August 25, 2024|Identity in Christ|1 Corinthians 1:1-9
John-Daniel Cutler
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This morning we start our study through the book of 1 Corinthians. One of the Apostle Paul’s letters to the church in Corinth. I have been looking forward to preaching through this book for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the amazing similarities between first century Corinth and our current situation in America.
Corinth was an important city that drew a tapestry of different people together, a melting pot of race, religion, ethnicities, and industry.
Within its population we are told that nearly ⅓ were slaves. There was great wealth and great poverty.
It had a vibrant entertainment industry with theater and athletic games being a large portion of it.
In regards to worship it was a collection of world religions that would rival even the most diverse places in America today.
Cutthroat competition and a driving desire to get ahead in this vast and extensive trade industry, coupled with rampant prostitution would make New York seem mild in comparison.
This is what the Apostle Paul would have found in his second missionary journey described in Acts 18 around AD50 or 51. What was unique about his time in Corinth was the length he stayed there. The bible says he stayed there a year and six months teaching the word of God among them after the church had been established.
God gave Paul incredible success in Corinth. God drew a great many people, both Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, powerful and weak, noble and common to himself in Corinth through the preaching and ministry of Paul.
This probably explains why the Apostle Paul had such a strong affinity for the believers at Corinth. Not only do we have two letters preserved for us, internal evidence suggests that Paul most likely wrote four letters in total, one before 1 Corinthians, and one between 1 and 2 Corinthians. In addition he sent Timothy, probably after the first letter, perhaps hoping that he could resolve some of the problems in the church.
Paul obviously loved the believers in Corinth and it broke his heart to hear that this church of new believers were often divided, were tolerating sin, and were not living lives that fit with their new identity in Christ.
1 Corinthians is a large letter that covers a multitude of themes and problems, it can be hard to nail down a singular theme in this particular letter because of the situation that gave occasion for it.
But, I do think by examining how Paul begins the letter we can see that, at the very least, this issue of identity was central to his thought process as he wrote them.
One of the core problems in the Corinthian church was that they were desperately trying to find their identity in all the wrong places.
In what earthly leaders they followed or didn’t follow.
Their own wisdom.
Their pride.
What they had or did not have.
Their ability to tolerate sin among them.
Their freedom and their rights.
Their chastity.
Their outward religious appearance.
What spiritual gifts they had.
These new believers were grasping at all the wrong things in order to inform their identity, both as individuals and collectively.
I don’t know how much more timely a message could be in the current state of our world.
Identity seems to be at the forefront of almost every conversation happening in the public sphere. Even in the American church
Are you Republican or Democrat, Conservative or Liberal, pro-life or pro-choice, LGBTQ+ accepting or intolerant, Patriot or Christian nationalist. right?
We are bombarded with people clamoring daily about various monikers we need to add to our lives so that we can plainly identify ourselves. But here’s why this is such an important message for today.
Does it matter how we define our identity? Absolutely. Is the world a good place to get information about our identity? Absolutely not.
This week in my study time, as I thought about this issue of identity, I was reading some articles on Psychology today. As a side note, if you want to freak your wife out, be reading an article on Dissociative Identity Disorder when she walks into the room.
But one of the interesting things that I found is about the formation of identity. It says.
Psychology Today- Identity formation involves three key tasks: Discovering and developing one’s potential, choosing one’s purpose in life, and finding opportunities to exercise that potential and purpose.
What is interesting is Paul is going to address all three of these key tasks in the first 9 verses of his letter. Remember those, we will come back to them at the close today.
But for now, if you have your bibles, and you haven't already, go ahead and open them to 1 Corinthians chapter 1.
We are going to see Paul remind the Corinthian believers that their identity is in Christ by the gift of God’s grace. Which is still true of us today. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, your identity is a gift of God’s grace. Within these verses, I want to show you three realities that confirm that your identity is in Christ and that it is a gift of God’s grace.
Let’s read those verse together now.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9 (ESV) 1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
2 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, both their Lord and ours:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Our identity is sourced from Christ. (1-3)
By using the word sourced, I want you to see that as a believer, the most significant portion of our identity comes from our union to Christ and nowhere else.
First Paul gives his own example. Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.
In nine of his thirteen letters in the New Testament, this is the way Paul refers to himself.
Called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, an apostle by the will of God, an apostle through Jesus Christ and God the Father, an apostle by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus.
His other favorite way to refer to himself was a servant of Christ Jesus.
Paul found his identity not in what he accomplished for God, not even in what God did through him, but in his calling that was God given and centered on Christ.
Paul probably had a few practical reasons for starting most of his letters like this. One, it was culturally normative to begin a letter with who it was from, which is different from the way we are taught to write letters or emails today. We are taught at the very end to sign, sincerely and then put our name. Beginning with who the letter was from and then to whom it was addressed was the cultural norm in the first century.
Two, it establishes upfront that what follows is not just the opinions of a man, but the message from one of Christ’s appointed messengers. Although Paul often appealed to his readers personally, although he urged them and begged them within his letters, do not doubt that Paul saw these pastoral letters as messages that were meant to be received and obeyed as though they were coming from Christ himself.
But more than the practically, I think Paul had theological reasons to establish the authoritative grounds of his letter; it was not in his learnedness as a Pharisee, not in his scholarly opinion as a Bible scholar, not in his successful work as a church planter, but in his identity as a regenerated believer, called to be an Apostle, not by his own will, but God’s will. The apostle Paul saw himself primarily through the lens of the identity that had been given to him by God’s grace.
Second, in addressing the recipients of his letter, Paul calls them to see themselves primarily through the lens of the identity that had been given to them by God’s grace.
If you know anything about what follows in this letter to the Corinthians, you know that what Paul says in these opening verses about the Corinthian church paints a vibrant contrast with the way they are living their lives. It reminds me of a parent getting ready to discipline one of their children.
As a Father, from time to time, I have to sit my kids down because they have done something that requires discipline and instruction.
For most of their little lives, it began like this. ‘You know I love you, and nothing you can do can ever make me not love you, but this action, this behavior is not okay.’ Right?
What are we doing? Making sure that they don’t associate their bad behavior with their identity. We want them to know that they are our child, that we are their parents, and our relationship is loving, even when we have to discipline them.
As my children have come to know the Lord, the conversations are similar but different.
They may begin the same, but now there is another dimension. Lincoln, Lydia, Lilly, your actions are inconsistent with who you are in Christ. You are a new creation and what you are doing doesn’t fit with your identity. Now it’s not just that I want them to understand that bad behavior is not the entirety of their identity, but that they have been given an identity that is even greater than my son or daughter, they are a child of God, and that has implications for what they do.
Let’s look at what Paul says about their identity. Every line either establishes them in or encourages them to see themselves in light of their identity in Christ.
The church of God that is in Corinth.
Here Paul calls them the ekklesia, or the gathering of God that is in Corinth. Notice the emphasis is not that the church is in Corinth. We often refer to it as the Corinthian church, which is technically correct, but Paul emphasizes that this gathering of saints belongs to God, they are his people, his gathering, his assembly of believers. This informs our understanding of who we are. Remember, most likely these Corinthian believers met in various house churches and yet Paul addresses the totality of them as the church of God. Similar to the theme we looked at in Ephesus and last week in Romans, this again reminds us of the unity we possess in Christ. We may meet in different smaller assemblies all over the world, but there is only one church, and that church belongs to God, it is made up of every believer who is in Christ. This is what we often call the universal church. Paul begins his instruction on their identity by reminding them that they all share a common God and a common body.
To those sanctified in Christ Jesus.
Paul says he is writing to those sanctified (perfect past tense). We had this conversation on Wednesday night about sanctification. The process we talked about on Wednesday is not what Paul is referring to here. To the best of my understanding, the way Paul uses this word here is to those who have been set apart for God in Christ Jesus.
Called to be saints.
What has caused them to be set apart for God in Christ Jesus? The call of God. In the same way God called Paul to be an apostle, Paul says God has called them to be saints.
What is a saint? Contrary to some religious teachings it is not a category and title reserved for those that have died and have been recognized as particularly holy and canonized as Saints, the Bible uses this word to describe all those who are in Christ. It is not something you obtain through your life but something you are made when you are joined to Christ. This becomes especially clear as we will see the actual lives of these Corinthian believers addressed by Paul’s letter. Their lives depict something far different than what we commonly associate with saintly behavior, and yet, here at the very beginning Paul establishes that this is who they are, because this is who God has called them to be.
What is a saint? ... It is not something you obtain through your life but something you are made when you are joined to Christ.
Together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
Lest they think that they are special, especially considering their proclivity towards pride, Paul reminds them that what is true about them in their sanctification and holiness is true of all believers in every place. Your identity is not a source of boasting because it is a gift from God in Christ.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Finally, Paul wishes that his letter finds them abounding in grace and peace from their common Father God and their common Lord Jesus Christ.
If this is true of every believer, everywhere, then we can begin to see our own identity outlined here.
We belong to the church of God that meets in Emmanuel Baptist Church. We are a holy people not because we have earned it, but because we have been set apart by God, for God, in Christ Jesus.
This refers to our positional holiness. In Christ, before the Father, I am robed in Christ’s righteousness, it has been imputed to me. Imputed means that something has been put on my account that I did not earn or deserve. The verse that most clearly teaches this truth is 2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV).
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. That is, God imputed our sins on Christ who had no sin so that he might impute to us righteousness that belonged to Christ.
Having been set apart in Christ, we are now children of God and under the Lordship of Christ. This is why it doesn’t make any sense to try and separate the salvation of Christ and the Lordship of Christ.
If Christ is your savior, he is your Lord.
As far as our identity is concerned, then, what is there to boast in? What part of this identity did I gain for myself, did I produce in myself? Everything that Paul has used to describe believers so far is true of us because God has given it to us in Christ. He is the source of our righteousness, our holiness, and our peace. Even the spiritual gifts we have to do good works does not come from us. Furthermore, the Bible says God has prepared beforehand the good works for us to walk in.
Practically this means we have to be careful about putting anything before ‘Christian’ in our identity. I recently listened to a podcast where the authors were talking about the racial divide in the American church in particular and this trend to insert something before Christian or church. I’m a African-American Christian, or I go to a black church. In Voddie Bauchum’s book Fault Lines, he talks about the incredible pressure within the black community to identify as first black then Christian. Voddie talks about struggling with this when he was first converted.
The same could be said if you called yourself a ‘Baptist Christian’ or a ‘Calvinistic Christian’ or any other moniker you would put in front of Christian.
Now, do I understand having some of these distinctions? Theologically? yes. Practically? of course. I am a baptist.
But I am not a Baptist Christian. I am a Christian who holds to doctrines and distinctions traditionally held in the Baptist faith. But what I can never do is get those two confused. My identity, your identity is given to you in Christ by God’s grace. Later on when Paul is describing his apostleship, he says (ESV) 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am,
With these opening words, Paul shows us the reality that the basis of our identity comes to us from God through Christ. We are who we are because of Christ. This is important because if we miss this, if we try to find our identity as believers in anything else, not only will we miss the rest of what Paul says, but we risk proving that we do not belong to Christ in the first place.
The next reality that Paul addresses is that…
Our identity is shaped by Christ. (4-6)
If the first reality describes the foundation of our identity, we have been set apart, we are saints, we are members of God’s assembly and his family, then the second reality begins to describe what that means for our lives.
In verse 4 Paul shares his gratitude for what God has done for, to, and in the believers in Corinth. Much of which he must have had first hand experience when he was among them for a year and a half.
Verse 4 summarizes what he is thankful for. The grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus.
Paul views the grace of God not only as the reason they are in Christ, but that what they have in Christ is because of God’s grace. What did they have in Christ?
Vs 5- 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—
Paul literally says that they have been made rich in Christ. In what way? In all speech (log'-os) and knowledge (gno'-sis). What does Paul mean here? If we look at verse 7, the purpose of this enrichment is that they would not lack any gift. Paul seems to be highlighting the fact that the Corinthian church was blessed to have an abundance of Spiritual gifts operating within the church.
In chapter 12 he will get into a greater discussion of the gifts, but these two particular gifts come back up in verse 7 of chapter 12.
1 Corinthians 12:7-8 (ESV) 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom (log'-os sof-ee'-ah) and to another the utterance of knowledge (log'-os gno'-sis) according to the same Spirit
These two gifts in particular seem to be a source of pride among the Corinthians.
In chapter 12 he is going to tell them 1 Corinthians 12:11 (ESV) 11 All these (speaking of the gifts) are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
But even before then, Paul is clear in the very beginning, that these gifts are present and active only because these believers are in Christ and experiencing the grace of God.
The very things they are trying to use as their source of identity were given to them.
Verse 6 is interesting.
1 Corinthians 1:6 (ESV) 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you
Paul seems to be saying that the evidence that not only they believe in Christ but that the testimony of Christ is true, is that they have been saved and the evidence of that salvation is that, by God’s grace, he has poured out his Spiritual gifts on the church.
What is the testimony of Christ? The gospel.
Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah who came, lived, died, rose again, ascended into heaven and men are saved by belief in his name, thereby forgiven of their trespasses, indwelt by the Spirit, and adopted into the family of God.
Why is this an important distinction for Paul to make here? Here’s what I think. Especially when we take into account that in this letter we are going to find out that these gifts are not being exercised in a God honoring, Christ-exalting way. Paul is again directing their attention back to who they are in Christ, but this time he is reminding them that the very gospel that saved them, ought to be shaping their identity.
You believed that you were a sinner, separated from the one true, holy, righteous God of the universe, deserving judgment for your sin.
You believed that Jesus Christ died for your sins, willingly enduring the cross for you and that God raised him up again to live eternally.
You believed that through faith in Christ because of the grace of God, you could be saved, so you called out to Christ as your Lord and Savior and were saved. Salvation was freely offered to you.
Why then, are you treating the fruits of salvation, the spiritual gifts of God as though they are grounds for your identity or your pride?
You are no longer being formed by the gospel, you are not being shaped by Christ.
Christ, who had power beyond what you could imagine, Christ who had every legitimate reason to boast, (Philippians 2:7-8 (ESV) 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.)
This is the great tension of the Christian life. In Christ I am righteous, that is his righteousness is imputed to me and I stand before God as though I had not sinned and yet, I am commanded to pursue righteousness as a regenerated, Holy Spirit indwelt, follower of Christ.
Paul is going to summarize it like this in chapter 11 of his letter. 1 Corinthians 11:1 (ESV) Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
How does Christ shape our identity? One, he is our example, our model of what it looks like to walk in righteousness. Two, his word is the truth by which we live our lives.
Even being shaped by Christ, by the power of God and the word of God, will we ever be fully formed this side of heaven? No. But this is what we pursue, while we are waiting ‘for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ’
And we are told when we see him face to face, we will be like he is. God will have brought us to our destined end.
Romans 8:29 (ESV) 9 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
When it comes to your Christian life, how much of your life is shaped by Christ and how much is shaped by your own desires, power, or ability?
In a similar train of thought Paul asks the Galatians to answer this question. Galatians 3:2-3 (ESV) 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Paul reminds the Corinthian believers and us that our identity is not just found in Christ but shaped by Christ. He decides what gifts we have, he decides what body we are placed in, he is our example of how to live out our new identity in Him.
The very shape of our identity and life is formed by him, from him, and towards him. Paul puts their whole existence into focus when he says, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Individually, collectively, our whole life is oriented towards the return of our Lord. If we really grasped this, how could this not shape our identity?
This is what makes trying to find or shape our identity as believers apart from him foolish. Which brings us to our last reality.
Our identity is secured in Christ. (6-9)
7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
This is so important for us to grasp. Our identity is not secure because of what we do. Yes we are called to pursue holiness, pursue righteousness, but just like we could not save ourselves, we do not keep ourselves.
This is Paul’s point in these final introductory words.
Christ will sustain you to the end. The word sustain- same word translated confirmed in verse 6.
What is the end? The day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul echoes the Old Testament day of the Lord here and applies it to Christ.
Who are we waiting for? Christ.
Who is going to keep us secure, firm until that day? Christ.
Specifically, Paul says he is going to keep us guiltless (anegklētos) in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Your translation may read blameless instead of guiltless.
Of the five times this word is used in the New Testament, twice it refers to what Christ has made us and three times Paul uses the word writing to Timothy and Titus concerning qualifications of overseers or Elders, and deacons. Understanding the way Paul uses the word elsewhere, can inform our understanding of what he means here.
Titus 1:5-6 (ESV) 5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 if anyone is above reproach (anegklētos), the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.
1 Timothy 3:8-10 (ESV) 8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. (anegklētos)
The idea in both passages is not sinlessness, but rather that no one can lay a serious charge against.
The only difference between Paul’s usage in Titus and 1 Timothy is that he has in mind earthly councils, earthly courts. These men are above reproach in that the way they live their lives, they cannot be brought before the church with any serious charge against them.
He obviously has a higher court in mind here in 1 Corinthians because he ties it to being guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul envisions these believers standing before the great throne of God at the end of time.
Now this is important for us to understand because every person will stand before the great throne of God. What will be the deciding factor of whether we will stand rightfully condemned or righteously blameless?
It is our identity. Whether we are in Christ or not.
Listen, if you are betting on anything else to be the basis of your justification before God when you stand before Him, you are in danger of eternal damnation.
Emphasizing this very point in his letter to the believers in Galatia, he says.
Galatians 3:27-28 (ESV) 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Not your nationality, not your social status, not your gender.
Aren’t these things that some people try to root their identity in? But Paul says, if you are a believer, you have put on Christ, you are in Christ. This is who you are.
There was a time I struggled with my identity in Christ. I had been a pastor for seven years and at the time I would have told you that my identity was firmly in Christ, but when God called me away from that pastorate, I found myself struggling with my identity. Who was I, if I wasn’t a pastor?
Maybe you have had a similar struggle after a life changing event. During the intervening two, almost three years between there and being called as Pastor here, this was one of the areas that God worked on me the most. I had allowed my identity as a pastor to become my security rather than Christ and in His grace and goodness, he went to work on my heart until I came back to a right understanding that my identity is in Christ and it is secure in Christ.
In vocational ministry, outside vocational ministry, in success, in failure, in abundance, or in need, none of these things give me my identity and none of them take my identity away. It is secure in Christ.
Where do you find your security in Christ? Is it because you are a member of a church? Is it because you give regularly? Volunteer? Teach? Lead?
Is it because you can quote large portions of scripture, that you have a firm grasp on difficult theological concepts?
Not one of those things is bad in and of itself, but if any one becomes the source or security of your identity, you’ve missed the greatness of the gospel and the beauty of being in Christ.
So what does that mean for you and I? That it doesn’t matter what you do? That because you are secure in Christ, you can live any way you want to? God forbid.
It’s not, I’m secure in Christ so it doesn’t matter what I do, it’s I’m secure in Christ so I strive to live out that identity, but whether I stumble or not, my identity is secure. Listen, let me say it this way.
You don’t work for your identity, you work from your identity.
This, I believe, is what Paul is setting up in the opening verses of his letter. He is going to have a lot to say about how divisive the Corinthian believers are being, how their immaturity is manifesting, how they are abusing their gifts, how they are tolerating sin among them, how they are mistreating one another, but here, at the beginning, he wants them to understand that their identity is not wrapped up in those things, but secure in Christ. Why?
Because vs 9, God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
As we continue through the book of 1 Corinthians, there are going to be many places for us to reflect on our own situations, our own attitudes, and our own dispositions. It may challenge some of your long held beliefs or it may convict you in areas of your life. Understanding that the same thing was true of his original audience, Paul begins with an encouragement to these Corinthian believers. The same encouragement I would offer today.
Your identity comes from Christ, he is the source.
Your identity is shaped by Christ, he is our model and our Lord.
Your identity is secure in Christ, he will keep us until the day we see him face to face, because he is faithful.
I referenced an article in Psychology Today at the beginning of our time together this morning.
I will remind you that it says that our formation of our identity involves three key tasks.
Discovering and developing one’s potential
Choosing one’s purpose in life
Finding opportunities to exercise that potential and purpose.
Friends, I hope you can see it, but Paul shows us how all three of these, for the believer, come from Christ.
You have been set apart by God for God, sanctified in Christ Jesus. You have been given spiritual gifts from God that are powered by God.
Your purpose is to live out your God given identity while individually and collectively we wait for the Lord’s return.
Your opportunity to exercise your potential and purpose is before you, God has placed you in his church right where he wants you and provided you with a family to use your gifts to encourage, edify, and build up.
May each of us who are in Christ embrace our identity in Christ, may we rest in our identity in Christ, and may we work from it and not for it.
If there is anyone here today who is not in Christ, but today God is calling you to be joined with him, hear me when I say, there is no one here today that is in Christ because they somehow deserved it, that they somehow earned it. It is a gracious gift from the Father, secured for us by the Son, and applied to us by the Holy Spirit through faith.
If you want to know more about that, or if you know that God has created in you already the desire to surrender to the Lord, in a moment, after we pray, we are going to stand and sing, and Brittany and I will be at the front if you would like to talk about what God is doing in your heart this morning.
Let us pray.
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