Hellenism was a man-centered religion. Man was the measure of all things, and the whole goal was to rise to the full potential of what mankind could be from strictly human resources. This breeds the Boastful Pride of Life. And in the end, you would die, and your only hope was that others still living would remember you. Only the most elite could gain that kind of “immortality”.
What a contrast from the free offer of the gospel message, the path to Eternity for everyone. Paul had wanted so much to share the depth of that message, but it seemed the Corinthians took forever to grasp the simple truth: This human existence is a tragedy. The greatest human triumph is nothing, a bit of trash left on the earth to be cleansed when Christ returns. Wisdom that belongs to Eternity was far beyond the Corinthian reach. Paul had to restrict his message to mere baby formula, because they seemed so severely locked into the fleshly orientation. Even as he wrote this letter, they were not ready.
As I wrote elsewhere: “Spiritual people did not give much attention to human significance. If you are seeking Christ, you aren’t going to pay much attention to what other people have. Spiritual folks have no use for political maneuvering, jockeying for position, or forming teams and parties.”
Paul regarded himself as of no significance. Of the things he did, only what brought his Lord glory would be remembered. He had zero appetite for leadership on human terms, no ambition at all. As far as he was concerned, he and his associates were just hired farmers, or even better, a building crew.
The greatest foundation of our existence is Christ. Paul knew just enough to recognize this, so his whole business in life was laying that foundation wherever he went. He was not in a position to say much about what others built on that, but he knew it was the best he could possibly do. God would sift out what He wanted built on His Son, testing everything as if by fire, whether it would stand.
Building a faith community on anything human will see you standing in the smoky ruin with nothing, and fortunate to be alive.
Did the Corinthians together not know that they were God’s Temple on this earth? His Holy Spirit resided in them. If anyone sought to defile that Temple by inserting man-made trash into the structure, God would treat him as trash and consume him. Don’t bring that stuff into the church.
They aren’t fooling God, only themselves. As long as you revere human wisdom, you can never learn divine wisdom. Discard the trash so you can be filled with treasure. Paul mentions a quote from Job indicating that God is not impressed with human wisdom, and the quote from Psalm 94 says the same thing. Stop boasting in mortal accomplishments. Learn to place a high value on the moral and spiritual treasure that God offers in His Son. Our divine inheritance is all of Creation, and we in turn are the inheritance of Christ, who is the heir of God.
