Sermon Tone Analysis

If you have a Bible, I’d like to invite your attention to .

This morning, we begin a study of the book of 1 Corinthians, and similar to our study through Mark’s gospel, we will be here for a LONG time.

I’m sure we’ll take a break or two along our journey, but our goal is to go verse by verse through 1 Corinthians.

What I believe we’ll see, is that Paul’s letter to 1 Corinthians, has just as much to say to us in 2019, as it did to them in the first century.

I’d like to read these first 3 verses, which is Paul’s introduction.

It’s a fairly standard introduction for letter writing of this time.

Then after reading it, we’ll work to unpack it somewhat.

One of, if not the greatest, animated movies of all time....is The Lion King.

My family hates watching it with me, because I can, almost completely quote it from start to finish.

One of the pivotal scenes, is the moment when Simba decides to return to Pride Rock to take on Scar and regain control of the Kingdom.

Shame over what he thought he had done, has caused Simba, the son of the King, to live in exile....until... his dead father......speaks to him from the clouds.

Now…I didn’t say the movie was good theologically, but if you’re familiar with the movie, you know the line that Mufassa says, “Remember, who you are.”

He then describes to Simba, WHO he is…and that was to be the motivation, for his change of attitude, his change of behavior, and his restoring of things to their proper order.

In some ways, Paul’s introduction sets the stage for an entire letter that will call the Corinthians to, “remember, who they are.”

Paul’s introduction and letter is similar to other letters of his day.

It begins with the identification of the sender, then it identifies the recipients....it then provides a thanksgiving of some sort, followed by the content of the letter.

In this letter, the sender, is Paul and Sosthenes.

Paul:

He is formerly referred to as, “Saul of Tarsus.”

He is a Jew, and formerly a Pharisee

The Pharisees were a group of zealous individuals, determined to keep God’s Law…so much so, that they added laws in order to make them OBVIOUSLY HOLY

The problem of course, is that it became all about outward obedience, and not at all about inward transformation

And Saul was so zealous, that he hated the church, which was distinct from Judaism…and it was his mission to eliminate the church entirely

But notice here, how Paul describes himself

Saul of Tarsus had plans to stop the church…God had different plans

Guess whose plans won

Called: kletos; called....here, the sense of the word is to SUMMON: denoting someone whose participation or presence has been officially requested; especially a request to which refusal is not an option

So, he’s been summoned…and this summons came.... “by the will of God”

Signifying that it was the ETERNAL plan of God, to summon Paul into this office....and the eternal plan of God, revealed itself in time and space, by the Divine summons

In other words, we know it was God’s will....because it happened.

The WILL of God, is what led to the ACTION of God.

The will was before the call.

Our study of Galatians will help us here....

It was the plan of God, the will of God, which brought about the call of God in Paul’s life

An OT example of this would be Jeremiah

So…Paul said he’s called....by the will of God....and he’s called TO something

to be an apostle of Jesus Christ

Apostle: one sent out by Jesus as His representative

To give us some modern day equivalence....Apostles were the power of attorney of Jesus (they could fully represent Him…and speak on His behalf…that’s why the words they wrote, could immediately be recognized, as the Word of God)

Or…another illustration....they were the very real Ambassadors of Christ....they spoke on His behalf.

In describing himself this way in the opening, he expresses at least 2 things

His authority

He is an APOSTLE of Jesus Christ; He speaks on behalf of the Lord of the church

He is an APOSTLE of Jesus Christ

And his humility

He didn’t seek this position....it was the eternal plan of God....and that eternal plan was executed by the powerful summons (or call) of God

This is what Chrysostom saw in these words, all the way back in the 4th century:

“ See how immediately, from the very beginning, he casts down their pride, and dashes to the ground all their fond imagination, in that he speaks of himself as “called.”

For what I have learnt, saith he, I discovered not myself, nor acquired by my own wisdom, but while I was persecuting and laying waste the Church I was called.

Now here of Him that calleth is everything: of him that is called, nothing, (so to speak,) but only to obey.”

See how immediately, from the very beginning, he casts down their pride, and dashes to the ground all their fond imagination, in that he speaks of himself as “called.”

For what I have learnt, saith he, I discovered not myself, nor acquired by my own wisdom, but while I was persecuting and laying waste the Church I was called.

Now here of Him that calleth is everything: of him that is called, nothing, (so to speak,) but only to obey.

In other words, the fact that he was CALLED…meant God should be seen as the great one, worthy of honor…and Paul should be seen as nothing.

John Chrysostom, “Homilies of St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, on the First Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians,” in Saint Chrysostom: Homilies on the Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians, ed.

Philip Schaff, trans.

Hubert Kestell Cornish, John Medley, and Talbot B. Chambers, vol.

12, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series (New York: Christian Literature Company, 1889), 3.

This was crucial for writing into the culture of pride that was the city of Corinth

Paul also adds Sosthenes’ name.

Now, to understand who Sosthenes is, we must understand to WHOM Paul is writing

Recipients of the letter, is the church of God in Corinth

Corinth:

City on an Isthmus (thin strip of land connecting two larger pieces of land) between, Greece and the Peloponnesian Peninsula.

Three major ports

Ships would come either around the northern side, or the southern of this Isthmus.

They would unload their cargo.

And literally drag the ship across the land to the sea on the other side.

Since there was much trade going on from all over, you had many cultures represented in Corinth.

And with many cultures, you had a plethora of religions represented.

Not to mention the Roman understanding of religious pluralism that would have allowed for such.

Corinth, in many ways, is a lot like our culture

Both in religious tolerance....everyone is on their own personal journey, they can worship what gods they choose

And, in shame/honor culture that abounded.

Quite literally exhibiting itself in the “dog-eat-dog” world…do whatever you have to do to get to the top.

Pride, and egotism, would have abounded.

A city of pride and religious tolerance....also....

The moral culture of this port city, was quite licentious

In Corinth, you had the Temple of Aphrodite, with 1,000 ministers serving in it

Aphrodite was the ancient goddess of fertility, so it doesn’t take much to imagine the level of sexual sins that would have been pervasive there.

And it’s in THIS wicked city, God has a church.

When we pray for unreached people groups, we remind ourselves often, that there is no obstacle too great for our God to overcome, to save His lost sheep

We see that in the reality that there is a church, in Corinth....God’s gospel, is more powerful, than the most wicked of wicked cities

HOW did a church become established here?

We learn that story in

Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, is converted in

Along with many of the Corinthians

God tells Paul that He has many people in that town....so Paul keeps teaching the Word of God for 1 year and 6 months

Until Gallio became proconsul of Achaia

It was then the Jews made a united attack on Paul, brought him before the tribunal, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.”

Gallio didn’t want anything to do with the matter....so the Jews, beat a man named Sosthenes

Either angered over the situation, or mad at him…possibly aligned with Paul

So…in our opening verse, Paul identifies himself as the sender....as well as “our brother Sosthenes”

We’re not told about his conversion…we just know, he’s now a brother.

He could have been one while being beaten…we just don’t know.

What we do know, is that the powerful gospel, went into the wicked port city of Corinth, and called God’s lost sheep into the fold.

And…as for the recipients of the letter, notice…this church is in this wicked city, but it is not to the wicked city Paul writes.

He writes....

So…Paul…is writing a letter…to the church at Corinth.

Now…here is THE all-important question that must be asked, and the question that I believe will help us understand the whole of the letter itself: What is a Church?