Saints in a Sinful City

Introduction:

We’ve spent 13 weeks combing through the scriptures unpacking the coming of Christ, from Christ in the Old Testament, to the Ultimate Christmas Gift. We now will look at the results of His coming. He came to bring peace between God and man, to become sin for us so that we would become righteous adopted sons of God. But now what? Why doesn’t he just take us home? How are we supposed to live as sons of God in a godless world. We will answer this questions with many more in our next 40+ sermons on the book of 1 Corinthians. By the time we are done, we will see it is not only possible to live in a godless world and remain righteous, be we are commanded to do so.

God, through the inspired hand of the apostle Paul, will show us how a church, the church in Corinth had to survive in an environment where the surrounding culture's obsession with status, rhetoric, and sexual license constantly threatened to corrupt it. The "contagion" of these corrupt manners led to factions, lawsuits among believers, and a preference for the "ornaments of speech" over the plain doctrine of the cross. We will begin this morning with a foundational truth, a truth that will carry us through the entire book, this church was essentially a group of saints in a sinful city, called to live out a sanctified identity amidst a culture of indulgence and intellectual pride.

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

1 Corinthians 1:1–9 ESV

1 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. 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.

Main Idea: Since we have been called saints, enriched by God’s grace, we must live out our lives in faithful obedience as we await Christ's return.

Background:

Historical Background

Author and Date

Paul wrote this letter from Ephesus (16:8) during his third missionary journey, likely around AD 53-55. This places it among his earlier epistles and gives us one of our most detailed windows into early church life and struggles.

The City of Corinth

Corinth was strategically located on the narrow isthmus connecting mainland Greece to the Peloponnese (a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans), controlling two harbors (Cenchreae to the east, Lechaeum to the west). This made it a commercial crossroads of the ancient world.

Key characteristics:

Cosmopolitan population: Greeks, Romans, Jews, and peoples from across the Mediterranean

Wealth and commerce: A prosperous trade city with all the accompanying temptations

Religious pluralism: Temples to Aphrodite, Apollo, Asclepius, and many others; the infamous temple of Aphrodite with its cult prostitution

Moral reputation: The Greek verb korinthiazesthai ("to act like a Corinthian") meant to practice sexual immorality; "Corinthian girl" was a euphemism for a prostitute

Social stratification: Sharp divisions between wealthy patrons and common laborers, freedmen, and slaves

Greco-Roman values: Honor/shame culture (rather than the innocence/guilt culture found here in the west), emphasis on rhetoric and wisdom, patron-client relationships

Paul's Relationship with Corinth

Founded the church on his second missionary journey (Acts 18:1-18), staying 18 months

Worked with Aquila and Priscilla as tentmakers

Converted Crispus (synagogue ruler), Gaius, and the household of Stephanas

Later correspondence: This is actually at least his second letter (see 5:9), and likely more followed (2 Corinthians references additional correspondence and visits)

Occasion and Purpose

Paul received troubling reports from "Chloe's household" (1:11) about divisions in the church. He also received a letter from the Corinthians asking questions (7:1, "Now concerning..."). The letter addresses both the reported problems and their questions.

Problems reported to Paul:

Factionalism and personality cults (chs. 1-4)

Toleration of gross immorality (ch. 5)

Lawsuits among believers (6:1-11)

Sexual ethics confusion (6:12-20)

Questions from the Corinthians (marked by "Now concerning..."):

Marriage and singleness (ch. 7)

Food offered to idols (chs. 8-10)

Spiritual gifts and worship (chs. 11-14)

The resurrection (ch. 15)

The collection for Jerusalem (ch. 16)

Major Themes

The cross as God's wisdom - The crucified Christ subverts all human wisdom and social hierarchies

The church as Christ's body - Unity in diversity, mutual dependence, holiness

Christian freedom and its limits - Liberty constrained by love for weaker brothers

Eschatological existence - Living between the "already" and "not yet" of Christ's kingdom

Bodily resurrection - The physical body matters for ethics now and hope later

So with this as our background, let’s begin this book, which starts out on a very positive note, we will see in each of the points the presence and purpose of God’s grace:

I. The Greeting: Grace Defines Us (1-3)

Paul begins by establishing who the letter is from:

1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

called by the will of God:

Divine initiative: The verbal adjective κλητός (called -passive in force) and the διά (by) phrase both point away from Paul and toward God. Paul didn't appoint himself; he was called, and that calling came through God's will.

Settled identity: The verbal adjective describes Paul's state—he is not "being called" but "a called one." His apostleship is an established reality.

Trinitarian shape: Paul is an apostle of Christ Jesus (the one who sent him) through the will of God (the Father). The entire introduction has an implicitly Trinitarian structure, which becomes explicit when the Spirit appears in verse 2's sanctification language.

Authority grounded in God, not self: This grammatical structure becomes pastorally crucial for the letter. Paul will correct the Corinthians—and his authority to do so rests not on personal charisma but on divine calling through divine will.

apostle. Someone commissioned directly by Christ as His authoritative messenger (1 Corinthians 9:1 “1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord?” ). Paul explains the significance of this office elsewhere (ch. 9; 15:1–11; 2 Cor. 10–12; Gal. 1).

Some of the problems in the Corinthian church that Paul addresses involve challenges to his authority. The word occurs 10 times in 1 Corinthians, more often than in any other Pauline letter.

Sosthenes. Perhaps the same person mentioned in Acts 18:17, ruler of the synagogue in Corinth at the time of Paul’s first visit to the city.

Now Paul, having established the from part of the letter, now moves on to whom the letter is addressed:

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:

To the church of God that is in Corinth - this gives the setting and provides the necessary important detail of the problem and the solutions. This church that belongs to God has been established by God and sits in the midst of the city of Corinth thus showing us that this is not just some theoretical best practices produced in the quiet and safety of some remote monastery, but actual time and space, flesh and blood reality.

sanctified (hagiazo [per, pas, par])… called to be saints (hagios [adj]). Both words, sanctified and saints are from the same root.

The word saints (lit. “holy ones”) calls attention to the distinctive status of God’s people as those set apart by God for Himself. Paul often uses it to identify the Christians to whom he writes (e.g., Rom. 1:7).

The description sanctified underlines this reality of the Christian life. The Corinthians were plagued by ethical problems and this letter touches repeatedly on the subject of holiness. Significantly, however, Paul encourages them here in a pastoral way by reminding them that by God’s grace they have already made a definitive break with sin and now serve the Lord Jesus Christ (6:11). The goal of progressive holiness is realistic because God has already changed (use of the perfect tense) their hearts (Rom. 6:1–14; Gal. 5:24, 25).

with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours - Paul wants the Corinthians to know that they belong to the body of believers, the invisible church. This body is worldwide, for believers everywhere acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord. Thus Paul writes, their Lord and ours. But what is it the will sustain, keep, and preserve us…it is:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. - This is the common greeting that Paul employs in most of his epistles. Note however that:

grace is always first, peace always second. This is due to the fact that grace is the source of peace. Without grace there is and can be no peace; but when grace is ours, peace must of necessity follow.” Paul links both grace and peace to their ultimate source: they originate from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The virtues of grace and peace are God’s gifts to his children, and he grants these favors as a Father.

We must note that these are not seen as saving virtues since that was already accomplished in their lives, but sanctifying virtues, an ongoing gift given to us by God for our spiritual growth and perseverance. As a result of this defining grace of God, Paul in utmost confidence in God’s sustaining grace offers:

II. The Thanksgiving: Grace Enriches Us (4-7)

4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, - Note that Paul expresses gratitude for grace given (not for their behavior!).

But how is Paul able to express his gratitude to God on behalf of the Corinthian church? The members have caused him untold grief with their divisions, immorality, marital problems, and lawsuits. Can Paul accurately write the word always?

Paul’s heart is filled with gratitude because God chose to call his people out of the immoral and idolatrous environment of Corinth. Even there God established the church in fellowship with Jesus Christ (v. 9). For that reason he can continually thank God.

5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge

every way you were enriched. The Corinthians were tempted to become puffed up by their gifts of “knowledge” and of speaking “in tongues” (8:1; 14:23). Paul needs to rebuke them for their self-centered and loveless misuse of those gifts (12:14–26; 13:1–3, 9–13; 14:4–5), but he does not deny or minimize the spiritual gifts they have received (v. 7).

in him - shows the source of this enriching..

This enriching was in all speech and all knowledge—ironic given the problems. In this short verse, he stresses the words every and all to indicate that the recipients of God’s blessings are spiritually rich beyond measure.

Therefore, Paul’s thankfulness here shows that the problem lay not with the gifts God had given them but with the way the Corinthians used those gifts.

6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— Spiritual gifts confirm their calling.

This verse, explains the preceding verse. The question ultimately is how God confirmed (passive construction which implies God is the agent) the testimony to Christ in the hearts of the Corinthians? In the context, Paul is saying that God by faith confirmed the message of the gospel in the believers through the working of the Holy Spirit by the gifts given.

7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, - The enriching grace provided to the Corinthians, provides the framework in which to live, as a present result and a future expectation, we see these two points in this verse:

Result. so that you are not lacking in any gift - Because God conferred numerous spiritual gifts on the Corinthians, they were not lacking any of these blessings. The present tense of the verb to lacking in this result clause indicates that they actually possessed these gifts; at this point in his epistle, however, Paul is not interested in listing the specific gifts (refer to chapters 12–14). With this verb Paul does not suggest that the Corinthians lack any gifts; rather, he means that in respect to other churches, they are not lagging behind. Through God’s grace they have indeed received an abundance of spiritual gifts that are to be used in the here and now.

Expectation. as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ - Paul links spiritual gifts to the expectation of Jesus’ return. In this passage Paul twice mentions the end of time: here and in the next verse (v. 8), where he refers to the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. This emphasis is significant in view of Paul’s lengthy explanation of the resurrection of the body in 15:12–58, where he explicitly discusses the eschatological moment.

The Corinthians’ interest in the imminent return of the Lord seems to have waned, so at the outset of his epistle, Paul wants to encourage his audience to await eagerly Christ’s return, and to show them that the proper focus for the use of their Spiritual Gifts, is a focus that is enveloped in the hope of Christ’s return.

Paul seem to imply here that if you lose the reality of Christ return, you lose the purpose of why you are still here.

This focus is one they will give an account for as we see next:

III. The Confidence: Grace Sustains Us (8-9)

8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

will sustain you. Paul encourages his readers by assuring them that God, who began a work of grace in them, can be trusted to complete it. Indeed, they will be presented “guiltless” at the time of Christ’s return. Note the similarities between vv. 8, 9 and Phil. 1:6, 10.

Philippians 1:6 ESV

6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:10 ESV

10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

guiltless (anegklētous [adj] - without accusation). There is no condemnation on the final day (the day of our Lord Jesus Christ) for those who, like the Corinthians, are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1 “1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” ). They already have been justified and, in a sense, even sanctified (1 Cor. 6:11; cf. Rom. 5:1), so no one will be able to bring a charge against them at the judgment (Romans 8:33 “33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” ). How can we be sure that this will happen? Paul tells us next:

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

Foundation: God is faithful, - The Corinthians have a long way to go before their behavior matches their status before God (1 Cor. 3:2–3a), but Paul is confident that God, who is faithful, will make them what they should be.

you were called into the fellowship - Called into fellowship (koinōnia) with Christ

So What?

Do we understand that our identity as saints is not based on our performance but on God's calling?

Do we understand that we have been enriched by God’s grace in the provision of gifts which are used to confirm our calling?

Do we understand that these gifts are to be used in light of Christ’s return?

Do we understand that God’s calling is permanent and based on His faithfulness will sustain us as guiltless until the end?