CORINTHIAN ISSUES – MESSAGE 1
June 8, 2003

“A Blessed Church with Values”

1 Corinthians 1: 1 – 9

Today we will start working through the Book of 1 Corinthians.  This letter to the people of Corinth covers 16 chapters.  We learn right away in Chapter 1 that the Apostle Paul sent the letter.  He said that a man named Sosthenes was with him.  Acts, Chapter 18, tells us that Sosthenes was a leader of a synagogue in the city of Corinth when Paul visited there.

Not only will this be the longest series of the year – 23 messages long – I believe it’s going to be interesting, challenging, and helpful.  I think we will all learn, and I really hope that you will be here for as much of the series as possible, so that you can really benefit from it.  Even though today’s sermon is an introduction and overview of what we have to look forward to, I think there will be something in it that challenges us.

Early in Chapter 1, Paul said that he was sending this letter to the Church of God at Corinth.  Corinth was fairly close to Athens, with Jerusalem to the east.  To the west, across the Mediterranean Sea, was Rome.       

Corinth was a large commercial port city, a wealthy trade center, and a crossroads, very much a metropolis in that day.  People from other parts of the world passed through regularly.  Athletics were a big thing in Corinth.  Every other year it hosted the Isthmus Games, which were second in importance to the Olympic games in Athens.  One other thing Corinth was known for, which will come into play in our study, is that south of the city was a huge temple built to the Greek Goddess of Love, Aphrodites.  The Romans called her Venus.  A thousand women worked in the temple.  Since Aphrodites was the Goddess of Love, part of the worship at the temple involved having sexual relations with those women.  They would go into town at night and do their second job, which was prostitution.  Corinth came to be known as a cesspool of immorality.  It was a seaman’s paradise – Sin City.  Seamen loved to stop there because any pleasure they desired was available.  In fact, the people of that time coined a word – Corinthianize.  “To Corinthianize” meant to be active in sexual immorality and promiscuity, which were common lifestyles in Corinth. 

We learn from Acts 18 that the Apostle Paul, while on his second journey, came to Corinth.  He ended up staying a year and a half, preaching a specific message – Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  During that time, a number of people came to Christ through Paul’s ministry.  By the time he left, there was a church.  The believers had organized, were meeting regularly, and were functioning as a body. 

About three years later, when he was in Ephesus, Paul wrote this letter to those Christians in Corinth.  He wrote it for two reasons.  First, he had learned by word of mouth about a number of things going on in the church.  We find a reference to that in verse 11 of Chapter 1:  “For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people….”  In Chapter 5, verse 1 he wrote, “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you.”  Word about the immorality in Corinth had gotten out and was known everywhere.  It had been “noised abroad.”

The second reason Paul wrote the letter was that the church itself had written him a letter, asking many questions about the issues that had come up during the three years.  Paul said in Chapter 7, verse 1, “Now, concerning the things about which you wrote.…”   So, we have things that Paul had heard by word of mouth, plus questions that the Corinthians had asked in their letter.  He addressed both in his letter to them. 

The issues – an overview  

There were many issues for Paul to deal with.  One issue he would address was divisions over leaders and teachers – a major problem within the Corinthian church.  They were a divided church, and that affected many of the other issues facing them.  

Other issues had to do with immorality and the failure to confront open sin.  These are addressed in Chapters 5 and 6.  Chapter 5, dealing with the open sin issue, is a hard one to deal with.  In Chapter 6 Paul also addressed the issue of lawsuits – Christians bringing other Christians to the world’s courts. 

Chapters 12 to 14 address the issue of spiritual gifts and how the people in the Corinthian church were misusing a wonderful thing.  Paul also spoke of Christian liberty and what’s right and what’s wrong for believers.  He covered the so-called gray areas and how to deal with them in Chapters 8 through 10. 

In Chapter 11 we’ll see some teachings on the Lord’s Supper, and how it shouldn’t be abused.  Marriage and divorce are the subjects of Chapter 7.  There had been questions written to Paul about that – things that the Corinthians, believers for only three years, were already wondering about. 

Chapters 11 and 14 cover the role of women in the church.  In Chapter 9 Paul talked about the support of preachers.  Chapter 14 also discusses chaos and confusion when the Corinthians gathered together – what they were doing wrong and what they should have been doing instead.  In Chapter 15 he addressed false doctrines, specifically concerning the resurrection of the dead. 

That’s a sampling of the kinds of issues in the Corinthian church that this letter deals with.  I want you to understand that all these were issues in just one church, arising in only three years time.  Author Max Lucado described those three years in that church this way:  “The church had gone wacko.” 

The other thing you should notice is that the issues in the Corinthian church could be used to describe churches today.  When you look at them, it’s hard to believe that they are from the Apostle Paul’s time.  They are still issues in churches today.  As we look at how Paul addressed them for the Corinthians, it should be easy for us to apply them today, because they are still relevant.  It will be a relevant series. 

We won’t be going through 1 Corinthians chapter by chapter or verse by verse – we’ll go issue by issue.  I’ll tell you right up front that some of the issues are going to be difficult to present, difficult to listen to, and difficult to apply and practice, individually or even as a group.  I like working through books of the Bible, because once I have started a book, I’m committed, and you are going to hold me accountable.   I’ll have to cover every issue.  It won’t be easy. 

I heard about a man who took his wife to a Chinese restaurant to impress her.  All the items on the menu were written in Chinese.  He had no clue what they were, but he was too proud to admit his ignorance to his wife.  And so, when the young Chinese waiter came to take their order, he had to quickly decide how to save his pride.  When the waiter asked for his order, he said, “We’ll have what the lady over there is eating.”  The waiter looked at him with a puzzled expression, walked over to the other table and had a conversation with the woman.  In a few moments he came back to the couple’s table with her food.  He got exactly what he asked for – what the woman was eating.   

The point of that story is this. There will be things I understand, which I believe I can teach confidently and strongly, but I’m not so proud as to tell you that I will understand everything and that I can perfectly interpret what Paul was trying to say.  If I claim I do, I’ll get us all in trouble, just as the man got himself and the waiter in trouble.  If I don’t understand something, I’ll let you know.  I’ll tell you what I think Paul intended, and we can try to figure it out together.   

Blessings

The way the Apostle Paul began his letter is interesting.  He probably had some time to think through the issues, gather his thoughts, and decide how he would respond.  Then he began his letter to a group of people who, according to Max Lucado, had gone wacko, by talking about blessings, not issues, and by thanking God for them.  Notice verse 4 in Chapter 1:  “I thank my God always, concerning you….”  Here’s a man who knew how serious these issues were and that he was about to deal with them firmly, but he started by thanking God for the Corinthian people. 

In the first nine verses we see Paul talking about blessings – how these people were blessed people and how this church in Corinth was a blessed church.  Let’s look at some of the blessings.  In verse 2, he said, “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus.…”  What did he mean when he told the people they were sanctified?  It was a way of pointing to their salvation – they were set apart for God.  In Christ, through your salvation, you have been separated out from the world for God; you have been sanctified.  That’s a blessing. 

When our son Mark was young, one morning at the breakfast table he illustrated what “being sanctified” means.  We have a Tupperware container for breakfast cereal, and sometimes someone pours in more cereal before all the old cereal is gone from the bottom of the container.  Apparently someone had poured in Cocoa Puffs before all the Corn Pops were used up, so when Mark poured his cereal into the bowl he got a mixture of Cocoa Puffs and Corn Pops.  I watched as he sat there with that bowl and a second empty bowl.  He took the time to pick out all the Cocoa Puffs and transfer them to the other bowl, so that he would have all the Cocoa Puffs for himself, without any Corn Pops.  Those Cocoa Puffs were “sanctified” that morning – Mark separated them out for himself.

Paul said to the Corinthians that in their salvation in Christ, that’s what happened to them.  God separated them out from this world for Himself.  They were sanctified.  What a blessing.  People with many issues were set apart for God.   

Next, Paul said in verse 2, “To those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling….”  He told those people with all those issues that they were saints – holy.  Is it because they acted like saints?  No.  It’s because they were saints by calling.  They had been separated from the world and set apart for God through salvation by calling.  What a blessing to be called a saint by God.  They were saints who had issues. 

In verse 4 Paul said,  “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus.”  These people had been saved by grace – undeserved favor from God.  That’s a third blessing.

Verse 5 reads, “…that in everything you were enriched in Him in all speech and knowledge.”  These people were enriched in Christ.  They were spiritually wealthy.  As an example of this enrichment, Paul said in verse 7, “…you are not lacking in any gift….”  As we’ll see in Chapter 12, these people had all the gifts that God gives in their church.  Enrichment was the fourth blessing.

Paul went on in verses 7 and 8, “…awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Paul said that they were confirmed to the end – secure.  That was another blessing.  He believed they were going to heaven, and that they would be there at the end, in the presence of Jesus.  These were people with many issues, yet Paul said they were secure in their salvation. 

Finally, Paul finished his introduction in verse 9 saying “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”  They were in fellowship with Jesus.  They weren’t acting like it right then, but the fact is, they were united with Jesus.  They were in partnership with Him in salvation.

And so, before Paul even talked about issues, he reminded the Corinthians about the blessings of their salvation, and thanked God for them.  He reminded them that they were sanctified, sainted, graced, enriched, gifted, and secure people who were in union with Jesus Christ.  They were blessed people.  He believed it.

 But, they still had serious issues, and that’s what the rest of the book is all about.  There are three things we can take from this:  (1) Blessings do not prevent or eliminate issues; (2) Blessings unite, although the issues can divide; (3) Issues must be addressed in the context of the blessings.

Blessings do not prevent or eliminate issues.  Just because the Corinthians were extremely blessed in their salvation, being blessed didn’t eliminate or prevent the serious issues they had.  It’s important to keep that in mind.  You can’t say that you don’t have issues, just because you are followers of Christ.  Christians have issues.  The Corinthians were a blessed church – with issues.  It’s an interesting combination. 

Second, we learn that blessings unite, although the issues can divide.  The blessings Paul listed helped to unite the Corinthians, because as followers of Christ, they were all sanctified.  They were all saints by calling, recipients of grace; enriched and gifted by God, secure in fellowship with Jesus, and united with Him.  These blessings unite all Christians, just as the Corinthians’ blessings united them in their common faith.  Yet, clearly, they had allowed issues to divide them. 

The third principle is that the issues must be addressed in the context of the blessings.  I believe that Paul addressed these issues correctly, by beginning the letter to the Corinthians as he did.  He didn’t just jump in and tear right into the first issue by saying, “How could you let this happen?”  Instead, he began by saying, “I thank God for you.”  Before he addressed the issues that had divided the Corinthians, he reminded them of the blessings that united them and were theirs through salvation.  I think the reason he did that was to make sure that once he started addressing the actual issues, the people would have fresh on their minds both the blessings that were supposed to unite them and what they shared in common in Christ.  Then, he could address the issues in that context.

How should sanctified people – people set apart for God – address these issues?  How should saints deal with these issues?  How should people who have received the grace of God handle issues that might call for grace toward each other?  How should people who have been enriched and gifted with every spiritual blessing respond?  How should people who are secure and united with Jesus Christ deal with their issues? 

I think there is wisdom in Paul’s approach.  I think that is a very important principle for all of us.  Is our church blessed?  Certainly.  We are blessed in the same way, and   Paul’s list is true of us as well.  In our common salvation, all of us who are followers of Christ are sanctified.  We are saints by calling.  We are recipients of God’s wonderful grace, enriched, spiritually wealthy, a gifted church, secure in our common salvation, in fellowship with Jesus, united with Him – a blessed church.

We have issues.  Who of us would be so blind and unrealistic as to say that the Embarrass Free Church doesn’t have any issues?   Like any other church, we are blessed, but certainly we also have issues.  Most of us as individuals have issues we’re dealing with in our own lives.  We are blessed in salvation, but we still have personal issues.  We might also have issues as a church – group issues.  Some of us might have issues with the church as well – that’s pretty common.  Maybe some of our issues are the same ones the Corinthians had.  This makes it very important for us to really pay attention as Paul addresses their issues.

The thing to remember, friends, is that when you and I address these personal or church issues, we must do so in the context of the blessings that unite us – the blessings that come with our common salvation.  The reason the Corinthian church went “wacko” is that they tried to deal with their issues like the world tries to deal with its issues.  They did not deal with them in the context of the blessings of their salvation that united them.  It’s the same reason churches go “wacko” today.

We need to remember that, as we get started in this new series.  Let’s learn, along with the Corinthians, how to address our issues in the context of the blessings of our salvation that unite us. 

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