1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Called to Christ
Theological Proposition/Focus: Christ alone is worthy of our worship, dedication, and focus.
Homiletical Proposition/Application: We must remember that we are called first and foremost to Christ, this means our focus needs to be on Christ rather than anything else.
Contents
- 1 Introduction: Memory verse 2 Timothy 4:8, followed by Acts 18:1-17
- 1.1 Now, before we dig into the letter I want to set the stage, let's read Acts 18:1-17
- 1.2 The book of First Corinthians is what is called an occasional letter, probably written around AD 55 three years after Paul's visit to the city of Corinth.
- 1.3 The primary issue that Paul seems to be dealing with is the issue of problems in the Corinthian church surrounding the question of "what does it mean to be people of the Spirit.”
- 1.4 Preview: In Paul's introduction we are going to see that the focus of our calling is on Christ, it is a miraculous calling marked by grace and is itself a call to action.
- 1.5 Setting the Stage:
- 1.5.1 Ultimately in First Corinthians Paul presents a deep contrast between the wisdom of the world and knowledge of Christ.
- 1.5.2 Read 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
- 1.5.2.1 The opening of the letter contains the components of a conventional opening - Sender, Recipient, Greeting.
- 1.5.2.2 However, Paul does add a little extra to draw the attention to God and Christ. His point, put your eyes on God!
- 1.5.2.3 The whole tone of the greeting is something like "stop looking at yourself and turn your eyes to Jesus the one to whom you are called!
- 2 Body
- 2.1 The call to Christ applies to all of us (1-2).
- 2.1.1 Paul was called to be an apostle by the will of God (1).
- 2.1.1.1 First Paul recalls that he was personally called to be an apostle of Christ.
- 2.1.1.2 Paul's call is by the will of God! not himself, not the church.
- 2.1.1.3 Sosthenes perhaps an amanuensis was brought along as a sort of yoke-fellow.
- 2.1.2 The Corinthians were the church of God, called to be a holy people (2a).
- 2.1.2.1 The identity of the church was "of God"
- 2.1.2.2 The Corinthians were sanctified in Christ Jesus (perfect passive plural participle).
- 2.1.2.2.1 Perfect - sanctification occurred in the past with lasting effects in the present.
- 2.1.2.2.2 Passive - sanctification was the work of God not their own work.
- 2.1.2.2.3 Plural - sanctification is a mark of all Christians who collectively form the church.
- 2.1.2.2.4 Participle - acts as substantive - that is Christians can be described as those who are sanctified.
- 2.1.2.3 That his happened in Christ Jesus means this is a reference to positional sanctification.
- 2.1.2.4 Paul was called to be an apostle, the church was called to be saints.
- 2.1.3 All who call on Christ are called to holiness (2b).
- 2.1.4 Image: We emphasize the call to pastor or deacon but let us not trivialize the call to sainthood.
- 2.1.5 MTR: Ask yourself, what does it mean that God has called me to holiness?
- 2.1.1 Paul was called to be an apostle by the will of God (1).
- 2.2 Grace is the mark of those called to Christ (3-6).
- 2.2.1 Grace and peace are fundamental to the existence of anyone called to Christ (3).
- 2.2.2 Grace enriches the life of the one called to Christ (4-5).
- 2.2.2.1 We must understand that a key aspect of grace is spiritual gifting.
- 2.2.2.2 The phrase in Christ (4) is more than an instrumental dative but a reminder that everyone in Christ receives God's gifting!
- 2.2.2.3 The gifts given to the church through those called to Christ deeply enrich the church and those in the church!
- 2.2.3 Grace is evidence of the call of Christ (6).
- 2.2.4 MTR: Evaluate yourself, are you operating from grace?
- 2.3 The call of Christ always involves a call to serve (7-9).
- 2.1 The call to Christ applies to all of us (1-2).
Introduction: Memory verse 2 Timothy 4:8, followed by Acts 18:1-17
Now, before we dig into the letter I want to set the stage, let's read Acts 18:1-17
The book of First Corinthians is what is called an occasional letter, probably written around AD 55 three years after Paul's visit to the city of Corinth.
The primary issue that Paul seems to be dealing with is the issue of problems in the Corinthian church surrounding the question of "what does it mean to be people of the Spirit.”
Preview: In Paul's introduction we are going to see that the focus of our calling is on Christ, it is a miraculous calling marked by grace and is itself a call to action.
Setting the Stage:
Ultimately in First Corinthians Paul presents a deep contrast between the wisdom of the world and knowledge of Christ.
Read 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
The opening of the letter contains the components of a conventional opening - Sender, Recipient, Greeting.
However, Paul does add a little extra to draw the attention to God and Christ. His point, put your eyes on God!
In fact, he makes reference to God six times and Jesus eight times.
The whole tone of the greeting is something like "stop looking at yourself and turn your eyes to Jesus the one to whom you are called!
Body
The call to Christ applies to all of us (1-2).
Look at how Paul describes the call of Christ.
Paul was called to be an apostle by the will of God (1).
First Paul recalls that he was personally called to be an apostle of Christ.
The word called is not a verb but a noun
I don't want to read too much into this but at the same time, this surprised me. I expected a verb in my naivety. Instead, I see a noun and it makes me think that are calling to Christ is a fundamental part of our identity. Paul was called to be an apostle for Christ and that is fundamental.
The word apostle means sent one, but is an explicit reference to one sent to bear witness to the risen Christ. Paul is writing with authority, Scripture has authority.
The corinthians had a hard time recognizing authority and part of what Paul does here clearly establishes his authority. Paul is very definitively stating "listen up, what I have to say here is important." We need to recognize the authority of Scripture. These are not suggestions up for debate. These are mandates we are given.
Paul's call is by the will of God! not himself, not the church.
When we talk about being called we need to recognize the source of our calling. Our calling to salvation, to service, to ministry is by the will of God. We don't get to create our own calling! Similarly, the church does not call an individual, instead, the church acknowledges God's call on an individual. This is really important, for us in practice. When it becomes clear that God has called someone we need to recognize that call. The purpose of a call is to fulfill the purpose of God and we need to make sure that we understand this.
Sosthenes perhaps an amanuensis was brought along as a sort of yoke-fellow.
I am guessing that Sosthenes was the ruler of the Synagogue mentioned in Acts 18:17
Here Paul chooses to include him in the letter.
Interestingly, after the first three verses Paul almost exclusively uses the first person singular.
I think that Paul is including Sosthenes here not for Paul's benefit but rather for the benefit and growth of Sosthenes.
In our call we are not called to be solo, we are called to disciple others and so at every opportunity, we need to ask, how could I include someone else? What could I do to make sure that so and so it part of this and has the opportunity to serve alongside me?
The Corinthians were the church of God, called to be a holy people (2a).
The identity of the church was "of God"
The church is God's church, not my church, not your church, not the council's church, not the deacon's church. This is God's church. Let us never forget that we belong completely to God.
The Corinthians were sanctified in Christ Jesus (perfect passive plural participle).
There is a lot going on in the grammar here. This is a perfect passive plural participle.
Perfect - sanctification occurred in the past with lasting effects in the present.
Passive - sanctification was the work of God not their own work.
Plural - sanctification is a mark of all Christians who collectively form the church.
Participle - acts as substantive - that is Christians can be described as those who are sanctified.
That his happened in Christ Jesus means this is a reference to positional sanctification.
That is, the church is made up of individuals who have been mark as set apart for God because of the work of Christ on the cross.
Paul was called to be an apostle, the church was called to be saints.
Understand the significance, we have a tendency to think of the call to a pastor or deacon as a big deal. However, each and every one of us is called to be a saint, to be holy set apart to God. We need to take our calling seriously. Your call to be part of the church parallels my call to be a pastor, it parallels the deacon's call to serve.
All who call on Christ are called to holiness (2b).
Just in case you were tempted to say something like "this applies to the Corinthians not to me," Paul goes on further reminding us that all who call on Christ are called to be holy. What is miraculous is that our holiness ends up coming with our call.
Image: We emphasize the call to pastor or deacon but let us not trivialize the call to sainthood.
Something that I have noticed is that people like to feel like whatever position they hold is an important position. People like titles! The Roman Catholic church has a procedure for determining if someone is a saint but what I want to tell you is that if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior then you are a saint. You have been personally called to be a saint and that matters a lot. You have a title, you have a calling. Take your calling seriously.
MTR: Ask yourself, what does it mean that God has called me to holiness?
Paul concludes this section with a statement of grace and peace from God the Father and Jesus Christ. The miracle of the call of Christ is that ultimately the call is to grace and peace. Grace, being unmerited favor with God and peace between the sinner and the holy God of the universe the call of Christ truly is miraculous.
Grace is the mark of those called to Christ (3-6).
Grace and peace are fundamental to the existence of anyone called to Christ (3).
After having identified the sender and recipients Paul moves into a greeting. Paul's greeting is an expression that really becomes a calling card for Christians.
The traditional greeting in Greek was the word χαρειν (greetings) as in Acts 15:23. Paul instead uses χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη
χάρις - not just saving grace but enriching grace.
Grace is certainly God's unmerited favor in saving us, but for Paul it seems he also adopts the term as a reference to God's loving care for his people who are defined through salvation in Christ. Moreover, grace also has the idea of gifting. God has enriched his church through grace, the gifting of individuals within the body for mutual service to one another and the kingdom.
εἰρήνη - A desire for the OT שָׁלוֹם on the Christians
The experience of being named one of God's people is one of שָׁלוֹם not mere peace but so much more. Peace with God through justification, contentment as a child of God, eschatological hope in God's ultimate redemption of the world.
Grace enriches the life of the one called to Christ (4-5).
We must understand that a key aspect of grace is spiritual gifting.
We are going to see that spiritual gifts had become a major issue in the Corinthians church. Here Paul begins early by addressing these issues but he is not ready to directly confront the issue, instead, here he emphasizes the gifts are given by God in Christ.
The phrase in Christ (4) is more than an instrumental dative but a reminder that everyone in Christ receives God's gifting!
This means that if you have accepted Christ as your Savior then you have been gifted to serve the church!
Two gifts are called out explicitly here, speech λογος and knowledge γνωσις (5)
Perhaps these two gifts were especially prominent in Corinth.
The gifts given to the church through those called to Christ deeply enrich the church and those in the church!
We will go into more depth on Spiritual gifts as we dig deeper into First Corinthians but for now what I want you to realize is that God has gifted the church with you! you should serve!
Grace is evidence of the call of Christ (6).
In fact, this gifting is evidence of the call of Christ. One of the greatest evidence you have of your calling to Christ is that he has gifted you to serve.
MTR: Evaluate yourself, are you operating from grace?
What I mean by this is are you using your gifts to serve? We are given grace, let us use it!
The call of Christ always involves a call to serve (7-9).
I am going to hammer this point in now,
Spiritual gifts are given to the church through those who are called (7).
I have heard so many times phrases like "my spiritual gift is teaching..." I want us to change our phrasing slightly. You see the gift is not your gift, it is Christ's gift! The gift is not given to you, it is given to the church!
The you in "Therefore you do not lack" ὥστε ὑμᾶς μὴ ὑστερεῖσθαι is a plural, it is the church that does not lack any spiritual gift!
The point is that it is a special gift by the grace of God given for the building up of the church!
Grit is provided by the one who calls us to serve (8).
Image: Grit, the UNL 4 year graduation rate is 37%
When I was at UNL we talked a lot about the word grit, the ability of a student to finish what they started. You see the four-year graduation rate at UNL is 37%. This means that only 37% of students who start at UNL will graduate four years later! This is not good! On the other end of the spectrum, a school like Duke which is rated very highly has a four-year graduation rate of 91%. The term we started using was grit. We attempted to measure grit, the ability of a student to stick through the thick and thin of school and finish their degree.
For the Christian, Christ provides all the grit we need.
Never forget that Christ is coming again and we have the greatest guarantee of all time
When Christ comes his graduation rate will be 100%
This is the guarantee we are given.
Fellowship describes the unity of those who are called (9).
God's people are called by him, chosen by him for fellowship with him.
