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