Christ's Work in the Church: The Calling of God (Part 2)
The Church of Corinth; Struggling to be in the world but not of the world • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 50:17
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His thankfulness is because of God’s work through Christ in his church. Therefore, in our time today, we are going to look at a few ways Paul is thankful for the work of Christ in the church.
He writes in v 4,
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,
So Paul says he is thankful to God always because of the grace given to the Corinthians in Christ Jesus. This gracious gift he refers to is the work of Christ, a mulit-faceted work of redemption and love that needs our attention today. Let us see these gifts from God’s grace and like Paul be thankful!
The Gift of Divine Calling
The Gift of Divine Calling
Two sides of the coin of divine calling:
External Call of Gospel
Example: Jn 8:12
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Effectual Call to Faith
John 6:44 (ESV)
44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
But the Scripture actually teaches that the call of God that leads to salvation is a two-part call. In other words, there is both an external call of the gospel and an internal call unto salvation.
The divine call of God awakens our hearts and minds to Christ Jesus in such a way that we respond in faith and trust in Him alone for our salvation. Without his divine calling, we would all simply be those who reject his external calling and who will be punished by the judge for such insolence.
2. The Gift of the Church
2. The Gift of the Church
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:
A Gift to Son from the Father
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
A Gift to each other
A. No Isolation: Ekklesia (gathered people, together with all those who call upon the name of Jesus as Lord).
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
B. No boundary (their Lord and ours) Remember also that the church is both local and universal.
3. The Gift of Purification
3. The Gift of Purification
The third aspect of the church that Paul makes the point to make: the church is made up of holy ones… sanctified. V2 he states we are sanctified in Christ Jesus. If you study the original language then you would understand the word sanctified there is layered with deep rich meaning. It is written as a perfect tense, passive verb participle. That means that our sanctification is a past tense action, brought upon us by at outside party, not of ourselves, which has continual results for us into eternity. I have been made holy by Christ and not by myself and that sanctification will be lasting into eternity as I stand before a holy God.
We know then that the church, the bride of Christ, is the group of people who Christ _MADE_HOLY by his own perfection and righteousness.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
There is an aspect where the church has been made holy in a complete sense before God. He says in v 8,
8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the end, we stand before God guiltless and undefiled because of the perfections of Christ and not ourselves. He makes us holy and blameless because he is holy and blameless.
Two weeks ago I participated in the funeral for my grandmother. Praise the Lord I was able to share the gospel clearly in my 7 minutes I was given because the priest literally got up and fumbled his way through a man-made presentation of works salvation. He applied the parable of virgins who didn't fill up their oil before the Master returned to believers as those who need to make sure they have a sufficient amount of love (the oil) that they have shared with the world in order to be received into heaven.
My friends this is not the gospel and it is not a doctrine dependent on the sufficiency of Christ. Instead, it is based on our good works to prepare a place for us in heaven. This is not what the bible teaches.
Instead, Christ did all that was necessary in redeeming a people for himself, and making them holy and blameless in Him.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
But the other side of the coin, is that while God sees us as perfect and holy because of the work of Christ, we are still called to live holy and are still being sanctified.
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
We live a reality of what Christ has done in us and what Christ is doing in us still. Being sanctified means that we are living day by day resting in Christ us
2 Corinthians 4:16 (ESV)
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
That renewal is Christ removing the old habits and disciplines by His power with new habits and disciplines that honor him and glorify his name in all the earth. That transformation cannot happen unless the church participates in it. Each of us is tasked with building each other up, making each other holy by the power and plan of Christ. Look with me Col 3:5-10
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
We have a responsibility to live lives that are holy and blameless before God. This means that those things that dishonor him and shame his holy name should be consider vile in our eyes and cast from us. What happens church is that Satan slowly deadens our conscience to the prickly sinful influences until consciences are unresponsive to perversion. For example movies and music. I am guilty in my former life before Christ to listening to vile and evil lyrics that detest God and his ways. For me to submit myself to those messages now as a believer is wrong because it doesn’t show the surrender of the “practices of my former life.”
Men, does your wife want you to behave in the former ways before you were married, maybe flirtatious in conduct and speech? NO. It was the past life and our past life of sin which demonstrates our loyalties to the worldview of Satan has been put to death. Our new life seeks holiness and being set apart for God’s glorious purposes.
Response:
In what ways do you allow your former life of sin and unrighteousness to invade your new space in Christ? Repentance is turning from and turning to and repentance is necessary for salvation and for continual holiness.
4. The Gift of Riches
4. The Gift of Riches
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,
There are pastors in this world that want you to think that God’s blessing on his people are earthly treasures. They mis-interpret verses like v. 5 as treasures of heaven. But these riches are not belonging to earthly matters. They are heavenly treasures. Paul is commenting on the gifts (grace means gift) that we possess in Jesus Christ. This grace is bestowed on all those who belong to Christ and the fruit of his grace is many benefits or blessings to the church. Forgiveness of sin, justification before God, unity in the spirit and church, community among the saints, etc. These are examples of the blessings we receive from our salvation in Christ.
Therefore, Paul makes this point clear in v 5 that because of Christ, we are made rich. This richness often referred to physical, earthly richness but Paul uses for riches not of this world. We are rich in Christ.
8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
Notice that in Eph 3, the riches are possessed by Christ. They are gifts from the Father to the Son but because we are in Him, united with Him in all things, then we share in those riches.
The Cross and Salvation: The Doctrine of Salvation E. Results of Union with Christ
The NT identifies many specific benefits that accrue through union with Christ. These include freedom in Christ from the yoke of the law (Gal 2:4), p 336 comfort and encouragement in Christ (Phil 2:1), peace or inner tranquillity in Christ (John 14:27; Phil 4:7), strengthening in Christ (2 Cor 12:9; Phil 4:13), being wise in Christ (1 Cor 4:10), rejoicing in Christ (Phil 4:4, 10), being spiritually enriched in Christ (1 Cor. 1:5), spiritual victory in Christ (2 Cor 2:14), acquiring hope in Christ (1 Cor 15:19; Eph 1:12), and being safe in Christ (Rom 16:20). It is eminently true that all of God’s goodness is mediated to believers in union with Christ
Paul addresses the Corinthians specifically about the enrichment they received in the gifts of the Spirit that God blessed them with. Those gifts are utterance and knowledge. Paul will address the abuses of the spiritual gifts in the church in Corinth later in the letter, but the words utterance and knowledge have to do with their understanding and proclamation of the gospel message.
Paul is thankful because He has witnessed these two gifts in them…as they understand the knowledge of God (his doctrines and deeds) communicated from the word as He has revealed himself to us. But they did not merely understand him but they uttered or spoke of Him to others. They told the old, old story as they understood the great truth about Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
He explains the word “speech or utterance” and “knowledge” as pertaining to the “testimony of Christ that is confirmed in you.” Therefore, Paul was aware that the Corinthians were making much of Christ to their proclaiming the truth of Christ to others and that message, or testimony of the grace they received was being noticed by others. The news of their bold proclamation reached Paul’s ears and he was confirmed in knowing that as He proclaimed Christ, so they displayed such courage and faithfulness to the gospel as well.
It reminds me on this Father’s day the joy that a Father has to see his children walking in Christ, being faithful to what Christ commands. John wrote of his spiritual children,
4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Paul was thankful to see those he had led to Christ now being faithful to pass the baton of the Christ-centered life outward. He acknowledges that gospel message and an understanding of it are gifts to be thankful for. He will address gifts later in the chapters but his point in 5-7 is that our richness in Christ includes gifting for the church. Those gifts are bestowed for us as spiritual resources for His people to possess and use for the furtherance of the work of the church.
For example those gifts are referenced in the writings of Paul like in Romans 12:3-8
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Paul reminds the Romans as he will the Corinthians, that gifts given to edify the body of Christ are not tokens to brag of but tools to use to build up the church. There should not unity in the use of the gifts and there should be celebration of the diversity of gifts. His list in Romans is not exhaustive but he name prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, generosity just to name a few. His point is these gifts are to bring Christ glory in the church.
Paul continues in 1 Cor 1:7 that the gifts we are given carry us to His return. In others words, there is an ample supply line in that war we face as believers and the supply line of God’s graceful gifts will not run dry. Exhortation of God word, mercy, generosity, will continue rather in exile, imprisonment, or flourishing. This is what is means when we understand “the gates of hell will not prevail against the church.”
Application:
What are your giftings that God has richly supplied you in Christ? We all have the same blessings in Christ, spiritual blessings awarded to all who call upon the name of Jesus as Lord. But our giftings to be used in teh church are distinct from those around us. What are yours and how are you using them? Don’t know yours?
Let me point you to some homework. Study these passage to familiarize yourself with spiritual gifts and then pray and ask the Lord to help you understand how he has gifted you for his service. It is also a wise practice to seek the wisdom of others. What might they observe in you to help you discern those gifts?
Romans 12:6–8
1 Cor 12:4-11
Eph 4:7-16
Many of us, like the Corinthians (1 Cor. 12:1), are ignorant of our spiritual gifts and even of the fact that we possess them. We need to recognize that we have spiritual gifts and we need to identify them and use them. We need to know whether we have the gift of teaching, preaching, exhortation, administration, helps, giving, or whatever it may be. And we then must be responsive to the Spirit as He uses us to minister with the gifts He has given us.
5. The Gift of Preservation
5. The Gift of Preservation
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.
The final gift that Paul is Paul is thankful for in the work of Christ in the church is our preservation. In a future hope of Christ’ return, the believer is given the gift of security of their salvation and relationship with Christ. That security is “confirmed” or sustained for his people until the end. The NASB translates this verse as “he will confirm you” while the NIV states “he will make you strong.” I think the NIV misses the point of the wording here and i respectfully disagree with that translation. That confirmation is meant to reflect the validity of the word of God and his promises that are made. Something that is confirmed is deemed legally valid. Greek Scholar Colin Brown states,
a thing is firm, reliable, because it has a firm foundation. Thus the hope and confidence of man is firmly secured as by an anchor, when the object of trust is the word of God, which he has legally confirmed with an oath
God’s promises are based on God’s character and therefore a follower of Jesus is tethered to Christ because the promise to secure and keep his people has been made and validated in the character of our eternal God. Paul makes this point in verse 9, it is God’s faithfulness that makes us secure. Jesus Christ demonstrates that faithfulness when He comes and accomplishes the promised work of redemption. He validates the promises by his work. Heb 6:19
19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Our soul is anchored to Christ’s work and therefore our salvation is secure, because of the character of God alone. He is always truthful and therefore his promises are always truthful. In addition, his power on display in his resurrection shows us He not only has the integrity to keep his word, but he has the power to keep us until the end.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
This point is where the humanistic arrogance dies in our theology. If you try and rationalize away the power of God in his sovereignty to choose to save you in Christ before the foundation of the world, then its illogical to hold to his power to keep you until the end. There is an inconsistency in your theology. Some propose that God’s electing power to save His people is arrested by man’s free will and only operates when man choose to love God by faith. It God’s power to save is so arrested to the freedom of man’s will then we cannot hold to an unlimited free power of God to keep us until the end. Instead, following this course of theology, man who overrides God’s power and activates it unto salvation, could also loosen God’s power of his holy grip and therefore fall away from God for eternity.
But on the other side of the theological spectrum, if God is so sovereign and so unlimited in power to choose whom He wills to choose by sovereign love, and he pursues those to save them. Then he not only rescues them initially but he sustains them continually and grows them spiritually, until finally he returns to validate their legal standing before the Father and therefore usher them into the presence of God for all eternity. He keep us by his word and his power.
In a moment we will sing these words,
And when I reach my final day
He will not leave me in the grave
But I will rise He will call me home
The Lord is my salvation
Who is like the Lord our God
Strong to save, faithful in love
My debt is paid and the victory won
The Lord is my salvation
Paul begins this letter thanking God for all He has accomplished in and through His Son, to which we are benefactors. If you follow Christ, then you are recipients of his divine calling, his glorious church, his work of purification, the riches in Christ and his preservation. We have much to rejoice in and be thankful for in all that our Lord Jesus has accomplished. It was done supremely for his glory and we get to enjoy the victory and the spoils.