One Team, No Superstars

0:54From left to right, you have Jari Evans, Logan Menckens, and Jeff Saturday. Also pictured are Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Peyton Manning, who have also had decent careers. Football is the ultimate team sport. If you have the greatest quarterback in the world, if you have wide receivers who can catch every ball thrown to them, if you have running backs who have greater speed than anyone else on the field, None of it matters if you don't have offensive linemen who can protect the quarterback and give him time to throw. If they can't open up holes in the defense for running backs to run through. It doesn't matter if you have the greatest skill position players in the world. If you don't have great offensive linemen, your team is not going to win.

1:53What I mean is that there are really no superstars on a football team. There are just role players who do their jobs, who complete their assignments. And friends, it's the exact same way in the church. We've seen here at the outset of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians that these brothers and sisters are dividing over these different teachers, these different spiritual leaders in the church, these superstars, if we could call them that. Whether it's Paul or Apollos or Peter, none of these guys sees themselves as a superstar. They only see themselves as role players who are doing their jobs, who are completing their assignments.

2:36And the same is true for us in the church today. What we're going to learn as we go through 1 Corinthians 3 is that God's team has no superstars, just role players. If you were here last week when we covered 1 Corinthians 2, the back half of that chapter, Paul explained that the world has two types of people: natural people and spiritual people. People. The only difference is that spiritual people have been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, who gave new life to their hearts that were dead in sin, and enlightened their minds to understand the spiritual things that before seemed to them to be foolishness, to be incomprehensible, because their minds were not open to understand those things by the Spirit. And so now we move into chapter 3, and Paul begins by saying that he can't even address the Corinthians as spiritual people, but as worldly people, as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. And why is that?

3:41It's because although they have been transformed by the Holy Spirit, they were still living like natural people. They were still living and behaving in only a human way. And Paul's proof for this, he says here, is that there is still jealousy and strife among them. They're still dividing over human leaders like Paul and Apollos. Now, the irony, of course, here in Corinth is that the Corinthians perceived themselves to be very spiritual people, to be highly mature people, which becomes apparent later on in the letter. It's not hard to see why they thought that. They lived in a large, influential city. They had all of these great preachers and teachers.

4:30They had an abundance of spiritual gifts, and as a result, they became puffed up with pride. And friends, that same thing happens to us. We start to measure Christian maturity by how much theology we know, by which authors we read, or by which preachers we listen to, by the kinds of gifts that we have and we exercise in the body of Christ, and we also become prideful. But one thing is very clear in the Bible, and that is that Christian maturity is not measured by the amount of theology that you know, or by the type of teachers you associate with, or by the types of gifts, or how many gifts you have and you exercise in the body of Christ. Spiritual maturity in the scriptures is only measured by love, love for God, and love for others, especially other Christians. That's how spiritual maturity is judged.

5:34And so imagine the shock of the Corinthians when Paul writes to them and says, Listen, I can't even talk to you like Christians because you're not acting like Christians. You're acting like worldly children, fighting with each other, dividing over your favorite preachers. And this problem wasn't unique to Corinth. It's present, or at least the seeds are present, in every church. Church. That's why years later John would write this in 1 John chapter 3. Look at the screen.

6:07No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this, it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. So the apostles Paul and John are in complete agreement. If you've been born of God, you are a spiritual person and you can't keep on sinning.

6:44If you keep on sinning, especially by failing to love your brother from the heart, then you haven't been born of God. No matter how you think of yourself, no matter what you profess, your life tells the truth. So in verse 5, Paul rebukes their idolatry of human leaders, and he asks these questions. Look there. What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. See, Paul and Apollos, gifted and called as they were, were nothing more than God's servants.

7:25In Paul's mind, they weren't superstars, they were just role players on God's throne. Team. In fact, Paul believed that there were no superstars on God's team. Paul's role was planting. And so when he came to Corinth and he spent 18 months with them, his entire job was to plant the seed of the gospel, was to preach and teach that message and its applications. Paul's role was planting. And then Apollos came behind him. His role was watering.

7:57He arrived in Corinth and he picked up where Paul left off. The seed has been planted. And now Apollos' job is to come behind him and water those seeds with the truth to continue to build them up and grow them up in the gospel and its implications through his own preaching and teaching. And in both of these cases, look at what he says in verse 6. But God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

8:33Neither Paul nor Apollos could cause the seed of the gospel to grow. Like faithful farmers, the only thing that they could do was plant the seed and water the seed, but that's it. God is the one who makes things grow. Whether you're talking about physical seeds or spiritual seeds, we are just the means that he uses to bring about that growth. Planting and watering are necessary conditions. But they're not sufficient. God causes the growth. And so, friends, as we think about the state of the church today, especially the American church today, I think it is probably apparent to all of us that we give far too much credit to human preachers, human teachers, human authors, rather than God who causes the growth.

9:30Reflecting on the modern phenomenon of video venues, video church campuses, Jared Wilson writes this: The functional ideology behind video preaching is pragmatism because it is predicated on the idea that the satellite campus is viable only if the main attraction is the speaker of the main campus. In running with this idea, it denies the idea that the power for church growth is the powerful gospel preached by qualified teachers. Now, please don't misunderstand me. I have several pastor friends who have elected to use the means of video preaching. I love and respect these godly men. I love and respect their churches. But I think that Wilson is right in that we have to ask some hard questions about the way that we We do church in the 21st century, and whether the way that we do church is actually telling people to put their hope in human preachers, in human leaders, rather than in God and His powerful gospel, which is sufficient to change hearts and lives. We have to ask some hard questions. Human leaders are important. Physical and spiritual seeds can't grow unless they're planted and watered. That's the way that God has designed His world to work. But as Paul says, human leaders are just servants, just role players on God's team who are carrying out their assignments to cultivate God's field, which is the church.

11:18And here in verse 9, at the end of this section, you'll notice that Paul switches metaphors. He has the freedom to do that as an apostle, can mix his metaphors if he wants to. Verse 9, he does that. He switches metaphors, and this allows him to give a different nuance to his teaching about God's field, God's church, than if he just maintained that same metaphor. So let's pick up in verse 10. He writes this: According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds a Upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12:11What Paul says is that by the grace of God, he laid a foundation in Corinth, and that was Jesus Christ. And if you've read or if you were here for the first few sermons in chapters 1 and 2, you remember that he preached Christ crucified. He decided to know nothing among them except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And so Jesus is the foundation. Paul says no other foundation can be laid other than Christ. And Jesus himself taught the very same thing.

12:45If you've ever read the Gospels before, you know that there's this moment where Jesus and his disciples are standing in Caesarea. Now, Caesarea was this place where it was just rife with idolatry. There were statues of foreign gods all over the place. There's temples everywhere. And in that city, as Jesus is walking with his disciples, he asks them a question, who do people say the Son of Man is? And so the disciples speak up and they begin giving all these different answers. Well, some say Elijah, some say John the Baptist, some say a prophet, some say all these different things. And Jesus says, what do you say?

13:20And look at Peter's response. He says, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Here's how Jesus responds. Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah. Now, I want you to remember what we learned last week, and listen to the rest of his response. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

13:53See, what Jesus means when he says, on this rock I will build my church, he's talking about Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus himself says, that is the rock, that is the foundation on which he is going to build his church. So Christ and the gospel are the foundation of the church, and that's the foundation that Paul laid in Corinth when he came preaching Christ crucified. But friends, Paul and the rest of the apostles, they're finite. They can't be everywhere at once. They can only be at one place at one time. And anyway, there is going to come a day, and there did come a day, when all of them died. And so the result, the reality is other people were going to build on the foundation that they laid. There's no getting around that.

14:44And so in the rest of this section, this section that people have been confused about and misunderstood for years, he is going to talk about these different workers who are building on this foundation. So, in verse 10, he says, let each one take care how he builds upon it. And then he gives three different types of workers. The first are faithful builders who are going to be rewarded. Faithful builders who are going to be rewarded. Paul says that some builders are going to come in after him, like Apollos, other faithful men as well. They're going to come in later, and they're going to build on that foundation with gold, silver, and precious stones.

15:34Well, Paul didn't just choose those things on accident. If we go back to the Old Testament, we look at 1 Chronicles 29, those are the same materials that David and the leaders gave willingly and generously to build the temple. Gold and silver and precious stones. So the question is, what does that represent here? Well, I want you to remember: Paul has already referred to believers as God's building. And in verse 17, he's going to call them God's temple.

16:03And in the wider context of these chapters, what has Paul been contrasting? He's been contrasting the wisdom of God and the wisdom of the world. So these faithful builders are using the gold and silver and precious stones of God's wisdom to build up the church, which is the faithful preaching and application of the gospel. Remember, Remember, in the Great Commission, Jesus didn't only command us to go and make disciples of all nations and to baptize them. He told us to teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. So we haven't done our job if we've just gone and we've just made disciples, if we've just baptized people. We have to also teach them to observe everything that Jesus commanded. We have to build on that foundation of the gospel. And we do that with the gold, silver, and precious stones of the right preaching and application of the gospel. That is going to result in a strong, beautiful building that will withstand the testing fire when Jesus returns. So we have to give ourselves to those things. Every one of us is a role player. Every one of us has a God-given assignment to complete to build up the church with these kinds of precious materials. And in verse 14, he says, if you do that, you can expect a reward. You can expect to be rewarded for using the gold and silver and precious stones of godly wisdom rather than worldly wisdom as you seek to build up the church.

17:46So that's the first type of worker, faithful builders who are going to be rewarded. The second type of worker is an unfaithful builder who will not be rewarded. An unfaithful builder who will not be rewarded. So, others are going to come in after Paul. They're also going to build on this foundation of the gospel, except these people are going to use wood, hay, and straw, not gold, silver, and precious stones. So, if God's wisdom is represented by the gold, and silver, and precious stones, then the world's wisdom is represented by the wood, hay, and the straw, these inferior building materials that are not going to withstand the testing fire when Jesus returns.

18:31So, instead of preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified, instead of explaining and applying the gospel of grace, these teachers are just coming in and they're dispensing worldly wisdom. Advice that you could hear anywhere else in any self-help book, on any television program, any internet blog. You could find that worldly wisdom anywhere else. It's not that it's completely untrue, it's just it has no lasting eternal value. Now, look at verse 15. These are Christians. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

19:16These are genuine believers, but these genuine believers will have no reward for their ministry. They will watch as their life's work goes up in flames. It didn't go up in flames because it was in the woods. Was evil because they were necessarily saying things that were just patently false and leading the church astray. It's just that all of the stuff they were dispensing and teaching was worldly wisdom. It had no lasting eternal value. So at the end of the age, when Jesus returned, the fire burned it up. All of their life's work gone.

19:51What a sobering thought. I mean, just pause and think for a minute about what that would be like. To have your life's work, everything that you've invested in, all that you've worked for, all that you've given money to and sacrificed for, all of the difficulties that you endured in your life, all gone. Because it did not have lasting and eternal value. Look at what commentator David Pryor said. Will the work of Christians in Corinth prove to be what God has done by his Spirit or what men have erected in their own resources for their own benefit and glory? It's easy to cover up the materials of which a building is made so that it looks sturdy as well as impressive. The day will disclose it.

20:45I've covered up tons of stuff in my house that looks sturdy and impressive. Just don't touch it. Okay? Look at it. It's entirely likely that many people that we know who have Large platforms, huge ministries that are known throughout our country and the world, it is entirely likely that many of those people will see their work burned up on the last day. And many people that you and I have never heard of and will never hear of in our lives will reap a huge eternal reward because they were faithful in the little that God entrusted them with.

21:25And so, this is a reminder to us to not judge by appearances, as Scripture says, but to judge with right judgment. To not think that just because somebody has a huge church, a huge ministry, sees lots of apparent fruit in their life or their relationships, you can't judge those things in this world and say, they're successful, God is pleased with them, I'm not successful, God's not pleased with me. We can't make those judgments until the end. We're called to be faithful. So, there's a second set of workers. They're unfaithful builders who will not be rewarded.

22:02Third and finally, there are demolition crews who will be destroyed. In verses 16 and 17, we see a group who isn't building with quality materials or inferior materials. In fact, they're not building anything at all. They have come in and they are destroying God's temple. So, look at what God says in 16 and 17. If anyone destroys the temple, God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. See, good fathers protect their kids.

22:45And God is a good father, a perfect father. He will destroy anyone who attempts to destroy his children. And if you read the New Testament, you will quickly see that Jesus and his apostles are never more upset, never angrier than they are with false teachers, with hypocrites, with wolves in sheep's clothing who are leading the church astray, who are destroying that for which Christ died. They are always most upset, angriest with those kinds of people. See, it's one thing to try to build up the church with crummy building materials. It's another thing entirely to destroy the church with false teaching, with a hypocritical lifestyle, with hidden sin.

23:39God says that he will punish those workers. And so, what we have here is these three types of people working on Paul's gospel foundation: rewarded workers, unrewarded workers, and then these destroyed demolition crews. And the way that Paul wraps up this chapter is by returning to his theme that's been throughout the last couple of chapters, and that's the theme of wisdom. Because the reality is that every one of these workers is dispensing some kind of wisdom.

24:16Some workers are trusting in the godly wisdom of the gospel and teaching that. Other workers may be trusting in the wisdom of the gospel themselves, but they're preaching a different kind of wisdom to the world, to the church. And then the third group doesn't believe or teach God's wisdom. In fact, what they're doing is they're preaching against it, and they will be destroyed. And so in verses 18 and 19, what Paul says is: remember, if you consider yourself wise because you understand and believe in the world's wisdom, you need to humble yourself. You need to become a fool in the world's eyes. Look at verse 21.

25:00So let no one boast in men. For 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's, and Christ is God's. See, in other words, boasting in men is ridiculous because we're all just rolled. Players on God's team. All of us are on God's team, and so division is both counterproductive and ungodly. Jealousy makes no sense. We all belong to Christ, and that means we're all going to inherit the world as God's children. And so, friends, all of these issues can be traced back to the pride of loving the world's wisdom, of loving the world's ways rather than God's wisdom and God's ways.

26:04What we have in this chapter is a call to serious, sober self-reflection. First, we must examine our own lives. The Corinthians were living in such a worldly way that Paul could not even address them as believers. And so, when we read that and we think about that, we have to look at our own lives and ask: do our lives stand out? Think about this past weekend. Think about this past week. Think about the ways that you have related to your classmates, to your coworkers. Think about the way that you handle money or your resources. Think about the way that you date, the way that you relate to your spouse.

26:59Are we angry? Different than the world? Or would someone be able to look at our life and the life of any non-Christian and say that there's no real difference between the way that we live and between the way that they live? Are we living lives that are marked by dependence on the Holy Spirit, His wisdom and His power for our sanctification, for our discipleship, for our evangelism? Or are we functionally no different than the non-Christians around us?

27:32So, first, we need to examine ourselves. Second, we need to examine our building materials. Some teachers in Corinth were building with the quality materials of the gospel and godly wisdom. Others were not. Some weren't building at all, they were destroying. And so, this is a great time for us to consider our own discipleship. As you meet with younger believers, as you counsel other Christians, as you go about trying to train up the next generation, as you serve the church, what kind of building materials are you using? Don't assess them yourself. Ask the question: how would God assess my building materials? Would he call them gold and silver and precious stones? Or would he call them wood, hay, and straw?

28:31See, this chapter is a call to serious, sober self-reflection. We can't conclude that because we call ourselves Christians or because we're busy doing activities that we think will build up the church, that God is pleased with us automatically. Friends, God is pleased with us when we are planted firmly in the gospel, when that is our foundation. God is pleased with us when we are watering the seed of the gospel or building on the foundation of Jesus Christ with his wisdom rather than the worlds, when we live by the Spirit rather than by the flesh. That is when God is pleased.

29:13But, friends, for some here today, the problem is not that you are acting worldly, that you are acting in the flesh, acting like an infant in Christ. The problem is that you aren't in Christ at all. And my fear is that for a long time, you've just been telling yourself, I just need to get my act together. I just need to be more committed to Jesus. I just need to be more committed to the church. But the problem is not that you're not trying hard enough. The problem is that you can't possibly try hard enough. There's no amount of trying that's going to lead to you being changed. According to chapter 2, the only way that we're changed. Is when the Holy Spirit comes and regenerates our hearts, opens our eyes, opens our ears to see and hear and believe things that we didn't see, hear, or believe to begin with. That's the way that we're changed and the way that we're transformed is when we trust in Christ and receive Him by faith.

30:21And maybe one of the things that's been holding you back is that you perceive that Christians are all superstars, that we are all good, moral people, and that you could never be like one of us. Well, listen, if that's your impression, you've got the wrong impression. See, Jesus didn't come to save people who were almost good enough, but just needed a little help, just needed a better example, just needed some more teaching. No, friends, Jesus came to save sinners who were not good enough, who could never please God on their own. You don't have to die for somebody who just needs a little help, a little extra teaching, a good example to follow. You have to die and rise again for people who deserve to be eternally punished. And that's why Jesus came to die. He came to save us. He did not come to help us.

31:28So I want you to repent of the word. World's wisdom, of trusting in yourself, of trusting in religion. I want to urge you to receive Jesus and his finished work today and join God's team. Because on God's team, there are no superstars, just role players. Let's pray. Father, we have been so influenced by our culture, the world, and the way the world thinks, the way the world assesses success and failure. We've been taught that there are people who are really, really important, superstars, and that you can't achieve your mission without such people.

32:33But, God, that's just not true. You used faithful servants whose names we know and whose lives we are thankful for and who we seek to emulate. And you have used people that we have never heard of and will never hear of to accomplish your purposes because it's all about you and your work. You said that you will build your church and that the gates of hell will not prevail. Against it. God, we want to be used in building your church. We want to build with gold and silver and precious stones. We don't want to build with wood, hay, and straw. We certainly don't want to tear down your temple, your people.

33:21And so, God, we pray this morning that you would give us a fresh vision for dedicating our lives to building with precious materials that are going to last. Jesus, you said that we should store up for ourselves treasure in heaven. That's a command of yours. How foolish are we when we work to store up treasure on earth that's just going to burn up instead of storing up treasure that we can enjoy forever? And so, God, we pray that you would recalibrate our thinking.

33:59We pray that you would conform our minds to your word and your will so that your church would be strengthened for your glory and for the good of the lost world around us who desperately needs to see that you are alive and that you do change lives and that you are at work in us. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.