1 Corinthians 1:1-9 - Grace

Good morning. We're going to read in the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 1 to 9.

1 Corinthians 1:1–9

!

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.

For in him you have been enriched in every way, with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge.

God does confirming our testimony about Christ among you.

Therefore, you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.

He will also keep you firm to the end so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful. Who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Amen. Please join me in a word of prayer.

Father, you say in your word that the unfolding of your word gives light.

We pray now that as we think together about the beginning of Paul's letter to the Corinthians,

that you would shed light in our hearts.

That we might see you more clearly.

That we might see ourselves and our world more clearly.

And that we might see the grace and glory of your Son, Jesus, more clearly.

So that we might trust him and love him and follow him all our days.

Please help me to preach.

Please give us ears to hear as your word goes forth.

We ask these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, greetings again from Franconia Baptist Church in Northern Virginia.

We pray for all of you often.

It is a joy to sing God's praises with you.

Let me just start by telling you something that surely you know.

And that is that God has given you a wonderful gift in Steve, your pastor.

Steve is a dear friend of mine.

I worked with him from 2016 to 2018.

I have learned so much from Steve about ministry, about following Jesus.

He was really one of the first people to help me learn to preach.

So the next 30 minutes are his fault.

Steve loves God's word.

One of the passages I pray for myself all the time is from 1 Timothy chapter 2,

1 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

where Paul tells Timothy to be diligent, to work hard, to show himself approved,

as he handles accurately God's precious word of truth.

And Steve is that kind of man.

He loves God's precious word of truth, and he spends his life laboring to handle it accurately

for the good of God's people.

One of the verses that we pray for ourselves as elders at Franconia Baptist Church is from

1 Peter chapter 5, where Peter says that we ought to shepherd the flock of God,

1 Peter 5 · chapter mention

which Jesus bought with his blood, like Jesus, humbly and lovingly and gently.

And that is the kind of pastor that God has given you in Steve.

So I thank God for him, and I know you do as well.

Well, it's a joy to visit another healthy church in another part of the globe.

Our sermon text this morning was written to perhaps a significantly less healthy church.

1 Corinthians, and by the way, we say 1 Corinthians.

I know you say 1 Corinthians.

So pardon me for saying 1 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians was written to the church in Corinth by the Apostle Paul in 53 or 54 AD.

Let me first tell you the story of Paul's relationship with this church in Corinth,

leading up to the writing of this letter.

So in Paul's day, Corinth was an extremely wealthy and an extremely worldly city.

Corinth sat at the intersection of two trade routes, one a land trade route and two a sea trade route.

And so there was a lot of money in Corinth.

And as a result, there were a lot of people in Corinth because people tend to flock to money.

Sexual immorality was extremely prevalent in Corinth.

One of the famous Greek writers a few hundred years before Paul had coined the term to Corinthize,

which is a way of saying to commit fornication.

So Corinth was an extremely worldly, pagan, sexually immoral city.

But around 50 or 51 AD, about 20 years after the Lord Jesus died and rose,

the Apostle Paul brought to Corinth the good news about God's son Jesus,

that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,

that he died to atone for the sins of all who would trust in him,

to wash their sins away by his precious blood,

that he rose from the dead three days later in victory over sin and death,

and that he will share his righteousness and his eternal life with all who will trust in him.

And Paul brought that message to Corinth.

And when he did, many of the Corinthians believed.

They turned from sin and idolatry and they trusted in God's son Jesus.

And Paul says that they were washed by his blood.

They were sanctified or made holy by their union with him.

They were justified.

They were declared righteous because of what Jesus had done for them.

The Apostle Paul stayed in the city of Corinth for about a year and a half,

preaching and nurturing this infant church,

helping them to learn what it means to follow Jesus,

now that they've been united to him.

And about a year and a half after he came,

Paul leaves to continue to spread the gospel in other places.

Around 52 AD, Paul leaves Corinth.

And in Paul's absence, the church in Corinth becomes what theologians like to call a hot mess.

The church begins to fracture.

There are divisions.

Certain sects form in the church more devoted to their sort of favorite personal leaders than to Jesus.

There's lots of quarreling in the church.

Some of the members are suing each other over petty and insignificant matters.

Some of the members are imitating the pagan, sexually immoral practices that they had left behind.

They're visiting prostitutes.

Many in Corinth are flirting with serious doctrinal errors.

Some of them seem to be leaning toward a denial of the resurrection,

which is pretty important in Christian doctrine.

Their worship services are a mess.

People see corporate worship as a time to sort of big up themselves,

to highlight their own gifts and prominence,

rather than to build up the body of Christ.

The Lord's Supper.

Paul says that when the church gathers to take the Lord's Supper,

some leave hungry, even though it was a potluck meal,

and some leave drunk.

And in the midst of all of this mess,

somehow the Corinthians are becoming terribly proud.

Their view of themselves is that they're an excellent church.

They're a next-level church.

Some of them are gifted orators.

Many of them are incredibly educated and knowledgeable.

So they think they're great.

Well, in 53 or 54 AD,

after Paul gets a report of how things are going in Corinth,

Paul sits down to write this letter,

1 Corinthians or 1 Corinthians.

And you can see that Paul is facing a tricky task,

a complex task.

Paul needs to unify this divided church.

He needs to challenge their pride.

He needs to warn them against the sin and the error

that they are playing with.

He needs to help them get their act together

when they gather as a church.

He needs to maintain his relationship with them,

and he needs to help them start growing again.

He needs to encourage them to continue to conform

to the image of Jesus and to follow him.

Well, if you are the Apostle Paul

sitting down to write that letter,

I wonder how you would begin.

What do you say first as you start that tricky letter

that's going to need to contain some stinging rebukes?

How do you start?

What do you say first to set up well

for everything else that follows?

The heart of this passage,

which begins Paul's letter,

is there in verse 4.

This is how Paul starts his letter

to the Corinthian church.

Look there in verse 4.

I always thank my God for you

because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.

There's a lot going on in this passage.

In a moment, we'll walk through these verses,

but the big picture is that Paul begins

his letter to the Corinthian church

by thanking God for his grace

given to them in Christ Jesus.

Paul begins by thanking God

for his grace to the messy Corinthian church.

Let's take just a few minutes now

and walk through the details of this text.

So there in verse 1,

Paul introduces himself as an apostle.

That is to say,

he is an authorized representative of Jesus.

Jesus has commissioned Paul

to speak his own words to his people.

So Paul's not just writing with some tips and ideas.

He's writing the very word of God

because he is an apostle.

Paul mentions Sosthenes there.

Probably Sosthenes is the scribe

to whom Paul is dictating.

There in verse 2,

Paul identifies to whom he's writing.

He calls them the church of God in Corinth.

And notice Paul says there in verse 2

that this church has been sanctified

or made holy in Jesus Christ.

Already this morning,

we've sung about God's holy name.

What it means for God to be holy

is that God is completely pure.

There is no sin or evil or falsehood in God.

And what's more,

God is separate and distinct

from the world that he has made.

To put it mildly,

God is supremely special.

So what Paul means when he says

that the Corinthians have been sanctified

or made holy

is that through Jesus,

the Corinthians have been given

a special relationship with God.

They belong to him.

The Corinthians are God's precious possession.

They've been washed and made holy

by the blood of Jesus

and now they belong to God.

That's what it means

that they are sanctified.

What a marvelous privilege

to belong to God

as his own purified,

special possession.

But notice this privilege

of being sanctified.

It doesn't only belong

to the Corinthians.

Paul says that they've been sanctified there

together with all those

everywhere

who call on the name

of our Lord Jesus Christ,

both their Lord and ours.

Can you see what Paul is doing?

Already,

already,

he is both encouraging

and humbling,

the Corinthians.

He's pointing out

that they have this

inestimable privilege

of belonging to God

as his holy people,

but lest they get big heads about it,

he says,

by the way,

that's the same privilege

that God has given

to all of his people

everywhere,

entirely by grace.

There in verse 3,

Paul tells the Corinthians

how God feels about them.

Friend,

do you ever wonder that?

How God feels about you?

What his heart in heaven

is toward you?

Especially when you're

a bit of a mess

like the Corinthians?

Look there in verse 3.

Paul says,

grace and peace to you

from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christian,

if you belong to Jesus,

if you've turned from sin

and are trusting in him

to reconcile you to God,

to make you holy,

this is God's heart toward you.

Grace and peace.

What is grace?

Grace is undeserved favor.

Grace is free kindness.

It is a generous

and loving heart attitude

of God toward us.

That's what grace is.

What is peace?

Peace is relational harmony.

Peace is when all is well

between you and someone you love.

A Christian,

if you belong to Jesus,

God's grace and peace

are yours

because of Christ.

That's his heart toward you.

One full of grace.

One desiring peace with you,

having made peace with you

through Jesus.

Verse 3 tells us about

God's heart

toward the Corinthians.

Verse 4 tells us about

Paul's heart

toward the Corinthians.

Paul has been praying

for the Corinthians.

He's been pouring out

his heart to God

about this church

that's caused him

so much pain and trouble.

What do you think Paul

has been praying

for the Corinthians?

Probably many things,

but the first thing,

the thing he always prays

when he prays for them

is to give thanks

to God for them.

And so he tells them,

he says,

Corinthians,

I'm so thankful for you.

Every time I open my mouth

in prayer to God,

I thank him.

I don't thank you,

Corinthians,

but I thank God

for his kindness,

his grace to you,

the way that he's poured out

his favor on you.

All the love that he's shown you

in saving you through Jesus

and all the work

that he's doing in you

through his Holy Spirit.

I thank God

for his grace to you

given in Jesus Christ.

Because you have him,

because you belong to him.

And then in the rest

of this passage

from verses 5 to 9,

Paul unpacks,

explains,

what the grace of God

at work in the Corinthians

has looked like.

There in verse 5,

Paul says that God's

Holy Spirit,

whom Jesus sends

to live inside

all who trust in him,

he says that the Holy Spirit

has enriched them

with gifts,

with all speech

and knowledge.

Interestingly,

later in the letter,

Paul will go after

the Corinthians

for misusing

their speech

and their knowledge

in selfish ways.

But here,

Paul encourages them,

that the Spirit

has gifted them.

He sees that,

verse 6,

as evidence

that the gospel

is true.

You could look

at the Corinthians' lives

and the ways

that the Spirit

was transforming

and empowering them

and you could see,

hey,

this message

about Jesus

is true.

He really died

and rose

and ascended to heaven

and gave these people

his Holy Spirit.

The Spirit's work

in them confirms,

Paul says,

the truth

of the gospel.

There in verse 7,

Paul says that

as a result,

because they have

the Holy Spirit,

they have everything

they need

as they wait

for Jesus

to come back

and finish

their salvation

by drawing them

to himself

as they wait

for the appearance

of Jesus.

And Paul says

in verse 8

that he's very confident

that God will

keep them

standing firm

until Jesus

comes back,

not because the

Corinthians are so great,

not because they're

so stable and solid,

but because,

verse 9,

God is faithful.

God is the one

who called them.

I'm sure you've

heard about that

as you've been

studying through Romans.

God is the one

who spoke to them

in a way

that their hearts

could not resist

so that they responded

to his gospel

with faith.

God called them,

Paul says,

and that's why

he's confident

that God will

keep them

standing firm

in their faith

in Jesus

until the very

end.

Well,

a few minutes ago

I told you

the story

of the Corinthian church

in all its messiness

and everything

that I said

was true.

But it's clear

that Paul

sees a much

bigger story

going on

in the life

of the Corinthian church.

See,

it's not primarily

a story

about the Corinthians

and their problems.

It's not primarily

a story

about how messy

that church is.

It's not primarily

a story

about how gifted

that church is.

That's what the

Corinthians thought

the story was about.

When Paul looks

at the Corinthians,

he sees

a story

about the grace

of God

in Christ Jesus

at work

in sinful people

to save

and transform him.

The big story

in Corinth

is not,

wow,

look at those

gifted superstars.

It's not,

wow,

look at those losers.

It's,

wow,

look at the grace

of God

at work

in sinful people

through Jesus Christ.

Look at the

transforming power

of God.

Look at the

almighty favor

of God

given

to the Corinthians

freely,

graciously

through Jesus.

Jesus.

And so Paul

begins this

letter to the

Corinthians

by directing

their attention

away from

themselves

and towards

God's kindness

in Jesus.

And here's the

point.

Here's the point

for you and me.

That is where

their eyes

need to be fixed

if they are

going to grow.

If the

Corinthians

are going to

grow

into the

mature,

godly,

holy,

unified people

that God

is calling

them to be,

their eyes

must be

fixed,

not on their

problems,

not on their

gifts and

excellencies,

but on God's

grace to

them in

Jesus Christ.

And brothers and

sisters,

we grow

when our

eyes are

fixed on

God's grace

in Jesus

Christ.

That's the

takeaway.

we grow

as Christians

when our

attention

is riveted

on God's

grace,

his kindness,

his favor,

his love

for us,

given to us

in Jesus

Christ.

If we want to

grow in wisdom,

in love,

in humility,

in unity,

in holiness,

the saving

grace of

God in

Jesus must

dominate

our attention.

We need to

sing and pray

and teach

and talk

about it.

We need to

read about

and meditate

on it

day after

day.

We grow

when our

eyes are

fixed on

God's grace

in Jesus

Christ.

Let me give

you two

reasons why

that is the

case.

Two reasons

why we

grow when

our eyes

are fixed

on God's

grace in

Jesus.

The first

is that

God's grace

humbles

our pride.

God's grace

in Jesus

Christ humbles

our pride.

Christian,

let me tell

you a story.

It's our

story.

Once upon

a time,

we did

not love

God.

Once upon

a time,

we lived

in rebellion

against God.

We broke

his law

when we

felt like

it.

Even when

we kept

his law

outwardly,

it was

not because

we loved

God.

And right

in the

middle of

us not

loving

God,

God

loved

us.

And he

gave his

son Jesus

to die

and rise

to save

us.

He did

what he

did for

the

Corinthians

for us.

He called

us into

fellowship

with his

son.

He sent

his spirit

to open

our eyes

and give

us faith.

And now

by the

grace of

God,

we too

are

sanctified.

We are

holy.

We are

in a

special

relationship

with

Jesus.

And ever

since our

conversion,

we're still

not that

good at

loving God,

at obeying

him,

at living

holy lives.

Even as a

Christian,

we are so

often,

I am so

often selfish

and insensitive

and proud

and foolish

and moody.

We are far

often,

far more

like the

Corinthians

than we

would like

to admit.

And yet

again and

again and

again,

God showers

his grace,

his forgiveness,

his favor on

us through

Jesus.

and we

know that

we'll make

it to the

end because

God,

who called

us,

is faithful

to keep

us in

fellowship

with his

son,

Jesus.

Let me

tell you,

when I

remember that

that's my

story,

it's really

hard to be

proud.

It's really

hard to

think too

highly or

too much

or too

often of

myself.

See,

like the

Corinthians,

so many

of my

problems

stem from

my pride.

The reason

I quarrel

with people

is my

pride.

The reason

I get

moody

is because

of my

pride.

I think

I'm not

getting what

I deserve.

The reason

I am

discontent

is because

of my

pride.

The reason

that I am

selfish toward

others is

because of

my pride.

But when

I fix

my eyes

on God's

grace

toward me

in Jesus

Christ,

my pride

is leveled.

It's humbled

because I

see what I

deserve in

the cross

and I

see what

I've been

given in

the resurrection.

God's

grace

humbles

our pride.

Let me

give you a

second reason

that we

grow when

our eyes

are fixed

on God's

grace in

Jesus Christ.

God's

grace

guards us

from

despair.

God's

grace

guards us

from despair.

I said

earlier that

in this

letter,

Paul will

need to

deliver some

hard-hitting

rebukes in

this letter.

And he

does.

I read it

through.

You'll see

he calls

them spiritual

infants.

At one

point,

he just

tells them

point blank.

He says,

you are

arrogant.

This is my

favorite.

In chapter

15,

he says,

wake up

from your

drunken

stupor

as is

right and

do not

go on

sinning.

If they

didn't get

the message,

he follows

that up

by saying,

I say

this to

your

shame.

He says,

you ought

to feel

bad about

this,

Paul says.

And

brothers and

sisters,

there will

be times

in our

lives,

there are

times in

my life

when we

need

rebuke

from

God's

word,

from

other

brothers

or

sisters.

Sometimes

we will

need

reproof.

We will

need to

be told

what you're

doing is

wrong.

That was

wrong.

That was

foolish.

That was

selfish.

Sometimes

we'll need

to hear

that.

And I

don't know

about you,

but sometimes

when I

am rebuked

or reproved,

I start

to interpret

that reproof

as

condemnation.

Someone

is reproving

me,

and I

quickly

interpret

that as

condemnation.

When I

hear,

hey,

what you

did was

not good,

I instead

understand,

I am

not okay.

And so

I slide

toward

despair,

that I'm

not okay.

And when

I respond

to rebuke

with despair,

that's

actually the

enemy

of my

growth.

Despair

is actually

the enemy

of my

growth,

because if

rebuke leads

me to

despair,

I will

not want

to hear

rebuke.

I will

be defensive.

I will

make it my

habit to

focus on

others'

flaws

instead of

my own.

And what's

more,

we don't

really

function

very well

when we

feel

condemned.

I don't

know about

you,

but if

you feel

like you're

under God's

condemnation,

it can feel

really hard

to love

God,

even though

his condemnation

is just.

And so

if we want

to grow,

we need to

fix our

eyes on

God's

grace,

on the

reality that

even though

we are

works in

progress,

even though

much sin

and corruption

and fault

remains in

us,

we are

loved.

God does

not reject

us.

We remain

sanctified.

We remain

God's special

holy possession.

He continues

to pour

his favor

on us

and to

live at

peace with

us.

When we

know that,

that's when

we have the

security to

hear the

rebuke that

we need

because we

know that

we're not

being condemned.

We know

that as

Proverbs

says,

God's

discipline

for us

comes from

his love

and so

we'll be

able to

grow.

God's

grace

humbles

our pride

and guards

us from

despair.

That's why

we need to

fix our

eyes on

how gracious

he has

been to

us through

Jesus

if we

are to

grow.

Maybe the

best way

that we

can apply

this passage

is to do

just what

we'll do

in a few

minutes

which is

to sing

about the

grace of

God given

to us in

Jesus Christ

to remind

ourselves that

God is

for us

that he is

for us with

his almighty

favor because

of Jesus.

Before we

close,

there's just

one final

way that we

ought to apply

the text.

There's one

way that we

can help

one another

fix our

eyes on

God's grace

in Jesus

Christ and

that is

that we

can learn

to encourage

one another

and we

can learn

to encourage

one another.

Christian,

the way

that you

treat one

another

ought to

reflect the

way that

God has

treated you

in Jesus.

See,

the Corinthians

must have

known on

some level

that they

were kind

of the

problem

church.

They must

have sensed

the growing

tension in

their relationship

with Paul.

How would

they have

felt when

they opened

this letter

and the

first lines

are lines

of kindness,

lines of

encouragement,

lines of

grace and

favor?

They would

have seen

in Paul's

encouragement

a reflection

of God's

kindness.

Christian,

do you

want to

display God's

grace to

others?

Learn to

be an

encourager.

Don't be

a flatterer.

Don't say

things that

are not

true.

Don't

refuse also

to say

hard things,

but learn

to see

the grace

of God

at work

in your

brothers and

sisters,

and truly

and genuinely

to encourage

them,

to point

out God's

grace at

work in

others.

From

2016 to

2018,

I worked

for Steve

at a

church in

Liverpool.

And at

the end

of my

time there,

after two

years of

working for

Steve when

I was

21 to

23,

Steve called

me up in

front of the

church,

and he

did not

tell the

story of

how I

slept

through

preparing for

an important

evangelistic

event.

He did

not tell

the story

of how I

accidentally

dropped the

church

teapot lid

into the

River

Mersey.

He did

not bring

me up in

front of

the church

and say,

David is a

23-year-old

who thinks

that he knows

quite a lot

more than

he does,

which he

could have

said.

He said,

David,

you've done

a good job.

We thank

God for

his grace

at work

in you

and for

the way

that he's

blessed us

through you.

And that's

a small

thing.

It's a

small thing.

But here's

why it

matters.

That is

what Jesus

Christ is

like.

Brothers and

sisters,

one day we

will stand

before the

judgment seat

of Jesus

and we

will give

an account

for all

our thoughts,

all our

words,

and all

our deeds.

And because

of his

own grace,

Jesus will

cover

and forgive

all

our

sins.

And because

of his

grace,

he will

say to

people like

you and

people like

me,

well done,

good and

faithful servant.

And he

will get the

glory for

his grace

to us and

in us.

Brothers and

sisters,

we grow

when our

eyes are

fixed on

that grace.

Let me

pray before

we sing.

Father,

thank you

for your

grace to

us in

Christ Jesus

that through

his death

and resurrection

we are

sanctified,

we are

yours forever.

Thank you,

Lord,

that we can

be certain

that you

will hold

us fast,

keep us

standing firm

in Christ

until the

day he is

revealed,

until he

comes again.

Father,

we pray that

each one of

us,

day after

day,

would rivet

our attention

on the

grace that

you have

poured out

on us

through Jesus,

that your

grace would

humble us

out of our

pride as we

remember how

good you've

been to us

in spite of

our sins,

and that your

grace would

guard us

from despair

so that even

as we see

sin remaining

in us,

we are

secure in

your love.

Would we

pray that

we would

reflect your

own grace

to one

another in

the way

that we

celebrate

your grace

in each

other's

lives.

Lord,

give us

joy now

as we

sing of

your

kindness.

In Jesus'

name,

amen.