WWUTT 1406 To Those Sanctified in Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:2-3)

Paul has a lot of things that he needs to confront in the Corinthian Church. They are a mess. But before getting to those things, he writes this very caring greeting praising God for their sanctification, when we understand the text.

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Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky. We come back to the start of our study of 1 Corinthians, yeah, the start of it. We've been in it for two weeks, but we're still at the start of it. This is 1 Corinthians 1, verses 1 through, I'll read through verse 9.

Paul called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 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.

Even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless 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. Did you notice how often Jesus Christ comes up in just that beginning? We have Christ Jesus mentioned in verse 1.

We have Christ Jesus mentioned twice in verse 2. You have the Lord Jesus Christ mentioned in verse 3. So in just these first three verses, Christ Jesus or Jesus Christ is mentioned four times in these three verses.

And then we saw it several times there in verses 4 through 9 as well. There's something very important about that. We're going to see that more as we get into the rest of the text in chapter 1. You had these divisions that were starting up in the church.

Some of those divisions, at least the one that Paul confronts first, is regarding loyalty to certain teachers. Some are following Paul, some are following Peter, some are following Apollos, and then there are some that say, I follow Christ.

But Christ is not divided. These men are not competing with one another, trying to gain the most followers. They're not getting together and tallying up, hey, I've got more fans, more likes on my social media page than you do.

That's not the way these guys were doing things. They were exalting Christ. It all points back to Christ. And even Christ's appointment of the apostles was to proclaim his gospel to the world. So Paul means to show them Christ, to call them in the name of Christ, right from the very beginning of the letter, that who they are exalting is Christ.

And in knowing that, and in doing that first, then all these other things that he's going to have to confront with this church are going to find their answer in Christ. That's actually something that Paul says to the Corinthians in his next letter, in 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 20, he says, all the promises of God find their yes in him.

That is why it is through him that we utter our amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us and who has also put his seal on us and given us his spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

So in both letters, 1 Corinthians and in 2 Corinthians, Paul points the Corinthians first to Christ. Now what's funny about the devotional lesson today, I actually had to start and stop this once already because when I started reading, I was reading 2 Corinthians chapter 1, not 1 Corinthians.

And I got to where Paul mentions Achaia and I was like, wait a minute, I don't remember Achaia being mentioned at the beginning of this letter. Nope, that was 2 Corinthians. So we're back in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, still in the greeting here.

We haven't made it out of these first three verses. You have Paul that introduces himself at the start, mentions Sosthenes, who is writing with him. And that's as far as we've been so far in three devotional lessons.

We've had the introduction to 1 Corinthians, talking about Paul's apostleship and then Sosthenes appointment with Paul and his laboring for the gospel, even suffering to share the good news of Christ with these Corinthians.

The Church of God in Corinth Is Still a Church

So now we go on to verse 2, where it says, to the church of God that is in Corinth. Well, you would think we established that with the first devotional lesson, the background into 1 Corinthians, our introduction to this letter.

Of course, Paul is writing to the Corinthians. Who else would he be writing to? But look at the depth here. Look at what he says about the Corinthians. Very important because of what we've got coming up in the letter.

He says to the church of God that is in Corinth. Now it's important that Paul does identify this church as a church of God. Like I said in the introduction, there's all kinds of crazy things that are going on in this church.

There's division over loyalty to different teachers. There's this squabble over who has more knowledge than another. That was a common thing among Greeks. They always wanted new knowledge, as it talks about in Acts chapter 17.

And that was when Paul was in Athens. That's right before he ends up going to Corinth in chapter 18. So it kind of gives you a little bit of an idea of what the Greeks were like with the philosophy and the knowledge that they sought after when you read what's said about them in Acts chapter 17.

So they're always after something new. They're ready for the next new big philosophy that's hitting the scene. And so some of them are boasting in Christ as though, I've got better knowledge than you do because I believe in Christ.

But Paul says, no, the wisdom of God is foolishness to the world. And really you have the thesis statement of this letter in 1 Corinthians 1 .18. I didn't emphasize that when we did our introduction, but it says, for the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.

So this is not about following Christ is not about gaining a new philosophy. It's not even gaining about a moral code because you can keep all the works of the law and still perish and go to hell since you can't do that.

You cannot keep the law. We are justified by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And so the same, you cannot just believe Christianity because you believe you're ascending to some higher or loftier knowledge to the world.

You look like a fool. The world is is not in awe of you, Corinthians, because of a crucified Christ whom you follow. That's folly to the world, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. In the next chapter, Paul talks about how the wisdom that we have comes not from ourselves.

It comes from God who put his spirit within us that we may discern spiritual things. He confronts further divisions in the church in chapter three, talks about the ministry of the apostles in chapter four, confront some of the sexual immorality that's going on in the church in chapter five, even saying you must purge the evil person from among you in chapter six.

Some of these Christians are suing one another. On and on it goes. We go through the letter with problem after problem that Paul has to confront. And you're looking at this and you're going, do these guys even understand the basics?

Do they even have the fundamentals of the gospel? What a dysfunctional church. Can we really call this church a church? And again, that's why his address to the Corinthians in first Corinthians one, two is so important that he says to them to the church of God that is in Corinth.

Indeed, this is a church. And that's exactly why Paul is confronting them. I think that we can get a little puffed up with our knowledge as well, just like the Corinthians did. We can get a little puffed up and think that we know better than somebody else.

And we see a wayward church out there. We see a church that's going astray and we just start barking that they need to close the doors. That is not a church anymore. Shut it up. Time to fold up the tent, turn off the lights, hang up your hat, you know, whatever other euphemism you want to go with that.

They're not a church anymore. Take the sign down. Don't call them a church. They're a cult or they're doing their own thing. They're just a social club. Whatever it is. Is that really what's happened?

Have we looked at that church closely enough to be able to evaluate that truthfully about that church? Are we just hearing about one or two things and that, you know, it pushes our sensitivity buttons or something, our trigger, it pulls our triggers.

And then immediately we're just ready to say, nah, that church is done. Pack it up. It's no good anymore. Is that for us to say? Do we know enough about that church to be able to say that? Paul really cared about this church.

And that's why he writes to this church and he confronts them with an apostolic authority as an apostle, as one to whom the word of Christ was given, that he may rebuke them with the authority of Christ so that they will feel convicted of their sins.

And if the Holy Spirit is truly with them, as Paul knows that it is, then they will feel convicted over this sin and they will turn from it and restore themselves to the path that they were walking when the gospel was first given to them.

So Paul calls them a church of God. He would not be writing to them with this kind of brotherly affection if they were not followers of Christ, even though they're confused on the resurrection. You get to chapter 15 and they ask this question of Paul that causes him to respond.

You foolish person. That's in first Corinthians 1536. So the question they ask about the resurrection even causes him to call them fools. It's apparently a silly enough question that he calls them foolish for even asking it.

Have you heard it said there's no such thing as a stupid question? Well, Paul apparently did not get that memo. There is such thing as a stupid question. And he addresses these Corinthians in such a way.

But again, does so in love is not to belittle them. It's not to make himself feel mightier or or stronger or smarter than they are. It's because he wants them to exalt Christ. He wants them to be followers of Christ as Christ has said his disciples are to follow him.

So he writes to the church of God that is in Corinth to those sanctified in Christ Jesus. These are not just new believers here. There are believers in this church that are mature. They are sanctified in Christ.

Paul even mentions that in first Corinthians six. Now, of course, first first Corinthians six, nine and 10 is a verse that is often used whenever we're speaking against homosexuality, making sure people understand God does call it sin.

It's crazy how fast the church in America is losing that understanding. But nevertheless, we have it explicitly stated in first Corinthians six, nine. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

And such were some of you. But you were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our God. There you have it said there. You were this, but you were sanctified.

He were washed, sanctified, justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. So you used to be walking in these sins. Yes, my friends, you can repent of homosexuality and not have that mindset toward it anymore.

Contrary to what even some in the church are saying right now, that it's an immutable characteristic that you cannot change a person that has those desires. It's not what 1 Corinthians 6, 11 says. It's not what Jesus said in Matthew 5.

It's not what Paul said in Colossians chapter 3. Your thoughts can be reoriented to be toward Christ and not toward your flesh. You used to be this way, Paul says. But you were washed and you were sanctified.

You are being made holy. You are growing in righteousness in Christ. This is a church. As many problems as we see going on in this church, this is a church being sanctified. The message of the gospel is there.

The truth, the fundamentals about Christ is all there in that church, though they are confused on some of those fundamentals, like the resurrection. It doesn't mean that that teaching isn't there. There are people who believe it.

There are people who are teaching it. But there are divisions that are being caused in that church because not everybody is accepting of it. And so Paul is confronting the divisions, the factions, those things that are dividing.

What is it that's dividing? It's because people are either not accepting of the fundamentals, those fundamentals that are being taught there, and some are not accepting it. And so that's causing divisions.

And then there are others that are not demonstrating in their lives the effects of the gospel. So they may say that they believe it, but then what is in their life is not the fruit that should be produced by it.

They might acknowledge it with their lips, but their heart is not truly filled with the truth of the gospel. These are the things that Paul is confronting. So he says that all of the church has a responsibility to these things.

They are all responsible for one another, which is why he addresses the whole church. He's not just saying, hey, only to those who are walking faithfully, you're the only ones that I'm talking to here.

Or you who are going astray into these other things, this is only for you. That's not the way Paul addresses this letter. He doesn't section it out. Only for this person, this person. Oh, this part is for you guys, da, da, da, da, da.

It's addressed to the whole church. The whole church has a responsibility in these things to uphold the soundness of what is being taught in the gospel of Christ and to ensure that their brothers and sisters in the Lord believe it and follow it, that the effects of the gospel are seen in their lives, that they show the fruit of righteousness, the fruit of the spirit, the change, the maturity in brotherly love and affection for one another, that they are supposed to have in Christ.

And we as a church are helping one another in this. It wasn't that long ago. We were in Romans chapter 15, verses 1 and 2, where Paul says there, you who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.

Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope.

So it's to the church of God that is in Corinth that Paul is addressing to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.

You kind of have this divided up into four parts here. You have to the church of God that is in Corinth, part one, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus. That's still the church, but Paul clarifying that this is who you are.

As the church of God, you've been called out of the world. You've been called out of darkness into his marvelous light, to borrow Peter's phrasing in 2 Peter chapter 1. And so walking in light, you're being sanctified.

You're growing in holiness. You're separate from the world. So you have been consecrated by the will of God. You are called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Christ.

That's part three and four. Okay, so let me section out the parts again here. To the church of God that is in Corinth, one, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, two, called to be saints together, three.

So he's encouraging a unity that's going on there in the church of Corinth, what's supposed to be going on there. He's going to be confronting those divisions right when we get past verse nine. But in the meantime, as he is instructing the church, even from the greeting, he says that you're to be saints together.

And then goes on to say, with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, four. So you're not just a church that exists there in Corinth. You are part of every other church in the Roman empire that's been planted by the apostolic ministry.

You're part of the church that's over in Jerusalem. You're part of the churches that have been planted even when Paul has gone to the barbarians, as he talks about in Colossians three. And a barbarian was simply like a non-Roman.

You have Jews and Gentiles. A Gentile is anybody who's a non-Jew. Well, among the Romans, you have the Romans of the barbarians. Anybody who was who was a barbarian didn't speak the Greek language, didn't adopt the Roman culture.

Okay, so they called them barbarians. You think of barbarians being like Neanderthals of the age, right? Now, that's not really what that meant. So Paul had even gone to them and had shared the gospel there.

There were churches that had been planted outside of the Roman empire. And no matter where these churches are, anyone who calls on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We're together. We're part of the same body.

Might be different churches in different cities, but we are part of the brotherhood. We are saints together who are following our Lord Christ. We serve the king. We might be scattered all over the Roman empire, but all things belong to the Lord and he is king.

Jesus is Lord, not Caesar. Christ is Lord of all. In our church here at First Baptist in Lindale, every Sunday morning when we have the pastoral prayer time, part of the pastoral prayer will highlight a church that is in our area, mentioning who that pastor is, and we pray for them.

We as a church together pray for another church in our area and the pastor that's serving there that he may lead with boldness and that the people would listen to and be sanctified by the word of God that is preached there.

That's a good thing. That's a good discipline for a church to do, to be thinking about other churches and praying for them. Now, I haven't been here very long. Those of you who've been following the program, you know we just moved here back in November, but apparently in the past, there had been a few people that had said, why are we bothering to pray for these other churches?

Why are we praying for them? So that was a good kind of lead in to teaching on why we need to think about these other churches and be praying for them that the gospel would be proclaimed there and that the people of God would be sanctified.

We have inter-church ministry that we do. I did from my church in Kansas. We do here at our church here in Texas, where we have pastors from other churches that come and will receive training and an understanding about how to read, interpret the scriptures, and then preach the word of God.

This is part of how we work together to serve the people of God. That not only benefits those pastors, it benefits those congregations. So we need to be mindful of one another in these ways, not just within our own midst.

It's really easy to get kind of tribal, especially within your own church. I mean, let alone there's cliques that start up in your own church. And again, that's coming up here in 1 Corinthians 1 as Paul confronts that.

You'll have cliques in your own church, but then there's also that tendency for us to just be thinking about ourselves in this church and not be thinking about anybody else. Well, Paul challenges the Corinthians in that way as well, because he's going to instruct them to take up an offering that's going to benefit the church in Jerusalem.

He's going to come and collect the offering, which he talks about toward the end of the letter in chapter 16. So there are Corinthians there that do care about other churches. And Paul reminds them of that.

We're saints together and with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours. And then he finishes his greeting with this in verse 3, Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It's the most common phrase to all of Paul's letters that he would begin them in this way. The grace of God to you. You are not deserving of it, but he gives it to you because he has shown his love and his affection for you in Christ.

Peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace be among you. We're seeing all kinds of disruptions. Just in an overview of this letter to the Corinthians, we see some factions that are developing squabbles that are going on.

Paul addresses them with peace and he's going to get rather confrontational in love, but he's going to be directing things or he's going to be confronting things very directly. And so the Corinthians must know he comes to them in grace.

He comes to them in peace that they may know the goodness of God that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. That was the charge that he gave to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1. We read that on the podcast Friday, right?

Remember reading that along with me? Because you did, right? You read that with me in his greeting to that first letter to Timothy says the aim of our charge is love that echoes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

And he is out to build up the faith of these Corinthians. And so likewise, may our faith be built up as well as we consider these things. I hope you're considering these things already just by what we have talked about in our reading today.

Let's finish with prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this good word. And I pray that as we come back to it day by day, we are being sanctified by the word of God that we would consider one another in this body and help to build each other up that we would consider.

We're not just part of the saints that are in the church that we attend. We are part of the saints with the Christians that attend every other church, those churches that call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.

Keep us sound in the faith, true in the doctrine that we study and the word of God that is proclaimed in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

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