Because of Grace - 1 Corinthians 1:4-9

Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
0 ratings
· 6 views
Notes
Transcript

Welcome to the City of Corinth

We have started our new series and we are studying and going through 1 Corinthians. The title of this series is called Messy Church. Marvelous Grace and this is the second week of this series.
Headsup, i will be saying the word grace, 100 times
Pastor Bill introduced us to this Church, City, and Letter from Paul. It is a city that sounds much like many of ours to this day. One that came to mind as I have been studying book is. Las Vegas, a city located in Nevada. This is a city that is widely known and particularly known for:
Tourism and commerce - A place that is grand and never goes to sleep. Although Frank Sinatra has sung the words “I wanna wake up, in a city that never sleeps” referring to New York, Nevada is known for the same sort of reputation.
The Relocation of the Oakland Raiders - I’m so sorry for you oakland raiders fans
Moral Laxity - We’ve all heard of the phrase: “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." Although true of many places, this is a city where morals are not encouraged and the Vegas lifestyle is.
Glamour and Hedonism - Where fortunes are won and lost and self-pleasure is what it is all about.
A depressing thing that it is also known for, according to data from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, it consistently ranks among the states with the highest rates of human trafficking.
This is actually a place known to have been called “Sin City”. Of course, I am not saying that it is wrong to go to these kinds of places and visit, but we have to be aware of how much this culture will seep into our minds and into our very beings, and we won’t even realize it.
Imagine, living in the heart of a city such as Las Vegas and having a church thrive and not be like the very culture they are so engrained to and one that is so influential. This does not just stop at Nevada though, wherever we go, wherever we live, including Livermore, we need to not look like the culture but to truly stand out and be the light that Christ has called all of us to be.
Let me read to you a quote by William Barclay that describes the City of Corinth.
"The very word Corinthian had certain significance in the ancient world. If ever a Corinthian was depicted on the stage in a Greek play, he was shown drunk. The word Corinthianize meant to live in drunken and immoral debauchery. Corinth was a wealthy and prosperous city but it was also a byword for luxury and immorality. In Greece, it was a compliment to call a girl a Corinthian girl, for it implied that she was beautiful and accomplished; but it was also the insinuation that she was a courtesan. The great temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, stood on the hill above Corinth. To it there were attached one thousand priestesses who were sacred prostitutes, and in the evening they descended into the city streets to ply their trade. The very atmosphere of Corinth was electric with vice."
"There was another side to Corinth. It was also intellectually alert. It had one of the most famous schools of philosophy in the ancient world. It was a mixture of the intellectual and the bawdy. Its streets were lined with the shops of materialism; its markets overflowed with the products of luxury; its people were dressed in the most dazzling array of what the ancient world could produce. It was a city where a man could easily lose his soul."
Welcome to the City of Corinth.

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9

Would you all please stand and let’s read 1 Corinthians 1:4-9
1 Corinthians 1:4–9 ESV
4 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 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.

Let’s Pray

Review

Pastor Bill covered the first 3 verses and went on to share how
The Centrality of Our Identity in Relationship to God - In a world that is based on identifying who we are by what we do, Paul sets up the letter by showcasing his Identity is in his relationship with God and how God is the one who has called Him to this.
The Identity and Calling of the Church - To be sanctified means to be set apart in Christ, and there is a dual reality of "status and process" defines every believer. Christ has sanctified us declaring us holy for what He has done on the cross. But we also have work to do and want to keep growing in our relationship with Jesus Christ and becoming like Him.
The Gifts of Grace and Peace - The order of this is essential and we see the importance that Grace flows into peace. Grace is first.

Overview - The Importance of Gratitude and Encouragement First

Paul then is going to move forward in his letter and focus on much of the good that the Church of Corinth has and what he can be thankful for:
Thankful for God’s grace that has been given to them (Verse 4)
Thankful for them being enriched in the gift of speech and knowledge and actually they do not lack in any gift. (Verse 5 and 7)
Thankful for them they truly are saved (Verse 6)
Thankful that they are waiting for the coming of Jesus Christ (Verse 7).
Thankful for Jesus Christ as He sustains, is Faithful and has called them. The Church of Corinth had many faults, but Paul can have confidence in saying that Jesus Christ will sustain them guiltless to the end. Why? Well in verse 9 Paul says because God is faithful and they are called to have relationship with Jesus. (Verse 8 and Verse 9)
Bill mentioned this a little bit last week on the importance of being reminded that others are made in the image of God and we need to encourage them. Yes, sin has distorted that image and that is why we need Jesus to restore the separation. However, everyone is made in the image of God and we do need to treat others with kindness and respect. I’m not saying to just accept love is love is love and yes we should share truth to those in love. A Biblical definition of love
However, even more so to our fellow brothers and sisters. It can be so easy when you know what that person is doing is wrong and your heart becomes angry, and mad. The best way to soften your heart, is to be grateful for who that person is and what they’ve done that is good.
The apostle Paul does so here.
In the intro, I was trying to help give you an understanding of the culture around them and Paul has been receiving reports from fellow members of this church of what is going on, and it is not good. You will see, in later sermons, just what kind of sin is going on and how the culture around them is truly infiltrating the church.
Some examples of what you will see:
1. Divisions and Factions
Next week, you will see more detail of this but the first thing you will see in terms of what they are doing wrong is disunity and division.
1 Corinthians 1:11–12 ESV
11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”
The writer of Hebrews, that I preached on two weeks ago mentioned the importance of imitating your church leaders but ultimately, who are you following? Christ. It’s okay to have closer relationships with different elders or pastors or leaders in the church, but it’s not meant to cause factions or divide and that stems from leadership. Us leaders must be united and help the church be pointed to Christ and the one we ultimately all follow.
2. Sexual Immorality
1 Corinthians 5:1 ESV
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.
Since there are younger kids in here, I won’t elaborate. But I think you can see what is going on. It’s messed up according even to the world.
3. Abuses in the Lord’s Supper
You see other things going on but one way in the abuse of this is that people were getting drunk “partaking”. We have grape juice, in the older church they drank wine.
There is more and you will see it throughout this book but what I want to point out in 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 is the importance of starting this letter with thankfulness and encouragement. We must take note of this and hold on to this truth.
Pray at this very moment and think of people in your life that you are frustrated and upset with. Christian or not, would you find reasons to be thankful for them. Would you focus on things they do well. And Paul is not just saying this to himself, but writing this and sharing these thoughts to the church itself. Share this with that person. Maybe it starts there. Maybe before you share your frustration that day, let them know how you are thankful and encourage them in what they do well.
This approach is not unique to 1 Corinthians, in several of his letters, he uses this approach.
We would be wise to be grateful and encourage first, such as the apostle Paul and in 1 Cor 11:1
1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV
1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
Maybe this verse is not directly implying to how he grammatically structured this letter, we should imitate this approach.

1 Corinthians 1:4-9 - A Verse by Verse Study

Because of Grace: God First and Always (1 Corinthians 1:4)

1 Corinthians 1:4 ESV
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,
“To My God”
Paul first starts out this list of thanksgiving by pointing it first to God first. In all honesty, you might have a hard time finding something to be thankful for about a person, but in reality, when you realize that God is the one who is in control, He is the one who is sovereign, and He is the one who has placed you in this situation working things for His good, there is always a reason to be thankful when God is in the picture. He is always in the picture.
“Always”
Another word that is used here is continually. Paul says here that he continually gives thanks to God for this reason. This means that there is a habit that is consistent, regular, and throughout the day. In a different letter, Paul tells the church to do this.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Do you continually give thanks to God for others in your life? I’m not saying you need to make sure you sit down every 10 minutes and write down a prayer. But throughout the day, tell God you are thankful and in this context, to that person who is on your mind because they’ve probably done something to you or to the church and this needs to be first.
“Because of Grace”
Look at this reasoning for his thankfulness and why he can be thankful always. It is because of how he finished his introduction in verse 3 “grace to you”. Paul is thankful to God because of the grace of Jesus Christ that was extended to the church of Corinth. Do you realize how much of a blessing that is?
When we are reminded of the gospel and reminded:
That you are separated from God because you have sinned and short of the glory of God.
That you can not be saved on your own merit or by thinking you’re a good person.
That without Jesus, you won’t be going to heaven and actually in fact going to a much darker place, called hell, with eternal torment. Many people, when they learn the truth about hell will say I wouldn’t even wish hell on my greatest enemy.
So when you are reminded of what the grace of God has saved you from, I hope you are filled with thanksgiving for those that also have been saved with the same grace. Even if they annoy or hurt you or have wronged you or the church, you can always find this reason that Paul uses.

Because of Grace: Enriched in Gifts (1 Corinthians 1:5-6)

1 Corinthians 1:5 ESV
5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—
Because of Grace, they have been enriched in many gifts, especially in speech and knowledge.
“In all speech” This is the Greek word "logos" (λόγος), which refers to word, speech, or reason.
“and all knowledge” This is the Greek term "gnōsis" (γνῶσις), which signifies understanding or insight.
This is building off of Paul’s thanksgiving and the importance of grace and how he is thankful for the immense talent that God has given them.
In City of Corinth, there was much corruption, yet this was also a place of economic prosperity and many intellectuals such scholars, philosophers, and writers were attracted to this place because of its wealth and cultural significance.
This culture also valued eloquence. The people of the city valued public speaking, philosophical debate, and rhetorical skills.
Logically, you would have several people who were naturally talented in this regard, probably far more than many other churches.
Paul is thankful that God has graciously given them these gifts but he will be addressing their incorrect use of them, later in this letter.
Something I want to point out though, knowledge is different than wisdom. They may have had the gift of knowledge and truly knowing many things, especially about the gospel and what was being taught to them. However, they were not utilizing that knowledge well and are acting foolish. I think we can all relate to this. How many of us know a vast amount of things but don’t act on that knowledge?

Grace Confirmed in this Church

1 Corinthians 1:6–7 ESV
6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Paul is thankful that when he and others shared the gospel with this church, they received Christ. There was evidence of genuine conversion. The word “confirmed” means to make something certain, solid, or reliable. It conveys the idea of something being established or proven to be true through observable effects.
I see this to be an essential point now to move throughout this letter. These are real followers of Jesus Christ with evidence of salvation. Some scholars believe that this evidence was because they were, on some level, exercising their gifts of speech and knowledge in a way that was glorifying God but also that they are not lacking in any gift. They exercised many of their gifts poorly, but the emphasis is on Grace taking a hold of their lives and the apostles seeing some fruit of salvation, not perfection.
Another part of this confirmation is they waited for the second coming of Jesus. Many translations add the word eager, where they are eagerly waiting for Jesus to come back. The Greek word for "wait" means to wait for, to expect, or to look forward to something. It carries the idea of anticipating with an element of hope or eager expectation. I see that is genuine conversion because grace leads to hope.
Titus 2:11–13 ESV
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
So because Grace is Confirmed, Paul will be going off on them because the way they are acting is not the way they have learned in Christ. The way they are acting is like their “sin city” and the culture, not like the bride of Christ. Although written to the Corinthians, this letter applies to us just as much.
So I ask you this question:
Are you living like you’ve been saved by grace?
If so, wonderful, how can you do it more?
If not, why? What’s holding you back? Pray to God and ask for help. Confess to a friend, but we need to live like we’ve been saved by the grace of God, not like the world or the culture.
Really challenge yourself, not out of insecurity or fear but humility. No matter how long we’ve been a Christian, how much we think we know, or what we’ve done, or if today is your first day, we must continue to grow and grow and to be conformed into the image of the son and that takes humility. There will be many challenging concepts and truths during this letter and the only way to truly obtain much throughout this series is reminding yourself that you are saved by the grace of God. You were once separated but through His grace, God has restored your separation and not only restored your separation, but is coming back again to rightfully rule.
If your grace is confirmed, live out the gospel and that will start with humility. And you know what the first step often is? Of course, after Grace its Thanksgiving. Take notes from how Paul is writing and what he is saying.

Grace Sustains and Makes Us Guiltless

1 Corinthians 1:8 ESV
8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The hope they have in Jesus Christ, the one that will come back and rightfully rule is the very same one that is sustaining them til that moment. He is the very same one who will represent you before the father.
Think about it, how could Paul have thanksgiving in imperfect people becoming guiltless before God? I love His mindset and theology that Paul is thankful that these people are not saved by their own merit but through the grace of Jesus Christ that through the grace of Jesus Christ, they are saved. They are made holy. It is not in what they do that saves them but through Grace that will sustain and save them til the end.
What is interesting though about the word sustain is that in many translations, the word is confirm you to the end. In the previous point, we just learned that their grace has been confirmed through the fruit they have shown.
Christ though, is ultimately the one that will keep this confirmed to the day of judgement.
Charles Hodge says this:
"Paul’s assurance was not that they were already perfect, but that the grace of God given to them in Christ Jesus would be effectual to the end. It is Christ who confirms them, not they themselves."
Let this be a reminder to us Church and give you hope! I am all for living a disciplined and faithful life to Jesus Christ and we would do right to not abuse this precious grace. However, let your heart be at peace that even though we have a responsibility, Jesus Christ is the one who is ultimately responsible for sustaining us and saving us so that on judgement day, God does not see us, but the son.

Have Faith, He is Faithful

1 Corinthians 1:9 ESV
9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Our church anthem, if you know it, please sing with me:
Great is thy faithfulness, Great is thy faithfulness, Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed thy hand hast provided; Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.
The Lord has great faithfulness unto us.
The last thing that we see Paul be thankful for and that is his confidence in the church of Corinth being saved not through their works, but through the work of Christ and Paul knows. Paul knows that they will remain guiltless until the day of judgement because Christ has said that whoever should believe in Him, will not perish but have everlasting life.
When Christ, the son of God, the one who is perfect. The one who is 100% God and 100% man. When He says “It is finished” on the cross for all time, that the sins we have committed are paid by His blood. We can have confidence that His one sacrifice was for all time because He is faithful. That when He says He will do something, we know He will do it.

Closing

I want to end with the latter part of verse 9.
1 Corinthians 1:9 ESV
9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
You were called into fellowship with Jesus. This is amazing, you were called into the fellowship with the son of God. Do not undermine this because this is one of the greatest things in the world. You were created in His image and this allows you to have communion with God. This is what makes you stand out from animals and why your dog doesn’t have a relationship with Jesus.
Sin had distorted this relationship, but through the grace of Jesus Christ, it is restored and you are called into fellowship once again.
This is the crux and the foundation for everything else he is going to share and church, this book is going to relate to our personal lives and we need to be ready to listen and grow so we become more like Jesus. We all know that relationships take work and this work
1 Corinthians 1:9 (ESV)
9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more
Earn an accredited degree from Redemption Seminary with Logos.