I.                   Introduction[*]

Ted L. Nancy is a satirical humorist who has made it his life’s mission to write prank letters to companies.  That has resulted in at least three books.  Letters From a Nut, More Letters From a Nut, and Extra Nutty: Even More Letters From a Nut.  Here is one of the letters contained in one of those books:

Dear Coca Cola,

I have a beverage called Kiet Doke. Will it interfere with your beverage — Diet Coke. The taste is NOT SIMILAR at all!! (Mine tastes like Pepsi).

I will sell my Kiet Doke to mostly construction workers who love it. One guy said, "This sure DOESN'T taste like Coca Cola."

Let me know so I can continue to sell my soda. Thanks. By the way do you use caramel in your soda? Just checking. Thanks.

Sincerely,

Ted L. Nancy

The Coca Cola company apparently didn’t see the humor in Mr. Nancy’s letter.  They responded with the following legal response (undoubtedly on Coca-Cola letterhead!)

Dear Mr. Nancy:

Thank you for your letter of October 25, 1996 inquiring whether you may continue using the trademark KIET DOKE in association with a beverage.

As the owner of a federal registration for the famous trademark "diet Coke", we cannot consent to your use of KIET DOKE in association with a beverage. We believe KIET DOKE is confusingly similar to our trademark "diet Coke", and are concerned that an appreciable number of consumers will believe that The Coca-Cola Company endorses your product. As a result, we must insist that you immediately take action to discontinue the use of KIET DOKE.

If you are willing to immediately cease and desist using KIET DOKE, and agree not to use any product name or trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company in association with beverages in the future, please sign the spaces provided and return this letter to me. If you would like to discuss this, I may be reached at the numbers below. If we have not received this signed agreement within fifteen (15) days of the date of this letter, we will assume you do not agree to these terms.

Sincerely,

Nancy V. Stephens
Trademark Counsel

Mr. Nancy replied within the fifteen day time limit with the following letter:

Dear Ms. Nancy V. Stephens,

I have decided that I will NOT sell my KIET DOKE beverage any more. The product is discontinued. I am taking my $700.00 out of the bank and my 11 cans of Kiet Doke that are left and bringing them home. (They are in my room now).

I now realize it was a poorly thought out idea. It was stupid. I mean, if you went to 7-11 and saw in the cooler Dr. Pepper, Orange Crush, Wink, and Kiet Doke, would you choose the Kiet Doke? I don't think so. The idea was bad. Who was I to think that someone would choose Kiet Doke? I am embarrassed over what I now consider to be a terrible idea.

So let this letter stand as my admission that I have ceased and desisted. There will be no more Kiet Doke on the market. I am sorry I bothered you. I am sorry I wasted your time.

And please look for my new beverage — PIET DEPSI. With the familiar slogan: "It Tastes Nothing Like Coke!" (Will be in coolers soon.) Piet Depsi is a thirst quenching drink which, I believe, does not taste like your drink.

Enjoy it! Also, what about caramel in your soda? Are you using a lot if it? Thanks.

Respectfully,

Ted L. Nancy

Paul is going to employ some of the tactics from these letters in the following text.  He is going to be sarcastic and serious. 

For the sake of context, let’s reset the last few weeks.  Paul was addressing the issue of divisions in the church.  This idea of schisms is really troubling and the Greek word carries the idea of flesh being ripped from the bone.  Their issue specifically was the problem of division over teachers.  Some were of Paul, some of Apollos, some of Cephas and some of Christ.  The problem was not so much regarding one teacher over and above another, but regarding one teacher to the exclusion of the others, including the exclusion of others who followed those teachers.  The alignment with each of the teachers seems to be based on the Corinthians love for eloquence and wisdom.  Whichever teacher seemed most eloquent or wise to them is the one that they aligned themselves with.  Paul said that he did not come to them with words of wisdom but with the preaching of Christ and Him crucified.  He was happy to impart wisdom to the mature, but he could not address the Corinthians as mature, but as infants in Christ.  The jealousy and strife that existed amongst the Corinthians was a result of them being merely human.  Paul then explained the reason for not putting preachers/teachers higher than they ought to be.  They are merely servants of Christ and stewards of the mystery of God.  They answer to God and God alone.  God is the one whom the Corinthians should have been putting their hope and faith in, for it is from God that their commendation will be received.

Now let’s take a look at our passage for this morning:

1 Corinthians 4:6-13  I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.  (7)  For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?  (8)  Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!  (9)  For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.  (10)  We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.  (11)  To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless,  (12)  and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;  (13)  when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.

II.                Pride is destructive (4:6-7)

1 Corinthians 4:6-7  I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.  (7)  For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

Remember how Paul continuously used himself and Apollos in all the examples he had given in the first few chapters?  We are going to get some insight into why he did that. 

1.     For the benefit of the Corinthians

Paul gives the first reason for all the Paul/Apollos comparisons as for the benefit of the Corinthians.  We must keep in mind that with all the stern warnings that Paul gave the Corinthians he cared deeply for them.  All the things that he wrote he did for their benefit.  Make a note each time you see Paul call the Corinthians brothers.  It will happen all throughout this letter. 

2.     That they would learn not to go beyond what is written

This phrase creates a lot of questions amongst scholars.  But all of them seem to come to the same conclusion.  Paul is most likely referring to the writings of Holy Scripture (in those days the Old Testament, but for us the principal applies to the whole of Scripture).  By aligning themselves with certain teachers they were going beyond what the Scriptures told them to do.

3.     That they would not become puffed up in favor of one against another

Again, the major issue that Paul was addressing was the Corinthians practice of aligning themselves to a teacher to the exclusion of others.  This resulted in immense pride for the Corinthians.  The Greek word translated “puffed up” is used only 7 times in all of the New Testament and seven of those uses are in 1 Corinthians!  The other one is used in Colossians.  But this gives us insight as to the problem of pride in the Corinthian church. 

Pride is the major issue of the modern church as well.  We must guard ourselves against this issue.  It may not manifest itself in the manner of alignment with teachers.  But there are many, many ways that it manifests itself today.

Then Paul unleashes a question that should have snapped the Corinthians necks to attention as it was read.  And, I hope it snaps your neck to attention, as well.  Look at the question that Paul asks, “For who sees anything different in you?”  This is a big question!  Listen to what Paul is doing.  He is asking the Corinthians what separates them from the world.  Aligning themselves with teachers and having jealously and strife among them shows that they are just like the world; but they have the Holy Spirit, so this should not be the case! 

In his book Finally Alive (2009, Christian Focus Publishing) John Piper addresses the issue of Christians acting like the world.  Piper addresses research such as divorce rates amongst Christians, and other such worldly standards.  The whole premise of the book is to defend the use of the term “born again” from the defamation that it has seen based on misuse by many people.  Piper uses the Barna Group as an example, but is not necessarily being hard on the Barna Group as a whole.  Here is what he has to say:

“I want to say loud and clear that when the Barna Group uses the term born again to describe American church-goers whose lives are indistinguishable from the world, and who sin as much as the world, and sacrifice for others as little as the world, and embrace injustice as readily as the world, and covet things as greedily as the world, and enjoy God-ignoring entertainment as enthusiastically as the world—when the term born again is used to describe these professing Christians, the Barna Group is making a profound mistake.  It is using the biblical term born again in a way that would make it unrecognizable by Jesus and the biblical writers.

I’m not saying their research is wrong.  It appears to be appallingly right. I am not saying that the church is not as worldly as they say it is…the Bible is profoundly aware of such people in the church…but instead of following the Barna Group, the Bible says that the research is not finding that born again people are permeated with worldliness; the research is finding that the church is permeated by people who are not born again.

Paul then went on to question the Corinthians regarding their gifts.  What do you have that you did not receive?  Do you have a gift?  Do you have an ability?  Do you have a special talent?  You received it from God.  Do not revere the gift over the Giver.  Without the giver you have nothing!  So, why do you boast as though you have not received it?  Your boasting should be in God for giving it!  Stop boasting in men and start boasting about God!

III.             What being a minister of the gospel looks like (4:8-13)

1 Corinthians 4:8-13  Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!  (9)  For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.  (10)  We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.  (11)  To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless,  (12)  and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;  (13)  when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.

Paul’s opening statement of this section proclaimed that according the standards of the Corinthians they already have all they want.  They wanted to be rich—got it!  They wanted to be kings—already happened!  Paul is very sarcastic with the statement “and would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!” 

Now Paul turns the tables and started to show the Corinthians what life as an apostle looked like.  This is, in essence, what they were putting their faith in when they aligned themselves with these teachers.  And, at the same time, Paul is going to contrast what the Corinthians lives looked like in comparison with the ministers lives. 

Ministers                                                                       Corinthians

Last of all

Men sentenced to death

Become a spectacle to the world, angels and men

Fools for Christ’s sake                                                    Wise

Weak                                                                              Strong

Held in disrepute                                                             Held in honor

Hunger and thirst

Poorly dressed

Buffeted

Homeless

Labor with their hands

In continuing to describe the life of the ministers (and by default all Christians) Paul gave some insight into how we should respond to other people.  When reviled, we should bless. When persecuted, we should endure.  When slandered, we should entreat (pray).  This is every reminiscent of how Peter describes Jesus in 1 Peter 2:

1 Peter 2:22-23  He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.  (23)  When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

This is how Jesus responded to less than desirable situations and how we should respond in those same situations.

Paul concludes this section with a very descriptive analysis of the minister’s lifestyle.  “We have become and still are like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.”

IV.            Conclusion