Temptation and Israel

"I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building... Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are your's; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are your's; And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's" (I Cor. 3:1-9,21-23). The apostle Paul addressed to the Corinthians an age old malady that has always bedeviled God's people, and the whole world for that matter, since the beginning. That is that man, including God's people, has always preferred being ruled over by man rather than by God. As if man is going to do for us better than God will do. Israel demanded to have a king over them like the other nations, in the days of God's faithful judge and prophet Samuel (I Sam. 8:4-7). The mighty apostle Paul made the point here to these early believers that they were making too big of a deal out of himself and other apostles as well. The truth is that the apostles WERE a big deal, but not big enough for the people to think that their affiliation with them equated to automatic salvation. He had already mentioned this issue in the first chapter of this epistle, saying the following: "Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" (I Cor. 1:12,13). There were two inseparable points that he was trying to establish to these people in regard to their inclination to exalt men above what they were worthy of. One of those points was that believers belong to God, not to men; and the other one was that they had to "work out [their] own salvation with fear and trembling" themselves (Philip. 2:12).

The apostle understood that his job was to give God's people the very best spiritual care possible, because God's people are VERY important to God. These people were carnal in their thinking, as Paul noted; and that is why they, like Israel of old, were trying to be "like the other nations" in exalting men to places where only God belongs. You see, when you can base your standing with God on your association with some notable minister, you can basically let him 'do it for you.' That's the mindset that has plagued God's people perpetually, and does so to this day. I see it all the time, up close and personal. It's the sectarian mentality, and it goes hand in hand with nominal Christians thinking that their affiliation is the ONE with 'the truth.' Truth is, Paul, Peter, and Appollos DID have the truth and nothing but, but you can still try to get away with the sectarian thinking even with real-deal men of God. However, if a man of God is vigilant enough, as Paul certainly was, he will detect that among the people and refuse to allow it to exist. In dealing with this mindset among these people the apostle Paul basically let them know that THEY were the important ones and that the apostles were merely their caretakers. Of course in other letters, including to the Corinthians, there were instances where Paul had to "magnify [his] office" as an apostle, in order to combat a spirit of disesteeming him as an apostle to God's people (Rom. 11:13; II Cor. 11:5,15-33; II Cor. 12:1-4; 11-16; Gal. 4:13-16). The scripture does tell us the following: "And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves" (I Thess. 5:12,13). But it also tells us, in fact in the next chapter after our text passage; "And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another" (I Cor. 4:6). When men are overly exalted by God's people, whether it be for some spiritual gift, or some supposed or even true knowledge; it NEVER leads to anything good. Never has. So the moral of the story is my friend, that every one of us as believers in Jesus Christ are required to know and follow Jesus Christ faithfully for ourselves (Isa. 54:13; Jer. 31:31-34; Jn. 14:26; Jn. 16:13; I Jn. 2:26,27). Anyone who is truly anointed and appointed by God to lead his people on any level, will ALWAYS lead them into that knowledge. Amen.