6.1.41 9.5.2021 The Church in Corinthian Grayville 1 Corinthians 1.1-3 (2)

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1 Corinthians 1:1–3 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.

Entice: Roman Corinth is Grayville IL, USA! The pre-Christian world in which the Corinthian Church was established is shockingly similar to the post-Christian world we inhabit, the world which is our mission-field.

Engage: A list: Self-centered and narcissistic. Callously upwardly mobile. Like our culture celebrated the autonomous individual who did it himself, got rich, and stuck it to the system. Corinth was a city that never slept. Filled with fortune, fame, venture capital, and the vice that went along with it. So many commentators described it as a combination of "Las Vegas and New York City" that it is impossible to accurately cite who wrote it first.

Why did Paul go there here in the first place?

Shouldn't he have been able to anticipate the sorts of cultural problems which invaded the Corinthian Church?

First all, in a practical sense when we look at his itinerary in the book of Acts its next, it makes geographical sense.

Secondly, if the Gospel was able to make an impact in Corinth it could anywhere. It is possible that Paul came to Corinth because it was the greatest challenge to the universal message of salvation in Christ. If the Cross changed lives in Corinth it could change lives anywhere.

Yet now in the Epistle before us it would seem that the cultural weeds that Paul and his team had carefully removed had sprung up. Now he needs to prune again.

Expand: "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you." Did you ever hear that? Did you believe it? That is sort of what we have in our text this morning. Paul wrote the Corinthian Churches to correct misbehavior, selfishness, pride, ambition, and a host of other problems. Prior to that he reminds them that despite all

their differences they had a common origin in a common faith which was born out of a common Gospel.

Excite: That reminder still holds true today right here in Roman, in Corinthian Grayville. We too are constantly combating a culture which seeks to corrupt us. Power. Greed. Self-centeredness. Callous disregard for those "beneath" us. We are tempted to be proud of our gifts, our abilities, our skills, our liberties and to hold the less enlightened or the less fortunate hostage to our contempt. But Jesus is Lord here in Grayville. The Word is true here in Grayville. The Mission, is still before us, here in Corinth. The

way forward is clear.

Explore: Our mission requires us to be entirely unified with Christ and one another.

Explain: Paul begins this letter by providing some basic orienting facts.

Fact #1

1 Location (where)

1.1 ? Presumably Ephesus.

1.2 Corinth.

1.3 Grayville and Beyond! All believers at all places & times.

1.3.1 Particular concerns of specific environment.

1.3.2 Recurrent behaviors of a fallen culture.

Fact #2

2 Identification (Who)

2.1 Called

2.2 Sanctified

2.3 Graced

2.4 Peaced

A final fact, Paul explores our

3 Vocation (What & Why)

3.1 Particular

3.1.1 Paul's Apostolic commission.

3.1.2 Sosthenes=suffering for the cause of Christ.

3.1.3 Corinthian Church=? What are we doing and Why are we here.

3.2 Shared

3.2.1 Summoned

3.2.2 Sanctified.

Shut Down:

The letter sort of goes sideways from there. In this Epistle, which FCC will be studying the next several weeks Paul must correct, chide, instruct, spank, rebuke, and

even threaten. He began by reminding them of their unity mainly because they had become so acculturated that their disunity was threatening the health of the Church and the vitality of the mission.

(Sarcastic voice) That would never happen to us. WE would never get infatuated with power. We would never become preoccupied with self-advancement. We would never focus more on money than the message of Christ. We would never succumb to narcissism. We would never pit our personal freedom and autonomy against what is best for the whole Church.

One word…

Selfie.

Need I say more? If we are to succeed in proclaiming a redeeming gospel to a broken culture, we must stop acting like that broken culture, find our unity in Jesus, and rediscover the saving power the Gospel.