Walking through Corinth

The Power of the Cross: A Call to Authenticity

1 Corinthians 1:1–17

1 Corinthians 1:1–17 MEV

Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which has been given to you through Jesus Christ. By Him you are enriched in everything, in all speech and in all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift while waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and by Him you were called to the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I ask you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak in agreement and that there be no divisions among you. But be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this is what I mean: Every one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest any should say that I had baptized in my own name. I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides them, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with eloquent words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

For the next several weeks, I want us to walk through verse by verse or a play by play of Corinthians, my intentions are currently to go through 1st and 2nd Corinthians, but we will follow the Lord in what He wants during this series.

The City of Corinth was in such a great spot for protection and maritime trade. Corinth became synonymous with wealth, luxury and dissipation.

Corinth was a city of Exuberance, and all too often as is today when it comes to places like this, laciviousness takes over.

Paul first visited Corinth in AD 52. Acts 18:1 records this when he was on his way from Macedonia to Jerusalem.

Paul was at Athens, expecting Silas and Timothy, and was dissapointed when they did not arrive, so he went to Corinth alone.

When he was at Corinth he found Aquila and Priscilla, there seemed to be some sort of bond between them as they are named in later texts as being faithful.

It is understood that Paul remained 18 months plus a “little while” then he was discharged by the Holy Spirit to move on ton Syria.

We are not sure of hte size of the church when it was first organized, and it seems throughout the epistles of 1 and 2, that for the most part outside of a handful, there were more “humble walks of life” converts there.

One commentary said this.

I Corinthians § 2. The Establishment of the Church at Corinth

It was a signal illustration of the grace of God, and the power of the gospel, that a church was organized in that city of gayety, fashion, luxury, and licentiousness; and it shows that the gospel is adapted to meet and overcome all forms of wickedness, and to subdue all classes of people to itself. If a church was established in the gay and dissolute capital of Achaia, then there is not now a city on earth so gay and so profligate that the same gospel may not meet its corruptions, and subdue it to the cross of Christ

It is evident that this epistle was written in a reply to one which had been addressed by the church at corinth to Paul. 1 Corinthians 7:1

1 Corinthians 7:1 MEV

Now concerning the things about which you wrote to me:...

This is just the groundwork of the next few sermons, and brings u s straight into this passage,

Paul introduces himself and addresses the alarming divisions in the Corinthian church.

He emphasizes the wisdom of the cross over human wisdom, calling believers to remember their identity in Christ and the importance of unity grounded in the message of the Gospel, rather than in human leaders.

Paul likely wrote this letter to deal with the worldliness that had entered the Corinthian church.

I wonder if we can take anything from this this morning.

Can we ask ourselves the question, has any worldliness entered our church?

Have we allowed ourselves to detract from the purpose of the church?

From the purpose of Christ?

Church, where are we?

1. Called to Be Holy

1 Corinthians 1:1–3 MEV

Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul begins his letter by affirming the Corinthian believers’ identity in Christ and their calling to be holy.

I think there is no more fitting way to start off this series with likewise affirmation.

You have an identity in Christ.

WE try to find our identity in the world too often. We look everywhere, and in every place.

We try to find our identity in our Careers.

We try to fin dour identity in our Relationships. I am no one without this person, I can’t be who I am without that person.

We try to find our identity in our achievements, in our appearance, in others approval of us.

Church, none of that other stuff matters, your identity is in Christ and Christ alone.

Our worth is not defined by societal standards.

The Bible teaches that we are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), redeemed by the blood of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), adopted into God’s family (John 1:12), and empowered by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9).

These teachings fundamentally alter how we view ourselves and our relation to Christ. GTY

Because we have an identity in Christ we are likewise called to be holy.

Peter writes about this in his epistle. 1 Peter 1:16

1 Peter 1:16 MEV

because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

If we know our identity is found in Christ we need to repattern our lives after Him. Christian brother and sister, you were not saved to live how you want.

You were not given grace to operate in the same manner.

You were bought with a price, a price that we could never repay, yet we act like the price wasn’t enough.

We are to be imitators of God, be holy as He is holy, yet there are plenty of us so-called, lukewarm Christians that are living their own and old lifestyle expecting grace to abound.

While at Corinth Paul wrote the book of Romans, in Romans this thought comes up, and Paul says “God Forbid, how can we who are dead to sin go on sinning.”

One commentary puts it like this.

The Message of 1 Peter a. The Holiness of Children of the Father (1:14–17)

The pattern of holy living cannot be reduced to a limited number of ‘holy’ actions. God’s righteous deeds flow from his holy nature; holiness patterned on his must express transformed hearts. On the one hand, this seems to set an impossible standard: how can we be like the holy God? On the other hand, there is a marvellous simplicity in a holiness patterned on God himself; it does not require encyclopedic grasp of endless directives and prohibitions. It flows from the heart; its key is love. To be holy is to love the Lord our God with heart, soul, strength and mind, and to love our neighbour as ourselves. We imitate the love of grace that saved us, the love of God’s compassion poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.4

Unity is found in understanding our common identity as sanctified and called by God to be saints.

This is why it is so important to see others through the lens of Scripture. Don’t look down on them and laugh at them.

Pick them up, come along side them.

We understand that at times people will miss church, will miss the fellowship, the world will slip back in, and pull them down.

Divisions and disagreements happen, but we must see past divisions by focusing on our shared calling and identity in Jesus.

The church should still be able to function, when the pastor is gone. The church should still be concerned about our brother and sisters in Christ when they are missing.

We do not need to wait and let the pastor reach out to those when they’re being missed, but reach out ourselves cast aside those divisions, and allow unity to flow through us, because we understand that we are called into a different Kingdom, and we too could fall to the wayside.

2. Gifted for Unity

1 Corinthians 1:4–9 MEV

I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which has been given to you through Jesus Christ. By Him you are enriched in everything, in all speech and in all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift while waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and by Him you were called to the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Paul has gratitude and affirms God’s faithfulness to the Corinthians.

I think Paul would say the same to us today, God is still faithful church.

In the hard times, in the easy times.

In the good times, in the bad times.

In the valleys, and in the mountains.

God is always faithful.

When we’re faithful God is Faithful.

When we’re not faithful God is still Faithful.

If we could just get that into our spirits this morning, God is still faithful. regardless of how difficult life becomes, God is faithful!

Why do we question His faithfulness when time and time again He has proven himself to be faithful?

He is faithful also in His sending of the Holy Spirit, and giving us spiritual gifts.

Spiritual Gifts are not for division.

They are for building up the body.

Spiritual Gifts have never been the problem or cause of division, it has only ever been a heart condition of the person using/misuing or jealous of. Paul actually will address this later on in 1 Corinthians but one thing he wants to make mention of here in this first part of this letter, and I want to make mention of to you as well is this.

Our gifts and strengths come from God alone, and should serve His purposes. Spiritual Giftings are for the edification, the building up of the body of believers.

When they are misused, the body is broken, and when they are used appropriately the body is edified.

The using of the giftings, draws us into deeper unity and reliance on God’s grace and wisdom.

We can’t do it without His grace, we can’t do it whithout His Wisdom!

3. United in Christ Alone

1 Corinthians 1:10–13 MEV

Now I ask you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak in agreement and that there be no divisions among you. But be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this is what I mean: Every one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

The first problem that Paul addresses is discord within the church. If Paul were writing us a letter today, I wonder if this is where he would start with our church?

Are the Discords?

Maybe they’re not visible?

Maybe they are visible.

A little something about Division, the word itself means “Two Visions.” There is a singular vision for the church, Biblically, it is sent down from God to the Pastor, who then gives it to the people.

Habakkuk 2:2 MEV

And the Lord answered me: Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, that he who reads it may run.

When you have two visions, you have people with their thoughts going one way, and the way that God wants the church to go in another direction.

Disunity is a micro chasm of Divisions in the church.

Paul urges and exhorts them to reject the divisions. Some followed Paul, Apollos, or Cephas.

If we are missing church because the pastor isn’t there and we don’t like who the person that is preaching, or how the person preaches, or maybe the pastor is here, but because he isn’t the one speaking, we are actually doing exactly what Paul is talking about, we are choosing, we are causing DIVISION.

Maybe not within our church, but within ourselves, we can cause Division internally as well.

One Commentary said

The Tony Evans Bible Commentary A. Divisions in the Church (1:10–4:21)

Perhaps you’ve seen factions rear their ugly heads in a local church as personal preferences took priority over unity, so let’s be clear. Unity does not equate with sameness or uniformity. Paul wasn’t urging the Corinthian believers to disregard their differences. Rather, he wanted this group of believers—consisting of Jews and Gentiles, men and women, and young and old from different walks of life—to be united in their understanding and conviction about Jesus (1:10). They had been called by God to a oneness of purpose in the midst of their diversity. Unity is critical because of God’s unified Trinitarian nature. While there is a legitimate form of disunity—that is, we are not to be unified in the endorsement of sin, illegitimate disunity can negate the active presence of God in our midst.

A football team is unified—not because everyone plays the same position—but because everyone is straining for the same goal line. An orchestra is unified—not because everyone performs on the same instrument—but because everyone harmoniously plays the same song under the direction of one conductor. Likewise, the church is to be unified—not because every Christian is exactly alike—but because we all pledge allegiance to the same Lord.

Is Christ Divided?

Was Paul Crucified for you?

Were you baptized in Paul’s name?

Christ alone is who we owe our loyalty!

There is an urgent call for unity and a warning against divisions based on allegiance to human leaders that Paul is talking about here.

Paul’s rhetorical questions highlight that Christ cannot be divided. Unity is rooted in allegiance to Christ alone. This should guide us to realign our loyalties from human leaders to Christ, the undivided savior.

If he placed these leaders and we trust Him, then we trust the leaders who lead us to His Vision.

4. Prioritize the Gospel

1 Corinthians 1:14–17 MEV

I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest any should say that I had baptized in my own name. I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides them, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with eloquent words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

Our primary mission should be focused on spreading the Gospel of Christ. We get so caught up sometimes even in our own issues, that we forget we are to be about kingdom business.

Notice what Paul is actually relieved about here. He's not relieved that he did great ministry he's relieved that almost none of it can be traced back to his own name.

In a church already dividing itself into camps — "I follow Paul," "I follow Apollos," "I follow Cephas" — Paul refuses to add fuel to that fire by becoming a fourth faction.

He would rather be forgotten than have the cross be diminished.

That's how seriously he takes the difference between building a name and preaching the gospel.

We do the same thing Corinth did, just with modern labels.

Think about a sports team so obsessed with which star player gets the credit that they lose sight of the scoreboard entirely everyone playing for a name on the back of the jersey instead of the name on the front. Or a family so locked into an argument over whose recipe is "the real" Thanksgiving dish that the meal goes cold on the table while everyone's still arguing.

We've seen churches do this too a body of believers pulled apart not by the gospel, but by a preference, a personality, a preacher.

Every ounce of energy spent defending a name, a camp, or a cause is energy stolen from the actual mission.

So here's the test: This week, before you post, argue, or plant your flag with a name, a camp, or a cause, stop and ask yourself does this point people to the cross, or does it point people to me?

Prioritizing the gospel means choosing, in your conversations and your loyalties, to elevate Christ's name above every other name you're tempted to carry.

The central power of the cross must lead us away from personal pride in affiliations and back to the gospel message that unifies us.

Paul would rather be forgotten than have the cross be diminished. The question for us is the same: Are we building a name — or are we preaching a cross?

Church, prioritize the gospel.

Conclusion: In our walk through Corinth, we are going to see some things that will challenge us, Convict us, require a change within us.

And this is where we find ourselves, at the first rest stop in Corinth,

We are called to be Holy, are you living a holy life?

We are called to be in unity, are we causing divisions, or part of a division?

Are you united in Christ?

Are you prioritizing the Gospel?

Christ is undivided. Are we in Him?

Lord help us to see within ourselves our shortcomings. Let us to become convicted in this walk through Corinth, and apply the words of the Lord to our hearts.