Setting Some Things Straight 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 Adapted from a Michael Luke sermon http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?SermonID=83415

3. The Church at Corinth fit that description: it
was a mess, full of problems: divisions,
immorality, pride, selfishness, pettiness, and
much more.
Reports of these problems greatly distressed
the apostle Paul.

4. In fact, he mentions in this letter that he had
already sent a letter before this one
concerning the problems at Corinth.
So, what we call is actually
.
ESV

5. "Miniaturk 009" by Zee Prime at cs.wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons -
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Miniaturk_009.jpg#/media/File:Miniaturk_009.jpg

6. Paul spent somewhere between 18 months to
3 years getting this congregation started and
on the right foundation.
However, the influence of the world was more
attractive than the influence of
the Holy Spirit to many who called themselves
Christian.

7. The apostle Paul is harsh in his letter.
His harshness, however, is based on his love
and concern for their spiritual well-being.
One commentator notes that Paul’s quarrel
with the church at Corinth was a lover’s
quarrel.

8. He loved them despite their problems.
It was a love that grieved because they had
failed to become everything that God
had intended and designed them to be.
Paul understood that unless he loved the
church, even a problem church like Corinth, he
could never help her overcome her problems
and neither can we.

9. Maybe you’ve heard the old adage:
“If you ever find a perfect church, don’t join. If
you do, you will spoil it for sure!”
Of course, we know there is no such thing as a
perfect church.
All churches have problems of some sort
because churches are made up of imperfect
people.

10. The problems described in Paul’s
communication to the Corinthians occur at
some time and in some way in every
congregation.
It makes this letter a very profitable study for
any congregation.
As the apostle Paul teaches, whenever
problems and difficulties arise, there are some
things that need to be set straight.

11. ESV

13. Paul is not just writing as a fellow Christian, a
friend to those in Corinth, or even as founding
preacher of
the church in Corinth.
He’s writes as someone who is “called” or
“commissioned” to do the job set before him”

14. Paul’s authority and leadership came because
of something outside of himself. It wasn’t
something he decided but rather God decided
and extended the invitation.
The term translated as “called” means
“chosen; appointed; by extension equipped
and empowered” for the job set before him.

15. To what was he called? to be an apostle – a
leader; a preacher; a building block for the
church.
In the original language, an apostle was one
who was “sent on a mission with authority and
power to accomplish said mission”

16. Paul’s calling gave him spiritual authority over
those placed under his care.
A church is in real spiritual trouble when the
congregation will not follow the leadership God
has set into place.
One of the major problems that Paul dealt with
in this letter is that there were those in the
Corinthian church who either looked to
themselves as the source for authority or they
looked to sources outside the church for
authority.

17. Paul is reminding them of the “chain of
command” in any congregation.
Christ is the head.
Christ then calls men to serve as preachers,
elders, and deacons.
The authority comes from Christ, rests in
Christ, and is Christ in all things.
The under-shepherds answer to the Head
Shepherd – Jesus Christ – in all matters.

18. ESV

19. A church is also in spiritual trouble when its
leadership fails to lead in the proper manner.
Either they won’t lead at all or lead in the
wrong direction.
You’ve heard it said, "If you’re not part of the
solution, you’re part of the problem.”
“Lead, follow, or get out of the way!”

20. Lot of things about the church in our text but
here are most important:
Belongs to God “ .”
The price for it paid by the blood of the Son of
God.
– cleansed,
purified,
Old stuff is washed away.
Why do you want to roll in the same mud
again?

21. “ ” – set apart for service,
reserved for use by Christ Jesus.
As Paul was called so too are they called to
serve the Lord Jesus with their particular gifts
and talents.
Part of something bigger than one
congregation.
What one local congregation does reflects on
the church universal.
“
.”
Blessed with everything they need to succeed.

22. tells us that they had been made rich in
spiritual blessings. says that they “lacked
no spiritual gift.”

23. Sometimes we look at ourselves here at
Lindley Christian Church and we remember a
more active past, but we look at our current
state and say, “We don’t have what we used to
have.
Even more than that, we look at other
congregations and say, “We don’t have what
they have.”

24. However, we need to realize that if we’ll
depend on God, work the way He wants us to
work, and do the things He wants us to do, we
don’t lack any resource to accomplish what
God wants us to do.
ESV

25. Jesus Christ is Lord, – “
”
He’s in charge.
He’s head over all things
Jesus Christ is coming again

26. ESV

27. Paul reminds us that things need to be set
straight because the church belongs to Christ.
He’s coming back and will hold us responsible
for how we have handled things in the church
and what we’ve done with the salvation He’s
provided for us.

30. This was the same problem in the Corinthian
church.
The church was in the world just as Christ
intended.
But unfortunately, the world was in the church.
The world’s philosophies, the world’s morals,
and the world’s priorities had entered the hull
of this ship of Zion and it was sinking fast!

31. Does your life seem like the Titanic?
You thought you were going somewhere but
something entered your life and kept you from
getting there?
Can you identify with this congregation at
Corinth?
A lot of promise but not much in practice? Full
of the world and sinking fast?