Today I would like you to turn
in your Bible to the book of 1 Corinthians. The book of 1
Corinthians chapter 4 verse 7. I would encourage you to get
your Bible this morning and follow along with us. Let's read this
verse together. 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verse
7. And the Apostle Paul writes For
who maketh thee to differ from another, and what hast thou that
thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
Why dost thou glory as if thou had not received it? Some in
the church at Corinth were lifted up with pride in themselves.
In their opinion, they had arrived and needed no instruction, no
guidance from the Apostle Paul. Paul says in the next verse with
biting sarcasm, he says in verse 8, Now you are full. That was their opinion. They
thought they were full. Now you are rich. You have reigned
as kings without us. You notice that sarcasm that
Paul puts in there. I would to God you did reign
that we also might reign with you. Now it's evident from their
carnal behavior that they were neither full nor rich. They were
indeed acting as children who needed instruction of all the
people in the world. Now listen to me. Of all the
people in the world, a believer is the last man who should be
lifted up with pride. I'll give you three reasons.
All that I know, the Lord taught me. Paul wrote to that young
preacher Timothy and said this, "...continue in the thing which
thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou
hast learned them." All that I know, God has taught me by
His sovereign revelation of Christ. All that I have, He gave me. Of Him are we in Christ, who
of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. All that I know, He taught me.
All that I have, He gave me. All that I am, thirdly, all that
I am, He made me by the grace of God. Can't we say with the
Apostle Paul, if we're believers, resting in Christ? By the grace
of God, I am what I am. My friend, pride is always inconsistent
with the gospel of God's free grace. Any preaching, any preaching
or teaching that leads a man to boast in himself, it is not
true and it's not of God. That which puffs up builds up
in pride, and fleshly wisdom is not of God. But that which
lays a man low, which strips off self-righteousness, self-worth,
and self-esteem, and that which exalts the Lord Jesus Christ
must be true. For the Scriptures emphatically
say, No flesh shall glory, in God's presence. Now here's two
questions in this text today. Who maketh thee to differ from
another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Here's
two questions to be answered with ease. Who made thee to differ
from another? Now listen carefully. Who made
thee to differ from another? The believer resting in Christ
does indeed differ from the unbeliever. He's been born again by the Spirit
of God. He's been regenerated and made
new. He's been begotten of the Word of Truth. Of His own will
begat He us with the Word of Truth. He has a new heart, a
new love for Christ and His glory. He's been made a new creature
in Christ. You see, the believer does differ
from the unbeliever. He's been made a new creature
in Christ, Jesus. He has a different Lord, a different
Master. different goals, different motives,
different reasons for living. He does differ. He looks to God
to find salvation, wisdom, and righteousness. Now, here's the
question. Who made the difference? Who made the difference between
a man who believes and a man who is yet in rebellion? There
may be some who would be puzzled with this question, but the believer
knows the answer immediately. Who made thee to differ? By God's
grace, by God's sovereign grace, He has made us to differ. The real issue at stake in who
makes a believer to differ from an unbeliever is simply this.
Now listen carefully. Who does the saving? God or man? You see, the real issue in who
makes a believer to differ is who gets the glory, who gets
the credit, who does the saving, God or man? Well, the Scriptures
teach that God saved us and God called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ before the foundation
of the world. Who does the saving? God or man. Who gets the credit? God or man. Well, the scriptures emphatically
teach that we're saved not by works of righteousness, which
we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us. And my
friend, who gets the glory? God or man? We can say with David,
Lord, not unto us, not unto us, but unto thy name. do we give
glory for thy mercy and thy truth." You see, without doubt, the Scriptures
teach that it is God that makes us to differ. It's sovereign
grace that makes us to differ. In Exodus chapter 11, Moses said
this to Pharaoh. But against any of the children
of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue against man or beast,
that you may know how the Lord doth put a difference between
Egypt and Israel." In that day, when Israel was about to walk
out of Egypt, God said to Moses, the Lord doth put a difference
between Egypt and Israel. You see, it's sovereign grace,
my friend. God distinguishes between the
believer and the unbeliever. It's grace and grace alone that
makes the difference. Let me illustrate it with this.
Here's two men we read of in the Scripture, Peter and Judas.
Peter and Judas served to illustrate sovereign grace. Peter was saved,
right? No doubt about that. Peter the
apostle was saved by God's grace, and Judas was lost. Was Peter
a better man than Judas? What do you think? No. Both were guilty of sin. Both
denied the Lord. Both forsook Him. Yet Peter repented
and sought the Lord, and Judas rebelled and went out and hanged
himself. Now if you say the difference was in the man, If the difference
was in the man, you believe that salvation is by works and not
of grace. My friend, the difference between
Peter and Judas was the sovereign grace of God. Now, how has God
made the believer to differ? Let me give you three things.
God did in His eternal election of grace. If you're a believer,
it is because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. Now, that's what the Scriptures
teach. God elected a people in eternity. You listen to this
Scripture, 2 Thessalonians 2, 13. We are bound to give thanks
always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Our Lord said in John
15, 16, you didn't choose me, but I have chosen you. You see,
it's God who made the difference in eternity. God chose who would
be saved. The second thing is this, who
made you to differ? Well, Christ did in His redemption.
If you're a believer, it's because the Lord Jesus Christ paid your
sin debt. He ransomed you at Calvary. God
purchased the church with His own blood. Now, here's the Scripture,
Hebrews 9, verse 12. Neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by His own blood, He entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. All those
for whom Christ died must be saved." And He died for the elect.
He died for the church. He didn't die for all men everywhere.
The Scriptures do not teach that. He died for His chosen, His church,
His bride, the elect of God. The difference between the saved
and the lost is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now here's
the third thing. Who made the difference? God
did in His electing grace. Christ did in His redemption.
And my friend, the Holy Spirit does in regeneration. Everybody
God elected and those for whom Christ died will be irresistibly
called and quickened by the Spirit of God. Ephesians 2 says, "...you
hath he quickened who were dead." They will be granted repentance
toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. No true child of
God will ever be guilty of saying that he saved himself by his
work or that he merited salvation. He knows beyond all doubt that
God has made the difference. And we can say with the Apostle
Paul, we worship God in the Spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and
have absolutely no confidence in the flesh. Now, here's the
second question that we can answer with ease. Who made you to differ? God did. And here's the second
question. What hast thou that thou didst
not receive? Whatever mercies and blessings
men enjoy, they have them in a way of receiving. freely by
the sovereign grace of God. All natural and providential
blessings come from God. Now here's the Scripture, John
3, 27. A man can receive nothing except it be given him from above. And not only all natural blessings,
but all supernatural and spiritual blessings come from God. James
1, 17 says every good and every perfect gift is from above, and
cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning." God doesn't change. All supernatural
and spiritual blessings come by way of receiving from the
hand of the King, justifying righteousness. If we're justified,
were justified freely by His grace through the redemption
that's in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has imputed righteousness
to us without work. Salvation, if we're saved, we
have to say that we've received this as the gift of God. For
by grace are you saved through faith, and that, not of yourself,
it is the gift of God. We're justified freely. We're
saved by His grace and remission of sin. We have all these things
as a free gift of God. Romans 8, 32 said, He that spared
not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. How shall
He not with Him also freely give us all things? You see, all that
the believer enjoys, we have received as a gift of God. All
that Christ purchased shall be fully given. All that we have,
He freely gave. We have nothing good in us but
what we have received for the Lord Jesus Christ's namesake. He saved us and loved us for
Christ's sake. Now, here's the last thing. Here's
a question to be answered with shame. The last question in that
1 Corinthians 4, verse 7 says, Now if thou didst receive it,
Why do you glory as if you have not received it? If you did receive
all blessings freely by His sovereign and rich grace, why do you glory
as if you received these blessings by your efforts and your own
merit? Now listen to me, friend. To
glory in man in any way is altogether inconsistent with glorying in
God. That's why the Apostle Paul said,
God forbid that I should glory saved in the cross of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Any person who calls himself
a believer ought to be ashamed, absolutely ashamed, to stand
anywhere but in the truth. When I confess myself to be sinful,
ungodly, and helpless, and ascribe all my salvation to God alone,
salvation is of the Lord, then I stand in the truth because
I stand in Christ alone. Our Lord said, You shall know
the truth and the truth shall set you free. But if a man or
if a man stands, if I take even the remotest praise to myself,
then I stand not in the truth, but I stand in a lie. If I take
even the remotest praise to myself, it's to stand in a lie. And all
those who stand in a lie shall be condemned. Whenever we prize
ourselves highly, we are sure to esteem the Lord Jesus Christ
less. Let me ask you this question.
Do you see any beauty in yourself? If you do, it's because you don't
know what true beauty is. Christ alone is altogether lovely. Do you see any riches? Are you increased with riches
and increased with goods and have need of nothing? then you
know very little of what true wealth, true riches are. You
have mistaken guilt for gold and rags for righteousness. Our
only hope, my friend, is Christ alone, His righteousness, His
merit, and His blood. Now, in closing, let me say this.
Have I ever given to God all the glory for saving my soul? God give us grace to do so now. Who made you to differ from another? What do you have that you didn't
receive? Now, if you have received salvation
by grace, the Lord Jesus Christ alone, you only can glory in
Him and say, glory to God in the highest. Give all praise
and honor and glory to God alone.