Dwell in the Word 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Consider these questions as you dwell in 1 Corinthians 1:1-9:

1. How does Paul define the term "saints" in the context of the church in Corinth? What significance does this hold for believers, especially considering the challenges and moral issues faced by the Corinthian church?

2. Reflecting on the assurance that Christ will sustain believers and present them guiltless before God, how does this truth impact our motivation to live a holy and set-apart life? How does gratitude for Christ's work in our lives shape our response to God's commandments?

3. In light of the understanding that our identity as saints is based on the righteousness of Christ received through faith, how should this influence our perspective on personal failures and shortcomings? How can this truth empower believers to overcome struggles and strive for a life of holiness?

Transcript:

 The book of 1 Corinthians starts out in a very interesting way.  Notice what it says here. To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul is saying that these people in Corinth are set apart, that they are saints, and so are all of those who call on the name of the Lord Jesus.

Now, we need to understand something here. We're headed into the book of 1 Corinthians, and we're going to find that there are some serious issues going on in the church in Corinth. There are some moral things that are happening that need to be taken care of. But yet, what does Paul call the people in the church?

He refers to them as saints. Why is that? It's because they have been given the gift of faith. It's because they have the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ by faith. And that righteousness is good for them. That is what saves them. It is sufficient to save them and to set them apart as holy before God.

And so, we have to understand here that as it says saints, it's not talking about someone who has, has died and now because of their good holy life we refer to them as saints. Yes, that's one definition, but the real definition of being a saint is to be set apart to God. And so, all believers, all those who are in Christ Jesus, as it says here, everyone who calls upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, is set apart.

As saints and as sanctified people of God. Now that's really good news for us because chances are you may have already done something today that makes you think,  I ain't a saint.  You may have done some things in the past you don't feel like God can forgive you for and you may be worried about your ability to  be morally perfect for God going forward.

These are struggles that we all have. And what Paul is doing here, as he's opening up this book, is he's letting us know who we are, where our identity in Christ lies, and what that means for us. And even if we feel as though we have failed in the past, even though we know we will fail in the future, we desire to be a people of God who are living a holy life.

And you, you may feel like, I just, I just can't do it. I've struggled with this for so long.  Well, we see here in verse 8 that this isn't up to you. It's up to you. Yes, you need to put in the effort. Yes, you need to hear the word. You need to trust in the Spirit to work in you. Yes, but ultimately, who is going to sustain you?

Is it going to be you? Is it going to be me? No, it's going to be Jesus who will sustain you. Look at what verse 8 says.  He is the one who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

God will sustain you. Christ will sustain you. The Spirit at work in you will sustain you. And what will the verdict be? That you're guiltless. And you know that you're not guiltless. But, Christ was guiltless for you. And so he is the one who will sustain you. He is the one that will continue to build you up in faith.

And so that is why we serve him. That's why we come to his word and we, and we listen to it and we hear and believe it so that we might trust that we have this righteousness, that we are saints.  And so, as we hear this good news about who we are in Christ, may this be motivating us. May this not be something that says, alright, this is a pretty good deal.

I'm going to be guiltless no matter what I do. Well, that's not what this is designed to do. This is not how it's supposed to work. This truth that Christ is going to sustain us and make us guiltless. It causes us to desire to live a guiltless life, causes us to desire to be holy, to be set apart before God, that we might thank Him for this, this guiltless verdict that is coming.

Because Jesus has given us this, and so we know we can't do this on our own, and so we want to do this in thanks and in gratitude for who Christ is.  And so, as we start off here in the book of 1 Corinthians, may we be mindful of the fact that we are set apart, that we are saints, and may we see the imperatives, the things that are commanded for us to do, be motivated by the things that we know about who we are in Christ.

May we hear that we are guiltless, and so may we desire to keep God's law. May this gospel, this good news of who we are in Christ, build us up and cause us to live a life set apart. Holy before God, because we are saints. Not because of what we've done, but because all that Christ has done to save us.