The Good Church at Corinth

Introduction

I want to invite you now, if you will, get your Bibles and turn with me in the book of First Corinthians. First Corinthians chapter one. Our text this morning will be looking at several passages of Scripture, and you’ll benefit by turning along in your own Bibles and studying with us this morning, as I hope that you’ll do. Let me begin with just some personal remarks, if you’ll excuse me. Deedra and I are looking forward to being a part of the group here, Lord willing, in the first part of August. We’re so humbled by your invitation and are excited about the possibilities. We’re so thankful to be able to be here and to be partnered with Greg and the elders in the work of the Lord here and just being a part of this group.

We ask for your indulgence, your patience a little bit. We’ve got a lot of new names to learn. Y’all have the advantage. You have two names to learn. We have several to learn. And so if we just call you you for a while, please uh please be patient with us. But we’re looking forward to being here and being a part of the good work that is here. Have you, as we did recently, have you ever visited a place and had to think about what would it be like to be a part of this church? Maybe just on vacation sometimes, and you’re visiting another local church, and you just kind of think, I wonder what it’d be like to be a part of this group here. Maybe at some of those times you’re impressed.

There’s something about that group. Maybe it’s reputation or something you learn while you’re visiting there that you just kind of think, this would be a good church to be a part of. Maybe you’ve had the other vibe, though. Maybe you visited a place and maybe it had a less than stellar reputation, or there was something about your visit there that you thought, I don’t know that I could be a part of this group, or I don’t know that I would want to be a part of this group, or if I was a part of this group, I would hope that I could be the catalyst for change and for improving some of those things. Have you ever taken that further and thought about maybe some churches of the New Testament of the first century?

Of what it would have been like to be a part of one of those churches. Think about the church at Carrent. What if you had a job transfer that took you to the city of Carrent? And that was the only gathering of the Lord’s people in that city. Would you have been excited about those opportunities? Wouldn’t you have loved to have been a part of the church at Corinth? Let me just refresh your memory of what we know about this church from the book of 1 Corinthians. They were a fractured group. That’s an understatement. Some were calling themselves after one name, some after another name, some after even a third or a fourth name. Some of the members on this side of the building didn’t want to have anything to do with the members on this side of the building.

Not just avoiding one another in the auditorium or in the parking lot. But some from over here were actually taking some from over here to court. And were engaged in active lawsuits against one another. Some of them from over on this side of the building got to the building early and partook of the Lord’s Supper so that the ones on this side didn’t even get to partake of the Lord’s Supper. Their worship services, to put it mildly, would have been a mess because of the abuse of the Lord’s Supper. Because of the abuse of the spiritual gifts that were given to them. It just became a prayed for some of those members to show what good Christian they were because they could speak in tongues. Apparently, some multiple, sometimes multiple people were standing up and speaking in foreign languages that no one could understand, and maybe doing it two or three at a time.

Add to that that in that group there was a man guilty of horrible form of fornication. But nobody seemed to want to do anything about it. Biblical ignorance seemed to be rampant in that congregation. They didn’t know about head covering, they didn’t know about eating of meats, they didn’t know about spiritual gifts.

But this morning I want to talk to you about the good church at Corinth. Now you may be immediately asking, oh, you must know of another congregation in Corinth other than the one written about in the Bible. But I would argue to you that though we do know many of their problems, and they were big problems, that I think it could effectively be argued, at least I hope it can be, because that’s the bulk of my sermon this morning, that it could be effectively be argued that this was a good church. And I think there’s three reasons that we can argue that the church at Corinth was a good church. I think the Holy Spirit felt that way. If you’re with me in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, to this church, with all of those problems, and maybe even some that we haven’t even listed this morning, notice what the apostle says by inspiration.

1 Corinthians 1, beginning in verse 1. Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God and Sosthenes, our brother, to the church of God, which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours. Grace to you and peace from the God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by him in all utterance and knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. So that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Have you ever considered that introduction to a book that is just rife with problems? At least three things stand out to me in that introduction. Number one, notice how Paul or the Holy Spirit, through Paul, addressed this group. He says, You’re a church of God. You are saints. He says, secondly, I thank God for you. And then thirdly, he said in verse 8, I fully intend to see you in heaven, that you may be found blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. And again, we may be thinking, Paul, are you talking to a different group? How could this group of people with all of their problems be addressed in such glowing terms?

1. They Recognized Their Problems and Sought Help

And how could we dare argue this morning that it’s a good church? I think again, there are three reasons in the text, at least three, that we could effectively argue that this was a good church at Corinth. One was that they recognized they had problems. And they sought help for those problems. We don’t want to gloss over the fact that the church at Corinth had problems. Any study of the book of 1 Corinthians will remind us that with every page in the book of 1 Corinthians, you’re introduced to another problem. And maybe an increasingly worse problem that was there. But what’s interesting about this church, full of problems, what made them good in spite of all of those things, is that they knew they had problems.

They recognized those problems and they sought help. Are you still in chapter 1? After that wonderful introduction, notice what he says beginning in verse 10. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 10. He says, Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you. But you should be perfectly joined together in the same mind in the same judgment. Notice verse 11. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Chloe’s household. We don’t know much about Chloe or her household, but it seems that they had reached out to Paul and said, Paul, there are problems at Corinth.

We need help. Couple observations about Chloe and her household, that they were not engaged in gossip. They were identifying problems that existed in Corinth, and it also appears that they didn’t do so anonymously. They were willing to put their name to it. And were not afraid to have their name attached to the communique that went to Paul that said there’s problems at Corinth. And they said, Paul, we need help. Look over a little later in the book, 1 Corinthians chapter 7. Beginning in chapter 7, and in verse 1, we’re not going to read the whole context of chapter 7, or of chapter 8, or of chapter 10. But beginning in chapter 7, we see a phrase that’s going to be repeated through the latter part of 1 Corinthians that I think is very telling.

1 Corinthians 7, let’s just look at verse 1. Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me. Again, he’ll repeat that phrase a few times through the remainder of this book. Now concerning the things which you wrote to me.

Paul means by that. It means that they had written to him before he had written to them. And so 1 Corinthians, that is a scathing rebuke about the problems that exist in Corinth. Is not Paul coming to them and saying, I want to tell you about all the things that are going wrong there. 1 Corinthians, about Paul saying, based upon what you have told me, here’s what needs to be done. And that’s very different, isn’t it? That here was a congregation of the Lord’s people who had problems, but they could be called good because they knew they had those problems. And they humbly went to Paul, a man inspired by God, and said, Paul, we’re a mess. Help us. They’re to be commended for that. Contrast that today with maybe a church that may be involved in some unscriptural practices.

But they’re unwilling to listen. Not seeking help. But stubbornly entrenched in their wrongness. Did Corinth have their problems? Oh, you bet they did. But what makes them, I think, a good church, one that Paul could commend, is that they reached out to him and said, We’ve got problems. Help us. Now, the first thing we need to understand is that takes humility. Humility may be a dying attribute. Humility. Of being able to reach out and recognize problems and to say, we have help with those problems. We won’t turn back there, but you remember the story early in the book of Acts of the Ethiopian eunuch. A man in high position of authority in the Ethiopian government. The story is told about him riding back home in that chariot, and he has the scroll of the prophet Isaiah reading from it, and the evangelist sent by God himself comes and confronts that chariot.

And he asks him one simple question. Do you understand what you’re reading? Think about how different the results of that day would have been. If that Ethiopian might have done what I’m being honest, I might have been inclined to say. Oh, yeah, I got this. Even though he didn’t. But think about the humility of a man in high position in government to say, How can I? Unless somebody explains it to me. And that attitude, with the grace of God, saved his soul.

2. They Listened to the Help Offered

Could it be that that same attitude existed in Corinth and with the grace of God and the help of the Apostle Paul saved this dying congregation? That they said, we need help. I would argue that this is a good church at Corinth because not only did they recognize they had problems, not only did they reach out to Paul saying, We’ve got some questions. Could you help us with this? Chloe’s household reached out to Paul and said, There’s some divisions there, there’s problems in Corinth. They need your help. But they also listened. You know, it’s one thing to ask a question. It’s a whole nother thing to listen. And it’s a whole nother thing to listen with the attitude that we will do whatever is required of us.

You know, it’s so frustrating when people ask questions, but then they go and do what they want to do anyway. You ever met anybody like that? You ever met anybody in the mirror like that? Maybe the most glowing example of somebody like that is in Matthew 19. We don’t have to turn back there, but you’ll remember the story, Matthew 19, the rich young ruler who came to Jesus. And it seems to me that from reading the text there where he comes to Jesus, that he’s sincere in his question. Many times questioners coming to Jesus weren’t sincere. They were trying to trap him up. I don’t think that’s the case. When he said, What must I do to have eternal life? Jesus answered that question. I think his sincerity is shown even more by the follow-up.

I’ve done all of that. What else is required of me? But when he got the response, and it wasn’t the response he wanted, what does the text say of him? He went away sorrowful. He wasn’t willing to do it. Is that you and I? Is that maybe us as a congregation at sometimes? We ask them, you know, we’ve got some problems. Help us with this. What do we need to do? And then we’re told what we need to do, we go, well, I don’t want to do that.

You’ll learn quickly that many of my illustrations revolve around food. Probably won’t take you long to figure out why. Have you ever wanted to diet and lose weight? And then you find out what it takes to lose weight, and you go, well, maybe not. I just thought I wanted the answer. Or maybe I wanted the answer, but I didn’t want to make any kind of corrections. Our attitude in asking is all important, isn’t it? Why am I asking this question? Am I asking this question for justification? Am I asking Paul, Paul, we’ve got all these problems? What we need to do? Was I hoping that Paul would say, oh, don’t worry about it. Everybody’s got problems. Or am I asking those questions because I sincerely want to know what I need to do?

Turn over in the Old Testament at another example, Jeremiah chapter 42. And ask yourself if you see others, or maybe even yourself in the people of Jeremiah chapter 42. Let’s set the context as you’re turning Jeremiah 42. We’ll start reading in verse .

These left behinders are wondering, what should we do? They come up with an idea. Maybe we should go to Egypt. It’ll be safer in Egypt. Maybe we should go to Egypt. And so they come to Jeremiah with a great question. Jeremiah 42, verse 1. Then all the captains of the forces, Johannin the son of Korea, Jezaniah the son of Hoshiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near and said to Jeremiah the prophet, please let our petition be acceptable to you. And pray for us to the Lord your God for all this remnant, since we’re left, but a few of the many, as you can see. That the Lord your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing which we should do.

Isn’t that wonderful? Or let me rephrase that. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Jeremiah, please. If you can, could you pray to God and ask him what we should do? Verse 4, Jeremiah the prophet said to them, I have heard, indeed, I will pray to the Lord your God, according to your words, and it shall be that whatever the Lord answers you, I will deliver it to you, I will keep nothing back from you. Then they said to Jeremiah, let the Lord be true and faithful witness between us. If we do not do according to everything which the Lord your God sends us by you, whether it is pleasing or displeasing, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.

Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Jeremiah, please, could you ask God? And whatever he says, Jeremiah, good or bad, we’re gonna do it. That just sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Well, Jeremiah does. He goes, he prays to God. God should these people go to Egypt or stay. God says, stay. They go to Egypt, they’re gonna die. Tell them to stay. So Jeremiah comes back to them, says, Here’s what God said. Now notice their reply, chapter 43, verses 1 and 2. Now it happened when Jeremiah had stopped speaking to all the people, all the words of the Lord their God, for which the Lord their God had sent to them all these words, that Azariah, the son of Hoshiah, Johannon, the son of Koreah, and all the proud men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, You speak falsely.

The Lord our God has not sent you to say, do not go to Egypt to sojourn there.

No. We know full well that there’s a big difference in asking and really wanting to be helped. That there’s a big difference in hearing and listening. Was Corinth a good church? Turn over to 2 Corinthians. The letter of 1 Corinthians, as we’ve said, is a reply to their request for help. Chloe’s household. Seemingly the entire congregation had sent to Paul saying, We’ve got some questions, we need some help. Well, what was their reply? 2 Corinthians chapter 6, beginning. Or excuse me, chapter 7. 2 Corinthians chapter 7, verse 6. It’s one thing to say, hey, we’ve got help, we’ve got problems, but it’s a whole nother thing to respond positively to that. 2 Corinthians 7, verse 6, Paul says, nevertheless, God who comforts the downcast, comfort us by the coming of Titus.

Titus was the one delivering their reply to 1 Corinthians. God has comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.

But they send to Paul, Paul, we’re a total mess. Come help us. Paul sends a letter back saying, You’re right. You’re a total mess. Here’s page after page after page of what you need to do and why you’re wrong in doing it the way you’re doing it now. And Paul’s anxious. Are they going to correct that? Are they going to be like the people of Jeremiah’s day and say, Paul, you speak falsely. We’re not going to do that. Are they going to be mad at Paul? Are they going to humbly accept and begin to work on the corrections that need to be made? And Paul says, I couldn’t rest. I was just agitated in my spirit until finally Titus comes. And what a load off my mind.

Can you imagine being in the assembly at Corinth the Sunday, assume it was a Sunday, when this letter was read to them, the letter of 1 Corinthians.

Imagine being in Corinth when 1 Corinthians was read the first time. I can imagine the possibility that some wouldn’t have made it through the entire reading. Somebody’s got nothing left. Paul’s not going to talk to me like that. Others may get up afterwards and saying, almost as if it was a debate scenario, wait a minute, I need fair time to answer those charges. And maybe there’s some indication that there are a few who did that. But for the most part, what happened that day in Corinth? Keep reading in 2 Corinthians 7, verse 8. For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a little while.

Now I rejoice that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led you to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance, leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing that you sorrowed in a godly manner. What diligence it produced in you. What clearing of yourselves. What indignation? What fear? What vehement desire? What zeal, what vindication in all things you proved yourself to be clear in this matter. I ask you again, was Corinth a good church? They said, Paul, we got problems. Paul said, Yes, you’ve got problems. And they said, We’ve got work to do. They cried about it.

3. They Got Busy Correcting Those Problems

They mourned about it. But then they got to work correcting those problems. And that’s our next point. What made Corinth a good church? They recognized their problems and sought help. They listened to the help that was offered. And then they got busy correcting those problems. Turn back to 2 Corinthians chapter 2. One of the problems, remember, one of the most glaring problems in the first letter, 1 Corinthians 5, was the fornicator that was in their midst. That for whatever reason they were puffed up about and didn’t want to do anything about. Notice what 2 Corinthians chapter 2 has to say, I believe about that very situation. 2 Corinthians 2, look at verses 6 and 7. The punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man.

So that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you reaffirm your love to him. What did they do when they heard that they had a fornicator in their midst and something should be done about it? It seems like they did something about it, doesn’t it? It seems like they exercised the discipline he told them to, and not only that, it seems like it worked. And if we’re not reading too much between the lines, it seems like that they were so eager to do this, so eager to exercise the discipline that God told them to do, is that they didn’t know when to stop. And Paul is saying, okay, it’s enough.

It worked. You’re not disobeying my commands if you stop disciplining when the discipline works. But I think we see the eagerness in that. That here all indications are here was a congregation that was told time and time again what they were doing wrong, and they said, okay, let’s fix it. That’s a good church.

You know, that’s what life is about. Life, whether we’re talking about individuals as a congregation, a life is a series of corrections. It’s kind of like driving. You’re driving down the road and you begin to veer a little bit to the left. What do you do? You make a correction. You pull the car back in a little bit to the right. You drive a few miles and you start veering to the right a little bit. What do you do? You make a correction and you pull it back. Isn’t that what the Christian life is like? We try to stray it, stay in the straight and narrow and not stray from that, but we’re going to veer a little bit. What do we do? We make corrections.

And sometimes we make those corrections because somebody’s telling us, you need to make those corrections. The danger is not necessarily in the veering off course from time to time. The gravest danger is not being willing to listen and to make corrections when necessary. Is the church at South Bumba going to have problems? Long as there’s people here.

Conclusion

But let’s be willing to listen. Let’s be willing to correct our course when we’re needed. So that maybe this could be said of us. To the church of God, called to be saints. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God bless us to be a good church, as that church at Caram. To recognize when we have problems, both as individuals and as a congregation, to be humble enough to ask for help. But to really want the help, to listen, and then to make corrections when we need. What about you this morning?

Is there some correction that needs to be made in your life? We recognize the difficulty, the humility that it would take to step out into the aisle and to come forward and to confess sins in front of an audience such as this. To say, I’m wrong, but I need to change. We understand the difficulty, the humility required, but we also understand the absolute necessity of that kind of humility and that kind of correction. Maybe you’ve never obeyed the gospel. What better time to begin that pathway to heaven today? Understanding there’s going to be corrections, course corrections made all along, but why not begin today? If we can help you, as you humbly submit to the gospel call this morning, why not let it be known right now?

As together we stand and sing.