1 Corinthians 1 - Why You Shouldn't Put a Pastor on a Pedestal!

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7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift, as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

As Paul starts the first chapter of Corinthians (oops I did chapter 2 yesterday), he starts with who we are in Christ. He teaches on the concept of spiritual gifts. He will teach on how the Holy Spirit has given supernatural gifts to the church on Pentecost to all who believe.

Therefore, we in the church have everything we need as we await Jesus’ return. God is the one who keep us blameless until the day of Christ. Does that mean we will never make any mistakes? No! But we are blameless because of what Jesus did on the cross.

A Church Divided Over Leaders

Another area he will address is the partiality they are showing to the different spiritual leaders in the church. Paul exhorts them that there should be not division in the church, but they should be united in Christ. 

What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

Their focus was all off. Instead of focusing on Jesus, they were focusing on their individual leaders. They followed the personality they liked the best. "Cephas" is another name for the apostle Peter. When some said, "I follow Christ", I believe Paul is saying this in a sarcastic way not in a good way. 

“I am of Christ”: There was the “Jesus Party,” who declared “You all are so carnal, following after mere men. We are following in the footsteps of no one less than Jesus Himself. We’re the ones really right with God!”- Guzik

Paul was clear that he didn't anyone to follow him. He says rhetorically, 

 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 

While it is natural for us to have affinity for a certain pastor, it is when we put them on a pedestal that we create a problem. In today's language we have to be careful when we hear language like, "I go to Rick Warren's church", or I go to "fill in the blank with any popular pastor's church". I was at a large megachurch in Chicago, where Bill Hybels was the Senior Pastor. Bill was adored by all of us at Willow Creek, and he influenced thousands of other churches and pastors like me. 

Unfortunately fairly recently Bill Hybels was asked by his elder board to step down due to some inappropriate behaviors. So sad, and yet I wonder if when we put leaders on a pedestal we don't set them up for failure. 

This is why the elder/deacon model is a healthy one. It doesn't give too much power to any one person in the church. In my church, the Lutheran church, I don't even have a vote at our Council meetings. There are checks and balances between the Congregation, the Council, the pastors, and the staff. The fact is that we all need accountability so we don't prideful. As the scripture says,

 "Pride cometh before a fall."

Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom

Paul then compares and contrasts the power and wisdom of worldly leaders and the power and wisdom which comes from God. The Corinthians revered poets and others who waxed eloquently about science, nature, or worldly philosophies. 

 It is significant that often the most educated people have the least regard for God. This is not always the case; some of the most brilliant men of history have been Christians (such as Isaac Newton). But largely, the “smarter” one sees himself, the less regard he has for God. Human “wisdom” is constantly rejecting God and opposing Him, and ultimately showing itself foolish and perishing in doing so. - Guzik

Paul says this about the so-called "wisdom of the world". 

Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 

Another saying I often hear is, 

"God laughs at man's wisdom". 

And perhaps the wisest saying I have ever heard is is by missionary Jim Elliot,

"He is no fool who gives us that which he cannot keep, for that which he cannot lose."   

Here is a little background on Jim Eliot.

On January 8, 1956, Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Peter Flemming, and Roger Youderian were speared to death on a sandbar called “Palm Beach” in the Curaray River of Ecuador. They were trying to reach the Huaorani Indians for the first time in history with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He practiced what he preached. 

Where do you get your wisdom from? 

Paul concludes by saying, 

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 

Let's listen and pattern our lives after the wisest person who ever lived, Jesus Christ. If we do we will never be led astray!