4-13-25
April 13, 2025

The Problem with Pride

Pastor John Marc Wiemann
1 Corinthians 4:6-13

Main point: 1 Corinthians 4:6-13 contrasts the Corinthians pride with the apostles’ humility in four ways so that believers will be grateful for God’s grace and be unified in following Christ.

I. Pride Causes Division
Verse 6

II. Pride Leads to Ungratefulness
Verse 7

III. Pride Gives a False View of Ourselves
Verse 8

IV. Humility Requires Sacrificial Commitments
Verse 9-13

Here are some books which may assist you in deeper study and application of the truths presented in today’s sermon. While the elders cannot endorse every concept presented in each book, we do believe these resources will be helpful in profitably thinking through today’s topic.

• Humility: True Greatness by C.J. Mahaney
• The Cross and Christian Ministry by D.A. Carson
• From Pride to Humility by Stuart Scott

Questions for Spiritual Growth

Our Cornerstone mission is To Know Christ and Make Him Known. Community Groups help us to live out our mission as we discuss the Scripture passage from the sermon, how to apply it, and pray for one another.

  1. Why are arrogance and pride so detrimental to the church?

  2. What does Paul mean when he commands the Corinthians “not to exceed what is written” in verse 6?

  3. If grace leads to gratitude, what does a lack of gratitude in one’s life signal? How can you use gratitude to fight pride?

  4. How does pride distort our view of ourselves? How does it distort our view of others?

  5. How does the Corinthians’ attitude to their own spiritual state differ from that of the apostles’?

  6. What similarities can you find between the apostles’ suffering and Christ’s?

  7. How does the gospel free us to forget ourselves for the sake of Christ?

  8. Considering what you learned in 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, how does God want your beliefs and actions to change? What practical steps will you take?