THANKING GOD FOR THE IMPERFECT CHURCH – 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on April 15, 2018 under 2018 |
Theme: In spite of its imperfections, we have great reason to thank God for the church.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
This morning, we begin a study of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. It is not only a remarkable letter; but it also has a remarkable introduction.
I would like for us to spend some time this morning in Paul’s introduction to 1 Corinthians. But before we do, I think it would be very helpful if we first go back just a bit in the New Testament, and take a look at what the Bible tells us about how he first came to Corinth—and to how he brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to them.
You’ll find that story in Acts 18.
* * * * * * * * * *
The time was around 54 A.D. Paul was on his second great missionary journey. And in his travels, God led him to the great city of Corinth.
Corinth is on the lower tip of Greece—just a short distance away from the city of Athens. It still exists today as an active port city; and many people make trips to visit it and see the ancient ruins of the city that still remain. It was also a very busy port city when Paul visited it; with lots of people from lots of different cultures and backgrounds making their way through its shores and streets and shops. That’s why Paul was eager to bring the gospel there.
But because it was a cultural hub of activity, it was also a city known for its paganism and immorality. In fact, it was so well-known for its immorality that—back in those days—if you really wanted to insult someone’s moral character, you would say that they ‘lived like a Corinthian’. That’s another reason Paul was eager to bring the gospel there.
Paul and some members of his missionary team began to preach boldly about Jesus in the city of Corinth. And it must have been a scary time because Paul faced a great deal of opposition in his preaching from the Jewish people in that city. It might have even been that he was tempted after a while to be quiet about Jesus. But in Acts 18:9-11, we’re told;
Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them (Acts 18:9-11).
I don’t believe Paul ever forgot the words of that vision from Jesus. I believe that from then on, whenever he became frustrated in his ministry to the people of Corinth, he thought about how the Lord Jesus had said that He had set many people aside for Himself there. That really energized Paul’s passion to bring the gospel to them.
After a year and a half of faithfully teaching and preaching the gospel however, things became very dangerous in Corinth. The Jewish people arose and brought Paul before the Roman leaders and said, “This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.” Then the Greeks got into the act and dragged the synagogue ruler—a man named Sosthenes—before the Roman ruler and started to beat him before the judgment seat. But that didn’t persuade the Roman official at all. This shows us that tensions were high. And of course, tensions will always be high when the gospel of Jesus Christ is faithfully preached in a sinful city like Corinth.
Nevertheless, in spite of the tensions, Paul ‘stayed put’ and kept at his ministry. The Bible tells us that he remained in Corinth a long time—in spite of the opposition; and he kept on faithfully preaching the gospel and teaching the believers there.
And after having moved on to other fields of preaching, it was about 15 years or so later that he wrote 1 Corinthians to these Christians that he had grown to love so much.
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; I hope that my having told you all of that will help you to appreciate what the letter of 1 Corinthians is all about. Because of the fact that it was written to believers who lived in a very pagan city, it’s a letter that deals with a lot of the problems and pressures that had been characterizing the church family that was there. A church that was living in a city like Corinth would have some of the same kinds of struggles and temptations that a church living in the city of Portland, Oregon might have. There were lots of ways that the negative elements of the surrounding ‘paganistic’ culture where slipping into the life of the church; and the believers in that city were often walking way too close to the edges of sin—and even occasionally falling off into harm.
Many years ago, I took a very interesting class in seminary. It was a whole course devoted just to 1 Corinthians. But this seminary course had an interesting name: “1 Corinthians—and Problem-Solving in The Church.” That’s because this whole letter deals with one problem after another in the Corinthian church. Paul sought to correct the many problems and faults and imperfections that characterized this family of believers. And he always did so by pointing them back to the Lord Jesus as the solution.
But this morning, I hope you’ll join me as we just look at the introduction to the letter. You may have thought that Paul’s introduction to such a letter would be harsh and critical. But far from it! It is a remarkably encouraging and uplifting way to begin a letter to such an imperfect and problem-ridden church like the one in Corinth!
In 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Paul wrote;
Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Corinthians 1:1-9).
* * * * * * * * * * *
Now; I wonder if you have noticed how popular and fashionable it has become nowadays to criticize the local church.
I have just finished reading a biography of a famous Christian musician. He was cutting-edge in his day in a lot of ways. But one of the things that stood out about him—and sadly so, I would have to say—is that he spent much of his time in his music ministry and performances criticizing the church. He was very often correct, of course, in pointing out some of the faults that he saw. But he was so influential—and his criticisms so frequent and harsh—that it left you wondering, after a while, why anyone would want to go to such a bad place as church at all. And I’m even thinking that this influential pop-figure even had a lot to do with the anti-local-church sentiments that characterizes many of the people in our generation. Several folks today—who have even professed to be believers—have ceased going to church altogether; and believe it is virtuous to stand outside of it and criticize it.
Now; none of that is meant to say that we shouldn’t speak up about things that are wrong in the local church. Paul, after all, wrote this letter to a local church that was filled with some very deep problems; and throughout it, he deals with those problems very seriously. In some cases, he speaks very sternly about those problems and failings. But the remarkable thing to notice—as the words of this introduction clearly show us—is that he did not take the same kind of approach that many popular critics of the church take today in addressing its imperfections. Instead, Paul began his letter by first celebrating the remarkable things that are true of the church of Jesus Christ—and by thanking God for its many blessings.
I think you can sum up his approach at the beginning of this letter by the words you find in verse 4; “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus …” In the introduction to his letter, he first highlights and praises God for the remarkable things that are true of the church—and then, from that point onward, begins right away, in verse 10, to deal with its faults from the standpoint of its blessedness; “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” In other words, Paul’s approach to reform in the church began with a celebration of its great spiritual blessings. And I believe this teaches you and me how God wants us to treat the Lord’s church.
As these introductory words show us, in spite of its many faults and imperfections, we have great reason to thank God for the marvelous spiritual blessedness of the called-out assembly of those who have been redeemed by Jesus.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Let’s go back through this introduction; and …
1. NOTE WHO IT IS THAT SETS THE EXAMPLE OF THANKS.
The letter beings; “Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God …” That is very significant.
Paul, you see, was a man of great authority when it came to addressing the spiritual condition of the church. He was “called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ”; or, as it is in the original language, “called an apostle”. The word “apostle” means “someone who is authoritatively sent”. And that’s what Paul was. He was someone to whom the resurrected Lord Jesus had appeared personally; and he was commissioned by Jesus to be His representative to God’s people—bearing the message of Christ to them, and teaching them how to live in accordance with the good news of the gospel.
If anyone would have a right to ‘criticize’ the faults of the church—and to do it rightly—it would have been Paul—“called to be an apostle”. And yet, notice the example that he sets. He doesn’t start off with condemnations and harsh criticisms. Instead, he begins with joyous thanksgiving to God for the blessings that have been poured out on that church.
What’s more, notice that Paul adds this; “and Sosthenes our brother …” Do you remember him? He was the synagogue ruler who had been dragged before the Roman proconsul and beaten before his judgment seat. But now, he was no longer an outsider looking in. He was now their brother in Christ, and was faithfully serving with Paul, and was helping Paul write this letter to them—a living example of the life-transforming potential of the life of the church.
These are the types of men who set the example for us in how to think about, and speak of, and treat the church of Jesus Christ. When I think of this, I think of something that Paul once said to a group of pastors that met him along the way in his missionary travels. He gathered them together, and spoke words of instructions to them about their ministry; and he told them this in Acts 20:28;
Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28).
Think of that! It’s ‘the church of God which He purchased with His own blood’! How precious the church is to the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave His all to redeem it. Paul treated it carefully and respectfully. And so, we too had better be very careful how we speak of it. When we criticize it or correct it, we’d better be sure we first speak of it as our Lord would want us to speak—and to recognize the glory that He has poured out on it.
I believe that Paul himself authoritatively sets the example for us to follow in this.
* * * * * * * * * *
So; that’s the man giving thanks. Paul the apostle. And next …
2. NOTE WHAT IT IS THAT HE GIVES THANKS FOR.
In verse 2, he writes, “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours …” He writes to the church whose many problems and faults he is about to deal with, and tells them that they are those “who are sanctified in Christ Jesus …”
The word “sanctified” means “to be set apart”. And that’s what this church family is. It is ‘set apart’ as holy unto God by virtue of the fact that it is ‘in’ Jesus Christ by faith. The word “sanctified” is in the perfect tense of the verb; and that means that it had been set apart by God in Christ once and for all—forever! Even with all their faults and failings, they had nevertheless been set apart unto God as His holy people. Perhaps Paul was remembering what Jesus had told him in that night vision: “I have many people in this city.” Perhaps Paul was even reminding them of Jesus’ words!
What’s more, Paul spoke of the individual Christians within that church and said that they were “called to be saints”—or, as it is literally written in the original text, “called saints”. These individual believers in Jesus may not have been behaving very saintly. But that didn’t change the fact of what they truly were. They were “saints”—set apart as holy unto the Lord Jesus. We sometimes think that someone becomes a ‘saint’ by behaving in a remarkably holy way. Some traditions of the Christian faith even declare someone to be a ‘saint’ because of their outstanding virtue and spiritual accomplishments. But that’s not the Bible’s definition of the idea. If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, you are already His. You are already a ‘saint’ in the truest sense—a set apart one; called to live the kind of life of holiness that is in keeping with who you now are.
And this is not only true of the church family in Corinth—and of every individual in it—but it is also true of all who believe in Jesus. Paul says that they are ‘called saints’, “with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours”. That, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, would include you and me.
That, then, is what Paul is giving thanks for. He adds a greeting in verse 3 that is very typical to his letters; “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” But when you consider the wonder of what it is that he says the church is, you can’t help but feel that those words are more than just a greeting. They are an affirmation of the fact that this church—fallible as it may be—is the object of God’s amazing grace; and that the believers in it are the recipients of an official standing of peace before Him through Jesus Christ.
How highly we should speak of such a thing!—even when it is not behaving as it should!
* * * * * * * * * * *
That, then, is the thing that Paul gives thanks for. He gives thanks for the church at Corinth—the once-for-all-time sanctified congregation of those declared holy in the sight of Jesus Christ; fellow recipients of the grace and peace of God along with all—around the world and throughout the centuries—that call upon the name of Jesus Christ. This is true in spite of its faults and failings.
And next …
3. NOTE WHY IT WAS THAT HE GAVE THANKS FOR IT.
In verses 4-6, he writes, “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you …”
What a remarkable thing to affirm! Paul was telling these Corinthian believers that God had poured His grace upon them through Jesus Christ in such a way that they were “enriched”—or as we can translate it, “made rich”—in everything that they would ever need in Jesus Christ. It didn’t matter if it was in “words” or in “wisdom”; they had been given everything that they needed—abundantly—in Christ. As Paul said in Ephesians 1:3, they had been blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”. As Peter put it in 2 Peter 1:2-4;
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (2 Peter 1:2-4).
Before Paul began to deal with the individual problems within the church, then, he started off by thanking and praising God that these believers already had everything that they needed to be able to solve all of them and to be victorious over them! He knew it; because the testimony of Christ was “confirmed” in them. They heard it; and they believed it; and they have already begun to live it. Therefore, he was able to add in verse 7; “so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ …” There was nothing missing of what they needed; and in all of it, they had the anticipation of the coming of the Lord Jesus.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Paul’s comment about the coming of the Lord Jesus is important; because it leads us to finally …
4. NOTE HOW IT WAS THAT HE WAS CONFIDENT IN HIS THANKS.
He said this of that soon-coming Lord in verse 8; “who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This community of believers in Corinth may have had many faults and shortcomings and problems. But they were not to be spoken ill of; because their destiny was to be glorified with Jesus Christ. As Paul wrote in Ephesians 5;
… just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:25-27).
Paul wrote to correct the problems in the church. But he had no doubt about its ultimate destiny. It was destined to be gloried—without fault and without blemish—in the sight of the Lord Jesus. And who should ever dare to speak against something that Jesus has promised to glorify and perfect for Himself?
And this future destiny wouldn’t be because of them making themselves perfect. They could not. Rather, as Paul adds at the end—in verse 9; “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” God Himself is the faithful One who would see to it. As Paul wrote in Philippians 1:6;
being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).
* * * * * * * * * *
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; the next time you hear someone criticizing the church and bad-mouthing her, I suggest to you that you be patient with them; but then kindly read Paul’s introduction to 1 Corinthians to them. Let them know that this was how God’s appointed ‘apostle’ spoke of the church. It would truly be hard to find a church that had as many faults as the church in Corinth. And yet, Paul had great and glorious reasons to be thankful for her—and did so! His method of calling for reform in that church was to simply remind them of what they were—to remind them of all the rich spiritual blessings God had poured out upon them—and to call them to now rise up and behave like what they truly were in Christ.
I think that Paul knew more about how to do this than the critics would today; don’t you?
AE
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.2KB)
