*At my church- Aletheia Community Alliance Church, we are doing a sermon series on the first book written to the Corinthian church. We are finding the book to be very impactful to our lives, so each week I will be posting the sermons in blog form here! Enjoy the journey of discovering how we can be a Church in the City!*One question I am often asked is: “How can an old document such as the Bible possibly be relevant to todays culture?” My simple reply is a phrase I learned from my 10th grade History teacher- Mr. Desanzo: “The past is prologue”. He would make this statement every day of history class and would consistently remind us that what happened in the past will happen again in the future. There is a cyclical pattern to human life that many of us, both young an old fail to pick up on.
Despite the revolutionary technologies we live with today, human nature is what it is and there is nothing new under the sun. This stark truth is hard to ignore when one takes a look at the letters written to the Corinthians. Theirs was a culture much like ours and their church had issues similar to the current American church as well. When Paul spoke to this body of believers, in many ways he is speaking directly to us. Theirs was a pluralistic society. Their city was a city of high trade and tourism. They had tons of highly educated folks running around as well. Corinth was a city that was transient, full of new ideas, new technologies and new philosophies. It was a city that was full of alcoholism, drug addiction and sexual immorality. Corinth was known for its ritualistic orgies, transvestites, homosexual eroticism, strip clubs, friends with benefits and they didn’t call it the walk of shame, it was more like the walk of glory. That’s how deeply they reveled in sex and their sexual identity.
Corinth was also a city high on spirituality. In Corinth, there was a desire for spirituality, just not spiritual authority. Sounds a lot like America! Paul went to this city and planted a church. He spent 18 months there and God did some pretty cool stuff, yet there was trouble as well. Paul’s purpose in writing this letter was to share with the church at Corinth that much of their conduct was out of step with the Gospel. Paul wanted them to know they were called to be a church that shapes the culture, not a church shaped by culture.
The Corinthians church found themselves being shaped by culture rather than being culture shapers. I fear we as the American church have fallen into the same trap…and maybe not in the ways you think I’m talking about. We as the church can be culture shapers! I believe this entire series titled: Church in the City will help us step into our destiny as culture shapers. Here Paul begins the discussion reminding them of their calling in Christ. How can we step into who we are as the church?
*READ- 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Here we see Paul positively stating who they are and beginning to approach aspects of what has been affected by the culture around them. In order to step into who we are as the church, Paul reminds them and us that we are called to be:
- A holy, diverse and unified group of people (vs. 1-3)
Paul is reminding them that they are called to be holy. The word sanctified means to be made holy. Here too, he also reminded them how they are sanctified- in Christ. He made a very large statement in this quick phrase to them and it’s also for us. He’s stating that we cannot rely upon ourselves to be made holy but we need to rely on Christ to make us holy. The Corinthian church had a very deep struggle with arrogance. They thought they were better than they were. They felt they owned the market on holiness and could live however they wanted, so they found themselves relying heavily on themselves rather than on God. Again, I fear the American church often does the very same thing. The American church lacks a dependence upon God and relies heavily on its own: skill, money, platform or natural giftings and she misses that Christ alone sanctifies her. I know I personally struggle with this as well and am reminded by the Spirit of God of my need to be sanctified by Him.
Paul then quickly shifted focus and discussed their unity, even in the midst of their diversity. Corinth was a very diverse city. Many Jews were recently displaced from Rome and found a home in Corinth. It was a city of commerce, so people far and wide sailed through or lived in the city. It wasn’t just a black and white city like much of Pittsburgh, but it was a cornucopia full of people from everywhere, very similar to Oakland. That is why he stated: “…called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” This is our call as a church as well. We should be a churches that reflects the area in which we find ourselves. We should be a cornucopia full of people from everywhere, and not just gather together, but be unified by the same Lord and by the same call.
Paul then shifts in his letter to thanksgiving, but even in this, Paul is positively correcting some misconceptions and misusage of the things God has given. God had set apart the church of Corinth, as he has also done with us. In order to step into who we are as the church Paul reminds them and us that we are called to be:
2. A people who seek after God Himself, not simply His gifts (vs. 4-9)
As mentioned above in the quick comment Paul made about sanctification, he revisits this idea of leaning into God and not self. You see, the Corinthian church more so than most churches had many spiritual gifts. They were simply a gifted bunch of people. The Holy Spirit had made himself present within the church and they were running with the gifts the Spirit brought. However, this empowerment caused an arrogance as previously mentioned. This church began to think the empowerment and these gifts were somehow their own greatness coming out, yet as Paul reminds them (and us) it is His enrichment that enables us to live in the fullness of His gifts, not our own abilities. Also, despite the gifts that were given, they were not living holy lives. In the coming weeks, we will see some crazy things that were happening within the church, because of their reliance on self and not God. Paul uses this as a major theme throughout this letter. Warren Weirsbe about this states: “The fact that God has called us, set us apart and enriched us ought to encourage us to live holy lives.”
I truly believe that this church struggled with coming to actually know God. They definitely knew about God, but didn’t allow the fullness of God to be known by them. This I believe is the American church problem as well and was one of the reasons I felt compelled to be the lead pastor of this church plant.
Allegheny Center Alliance Church had made an announcement of planting a college church in Oakland while I was the Middle School youth pastor there. I began to pray for this church plant, seeing it as a huge need. I prayed for the future pastor that he would lead well. I prayed for over a year when one night I was fed up. Nothing was happening and no one was taking the job. Our church that year saw no one in the 19-30 year range get saved or even baptized! So, in my prayer I got ticked off and said to God: “You need to make someone stand up for this job!” Immediately following that statement, the Spirit of God whispered in my soul: “Stand up then!” I tried to reason with God that this was not me, I was a youth pastor for life, what do I know about planting churches? I’ve never really worked full time with college students either, what could I possibly do? Yet God convinced me this was my job, so I stepped into it and God laid this vision upon my heart for our church- to be a people who seek to know God and make Him known.
I am convinced that churches would change if they simply sought, truly sought to know God. Not be content to just know about Him, or be content being a Facebook friend of God, but to know Him deeply. We’d become more like Christ and the world today is interested in Christ, but not the church. The problem in many cases is that the people in todays church, as in the Corinthian church people are interested in Spirituality, not necessarily spiritual authority. Once we begin seeking after God and not just what we can get from Him, we will see the church stepping into it’s true identity and that they will become culture shapers, not those shaped by the culture.
Let me challenge you to make it your mission to seek to know God. Seek after Him, not what he gives you (good grades, good friends, spiritual gifts etc.) but Himself. This is how we will step into who we are as a church! As a further challenge, read this poem, turned hymn titled Himself by A.B. Simpson:
HIMSELF by A. B. Simpson
Once it was the blessing, Now it is the Lord; Once it was the feeling, Now it is His Word.
Once His gifts I wanted, Now the Giver own; Once I sought for healing, Now Himself alone.
Once 'twas painful trying, Now 'tis perfect trust; Once a half salvation, Now the uttermost. Once 'twas ceaseless holding, Now He holds me fast; Once 'twas constant drifting, Now my anchor's cast.
Once 'twas busy planning, Now 'tis trustful prayer; Once 'twas anxious caring, Now He has the care. Once 'twas what I wanted, Now what Jesus says; Once 'twas constant asking, Now 'tis ceaseless praise.
Once it was my working, His it hence shall be; Once I tried to use Him, Now He uses me.
Once the power I wanted, Now the Mighty One; Once for self I labored, Now for Him alone. Once I hoped in Jesus, Now I know He's mine; Once my lamps were dying, Now they brightly shine. Once for death I waited, Now His coming hail;
And my hopes are anchored, Safe within the vail.
*All of my Bible links go to www.biblegateway.com which is a GREAT place to read through the Scriptures, or post links to the Bible*
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