation that will build upon itself to lead us to the ultimate conclusion of the ultimate value of God’s love and the prize of the work. Financial gain is fine and Biblically supported is what he’s saying, but material gains are not the prize he will speak of at the end of the chapter. Even so, he wants the Corinthians to see that the work of the Gospel is worthy of our time, our talent, and–yes even our treasure. We needed to be financially invested in the mission of God!

Back in 2012, the Summit Church in Raleigh did an “All-in Generosity” series about sacrifice, stewardship, treasure, trust, and mission. The series asks us to live our lives with open hands, that everything we have in our lives we would open up in surrender to Him. I remember a testimony of a mother holding on to her children and realizing she couldn’t let them go. She had made her family, her children her idol, and she realized that she was trying to hold it all together herself and wasn’t surrendering her children’s future to the Lord. She was placing all the pressure on her shoulders and so as she prayed to have open hands, she imagined letting go of her children and trusting them to the Lord. That’s one example. What are you holding on to? There are, of course, some more obvious financial considerations with regard to generosity.

Here’s the thing, God is all in. He is fully committed to us and His mission. But sometimes our hearts aren’t in it. In Matthew, Jesus says, “21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:21). If you want to know what you care about, look at what you give most of your money to. If you want to know how much you love Starbucks, or Hatchet, or Local Lion perhaps, look at how much money you spend there. How much money goes to streaming services. How much money do we pour into our quality of life. That’s all I do at work. The cliche saying is, “If you build a better place to live, work, and play, you’ll build a better place where people want to visit.”

It always amazes me to think about professional athletes and finances because the statistics are astonishing. We are taught to idolize athletes as children and some children are groomed to be athletes to provide wealth for the family, but the truth is that “78% of professional athletes go broke after 3 years of retirement.” Seventy-eight percent! Mostly because of overspending. But their spending shows what they love. Most of them feel an obligation to family, friends, and their neighborhoods so they pour their money into these things. And these are not bad things, they are better than other things professional athletes tend to overspend on that I probably shouldn’t mention. But even a mansion for Grandma is not permanent, especially if you’re broke.

And the truth is that what we invest our finances in matters because “This world in its present form is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:31). All these things are non-permanent. Why not invest in what will last? Why not invest in God’s mission? Why not invest in this church? I don’t care how much! I mean I know what we need for our budgets. And the Old Testament tithe of 10% is a good starting point, but the Biblical standard is generosity. What does it look like for you to give generously of your treasure?

This is not a “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35) kind of message. Though that is true and Biblical. This is a we are compelled by the love of Christ in us, for us, and for this world to give our financial resources for the sake of His mission and His kingdom.

Listen, I don’t know who gives to this church or how much they give. I don’t look at those numbers. So if you’re thinking he’s looking right at me. That’s not on me. I’m looking at everyone. That’s perhaps the Spirit tugging at your heart. Because you’ll love where your money is. So what is it that you’re loving? Love God’s church more!

COMPELLED TO SACRIFICE

We are compelled to give and we are compelled to sacrifice.

15 But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

We know that Paul did receive financial support, perhaps only from the Philippian church and maybe only on rare occasions, but Paul as we read even here, Paul wasn’t opposed to financial support. Nevertheless, he didn’t make use of this right amongst the Corinthians. Paul sacrifices his right for financial gain for the sake of the Corinthians who based on their divisions would not receive the blessing of giving with a right heart but would have more reason to be puffed up and divided.

Philippians 4 says, “17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. 18 I have received full payment, and more….”

“He’s not trying to gain the pleasure of money. He’s not trying to gain the power of rights. The gospel has already assured him that he will gain the fullness of the enjoyment of Christ. And now, he wants to gain people… I will magnify the worth of the gospel, the worth of Christ — by showing that the satisfaction it gives — that he gives — does not need to be supplemented by the pleasures of money or the pleasures of power.”

As many of you know, I work a full-time job. Not because I’m financially concerned about trusting God with the salary Mountainside can support–I’m not. I am forced, by some of you, to take a small salary from Mountainside, which isn’t completely my choice because I would do this for free and maybe one day I will convince enough of you that I should. I work a full-time job to demonstrate in my own life what is of most importance. For all of us who work, I will always pour my life into this, whether I’m paid or not, because this is of greatest value. And if I’m doing it, you can do it too.

To be a Christian is to be one who sacrifices. There’s a sermon/interview that I mean to listen to once a year from the church we were a part of in Columbia, SC; and one thing it says is if you’re not denying yourself at least 70-80% of the time or even more than that, then you might need to question whether you’re actually following Jesus. I don’t know if those statistics match up, but it bears asking if I’m not sacrificing in my life at all then am I really a Christian? Am I really a follower of Jesus? Am I really a little anointed one that is providing a place where Heaven meets earth and God is glorified?

Here’s a quick definition of sacrifice. It may be helpful. Sacrificing means to give up what I love for something I love more. Sacrificing means to give up what you love for something you love more.

Brad, a classmate of Rebekah’s, has been hanging out with our family group when he’s in town for school. The first week he was with us he brought up a profound truth that is almost exactly what Paul is writing. He shared that what we see in the scriptures is that we are to be patient. But how do I even know what it means to be patient? What does it even look like? I can’t even understand patience except as it is demonstrated by Jesus. We don’t even know how to live were it not for the example of Jesus. What does it look like to sacrifice? We look to Jesus. Jesus is our standard for life. He is the object of our love and the example for how to love.

Jesus provides the example of what sacrifice is. We cannot understand what it even means to sacrifice were it not for the Word of God come to life in the person of Jesus–God made flesh. He sacrificed for you and shows us, provides the example, the definition for what it means to sacrifice.

The question I want you to ask yourself is, what could I sacrifice for the mission of God? What could I sacrifice to see people changed by the Gospel of Christ? What might I need to do to rearrange my time, or my schedule, or my money? How might I need to reorder my life to see people meet Jesus?

What compels you? What do you love? Love God’s mission more!

COMPELLED TO LOVE

We are compelled by Christ’s love to give. We are compelled to sacrifice. And as if it were not obvious enough, we are compelled to love.

19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

Here’s another one of those word repetitions. Paul says I serve all to win some. I lay aside my pride and my preferences and my desires so that I might see the people around me transformed by the Gospel. I become like all to win as many as I can.

Then in the last repetition he switches from the word win to the word save. Just as repetition is important, a purposeful break in repetition is just as or even more important. “We are compelled by love for the sake of the gospel to share Christ and win new family members, and in our winning Christ saves them and we share in the blessing of joy and rejoice with the Heavens… It is a transformative experience in such a sense that Paul felt the need to relate to people, to bridge the gap, even to Jews though technically he was already a Jew, how does that work?”

“In other words, the Jewish man, Paul, was so profoundly and pervasively redefined — given a new identity — by union with Christ Jesus, that Jewishness was not his truest, deepest identity anymore and, therefore, in order to win Jews, he had to become a Jew. When you become a Christian, your family roots, your tribal connections, your ethnicity and race, your nation of origin—all of them become secondary, at most. And the real you is something supernaturally new, different. A new creation. A new family identity in Christ. A new citizenship in his kingdom. Every other identity and allegiance is relativized.”

We are compelled by the love of God to be people who love–to be people who love well.

“10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us… 19 We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:10-12, 19).

Do I love Jesus and His mission? Do you love Jesus and His mission? If you think through all the names and faces of people you know and have some sort of relationship with, who would you love to see part of the family next year? Whatever you love in this life, learn to love Jesus and the spread of His gospel more… become all things to all people, that by all means you might save some. That someone new in your life will be welcomed in the family this year.

OUTRO - COMPELLED BY THE PRIZE

“Paul’s aim is to gain more and more people so that he can “share with them the blessings of the gospel.” His intent and purpose has a prize in mind. He’s got his eyes set on a blessing to be shared.

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Again what is motivating you? What prize are you chasing after? To be the one who dies with the most stuff. Some people consider that winning. To stack your sexual conquests against another? How we live proves what we love–what compels us.

Our lives should change when we encounter Christ. They shouldn’t still be the same. We shouldn’t still love the same things we used to. We shouldn’t prioritize the same pursuits. We spent the last several weeks of 1 Corinthians talking about marriage. When you get married something should be different. We’ve been to so many weddings where it was just another day and then life would continue as it always had. But marriage should usher in a different way of life. In the same way, the Church is the bride of Christ, so encountering God should usher in a new way of living—a new identity.

“The race Paul was running (and calling us to run) was not merely about guarding the faith in our own hearts, but about pursuing that faith and joy in others… Paul was running to win the lost, despite how much effort it required and how much it cost him. He was talking about aggressive mission, not merely secret devotion.”

“I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10)

“What is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming?” he asks the Thessalonians. “Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy” (1 Thessalonians 2:19–20).

Every time you show up on a Sunday is worth it. Every time you drag yourself to family night rather than staying home in your pajamas is worth it. Wear your pajamas to family group. Every time you sacrifice for the kingdom and to welcome someone new into the family it is worth it. Every time you deny your desires and say no to sin and yes to Jesus it is so worth it!

Resources (*the views expressed within the following content are solely the author's and may not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Mountainside Church):

https://www.gotquestions.org/love-of-Christ-compels-us.html

https://midtowndowntown.com/sermons/the-demands-of-love-part-2

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-missionary-miracle

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/how-then-shall-we-run

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/souls-are-our-reward

https://summitchurch.com/series/all-in-generosity

https://www.gotquestions.org/for-where-your-treasure-is.html

The Who of Love | Knowledge and Love - 1 Corinthians 8 | April 21

Intro

Hey family! How are we all doing?

We’re back in the book of 1 Corinthians. And believe it or not we are actually nearing the finish line even though we are just now, after today, halfway through. There’s light at the end of the tunnel.

We have nine chapters left, and while that seems like a lot, what we’ll see is that there is a single unifying theme throughout these last chapters, indeed the whole book really. We mentioned how 1 Corinthians is a book about unity and how to live for God in a world that is overwhelmingly unchristian. And while that is true, those statements don’t really address how we do that as much. I know we’ve talked a lot about the practical side of belief, but there is another theme that does speak more directly to the how. And that is love!

We talked about calling. We are called to love (1 Peter 4:8). We talked about unity. Unity is held in love. We talked about fellowship. Fellowship, togetherness is a demonstration of love. We talked about how to live for God in a world that is overwhelmingly unchristian. The solution is the knowledge of the love of Christ. It’s all about love. 

So as we fill ourselves with the Word of God in these final chapters, we’re going to see love and we’re going to encounter love in three literary units addressing the Who of love; the Way of love; and the Why of love. The Who of love (8-10). The Way of love (11-13). The Why of love (14-16). 

When I say literary movement, I mean that these repetitions of three chapters form a complete thought. So, in chapters 8 through 10 we’ll be looking at the Who of love. We know these chapters form this unit because of the great design of the Bible. It’s breathtakingly beautiful how every word is constructed in perfect accord. Don’t just believe me, I’m going to show you. In chapter 8, we’ll read it in a moment, but just to show you chapter 8 begins, “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.”

And Chapter 10 ends, “24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For ‘the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.’”

There’s a lot in the middle, but where 8 begins, 10 concludes the thought. That doesn't mean Paul doesn’t chase some rabbits along the way. Paul is notorious for long complicated sentences and big leaps in thought. When I was taking ancient Greek the recommendation was to start with John. You don’t want to read Paul first because you may get discouraged. 

In fact, the apostle Peter even wrote about this. In 2 Peter 3 he says, “15 And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him— 16 speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand…”

So he’s going to get distracted along the way; nevertheless, it’s all about love. As we get further along we’ll find passages that have been used to teach in other ways are actually really about love all along. Perhaps the whole book is about love. Maybe even the whole Bible if it’s not too bold of me to say. It’s a love story about a God who loves and pursues His creation. Even though we continue to reject His love, He continues to provide a way for us. It’s all about love. 

In the beginning of the chapter it sets the stage, “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 Who of love. It’s about knowing God and being known by God. There is a right knowing that leads to a right loving. Right knowing loves people and builds them up and it treasures and values God. You don’t know anything if your knowing is not resulting in a love for God.

Well here, let me just read the whole thing.

SCRIPTURE

1 Corinthians 8, “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.

4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

7 However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”

KNOWLEDGE & LOVE

So it’s about love. And it’s about knowledge. It’s about love. It’s about knowledge. And it’s about how these intertwine with one another, and work with one another, or at times work against one another.

Because there is a “so-called-knowledge” and there is a real knowledge. While real knowledge leads to life and love, this so-called-knowledge, under which we tend to operate by default, leads to destruction and death. So knowledge, then, is essential but it’s not sufficient. There are ways in which you can have knowledge, you can be right in a sense, but ultimately be wrong. Knowledge is not enough without love. There’s a knowing and then there’s a knowing as you ought to know. There’s a loving and then there’s a loving as you ought to love.

So what’s really going on here?

IDOLATRY

Let’s start building some meaning, building some understanding, and working on that right knowledge. The context is idolatry. “Now concerning food offered to idols… Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols…”

In the exchange of letters that preceded 1 Corinthians, because remember this is not the first letter Paul wrote to them, at some point someone from Corinth wrote back to Paul asking his advice about what to do at social gathering where the food was probably ritually sacrificed to an idol, knowing that some of the Gentiles who became Christians may sin by eating because not too long ago they were worshiping these non-gods. In other words, there’s probably a Jewish believer who has knowledge that idols are not really gods and wants Paul to give him permission to eat and not feel guilty even though some of the Gentiles have expressed concerns. As we know Paul’s not going to do that, but he’s going to use this opportunity to teach an even greater lesson about love.

In reality, these idolatrous ceremonies were big parties where business deals were happening. It was a social event. And if you weren’t there you were missing out on key networking opportunities. This is the Linkedin of the ancient world. If you weren’t there you might not financially make it. The question is not really about food, it’s about livelihood. But the people being saved out of that world can’t separate the eating from the worship.

We know idols to be little carved images made by human hands, but they thought of them as real gods. Isaiah 44 says, “9 How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame. 10 Who but a fool would make his own god—”

Who would do something like that? :He says sarcastically:

This still happens today. For sure this happens, in certain parts of this world. But because there’s not a one to one correlation in our own culture it may be easy to think that we don’t have an idol problem. Let me put your mind at ease right now, we definitely have an idol problem in this culture. They’re just a little more deceptive–just below the surface.

In Romans 1 it says, “...They knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people…”

Our idols tend to look a lot like people. Maybe even ourselves. We become our own God trying to satisfy our own insatiable desires. You see back then idolatry was all about control–gaining some semblance of control over life’s hardships. I want a good harvest so I’m going to do this special ceremony for this god and gain control of the circumstances that are beyond my control so I can have a good harvest or get pregnant or this or that. It’s all about control.

Sometimes we treat God that way. We worship ourselves and use God to get what we want and gain control over our circumstances. And it’s reflected in our prayers. We tell God what He should do. But Jesus teaches us to pray, “Our Father in Heaven, holy is Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” But instead we’re trying to build our own kingdoms. We’ve become lovers of self.

LOVERS OF SELF

2 Timothy 3 starts out, “You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. 4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!”

Watch out! Beware! It’s going to be the case more and more that people are only going to love themselves. The love that they had for one another will grow cold (Matthew 24:12). They’re love for their brother will grow cold and they’ll love only themselves. That’s all they’ll do everyday is look at themselves, stare at themselves, talk about themselves. They’ll go to the Grand Canyon and take pictures of themselves. They’re not going to be these life giving spirits (1 Corinthians 15:45). They’re going to suck the life out of every relationship. They’re going to live their lives in selfie mode.

And this is not talking about the world, this is talking about people within the church. It’s talking about us! We’re the problem. We read passages like, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39), and we think I just gotta love myself more! That’s not what it’s saying, that’s not the point. You love yourself enough. You’re all you ever talk about. You do not need the Spirit of God to be concerned with yourself.

Jesus is not on display through our collective self interests. He didn’t become human and get tortured and murdered to leave us in our self-consumed state. Jesus did not die to create a community of self-centered people.

And so, the Corinthians, when they ask this question about food sacrificed to idols, they’re not concerned with their brother. So Paul writes, “‘all of us possess knowledge.’ [But] this “knowledge” puffs up…. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.”

You know, but you don’t know. Your knowing is defective. Your knowing is broken. Even though you are kind of right, ultimately you’re wrong because you were more concerned with yourself than for your brother for whom Christ died. If you know something, it should make a difference.

And so, we too come to church and walk away thinking that didn’t really do it for me this morning. The sermon didn’t speak to me. I don’t really like the way Zach preaches, his style doesn’t resonate with me. The songs didn’t move me. I wasn't really feeling it. That’s not what it’s about.

And we go to family group and think, they don’t care enough about my problems, about what I’m going through. Or we don’t share much of ourselves at all and we just allow other people to be vulnerable and we never really give the Spirit any opportunity to change us. Our knowing is broken.

Listen, some of us know very little about the Bible. The only time we even hear the Word of God is on a Sunday or perhaps at a family group. And that’s not right, we’ve got to be feasting on these words of life on our own too. Loving God happens when you know as you ought to know. Some of us need some more knowing.

Others of us know the Scriptures very well, but we use them to convince and justify our own preferences and desires. But that’s not what it’s about. That’s not the point. We should love one another more than we care about our preferences or our rights.

Yes, you’re right, Paul says; the idols are not really gods. But that’s not the point. The point is that in using your knowledge, you weren’t thinking about your brother. If you know something, it should make a difference.

LOVE YOUR BROTHER

You must love your brother. Right knowledge leads us to right love which sacrifices for the sake of our brother.

“First John 4:12 says, “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” Here the apostle John is talking about the love that we Christians should have for one another. When you look at your Christian brothers and sisters, do you honestly love them? Do you say, “That’s my brother — if he were ever in trouble, I would be right there with him”?

Is that the type of love you have for those around you? God means that we embody this kind of love. When John writes, “No one has ever seen God,” do you get it? Here’s what he’s saying: if we could love each other the way God loves us, then someone who doesn’t even know God, someone who’s never seen his beauty spiritually, may be able to see the love of God in our love for each other.

Just as Jesus embodied God in the incarnation as God in the flesh, so there is a sense in which this is passed on to us. In our love for others, we now incarnate God’s love, so to speak, because others see the love of God in us in a way they would not otherwise. As people come into our gatherings, do they see so much love that they actually get a glimpse of God? Or do they only see a lot of knowledge on display?” (Francis Chan).

Sure, there is also an expectation for our brothers to grow in knowledge and love of God and so not remain in a state of weakness. Hebrews 6 says, “So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. 2 You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.”

There is an expectation of growth and maturity. That “​​He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). But as for our responsibility there exists the reality that to truly love another person you have to accept the unique demands that comes with that person. By the mere act of choosing to love anyone you are agreeing to take the hard and not just the easy. The weakness not just the strength. To love someone you have to accept the demands that come with them.

And what that looks like is not self-centeredness, justifying our freedom, and insisting on our own way. It looks like a healthy other-centeredness. Healthy other-centeredness loves because God first loved. Healthy other-centeredness wants Jesus for other people, leaves room for appropriate responsibility, and prioritizes the spiritual good of others. And it starts by staring at God rather than ourselves or other people for that matter.

LOVE GOD (THE WHO OF LOVE)

We need to stare at God. Not people. Not circumstances. Stare at God. He’s the only place worthy of your attention–worthy of your fixation.

What I want to do to finish our time is just listen to God’s words to Job in chapter 38 and allow us to sit, close your eyes (it may be difficult to stare at God with our eyes open), and stare at the God whose thoughts are not our thoughts and ways are not our ways. He laid the foundations of the world and all of creation moves at His command. Listen and then we’ll sing.

JOB 38

4“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell me, if you have understanding.

5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!

Or who stretched the line upon it?

6 On what were its bases sunk,

or who laid its cornerstone,

7 when the morning stars sang together

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors

when it burst out from the womb,

9 when I made clouds its garment

and thick darkness its swaddling band,

10 and prescribed limits for it

and set bars and doors,

11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,

and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?

12 “Have you commanded the morning since your days began,

and caused the dawn to know its place,

13 that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,

and the wicked be shaken out of it?

14 It is changed like clay under the seal,

and its features stand out like a garment.

15 From the wicked their light is withheld,

and their uplifted arm is broken.

16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea,

or walked in the recesses of the deep?

17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you,

or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

18 Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?

Declare, if you know all this.

19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light,

and where is the place of darkness,

20 that you may take it to its territory

and that you may discern the paths to its home?

21 You know, for you were born then,

and the number of your days is great!

22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,

or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble,

for the day of battle and war?

24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,

or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?

25 “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain

and a way for the thunderbolt,

26 to bring rain on a land where no man is,

on the desert in which there is no man,

27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land,

and to make the ground sprout with grass?

28 “Has the rain a father,

or who has begotten the drops of dew?

29 From whose womb did the ice come forth,

and who has given birth to the frost of heaven?

30 The waters become hard like stone,

and the face of the deep is frozen.

31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades

or loose the cords of Orion?

32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season,

or can you guide the Bear with its children?

33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?

Can you establish their rule on the earth?

34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,

that a flood of waters may cover you?

35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go

and say to you, ‘Here we are’?

36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts

or given understanding to the mind?

37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom?

Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,

38 when the dust runs into a mass

and the clods stick fast together?

Resources (*the views expressed within the following content are solely the author's and may not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Mountainside Church):

https://midtowndowntown.com/sermons/the-demands-of-love-part-1

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-life-of-the-mind-and-the-love-of-man

https://www.desiringgod.org/labs/love-builds-up

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/think-hard-stay-humble-the-life-of-the-mind-and-the-peril-of-pride