Now, imagine for a second that we were sending one of our interns out to go pastor another church. And imagine that the church he was going to pastor was a really, really unhealthy church. I don’t mean just that they aren’t committed to expositing the text each Sunday or don’t practice church discipline or meaningful membership. I mean they’re doing things in the church and celebrating certain sins that even pagans would be ashamed of. They’re divided. They’re not only ignoring church discipline, they are actually bragging about their tolerance of sexually immoral practices. They’re settling some of their arguments between church members by suing one another. They have unhealthy marriages left and right. They’re not looking out for one another’s good at all. I mean, when they eat the Lord’s Supper, for example, some are rushing ahead and eating all the elements before others get there and are getting drunk on the wine they used for the meal. They’re using the gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit not to minister to each other but are bragging about their gifts in comparison and using them to claim they’re better than others. And to top it off, some are saying there’s not going to be a resurrection of the dead.
First, I think we can acknowledge that this is a really messed up church we’re talking about. In fact, you may think the example far-fetched, but I’ll address that in a second. But let me add one more note about this church. They’re founding pastor was the best. That is, they heard biblical teaching and preaching. The gospel was presented clearly. I mean, we can’t blame any of these things they’re doing on the fact that they’ve just never had a good pastor or heard good preaching or teaching. Okay, now let’s try to answer the question: Where would we tell this new pastor (our intern we’re sending out) to start? What should be his first words to this new church?
Well, if we were honest, we’d probably say, “Run. Get away. Don’t you think about going to that church? To say they’re unhealthy is one of the greatest understatements ever.” But I think most of you know that this imaginary really messed up church I’ve come up with is not imaginary at all. It’s the church at Corinth. It’s amazing to read through this book of 1 Corinthians and see how many problems one church can have. All of these problems I named in this imaginary church come straight from this book and issues that were going on in the church at Corinth – a church started by the Apostle Paul himself.
And the reason I asked you to imagine trying to help a new pastor think about where to start in addressing such a church is because one of the more surprising elements in this letter is where Paul begins. I mean, you might think that he would come out with both barrels blazing, or at least trying to talk them into the fact that they’re a church full of people who don’t know Christ. But, again surprisingly, that’s not at all where he starts. Rather, he starts by reminding them who they are in Christ as recipients of the rich grace of God. He starts by reminding them of who they are as part of the people of God, who they are as part of the church. And in doing so, he reminds us, as the present-day readers of this book, who we are as believers, who we are as the church.
Now, before I launch in to what Paul says, though, I want to make a statement that I normally wouldn’t see the need to make, but one that I want to make for a couple of reasons. One reason I want to make this point is because it’s in the text. A second reason I want to make this point is because some of the things that I’m going to say this morning (or perhaps better, things I’m going to point out this morning that Paul has said) might be hard to receive. You might feel some resistance to them. So, I want to do my best right off the bat to put down your resistance with this statement: What we see Paul saying in this text is directly in line with what Jesus Christ himself would say to the Corinthians and directly in line with the will of God. That is, you can hear this text and say, “Paul says …”, but realize that it’s like saying, “Jesus says” or “God says” because look at how Paul begins the letter. He writes in verse 1, “Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes.”
First, the lesser observation is that Paul was writing with someone on his ministry team named Sosthenes that may well have been well known among the Corinthians. But the greater point is that Paul wrote as an apostle of Christ Jesus. And when we say he wrote as an apostle of Christ, we are saying that he wrote with the authority of Christ as a representative of Christ. That is, what he said represented what Jesus would have said had Jesus himself been penning this letter. And when Paul says that he was called by the “will of God” to be an apostle, we can add that not only are Paul’s words to the Corinthians what Christ would have written himself but are directly in line with what God wills for the Corinthians to hear. So, what we read is what God the Father and Jesus want the Corinthians to hear and know. These are the words of God and of the Son to this messed up church through the apostle Paul.
So, what is it that Paul wants them to know about who they are as God’s people, God’s church? He wants them to know first that:
After introducing himself, if you will, in verse 1, Paul begins to characterize the recipients of this letter, the Corinthians, in verse 2. He writes, “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.”
Paul addresses this sinfully rebellious and sinfully filthy people as “those sanctified in Christ Jesus.” Now, sometimes we think of sanctification as the process whereby we grow in holiness and in Christlikeness, and indeed the Scripture speaks of that aspect of salvation in our lives. However, sanctification can also be thought of something that has been already done. We have been sanctified in Christ.
Perhaps it’s best to think of it in terms of position and in practice. In practice, we’re being sanctified as we go through this life, learning and growing as we become conformed to the image of Christ. Hopefully, as believers, our practice of living in a Christ-like way is constantly growing in maturity. That’s one way to talk about sanctification. However, we can also think of it in terms of position. In terms of our righteousness, we’ve already been positioned in Christ so that what is true of him is true of us. This means that when Christ was raised from the dead and declared by the Father to be his righteous Son, exalted to the Father’s right hand, we by faith have been united with him so that the benefits declared by the Father on his Son are benefits that come to us as well. We’re sanctified positionally in that we’ve been set apart as God’s very own, even as the Lord has been declared to be the Father’s exalted Son. We’ve been set apart as God’s very own special people. So, in that sense, we are not being sanctified but have already been sanctified when we were united with Christ by faith. This is why Paul can speak of them as those already “sanctified” and specifically, sanctified “in Christ Jesus.”
And not only does he remind them that they’ve been sanctified in Christ so that they’re set apart as God’s very own, but he reminds them that the Lord “called [them] to be saints.” That is, they’re sanctified because God chose in his goodness, grace, and love to call them to himself. They’re not God’s children because they begged him to take them and he begrudgingly agreed. He called them. He called them to be saints, that is, to be his holy people. And he called them to be his holy people alongside all the other children of God that he has called and will call to himself all over the world. That’s why Paul mentions that they are saints “together with all those who in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Moreover, according to verse 3, they are those who are the objects of God’s grace and have peace with God.
That is, Paul starts out by wanting them to know who they are in Jesus Christ. They are God’s very own people, called by him and set apart by him by his grace to be his very own.
Now, is that where you would start with that church? Is that the first thing you would mention? When you hear of churches that are even have as bad as the church at Corinth, are you tempted to say, “Man, what someone needs to do is get in that church and remind all of those people they God has called them and set them apart by his grace as his very own special people”? My guess is no.
But Paul doesn’t stop there. He goes on to remind them in verses 4-7 that:
You’d think that Paul might begin to back off of speaking of their great position in Christ, after all, it seems that arrogance and self-absorption was one of their problems. But he doesn’t. Instead, Paul continues in verse 4 saying, “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus.”
Not only does he not stop at reminding them of what God has done for them, he adds that he thanks God for the obvious grace that he has poured out on this people. Now, again, imagine going to preach to this group of people, some who had gotten so sinfully out of hand that God had killed them so that they wouldn’t wind up in hell. And Paul begins by telling them that he thanks God always for them because of the grace of God that was given them.
Could you imagine stepping up into the pulpit in that messed up church and saying, “I tell you what. I just can’t stop thanking God for the evident grace in this church”? But it gets crazier. Look what he notes specifically when he gives an example of the grace God has obviously given them. He writes in verse 5, “that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and knowledge.”
Now, in case you’re not familiar with this book of the Bible, we’re going to find out in chapters 12-14 that the church is using their spiritual gifts of speech and knowledge to destroy one another and build themselves up, not serve one another and edify their brothers and sisters. They’re boasting about having great gifts. They’re thinking they’re super spiritual because they have certain gifts and even exalting themselves above others because of the perceived supremacy of their gifts.
And Paul comes in and says, “I thank God for the grace he’s given you, specifically for these spiritual gifts in speech and knowledge.” It makes you want to scream, “What are you doing, Paul?” Don’t you know their problems?
But it’s crazier than this. He actually points to their gifts as one piece of evidence that they’re believers, one piece of confirmation that they’re generally received the gospel. He writes in verse 5 that he thanks God for their gifts of speech and knowledge, then he mentions that they were enriched with these gifts just as the gospel had been confirmed in their hearts, adding in verse 7, “so that you are not lacking in any gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
That is, Paul says, “I’m thankful that the Lord has given you grace, just as he convinced you of the truth of the gospel when you heard it (confirming it in your hearts) so that now you are not lacking in any spiritual gift.” Or perhaps I could say it more clearly by saying, Paul wants them to know that one piece of evidence in their lives that shows that they believed the gospel when they heard it is that the Spirit gave them gifts of speech and knowledge, and they as a church are simply lacking no gift as they wait for the Lord’s return.
Now, if you think it’s risky to tell a group of people who are boasting about their gifts and using them to exalt themselves above others that you thank God for these gifts he’s given them, try adding the note that these gifts are one piece of evidence that they’ve received the gospel. After all, the Lord gives gifts to his children.
This is worth a side point, isn’t it? When I mention spiritual gifts, what’s the first thing that comes into your mind? My guess is that for many of us it’s that spiritual gifts have been and are currently often abused in the church. In fact, we could say that what was going on in Corinth in regard to the spiritual gifts happens in churches today. And my guess would be that you’re even tempted (even if you think the gifts haven’t ceased and are still around today – as I do) to distance yourself from the concept of spiritual gifts simply because you are well aware of these abuses. Well, let me just note then, if that’s the case, that you’re not on the same page as the apostle Paul. That is, if you think that hearing about someone abusing something good would make Paul want to distance himself from those good things that are being abused, even downplaying them, you’re simply wrong.
There’s not a church that was abusing the gifts of the Spirit more than the Corinthians and Paul begins by saying that he thanks God for the gifts he’s given them, even noting that it’s evidence of their conversion. Therefore, let us not distance ourselves from the good things of God on the basis that others have abused them good gifts, even terribly.
Now, back from this side note. Paul reminds the Corinthians that they have been richly gifted by God to labor for his purposes. When God called them out of the world, to himself, to be his own people, he also equipped them for the task he was calling them to be about. He gifted them by his Holy Spirit so that as you looked at the church at Corinth, there wasn’t one spiritual gift lacking in that group. They were immensely gifted by God, and Paul rejoiced and thanked God at the thought of that.
And Paul also reminded them of one final thing. He wanted them to know that:
Not only had God called the Corinthians to be his own holy people, setting them apart as his very own, and not only had he confirmed the gospel in their hearts when they heard it and equipped them with every spiritual gift so that they lacked nothing in order to do his will. But, God, who is faithful, also promised to sustain them in Christ so that on that final day, when they stand in judgment, they will stand guiltless.
That’s what Paul says in verses 8-9. He writes, “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.”
The word translated “sustain” is actually from the same word that was translated “confirmed” up in verse 6. That is, Paul is saying, “Just as the Lord confirmed the truth of the gospel in your hearts when you heard it so that you trusted in Christ, so he will also confirm you all the way to the end so that you will stand guiltless on that final day of judgment.”
Now, if the other statements are hard to think of Paul saying to this group of people and to this messed up church, this is probably the hardest. Imagine you’re sitting across the table from a guy who’s getting drunk at the Lord’s supper, suing another church member, and boasting about the sexual tolerance of his church, would you start your conversation with him by saying, “I tell you what, the Lord is going to make sure you stand guiltless at the day of judgment. He is faithful.”?
It seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? Honestly, this beginning shocks you a bit when you know who these people are and what’s coming in the following chapters of this letter, doesn’t it? And don’t be deceived, Paul doesn’t start on this note because he’s afraid to be confrontational and simply enjoys acting like everything is okay. The opposite is true. In fact, we know all of these problems going on among the Corinthians in their church because Paul addresses each of their problems one by one in the following chapters head on, calling them to repentance again and again. He’s not a guy who likes to just sweep things under the rug, pretend, and say, “I’m good and you’re good.”
So why does he start on this note, reminding the Corinthians that God has called them, sanctified them, confirmed the gospel in their hearts, graced them with all kinds of spiritual gifts, and will sustain them so that they’ll stand blameless on the day of judgment? Here’s my answer. I think it’s because he wants their response to every single part of this letter that is going to follow to be gospel-driven.
I think he begins the letter by overwhelming them with what God has graciously done for them through the gospel and who they are in Christ so that the glory, and beauty, and feeling that it’s almost too good to be true (but it is most definitely true) nature of the gospel will move their hearts to hear everything that he is going to say in these following chapters and respond well.
You see, the greatest motivator to holy living is to realize what God has done for us through Christ in the gospel. To start each day of your life realizing you’re already accepted by God not because of anything you’ve done but because Jesus Christ has lived for you, died for you, been raised for you, and that God has called you to himself, confirming the gospel in you just because he loved you and has before the world was ever created is motivating. Imagine starting each day not thinking that if you read your Bible the Lord might be pleased with you but rather that he’s pleased with you in Christ and therefore you get to read your Bible having already been accepted by him.
Imagine starting a conversation with another believer who’s been walking in sin by saying, “The Lord has called you, sanctified you, gifted you, and I see so much grace in you, believing earnestly that on the day of judgment the Lord Jesus Christ will declare you blameless. Now, let’s address your ongoing sin because that doesn’t line up with who I believe earnestly you are in Christ.” Why would someone want to take a rebellious stance against that truth?
The reason we don’t feel free to be gospel-saturated people, though, is no doubt because we have a hard time believing this for ourselves. We’re constantly fighting that we’re free from condemnation, that we’re loved and accepted by God, and that we can live a life of obedience to God having already been accepted by him. And if you struggle to believe that, it’s hard to lavish that freedom on the gospel on others. If you’re not walking in that freedom yourself, it’s hard to think the gospel is powerful enough to bring obedience along with forgiveness.
This is a message that can be hard to receive because we’re so apt to put our chains back on. We’re so apt to heap God’s condemnation back on ourselves until we can do enough good or avoid enough bad for long enough of a time to escape. That’s not the gospel of freedom that Paul wants for us, though. And the reason he wants us to know the freedom from condemnation that is ours in Christ through the gospel is because he knows that it will produce gospel living. It will produce genuine love for God and our neighbors instead of a contrived love that we’re trying to drum up to avoid condemnation. Therefore, if you know Christ this morning, let us celebrate this gospel truth by coming to the table. And if you don’t know him as your Lord, don’t you want to live the rest of your life from this moment knowing you’re accepted by God? If so, then trust in the crucified and risen Lord whom we’ll celebrate and remember now as we come to the table. Amen.