THE PERIL OF PUFFED-UP CHRISTIANITY

The Greek verb that describes the work of a bellows (phusioo) is used three times in 1 Corinthians 4. A bellows, of course, is an instrument which puffs air into the heart of the fire to make it hotter. We don't see them too much these days, but in the recent past they were used by blacksmiths and others to fan the fires over which they worked. When the apostle Paul uses the word in the context of this letter, however, he does so in order to describe people who are puffed up and self-important, individuals who like to call attention to themselves.

The word is used only seven times in the New Testament and six of those usages are in the book of 1 Corinthians. It is a term that describes a central problem of the Corinthian church. Being puffed up was characteristic of these believers. They had an air of arrogance and self-importance about them. Paul therefore takes pains to remind them of their problem and he does so by using phusioo to describe their attitude and behavior.

For a better understanding of this word, and a clearer understanding of chapter 4, a glance at the three other uses of the word in this letter will be helpful. In 5:2 Paul says, "You have become puffed up, and have not mourned instead..." He is speaking of a situation in the Corinthian church in which sin of a gross and perverted kind has been publicly acknowledged but otherwise overlooked. Paul is saying that the Corinthians had become so arrogant and self-important they were not even sorrowful over the blight upon the church that was prevalent among them.

Their sense of moral self-satisfaction is reminiscent of Revelation 3:17, where Jesus says to the church at Laodicea, "Because you say, 'I am rich, and have become wealthy. and have need of nothing,' and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked..." In its arrogance, the church at Laodicea was blinded to its own dire need. The church at Corinth had much the same problem.

Most of us know someone who feels he or she is above the rules that govern all the rest of us. That is how the Corinthians felt. Many of the scandals to which our country has been exposed in recent years have come about because of this attitude that says, "Because of who I am, I deserve to be judged differently than others. Exclude me from these rules." This is Paul's charge against the body of believers in Corinth.

In 8:1, in a further usage of this word, Paul says, "Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies." Some who feel they have superior insight regard themselves as a cut above the ordinary run of folk. They speak a jargon that outsiders do not understand. Whether their field is academics, computers, sports, whatever, their lingo excludes the uninitiated and uninformed, namely, the rest of us. To that mind-set, the apostle says simply, "Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies." The Corinthians took much pride in their understanding of the Scriptures. Arrogance, not love, therefore, was the characteristic they were demonstrating. They were flying in the face of the very quality--love--for which the church should be noted.

At our weekly staff Bible study we have been going through Romans, chapters 9 through 11. Last week a Stanford university classics professor, who describes himself as a Torah-observant Jew, came and joined our study. He gave us his perspective of Paul's argument in this section of Romans. This man is a brilliant scholar and linguist. He is thoroughly conversant not only with the Old Testament but also with the New. What impressed me most about him what his humility. He wanted us to understand his thoughts and he took pains to articulate them at a level that all of us could grasp and appreciate. I know other professors at Stanford who are not at all like that. Some of them seem to be committed to making those who don't understand them feel uncomfortable. As I listened to this man, however, I thought of Paul's word that knowledge in and of itself can make people feel awkward and shut out. Knowledge puffs up but love edifies.

Paul's third use of the word in Corinthians comes in chapter 13, the famous "love" chapter of this letter. In verse 4, the apostle says, "Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not puffed up..." This well-loved chapter on love comes in the middle of a long argument in which Paul notes that the Corinthians "are inclined to be contentious," to compete and fight among themselves. At one point he addresses certain of the women in the church who thoughtlessly used their new freedom in Christ to dishonor their husbands.

In chapter 14 the Corinthians' worship services, too, come in for some hard words from the apostle. They shouted incomprehensibly and outsiders felt cut off by their behavior at church services. Their self-indulgence had the effect of putting off outsiders, not drawing them into fellowship. Referring to their communion services, Paul writes, in chapter 11, "You despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing." The rich among them looked only to themselves, while the poor had scarcely enough to eat. Others of them became drunk at communion.

At another point the apostle felt compelled to say to them, "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you.'" They were so puffed up they had no need of certain others among them whom they felt were not as gifted and talented.

Love, says Paul, is not puffed up, but the Corinthians were. They were the peacocks of the early church. They were forever preening themselves and striking postures--and loving what they saw in their own reflections. An examination of this word therefore demonstrates that the apostle chose it carefully to point out to the Corinthians that puffed-up Christianity is a blight on the church. Style, not substance, glamor, not beauty, bluster, not power, may win human approval, but these things certainly don't impress God. This is Paul's argument.

Chapter 4 breaks down into three main sections. Speaking of himself in verses 1 through 5, Paul says that in the final analysis, no matter what anyone thinks of him, God is his judge. In the second section, verses 6 through 13, he almost stoops to sarcasm by contrasting the Corinthians' self-indulgence with the behavior of the apostles, which was to be imitated by believers. In the last section, verses 14 through 21, he draws the analogy of a father who is going to deal with his rebellious teenagers.

Chapter 4, verses 1-5:

Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. But to me it is a very small thing that I should be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God.

Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that in us you might learn not to exceed what is written, in order that no one of you might become puffed up (phusioo) in behalf of one against the other. For who regards you as superior? And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? For you are already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and I would indeed that you had become kings so that we might also reign with you. For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.

I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. I exhort you therefore, be imitators of me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. Now some have become puffed up (phusioo) as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are puffed up (phusioo) but their power. What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod or with love and a spirit of gentleness?

Lord, we confess that at times we talk too much. We look down our noses at others. We revel at inside information, and are puffed up rather than loving. Deliver us from these things, we pray. Teach us to be your servants and stewards, to live out our lives, trusting you for the last analysis. In Jesus' name. Amen.