May 18, 2025 • 37 mins
How do we navigate the complex terrain of our daily questions, struggles, and decisions? In this profound exploration of 1 Corinthians, we discover Paul's timeless framework for addressing life's deepest challenges: understanding our union with Christ and viewing all things through the lens of God's eternal plan.
The church at Corinth was a messy contradiction – enriched with spiritual gifts yet plagued by division, sexual immorality, lawsuits, drunkenness at communion, and even resurrection doubts. Rather than seeing this as evidence of failure, Paul recognized God's grace actively working among them while still addressing their significant issues head-on.
We journey through seven compelling examples where Paul applies his Christ-centered, eternity-focused perspective to real-life problems. When believers were dividing over human leaders, Paul reminded them they all belong to Christ. When Christians were suing one another, he shifted their focus to their future role judging angels. For questions about marriage, singleness, food, worship practices, and spiritual gifts, Paul consistently returned to the same foundation: "You belong to Jesus, and eternity is already breaking into the present."
This approach transforms how we view our own challenges. Whether facing relationship conflicts, ethical dilemmas, or decisions about priorities, we gain wisdom when we start with our identity in Christ and maintain an eternal perspective. As Paul declares, "It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us."
Perhaps you've struggled to connect your theology with practical living. This message bridges that gap, showing how profound truths about our union with Christ and God's kingdom provide the framework for answering every question about knowing and pleasing God. Listen now to discover how these ancient words equip you to face today's challenges with eternal wisdom.
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Micah McCormick (00:00):
Bible.
You can get that out or you canlook at one of the Bibles in
the pew there.
For those that might bevisiting with us tonight, we
have been going through a serieson Sunday nights where each
Sunday night we look at the nextbook of the Bible, so it's a
message on the whole book of theBible.
We're not going to go all night, so stick around if you're here
(00:23):
visiting, but we're going to belooking at 1 Corinthians
especially tonight, and I wantto start in chapter 1.
I'm going to read chapter 1,verses 4 through 9.
1 Corinthians 1, verses 4through 9.
I always thank my God for you,because of the grace of God
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given to you in Christ Jesus,that you were enriched in him in
every way, in all speech andall knowledge.
In this way the testimony aboutChrist was confirmed among you,
so that you do not lack anyspiritual gift.
As you.
Eager's letter to the church ofCorinth.
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You'd be thinking that's agreat church.
They have every spiritual gift,they're not lacking anything.
They have fellowship with Jesusand with each other.
This is the kind of healthychurch that I would have wanted
to be a part of if I was livingback in Bible times.
And then you read the rest ofthe letter.
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There's a guy sleeping with hismother-in-law.
There's division in the church.
They're suing each other.
People are getting drunk at theLord's Supper.
Some people seem to doubt theresurrection.
Wait a minute.
That's not the church that Ifirst thought.
But it's the same Paul whoopened this way who wrote the
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rest of the letter right?
Paul has the amazing ability tosee God's grace in messy
situations.
He also has the willingness tochallenge people where they need
to be challenged.
Sometimes we tend to go in onedirection or the other.
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We can be kind of a bloodhoundfor sniffing out any little
error in a church or our churchor someone else's church, and
Paul starts with God's grace isamong you, and I see it active.
And then sometimes we can be sokind that we're not willing to
say the difficult things thatneed to be said about
significant sin in a situation.
And Paul does both.
We should aim to do both.
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That was free.
Now onto the topic at handtonight.
Before we get to the main idea,that's not going to be quite
the way I framed the main ideafor 1 Corinthians.
Let's look at the structure ofthe book.
Last time we met on Sundaynight we looked at Romans.
Romans is more of a sustainedargument.
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1 Corinthians is a letter, likeRomans was, to a church, the
church of Corinth.
That Paul writes underinspiration of God, but it's not
quite the argument and thesteps of Romans.
It's a bit more topical innature.
Paul seems to be writing torespond to some questions the
Corinthians had as they wrote tohim.
Let me show you that.
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So hold your finger here in 1Corinthians 1, go over to
chapter 7.
Look at verse 1.
Now, in response to the mattersyou wrote about, he says it.
He's going to address what theyasked him about.
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Look down to verse 25 ofchapter 7.
Now about virgins.
Do you hear the same languageof now about?
Now about.
Go over to chapter 8, verse 1.
Now about food sacrifice toidols, chapter 12, look over
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there at verse 1.
Now, concerning spiritual gifts, and then over to chapter 15,
verse 35.
But someone will ask how arethe dead raised?
So it seems like Paul's going torespond to in part the series
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of questions that they had forhim, but he doesn't start that
until chapter seven.
Why does he wait so long?
Well, he has some things thathe is going to be confronting
them about.
That he needs to talk aboutbefore he gets to their
questions.
That's part of it.
But he's also setting thefoundation for how he wants to
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help them approach thosequestions.
He wants them to see somethingprecious and important, and
here's the big theme I want togive to you tonight from 1
Corinthians.
If we're thinking about our owntakeaway in light of how Paul
speaks to the Corinthians,corinthians, the more we
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understand God's eternal plan tounite people to his son, the
more we'll be able to answerevery question in life.
Now, I know that's a big claim,I realize that.
Let me repeat that again themore we understand God's eternal
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plan, the more we grasp it,enjoy it to unite people to his
son, the more we'll be able toanswer every question in life.
Wait a minute, I just took acalculus test.
The Bible didn't help me onebit with those questions.
We could.
If you want me to modify, youknow the thesis the more we
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understand God's eternal plan tounite people to his son, the
more we have the foundationalmaterial to address every
question in life about knowingand pleasing God.
Now, that's a mouthful so Ishortened it, but really aren't
the questions about knowing andpleasing God the most important
questions.
I mean, you can build theBrooklyn Bridge, but if you
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don't know how to live a lifewhile pleasing to God, that
knowledge of building theBrooklyn Bridge only is so
valuable, right?
So those are the most importantquestions, and you see this
right at the outset.
So go back to the verses we werelooking at that.
I read for you 1 Corinthians 1.
We've got these two foundationpillars of union with Christ
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that believers have, and thenGod's eternal plan, especially
as it involves the future cominginto the present.
So first, look at union withChrist.
So Paul says there I thank myGod for you.
Verse number four because ofthe grace given to you in Christ
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Jesus.
So there's union with Christ.
Now, in verse number five youwere enriched in him in every
way.
Verse number nine you werecalled by him into fellowship
with his son.
Union, union, union.
You've got to understand yourunion with Christ.
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He's starting with that.
What about eternity?
What about eternity?
Look at verse number seven.
You don't lack any spiritualgift as you eagerly wait for the
revelation of our Lord JesusChrist.
That's talking about the secondcoming, when Christ is revealed
and returns from heaven.
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And then he goes on to say inverse number eight, he will
strengthen you to the end,eternity approaching, so that
you will be blameless in the dayof our Lord Jesus Christ, again
, the end.
So right from the outset he'sgot these connected foundation
pillars of union with Christ andlooking to the future and God's
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eternal plan, and those twothemes are going to be woven
throughout the letter as headdresses their problems and
responds to their questions.
So I'm going to try to provethat to you tonight by walking
through seven examples from thisbook of how Paul brings the
eternal plan of God to unitepeople to his son, how he brings
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that to bear on their lives andthe questions they're facing.
So seven examples of that fromthe letter.
Here's the first exampledivision in the church.
They didn't write to him aboutthat one, but he heard about it
and wanted to talk about it.
So look at chapter three, goover chapter three, verse number
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three you are still worldly.
For since there's envy andstrife among you, are you not
worldly and behaving like merehumans?
Whenever someone says I belongto paul and I belong to paul's,
are you not acting like merehumans?
There there's the problemdivision.
Look down at verse number 11.
No one can lay any foundationother than what has been laid
down.
That foundation is Jesus Christ.
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If you're a believer, paul saysyou're built onto Jesus Christ.
You're not built onto Paul orApollos or you're built onto
Christ, but if you're, thisbuilding stacked on him, if
you're united to him, then youhave to be united to others.
You can't put bricks down andthe bricks don't go together.
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If they're part of the samefoundation, they do go together
and the bricks don't go together.
If they're part of the samefoundation, they do go together.
That's his logic here.
Look down to verse 21, chapter 3.
Still so, there's union withChrist.
By implication.
Let no one boast in humanleaders.
This is part of their division,as they were elevating,
idolizing certain human leaders.
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Let no one boast in humanleaders, for everything is yours
, whether Paul or Apollos orCephas, or the world, or life or
death, or things present orthings to come.
There's eternity, there's thefuture.
Everything is yours and youbelong to Christ.
(10:44):
There's union again.
So think about division inlight of who you are in Jesus
and what's coming, and you'll behelped.
Example number two lawsuitsamong fellow believers.
Over to chapter six, versenumber one.
If any of you has a disputeagainst another.
How dare you take it to courtbefore the unrighteous and not
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before saints?
So we don't know the situation.
Imagine you know, somebodygives someone else their plow to
borrow for something and theyreturn it and they say wait a
minute, you broke my plow, youneed to fix it.
No, when you gave it to me itwas already pretty much shot.
You need to fix it yourself.
Oh yeah, well, I'm going to sueyou.
Oh yeah, go ahead.
I'm making that up.
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But in your own mind, imaginewhat it's going to be.
And Paul says don't do that.
And he could say don't do thatbecause that's not very nice.
But it's actually not what hesays here.
He says in verse 2, don't youknow that saints will judge the
world?
Verse number 3, this is evenmore interesting Don't you know
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that we will judge angels?
If I was a member of the churchof Corinth I would have said no
, I didn't know.
That.
That's news to me.
Where does Moses say for allthe righteous, in the future,
when angels are judged, you'llget to judge them too.
Where is that in the Bible?
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And Paul says he doesn't justsay I got something to inform
you.
He says don't you know thatsays he doesn't just say I got
something to inform you.
He says don't you know that?
Well, it's possible.
When he helped establish thischurch he had extra revelation
he gave, and that's possible.
I think what's more likely hereis he's making a theological
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deduction that he says andthinks they should have made.
Doesn't Jesus say when the Sonof man comes in his glory and
sits on his glorious throne tohis disciples, you too will sit
on thrones.
What do you do when you're on athrone?
You're a king.
You make pronouncements andjudgments.
Isn't it true that Jesus oneday is going to judge the living
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and the dead and angels?
But if you're united to Christ,you'll be right there with him.
Now, I don't know the mechanicsof it.
Is that Jesus makes hisdeclaration against the sinful
angels who rebelled with Satanand then we say amen, or do we
actually verbalize somepronouncement?
I don't know the mechanics ofthis judgment, but Paul is
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bringing in both the future andthe reality that if you're
belonging to Christ, what Jesusis going to do, you'll be a part
of that.
So you're going to be beforeall the created order, judging
heavenly beings, and you'regoing to take your fellow church
member to loss over a tractor,a plow, come on, that's the
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logic here.
Example number three sex,marriage and singleness.
I'm cramming three things intoone example.
They are related in Paul's mind.
So go over to chapter five.
So here's a man that Paul needsto confront, given the
especially grievous nature ofhis sin.
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And Paul says, verse numberfive hand that one over to Satan
for the destruction of hisflesh, but notice the reason so
that his spirit may be saved inthe day of the Lord.
There's a looking to the futurein the judgment that's being
given to this man.
There's still the hope thathe's going to be saved
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eventually through God's grace.
Look down, if you will, tochapter 6.
Further down, verse 14.
God raised up the Lord and willalso raise us up by his power.
Don't you know that your bodiesare a part of Christ's body?
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Should I take a part ofChrist's body and make it part
of a prostitute?
Absolutely not.
So.
It's not just that this form ofimmorality is icky or wrong.
Paul could say both of thosethings.
But he's saying you belong toChrist and you can't separate,
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as a human, your body and yourspirit, your one being so when
you take your body and sin inthis way because you're united
to Christ.
It's as though you're bringingChrist into that and consider
that as you're facing thesetemptations.
And he even goes a bit furtherthan that, verse 16,.
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Don't you know that anyonejoined to a prostitute is one
body with her?
For scripture says the two willbecome one flesh.
But anyone joined to the Lordis one spirit with him.
There's something so sacredabout our intimate union with
Jesus Christ that that's theballast and ground and help for
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us to face other kinds oftemptation, though in some ways
maybe a little different innature.
There's an intimacy there ofunion with Christ is a reality
of our relationship.
Over to chapter number seven.
So now we're getting to theirquestions.
So we're still in my thirdexample of trying to prove this
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argument about what Paul's doingin Corinthians, showing us how
all the questions of life theycan flow back to.
We're united to Christ.
The future is present.
God's got an eternal plan thatreshapes our thinking.
So I'm an example number three.
But now in the letter he'sgoing to turn to some of their
actual questions, and marriageand issues related to marriage
are part of their questions.
He's got throughout chapterseven a refrain.
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So look at verse number 17.
Let each one live his life inthe situation the Lord assigned
when God called him.
Verse 20.
Verse 24.
Verse 26.
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In which he was called Verse26,.
Because of the present distress,I think it's good for a man to
remain as he is.
Do you hear that theme?
Stay as you are.
There's a theme, but thatrefrain is, in light of what
he's already developed, that youbelong to Jesus.
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The most important union youcould have has already been
established if you belong toChrist.
So you don't have to be overlydistressed about whether you
were converted after you wereconverted after you were already
married and now my spouse isnot a believer and this could be
horrible what about theinfluence on the kids?
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And remain in the situation inwhich God's called you.
Now I could imagine a20-year-old coming to me and
saying Micah.
I could imagine a 60-year-oldsaying this, but it's a little
more pressing as a 20-year-oldfor most people.
I could imagine a 20-year-oldsaying I hear what Paul is
saying.
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I've experienced union withChrist.
I want to enjoy that intimacywith Christ more.
I can extrapolate, you know,when Paul says don't visit a
prostitute, I shouldn't be in mycollege, ending up in someone
else's dorm room.
I don't want that.
I've got that.
I understand the future isgoing to be here sooner than I
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think and in the future it's adifferent situation.
We're not given a marriage ineternity.
I understand those things, butthere's the here and now.
We're not living in the futureand there are days I feel like
if I don't get married in thenext 30 minutes, something
terrible could happen.
I could end up in someone'sroom where I shouldn't be.
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Paul's got a response to that.
He says get married, he makesan allowance for that and it's a
happy allowance, it's a joyfulallowance.
Now, I don't think Paul wouldhave said to every 20-year-old
get married within the next 30minutes.
I don't think he would havesaid that, but he's got an
allowance for that.
But the allowances and thesituational specifics of all
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these different things that hegoes through here, that's not
what's animating his heart andhis mind fundamentally.
He acknowledged and addressesit.
But what he's still trying todo is reshape their whole frame
of thinking, regardless of thedecisions they make in the
course of their life, in thepresent or in the future.
And he says as much here.
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Look again at chapter 7, look atverse 29.
This is what I mean brothersand sisters.
So he even signals he's goingto summarize something important
.
This is what I mean brothersand sisters.
The time is limited.
So from now on, those who havewives should be as though they
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had none.
Those who weep as though theydid not weep, those who rejoice
as though they did not rejoice,those who buy as though they
didn't own anything.
There's some hyperbole here.
This is the same Paul who saidhusbands, love your wives as
Christ loved the church.
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He's the same Paul who saidwives love your husbands.
It's the same Paul that saidprovide for your family.
That's a command.
So there's exaggeration here.
But he's making a point.
No matter what your situationin life, there's a mentality of
how you approach that.
And it's not only the nearnessof eternity, it's not that only
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our life is a vapor and soonit'll be over.
It's that the future is alreadypresent.
So keep reading what he sayshere.
So there's a union with Christas the foundation.
But keep reading what he sayshere, verse 31, those who use
the world as though they did notmake full use of it, for this
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world in its current form ispassing away.
He doesn't say it will passaway, he says it's running
through your fingers right now.
Eternity is already presentright now.
So you've got to come to gripswith that, regardless of your
life situation.
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That regardless of your lifesituation.
Example number four food offeredto idols.
Chapter eight.
They bring this up.
There's some delicioushamburger.
Maybe the butcher had aceremony to Zeus before he
brought this hamburger out ofthe back.
And if I eat this hamburger, amI somehow worshiping a false
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god?
Maybe I shouldn't eat it.
And someone else is like ah,it's a piece of meat.
I'm not worshiping Zeus, it'sdelicious.
Pass the burger over to me,I'll have it.
This kind of thing.
How does Paul respond to this?
Well, his burden is to say youneed to give up your rights for
others.
You need to love others.
That's the overarchingprinciple.
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Your rights for others, youneed to love others.
That's the overarchingprinciple.
But look at what he says inverse number 12 of chapter 8.
If you're not careful about theconscience of other Christians
verse number 12,.
When you sin like this againstbrothers and sisters and wound
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their weak conscience, you aresinning against Christ.
But Christ doesn't have a weakconscience.
We can't tempt him to doanything wrong.
Yes, but because the people youinteract with are united to
Christ.
When you trouble them you'retroubling the Lord.
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So keep in mind that union withJesus.
Down in the next chapter,chapter number nine, verse 25.
He gives many examples here ofhow he is willing to give up his
own right as an apostle for thesake of others.
Still kind of on this theme ofbeat out for the idols, but
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verse 25.
Now, everyone who competesexercises self-control on
everything.
They do it to receive aperishable crown, but we an
imperishable crown.
When do you receive that In thefuture?
He's living his life and he'llgive up all kinds of things
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because he's got the end in view.
He's got God's eternal plan inview.
That burger sure is tasty, butit doesn't have the immediate in
view.
He's got loving others in lightof God's eternal plan as the
center thing in his mind.
Chapter 10.
Chapter 10.
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Look at verse number 11.
He's talking about Israel inthe past and the nature of if
you do eat food offered to idolsin the context of a worship
ceremony.
Now that's where Paul saysdon't do that, because there's
the union element.
You're taking just like if youwere visiting a prostitute the
warning back from earlierchapters if you go into the
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context of a false pagan worshipritual and you participate in
that because you're united toChrist.
You're bringing Christ intothat and you're in danger of
bringing the forces that arethere to bear on your life in
some unfortunate way.
But again he argues from thefuture.
Chapter 10, life in someunfortunate way, but again he
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argues from the future.
Chapter 10, verse number 11.
These things happened to them,the Israelites, as examples, and
they were written for ourinstruction on whom the ends of
the ages have come.
What does that have to do withanything?
What does that have to do withanything?
In light of Christ's coming,everything is collapsing.
The future is here, eternity ispresent Not fully and finally,
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as it will be one day but thecoming of Christ into the world
was the biggest change in worldhistory and if you've got that
change in the back of your mind,you can see the meat offered to
idol for what it is in light ofthat and you can see loving
others in light of what it isfor that.
Next example, example numberfive, the Lord's Supper and
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their behavior at the Lord'sSupper, and this actually
overlaps some with food offeredto idols.
But chapter 10, we're stillhere.
In chapter 10, look down atverse 16.
We're still here in chapter 10.
Look down at verse 16.
They had some divisive behavioreven at the Lord's Supper.
And he says in verse 16 ofchapter 10, the cup of blessing
that we bless, is it not asharing in the blood of Christ?
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The bread that we break, is itnot a sharing in the body of
Christ?
Because there is one bread, we,who are many, are one body,
since all of us share in the onebread.
Communion is not merely aritual, it's a participation,
not that the bread or the cupsomehow automatically just gives
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us more of Christ, but, aswe're believing and trusting and
calling to mind the truths thatsymbolize there, it's a
spiritual experience.
It's not just a ritual.
And because it's a spiritualexperience and you're meditating
on and exhibiting your unionwith Christ and his death and
resurrection, how could you rushahead and selfishly take when
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others are hurting and they'renot arrived?
How could you greedily drinkand you drink so much, you get
drunk at the Lord's Supper whenthis is supposed to be a
spiritual experience of who youare as belonging to the Lord?
Chapter 11, still the Lord'sSupper example, but we've got
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union to Christ and we see againthe future.
Invoked chapter 11, verse 26 asoften as you eat this bread and
drink the cup, you proclaim theLord's death till he comes.
Communion is a chance for us toproclaim all that Christ is,
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and we're doing that always withanticipation that he's coming.
He's coming, he's coming.
That's part of what we say whenwe celebrate the Lord's Supper.
Two examples left.
Number six spiritual gifts,chapter 12.
Now, concerning spiritual gifts,that's how the chapter opens.
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Look over to verse number 12and 13 of chapter 12.
And you hear a similar argumentfrom the division he addressed
at the beginning of the letter.
Just as the body is one and hasmany parts and all the parts of
that body, though many, are onebody, so also is Christ.
For we were all baptized by onespirit into one body, whether
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Jews or Greeks, whether slavesor free, and we were all given
one spirit to drink.
How should we exercisespiritual gifts, paul?
How should we exercisespiritual gifts, paul?
He doesn't say go out into thewoods and ask God to show you
your special spiritual gift.
Maybe you could use it, maybenot.
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It's a horrible idea.
But he begins with now remember, even though there's different
gifts, you're one body andthat's the body of Christ.
You're united to him.
So, in all the ways youexercise your spiritual gifts,
you're trying to build up thebody because you belong to Jesus
and he's built you up, anddon't you want to build up
others who belong to him.
(28:43):
It's all together, it's all one.
Chapter 13, read at weddings,and a wonderful exhortation for
new husbands and wives hasapplication even beyond that.
He's still talking aboutspiritual gifts, because in
chapter 12 he does.
In chapter 14 he does too.
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What he says in 13, though, isyes, there's spiritual gifts,
but, again, love is thiscrowning virtue, and his
argument is the reason why loveis the crowning virtue is
because it lasts longer thansome of these spiritual gifts
will last.
Chapter 13, look at verse numbereight Love never ends.
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As for prophecies, they willcome to an end.
So you can prophesy Good, great, wonderful.
Paul tells the Corinthians, butthat has a timestamp.
Love doesn't have a timestamp.
As for tongues, they will cease.
As for knowledge, it will cometo an end, for we know in part
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and we prophesy in part, butwhen the perfect comes, the
partial will come to an end.
When I was a child, I spoke likea child, I thought like a child
, I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man, I putaside childish things, for now
we see only a reflection, as ina mirror, but then, face to face
(30:08):
, the revelation of the day ofthe Lord Jesus.
The same thing he opened theletter with, he brings out here.
Christ is coming back and thethings that are effective in
these days and these ages.
They won't always be here, butlove will always be here and
Christ is coming.
So exercise your spiritualgifts in light of the love you
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have for the body of Christ andpleading with God that he give
you a love that surpasses eventhe great insight or wisdom or
other kinds of gifts that youmight have.
Finally, resurrection hope Overto chapter 15.
Apparently, they've gotquestions about the resurrection
and some, it seems, perhaps areeven unsure if believers will
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have bodily resurrection.
And Paul says yes, absolutely,you can anticipate if you know
the Lord Jesus, christ, yourbody is going to be raised out
of that ground.
And look at his arguments here.
And look at his arguments here.
(31:18):
Look first there at versenumber 12, where you see him
even phrase the question thisway If Christ is proclaimed as
raised from the dead, how cansome of you say there is no
resurrection of the dead.
And I take Paul to be makingthis theological argument, like
he made back in chapter 6 withthe lawsuits and the judging the
angels to be saying more thanwell, one guy rose from the dead
(31:42):
.
So you can't say no one everrose from the dead.
I take him to be saying Jesusrose from the dead.
And haven't we been saying allalong you're united to Christ.
So if you're united to Christand his body came out of the
grave to live forever, why wouldyou even think that your body
wouldn't come out of the graveand live forever?
That's impossible because youbelong to Jesus.
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Look down to verse number 22.
Verse number 22.
Just as in Adam, all die, wecome into the world united to
Adam in a legal sense, in amoral sense and bearing his sin,
(32:38):
nature and the consequences ofall those things, which is death
.
But in Christ all will be madealive.
There's no hope of theresurrection apart from Christ.
God doesn't owe us new bodies,but if we belong to Jesus,
christ has earned andaccomplished all that we could
ask for, including the right toadoption and new bodies in the
grand and glorious future.
Go over to verse number 58.
We're skipping down here some,but Paul is going to move from
(33:06):
this question about resurrectionto encouraging them in their
day-to-day labor.
Paul does care about day-to-daylife.
So don't hear what I'm sayingthat Paul doesn't care about the
questions of life.
He does.
He just wants them to view themwith an eternal lens and with
this lens of your union withChrist.
He ends this whole section inverse 58,.
(33:28):
Therefore, my dear brothers andsisters, be steadfast,
immovable, always excelling inthe Lord's work, because you
know that your labor is not invain.
But I skipped something.
Your labor is not in vain inthe Lord.
(33:50):
Yeah, your labor has valueevery day, even though heaven
and hell are pressing in on us.
Eternity has already arrived inthe future and your labor still
has value, but that's becauseyou belong to the Son.
I hope this gives you hope.
(34:10):
This was great getting into thisin Corinthians this week and
the last couple of weeks for mebecause, again, this is a
resource and a way to approachall kinds of questions in life.
The way that Paul does it soregularly in this book should
suggest to us it's not justabout these questions they had,
but how we think about all kindsof questions.
Let me start with I'm united toChrist.
(34:31):
How does that reshape the way Ithink about it?
And the future is here, it'scoming, it's near.
How does that reshape how Ithink about these questions?
Last passage, we didn't hit thisearlier, but go back to 1
Corinthians, chapter 2.
Or, I'm sorry, chapter 1,chapter 1 still.
So I read that opening.
Or, I'm sorry, chapter one,chapter one still.
(34:52):
So I read that opening of Paulsetting the foundation.
And then he reiterates thatagain.
And just look down to versenumber 30.
It is from, and I'll close withthis First of all, it's from
him, god the Father, that youare in.
(35:17):
Christ Jesus, god's got aneternal plan to unite people to
his son.
And it's Christ Jesus whobecame wisdom from God for us,
the most important kind ofwisdom, wisdom for every life,
day-to-day life.
But wisdom even beyond that,who became wisdom from God for
(35:40):
us, our righteousness,sanctification and redemption,
in order that, as it's written,let the one who boasts boast,
boast in the Lord.
Let's pray, lord.
We want to grasp this more.
(36:00):
We, if we're honest, we confesswe've only begun to see the tip
of what this means for us to beunited to the Son.
That it's forgiveness, it'srestored fellowship with you,
it's intimate union andcommunion.
It's the knowledge of thingspresent and things to come, it's
(36:28):
life and death and angels andjudgments and disagreements with
fellow believers and everythingin between.
So, lord, give us a humilitythat we would not ever boast in
ourselves, but boast in thecross, through which the world
was crucified to us.
And we've been crucified to theworld, but we're alive in
Christ.
Lord, help us to take stock ofevery relationship, every
(36:52):
decision that comes our way,every anxiety or fear, in light
of what it means to belong toJesus.
And it's of you that we're inChrist.
It's him who is our wisdom, ourrighteousness, our
sanctification and ourredemption, and we thank you
that in one real sense, we cansing as we will.
And we thank you that, in onereal sense, we can sing as we
(37:15):
will the gift of grace in Jesus.
What more is there for heavento give?
Having given us your son, whatmore could we own or ask for
that you freely give to us allthings, because you've given
Christ to us.
So let us wait that in ourhearts tonight as we rest, as we
(37:36):
go to sleep, in Jesus' nameamen.
Bible.
You can get that out or you canlook at one of the Bibles in
the pew there.
For those that might bevisiting with us tonight, we
have been going through a serieson Sunday nights where each
Sunday night we look at the nextbook of the Bible, so it's a
message on the whole book of theBible.
We're not going to go all night, so stick around if you're here
(00:23):
visiting, but we're going to belooking at 1 Corinthians
especially tonight, and I wantto start in chapter 1.
I'm going to read chapter 1,verses 4 through 9.
1 Corinthians 1, verses 4through 9.
I always thank my God for you,because of the grace of God
(00:46):
given to you in Christ Jesus,that you were enriched in him in
every way, in all speech andall knowledge.
In this way the testimony aboutChrist was confirmed among you,
so that you do not lack anyspiritual gift.
As you.
Eager's letter to the church ofCorinth.
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You'd be thinking that's agreat church.
They have every spiritual gift,they're not lacking anything.
They have fellowship with Jesusand with each other.
This is the kind of healthychurch that I would have wanted
to be a part of if I was livingback in Bible times.
And then you read the rest ofthe letter.
(01:50):
There's a guy sleeping with hismother-in-law.
There's division in the church.
They're suing each other.
People are getting drunk at theLord's Supper.
Some people seem to doubt theresurrection.
Wait a minute.
That's not the church that Ifirst thought.
But it's the same Paul whoopened this way who wrote the
(02:11):
rest of the letter right?
Paul has the amazing ability tosee God's grace in messy
situations.
He also has the willingness tochallenge people where they need
to be challenged.
Sometimes we tend to go in onedirection or the other.
(02:32):
We can be kind of a bloodhoundfor sniffing out any little
error in a church or our churchor someone else's church, and
Paul starts with God's grace isamong you, and I see it active.
And then sometimes we can be sokind that we're not willing to
say the difficult things thatneed to be said about
significant sin in a situation.
And Paul does both.
We should aim to do both.
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That was free.
Now onto the topic at handtonight.
Before we get to the main idea,that's not going to be quite
the way I framed the main ideafor 1 Corinthians.
Let's look at the structure ofthe book.
Last time we met on Sundaynight we looked at Romans.
Romans is more of a sustainedargument.
(03:15):
1 Corinthians is a letter, likeRomans was, to a church, the
church of Corinth.
That Paul writes underinspiration of God, but it's not
quite the argument and thesteps of Romans.
It's a bit more topical innature.
Paul seems to be writing torespond to some questions the
Corinthians had as they wrote tohim.
Let me show you that.
(03:36):
So hold your finger here in 1Corinthians 1, go over to
chapter 7.
Look at verse 1.
Now, in response to the mattersyou wrote about, he says it.
He's going to address what theyasked him about.
(03:56):
Look down to verse 25 ofchapter 7.
Now about virgins.
Do you hear the same languageof now about?
Now about.
Go over to chapter 8, verse 1.
Now about food sacrifice toidols, chapter 12, look over
(04:18):
there at verse 1.
Now, concerning spiritual gifts, and then over to chapter 15,
verse 35.
But someone will ask how arethe dead raised?
So it seems like Paul's going torespond to in part the series
(04:38):
of questions that they had forhim, but he doesn't start that
until chapter seven.
Why does he wait so long?
Well, he has some things thathe is going to be confronting
them about.
That he needs to talk aboutbefore he gets to their
questions.
That's part of it.
But he's also setting thefoundation for how he wants to
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help them approach thosequestions.
He wants them to see somethingprecious and important, and
here's the big theme I want togive to you tonight from 1
Corinthians.
If we're thinking about our owntakeaway in light of how Paul
speaks to the Corinthians,corinthians, the more we
(05:25):
understand God's eternal plan tounite people to his son, the
more we'll be able to answerevery question in life.
Now, I know that's a big claim,I realize that.
Let me repeat that again themore we understand God's eternal
(05:46):
plan, the more we grasp it,enjoy it to unite people to his
son, the more we'll be able toanswer every question in life.
Wait a minute, I just took acalculus test.
The Bible didn't help me onebit with those questions.
We could.
If you want me to modify, youknow the thesis the more we
(06:08):
understand God's eternal plan tounite people to his son, the
more we have the foundationalmaterial to address every
question in life about knowingand pleasing God.
Now, that's a mouthful so Ishortened it, but really aren't
the questions about knowing andpleasing God the most important
questions.
I mean, you can build theBrooklyn Bridge, but if you
(06:31):
don't know how to live a lifewhile pleasing to God, that
knowledge of building theBrooklyn Bridge only is so
valuable, right?
So those are the most importantquestions, and you see this
right at the outset.
So go back to the verses we werelooking at that.
I read for you 1 Corinthians 1.
We've got these two foundationpillars of union with Christ
(06:54):
that believers have, and thenGod's eternal plan, especially
as it involves the future cominginto the present.
So first, look at union withChrist.
So Paul says there I thank myGod for you.
Verse number four because ofthe grace given to you in Christ
(07:17):
Jesus.
So there's union with Christ.
Now, in verse number five youwere enriched in him in every
way.
Verse number nine you werecalled by him into fellowship
with his son.
Union, union, union.
You've got to understand yourunion with Christ.
(07:38):
He's starting with that.
What about eternity?
What about eternity?
Look at verse number seven.
You don't lack any spiritualgift as you eagerly wait for the
revelation of our Lord JesusChrist.
That's talking about the secondcoming, when Christ is revealed
and returns from heaven.
(07:58):
And then he goes on to say inverse number eight, he will
strengthen you to the end,eternity approaching, so that
you will be blameless in the dayof our Lord Jesus Christ, again
, the end.
So right from the outset he'sgot these connected foundation
pillars of union with Christ andlooking to the future and God's
(08:20):
eternal plan, and those twothemes are going to be woven
throughout the letter as headdresses their problems and
responds to their questions.
So I'm going to try to provethat to you tonight by walking
through seven examples from thisbook of how Paul brings the
eternal plan of God to unitepeople to his son, how he brings
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that to bear on their lives andthe questions they're facing.
So seven examples of that fromthe letter.
Here's the first exampledivision in the church.
They didn't write to him aboutthat one, but he heard about it
and wanted to talk about it.
So look at chapter three, goover chapter three, verse number
(09:13):
three you are still worldly.
For since there's envy andstrife among you, are you not
worldly and behaving like merehumans?
Whenever someone says I belongto paul and I belong to paul's,
are you not acting like merehumans?
There there's the problemdivision.
Look down at verse number 11.
No one can lay any foundationother than what has been laid
down.
That foundation is Jesus Christ.
(09:35):
If you're a believer, paul saysyou're built onto Jesus Christ.
You're not built onto Paul orApollos or you're built onto
Christ, but if you're, thisbuilding stacked on him, if
you're united to him, then youhave to be united to others.
You can't put bricks down andthe bricks don't go together.
(09:59):
If they're part of the samefoundation, they do go together
and the bricks don't go together.
If they're part of the samefoundation, they do go together.
That's his logic here.
Look down to verse 21, chapter 3.
Still so, there's union withChrist.
By implication.
Let no one boast in humanleaders.
This is part of their division,as they were elevating,
idolizing certain human leaders.
(10:20):
Let no one boast in humanleaders, for everything is yours
, whether Paul or Apollos orCephas, or the world, or life or
death, or things present orthings to come.
There's eternity, there's thefuture.
Everything is yours and youbelong to Christ.
(10:44):
There's union again.
So think about division inlight of who you are in Jesus
and what's coming, and you'll behelped.
Example number two lawsuitsamong fellow believers.
Over to chapter six, versenumber one.
If any of you has a disputeagainst another.
How dare you take it to courtbefore the unrighteous and not
(11:08):
before saints?
So we don't know the situation.
Imagine you know, somebodygives someone else their plow to
borrow for something and theyreturn it and they say wait a
minute, you broke my plow, youneed to fix it.
No, when you gave it to me itwas already pretty much shot.
You need to fix it yourself.
Oh yeah, well, I'm going to sueyou.
Oh yeah, go ahead.
I'm making that up.
(11:29):
But in your own mind, imaginewhat it's going to be.
And Paul says don't do that.
And he could say don't do thatbecause that's not very nice.
But it's actually not what hesays here.
He says in verse 2, don't youknow that saints will judge the
world?
Verse number 3, this is evenmore interesting Don't you know
(11:54):
that we will judge angels?
If I was a member of the churchof Corinth I would have said no
, I didn't know.
That.
That's news to me.
Where does Moses say for allthe righteous, in the future,
when angels are judged, you'llget to judge them too.
Where is that in the Bible?
(12:14):
And Paul says he doesn't justsay I got something to inform
you.
He says don't you know thatsays he doesn't just say I got
something to inform you.
He says don't you know that?
Well, it's possible.
When he helped establish thischurch he had extra revelation
he gave, and that's possible.
I think what's more likely hereis he's making a theological
(12:35):
deduction that he says andthinks they should have made.
Doesn't Jesus say when the Sonof man comes in his glory and
sits on his glorious throne tohis disciples, you too will sit
on thrones.
What do you do when you're on athrone?
You're a king.
You make pronouncements andjudgments.
Isn't it true that Jesus oneday is going to judge the living
(12:55):
and the dead and angels?
But if you're united to Christ,you'll be right there with him.
Now, I don't know the mechanicsof it.
Is that Jesus makes hisdeclaration against the sinful
angels who rebelled with Satanand then we say amen, or do we
actually verbalize somepronouncement?
I don't know the mechanics ofthis judgment, but Paul is
(13:17):
bringing in both the future andthe reality that if you're
belonging to Christ, what Jesusis going to do, you'll be a part
of that.
So you're going to be beforeall the created order, judging
heavenly beings, and you'regoing to take your fellow church
member to loss over a tractor,a plow, come on, that's the
(13:42):
logic here.
Example number three sex,marriage and singleness.
I'm cramming three things intoone example.
They are related in Paul's mind.
So go over to chapter five.
So here's a man that Paul needsto confront, given the
especially grievous nature ofhis sin.
(14:02):
And Paul says, verse numberfive hand that one over to Satan
for the destruction of hisflesh, but notice the reason so
that his spirit may be saved inthe day of the Lord.
There's a looking to the futurein the judgment that's being
given to this man.
There's still the hope thathe's going to be saved
(14:23):
eventually through God's grace.
Look down, if you will, tochapter 6.
Further down, verse 14.
God raised up the Lord and willalso raise us up by his power.
Don't you know that your bodiesare a part of Christ's body?
(14:45):
Should I take a part ofChrist's body and make it part
of a prostitute?
Absolutely not.
So.
It's not just that this form ofimmorality is icky or wrong.
Paul could say both of thosethings.
But he's saying you belong toChrist and you can't separate,
(15:06):
as a human, your body and yourspirit, your one being so when
you take your body and sin inthis way because you're united
to Christ.
It's as though you're bringingChrist into that and consider
that as you're facing thesetemptations.
And he even goes a bit furtherthan that, verse 16,.
(15:28):
Don't you know that anyonejoined to a prostitute is one
body with her?
For scripture says the two willbecome one flesh.
But anyone joined to the Lordis one spirit with him.
There's something so sacredabout our intimate union with
Jesus Christ that that's theballast and ground and help for
(15:50):
us to face other kinds oftemptation, though in some ways
maybe a little different innature.
There's an intimacy there ofunion with Christ is a reality
of our relationship.
Over to chapter number seven.
So now we're getting to theirquestions.
So we're still in my thirdexample of trying to prove this
(16:11):
argument about what Paul's doingin Corinthians, showing us how
all the questions of life theycan flow back to.
We're united to Christ.
The future is present.
God's got an eternal plan thatreshapes our thinking.
So I'm an example number three.
But now in the letter he'sgoing to turn to some of their
actual questions, and marriageand issues related to marriage
are part of their questions.
He's got throughout chapterseven a refrain.
(16:35):
So look at verse number 17.
Let each one live his life inthe situation the Lord assigned
when God called him.
Verse 20.
Verse 24.
Verse 26.
(17:00):
In which he was called Verse26,.
Because of the present distress,I think it's good for a man to
remain as he is.
Do you hear that theme?
Stay as you are.
There's a theme, but thatrefrain is, in light of what
he's already developed, that youbelong to Jesus.
(17:20):
The most important union youcould have has already been
established if you belong toChrist.
So you don't have to be overlydistressed about whether you
were converted after you wereconverted after you were already
married and now my spouse isnot a believer and this could be
horrible what about theinfluence on the kids?
(17:41):
And remain in the situation inwhich God's called you.
Now I could imagine a20-year-old coming to me and
saying Micah.
I could imagine a 60-year-oldsaying this, but it's a little
more pressing as a 20-year-oldfor most people.
I could imagine a 20-year-oldsaying I hear what Paul is
saying.
(18:01):
I've experienced union withChrist.
I want to enjoy that intimacywith Christ more.
I can extrapolate, you know,when Paul says don't visit a
prostitute, I shouldn't be in mycollege, ending up in someone
else's dorm room.
I don't want that.
I've got that.
I understand the future isgoing to be here sooner than I
(18:25):
think and in the future it's adifferent situation.
We're not given a marriage ineternity.
I understand those things, butthere's the here and now.
We're not living in the futureand there are days I feel like
if I don't get married in thenext 30 minutes, something
terrible could happen.
I could end up in someone'sroom where I shouldn't be.
(18:45):
Paul's got a response to that.
He says get married, he makesan allowance for that and it's a
happy allowance, it's a joyfulallowance.
Now, I don't think Paul wouldhave said to every 20-year-old
get married within the next 30minutes.
I don't think he would havesaid that, but he's got an
allowance for that.
But the allowances and thesituational specifics of all
(19:08):
these different things that hegoes through here, that's not
what's animating his heart andhis mind fundamentally.
He acknowledged and addressesit.
But what he's still trying todo is reshape their whole frame
of thinking, regardless of thedecisions they make in the
course of their life, in thepresent or in the future.
And he says as much here.
(19:29):
Look again at chapter 7, look atverse 29.
This is what I mean brothersand sisters.
So he even signals he's goingto summarize something important
.
This is what I mean brothersand sisters.
The time is limited.
So from now on, those who havewives should be as though they
(19:54):
had none.
Those who weep as though theydid not weep, those who rejoice
as though they did not rejoice,those who buy as though they
didn't own anything.
There's some hyperbole here.
This is the same Paul who saidhusbands, love your wives as
Christ loved the church.
(20:15):
He's the same Paul who saidwives love your husbands.
It's the same Paul that saidprovide for your family.
That's a command.
So there's exaggeration here.
But he's making a point.
No matter what your situationin life, there's a mentality of
how you approach that.
And it's not only the nearnessof eternity, it's not that only
(20:39):
our life is a vapor and soonit'll be over.
It's that the future is alreadypresent.
So keep reading what he sayshere.
So there's a union with Christas the foundation.
But keep reading what he sayshere, verse 31, those who use
the world as though they did notmake full use of it, for this
(21:00):
world in its current form ispassing away.
He doesn't say it will passaway, he says it's running
through your fingers right now.
Eternity is already presentright now.
So you've got to come to gripswith that, regardless of your
life situation.
(21:21):
That regardless of your lifesituation.
Example number four food offeredto idols.
Chapter eight.
They bring this up.
There's some delicioushamburger.
Maybe the butcher had aceremony to Zeus before he
brought this hamburger out ofthe back.
And if I eat this hamburger, amI somehow worshiping a false
(21:41):
god?
Maybe I shouldn't eat it.
And someone else is like ah,it's a piece of meat.
I'm not worshiping Zeus, it'sdelicious.
Pass the burger over to me,I'll have it.
This kind of thing.
How does Paul respond to this?
Well, his burden is to say youneed to give up your rights for
others.
You need to love others.
That's the overarchingprinciple.
(22:02):
Your rights for others, youneed to love others.
That's the overarchingprinciple.
But look at what he says inverse number 12 of chapter 8.
If you're not careful about theconscience of other Christians
verse number 12,.
When you sin like this againstbrothers and sisters and wound
(22:23):
their weak conscience, you aresinning against Christ.
But Christ doesn't have a weakconscience.
We can't tempt him to doanything wrong.
Yes, but because the people youinteract with are united to
Christ.
When you trouble them you'retroubling the Lord.
(22:43):
So keep in mind that union withJesus.
Down in the next chapter,chapter number nine, verse 25.
He gives many examples here ofhow he is willing to give up his
own right as an apostle for thesake of others.
Still kind of on this theme ofbeat out for the idols, but
(23:05):
verse 25.
Now, everyone who competesexercises self-control on
everything.
They do it to receive aperishable crown, but we an
imperishable crown.
When do you receive that In thefuture?
He's living his life and he'llgive up all kinds of things
(23:26):
because he's got the end in view.
He's got God's eternal plan inview.
That burger sure is tasty, butit doesn't have the immediate in
view.
He's got loving others in lightof God's eternal plan as the
center thing in his mind.
Chapter 10.
Chapter 10.
(23:50):
Look at verse number 11.
He's talking about Israel inthe past and the nature of if
you do eat food offered to idolsin the context of a worship
ceremony.
Now that's where Paul saysdon't do that, because there's
the union element.
You're taking just like if youwere visiting a prostitute the
warning back from earlierchapters if you go into the
(24:12):
context of a false pagan worshipritual and you participate in
that because you're united toChrist.
You're bringing Christ intothat and you're in danger of
bringing the forces that arethere to bear on your life in
some unfortunate way.
But again he argues from thefuture.
Chapter 10, life in someunfortunate way, but again he
(24:36):
argues from the future.
Chapter 10, verse number 11.
These things happened to them,the Israelites, as examples, and
they were written for ourinstruction on whom the ends of
the ages have come.
What does that have to do withanything?
What does that have to do withanything?
In light of Christ's coming,everything is collapsing.
The future is here, eternity ispresent Not fully and finally,
(24:59):
as it will be one day but thecoming of Christ into the world
was the biggest change in worldhistory and if you've got that
change in the back of your mind,you can see the meat offered to
idol for what it is in light ofthat and you can see loving
others in light of what it isfor that.
Next example, example numberfive, the Lord's Supper and
(25:23):
their behavior at the Lord'sSupper, and this actually
overlaps some with food offeredto idols.
But chapter 10, we're stillhere.
In chapter 10, look down atverse 16.
We're still here in chapter 10.
Look down at verse 16.
They had some divisive behavioreven at the Lord's Supper.
And he says in verse 16 ofchapter 10, the cup of blessing
that we bless, is it not asharing in the blood of Christ?
(25:45):
The bread that we break, is itnot a sharing in the body of
Christ?
Because there is one bread, we,who are many, are one body,
since all of us share in the onebread.
Communion is not merely aritual, it's a participation,
not that the bread or the cupsomehow automatically just gives
(26:08):
us more of Christ, but, aswe're believing and trusting and
calling to mind the truths thatsymbolize there, it's a
spiritual experience.
It's not just a ritual.
And because it's a spiritualexperience and you're meditating
on and exhibiting your unionwith Christ and his death and
resurrection, how could you rushahead and selfishly take when
(26:35):
others are hurting and they'renot arrived?
How could you greedily drinkand you drink so much, you get
drunk at the Lord's Supper whenthis is supposed to be a
spiritual experience of who youare as belonging to the Lord?
Chapter 11, still the Lord'sSupper example, but we've got
(26:57):
union to Christ and we see againthe future.
Invoked chapter 11, verse 26 asoften as you eat this bread and
drink the cup, you proclaim theLord's death till he comes.
Communion is a chance for us toproclaim all that Christ is,
(27:18):
and we're doing that always withanticipation that he's coming.
He's coming, he's coming.
That's part of what we say whenwe celebrate the Lord's Supper.
Two examples left.
Number six spiritual gifts,chapter 12.
Now, concerning spiritual gifts,that's how the chapter opens.
(27:40):
Look over to verse number 12and 13 of chapter 12.
And you hear a similar argumentfrom the division he addressed
at the beginning of the letter.
Just as the body is one and hasmany parts and all the parts of
that body, though many, are onebody, so also is Christ.
For we were all baptized by onespirit into one body, whether
(28:03):
Jews or Greeks, whether slavesor free, and we were all given
one spirit to drink.
How should we exercisespiritual gifts, paul?
How should we exercisespiritual gifts, paul?
He doesn't say go out into thewoods and ask God to show you
your special spiritual gift.
Maybe you could use it, maybenot.
(28:23):
It's a horrible idea.
But he begins with now remember, even though there's different
gifts, you're one body andthat's the body of Christ.
You're united to him.
So, in all the ways youexercise your spiritual gifts,
you're trying to build up thebody because you belong to Jesus
and he's built you up, anddon't you want to build up
others who belong to him.
(28:43):
It's all together, it's all one.
Chapter 13, read at weddings,and a wonderful exhortation for
new husbands and wives hasapplication even beyond that.
He's still talking aboutspiritual gifts, because in
chapter 12 he does.
In chapter 14 he does too.
(29:04):
What he says in 13, though, isyes, there's spiritual gifts,
but, again, love is thiscrowning virtue, and his
argument is the reason why loveis the crowning virtue is
because it lasts longer thansome of these spiritual gifts
will last.
Chapter 13, look at verse numbereight Love never ends.
(29:26):
As for prophecies, they willcome to an end.
So you can prophesy Good, great, wonderful.
Paul tells the Corinthians, butthat has a timestamp.
Love doesn't have a timestamp.
As for tongues, they will cease.
As for knowledge, it will cometo an end, for we know in part
(29:47):
and we prophesy in part, butwhen the perfect comes, the
partial will come to an end.
When I was a child, I spoke likea child, I thought like a child
, I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man, I putaside childish things, for now
we see only a reflection, as ina mirror, but then, face to face
(30:08):
, the revelation of the day ofthe Lord Jesus.
The same thing he opened theletter with, he brings out here.
Christ is coming back and thethings that are effective in
these days and these ages.
They won't always be here, butlove will always be here and
Christ is coming.
So exercise your spiritualgifts in light of the love you
(30:32):
have for the body of Christ andpleading with God that he give
you a love that surpasses eventhe great insight or wisdom or
other kinds of gifts that youmight have.
Finally, resurrection hope Overto chapter 15.
Apparently, they've gotquestions about the resurrection
and some, it seems, perhaps areeven unsure if believers will
(30:57):
have bodily resurrection.
And Paul says yes, absolutely,you can anticipate if you know
the Lord Jesus, christ, yourbody is going to be raised out
of that ground.
And look at his arguments here.
And look at his arguments here.
(31:18):
Look first there at versenumber 12, where you see him
even phrase the question thisway If Christ is proclaimed as
raised from the dead, how cansome of you say there is no
resurrection of the dead.
And I take Paul to be makingthis theological argument, like
he made back in chapter 6 withthe lawsuits and the judging the
angels to be saying more thanwell, one guy rose from the dead
(31:42):
.
So you can't say no one everrose from the dead.
I take him to be saying Jesusrose from the dead.
And haven't we been saying allalong you're united to Christ.
So if you're united to Christand his body came out of the
grave to live forever, why wouldyou even think that your body
wouldn't come out of the graveand live forever?
That's impossible because youbelong to Jesus.
(32:05):
Look down to verse number 22.
Verse number 22.
Just as in Adam, all die, wecome into the world united to
Adam in a legal sense, in amoral sense and bearing his sin,
(32:38):
nature and the consequences ofall those things, which is death
.
But in Christ all will be madealive.
There's no hope of theresurrection apart from Christ.
God doesn't owe us new bodies,but if we belong to Jesus,
christ has earned andaccomplished all that we could
ask for, including the right toadoption and new bodies in the
grand and glorious future.
Go over to verse number 58.
We're skipping down here some,but Paul is going to move from
(33:06):
this question about resurrectionto encouraging them in their
day-to-day labor.
Paul does care about day-to-daylife.
So don't hear what I'm sayingthat Paul doesn't care about the
questions of life.
He does.
He just wants them to view themwith an eternal lens and with
this lens of your union withChrist.
He ends this whole section inverse 58,.
(33:28):
Therefore, my dear brothers andsisters, be steadfast,
immovable, always excelling inthe Lord's work, because you
know that your labor is not invain.
But I skipped something.
Your labor is not in vain inthe Lord.
(33:50):
Yeah, your labor has valueevery day, even though heaven
and hell are pressing in on us.
Eternity has already arrived inthe future and your labor still
has value, but that's becauseyou belong to the Son.
I hope this gives you hope.
(34:10):
This was great getting into thisin Corinthians this week and
the last couple of weeks for mebecause, again, this is a
resource and a way to approachall kinds of questions in life.
The way that Paul does it soregularly in this book should
suggest to us it's not justabout these questions they had,
but how we think about all kindsof questions.
Let me start with I'm united toChrist.
(34:31):
How does that reshape the way Ithink about it?
And the future is here, it'scoming, it's near.
How does that reshape how Ithink about these questions?
Last passage, we didn't hit thisearlier, but go back to 1
Corinthians, chapter 2.
Or, I'm sorry, chapter 1,chapter 1 still.
So I read that opening.
Or, I'm sorry, chapter one,chapter one still.
(34:52):
So I read that opening of Paulsetting the foundation.
And then he reiterates thatagain.
And just look down to versenumber 30.
It is from, and I'll close withthis First of all, it's from
him, god the Father, that youare in.
(35:17):
Christ Jesus, god's got aneternal plan to unite people to
his son.
And it's Christ Jesus whobecame wisdom from God for us,
the most important kind ofwisdom, wisdom for every life,
day-to-day life.
But wisdom even beyond that,who became wisdom from God for
(35:40):
us, our righteousness,sanctification and redemption,
in order that, as it's written,let the one who boasts boast,
boast in the Lord.
Let's pray, lord.
We want to grasp this more.
(36:00):
We, if we're honest, we confesswe've only begun to see the tip
of what this means for us to beunited to the Son.
That it's forgiveness, it'srestored fellowship with you,
it's intimate union andcommunion.
It's the knowledge of thingspresent and things to come, it's
(36:28):
life and death and angels andjudgments and disagreements with
fellow believers and everythingin between.
So, lord, give us a humilitythat we would not ever boast in
ourselves, but boast in thecross, through which the world
was crucified to us.
And we've been crucified to theworld, but we're alive in
Christ.
Lord, help us to take stock ofevery relationship, every
(36:52):
decision that comes our way,every anxiety or fear, in light
of what it means to belong toJesus.
And it's of you that we're inChrist.
It's him who is our wisdom, ourrighteousness, our
sanctification and ourredemption, and we thank you
that in one real sense, we cansing as we will.
And we thank you that, in onereal sense, we can sing as we
(37:15):
will the gift of grace in Jesus.
What more is there for heavento give?
Having given us your son, whatmore could we own or ask for
that you freely give to us allthings, because you've given
Christ to us.
So let us wait that in ourhearts tonight as we rest, as we
(37:36):
go to sleep, in Jesus' nameamen.
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