I Corinthians Sermon Series
(Sermon series preached by Nathan E. Lewis at Chehalem Valley Presbyterian Church and Evergreen Presbyterian Church)
(click here for Audio Sermons)
The Fullness of God’s Grace
I Corinthians 1:1-9
As far as we can see through Paul’s letters, the Church at Corinth was messier and broken than most. None of the first century churches were perfect. Each one suffered from relational conflict. Each one was in danger of heresies and wolves in sheep’s clothing. Paul did not go to trouble-free zones to plant churches. Instead he went to the crossroads of the Roman Empire where the needs and opportunities increased. Paul instructed Titus, one of his church planters, to establish a church on the island of Crete, notorious for dishonesty, indulgence, and discord. Nevertheless, the Church at Corinth wins the prize for being the more troubled and twisted of the churches listed in the New Testament.
In light of Corinth’s tainted reputation, it is popular today to use Paul’s letters to this church as a platform for the message of brokenness. All of us are broken in some way and the Church is a place for broken people to rely on Christ Jesus and to find comfort, peace, and strength in him. Any message that merely says, “The Corinthian Church was broken and so it is OK for us to be broken,” falls short of Paul’s message. He opens his first Epistle to the Corinthian Church convincing her that she is full of God’s grace.
The establishing of the Church at Corinth was not easy. Paul’s team included Acquila and Pricilla, who were tent makers. They taught Paul their trade and the three of them funded the mission at Corinth by making tents. Eventually, Silas and Timothy would join the team. David Jackman writes, “In spite of fierce opposition and abuse, it was a mission owned by God and resulted in the conversion of the synagogue ruler, Crispus, and many of the Corinthian citizens. Indeed so fruitful was it to continue to be that the Lord personally strengthened Paul in a night vision, encouraging him to continue and promising protection from harm.” God said to Paul, “for I have many in this city who are my people.”
The Holy Spirit used the preaching of the gospel to draw these people to the Church at Corinth. They came broken, twisted, and diseased in soul and body. They came with all of their baggage, excuses, stories, and hang-ups. They soon outgrew their first church site, the house of Titius Justus, next to the synagogue. To this messy Church, Paul writes of the fullness of God’s grace upon them. He lists five aspects of grace given by God.
I. God’s grace has set us apart from the world but joined us to Christians worldwide. What makes a Christian? Paul writes that God calls us to be Christians and so we call upon the name of our Lord Jesus. This is the gracious order: God acts first and we respond. God chooses us and so we choose him. God seeks us and so we seek him. Have you called upon the name of the Lord? In the midst of your brokenness and desperation have you ever finally prayed in the name of Jesus? If so, you can be assured that you are responding to God’s calling of you.
As Christians we are part of a worldwide community of faith and practice. We are sisters and brothers in the covenant family of God. This distinguishes us from other groups in the world. We still interact, but we are marked as Christians, we behave as Christians and we are busy in the mission of Christ. This distinction is a grace from God.
II. God’s grace accompanied by peace increases within us and in our experience. My response is, “I need more grace and peace. I desire more grace and peace in my life.” Paul’s blessing is not empty but founded upon the promises and reputation of God who lavishes good gifts upon us. Nonetheless, any measure of God’s grace given to us is sufficient resulting in our gratitude. Have you received a first installment of grace and peace? Do you want more? As a child I loved to hear my Grandpa sing. His tenor voice was accompanied by perfect pitch. Often he would sing this song written by Annie Flint:
He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.
His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
III. God’s grace enriches every part of us and every area of our lives. Paul does not confine spiritual experience to certain religious activities such as prayer, meditation, and worship meetings. He presents God’s grace flowing to all areas of our lives. God’s grace impacts our running of a 10k, or gardening, our designing of a chip or selling of a car. God’s grace influences our family and neighborly relationships as well as our vocational and professional relationships. God’s grace enriches every part of us.
Paul highlights speech and knowledge. David Jackman writes, “These are terms that are going to recur many times in the course of the letter. In all probability they reflect the areas of church life and experience with which the Corinthians were especially concerned and of which they may have become inordinately proud. Corinth as a city whose culture thrived on rhetoric and knowledge, and so it is hardly surprising that God would enrich his church in this way.”
Paul informs us that this enriching grace has flowed to us from our first hearing of the gospel! How long has God been enriching your life with his grace? Whether it has been 30 years or one month, God’s grace is flowing to us, a steady stream enriching our lives.
IV. God’s grace endows us with spiritual gifts so that every church has everything it needs to serve God. The Holy Spirit has assigned gifts to each of us members of the Church so that we might serve one another and the world around us. The Church is never bereft of gifts. We have the gifts needed to serve in the particular location and situation God has placed us. What are your spiritual gifts? By “spiritual” Paul means that the Holy Spirit is the source of the gift. By “gift” Paul means talents, skills, and resources we possess.
Annie Flint, the author of the song I quoted, had the gift of poetry. Her poetry captured the fire of her tragic life, converting hurtful flames into warm consolations for readers who were suffering. Annie’s mother died giving birth to her. Her father, dying of an incurable disease gave Annie and her older sister to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, who adopted the girls. Two months later, Annie’s father died. Shortly after Annie’s graduation from school, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson died. Several years later, Annie’s sister died and Annie received a letter from the Sanitarium telling her that she would soon be a life-long invalid. How did Annie respond to her situation? She began to write poems. Her biographer wrote, “With a pen pushed through bent fingers and held by swollen joints she wrote first without any thought that it might be an avenue of ministry, or that it would bring her returns that might help in her support. Her verses provided a solace for her in the long hours of suffering. Then she began making hand-lettered cards and gift books, and decorated some of her own verses.” Friends receiving her cards recognized the value for consolation in the church and soon several Christian publishers were spreading her poetry throughout America.
Each one of us possesses a spiritual gift. In the right place and the right time, God will use our gifts to encourage others. He has endowed us with these gifts so that the Church flourishes bringing the kingdom of God to every corner of this globe.
V. God’s grace sustains us ushering us into the final Day of Judgment free of guilt. Have you ever wondered whether or not you would be able to persevere in your Christian faith and practice? What if I tire of being a Christian? What if I buckle under persecution? What if my doubts and sins move me further and further away from Christ and I lose my religion? The good news of the fullness of God’s grace includes God’s sustaining us in faith.
At the end of this world when we stand before God, our Judge, we shall be found free of guilt. This is an amazing grace! At the center of the fullness of God’s grace, he has erased all of our sins and relieved us from all guilt and shame. God has done so by sending his Son, our Lord Jesus, to die on the cross and thus paying the penalty for our sin. Jesus has taken our sin, guilt, and shame upon himself. In turn he has given to us his righteousness, freedom of conscience and joyful confidence, so that we might enter into the love of God the Father. This is the fullness of God’s grace to us.
Paul concludes this opening paragraph by returning to the first of these five graces, God’s calling of us. God is faithful in this calling. This no mere formality. God’s calling of us is much more than his announcing, “Nathan, you are a Christian.” And my response is much more than my responding, “Yes, I am a Christian.” God’s faithful calling places me in a new and permanent relationship with Jesus Christ and his Church, or as Paul describes it here, “the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.” My response to this gracious calling is my participating in this lifelong fellowship. I am united to Christ and to every other Christian.
In this letter Paul must address the tangled web of problems in the Corinthian Church. But he writes first things first. Before he addresses the problems, he encourages his fellow sisters and brothers in Christ, reminding them of the fullness of God’s grace. This is the same way God addresses us. May the fullness of God’s grace rest upon you and transform your life.
The Fellowship of the Gospel
I Corinthians 1:10-17
The Corinthian Church has its share of sinful problems. If you were the Apostle Paul seeking to fix the problems, which sins would you address first? If the categories of sins were immorality, disorderly worship, and disunity, which you confront first? As we noticed this past Sunday, Paul begins by reminding the church of the fullness of God’s grace poured out upon her. Now he makes a conscious and tactic decision to address her sins of disunity before he confronts her immorality and disorderly worship. The fellowship of the church, our unity in Christ, is of primary importance.
Paul makes an appeal to the Corinthian church to agree with one another. He succinctly tells her that God has graciously given unity to the Church. He refers to them as brothers. In the church we are sisters and brothers of our elder brother Jesus Christ. This is a union Christ has worked for us and given to us. We are members of the family of God and thus we possess union with God and with fellow members of the church.
Paul says that this unity has been given by the authority of Christ. This is what he means by writing, “by the name of Jesus Christ….” Paul is establishing his appeal on the Gospel of John, which records for us the words of Jesus concerning his authority to unite us. From John 10 we read these words of Jesus:
11(H) I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd(I) lays down his life for the sheep. 12He who is(J) a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and(K) leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and(L) scatters them. 13He flees because(M) he is a hired hand and(N) cares nothing for the sheep. 14(O) I am the good shepherd.(P) I know my own and(Q) my own know me, 15(R) just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and(S) I lay down my life for the sheep. 16And(T) I have other sheep that are not of this fold.(U) I must bring them also, and(V) they will listen to my voice. So there will be(W) one flock,(X) one shepherd. 17(Y) For this reason the Father loves me,(Z) because(AA) I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18(AB) No one takes it from me, but(AC) I lay it down(AD) of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and(AE) I have authority to take it up again.(AF) This charge I have received from my Father.”
We are united into one flock by the authority of Christ. In John 17, the prayer of Jesus is recorded, including these words:
20″I do not(BG) ask for these only, but also for those(BH) who will believe in me through their word, 21(BI) that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that(BJ) they also may be in(BK) us, so that the world(BL) may believe that you have sent me. 22(BM) The glory that you have given me(BN) I have given to them,(BO) that they may be one even as we are one, 23(BP) I in them and you in me,(BQ) that they may become perfectly one,(BR) so that the world may know that you sent me and(BS) loved them even as(BT) you loved me.
God the Father has given to Christ the authority to unite the Church and Christ has done so. Jesus prays that we might enjoy this unity and that we would work together to experience this unity. Paul makes an appeal that the members of the church would be in agreement with each other. My godly parents taught me that sometimes we must agree to disagree. Without turning the Church into choir of trained rats who do not think, how can we ever become united in mind and judgment? We must distinguish between essentials and non-essentials. We must agree on the essentials and create space for disagreement and dialogue concerning the non-essentials.
Imagine a pacaderm of elephants in a line. Each elephant is an issue, a topic, or aspect of the Church. The line of elephants would be a spectrum, the head of the line being an essential and the back of the line being a non-essential. Where would the doctrine of the virgin birth fall in line? Would it be an essential? How far down the line would be one’s view of baptism and the practice of baptism in the Church? Would it be an essential or non-essential? How about the color of the sanctuary carpet? Churches have actually split over the color of carpet! It is easy to preach that we should be of one mind when it comes to essentials and that we should leave room for difference of opinion on the non-essentials. But it is a difficult and ongoing labor of the Church to do it.
If we actually believe that the Bible is the Word of God our standard for truth, then we would place it at the center of all discussions concerning essentials and non-essentials, agreeing to allow it to speak toward our agreement. As we grow older, does our list of essentials increase or decrease? Think about it.
Paul’s next sentence is shocking: he mentions a person and group of people by name – Chloe’s household. I wonder if he gained Chloe’s permission to use her name in such a public document? Part of my problem with the mentioning of someone’s name who has spoken about another person or group and the problems festering is personal and cultural. As a teenager, I was known as a “Narc.” Most of my male classmates were smoking dope and would “narc” on them. I was the Principal’s mole and so, some of my classmates were upset if not irate with me. Most of us have been taught to keep our mouths shut and so, if we have anything critical to say, we do so privately, going to someone we believe to have influence and we say, “Now what I am about to tell you I say in confidence and anonymously.” Then the person we have told reports to a larger body saying, “Several people have come to me and said, “blah, blah, blah,” and they wish to remain anonymous.” But Paul blurts out his source: “It has been reported to me by Chloe’s household….”
Chloe’s household was courageous enough to speak the truth. This group was willing to be the child in the parade route crying, “The emperor is naked!” These people faced the truth, committed to living according to it.
Paul addresses the particular division in the Corinthian Church, and to our surprise we discover that it is a division over equally good choices. These groups in the church have divided over discipleship. One group follows Paul. This is a good choice in discipleship. Paul is an Apostle, the movement leader in the first century Church. He is the evangelist par excellence. Paul is bold enough to tell the first century Church “follow me as I follow Christ.” But how do we know that this group in the Church was choosing Paul for good reasons? We must keep this spectrum in mind if we value our unity in Christ:
……Preference……………Discipleship……………..Idolatry….
Does this group merely prefer Paul, or does it truly seek to follow Paul as he follows Christ? Perhaps this group is guilty in worshipping a mere man! We must keep this spectrum in mind.
To follow Apollos as a disciple would be a good choice. He was grounded in sound doctrine, taught by Priscilla and Aquila. Apollos was a master Rhetorician. He was eloquent and cogent in his preaching. Those who followed him would say, “When Apollos preaches we clearly understand the gospel and know how to apply it.” Where was this group on the spectrum of choice? Did they merely prefer golden-tongued Apollos over stumbling, run-on sentence preaching Paul? Did they seek to truly follow Apollos as he preached the gospel or were they guilty of idolatry?
The third group follows Cephas, that is the Apostle Peter. We should all follow this passionate disciple of Jesus who could teach us from his own mistakes and sinful blunders. Peter broke the unity of the disciples by betraying Jesus three times, even though he was the first among the disciples to confess that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus gently restored him and Peter served his Lord until his martyrdom. But what if we were choosing Peter to keep alive the divisions between Peter and Paul? Are we trying to drive the wedge of custom deep into the 21st century? Can you imagine anyone idolizing Peter? Who would place such a flawed yet redeemed man on the pedestal reserved for Christ alone?
The final group mentioned by Paul makes us laugh. What else can we do when we see in this group our own condescending and factious behavior. This group says, “We follow Christ,” as if the other groups do not follow Christ! This group is saying, “We are the only ones who have chosen correctly. The rest of you have chosen mere men while we have chosen the Christ.” Have they truly chosen Christ? Paul asks the questions, “Is Christ divided?” Then he humbly uses himself as the illustration: “Was Paul crucified?”
The next words of Paul have been misinterpreted to make baptism unnecessary and insignificant. However, Paul has a high view of baptism. So high is his view that he insists that baptism is the work of God administered in the name of God. He views his part in the administration of baptism as purely instrumental. His main point is this: Through baptism God unites all of us to himself. It is his voice speaking through the sign about his work, the reality of the sign. Baptism is not Paul’s work or the work of any mere human being. It is not the work of the officiant or the one who receives the sign. It is the work of God alone.
Paul writes hurriedly at this point, even though his words are inspired by God. He begins by stating that he has not baptized any of the Corinthians. Then, he remembers that he did baptize Crispus and Gaius. Then he remembers that he baptized the entire household of Stephanas and perhaps more! Nevertheless, he did not baptize every single last one of the congregation and so, his point sticks – baptism is God’s work. Paul’s work is to preach the gospel, that is, he proclaims the work of God for us. Is it not ironic that the Church is divided over issues of baptism while this very sign points to our union to Christ?
Have you ever been in the room with the elephant? Other people are in the room with us and none of us mention the elephant. We talk about all sorts of issues and possible solutions but we never mention the elephant sitting smack dap in the middle of the room.
Perhaps you remember the story of the blind men who stumbled across an elephant. One blind man grasped the trunk and declared to his fellow blind men, “This is a snake. It is an anaconda of some sort.” Another blind man places his hands against the stout leg of the elephant and says, “No, brother, you are wrong! This is not a snake. It is an old growth tree. Give me a minute and my expert touch will identify the specific kind. It may be an alder or an oak. It is definitely not an evergreen. But it is most definitely a tree.” A third blind man stretches his hands above his head to reach the rib cage of the elephant and he says, “This is either a boulder or a tranquilized rhinoceros. My brothers are wrong. I’m not quite sure what it is, but I know for certain that they are wrong.” The final blind man grabs the tail and laughs, “This is no snake, tree, or tranquilized rhinoceros! This is a rope. It is frayed at the end.”
All of these men are blind and they are equally wrong. What they are touching is an elephant. They have been relying upon the wisdom of this world and they are in desperate need of someone apart from them to open their eyes so that they might see the elephant.
Paul does not use the eloquent wisdom of this world to preach the gospel. He states that the power that has united us in the Church is the cross of Christ. How can Paul assert that the cross, the weakest and lowest point in the personal history of Jesus is the power of our union? Herein lies the power of the cross of Christ: On the cross Jesus died for all of the sins we have committed against the unity of the Church. Jesus died to atone for my sins of division in the Church. Jesus died to forgive you of the sins you have committed to divide the Church. At the cross of Christ we stand on equal ground. Together we raise our eyes of faith to gaze upon the one who has given his life so that we might enjoy the unity he has given to us.
The Power of the Gospel
I Corinthians 1:18 -2:5
Members of the Corinthian Church are engaged in the culture of their day. David Jackman, in the introduction to his book, Let’s Study I Corinthians, identifies four “buzz words” from Corinthian culture impacting the Church. These “buzz words” were factors in the division of the Church. The first “buzz word” is “knowledge.” The second, “wisdom,” the third, “power,” and the fourth, “spiritual.” As Paul addresses the lack of unity in the Church, he addresses these four parts of the Corinthian’s cultural awareness.
Actually, these four parts of Corinthian culture are shared by our present day culture. Knowledge is highly valued by us. Our culture accumulates knowledge and dispenses it at high volume and rate. We feel the pressure to know a little bit about everything. At the same time we demand specialists in every field. Along with knowledge we value wisdom, citing experts, looking for wonks to interpret knowledge for us. It is more and more difficult for us to get pure news. Every show and report showcases talking heads, who spin the news for us, that is apply it for us, supplying us with the correct perspective. Certainly power lies at the center of our culture. At every level of our democratic society, the American way is to jockey for positions of power. A person may have his sights on the Presidency or on the chair of a local committee. Power plays even occur at social gatherings. Our culture also values spirituality. The modern view of humanity has been adjusted in the past 30 years acknowledging that we are more than flesh and blood. We have spirits. We are deeply spiritual. This part of our culture is growing and manifests itself in the hundreds of spiritual paths being blazed in our local communities.
As Christians we must engage the culture. At the same time, we must be aware of how our culture influences our fellowship in the Church. Paul usually encourages us to engage our culture for the sake of the gospel. But in our text Paul shows us how the gospel runs counter to the culture.
First of all we learn that the cross of Christ as the power of God runs counter to our culture. The wisdom of our culture is that the strong survive and succeed. Our culture is filled with published keys to success and vitality. We are a strong culture, but the power of God resides in the cross. First century Jewish culture is visual and prophetic. God communicates through signs to guide and direct his people. His prophets foretell the coming of the Messiah and the promises of God. The gospel presents a crucified Messiah running counter to Jewish expectations. The Hellenistic culture is conceptual and logical. Wisdom is gained through rational process. Write down a persuasive argument and the rest of us will read it. If it makes sense and follows the rules we have agreed upon, then we will agree to it. The gospel presents an innocent man crucified as a criminal. This is absurd failure if not a twist of fate. The gospel runs counter to Hellenistic rationalism.
Secondly we learn that God’s calling of us runs counter to our culture. Our culture chooses the best qualified. The competition is stiff. But the gospel announces that God has called Jews and Greeks, all sorts of people to himself regardless of their qualifications. In (26) Paul writes, “Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.” Thank God some who have been called are wise, powerful and noble. There is hope for the best along with the worst. But Paul’s point is that God does not consider our personal resumes before he chooses us. He chooses so that no one has reason to boast in humanity or in Self. When God chooses, it is clear to all who see the results that God alone has done the work graciously.
Think of those individuals who have influenced the Church throughout the world. One woman has impacted all of our lives, not because she is the most brilliant thinker, eloquent speaker, or cogent writer. When she was 16 she dove off the jetty and suffered a spinal injury and now the whole world knows the sufferings and faith of Joni Eareckson Tada. She paints with a brush in her mouth much better than I can do with a brush in my hand, but it is quite clear that she has been chosen by God, not because of her painting skills but because he has a special calling for her life.
Thirdly, we learn that the presentation of the gospel runs counter to our culture. Our culture values a comprehensive presentation with plenty of options and packages for every different kind of person. The most encouraging presentations in our culture have something for everybody. The more individual choices available, the better. We are also attracted to the better presentations. Form and content go together, undeniably, and so we are impressed by the better presentation. Paul and his gospel presentation run counter to our culture. He purposely presents one choice of God, confident that the gospel freely and powerfully presents one salvation for all of us. Paul did not use the rhetoric of his day or the wisdom of his world. He boldly and bluntly blurted out the gospel in whatever setting he found himself. It is true that he did engage the culture of Athens by making reference to their unknown god. But it is also true that he broached the topic of the resurrection before these erudite men, the best and most refined thinkers of Hellenistic culture.
Paul is not advocating the mediocrity of the Homer Simpson family. Paul is not against our striving for quality and excellence in our presentations in the Church. Rather, Paul is clearly saying that the gospel alone is effective. The Spirit of Christ uses the message of the gospel alone to warm our hearts and to enlighten our minds. Out of gratitude to God we adorn the gospel with excellence, but we do not rely on that excellence to save people.
Finally, we learn that God as the source of our lives and everything good sets him apart, worthy of all glory. God is our Creator and he has united our lives to Christ Jesus. This is his work alone and so we boast in him. Christ Jesus, is our representative before the justice of God. He stands before the perfect demands of God presenting his perfect wisdom. Thus, as our representative, his wisdom becomes our wisdom, acceptable to God. Christ’s righteousness becomes our righteousness. It is Christ’s Spirit who sanctifies us and so graciously through Christ we are made holy. It is also through Christ that we have been redeemed from sin and death and so it can be said that Christ is our redemption. Paul’s main point here is that God the Father in heaven has made Christ Jesus all of this for us. He has sent his Son to redeem and to make holy. He has executed the plan of representation, Christ’s wisdom and righteousness for all. This is God’s plan, his work, his idea, his grace. He is the source and we are the recipients. We boast in God.
The aim of David Jackman’s study on this text is “To Show that God’s message and methods must be the means we use to promote God’s work in the church.” Christ and his gospel are primary and central in the church. All too often the gospel can be lost in the message and life of the Church. Some of us have too many expectations of the Church and thus our demands compete with the pure and simple ministry of the gospel.
Outside of the Church, while we live out the gospel in every field and area of life, we are nevertheless called by God to glorify him through the excellence and depth of service in our particular field. For example, if you were a Chemistry teacher, your primary calling in glorifying God is to teach your students Chemistry. Heaven forbid that you would fill your Chemistry class with lectures against Evolution and lectures in favor of Creation. Heaven forbid that you would take every minute of class time to study the Bible and call your students to respond to the gospel. Your classroom is not the Church, but rather, it is the Chemistry classroom. The way you glorify God in the Chemistry classroom is to teach Chemistry as best you can and to effectively teach it to the level of your students. It is incumbent upon all Christian Chemistry teachers to make the gospel connections, the biblical connections, to place the course in the realm of God’s truth. But your students as citizens in the Kingdom of God need to know the Table of Elements and they need to know their formulas and what happens when one mixes one element with another.
It is equally important that the Church is not converted into a Chemistry classroom. We do not make this distinction of space and purpose to divide Science from Religion – the two are inseparable. We do this to cameo the gospel. The ministry of the Church is the ministry of the gospel. The Church is not primarily an educational institution. It is not primarily a political think tank. It is not primarily a social agency. It is primarily a ministry of the gospel.
All of us have been called by God to not only engage our culture but to contribute to it. As we do so in our respective fields, we need a central place where we come to hear the gospel, to recharge our spirits, to renew our hope and joy, to center our peace. We need to come to Church, to receive the gospel so that we can go out into the world to live according to it.
The Secret and Hidden Wisdom of God
I Corinthians 2:6-16
Corinthian culture prized wisdom. While knowledge could be obtained through academic exercises, wisdom’s source was mysterious. The ancient Hebrew understanding of wisdom is knowledge applied. The Hellenistic understanding was clouded by the mystery religions. Paul uses the popular Corinthian view of wisdom to introduce the wisdom of God. Ironically, as a follower of Christ, writing after the cross, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, Paul refers to God’s wisdom as “secret and hidden.”
First of all, Paul tells us that the wisdom of God is ancient. The Hellenistic culture was proud of its intellectual achievements. The Golden Age of Grecian philosophy had dawned long before Paul planted the church in Corinth. Socrates died in 400 B.C. Plato died in 347 B.C. and Aristotle died in 322 B.C. In light of this rich and long-standing heritage, the Corinthians thought that Greece was the cradle and sacred halls of wisdom. When Paul wrote to the Church at Corinth, the Hellenistic culture was celebrating 400 years of philosophical development. Paul tells the church that wisdom, true wisdom is older than 400 years and its source is not Greek but divine. Paul echoes the sentiments of the Corinthians referring to their day and heritage as “the ages of our glory.” But the glory of Golden Greece does not compare to the glory of the secret and hidden wisdom of God.
Today we tend to be like the Corinthians. We harbor much pride in our intellectual heritage. We may follow Jonathan Edwards, one of the brilliant American minds of the 18th century or we may follow John Dewey, one of the brilliant American minds of the 20th century. We are a literate society and a productive economy. But wisdom is older than our American heritage. God decreed his secret and hidden wisdom before the ages of our glory.
Secondly and briefly Paul says that God is selective in the impartation of his wisdom. Many of the important and powerful people of the first century did not receive this divine wisdom. Paul quotes the prophet Isaiah who announced that God would impart his wisdom to those who love him. This condition of love rankles the American intellectual. What do love and wisdom have to do with one another?
In (10-16) we arrive at Paul’s main point: the gospel of revealed wisdom. This secret and hidden wisdom of God has been revealed. The selective history traced in the Bible charts the unfolding, the flowering of God’s revelation of his redemption of humanity, his renewal of all creation. In the days of Enoch and of Job, fewer people received the wisdom of God and the presentation of it was cloudy, sufficient for faith, yet hidden in sign and symbol, poetry and prophecy. The book of Hebrews opens with these words: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” The fog has lifted and the bud of wisdom has bloomed full flower.
Paul identifies three parties: The Holy Spirit as the dispenser of divine wisdom; Those of us who receive the Holy Spirit and thus divine wisdom; and those of us who do not accept the Holy Spirit and thus adopt the wisdom of this world.
First of all, it is the Holy Spirit who reveals to us the secret and hidden wisdom of God. The Holy Spirit being equal to God the Father in power and in glory knows exhaustively the wisdom of God. To help us to understand the complexities of the Trinity, Paul uses the make-up of the human being as an example. He reminds us that each of us has a body and a spirit. It is my spirit that knows my thoughts exhaustively. I may think that I know everything that you are thinking, but I don’t. In the human realm only your spirit knows everything you are thinking. Analogically, the same is true of God. Only the Holy Spirit knows and understands the thoughts of God exhaustively. What we know about God we have received from the Holy Spirit. Paul once again contrasts this ancient and infinite source of wisdom to the contemporary and finite source of wisdom, namely, a human reservoir of knowledge and experience, referred to by Paul as the “spirit of this world.”
Secondly, Paul describes those of us who have received the Holy Spirit and thus divine wisdom. There is usually a price attached to the accumulation of the wisdom of this world. But God has freely given to us this more excellent wisdom. Paul says that those of us who receive this wisdom talk about it. Christians receive divine wisdom freely passing it along, discussing it, proclaiming it. In the mystery religions of the Hellenistic first century, including the Gnostic movements, wisdom was so mysterious that no intelligent person could articulate it. The secret Gnostic wisdom remained locked within a person, usually a classified holy person, a priest, priestess, or guru of some sort. Surprisingly, Paul describes the secret and hidden wisdom of God freely revealed by the Holy Spirit and then widely dispensed in the conversations of members of the Church. We can actually understand what we have received! We can actually talk about it cogently! We can actually apply the wisdom of God to our lives!
Paul pushes his point that we have received divine wisdom to a surprising degree. He writes in (15), “The spiritual person judges all things.” All truth is God’s truth and this truth is discovered, understood, and applied by human beings who are controlled by the Holy Spirit and by those who do not accept the things of the Holy Spirit. What advantage, if any, does a Spirit-filled person have over the person apart from the Holy Spirit? The wisdom of God has been given to the Spirit-filled person. This wisdom is God’s view, his message, his application of truth in every field of life. Therefore, it is possible for the person who possesses this divine wisdom to discern the view, message and application of God in every field of study. I do not think that Paul means that each of us who have received the Holy Spirit will become experts in all fields of study. But rather, we may perform wisely in all fields to which God calls us. Indeed there is no field bereft of spiritual persons applying God’s wisdom to his honor and glory.
David Jackman explains this better than anyone else I have read: “As God provides discernment for understanding his revelation, Christians are able to come to right and good judgments about all things. Because we have divinely revealed principles and standards, we can know right from wrong, wisdom from folly – and all from God’s perspective. Clearly, this does not make Christians infallible, but it is a promise of God’s direction and guidance if we are dependent on his revealed wisdom in Scripture, and on the Holy Spirit as our teacher. A Christian is not therefore to be gullible or naïve, nor is he to switch off his mind and pretend that rationality is the enemy of spirituality.”
Paul continues to write, “But this spiritual person himself is to be judged by no one.” Jackman writes, “The truth of the gospel liberates us from living under the judgment of other people’s opinions of us.” No person or school of thought applying the wisdom of this world may judge the person to whom the Holy Spirit has revealed the wisdom of God. For example, in the field of medicine numerous doctors are spiritual persons who refuse to euthanize a patient and their reason for restraint is that they possess the wisdom of God, namely his view of the human being as highly prized, made in the divine image. As a spiritual person such doctors actually communicate God’s message, which, in the medical field is essentially the Hippocratic Oath. These doctors thus apply in the name of God every measure available to preserve life. Many skilled doctors, who do not accept the things of the Spirit, are not in a position to judge these spiritual persons.
Paul also describes the natural person who does not accept the things of the Spirit. Such a person considers the wisdom of God dispensed by the Holy Spirit to be folly – superstition, folk tales, contradictions, and control games. He is unable to understand them because he has not received the Holy Spirit who would impart to him discernment. Have you ever met a person who says, “There is no way that I can swallow your Christian religion. It makes no sense to me.” There are many reasons why a person would say this, but the bottom line is that the Holy Spirit has not illuminated his mind. None of us would choose God without the internal work of the Holy Spirit. How many of us would embrace the cross of Christ as the one act in history performed for our salvation? None of us would do so apart from the internal work of the Holy Spirit. David Jackman writes, “The cross is emphatically the ultimate test of all ‘spirituality’, a test at which all new age, triumphalist and legalistic spiritualities alike stumble and fall.”
When we remember this gospel truth of the gracious work of the Holy Spirit within each of us, the way we assess and treat the natural person changes radically. We are able to be a friend to him ready to give an answer when he finally comes round to asking about our hope in Christ. We no longer express that he is a stupid fellow. After all, the blindness Paul is discussing here is no matter of human intelligence but rather a matter of spiritual enlightenment.
This natural person may be a fine physician. He may even take his Hippocratic Oath seriously and would never euthanize anyone. However, this fine physician may pit science against faith and say, “As a man of science, I cannot embrace the Christian faith. I have no problem with the high view of humanity put forth in the Bible. Rather, I have a problem with the connection between humanity and this divine person who I am not certain exists. If this God did exist, why are so many people in need of my medical practice? Why are so many people dying of cancer?”
What is frustrating to many of us is that we would like to say to this kind doctor: “Read the Bible and all the answers to your questions are there for you to consider and adopt.” But this doctor has read the Bible and does not find in it the answers to his particular questions. In fact, he claims that little of it makes any sense to him at all. This man is no Neanderthal. He is an expert in his field and he speaks three languages fluently. And so, we are frustrated. Why can’t he understand the Bible? He cannot do so until the Holy Spirit imparts the wisdom of God to him by illuminating his mind to understand the words of God.
As important as the Bible is to the Christian faith, it is not merely a book on the shelf, cracked open to answer all of our problems. It will do none of us any good unless it is accompanied by the Holy Spirit working upon our minds to understand it and to receive it. The Bible does not merely present to us God’s truth in encyclopedia form. Rather, it presents to us God’s truth through the grid of God’s view, message and application of his truth. The Bible is a source of knowledge, but it is more profoundly the presentation of divine wisdom. It only makes sense to us as the Holy Spirit illumines us.
Once again, we are driven back to the gospel of grace. Apart from God’s work on our behalf, we would be confused and lost. The gospel for us today is this: the Holy Spirit graciously reveals to us the wisdom of God. Once again, God has completely taken care of us. Everything we need he has freely given to us. And what precisely listed in our morning’s text has God given to us? The mind of Christ. We have the mind of Christ – the secret and hidden wisdom of God.
Gospel Growth
I Corinthians 3:1-15
Paul writes his first letter to the church at Corinth to apply the gospel to three major problems. The first problem is that the church is divided and so, Paul presents our union in Christ as the gospel solution. The second problem is sexual immorality and the third is disorderly worship. Once again, I ask us the question, “If we were writing the letter, in what order would we address these problems?” Paul begins by addressing the lack of unity. Paul exposes some of the causes of the divisions in the church. The first one is the replacing of God’s wisdom with the wisdom of this world. The wisdom of God is centered upon Christ crucified. In contrast to the cross, the wisdom of the world seems rational, clean, noble.
In our morning’s text, Paul presents the second cause of division in the church at Corinth. The church is confused about church leadership, and thus they misunderstand the growth of the church. As a leader of the church, Paul begins by honestly assessing the church at Corinth. From his assessment we learn, perhaps painfully, how Paul defines spiritual immaturity.
Paul writes in (2:16 – 3:1), “We have the mind of Christ…but you are infants in Christ.” Even though we have this amazing gift from God, it is possible for us to behave, not as spiritual persons, but as natural ones, as if we never received the gift! We consider it tragic anytime a young adult endowed with gifts refuses to apply them to productive and beautiful living. Perhaps a teen is musically gifted, a brilliant pianist. Instead of using his musical gifts, he wastes his time entertaining himself toward the state of laziness with little direction in life. He not only fails to chart a vocational tract, but he gives little thought to how he might uses his musical gifts in the mission of Christ. What a personal tragedy! What a waste of God’s free and useful gifts! We would say to this young man, “It is time you grew up and started applying what you know and using what you have been given.” Paul describes for us spiritual immaturity.
First of all the spiritually immature are not ready for in-depth study and application of the Bible. Paul has kindly and enthusiastically preached the gospel to the church in chapter 2 by announcing that the Holy Spirit has revealed to us the secret and hidden wisdom of God so that we have been given the very mind of Christ. This means that we have everything we need to not only gather and comprehend God’s truth but we more profoundly have the ability to apply it to right behavior in the expanding kingdom of God. Having the mind of Christ means that we have God’s view, application and mission. Sadly, we must confess that the church in our present day does not show much interest largely in serious, in-depth Bible study.
Secondly, spiritual immaturity produces jealousy and strife in the church. Surprisingly these jealous factions in the church at Corinth are formed by following good and effective leaders of the church! To follow Paul is a good choice. To follow Apollos is also a good choice. Spiritual immaturity often lurks behind good choices and churchy matters. We are careful not to express jealousy of our sister’s brand new BMW. Instead, we mask our jealous natures by discussing how our choice of a preacher is better than some other group’s choice of a preacher. This jealousy masquerades as spiritual discernment. A spiritually immature person may tell everyone that he follows preacher Bob for biblical and theological reasons. But in truth, he follows preacher Bob for cultural and preferential reasons. Any of us who have done likewise are spiritually immature. We have divided the Church for whom Christ died. Some congregations would never divide but they are resigned to live together in strife. This is a sign of spiritual immaturity. We must work through our differences. We must keep short accounts by confessing our sins and weaknesses to each other, by quickly forgiving each other, then moving on as we serve Christ together.
Paul speaks plainly to the church at Corinth concerning her spiritual immaturity and then he begins to correct her false views of church leadership and church growth. His first correction is this: God causes the growth of the church while church leaders are servants of God. Every leader in the church is a servant. Paul has a high view of servants. To be a servant in the church is a noble calling. In (5) Paul writes that church leaders as servants are instruments of faith! How did the Corinthians come to faith? They did so as they heard the preaching of the gospel through mere human beings, servants of Christ.
Paul likens servants in the church to farmers. He describes his work to start new congregations as planting, as sowing seed. To this day we refer to the starting of new congregations as church planting. He describes the work of Apollos as watering, as nourishing the plants. To this day, when we express our gratitude for a person who teaches us the word of God, we say, “Thank you for feeding us.” Paul does not arbitrarily choose this analogy but borrows it from Jesus.
Paul’s main point is that God causes the growth of the church. Leaders in the church have chores to do. Planting and watering are equally important. But when it comes to the source, the power, the cause of growth, the planter and the one who waters are instrumental. God gives the growth. Paul gives God all of the credit and glory for the growth of the church. Nevertheless, he holds a high view of the servant. He writes in (9), “For we are God’s fellow workers.” By this description Paul is in no way places mere human servants of God on an equal plain with God. He is not saying concerning our salvation, “God does his part and we must do our part.” Rather, he is saying quite clearly that the work the servant leader of the church performs is the very work of God. As God’s human instruments, we do the very work of God. We enter into his work.
Paul writes of the Church, “You are God’s field.” God owns us and he is working upon us to produce a beautiful and useful harvest. God has given to the Church servant-leaders who work diligently toward God’s good purpose of producing a harvest. Church leaders are part of the gathering and uniting work of God. Therefore, we should not use church leaders and our devotion to them as a means of dividing the church. Church leaders are not rock stars and we are not groupies. The Church glorifies God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God grows the church to increase his own glory. Let us lend our voices, our lives, our congregation and all her servant-leaders to the glory of God.
Paul employs a second analogy, comparing the Church to a building. He does so to explain his second correction of the church at Corinth. His second correction is this: We must be careful to build on the foundation of Christ only that which belongs to Christ. Once again, Paul is not making up new analogies, but he is using the analogies Jesus used. Jesus took this analogy from the prophets of the Old Covenant. In (10) Paul once again describes his high view of the servant leader in the church by writing, “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation.” Paul acknowledges that he has been able to do his good and excellent work by the grace of God. This means that God has given to him all of his skills, talents, resources, even his desire and drive to do the work of building the church. And thus, Paul has performed his work with excellence. Paul is an instrument of “gospel growth.” The foundation he has laid is Christ. This is gospel growth. The church is united to God by faith through Christ alone. We worship God alone as we stand upon the foundation of Christ. We follow Christ doing his work in this world and thus he is the foundation of the Church. This gospel growth is the only growth, which concerns the Church. Gospel growth is numerical growth and it is the spiritual growth within each and every one in the Church. It is growth, which establishes a wide variety of endeavors to expand the kingdom of God on earth. It is growth in the unity of the Church.
In (10-11) Paul tells us that the foundation of the Church is Christ and he expresses concern, “Let each one take care how he builds upon it.” How many times in the history of the Church has a person built a temple to his own personal legacy upon the foundation of Christ! How many times has a person led the congregation astray, robbing the devotions of Christ, distracting the congregation with alternative missions in this world other than the mission of Christ? How many individual members of the Church have joined with ulterior motives? After all, the Church is a great fishing hole for many a venture. The Church is a fine place to takes one’s children so that they might learn how to be good little boys and girls. Where else in our community can we find free entertainment? That preacher is better than Comedy Central and I can enjoy good music in a smoke free environment. In Paul’s analogy all of this would be wood, hay, and straw. All of this will be exposed by Judgment Day fire as worthless abuse of the Church.
“Let each one take care how he builds upon the foundation of Christ.” If we desire to build on the foundation of Christ anything that will survive, then we must be instruments of gospel growth. In Psalm 127, Solomon, the builder of the glorious temple of God wrote, “Unless the Lord builds the house, the laborers work in vain.” The foundation is Christ and God causes the growth. He builds his church and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. And so, what are the gold, silver, and precious stones, our work that survives the fire of Judgment Day? It is our adorning of Christ, our glorifying the holy name of God. From heaven, our ascended Lord Jesus commands us to follow him, to be his representatives, his mission headquarters upon earth. Our virtues, our good deeds, our evangelism and our worship are the gold, silver, and precious stones. We decorate the building of God. We gold leaf the dome so that the sunshine of his glory might bounce off into every direction, into every heart and home. We encrust the doorposts with jewels so that everyone who enters knows how grateful we are for so great a salvation and everlasting love. We set apart the building of God so that it cannot be mistaken for a common dwelling, a natural work, just another house in a suburban development of 1,000.
Paul says that the servant leaders of God’s Church will be paid for their labors. Then, in (14) he says that those of us who build with gold, silver and precious stones will receive a reward. What reward could God possibly give to us beyond salvation from sin and death? He gives to us the satisfaction of participating in the greatest enterprise ever to unfold in this world. He gives to us the meaning and purpose of life in serving the work and glory of God. In the end we are able to rejoice that we participated in gospel growth.
Paul applies the gospel to an even greater degree than to tell us that we will receive a most gratifying result from serving Christ. In (15) he writes, “If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” After all, our salvation is completely God’s work and it is not based at all in our personal works. On the final Day of Judgment this will be all the more clear to all of us as we see the worthless and vain parts of our lives burned. What shall remain is the work of God – his creating of us in his image; his redeeming of us in Christ. For some of us, glorious tributes unto God will also survive the flame. In the end, all of the glory shall be given to God. When the flame of Judgment burns low, the wild fire of divine glory shall blaze for an eternity and we shall feed its flames with our praises, our thanksgiving, and our testimonies to God’s grace. Gospel growth does not end with the darkening of this world but continues as we enter into the heavenly realm of unending worship and work to the glory of God.
The Temple
I Corinthians 3:16 – 4:5
The Old Testament temple was the house of God where his Holy Spirit would descend to fellowship with the people of God. It was at the center of the community, a place where God would dwell in the midst of his people. It was the center of worship where the people of God would express their utter devotion to the one, true God of the covenant. Paul tells the New Testament Church that she is the very temple of God.
Today we hear all too often the worn-out lesson that the church is not a building but a people. This is true and I have yet to meet a person who doesn’t understand this lesson. The missing lesson today is that the temple of God is the Church. Jesus Christ claimed to be the temple of God. In him the fellowship between God and humanity is perfect and ultimate. He perfectly houses the Holy Spirit. The apostles of Jesus claimed that the church was the temple of God. Jesus is the cornerstone of the building. The prophets and the apostles are the foundation and all of us members are the living stones of the building. The Holy Spirit dwells in our midst, teaching us, comforting us and empowering us to do God’s will. The church is the temple of God.
Do not confuse these words in (3:16-18) with Paul’s words later in the epistle at (6:19) where Paul likens each of us individuals to the temple of the Holy Spirit. At this early point in his epistle, Paul is teaching us that the church as a whole is the dwelling place of God’s Spirit.
Paul is still addressing the problem of division in the church at Corinth and he particularly identifies a wrong understanding of leadership and church growth. He issues a strong warning to anyone who would destroy God’s temple, that is destroy the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The destruction Paul has in mind is the division of the peace and purity of the Church, the disunity of those who are united to Christ. In the end, God will destroy the disrupter of Church unity. In this context, the holiness of the Church is the blessed unity we enjoy in Christ. This is the glory of the Holy Spirit, the brilliant display of God’s divine presence. As we enter the house of God, this glorious display unites our focus upon God alone. All of our differences, preferences, squabble, and agendas pale in comparison to the blinding light of God’s glory. The peace and purity of the Church is our common goal and enjoyment and thus we participate in the holiness of the temple of God. In other words, the Holy Spirit unites us to God and to one another. This is God dwelling in our midst. This is the holy temple of God.
What were the destroyers of this holy union in the church at Corinth? The destroyers of this union are the individual members of the church who live according to the wisdom of this world. Paul describes this worldly wisdom as folly. He uses scripture to connect this worldly wisdom to the wisdom of the serpent, who deceived Eve in the garden of Eden. Worldly wisdom has in mind the deception of God’s children, the twisting of the truth with the purpose of destroying our fellowship with God. That’s what the serpent achieved in the garden and this is the result of all worldly wisdom. Paul uses more scripture to describe it as futile. It is not productive but instead it destroys the unity of the church.
What is the solution to this destructive problem? Paul’s solution is not the circling of wagons, the closing of doors, the policing of the mind, and the censoring of literature. Instead, Paul’s solution is one of great freedom. We are free in this world because God alone owns us. The church, filled with the Holy Spirit is able to use all truth and fields in this world to the glory of God. We are not splintered into factions by holding to the truth but rather, we are united by our gathering truth from the four corners of the world. We are not bound to follow one man and his school of thought but as the church we may glean from every field in the world – from science, from fictional literature, from personal experience and from various religious traditions. This is what Paul means as he writes in (21-23), “For all things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world or life or death or the present or the future – all are yours, and you are Christ’s and Christ is God’s.” We can learn from history and we can chart the future by making plans to serve Christ throughout the world. What is the source of such freedom? We belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God. This entire world belongs to God and he has made it for his own glory. We belong to God and to his glory. Therefore, we use all things to his glory. This is the mission of the church.
The Church needs trustworthy leaders who will assure that we work together to the glory of God. These leaders are first of all, “servants of Christ.” Christ is the head of the Church and so all leaders appointed in the Church serve Christ. Christ’s guidance for the Church is founded upon the divine writ of the Old Testament. Christ’s guidance for the Church is expounded and applied by the apostles of Christ preserved in the divine writ of the New Testament. And so, Church leaders serve Christ by attending to this teaching of the Holy Scriptures. Thus, they are also “stewards of the mysteries of God.” While a leader ought to be as clear as the teaching of Jesus, he must also present to the Church the infinite God who dwells in unapproachable light. This God cannot be completely comprehended. He has clearly revealed to us that which is necessary for our salvation and faithful living before him, but he is mysterious in his character and in his actions. The Church leader as a “servant of Christ,” presents the teaching of Christ in its powerful clarity, and so the Church knows what to do and where to go. The Church leader as a “steward of the mysteries of God,” presents God as the Holy Scriptures present him, thus moving the Church to worship him as God alone.
These Church leaders keep the final Day of Judgment ever before them remembering that God is the final judge of their labors. The individual whose mind is devoted to worldly wisdom divides the church by often assessing the church leaders according to worldly wisdom. Many church leaders bow to this pressure and begin to do that which worldly wisdom requires of them. Paul tells the Church at Corinth that he is not swayed much by their opinions and expectations. In Paul’s mind, the opinions and expectations of any human being pale in comparison to the judgments of God. This divine Judge knows the motives of the heart and the purposes of the mind. He is able to judge “the servant of Christ, the steward of the mysteries of God.” On the last Day of Judgment, those of us who have served God will be commended for the work we have accomplished to his honor and glory.
When each individual member of the Church sees himself as the judge of others, especially of the leaders, the unity of the Church is destroyed. Nothing in the Holy Scriptures instruct us to exercise ourselves as independent judges, but instead we are taught to make judgments together, to hear cases together, to reconcile one to another, and to seek the counsel of the whole. Individual opinions held against the whole of the church community do not win commendation from the apostle Paul. He warns that such maverick wisdom destroys the Church for whom Christ died.
The temple of God is a place where we behold the glory of God. It is a place where the divine voice is heard clearly through the special revelation given to us in God’s Holy Word. The temple of God is a place where we enjoy the fellowship of the Spirit, dwelling with God, resting in him, nourished by him, living at peace with him and with one another. The temple of God is a place where the servants of God lead by offering to the people the very words of God, to aid in the blessed union between God and his people. The individual voice heard in the temple is the very voice of God. The collective voice belongs to the people, the temple itself. Our corporate voice is one of response to the clarion voice of God. When we hear God say, “Follow me,” we respond, “We will follow you.” When God says, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, listen to him!” the Church responds, “We will listen to your Son, our Lord.”
The gospel of the temple is the one voice proclaiming to the people that Christ Jesus, the foundation and head has sufficiently built the house of God and has filled it with his very own Spirit so that God might dwell in the midst of his people. The people respond in faith and gratefulness. Our prayers, our songs, all of our offerings rehearse the loving kindness of God, especially the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, who is the Wisdom of God, the Servant and the Steward. To him be the glory both now and forevermore. Amen.
Fathers through the Gospel - I Corinthians 4:6-21
What is at the heart of the Corinthian problem? Why is their view of church leadership and spiritual growth in the church skewed? In this section of his letter, Paul exposes the root of pride. While the Corinthians have divided themselves according to certain leaders in the church, Paul lets them know that he and Apollos are on the same page, working together for the peace and purity of the church. These divisions according to personal preference have a nasty, feathery root, called pride, as difficult to pluck from the heart of humanity as pulling a dandelion root out of Oregon clay.
Corinthian pride manifests itself in at least two different ways. The first manifestation is going beyond what is written in the inspired text of God’s Word. In (6) Paul tells the Corinthians to learn from the Apostles, “not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.” Corinthian pride moved some people in the church to promote favoritism. This favoritism was formed by people considering themselves to be more spiritually enlightened and mature than others. This supposed spiritual enlightenment and maturity was achieved by going beyond the written Word of God.
One of the designs and benefits of a closed canon, that is a definitive and written Holy Bible, is that all of us in the Church submit to and use the very same words of God. Extra-biblical revelation given to one individual allows that person to elevate himself above his fellow members in the church, to prophet status, giving him an exclusive corner on God’s message for us all. Corinthian pride was elevating certain individuals in the church based upon claims of revelation beyond what is written. One of Paul’s main lessons in this letter is that the office and authority of any church leader flows directly from Christ, the only head of the Church, rendering all leaders servants of Christ, ministers of the written Word of God.
The second manifestation of Corinthian pride is found in (7), namely, the forgetting of our great need of divine grace. Paul tells the Corinthian Church that all of the spiritual enlightenment she possesses she has received from God. But Corinthian pride has caused people in the church to boast about their spiritual maturity and possession of divine revelation as if they had personally accomplished it all. Paul presents the gospel of the cross once again to destroy this insidious pride robbing the church of divine grace.
Paul describes in colorful language the over-realized position of the Corinthians as self-made, self-sufficient sovereigns. In contrast, he describes himself among the apostles in terms of the gospel of the cross. The apostles, the leaders of the church, stand between heaven and earth sentenced to death. For the glory of Christ, they have become fools, that is, they have given all of the credit and honor to Christ for what they know and possess.
In contrast to the proud Corinthians, the apostles have taken the path of Christ, that is, the path of suffering in this life for the glory of God. Like Christ, they have put the business of the kingdom first before personal needs, comforts, and desires. They have counted all things for loss but for Christ. The apostles have taken the teaching of Jesus to heart and so, they return good for evil. Paul makes the contrast as stark as possible by calling the Corinthians “kings,” and then by calling the apostles, “scum and sewage.” Paul’s point is that the Corinthians have used their connection with Christ to promote and elevate themselves. In contrast the apostles have used their connection to Christ to glorify Christ and not themselves. The gospel of the cross moves us to follow Christ so that Christ is glorified. Paul offers this gospel of the cross as the antidote for pride.
Paul loves the Corinthians and so, he adds to these strong words, pastoral reasoning for writing to them in this manner. Paul tells them that his purpose is not to shame them. Indeed, many people think that Christianity is a shame-based religion. Today, people often describe the God of the Bible as an over-bearing parent who constantly makes his children feel guilty and ashamed for their behavior. Christianity as it is described in the Bible is based upon the gospel, the message of how we are freed from guilt and shame. The gospel of the cross tells us about Jesus Christ, who bore our guilt and shame in his crucifixion and death. And so Paul applies this gospel to his relationship with the Corinthian church. He does not intend to shame them but to correct them. They are worth his attempts to correct and to improve. This correction unto improvement is not sourced in Paul’s personal opinion, but rather his correction comes from the word of God and thus it is admonition.
Paul now offers a specific solution to rid the Corinthians of their pride. If they are to live according to the gospel of the cross, then they will need fathers who live according to this gospel. We would all do well to take Paul’s advice to find fathers who live according to the gospel of the cross. In our world, we are being told to find mentors or to be mentors. Year ago, Harry Reeder, who is now Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, would say to PCA church planters, “You need more dead mentors.” Paul uses the term “father” rather than mentor and by doing so, he adds a familial, loving component to the relationship. He describes the Corinthians as “his beloved children.” Then he describes himself as their “father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
In between these two loving descriptions, he writes a sentence that is piercing to the core: “For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers.” The Corinthians were gathering knowledge about God’s word from good sources, “guides in Christ.” They were well educated theologically and biblically. What did they lack? They were missing the context and purpose of the acquiring of knowledge. They were proud because they knew so much. Indeed one of the idols of the larger Corinthian culture was knowledge. To accumulate knowledge was an act of worship. Paul was not anti-intellectual or anti-knowledge, nor are we in our church. However, even the good gifts of God can be made idols by us as we elevate them above God himself. The gospel of the cross prevents us from elevating anything, including ourselves, above Christ.
What is the difference between a “guide in Christ” and a “father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”? For Paul the difference is this: a guide in Christ will supply us with knowledge about God. A father in Christ Jesus through the gospel will supply us with knowledge about God, then live according to it as we observe and learn to do the same. A guide can be kept at a comfortable, non-relational distance. A father is a member of the family with authority to make a difference in our lives. With a guide, we can close his book and forget about him, but a father is present daily, interacting with us, loving us, keeping us accountable, asking us, “How are you applying the knowledge you have accumulated today from your dead mentors?”
We need “fathers in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” We need men further along in their walk with Christ to show us the way, to encourage us, to advise us and to support us. We need men who are related to us by our common faith in Christ, who are living according to the gospel of the cross. Do you have a “father in Christ Jesus through the gospel”? The Church is the context supplied by God to provide such fathers for us. Who are the fathers in our congregation? Are you sitting at their feet? A father is not here defined by his age but by his experience in Christ and the gospel. Young children need “fathers in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” Teens need these fathers. Adults need “fathers in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
The replacing of guides with fathers in the church will destroy our pride by causing us to rely upon each other and ultimately upon Christ alone. The relational aspect is key. The authority and accountability aspect is key. With a guide, you are “The Man.” With a father, you are the child. You may hire a guide but you must submit to a father. But Paul counsels us to find fathers in Christ Jesus through the gospel. In such a relationship pride is deflated completely for Christ is the one and only Man and his gospel of the cross is our one and only Way.
Let Judgment Begin in the Church
I Corinthians 5:1-13
Paul addresses three main problems in the Corinthian Church as he writes his letter. The first problem is disunity of the church. The second is sexual immorality within the church. The third problem is disorderly worship. Along the way he addresses other related problems as he pastorally instructs and corrects the church to live according to the gospel of the cross. In Chapters 5-7 Paul addresses the problem of sexual immorality within the church. He briefly addresses other related problems like lawsuits between Christians. Paul’s main message as he tackles these problems, especially sexual immorality, is that we Christians experience true freedom as we behave like Christ and not through libertine lifestyles, or as David Jackman writes, through “pagan license.”
Paul broaches this sensitive issue with a bomb. The Corinthians’ sexual immorality is not even tolerated among pagans! Supposed sexual freedom was not invented in the 1960’s. Sexual promiscuity is an ancient problem, a rampant one. One of the pillars of paganism in any form and in any era is sexual immorality. Paul’s first concern is Corinthian toleration of sexual immorality within the church. The Corinthian Church is tolerating sexual deviancy that Corinthain pagans would never allow or practice! The Corinthian Church was tolerating a man having sex with his father’s wife.
We may think, “Wow! The Corinthian Church was tweaked and twisted! This first century church is a rarity. Sexual immorality is mostly a pagan problem, not a church problem. That’s why we have come to the church where we are safe and free from these sexual deviancies.” We may think this way but it is not close to reality. Statistics report that sexual promiscuity is equally present in the church community as it is in the non-church community. And so we think, “Yes, that’s true because so much of the church does not hold to the Bible and truly apply it.” We may be shocked to discover that sexual immorality is most rampant in fundamentalist churches in America. But the next part of the story is sobering. Though sexual immorality has plagued American fundamentalist churches it has so only slightly more than other parts of the American Church. Altogether we are sexually sick and paralyzed.
I am not picking on my fundamentalist past but rather I am facing the music and reflecting upon the ironic and insidious nature of a church that rails against sexual immorality in the world yet is herself riddled with twisted, sexual behavior. The fundamentalism of my childhood was kind, biblical, and helpful in many aspects. Perhaps your experiences have been as positive as mine. However, not all fundamentalism has been good. One of the bastions of fundamentalism in my childhood was Hyles Anderson College in Hammond, Indiana and First Baptist Church, Hammond, whose late Pastor was the Reverend Hyles. He built this independent church to be the largest congregation in the state of Indiana. In 1993, Moody Monthly Magazine, a publication of Moody Bible Institute, one of the centers of fundamentalism, broke the sad story of sexual immorality within the leadership of this church. Deacons were having sex with wives of other deacons and pastors. One deacon was convicted of sexual molestation. It is important that a fundamentalist magazine reported this story, not the quote “liberal media who hates the church.” Paul writes, “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you.” Who reported to Paul? Other Christians, members of the church. I hold Moody in high regard for covering the story rather than covering up to keep its fundamentalism appearing squeaky clean.
When John Steinbeck creates the character of the preacher in The Grapes of Wrath, who baptizes little girls and then takes them into the tall grass behind the church building, he is not merely attacking the church with sensational lies and fantasies. Sinclair Lewis did not invent Elmer Gantry out of thin air in 1927. Fundamentalism has been a hothouse for sexual sin from the very beginning. Let me speak frankly from my personal, pastoral experience: When I meet a minister, who rails continually about the sexual sins of the world around him, in almost every case, I am speaking to a fundamentalist pastor, who has some deep sexual problems. One such pastor told me years ago that his missionary Baptist Church would no longer allow its men to wear ties because the very fashion design of the tie points to the problem. I was talking to a sexually sick man. For years, Ted Haggard, as pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs and as leader of the National Association of Evangelicals, railed against homosexuality and sexual promiscuity. In 2006 Mike Jones, a prostitute told the national media about his relationship with Ted Haggard, leading to Haggard’s resignation and unfolding confessions. Many Christians are upset with the film “Jesus Camp” that exposes the idiosyncrasies of Pentecostal fundamentalism. In this film, the director inserts an actual clip of Haggard preaching at New Life Church. You can see this clip on Youtube. Haggard’s preaching is grievious once you know the rest of his story. He rails on how clear the Bible is against homosexuality. Then he jokes with the audience saying, “I think I know what you did last night. If you send me $1,000.00 I won’t tell your wife.” The whole church erupts in laughter. Has anyone read I Corinthians 5 lately?
Paul has much to say to fix the problem. First of all he calls us to the first step of repentance: mourning our sin. With grief and hatred we turn from our sin. The Corinthians were arrogant! Perhaps they believed themselves to be free and above rules for sexual conduct. Paul calls the entire church to mourn, to repent. It is not only the deviant man and woman caught in adultery who has sinned, but the entire church has sinned through toleration. The second step Paul commands is the removal of the man who is openly connected to his father’s wife. Paul commands this with apostolic authority. As an apostle, he has found this man to be guilty and so he tells the church that as they remove this man from the communion of the church, they do so in the name of Jesus, with apostolic authority. This unrepentant man is not allowed to pretend that he is OK, to pose as if he is following Christ and living in the freedom of Christ. Rather, he is to be delivered to Satan, to live in the realm, which is governed by pagan license rather than Christ-like behavior. The purpose of delivering this man to Satan is so that he might wake up, match his bodily sins with the realm that gives license to such sins and then repent and run back to the Church begging for restoration. The removing of a person from the communion of the church is only to be done for the purpose of restoration, for the good of that person’s spirit on the coming day of judgment.
Paul mentions the Corinthian pride and arrogance again. Apparently, Corinthian pride allowed the church to reason, “We are strong enough, we are gracious enough to tolerate a little bit of sin among us. It won’t affect us.” Paul says that even a little pinch of yeast makes the entire lump of dough rise. The church must attend to the sexual immorality of her members. Of course, in many churches today, there is no communion. In an auditorium, individuals sit next to each other but they are not connected to one another in any spiritual way. They certainly are not accountable to these strangers on either side of them listening to a preacher joke, “I think I know what you did last night. If you pay me $1,000.00 I won’t tell your wife.”
As Paul uses the analogy of yeast and dough to command us to deal with the individual sins of church members, he preaches the gospel is a powerful way. The reason we can face our sins and confront the sins of one another is that Jesus Christ as the Passover Lamb has been sacrificed. Therefore, we can celebrate our freedom from our sins. We no longer are slaves to those sins. We no longer have to fear the exposure and correction of our sins. Christ’s death has paid the penalty for our sins and removed the guilt and shame of our sins and so, we can face our past, our sinful records, and yet rejoice. This is what Paul means by stretching the analogy by saying, “Let us celebrate the festival with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” The gospel allows us to own and confess our sins, admitting openly what we have done against a holy God. The gospel of the cross declares the end of our sins and so they pose no threat to us.
One of the greatest problems preventing discipline in the Church is that we do not truly believe and apply this gospel and so the church is not a safe place for sinners. When a member’s sin is exposed, the gasps of shocked members can be heard 500 miles away and reports run the self-righteous gossip circuit quicker than fiber-optics could ever deliver an email. The sinful member is never offered the gospel of the cross but instead placed in a vulnerable position to answer for himself. Today, much of the church is wholly unsafe for sinners. Until we can assure our members that the church is safely governed by the gospel of the cross, we have no business pretending to hold court. The removal of a person with the purpose of restoration comes hand in glove with our application of the gospel of the cross.
Paul’s third step is for us to stop associating with church members who are unabashedly sexually immoral. Listen carefully to Paul at this point. He says that he has commanded the church to not associate with sexually immoral people who are members of the church. He makes it clear that he has never commanded the church to separate herself from sexually immoral, or otherwise sinful people outside of the church. Paul’s command has nothing to do with a fear that we might be influenced to behave immorally if we associate with immoral people. Christians are called to live in the midst of immorality and to stand in Christ pure and holy. Paul’s command has everything to do with spiritual identity and unity. The reason we expel a sexually immoral person from church membership is so that person does not think that his behavior need not reflect his identity and union to Christ. We do not expel him to protect ourselves from his deviancy. The Holy Spirit makes us strong to withstand the influence of sexual immorality. The reason we expel a sexually immoral person is so that he might wake up and embrace the true freedom that comes from living like Christ rather than living according to pagan license. Some people think that they can enjoy all of the benefits of the communion of Christ within the church yet live according to pagan license. The apostle Paul did not tolerate such a duality. If we desire the benefits of true freedom in Christ, then we must live like Christ. The Church is to help people live like Christ. The church gives people 70 times 7 opportunities to reform. The person removed is the person who defiantly faces loving confrontation to say, “I don’t care what you guys say, I am going to live this way and you have no authority to stop me.” Authority and community are inseparable, not only in the church but in any grouping of human beings.
Paul’s fourth step for us in putting an end to sexual immorality is for us to stop judging the world around the church and to start judging the church. Paul says that as an apostle he does not judge those outside the church. God alone judges them. The Church is to judge her own members concerning holy behavior, to aid us all in living like Christ. When the can of worms is pried open, to the demonic glee and giggles of Satan’s minions, the Church is found to be sordid beyond pagan escapades. The world arises with one voice and calls us hypocrites who tolerate incest and bestiality. In the fray we complain that the world hates God and us, that we are being persecuted by a sexually deviant world. We sit for decades arguing within the four walls of the church against judging one another and refusing to discipline according to the apostles’ teaching. Instead, we make scapegoats out of members who commit crimes on our list rather than confronting the sins on God’s list. The gospel of the cross puts an end to the deviancy of toleration. The gospel of the cross declares to us that Christ Jesus, the Passover Lamb has destroyed the threat and penalty of our sins and so we can face the truth, live sincerely without fear of our past haunting us. We can confront the sins of one another with the purpose of restoration and true freedom in Christ.
Keeping Clear of Court
I Corinthians 6:1-11
Nearly seven years ago, a Christian general contractor sued Evergreen Presbyterian Church three times in Washington County Court. By Oregon State law he had the right to sue for breach of a written contract, then for breach of a verbal contract, and finally for breach of an implied contract. For each hearing of these suits, the marquee in the courthouse read, Grace Construction vs. Evergreen Presbyterian Church. Clearly both names identify the parties to be Christian and thus Paul’s admonition to the Church at Corinth applied to us.
While the second suit was pending, both parties agreed to organize mediation by ministers of the church at large. Evergreen was to choose one minister and Grace Construction was to choose one minister. Those two ministers were to choose a third minister. These three churchmen were to consider the alleged breach of contract and render an opinion. Their conclusion was that Evergreen should pay Grace Construction $7,000.00. When our elders asked these ministers for a reason, they replied, “The Holy Spirit has told us that you owe Grace Construction $7,000.00.” We replied, “Grace Construction has sued us twice for $110,000.00 and she can sue us one more time for that amount according to Oregon State law.” The churchmen responded, “We have not considered the suits pending in court. The scripture commands you to stay out of civil court and to resolve these matters within the church” We replied, “Have you considered that Grace Construction has sued us and that we have no recourse?” The churchmen said, “You should settle with Grace Construction outside of court.” We humbly asked, “Would this scripture instruct Grace Construction to withdraw her suits so that we could settle outside of court?” The churchmen replied, “Since you are a church, you must follow this scripture. We believe that the Holy Spirit has commanded you to pay Grace Construction $7,000.00.”
Evergreen did not pay this amount and Grace Construction sued us a third time for $110,000.00. Judge Stevens, who heard the case and found no written, verbal or implied contract took a point of privilege to address both the parties in court. He said, “I am a Roman Catholic, and I must say that it is grievous to me to see Christians suing Christians in my courtroom. Grace Construction never submitted a bid to do work for Evergreen Presbyterian Church and I have found no evidence of any semblance of a contract between the two parties.” Judge Stevens then ordered Grace Construction to pay the sum total of Evergreen’s legal fees.
During this ordeal, Evergreen elders and members prayed over the text before us considering our obedience of it. Consider these points I have gleaned from the text. First of all, Paul says that the Church is competent to judge matters between brothers in Christ. In (2) he asks, “Are you incompetent to try trivial cases?” The answer is “No. The church is competent to do try cases of weight and relevance.” In (5) he says, “Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between brothers?” Again, the answer is “No. There are sufficiently wise members of the church who can settle disputes.” In saying so, Paul is not making light of serious matters recommending that we casually without due thought and organization attempt to settle matters between members of the church. For example, it would be foolish not to consult attorneys who know Oregon State law when it applies to two Christian parties. Elders of the church should not pretend to know the civil law and they should refrain from ruling in matters that are clearly given under civil law. Such prudence can be achieved short of public court hearings.
John Knox, leader of the Scottish Reformation in the mid-1500’s structured church government to provide courts of appeal. The session of elders of each local congregation was the first court of appeals to hear cases between two or more brothers who already attempted to reconcile privately on their own. Either party in the congregation, could appeal the case heard by the Session to a higher court, that of the presbytery. The presbytery would either uphold the session’s ruling or overturn it. The parties involved could then appeal to the higher court of the General Assembly. Through such an appeal system, justice could be better served within the Church. Knox’s good organization became the model for the courts of appeal we now enjoy in our American judicial system. It is also retained in our present-day Presbyterian polity. Had Evergreen been able to use our Presbyterian courts of appeal to settle the dispute between Grace Construction and Evergreen, we may have been successful in stopping short of Judge Steven’s piercing and public admonition. Instead we foolishly agreed to a selection of ministers who had no accountability to the church they served and who did not agree on biblical principles of church authority. They knew nothing of Oregon State law nor did they care to. We should have contacted Peacemaker’s Ministries, a group of Christian attorneys who mediate between Christian parties and paid them $150.00 per hour to assist us privately. Peacemakers would have applied the scripture and civil law to both Christian parties.
Secondly, Paul says that it is better to be wronged, even defrauded, than to go to civil court to fight for your rights and innocence. In (7) he writes, “To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?” Evergreen elders took these questions to heart and we were troubled in conscience for an extended length of agonizing consideration. However, without passing the buck, we resolutely believed that these questions are addressed to the aggressive Christian party who files the suit. If Grace Construction truly believed that Evergreen had wronged her by breach of contract, then Grace Construction should have been willing to be wronged, even defrauded rather than filing suit in civil court.
Should Evergreen have refused to represent herself in court? Should she have refrained from appearing and thus give in to Grace Construction? We elders wrestled with this very action and concluded that we were already summoned to court by Grace Construction’s suit. The names were already on the marquee. The apostle’s reason for staying out of court would not be served. Jesus instructs brothers to settle on the way to court. Once Grace Construction filed a suit, the walk to the court had come to an end. Paul says that it is wrong for us to file suit against another Christian party. In (8) Paul writes, “But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!” By God’s grace, Evergreen did no wrong nor commit fraud against Grace Construction.
Where is the gospel in all of this? The gospel is certainly not Evergreen defending her past actions according to I Corinthians 6. We have sought to obey the word of God in a most difficult situation and so now, we are in need of the soothing gospel. The gospel is not only refreshing for sinners, but it is also soothing for those who have been sinned against. If we have been wronged in any way, the gospel frees us to do the right, to care less about money and reputation and more about the peace and purity of Christ’s Church.
Paul preaches the gospel in conjunction with his instruction against sexual immorality and the filing of suits against Christians. He assures us that those who behave this way without repentance are not children of God, heirs of the kingdom of God. Such behavior is unrighteous and so, those who behave in these ways are unrighteous. Paul supplies a list that is provocative yet incomplete. He must have had in mind particular sins that were plaguing the Corinthian Church. Taking Christian brothers to court is in the same category as everything Paul lists in (9-10). Any kind of idolatry is as wrong as sexual immorality. Adultery is as wrong as sodomy. Greedy people are as wrong as thieves. Revilers, those who make abusive verbal attacks on others are as sinful as drunks who disturb the peace. If this behavior is your identity and regular, unchecked mode of operation, then you will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Indeed, many of us members of the church have pasts littered with these sins. But a gracious work of God has made us righteous inheritors of the kingdom of God. After listing these equally disturbing sins, Paul writes in (11) “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Paul does not list this gracious work of God in the order of most of our good systematic theologies. He is not building the Ordo Salutis, that is the order of salvation, that logical order of the parts and actions of salvation, which would most certainly present justification first followed by sanctification. John Calvin is most likely correct to note that there is no logical order in this triplet, but rather, a thematic presentation of our great and complete salvation. Paul assigns these three gracious works to Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God.
Paul writes in (11), “But you were washed,” referring to the blood of Christ washing away our sin and to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. To Titus, Paul writes, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” The Holy Spirit washes us in his work of regeneration. This renewal, this regeneration logically occurs in the Ordo Salutis prior to justification and sanctification, yet Paul uses the less clear term, “washing” that may refer to the work of Christ as well as the work of the Holy Spirit. He has no logical order in mind, but instead he is describing God’s amazing grace for us.
Paul then writes, “you were sanctified,” referring to the work of the Holy Spirit graciously making us holy. In our confessional, systematic order, we describe sanctification as the gracious yet ongoing work of God. But here, Paul speaks of sanctification definitively. He speaks as if God has completed his work of making us holy! For more details about definitive sanctification, read John Murray’s classic essay titled, “Definitive Sanctification.” Paul is advising Corinthians to make a clean break with their past. He presents the saving work of God as powerfully as it is. While sanctification is a progressive work of God in our lives, nevertheless, we are strong enough in Christ right now to make clean breaks. We are the holy ones of God. We are the righteous inheritors of the kingdom of God. When we sue fellow Christians or sin in any way, we are acting inconsistently with who we are in Christ. Therefore, we repent of our sin rather than reason, “God’s sanctification is a progressive work and so, he has not equipped me yet to keep clear of court. Perhaps ten years from now I will have progressed to a Christian maturity that would allow me to trust the courts of the church.” We can keep clear of court now by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Finally, Paul writes, “you were justified,” referring to the work of Christ satisfying God’s wrath for sin in his death upon the cross and the heavenly Father declaring us to be righteous in Christ. This legal and permanent declaration of God about us is the gospel of the cross. “There is now no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus!” Those of us who have put our faith in Christ alone have received graciously from God this permanently binding declaration that our unrighteousness has been imputed to Christ and that his righteousness has been imputed to us. Thanks be to God!
Epilogue: About two months ago I entered the Evergreen office where Frank handed me two pieces of mail. The forms appeared to be insurance forms protecting the work of Grace Construction up to 2 million dollars. Evergreen Presbyterian Church was listed on the forms. My heart dropped into my stomach and I immediately called the General Contractor working on our phase two building. He said, “Yes, I have sub-contracted Grace Construction to complete a portion of the work.” I informed him of our past with Grace Construction and he said, “I knew that Grace Construction has a bad reputation and I thought to myself that as a Christian I ought to give them a second chance. What better work site for a second chance than a church? I had no idea that Grace’s bad reputation was connected to you!”
God has more than a sense of humor. He applies a crazy grace. Who would have orchestrated such a crazy grace? To my knowledge, Grace Construction has completed its work on our site. No words have been exchanged between us. In the silence but for the sounds of diligent and expert work, God is working out his grace for us. It is a small beginning, but who knows where it will end.
The Temple: Part Two
I Corinthians 6:12-20
After his excursus on Christians refraining from taking Christians to court, Paul returns to his addressing of sexual immorality in the church. He offers three checks on personal liberty. He does no violence to personal liberty but rather helps us to discover genuine freedom. The first check is to ask the question, “Is my present exercising of liberty helpful?” I may not be breaking the law. I may be exercising my rights and enjoying my liberties. But is my behavior helpful to me or to anyone else? If the honest answer is “No, my behavior is not helpful but it is harmful,” then I should not do it.
The second check is to ask the question, “Is my present behavior enslaving?” If the answer is, “Yes,” then I should refrain from it. My behavior may enslave others and it may enslave myself. As a connected member of the church, I would do well to ask a brother or a band of brothers to answer the question for me. This would be a helpful check on my ability to see my behavior for what it truly is.
The third check is to ask the question, “Does my behavior agree with the natural design and purpose of my body?” Paul writes, “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food.” Therefore, eating agrees with the natural design and purpose of the body. To starve myself so that I can be skinny does violence to the natural design and purpose of my body. But is there a greater design and purpose for my body than eating? Yes, the greater design and purpose for my body is to glorify God through the use of it. This is the greatest design and purpose of our bodies: To glorify God and to enjoy him forever. Does sexual immorality serve this greatest of designs and purpose? No, it does not and so sexual immorality is not genuine freedom. The more a person glorifies God and enjoys him, the freer that person is.
Paul presents the gospel of the resurrection in (14) as the key and starting point for ridding the church of sexual immorality. God has raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. All of us who are united to the Lord Jesus shall also be resurrected on the last day by divine power. The gospel of the resurrection communicates how precious we are in the eyes of God. The gospel of the resurrection announces a great measure of true freedom for all of us who have been crucified with Christ. In Christ’s resurrection, we have already been raised to new life. On the final Day of Judgment, we shall be raised body and soul to that eternal and glorified state prepared for us by Jesus Christ, our Lord.
With this gospel clearly fixed in our minds, we begin to consider what God’s word says about any given topic including sexual immorality in the church. In (14) Paul presents the gospel of the resurrection and then writes three times, “Do you not know?” Each one of these statements introduces another biblical consideration moving us to rid the church of sexual immorality. These biblical considerations flow from the gospel. They are applications of the gospel to our behavior.
First of all in (15) Paul writes, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!” We are being asked by the apostle Paul to apply the biblical truth of our union to Christ. As members of Christ should not our behavior reflect the purity of Christ? If Christ has set us free, why would we use our freedom to enslave a woman?
Secondly in (16) Paul writes, “Do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, ‘The two will become one flesh.’” This may be the clearest statement in the Bible reserving sexual activity for the marital relationship. Paul quotes Moses describing the marital union: “The two will become one flesh.” Marriage is partially defined by sexual union. That is what Moses means by these words. “One flesh” is not as mystical as we make it out to be. I have heard Christian married couples say, “After 30 years of marriage we know how each other thinks. In fact, we think the same about nearly everything.” Others say, “Have you noticed how both spouses after 50 years of marriage look like identical twins!” Other Christians say, “This marital oneness is shared mission. In our marriage we have the same purpose of life and we share the same goals.” While all of this may be true, Moses and Paul in our text for today simply describe the oneness of marriage as sexual union.
Paul argues that this sexual union is exclusive; it is reserved for a particular marital union and so it should not be shared with a third party. Have you bought the lie that sexual exclusivity of marriage has robbed you of personal freedom? A prostitute comes with payments, rules, and risks. How is it that any of us could call such an arrangement “sexual liberation”? An extra-marital affair comes with secretive rules, hurts, complications and limitations. Can someone explain to me how an extra-marital affair is a benefit of personal freedom? Enter: casual sex. This is a further development of the lie that sexual promiscuity is true personal freedom. The term “casual” does not describe the quality of the act but the lack of relationship between the two who engage in the act. “I don’t want a relationship; I simply want to engage in an act of intensity.” By God’s design, the sexual act is intense matching the depth of relationship. The intensity of the act promotes the bond of marital relationship and makes sense within that relationship.
Paul reminds us that we are joined to Christ and we have become one spirit with him. This is quite interesting. Paul is discussing our bodies, primarily, and then he inserts this statement about our spirits, the spiritual bond between Christ and us. In life our bodies and spirits are inseparable. What we do with our bodies has a profound impact upon our spirits. The condition of our spirits has a profound impact upon what we do with our bodies. And so, Paul commands us in (18) to “flee sexual immorality.” I am confident that Paul has in mind Joseph, who was tempted by Potiphar’s wife. She clutched his robe; he wriggled free and fled the scene. This is excellent advice. We cannot consistently avoid situations of temptation, but we should do our best. When we find ourselves in a situation of temptation we should flee from it.
Surprisingly, Paul does not conclude this section by arguing that I should consider the harm my sin inflicts upon my spouse or some other member of the church. Rather, in (18) he reminds me that my sexual immorality is a sin against my own body. I hurt myself. The gospel is good for me personally. All of the biblical commands that flow from the gospel are good for me personally.
In light of this personal application of the gospel, Paul’s third statement concerns an application for individuals. In (19) he writes, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” We are now asked to apply the biblical truth of the indwelling Holy Spirit to each of us getting rid of our sexual immorality. Earlier in this letter, Paul teaches us that the church as a whole is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Now, in today’s text, he teaches us that each of us as individuals is a temple of the Holy Spirit.
Through out my childhood, this verse was ripped out of its context and used as the biblical warrant prohibiting my smoking of cigarettes. I was told, “Don’t smoke because your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost.” I am not standing today to make a statement about smoking cigarettes. I will let the Surgeon General have the floor on this issue. I am not saying that this verse cannot be applied to such actions. But I must say that in light of the context of sexual immorality infiltrating the church, the application of this most important verse to the prohibiting of smoking seems to be trite, off-target, and dangerously misapplied.
Paul is commanding us to rid our individual lives of sexual immorality as we remember that the very Spirit of Christ dwells in us. The temple of the Old Covenant was most holy space. Those who entered offered proper sacrifices for cleansing. The powerful and glorious presence of God would descend to shake the temple foundations and to fill its courts with fire and smoke. Christ Jesus claimed to be the temple of God. As the Righteous One of God, perfectly pure and holy in all his thoughts, words, and deeds, Jesus was the holiest space imaginable on earth for the descending Holy Spirit. As Jesus died on the cross bearing our sins, even becoming sin for us, he became the temple defiled. The wrath of God destroyed that temple only to raise it to new and eternal glory on the first day. The risen Lord Jesus joined by all of his followers, members of the church, endowed with the gospel of the resurrection, becomes the temple of God. Each of us individual members of Christ are living stones of the temple and each of us are individual temples housing the glory of God, the very Holy Spirit of God.
As we consider all of this glory, can we ever justify personal and private sexual immorality? The temple is the house of God, owned by God. True freedom is not void of ownership. As the temple of God, each of us is owned by God. From this ownership flows genuine freedom. I am finally free to glorify God in my body. You are free to glorify God in your body. Each of us are finally freed from our rebellion against God, able to rest in him, to live as he has designed and commanded us to live. This is true freedom, to be a temple of God.
The Gospel and Marriage
I Corinthians 7: 1-16
The Church at Corinth had written a letter to Paul asking his advice on issues related to sex and marriage. He had been informed about the sexual immorality tolerated within the church. The members of the church undoubtedly held differing opinions and were advocating a number of solutions to their predicaments. They desired to know what the apostle Paul had to say about their problems. Paul does not present in his first letter to the Corinthians, a comprehensive manual on marriage. Instead, he addresses the particular questions and problems of the Corinthian Church. While our text this morning is not comprehensive teaching, it is instruction concerning marriage flowing from the gospel and from a worldview governed by the gospel.
First of all, the gospel tells us that there is more to life than sex. In (1) Paul writes, “Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: ‘It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.’” Paul is talking here about a non-marital relationship. Sexual activity does not define a significant relationship between a man and woman but rather it defines a marital relationship. Outside of marriage, sexual activity does not define the relationship between men and women. In other words, there is more to life and relationships between the genders than sex. Some people are so enslaved to sexual drives that they cannot interact with a member of the opposite gender without thinking about sex. This is a problem. Normal and fruitful relationships between the genders are not about sex.
The same is true of our marital relationships. There’s more to our marital relationships than sex. Paul says that a spouse should put the conjugal rights of the other spouse before his own. And so, sex is an important part of marriage. I am commanded by God to put the rights of my spouse before my own. Nevertheless, there is more to the marital relationship than sex.
Paul offers instruction about authority in marriage (4). When it comes to sex in marriage both spouses exercise authority – the wife exercises authority over her husband’s body and the husband exercises authority over his wife’s body. What on earth is Paul saying? He is teaching what John Calvin titled the “doctrine of mutual benevolence.” The Bible rarely refers to authority in marriage and this is one of the few references. When it comes to the sexual activity of a marriage, the husband must submit to his wife and the wife must submit to her husband. This equitably shared authority assures that sex is enjoyed and is productive rather than it becoming a selfish or abusive act. But at the end of the day, Paul’s main point rules all of his sub-points. There’s more to marriage than sex.
Consider (5): Sex is important but prayer is a priority. The Christian life is not a denial of the physical in order to pursue the spiritual. Paul is well aware that God has created us as sexual beings. Our bodies are designed for sex and so it is normal and appropriate for married people to engage in sex. Nevertheless, prayer is a priority. At times, a married couple may set the normal, regular activity of sex aside in order to concentrate on prayer. Paul is carefully balanced in his writing and he makes it clear that self-control, not deprivation is the virtue. There is no virtue in depriving oneself or a marriage of sex or any good gift from God. The virtue is self-control enabling a married couple to make prayer a priority. There’s more to marriage than sex.
Thirdly Paul tells us that there’s more to life than marriage. Singleness is good. In our text today and the one directly following, Paul will present singleness as a preferred status in life, ideally suited to the service of God’s kingdom and church. Not every person is able to attain this single status. It may be a gift from God, a virtuous strength and maturity he grants to certain individuals. In (9) Paul says that some people should marry if they lack the virtues needed for single life.
There’s more to life than marriage even for the married person. A wife should not separate from her husband to pursue another marital relationship. If she does separate, she should pursue a single status life or pursue reconciliation with her husband. The Christian husband should not divorce his Christian wife. The lack of Christian faith in a wife is not grounds for divorce. However, an unbelieving wife is not bound to stay in the marriage to a Christian husband. There’s more to life than marriage. Divorce is not the end of life or legitimate standing for a particular individual. The Bible not only gives grounds for divorce but it also makes allowances for divorce. That is what Paul is writing in these words. He is making allowances for divorce. The lack of Christian faith in a husband is not grounds for divorce. However, an unbelieving husband is not bound to stay in the marriage to a Christian wife.
Paul is concerned to preserve the existing marriages in the Corinthian Church. He does not give instruction at this point about what a young man and a young woman ought to consider in choosing to marry a person. In his second letter to the Corinthian Church, in (6:14) he does instruct, “Do not be yoked with unbelievers for there is no agreement between Christ and Belial.” But in his first letter, he chooses to deal with the present situation in the Corinthian Church, which includes marriages in which one spouse is a Christian and the other is a non-Christian.
Paul’s instruction may be offensive to those of us who think that God’s law and gospel make everything in our lives black and white, demanding immediate change toward the ideal. In (14) Paul writes, “For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.”
John Calvin’s commentary at this point is helpful. He writes, “While this sanctification is taken in various senses, I refer it simply to marriage, in this sense — It might seem (judging from appearance) as if a believing wife contracted infection from an unbelieving husband, so as to make the connection unlawful; but it is otherwise, for the piety of the one has more effect in sanctifying marriage than the impiety of the other in polluting it. Hence a believer may, with a pure conscience, live with an unbeliever, for in respect of the use and intercourse of the marriage bed, and of life generally, he is sanctified, so as not to infect the believing party with his impurity. Meanwhile this sanctification is of no benefit to the unbelieving party; it only serves thus far, that the believing party is not contaminated by intercourse with him, and marriage itself is not profaned.” Paul insists that even the children are kept safe and pure within this family, even though one of their parents is an unbeliever. There’s more to life than marriage and so, God’s gracious protection, provision, and love flows to all of us through rightly ordered marriages, through less than ideal marriages, and apart from marriage.
In (15) Paul tells us that marriage is designed for freedom not bondage. He writes, “But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved.” Imagine a married Corinthian couple invited to a neighbor’s home in which they hear the gospel. The wife responds in faith but the husband is not ready to do so. He is willing, even eager to enjoy the fellowship of the church, but he has doubts about the veracity of the gospel. Such a marriage could continue in peace. But let us imagine that this husband initially rejects the gospel with some vehemence and takes offense to it. His wife’s conversion troubles him to the point that he no longer believes that he can sustain their marriage and so he sues for divorce. His Christian wife is free to go through with the divorce. She is not damaged goods but a free woman. Paul writes in (15) “God has called you to peace.” The gospel applies the laws of God to our relationships and situations in a most gracious way, the end being peace, not bondage.
Finally, Paul teaches us that there is more to life than a Christian marriage! Is there any hope for any of us who are married to a non-Christian? Yes. Be patient, kind, and loving. Don’t be preachy, condescending, and spiritually arrogant. As the apostle Peter instructs wives married to non-Christian men, be quiet and let your loving deeds, your virtuous behavior win over your husbands. Some of us have been taught to demand everything in black and white terms. “Either you have a Christian marriage or you don’t.” But Paul has a third category full of hope. You may not enjoy a Christian marriage, but you may be in a marriage of redemption. “For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?” The gospel is good for those of us who are not in ideal marriages. It is just as good for us as it is for those who are in ideal marriages. There is hope for every married couple who is not equally yoked in matters of faith. Every Christian who is married to a non-Christian must remember that there is more to life than a Christian marriage. The Church must also remember this application of the gospel and prayerfully support the man or woman who is presently in a marriage of redemption.
The Gospel and Singleness
I Corinthians 7: 17-40
God assigns to each of us our lot in life. God has called each of us to glorify him in particular stations, roles, and chapters of life. These may change according to the will of God. Meanwhile we must live as David did, content with the lot God had given to him. Paul is not suggesting that we would not work to change the wrong or less than ideal in our lives. Rather he is reminding us that in each moment, God has called us to glorify him. Even in an imperfect state, even in an oppressive situation, we can glorify God. While we would work toward improvement, some of our efforts must be dedicated to serving God in our present situations and roles. God’s sovereign control allows us to serve right now.
Paul applies this sovereign control of God to a decision as private as circumcision and as public as slavery. Is slavery wrong? Yes, but even in such a station, we can serve God’s will and contribute in some meaningful way. While some of us should fight to end such oppression, we must use some of o