“The Difference Christmas Makes: The Benefits of Christmas”
1 Cor. 1:1-9
In 25 days it will be Christmas. Looking at everything that still needs to be done, checking out the calendar of all that will happen between now and then, fighting the commercialism that bombards us, and knowing the fatigue that sets in soon after Christmas, I wonder if we are really all that excited. We will spend so much time, energy, and money between now and then, some will understandably ask, “What difference does Christmas really make? How does it benefit me?” Paul, in writing a distressed young church in Corinth offers an answer (1:9): THROUGH CHRISTMAS GOD HAS CALLED US INTO FELLOWSHIP WITH HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. And make no mistake about it – fellowship with Jesus Christ has outstanding, life-changing benefits.
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We start at verse 2: “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus…” Because of Christmas WE HAVE A DIVINE POSITION. Paul says we are sanctified. We’re dealing with the theological term, SANCTIFICATION, which means GOD HAS SET US APART IN JESUS CHRIST. In many of his letters, Paul says the same thing when he refers to Christians as ‘saints.’ We are saints. Too often we think of sainthood as an honor or title for some ‘super Christian’ who has died and is posthumously honored. But the Good News is all who have been set apart in Jesus by God are saints. That means you and me! It refers to OWNERSHIP, NOT TO AN EARNED RIGHT.
God has brought us into fellowship with Jesus and in doing so has brought us into His family. What’s amazing here is that Paul is referring to the Corinthian church. If ever a church was far short of what it ought to be, this was it. Immorality was rampant, a code of ethics was all but non-existent, and her theology had become badly tainted. Yet, says Paul, here members are sanctified – they are saints; and so are we! Because of Christmas we have been given the position of being CHILDREN OF GOD – BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS CHRIST! At our baptisms, God put his mark, his seal, his brand upon us. He gave us the same royal status as that of His Son!
Did you ever slice an onion? What does the core of an onion look like? What’s the substance of an onion? There is no core or substance. An apple has a core. Plums and peaches have pits. But an onion is merely the sum total of its layers. It is so easy for us to simply become the sum total of what others expect or want us to be. There’s a layer for the boss, one for the spouse, one for the children, one for the coach, one for the church. Soon we lose track of our identity. Never forget who you are! You are a brother, a sister, of Jesus Christ. You are a saint!
N. T. Wright points out that Paul’s “central concern, here and throughout his life and work, was quite simply Jesus. The name occurs eight times in these nine verses. Paul couldn’t stop talking about Jesus, because without Jesus nothing else he said or did made any sense. And what he wants the Corinthians to get hold of most of all is what it means to have Jesus at the middle of your story, your life, your thoughts, your imagination. If they can do that, all the other issues that rush to and fro through the letter will sort themselves out”. (i)
In the town of Stepanavan, Armenia, there was a woman whom everyone called ‘Palasan’s wife.’ She had her own name but townspeople called her by her husband’s name to who her great honor. Whe the devastating earthquake struck Armenia in 1988, Palasan was at work. He rushed to his son’s elementary school. The façade was already crumbling, but he entered the building and began pushing children outside to safety. After Palasan had managed to help 28 children out, an aftershock hit that completely collapsed the building and killed him. So the people of Stepanavan honor his memory and his young widow by calling her Palasan’s wife. Sometimes a person’s greatest honor is not who they are but to whom they are related.” For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” .We are related to the one who died for us, Jesus Christ. We are saints! We are brothers and sisters of Jesus!
Because of Christmas we have a divine position – and also A DIVINE PURPOSE. “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people…” We are to live for Jesus, TO BE HOLY. In the Old Testament inanimate ‘things’ were holy. The Temple, the altar, the instruments, the vessels, the cups were all holy because ordered them to be set apart for sacred use. Once they were set apart they could never again be used for a common purpose. Only the priest could lift the cup or go to the altar; the snuffers could only be used to extinguish the sacred lamps.
So, too, we are no longer to be used or to live for common purposes. WHATEVER WE DO, WE DO FOR CHRIST, AND CHRIST ONLY. Let me ask you a question. Would you profane something holy? Desecrate a temple, beat up a priest, or rip up a Bible? Why, then, would you ever want to profane your life – to do something that dishonors and profanes Jesus? We are vessels set apart for holy living. Whatever we do, we do for Jesus!
I always love sharing the story of Christian Herter who was running for reelection as Governor of Massachusetts. One day he arrived late at a barbeque. He’d had no breakfast or lunch and was famished. As he moved down the serving line, he held out his plate and received one piece of chicken. The Governor said to the serving lady, “Excuse me, do you mind if I get another piece of chicken? I’m very hungry.” “Sorry, I’m supposed to give one piece to each person,” she replied. “But I’m starved,” he repeated; again she said, “Only one to a customer.” Herter was normally a modest man, but decided this time to use the weight of his office, and said, “Madam, do you know who I am? I am the governor of this state.” She replied, “Do you know who I am? I’m the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister.” That’s a woman who knew her position and purpose and wasn’t about to be intimidated. You have a divine position as a brother or sister of Jesus Christ. Because of Christmas you have a divine purpose of being holy – living for Jesus. Never be intimidated.
Paul also said that because of Christmas we experience A DIVINE PROCESS. Verse 4-7: “ I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus…” We are captured by grace – God loves us not because we have earned His love, not because we are worthy to be loved, not because we are lovable – but because, out of sheer mercy and kindness, He loves us. God loves us as we are - but He wants so much more for us! That’s why through Jesus he enriches our lives.
How does that happen? He shares Himself with us. JESUS CHRIST WORKS IN WHILE WE WORK OUT. “For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Writing the Philippian Church Paul put it this way (Phil 2:12-13): ”… continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” JESUS ENRICHES US. It’s as if all our bones were broken and we could not move as we were meant to. A surgeon resets the bones so we can once again walk, run, and move about. So Jesus, through His Spirit, has put our inner natures back together and in sync with God so we can live for Him. As our Heidelberg Catechism puts it, He makes us wholeheartedly ready and willing to live for Him He enriches our minds, our hearts, and our wills. Our knowledge grows deeper, our speech sweeter, and our will stronger. He puts us in a condition in which we are capable of living godly, holy, saintly lives.
Paul is also saying that JESUS ENERGIZES AND EQUIPS US to live for him. “For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift…” The Holy Spirit infuses us with new natures, constantly giving us new energy and new power. As the apostle Peter triumphantly wrote (2Pt. 1:3 NLT): “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.”
There was once an elderly gentleman named Rowland Hill. One day a good Scotchman came to see him and for 5 minutes sat without saying a word; all he did was look into Rowland’s face. Finally Rowland asked him what he was doing. The man replied, “I was looking at the lines on your face.” “Well,” said Rowland, what do you see?” Said the man, ”If the grace of God hadn’t been in you, you would have been the biggest rascal living!” God works in while we work out – he enriches, energizes and equips us to live for Him.
The fourth benefit of Christmas according to Paul is Jesus will bring us to A DIVINE PERFECTION. Verse 8: “He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” JESUS CHRIST STRENGTHENS US TO BE BLAMELESS. He is preparing and developing us for perfection. The Australian coat of arms pictures two creatures – the emu, a flightless bird, and the kangaroo. The animals were chosen because they share a characteristic that appealed to the Australian citizens. Both the emu and the kangaroo can move only forward, not back. The emu’s three-toed foot causes it to fall if it tries to go backwards, and the kangaroo is prevented from moving in reverse by its large tail. Because of Christmas, because of Jesus’ and the Holy Spirit, WE ARE ALWAYS MOVING FORWARD TO PERFECTION. We will be blameless!
And we have the assurance that our lives will be complete. In Phil 1:6 (TLB) Paul assures us “And I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.” When we pass from this life and see Jesus face to face, WE WILL BE BLAMELESS AND COMPLETE! We do not need to work to reach perfection in this life – we are in a divine process of being perfected. On that day there will be no charges against us; there will be no scars; there will be no imperfections. We will slip and slide, falter and fall along the way – but we will arrive perfect and complete! We are being, wrote Paul, transformed from one degree of glory to another. (2 Cor. 3:18) No matter what happens to us, no matter how difficult the circumstances, no matter how winding the trail, we are being transformed moment by moment. Our lives are not complete; they are a work in progress; GOD IS NOT FINISHED WITH US YET!
So we can follow Paul’s advice (Phil 2:14-16): “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky…” And we can live this way – not because we are so strong and faithful but because God is faithful. (9) “God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” He will not let us go; He will not fail us; He will not leave His work unfinished. God will never cop out on His forever family! You cannot find one promise on which He has reneged. In the past, grace brought us into His family; in the present his gifts and power enrich and develop us; in the future He guarantees our perfection and completion.
A ship was wrecked on a stormy might off the coast of England. All were drowned except a young Irish boy. The waves swept him onto a great rock. When he was rescued he was asked, “Didn’t you tremble out there on the rock all night?” “Sure I trembled,” he said, “But the rock didn’t tremble all night long!” When we stand on Jesus Christ, the rock of our faithful God, we will experience the benefits of Christmas and come to know the difference Christmas makes.
Years ago I came across a wonderful story someone wrote about her grandmother and aunt. “My grandmother sent the wherewithal to Holland for her sister Greta to immigrate to America. Thrilled at the prospect of seeing my grandmother again after twenty-five years, Greta booked passage on the first steamer leaving Rotterdam, settling for accommodations in steerage rather than waiting for another six months to travel in the grand style that her relatives had planned for her. A thoughtful purser, familiar with this common choice among families anxious for reunions, discreetly offered the hospitality of the upper decks of the ship during the day. Greta declined this privilege, however, and remained sequestered in her dark, rancid, and noisy quarters for the fourteen long days of her journey. My aunt called this ‘minding one’s place.’ She never presumed that there was anything more to sailing across the menacing Atlantic Ocean than enduring volcanic tosses from her mildewed perch until reaching land safely on the other side. Only on disembarking in New York Harbor did Greta behold what she had been missing. On those upper decks that she had regarded as off limits were tapestries, chandeliers, wood-carved cornices, oriental rugs, silver, gleaming crystal, and buffets laden with exotic and plentiful food and drink. Most alarming of all, though, there were people just like Aunt Greta, stranded in fourth-class sleeping accommodations, who had accepted the invitation of the venerable steamship company and had toddled above to enjoy the treasures daily. ‘Imagine,’ my aunt would gasp. ‘It could all have been mine, too, had I only said yes.” (ii)
God, through Jesus Christ, has put us in His family and invited us to live in royalty. Will you live in the dingy, damp, dark basement quarters, or will you enjoy the royal rooms? You are Christ’s. You are His! Say ‘Yes!!’ to Him right now!
(i) Wright, T. (2004). Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians (p. 2). London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
(ii) I have lost the original source – an illustration newsletter
