The Benefits of Believing

INTRODUCTION

Good morning again! I am so thankful to be able to gather with you this morning at First Christian Church. It is always a good day when we can gather together to worship the Lord as a church body. I am glad you are here today with us, and I can’t wait for what God has in store.

This morning we are starting a sermon series through the book of 1 Corinthians. I would encourage you to go ahead and turn to 1 Corinthians 1 this morning as that will be our launching point.

If I were to come to you and ask you what the best place for me to go for wisdom is, where would you point me? Most of us in this room would probably say the Bible, go to God’s word, and find the wisdom I seek. Depending on the type of wisdom I need you may point me to a YouTube video from a pastor or apologist you like. Or you may point me to a book or study from someone. All of those are great resources to point someone to for wisdom.

But what about those in the world? Where would the world point us to for wisdom? In our society today, there are a million outlets for you to find “wisdom”. There is an overwhelming amount of resources for so-called wisdom in our world. I googled “top resources for wisdom” this week. The Bible does come up as a source of wisdom when you do so, but only 5th on the list after things like Buddhism and Stoicism.

The world will seek wisdom but unfortunately, find it in places devoid of any real truth. And if the Church is not careful, we can begin to mix our own biblical teaching with the culture of the world around us. This creates a polluted mix of truth and lies, and makes the border between what the Bible teaches and what the world tells us harder and harder to see.

While this may seem like it is a 2025 problem, it is the problem that the church in Corinth is facing as well. Paul is writing this letter to the Corinthians to encourage them to remain faithful to the teachings of God, and to guard themselves from letting too much of the world into their lives. In this book we will find wisdom for our times, just as the church at Corinth found wisdom for themselves.

PRAY

Paul begins this letter with a typical greeting we see in all of his letters:

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 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: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:1–3.

At this time in Greek culture, you began a letter letting the recipient know who was writing. This is contrary to how we would “sign off” a letter now. But Paul begins this letter to the church at Corinth by letting them know that there is no need to guess who is writing this letter, Paul has words to say to them. He has wisdom to impart, and he needs to speak directly to the issues at hand. And Paul has the authority to do so.

This church would have been started by Paul during his 2nd missionary journey. In Acts 18, side note that Acts is like the history book for the early days of the church, we see the events that led to the beginning of this church:

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. 6 And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

Acts 18:1–11.

The founding members of the church at Corinth include fellow tentmakers Aquila and Priscilla, Crispus the ruler of the synagogue, and many more. Paul, as he usually does, gets the town in a bit of an uproar over the work that the Holy Spirit does, and will get run out of town. Verses 9 and 10 show God warning Paul about what will come, but that he does not need to worry because God will protect him. Paul ends up being there for 18 months, and that helps get the church grounded and growing. They will end up bringing in a new pastor, Apollos, to take over as leader after Paul. Talk about some big shoes to fill!

We can know from the founding of the church that Paul has an investment in the life and health of this body. He has spent time with these people. He has poured into these people, and I believe he has spent a lot of time praying for these people. So, as he finds out about problems in Corinth, you can guess that he is in a unique place to be able to call back to them and offer correction to them.

We can all probably imagine some of the struggles that would come up for a church, we have probably been a part of struggles in a church before. We are imperfect people striving to be more and more like Jesus, but we are not perfect on this side of heaven. And as we go forward in 1 Corinthians, we will see more of that.

For now, let us go back to that greeting at the beginning of the letter. Paul introduces himself to the church as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Maybe if we read this at face value it could sound like Paul is bragging. Maybe it sounds like Paul is pulling rank on the people of Corinth. And in a way he is pulling his rank with them. But I do not believe he is saying this to say that he is holier than they are, but to let them know his role on earth. He is establishing his authority to speak to them. He is establishing his authority to speak as a church father to them.

I think it is also worth pointing out that Paul is writing to the church of God at Corinth. One commentator put it this way, “The church to whom Paul was writing was not the church of the Corinthians, but the church of God which was located at Corinth.” While this sounds like it is just part of the greeting, it is a beautiful reminder of the fact that while we are a small body meeting here at the corner of Nestle Way and Frye Bridge Road in Clemmons, we are connected to the larger Church as a whole. We are part of God’s Church meeting here in this building. We will get to spend eternity worshipping our Lord and Savior with the saints from throughout time.

It should also be a reminder that this church has it’s doors open because we worship God. It is because of the death of Jesus Christ, because we are emboldened to take the Gospel to the four corners of the world, that we are here. We exist to tell others about Jesus, to make disciples, and to follow Jesus with all we have. We may be small in numbers, according to man’s standards, but we are big in spirit.

Paul is also telling us to who this letter is being authored, “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.” He is writing to those called to be saints, those who have responded to the call of salvation. That is following Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This letter is intended for them, and it is intended to help teach them.

When we read the word “saint” in this verse, Paul is not discussing someone that the Catholic Church or any other “church” has decided is a ‘saint’. Not some person that we should hang pictures of and pray to, but Paul is using a word we translate as saint and means one that has been set apart. One that is a holy one because the righteousness of Christ has been placed on them. They are ‘saints’ not because of any work they have done, but because they have followed Jesus as their Lord and Savior. If you know Christ, if you are a fully devoted follower of Jesus, then you to would be a saint. That doesn’t mean we are to be called St. Shane now and you pray to me and I become some elevated religious figure, far from it! I am only righteous because of the work of Jesus, not through any of my works.

The framework of who is writing this letter, and who he is writing it to, gives us some context now for verses 4-9:

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.

1 Corinthians 1:4–9.

I believe in these 6 verses we see the benefit package of being a believer in Jesus Christ. There are past, present, and future benefits for us, and Paul is intentional in showing the saints what benefits we have when we come to faith in Christ. It is in these benefits, these promises, that we can find hope and comfort as we face uncertain times.

Past Benefits

In verses 4 and 6, we see the past benefits of the grace of God. When we came to faith in Christ, we received the grace of God. Through Jesus, we receive the grace of God in our lives. This grace is undeserved in our lives! We did not earn it or deserve it, but God has given us grace.

For the sake of clarity, when we speak of the grace of God, we are talking about the unmerited kindness and love shown to man. This grace is free to us, not something we earn, and it comes through our faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Eph 2:8–9.

By the unmerited kindness and love of God, we have been saved through our faith in Jesus. It is not our own doing, not our works, but a gift from God so that we cannot boast about it. Paul is thankful to God because the Gospel was preached, people responded, and grace was shown to the people of Corinth through Jesus. He is thankful to God for this benefit of grace.

Not only the grace that they received, and that we receive when we follow Christ, but the testimony that has taken place in their life. He is thankful to see the message that was preached has led to a transformation in the lives of the church. Through this, they have a testimony that speaks to the people around them. This testimony is not just proclaiming the gospel through their words, but also through their actions. The people not only speak the gospel to those around them, but they are proclaiming it through how they live. The testimony of their actions confirms the work of the Holy Spirit in their life.

This testimony is huge. It means that their faith is more than lip service, it is life change. It is the impact of true transformation in their whole life. It is talking the talk and walking the walk. And guess what? It is the same for us today. When we follow Christ, we receive the grace of God, and it should take root in our life. It will start to change and transform us, and people will see the change in our lives. Our own actions will preach the Gospel to the world around us.

Present Benefits

While we talk about the work of grace in the past tense, in terms of our salvation, God also gives us benefits that are present in us today:

“every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge” 1 Co 1:5.

“so that you are not lacking in any gift” 1 Co 1:7.

While we are here on earth, we are enriched in our speech and knowledge, and we are not lacking any gift needed. There is no hidden speech or knowledge that we have to uncover. We have the very Word of God that we can go to for all knowledge and wisdom of Him. This is why we should be wary of any book, author, speaker, or pastor who says they have a new revelation from God. God has given us the speech and knowledge we need. It is here, we simply have to use it.

God calls us to share the Gospel with the world, and equips us, not with words that are overly eloquent, we don’t need that, but he equips us with the speech and knowledge, with the gifts, to carry the gospel anywhere we go. We have His word to read and the Holy Spirit inside of us to interpret. We have the speech, the knowledge, and the gifts, we have to use them!

In chapter 12 we will look more at Spiritual Gifts, but as just a scratch of the surface, I want to tell you this. We all have spiritual gifts, every one of us, but what are you doing with your gift? How are you using it? Like an athlete who has a talent, they must still use it. Being the world’s greatest quarterback means nothing if you are not playing on the team. God has given us the gift, the speech, and the knowledge, but are we using it?

Future Benefits

We wrap up the benefits package with future benefits that we have to look forward to:

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.

1 Co 1:7–9.

Now for believers, as we use the gifts that God has graciously given us, we eagerly away the revealing, the second coming, of our Lord. We anticipate the trumpet's call and the call of His church to the sky. The future benefit of following God is eternity in the presence of our Savior. It is the call of the Father to the church to come home. Some of us may enter into death before that trumpet, but that is still a fulfillment of the benefit as being absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

And while we wait we can know that God is faithful and he will sustain us here on earth. God has not forgotten us or abandoned us. He has made a promise, and God does not break a promise. This may be the best benefit of them all. This revelation of Jesus is Him without the veil of his humanity. It is Jesus coming in his splendor of all of his glory. What a comfort and hope we have.

One pastor I read explained this future blessing this way

“It means: Christ’s Exaltation, Satan’s defeat, justice for the martyrs, the death of Christ’s rejectors, and heaven for those that believe.”

It is the restoration of all that Eden was, it is a new heaven, earth, and Jerusalem, and eternity in peace with Christ.

It is the promise that THE BEST IS YET TO COME...

These verses are comfort for the believer. It is a reminder of what God has done for us. It is our hope in Christ.

But if you are here this morning and you don’t know Christ as your savior, these benefits do not benefit you, yet. Right now you are on the outside, but there is good news. Jesus died for your sins too. He died in your place. Your sin deserved punishment, it was a debt that had to be paid, and someone stepped in for you. They took the punishment, they paid the debt. His name was Jesus. While you were still a sinner, he died in your place. And this morning, He is calling you. Following Jesus is simply admitting you are a sinner, believing that the death of Jesus was sufficient for your sin, that he paid that debt, and confessing Jesus as your lord and savior.