880 1 Cor.16.13-24 Final Words to a Divided Church
1 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted
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Recently, a woman was reported to have visited the post office to purchase $20 worth of stamps. The postal clerk asked her: “What denominations would you like that in?” The woman exclaimed, “I can’t believe things have come to this? Just give me 10 Catholic. 6 Anglican, 4 Presbyterian, and 3 Baptists!”
- The church is not unique in the fact that we have splintered into different factions as such – many institutions & reigions in the world have done that
- It is true that human nature being as it is, will bring such factions about
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- Some have tried to bring the church together by various means
- The Uniting Church believed they had the solution by minimising the word of God to a less than infallible word
- Jim has told me the controversy that existed within the Presbyterian church at the time over the proposed joining of the Uniting Church
- The Uniting Church put forward the statement: “we acknowledge” the Bible as the word of God instead of “we accept” the Bible as the word of God
- A Barrister pointed out the serious difference in such a statement where to acknowledge something is very different from accepting something
- The Uniting Church refused to change the wording & so the Presbyterian church Jim was a member of, refused to enter into the Uniting Church
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- Minimising the word of God will not help make the church more united
- It will only cripple the church which I saw in Qld while I was a student in Bible College where the moderator of the Qld Uniting Church was a woman in an ongoing Lesbian relationship
- She “came out” & announced it in one of their major Synod gatherings to which she received rapturous applause from their ministers & delegates
- When such things happen, the church ceases to be the church of Jesus Christ
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- Unity can be artificial if not dealt with at the root issue - truth!
- A clear example, I think, has been the rhetoric around the consolation of locking the country down – “we’re all in this together”?
- Remember that? But is that premise true?
- Sure, you want to try & give some unified support to the notion of a lockdown, but if you try to just dress it up as if it is a truism, then your pleas will fall on deaf ears
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- The truth is that we are not “all in this together” – they needed to be honest about that
- Certain parts of the private sector have been decimated, while the public service sector, have suffered no financial impact
- Whatever you think of the differentiation or whether lockdowns are justified or not (not according to the World Health Organisation this week) the fact remains, that a united front ought to be based on truth
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Q. What do you say to a church that is divided somewhat into factions?
Q. What can help these people to know a unique unity in Christ?
1. Live in Light of the Return of Christ
1. Live in Light of the Return of Christ
- When Jesus returns, He will completely overthrow death & fulfil the truth that, in Him, death is dead
- We are to live in the light of this wonderful expected return of our Lord Jesus
- In this passage, today, there are verses that support this call
13 Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
22 If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha.
a) Be Alert as a Sentinel
a) Be Alert as a Sentinel
- If you were driving, especially at night, to Deniliquin in 2013 you would have to be incredibly careful not to hit the huge Roos that were very numerous at that time
- My son, Sam, was travelling back from Deni to Echuca at night
- We had just been to a church camp at Four Posts just this side of Deni & you could tell that Roos were a problem – they were all over the roadside, both dead & alive
- I called Sam & told him to wait for a truck or bus & stay behind it back to Echuca
- He did that & said that there were Roos bouncing off the front of the truck & rolling passed the side of his car
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- For a small vehicle, without a bullbar, you had to stay alert because you know that a Roo is going to make an appearance at any moment
- The point is, the knowledge of the presence of a Kangaroo made you alert TO HOW YOU WERE DRIVING - you were careful & conscientious
- The same is true here says Paul
- Christ is coming & hence, knowing this, we make sure that we modify the way we live in light of this great event that is coming
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- When we see this call in the NT, to be alert, there are various things to which we need to be alert
1. Jesus says to His disciples in the garden of Gethsemane to keep watching & praying that you do not fall into temptation
- The notion of watching can be misleading – if there was a television there you might think that He was alluding to that
- Watching means that you are alert to any dangers (be on the look out)
- It’s the same word as in our text today & it means to be awake & alert
- The danger here is that in the midst of Jesus’ arrest & crucifixion the temptation for the disciples will be to slip away from faith in Jesus – because they could not see coming what He was going to do, even though He told them – they just couldn’t perceive it
2. Paul tells the Ephesian Elders to be on alert for false teaching
31 “Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.
3. Peter tells Christians to be alert against Satan’s attempts to bring you into sin & unfaithfulness
8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
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- Whilst all those are true & reason for us to be alert, this last point I’m about to present to you is the apostle Paul’s reason for Christians to remain alert
4. It's eschatological (means the “last things”) – be alert for the return of Jesus
- “Be watchful” is the ESV; the NASB has “Be on the alert”
- This parallels the sayings of Jesus when it came to His return
33 “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.
- He gives a parable of the slaves & the doorkeeper who had been given a charge & to be ready at any time for when the master returns & how it would not be good for him to return & find those given a charge fast asleep
37 “What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’ ”
- Rev. 3:3 gives a similar warning from Jesus to the church at Sardis
3 ‘So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.
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- “Be watchful” or “Be on the alert”, therefore, is reference to Christ’s return
- The second reference is found in v. 22 of today’s passage
22 If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha.
- Maranatha is the literal meaning of “O Lord, come” & it appears as Maranatha in many translations but the ESV has chosen to give you the meaning of “Maranatha” instead, which is “O Lord, Come”
- This is a prayer for the return of Jesus to bring His righteousness & judgement & to bring death to it’s final end – the death of death itself!
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- Being watchful, or rather alert, like a sentinel on guard against all enemies, is what we must be if we will endure to the end as Christians
b) Standing Firm on the Battlefront of Faith
b) Standing Firm on the Battlefront of Faith
- We move from the role of sentinel to that of a soldier who, when facing the enemy, must not back off & scurry away in defeat
- There are many battles the Christian must face in life – Paul says to Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith”
- It is the “good” fight of faith because it is absolutely critical that we persevere
- The Christian has unseen enemies that wage war against him
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
- We have these enemies to contend with & their main aim is to destroy faith or trust in the Lord Jesus Christ
- Remember when Jesus said to His disciples to watch & pray & that very night Peter was confronted over his ties with Jesus & he denied Him 3 times
- Satan won that round, but Peter fought back – thanks to the resurrection of Jesus - & he had victory & stayed the faith until his own death where it is said, in church history, that he was crucified upside down for his faith
- As the story goes, He felt unworthy to be crucified in the same way as the Lord Jesus
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- There is a call here too in standing firm in the faith & being strong & acting like men – by staying true to the resurrection of the body
- “Standing firm” calls us to reject the cultural deceptions that eat away at our reliance upon the truth of the word of God
- The cultural dualism between the spiritual & the material caused the Corinthians to ignore/dismiss the truth of the resurrection of the body – the resurrection of Jesus, bodily & the resurrection of the Christian, bodily
- He confirmed this when talking of the resurrection in chp. 15
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
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- Now there is a lot to be on guard against & to stand firm in
- They are to guard against factions, against taking each other to court, against sexual immorality, against husbands & wives depriving each other of marital intimacy because of an over obsession with the spiritual & the disregard of the material (marital relations are material right – has to do with the body, right – so they neglected it?
- They need to stand against the selfish use of spiritual gifts, the reversal of gender roles and especially, the minimising of the literal suffering, crucifixion & death of Jesus Christ
- They need, however, to stand firm in their love for one another
- This will be our next big point, but let me first mention the anathema
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- Paul writes a curse – an anathema or ban – upon anyone who doesn’t love the Lord
22 If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha.
- This is not the first time the curse has been pronounced by Paul & it is not really Paul’s anyway
- It actually comes from Jesus – He talks about the blessing on those who are to receive salvation & the curse upon those who reject Him
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
- If a decision has not been made for Christ by His return, then the decision will have already been decided for that person
- There are only 2 alternatives available: the blessing or the curse
- Interestingly, Paul describes the pivotal factor in terms of love
- As to whether or not, a person loves the Lord
- Obviously, faith is there too, but it seems that a person can exercise a level of faith without exercising love for the Lord
- To His disciples Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (Jn. 14:15)
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- So the church is not fearful about the coming of the Lord, but wishing it on (Maranatha – O Lord, come) & we eagerly await His return when He will right wrongs, bring death to an end & establish His kingdom rule
2. Let Love Rule Your Every Response
2. Let Love Rule Your Every Response
- In this passage today, no less than 3 times, the apostle mentions the importance of love
v.14 Let all that you do be done in love
v.22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be accursed
v.24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus, Amen.
- Love is the primary motivation for the Christian
- Of course, it is important to distinguish what love is & what it isn’t
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- Love is not sentimentality; Love is not conforming to the world so that you will be loved by them; Love is not primarily an emotion, although, emotions are very much involved; Love is not the postmodern position of accepting anyone’s lifestyle as a legitimate expression of our humanity
- Love is something the Corinthians were not practising
- In fact, the apostle has to dedicate a whole chapter (chp. 13) to the theme - & where it was most notable was surrounding the spiritual gifts
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- Those who had certain upfront gifts thought themselves more “spiritual” & hence, in the opinion of some, more attuned to God than the others with the less meaningful gifts – notably those who had gifts which were more obviously associated with the material world, rather than the “spiritual”
- So helps, caring, nurturing, cleaning, serving or gifts of mercy – these are gifts which are still spiritually empowered yet don’t give the immediate impression that they are associated with the spiritual side
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- Many considered themselves “spiritual” but behaved in a “fleshly” way
- Because of this & many other things, this church lacked love
1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, 3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?
- What a contradiction in terms – they thought they were “spiritual” but their idea of “spiritual” & Paul’s idea of “spiritual” are two very different things indeed - they are spiritual but they weren’t behaving as if they are
- For starters, to be “spiritual” you have to be a Christian
- You cannot be spiritual & not have the Spirit of God for one must have the Spirit to be a Christian
9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
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- So all of the Corinthians have been baptised into Christ & have been given the Spirit of God & are “spiritual”
- But the Spirit apportions gifts/talents as He sees fit & some of His gifts are used in accord with the material world – gifts of helping for one
- Because of the sharp divide between the spiritual & the material, you had a two tier system of value in the church
- If you had a gift to be used in the material world, it was considered of lesser importance than a gifting in the “spiritual” - like tongues, prophecy, healing etc.
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- But this is wrong on several fronts
- As I mentioned before, if you are a Christian, then you have the Spirit of God & are regarded as “spiritual”
- You cannot be a Christian & not be possessed by the Spirit of the Lord
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- Secondly, all work by God’s people in God’s world is spiritual whether you are preaching a sermon or serving others in Jesus name by, say, working in a kitchen
- The Greek philosopher Plato caused people to see that life is sharply divided horizontally between the spiritual which is above & the material which is below
- But whenever we take from the Scriptures, we see that life is divided vertically, where the spirit & the material coexist with equal importance before God
a) Give Recognition to those who Minister/Serve
a) Give Recognition to those who Minister/Serve
- Paul mentions what love looks like in 1 Cor. 13
- Love is patient, love is kind, does not envy, does not boast etc..
- Remember that we have here a divided church – I am of Paul, I am of Apollos & I am of Cephas
- Now, in this closing chapter, Paul mentions some people of Corinth who are showing what love looks like & urges the community to appreciate & be submissive to those who are giving themselves to the Lord’s labours
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- He notes Stephanas & his household who are some of the first converts of Paul in the region & were probably founding members of the Corinthian church
- These saints that are in the service of the Lord are to be “acknowledged”, the NASB translation says, or “recognised” with the ESV
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- But Christians who strive for & like to give the appearance of “super-spirituality” have truly missed the boat & are self-deceived
- A person can show themselves “spiritual” by doing service for the Lord
- After all, the earth is the Lord’s & all it contains
26 for the earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains.
- Instead of viewing each other in a competitive sense, the church is to realise they are on the same team & when someone else scores a touchdown, then we are to be glad & be happy for the team mate
b) Treat Each Other with Respect
b) Treat Each Other with Respect
- Now with this last point, I want to address v.20
20 All the brethren greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
- Now it is passages like this that cause people to wonder how much of the Bible we can insist on for today & how much do we see as something from the past & now able to be ignored
Q. Are we to literally greet one another with a holy kiss?
Q. Wouldn’t that seem rather inappropriate?
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- Firstly, when asking about what parts of the Bible we take for today & what we leave in the past, you need to distinguish between content & form or to put another way, principle & form
- For example, the insistence of a woman wearing something on her head, probably a veil in chp. 11, was a cultural expression of a woman’s submission to her husband
Q. Do you dismiss the purpose of this teaching because the form is foreign to our cultural practises of today?
- Our culture no longer recognises a veil as such so that form or custom can pass, but the essential content or principle still holds true & can find it’s expression in other ways
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- Now the kiss did have a particular cultural expression in Paul’s day
- It was a sign of respect & affection – it was also a sign & pledge of forgiveness that is granted & gratefully received – in short it shows clearly that there is reconciliation (they are reconciled individuals)
- Now to guard against the possible misuse of a kiss, which did happen in the ancient world, the apostle added the word, “holy” – a holy kiss is separated off from all its other forms & retains its pure intent
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- You can see how meaningful the kiss was and how biting a feigned kiss became
- To identify Jesus, Judas betrayed Him with a kiss – which was meant to be a sign of respect & affection, but turned out to be a sign of betrayal
48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
- I mean how foreign to the intent of the kiss can that be!
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.
- Jesus contrasted the Pharisee who invited Him to his home (probably just to suss Jesus out) with the woman who never stopped kissing His feet
- The kissing of His feet graphically demonstrated the reality of her forgiveness
40 And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 “When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
44 Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 “You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. 46 “You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. 47 “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”
- It’s a powerful story that highlights how the kiss is associated with respect, affection & reconciliation
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- As we come to the notion of a holy kiss, what is the essential content we are looking for
Q. What is the true point of it & is there a replacement for the holy kiss that still expresses the apostle’s intent?
- The J. B. Phillips translation says “give a good hand shake all round”
- That is his replacement for today’s western world
- He hasn’t neglected the meaning, but has found a reasonable substitute for it – unless you live in Italy where the kiss is still practised today – on the cheek - & you don’t need a substitute
- When people resolve their differences, they shake hands, but if unresolved/unreconciled, there are no hand shakes happening between them, right!
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- With this, we have completed a long journey through 1 Corinthians & I hope that you have benefited from it
- All the previous messages are still available & the link to them is to be found in the church’s newsletters
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- The two questions I have for you to discuss today in your breakout groups are these:
1. What do you think is the most pressing challenge today in choosing to stand firm in the faith?
2. Discuss the meaning of love as understood today in comparison with love from the biblical standpoint