1 Corinthians Conclusion

Snapshots from our Journey to Corinth

1 Corinthians

So here we= are, at the end of our journey in the book of Corinthians. Back in October of 2004 we embarke= d on this journey trusting God to learn and experience together the lessons of 1 Corinthians. If you remember,= if you were here back then, you remember we cast this series in terms of a journey, kinda like taking a family trip to Europe together. We spent time in the initial message talking about the geography, history and culture of Corinth. We also talked about things we exp= ected to see along the journey. Wel= l, this morning I want to review our trip to Corinth. I want to open up the photo album = of the past 20 months and reminisce a bit on where we have been. I also want to do something we do = as a family after a family trip or a time at a conference. I want to talk about what are the = key take-home lessons. That is, w= hat will we remember about this trip 5 years from now or even 50 years from now. I hope each of us can co= me away from this series with a key memory like that, may God use this morning= to do that. Let’s pray.

One thing = I think we can take from this series is the Corinthians were a lot like us. They were living in a economically prosperous area where diverse people from all levels of society were scramb= ling to make their mark on society. They held material wealth, education, social status and pleasure as the ultimate values. They were pluralistic, tolerant yet cliquish and proud. The message of the gospel was having an effect but they were blindly= accommodating the culture in the church and thus found themselves immature, worldly and ineffective. They fought amon= gst themselves, they formed cliques, they both spurned and idolized leadership, they brought one another to court, they allowed lax church discipline in the name of tolerance. They waffl= ed between embracing questionable aspects of their culture and totally isolati= ng themselves from culture. They either ingratiated themselves in pleasure and sex or rejected physical plea= sures as inherently sub-spiritual. = They exulted in their spiritual gifts and theological knowledge while missing the point of both these blessings. They failed to understand their destiny as Christians and therefore failed to li= ve in their reality as Christians. Does all that sound familiar to you? Would not that characterize the We= st and the Western church if not particularly Boston and the New England church at least to s= ome degree? I think the answer is yes. So we found in Corinth some kind= red spirits – for good and bad. Similarly, we found in 1 Corinthians some much needed truth.

You see, t= he cures for these problems, the way through the rough waters of the American church’s current experience is not better techniques, as helpful as t= hose may be, it is not better presentation and polish, as beneficial as that can= be, it is not more gifted leadership and administration, as essential as that is. The way forward for us is= the same as the way forward for the Corinthians. Paul in seeking to help the Corint= hian church ultimately took them back again and again to the gospel of Jesus Chr= ist and its far-reaching implications. The gospel, that is the good news of Jesus Christ –our Savior and our King, the giver of perfect all-sufficient grace and the Sovereign King and rightful receiver of all worship and enjoyment, the good news of this ultimate Lord and Savior, crucified for us sinners, raised to new life for us, leading his people onw= ard is THE answer for any wayward church or culture, be it Corinth, America or = King of Grace.

The Corint= hians needed this, so do we. Paul d= oes a masterful job in 1 Corinthians of addressing a wide range of church difficulties and questions all with a singular focus. Richard Hays says the following in= his commentary on 1 Corinthians: “= ;Paul attempts to address all particular pastoral problems in light of fundamental theological considerations; somehow he finds that the message of Jesus Chri= st crucified and risen speaks to every concern of the Corinthians community. P= aul is not afraid of confrontation; It seems that his gospel may generate probl= ems, not solve them, for the word of the cross poses a challenge to the comforta= ble assumptions of Paul’s readers.[1]” Likewise, David Garland commen= ts, “The cross, its wisdom or its e= ffect, is also pivotal in every issue except the one concerning headdress. It is central to his discussion of factions (1:18-31, 4:8-13) but also appears in his discussion of incest (5:7-8), lawsuits (6:7), sexual immorality (6:20), marriage (7:23), idol me= at (8:11), the Lords supper (11:26), spiritual gifts (13:1-13), and the resurrection (15:3).[2]”

He is labo= ring patiently and firmly in this letter that the Corinthians and subsequently, = we, would have the gospel as the perspective, the pleasure and the power for al= l of life. This is in stark contra= st to the ways of the world the Corinthians and we experience. Check out what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (ESV): “¹⁸For the word of t= he cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it= is the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.= 221; ²⁰Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is t= he debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. = ²²For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³but we pr= each Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ^{24 =}but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and = the wisdom of God. ²⁵For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, = and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” In other words, you my brothers and sisters are called to foolishness and to be a Christian in the world is to = be a fool. There is no way around it. Christianity is a religio= n for fools, at least in the eyes of the world.&= nbsp; Yet this foolishness is the very core of the wisdom and the very glo= ry of God. So forget trying to live= with one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom. To be a Christian is to be radical= ly counter-cultural while stationed right in the middle of the culture. At the core of this counter-cultur= al lifestyle is the ultimate counter-cultural message, Christ and Him crucifie= d. This amazing story of a God who la= ys claim to all of humanity, who demands a relationship with his creatures on = his terms, who is the author of every good thing, who has created us that we mi= ght know, worship and enjoy him and his ways, who repeatedly has reached out to human= ity and ultimately has expressed himself in his incarnate Son, who lived a perf= ect Jewish life and fulfilled all of what humanity is supposed to be, who then = went on to voluntarily suffer and die a shameful, degrading and accursed death in payment for your sins in order to satisfy God the Father’s demand for justice for our sins in the context of his covenant love, who rose again victorious over sin and over death, who ascended to heaven and now grants eternal life and peace with God to all his children, that is those who resp= ond to him in repentance and faith, this amazing story is at once awesome, glor= ious and life changing and oh so sweet for the believer while being offensive an= d odious and unfathomable for the unbeliever. This is the story and the message and the truth and the person at the center of every believer’s identity and experience. For the believer and ultimately fo= r all of creation there is no other thing more essential, and more worthy than the good news of Jesus Christ. We= live because of it, we live in light of it, we live for it and its author and object, God.

Keeping th= is message central will have implications for all of our lives. Really, what Paul does in the lett= er is, as a loving shepherd and church father, gently yet firmly show the Corinthi= ans how to address every aspect of their lives in light of the gospel. How they view God, how they view themselves, how they view the church, how they live, how they relate to one another all flow from the gospel message.&= nbsp; I think that is one thing we have seen very clearly as we have journ= ey through this book. Each of our snapshots had something of the gospel at its center. Let’s take a look again at t= wo very different issues the Corinthians were dealing with, probably their most important at least in terms of how they felt the effects. One would be how they viewed and r= elated to the church, in particular the unity of the church, the other is how they viewed personal holiness.

You rememb= er the issues of church unity. They = appear right in the beginning of the letter and probably were one of the main reas= ons for the letter. Paul says rig= ht in the beginning, after his Christ-centered grace-oriented introduction, “For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.” 1 Corinthians 1:11 (ESV). His reply to the quarreling and fa= ctions they have formed is, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?”= 1 Corinthians 1:13 (ESV). In other words, Christ’s death on the cross w= as for one people to be under one Lord, therefore, because of the gospel, you = are united and you must live accordingly! Later on, while still addressing unity in chapter 3 Paul says, “So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos = or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future – a= ll are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” 1 Cor. 3:21-23 (ESV). Again, because God has set his affection on his bride, through Christ and his gospel, all things are for the good of his bride = 211; all leaders, all circumstances, all of creation ultimately, belongs to the bride of Christ, for Christ, for God. So stop boasting in petty things and arguing over what is already al= l yours! Pretty amazing stuff isn’t it? All this should change th= e way we look at life, the way we look at the church, the precious bride of Chris= t, and in particular how we view and relate to this local church family. It should mean that we strive to b= e what we are, the family of God living before our Sovereign and all-loving King of Grace, that we build relationally together around the gospel, that we spend time, on Sundays, in small groups and just hanging out together at the beach – fellowshipping in love around the truth. And oh how well you guys do this, = and oh how appropriate and oh how glorious!

Paul goes = on with the theme of church unity. In chapter 6 when speaking about believers taking believers to court he respon= ds, “^BBut you yourselves wrong and defraud – even your= own brothers!...⁹Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inher= it the kingdom of God? …¹¹And such were = some of you. But you were washed, = you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ an= d by the Spirit of God.” 1 Cor. 6:8-9,11 (ESV). In other words, how can a people m= ade a part of the family of God, brothers, brothers washed of their sin, set apart for God and each other, counted righteous and experiencing the salvation and Lordship of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, how can such people be defrauding each other? It is inconceivable! Hopefully, tha= t word does mean what we think it means in light of these truths! Anything but a united, loving, Chr= ist like family of believers is a contradiction to the reality of all that Chri= st has done and is.

Paul conti= nues to press the themes of Christ and his body as he addresses church unity in relationship to choices about how to exercise our Christian liberty, specifically applied to food offered to idols in chapters 8-10. Do you remember that snapshot? In those days if you ate meat, mor= e than likely the meat had been offered in sacrifice to some pagan deity. The question was what to do about = this predicament. The Corinthians got a lot more tha= n they expected in Paul’s 3 chapter response to their question. In those chapters he presses the Corinthians to remember that their freedom in Christ must be exercised in l= ove for others and worship of God. Christ won our freedom from sin, th= e law and a guilty conscience not that we might merely be free but that we might = love one another, even if it means great sacrifice, such as in Paul’s case= outlines in chapter 9 of surrendering his rightful prerogatives as an Apostle of God= . We as a church are committed to the gospel of grace that gives us freedom.&nbs= p; We believe a right understanding of grace frees us from legalism. Oh how wonderful it is when you re= alize you don’t have to spend your life worrying about every jot and tittle= of behavior and the guilt that follows in your constant failure; when you real= ize that somebody already obeyed every jot and tittle and more and now offers t= o us his perfect performance record as well as his death before God for our sins= . Oh how freeing it is when we reali= zed we are completely forgiven, completely justified, completely accepted, never t= o be rejected. For some Christians= who have lived before a compromised gospel of grace, it is like becoming a Christian all over again. We = are committed to this joy and this freedom because the scriptures are. Yet, we must heed Paul’s les= son and see that we are free so we can love freely and sacrificially and joyfully. We must use our fre= edom to love others and limit our freedom to love others.

Oh, there = is not enough time this morning to look at all the snapshots. There is much more about church in= this book. The Lord’s supper= in chapter 11, spiritual gifts in 12-14, and love in chapter 13 all are instan= ces where the truth of the gospel dictates and determines how we are to live as God’s people. I hope yo= u will take time, this week, this month, this lifetime to continue to revisit this journey! Let’s take a f= ew more looks at some snapshots in relation to holiness. As we should expect, Paul addresses these issues in light of , guess what? – the gospel.

Paul addre= sses sexual immorality in chapter 5. Do you remember that? Apparently= there is some incest going on and they are lax in dealing with it. Once again, Paul returns to the tr= uth of the gospel. In verse 6 he say= s, “Do you not know that a little leaven l= eavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as y= ou really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. = Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." (1 Corinthians 5:6-8, ESV) . Paul uses typology from the Jewish Passover celebration. This was the celebration of God= 217;s deliverance of the Jews from Egypt, where he passed over those with the blood of the lamb on their doorposts and took the firstborn of everyone else. (Have you seen the movie? The book is way better.) In remembering this mercy and deliverance t= hey were not to use leaven, an agent to make bread rise, as they had no time to wait for it to rise when they were delivered from Egypt. Leaven is a symbol of impurity oft= en in scripture. So Paul says, the ultimate Passover Lamb has been sacrificed for God’s people, for their forgiveness and newness of life in him.&nb= sp; It is time, therefore, for a new start, a new experience of holiness where there once was sin. The= re is now to be purity, sincerity and right living with Jesus as our King. Immorality has no place with the p= eople of God. Holiness is tied dire= ctly to the good news.

Later on P= aul continues to address holiness. In chapter 6 verses 15 and on says, "Do you not know that your bodie= s are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! ... Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not y= our own, for you were bought with a = price. So glorify God in your body." (1 Corinthians 6:15, 19-2= 0, ESV) Again, our holiness is tied directly to our relationship with Christ through the gospel. Holiness = is the walking out of the implications of the gospel. Jesus died for my sins so I could = be forgiven and belong to him, knowing and enjoying him forever as a member of= his church family, his body. How = can I then ever think about using my body, which belongs to him, for anything else but his glory!

Now, these= truths should hit home like a bomb. = When these statements are made and felt there is impact. That is on purpose. These truths should hit us between= the eyes and knock us off our feet, not because God gets his jollies from shock= ing us, but because he gets his jollies from loving us and changing us. So if you are in a situation where= you are using the members of your body, be it your mind or your actual body, to commit sexual immorality, let this truth pin you down until you say ‘uncle’. But when= you are helped back up, let your gaze be fixed on the one who completely paid for t= his sin and who wipes it from his memory. Receive his loving complete forgiveness and his faithful promise to = meet us in temptation and empower us through his many means of grace to overcome= sin and walk according to the truth that is in Jesus! Resolve to find your life in him, = not your sin, and he will meet you. You are not your own, oh you are something much better, a son and daughter of t= he king, ransomed from slavery to sin to enjoy and serve him forever, you are = not your own, therefore, glorify God with your body!

Paul conti= nues to address holiness throughout this letter, calling married couples in chapter= 7 to practice wholehearted regular sex within marriage for the glory of God. That is holiness folks! We see more of the truth behind th= is by looking at Ephesians 5 where marriage is a glorious picture of Christ and h= is church. What more motivation = and power could we need to pursue marriage to the glory of God!

Paul addre= sses holiness in terms of avoiding idolatry in chapter 10. Do you remember that? We spent some extra time talking a= bout idolatry – that incessant drive humanity has to worship anything as l= ong as it is not God. We learned = that we are now in Christ and called to be the people of God with God as the only one we worship. He required a= nd deserves preeminence in all things, all things are to have him at the center. Whether we sing hymns= , share Christ, eat tacos or brush our teeth, he is to be our God and the center of= our lives. In verse 21 of chapter= 10 Paul says, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. = You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons."<= /b> (1 Corinthians 10:21, ESV). T= hat is, if we celebrate communion, participating in Christ and worship and enjoy God as part of his covenant community, than it is prohibited for us to fellowship with idols and the demons behind them. We belong to God, we must put to d= eath any tendency to give ourselves to idols of any sort. God is very serious about this. Since we belong to Christ we must = have not part with a lifestyle of idolatry.

Now, we ha= ve spent some time looking at key parts of our journey and really only a few key snapshots. I trust you get the flavor of what this book is about. I imagine you are thinking about your next question, “What now= ?”. Well, there are two answers to that question. One is that we will= be taking a trip to the ancient near east to learn from some key themes in the book of Genesis. The other an= swer to that question is that we are to go wherever remembering the lessons of <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Corinth.

At the end= of the letter Paul says some key things to the Corinthians. He wants them to let the truths of= the letter have a lasting effect. There are a couple key statements he makes that I think will help us know what to= do with our journey.

In the last chapter of 1 Corinthians Paul says the following: "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong." (1 Corinthi= ans 16:13, ESV) and a bit after that, "I, Paul, write = this greeting with my own hand. If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you "My = love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen." (1 Corinthians 16:21-2= 4, ESV).

These two statements serve as guides for how we are to respond to this wonderful letter. Both are full of imperatives, that is, commands, “Be, stand, act, be, let him be etc.”. I don’t th= ink Paul wanted to Corinthians to move on too quickly from all he had said in t= his book. There is a weight behind these words. We have been und= er the teaching of God’s word for quite some time here, in particular, we ha= ve been hearing from the book of Corinthians since October, 2004. We have hopefully learned very much. But it would not be oka= y for us to say, “wow, that was a great series, I can’t wait to get o= nto the next one.” You see,= God is not interested so much in how much bible teaching we get, or how well we know each book of the bible. = Now, teaching and knowledge are important and necessary steps. But notice what these commands say= and don’t say. There is no = command here to merely know or merely learn. When knowledge is given we are called to account to do something with it. Knowledge must have its f= ull way with us. If it is true knowledge it must result in action. There is much at stake! Notice what he says in verses 21-24. If you don’t fol= low through with these truths, if there is no love for the Lord, be accursed. Wow, that’s not a very happy= way to finish the letter. But, it is the truth and something the Corinthians ne= ed to hear. If they don’t = heed the truth in this book they stand accursed.&nb= sp; In other words, if there is no response to 1 Corinthians then someth= ing is wrong. The only type of pe= ople who don’t respond to strong stimuli are those who are dead. If you are not responding to the s= trong stimuli of 1 Corinthians than you are dead. And if you are spiritually dead yo= u are cut off from God and ultimately and sadly accursed. So, there is a lot at stake here.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> You must respond if you are alive.= So don’t fool yourselves. There is no other option than to consider and respond to all that has been written here.
So Paul says= to the Corinthians, “"Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, a= ct like men, be strong." Let us do the same. Let us as a l= ocal church be watchful. Let us keep the gospel central.&nbs= p; Let us look to see that we are letting its truth seep down into our souls, through our minds and into our affections. Let us together make sure that it = is flooding into every arena of life. May there be no aspect of who we are and what we do, as individuals,= as marriages, as families, as church members, as neighbors and citizens that is not determined and directed and empowered by the good news of Christ Jesus. Let us stand fir= m on the truth of the gospel, making it our only hope for righteousness, our justification, our sanctification, our holiness, our wisdom, our boast, our picture and window into life. Let us keep it central in everything. Let us believe in it and not in any false or compromised gospel. Let us act like men and be s= trong. You see, when we behold the glory = of God as revealed in the cross we are called to glory in him and in the gospel. We glory in God as his people in t= wo ways. First, we passively rec= eive all that he has done for us, we rest in an alien righteousness, that is the righteousness of Christ, our justification. Secondly, we actively pursue our c= alling in him to be the people of God, a people set apart for holiness. We are called to glory in God and = center on the gospel not only though passively resting and rejoicing in our salvat= ion but also actively pursuing and striving after our sanctification, our high calling in Christ. This is the lesson of 1 Corinthians. Let = us pursue our life in the gospel and for the gospel. Let us not be hesitant to risk all for the gospel and the church.&nb= sp; Let us take on the issues that may intimidate others and by God̵= 7;s grace wrestle with them in light of the gospel and watch God do his work. Let us live boldly and trust God f= or great and wonderful things above and beyond what we could imagine. Let us live forcefully in and forc= efully for the good news of Jesus Christ. <= /span>Let us glory in our Savior and King confidently. For, we have much reason to be confident, as Paul says in concluding this letter – the grace of the Lord Jesus is with us!

Let&= #8217;s pray.

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