We Are Partners With Christ, Through Christ (1 Corinthians 1:1-9) Series

I had every intention this week of starting a new series on the Holy Spirit. And I can't do it. I open up Microsoft Word, and get my music going, and I sit in front of my monitor. And I have nothing. I have this outline I was going to follow. I had a plan. And I can't follow it. I've got nothing.

But I'd really like to teach you about the Holy Spirit. So, since I know that 1 Corinthians has a fair bit to say about the Holy Spirit, I'm planning to do that instead. It's my compromise.

Now, even though I'm really itching to teach about the Holy Spirit, I'm going to do my best to play this mostly straight. I'm not going to work through 1 Corinthians, only focusing on the Holy Spirit.

So. 1 Corinthians.

Normally, when teachers begin a book study, they give you a little background about the book-- some sort of framework to help you understand what you're reading.

I know I should do this, but I just don't want to. And I'm not going to. Sorry. I should feel worse about this than I do. The bottom line is that the Corinthian church has some legitimate strengths. Understand that in many important ways, the Corinthian church is far more healthy than we are. People love to bash the Corinthians, but this is a church that loves God, and is committed to living by faith out of its commitment to Jesus.

But it also has some serious sins that need to be addressed. These sins are not the result of not caring about God. They aren't due to the Corinthians not giving their allegiance to Jesus. These sins are mostly the result of some pretty dangerous theology. They're (mostly?) based on a misunderstanding of our freedom in Christ.

So my plan, is to just try to introduce you to the different issues as we go. There's no sense in explaining everything twice. And if I try to explain it now, there's a decent chance I'll get parts of it wrong anyway. My preunderstanding rarely survives in-depth study.

VERSE 1:

(1) Paul, a chosen messenger of King/Christ Jesus through God's will, and Sosthenes the brother,

There are a lot of ways that Paul could have described himself to open his letter. He could write as their brother in Christ, or as a former Pharisee, or anything, really. But how does Paul want them to think about him? How does Paul want them to hear this letter?

Paul is writing to them as King Jesus' chosen messenger through God's will. Jesus has sent him to them. So when they read this letter, they are not hearing Paul's words. Paul is Jesus' messenger/envoy, and they need to hear these words as Jesus' words, written with Jesus' authority.

Why does Paul mention Sosthenes the brother? I'm not sure. Maybe Sosthenes is helping him write the letter. Maybe he's Paul's main coworker at the time he writes. I don't know.

Verse 2:

(2) To God's church -- to the ones having been consecrated/dedicated in King Jesus,

-- to the one being in Corinth,

-- to the chosen consecrated/dedicated ones,

together with everyone calling on the name of our Lord King Jesus in every place-- their [Lord] and ours.

In verse 2, Paul describes the Corinthians. How does Paul want the Corinthians to think about themselves?

First, they are God's church. What does this mean? They belong to God. They are his.

Second-- and with this, we are starting to talk about the dashed line things-- they have been dedicated to God in King Jesus. They are consecrated to God, to be used by God as he sees fit. And this happened when they gave their allegiance to Jesus and were baptized, being united to Jesus (Romans 6). If you've made this decision, you are no longer your own. You are God's.

Third, they are the church in Corinth. The Corinthian church most likely met in several different houses. They didn't have one big building. But when Paul addresses them, he calls them a single church. They, together, are the church in Corinth. There is a unity here. Or, at least, there should be.

Fourth, they are the "chosen dedicated/consecrated ones." How does this differ from the second idea? What Paul adds here is this language about being "chosen." God chose them to be dedicated to himself. He picked them out. What exactly this means, or how it works, Paul doesn't unpack here. But each of you can say, God chose me. And, more importantly, you should say as a church, God chose us. All I ask, is that when you say this, make sure you grab the whole idea. God chose you to be dedicated/consecrated to himself.