Who am I? Who are we? This question of identity is perhaps one of the most important questions a
person can ever ask, isn't it? That's the question that really drives the passage that we're looking
at together today. Our text this morning is 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 1 through 9.
That's page 952 in the Pew Bible. If you're new to the Bible, the big numbers are the chapters
and the small numbers are the verses. That'll help you find your way around. We're starting a new
sermon series today in this book of 1 Corinthians. And if you're new to Trinity, our typical practice
on Sundays is to pick a book of the Bible and simply teach straight through it, section by
section, pulling no punches, leaving no verse left unturned. One of the most basic claims of
Christianity is that Jesus continues to lead and guide his church through scripture. That God,
in fact, continues to speak through the words of the Bible. So teaching through whole books is a way to
ensure that we hear everything that God is saying for our good. And that we don't just hit the parts
that me or Matt or Greg or anyone else thinks might be helpful. You don't really want to hear what I
have to say. Trust me. If you're curious to learn more about what the Bible is and why Christians
understand it the way they do, check out the new Sunday school class that just started at 9 a.m.
before the service downstairs in the fellowship hall. Well, 1 Corinthians 1, 1 through 9.
Let's read this. Let me read this for us. And before we do, let's pray together. God, we thank you for
your word. We thank you for this time that we get to attend to your word. Oh God, we pray that you would
continue to show yourself faithful to speak to us through this word that you, Jesus, have given to your
church. By your spirit, we pray that you would give us hearts that are receptive and understanding.
Lord, to truly behold you and your glory this morning. Amen.
1 Corinthians chapter 1. Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus and our brother
Sosthenes. To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus,
called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, both their Lord and ours. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,
that in every way you were enriched in him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony
about Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any gift. As you wait for the
revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain us to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus
Christ. God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
God is faithful by whom youfort your God not.
He says, I can only answer the question, what am I to do?
if I can answer the prior question
of what story or stories do I find myself apart?
I can only answer the question, what am I to do
if I can answer the prior question
of what story or stories do I find myself apart?
You remember J.R. Tolkien's great trilogy,
The Lord of the Rings?
Well, how does that story open?
It opens with the hobbits, right?
Living their simple lives in the shire,
not really worried much
about what's happening beyond their borders,
happy to keep carrying on with life as usual,
enjoying their long pipes and sharing their many meals
and gossiping about their extended families, right?
But what they don't realize
is that the shire is actually caught up,
actually enmeshed in this larger story,
this story of epic proportions,
a story the unfolding of which will determine
not just the fate of the shire,
but the fate of everyone in Middle Earth.
Tolkien's story is about one hobbit,
or actually really a group of hobbits, right?
Frodo and Sam and Mary and Pippin,
this group of friends who together,
as this epic story unfolds,
begin to realize who they really are
and what story they are a part of
and what it is they have to do.
When the Apostle Paul wrote the letter of 1 Corinthians
sometime in the early 50s,
he was writing to a church
that had lost track of who they really were
and what story they were really a part of,
and so they had lost track of what it was
they were meant to be doing in the first place.
Which is to say,
they were experiencing the same danger
that you and I face today.
There are probably few books in the New Testament
that feel as current or relevant as 1 Corinthians.
The church was dealing with all sorts of problems,
and many of these feel immensely practical
and even urgent to us today.
Questions about worship,
and questions about sex,
and marriage, and singleness,
and questions about our rights,
and how do we express them,
and do we give them up?
There are even some in the church
facing severe intellectual doubts
about some of the core tenets of the faith,
and we'll be walking through these issues
one by one in the months to come,
but maybe the primary reason
why 1 Corinthians feels like such a practical book
is because at the end of the day,
it's all about being the church
in the midst of a pragmatic,
pluralistic, achievement-dominated culture
just like ours.
You see, friends,
Corinth was the fast lane of the ancient world.
It was a port city
and an economic powerhouse.
And because of its geography,
it was a city where east and west met.
The main commercial shipping routes
connected eastern and western ends of the empire
that connected the eastern and western ends of the empire
ran straight through Corinth.
And so people of vastly different cultures,
and classes, and languages, and religions
all came there,
and they all met there,
and they all lived together.
Think of some of the world's fastest-growing cities today,
like Dubai or Shanghai.
Corinth was fast,
and it was new,
and most of all,
it was where you went to make it.
If you wanted to climb the ladder
and make a name for yourself,
where did you go?
You went to Corinth.
And that's why 1 Corinthians is such a relevant book for us,
and why we'll be spending such a big chunk of time studying it,
because it teaches us
not just what to believe about the gospel,
not just to believe the gospel,
but it teaches us how to live the gospel,
and how to live the gospel in a world
just like ours,
where style
often matters more than substance,
and where what works
often takes precedence over what's true,
how to live the gospel in a world
where the dominant plot line,
the dominant shaping narrative
of our lives
basically says that
the road to happiness is found
through achievement
and through fulfilling your desires.
And very interestingly,
what we'll find along the way
is that as each of these individual topics comes up,
we'll see that Paul's response
isn't
so much like our response often is.
Paul's response isn't,
look, here's the rule book,
just do it.
No.
Paul goes deeper than that.
He goes down to the heart.
Yes, there are principles,
and there are rules,
and they're there for our good,
but deeper than that,
this book's going to remind us
again and again and again
not to forget who we are,
and not to forget whose story
we're a part of.
That's what Paul's up to
even in these opening verses.
Of course, on the surface,
it looks like just a standard opening
to a first century letter, right?
You've got who it's from
and who it's to,
and then there's a nice little word of thanks
before you really get down to business.
But you know, actually,
when you look again,
you realize that Paul has taken
these first century conventions
and used them.
He's transformed them even
into a vehicle
for laying the groundwork
of the whole letter.
As we'll see in a minute,
almost every major theme
is actually anticipated
in these first nine verses.
It's quite stunning.
But more than that,
right from the start,
Paul's getting down
to the heart of the issue.
And as we've seen,
this issue is our issue too.
We face conflict
and questions and doubts.
We wonder what it is
we're supposed to do.
We wonder how exactly
are we supposed to live.
But first,
you have to remember
who you are.
And you have to remember
whose story you're a part of.
And so along those lines,
there are four reminders
in this passage
about the real identity
of the church of God.
Four things that are true
about the community
that God has called
into the fellowship
of his son,
as verse nine says.
So let's look through these
one at a time.
The first is that the church
is sanctified in Christ.
Look again at verse two.
To the church of God
that is in Corinth.
To those sanctified
in Christ Jesus.
Now sanctified is a word
that needs some explanation, right?
Popularly when we hear language
like sanctified and saint,
which is from the same root word,
we typically think of what?
Someone who's really moral
and really religious, right?
Saints, after all,
they're the spiritual all-stars.
They're up here.
And then there's the JV squad
of you and me,
everybody else down here.
You know, like you're not
ever going to find
a stained glass window of me
in the back of the church.
Obviously that's not
what Paul means here, right?
Just start reading
1 Corinthians
and you'll realize
that that can't be
what Paul means.
This church is messed up.
He's not saying,
oh, you are the spiritual all-stars.
You get it all right.
No, that's not what he means.
So that popular meaning
isn't exactly going to help us.
So what does it mean?
Well, in the New Testament,
sanctification language
is used in one of two ways.
Stick with me for a second.
On the one hand,
sanctification can be a process
whereby we become
more and more like Christ
after we believe.
That's sometimes called
progressive sanctification.
And that's how sanctification
is often used
in theological conversations, right?
But,
the New Testament
will also talk about
sanctification in another way.
And this way
is actually a lot more frequent
in the Bible.
It will use this word
to describe
what has happened
to all believers
once and for all
through their union
with Christ by faith.
That is,
in Christ,
they have been
utterly and completely
cleansed
of the guilt of sin.
And now,
they are set apart
for God's own purpose.
This is sometimes
what's called
positional
or definite
sanctification.
You see,
one of the ways
that the Bible
describes sin
is as a stain.
And doesn't that metaphor
immediately ring true?
When you lie to someone,
when you lash out in anger,
when you give in to lust,
you feel that,
don't you?
Like you're somehow dirty
or unclean.
And that if someone
would now look at you,
really look at you,
they might not like
what they see.
And so,
you feel shame,
that sense of worthlessness
and ugliness.
And the worst of all
is that these stains
don't seem to go away.
And so,
we hide from one another.
And we hide from God.
But friends,
here is the stunning
good news
of Christianity.
That God has made a way
for us
covered in stains
to be clean again.
You see,
when Jesus died
on the cross,
he took the punishment
for our sin.
And now,
as the guilt
is lifted
from us
through his cross,
our stain
of guilt
is removed.
Our record
is now completely clean.
Our stains
are washed away.
And God
demonstrates this,
that our record
has been made clean
by raising Jesus
from the dead.
Maybe you're here
and you're exploring
Christianity.
Maybe you came
with a friend
and you're wondering
what Christianity
is really all about.
Well,
friend,
this is it.
That God,
through Jesus,
has done something
for you
to cleanse you
of your guilt
and shame
and to bring you
holy welcome
to himself.
In other words,
Christianity
is not at root
about trying
to clean up
and do better.
It's about trusting
the one
who has cleansed us
by grace
and giving your life
wholly to him
in love
and in trust.
And then,
watching him
make you new.
But you know,
we need to remember
that Paul is writing
this letter
to people
who are already
Christians,
right?
That Christians,
too,
need to be reminded
that we need
to remember
that we've been
made clean
in Christ
and that God
has set us apart
for his own
noble purpose
in the world.
In chapters 5
through 7,
Paul will return
to this theme
of holiness,
of sanctification.
And his argument
there will be,
don't you see?
This is his argument.
Don't you see,
friends,
you've already
been cleansed
in Christ.
All your guilt,
all your shame,
it's done with.
Now,
be who you are.
Live the holy life
that Christ
has already
welcomed you into.
Let nothing
of your past
hinder you.
In the early
18th century,
the young
Jonathan Edwards
began keeping
a notebook
of theological
reflections
that he called
his miscellanies.
And he wrote
something like
1300 of them
in his life
because he was
a machine.
And the very
first one
that he wrote
was about
this topic
of holiness.
holiness is a
most beautiful
and lovely
thing.
It makes
the soul
like a delightful
field or garden
planted by God
where the sun
is Jesus Christ,
where the
blessed beams
and calm breeze
are the Holy
Spirit,
and where the
sweet and
delightful flowers
are the
Christian
grises.
Christian,
how do you
view yourself
this morning?
A failure?
A second
rate follower
of Jesus?
Someone who's
messed up
so many times
that you can't
be of any
real use
to God?
Friend,
hear the word
of God
this morning
that none
of that is
true.
You are
washed.
you are
sanctified.
You are
justified
in the name
of the Lord
Jesus Christ
and by the
Spirit of
our God.
That's what
Paul will say
in chapter 6
verse 11.
First and
foremost,
that's who
you are.
And God
has a
glorious
purpose
for you.
The next
thing that
Paul wants
to remind
us of
is that
we're
not just
sanctified
in Christ
but we're
also
united
with a
worldwide
movement.
Look again
at verse 2.
Called to be
saints
together
with all
those
who in
every place
call upon
the name
of our
Lord Jesus
Christ
both
their Lord
and ours.
Paul is
saying lift
up your
gaze
for just
a moment.
Lift up
your eyes
from your
local
concerns
and the
petty
squabbles
that you're
having with
each other
and realize
that you're
a part of
something so
much bigger
and so
much broader.
Do you see
what it does
when you
remember that
we as the
church are
part of a
global
worldwide
international
movement of
God?
Puts
things in
perspective
doesn't it?
In chapters
1-4
of 1 Corinthians
Paul is
going to
tackle this
issue of
church unity
and jealousy.
There are
divisions growing
in the church.
People are
saying I
follow this
leader and
I follow
that leader
and that
makes me
pretty much
better than
you.
And Paul is
saying it's
such a small
and petty
understanding
of what it
means to be
the church.
You are
part of a
global
family of
faith.
Bigger than
any one
leader.
Certainly
bigger than
any one
congregation.
Why are
you trying to
puff up
your own
ego and
grow your
own little
tribe when
there's a
worldwide
advance of
the gospel
happening as
we speak?
That God's
glory is
spreading to
the ends
of the
earth.
That people
are calling
on the
name of
the Lord
Jesus in
every corner
of the
globe.
Friends,
catch a
vision.
Catch a
vision for
extending his
kingdom globally
instead of
spreading your
own petty
little fiefdom
in Corinth or
in New Haven
or wherever you
may be.
Lift up your
eyes and lose
yourself in a
mission that is
as big as the
world.
Remember that you
belong to a
global movement.
Let's keep
going and look at
the third
thing.
Paul wants us
to remember
about who we
are.
He wants us to
remember that
we are a
people who are
not just
sanctified, not
just worldwide,
but are
enriched by
grace.
Pick up at
verse 3.
Grace to you
and peace from
God our Father
and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
I give thanks
to my God
always for you
because of the
grace of God
that was given
you in Christ
Jesus.
that in every
way you were
enriched in him
in all speech
and all knowledge
even as the
testimony about
Christ was
confirmed among
you so that
you're not
lacking in any
gift as you
wait for the
revealing of our
Lord Jesus
Christ.
Now perhaps the
first observation
to make here is
that for all the
problems in
Corinth, Paul
could still be
genuinely thankful
to God for
them.
Isn't that
amazing?
Of course there
may be a hint
of irony here.
We'll learn
later in
chapters 12
through 14
that the
Corinthians
use or their
misuse of their
so-called spiritual
gifts was actually
causing some
problems.
I'm so thankful
that you're so
enriched Corinthians.
But even if there
is a hint of
irony I still
think Paul is
giving genuine
thanks.
Which is a
lesson for us
isn't it?
Even if things
aren't exactly
how you wish
they were
in your
marriage
or in your
friendships
or in your
small group
or in your
church family
for all that
isn't there
still ample
room for
thanksgiving?
Are you
thankful friends
for what is
rather than
being simply
critical of
what is not?
And Paul
here thanks
God for
what?
For the
grace they've
been shown.
And that
grace enriches
them in every
way he says.
And of course
grace by
definition is
something you
don't deserve.
It's a sheer
unmerited gift
and we too
need to remember
that today.
That it's
grace
not our own
doing that
brings us to
God.
And that
means that
our life
together as
a church
grace
enriched
grace
enriched
should not
make much
of ourselves
but should
make much
of Christ
the giver
of the
grace.
That's what
Paul's getting
at in verse
six isn't
he?
They've been
given these
gifts of
speech and
knowledge not
to demonstrate
how great and
spiritual they
themselves are
but in order
to confirm
the testimony
the message
about Christ
and to
display how
great he
is.
Remembering
this grace
will cause us
to exalt
Christ all
the more
and especially
when remember
that it's not
a miserly grace
that God
extends.
He's not
sort of
doling it
out quarter
by quarter.
Now he
enriches us.
He lavishes
us.
There's no
lack of
grace.
It's an
abundant grace
that he
pours out.
A grace
that saves
us and
then equips
us to do
his work
and to
make much
of Jesus.
And when
we remember
that we're
recipients of
grace it
also does
this.
It produces
in us a
love for
one another.
After all
doesn't grace
mean nothing
more than
that we've
been loved
with an
undeserved
love?
And when
that hits
home,
when it hits
home that you
have been
loved with
an undeserved
love, you
will in
turn love
others.
Especially when
you realize that
those others are
loved by Christ
himself.
Loved ones for
whom he died so
that he might
extend them
grace.
You know, in
fact, it's a
bit odd, isn't
it?
It's a bit odd
when you sort of
compare this to
Paul's other
letters that love
isn't mentioned
here, isn't
it?
Most other
churches that
Paul writes
to, he gives
thanks for the
love that they
show.
But in
Corinth, there's
a strange
silence.
In this
thanksgiving, love
is absent.
When you read
ahead, it begins
to make sense.
Eventually, you
come to 1
Corinthians 13,
the famous love
chapter that we've
all heard read at
weddings, right?
Actually, a
friend of mine
told me a funny
story once.
This isn't in my
notes, I'm going
to share it
anyway.
A friend of
mine from
Australia where
they don't
really know the
Bible that
well was at a
wedding and the
person was
supposed to read
1 Corinthians 13,
but the reader
wasn't really
familiar with the
Bible, so they
ended up reading
1 Chronicles 13.
That was pretty
awesome.
But you know,
when you read
1 Corinthians 13
in context, in
the context of
chapters 12 and
chapters 14, what
do you realize?
You realize that
1 Corinthians 13
isn't sort of
commending the
Corinthians for
their great display
of love.
It's this scathing
critique for their
lovelessness.
the most
essential thing, he
says, you're
totally missing.
And that's the
problem.
And you know, if
we tie that later
critique back to
this strange absence
in these opening
verses, we can
guess that their
lovelessness was
due to the fact
that the
Corinthians had
forgotten about
grace.
Paul is reminding
them and us that
the spiritual gifts
they had and
everything else that
they've received
were just that,
gifts.
Gifts to be used
in the service of
love.
And briefly, before
we move to our
final point, do you
see why this is why
we can't celebrate
grace enough as a
church?
Because if we
really internalize
this biblical grace,
that is the costly
fulfilling the law
in my place,
unmerited grace of
Jesus Christ, if we
get that, we will
be a loving church.
Preaching and
believing real gospel
grace won't make us
lazy, it won't make
us indifferent to
good works, just the
opposite.
It'll make us people
who actually love.
And love will motivate
all kinds of good
works.
grace.
Remember who you are,
friends.
Sanctified,
worldwide,
grace lavished.
And the last point
that Paul drives home
is an extension of
that grace and love.
We need to remember
last of all that we're
a people headed towards
a future full of hope.
Let's pick up in verse
seven.
So that you're not
lacking in any gift as
you wait for the
revealing of our Lord
Jesus Christ who will
sustain you to the end,
guiltless in the day of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful by whom
you were called into the
fellowship of his son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
As the church, we look
forward to the future,
not with fear, not with
worry, not with anxiety,
but with confidence.
Why?
Because we know that the
God who created all
things will one day
triumph in righteousness
over sin and death and
brokenness and that
Christ will return in
glory and be the perfect
judge and he will put all
things right.
And the church looks
forward to that day with
confidence because as
Paul says here, he will
sustain us to the end.
And because of Christ's
death and resurrection for
us, there will be no
charge on that day to be
laid against us.
Those who have put their
trust in Christ, those who
are found in him.
Because any charge, any
condemnation has already
been removed by the cross
once and for all.
And the verdict on that
day, when our lives are
laid open before him, the
verdict for those who are
in Christ, Paul says here,
will be guiltless, innocent,
accepted, approved.
Of course, the idea of a
final judgment may seem
more than a bit strange to
you.
But think about it,
friends, could there be any
greater affirmation of the
value and meaningfulness of
this life?
You and I live as if the
things we do matter, as if
they make a difference, as
if they're not just absurd
blips on the ways of cosmic
nothingness.
We go to work, we build
relationships, we dream and
plan, we laugh and we
grieve.
To believe in a God who
judges perfectly in the end
is to believe that every
single moment of your life is
charged with significance and
that no second of your life is
a waste, that it all, all of
it matters to God in the end.
And besides, if what the Bible
says about God's creative work
is true, that he made us and
loves us and orders all things
for his glory, is it so hard to
believe that he will put things
right in the end?
That he will value and dignify his
creation by affording it his
perfect regard and perfect
justice?
You know, there's one way to
show someone that you don't like
them.
It's not to correct them.
It's not to judge them.
It's not to consider them.
It's to ignore them.
Friends, God loves the world too
much to ignore it in the end.
So friend, how will you stand
before God on that day?
When your life is laid open
before him?
When he affords you the dignity
of you in your whole life?
How will you stand before him?
Are you going to stand in your own
shaky righteousness?
Are you going to stand in your own
record?
Are you going to say I tried?
Are you going to stand in Christ?
The one who has become for us,
Paul will say, righteousness and
sanctification and redemption.
The one who becomes for us a
perfect record and a perfect
righteousness.
And friends, if you're standing in
that day is Christ, then you look
forward to the future with hope.
In chapter 15, Paul will return to
this theme of hope as he draws his
whole letter together.
And he there will show us how the
Christian understanding of the future
is more glorious than anything
anyone has conceived ever before.
God's faithfulness and our fellowship
with his son, as he says in verse 9,
all that will mean that even in God's
redemptive consummating work, that even
our material bodies will be rescued from
death and liberated from decay on the day
when Christ returns in glory.
And if you think that that element of our
identity in Christ doesn't affect how we
live now, friends, keep coming back because
the hope of the resurrection changes
everything.
So this is who we are.
The sanctified, worldwide, grace-enriched,
hope-filled church of God.
But as much as who we are,
perhaps it's most important to see
whose we are.
And it's obvious, isn't it?
Ten times in nine verses, who is the
center of this passage?
To whom does the church belong?
To the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's really his story that matters the most.
The true story of God the Son,
the second person of the Trinity,
taking on flesh for us and for our
salvation to fulfill all the promises
God made to Israel, to be crucified for
sinners, to be risen in power, to ascend
to the Father's right hand, to pour out
his spirit, to call the world to himself
in grace, and to come again in glory to
make all things new.
His is the story of which we find
ourselves apart.
What does it mean to live the gospel?
What does it mean to have our lives
replotted, reshaped around his?
That's what 1 Corinthians is all about.
Yes, it's about unity.
Yes, it's about holiness.
Yes, it's about love.
Yes, it's about hope.
But ultimately, it's about him.
Living in fellowship together with Jesus Christ,
our Lord.
Put yourself in that story.
Put yourself in the story of grace,
the story of the world headed towards justice,
the story of God's Son, Jesus Christ.
Put yourself in that story,
and you will never be the same.
And our church will never be the same.
Let's pray.
God, thank you for your word and its clarity.
And God, how you remind us
of all that we have in Christ.
Lord, I pray that as we meditate
on these first nine verses in the coming week,
that the picture of who you've made us in him
will stretch us and cause us to be in awe
and give us great confidence and hope
in the world in which we live.
God, seal these things in our hearts, we pray.
Amen.
Well, friends, it's right to respond
to God's word with praise.
So let's stand, and we're gonna sing a hymn,
Christ is made the sure foundation.
Isn't that what we've been saying this morning
that Christ is at the center of it all?
So let's use these words as a vehicle
for praising God together.
Amen.