Boasting In Christ Alone

Brothers and sisters, we are called to be one in Christ. We're called to be of one mind, one heart, one purpose, and to be one body, united to Christ our head and united to one another. And something of how important that is should be obvious when we read passages like John 17. That's where Jesus, who's about to die, who knows he's going to be leaving his beloved disciples, prays for them. And so it tells us something extremely important about his heart and the burden he feels for his disciples. And as you read through the prayer, if you look for the very first request that Jesus makes for his disciples, it's in verse 11. And Jesus says, Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. And so of all that Jesus could have prayed for for them, he prayed for their unity, that they would have a oneness resulting from them being kept in God's name. And in fact, if you continue to read through that prayer, we reach the point in the prayer where Jesus explicitly expands his request, not just to his immediate 12 disciples, but to all who would ever believe. And he says in verse 20 and following, I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you father are in me and I in you. And then he says that they may all be perfectly one. And so friends, Jesus's great desire and this burden on his heart for his people is that we would be one. Similarly, we could turn to passages like the whole book of Ephesians, where the Apostle Paul is talking about the glories of the gospel and God's plan for his church. And in Ephesians 2, verse 14, where Paul is speaking to both Jews and Gentiles, the most greatly divided people imaginable, he says, for he himself, that is Christ, is our peace. who has made both one, and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And so friends, the very purpose of Jesus's death was to reconcile his people, not only to God, but to one another. And then in Ephesians chapter four, when Paul turns to applying these grand truths of the gospel and this glorious theology, listen to where he begins. This is Ephesians chapter four, verses one through three. He says, I beseech you therefore to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. And so again, Paul starts with a call to unity. And this is so clear in scripture that if there's anything that Christians have pretty much always been quite united about, it's the fact that we are called to unity. And yet, I think we all know that this is also an area where far too often we have fallen short. I mean, shouldn't something like a church split be a shocking anomaly? And yet I think for many of us, our experience leads us to not even be that surprised when we hear of such and such a church split. I mean, shouldn't the notion of two believers, two members of the very same body of Christ, being at odds with one another or divided against each other, strike us as strange and weird? And yet I would guess that most of us have experienced some measure of division with other believers, or at least some deficiency in feeling like we share that full Christian unity that we're called to enjoy. Now, as we consider our shortcomings in this area, I think it's important that we're clear about what kind of unity we're talking about, because not everything that looks like division is bad. I mean, from one point of view, Jesus introduced massive division within Judaism, but it was division over the truth. It wasn't division among God's people, but between God's true people and those who only claimed to be. And in the same way, the New Testament warns us repeatedly to beware of false teachers and false brethren. And it calls us actually to divide from those who would teach falsehood and heresy, to remove or excommunicate those who would call themselves believers but live a life in contradiction to that. And these are not tragic breaches in unity. These are actually necessary things to maintain the unity of the church in a fallen world. But friends, the real tragedy in regard to church unity is when genuine believers fail to maintain the spiritual unity which God has forged between us in Christ. And that's because like divorce, disunity among Christians is a separation of what God has joined together. And it creates a misrepresentation of the gospel itself. And so as we turn this morning to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, we're going to be considering this issue of unity in the church. And we're going to find out that this was an issue even from the earliest days in the first churches. And we're gonna see the specific kind of disunity that was going on in Corinth and how the Apostle Paul pastorally addresses it. Now, as you may recall from my introductory sermon on this book, Paul is writing this letter to the Corinthians from Ephesus. He had planted the church in Corinth a few years prior, and now during his three-and-a-half-year stay in Ephesus, he has both received reports about what's going on in Corinth, and he's also received at least one letter from the Corinthians. And what Paul hears is not very encouraging. And so throughout this whole book of 1 Corinthians, Paul really has to deal with one problem after another. And chapters 1 through 6 deal with Paul responding to the reports he's heard. And then chapter 7 through 16, Paul responds to the Corinthians letter. And really chapter 1 verse 10 all the way through the end of chapter 4 is a single unit. in which Paul is dealing with this one problem of division in the church. But we're gonna break that up into sections and just look at the first portion of that today. And as we look at chapter one, verses 10 through 31, we're gonna see, number one, the nature of the division, number two, its underlying cause, and number three, its remedy. So the nature of the division, its underlying cause, and its remedy. So let's look first at the nature of the division. In verse 10, Paul says, I appeal to you brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you." So there's division in the church and it's outwardly noticeable by quarreling going on, arguing, strife, unkind speech. The word quarreling could also be the word rivalries. And Paul says that he's found out about this based on reports he's heard from Chloe's people. Now, Chloe must be someone the Corinthians knew or at least knew about. And apparently she had family members or servants or perhaps even employees that had been to the Corinthian church and then later had come and visited Paul in Ephesus. And so, of course, Paul asked them, well, how's the church? How are things going? And among everything else that they say about the church, They say, well, there's a lot of quarreling going on. There's arguing, there's division. And friends, of course, what a sad commentary that would be for any visitor or member of our church to have to share with others, to say, well, there's quarreling. That's how they would describe what the church is like. And so what is it that the Corinthians were quarreling about? Well, in verse 12, Paul continues. What I mean is that each one of you says, I follow Paul, or I follow Apollos, or I follow Cephas, that is Peter, or I follow Christ. And so it seems that they were arguing over their preference in preachers. And that they were even taking pride in the thought that they had aligned themselves with the best one. In fact, this sounds very similar to the way someone today might campaign for a political candidate or declare his allegiance to a political party. And that's why when Paul, later in chapter 3, verse 4, he continues talking about this issue. He says this, for when one says, I follow Paul and another, I follow Paulos, are you not being carnal? Aren't you being worldly, unspiritual people when you do this? And then in chapter 3, verse 21, he says, And you see, by saying, I follow Paul or I follow Apollos, the Corinthians were boasting in men. And this comes from pride, an overestimation of man and an underestimation of God. And the fact that this was going on in Corinth fits well with what we know historically about the city, because it was a large, influential city in which professional orators were common. And whether philosophers, politicians, or religious figures, crowds reveled in the most eloquent and learned speakers and rallied behind them, taking pride in the supposed wisdom they could gain from them. And so it seems that the Corinthians had just imported this worldly practice into the life of their church. And that's creating division and quarreling and arguing. Now, let's look at the four preachers which Paul mentions. Paul mentions himself first, those who say, I follow Paul. And I think this underscores the fact that Paul is every bit as disheartened by those who would be partisan to him as to any other preacher. You see, Paul is not personally offended by people preferring somebody else's preaching. He's disheartened by disunity in the church. Second, Paul mentions Apollos, who's the only one of the four who is likely in Corinth at this time. And Apollos also stands out as exactly the kind of preacher that the Corinthians would have really liked, because according to Acts chapter 18, verse 24, he was a particularly eloquent and learned man. However, there's no reason to think that Apollos was party to this quarreling, because Paul speaks positively of him in chapters three and four. Third, Paul mentions Cephas or Peter, whom we have no reason to think spent any extended time in Corinth, but he quite possibly visited and he was certainly a high profile figure in the early church. And then fourth and finally, we have Christ himself. Those who are the Christ party who say we follow Christ. And at first blush, this is surprising because we might think, well, those are the people that have it right. But Paul seems to implicate them in the quarreling and the division just as much as everybody else. Because it seems that they weren't humbly pleading for all people to unite in following Christ supremely, but rather they were proudly declaring that they were the ones who were really following Christ, unlike everybody else. And by the way, this reminds me of some today who would rail against denominations for introducing division in the church, and yet ironically, by the very way they go about doing that, actually introduce division themselves, and wind up creating their own sort of non-denominational denomination. And so friends, the problem here was not akin to some Christians identifying as Baptists and others as Presbyterians. This wasn't division driven by differing theological convictions or even a willingness to label one's theological conclusions. Because of all four of these preachers, they were all preaching the same thing. They were all pointing people to Christ. The problem here was a problem of the heart. The problem is that the Corinthians were taking pride in themselves and in other men, And this was leading them to align themselves behind preachers as if they were political candidates and to argue with one another rather than walking in humble, loving unity in Christ. As Matthew Henry said, how far will pride carry Christians in opposition to one another? even so far as to set Christ and his own apostles at variance and make them rivals and competitors. And so friends, that's the real nature of the problem in Corinth. Now before we move to the second point, I want to point out two applications for us. First, we should beware of putting any preacher on a pedestal. As Paul says in chapter three, verse six, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. You see, friends, it's not about the preacher. It's about God. So beware of becoming wrongly reliant on any mere man or thinking that any particular preacher can give you some exclusive wisdom that the rest of the church doesn't have. Beware of always going to that same favorite internet preacher to answer your questions without really wrestling with the scriptures yourself. And beware of allowing the great blessing we have of so many wonderful resources available to us online, becoming a source which breeds dissatisfaction with the preaching of your own pastor at your local church. Also, practically, I would encourage all of you to listen to a variety of different preachers so that you can cultivate an appreciation for the way that God gifts different preachers differently. We should be people who can distinguish good preaching from bad preaching, but we also should be people who can recognize that every preacher, even the best of preachers, have unique styles. And it's not a matter of who is superior to the others, it's a matter of learning to appreciate and benefit from them all. Because they all should be pointing us to Christ. And that's where our focus needs to be. Second, recognize that our sinful hearts can create division out of anything. I mean, if the Corinthians can divide over Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and Christ, then what could we possibly not divide over? I mean, it could be the best of things. It could be a mission's effort, member care, who to call as a pastor. The pride in our hearts can create division out of anything, even good things. So friends, we must constantly strive to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. And so in light of that, let's now turn to consider, what was the underlying cause of the division in Corinth? In other words, why was there this pride? Why was there this divisive allegiance to particular preachers among the members of the church? And why was this leading to ongoing quarreling and division rather than repentance and reconciliation? Well, what I want us to do here is take note of the way that Paul pastorally responds to this situation. Because interestingly, he doesn't really say anything about how the Corinthians need to love one another more, or how they need to speak to one another more kindly, or have more patience with one another. He doesn't really deal with these interpersonal kinds of things as important as those things are, and as he does deal with elsewhere. But instead, in this case, he talks about baptism, he talks about the message of the cross, and he talks about our calling as Christians. What I want to try to do is show you that all of these things connect back really to a misunderstanding of the gospel itself. And Paul's addressing these things because what he's diagnosed to be the real problem here is that the Corinthians just aren't understanding the gospel the way that they're supposed to. And that's really the underlying cause. That's really the root problem that's leading to the division. And I would suggest to you that if there's division in our church, it probably also comes back in one way or another to some deficiency in our understanding of the gospel. Because the gospel should unite us. So let's look now at these three issues which Paul addresses. Number one, let's look at baptism. Look with me at verses 13 through the first half of verse 17. Paul says, is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else, for Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. Now, in one sense, I think we could say that Paul brings up baptism here to underscore how wrong the Corinthians are to divide the body of Christ. Because every believer is baptized in the one name of Jesus Christ and into the one body of Christ. And therefore, baptism should unite us. And Paul can just refer to baptism to say, look, you should be united. You are all baptized in the name of Christ. However, Paul also goes on to kind of reflect on his gratitude that he had happened to only baptize a few of them. And then this particular case in God's providence, it just worked out that way. And Paul's actually, you know, I'm thankful that's the case so that none of you can claim that I baptize anyone in my own name. And I think what that cues us to is that Paul recognizes in the Corinthians that they were attaching some kind of wrong significance to their baptizer rather than to their baptism itself. And so whether they were thinking that there was some kind of special grace imparted through the one who performed the baptism, or that being baptized by somebody forged some kind of special relationship between them and their baptizer, it was leading to the result that baptism itself, which should have united them as one body, was serving as a basis for dividing them. And by the way, this is actually a mistake that was repeated early in church history by a group called the Donatists. Because in the 300s AD, there was intense persecution that rocked the church, and some of the clergy caved to it. They recanted the faith, they apostatized. And the Donatists taught, among other things, that if you were baptized by a priest who had then become unfaithful, then your baptism was invalid. And so they began re-baptizing people, causing serious division in the church and much confusion among Christians as to whether their baptism counted or not. And so you see that when you start to take your attention off of the one in whose name were baptized and the body into which were baptized, you start focusing on the baptizer, it leads to all sorts of division. And so the clear point Paul's making here is that it doesn't matter who does the baptizing. That's why he says in verse 17, for Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. And it doesn't matter who baptizes because baptism doesn't save. The preaching of the gospel does. Nor is there any special grace conveyed in baptism through the one performing it. Interestingly, we read in John's Gospel, chapter 4, that Jesus baptized more people than John the Baptist did. But then, John notes in verse 2, however, Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples. And so obviously it wasn't important to Jesus either to be the one to actually perform the baptism. Because again, it's not the baptizer that matters, it's what baptism itself points us to, which is Christ, and to unity with one another. And friends, the reason why the Corinthians misunderstood baptism is because they misunderstood the gospel. And there was some misunderstanding that the power of the gospel isn't mediated through a particular preacher, or through any outward ceremony. It's mediated through the message itself. And again, that's why Paul says in verse 17, for Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. Because salvation comes by faith, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. And friends, this is why we so emphasize the preaching of the Word in this church. It's why unlike, say, a Roman Catholic church, we place the preaching of the Word at the center of our worship service rather than the Lord's Supper or baptism. Now, don't misunderstand. The ordinances are extremely important. but their importance is derivative from the preaching of the word, because it's the gospel message that they are meant to visually portray. And the ordinances are only effective insofar as they're received in faith, in that message we preach. So the Corinthians have misunderstood baptism because they've misunderstood the gospel. Now, number two, they've misunderstood the message of the cross. Let's look now at verses 17 through 25. And as we look at this, what I want to clarify is that when I say the Corinthians have misunderstood the message of the cross, I don't mean so much that they've misunderstood some aspect of systematic theology, such as the doctrine of justification by faith or penal substitutionary atonement. That's not really the kind of thing Paul addresses here. What I think we find in this section is that there's another way in which the Corinthians have misunderstood the cross, and it's that they've misunderstood the source of its power. They seem to think that the message can be made more powerful or more effective when it's preached with eloquence and wisdom. But listen to what Paul says in verse 17. He says, For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. Right, and so trying to add, you know, wisdom and eloquence to sort of dress up the message to make it more effective Paul says, no, that risks emptying it of its power. And why is that? Well, he explains in verse 18. In other words, the more clearly someone preaches the cross, The more foolish it will seem to those who are perishing, and the more powerful it will be to those who are being saved. And so if we try to sort of dress up the message or make it more powerful and more effective by adding things like wisdom and eloquence to it, well then those who are perishing are still gonna perish. Because even if we sort of convince them to believe some altered form of the message, well they think the real message is folly. So they're not gonna believe the real thing. They might twist it and seem to believe some alternate version, but that's not gonna help them. And on the other hand, we're gonna cloud the message to those who are being saved. Those who, by the power of God, would receive this message, we've just made it less clear. And so we empty the cross of its power when we do that. Now why is it that the message is so foolish to so many? Well, according to verse 19 to 21, it's because God designed it that way. Look at verse 19. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. And friends, what we see here is that far from aiming to appeal to man's pride as a way to get us to respond to the gospel, God aims to destroy our pride. Man has relied on his own wisdom, not to know God, but to raise himself up in pride against God. So God in his wisdom has designed the message of the cross to destroy the wisdom of the wise and the discernment of the discerning he will thwart. And so friends, God has designed this message of the gospel not to reassure our confidence in our wisdom or our ability to figure everything out. No, he uses a seemingly foolish message to confound man's wisdom, but to save those who will believe. And that's why Paul continues in verse 22. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, for the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men. And friends, I hope you see that in one sense, the Corinthians had a good desire. They wanted people to come to Christ. They wanted to reach their community and they were looking for something that would make it seem more relevant or acceptable to their friends. That's why they wanted to have preachers who would be impressive. They wanted people to come and think, wow, they've really got something figured out. We should listen to them. But Paul's saying here, no, you've got it all wrong. That's not how the gospel works. Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but that's not what God gives them. And you see, whatever way we as sinners tend to want God to reveal himself to us, the gospel simply isn't it. If you want God to reveal himself to you by miraculous signs, you're gonna be disappointed. If you want God to prove himself by highfalutin philosophy and cleverness, you're gonna be disappointed. If you want God to prove himself to you by answering all your questions and resolving everything you don't understand, you're going to be disappointed. In fact, instead of impressing you, the gospel will almost definitely offend you. I mean, think about it. When the gospel comes, it says that God, in all of his glory and majesty, in all of his sufficiency and perfection and holiness, that he came and is born as a human being. I mean, that alone just offends the sensibilities of man. I mean, talk to almost any Muslim, they'll tell you that. Why would I believe that? What sense does that make that God would humble himself like a man? And not only that, but then to think that this man would endure all the rejection and the hunger and the poverty and then be betrayed and suffer and strip naked and be mocked and die. I mean, that message seems like utter folly. It offends the sensibilities that we have. And then to take it further, the events of the cross doesn't stop there because it says, actually, and the reason God did that is because that's what you deserve. And when Christ is hanging on the cross, that's a picture of what you deserve because you are a sinner. Friends, that offends our pride. That makes us outraged and angry that we would be accused of being so wicked and evil as to deserve that. And then if that weren't offensive enough, then the cross also says this, and by the way, God saves whom he wills by his own grace. And those people that you and I look at and think they seem so unworthy, they seem so lowly and undeserving, well, they're welcomed and invited in by this wide, open, free grace of God. I mean, friends, that's what outraged the Pharisees probably more than anything about Jesus. That he would pick someone like Matthew, the tax collector. That he would welcome the Gentiles or that sinful woman that comes to wipe his feet with her hair. And so, friends, in all of these ways, the message of the cross seems like folly. It may offend you or seem like a stumbling block to your soul. And if you're here this morning, you're not a Christian. Maybe that's the way you've experienced hearing this message. Maybe that's what you're thinking now. But friend, my prayer is that by the grace of God, your attitude toward this message will change. Not because it's packaged in a special way, but because you ultimately come to see that God's foolishness is wiser than your wisdom. That God's weakness is stronger than your strength. and that you have your eyes open to see that what looks like utter weakness, Jesus dying on a cross, is actually the greatest demonstration of strength. Because it was his love for his people that kept him there willingly. And I hope you'll see that what looks like failure, when he's betrayed, suffers and dies, It's actually his success, because even in all of that, he was working all things together according to the counsel of his will. And I hope you'll see that what looks like folly, as a man who came to save that was utterly rejected, is actually God's wisdom and God's power to save all who believe. And so friend, if you're here and you don't know Christ, I hope and pray that you will repent and trust in him even now and receive his salvation. And then for those of us who do believe this message of the cross, well, for us, I think the point here is simple. We can never attract other people to the cross by worldly means. I mean, it's good that we would want more people to come to Christ. But we can't make the message more effective or more appealing by adding eloquence or worldly wisdom or flashing lights or special music or better advertising or being really culturally relevant or emotional manipulation. I mean, none of these worldly things can bring somebody who thinks this message is utter folly to genuine saving faith. No, these things only risk distorting the message and emptying it of its power. And so what we need to do as faithful ambassadors of Christ is actually to take everything else out of the way so that all there is is that bare, naked cross of Christ. And then when people come, that's all they see. And when we do that, then for those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, they will see Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. And friends, that is how God has designed it because it's all about him and his glory and not ours. Now, I wanna look at one other way that the Corinthians misunderstanding of the gospel is revealed here. and it's that they have misunderstood their calling as Christians. Look with me at verses 26 through 29. Paul continues, but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And so in other words, Paul is telling them, look around at yourselves and consider who it is that God chose. And by the way, the first thing this tells us is that if anyone is a believer and therefore has chosen to follow Christ, well, really that's only because God chose them first. And so Paul wants the Corinthians to consider, well, who is it that God chose? And he expects them to learn something about the nature of the gospel and about their calling as Christians in light of that. And he points out, not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, right? Most of you guys weren't these philosophers that everybody was impressed by. Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth. In fact, you guys tended to be sort of not the cream of the crop, but the scum at the bottom of the bucket. And so he's saying, you know, so God doesn't tend to save based on those things. If anything, he seems to save more of the people on the other end of the spectrum. And why does he do this? Well, Paul says he does this to shame the wise, to shame the strong, and to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. In other words, why does God save whom he does? Well, he does it so that all the glory would belong exclusively to him. And friends, I think that this, understanding this is crucial for understanding our calling as Christians. Because I think part of what's going on here is that the Corinthians had bought into the notion that they were supposed to shame the world by outdoing the world. And outdoing the world in terms of the very things that their culture valued, like nobility, wisdom, and eloquence. In other words, they wanted to win the world by impressing the world. And of course, this is akin to us today thinking, well, if we can just make our music good enough, if we can just make our programs fun enough, if we can just run our church in a way that will be appealing to what people already want and esteem, then more people will come. But Paul says to the Corinthians, look at yourselves. God didn't choose you so you could shame the world by outdoing the world or impressing the world. You guys are not fit for that. There's nothing impressive about you. No, God saved you so that he could shame the world by confounding the world and bringing to nothing all its pride. So that God could show that he saves the people the world overlooks to show that this is his doing, it's not theirs. And so that God would get all the glory. And so friends, God didn't save us so that we could glorify him by relying on our strength. God saved us so that his power could be perfected in our weakness. And friends, what I hope you see here is that in all these ways the Corinthians had a deficient understanding of the gospel. That trickled down, they didn't understand their calling well, they didn't understand the message of the cross well, they didn't even understand baptism well. And it all circles around, they just don't fully understand the ramifications of the gospel. And I think the crucial way that's in common in all of these is that they had failed to see that the gospel is all about God and his glory. And they were letting a man-centeredness creep in. And they were acting as if the gospel allows for human pride to stand in its presence. And this was allowing all this division to come up, and this quarreling to creep in. And so, we've seen now the nature of the division, the underlying cause of the division, and finally we want to turn our attention to the third point, the remedy for the division. Now I think A.W. Tozer said something very helpful about this when he said this. Has it ever occurred to you that 100 pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So 100 worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become unity conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. And so you see friends, The real key to having unity in the church is actually not just learning how to get along better, as important as that may be. The real key to unity in our church is letting the reality of the gospel sink down into our hearts and lives so that the very way we think and the way we talk and the way we live are in tune with the gospel. Because if we're all in tune with the gospel, then we will all be in tune with one another. And I think Paul understands that, and I think that's why he pastorally responds to this situation in Corinth, not by giving counsel about how to handle the specifics of the conflict, but by pointing the Corinthians to the gospel itself. And friends, as we close, I just want us to meditate on the way that Paul does so, so beautifully in these last two verses of this chapter. Look with me at verse 30 and 31. Paul writes, And friends, what a beautiful way to put that. Because of him. You are in Christ Jesus. I mean, what a great way to capture the God. What's the gospel all about? Well, it's because of God. Everything else. Every part of our salvation from beginning to end is by the grace of God. He's the God that chose us before the foundation of the world. He's the God who gave his own son 2,000 years ago to come and be born and suffer and die to save us. He's the God that ensured that in our particular life there would be someone who would share the message of the gospel with us so that we could hear it. He's the God that sent forth His Holy Spirit to actually give us the ability to receive that truth and believe it. He's the God who continues to hold us fast, day by day. He's the God who intercedes in Christ for us in heaven. He's the God who will raise us on the last day and welcome us into his kingdom. It is all because of him, not of us. And secondly, it's all through Jesus Christ. Paul says, and because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Jesus is our all sufficient Savior. We are complete in Him, secure in Him, blameless and accepted in Him. All that we need is given us in and through Jesus Christ. And then thirdly, all of this is for the glory of God alone. as Paul says, and because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. Of course, that comes from Jeremiah chapter nine, as read earlier in this service, where Jeremiah writes, really speaking for the Lord, let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor let the strong man in his might nor the rich man in his riches, but let the one who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight." And oh friends, may that be our boast, that we understand and know the Lord. and that His glory would so fill our hearts that we just want to boast of Him and boast of Christ alone. Because friends, if that's the message that we're all tuned to, if that's the desire of our hearts, then by definition we will be unified with one another. And we will be able to bring God the glory that he deserves by being unified. And we will be able to enjoy the wonderful fellowship that we're called to enjoy by being unified if we boast in Christ and Christ alone. So may God give us grace to do so. Amen, and let's pray. Oh God, we thank you and we praise you because it is because of you that we are in Christ. who has become our all-sufficient Savior. And God, we confess that you are worthy of all the glory and all the honor, and we pray that in light of that, you would help us to boast in Christ alone, and that you would help us to be one, even as you are one. And we ask this in Jesus' name, amen.