"The Common Good" -- 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

The Twenty-Second in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

The church in Corinth was struggling with a number of issues.  When they asked Paul a question about spiritual gifts and speaking in tongues, Paul answers their question by taking up a discussion of spiritual things (pneumotikon).  Paul informs them that in order to understand spiritual things, a Christian must first confess that Jesus is Lord through the enabling of the Holy Spirit.  A Christian must believe that Jesus is the Lord of all things and the very Son of God, whose death saves us from the guilt and power of sin, and whose righteousness is imputed to us through the means of faith.  For Paul, knowing and confessing that Jesus is Lord, is the starting point when it comes to understanding spiritual things (the pneumotikon).  We must understand spiritual things so that we understand spiritual gifts (the so-called charismata), including the role of speaking in tongues.

As we continue our series on 1 Corinthians, we have reached chapter 12 where Paul seeks to answer a question the Corinthians had put to him in a letter which reached the Apostle while he was in Ephesus.  Although Paul doesn’t tell us what their question was, it must of had something to do with speaking in tongues, since this is the subject of a lengthy discussion in chapter 14.  In chapters 12-13, Paul is laying the ground work for dealing with that subject by addressing how we as Christians are to understand “spiritual things.”  Understanding spiritual things enables us to speak properly about spiritual gifts and to realize that the greatest of the Spirit’s gifts is not the ability to speak in tongues, but the ability to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, the subject of chapter 13.

Having affirmed the Lordship of Christ as the foundation for the discussion of spiritual things in verses 1-3 of chapter 12 (our subject last time), Paul continues to deal with the specific question asked by the Corinthians.  At this point, Paul takes up a discussion of spiritual gifts.  While there is one Lord (Jesus) and one Holy Spirit, there are many spiritual gifts given to those within the church.  Each of these individual Christians who is given a particular spiritual gift plays a vital role in the building up of the body of Christ because these gifts are given for the common good, as Paul puts it.

In verses 4-11 of chapter 12, Paul describes how genuine Christian unity is based upon the fact that there is one God, one Lord, one Spirit, and one common divine purpose for spiritual gifts.  Therefore, the only way to make sense of spiritual gifts, is to understand the unity of Christ’s body, and how these gifts serve the purpose of building up that one body.  This flies in the face of the pagan understanding of spiritual things which saw such so-called “spirituality” as centering in someone’s religious experiences, or in the ability to predict the future, speak to the dead, or pronounce or remove blessings and curses.  Paul is reminding the Corinthians that spiritual gifts are not about Christians as individuals, but about the well-being of Christ’s church as a whole.

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

"Jesus Is Lord" -- 1 Corinthians 12:1-3

The Twenty-First in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

First century Corinth was dominated by paganism.  The church to which Paul is writing his first Corinthian letter had been founded by Paul just a few years earlier, and most of the members of this church were new Christians, struggling to live the Christian life in the midst of a pagan culture.  From the things we have seen throughout our study of this letter, apparently the Corinthians understood the gospel–they were justified before God through the merits of Jesus Christ received through faith alone.  But the Corinthians were struggling with leaving behind those pagan ways of thinking and doing which saturated their culture and which characterized their lives before becoming Christians.  Their struggle and their culture were surprisingly very much like our own.  The Corinth of 55 A.D. was very much like contemporary Southern California.

We now turn to 1 Corinthians 12 where Paul addresses the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church and its members.  As Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:11, certain members of Chloe’s family (who were members of the Corinthian church) had arrived in Ephesus, where Paul was staying when he wrote this letter.  Chloe’s family reported to Paul that a number of troubling things were going on back in Corinth.  Sadly, there were factions and divisions forming within the church.  Some were claiming, “I follow Paul.” Others, “I follow Peter.”  Others still, “I follow Apollos.”  There was even a group boasting, “I follow Jesus.” 

Paul condemns this behavior in no uncertain terms.  Paul reminds the Corinthians that he had proclaimed the gospel to them–in which the wisdom and power of God were clearly revealed.  The gospel exposed the so-called “wisdom” of Greco-Roman paganism for the foolishness that it was.  Paul explained that it was the Holy Spirit who brought the Corinthians to faith in Jesus Christ, and then formed these individual believers into the living temple of God in which the Holy Spirit dwells.  Because the church is the living temple of the Holy Spirit, no one should seek to divide it.  This means that the factions which had formed in Corinth were not the work of the Holy Spirit, but a manifestation of that sinful behavior the pagans considered to be “wisdom.”

To read the rest of this sermon: Click Here

"Let a Person Examine Himself" -- 1 Corinthians 11:27-34

The Twentieth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

Our text contains a warning which should give us all a moment’s pause.  Paul warns that unless we examine ourselves before we come to table of the Lord, we risk coming under God’s judgment, and as a result, getting sick or even dying.  Now that I have your attention, we are a church which celebrates weekly communion, therefore this is a passage with which we need to wrestle and consider with great care.  But great care is not fear.  Since Jesus has died for our sins (taking the covenant curse which we deserve upon himself), we need not fear coming to the table of the Lord because we are sinners and are struggling with our sins.  But we do need to examine ourselves in the matter prescribed by Paul, and that is the theme of this sermon–how do we properly examine ourselves before we come to the table of the Lord?

We are making our way through 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, where Paul rebukes the Corinthian church for the way in which they were observing the Lord’s Supper.  As we saw when we tackled verses 17-26 of this same chapter, this is an important passage, because in it we find the oldest account of the Lord’s Supper anywhere in the New Testament, written by Paul about A.D. 54, a decade or so before any of the canonical gospels had been written.  Give this early date, this passage provides an invaluable window into how the apostolic church worshiped just twenty years after the life and ministry of Jesus.  Throughout this section of First Corinthians (chapters 11-14), it is clear that the early church focused upon the preaching of Christ crucified, followed by the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.  No doubt, this was the ordinary Lord’s Day practice of the apostolic churches.

As we read through this chapter, it is readily apparent that Paul is fit to be tied with the Corinthians.  Just as with Jewish Passover, the celebration of the Lord’s Supper took place within the context of a fellowship meal after the worship service had been conducted.  But in Corinth, the church’s celebration of the Lord’s Supper had sadly degenerated into something like what went on in one of the city’s pagan temples or guild halls.  Some people were not waiting for others to be served and ate all the food which had been prepared, leaving the poor without anything to eat.  Others were drinking all the wine, getting drunk, and behaving in an unruly manner.  Paul is disgusted by this behavior and rebukes the congregation accordingly.  He has nothing good to say about this (“I do not commend you”) and is even worried that the Supper is actually doing more harm than good.  Things have gotten so bad, Paul can even say, “when you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat” (or at least as it was instituted by Christ and taught to the Corinthians by Paul).

To read the rest of this sermon:  Click Here

"Until He Comes" -- 1 Corinthians 11:17-26

The Nineteenth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

In chapters 11-14 of 1 Corinthians, Paul gives us a fascinating account of what actually transpired during the worship service of an apostolic church.  From Paul’s account, it is clear that worship in the Corinthian church centered on the proclamation of Christ crucified, followed by the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.  The problem in Corinth is that the Corinthians were celebrating the Lord’s Supper in such a way that the Supper had become virtually indistinguishable from one of the banquets held in a pagan temple or guild hall.  Paul rebukes the Corinthians for this behavior in no uncertain terms.  Yet in doing so, Paul also spells out the meaning of the Lord’s Supper as well as informing us why the Supper occupies such an important role in Christian worship.  All and all, this is a fascinating passage and we’ll spend the next two sermons working our way through the balance of this chapter.

In First Corinthians 11:17-34, we have the earliest account of the Lord’s Supper in the entire New Testament.  Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was probably written about 54 A.D., before any of the canonical gospels had been written.  The Corinthian letter, therefore, gives us a very important insight into the Supper as it was celebrated from the earliest times.  The Lord’s Supper is the New Covenant equivalent of the Jewish Passover, and like the Passover, was celebrated as part of a larger fellowship meal, which followed what we might call the ordinary worship service. 
 
As we have seen in previous sermons on this letter, it is vital that we attempt to understand Paul’s discussion of the abuse of the Supper against the backdrop of Greco-Roman culture, with its emphasis upon feasting and communal meals.  Such meals were commonly celebrated in one of the pagan temples or guild halls throughout the city.  On the one hand, the Corinthians would have been very familiar with communal meals like that one instituted by Jesus on his last night together with his disciples.  Yet, on the other hand, the Corinthians would have dined only with those of the same social standing and profession, or with members of the same religious sect.  The Supper as instituted by Jesus was intended to unite God’s people around their common faith in Christ, not divide people along racial or socio-economic lines as was apparently the case in Corinth. 

To read the rest of this sermon:  Click Here

"The Image and Glory of God" -- 1 Corinthians 11:1-16

Note:  I am posting texts of sermon manuscripts again (to complete the 1 Corinthian series)

The Eighteenth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

We live in a culture dominated by celebrities–people who are famous for being famous.  Madonna, Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan and Brittany Spears are household names not so much because of their talent or accomplishments, but because of their ability to shock us by defying societal convention.  People are interested in them because they offend our sensitivities.  Believe it or not, Paul is dealing with much the same thing in the Corinthian church.  In an age in which women were not to be seen or heard, Paul recounts how what some have called a first century woman’s liberation movement brought great distress to the Corinthian church.

As we continue our series on First Corinthians, we come to chapter 11.  Apparently, when composing their list of questions to Paul, the Corinthians asked the apostle about certain aspects of public worship.  In light of these questions, Paul now turns his attention to matters of proper conduct in worship (1 Corinthians 11) before addressing spiritual gifts in chapter 12.  After praising the Corinthians for holding fast to his teaching (v. 2), Paul raises the matter of headship to describe three important relationships: man/Christ; woman/man; Christ/God, as the basis for his discussion of head-coverings, or more likely, hairstyles (vv. 4-5a), as these relate to male headship and the modesty of women in the churches.

The cultural background here is important.  Unless we understand the circumstances in Corinth, we will not understand Paul’s response.  While the general principles are clear and binding upon Christians in different cultures throughout the ages, the specific cultural issues Paul discusses are not always clear to us.  The rebellion and immodesty which was symbolized by the long, flowing hairstyles in Corinth, may be symbolized by another hairstyle in another culture.  This is why we must not concentrate on the specifics in terms of application, but the general principles.  In Greco-Roman culture, a woman’s hair was often the object of male lust.  This is why in much of the Mediterranean world women were expected to cover their hair (or wear it up) as an expression of modesty and proper etiquette.

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

"Do All to the Glory of God" -- 1 Corinthians 10:14-33

The Seventeenth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

Despite popular opinion to the contrary, Christianity is not a religion centered in prohibitions–“thou shalt not do this,” “thou shalt not do that.”  Rather, Christianity is a religion centered in God’s gracious plan to rescue the sinful human race from the guilt and consequences of our sin.  Because God has saved us from our sins, he will not allow us to worship him while at the same time keeping our allegiances to any non-Christian religions or practices in which we may have been involved before we came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  In the Corinth of Paul’s day, the people to whom Paul is writing were all new Christians.  They are struggling mightily to leave their pagan past behind.  They have written to Paul asking him a series of questions about how their new faith in Christ impacts them as they continue to live in a city dominated by pagan temples and practices.  Earlier, Paul exhorted them to put the needs of their neighbors above their own–to give up their liberty for the sake of others.  Now he gives the Corinthians a very simple standard by which to live as Christians in the midst of a pagan world–do all to the glory of God.

We have made our way as far as the second half of 1 Corinthians 10, where Paul brings to a conclusion the discussion begun back in 1 Corinthians 8:1 when he first raised the question of a Christian’s participation in pagan feasting.  The reason it has taken Paul so long to lay out his response is probably due to the fact that Paul is answering each of the points the Corinthians raised in their letter to the apostle in which they asked the question of whether or not it was acceptable for Christians to eat meat which had been sacrificed to idols.  

Paul has already explained that idols are nothing since there is one true and living God who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ.  Paul has spelled out that eating such meat, or not eating such meat does not commend us nor condemn us before God.  But Paul is emphatic that the strong–those who see nothing wrong with eating meat sacrificed to idols–should be willing to bear with the weak (who think this meat should not be eaten) until the weak become strong.  The strong should be willing to give up their freedom until such time as the weak out-grow their spiritual immaturity.

As we have seen throughout this part of 1 Corinthians, food was often tied to pagan forms of worship.  It was commonplace for an animal to be sacrificed in one of the city’s pagan temples.  Part of the butchered animal was used as a burnt offering, some of it went to the priests and participants in these pagan rituals, but the remaining meat was often sold to local butchers or in city’s marketplace.  It is one thing to go into a pagan temple and participate in the pagan ceremony which includes an animal sacrifice and the ritualistic consumption of its flesh.  It is another thing to buy the leftover meat from these ceremonies from a third party when that meat had no religious significance other than it was to be eaten for dinner.  Should Christians buy and eat this meat, or should they abstain?  And what are you to do when someone offers you a meal and you don’t know where the meat came from.  What then?

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

"The Rock Was Christ" -- 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

The Sixteenth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

The issue facing many in the Corinthian congregation is a serious one.  Can we profess our faith in Christ, go to church on Sunday, but still part participate in pagan practices or ceremonies outside of church life?  How do we as Christians interact with pagan religions and pagan ceremonies?  What are we to learn from the account of Israel’s time in the wilderness, when YHWH was visibly present with his people, provided them with his word and means of grace, and yet the Israelites grumbled about God’s prohibition against their participation in pagan ceremonies?  In what way is Israel an example to us?

We now make our way into chapter 10–the heart of Paul’s discussion of idolatry.  Paul has already spoken of his great concern for the weak in this congregation, those people who cannot separate the eating of meat from idolatry, and who think that if they eat meat which has been used in a pagan sacrifice, they are somehow endorsing or participating in the same paganism they are striving to leave behind.  As we have seen, Paul has gone to great lengths to defend his apostolic office and to make clear that he practices what he preaches.  Paul has even voluntarily given up that to which he is entitled for the sake of the gospel.  It is Paul’s purpose to become all things to all men for the sake of the gospel, so by all means, some might come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  

In typical Pauline fashion, Paul now introduces an illustration from redemptive history to bolster this point about the damage done when the people of God continue to engage in idolatrous practices–turning from the true and living God to worship and serve created things, all the while professing faith in Christ.  Throughout the Old Testament, Israel experienced countless blessings from God (including spiritual baptism, spiritual food and drink) only to have fallen into idolatry even when YHWH was visibly present among the people.  The result–that generation of Israelites stumbled badly and did not obtain the promised inheritance.  Countless Israelites died in the wilderness of the Sinai.  Against the backdrop of Israel’s own history, Paul’s point is crystal clear.  If, like Israel, the Corinthians continue to make peace with idolatry, they too may suffer the same fate and come under God’s judgment.

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

"For the Sake of the Gospel" -- 1 Corinthians 9:1-27

The Fifteenth in a Series of Sermons on First Corinthians

Although we are 2000 years removed from the ancient Greek city of Corinth, we accept Paul’s apostolic authority without question.  For many of us, Paul is our favorite New Testament writer because he teaches so many of the doctrines we hold dear.  It is hard for us to imagine that Paul had to defend his own apostolic authority in a church which he himself helped to found.  Yet that is the case in 1 Corinthians 9.  Paul cannot tell the strong among the Corinthians to act in a certain way toward the weak, if he himself does not practice what he preaches.  And so Paul now spells out his approach to dealing with Jewish and Gentile believers in the midst of a pagan culture.

In chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians, Paul continues to address problems arising from the practice of meat being sacrificed to idols.  Apparently, some in the Corinthian church were using Paul’s voluntary surrender of his liberty to eat all things as an argument that Paul’s apostolic authority was limited.  Even though Paul was free to eat all things, he realized that doing so might offend the weak, so in such cases, Paul abstained.  As we saw last time in chapter 8, Paul explained that Christian liberty is not freedom to do whatever we want, but liberation to do as we ought.  Love for our brethren trumps Christian freedom.

Paul develops two basic lines of defense regarding his apostolic authority.  These are stated in the form of a series of rhetorical questions.  The first is that Paul is indeed an apostle with all the rights and privileges thereof.  A second point is that no Christian should use their liberty without due regard for the weak–just as Paul has done.  This is especially problematic given the fact that Paul apparently ate Gentile food when in Gentile settings, even as he abstained in Jewish settings.  It may have appeared to some that Paul is vacillating.  So Paul defends his behavior.  He has done nothing wrong, or inconsistent with his apostolic calling.  This is evident by the fact that he preaches the gospel voluntarily, even though he is  entitled to be paid for his labor in the churches.

To the rest of this sermon, Click Here

"There Is One God" -- 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

The Fourteenth in a Series of Sermons on First Corinthians

I’ve heard of churches squabbling over doctrine, over new programs, and even over whether or not the church’s new carpet should be red or blue.  But I’ve never heard Christians squabble over whether or not the meat someone brought to the church potluck had originally been used in a pagan sacrifice.  Yet this matter had become an issue in Corinth.  How do we as Christians interact with the non-Christian religions around us?  Can we go to their ceremonies and participate in their rituals?  Can we dress like the pagans?  Identify with pagan culture?  And what about using their left-overs?  Is that participating in paganism, and a violation of God’s prohibition of idolatry?  

The following and lengthy section of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (chapters 8-10) requires some background information to interpret properly, since the idea of sacrificing food to idols seems so foreign to us.  It is easy for us to understand why Christians should have nothing to do with idolatry.  It is clearly forbidden by the first three commandments, and idolatry is condemned in a number of Old Testament passages such as Deuteronomy 4:15-30 (our Old Testament lesson).  But it is far more difficult to understand how food items can be so directly connected to pagan practices.

As we work our way though this section of 1 Corinthians, there are several things we need to keep in mind.  For one thing, there was no refrigeration in Paul’s day, so once an animal had been butchered it had to be eaten soon thereafter, lest the meat spoil.  It was also very common for people in Greco-Roman culture to eat meals in pagan temples or in trade guild dining halls dedicated to pagan deities.  The latter are the forerunners of the modern restaurant.  When people gathered together for such a meal, it was common to begin with a sacrifice to the deity to which the temple was dedicated, and then the diners would consume what was left of the sacrificial animal (or other foodstuffs offered to the “gods”).  Part of the butchered animal was burned as a sacrifice.  The rest was placed upon the altar (the “table of the gods”) where it was eaten by the priests and the participants in the festivities.  If there was anything left over, it might be given to those in attendance, but more often was sold to local butchers for resale.  

Those in upper levels of society would have a difficult time avoiding such meals and places, since this was where virtually all of the social activities and commerce took place.  Therefore, given the connection between the contents of the meal, and the particular pagan deity to whom the meal was dedicated, the question arises, “can Christians participate in such activities?”  It is the connection between the meal, the sacrifice and the pagan deities associated with them, which created ethical problems for Christians.  How could Christians justify eating in a pagan temple, or eating something which was offered as a pagan sacrifice?  Apparently, a number of the Corinthians saw nothing whatsoever wrong with this practice.

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

"Do Not Becomes Slaves of Men" -- 1 Corinthians 7:17-40

The Thirteenth in a Series of Sermons on 1 Corinthians

Paul does not give us the specifics, but he speaks as though the Corinthian church is in the midst of some sort of serious crisis.  While Paul has spoken in some detail about the pressing issues facing this church–the love of pagan wisdom, the rampant sexual immorality, the fact that Christians were suing each other in secular courts and failing to discipline erring members–Paul now speaks of unspecified dire circumstances confronting the Christians in Corinth.  This crisis is the reason why Paul urges the members of this church to devote themselves to solving this crisis, and why in the meantime the Corinthians should remain in their current social status until things are resolved.

As we saw last time, Paul is responding to a letter from the Corinthians in which they asked the apostle a number of specific questions about marriage and celibacy.  In the opening part of chapter 7, Paul discusses marriage and the question of what to do when one party to the marriage becomes a believer while the other party remains an unbeliever.  Paul now moves on to address a Christian’s social status at the time of their conversion.  Three times in balance of chapter 7, Paul affirms the general principle “stay as you were when called.”  The issues here are very practical.  When someone becomes a Christian, they are now a bond-servant of Jesus Christ.  How does this relate to their social standing?  If they are uncircumcised, do they now submit to circumcision to avoid conflict with Jews?  Should Gentiles begin to live as Jews?  Should Jews seek to undo their Jewishness?  Do the limits placed upon slaves by their masters infringe upon their freedom (standing) in Christ?  What should slaves do once they become Christians?  Must they stay slaves, or is slavery incompatible with Christianity?  And then what about young women, betrothed to be married–what to do about them in the midst of the current crisis?

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here