F is for Forgetfulness-1 Corinthians 3:21-4:7

1 Corinthians 3:21-4:7; 4:3-4

“I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.”

Are you easily hurt and offended by others? Do you care too much about what others think of you? Are you like Paul, who said, “I care very little if I am judged by you“? Or are you always trying to prove yourself to show others just how good and worthy you are?

Just how fragile is your ego? Similarly, how well do you handle criticism? Rejection? Disapproval? How much are you affected or devastated by the opinion of others? If you perceive that others disrespect you, dishonor you, or think poorly of you, how do you respond? Even if you are able to control your reactions well, are you offended inwardly? Can you listen to harsh criticism without becoming defensive or offensive or indifferent?

What’s wrong with Christians? We human beings are easily affected by others. Some are easily hurt; others easily offended. Some respond with indifference: “I don’t care or give a ____ what you think!” After becoming a Christian, we know we should love (God, others, enemies). Yet–if we are honest enough to admit it–instead of loving others we are upset, even by Christians who attend the same church. Two Christians attending the same church for three decades won’t look at each other or talk to each other, apart from shallow superficial meaningless pleasantries and platitudes. Unresolved issues in people, including Christians, are aplenty. Surely, the problem with the church is that it has people!

Is your heart radically changed by the grace of God? If you trust in Jesus, what should your heart–changed at the root by the grace of God–look like in real life? What are the marks of a supernaturally changed heart? Does simply accepting and obeying Christ and his commands change you? Does becoming a recognized leader change you?

Why is there division in the church? The church in Corinth, originally planted by Paul and subsequently visited by other leaders like Apollos and Cephas, is like many churches. Even if it is not overt, it is filled with jealousy, envy, biting and devouring one another, gossip, slander, power-plays, one-upmanship, politics, sections and division (1 Cor 1:12; 3:4, 20; 4:6). Just one of these elements tears up the church and brings disrepute to her. They should be gravely ashamed. But they are not. In 1 Corinthians, Paul shows that the root cause for the division is pride and boasting (1 Cor 3:21; 4:6-7). They pick, favor and support one leader over another. They proudly brag and insist that they are right and others are wrong, which aggravates and deepens the spirit of divisiveness.

Review these questions again:

1. Are you easily hurt and offended by others?
2. Just how fragile is your ego?
3. What’s wrong with Christians?
4. Is your heart radically changed by the grace of God?
5. Why is there division in the church?

What is the problem and the solution? If gossip and slander, pride and ego-trips, boasting and bragging is the problem in the church, the universal solution is humility, which is closely related to how a person sees, views or perceive themselves. In 1 Cor 3:21-4:7, Paul explains (1) the problem–our own selves, (2) the process of resolving the problem–self-forgetfulness, and (3) the solution to the problem–justification through Christ. The three parts of this sermon, based on Tim Keller’s booklet The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness are:

1. Pride: the problem.
2. Self-Forgetfulness: the process.
3. Justification: the solution.

I. Pride: The Problem (1 Cor 3:21-22; 4:6)

Puffed up, become arrogant, inflated with pride. 1 Cor 4:6b says, “Then you will not bepuffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.” Other translations say, “…so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other” (1 Cor 4:6, NASB). “The purpose is that none of you will be inflated with pride in favor of one person over another” (1 Cor 4:6, HCSB). “If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures, you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another” (1 Cor 4:6, NLT).

The natural condition of the human ego. The word (φυσιόω – physioō) translated “puffed up” literally means “to inflate, to blow up, to cause to swell up” (Blue Letter Bible), to be distended beyond its proper size, like a swollen distended overinflated human organ. Such evocative language is how Paul describes the condition of the natural human ego. This image of a swollen organ in the human body suggests four things about the “natural” condition of the human ego. It is (1) empty, (2) painful, (3) busy and (4) fragile.

1. Empty. Pride and ego is empty at the center. That’s why we are so desperate to fill it up with a sense of worth, value, identity, specialness, purpose and build it up.
2. Painful. Pride and ego that is distended and overinflated is painful. People say, “You hurt my feelings.” But it is not our feelings, but our pride and ego that is hurt.
3. Busy. Because of emptiness, the pride and ego is constantly drawing attention to itself. We can’t stop comparing ourselves with others.
4. Fragile. Anything that is overinflated is in imminent danger of being deflated — like an overinflated balloon. A superiority complex and an inferiority complex are basically the same.

Michael Jordan longs for his glory days. In an interview in anticipation of his 50th birthday on Feb 17, 2013, Michael Jordan, the Hall of Famer, confesses, “I would give up everything now to go back and play the game of basketball.” When asked how he replaces it, Jordan states, “You don’t. You learn to live with it.” Jordan has accomplished what most men can only dream of. Yet he seems to still be longing for his glory days of winning 6 NBA championships in the 1990s, being voted the Finals MVP all 6 times, being the only player in history to lead the NBA in scoring 10 times (7 consecutive, tied with Chamberlain), being voted the NBA’s MVP 5 times, and countless other accolades, awards and records. Here and here are short summaries. Despite having accomplished and achieved all this, he still wishes he could go back and do all of it again.

Madonna: I have to prove I am somebody. Madonna once said in an interview with Vogue Magazine: “…even though I have become somebody, I still have to prove that I am somebody. My struggle has never ended and I guess it never will.” Madonna seems to know herself better than many Christians. At least she is more honest, open and transparent about herself. She is saying, “My ego cannot be satisfied. My sense of self, my desire for self-worth, my need to prove that I am somebody is not fulfilled.”

Sprinter: I have 10 seconds to justify my existence. In the movie, Chariots of Fire, Harold Abrahams, the Jewish 100 meter Olympic runner trained hard to win the gold medal, which he did. But he said, “I feel that when the gun goes off, I have 10 seconds to justify my existence.” What is he saying here? On the most obvious level, he is saying, “The main thing I want is to win the gold medal.” Others may say, “The main thing I want is to get married.” Or “To get my dream job.” Or “To do well financially in my career.”

Rocky: Then I will know I am not a bum. In the first Rocky movie, Rocky explains to his girlfriend Adrian that all he wants is to go the distance in the boxing ring, and stay on his feet with the champion, Apollo Creed. Why? He said, “Then I will know that I am not a bum.” What do we learn here? Every person has something that he feels he must do, or that he must achieve and accomplish, so that he will know that he is not a bum. Why? It is because we don’t know who we are. We don’t know what we are worth. We are not sure what our life means. We are not sure that we are lovable. So each of us has something that we feel we desperately need–a relationship, a status, a sense of our own significance, etc, (whether we are willing to admit it or not), so that if we did not have it, or if we lost it, we would be completely devastated. We would feel that we are just a bum without that something.

Empty, painful, busy and fragile. This is how the Corinthians were. They were fighting over Paul and claiming a special relationship with him (1 Cor 4:6b). They are showing tremendous amounts of pride. They are unable to enjoy the fact that they know Paul. They have to use their relationship with him for one-upmanship over each other in the church. So Paul wants them to know the difference the gospel makes and how the gospel has transformed him. In 1 Cor 4:3-4 he shows them how the gospel has transformed his sense of self-worth, self-regard and his identity. His ego operates in a completely different way from them.

II. Self-Forgetfulness: The Process (1 Cor 4:1-7)

Are you free from what others think of you? Paul says that he is a minister with a job to do (1 Cor 4:1-2). Then he tells them that, with regard to that role, he cares very little if he is judged by them or any human court (1 Cor 4:3-4). The word “judge” (ἀνακρίνω – anakrinō) has a similar meaning as “verdict.” It is what MJ, Madonna, the sprinter and Rocky craves–the elusive verdict or stamp of approval, regardless if others think you have done well. Paul does not look to the Corinthians — or to any human court — for the verdict that he is somebody. Paul is saying that he does not care what they think about him, nor what anybody thinks about him. His identity is not informed by what others say. Paul is essentially saying, “I don’t care what you think. I don’t care what anybody thinks.” Paul’s self-worth, self-regard, and identity is not tied in any way to their verdict, opinion or their evaluation and assessment of him.

A low opinion of others’ opinion and of one’s opinion of oneself. Paul cares very little if others, including a human court, judges him. He takes it a step further: he will not even judge himself. He is saying, “Not only do I not care what you think, I do not even care what I think. I have a very low opinion of your opinion of me–and a very low opinion of my opinion of me.” Even the fact that he has a clear conscience makes no difference.”My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent” (1 Cor 4:4a). Hitler and Osama bin Ladin might have had clear consciences, but it does not mean they were innocent.Why we cannot live by others’ standards (or our standards ). It is a trap to think that we should not worry about others’ standards and just set our own. We will feel terrible to live by our parent’s standards, society’s standards, our church’s standards, or even our own standards. We cannot keep them, unless we set incredibly low standards. Are low standards the solution? If they are they will indict you as a person of low standards. Living by the standards of others or our own is a trap.

Where does Paul find his sense of self, his sense of identity, if not from others or himself? Who was Paul? He was a man of incredible stature. He might be among the six or seven most influential leaders who ever lived in the history of the human race. He had enormous ballast, tremendous influence, incredible confidence. Nothing fazed him. Yet he said in 1 Tim 1:15, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” Not I was the worst, but I am the worst. We rarely encounter someone who has incredible confidence volunteering the opinion that they are the worst person. He is totally honest and totally aware of all sorts of moral flaws — yet has incredible poise and confidence.

Why can’t we have incredible confidence…like Paul? We judge ourselves, or let others judge us, which Paul does not allow for himself (1 Cor 4:3). Paul is saying that he knows about his sins but he does not connect his sins to himself or to his identity. His sins and his identity are not connected. He does not see a sin and let it destroy his sense of identity. Neither does he see an accomplishment and congratulate himself. Paul sees all kinds of sins in himself — and all kinds of accomplishments too — but he refuses to connect them with himself or his identity. So, although he knows himself to be the chief of sinners, that fact does not stop him from doing the things that he is called to do.

We become self-forgetful when we understand gospel-humility. At the end of his chapter on pride, C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity makes a brilliant observation about gospel-humility. Lewis says that one who meets a truly humble person would never come away from meeting them thinking they were humble. The truly humble would not be telling us they were a nobody. (A person who keeps saying they are a nobody is actually a self-centered, self-obsessed person who is self-preoccupied, and who judges themselves as being inferior or less accomplished, compared to others.) What we would remember from meeting a truly gospel-humble person is how much they seemed to be totally interested in us.What is the essence of gospel-humility? The essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more or less of myself, but it is thinking of myself less. Gospel-humility is not needing to think about myself, not needing to connect things with myself. True gospel-humility means I stop connecting every experience, every conversation, with myself. In fact, I stop thinking about myself. This is the freedom of self-forgetfulness. This is the blessed rest that only self-forgetfulness brings. A truly gospel-humble person is not self-hating or self-loving, but a gospel-humble person– a self-forgetful person whose ego is just like his or her toes or elbows. It just works. It does not draw attention to itself. Just as the toes just work, the ego just works. Neither draws attention to itself.

How self-forgetful are you? Here is a simple test. The self-forgetful person would never be hurt particularly badly by criticism. It would not devastate them, or bother them, or keep them up late ruminating and simmering. Why? A person who is devastated by criticism is putting too much value on what other people think, on other people’s opinions.Ignoring or refusing to listen to criticism is pride. Generally, people are devastated by criticism–or they are not devastated by criticism because they refuse to listen to it. They will not listen to it or learn from it because their ego is faulty. It is distended. They are proud.

How a self-forgetful person handles criticism. Since their ego is not puffed up but filled up, criticism does not devastate them. They listen to it and see it as an opportunity to change. How does this happen? The more we understand the gospel, the more we want to change.

Don’t you want to be a person who does not need to be honored? Recognized? Respected? (Yet is not afraid of it.) One who does not fantasize about hitting ego-winning home-runs, winning every argument, being the hero, saving the day, daydreaming about successes that gives you the edge over others? One who is free of regrets and not tormented by them? Wouldn’t you like to be the skater who wins the silver, and yet is thrilled about the triple jumps the gold medal winner did? To love it like loving a sunrise? Just to love the fact that it was done? And not sulk because it was not done by you?

What can you do? Start enjoying things that are not about you, yourself, your feelings, your church or your family. Enjoy things for what they are. Not do things just to fill up your ego. Not feel that you have to be in the center of everything, and in the center of every picture! We all want this. This is gospel-humility, blessed self-forgetfulness.

III. Justification: The Solution (1 Cor 4:3-4)

How did Paul get this blessed self-forgetfulness? First, he says, “I don’t care what you think, and I don’t care what I think” (1 Cor 4:3). He does not look to others or to himself for the verdict. Then he says, “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent” (1 Cor 4:4a). The word “innocent” comes from the word “justify” (δικαιόω – dikaioō), the same word Paul uses throughout Romans and Galatians. The word “evaluate” is used in 1 Cor 4:3-4, HCSB: “It is of little importance to me that I should be evaluated by you or by any human court. In fact, I don’t even evaluate myself. For I am not conscious of anything against myself, but I am not justified by this. The One who evaluates me is the Lord.”

Confusing Christian living with the gospel. Many Christians consider that their moral and religious behavior is on the upper end of the scale. They go to church, read the Bible, pray, serve God in various ways, tithe. They believe that by doing so, God will bless them with a good life, and take them to heaven one day. But it is quite possible for Christians to do all sorts of morally virtuous “biblical” things, such as serving God faithfully and sacrificially in church, when our hearts might still be filled with pride, fear, or a desire for power, control, praise, honor and recognition. True Christianity and the gospel operates totally differently from this.

Only the gospel gets you the verdict before the performance? Paul knows that others cannot justify him, and he cannot justify himself (1 Cor 4:3). He says, “It is the Lord who judges me” (1 Cor 4:4b). “…the one who examines me is the Lord” (1 Cor 4:4, NASB). Only Christ’s opinion counts. In all of life and in all the religions of the world, it is the performance that leads to the verdict. It means that every day, we are in the courtroom, and every day we are on trial. It makes us self-conscious and self-centered. But in Christianity, the verdict leads to the performance … never the other way around. In Christianity, the moment we believe, God imputes Christ’s perfect performance to us as if it were our own, and adopts us into His family. In Christ, God says to us as He once said to Jesus,”You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17; Mk 1:11).Do you live as though the verdict is already in? I no longer need to perform to get from others (or from myself) my desired verdict, evaluation, recognition, approval, acceptance. He loves me. He accepts me. I do not have to perform to be accepted, or to prove myself, or to improve my resume. I can do things for the joy of doing them. I can help people to help them–not to make me feel better about myself, or to fill up my inner emptiness.

Are you easily hurt by others? Are you still upset for being treated poorly? Overlooked? Ignored? Regarded as inferior or no good? Are you trying to prove something to yourself and others (like Michael Jordan and Madonna, the superstars of success)? Trying to validate yourself and your life by your accomplishments and achievements? By your career? Children? Ministry success? By how others recognize you? Respect you? Approve of you?

If you are a Christian, do you know and truly experience that in Christ, your verdict is already in, and it is A++?

Probing questions for small group discussion to help assess the state of your heart:

1. Are you easily hurt and offended by others?
2. Do you care too much about what others think of you?
3. How well do you handle criticism? Rejection? Disapproval?
4. How much are you affected or devastated by the critical opinion of others?
5. How much does your head swell when you are flattered?
6. Are you trying to prove yourself to show others how good and worthy you are?
7. Are you indifferent or dismissive of the criticisms of others? Is this good?
8. How can you experience Paul’s freedom of self-forgetfulness (1 Cor 4:3-4)?

Previous reflections: Pride and Ego. Gospel Humility and Self-Forgetfulness.

References:

1. Keller, Timothy. The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness: The Path to True Christian Joy.
2. Lewis, C.S. Mere Christianity. The Great Sin.