Man On An Island
Marooned! A man swims from his sinking ship and arrives on a beach.
Turns out he is completely alone on the island. Two years later….he flags down a passing ship, he is jumping with excitement. The dingy arrives from the passing ship and the first question the sailors ask is,
Where is everyone else? Everyone else?, the man says, it’s just me – let’s go! Sailors won’t budge. Well, if you’re alone – What about The Three Huts. The three huts….well….the first hut is my house.
And the second hut is my church. What about the third hut? Asked the sailors. Oh the third hut (looking side to side and whispering), That’s the church I used to go to.
We Are Called To A Better Life. We are called to be part of God’s special people known as the church, set apart. We should be different; We should stand out and therefore be different and recognizably different.
We see this in our Scripture this morning in 1 Corinthians. Paul wants the Corinthians to be different. In verse 1Cor. 1:2 To the church of God in Corinth, that doesn’t sound particularly moving. It sounds just like a nice hello. But Paul is choosing to address them as the church of God in Corinth for a reason. Paul uses the word e?kklhsi÷aˆ in verse 2, which means church in English. At this time in the Greek language – which Paul is writing in it means simply, assembly.
If someone said they were going to church, e?kklhsi÷aˆ
It could have meant to others: Secular assembly, gladiator, a play, a Civic assembly, the mayor speaking, or really, any kind of religious assembly. Pagan, Jewish, Christian - there was no Christian connotation as we have today. If someone said they were going to church, it would mean they were going to an assembly - But you wouldn’t know what kind.
So Paul chooses to distinguish them from other kinds of churches, that is assemblies, by calling them the church of God in Corinth. He wanted them to know they specifically stand out, unique among churches.
Paul does not always do this. 1:2 …To the churches in Galatia: He doesn’t always say church of God, but here he does specifically.
He wants them to know they are uniquely the church of God, that they should stand out from the others in town. Calling it the church of God also has the implication that divine action formed it.
Since it is not merely a gathering, it is a gathering with the founding by God.
In addition we see that the church is not only founded by God, but is in the possession of God. First Presbyterian is in the possession of God.
Not in our possession. We are called to be a different gathering, than other gatherings in the city.
Saw the fireworks Friday night. They were great. All kinds of people gathered and enjoyed them, but it was not a gathering of the church of God. We were just watching fireworks, enjoyed them, went home.
Gathering of the church of God. Enjoy God and go home. Doesn’t sound right does it? We expect more from a gathering of the church of God – and we should.
So Paul sets up this letter of 1st Corinthians with this first expectation
You are different than any other assembly in this city.
About The City Of Corinth.
If you have you bible from home with you, take a look in the back and see where the City of Corinth was located. It is at the end of a narrow strip of land called “the bridge of Greece”. Ships were moved over this narrow slice of land, rolling them on logs by slave power, so they could cut time off journey. Time is money.
While sailors waited for their ship to be moved, they spent time in Corinth. Their philosophy wasn’t, "What goes not in Corinth stays in Corinth", That would be way to tame, "Everyone knows what goes on in Corinth – and we don’t care". Think of the worst most morally corrupt place in the world today, and that would be rated G, next to Corinth. It is difficult to emphasis how far morally corrupt this place was. This is not your first choice for raising a family, nor would this be a place where you would think Christians lived.
Now as a church you would think it would be fairly easy to be different than everyone else. But incredibly we see that the church here is having a very difficult time being different. Perhaps they don’t know who they are, so Paul tells them who they are: The church, the assembly of God.
But more than that he says…The Imperfect Is Perfect. God calls the imperfect – perfect. The Corinthian church is far from perfect. Perhaps the church that was the farthest from perfect of any NT church. Very far. Yet Paul says, 1 Cor. 1:2……, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy -these folks, if you have even just thumbed through the letter, are not acting sanctified, nor acting holy. In fact in some instances the people of the city of Corinth are appalled at what the church members are doing. Now Paul is very aware that they are not acting holy, yet he knows that God declares them holy and sanctified
even though they are not…
Two Mothers
1 – my son is a saint, works hard, doesn’t smoke and hasn’t looked at a woman in over two years. 2 – well, my son is a saint himself, not only hasn’t he looked at a woman in over three years, but he also hasn’t touched a drop of liquor in all that time.
1 – my word, said the first mother, you must be so proud. 2 – I am, and when he gets paroled next month, I’m going to throw him a big party!
Not a new idea. This is all over the OT. We saw this with Abraham, Jacob. If you were with us last year as we looked at these men we saw that hey were not wonderful men. Yet God declared them holy men and today we know them as holy men.
See, God sees the future. He knows what we are not, yet, He also knows what we will, not can, but will become and God doesn’t do this in vain hope, but those he declares holy, sanctified he will accomplish his work in them. God is not fooled, but God sees the future and so Paul through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit declares them Holy.
Over the years some commentators have been puzzled by this, they cannot fathom a God who would chose to call the unholy holy.
What Paul says makes no sense to them, how can he say they are holy and then proceed to tell them how unholy they are? So they think Paul is being sarcastic. Funny thing is, there is absolutely no evidence of this - in the grammar, the words chosen, context – nothing. Paul is not being sarcastic – he is being genuine. God does the unfathomable for us he calls us Holy – even if all the evidence is to the contrary.
We have talked about this before. We are holy because God says so, not because of how good we are, but because of how good God is.
We saw last week that Jesus Christ is our mediator. It is Jesus Christ through his death and resurrection that makes us holy. We cannot save ourselves. Only by the grace of God can we be saved, and in the same way we are holy, not making ourselves holy, but by the choice and grace of God.
1Cor. 1:4 I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.
Now in practice they are sinners, but because of their position before God, they were pure saints This goes for us as well.
We must remember our position, ecause we are made holy we are to act holy. Because we are of Christ we are to be different, we are to live a life matching who we are.
The good news is that God does not leave us alone.
Better Than A Bottomless Cup Of Coffee
1Cor. 1:5 For in him you have been enriched in every way — in all your speaking and in all your knowledge —
I like the word supplemented. It gives the idea that we are recipients of abundance. We are rich beyond our needs. First we have seen that God is gracious and sees us as pure, even though we are sinful. Second, God has given us what we need to live the difference.
1Cor. 1:5 For in him you have been enriched in every way — in all your speaking and in all your knowledge —
The Greeks valued very highly being able to speak well and obtain a high level of knowledge. Most of the Corinthians had never achieved this in their society. Paul, here uses this phrase in all your speaking and in all your knowledge — to show that they already have what is most valued. They do not have to seek to obtain what the Greeks think is of value. God has given them all they need. God will give you the words to say. God will give you the knowledge you need. This is pertaining to spiritual things. We are not deficient – so we may accomplish our purpose.
We Have An Uninterrupted Power Supply
1Cor. 1:7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
Now the Corinthians were not lacking in spiritual gifts, they were lacking in spiritual maturity. Notice that they are waiting. What has been given is to be used here and now, until Jesus Christ returns.
We Must Think And Act God Centered
1Cor. 1:9 God, who has called you into fellowship
We like the Corinthians have not been called into the greatest humanitarian organization there ever was into a great social group. No, we are called into a spiritual body, which was founded by the greatest person who ever walked the earth and who is coming back to reclaim his church. This doesn’t mean that we have our heads in the clouds;
That we are not humanitarian; That we are not social - We are – but we are spiritual first and foremost, and all social and humanitarian experiences are informed by the spiritual and lead to the spiritual – Our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is what Paul does in the book of 1st Corinthians. He knows that the Corinthians are holy, called by God. Yet need to live a God centered life. Unlike those around them, he tells them, and us in the next few chapters how this is done
1Cor. 1:8 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
