Intro:
1. This is My Church:
It is composed of people just like me,
It will be friendly, if I am.
It will do a great work if, I work.
It will generous in giving if, I’m generous in giving.
It will bring others into the fellowship, if I bring them.
Its pews will be filled, If I fill them.
It will be a church of loyalty, love and faith, if I am loyal, loving and faithful.
Therefore by God’s grace, I dedicate myself to the task of being all the things God wants His church to be.
2. The point is well taken, the church can only be a reflection of its members.
3. The Church of the Living God.
Trans: 1 Cor. 1:2a
I. FIRST THE CHURCH.
2 To the church…
A. Some History.
1. Meaning.
So we have ek, meaning “out of, from;” klesia means called “to be called out from or summoned.”
2. Usage:
a. LXX, ekklesia is a translation of the Hebrew qahal. It is translated “assembly (Dt. 18:16/Jud. 20:2); “Congregation” (Lev. 10:17/Num. 1:16 and 1 Ki. 8:14). The Hebrew word qahal basically meant “the people of God called together to listen to, and to act for God.”
b. Outside of a godly setting, it referred to an unlawful assembly (unruly mob/Ac. 19:32, 34); it also referred to a lawful assembly (Ac. 19:39) which was the gathering of certain citizens who were summoned to administer the affairs of a city.
c. It was used, as in our passage of a local church, i.e., of believers who had assembled together, who were organized for the purpose of fulfilling God’s will.
B. The Theology.
1. The Embryo.
It began on the Day of Pentecost.
The Church is identified as the body of Christ (1 Cor. 10:17; 12:13, 27/Eph. 1:23; 2:16; 4:12, 16; 5:23, 30/Col. 1:18, 24; 2:19; 3:15).
How did we get into that Body? We got into that Boy by what the Bible calls Spirit Baptism (1 Cor. 12:13).
Therefore whenever Spirit Baptism first took place, the Church first took place. The Church is only mentioned twice in the gospel and both are a future tense (Mt. 3:11; 16:18). Then when you come to Ac. 1:5 it is still future. But what is added is the phrase “not many days.” What took place not many days was the Day of Pentecost, which took place 10 days later.
Then in Ac. 11:15-16 it declares that it had already happened.
2. This reveals that the Church is not Israel.
Israel’s beginning goes back to Abraham. The proof that the church did not replace Israel is that the church and Israel are distinguished after the Day of Pentecost (1 Cor. 10:32/Rom. 10:1). There will come a day when the Church is removed in the Rapture and the focus again will be on Israel (Rom. 11:).
3. The Church is Universal.
All believers from the Day of Pentecost onward are placed into the body of Christ through Spirit baptism, and that, at the moment they trusted the Lord Jesus as their Savior.
4. The Church is also local.
The local church is a visible expression of the invisible church. Unfortunately, not all believers are part of a local church and not all members of a local church, are necessarily, saved.
a. Place – they assembled, but not, in a central building for some 300 years. The church met in various houses (Rom. 16:5/1 Cor. 16:19/Col. 4:15/Phm. 2/1 Tim. 3:15). The size of a local church was never an issue to the first-century church.
b. People – were the church as they came together (Heb. 10:24-25).
c. Pattern – it had a simple organization (1 Tim. 3). You had a Bishop (Overseer/Elder/Pastor, Ac. 20:17, 28) and Deacons. The church observed two ordinates – baptism and the Lord’s Supper. With each member operating by using their spiritual gifts.
d. Purpose – Exalt the Savior (Ac. 2:47); Edification of Saints (Eph. 4:11-16); and Evangelism of the Sinner (2 Cor. 5:17-21).
5. Finally its Removal – Rapture (1 Thess. 4:16-18/Rev. 3-4; 13:9). It is interesting that you do not find Spirit Baptism ever mentioned during the Tribulation Period.
Trans: Any local church is as effective or ineffective as its members are.
One family was visiting a church and wanted to talk to the pastor about joining. They said, “Pastor we are thinking about joining your church but wanted you to know that we do not believe in giving much, we have a lot of bills and cannot afford to tithe. We will not be able to attend most Sundays, it’s our only day to rest and we like to go to the lake. We also believe that it’s the preachers’ job to visit the sick and the lost and the members, not ours. We have no time for things like cleaning the church or upkeep on the yard or helping in the nursery.
The pastor picked up a piece of paper and wrote down an address and gave it to them say, “Here, I believe this will be the perfect church for you.”
When they arrived, they found an old abandoned church building that had been, boarded up, years ago.
II. NEXT, THE COMMANDER. 1:2
…of God – it is a genitive case and simply means that the church belongs to God (Ac. 20:28/1 Cor. 6:19-20).
Like three men who all said of the same house, “That’s my house.” The first man had built it; the second man had bought it; and the third man was renting it. God the Father created the Church; the Son of God bought it; and God the Spirit lives in us.
III. FINALLY, THE CITY. 1:2
A. The Locality.
which is at Corinth
1. Commercially.
Because it was situated on the narrow neck of land between the Corinthians Gulf and the Saronic Gulf, it became one of the greatest trading and commercial centers of its day. All traffic from north to south of Greece had to pass through Corinth, and much of the traffic from east to west chose to do the same. So Corinth was very prosperous.
2. Morally.
It was a very immoral city. There was an expression “to Corinthianise” which mean to live in drunken and immoral debauchery. There was one particular source of evil – the temple of Aphrodite. It is said that there were 1000 Temple prostitutes there, who viewed sexual acts as an act of worship to the goddess.
3. Culturally.
It had a population of at least 700,000. There was a Jewish synagogue there, a large Greek population, and the Roman elements are seen in the many Latin names found in this letter.
B. Their Identity.
It was tied into the name of the City. It was not Calvary Baptist Church but the Church at Corinth.
C. The Ministry.
The Church is not a monastery out in the desert somewhere but in a city. They would meet together for worshipped and then go forth to share the gospel. It is not like today where we expect the lost to come to the church so we can evangelize them, and often have little to say to hungry believers who have come to be fed. It was more like a gas station, where to fill up and thus enabled to hit the road.
Benjamin Franklin often went to hear George Whitefield preach. Whitefield wrote a letter, dated Aug. 17, 1772, to Franklin:
I find you grow more and more famous in the learned world. As you have made a pretty considerable progress in the mysteries of electricity, I would now humbly recommend to your diligent, unprejudiced pursuit and study the mystery of the new birth…One at whose bar we are shortly to appear, hath solemnly declared without it we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.
We are here to humbly recommend to Bentonville to consider the need for their new birth and accountability to God.
Con:
1. So we have the Church, Commander, and the City.
2. Remember the local church is simply a reflection of its members. If we are excited about Jesus and His Word it will be an exciting place; if we are cold and indifferent then it will be a cold and indifferent church.
3. I heard a story about an old man who greeted people in the church, usually with his grandson by his side. One Sunday a visitor asked the old man, “What kind of church is this?” The old man replied, “Well, what kind of church did you come from?” The visitor said, “It was cold, indifferent place, people were unfriendly and always gossiping about everybody. I’m glad to get away from it!” The old man said, “You know that’s just how our church is.”
The next Sunday another visitor came up and asked the old man, “Say, what kind of church is this?” Again, the old man asked, “Well, what kind of church did you come from?” The man said, “Oh it was a great church! It was warm and friendly and full of love for Jesus.”
The old man said, “You know that’s just how our church is.”
Later his grandson was confused, he asked, “Grandpa how come you told the first man this was a terrible place, but the second man that it was such a wonderful place?”
The wise old man said, “Son, no matter where you move, you take your own attitude with you, and it is that attitude that makes it either a terrible or a wonderful place!”
Is this a terrible or wonderful place? That all depends on whose eyes you’re looking through!
Johnny A Palmer Jr.
