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IntroductionThe Church: God’s Possession
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
I imagine everyone here has their own ideas about church
We all struggle with the idea that we know best about the church. We are
self-proclaimed experts I am not unlike anyone else in this regard. I have studied I have
prayed I have preferences just like you. On some things we may agree On other things we
may disagree but we all have ideas on what the church should be like. Paul tells us
several things about the Church in this passage I have said them before I may have even
used this passage before. It doesn’t matter Some things take longer than others to
get right Some things take a lifetime to get from thought to practice. I have three points
from this passage Let’s examine them together.
- 2To the church of God in Corinth
God has ownership; God is Sovereign; Christ is the head of the Church. We have partnership with God in this enterprise of building up His Church. Bible Believing Christians accept that the Church is God’s possession. Bible Believing Baptists accept Church is to be governed democratically. Yet, despite the theology of God’s Kingly Reign and the theory of democratic government under the rule of Christ. But it is when theory or theology becomes is expressed in practical ways, that people have such a problem.
We have a difficult time yielding our will to God. We have difficulty yielding our will personally and we have difficulty yielding our will corporately. It is good to have proper theology. It is good to have acceptable theory. But just as works without faith are meaningless, so too is faith without works is dead. Believing that God has ownership of the Church. Believing that God’s people must come together to discern God’s will together. Will not make the church healthy or strong We must put this into practice. We must prayer for God’s leading since it is God’s Church. We must submit our will to the will of the assembly. Or all we will have is grand theology or wonderful theory. We are called upon to understand the Church in this way We are called to act upon this understanding in concrete ways.
to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy
God has made us holy in his sight. Nevertheless, God expects us to walk in his grace by moving toward holiness of life.
together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:
There can be no tribalism in the with the community of faith. All people everywhere who call on the Lord Jesus are our brothers and sisters in the Lord. It is true we may baptize differently. It is true we may consider the Communion differently. It is true that we may even consider the authority of the Bible in different ways; but the for those of who believe the Bible to be the word of God this much is clear. No one can call Jesus Christ ‘Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit. How can we reject the one for whom God has accepted. The true test of humility is our willingness to live in peace, even when we think we are right.
I must admit, the Biblical language is unpopular in our day. The idea of God being a Master and we his servants is fundamentally opposed to our understanding of freedom and human rights in the modern age. Nevertheless that is the Biblical language. God owns the church. It is his and those who call upon the name of Jesus Christ are his people; his possession, bought with the blood of Jesus Christ.
Since the church is people, The church also is God’s bought by the blood of Christ. In our ministry in our worship in our very planning, we are to acknowledge his sovereignty and ownership of the church. In this we walk the path of holiness set apart for the Lord. In this we affirm all people who call upon the Lord Jesus as their Lord. Their Lord and ours, to the glory of God.