Plainly Speaking
 with Karl J. Forehand

 

 

The Ambiguity of the Church

(1 Corinthians 1:1-17)

by Karl J. Forehand

 

  The book of 1st Corinthians clearly displays the problem in the church.  There is a tension between what the church claims to be and what it actually is.  There is ambiguity between our final glorious destiny and heaven and our inglorious performance here on earth.  John Stott calls this the ambiguity of the church. 

 

  In reality, we are living between times.  We are between the first and second coming of Christ.  We are between the kingdom come and the kingdom coming.  We are between the now already and the not yet. 

 

  John Newton explains, “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another life; but, still I am not what I used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.”  Therein the find the ambiguity of the church.

 

                                                            The Ambiguity of the Church

 

1.  Ambiguous In it’s holiness

 

Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,  to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  (I Cor. 1:1-3)

 

  “To the church in Corinth” could have been written to the church in Stella, Nebraska or the church in Sydney, Australia.  He even further addresses it to “all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  By the way, what is our identity in Christ?

 

   We are set apart by faith.  We are positioned by Jesus in the faith.  Colossians 2:9-10 says, “For in Him all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have bee made complete…”  Ephesians 2:5-6 goes on to say, “Even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ, and raised us up and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”  By our faith and His grace we are set apart and positioned in Christ.

 

  We are made holy by calling.  We are saints of God, not by our action, but by His calling.  We are not just positioned, but also changed and challenged to be holy.  Now that we are alive, we have a holy calling – a chance to be like Him.

 

  We are still sinful by action.  We are set apart and changed by God, but still fall short of the standard.  What does God do about that?  Paul prays to God, in this passage, for two of the things we need most – grace and peace.

 

  Grace.  Of course, it is by grace we have been saved.  It is the only way God can work with us.  If we compare ourselves to each other, we fair pretty good most of the time.  But, not before God.  We fall short, and need God’s unmerited favor for Him to deal with us.

 

  Peace.  Peace is not the absence of turmoil – it is the presence of God in our lives.  Peace comes not when we achieve perfection, but when we allow the “Prince of Peace” into our lives.

 

  We must understand who we are in Christ.  We are set apart by faith and made holy by calling.  We must also understand how short we fall of the standard and come to accept the grace and peace of God in our lives.

 

2.  Ambiguous in it’s giftedness

 

 How does giftedness happen?

 

I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus,  (I Cor. 1:4)

 

  Giftedness starts with the grace given to us at salvation.  In Christ Jesus, we have the Spirit and now have the ability to manifest spiritual gifts.  The church can’t be gifted without Christ.

 

  What actually happens?

 

that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, (I Cor. 1:5)

 

  Notice what happens – “you are enriched.”   Notice also the goal in verse 8 – “blameless.”  We are enriched now -- we will be blameless later.  God has added giftedness to enrich this life and make it more productive and powerful for Him. 

 

  What is the proof of giftedness?

 

 even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, (I Cor. 1:6)

 

  The giftedness was confirmed in the Church’s testimony.  A testimony is not just what we say.  It is what we do.  It is how effectively we live our lives and how we fulfill things like the Great Commission.  It shows in our evangelism.  Does God do supernatural things in ordinary people living in ordinary circumstances?  When He does, it proves the giftedness.  It displays God’s power

 

  How does the church fulfill it’s ministry?

 

so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, (I Cor. 1:7)

 

  We automatically think, “Man, if this church wasn’t lacking any gift, it must have been a huge church.  The reality is that each church already has everything it needs to fulfill it’s ministry.  Why would God give us a job to do that we were not equipped to do.  He never calls where He does not equip.  We often sit on our duff waiting for God to send us the right people to do the ministry we imagine doing.  The truth:  We already have everything we need in God’s giftedness to do the job He has commissioned us to do.

 

  When God puts a local body together, he enriches and equips each individual so that collectively they are not lacking.  Most churches are over equipped for the work they actually doing. 

 

  How long will this last?

 

awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who shall also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (I Cor. 1:7b-8)

 

  If we wait for God’s revelation, He will continue to confirm our gifts.  How long?  Until, the day when we are blameless – when we stand before the Lord.

 

  How do we make sure it all works?

 

 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  (I Cor. 1:9)

 

  We need to learn to rally around God’s faithfulness.  Through all our mistakes, inconsistencies and failures; God will still continue to work because He is faithful.  We have to rely on His faithfulness. After all, He is faithful. 

 

  God is taking His people toward a holy destiny on a righteous endeavor.  On the way, He has to supernaturally equip them since they are individually inadequate.  This all works because God is faithful when we are submitted to Him.

 

3.  Ambiguous in it’s unity

 

  In verse 2, Paul uses the word “with” to describe our relationship with other believers.  Actually, the Greek word he uses is “sun.”  There is another Greek word for with, meta, that means “with by association.”  It’s like when you have the ingredients for a cake in the refrigerator.  They are with each other in there.  “Sun” means united.  It is like when you mix the ingredients together and bake them.  Even a scientist couldn’t separate them.  That is what we are in Christ – we are “sun” (united) together. 

 

  In light of that thought, Paul gives us some instructions in verses 10-17.

 

“Agree” = speak the same things

 

  In the essentials, we should talk so much unless we can talk as one person.  We also can’t make such a fuss over the things that do not matter as much.  We must learn to speak more about the things we agree about.

 

“ No schisms”

 

  I believe when we begin to get fixated on the differences between us, Satan laughs.  We construct more and more denominations and more and more sects of those denominations and Satan gives us a standing ovation.  He can’t take away your salvation; but if He can get you to divide, then He can limit our power.

 

  The Corinthian church was divided over what man they followed.  They said, “We are of Paul – we are of Apollos, we are of Peter.”  We say, “We are of Peter – we are of Calvin – we are of Luther – we are of the reformation, etc.”  Listen, we better be of Christ.

 

Summary

 

  Because of Christ, we have been given a “not yet” to look forward to; but we still have to deal with the “now already.”  John Stott says, “The church is sanctified, yet still sinful and called to be holy.  The church is enriched, yet still defective.  The church is united, yet still unnecessarily divided.”

 

  How do we begin to narrow the gap of ambiguity?

-         We must understand who we are in Christ.

-         We must admit that we are not what we should be.

-         We must allow God to change us.

 

 

                                                Karl J. Forehand

 

 

 

 

Back to Writing archives