11.29.20 1 Corinthians 1:3–9
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! 4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus. 5 You were enriched in him in every way, in all your speaking and all your knowledge, 6 because the testimony about Christ was established in you. 7 As a result you do not lack any gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also keep you strong until the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
What’s Your Prognosis?
You go to the doctor because of a problem. You get an xray and wait for him to return with the results. He walks in. You read his face, trying to determine: what’s the prognosis? Am I going to live or die?
You meet someone that you might be interested in dating. You look in their eyes. Are they responding? Laughing? Smiling? Is there a flicker of light there? Any interest? Any future?
Years ago I took a young man through Bible Information Class. He was dating a member of our congregation and they were getting “serious”, I guess you would say. But when he came to class, he would quickly answer the questions and ask no questions. It seemed he really didn’t want to be there. Nonetheless, he finished the classes and decided to join. When the relationship didn’t end up working, he didn’t last long at church, and it didn’t really surprise me.
It’s what concerns me when we have a class of confirmands every year. Some children don’t engage at all in class. Their parents don’t seem to take much interest in worship. It’s like they’re just going through the motions. It’s hard to be optimistic in such situations.
Paul didn’t have such a pessimistic attitude with the Corinthians. You sense an attitude of thankfulness, gratitude and optimism in this letter. And it wasn’t like the Corinthians were perfect by any stretch of the imagination. What was it that gave Paul such positivity? Was he just a Joel Osteen type? A positive type of person? No. Let’s listen again. I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus. 5 You were enriched in him in every way, in all your speaking and all your knowledge, 6 because the testimony about Christ was established in you. Their faith was enriched and established. The same Word is used in Mark 16:20 when Mark talks about the ministry of the disciples. He wrote that, “the Lord worked with them and confirmed (same word as established in the Greek) his word by the signs that accompanied it.” The miracles CONFIRMED that the disciples had the authentic approval of God.
Think for a minute about these Corinthians. Some of them came from terrible backgrounds. Paul said that some of them were, “sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, drunkards, slanderers and swindlers.” (1 Cor 6) These were not salt of the earth people when they were converted. I’m sure they spoke like perverts and had no problem lying to gain a profit. Vulgarity probably would have rolled off their tongues like drunken sailors. But when Paul listened to them speak and saw them grow in their faith after their conversion, he was confident that they would endure to the very end.
First of all, they were enriched in “all your speaking.” What does this mean? They’d be speaking forgiveness to each other. In 1 Thessalonians 5 Paul told the Thessalonians to “encourage each other and build each other up.” They’d be encouraging each other to stay faithful to Jesus. They’d cheer others on when they resisted temptations or stood firm against their own families in order to stay faithful to Christ. They didn’t tear each other down when they messed up. They’d be praying for each other. They spoke the Word of God to each other in words of encouragement. They weren’t cursing at each other or speaking vulgar talk. Their speech had changed.
That’s not all. They also said they were enriched in “all your knowledge.” The Corinthian converts made it a point to know Jesus and see Jesus throughout the Scriptures. They made sure to know what God had to say about Creation, the Fall, prophecy, and so much more. They diligently learned how it all pointed to Jesus. It would have taken time and effort to study the Scriptures and learn these things. But they made the efforts, and as a process they grew in their knowledge.
So Paul said, I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus. It is worth noting that GOD deserves the credit when His people grow in faith and speaking. That’s a sermon in and of itself. But the main point I’m making for today is that Paul had REASON for his good prognosis of thankfulness and optimism with the Corinthians. It wasn’t just being positive for positivities’ sake. The Corinthian congregation’s overall speech and growth made him have a positive prognosis.
Would you give Paul reason for optimism if you were a member of the Corinthian church by the way you speak? A part of you wants to yell at your spouse when he or she is lazy or rude. A part of you is disgusted with your parents or your children when they constantly agitate you. Maybe you’re frustrated with politics or your job. The easiest thing to do is let the vulgarities and the sarcasm just flow off your tongue at a moment’s notice. The difficult thing to do is to fight against the anger within. What’s the prognosis?
Sinful thoughts and words don’t necessarily mean a bad prognosis. After all, you’re still a sinner. What’s the solution if you’re struggling with your tongue? It’s not just to be quiet. It is to confess your angry feelings and emotions to your pastor or your spouse, parent, Christian friend, or child. Hear Him say to you “I forgive you,” and repeat those words in your life with those who sin against you. Listen to Him say to you, “Here’s my love in Jesus - who died for you.” Don’t be afraid to say “I love you” to your spouse or your children or your parents. Don’t be ashamed to say “God bless you” to people. These are the words of Jesus that come off the tongue. Speak them when they are uncomfortable until they become comfortable.
Think also about knowledge. Have you pushed yourself to attend an adult Bible study within the past year? Have you taken the time to do your own Bible study at home? Have you ever taken the time to read through the Lutheran Confessions like the Augsburg Confession or Formula of Concord? Do you even know what they are? They are expressions of the doctrines of the Scriptures that were made when the Lutheran church was first formed. It wasn’t just pastors who put their weight behind those doctrines. The lay people did too. So also, Paul had a congregation of people who were HUNGRY for doctrine! Is it any wonder that he was optimistic about them, even though they had plenty of issues? Are you giving reason for optimism? Or have you been lazy with your knowledge. What’s your prognosis?
Don’t get me wrong, God loves you all. Jesus died for weak Christians too. You are all forgiven when you believe in Jesus with a strong or weak faith. Weak Christians can and will be saved by the grace of God, just like the rest of us: thank God! I’m simply asking you if you are making efforts to cooperate with the Holy Spirit; to work on your speech and your knowledge?
There’s always reasons for pessimism when we look at ourselves. But listen again to how confident Paul was when it came to the Corinthians’ salvation. There is no panic. He has a good prognosis. As a result you do not lack any gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also keep you strong until the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
I sense a lot of fear among today’s Christians. We worry about our freedoms when the political winds change. Will Joe Biden and the Democrats clamp down on Christian freedom and condemn Biblical doctrines as hate speech? Or will we be able to maintain our freedoms to worship? Will Covid-19 continue to wreak havoc on our society and claim more and more lives? What will happen to the faith of our children and grandchildren as our educational systems become more and more proactive in pushing an immoral sexual agenda? Will Trinity be able to survive another fifty years? Or will we have to close our doors some day? Are you filled with a prognosis of doom and gloom for our future?
Paul had to face a Roman government that ultimately put him to death and locked many of his fellow Christians up, taking away a lot of their property. But Paul didn’t worry about what persecution would do to the Corinthians. Why? Because He knew that God would work through them and for them! He believed God’s grace would save the day! He had confidence that they had every gift they needed to stay strong to the end. If anything, that suffering would only make them stronger, because God had given them powerful gifts.
What were those gifts? The same gifts that we have. They had the Word. They had baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The Holy Spirit had worked through the Word to bring them from unbelief to faith. This is the same Word that created the world. It’s the same Word that became flesh and died on the cross. It’s the same Word that rose from the dead. The same God who had brought them to faith could keep them in the faith and enable them to resist temptation, despair and unbelief throughout the rest of their lives. Yes, life would be difficult. Yes, they would lose battles. But God is faithful, so the prognosis is good.
It’s such a simple term. It sounds so basic. God is faithful. But when you think about it, it means everything. It means that if God promises to do something, He’ll do it. Think about what Paul said that God did for the Corinthians. God is faithful, who called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Fellowship means to partner together with someone, to share something with them. When they were baptized into Christ, they became one with Jesus. His righteousness was theirs. His Holy Spirit was theirs. His angels were theirs. His love was theirs. His grace and mercy were theirs. His forgiveness covers all sins. His patience goes far beyond any human patience. The Corinthians had all of Jesus and everything that Jesus brings, and we do too! And if God is for us, who can be against us?
Paul witnessed this first hand within himself. When God called Paul to the ministry he was told that he would have to suffer a lot in serving the Lord. And suffer he did! He had to go through beatings and torture, jail and shipwrecks. When talking about all of the problems he went through along with the other apostles he wrote, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” There was no reason why Paul should have been able to survive all of the suffering and pressure he went through without suffering a mental breakdown or denying his faith. But when all was said and done, only by God’s grace, he survived.
There are people in this congregation who have gone through problems that you can’t imagine. They’ve lost children to drug problems, unbelief, and death. They’ve had terrible health problems. They lost spouses, some who died right in front of them. They’ve been abandoned by their spouses or parents. Yet they are still here worshiping God. They are still living in faith and hope, looking forward to being with Jesus. How could they keep such hope when it would be so easy to feel abandoned by God? They would be the first to tell you, it’s NOT because they were stronger than anyone else. There were times when they were ready to give up. There were times when they did give up. But somehow, and in some way, through their baptism, through the Word and sacrament that they received through the years, God lifted them back up. He pointed them back to Jesus. He picked them up with His nail imprinted hands, wrapped them in His arms, and comforted them with HIS love. He patiently pointed them to the empty grave to remind them of the resurrection. He pointed them to Creation to remind them of His power. God kept their faith alive. God was faithful.
So what is your prognosis? 2020 seems like it’s been an impossible year, a disastrous year in some senses. One problem after another has hit our society. But we are still here. We are still listening and receiving His Word and sacrament.
The year isn’t over, but today we are heading into a new church year as we begin the season of Advent. It is not a season of despair, but a season of repentance and hope. Paul found reason for hope - in Jesus. If you are facing a seemingly impossible obstacle and you want to give up, just look at the Corinthians. Look at what the apostles were called on to do, and how God kept them strong through it all. Look at your grandparents and great grandparents who made it through the depression and two World Wars. Look at how God gave them a strong faith. If God can do it with them, then He can do it with YOU too! Why? Because God is faithful.
We don’t know what the new year will bring. So do not give up the fight. Stay on the Word. Enrich your speaking by listening to Jesus and proclaiming Christ. Dig into the Word, get to know Jesus more, and see what God will do. With God’s faithfulness, the prognosis is life and salvation in Jesus, and that is a great prognosis indeed. Amen.
