Who Inherits the Kingdom of God?, 6/7/26

We come today to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter

1 Corinthians 6:9–11

6 verses 9 through 11 as we are going through

this wonderful book that the Apostle wrote to

the Corinthian church. Our subject today is a

question. It is who inherits the kingdom of God?

We're going to look today at verses 9 through

11. So hear the word of God as we read this text.

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not

inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.

Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,

nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves,

nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor

extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

But such were some of you. but you were washed,

but you were sanctified, but you were justified

in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit

of God. Let's pray to ask God's blessing on this

time in His Word. Father, we thank You for the

richness of this Word. Lord, herein we find both

warning and exhortation. We find the great joy,

Lord, of being washed and cleansed. But we also

see the exceeding sinfulness of sin. And so,

Lord, as we look at this passage, please open

our eyes and reveal it to us, Lord. We pray for

the power of the Spirit of God to illuminate

this word for us as we go through it. We pray

in the name of Jesus. Amen. This chapter, that

is chapter 6, began with a warning against brethren

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

taking other brethren to the law before the unrighteous

and unjust. We looked at that last week, and

it ended with a stern warning against the one

who is going to the unjust, who is doing wrong,

and the one who is cheating, which should never

be done to the brethren. In this passage of God's

holy and inspired word before us today, Paul

gives a reminder that the unrighteous and unjust,

that's the same word that's used in verse 1,

that the unrighteous and unjust will not inherit

the kingdom of God. And he warns against being

deceived. He gives a list of those who will not

inherit this kingdom. And he reminds them. While

some of them had been these people, they are

now washed, they are sanctified, and they are

justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by

the Holy Spirit of God. This is a statement of

pure gospel. Such were some of you, but now you

have been changed. Yes, a person can be changed

and have a new identity in Christ. Now there's

been some question among biblical scholars and

teachers and commentators as to whether these

verses are continuing in the same subject that

we just looked at, or if Paul is here changing

the subject. With these verses and then what

comes after. Which is a focus on union with Christ.

And on Christian identity. And how that the body

is not for sexual immorality. But is for the

Lord. And their bodies are a temple of the Holy

Spirit. In my opinion. These verses do not introduce

a new subject. But rather flow from the earlier

verses. They show how Paul's rebuke. Of cheating

among believers in verse 8. And then. he expands

into a broader catalog of sins whose practitioners

will not inherit God's kingdom. Paul specifically

describes sins that go along with the cheating,

such as revilers, extortioners, and thieves.

These all relate to the injustice of cheating

that was happening. But nevertheless, The overarching

theme of these first few chapters in 1 Corinthians

is that Paul is showing them who they are. That

is, what their identity is in Christ and that

they are a temple of God both collectively and

each one of them is a temple of the Holy Spirit

and they need to learn to live it out. They need

to learn how to put this into practice. We saw

this back in chapter 1 verse 2. Paul writes to

those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus and

called to be saints. This congregation is not

too far gone. They have not passed the point

of no return. They are in Christ. They have the

new identity. The gospel wasn't working them.

It was sanctifying them and cleansing them and

making them into a new people, not only in position,

but also in practice. And this is the glorious

position of all believers, that when we were

dead in Christ, that when we were dead in trespasses,

God in his love and in his great mercy. Made

us as Paul says in Ephesians 2. Made us alive

together with Christ. And raised us up together.

And made us sit in the heavenly places in Christ.

But God's people need to learn to live that way.

They must as Paul says in Colossians chapter

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

1. Continue in the faith. grounded and steadfast

and not be moved away from the hope of the gospel

which they had heard. And this is the message

to the Corinthians. You need to live what your

calling is, what your position is in Christ.

You need to live that way. All of this ties in

with the chapters before showing how the Christians

must embrace the cross. And be united together

as one without factions. They must expel those

who are unfaithful and living in open sin and

rebellion against God. Saw that in chapter 5.

And now in chapter 6. They must not act against

each other by going to law against each other

before the unjust. And they are not to do wrong

and cheat the brethren. For the unrighteous will

not inherit the kingdom of God. Thus, this passage

today, to which we now turn. We begin in verse

9. Do you not know that the unrighteous will

not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.

Neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers

nor homosexuals nor sodomites nor thieves nor

covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners

will inherit the kingdom of God. Now by the kingdom

of God we understand that Paul and Christ is

referring to God's sovereign rule. reign over

all and it's referring particularly to his kingly

authority exercise to redeem a people to himself

and to defeat evil and to renew creation now

the kingdom of god is already with us As Jesus

preached in the beginning of his ministry. It

says in Mark 1 verse 14. Now after John was put

Mark 1:14

in prison. Jesus came to Galilee. Preaching the

gospel of the kingdom of God. And saying the

time is fulfilled. And the kingdom of God is

at hand. That is it's right here. And so therefore

repent and believe the gospel. So this kingdom

is now here. It is now present. As Jesus also

said in Luke 17, he was asked by the Pharisees

when the kingdom of God would come. And Jesus

answered them and said, the kingdom of God does

not come with observation, nor will they say,

see here or see there. For indeed, the kingdom

of God is within you. However, there's also a

future aspect of this kingdom as an inheritance.

So it is both here and now, but with a greater

manifestation in the future. And that is what

Paul is referring to in this passage. He's referring

to this future manifestation. That is to the

eternal state that is reserved for all who are

in Christ, of which Peter says, Blessed be the

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who

according to his abundant mercy has begotten

us again. to a living hope through the resurrection

of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance

incorruptible and undefiled and that does not

fade away reserved in heaven for you. The unrighteous

will not inherit this kingdom. And Paul says

it twice, both in verses 9 and then he repeats

it again in verse 10 of our passage. In other

words, they ought to know this. There is a marked

difference between unbelievers who are part of

Satan's dominion and they are ruled by him and

those who are in Christ's kingdom and belong

to God. They should know this. And yet, they're

acting like they don't understand it when they

take their brothers to the unjust in the court

of law. So the apostle teaches them again, so

that they are not deceived and think wrongly.

He here is reorienting their thinking. He says,

do not be deceived. Do not be led into error.

Do not be led away from the truth. Led astray

by the thinking and the practice of the ungodly

and of the unjust. Now the temptation for this,

as we know, is all around us. The magazines,

the books, the TV shows, and the newcasters,

the newspapers, and the book publishers, the

talk of the street, much is filled with the thinking

and the practices of the kingdom of this world

that militates against righteous thinking and

living. And so this admonition rings true and

strong to us. Do not be deceived. Furthermore,

as Matthew Henry states, the unrighteous are

not to be considered. As true members of Christ's

church on earth. Nor admitted as glorious members

of the church in heaven. Paul makes this strong

statement for two reasons. What is this strong

statement? Do you not know that the unrighteous

will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be

deceived. The first reason why Paul says this.

Is that in realizing how the unrighteous think

and act. And how they are unjust. The Corinthians

should not be going to law against each other

before these kinds of people. The unrighteous

who will not inherit the kingdom of God. For

they have no part or share in it. But secondly,

he is also reproving them for their own unrighteous

acts of tricking and cheating one another. Defrauding

the members of the body of Christ, the church.

This is totally unfitting for those in God's

kingdom. And in Christ's church. But then he

goes on to describe. That on how these unrighteous

live. Or that is. He goes even beyond. Now that

they occasionally commit these sins. Rather they

are characterized by these sins. Because they

live in them. This is what they do. Having eyes

full of adultery. And coveting after others.

They live in the state of adultery. And they

are called adulterers. Those who practice sexual

immorality are called fornicators, or in some

of the older translation, whoremongers, etc.

So this list is not speaking of a Christian who

is not characterized by these sins, but falls

into a grievous sin and repents. No, it is speaking

of those who are living in a state of being by

constantly indulging in them, and those who do

so cannot inherit. The kingdom of God. Now, what

are these sins? We're going to break them down

and consider each one. But before we begin, let

me simply state that one of the elements of gospel

preaching is the preaching about sin. It is defining.

what sin is according to the word of God. It's

not real easy to go down through this list of

10 sins and really look at what these are all

about and what they mean. But it needs to be

done because we must understand the seriousness

of sin. We must understand our utter need of

Christ and of his salvation and the exceeding

sinfulness that separates us from God. So as

I go through this, I do it to sharpen us. to

enlighten our consciences, and to warn any who

are indulging in these sins to flee from them

and to run to the one who forgives sins and cleanses

from all unrighteousness. With that, we're now

going to look at this list of sins and their

definition and some examples. These are in verses

9 and 10. Ten sins. The word of God lists here.

This is not comprehensive. There are others.

For example, you won't find in here the sin of

pride or sins associated with that or of a filthy

mouth. Those are mentioned elsewhere. Right here

he is speaking of ten particular sins of which

he says those who are these, they cannot be.

Part of the kingdom of God. Those who live in

them. The first one is fornicators. We've looked

at that before. The Greek word pornos or porno.

The definition is simply very broad. It is people

who practice sexual immorality. That is any sexual

activity outside of the covenant of marriage

between one man and one woman. This is a broad,

a catch -all term. This includes premarital,

adultery, though that's also listed separately,

pornography, prostitution, homosexuality, and

any form of sexual gratification that violates

God's design for sex. The body is meant to be

a temple of the Holy Spirit, as we'll see next

week in greater detail. Sexual sin uniquely defiles

this temple and it violates the one flesh union

that God designed. Later in verse 18 of this

chapter, Paul will say, flee sexual immorality.

That is, take flight, seek safety, escape out

of danger. We see this in many modern examples.

Casual hookups, prostitution, living together

before marriage, viewing pornography, trafficking

or abusing the young, or sexting, or any of the

ongoing sexual relationship outside of biblical

marriage between a husband and a wife. Number

two is that of idolaters. This is simply those

who worship and serve idols. That is anyone or

anything given the worship, the devotion, the

loyalty and the priority that only belongs to

God. Idolatry also comes through avarice as in

fraudulence and extortion and greed. It is not

just limited to statues. It is anything that

we look to as ultimate. That replaces God as

the center of your life or your affections or

your trust. This breaks the first and the greatest

commandment in Exodus 20 verse 3. It robs God

Exodus 20:3

of his rightful place. We see examples of this

in neglecting the worship of God and focusing

on anything else but. And that can be even good

things. Making money or a career or sports or

politics or entertainment or romantic relationship.

All can be viewed as an ultimate priority where

they replace God. This also includes participating

in occultic practices, in astrology, or in false

religions, that is, religions that deny the core

of Christian doctrine and practice, as well as

religions that worship physical idols, such as

Hinduism. Thirdly is adulterers, he mentions.

This is married people who engage in sexual relations

with someone other than their spouse. This includes

physical adultery as well as heart level unfaithfulness,

as Jesus says in Matthew 5 and verse 28, that

if you look upon a woman to lust after her, you

have committed adultery with her in your heart.

Adultery destroys the sacred covenant of marriage,

which is to be a picture of Christ's relationship

with the church. This is explained in Ephesians

Ephesians 5:31

5, verse 31 and 32. We see this in cheating on

a spouse, or in emotional affairs that then turn

physical, or secret sexual relationships while

married, or with what is in vogue today in some

parts, and that is open marriages. Yeah, we're

married to each other, but you can have another

partner, and I can have another partner, and

we're all okay with it, as well as other derivatives

of that. Adulterers. Number four is homosexuals.

Now this word is the Greek word malakoi. And

I'm going to say this in a way that, without

being too explicit, this is actually the only

place this is used in the New Testament in this

way and in one other. There's only two places.

But basically it is also translated in some as

effeminacy. Basically it is referring to males

on... As the passive partner in homosexual acts.

In the context of the time. It described men

who took on this role. In male to male sexual

activity. Although it also referred to men. Who

were effeminate at the king's places. And they

wore soft clothing. This is in Matthew 11, verse

Matthew 11:8

8, and Luke 7, verse 25. That's how it's described

Luke 7:25

there. Same Greek word, but it's only used those

three times. Matthew 11, Luke 7, and here. This

goes against God's created design for human sexuality.

We see this again. all around us men identifying

or engaging in this type of behavior or acting

in an effeminate manner which that means this

also includes those who have adopted the whole

trans agenda which we see again has been so popularized

number five sodomites this is the other word

this is simply means one who lies with the male

as with a female points to men who take the active

role together with malakoi the word before paul

is clearly condemning all male homosexual practice

as incompatible with god's kingdom in this passage

we see this again popularized in much in the

media or much in especially in film and TV. But

this also includes the exploitative and the dominance

-based nature of some of the ancient homosexual

practices, like some of which are still occurring

in the Islamic countries, like Afghanistan, this

big macho man, but then he also preys on younger

ones. This is a very shameful act. And this act

was also done in Greece, that of preying upon

the young. This is clearly condemned as outside

of the kingdom of God. Then we come to the word

thieves. Simply those who take what belongs to

others without permission. It includes both large

scale and small theft, both pilfering and embezzlement.

It reveals a lack of trust in God's provision

and love for your neighbor. And it violates the

eighth commandment, thou should not steal. And

it shows selfishness instead of generosity. We

see this today in shoplifting or in stealing

from an employer. That can be in time or in actual

items. You're getting paid by the hour and you're

given responsibilities to do. And instead of

doing those responsibilities, you do something

else. You cover up your time. and thus deceive

your employer. This involves identity theft or

burglary, the violation of copyrights, the breaking

of contracts, or withholding from those to whom

you owe something, keeping back wages, for example,

or payments that are owed. This is thieves. The

next one is that of being covetous. That is those

who are greedy. They have an insatiable desire

to acquire more, especially at the expense of

others. Greed is idolatry of the self and possessions.

Colossians 3 verse 5. It is the constant craving

Colossians 3:5

for more that leads to discontent and exploitation.

It replaces trust in God with trust in wealth

and it breeds many other sins. 1 Timothy 6 verse

1 Timothy 6:12

12, For the love of money is a root of all kinds

of evil, from which some have strayed from the

faith in their greediness and pierced themselves

through with many sorrows. Now God does richly

give us all things to enjoy, but we are not to

be haughty and not to trust in them. Again, the

same passage in 1 Timothy 6, verse 17. Command

1 Timothy 6:17

those who are rich in this present age not to

be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches,

but in the living God which gives us richly all

things to enjoy. We see this in lack of contentment

or in get -rich -quick schemes or bribery or

exploiting workers or hoarding wealth while ignoring

the needy or never being satisfied with what

one has. The next sin is that of drunkards. We

can understand this fairly well. There's not

a lot of hidden meaning in this one. This is

simply people who habitually become intoxicated

or they're controlled by alcohol or, by extension,

other substances. this is not someone who occasionally

has a drink but is those whose life is dominated

by drunkenness this destroyed self -control which

is the fruit of the spirit galatians chapter

Galatians 5:22

5 verse 22 and 23 and it opens up the door to

many other sins as proverbs and other passages

show We see this in regular binge drinking, in

alcoholism, in getting drunk at parties as a

lifestyle, or in substance abuse that impairs

judgment. The next one then is revilers. This

is number nine, revilers. This is speaking of

those who are abusive. They use abusive and disparaging

or insulting or slanderous speech against others.

They are contemptible in their person. This includes

verbal abuse or malicious gossip and tearing

down other people's reputations. The tongue has

great power to destroy, so says James in chapter

3, verse 5 through 10, and it reveals a heart

-locking love and grace. We see this in habitual

yelling or cursing at family or co -workers or

online trolling or bullying or slandering and

spreading damaging rumors or constant criticism

designed and meant to humiliate the other person.

This is revilers. And lastly, that is extortioners.

This is those who swindle. Those who take advantage

of others through force or through fraud or through

manipulation. It is robbery but with duress and

stress added to it. This includes cheating, scamming

and using power or position to rob others unjustly.

Extortioners combine greed with injustice and

they prey on the vulnerable. We see this today

in financial scams. or corrupt business deals,

or blackmail, or dishonest lawsuits, loan sharks,

or politicians abusing power for personal gain.

But at the end of this list of sins, Paul again

reiterates, these will not inherit the kingdom

of God. I've gone through this 10, we've gone

through it fairly rapidly, but just to show you

what all is in here, and certainly these could

be fleshed out in greater detail. These describe

habitual and unrepentant lifestyles, not isolated

instances. For example, David sinned grievously

in the adulterous affair with Bathsheba and in

the murder of Uriah. And yet David had a heart

after God and he was quick to repent when confronted

with his sin. And he did so before the Lord.

Peter. In a moment of weakness. Denied Jesus.

Not once. Not twice. But three times he denied

Christ. Peter went out. And he wept bitterly.

He repented. And after the resurrection. Christ

restored him to fellowship. And brought him near.

And entrusted him. With continuing to be an apostle.

And he wrote letters. that are with us today,

that are the inspired word of God. This is Peter.

Now there's no excuse for this. There's no excuse

for them. But it is a comfort to know that when

a believer sins, we have the blessing of repentance

and the hope and the joy of forgiveness and restoration.

But to those who live this way, to those who

are held fast in these sins, they are outside

the kingdom and they will not. inherit eternal

life this is what the word of God says if you

are held captive by these sins or are living

in them or have indulged in them in the past

without repentance and restitution and reconciliation

then I urge you to repent and to trust in Christ

to not stay in these sins from which comes damnation

and alienation from the kingdom of God but let

me now tell you about the transformation of the

power of the gospel and the grace of God. And

this comes in our very next verse to which we

turn. Number three, the change of mind and heart

through the gospel and grace of God. He says,

and such were some of you, but you were washed,

you were sanctified, you were justified in the

name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our

God. Paul reminds them of what they once were.

Now all were lost and in need of Christ, but

not all of them were such notorious sinners as

listed here. They were sinners perhaps in other

areas. And this is why he says, after listing

these ten, such were some of you. He reminds

them of who they used to be so that they will

not live that way any longer nor be tempted by

that life. Here then is what has happened. And

he goes on to describe this. Now these three

are not in any particular order, but they all

mean that they have experienced the acts of God.

Three acts of God that are mentioned here. They

were washed, they were sanctified, and they were

justified in the name of Jesus Christ. Let's

look at these three as we wrap this up. Number

one. They were washed. Now, what exactly does

this mean? They were washed. Now, the scripture

speaks of at least three meanings of being washed.

And we're going to take them all because they

are all realities of faithful Christians. I think

here, as I look at this, I think Paul means all

three of these because we see them in the word.

There's the washing in baptism. There's the washing

of regeneration. And there's the washing in the

blood of Christ. These three. Are mentioned in

the word. Now in baptism. Clean water is poured

upon their heads. Or they are immersed into the

water. And are baptized into Christ. The person

who is being baptized. Receives the name of the

triune God upon them. Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

And with this. They receive a new identity in

Christ. As a baptized Christian. And they are

covenantally bound. To Christ's body. The church.

Galatians 3, verse 27. For as many of you as

Galatians 3:27

were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Saul, struck down by Christ from his horse on

the way to Damascus and blinded by the light,

was brought to Ananias and he heard the will

of God for his life. And then he is told, this

is in Acts 22, verse 16. Arise and be baptized

Acts 22:16

and wash away. calling on the name of the Lord.

The word wash here in this Acts 22 is the very

same word as we have here in 1 Corinthians 6.

So Hebrews 10 verse 22 infers the washing of

Hebrews 10:22

baptism in which he exhorts us, let us draw near

with a true heart in full assurance of faith.

having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience

and our bodies washed with pure water so we see

the washing in baptism this identity in christ

but furthermore we look at the washing of regeneration

now do we see let's see in titus chapter 3 when

Titus 3 · chapter mention

the kindness and love of god our savior toward

man appeared not by works of righteousness which

We have done, but according to His mercy, He

saved us. How? Through the washing of regeneration.

And the renewing of the Holy Spirit. Which he

poured out abundantly on us. Through Jesus Christ

our Savior. That being justified by his grace.

We should become heirs according to the hope

of eternal life. Now regeneration refers to the

new birth. That is the word of God upon the heart

of a person. And making them new. Radically changing

their heart and their mind. This is the new life.

It is the restoration and regeneration. renewing

of their heart and mind, radically changing them.

It is the renewing of the mind by the Holy Spirit.

This is what the prophet Ezekiel saw and he described

in Ezekiel chapter 36 and verse 25. He says,

Ezekiel 36 · chapter mention

Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you

shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your

filthiness and from all your idols. I will give

you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.

I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh

and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my

spirit within you and cause you to walk in my

statutes. And you will keep my judgments and

do them. What an incredible passage this is.

And Paul builds on this in Ephesians chapter

Ephesians 2:4

2 verse 4. But God who is rich in mercy. Because

of his great love with which he loved us. Even

when we were dead in trespasses. Made us alive

together with Christ. By grace you have been

saved. And raised us up together. And made us

sit together in the heavenly places in Christ

Jesus. This is the regeneration of the new birth.

The washing of regeneration. Excuse me. How then

do we become free from these sins that bar us

from the kingdom of God? It is through the washing

of regeneration, that miracle that God does in

us by Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. One

cannot work this out through efforts of his own.

One must, as Jesus told Nicodemus, be born again,

born from above. are struggling with your sins

and you cannot get free of them and you are bound

in unrighteousness this is what you need a new

heart i appreciate brother ty and praying for

some of the lost who are relatives are known

continually praise that the lord would give them

a new heart would take out the stony one that's

what this is describing right here the third

washing that we have Is being washed in the blood

of Christ. John opens up. The apocalypse. The

revelation of Jesus Christ. With these words.

Grace to you. From Jesus Christ. The faithful

witness. The first born from the dead. And the

ruler over the kings of the earth. To him who

loved us. And washed us from our sins. In his

own blood. And has made us kings and priests.

To his God and Father. To him be glory and dominion

forever and ever. Without the shedding of blood,

the scripture says, there is no forgiveness or

remission of sins. But indeed. How much more

shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal

spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse

your conscience from dead works to serve the

living God? Hebrews 9 and verse 14. We have been

redeemed out of the judgment and condemnation.

As Peter says, knowing that you were not redeemed

with corruptible things like silver or gold from

your aimless conduct received by tradition of

your fathers, but with the precious blood of

Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without

spot. All of these, I believe, are in mind as

Paul says these simple words, you were washed.

And in this washing, we are set. which is the

next description. He says, you were sanctified.

You were sanctified. The sanctification is a

work of the Holy Spirit that does two things.

First of all, it separates one from profane and

evil things, such as the sins listed in this

passage. And it dedicates that person to God.

So separating and dedicating to God. That is

the one action. The second work of the Holy Spirit

and sanctification is that it cleanses and purifies

from the guilt of sin and renews the soul. So

as we look back in our lives, we realize, boy,

I did a lot of sin. I really messed up. And we

can look and we can get bogged down in all the

evil that we have done. But through the blood

of Christ. And through the work of the Holy Spirit

and sanctification, we are cleansed and we are

purified from the sin, but also from the guilt

of that sin. So we no longer need to live in

the guilt of it. With it weighing us down and

the burden of it. Oh, I just can't believe what

I did. That can be gone through sanctification.

Together, this makes one holy and set apart to

God. This is the work of sanctification. Sanctification

is both a one -time work at conversion, but it

is also an ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, rooting

out the ongoing sin in the life of a believer.

We're going to look at two examples. Here's an

example of the one -time work, which is what

Paul is referring to in our passage today. 2

2 Thessalonians 2:13

Thessalonians 2, verse 13. But we are bound to

give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved

of God, because God from the beginning chose

you for salvation through sanctification of the

Spirit and belief in the truth to which He called

you by our gospel for the obtaining of the glory

of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was a one -time

act of salvation. It was by the Spirit in setting

you apart your sins and saving you. But then

Paul also speaks of the ongoing work in 1 Thessalonians

4. He says, Finally then, brethren, we urge and

exhort you in the Lord Jesus that you should

abound more and more, just as you received from

us how you ought to walk and to please God. For

you know what commandments we gave you through

the Lord Jesus. And he says, For this is the

will of God. Your sanctification. This is something

that you grow in Christ as you go on with your

Christian life. As the work of the Spirit continues

you and you are washed in the Word of God and

you hear it and you have the fellowship of the

saints and you walk with God, you become more

sanctified. You become more holy. God deals with

things at your life that even were still present

with you at the time of your conversion. And

then you were sanctified and set apart, but now

you are also being sanctified. Just as we have

been made holy through the blood of Jesus and

the work of the Holy Spirit at conversion, so

also we are to be holy in all of our conduct.

1 Peter 1, verse 15 and 16. But as he who called

1 Peter 1:15

you is holy, you also be holy. In all of your

conduct. Because it is written. Be ye holy. For

I am holy. We see this. In the life of the Corinthians.

They were sanctified. But at the same time. They

had a lot of sins remaining. In their walk of

life. That needed to be repented of. And they

needed to change it. They were holy. But they

were also in the process of becoming. where their

walk of life needed to match their position in

Christ. So also it is with us. Number three,

they were justified. They were justified in the

name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God.

To be justified is to be rendered righteous.

brought into a state of favor with God. Your

sins blotted out through Christ Jesus. The Holy

Spirit witnesses that you are sons and daughters

of God and your conscience has been cleansed

and enlightened. This time, this happens at the

time of regeneration that is the new birth conversion

to Christ. We know that all have sinned and fallen

short of the glory of God. but we are justified

freely by His grace through the redemption that

is in Christ. This is a one -time act of God

wherein a man is justified by faith apart from

the deeds of the law. Romans 3 verse 28. It is

Romans 3:28

the very essence of the gospel where the believer

is renewed and is treated as if they have kept

every jot and tittle of God's law perfectly.

Romans 3 verse 21. But now the righteousness

Romans 3:21

of God apart from the law is revealed. Being

witnessed by the law and the prophets. Even the

righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

To all and upon all who believe. The righteousness

of the law is fulfilled in us. This takes away

all. All self -effort to salvation. For so great

is our sin that in no way could we ever atone

for them. Let atone be free from the guilt of

them before a holy God. No, we must have one

who justifies us. One who will give us peace

with God and will save us from the wrath of almighty

God. And this one is none other. And Jesus Christ.

And therefore Paul says to the Corinthians. You

were justified. In the name of Jesus Christ.

And by the spirit of God. You have his name upon

you. You have a new identity. And you are united

with Christ. Your body is now a temple of the

Holy Spirit. Whom you have from God. And you

are no longer your own. For you were bought with

a price. The precious blood of Jesus. And Lord

willing we will consider this further next week.

If the Lord wills. How glorious a change does

grace make. It changes the vilest of men into

saints and children of God. And such were some

of you, Paul says. But you are not what you once

were. The wickedness of men and women before

conversion is no bar to their regeneration and

reconciliation to God. So brothers and sisters,

let us rejoice in the work of God. Let us trust

in Him. Let us be free from our sins and be reconciled

to God through Jesus Christ. We're going to close

now in prayer, and I'm going to pray the prayer

that Paul prayed in Ephesians 1 for this congregation.

So let us pray. Father in heaven, I pray that

you, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father

of glory, might give to this congregation the

spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge

of you. I pray that the eyes of their understanding

would be enlightened, that they would know what

is the hope of your calling. And what are the

riches of your glory of your inheritance in the

saints. And what is the exceeding greatness of

your power toward us who believe. According to

the working of your mighty power which you worked

in Christ. When you raised him from the dead

and seated him at your right hand in the heavenly

places. Far above all principality and power

and might and dominion. And every name that is

named not only in this age but in that which

is to come. Lord God, you have put all things

under his feet, the feet of Jesus. You've given

him to be the head over all things to the church,

which is his body, the fullness of him who fills

all in all. We thank you for these great and

precious promises. We pray in the name of Jesus.

And now we'll open it up for prayers in the men

of the congregation.