Grace Alone: Good News for a Divided Church
08/16/09
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Pastor Greg Smith
We are starting a series on Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians: Good News for a Divided Church. You can be thankful that the Corinthian Christians had so many problems so that Paul could write his advice.
Corinth was a fascinating city. Like San Francisco, or Auckland, New Zealand: East meets West. Located on a narrow peninsula, Corinth was a natural trading center between Eastern and Western parts of the Roman Empire. It's commercial growth gave birth to flourishing industry. People came from Rome and Greece, from Egypt, Syria, and Asia, and these included many Jews, as well. Each of these groups imported their own worship and customs. Religious syncretism (a little of this and a little of that, blurring distinctions) was widespread. There was an impressive temple to Aphrodite (the goddess of sexual love, so you can imagine what that worship was like!), plus temples to the gods Apollo, Venus, Hercules and Poseidon.
According to Acts 18, Paul came to Corinth to help the small community of Christians that had been established under the missionary couple, Priscilla and Aquila. Paul stayed there for about a year and a half, leaving about 51 A.D.
It wasn't long after leaving that Paul began writing several letters in response to what was going on. From reading just the words of today's text, what might you expect about Paul's feelings about the church? Gifted, much to be thankful for— Paul has such glowing confidence in the Christians at Corinth!
You would hardly know that Corinth was a very troubled and divided community of Christians. We can leaf through 1 Corinthians and see some of the many severe problems to which Paul responds.
— Groups identifying with different leaders dividing the church.
1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.
— They were tolerant of sexual immorality.
5:1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are proud!
— He has to urge them in 6:12ff. that using prostitutes is not OK.
— 6:1 - Christians were bringing lawsuits in civil courts against other Christians
— Chapter 7 - there was a general put down of marriage that Paul counters
— Chapter 8 - controversies over whether or not a person should eat foods offered to idols
— Chapter 9 - Corinthian Christians were saying that a leader like Paul shouldn't have a wife or make a living off his work as an apostle
— Chapter 11:17ff - the Lord's supper is turned into a selfish meal where some end up stuffed and drunk while the poor among them go hungry.
— Chapters 12-14 - they overvalued tongues and other spectacular gifts
— Chapter 15 - they so misunderstood the resurrection of the dead that some believed that the resurrection had already occurred or that there was no resurrection at all.
And that's just a partial list!
And that's why his introduction in the verses before us in chapter 1 is so amazing. Paul's greeting and thanksgiving are standard parts of first century letters like we might begin a letter with “Dear so and so” and ending with “Sincerely.“ But Paul fills these ordinary letter elements with extraordinary meaning.
I want you to imagine that Paul is writing with two groups in the Corinthian church in mind. This makes sense when the church is so divided. One group is happy the way things are; the others are disturbed with the condition of the church. One group we’ll call the satisfied; the other we’ll call the dejected. What Paul writes in these verses is for both groups.
First let’s look at what Paul writes to the satisfied.
Who were the satisfied? They were highly gifted Christians.
4 I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way —in all your speaking and in all your knowledge…
They are enriched in logos and gnosis. Logos: every kind of spiritual word gift like tongues, prophesy; gnosis: spiritual knowledge, like revelations from God, and deeper understanding of spiritual. They were reveling in their new found experience of spiritual power: tongues, miracles of healing, revelations from God— these were all commonplace at the meetings of First Church Corinth. The problem was that other, less desirable things were commonplace as well like warring factions and sexual immorality. How could they be so pleased with themselves while these breakdowns in basic Christian lifestyle were going on?
They are enriched in logos and gnosis. Logos: every kind of spiritual word gift like tongues, prophesy; gnosis: spiritual knowledge, like revelations from God, and deeper understanding of spiritual. They were reveling in their new found experience of spiritual power: tongues, miracles of healing, revelations from God— these were all commonplace at the meetings of First Church Corinth. The problem was that other, less desirable things were commonplace as well like warring factions and sexual immorality. How could they be so pleased with themselves while these breakdowns in basic Christian lifestyle were going on?
You can get a sense of the problems by reading between the lines of Paul's very genuine thanksgiving: they had become overly self-confident in their own gifts. Gifts and power were given precedent over character and love.
There was nothing wrong with having spectacular gifts of the Holy Spirit. In verse 6 Paul says that their gifts were confirmation of his preaching. They were God's way of confirming his “testimony about Christ.” So Paul can even say in verse 7,
Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
But being gifted in itself says nothing about a person’s character. Being powerful says nothing about inner motives. Even one who has impressive gifts from the Holy Spirit is not exempt from obedience to God's call to love and holiness. Do you remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21-23?
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
As you read through this letter, you get the impression that though the Corinthians might perform a healing miracle one minute, the next minute they might show prejudice against the poor among them; they might speak in a tongue and then stop off at court to file suit against a brother in Christ before going on their way to a brothel. In their elation over spiritual gifts and power, they were neglecting the most basic love and obedience. Kind of like a church of TV Evangelists before there was ever TV!
So what is Paul’s message to the (wrongly) satisfied in Corinth? He redirects their focus from themselves and their own giftedness towards God. Notice what Paul stresses:
— sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy,
— I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.
— For in him you have been enriched in every way
— He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
— God… is faithful.
The gifted and powerful need to remember the source of their gifts and power.
Next let's look at what Paul writes to the dejected and discouraged.
This was a group that saw through the lack of depth of the satisfied. They were troubled by the moral shortcomings, the divisions, the fights. They had written to Paul to seek his help and advice. Paul has a message for this group as well.
The message comes through in the affirmations Paul gives and in his genuine thankfulness for the Corinthian Christians with all their gifts and shortcomings. In spite of all their error and abysmal behavior, Paul addresses them as the church of Jesus Christ.
2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…
In this Paul gives a basic principle in how Christians need to deal with their differences: we respect one another as sisters and brothers in the Lord. Respect. Acknowledging the gifts and evidence of God’s working in others.
This doesn't mean that we don’t teach and correct each other. Paul would spend 16 chapters doing that in great detail. But he teaches and corrects them as sisters and brothers. We need to give the same courtesy to those who differ from us whether in our congregation or those in other congregations.
Paul has something else to tell the dejected and discouraged: put your hope in the Lord.
Paul gives all the Corinthian Christians an amazing promise. It's in verses 8 and 9.
8 He will keep you [notice this is plural: he is speaking to them all] strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
God is the one who is faithful. It’s like what Paul wrote in Philippians 1:7
… he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
We are Christians under construction. So don't lose hope, don't give up on your sisters and brothers that may be on a different construction schedule than you.
Let me summarize.
How can Christians get along? How can we experience unity in our differences? Paul wants us to look beyond ourselves to God’s many sided grace.
Again and again Paul wants them to learn this lesson: they have been caught up into a great movement of the love and power of the one true God, the God of Israel, whose work for the whole world had now been revealed in God’s Son, Jesus the Messiah.
How have they been caught up into this story of God’s love and power? The word that Paul uses to express how God catches us up into his story and purpose is grace. What a rich and wonderful word. It sums up the fact that God loved us and was for us even though we had done nothing whatever to deserve it— instead we had done the opposite.
First, God’s grace worked in the past to set them aside for his own special purposes in Jesus. That’s what “sanctified” means in verse 2. It means that we are set aside for God’s special purposes and that we are expected to join in — cooperate — in God’s special purposes.
What is God’s special purpose? To continue blessing the world through the promise to Abraham and Sarah: Blessed to be a blessing. Blessed to share God’s love.
God’s grace is powerfully at work in the present as well.
5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— 6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
All our gifts are from God. He is the one who gets the credit and the thanks.
And finally Paul says that God’s grace leads us into the future. God will complete the whole process he has begun.
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.
Pastor Greg Smith
We are starting a series on Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians: Good News for a Divided Church. You can be thankful that the Corinthian Christians had so many problems so that Paul could write his advice.
Corinth was a fascinating city. Like San Francisco, or Auckland, New Zealand: East meets West. Located on a narrow peninsula, Corinth was a natural trading center between Eastern and Western parts of the Roman Empire. It's commercial growth gave birth to flourishing industry. People came from Rome and Greece, from Egypt, Syria, and Asia, and these included many Jews, as well. Each of these groups imported their own worship and customs. Religious syncretism (a little of this and a little of that, blurring distinctions) was widespread. There was an impressive temple to Aphrodite (the goddess of sexual love, so you can imagine what that worship was like!), plus temples to the gods Apollo, Venus, Hercules and Poseidon.
According to Acts 18, Paul came to Corinth to help the small community of Christians that had been established under the missionary couple, Priscilla and Aquila. Paul stayed there for about a year and a half, leaving about 51 A.D.
It wasn't long after leaving that Paul began writing several letters in response to what was going on. From reading just the words of today's text, what might you expect about Paul's feelings about the church? Gifted, much to be thankful for— Paul has such glowing confidence in the Christians at Corinth!
You would hardly know that Corinth was a very troubled and divided community of Christians. We can leaf through 1 Corinthians and see some of the many severe problems to which Paul responds.
— Groups identifying with different leaders dividing the church.
1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.
— They were tolerant of sexual immorality.
5:1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are proud!
— He has to urge them in 6:12ff. that using prostitutes is not OK.
— 6:1 - Christians were bringing lawsuits in civil courts against other Christians
— Chapter 7 - there was a general put down of marriage that Paul counters
— Chapter 8 - controversies over whether or not a person should eat foods offered to idols
— Chapter 9 - Corinthian Christians were saying that a leader like Paul shouldn't have a wife or make a living off his work as an apostle
— Chapter 11:17ff - the Lord's supper is turned into a selfish meal where some end up stuffed and drunk while the poor among them go hungry.
— Chapters 12-14 - they overvalued tongues and other spectacular gifts
— Chapter 15 - they so misunderstood the resurrection of the dead that some believed that the resurrection had already occurred or that there was no resurrection at all.
And that's just a partial list!
And that's why his introduction in the verses before us in chapter 1 is so amazing. Paul's greeting and thanksgiving are standard parts of first century letters like we might begin a letter with “Dear so and so” and ending with “Sincerely.“ But Paul fills these ordinary letter elements with extraordinary meaning.
I want you to imagine that Paul is writing with two groups in the Corinthian church in mind. This makes sense when the church is so divided. One group is happy the way things are; the others are disturbed with the condition of the church. One group we’ll call the satisfied; the other we’ll call the dejected. What Paul writes in these verses is for both groups.
First let’s look at what Paul writes to the satisfied.
Who were the satisfied? They were highly gifted Christians.
4 I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way —in all your speaking and in all your knowledge…
They are enriched in logos and gnosis. Logos: every kind of spiritual word gift like tongues, prophesy; gnosis: spiritual knowledge, like revelations from God, and deeper understanding of spiritual. They were reveling in their new found experience of spiritual power: tongues, miracles of healing, revelations from God— these were all commonplace at the meetings of First Church Corinth. The problem was that other, less desirable things were commonplace as well like warring factions and sexual immorality. How could they be so pleased with themselves while these breakdowns in basic Christian lifestyle were going on?
They are enriched in logos and gnosis. Logos: every kind of spiritual word gift like tongues, prophesy; gnosis: spiritual knowledge, like revelations from God, and deeper understanding of spiritual. They were reveling in their new found experience of spiritual power: tongues, miracles of healing, revelations from God— these were all commonplace at the meetings of First Church Corinth. The problem was that other, less desirable things were commonplace as well like warring factions and sexual immorality. How could they be so pleased with themselves while these breakdowns in basic Christian lifestyle were going on?
You can get a sense of the problems by reading between the lines of Paul's very genuine thanksgiving: they had become overly self-confident in their own gifts. Gifts and power were given precedent over character and love.
There was nothing wrong with having spectacular gifts of the Holy Spirit. In verse 6 Paul says that their gifts were confirmation of his preaching. They were God's way of confirming his “testimony about Christ.” So Paul can even say in verse 7,
Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
But being gifted in itself says nothing about a person’s character. Being powerful says nothing about inner motives. Even one who has impressive gifts from the Holy Spirit is not exempt from obedience to God's call to love and holiness. Do you remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21-23?
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
As you read through this letter, you get the impression that though the Corinthians might perform a healing miracle one minute, the next minute they might show prejudice against the poor among them; they might speak in a tongue and then stop off at court to file suit against a brother in Christ before going on their way to a brothel. In their elation over spiritual gifts and power, they were neglecting the most basic love and obedience. Kind of like a church of TV Evangelists before there was ever TV!
So what is Paul’s message to the (wrongly) satisfied in Corinth? He redirects their focus from themselves and their own giftedness towards God. Notice what Paul stresses:
— sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy,
— I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.
— For in him you have been enriched in every way
— He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
— God… is faithful.
The gifted and powerful need to remember the source of their gifts and power.
Next let's look at what Paul writes to the dejected and discouraged.
This was a group that saw through the lack of depth of the satisfied. They were troubled by the moral shortcomings, the divisions, the fights. They had written to Paul to seek his help and advice. Paul has a message for this group as well.
The message comes through in the affirmations Paul gives and in his genuine thankfulness for the Corinthian Christians with all their gifts and shortcomings. In spite of all their error and abysmal behavior, Paul addresses them as the church of Jesus Christ.
2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…
In this Paul gives a basic principle in how Christians need to deal with their differences: we respect one another as sisters and brothers in the Lord. Respect. Acknowledging the gifts and evidence of God’s working in others.
This doesn't mean that we don’t teach and correct each other. Paul would spend 16 chapters doing that in great detail. But he teaches and corrects them as sisters and brothers. We need to give the same courtesy to those who differ from us whether in our congregation or those in other congregations.
Paul has something else to tell the dejected and discouraged: put your hope in the Lord.
Paul gives all the Corinthian Christians an amazing promise. It's in verses 8 and 9.
8 He will keep you [notice this is plural: he is speaking to them all] strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
God is the one who is faithful. It’s like what Paul wrote in Philippians 1:7
… he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
We are Christians under construction. So don't lose hope, don't give up on your sisters and brothers that may be on a different construction schedule than you.
Let me summarize.
How can Christians get along? How can we experience unity in our differences? Paul wants us to look beyond ourselves to God’s many sided grace.
Again and again Paul wants them to learn this lesson: they have been caught up into a great movement of the love and power of the one true God, the God of Israel, whose work for the whole world had now been revealed in God’s Son, Jesus the Messiah.
How have they been caught up into this story of God’s love and power? The word that Paul uses to express how God catches us up into his story and purpose is grace. What a rich and wonderful word. It sums up the fact that God loved us and was for us even though we had done nothing whatever to deserve it— instead we had done the opposite.
First, God’s grace worked in the past to set them aside for his own special purposes in Jesus. That’s what “sanctified” means in verse 2. It means that we are set aside for God’s special purposes and that we are expected to join in — cooperate — in God’s special purposes.
What is God’s special purpose? To continue blessing the world through the promise to Abraham and Sarah: Blessed to be a blessing. Blessed to share God’s love.
God’s grace is powerfully at work in the present as well.
5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— 6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
All our gifts are from God. He is the one who gets the credit and the thanks.
And finally Paul says that God’s grace leads us into the future. God will complete the whole process he has begun.
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.