Messed up. That is the only way to describe it. There was a celebrity culture in the church. Sexual sin was part of the culture. There were all kinds of lawsuits happening among church members. There was a divide between the rich and poor which could be seen in how people acted when they were together. There were some that got into the prosperity gospel and were all about the resurrection life now – because, after all, the resurrection already happened. Gender roles were confused. There were people that cared nothing for the conscience of others. Their worship services were also a mess. People were talking over one another. Some were showcasing their gifts; others were talking over one another.
And at the heart of it all was an abundance of pride, a lack of Christian love, and a misunderstanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This was the church of Corinth. This was a church of our Lord Jesus. And praise the Lord for this church. Because of this church we have so many answers to the exact same problems that we face. Yes, because this letter was not just written to that church but to every church. It was written to us. To Bellville Free Reformed Church. this letter come directly from Jesus through Paul by the Spirit to us. Here in 21st century South Africa.
But at the end of the day, this book is not about fixing the churches problem, but it is about getting to see the gospel more clearly, apply the gospel more ably, and live out the gospel more holistically. When it comes to all the problems – Paul has just one answer – Jesus and his work.
To the church of Jesus Christ those who are sanctified, called to be saints!
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the greeting of Grace.
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Thanksgiving for Grace
The greeting of grace
Paul. The very first word in the book tells us who the author is. There is no doubt about his authorship. And who is he? Well, he tells. He is “a called to be and apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God.” He is the official delegate of the messiah, Jesus Christ, and holds this office by the will of God. The reader better pay attention. .
This is God’s message to the church. He is not sent by the church but by God himself. It was not like he put himself forward.
You see it is not Paul that stands central. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one whose message is being proclaimed. And he writes this with his brother, Sosthenes. Although the Greek makes plain Sosthenes is not the one called by God – nevertheless Paul calls him brother. An equal in Christ through faith. One who served with him.
And he writes this to the church of God that is in Corinth. In order to understand this letter, it is good to get to know the city – so that we can really live there and hear Paul’s words as if for the first time. Corinth was a rich and multicultural city of more than 200,000 – which was very big for the ancient world. It was a strategic port city, which also made it very multicultural. Every second year the Isthmian games were held there which were like modern day Olympics. That’s why the book is rich with athletic imagery.
It was a city that was known for its sexual freedom. They worshipped the goddess of love. And you can guess how you worship the goddess of love. They also loved their wine. A common figure in ancient Greek plays was a drunk who normally came from Corinth. If you were from Corinth you can assume that person loved wine. It was also a multicultural city due to being a port city, and therefore also a city of many gods. From Aphrodite to Apollo to Athena, to Asclepius, to the emperor and many more, there was choice for everyone. No one was going to judge you in this city. You could be and do whatever you wanted. And like any big city there was a divide between the rich and poor. The haves and the have nots, which also came out in the church.
Does this remind you of any city? Filled with immorality. Our society worships sexes and immorality. Music, movies, shows, and social media are filled with it. Cape Town loves her wine, just go to one of the local wine festivals and it is filled with people who have had too much. It is multicultural – worship whatever and whoever you want – just don’t be judgmental. A busy port city with extreme wealth and poverty. Our gods of money, fame, sex, wine have served humanities lust, and people are blinded to the truth of their condition.
And in the middle of this city, Cape Town, this message comes to you today.
He write to the Church (Ecclesia) of God. The word means called out. These are the called-out ones of God! This is not the church of Paul. Or Peter, or Apollos, it is the church of the living God! They belong to him and no one else. It is all of grace. And as God called paul to be an apostle, so he calls the Church to holiness. Paul says that they are “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy.”
They can only be holy because they are holy. This is one of the central points of the book. On the one hand they are sanctified, they are holy. They are set apart. And now they must live it out. Here is the kingdom of God. In contrast to the kingdom of darkness. The City of God amid the world’s city. A light amid darkness. Radically different in their practical obedience. When you compare Paul’s way of life in this book with the way of life of an everyday Corinthian, then radical is not an overstatement. Unfortunately they didn’t realize the fullness of their holiness in Christ and so they were not living the life of holiness they had been called to.
This is a church that was not living out their received identity. And so many of their problems had come because of buying into the cultural message around them, and not fully buying into the Word of Christ. They practiced a form of syncretism, whether it was the resurrection, spiritual gifts and their purpose, gender roles, baptism, the Lord’s supper, celebrity culture, a culture of litigation, etc. So, Paul is reminding them of their identity with these few words, “To the church of God, which is in Corinth, sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy.” The ethical meets the theological. We are holy in Christ – and now we are called to walk in him. walk in that holiness. To grow in Christ who is the head.
And this message is nor for them but also “for everyone who in every place calls upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place – both their Lord and ours.” This is for us. We, Bellville VGK, are ecclesia of God in Cape Town. Called by God to come out of the city and yet be part of the city. The church of God – the creator God of heaven and earth – who calls things that are not into being has called this church into being. Which brings us to another important question for this book.
What is the use of the church? If the answer to that question involves something about “how it is useful to you?” then I think you may be missing a big point. The answer is not so much with what it does for you, but what it does for God. We are not here to just avoid private vices and follow private virtues. We are not here to primarily feel good. We are not here to become better people. This is not our quiet time – except now we do it together. We have not come together just to pray, read, and sing like we do the other days, but this time we do it together for encouragement.
NO! Something more than that is going on here. We are participating in the life of VGK Bellville Church. And when we come, we are not coming merely as individual consumers, sort of doing our spiritual shopping of the week. Seeing what we find of use down the aisle of singing, and prayer, over here in the preaching special, and the conversation after, taking it home in our shopping carts and using it for ourselves. We are assembled as a living institution, a viable organism, one body. Church is not something we do. It is a living organism. It is the “The gospel made visible.” We are called to be holy – because that is the end of the gospel.
That is the point here. That is the point of this book. Everyone was missing the point of what the church is. They were using it for their own ends – and not to the end God intended. What is the use of the church? The answer to this question has far less to do with what use it is to us, as far more what the church is to God.
When we begin to understand this. We begin to turn the corner. From a kind of compromise, self-centered involvement in the church to the kind of full-blown God centered life together, a living organism which God calls into being and uses for his own purpose and glory. The church gathered is the manifestation of the living God in this world. Amid Corinth and Bellville and we are called to live out that reality through a profound self-sacrificial, and holy unity that is found in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. A unity that gives peace, founded upon grace.
And so, Paul begins his letter in the same way we begin every service, “Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” grace flows into peace. Grace is what brings us into restored fellowship with God, and so with each other. And where does this grace come from? Where does peace come from? It is not a man worked thing, it is 100% and totally God’s initiative. It is found wholly in Christ. Understanding and applying the grace (the gift) of God in Jesus Christ so that the church might be built up into a profound, holy, Christ centered, God Glorifying unity!
Thanksgiving for the church who lacks nothing in Christ Jesus
This book is about the where the church finds its identity and unity and then lives that out. Too often this book has been split up into the different sections. And compartmentalized – without taking into consideration the context as a whole. This is about living a holy live in the power of the resurrected Christ.
We talk about the chapter on the resurrection, or the chapter on marriage and singleness, or the chapter on church discipline, or the chapter on conscience of freedom. But if we only think of Corinthians that way it can easily turn into a how-to resource book. Or a reference book to get our doctrine straight. But that is not Paul’s point. He is not looking for a sort of moralism or that the church can be puffed up with new information. He is applying the work and person to Christ throughout.
And from the very beginning he wants the church to understand this! You don’t need to know anything more! You don’t need another insight or prophecy. You don’t need another program. You don’t need more resources. What you need to realize church is that you have all that you need already in Christ! Quit thinking its about you. Your work. Your desires being fulfilled. Your needs. This is about God! his work, his glory. In Him we all that we need to have peace and deep satisfaction in life.
He says in verse 4, “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace given you in Christ Jesus.” Paul says I am always giving thanks for you! Wow! Always. If you read the rest of the book, which I encourage you to do, this is a shocking statement. How can he always give thanks for a church like this? After reading this book this prayer of thanksgiving may not fit. But then lets think about any church. How can I with the elders and deacons constantly give thanks for this church? Not because of who you are, but because of what Christ Jesus has given you.
So quickly we can jump to the problems in the church. We skip over the gift of Christ to all the things that need to be worked on. And we want to get started working on those things! But if we do not recognize first the grace God has granted to the church, we will not even be able to begin to address any problems. It is only in the realization of this gift of grace which is nothing less the fullness of God given in the person of Christ Jesus our Lord that we can even begin to work and apply that grace. You can’t apply something that you think you don’t have.
He goes on and says and explains what this grace provides. “That in everything you have been enriched in him, in all speech and all knowledge – even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed among you – so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift (grace), as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” you are lacking nothing church. When is the last time you were reminded of this truth? We lack nothing. I mean it. The fact that the church is struggling is NOT because we need something! But because we do not realize what we already have! And that’s what God wants to also remind us of in prayer. We can always begin with thanks if we begin with the gospel – because God has provided every spiritual gift. The word gift here is the same as the word grace. We have all things in Christ Jesus that we need to be the church of God.
They had written to Paul wanting him to address a number of questions and problems, but he does not start there. He starts with thanksgiving. This is where we start beloved, on our knees in prayer overflowing with humble thanksgiving that the witness of Christ has been confirmed among us in this church. Overflowing with gratitude that God has given us all things in Christ. If we don’t start here, we are never going anywhere. 46 times in his letter Paul uses this word. A Christian that does not give thanks simply does not understand the gospel. But if we understand this then we can move forward as “we eagerly wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ!”
The revealing of Jesus Christ. This is what all things are building up to. This is the reason we preach. This is the reason for the church – to point people to him and his return. To prepare his chosen called out ones for that day. To live in the light of that day. As Jesus says, “But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
It is our Lord Jesus who is the one who will establish, or confirm you to the end. He is the one gathering, defending, and preserving the church. It is in him and him alone which we will make it to the end of the race. If we as a church at any point begin to be self-righteous, self-sufficient, self-dependent then we have lost it. v 8-9 says, “And he will sustain you unto the end, blameless (Irreproachable) in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom we are called into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.”
God is faithful.
Is there three more beautiful words to be said about our God. Particularly when it comes to a bride that is often so unfaithful. God is faithful to his church to his called-out ones. Why? Because he called us out! Look carefully at what is says, God is faithful, through whom we are called out to share sweet union and fellowship with Jesus Christ our Lord! He will keep us to the end. This is a matter of faith.
He calls us. He empowers us. He sustains us to the end. He reconciles us. For from him, and through him and to him are all things. No to us, o Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory! That is the point of this book that the church might wholly glory in, and live a life soaked in the gospel of our lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.