1 Corinthians 1:1-9 The Church of God
1 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted
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· 1,024 viewsEven with the serious problems facing the Corinthian church, there is reason to be thankful.
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Bulletin Questions
Bulletin Questions
What are some things we know about the city of Corinth?
Why does Paul write this letter to the Corinthian church?
Who are the “saints” that Paul addresses?
Why is Paul thankful for this church?
What can we learn from these opening verses about helping others? Is there anything that surprises you in these verses?
Opening
Opening
Illustration:
Did you ever hear the phrase “Wait until your father gets home?” as a child?
I did. What did it mean?
That I was going to pay for what I had been doing wrong.
Thinking about this, I have often thought, “What would it be like if Paul showed up at some of our churches today?”
Kind of a “Wait until Paul gets here!”
You’ve had it then!
Surely our churches have their problems
When we ask people why they do not attend church, it is often because they have become disappointed in their experience
They have been hurt
They have felt unimportant
They have had other ideas about certain things (disagreements)
Most of us have probably felt the same at one point or another
So, maybe we have also thought, “Man, I wish Paul were here right now to clean up this mess!”
What would he say to a troubled church?
How would he say it?
Well, if you have ever wondered what Paul would say/do, you are in luck, we have 1 Corinthians!
If there has ever been a church that had problems, it was the church at Corinth
A church that can only be described as “divided”
Divided by leader (Paul, Apollos, Jesus)
Divided by social class
Divided by spiritual giftedness
Divided by aceticism
Lawsuits against each other
What they should and should not eat
Even the Lord’s Supper!
And Paul does send them a letter!
Corinth
Corinth
A map
Had two seaports, Lechaeum to the west and Cenchreae to the east
This tiny stretch of land connect the Aegean and Adriatic Seas
Ships preferred to avoid the open seas and would cart their goods from one port to the other
During this process, the sailors and passengers would enjoy a good time in Corinth!
Corinth was at a strategic point as a major trade route
Had an international flare
And a cultural openness
Two histories
As Rome was expanding its power and influence over Greece, Corinth resisted
In 146 BC, the city was reduced to ruins by the Romans
It was rebuilt nearly 100 years later by Julius Caesar as a Roman colony
By 44 BC the city was repopulated and had experienced tremendous growth
became the capital of the province of Achaia
By the time of Paul, it was a busy crossroads between Rome and Asia
When understanding the cultural background of Corinth, it is necessary to understand there are two histories
That before the destruction, which was Greek
That after the rebuild, which was Roman
Unfortunately, the two things often are blended together
An example is the of the cult to Aphrodite (Venus) in Corinth
Many commentators make mention of this cult
Speak of the city being a city of love
With a temple of Aphrodite and its 1000 temple prostitutes
You will find this spoken of in many NT commentaries on Corinthians
But that belonged to the pre-destruction Corinth (pre-146 BC)
There is no evidence of such a temple in the Roman period
Was the cult of Aphrodite still present in the region? Yes, but not to the degree it once was.
Corinth, founded as a Roman city, reflected Roman culture
It was a culture fixed on individualism
Where power produced status
And power and status created the “haves” and the “have nots”
The drive for attaining status was often ruthless
There was frequent sexual abuse by the powerful against the powerless
The courts were rigged in favor of those with status
Not unlike our world today
The church reflected this culture as well, as we will see in the weeks ahead
Religion
Very open to multiple religions
Must be added to the Imperial Cult - the worship of Caesar
This is where Christianity caused problems
Only one Lord
It is Jesus Christ, not Caesar
Because Christians did not promote polytheism, they were labeled “atheists”!
The Corinthian Church
The Corinthian Church
Paul writes this letter to the church to address the problems the church is facing
In fact, this is not the first letter Paul wrote to them (cf. )
This letter was in response to what the Corinthians had written to Paul (cf. )
Genre
So, we understand that this is a letter (epistle)
It is formatted in the same way that letters of that day would have been
Knowing this helps us interpret it correctly
We do not interpret it the same as we would poetry (Psalms) or Narrative (Genesis)
In a letter, we have half of the conversation
Like listening to someone talk on the phone
We only hear the one side
We have to try to understand the other side through historical and cultural understanding
As well as what we see elsewhere in this letter or other Scripture
So, how might we expect Paul to start off his letter?
The present situation
Blast away!
Let them have it, Paul!
Much like what we might envision if Paul went to a problem church today - he would set them straight, right?
God’s Grace
God’s Grace
Paul may surprise us in that he begins by pointing out the work of God’s grace towards the church
This is the most troubled church we will find in the NT
Yet Paul begins by pointing out the evidences of God’s work
The first evidence is that Paul was writing to them
He tells us here that he is an Apostle
This is not just a title of authority
It is a title that represents that Paul was especially set aside to speak God’s word to them - they were receiving the word of God!
We need to think about this ourselves!
We, Christ’s church, have received his word in the Bible
We are blessed. He has shown us such grace in this way!
Paul calls them “the church of God” in verse 2
He reminds them that they belong to God!
God looks at these messed up people and says, “They are mine! I have a special concern for them!”
This is also true of us today
Whatever challenges we may face in our churches today, we are God’s church!
The church is not owned by us or anyone
It belongs to God
And it is a special thing to belong to the people of God
And this is one reason we should want to be a part of a church
Paul then goes on to say that they are “sanctified in Christ Jesus”
The word means “holy”
They had been made holy in Christ
What does this mean? I thought this was a problem church?
We are made holy “in Christ”
When we trust in Christ, we are given the holiness and righteousness of Christ, who died for us
This problem church had been made holy in Christ
Christ had died for them (such a cost)
Just as he has died for each of us who has called on him for forgiveness
We are not holy in oursleves
We receive the holiness of Christ
At such a cost!
And they are “called to be saints”
What does this mean?
The word comes from the same root as sanctified
It means “holy ones”
The Corinthians had been given holiness in Christ
And now they are expected to live in holiness - together with all of those who call upon the Lord Jesus Christ
That would include us
We are called to be holy
And promised that one day we will be completely freed from sin and we will be holy!
Then Paul asks for “grace and peace” for the Corinthians
Paul uses this phrase frequently throughout his letters
Grace and peace are the marks of the believers relationship with God
We have received God’s grace through the cross as Christ died to save us
And we have peace with God as his wrath has been turned away
And instead of wrath, we find his favor poured out on us
Surprisingly? Paul “gives thanks” to God for the Corinthian church
Understanding the problems of this church we may wonder how Paul could give thanks
We know that some of the people there did not really like Paul
Some challenged his authority as an Apostle
Some were saying things like, “Well, you may follow Paul, but I follow Apollos!”
“That may be Paul’s opinion, but...”
But what does Paul do? He thanks God for them!
A reminder that all true Christians are grounds for thanksgiving
God’s work in the lives of believers
God’s mercy and giving of new life
He goes on to say that “in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge”
They were enriched - they were not left impoverished
But not speaking of possessions
But all speech and all knowledge
They had been left with a great treasure
In the culture of the day, the people desired status, much of which was determined by knowledge
Paul tells them they have had received the greatest knowledge
The knowledge that would give their lives true meaning and purpose
The knowledge that would lead them to forgiveness and a relationship with God
It was the testimony about Christ that had been confirmed among them - the Gospel
And through their speech this knowledge could be used to build one another up
This will come up again later in the letter as Paul deals with division over “speech” (tongues) and “knowledge” (special knowledge claimed by some)
They all had the true knowledge
They all had the needed speech
As Christians, we too have received this knowledge
We have the answers to life’s biggest questions
We have the answers that so many are searching for in all the wrong places
We have the gospel - and the ability to speak its truths into the lives of others so that they might come to Christ and be built up to maturity
As those in Christ, we truly have been enriched in every way!
And “you are not lacking in any gift”
Some have taken this to mean that every church has every spiritual gift available
I do not think this is Paul’s point
I believe he is assuring the Corinthians that they have all that they need to minister, grow, and accomplish what God had given them as they wait for Christ’s return
Contrary to those who will fight over gifts later in the letter
You are not lacking (as some would say)
“If God has called you to it, he will equip you for it.”
Think about the logic for just a second:
If God has already given his greatest gift, hi Son for us
Why would he withhold anything else that we would need?
It’s simple: He wouldn’t!
As they eagerly wait for Christ, Paul tells them that Christ “will sustain them to the end, guiltless”
This is an astonishing statement!
Christ would assure that they made it to the finish line - until the make it all the way home
This is also true for us
This is a tremendous gift for all true believers
We will persevere to the end, because Christ will sustain us
Guiltless
Not just free of guilty feelings
But completely guilt free - not guilty
Some translations - blameless
And lastly, Paul tells the Corinthians that they had been “called into the fellowship of Jesus Christ our Lord”
They were once the enemies of God
But now they have been brought into fellowship with the Son
Not alone, but a fellowship
Conclusion
Conclusion
We can learn something here about how to handle confrontation and difficulty
Paul begins by focusing on the good
He gives thanks to God for the good things he sees in their lives
What if we could put that into practice when we are tempted to think poorly of another?
Or before we tell someone all of the wrongs we see in their life?
We can also learn something about how we view “problem” churches
We all have problems!
That’s why we need a Savior
But let us not forget that those “problem churches” are the people of God!
Jesus Christ died for them!
And God has a special interest in them!
And we should too.
And lastly, let us not forget how God has shown his grace to us
Through the gospel of Jesus Christ
As he has enriched us and given us all that we need until Jesus Christ returns
And as we, even now, belong to the fellowship of his people.
Ideas
Ideas
Something from Babylon Bee book or article on good reasons to leave a church
Point out that Paul does not question their true salvation
Those who call Christ Lord should live a certain way
If you have heard of churches facing division and infighting, Corinth is the chief model
Paul does not tell them to leave
He tells them that they need to learn to live together