Sermon Tone Analysis

A man from the back mountains of Tennessee found himself one day in a large city, for the first time standing outside an elevator.

He watched as an old, haggard woman hobbled on, and the doors closed.

A few minutes later the doors opened and a young, attractive woman marched smartly off.

The father hollered to his youngest son, "Billy, go get mother."

Source Unknown.

All humor aside, when I hear that story, I think it gives us a good picture of something biblical.

Before we were saved by God’s grace, we were spiritually speaking wretched and depraved and deplorable, indeed, dead in our sins, but by the wondrous Power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we were transformed, changed into a new creature in Christ!

We were given new life!

We went to Christ as ugly as possible Spiritually speaking, we were made beautiful, clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

Now as new Creatures in Christ we are to live accordingly.

We are new in Christ, so we live a new way, a better way.

You will see I titled this message “The Total Gospel.”

That may sound strange to some us.

What I mean to suggest with such a title is that there is such a thing as half a gospel; for us to realize the gospel does not begin and end with our repentance and confession in Christ.

It does begin then in our lives, but it does not end there.

What I mean for us to realize with such a title is the gospel is to be totally encompassing in our lives.

Use example of pie chart.

There is not a single dynamic, aspect, part, fraction, or speck of our lives that the Gospel does not demand total obedience in for the glory and supremacy and exaltation of our most magnificent Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whether it be your marriage, job, family, church, relationships, hobbies, money, toys.

I almost titled this message “Grow Up” to stress the fact that when you are born again in Christ Jesus by the power of the Gospel o f Jesus Christ, you are but a babe in Christ and are expected and commanded by God to grow in the grace and knowledge of God.

A baby matures and grows up, so are we as believers in Christ.

We start as babes in Christ but we are supposed to grow up.

Either title gets the point across – The gospel is to be totally encompassing in your life, demanding total submission to Christ, demanding you grow up in Christ.

The gospel is not something you can believe and then forget.

Jesus Christ said, if you love me you will keep my commandments.

The gospel, rightly understood and believed, profoundly changes the actions, attitude, will, emotions, everything about the individual – it totally and thoroughly changes us and totally and thoroughly demands obedience.

The believers in Corinth needed a good reminder of this glorious truth.

You see, they certainly believed the gospel, but they were failing to heed to the gospel in everything they were doing.

In fact, because of profound self-centeredness in their lives, they have failed to mature much at all since Paul first left them and wrote this letter.

He says in v. 2 and 3 I fed you milk, not solid food because you were not ready.

Indeed, you are still not ready.

Because of this immaturity in the Christian life, they were wrongly causing divisions by seeking status through rubbing elbows with prominent church leaders.

They are spiritual, but divided.

What a contradiction.

This should not be.

They should be growing up into the head of all things, Jesus Christ.

They have been justified and made peace with God but where is their sanctification?

*I.

The Stinging Rebuke *

In verses 1-4 Paul gives a stinging but tender-hearted rebuke to the believers in Corinth for their inconsistent, fleshly behavior.

The rebuke is clear, though you are believers you are still acting fleshly and by doing so Paul asks, “are you not being merely human?”

HE rebukes them so severely to shame them, or to shock them back into reality.

You are believers, you possess the Spirit, you have the mind of Christ, now live like it.

Be faithful and consistent in your walk.

Perhaps that is what some of you need this morning, you need to be shocked or shamed back into reality.

You say you are a believer, show me by your actions?

You say you area  believer, why is there such division in your church or life?

You say you are a believer, live like it!

Your life should be startlingly different from everyone else!

As a wise man once said, “Some people will change when they see the light.

Others change only when they feel the heat.”

So let us unpack this rebuke.

*He Calls Them Brothers (v.1)*

This is a tender term, used to express oneness and love in Christ.

And really it is remarkable to me that Paul begins such a rebuke with such a tender term!

It shows Paul’s meek spirit.

He is deeply troubled over their fleshly behavior, and he wants them to know from the start that even though he has some strong words for them, it is done in a spirit of brotherly love and affection.

It is because he loves them and desires them to be growing in Christ that he gives this brotherly rebuke to them.

*HE could not address them as Spiritual (v.1)*

With this phrase, Paul is reminiscing a little bit.

He is talking about when he first came to Corinth and discipled the new believers.

When he first talked with them, he could not address them as Spiritual, but as people of the flesh, that is, as infants in Christ.

Because they were infants in Christ, he fed them the appropriate diet, milk, not solid food.

When one comes to faith in Christ, he is an infant spiritually speaking (no matter if he is 2 yrs old or 102 yrs old).

One has much to learn both intellectually and experientially.

Paul, upon their conversion, fed them “milk” as it were to nourish and strengthen their feeble faith.

One can imagine Paul in the 18mths he was there spending hour after hour, often late into the night, lovingly and patiently and carefully instructing these new believers in the elementary principles of their new found faith and also fervently praying on their behalf that they might be growing in the grace and knowledge of God.

*He rebukes because they are still not ready and are still of the flesh (v.2, 3)*

This is where the rubber meets the road.

Up until this point, Paul has said when I first came to you and ministered to you I fed you “spiritual milk” to strengthen you and nourish you.

That is natural and right, but he says, “even now you are not yet ready” for solid food because you are still of the flesh.

That is not natural and right.

They should be growing up in Christ.

They should be ready for the solid foods and they should not still be of the flesh.~*~*~*~*

STATE SLOWLY~*~*~*~*What are we to understand by this phrase “worldly” or as in other translations, “fleshly?”

The Greek word is sarkikos, which has negative ethical overtones.

It means to be characterized by the flesh.

It is a theological evaluation that describes the person who is centered on the self.

It refers to an individual’s values, attitudes, and judgments, which manifest themselves in self-centeredness, self-indulgence, and arrogant self-sufficiency.

~*~*~*~*STATE SLOWLY~*~*~*~*

Paul discerns this is true because of their behavior.

He is not just coming up with these accusations out of nowhere.

He has irrefutable proof -their behavior.

He says in verse 3, “for since there is jealousy and quarreling among you are you not fleshly?

Are you not acting like mere men” and in verse 4 “for when one says, I follow Paul, and another, I follow Apollos, are you not being merely human?”

Jealousy and strife are not of the Spirit but are of the sinful flesh!

Elsewhere Paul writes, “the acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, *discord*, *jealousy*, fits of rage, selfish ambition, *dissensions*, *factions*, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

In Romans 13:13 Paul wrote, “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in *dissension and jealousy*.

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

In James, we find much stronger language and warning, “Who is wise and understanding among you?

Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in humility that comes from wisdom.

But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts do not boast about it or deny the truth.

Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice…”Paul in effect is saying by acting in this way, you are no different from the rest of the Corinthian society.

By “treating the church community as an arena to maneuver and advance their personal status reveals that they are controlled by human motives and the purely human order of things (Garland, 109).”

This should not be so.

Now, put yourself in the Corinthians shoes.

They consider themselves to be “spiritual ones,” indeed, part of some spiritual elite caste possessing elite wisdom.

They are less sure about Paul and have probably communicated such misgivings to him and others.

Along comes Paul and he says, “I still cannot give you solid food for you are still fleshly.”

What a shot to their ego’s!