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The development of the soul and spirit is essential for a full life.
No
3 TO CORINTH WITH LOVE, GRACE AND PEACE
1 COR. 1:1-9
Vs 1 “Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will (the plan) of God, and Sosthenes our brother.” The words “to be” are not in the original. God called him: the Lord Jesus Christ waylaid him on the Damascus road. Then the Spirit of God taught him in the desert in Arabia.
He is an apostle (a sent one, an emissary appointed by God not by men) of Jesus Christ. Apostles were chosen of God to work in founding ad forming the church, after that apostleship ceased. They were selected, sent and empowered by God for that period of history. As human founders and the foundation of the church, the apostles had a particular purpose and responsibility. He is not pushing his position but establishing his authority. It is important in the church to know who has the authority to lead, who has the authority to teach, they should lead with authority and teach with authority but with a humble heart.
By establishing his authority he was dealing with the false teachers and those who continually challenged him.
APOSTLES
Following is an article by Michael
Green on Apostleship.
1. What is an apostle? He is an apostle (a sent one, an emissary appointed by God not by men) of Jesus Christ. Apostles were chosen of God to work in founding and forming the church, after that apostleship ceased. They were selected, sent and empowered by God for that period of history. As human founders and the foundation of the church, the apostles had a particular purpose and responsibility. Paul is not pushing his position but establishing his authority. It is important in the church to know who has the authority to lead, who has the authority to teach, they should lead with authority and teach with authority but with a humble heart.
By establishing his authority he was dealing with the false teachers and those who continually challenged him.
2. Who were the apostles? There
were the twelve and Paul, perhaps James (Gal.1:19); and Barnabas (1
Cor. 9:5-6), Andronicus and Junias (
3. What were the qualifications of
an apostle?
a) A personal commissioning from God (1 Cor.1:1).
b) An encounter with
the risen Lord (1 Cor. 9:1, 15:7, Gal.
c)
A travelling supervisory role for the
d) A foundation role
for the
e. An authority like
Christ’s (2 Cor.
4. What are the marks of the true
apostle? There are false apostles, called Satan’s apostles
(2 Cor.
a) False apostles are showy people boasting worldly things (2 Cor.
b) These false apostles were destructive people pulling the church
apart. That’s why
Paul talks about building up ,not pulling down (2 Cor. 10:8,
c) These false apostles were superior people who were quick to avoid
sacrifice or suffer hardship for Christ (2 Cor.
They relied upon status, division of churches, and avoidance of the way of the cross and this is still high among the marks of false apostles today. They pandered to the Corinthians worldly ideas of leadership-rhetoric, charging big fees, bombastic about their qualifications, contemptuous of others, overbearing. This is the concept Paul was attacking in 1 Corinthians 1-4.
Marks of True Apostles
- They themselves were the proof of his apostleship. Paul’s letter of commendation was the converted Corinthians (2 Cor. 3:2; 1Cor.9:2).
- Paul’s power in and through the Holy Spirit
underlined his claims to be a true apostle.
H e is very clear that there are such things as “signs of
an apostle.” (2 Cor.
- True apostles show themselves by their suffering.
The Corinthians were infected by the theology of glory.
Paul has to remind them of the centrality of the cross (1
Cor. 2:2). The
apostle was like his Lord, he too has to tread the way of
suffering, humiliation, weakness and death.
Like many charismatic groups the Corinthians were caught up
in the power, the enthusiasm, believing the kingdom is here and
now. To some of these people suffering is defeat but not to Paul.
The path of the cross must match the power of the
resurrection in the true apostle of Jesus Christ. They identified
with their Lord and Master (1 Cor. 4:8-13, 2 Cor. 4:7-12, 2 Cor.
- An apostolic church will be involved in teaching and defending the truth, be involved in evangelism and mission, come together to worship God, administer discipline, concentrates on the work of Christ, and is governed by Biblical leaders,
5) Are there Apostles today? The apostles were historically
unique and unrepeatable. They
were the foundation of the church. That is why they did not appoint
the apostles in their place. It
was not a thing to be delegated to others.
They are decisive for the faith of the church.
The disciples were promised the Holy Spirit would guide them in
their interpretation for future generations (Jn.
There is succession of apostolic doctrine but not people. No one can lay hands on another person for them to succeed them to be an apostle. No tradition has that authority or can give it. The true apostle’s teaching had authority and was passed down in the written Word of God. If you want to know what Christianity is and teaches, you must turn to the apostle’s doctrine and their colleges.
It is wonderful to know you are doing what you are doing because it is the will and plan of God. Can you say you are doing it because you are in the will of God? If so you are very happy and a joyful Christian. You know what you are to do in life. Your frustrations and the disturbances in life are real but because you know your calling you are contented and happy.
“Sosthenes our
brother.” This man
brought back the message from the church at Corinth, he was a former
leader of the Corinthian synagogue, and now he was Paul’s secretary,
and now he is going to carry this epistle back to them.
On one occasion he was beaten before the civil court at Corinth
(Acts 18:12-17).
THREE AREAS OF SANCTIFICATION
There is positional, experiential and ultimate sanctification.
Vs 2 “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with al who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their and ours.” It is called God’s church because He owns it and is the One who is the Architect of it. Church (ekklesia) is a Greek term that was used for any secular assembly but there it was the “ekkesia of God” this was God’s assembly of people. It is further identified as “those sanctified in Christ and called to be holy.” The idea here is not high moral character but of being set apart for God.
“To them who are sanctified” them who are separated by God and for God.
“In Christ Jesus.” The physical location of the church is not as important to their spiritual location. They were in Christ. Every believer on earth no matter what village, town, city or country they live in physically is all in Christ spiritually. You get into Christ by being born again by the spirit of God. There are three kinds of sanctification:
1. Positional sanctification. When a person becomes a Christian they are in a new position. It is a position we have in Christ. God sees us righteous because He sees us through the righteousness of Christ. That is the believers standing, their state. If you are genuinely saved right now you will be saved tomorrow, and the next day, and next year and forever. You cannot add anything to it.
2. Experiential and Practical sanctification. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. This fluctuates and varies. We are being sanctified. We do not always live or act right but we are still position ally sanctified. The Lord is knocking off the enough edges, shaping us for heaven. His work in us is not finished yet. He corrects and disciples every child of His. We are not to look for a perfect saint, a perfect church, a perfect work, down here on earth, but it is something we should work toward.
3. Ultimate sanctification. We are not going to heaven unless we are perfect. Christ makes us perfect, He is our sanctification.
“Together with all
those everywhere” is the idea of the universal church or along with
all other believers.
Who are Saints?
“Called to be saints.” The words “to be” are not in the original, they were called saints, and God calls them that. The word saints is hagios, meaning “set apart one” or “holy one.” It means “set apart for God.” We are called saints; we are holy people and should show it by the way we live. Paul is telling them the right way to live in the rest of this epistle. The church was not living like a saintly one but worldly, immoral, and divisive. We do not become holy or saints by what we do, the works we perform the good life we live; we become saints because of what Christ has done. We have the Holy Spirit living inside us. Every Christian is set aside for God. For example the pans and vessels in the tabernacle and later in the temple were called holy vessels. Holy, because they were for the use of God. We are holy because we are set apart for God’s use. No pope or ecclesiastical body can canonise a person, it is Christ who saves people and sets them apart for Himself.
“With all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their and ours.” The Corinthian are all called saints together. Paul is emphasis sing their identity. He is reminding them they are Christians. The church at large is called out to for God’s use.
The Favour and Peace of God.
Vs 3 “Grace and peace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ." This
greeting of grace (Greek-charis-
speaks of God’s free gift); the Hebrew for peace is Shalom (the
presence of positive blessings), a form of greeting in the religious
world. It was favour from
god. Paul combined these two words and lifted them into the highest
level. You and I are saved
by the grace of God; it is love in action.
When we have been saved by the grace of God, then we can have
the peace (tranquility) of God in our hearts.
All believers have this kind of peace with God.
It is judicial and eternal; we are not at war with him.
We do not fight him anymore about salvation.
We may not have experiential peace, because we are making wrong
choices in our lives, slaving in unconfessed sin, or just do not stay
in fellowship with the Spirit. We
can loose the experiential peace but not the positional peace.
Thanksgiving- Spiritual Gifts at
Corinth
Vs 4 “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which
is given you, by Christ Jesus.”
He thanked God for their salvation which was given in the past
in spite of all their faults. This favour is a great reason to give
thanks to God. It is not
by human works or kindness a person receives salvation but by the
grace of God. Because we
have received this grace it should motivate us to work. We should
labour for God. We have been saved and we should be zealous for good
deeds, desirous to do good works, to produce good works (Eph. 2:10;
Titus 2:14). This will glorify God. Christ is a title of the Lord, it
is literally anointed, which is His official title of the long
promised Saviour. Paul
never knew him after the flesh when he walked on earth he did not know
him, he may have seen him but this first personal contact was with the
resurrected Christ, and to Paul He always was the Lord of Glory.
He puts Christ first here in the original and Jesus follows.
ENRICHED IN EVERYTHING IN CHRIST
Vs 5 “That you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and knowledge." Christ has made us super rich. We are spiritual billionaires. He signals out two truths speaking is to speak out the truth and knowledge, to grasp the truth. He says God has given us everything we need so we lack nothing. However it is one thing to have riches and another thing to use them. Sometimes people have been left a fortune and are not aware of it. This is like some of Gods people, they have all they need and do not know it or enter in to use their riches. We have tremendous benefits in the present and future. We do not have to wait until we get to heaven to start receiving them we are receiving them already. God’s “divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). We “have been made complete” (Col. 2:10) “All things belong to us” (1Cor.3:21).
H signals out two
points, speaking, the
telling forth the truth, and knowledge,
the grasp of the truth.
“In all utterance” We have all the right words to speak for and glorify Christ. We are not all great speakers but we can all tell people of God’s Word. Whatever we say or sing should be to his glory. “Let the word of God dwell in you’re richly…..” Col. 3:16 If Christ is in your heart he will occupy your mind, you will want to think as He thinks, act as He acts, speak as He speaks, feel as He feels, you are occupied with Him. You hide him in your heart and he enriches you. He enables you to do so. But He also wants you to speak for Him. We need to open our mouths and witness for Him. Are you a willing witness for Christ?
“All knowledge.” No Christian knows everything but we are given everything we need to know. We will know all that God wants us to now. We each have a different capacity but He can fill it. He wants us all to have knowledge concerning Him. That is why we need to study the scriptures to show ourselves a “workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” We need to be taught the Word of God by the gifted teachers He has given the church.
Vs 6-7 “Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short of no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The witness of the gospel was confirmed in the Corinthians. Their lives had been changed. Here he touches on one of the problems this church had. They were only occupied with one gift. It is God who selects the gifts not men. You cannot do anything to get them. Paul says that from the beginning he does not want them to fall behind in any gift. There are many gifts and Paul wants all these gifts to be manifested in the church. The spiritual gifts were for edifying (building up) the church. Even the believers in this immature and sinful church had them. They were not lacking in any gift and yet they were immature, worldly, and carnal. They had all the resources to be a great church. They had the charismata or grace gifts. They did not need to look for some thing extra, an additional blessing. The problem was they were not using them right and they were acting like immature children instead of mature believers. God endows all believers with gifts (charismata) not just Pentecostals or Charismatics.
Today, many call themselves charismatic but are immature, are emphasize one gift, do not know how to live gracious and holy lives. Believers have been indifferent, lazy, ignored are ignorant or are not taught they have gifts. This has resulted in a confusion regarding them and many unscriptural practices and excess have occurred. We need to be we have a spiritual gift, what learn what it is and put it into operation and minister with it. He empowers us with gifts of grace.
“Waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.” They were to be occupied with Him. The full glory and honour and majesty of Christ will be revealed in splendour at His second coming (Rev. 4:11; 5:12; 17:14). They were to watch for, wait for, and hope for the Lord’s next coming. We should also have the same expectancy. They would be changed at the second coming of Christ. We should work as though Christ was not coming for a thousand years and watch as though He is coming today.
The Day of our Lord Jesus Christ
Vs 8 “Who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Confirmed means Christ will keep you strong. The day of the Lord Jesus Christ is when Christ comes for His church and there will be no blame or charge against the saved person. There will always be someone who will find fault in you. But you are not to be worthy of blame in Christ Jesus on the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. In that day you will be blameless. You will have no sin, no faults, no shortcomings, and that continues for all eternity. In that day Satan will have his final defeat.
Vs 9 “God is faithful by whom you are also called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” God is unchangeable, He is dependable, believes are assured of His grace, past, present and future. Great is thy faithfulness. You can be confident in Him. His character is at stake and He will not put it at risk. He can be depended upon to keep His word, He said He would save us and brings us to heaven and He will. The Lord Jesus is mentioned yet again, he has mentioned him nine times already. Paul wants to emphasize the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Called into fellowship.” This is the highest calling any human can have. God calls people and they respond to His call and are saved. The word fellowship is koinonia, and here means partnership or oneness. We are called into partnership with Christ. We are one with the Son. That is a great privilege. He’s willing to be our partner. That is the ultimate relationship. We are in a business partnership with him. We own everything he owns we own. Everything I have belongs to him. He is interested in what I own and what I do. He is in a big business. We are in a marriage partnership with him. It means we have mutual interests. Christ is interested in what I do and what I say and where I go. He is devoted to me and I am devoted to him. He is committed to me and I am committed to him. I am of great interest to him. His resources are mine and mine are his. He does not get very much from me but he is willing to give me more than can ask for or think. He gives me the best and I give him my worst but desire to give Him the best.
I give him my weakness
and he gives me his strength. I
stumble and fall and he lifts me up. I give him my blunders and he
sorts them out. I give him
my anger and he gives me his gentleness.
I give him my weakness and he gives me his power. He took my
sins and gave me his forgiveness.
He took my filthy garments and gave me robes of righteousness.
He took my ignorance and gave me his knowledge.
He took my hatred and gave me his love.
I go to him when I get into trouble he helps me out. When I do
wrong knowingly and deliberately he disciplines me and makes me a
better person so as to avoid doing it again. That makes Him the senior
partner. He will never let
me down. I can count on
him. He is wonderful
friends as well as a partner. It
is the solution to life’s problems.
I can depend on the faithfulness of God.
The Lordship of
Christ.
Right from the beginning of the epistle Paul wants the Corinthians to know the Lordship over the Church. The Lord Jesus is mentioned yet again, he has mentioned him nine times already. Paul wants to emphasize the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some say, “Make Jesus Lord of your life.” That is not scriptural; you cannot make someone Lord who is Lord already. He is the absolute Lord and central to Paul theology.
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Robert Hunsdale (Pastor/Founder) |
