Today is Super Bowl Sunday. CBS is hoping for more than 100 million people watch the game today. The Super Bowl represents the best two teams and the best 106 players competing for bragging rights. There is little humility on the field today. They’ll talk about thankfulness and offer moderate words of humility in post-game interviews. Yet, today is a day of achievement. It’s a day to watch for who is the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and you don’t receive the MVP by virtue of meekness and grace. Today is a day of boasting and bragging…. Today is a day of chest-bumping and finger-pointing… There’s not a lot of room today for humility. Actually, there is not a lot of room for humility on any day for most American.
Recently, one law professor said that without lying and bragging, half the pickup lines in bars across the country wouldn’t exist. Churches are deliberately places where bragging is non-existent (about ourselves) and where grace is paramount. Repeat for emphasis: Churches are deliberately places where bragging is non-existent (about ourselves) and where grace is paramount.
Today’s Big Idea: I want you to see Three Ingredients for a Healthy Church
“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:4-9)
Imagine people sitting around a someone’s dinner table. The guest comments how wonderful the food is and wonders if the cook will share her recipe. What is the recipe for healthy church? If we’re going to rethink church, then what are the ingredients that make a good meal?
1. Thank God for Relationships at Every Opportunity
“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus…” (1 Corinthians 1:4)
We give thanks to God for His gracious actions toward YOU. Most of the time, if we think about what WE are thankful for, it’s for what God has done for us. But watch these verses closely… Paul is giving thanks not for his personal benefits, but for what God has given to others. Paul’s gratitude is because of the transformation of the people in this church. Paul’s goal for his life was to see the Gospel of grace extend throughout the world. His thankfulness is an extension of the goal God had place on His life – to see people transformed by God’s grace.
“I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.” (Romans 1:8)
“For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.” (1 Thessalonians 1:8)
“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. (Philippians 1:3-5)
This is the second time we see the word “grace” as we begin reading this letter. “Grace” is used in verse three as well. Grace is basic to Christianity. You might say the word is identical to the Gospel itself. The Gospel is not a good idea… The Gospel is not good advice… It’s not even God’s instructions for how to live… The Gospel is what God has done for you in Jesus Christ. Grace is the undeserved kindness of God. You might think of this word as God’s opening His door to you. If you get anywhere with God, it’s because of grace.
The word “always” in verse four carries the idea of every opportunity. A healthy church will make a habit of giving thanks for others. Why Be Continually Thankful? Everything in these verses is aimed at a remarkable tendency in the Corinth church to congratulate themselves. Gifted people tend to think of themselves as a cut above others. …to think of themselves as self-sufficient. It’s the person that says, “I would love everyone except I am surrounded by morons.” The Bible is TNT for people who fill their lives with mirrors to admire themselves. The Bible is aimed to implode anyone who is full of egotistical spiritual pride. And grace is especially important here. Remember, Grace is the undeserved kindness of God.
In 1 Corinthians 4:8, He tells us that we have an “enrichment of riches.” “…you have become rich!” (1 Corinthians 4:8) We are people rich with the gifts of God’s grace. Do you realize this?
If you are on an ego trip, then hear this: get in a habit of cultivating thanks for everyone around you. Be especially grateful for the changes the Gospel of GRACE has made in their life. I find that church can often be places of pride of the worst order – spiritual pride. The kind of stuff Jesus lambasted the religious people of His day for. Save yourself the gas by not taking an ego-trip. Your individual spiritual achievements are not God’s gift to the church. Paul writes strategically in order to remind the Corinthians they are not God’s gift to God.
Watch verse two (2) specifically: “To the church of God that is in Corinth…” (1 Corinthians 1:2a) This is very different that saying, “The Corinthian church.” First Baptist Church of Van Buren or the Church of God at Van Buren. The difference is humility.
Paul’s thanksgiving is for three reasons. I see these three reasons and each of them is because of three little conjunctions in our text. For those of you who are grammatically challenged, a conjunction is “and” or “because of,” etc. For those of us who grew up watching PBS, you may remember, “Conjunction, Conjunction, what’s your function?” A conjunction is a connector for a sentence.
1.1 Because of God’s Grace is Evident
“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge” (1 Corinthians 1:4-5)
Our first conjunction is the word “because” in verse four. We are to cultivate a thankful spirit as a regular habit because… The very existence of another’s faith in Christ is worth any personal inconvenience, disappointment, or anguish. No amount of suffering is too much for another person to come to Christ. No amount of inconvenience is too much for another to experience the grace of Christ. No disappointment is too great for another to be given the gift of Christ Jesus. Paul zeros in how they are gifts by God in both speech and knowledge. It was these two aspects of the believers that demonstrated they were transformed by grace. Paul zeros in how they are gifts by God in both speech and knowledge.
The Corinth church’s greatest weakness was its strength. They were genuinely gifted and yet it was because of these gifts, they lacked genuine humility. Paul zeros in how they are gifts by God in both speech and secondly, knowledge. Paul will later tell them that they now know only in part, and now only see dimly. He will ask them eleven times throughout this letter, “Do you not know?” (1 Corinthians 3:16; 5:6; 6:2, 3, 9, 15, 16, 19; 9:13, 23, 12:2). He recognizes that they are abundantly gifted. Yet, some of them had come across as a know-it-all. By recognizing their gift as just that – a gift – Paul turns the boasting from the horizontal to the vertical. Rather than seeing their knowledge as a rung on the ladder where they were above everyone else,they should see their giftedness as reminder of a rung on the ladder to descend upon.
1.2 Because Christ’s Presence is Verified throughout the Whole Church
“even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you” (1 Corinthians 1:6). Our second conjunction is “even.” You may have other translations where the word is “because” or “as.” The second reason for gratitude is because your lives confirm the presence of Christ throughout the whole church. The word “confirm” located in verse six is a word that can mean the proof that a promise is reliable. Paul is speaking of Christ’s confirmation among the church as a whole and not just as Christians individually. Those who experience Jesus Christ are not a small group of individuals who may be similar in their mind-set, their economic background, or their culture. Instead, the experience of Christ as everything is ever-widening as it diversifies throughout various groups of people. Christ is confirmed our church not just by the sheer number of people but also by the various backgrounds of people validating the power of the cross: Rich and poor… Educated and those who don’t have their GED…. Blue collar and white collar… Black and white… Young and old… Grace has transformed people and this is evidence of Christ even though He lived and died nearly 2,000 years ago.
1.3 Because God has Showered the Church with Spiritual GIFTS
“so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:7). Here is our third conjunction, “so.” The third reason we are grateful is because of spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are tools God gives to His church in order for the church to function. He gives unique gifts and He scatters the gifts throughout the body of Christ so everyone has a part in the church.
These spiritual gifts could be skills such as speaking skills or knowledge (which is the two mentioned here) but they could vary to whatever the church needs.
Every believer in Christ is gifted.
See 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 for more on these gifts.
Yet, the focus of these verses are not on the people who are gifted but on the giver of the gifts.
Christ is all over these verses.
In the five (5) verses we read today Christ is mentioned five times: “Christ Jesus” in verse four, “Christ” in verse six, and “Lord Jesus Christ” in verse seven.
Again, “Lord Jesus Christ” in verse eight, “Jesus Christ our Lord” in verse nine, and “our Lord Jesus Christ” in verse ten. Christ is mentioned ten times in the first ten verses. Why is Christ’s name mentioned so much? Because Christians receive every gift in Christ Jesus. Paul is telling us just how many gifts we have in Christ. Because of Christ, the people inside His church are “given” in verse four (4);
They are “enriched” in verse five; They are “confirmed” in verse six; They will be “sustained” in verse six; and they are “called” in verse nine. This gift of grace comes only to those who are in Christ Jesus. AND NO OTHERS. The Bible is telling us that our focus should not be on the one who is gifted, but on the ONE who showers us with His generosity. We clap in church and amen in church for the generosity of Christ Jesus first, before we encourage others.
RECAP OF POINT #1
A healthy church will be in a habit of giving thanks for the relationships she has. A healthy church will cultivate gratitude because God’s grace has transformed people. A healthy church will give thanks as she sees the Gospel of Grace crosses all kinds of cultural lines. This will be confirmation of just what Christ promised in the pages of the New Testament. And a healthy church is in a habit of genuine appreciation as she looks around at all the gifts God has given.
What are the ingredients of a healthy church? Churches are deliberately places where bragging is non-existent (about ourselves) and where grace is paramount.
2. God Has Not Gone Public Yet (But He Will Soon Do So)
Salvation has three aspects. A lifeboat saves you from a sinking ship (past). The lifeboat brings you through the choppy and turbulent seas (present). Yet, the lifeboat will on day place you on the solid shore (future). “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” (Romans 8:19). The Bible uses vivid, colorful language in this verse. It pictures all of creation itself standing on tiptoe, craning it’s neck, as it yearns with eagerness to see the public revelation… the public drawing back of the curtain… when God clearly reveals both Himself and His work in us, His children.
This is just part of our ongoing humility. After we are saved in Jesus Christ by His grace, we wait until the DAY for our completion. Salvation in Christ is the first installment that Christ pays on redemption. Much like a mortgage, there is a day of pay-off coming. Only then will we be complete.
3. Whatever God Begins, He Finishes
“who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:8-9)
The word in verse eight is the word “guiltless” or it is “blameless” in other translations. This word was used in Paul’s day to describe a women who had been deserted by her husband. She was described in court proceedings as “guiltless”.
There is a Day coming… There is a Day coming… There is a Day coming when everything done in the night will dissolve into day: “The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (Romans 13:12)
You are worse off than you ever dare to imagine, but God loves you more than you ever dared to hope. God never gives up on His children. If you are a Christian, then you will remain a Christian by God’s actions.
D-Day was June 6, 1944. This was the day when the Allied armies during WW II turned the tide of this massive war. The war, and the world, was never to be the same. Yet, there was a day subsequent to D Day that ended the war – V – DAY. V Day, or Victory Day, officially ended WW II. Christians are people who are transformed by the grace of God, await V – Day where what was begun in us, by God, will be completed, by God. There is such a certainty to our salvation because of God’s grace. People may misinterpret this as arrogance and Christians must continually communicate our confidence is in Christ, not ourselves. Our confidence is in the work of Christ on the cross.
Two ways to think as we close. I want to call us to the work of evangelism. Remember how we began this message from the words in verse four ? Paul is giving thanks not for his personal benefits, but for what God has given to others. Paul’s gratitude is because of the transformation of the people in this church. Paul’s goal for his life was to see the Gospel of grace extend throughout the world. So, his thankfulness is an extension of the goal God had place on His life – to see people transformed by God’s grace.
Rick Duncan was arrested on June 4, 2009 in Colorado Springs, CO. Rick founded an organization that helped for homeless veterans. He was arrested because he claimed to have a purple heart and a Silver Star. The military says it has no record of him. His arrest was due to a new and controversial law – the Stolen Valor Act. The Stolen Valor Act makes it a crime punishable by up to a year in jail to falsely claim to have received a medal from the U.S. military.
Doug Sterner is a military historian. Sterner tells us that the law embodies the wishes of the nation’s first commander in chief, George Washington. Washington created the Purple Heart, the nation’s first military decoration Washington wrote: “Should any who are not entitled to these honors have the insolence to assume the badges of them, they shall be severely punished.”
Do you have grace or will you face punishment?
