1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Problems in the Pews

Open your Bible to (reading from NLT)…

1Cor. 3:1 Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to mature Christians. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life.

1Cor. 3:2 I had to feed you with milk and not with solid food, because you couldn’t handle anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready,

1Cor. 3:3 for you are still controlled by your own sinful desires. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your own desires? You are acting like people who don’t belong to the Lord.

Pray

Intro

√ Problems in the pews

Pastors and parishioners in every church in every age often wonder why there are problems in their church.

You can be tempted to think that your church is unique and that other fellowships aren’t plagued by the same kinds of problems that your church faces.

Often times people will move to a new church because they naively think that there won’t be problems at the church down the street.

But, the reality is that there have always been problems in the pews because the Church is made up of imperfect people!

That truth becomes evident as you read through the New Testament.

The disciples argued and fought with each other as recorded in the Gospel records.

Christians, even the apostles, are recorded in the book of Acts as striving with one another and even breaking fellowship.

Every epistle deals in some way with problems in the church.

Finally, in the Revelation Jesus addresses 7 churches, 5 of which have serious problems!

But, nowhere are problems more evident than in Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth!

As you read the letter before us you’ll find that this church did everything wrong…

…they couldn’t even share communion together without sinning!

They were…

Defiled by openly practicing sin in the fellowship.

Divided over petty issues and by personal agendas.

Disgraced as a witness for Jesus because their sin, pride, and selfishness had spilled out into the world.

The church at Corinth was in bad shape!

Yet, the Holy Spirit had not given up on them!

That’s evident by the two letters that He inspired the Apostle Paul to write.

The Lord’s concern for these wayward saints is evident because He takes the time to gently, yet firmly, deal with the problems in the pews at the church in Corinth!

That’s encouraging because these two letters remind us that God is faithful and that even when we’re messing up that He doesn’t dump us!

He deals with us, disciplines us, works with us and restores us to a right place of fellowship with Him!

So, as we study this letter we’ll find both correction and encouragement from the Lord!

Ap. So why are we studying the letter to the Corinthians?

Because there are problems in the pews!

I’m not referring specifically to our fellowship, though we do have our share of problems…

…rather I’m speaking of the “Church” at large in the United States because as I observe the conduct and behavior I see the same problems that plagued the church at Corinth.

Much of the Church in the US today is…

Defiled by sin in the fellowship.

Divided over petty issues and by personal agendas.

Disgraced as a witness for Jesus because their sin, pride, and selfishness had spilled out into the world.

The Church more than ever is confused about what it means to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ.

Ex. Confused about Truth

In the last week of February two Christian denominations made some very un-Christ-like decisions…

The Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan ordained a Zen Buddhist to a place of ministry!

Representatives of the Presbyterian Church USA here in Arkansas and in North Carolina voted to allow practicing homosexuals to be ordained and to serve in their churches!

What is even more tragic is that many people who call themselves “Christians” in the US don’t see either of these decisions as unbiblical or contrary to Christ!

Well, here in Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth we’ll discover that he deals with these and many other issues and lays down for us God’s truth regarding how we are to live our Christian faith.

That is, how we can live in the world without being of the world!

That’s critical knowledge because much of the Church today is confused about how to live a holy life in a very unholy world.

Called to be Holy (vs. 1-9)

1Cor. 1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

1Cor. 1:2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

1Cor. 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Cor. 1:4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus,

1Cor. 1:5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge,

1Cor. 1:6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,

1Cor. 1:7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

1Cor. 1:8 who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1Cor. 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

√ Called to be saints

Before Paul begins dealing with the problems at the church he reminds the believers at Corinth who they are in Christ.

1) First, did you notice that Paul uses the title “Lord” with reference to Jesus 5 times in this short salutation!

He does so to remind the believers at Corinth that Jesus is not just their savior…

…He is also their Lord!

That foundation is important to establish because it is on the authority that Jesus has in their lives as Lord that Paul is going to address the problems at Corinth.

He was reminding them that when the gave their lives to Jesus that they became subject to Him!

2) Reminds them that they are saints

Paul’s reason for starting with this positive reminder of their spiritual heritage in Christ was meant to stir them to begin practicing what they preached.

Ex. Vince Lombardi’s half time speech

Paul’s point was to remind his friends at Corinth that they had been called to live like saints…

…people whose lives had been transformed by the power of God’s Holy Spirit to live like Jesus.

That is, that they had a sacred responsibility to live and act differently as a result of their salvation.

What does a saint live like?

1. Set apart ~ vs. 1-3

The very first thing that distinguishes a Christian from an unbeliever is that they are set apart from the world to Jesus, note vs. 2…

“To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:”

The word “saints” literally means…

“To be set apart”

The idea the word suggests is of a person, or people, who have been separated from everything else so as to belong to God alone.

Ex. Marriage vows

When a man and woman exchange marriage vows they are separating themselves from all others so as to devote themselves solely to one another.

In fact, that’s the foundation for the traditional bridal procession…

…by walking past her friends, family, and parents to her groom she is symbolically communicating to everyone there that from that moment forward her relationships will be different because she is giving herself wholly to her husband.

That’s the idea that Paul is communicating to the believers at Corinth when he calls them “saints”!

They were called to be separated from the world, it’s sins, lusts, and evil and given wholly unto Jesus!

So, Paul reminds his friends first of their calling so as to establish a foundation upon which he can address their sins.

Ap. You’re a saint!

It’s important to note that Paul called all the living believers at Corinth “saints”.

That’s very different than the way some religious traditions think of a saint.

The Biblical definition of a saint is anyone who has trusted in Christ for salvation.

So, if you’ve put your faith in Jesus then you’re a saint! Now that you know that remember that you and I are called to live like saints…

…not like “ain’ts”!

2. Enriched ~ vs. 4-6

Next Paul reminds the folks at Corinth that they were enriched by Christ with all spiritual wealth, look at vs. 4-5…

“I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge”

In our previous study of Ephesians we learned about all the spiritual wealth we have in Christ so we won’t enumerate again all of the spiritual riches we have in Christ!

Rather, we’ll simply note that Paul reminds them of the fact of their riches in Christ and acknowledges that they are especially blessed in the spiritual gifts of utterance (tongues & prophecy) and knowledge (word of knowledge and wisdom and discernment).

Once again Paul’s tact here is to acknowledge the positive aspects of this troubled church before he addresses their failures!

Remember, this was a church that zealous in their use of spiritual gifts…

…but rather than using them for the benefit of the church they were abusing them to draw attention to themselves.

So, Paul reminds both the Corinthians and us that God has made all of His riches available to us in Christ Jesus for the purpose of advancing His kingdom.

Ap. Use those gifts

We’ll cover this topic in great detail in chapters 12-14 but suffice it to say that many, perhaps the majority of Christians today neglect or are ignorant of the spiritual gifts available to us in Christ.

Don’t let the abuse of spiritual gifts by churches like the one in Corinth scare you away from the blessings available to you today!

If you’ve never done so ask the Lord to show you what gift(s) He’s given you and how you should use them to bless His people.

3. Expectant ~ vs. 7

Please don’t misunderstand me!

By “expectant” I’m not talking about pregnancy…

….rather I mean to say that Paul reminds his friends at Corinth that Christians are supposed to be living with the expectation of the soon return of Jesus to earth!

Note vs. 7b…

“…eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ”

This is one more area of truth that the church in Corinth had failed to grasp.

There were people in the church teaching that there was no resurrection of the dead, no hope for heaven, and no reason to believe that Jesus was coming back!

Later in this letter Paul will go into great detail about the hope we have in Christ for the resurrection and the Rapture of the Church.

Part of the reason for mentioning the return of Christ here in his opening salutation is that Paul knew that a hopeful expectation of Jesus’ soon return is key to maintaining purity!

A person is less likely to sin if they really believe that Jesus could show up today!

As we work through Paul’s letter we’ll find that the believers in Corinth were really defiled in part because they were no longer expecting Jesus’ return.

Ap. Ignorance regarding the soon return of Christ

Because you attend a church like this one where we teach the Biblical reality of Jesus’ return you may find it surprising that many churches and denominations don’t teach or believe that Jesus is actually coming back to earth.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that those same churches have moved from a Biblical definition of “sin” and are now accommodating sinful behavior in their midst are also churches that do not teach the soon return of Christ.

Saints, surely if Paul and the other Apostles believed that Jesus might return in their life times we should live with the same…

…perhaps greater expectation that Jesus may call His Church to glory in our generation!

Ap. Help to keep you pure!

Keeping an eye on the signs of the times that would indicate Jesus’ soon return is spiritually healthy because it will help to keep you from sin!

4. Dependent ~ vs. 8-9

Paul’s last point before “opening a can on em” is to remind them that their salvation is a completed transaction dependent not on who they were or what they were doing…

…but rather, dependent on the work of Jesus Christ, note vs. 8-9.

“who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

That is, Paul reminds them that their salvation is confirmed to them by the Word of God, and in them by the Spirit of God therefore he is confident that God will work the problems out of the pews!

Of special significance is the word “confirm” in vs. 8.

It is a legal term that speaks of a guarantee that completes a transaction.

Paul’s point is that when the Corinthian believers gave their lives to Christ that a spiritual transaction took place that secured their salvation.

That transaction was guaranteed by the work of Christ on the Cross.

Confirmed by the testimony of God’s word.

Evidenced by the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

The idea here is that though there were many problems in the pews Paul knew that God had a plan for his misguided sinning friends and that He would take care of it!

Additionally, I think Paul’s words were meant to comfort his friends in the knowledge that though he was about to expose their sinfulness…

…they could receive his rebuke with hope knowing that God hadn’t turned His back on them.

So, Paul’s friends could place their trust in God’s faithfulness to complete the good work that He had begun in them.

Close

√ Problems in the pews

When we find ourselves trapped in sin it’s easy to imagine that we’re so bad that God can’t help us, or doesn’t want to help us anymore!

Studying this letter to the believers in Corinth reminds us not only that we should live a holy life…

…but also that God wants to help us get out of our sinful condition so that we can live a holy life.

Listen, no matter how bad your sin is (or was) it’s a good bet that they were worse sinners in Corinth!

If God can help them He can help you!

The only question is will you listen to His correction and surrender to His power?