In the last line of verse 6,
he says, I'm saying this, that no one of you be puffed
up for one against another. I've entitled this message, Puffed
Up. This phrase would be humorous
if it wasn't so sad. He says to these people, you're
puffed up. You're puffed up one against
another. You are swollen. You have an
inflated view of yourself. You have spiritual edema. You're puffed up one against
another. Let's read the verse again. And
these things, first Corinthians four, six, and these things brethren
have I in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for
your sakes. That you might learn in us not
to think of men above that which is written or not to think above
that which is written. That no one of you be puffed
up for one against another. Now he says on five different
occasions in this epistle to the Corinthians, you're puffed
up. He only used that word one other
time. He spoke in Colossians chapter
two of those who are puffed up by their fleshly mind. And he
says to the Corinthians, you're puffed up. And I'm saying these
things to deflate your inflation. Proverbs chapter 13 verse 6,
we read these words, by pride only cometh contention. Now think about that statement,
by pride only cometh contention. When we are puffed up, when we
are swollen and have inflated views of ourselves, particularly
me, I know what's behind it, pride, self-righteousness. It creates this puffiness, this
swollenness. When you're swollen physically,
something's wrong. When you're swollen spiritually,
something's wrong. And he says you're puffed up. Wherever there's pride and arrogance,
there will always be contention, and that is what has been going
on in the Church of Corinth. Look in chapter one, verse 10. Paul says, now I beseech you,
brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all
speak the same thing. All speak the same thing and that there be no divisions
among you but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind
and in the same judgment. Your believers believe the same
thing, don't they? For it has been declared unto
me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe,
that there are contentions among you. Remember, by pride only
cometh contention. And he says, there are contentions
among you. And he identifies what they are
in verse 12. Now this, I say that every one
of you says, I'm of Paul. I'm of Apollos. Not me, I'm of
Cephas or Peter. And then the real pious ones
said, I'm of Christ. I don't follow any man. I'm of
Christ. Is Christ abided? Was Paul crucified for you or
were you baptized in the name of Paul? Look in chapter three,
verse one. And our brethren, he counted
them brethren, you know, churches, All churches, without exception,
are filled with sinners saved by grace. That's what we see
here. And I, brethren, could not speak
unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal. Even as unto
babes in Christ I fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto
you were not able to bear it, neither now are you able, for
you're yet carnal." You're acting like unbelieving men. That's
what it appears to be. He counted them brethren, but
he said you're acting like unbelievers. For whereas there's among you
envy and strife and divisions, are you not carnal and walk as
men, walk as natural men who have never been born of the Spirit?
For while one saith, I'm of Paul, and another, I'm of Paulus, are
you not carnal?" Now, they had four defined groups, followers
of Paul. I prefer Paul's preaching. I
get more out of Paul's preaching. I'm blessed more by Paul's preaching.
He preaches the gospel more clearly. I like Paul. Somebody said, well,
I like a Paulus. He's an eloquent man. Paul's
not really a very good speaker. Apollos, man, he is an eloquent,
powerful speaker. I get more benefit from hearing
him preach. And somebody else said, not me,
I like Peter, bold Peter. Oh, I love to hear Peter preach.
He was one of the 12, one of the original 12. I'd rather hear
an apostle that was with the Lord in his earthly ministry
than any of these other guys. They're Johnny-come-latelys.
I really like to hear Peter. You have the super pious ones.
I don't follow any man. I don't need to listen to a man.
I just follow the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't need a man. I don't need a pastor. I am a
follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now you can't follow Christ and
not follow a man who's following Christ. Do you know that? You cannot follow Christ. and
not follow a man that is following Christ. Paul said, follow me
as I follow Christ. And each one of these four groups
believed themselves to have a clearer handle on things than the other
three. And this led to contentions and
swelling and pride. Look in first Corinthians chapter
four, verse 18. He uses the word again. Some
of you are puffed up as though I would not come to you, but
I will come to you shortly if the Lord will. And we'll know
not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.
Look in chapter five, verses one and two, it's reported commonly
that there's fornication among you and such fornication is not
so much as named among the Gentiles that one should have his father's
wife and you're puffed up and have not rather mourned that
he that had done this deed might be taken away from you. Look
in chapter eight, verse one. Now as touching things offered
to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Now look at this
next word. Knowledge puffeth up, swells
one with self-importance. Is this speaking against the
knowledge of the gospel? Of course not. I'm not saved
apart from the knowledge of the gospel. I'm not saved apart from
knowledge as far as that goes, but just knowledge I've got more
knowledge than you. I've got more understanding than
you. I know something that you don't know. I have power over
you. Knowledge puffeth up, swells one. Charity, the gift of God's grace,
builds up, edifies. And if any man think that he
knows anything, I got that down, Pat. He knows what? Nothing as he ought to know. Any division between believers
where one differentiates himself from another is a subtle or perhaps
a not so subtle way of denying that Christ is all. That's the issue. Now here is
a powerful illustration of this. Peter, in Galatians chapter 2,
he's eating pork with the Gentiles, bacon, pork chops, having a good
time fellowshipping with them. And all of a sudden, some people
from the church in Jerusalem come that he knew would disapprove
of this. So what does he do? He doesn't
say a word. He gets up and moves tables and
sits down. And you know what the Apostle
Paul did? He publicly reprimanded him that the truth of the gospel
might remain. You see, by Peter's action, though
he didn't say anything, by his action, he said, you're a little
bit more pleasing to God over here with the Jews than you are
at the Gentile tables. What is that? It's a denial that
Christ is all. If there's some way you can please
God more than another believer, you're saying Christ is not all,
there's something I can do or be that will be a little bit
better. And that is a denial of the truth of the gospel that
Jesus Christ is all in salvation. Prayer of the Pharisee in the
temple, Lord, I thank Thee that I'm not as other men are, swollen, inflated, arrogant,
self-sufficient. I'm not like other men. There's the thinking of a man
who, as Paul said, is vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. And like I said, while it's humorous,
at the same time, it's sad. And here's what's so sad that
this can describe me. Puffed up. Proud. Arrogant. Swollen. An inflated view of myself. I continually deal with that. puffed up and it's so ugly. It's
so contrary to the gospel. Back to our text in verse six
of first Corinthians chapter four. And these things brethren. Have
I in a figure transferred to myself into a polis for your
sakes, that you might learn in us not to think of men above
that which is written. These people were preacher worshipers.
They're putting preachers up on pedestals. I'm of this one,
I'm of that one. Oh, that's a dangerous place
to be. And he says, I'm teaching you. I'm attributing things to
me in polis so that you'll learn not to think of men above that
which is written. What did Paul attribute to him
and Apollos? Well, look in chapter 3 verse
5. Who then is Paul? Who is Apollos? But ministers,
by whom you 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 anything, neither he that watereth. What have I transferred to me,
Anabolus?" We're nothing. We're nothing. God is the one
who gives the increase, not man. Don't put too much emphasis on
man, don't think of man above that which is written. Look again.
You know, he said in another place, in 2 Corinthians, the
works of apostle were done among you in a mighty way, although
I be nothing. Nothing. When it's not cliche, there's
nothing more sweet than to be able to sing in my heart and
believe that I am a poor sinner nothing at all. But Jesus Christ
is my all in all. It is so sweet to trust in Jesus
just to take Him at His Word. Oh, it's a glorious thing to
be nothing. It's a bad thing to be something. When a man thinketh
himself to be something, When he's nothing, Galatians 6.3,
he deceives himself. And what a miserable self-deception
it is. You see, when we're puffed up,
inflated, swollen, Christ is not all that kind of thinking,
is he? He's just not. Paul says, I've attributed nothingness
to me and Apollos for this reason, that you might learn in us not
to think of men above that which is written." What's written? And God saw the wickedness of
man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. That's what is written. That describes me. I believe
that. That describes you. Job said
in Job 15, 15 and 6, 15 and 16, behold, he putteth no trust in
his saints. The heavens are not clean in
his sight. How much more abominable and
filthy is man that drinketh iniquity like water? Isaiah said, we're all as an
unclean thing. And our righteousnesses? are
as filthy rags, literally minstrelss rags. We all do fade as the leaf. Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 17,
nine, the heart, what's in man? How should we think of man? The
heart is deceitful. above all things." Do you believe
that about your heart? It'll deceive you. Desperately
wicked, that word desperately wicked means incurably wicked. Who can know it? Romans chapter 3 verse 10 as
it's written and he quotes Psalm 14 and Psalm 53, as it's written,
remember, don't think beyond that is written. As it is written,
there is none righteous. No, not one. There's none that
understands. There's none that seeketh after
God. They've all gone out of the way. They have together become
unprofitable. There's none that doeth good.
No, not one. Carnal mind is enmity against
God, the flesh and mind, the way a man's born into this world.
It's not subject to the law of God. Neither indeed can be. So
then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Dead in trace basis and sins. Dead. Dead. What can a dead man do to save
himself? What can a dead man do to perform the functions of
life? Nothing. What can a spiritually dead man do to save himself?
Nothing. Now, this is not negative. This is positive. What do you mean by that? How
can you call language like this positive? Let me quote this scripture
and it'll answer that question. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. of whom I am the chief. He didn't say I was the chief.
He didn't say, oh, before God saved me, I was a rascal. I was
this way. But now look, I am, present tense,
the chief. Moreover, the law entered that
sin might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound. That as sin hath reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. When we were yet without strength,
In due time, Christ died for the ungodly. What I'm saying is not negative.
Somebody says that's morose. No, it's not. It's true. But if that describes you, that
means Christ died for you. Is that good news? If that describes
you, Jesus Christ put away your sins. That is who he died for. Now it's being puffed up that
prevents a man from receiving and rejoicing in this. What is
it that prevents a man from receiving grace? It's puffed up, puffed
up, swollen. What is it that makes a man object
to God's sovereignty? Well, he's got inflated views
of his own control. He's got inflated views of himself.
What is it that would make a man object to the scriptural teaching
of men being dead in sins? Because they don't believe it.
That's why. They have inflated views of themselves,
puffed up by their vain, fleshly mind. And that would be me apart
from the grace of God. And that would be you apart from
the grace of God. We can't congratulate ourselves about this. What would make a man object
to God's electing grace? Puffed up. thinks he deserves
salvation and it's not fair that God may not save him. Puffed
up. Swollen with pride. What would
make a man object to Christ's effectual atonement for the elect?
He's puffed up. He doesn't need it. Listen to
me. I need Jesus Christ to be a completely
successful Savior. I need Him to be that if he could
die for me and I wind up in hell anyway, he didn't do anything
for me. I need him to do everything for
me, not just partial. I don't think Jesus paid a half
the other half I owe. No, Jesus paid it all. All the
debt I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. What would make a man object
to God's irresistible, invincible, saving grace, the supernatural
work of the Holy Spirit giving him life. Well, he's got puffed
up you, his free will. I got a will, that has something
to do with it. You see puffiness, swollenness, that's every problem
we have. That's every problem I have.
That's every problem you have. a swollen, inflated view of self. If a man thinketh himself to
be something when he is what? Nothing. He deceives himself. Oh, may I not deceive myself. And I'll tell you what, when
I'm nothing, it's easy to trust Christ is all. It's easy, it's
simple. I tell you when things get complicated
is when I'm something above nothing. That's when I'm in trouble. That's
when you're in trouble. How beautiful humility is, how
ugly puffiness is, swollenness, but how beautiful humility is. Turn with me for just a moment
to Ephesians chapter four. Here's the worthy walk. I therefore, verse one, the prisoner
of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation
wherewith you are called. And how do I walk worthy of the
vocation wherewith I'm called? With all lowliness, humility,
and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one another in love,
endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace. That is the worthy walk. Now back to our text in 1 Corinthians
4, verse 6. I want us to notice that of men
was supplied there by the translators. And I see why they put that because
I can see where that seems to be what he's saying, but it was
still supplied by the translators and it's not in the original.
Now here is one of the reasons I repeat, I love the King James
version. King James version is the only one that does this.
None of the other versions do. of men is not in the original.
The translators thought that that would help shed light on
it. Maybe it does, I don't know,
but I always like to, where I see the italics, I like to just leave
it out. So let's read this leaving out
of men. That you might learn in us not
to think above, or beyond that which was written. Would to God that he would by
his grace put this in our minds and hearts to not even think
beyond what is written. Now what that means, it means
a whole lot of things, but it means never. believe a doctrine
unless it's clearly written and stated in the Word of God. Don't
believe something that you imply from something you see in the
scripture. For instance, John the Baptist, what a man, filled
from the womb with the Holy Ghost so that when he heard of the
Christ the babe jumped in the womb, leaped in the womb, that
happened. Well, that proves you don't have
to hear the gospel to be saved. Oh does it? Well, you take something
like that and say, well, that proves you don't have to hear
the gospel to be saved. It does no such thing. And yet
people have established, you don't really have to hear the
gospel to be saved. You can be saved. If you never
hear the gospel, you can still be born again and have the Holy
Ghost without hearing the gospel. And they draw that as an implication
from the fact that John was filled with the Holy Spirit from his
mother's womb. He was. It's mysterious. I can't grasp
it all, but I'm not going to say somebody doesn't have to
hear the gospel. As a matter of fact, I believe that somehow
he did hear the gospel. I guess he heard it while he
was in the womb and he was supernaturally enabled to hear the gospel. Faith
cometh by hearing, doesn't it? Hearing by the word of God. That's an example of establishing
a doctrine based upon an implication. Don't think past, above, or beyond
what the scripture directly says. Examine yourselves. Examine yourselves. Okay? Examine yourselves. Look at your
fruit. Do you have fruit that proves that you're a believer?
Can you say things in your life and a change in your life that
proves to you that you're a believer? You see something that you think,
I must be a believer because I am fill in the blank, whatever
it is. Examine yourselves. The Bible says to examine yourselves.
Yeah, it does. Examine yourselves, whether you
be in the faith. There is so much navel gazing
that comes from examine yourselves. Now I, I want to be a real believer. I want to be lock stock barrel,
a disciple of Jesus Christ, a follower of Jesus Christ. But I don't
figure I am by looking within to see how much, see if I can
see something on the inside that proves to me. I am no, I look
to Christ. Examine yourselves whether you
be in the faith. Turn with me to Romans chapter
five. I've already quoted this scripture. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound If you and I ever understand
the law, you know what it's gonna show us? The offense abounds. It overflows. The law entered
that the offense might abound, overflow, but where sin abounded,
you show me a place where sin abounds. This happens every time
grace did much more abound. That as sin hath reigned unto
death, Even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord." Well, watch as we say then, shall
we continue in sin that grace may abound? I mean, wherever
sin abounds, grace is abound, so let's abound in sin that grace
might continue abound. That's somebody taking the truth
that where sin abounds, grace much more abounds, and they'll
turn around and say, well, let's go ahead and sin without restraint
as much as we can that grace might abound. God forbid. How shall we that are dead to
sin live any longer therein? The Ten Commandments. I love
the Ten Commandments. I do. I love every commandment
of God. I love the law of God. And the
reason I love the law of God is because I've kept it in Christ. I have nothing to fear with the
love of God. I love the law of God. But somebody comes along
and says, well, the law is our rule of life. Where does it say
that in the Bible? Can you show me that? The law
is the strength of sin. All the law does is expose sin. You can't look at the law and
think, here's the measurement or the rule of my life, how am
I doing with the law? All the law does is expose sin. Law is my rule of life. Well,
you're doing a miserable job at it then. You haven't kept
one commandment one time. If the law is your rule of life,
you're going to hell and I am too if it's my rule of life.
All law does when you don't see Christ kept the law for you and
you stand perfect before the law is create resentment. How I don't measure up. It never
produces love. Never. Don't go beyond what the scripture
says. Romans 8 28. All things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are called according
to his purpose. Do you know if you don't go beyond that, you'll
never worry. If you'd stay right there, if I'd stay right there,
I'd never worry about a thing. All things, all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are called according
to his purpose. Don't go beyond that. If we'd never went beyond Colossians
2.10, you're completing him. You're complete in Him. You lack
nothing. You're absolutely complete in Him. You're accepted in the
beloved. Don't go any past that. You'll
never lose assurance. You'll have the joy of knowing
that all God requires of you, you have in Jesus Christ. Don't
go beyond what the scripture actually says. You know, I've
already quoted this. Paul said, Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners of whom I am. Do I ever graduate past that?
Of whom I am the chief. The moment in my thinking that
I go past that, that's when I'm in trouble. I'll say it, I'm
the chief of sinners. If you say, well, I agree with
you. You are the chief of sinners. I'm going to get mad at you.
We don't really much believe what we say we do a lot of times,
I'm afraid. But oh, would to God that I'd never leave this,
the chief of sinners, because Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. Don't go beyond that. If I go beyond what was written,
I have spiritual edema. I'm puffed up. I'm swollen. Swollen by my fleshly mind, as
Paul says. Now let me close by giving you
five Ps with regard to the Word of God. This is an alliteration.
And I generally, when I hear preachers give alliterations,
it usually irritates me. They'll get it in there somewhere,
and sometimes it doesn't even make sense, and I just think,
just give me the points, I don't need that. But I made this alliteration,
this is good. The Word of God is pure. Desire the pure. The sincere
milk, well, that's the pure milk of the Word that you may grow
thereby. The commandment of the Lord is
pure, enlightening the eyes, pure from God with no error. Oh, don't go past the Word of
God. Don't even think past anything that God, don't develop any kind
of doctrine based upon some kind of implication. Well, it says
this, therefore that must be so. Don't do it. Believe what
God says in His Word. The Word of God is a person.
Christ is called the Word of God. And you haven't, and I haven't
understood the Word of God unless I see the Word of God is a The Lord said, you search the
scriptures and then you think you have eternal life. They are
they which testify of me. The word of God is the person
of God. The word from the word that reveals
the living word. And the word of God is powerful. The Word of God is quick and
powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. One of the things
I love about preaching is I know I can't convert anybody. I can't
get anybody to believe. I can't do a thing, but God's
Word can. Oh, the power's in the Word.
The power's not in the preacher. The power's not in his ability
to deliver the Word. The power's in the Word itself.
Oh my word, he said, is like a hammer. Oh, it'll, it'll break
the hard heart. If God is after you, he's going
to have you. You can't resist it. You can't
stop it. The word of God is quick, powerful,
sharper than any two edged sword. And the word of God is precious.
precious promises of God. How precious are His words. They're words of Spirit, they're
words of life. His Word is precious. Oh how
much more precious than anything else, infinitely more precious. I love, what was the one thing
needful for Mary? to sit at his feet and to hear
his word. The last, preach. Timothy, preach the word. Whatever the word declares, preach
it. Don't apologize for it. Don't
water it down. Don't try to package it. Don't
try to make it more appealing to the flesh. Preach it. The
character of God, preach it. God's salvation, preach it. Does
the Bible say God elected a people? Preach it. Does the Bible say
that Christ died for his sheep? Preach it. Preach the word. May God give us grace not to think beyond what the
scripture says. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for your
word. And we ask that you give us grace to not think of men,
including ourselves above that which is written. We pray that
you would deliver us from being puffed up and swollen in our
own self-importance. Deliver us from that. And Lord,
enable us to not even think beyond that which is written. Lord, put this in our hearts.
Give us this reverence for your word. this all of your word. For Lord, we know that what we
really think of you is seen in what we think of your holy word.
Bless this word for your glory and for our good. In Christ's
name we pray, amen.