2 Corinthians Ch1v1-2 - God Rules His Church

I was in Corinth.

It's on page, if you're reading the Red Church Bible, it's on page 1114.

And we'll start on verse 1 of chapter 18.

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome.

Paul went to see them.

And because he was a tent maker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.

Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them,

Your blood be on your own heads.

I am clear of my responsibility.

From now on, I will go to the Gentiles.

Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titus, a worshipper of God.

Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believe in the Lord.

And many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision.

Do not be afraid.

Keep on speaking.

Do not be silent.

For I am with you.

And no one is going to attack and harm you.

Because I have many people in this city.

So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

And I'm just going to turn over to 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and just read the first two verses.

2 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother.

To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia.

Grace and peace to you from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you, Johnny.

Thank you, Jonathan.

It's good to be with you again this morning.

And it's good to be able to share God's word with you.

Please have your Bibles open on those last couple of verses in 2 Corinthians.

I know I said to Jonathan it would be Acts.

It's actually 2 Corinthians verses 1 and 2.

Don't get too excited, you think.

Two verses.

He hasn't much to say.

Well, there's lots here for us.

To draw your attention to another book, if you haven't got a Bible, please help yourself just around the corner there.

There's plenty of Bibles.

It will help you as we go along and study God's word together.

Another little booklet, not on the same authority as Scripture, but nonetheless, it will help you.

2 Corinthians is just an introduction to some of the big themes that we will be coming across.

And it will help you in your understanding of the letter.

So pick up your copy of that as well.

Thank you, Jonathan.

Oh.

Place has fallen down.

Thank you very much.

Let me get a drink.

Let's pray together.

Father, we are privileged to have your word.

written down for us so that we can learn about you and your son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

We pray that these words written on the page would be transformative in our lives.

changing us, changing us, humbling us, and helping us to see Christ.

Please pour out your blessing upon us as we gather today and as we study this letter of 2 Corinthians over the coming weeks.

May it be truly good for us.

May it be truly good for us to hear your word.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, we need someone who is more successful and influential.

A crowd puller.

A big named speaker.

We need someone who is more dynamic.

Well, that seems to be the word on the street in Corinth.

The Apostle Paul, as we've just read from Acts,

had brought the good news of Jesus Christ to the city.

And it records for us there that many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.

However, despite the early growth, not all is well in the local church.

So-called super apostles have arrived and they're questioning Paul's ministry and his credentials.

Have a look with me in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 1.

2 Corinthians 3:1

Paul writes to the church and he says,

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again?

Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?

It seems there were complaints that Paul's ministry CV was not up to scratch.

He hadn't been to the right college.

He wasn't mixing with the right people.

Or have a look at chapter 10 and verse 10.

Paul writes about what people are saying about him.

Chapter 10, verse 10.

For some say his letters are weighty and forceful.

But in person, he's unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.

That Paul, I wouldn't cross the road to hear him.

But despite all the criticism, Paul pushes back chapter 11, verse 5.

I do not think I am in the least inferior to those super apostles.

In fact, the one thing Paul has that they don't have is weakness.

Look at chapter 11, verse 24.

If you want a CV, if you want credentials, well then here it is, verse 24.

Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.

Three times I was beaten with rods.

Once I was pelted with stones.

Three times I was shipwrecked.

I spent a night and a day in the open sea.

I've been constantly on the move and have faced many dangers.

Verse 27.

I have laboured and toiled.

I have often gone without sleep.

I've known hunger and thirst.

And often gone without food.

I've been cold and naked.

And besides everything else,

I face the daily pressures of my concern for all the churches.

Who is weak?

And I do not feel weak.

Who is led into sin?

And I do not inwardly burn.

If I must boast,

I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

It's not greatness that Paul has,

but weakness.

And in a culture that prized success

and encouraged the influential,

Paul, it appeared, was a complete failure.

He was neither an attractive personality

or an impressive speaker.

The church wanted someone who was powerful and dynamic,

not weak and fragile.

Well, isn't that how often we can think?

If only we had a better preacher.

Someone just like...

Someone who's influential.

Funny.

Draws a crowd.

If only we had better programs.

Something more creative and successful.

If only we had a better building.

An impressive place that we would be proud of.

A place to invite.

Who wants to be in a small church

with weak people?

But as Paul begins his letter,

he reminds us

that it's not about individual greatness.

It's all about God.

God is the one

who rules his church.

So, let's go to the beginning

of the letter,

2 Corinthians chapter 1.

2 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

And we're going to see

that the church begins

with God.

The church belongs to God.

And the church

is blessed

by God.

So, first of all,

the church begins

with God.

Despite what other people

have been saying about Paul,

he wants to make it clear

from the very beginning.

Verse 1.

Paul,

I'm an apostle

of Christ Jesus

by the will

of God.

And Timothy,

our brother.

He's wanting to show them

that the church exists

not because of anyone's greatness,

but because of God's will.

Now, to help us see this,

I want us to turn back

to Acts chapter 22.

Acts 22 · chapter mention

Go to Acts chapter 22.

Acts 22 · chapter mention

Here we have a record,

an account,

of when Paul became

a Christian.

He was formerly known

as Saul,

and his job

was to gather

all the Christians,

put them in prison,

and even kill them.

And as he was on his way

to Damascus,

you know the story,

the risen Lord Jesus

appeared to him

with a shining bright light.

He fell off his horse.

He was confronted

by Jesus

and he went blind.

And here in Acts 22,

he retells

his story.

So I want us to read this

thinking about

how the church

started.

Let's pick it up

in verse 11.

My companions

led me by the hand

into Damascus

because the brilliance

of the light

had blinded me.

A man named Ananias

came to see me.

He was a devout

observer of the law

and highly respected

by all the Jews

living there.

He stood beside me

and said,

Brother Saul,

receive your sight.

And at that very moment,

I was able to see.

Then he said,

The God of our ancestors

has chosen you

to know his will

and to see the righteous one,

that's Jesus,

and to hear words

from his mouth.

You will be his witness

to all people

of what you have seen

and heard.

And now what are you

waiting for?

Get up,

be baptized,

wash your sins away,

calling on his name.

Verse 21.

Then the Lord said to me,

Go,

I will send you

far away

to the Gentiles.

So from these

few verses,

I want us to see

three things.

First,

that Paul was saved

and sent

by God.

He was converted

as he was confronted

by the risen Lord Jesus.

And he was commissioned,

Go,

Paul,

I want you to go

to where people

have not heard

about Jesus.

So he was,

sent

by God

and saved

by God.

second,

he was sent

with the authority

of God.

Look at verse 14.

The God of our ancestors

has chosen

you

to know

his

will.

So if you were

to ask Paul,

Paul,

by what authority

do you have

to do

what you do?

His answer

was very simple.

I'm sent

with the authority

of God.

He chose

me

and I have

obeyed

and gone.

So he was

saved and sent

with the authority

of God

to preach,

thirdly,

the good news

about Jesus.

His sending

and choosing

was for a purpose.

Let's read verse 14

and 15 again.

The God

of our ancestors

has chosen

you

to know

his will,

to see

the righteous

one

and to

hear words

from his

mouth

and you

will be

his witness

to all

people

of what

you have

seen

and heard.

So as Paul

went,

he only

spoke

the words

about Jesus

that God

had spoken

to him.

So when

Paul

arrived

in Corinth,

he came

with the

authority

of God

and he

came

with a

message

from God

about

Jesus

Christ

that he

is God's

saving

king

and we

must

believe

in him

for the

forgiveness

of our

sins.

Let's

go back

to 2nd

Corinthians.

Now in

reading that

we might

think,

isn't

Paul

amazing?

Isn't

he great?

He went

and he

planted a

church in

Corinth.

Well at

one level

he did

and he

is great

but in

another

reality

it was

all

of God.

Do you

see that

verse 1

and this

is what

he recounts?

Paul,

an apostle

of Christ

Jesus

by the

will

of

God.

Paul

didn't

save

himself,

he

didn't

send

himself

and he

didn't

speak

his

own

words.

It was

all by

the

will

of

God.

God

had

planned

and

purposed

all the

events.

God

had

saved

him

and

God

sent

him

and

God

gave

him

the

words

that

he

was

to

speak.

You

see

it's

God

who

started

his

church

and

it's

God

who

has

started

this

church.

God

had

planned

and

purposed

before

time

began

all

the

events

to

bring

Carigoline

Baptist

Church

into

existence.

People

who brought

the same

message

that Paul

had heard

and he

passed

down to

others

through the

centuries

that we

now have

written

down

for us

people

have

heard

and

believed

and have

been

baptized

and are

now

part

of this

local

church.

As

Paul

said

in his

first

letter

I

planted

the

seed

I

brought

the

good

news

of

Jesus

Apollos

watered

he

began

to

teach

others

but

God

made

it

grow

so

neither

the

one

who

plants

nor

the

one

who

waters

is

anything

but

only

God

who

makes

things

grow.

So

God

is the

one

who

begins

the

church.

Second

the

church

belongs

to

God.

Again

we're

going

to

look

at

three

things

all

from

the

second

part

of

verse

one.

Let's

read

the

second

part

of

verse

one.

To

the

church

of

God

in

Corinth

together

with

all

his

holy

people

throughout

Achaia.

Three

things to

note.

First

we belong

to

God.

Do you

see it

there in

verse

one?

To

the

church

of

God.

You

see if

we've

heard

the

good

news

about

Jesus

if

we've

trusted

in

him

we

become

part

of

God's

church.

We

become

his

special

people.

We

belong

to

him.

And

that's

really

important

for us

to

note

because

it

means

that

when

we

belong

to

God

we

belong

to

him

forever.

eternally.

Just

have a

look over

at

chapter

one

verse

twenty

one.

We're

reminded

of how

we belong

to God

forever.

Now

it is

God

who

makes

both

of us

and

you

stand

firm

in

Christ.

He

anointed

us

and set

his seal

of

ownership

on

us

and

put

his

spirit

in

our

hearts

as

a

deposit

guaranteeing

what

is

to

come.

It's

God

who

makes

you

stand

firm.

It's

God

who

puts

his

seal

of

ownership

of

belonging

upon

us.

So

we're

his

forever.

We

belong

to

him

for

eternity.

But

it

also

means

that

we

belong

to

each

other.

Do

you

see

there

a

very

simple

phrase

to

the

church

of

God

in

Corinth.

So

it

is

for

us

we

are

the

church

of

God

in

Carigoline.

You

see

our

belonging

to

God

and

our

relationship

with

God

is

always

expressed

in

our

belonging

to

a

local

church.

None

of us

can

ever

say

I

belong

to

God

but

I

don't

belong

to

a

church.

church.

The

Bible

doesn't

think

of

it

like

that

ever.

The

two

are

always

together

and

never

ever

separated

to

the

church

of

God

in

Carigoline.

And

the

way

we

show

our

belonging

to

each

other

is

through

baptism

and

membership.

It's

saying

I'm

committed

to

God.

Yes

I

belong

to

God

but

I

also

belong

to

you.

I'm

committed

to

God

and

I'm

committed

to

you.

We

belong

to

his

people.

And

third

Jonathan

picked up

on this

in his

introduction

we

belong

to

the

worldwide

church.

Look

at

scripture

to

the

church

of

God

in

Corinth

together

with

all

his

holy

people

throughout

Achaia.

God

has

his

people

all

over

the

world.

Just a

couple

of

weeks

ago

I

and

some

others

here

from

the

church

went

to

a

Christian

festival

called

Kinfire.

Recommend

that you

go next

year.

And

gathered

together

were over

700

people

from

different

churches

from

all over

the

island

of

Ireland.

together

we

came

and

we

celebrated

that

we

belong

to

God.

But

of

all

those

people

there

with

such

a

crowd

it's

only

a

drop

a

sprinkle

in

the

bucket

of

the

millions

of

Christians

who

love

Jesus

and

who

are

gathering

today

all

around

the

world

and

they're

belonging

to

God

and

to

one

another.

You

see

the

church

is

much

bigger

than

just

me.

It's

much

bigger

than

just

belonging

to

God

it's

belonging

to

one

another

and

to

the

church

worldwide

and

as

we

reflect

on

our

belonging

we

see

that

we

belong

not

just

to

God

but

we

belong

to

his

work

and

all

that

he

is

doing

among

us.

God

is

building

his

church

both

locally

and

globally

through

all

those

who

belong

to

him.

Paul

reminds

us

of the

kind

of

people

that

he

uses

to

do

his

work

those

who

belong

to

him.

It's

not

through

our

greatness

but

it's

through

God's

power

in

his

people.

Go

back

with

me

to

1

1 Corinthians 2 · chapter mention

Corinthians

chapter

2

1

1 Corinthians 2 · chapter mention

Corinthians

chapter

2

Here's

the

kind

of

people

that

God

uses

to

do

his

work

the

people

who

belong

to

him.

Let's

pick

it

up

chapter

1

verse

26

Brothers

and

sisters

think

of what

you

were

when

you

were

called

when

you

became

a

Christian.

Not

many

of you

were

wise

by

human

standards.

Not

many

were

influential.

Not

many

were

of

noble

birth.

But

God

chose

the

foolish

things

of the

world

to shame

the

wise.

God

chose

the

weak

things

of the

world

to shame

the

strong.

Now go

down to

chapter 2

verse 1

and Paul

says,

so it

was

with me

brothers and

sisters.

When I

came to

you I

didn't

come with

eloquence

or human

wisdom.

It

wasn't

about my

impressive

speaking

or my

wonderful

training.

Verse 3

I

came to

you in

weakness

with

great

fear

and

trembling.

My

message

and my

preaching

were not

with wise

and persuasive

words but

with a

demonstration

of the

Spirit's

power so

that your

faith might

not rest

on human

wisdom,

on my

cleverness

and all

my wonderful

ideas but

on God's

power.

Let's go

back to

2

Corinthians.

You see

we belong

to God

and we

belong to

God as

he does

his work

through weak

people like

us.

So he

begins the

church, we

belong to

the church

and third

the church

is blessed

by God

because

this is

God's

church

he will

ensure that

everything we

need is

provided for

so that we're

not lacking

anything.

Have a look

at verse 2

Grace

and peace

to you

from God

our Father

and the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

Two things

that God

gives to

his church

today

two blessings

that we

can count

on.

First

the gift

of grace.

Grace in

the Bible

always refers

to God's

undeserved

favour

towards people

like us.

It's God's

goodness

and his

kindness

that we

don't

deserve.

Let me

give you

two examples

of God's

wonderful

grace

to people

like us.

Go to

chapter 8

verse 9

You'll

know this

chapter 8

verse 9

an example

of God's

undeserved

favour

goodness

and kindness

here it

is

for you

know

verse 9

the grace

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ

that though

he was

rich

yet for

your sake

he became

poor

so that

you

through

his

poverty

might

become

rich.

Christ

who had

everything

the eternal

God

stepping

into this

broken

world

taking

on flesh

just like

you and

I

but taking

on our

sin

becoming

poor

taking

the blame

for all

the wrong

things that

we have

done

so that

we might

become

rich

in all

the bountiful

goodness

and kindness

that God

would pour

out on

his

people

here's

another

example

chapter

12

verse 8

and 9

another

example

of God's

goodness

and

kindness

here Paul

is talking

about a

particular

suffering

in his

life

chapter 12

verse 8

three times

I pleaded

with the

Lord

take it

away

take this

suffering

out of

my life

but God

said to

me

my

grace

is

sufficient

for you

for my

power

is made

perfect

in weakness

we

sang

didn't

we

Christ

is

enough

for me

the

grace

of

Christ

is

sufficient

to

save

us

from

our

sin

and

to

strengthen

us

in

our

suffering

what a

wonderful

gift

that

God

gives

to

his

people

his

church

not only

is the

blessing

of

grace

but

there's

the

blessing

of

peace

and

peace

in the

Bible

is not

just

the

absence

of

conflict

and

trouble

it's

about

primarily

a

restored

and

right

relationship

with

God

and

with

others

so

just

look

over

the

next

chapter

chapter

13

verse

11

here

we

see

an

example

of

peace

at

work

God's

peace

at

work

in

the

church

he

closes

his

letter

by

saying

finally

brothers

and

sisters

rejoice

strive

for

full

restoration

encourage

one

another

be of

one

mind

live

in

peace

peace

and

the

God

of

love

and

peace

will

be

with

you

you

see

when

we've

received

the

peace

of

God

when

we

are

in

right

relationship

with

him

we

become

agents

of

peace

we

become

a

conduit

of

God's

peace

to

one

another

he

fills

us

with

his

peace

so

that

we

can

live

at

peace

and

the

God

of

peace

will

be

with

you

he

will

bless

you

now

these

two

blessings

let's

go back

to

chapter

one

to

the

beginning

second

Corinthians

chapter

one

and

verse

two

these

two

blessings

grace

and

peace

to

you

come

from

God

our

father

and

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

the

blessings

that

the

father

loves

to

give

to

his

children

the

church

he

delights

in

blessing

us

but

they

are

only

experienced

this

grace

and

peace

are only

experienced

in

Christ

it's

as

we

trust

in

him

we

are

united

to

him

and

all

the

blessings

that

belong

to

Christ

now

become

ours

how

rich

we

become

it's

like

those

all

you

can

eat

and

drink

restaurants

I

love

them

you

just

pay

your

25

euro

whatever

and

you

fill

your

plate

and

your

cup

again

and

again

no

limits

well

the

good

news

is

even

better

than

this

Christ

has

paid

the

cost

he's

dealt

with

our

sin

and

shame

and

guilt

he's

dealt

with

everything

and

he

gives

us

access

to

a

banquet

filled

with

goodness

and

kindness

with

his

blessings

you

see

God's

blessings

are like

an

overflowing

river

that will

sustain

and provide

us with

all that

we need

it's a

tap

that's

never

turned

off

and

never

runs

dry

it's

like

a

gushing

fountain

that

flows

day

after

day

after

day

grace

and

peace

again

and

again

and

again

for

our

every

moment

and

our

every

need

you

see

the

church

is

not

about

individual

greatness

or

dynamic

speakers

or

having

successful

programs

or

impressive

buildings

it's

not

about

me

it's

not

about

you

it's

it's

about

God

God

our

father

who

pours

out

his

blessing

on

his

church

through

Jesus

Christ

it's

about

his

people

coming

to