The People, Paul, and the Purpose of It All

Transcript

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes. To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours, grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s pray.

Our Father and our God, we do thank you for your word. We do pray, oh Lord and God, that you would meet us this morning. Pray, God, that despite the impediments of my voice, that you would speak clearly to us. Open our minds and our hearts to your word to receive what you have for us this morning. And as we begin this new sermon series, Father, I do pray that you would use this sermon series to encourage our hearts, to build us up in the faith, and to conform us more into the image of Jesus. We ask now for the help of the Holy Spirit to do that very thing. We pray these things in Christ’s name, amen. Amen. Well, as I said earlier, we begin a new sermon series this morning on the book of 1 Corinthians entitled Christian Living in the Current of Culture.

The City of Corinth

This week, the elders anticipate, will carry us all the way to Christmas if all goes well as planned. And whenever we begin a new sermon series, especially when it’s an entire book, it’s always helpful to start that series by setting some history and some context. We think this provides the necessary framework for understanding the book as a whole. So this morning, we will be examining the first three verses of this letter, but considering the length of the book and the complex issues that Paul addressed in this letter, we’re gonna spend more time than usual, in fact, the majority of our time, unpacking the overall context of the letter, okay? Taking this time, on the front end of the series, we believe will prove and we pray will be of great benefit to us as we preach through this expositionally. So I’ve entitled the introduction sermon this morning,

The People, Paul, and the Purpose for it All. And so, yeah, there you go. It’s the rapper in me. So let’s begin first with some background concerning the city of Corinth in the first century. Corinth is situated in the southern part of modern day Greece. It was a Roman city during the first century. Corinth was rebuilt by Caesar Augustus to be the center for Roman control of Greece. Corinth was chosen as the center for Rome due to its unique position, specifically because it was beneficial for trade and commerce. Because of its unique location, by design, it became a hub for travelers from all directions because it was pretty much unavoidable to pass through, which, as you can imagine, brought a significant amount of wealth to the city. Though it was a city full of prosperity and wealth, what’s interesting is that a significant portion of the population, about one third of the people,

were considered slaves or former slaves, which meant there was a profound socioeconomic disparity within the city walls. The contrast between prosperity and poverty created a very complex social fabric. So just imagine the most elite of Roman society mixing it up with the most disenfranchised of Roman society, with very little in between. This economic divide was not just an issue in the streets of Corinth, but also in the church of Corinth. And this will be made more clear when we get to chapter 11, when Paul seeks to address the economic disparity in the church and how it was playing out concerning the Lord’s table. As is often the case, prosperity in a city can breed this kind of corporate pride. And of course, this was the case with Corinth. Pride not only in terms of their material possessions, but also in terms of intellectual pride. And this intellectual pride was most expressed

in their knowledge, philosophy, debate, and rhetoric. These things were not only put on display for everyone else to see and hear, but it was the overall ethos of the city. This is what the city became known for. This pride was so prevalent concerning the intellectualism in Corinth that people were just preoccupied with philosophical discussions, topics ranging from ethics to morals, to meaning and the very meaning of life. What’s interesting is that these philosophical discussions didn’t always lead to action. They kind of stayed in the realm of ideas only to be heard. Neither did these discussions on ethics or morals encourage or promote human flourishing. Instead, they became the justification for their hedonism or their sexual immorality, which inevitably led to the disintegration of human flourishing. Their constant emphasis on debate and rhetoric was often the impetus of division within the culture. So you can imagine a city full of differing ideas

and how divided that might make the people. I mean, just think about Portland, Oregon. No matter how neutral or inclusive the people of Portland intend to be with their ideas, when things get debated concerning differences that always ends with some kind of division. And this was one of the reasons why Paul addresses divisions within the church because division was enculturated in the city of Corinth, largely because of its emphasis on debate and philosophy. Paul needed the Christians in the church to be counter-Corinthian culture, which meant that they needed to agree. They needed to land in the same place ideologically. They needed to be united in their doctrine, in their worldview, and most importantly, in their love for God, his word, and for one another. In terms of the religious climate, Corinth was exceedingly pluralistic, which just means that they celebrated and worshiped many gods. It didn’t matter what god they worshiped.

In fact, the more gods, the better. So though there was the worship of many, no god in Corinth was exclusive. In fact, it would be considered absurd for Corinthians to worship or proclaim a one true and exclusive god. Corinth was the home of the Temple of Aphrodite, who was the goddess of love and beauty, a temple that was famous for its temple prostitutes, who ironically would engage in ungodly ways as part of their religious worship. This aspect of Corinthian culture is likely what gave way to the widespread acceptance and normalization of extramarital relationships in the church, or even the sexual immorality in the church, which was an issue that severely stained the Corinthian church. Paul planted this church around AD 50. This letter was written some three to four years after he planted this church. From reading this letter, we know that this is not the first time Paul has written

to the Christians in Corinth. In fact, in chapter five, verse nine, Paul says, I wrote to you in my letter, referencing his past letter, not to associate with sexually immoral people. So obviously, Paul had previously addressed how much the church was being compromised by allowing the culture of Aphrodite to infiltrate the church. Now, we don’t have that specific letter. It’s one of Paul’s lost letters to Corinth. In fact, there were four letters. We only have records of 1 and 2 Corinthians. All this to say, there’s been a long line of history and communication between Paul and the church that he planted in Corinth. One of the distinct aspects of the church in Corinth was that it was not only a wealthy church, but it was highly gifted. If we learn anything else from this letter, it reveals to us that you could be a church

full of gifted people and still have a whole lot of problems. You could be a church with a very healthy church budget and still not be considered a healthy church. But despite the church’s unhealth and its countless issues, which we will encounter all throughout this letter, it’s important to know, just as Greg mentioned earlier, that Paul still refers to them as called by God. There’s no doubt that this church was really messed up, but nonetheless, in Paul’s view, it’s still God’s church. And this begins to help you understand why Paul pens this letter. He wrote to encourage the church to move them away from the messiness of compromise and to guide them towards Christian health. Paul said some really hard and corrective things to this church because he loved them and he wanted them to be healthy. He wanted them to be mature as Christians.

Paul’s Journey to Corinth

I mean, imagine if Paul said nothing to them, if he never confronted their sin or their compromise. Family, that would be the most unloving thing to do. So the book of 1 Corinthians illustrates what love looks like when it confronts various sins that compromise and threaten the very health and witness of the church, but also threaten individuals that make up the church. One helpful approach, I think, to better understand Paul and his circumstances leading up to this church plant is to begin in Acts 17. In fact, if you would turn with me in your Bibles to Acts 17, we’re gonna look at a few passages here.

In Acts 17, we see that Paul had been moving from city to city, engaging in this church planting ministry, tells us that he journeyed from Thessalonica to Berea and then made his way to Athens. While he’s in Athens, we read that Paul was immersed in ministry among people, deeply entrenched in philosophy and rhetoric. And I’ll just read this for us in Acts 17, starting at verse 16. Now, while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, what does this babbler wish to say? Others said, he seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities

because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to Areopagus, which is Mars Hill, saying, may we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know, therefore, what these things mean. Now, all the Athenians and their foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling and hearing something new. So in other words, the people in Athens spent the majority of their time talking and listening to philosophy. Many of you are familiar with the rest of this story about Paul’s teaching on Mars Hill. Paul deploys a strategy that is a bit atypical from his usual preaching rhythms. He engages with the Athenians with this kind of cultural and philosophical rhetoric. You see this in Acts chapter 17, verse 22. Paul, speaking at the Areopagus in Athens,

sees this altar dedicated to the unknown God. And he says, men of Athens, I see that you are very religious. What Paul does here is he uses this unknown God as a starting point to introduce these men to the God of everyone and everything. What Paul was doing was attempting to correct their pluralistic worldview by offering the exclusive God of this world. Paul, in an attempt to be culturally engaging, he appeals to philosophy and even to their poets, the ones who have mastered the beauty of words and wisdom. But when Paul warns them of the day of judgment and speaks of the resurrection, the response of the men in Athens is interesting and varied. Some of them, they mock Paul. Others are intrigued philosophically. They wanna hear more. They have itching ears. And the text tells us that some men believed and joined Paul. And this is just a side note.

A lot of people in our age use Paul on Mars Hill as the perfect template to engage the culture with the gospel. But Paul’s approach to evangelize in his culturally relevant way, using elements of philosophy and rhetoric, even appealing to the quotes of their poets in the culture, it doesn’t go wonderfully well for Paul. Yes, there are some who respond, but not many. Paul didn’t see nearly as much fruit in Athens as he did in other places where he just preached the gospel. The men of Athens find Paul’s words and wisdom interesting, but not compelling enough so that many on Mars Hill believe, but only some. Now, praise be to God for the few who did follow. Now, you might be wondering why I begin in Athens in verse 17 when we should be focusing on Corinth in verse 18. Well, the reason is because I think what happened in Athens

helps to inform a lot of what happened in Corinth. Paul, probably because of the lack of gospel traction in Athens, which because of his philosophical approach to presenting the gospel, went out from their midst and from Athens, went about 50 miles west to Corinth. And here’s the thing, even though it’s roughly 50 miles away, what’s interesting is that the culture of Corinth is very similar to Athens. It’s kind of like how Vancouver is very similar to Portland. Corinth, just like Athens, was completely captivated with philosophy and rhetoric, with wisdom and words. In fact, the more eloquent a person spoke, the more they would give themselves to that person’s logic or worldview. This is why the poets were so relevant in this culture and well-respected. Well, in Corinth, this emphasis on eloquence of words was even greater because of the culture of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty permeated

into every sphere of culture, even when it came to their words. So, knowledge and speech were a big deal in Corinth, just like Athens, just with a bit more emphasis on beauty. And here’s the thing, it’s these things, philosophy and beauty, wisdom and words, that in every way center on knowledge and speech, that proved to be at the center of most of the problems within the Corinthian church. So, Paul changed his course, moving from Athens to Corinth, but he also changed his approach to engaging this kind of culture. And this shift in approach seemed to yield fruit because when Paul was there preaching in Corinth, people heard the message of the gospel, not philosophy, but the gospel, and they were converted. And this wouldn’t be a surprise to Paul because in Acts 18, verses nine through 11, it tells us that the Lord spoke to Paul concerning Corinth.

So, listen to what he says.

And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, do not be afraid, but go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people. And he stayed a year and six months teaching the word of God among them

— Acts 18

(ESV)

, not philosophy, the word of God. So, based on this text, it’s plain to see that there have been some hardships happening during Paul’s 18-month run in Corinth. But the Lord encouraged Paul to stay in Corinth because the Lord had people there who were his. And just a quick side note, if you ever were looking to showcase the sovereign hand of God in salvation, don’t miss this text, okay? God had already selected people in the city of Corinth to be saved.

And Paul was the instrument God would use to bring the saving message of the gospel to bear on their lives, the very message that would quicken the hearts of the people who already belonged to the Lord. This family is divine election and human evangelism working in tandem for God’s sovereign saving purposes. And family, this sovereign hand of God in evangelism should be an encouragement to you, not something to be debated. To know that God is working sovereignly over your evangelistic efforts frees you from the pressure of giving perfect gospel presentations. It frees you from the anxiety of trying to convince people of the truth. It doesn’t all rest on your shoulders. It’s God who does that work. Now, unlike other places that Paul traveled to do ministry, I don’t think Paul’s hardships in Corinth were related to persecution, at least physical persecution. We know that all throughout the New Testament,

Paul was a man well acquainted with personal persecution when it came to his ministry. In fact, he felt it almost everywhere he went. But persecution was not really an issue in Corinth, largely because it was such a pluralistic and tolerant city. It was a city full of ideas and idolatry. That would be very much like the Pacific Northwest. Yes, it’s hard for us to do ministry here in the PNW, but our hardships are related to making Jesus exclusive. We’re not experiencing the hardships of being physically persecuted by our faith, at least not yet anyway. And that’s because in the Pacific Northwest, much like Corinth, it’s very inclusive and tolerant. They don’t care what you believe, so long as you’re not pushing your exclusive beliefs on them. So it’s my opinion that most of Paul’s hardships and attacks were in the realm of mockery related to his wisdom and words.

They were verbal attacks and hardships because Paul’s words were authoritative and exclusive. He claimed a very particular authority, in fact, an apostolic authority, that his words were from God that testified exclusively about God himself. But it wasn’t just the exclusive and authoritative words used by Paul that I think created some of his hardships. It was also the way in which Paul spoke his words. You see, the Corinthians didn’t think Paul’s words were accompanied by the kind of divine polish and beauty that others in the city would speak with when referencing their many gods. I mean, here’s what I mean by that. Part of what persuaded the Corinthians to believe the strange things that they believed was the oral presentation of information. Again, the better a person spoke, the more influence that person had, the fewer hardships or verbal attacks that person would experience. Because Paul claimed to be an apostle,

which means someone sent by God, but didn’t speak as well as others in Corinth, he was met with mockery and suspicion concerning his apostolic credibility. I mean, if he’s speaking for God, why doesn’t he speak like the gods? And I think this is the reason why many in the church even called into question his apostolic ministry. It was because of his delivery. You have to remember, the city was full of exceedingly gifted speakers, a bunch of people who were skilled in the art of rhetoric and knowledge. In fact, Corinth was known for having these kinds of public speech competitions. And the one with the best delivery would win. Both the argument and the competition. And listen, Paul knew that his words were not as polished as others in the city of Corinth. Listen to what he says in 1 Corinthians 2, one through four. And I, when I came to you brothers,

did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom, for I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power. In other words, Paul didn’t try to repeat what he did on Mars Hill. He ditched that kind of philosophical wisdom and knew nothing among them except Christ and him crucified. So though Paul preached God’s words, Paul’s words were not as eloquent as others in Corinth and became a bit of an impediment which ultimately showcased the power of God through what Paul preached. In other words, his impediment with words revealed the very power of God’s word to convert people. Listen to what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10,

verses nine through 10. I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters. He’s saying, for they say, he’s talking about the Corinthians. His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech is of no account. 2 Corinthians 11, six says, even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge. Indeed, in every way, we have made this plain to you in all things. So Paul himself acknowledges that he’s not a gifted speaker in terms of the other speakers in Corinth. Now to be clear, this doesn’t mean he wasn’t gifted at all. It’s that Paul’s speaking wasn’t as good comparatively. So because of this, Paul made a practice to master with his pen what he could not master with his mouth. And I think we see the power of Paul’s pen all throughout his letters,

with these crazy and meticulous but beautiful run-on sentences. It’s packed with substance and wisdom. But however ineloquent Paul’s speech was or whatever his hardships were, God told Paul, stay and preach, stay and preach. And I will draw those whom I have chosen in that city, which are many. And family, one of the reasons why I bring this to your attention is for context, but also that you might be encouraged, that you might see the establishing of this church, that you don’t have to be a speaker with amazing skills. You don’t have to be amazing with words to be effective in ministry. That your ability to persuade people is not ultimately what produces fruit in the lives of people. We don’t know who God’s people are. We don’t know. So preach. Preach the gospel to people and let God sort it out. Trust that all who are his will be his.

The Church’s Compromise

And that God is the one responsible for converting people, not us, not our methods, not our philosophical insight, not our cultural relevance, not our powerful and persuasive words. So listen, this means we can fumble through the gospel when it comes to our kids and our friends and our family members and our coworkers. We can fumble in fear and trembling, just like Paul, knowing that God will do all the work. Amen? That’s encouraging to me. Paul writes this letter because word has reached him while he was in Ephesus that the church in Corinth was in a really bad way. Paul is told that the church is experiencing division, rampant sexual immorality, that Christians were suing other Christians, there was confusion and abuse concerning spiritual gifts, particularly those related to speech, like teaching prophecy in tongues. There were issues concerning the Lord’s table. There was some questioning as to whether Paul’s identity

as an apostle was legit. There were even doubts concerning the resurrection. Essentially, the culture of Corinth had crept into the church and the people began to compromise. The church in every way was looking less like Christ and more and more like the culture. And instead of being a lighthouse for the gospel that pointed people to Christ, the church was becoming a beacon of compromise, reflecting the ethos of the city. So Paul writes this letter as a course correction to move them from the culture of Corinth to the cross of Christ, to eradicate any sense of compromise with the culture. Now, given the number of issues going on in the church, you would assume that Paul would just be done with them. Look, I set this church up for you. I gave you guys all the things you need for it to function properly, and you guys just messed it all up.

I’m just gonna close the doors and start all over. That’s what you would think would happen with Paul. But he doesn’t do that. He doesn’t cancel them. Paul doesn’t give up on them. In love, listen, in love, he pens a powerful and painful letter to them to move them towards health and Christian maturity. And you really see the heart of Paul towards the Christians in Corinth in the first three verses of this letter, which is simply a greeting to the church. And even though it’s just a greeting, listen, it’s dense. It’s rich. It speaks to the heart of Paul towards the church in Corinth that he seeks to lovingly confront and correct. There’s something really interesting in these first three verses. It’s before Paul confronts them and tells them all that they must do in terms of correction, he does something really sweet here. He reminds them of who they are,

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Paul’s Loving Correction

which is a very interesting approach to correction, something that is wise for us to hide in our hearts. He reminds them of their identity in Christ before he addresses their compromise of Christ. But before Paul tells them who they are, he begins first by telling them who he is. So in verse one, Paul tells them who he is, and in verse two, Paul tells them who they are. And we’ll see why this is so important. Look at me at verse one. Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus and our brother, Sosthenes. Here, I want you to notice three things right out of the gate, Paul’s identity, humility, and authority. Paul begins by identifying himself as the sender of the letter, and this would make sense given the format. Today, when you receive a letter in the mail, you typically see on the envelope who the sender is.

When we get an email from someone, you see right out of the gate who sent the email or a text message, whatever communication we receive. But this letter in this culture, there was no envelope, at least not to anyone’s knowledge. You wouldn’t want to wait to the end of the letter to find out who was writing this information to you. No, you’d need to know on the front end who the sender was so that you could put a face to the words and have a sense of seriousness when it came to the substance. So Paul identifies himself as the sender who is in partnership with Sosthenes. Now, it is possible that Sosthenes is the person referenced in Acts 18 who was the ruler of the synagogue, but we can’t know that for sure. But one thing we can know for sure, we can easily deduce here,

is that the people of Corinth must have known who this man was. Paul introduces him in this introduction to showcase that there is agreement between them concerning the coming corrective content. Second, notice the humility of Paul, which in every way precedes his authority. Paul says he is called by the will of God. Now, in gangster culture, at least in Los Angeles, there’s this saying, I didn’t choose this life, this life chose me. And when gangsters say that, they typically say that baked in pride. It’s typically the case that they did choose that life. Their choices in every way determine the kind of life they have. But when Paul says this, though it sounds kind of gangster, it’s not baked in pride, but instead in deep humility. And this is not hyperbole. Paul didn’t choose to be what God made him to be in any way.

Paul wasn’t the one who decided what his ministry would be, or even that he would be in ministry. No, he was called by the will of God. Remember, Paul was formerly a terrorist. He was a persecutor of the church. In Acts 9, Paul, on the road to Damascus, was confronted by God and asked, why are you persecuting me? Notice Jesus tethers himself to the church who was experiencing persecution. The Lord blinds Paul. And then the Lord tells a man named Ananias to go to Paul to confirm God’s call on Paul’s life. And Ananias is like, no way. I know who this dude is. This guy’s a terrorist. You want me to go and talk to him? No. But the Lord said to Ananias, in verse 14 through 16, go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings

and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. So Paul was called by God into ministry. And what is his ministry most significantly marked by? Suffering. Suffering. Paul didn’t ask for this. He was called by God, chosen by God as an instrument to preach the gospel to all kinds of people. He didn’t become a church planter because he had these church planting entrepreneurial skills or because he thought, you know, it’s a good idea for me to just spend the rest of my life chilling in prison. He was called by God and his calling speaks volumes to the Corinthian Christians. Essentially, he’s saying, I didn’t do anything to earn this position as the Corinthian church planter. Paul didn’t become who he was because of his gifts or his speaking ability or lack thereof or even his credentials.

Those things didn’t push him to the forefront. It was God’s doing. And this calling is directly related to his authority. Again, Paul didn’t earn his title or authority as an apostle. I mean, Paul, who considered himself untimely born, the chief of sinners, was made to be an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of Jesus Christ. So if there was any question concerning the credibility of his apostleship, he makes it clear. I was made an apostle by the will of God. What’s interesting is that the word apostle means sent one, and that’s exactly what happened with Paul. The sent one was sent by the will of God to go to Corinth to establish the church there, and now they are calling into question whether he is actually the sent one. So Paul humbly identifies himself with God’s delegated apostolic authority to address them. But who is the them that Paul is addressing?

In other words, who is the recipient of the letter? Well, Paul makes it clear in verse two who the recipients of the letter are, and not just to avoid confusion concerning who the letter is for, but more importantly, to remind them of who they are. His greeting also serves as an identity check. So Paul begins in verse two, to the church of God that is in Corinth. Now, that’s an interesting way to address the recipient. Paul could have simply written, dear Corinthian church, but he doesn’t say that. And the order is kind of strange, but it’s deliberate. He wants them to know first and foremost that they are the church of God. In a city that showcases its pride for being Corinthians, Paul addresses them as the church of God. In other words, their identity has a priority. They are first and foremost members of God’s church

before they are Corinthians. When they became Christians, they were brought out of the world. They were brought out of Corinth and brought into a new covenant community. They became citizens of a different nation. Their loyalty and allegiance were no longer to Rome or to Corinth, but to Jesus and his church. They are the church of God because the Lord Jesus purchased them with his own blood. And although they have been brought out of the world, they are still called to live in the world. They are to be a light in the city of Corinth. But you cannot shine the light of the gospel in Corinth if you look more like the culture of Corinth. It does no good to live in a culture where the whole aim is to reach those who are lost in the culture. So they’re Christians before they’re Corinthians. Paul also says this to remind them

that the church does not belong to the Corinthian Christians. So they can’t just do and say whatever they want in the church. And this is a good word for us. No one can say, well, I don’t like this particular doctrine of the church. Let me just try to change it to be more culturally relevant. No one in the church can say, this is my church because I’ve been here since the beginning and I don’t like how it’s growing. I don’t like how all these new people are being brought into the church. They’re ruining my church. No, you can’t say that because the church doesn’t belong to you. The church belongs to God. It’s his church. And all of us are brought into the church of God when we were saved. Notice Paul said that he doesn’t reference the church as his, even though he’s the one that planted it.

And listen, for those of you who have been here since the beginning of Trinity Church, don’t get it twisted. This church was never Artaxerxes’ church. And this church is not my church. It’s God’s church. And Paul wanted the Corinthians just like us to know that. You understand that distinction? Though we belong to the church, the church belongs to God. Finally, Paul, addressing them in this point, he points to the fact that Corinth is really inconsequential. Corinth is nothing but a location. A location where these local Christians come together and assemble. That’s it. There’s nothing significant about Corinth. In fact, Corinth’s name could have changed. It could have easily been rebuilt under a new empire, but it would still be the church of God. And that also is a good word for us, family. I’ve said this before, the building could burn down. It could burn down to the ground

and we would still be the church. Our zip code could change and we would still be the church. We could move 10 miles from here to another county and we would still be the church. The location means nothing. There’s nothing inherently impressive or important about the location of the church. So we ought not take pride about being the church in Portland. Its value has everything to do with the one whom the church belongs to. And Paul continues in verse two by saying, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus. Paul is reminding them that they have been sanctified, meaning set apart and holy. Not only does the church belong to God, but so do the members individually belong to God. The Lord has pulled them out of the world and made them holy. Think about the elements in the tabernacle or the temple. Those elements needed to be clean and set apart,

meaning not for common use, but for holy religious purposes. Well, in the same way, the people of God are to be set apart, to not be common, meaning not like the world. And this word sanctified has both a past and progressive reality to it. In other words, we, like the Corinthian Christians, when we were saved, we were sanctified, and we are continuing to be sanctified, meaning God will continue to work in us and we must work on us to live lives set apart for his glory. And you see, this was the problem with the Corinthian church. They were living for themselves, living unholy lives, seeking their own glory and assimilating into the culture. And they needed to be reminded that they were sanctified. Paul goes on to say in verse two that they are called to be saints together with all those who in every place

call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours. This is amazing. Paul refers to these crazy people, messed up people, and listen, it gets gnarly in this book. He refers to them as saints, even though they may not be living like it. He reminds them that they are indeed Christians.

Just as Paul was called by the will of God, so too they were called by the will of God to be saints. And this calling extends to everyone who professes faith and belief in Jesus Christ. And the reason it’s so important for them to remember that they are saints is because they’re not living like it. They’re not living like it. Family, we are saints.

Are we living like it? Are we living like it? Sometimes we need to be reminded that we are Christians so that we might be snapped back into reality of who we are. The whole point of Paul’s message to the Christians in Corinth and to us is this. You, brothers and sisters, are members of God’s church called out to be different from the world, sanctified by Jesus who called you to himself. This is your true identity. And because this is your true identity, you must live accordingly. You are, therefore, you must be who you are. And listen, this is what makes Christianity different from all other religions. Other religions say, change your behavior and your identity will follow. Jesus declares that by coming to him, he will transform your identity, which leads to a desire to live according to your true identity. Essentially, Paul is saying to these Christians,

you have forgotten who you are. You are children of God, saints saved by grace, therefore, live like it. Can I ask you this morning, does your life look like a Christian? What does your life currently look like? Does it currently reflect the truth of your identity? If not, dear brother and sister, remember who you are. And most importantly, remember whose you are. You belong to him. He purchased you by his own blood. He set you apart for holy purposes, not to live for yourself, not so that you could just do you and live your best life now, but to live for him. If your life right now looks more like the culture of the Pacific Northwest, then it reflects your identity in Christ. Family, you need to ask God to align your life

Grace and Peace

to make it look more like what he’s called you to be. This is so important for you. Look at what Paul says in verse three. Paul says to these crazy Christians in Corinth, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul pronounces this beautiful blessing at the front end of his letter, even though he’s gonna say some really hard things. But it’s so much more than just that. It’s so much more than just that. It’s so much more than just that. It’s so much more than just that. It’s so much more than just a blessing. It’s his prayer for them. Paul says grace to you. And this grace is not merely the grace that saved them. They’re already saved, but rather it is the grace that sanctifies them. Listen to what theologian Tom Schreiner says about this kind of grace.

He says, grace in Paul is not limited to unmerited favor, but also refers to God’s transforming power. In other words, what is needed to conform their life and our life to our Christian identity is the grace of God. The grace of God’s power to transform you more and more into the image of Jesus. It’s the same kind of grace we see in Hebrews 4.16. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Paul prays that they would receive this kind of grace or help to grow them in godliness. And family, we should be praying this grace to one another all the time, all the time

that God might help us to grow in godliness. We need this grace to empower us to follow Jesus in obedience when the culture is pressing in on us. The grace is what keeps us at Trinity Church from compromise. But it’s not just grace that Paul prays for, he also prays for the peace of God. He prays that the peace that Christ purchased for us on the cross, the peace that reconciled us to himself, that made peace with God possible for those who would trust and believe for the forgiveness of sins, Paul prays that we would experience that same peace. And listen, if you’re here this morning and you do not know God, the Bible says that you are an enemy of God. But that through Jesus and his grace, you can have peace with God. The very thing Paul is praying for the saints, you can have peace with God,

simply by turning from your sins and trusting in God to save you. And if you have questions about that, you can ask anyone in this room and they would love to talk to you about that. Paul prays that the grace and peace that originates from the father that was purchased by the son would be theirs first and foremost. Before Paul begins this letter to correct their compromising behavior, he reminds them of who they are, whose they are, and who they must depend on for the necessary changes that need to take place in their life and in the church. And this is a good word for us. This is good. Brothers and sisters, as we spend the next eight months going through this book, my prayer for you is that you let this book confront you, that you let this book challenge you, that you let this book convict you

and you let it point out all of your blind spots that may have unintentionally allowed for the culture to cause you to compromise your Christian identity and your witness of the church. And as we go through this book, may we remind each other of who we are and pray this grace and peace over each other that our lives might be in alignment with who God has called us to be. Before we pray, I wanted to read something for you briefly. I know I’m trending a little long, but Jess Rae, she’s a singer-songwriter. She’s written this song called Come to My Senses. And I think she writes what Paul is penning to the first Corinthians in a wonderful way. And I’ll just read some of what she’s written in her song. She writes, we were born with a light and a fire in our eyes, a part of you inside us.

Before fear and doubt came along and put it out, poisoned us to forget about it. As the world dies from this disease, there is more I wanna be, brave enough to slay the beast. Bold enough to begin, to suck the poison from my friends and spit it out, don’t take it in. Dare to walk another way, dare to talk of a brighter day, joy that does not fade away. Pull the stars from the sky, tell the dark to turn to light, tell the dead to come alive. If I could hear just one word from your mouth, I will drop all my doubts and I’ll drop all my defenses. If I could hear you speak my name, the curse will break, the blood will pump through my veins again and I will come to my senses. Paul writes 1 Corinthians to his friends who have drank deeply from the poison of the culture

and he seeks to engage them to drink the poison and spit it out for them so that the Corinthian church might come to their senses of who they are in Christ Jesus. And this would be my prayer for us as a church. May we be the kind of people that seek out our friends who are drinking poison, suck it in and spit it out so that they might come to their senses. Amen? Let’s pray. Our Father and our God, we do thank you for your word. We thank you for 1 Corinthians. We thank you for giving us this letter and all of its messiness because it speaks uniquely to us and all of our messiness. And we pray, oh Lord and God, that as we spend the next eight months unpacking the beauty of your word, that you would use every bit of it to cause for us

to grow in Christian maturity and love for you and one another. We desperately need you, God. Move over the next eight months through the preaching of your word. We pray all these things in Christ’s name, amen.