Identity In Christ

Great to be here with you this morning. My wife, and I actually live nearby a couple hours from here. So we've taken it as an opportunity to go visit some friends as well. With that said love to talk to you about all of that some other time now.

It's not the time for it. It is a privilege to worship with you though. If you have your Bible, please turn it to first Corinthians chapter 1 while you're turning there. Let me introduce to you what we're talking about.

We currently live in a world that is obsessed with two concepts. That the moment I mentioned them you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. The two concepts that our world around us is obsessed with right now deal with identity and.

Unity.

The world around us Unbelievers believers really doesn't matter. They're obsessed with these two ideas depending on who you are yourself where your worth is and. Then if you agree with me, we can be united if you disagree with me.

We aren't united, right? I mentioned that Because the Corinthian Church dealt with something similar where they were dealing with identity issues and they were dealing with unity issues and The answer for them is the same answer that we have for us today as well.

If you haven't yet Let's look at first Corinthians 1 together. Let me read this for us first Corinthians 1. We're actually going to start in verse 10. Now I urge you brothers and sisters by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all agree and that there be no Divisions among you but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.

For I have been informed concerning you my brothers and sisters by Chloe's people that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this that each of you is saying I am with Paul or I am with Apollos. Or I am with Cephas or I am with Christ.

Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you. Was he or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I am thankful that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius. So that no one would say you were baptized in my name.

But I did baptize the household of Stephanus also. Beyond that I do not know if I baptized anyone else. For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel. Not with cleverness of speech so that the cross of Christ would not be made of no effect.

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved it is the power of God. This passage is written particularly to a church that Deals with several different things that we as a church today are familiar with.

The issues that the Corinthians had are very much issues that we have today. And it's written for the purpose of confronting those issues within the body of Christ. So if you read beyond this which I'd encourage you to do what you notice is that it starts with these Identity and unity issues, but it doesn't end there.

The letter to the Corinthian people deal a lot with the Lord's Supper. It deals a lot with with various issues within the body. Doing things as a church that they ought not.

Do.

You can see that it's a very pastoral letter just by skimming through it where you read about the Lord's Supper. You read about the spiritual gifts, and you read about the need for love within the body of Christ.

There are passages concerning the conscience and what it means to to make decisions. Realizing that your conscience is supposed to be part of that when it comes to maybe Christian liberty issues. The book itself is Highly pertinent to the world that we live in today.

And as I've already said our world is obsessed with identity and with unity today. That's our focus. It's worth noting by the way That Paul planted this church. He has a very intimate relationship with them.

He has a relationship in which he can call them out for their sins. And that's precisely what he does here. He calls them out for their sins. He calls them out for their lack of unity. And he does so in such a way that it reminds them that their unity really isn't built on their own chosen identity.

It's built on the identity that was given to them by Christ himself. But we'll come back to that idea a little bit later as we study this passage together. We're really going to break it into two parts.

The first is verses 10 through 16 the dealing with the division itself. The second is verses 17 and 18 the foundation for the unity that they're supposed to have. The first section deals with the problem at hand, which very clearly is the division.

It deals with what exactly has caused that division. The second section deals with what actually unites them what brings them together. What what brings them to be one body together? My goal for us this morning is really for us to see what the actual foundation for biblical unity is.

It's not something that we invent. It's something that's already there and it's foundational for us. My goal for us is to see that to grasp it to understand it and to be compelled to look for that unity within Christian circles as often as we possibly can.

Because our unity is not Something that we can choose to have. It's something that we need to have as Christians because it's built on Christ not on us. Let's pray together and ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes and soften our hearts this morning.

Our gracious Heavenly Father, we are so thankful for you and for all that you've done for us. We are thankful that you have provided for us your word. That it is in our own language and we can read it and we can study it.

More importantly that we can delight in it because it is your word. I Pray that you help us to delight in your word this morning. Help us to hear your words. And not just to learn new things not just to gain more information.

But to live in light of what your word has spoken. Help us by softening our hearts this morning by opening our eyes by opening our ears. That we may know you better because of the word that you've given Father God, we love you and we pray this in Jesus name.

Amen. So our text starts and it starts with really a simple command. It's simple, but it's urgent. It's it's necessary for the body of Christ and you notice in verse 10. The the level of urgency in the appeal itself.

Paul urges them or he implores them. He exhorts them to to find this unity within the body of Christ. The terminology that he uses there in a sense. It really carries this idea of begging them to be united in Christ again, he's dealing with the church that is Vastly divided and it's divided for reasons that are not good reasons to be divided.

And the implication here. Is that seeking the unity? Seeking unity within the body of Christ is so important. That it really ought to happen as quickly as possible. Which makes sense because Jesus himself speaks about unity within his body, doesn't he?

John 17 11 and in the high priestly prayer Jesus says I am no longer going to be in the world and yet they themselves are in the world and i'm coming to you holy father. Keep them in your name the name which you have given me so that they may be one as we are one.

There's a picture of unity or the type of unity that Jesus is asking his father for. On behalf of his people and the picture is that of the trinity itself. That the divine trinity that we see father son and holy spirit.

That's an example of the type of unity that we ought to have in the body of christ. Not that our unity could ever really be identical to that. But it is a picture that us as believers ought to aim for and strive for.

The implication is rather significant then isn't it? If we are to be one as the trinity is one. It's it's not an if or thing then. It's not something that we can choose to do or not choose to do. It's not something that is really up for us to decide.

Jesus prays for the unity of his people. Paul explains what that looks like in verse 10. That you all agree that there will be no divisions among you but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same Judgment.

Now, of course, he's not implying that the people in Corinth ought to be alike in every single way. He is not saying that they've got to like the same food. They've got to drink the same drinks. They've got to do the same things.

The world would be awfully dull and boring if that were the case, wouldn't it be? He is not implying that they need to be absolutely the same in every single way. But he does have a specific idea of unity at play here.

That the oneness of the unity provides us a picture of what it looks like to be one with fellow believers. And he explains exactly what he means by utilizing unified terminology, for example He calls them to first off the rejection of division amongst them secondly the same.

Mind.

Third the same judgment. All three phrases really are ideas that require unity and that is intentional. Now, of course some might question whether Paul's appeals to unity are so important. But clearly they are if it's supposed to be pictured by the unity of the trinity itself.

It's typically unwise to compare something to a divine being. Unless you mean it specifically for that purpose Paul's appeals to unity are important if for no other reason. Then Jesus calls his people to be united.

If for no other reason then the disunity in Corinth had caused such a significant problem. That that was part of their reputation. That they were divided. And that reputation had gotten back to Paul. Verse 11 says that Paul had been informed concerning them by Chloe's people that there are quarrels among them.

Do you know how bad their disunity had to have been for that reputation to have gotten back to Paul? There is some level of strife or discord or contention within the church itself. This is more than just a disagreement as we all realize we do have disagreements on things.

And we don't necessarily experience this discord or this discontent or or this strife in the same level that they are here. This isn't like they have a disagreement concerning their like or lack thereof of some cultural phenomenon.

This isn't like they have a disagreement concerning something minor within the body of Christ. This is a significant problem that has influenced their church so much that someone outside the church has heard of it.

That's the problem. Now with that said Paul does tell us the reasoning for the division within the church, right? He mentions it in verses 12 through 16. That's really what tells us is dividing them and ultimately I would argue that what's causing this division is wrongly placed identity.

Instead of rooting their identity in Jesus and what Jesus has done for them. They're placing their identity in human people. Let's look at that. Paul mentions that the quarrels occurring among them deal with their identification with the preachers and teachers that they like.

The preachers and teachers of the gospel. People are saying that they're with Paul or they're with Apollos or they're with Cephas or even with Christ. And that's the root of the problem itself, right?

Paul mentions four people including himself that these people in Corinth are identifying themselves with. He mentions that some of them are identifying themselves with Paul himself the one who planted this church the one who Obviously would have some sort of pull or sway within the people because he started the church.

Some are identifying themselves with Apollos this man who was known for eloquent speaking and preaching. Some are identifying themselves with Cephas also known as Peter by the way Peter's Cephas is his Aramaic name.

They're all mentioned and and we're not entirely sure why exactly they're they're identifying themselves with these people. It could just be because they they've influenced the church enough. It could be that the people at least knew the reputation of these people and wanted to be identified with them in some way.

It could be just because they like the style of preaching and teaching that those people have and by the way before you think that this group that identifies himself as as Followers of Christ before you think well, that's the group.

I want to be a part of there's a problem there as well. The group that's identifying themselves with Christ could have really seen the divisions made by the other groups and thought no no. You guys can do that, but I just have Jesus.

That's still an issue if you think of it in a different way. Think of the folks that you might know in life today that would say that they have no creed, but the Bible. Think of those who would say that they're not denominational.

They.

Only follow Jesus and his teaching. It's a very similar concept here, isn't it? If you're thinking in those terms. Of course now in all of these elements those people, you know, Paul Cephas Apollos, they're all gonna say no you need to follow Jesus not us, but the people are still saying we identify with this person instead and It really ought not surprise us that this is the case with the church in Corinth because the Corinthian people Had a culture of doing this in the first place so if you do some digging into the people of Corinth at all you realize that they tended to be Factional people.

To begin with they would follow Greek philosophers. So some of them might have been students of Socrates. Some of them might have been students of Plato. They just carried that same connotation into Christianity.

Well, I used to follow Plato now I follow Apollos. I used to follow Aristotle, but now I follow.

Someone else.

It's part of their very Culture to do this and that's a problem. Their culture is seeping into the body of Christ. Paul confronts this issue of this sectarianism where they're dividing amongst people this issue where there's a socioeconomic disparity.

Paul deals with all that throughout this letter. So for instance later on when he talks about the Lord's Supper, right? He confronts them because what's going on is that those who have means are getting to the supper early.

They're eating all the food. They're drinking all the wine and they're not leaving anything behind for those without means. Paul confronts them for that. You see that division within the body already.

The Corinthian people are divided over. Everything thinkable, right? So it really shouldn't surprise us that they're divided about who their favorite preacher is. They're divided about who their favorite teacher is.

Now with that said this is not saying that you can't have your favorite preachers and teachers. It's saying that your identity shouldn't be wrapped up with who your favorite human preacher or teacher is.

That's a significant difference. But it's important to note you can have your favorite preacher that you listen to every day as you drive home from work or whatever else it might be as Long as your identity isn't in that person.

Instead of just enjoying the preaching and teaching of their favorite teachers and preachers, which probably would have been just fine for Paul. They've made their favorite preacher or teacher part of their identity.

This is who I am and Because of that their identity is no longer fixed on Jesus alone. Now, of course by identity I do mean a person's sense of idea or self. Which in conjunction with 1st Corinthians 1 it makes it abundantly clear that the problem isn't that they had favorites.

The problem was that they thought of this as part of who they were. The issue with this of course is that as Christians our identity isn't wrapped up in a human person but rather a God-man. Our identity isn't wrapped up in our teachers and preachers.

It's wrapped up in the one who has saved. How do we know? Well scripture tells us so, right? That we are in Christ by virtue of our union with him, which is our positional identity. That we are alive in Christ, which is our participatory identity.

That we are members of his body, which is our corporate identity. That we are children of God through Christ, which is our relational identity. Everything about us as Christians is to be wrapped up in Christ.

Not wrapped up in human teachers and preachers. For the Corinthian people to focus more on their love of human preachers and teachers rather than their identity in Christ. Which is the real problem? Reveals just how much their surrounding culture has really influenced them and That's what Paul is attempting to disrupt with the rhetorical questions that he asks.

The questions like has Christ been divided? That automatically ties back to their justification, doesn't it? That Christ who is not divided has saved you. Paul was not crucified for you, was he? That ties directly back to the means of their union with Christ.

That through Jesus's crucifixion, his death burial, his resurrection, that's what unites us. Were you baptized in the name of Paul? That really ties back to this to their public identification with Christ.

They didn't identify themselves in the name of Paul. They identified themselves in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Concerning Paul baptizing them, what we really see is this concept of them placing identity into people.

When they really should be placing their identity in Jesus. Now in verses 14 through 16, Paul kind of goes on maybe a little bit of a digression. He points out, you know, I haven't really baptized many of you.

But some of you I did and I'm thankful that I haven't really baptized that many of you. I want to be clear that that's not him degrading baptism. Baptism is important. But again, their identity ought not be in the person who baptizes them.

But in the name of the person who they're baptized into. Their identity ought to be in Christ who is not divided. Their identity is to be in Jesus who was crucified for them. Their identity is in the name of the person that they are baptized in.

And Paul highlights that idea by giving thanks that he didn't baptize many of them. In fact, what Paul does with his rhetorical questions throughout really points them back to Jesus. Over and over and over again Jesus isn't divided.

Why are you divided? Jesus was crucified for you, not me. Why are you focused on me? You were baptized in Jesus's name, not mine. Why are you focused on humans? The text then starts by highlighting a significant issue.

That of misplaced or misunderstood identity which has caused this disunity within the body. Now in the last few verses Paul shifts them back to where their identity ought to be. Where their focus ought to be.

Look at verses 17 and 18 again with me. Let's read them together and then I'll start breaking that down for us. 1 Corinthians 1 17. For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel. Not with cleverness of speech so that the cross of Christ would not be made of no effect.

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Our text continues by really showcasing what our unity is built on. It is not unity for the sake of unity.

It's unity built on our identity in Christ. And that's really the result of the gospel itself, isn't it? Paul ties these last two verses together into the idea that he hasn't really baptized them. And again note that Paul's not degrading baptism.

He's not saying that baptism isn't important. He's not saying that they shouldn't be baptized. He's just saying that that wasn't the role that was given to him in their lives. Rather he's showing them what his focus in ministry has been.

And that's to preach the gospel. To preach the gospel to as many as will hear. Not to denigrate baptism. But to showcase what his role actually is. Note also Paul's insistence concerning the gospel and how it is preached.

Note how he points out that he preached the gospel simply. That he did it without cleverness of speech. Again that's not to degrade sermons that we might think of as maybe a little clever or eloquent.

Rather it's meant to show us that Paul didn't try to convince them of the gospel through cleverness. Or eloquence. That makes sense when you consider their culture. If you look back at the Corinthian people during the first century.

Their culture was built on status. Who you are in the society around you meant a lot. During the first century it was common for very eloquent and very clever preachers and teachers. To travel around and to teach their philosophies.

Think of the Greek philosophers. How did the Greek philosophers get their start? By traveling and teaching and traveling and training students. What Paul is saying here is that the gospel is simple. What he preached to them concerning the gospel was simple.

It didn't rely on eloquence. It didn't rely on fanciful philosophies. The gospel was simple to them. And the reality is that the proclamation of the gospel doesn't need eloquence. And it doesn't need cleverness.

Why not?

He tells us. Because the power of the gospel is not in the human presenter. The power of the gospel is not in our proclamation of the gospel. It's not in our ability to proclaim these amazing truths in amazing ways.

The power of the gospel is in Christ's finished work on the cross for us, right? The power of the gospel is really in his substitutionary atonement for us. The power of the gospel is in his death, burial, and resurrection.

It doesn't rely on us saying things well. It just so happens that through the foolishness of the message preached by man God saves those who believe. But I hope you realize that he doesn't need us to save his people.

He just chooses to use us in that purpose. And truthfully, there's a real beauty behind that, isn't there? There's a real beauty in this idea that the gospel does not rely on us. And the beauty is really.

That as fallible human beings, we would mess it up every step of the way. But it doesn't rely on us. It doesn't rely on what we say. It doesn't rely on our proclamation of it. It relies on Jesus, who has saved his people.

We see the power of the gospel in the simple fact that God uses people. Who aren't necessarily eloquent. Who aren't necessarily strong. Who aren't necessarily great by human standards. To save his own people.

And that's a beautiful idea. And through that, we better see God's power. God's providence. And his overwhelming love for his people. We see his power in his ability to use finite human beings for his own glory.

We see his providence in his ability to act throughout the process of saving his people. We see his overwhelming love for his people. In making this moment of justification something to which we as his people Simply rely on his finished work.

The beauty is in the fact that God saves his people With and through his own work. And we as his people can rest in his work. Because we can't mess it up. He's already done it. Now, as a side note Paul speaks about the need of the Corinthian people to reconsider where their identity really lies.

They've been divided in these factions, these different groups. Based on their preferred teachers and preachers. When in reality, the gospel itself is reason for them to be united as a body. Now, I do want to clarify, and this is that side note I want us to hear this one caveat about all of this.

I've heard this passage preached in such a way That some would argue that as long as someone claims to believe There really shouldn't be any division whatsoever. They would use that line of thinking to justify not practicing church discipline.

They would use that line of thinking to justify ecumenical services Across denominations and religious groups. With that said, I want to be abundantly clear That what Paul says concerning unity within the body of Christ Assumes that the local church is still practicing biblical reasons for division.

What do I mean by biblical reasons for division? We know that elsewhere in 1 Corinthians Paul calls out the church for allowing someone in unrepentant sin To remain part of their fellowship. He calls this person out, well calls the church out.

Because this person's sin was so egregious that even unbelievers wouldn't have done it. And they haven't done anything about it at all. You notice that there is an element there in which division is okay.

Where this person who has claimed to believe. Even though he's in unrepentant sin and refuses to repent whatsoever. That division is necessary to protect the holiness of the church itself. We also see Jesus teaching us that there are certain reasons to separate from other people.

So we see that unrepentant sin issue again. We also see Jesus telling us to separate ourselves from false teachers. And he's very firm on that. That if someone is a false teacher It is not appropriate to allow them to keep teaching.

To allow them to keep fellowship. To allow them to keep doing these things. There are appropriate reasons for separation and division. With that said If the church is preaching the gospel Is teaching true things.

And isn't retaining sinfulness just to retain sinfulness. Then Paul would say that church ought to be united. And it ought to be unified. Now, if you're paying really close attention You've noticed that while the title for this sermon is really identity in Christ We've talked a lot more about unity than identity.

But they really tie hand in hand, don't they? They really do. If you think through this Their unity is built on identity related issues. I don't know if you know this but Christians do the exact same thing today.

Unbelievers do the exact same thing today. What actually unites us as Christians isn't who we listen to. Or what preaching we listen to. It's not our favorite authors. It's not our favorite podcasters.

It's quite literally our identity in Christ. That's what unites us. It's built on our union with Christ. Which is part of the gospel, right? Or in other words If we understand our identity in Christ properly.

Then unity within the body Really should just be a given. It should just be part of who we are as Christians. And that's really where our application comes into play this morning. As Christians, our ultimate identity is in Jesus Christ.

And what he has done for us. We really need to understand that. We need to live this. Secondly, as Christians, because our ultimate identity is in Christ We really have to seek unity with other Christians as often as possible.

Let's talk about those ideas. Let's start by talking about this idea of understanding our identity in Christ. And then actually living like it. As Christians, we often carry multiple understandings of our identity.

For example, we recognize our earthly citizenship, don't we? In the U .S., most of us are probably citizens of the United States.

Some might not be.

We recognize that as part of our identity, right? We recognize as part of our identity in terms of maybe our education. Maybe our jobs. As reformed Christians. Part of our identity naturally ties in with reformed theology, right?

None of those things are supposed to supersede our identity in Christ. And that's a key point for us, isn't it? None of those identifying parts of who we are are necessarily wrong. It's okay to be a citizen of the United States.

I don't know if you know that. But it is okay. And it is okay to think of yourself as an alum of whatever university you went to. It's okay to think of yourself as a reformed Christian. But it is not okay to let those identities supersede your identity in Christ.

There is nothing wrong with those different identifying markers of who you are. But ultimately, your citizenship is not here. It's in the kingdom of heaven, isn't it? There's nothing wrong with being educated.

There's nothing wrong with identifying with your job. Especially if you love that job, right? But there is something wrong if your education and job become so important to you. That it's just as if it's equal to your identity with Christ.

There's nothing wrong with being a reformed Christian. But there is something wrong if our identity as reformed Christians. Causes us to think of ourselves more highly than other Christians. If it causes us to consider ourselves as maybe the only right Christians.

That's not a good way to view things. Tied a little closer to the problem in Corinth. We might view our identity in terms of who we associate with. For example, we might identify ourselves as Republicans or Democrats or Independents.

We might think of our own identity in light of who we listen to. Whether we're listening to what preachers we like or what podcasters we like. Again, none of those things are necessarily wrong in and of themselves.

But if we allow our identity to take. Our identity in these things take precedence over our identity in Christ.

That's a problem.

That's a big problem. The reality is that while our surrounding society Puts such a priority on what political faction you're in Your identity as a Christian supersedes that. In fact, sometimes I think Christians sometimes forget That God's kingdom really doesn't rely on the United States.

I don't know if you know this God's kingdom has been around for a while. It did not start when the United States started. And if the United States ends The kingdom of God will not end. While our culture amplifies celebrity culture Where people are tying themselves identity-wise to their favorite celebrities It would seem odd for us as Christians to do the same.

When 1 Corinthians 1 tells us not to Don't get me wrong. We can enjoy the preaching and teaching of great preachers and teachers. And faithful Christians We can have favorites, that's okay. But if our identity is in that human person rather than Jesus.

That's a problem.

That's a significant problem. And just as a side note In most instances When non-Calvinist Christians accuse Calvinist Christians of doing this.

By the way.

They're creating a straw man. So rest in that. They are creating a straw man. Because there is not a single Reformed or Calvinistic Christian That I know that would say I only believe these things because Calvin said so.

That's not the reality, is it?

I hope not.

Consider the same idea with Reformed theology just in general. We're not following these teachings because they're under the category of Reformed. We're following them because we genuinely believe that's what Scripture teaches.

Our identity is ultimately in Christ. Not in our Reformed identification. Not in our Calvinistic identification. It's not in our understanding of Scripture necessarily. Revealed to us in our systematized theology.

Our identity is in Christ who has saved us. A good litmus test of this is really just to consider what people know about you. Many Christians tend to be very vocal about certain beliefs that they hold.

They tend to be very vocal about their education. Or their knowledge pertaining to non-spiritual things. They're so vocal about these things that if someone were to ask someone else about Your political ideas or your knowledge of something They could almost certainly tell that person what you believe about these things.

But whether or not you're a Christian. What's the likelihood that they actually know that? If you never talk about it. Some Christians are so vocal about their particular system of theology That everyone knows precisely what system they claim to follow.

But whether or not they love Jesus is questionable.

That's a problem.

If someone knows everything about you but questions whether you're actually Christian. Whether you actually love Jesus. There's a problem. Because your identity is in Christ, isn't it? And if your identity is actually in Christ.

Then much of who you are should be visible from other people. Christians, our ultimate identity is in Jesus. And we ought to live like that. Each and every day. We ought to live with the understanding that Christ is preeminent.

Even in our daily lives. Even as we work. Even as we do the things that we do as people. Secondly, this idea of seeking unity with Christians whenever possible. I actually grew up in a separatist movement of Christianity.

So this hits hard in my life, right? It means that I have significant practice with separating from people. Not so much practice with actually uniting with other people. With that said, there's some good in that.

There's also a lot of negative in that. We see from Paul's own example that we do need to divide or separate from those who subvert the gospel. For example, if someone is living in such a way that it's clear that they are not living a gospel-oriented life.

Nor do they want to. That is reason to separate from someone within the body of Christ itself, right? It is reason enough to call them to repentance. To point them to Jesus. And to separate if they refuse.

However, we see repeated instruction even in 1 Corinthians 1. That if the issue really isn't that concerning a subversion to the gospel. Then we should expect some unity with fellow believers. Even if they have different preferences.

Even if maybe their doctrine on secondary issues and tertiary issues is different than ours. Or in other words, if the reason for division is a gospel-related issue. Then absolutely, we should divide all day long.

However, if the reason for division is because we prefer someone else's preaching. If the reason is because their political ideology is a little different than ours. If the reason is because we're of different ethnicities.

We have different jobs. We're in a different economic bracket. We have different educational experiences. We need to repent. We need to repent and we need to seek greater unity. Now note that I'm not saying that there aren't certain issues that would make it difficult for us to be within the same local body.

For example, differences concerning our understanding of covenants and baptismal practices. Make it hard for us to necessarily worship in the same local body as many of our Presbyterian brothers and sisters.

That doesn't mean that they're not Christian. Another example, differences concerning systems. Covenant theology versus dispensationalism. They are significant enough that being in the same body together might be hard.