The Real World: Corinth - Jesus and the Call of God
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Most of us live with a sense of purpose, whether pursued, hoped for, or slightly perceived. Paul is making it clear from the outset that this is not an arbitrary thing - the call of God is a preeminent theme in the introduction to Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. The God who created you has a clear call, an invitation and a charge, on each of your lives which you must recognize and obey if you are to be ultimately satisfied, fulfilling your life's purpose. Most of us have ideas about the call of God that are independently minded, me focused, and based in worldly standards of success. In this opening chapter, however, the Holy Spirit, through Paul, helps us recognize to whom you are called, to what you are called, and with whom you are called to do it.
To Whom You are Called
I Corinthians 1:1-3 (NIV)
1Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: 3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 9 (NIV)
1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. 10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 15But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. 23After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. 26When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 31Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. 32As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. 33There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. 34“Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. 35All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. 36In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!” 39Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. 40Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. 42This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.
Who was Paul?
Paul was a Jewish Pharisee, a religious leader, who was trained by one of the day's preeminent rabbis, named Gamaliel. In an effort to prove his zeal for the Jewish law, he was an initial persecutor of the Jewish sect known as the Way (followers of Christ - John 14:6). On one of his mission trips to imprison disciples of Jesus, Paul met the resurrected Jesus (Acts 9). Though knowing full well that a misappropriation of the identity of God meant death, Paul spent the rest of his life proclaiming Jesus as God in the flesh until his martyrdom for this testimony under the emperor Nero in 64 AD. He was convinced of Jesus being the Savior of the world, the promised Messiah, by the Hebrew Scriptures and his encounter with Christ after Jesus' bodily resurrection. I Corinthians, a total of three-fourths of the New Testament letters, and much of the doctrine of the world's largest religion are a result of that conviction.
1) Paul is called to be an apostle of Christ (v. 1).
When Paul is called, he is called to be an apostle to a particular group of people.
Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 9:1, 2 NIV)
Function and leadership within the church are God ordained, not man-made. It is the authority and confidence from which Paul speaks and leads. When Paul directs the church in its affairs or brings correction in its errors, it is because Christ has appointed him to do so as a representative of Himself. Leadership in the church is not something to be abused by the leader nor taken lightly by those being led. Both must walk in the fear of God to find themselves in the pleasure and purposes of Jesus. This is a difficult scenario for many in the culture today because of church abuses, heresies, and the independence that is promoted in our society. However, going online to get one's minister license does not equate to an appointment from God. Nor does it give one a Christ-centered and submitted authority within a particular body of believers. Godly leadership is a trust and a stewardship that the holder must walk out in humility before the Judge who will hold them accountable for their service (Hebrews 13).
2) This particular church, along with the universal church, is called to belong to Christ and to be holy.
“Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on treasuring anything above seeing and savoring God. And people who would be happy in heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there. The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It's a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God. If we don't want God above all things, we have not been converted by the gospel.” ― John Piper, God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God's Love as the Gift of Himself
This begins with time set apart to daily meet with Him. This is where your identity is formed, truth is revealed, and your relationship with Christ is built. Through His Word, worship, and prayer, you are made holy. It is in this place that the joy of the Lord is renewed in you.
To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: (1 Corinthians 1:2 NIV)
It must be noted that Paul is writing to a group, a church community, and not just an individual instructing them how to have a personal faith. We are called to a new identity, a new Father, and a new family whom the Heavenly Father loves and for whom He cares. It is in relationship with other believers that holiness is refined and you are given tracks on which to run.
Holy means set apart for divine purposes. Note that this calling is within a group context, and not singular in scope. You will fulfill your holy calling while a part of the body in which God places you. It is there that you find the teaching, encouragement, correction, loving accountability, and strength that you need to pursue God's ends. Never forget that Jesus (Matthew 16) is building His church, and you are to practically, in life and service, be a part of it. If you can not live out your faith in the context of a church community submitted to Christ, it is not yet a fully formed, Biblical faith.
A walk with Christ was never meant to be a solo sport; it is not a self-help program or solitaire. The idea of a personalized, isolated Christianity is not a Biblical one. The story of Biblical Christianity is a family of believers loving God, loving one another, and being on mission with Christ to love their world. It does not have to be this church, but we encourage each of you to find a local God fearing, Bible teaching, Jesus honoring community with which you can grow, thrive, and come into the purposes if God. God has a call to a local family of believers for you.
Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:22 NIV)
“The church is not a theological classroom. It is a conversion, confession, repentance, reconciliation, forgiveness and sanctification center, where flawed people place their faith in Christ, gather to know and love him better, and learn to love others as he designed.” ― Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change
To What You are Called
I Corinthians 1:4-17 (NIV)
4 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— 6God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas ”; still another, “I follow Christ.” 13Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
3) The church is called into fellowship with the Son of God, Jesus Christ (v. 9), through the cross.
Fellowship means a shared life.
It all begins with repentance, faith, and baptism. Repentance is a change of mind in regard to the way in which you used to think to now share in the life Jesus exemplified and gives as a gift. The cross is the place of death to your own way of life. Baptism is the pledge of a good conscience to a new master and lover, a public circumcision that empowers the new direction that you are taking in Christ. Your burial in baptism should also indicate that you are no longer merely living for yourself, but for the one who raised you into new life to serve the world that He came to save.
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 NIV)
Ultimately we must always remember that God is not here to serve our ends, but by His grace, we have been called into humble service of the King. We must continually ask ourselves the question, "What is He up to, and how is my life playing a part in His grand symphony?"
“Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.” ― Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas ”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. (1 Corinthians 1:11-17 NIV)
You are not primarily a Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Anglican, Pentecostal, Evangelical, or any other camp. You are not primarily a Calvinist, an Arminianist, a liberal, a conservative, a charismatic, an emerging church groupie, or a traditionalist. You are not part of the black church, the white church, the Asian, Latino, African, European, or Orthodox church. You are to be a follower of Jesus the Christ, the only one who lived perfectly, bled and died for your sins, and was raised to life so that you can be forgiven and have eternal life by His grace and through your trust in Him!
With Whom You are Called To Do It
I Corinthians 1:18-31 (NIV)
18For the message of the cross is foolishness 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; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 26Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
4) God has called both Jews and Greeks into this fellowship (v. 24).
Jews were the keepers of the law and knowledge of the true God. The majority of the early church were Jewish and all of the writers of the New Testament, minus Luke the physician/historian who wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts as the earliest recorded history of the church, were Jewish. Jesus was from a Jewish lineage and came as the Messianic fulfillment of the Jewish prophetic writings.
Greeks were Gentiles (everyone else) to whom God's redemptive plan extended through the Savior, as spoken about through Jewish prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the authors of the Psalms.
5) Both the wise and the foolish, the influential and non-influential, those who were born of noble birth and those who were not, are called (v. 26).
These two things combined speak of the extreme inclusivity (God wants every nation, people, tribe, tongue, pedigree, and background) of the gospel through the exclusivity of Jesus Christ (only Christ's work on the cross saves and is the bridge to reconciliation with God as we repent of our sins).
We all fit into one of these two categories, either like the Jews of that time looking for signs and power feats to validate the identity of the Messiah (which Jesus fulfilled in spades), or we are like the Greeks of that day who exalted intellectualism and philosophy to determine truth. Whether your bent is science or wonders, God has proven Himself on every ground by the historic death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now what are the implications?
God chose the foolish, the weak, the lowly and despised things to belong to Him and change the world. Our boast is in God's grace alone. This is the call of God.
“For a Christian to be a Christian, he must first be a sinner. Being a sinner is a prerequisite for being a church member. The Christian church is one of the few organizations in the world that requires a public acknowledgement of sin as a condition for membership.” ― R.C. Sproul, Reason to Believe: A Response to Common Objections to Christianity
God has no real weakness in Himself. He is omnipotent. The weakness described in verse 25 is the the voluntary giving of the life of His Son (a real act of strength) for the sake of the world He came to save. It was seemingly foolish, but ended up the most wise act of all, as it led to the redemption of the world that had violently rejected Him and chosen their own death. It was foolish in the way that a Javert in Les Miserables was shown grace by the priest from whom He stole, being given the opportunity to begin a new life with riches unearned by the former prisoner. It was His foolishness that paved the way for us to be born again, be made new creations, have our sins forgiven, and the power and opportunity to live a new life. It is what is available to everyone today.
Second City Church- The Real World: Corinth Sermon Series 2013