Married, Single, Faithful to God (1 Corinthians 7.1-16)

One of the questions that preoccupies Christians the most is this: “What is God’s will for my life?” I’ve had discussions with so many people over the years about this question, and it always strikes me that when people ask it, they’re almost always asking about situation. Does God want me to work in this job, or marry this person, or live in this city? We act as if God has a map with every step of his plan for us, but he hasn’t shared it with us—instead, he gives us really vague and subjective clues that we have to try to puzzle out and somehow land on the life God wants us to live.

It is such a relief to learn that this is not the case.

Last week, Joe did a fantastic job explaining the problem of sexual immorality in the church in Corinth, and why Paul tells them to flee from it. These people assume that because God has saved their souls, their bodies aren’t really that important, so they can do pretty much whatever they want with them. And Paul says, NO! Your bodies aren’t your own, they belong to God, they are a temple of the Holy Spirit who lives within you. He created your bodies, and what you do with those bodies is very important to him. So flee from sexual immorality. That’s what we saw last week.

It seems that some people in the church also misunderstood this point, but in the opposite direction.

Paul begins chapter 7 by saying, “Now concerning the matters about which you wrote…” Apparently the Corinthians had written Paul a letter expressing some concerns or misunderstandings, and Paul is taking advantage of his teaching at the end of chapter 6, which shows one end of the spectrum, to answer their questions and show the other end of the spectrum.

Intro: Called Where You Are (v. 17, 20, 24)

That’s what we’re going to be looking at for the next couple weeks. But before we get into the practical details (because what Paul writes here is very practical), we need to see why he’s saying it. There is one overarching principle that we see in more depth next week, but that we need to start with today in order to understand what is motivating the instructions he gives.

In v. 17-24, Paul says the same thing three separate times. When a biblical author repeats the same thing multiple times, especially in a short space, you know it’s important.

V. 17:

Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.

V. 20:

20 Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called.

V. 24:

24 So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.

So here is the big idea. Paul’s now shifting his focus from people who are clearly immature in their faith, who think that as long as they say they have faith in Christ, they can do anything they want, to people who think they are mature in their faith, but who have a profound misunderstanding of what true Christian maturity actually looks like. They think that Christian maturity comes from massive changes they make to their external situations.

But Paul says that’s not how it works. Real Christian maturity can be seen when we live faithfully within the situation in which he called us.

It’s important to ask, “What ‘calling’ is he talking about?” He’s not talking about a call to ministry, or a call to a particular vocation. He’s talking about the call to follow Christ. That is the call that all of us have received, that all of us share: he has called us to faith in his Son. He has called us to place our trust in him for our salvation, and to live faithfully for him by his grace.

This is crucially important, because the Christian life is about calling…not about external situation. External situations can play a role—some external situations make the Christian life very difficult.

But most do not. And even for those that do, almost none make the Christian life impossible.

It’s absolutely vital that we understand that. Conversion to Christ does not erase our earthly situation. The gospel doesn’t rearrange our marital status, or our social class, or our personality, or our vocation. Rather, it reorients our life inside of those realities.

To put it simply, faithfulness matters more than changes to our external situation. As Paul says in v. 19,

neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.

That is the underlying principle that guides everything Paul is going to say in our passage today. Paul is going to bring up several different life situations, and he’ll correct misunderstandings that some Corinthians have about what it means to be faithful within those situations.

Married Christians: Faithfulness in Marriage (v. 1–5)

First he talks to married couples, and he rebounds off the subject of sexual immorality to talk about sexual life within marriage. V. 1:

Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

So what’s going on here? People very often use this text as a sort of instruction manual for a strong marriage. Read the Bible, pray, make love as much as you can—and your marriage will be great. Obviously, these are good things, things we would encourage in marriage… But it’s a mistake to presume that regular sex is a guarantee for a good marriage, and it’s a mistake to use this text to defend it, for several reasons.

First, we need to be sensitive to the reality that some people use the Bible to justify behavior that is profoundly unbiblical. This text has been used many times by predatory spouses to justify what is essentially rape. One spouse says to another, “God says your body doesn’t belong to you, it belongs to me. So you have to do this with me, or you’re living in sin.” I hope we can all be very clear that this is not what Paul’s encouraging.

Second, we need to be sensitive to the reality that the way we speak of this text can inadvertently put pressure on a couple to have a certain kind of sexual life that may be a real challenge for them. For some couples, sex is an easy, natural affair; for other couples, it’s a real struggle—either for reasons of physical health or mental health, or because of past trauma, or for any number of other reasons, it can be very difficult. If you’re married and this is the case for you, you should not read this text and come away feeling guilty that a regular, fulfilled sex life with your spouse is difficult.

The third reason is the simplest. I think it’s a mistake to use this text as an instruction manual for a strong marriage because that’s not what Paul’s trying to do here.

He is responding to a specific misunderstanding within this church. Given the biblical calls to purity, some Corinthians had apparently begun to conclude that since sexual immorality is serious, and sexual temptation is prevalent, it’s better to not engage in any sexual activity, even within the confines of a marriage between one man and one woman. Because sexual sin is serious, we should live totally sexless lives, even within our marriage. These married couples are abstaining from sexual relations with their spouse as a means to be more holy.

And Paul’s saying, “No, that’s not how it works.” Sex in itself is not a sin; in fact, within a marriage it is a means of protection against sexual sin. V. 2: Because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.

He’s being extremely exclusive—if you’re married, you have one avenue for your God-given sexual desire, and that is your wife. Your husband. No one else.

In other words, marriage between a man and a woman gives a framework to channel sexual desire into covenant unity. Within the marriage that God gives, sex is no longer an end in itself, but a means of building covenant unity. We see this in v. 4, when Paul says,

4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

This is one of the most counter-cultural statements one could make in the ancient world. And it connects back to what Paul said in last week’s text. You are not your own, he said in v. 19 of chapter 6, you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

What does that look like in marriage? It looks like remembering that my body isn’t mine, it’s God’s; and that God has, for the time we are married, given my body to my wife.

Paul says we shouldn’t deprive one another—this isn’t to say you can’t say no, but rather that the norm for marriage shouldn’t be no but yes.

That’s God’s intention for marriage. Genesis 2.24:

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

That “one flesh” union is referring to union through sexual intercourse; that is the norm for marriage.

You can separate for a time for prayer if you want, but don’t let it go on forever. Take advantage of the gift God has given us in marriage, to build your unity together.

Now we have to be careful here, and recognize that what Paul says here goes both ways. He never once suggests that the man should dominate; and he never once suggests that the woman should be the only one submitting. He’s saying both of us should submit to one another. He speaks of the man giving to his wife her conjugal rights, and vice versa, not of one spouse taking those rights from the other. There is no dynamic of force or pressure here. Marriage is the framework God gives to channel sexual desire into building one another up, not building one spouse up at the expense of the other.

So what does this have to do with the main point we saw earlier? These Corinthians are under the impression that in order to be truly holy, they must do away with all sexual activity within their marriage, and Paul’s saying, “No.” There’s a right way and a wrong way to do it, but be faithful to God where you are. Honor the covenant of marriage; serve your spouse physically and spiritually; do not give into indulgence or domination, but don’t give into asceticism either. Be faithful where you are.

Single Christians: Faithfulness Without Marriage (v. 6-9)

Paul now turns to the single Christians in the church. V. 6:

6 Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. 7 I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.
8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. 9 But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

There are a lot of false ideas about what Paul says here, so I’ll just take them one by one.

First (v. 6), he wants to be clear before he starts that he’s not commanding that single Christians stay single, or that single Christians get married. You can stay single, or you can get married. Both are fine.

Second, I know that v. 9 can be misleading if we read it too quickly, so I just want to be clear: if your main reason for wanting to get married is that you struggle with sexual temptation, don’t get married. At least not yet. Wanting to have sexual relations with someone is a terrible reason to marry them. And I don’t think that’s what Paul is suggesting at all when he says, if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

I think that Paul is using just a hint of irony to highlight something extremely important. If you take sexual sin on one hand, and marriage till death do us part on the other hand, which would you say is the riskier option? Which of the two do people take more seriously? People think sexual sin is something that is unfortunate, but “normal”, and relatively risk free. But they’ll think long and hard, they’ll take everything into consideration, often for months or years, before getting married—because getting married is for life.

But this thinking is backwards. According to Paul, if you have to choose between sexual immorality and marriage, marriage is the least risky of the two. He’s not bringing marriage down to the level of a means of satisfying sexual desire; he’s elevating the seriousness of sexual sin.

Sexual sin is so serious that it would be less risky to marry someone for life rather than fall into it.

Third (v. 7-8)—and I really pray that those of you who are single in this room will hear this—Paul says as clearly as possible that singleness is a good thing. Singleness is a gift. We put marriage on such a high pedestal, and marriage is a gift from God. But if anything, Paul actually puts a higher premium on singleness than on marriage. He says, “I wish that all were as I myself am.” He recognizes that it will be tough for some, but he’s very clear that it’s a good thing to be single and to stay single.

He’ll explain why later on in the chapter, but for now we really need to see that this burning desire many single Christians have with marriage can easily fall into the category of idolatry if we’re not careful. Marriage is a gift, yes; but singleness is also a gift. Both are tools that God uses to shape us into his image, at particular times in our lives, and he won’t use the same tools on everyone in the same way and at the same time.

People have often asked me if I thought they might have “the gift of singleness.” They always ask me this question with a frightened look on their face, hoping I don’t say yes, because they want to get married. My answer is always the same.

They ask, “How do I know if I have the gift of singleness?”

I say, “Well…are you single?” If you are, then you have your answer.

Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1 that God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Paul affirms the same thing in chapter 1 of this letter. God will not hold back to any of his children what they need to live faithfully for him. If you are single, then at least for now, you’ve got the gift! You’ve got what you need to remain faithful in your singleness.

That’s the point of everything Paul’s saying here. Being single in no way impedes your ability to live faithfully for Christ. Some situations make the Christian life easier, but no Christian life is truly “easy.” (And, for the record, marriage does not make the Christian life easier. It brings its own set of obstacles and complications, which we’ll see in coming weeks.)

Again, it comes down to the question of maturity. Christian maturity isn’t measured by marital status or the exercise (or lack thereof) of sexual desire. It is measured by faithfulness to God within your calling.

Married Believers: Faithfulness in Difficulty (v. 10-11)

Now Paul comes back to married Christians, and gives them a very simple and blatant command that comes back to the main point. V. 10:

10 To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband 11 (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.

Obviously, Paul doesn’t say everything there is to say about this subject here; in Matthew 5, Jesus gives at least one legitimate reason for divorce, which is sexual immorality. Paul’s point isn’t to be exhaustive on the topic of divorce. He simply wants to remind the Corinthians of God’s intention for marriage—that is, marriage is meant to be permanent, as long as the husband and the wife are both living.

There are obviously some reasons in which separation may be necessary—but the ultimate goal is the restoration of that marriage, the reconciliation of the husband and wife.

And yes—let’s call a spade a spade: the Bible’s stand on this subject is strict. It does give a way out for people who have suffered in very specific situations, but those situations don’t apply to most. So saying that if separation occurs, the solution should not be divorce, but rather celibacy or reconciliation…that’s a hard pill to swallow. Paul, and Jesus, refuse to normalize divorce.

But the reason for this strictness is very simple; we’ve been talking about it in our couples’ class. Marriage is meant to be a living picture of the relationship between Christ and the church—and the relationship between Christ and his church is eternal. It is unbreakable. It is a covenant that God has made with his people, and God will not break his covenant.

Consequently, according to God’s plan, marriage is not disposable. If we go into marriage thinking that the goal is our own happiness, a simple celebration of love, then that union will be disposable; we’ll jettison it the moment it no longer fulfills our needs. But if we go into marriage realizing that its goal is to show the gospel to the world…that changes everything. If that’s our goal, then our own happiness is no longer the primary consideration; whether or not this marriage “is working” isn’t the main consideration. The main consideration is, how do we remain faithful to Christ IN the situation in which we find ourselves?

Is it difficult? Of course—sometimes unimaginably so. Is it impossible? Never. If God gives us what we need to stay faithful to him, he also gives us what we need to stay faithful to each other.

So there we have it again: wherever you are, that’s where God calls you to be faithful—even if where you are is in the middle of a difficult marriage. Serve him where you are.

Mixed Marriages: Faithfulness in a Less-Than-Ideal Situation (v. 12-16)

At this point, a new scenario appears, and it complicates things a bit. The Bible says on multiple occasions that if you are a follower of Christ and you’re getting married, you should seek to marry another follower of Christ. It tells us not to marry an unbeliever, for a variety of very simple reasons.

But what happens if you’re already married, both of you are unbelievers, and one of you meets Christ? What happens then? Some Corinthians apparently thought that in that case, the believing spouse should divorce the unbelieving spouse. But Paul gives the following advice (v. 12):

12 To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13 If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15 But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. 16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

One thing to clarify before we get to the main point. When Paul says in v. 14 that “the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife” and vice versa, that as it is, “your children…are holy,” he’s not saying that the faith of the believing spouse actually saves the unbelieving spouse or the children. He’s talking about influence.

We don’t baptize babies at this church; we believe baptism should happen following a profession of faith made by the individual who’s being baptized. But we do insist on the wonderful benefit of being a child that grows up in a family of faith. A parents’ faith doesn’t make a child automatically Christian; but it does give that child a front-row seat to the faith. It gives them the opportunity to be exposed to the gospel over and over again; and God regularly uses the influence of a faithful Christian parent to bring a child to faith, as many of you know firsthand.

Well, the same thing can be true for an unbelieving spouse. It isn’t always—the unbelieving spouse can also have influence on the believer in the couple—but it is possible. God can save anyone he wants, and he can use someone who is close, like a spouse, to do it.

And so, Paul says, if your unbelieving spouse wants to stay with you, then stay with them—be faithful where you are, and do not initiate divorce. Your conversion to the faith after your marriage does not make it less of a marriage, and you never know what God may choose to do through your influence.

That being said, Paul does give a way out. If the unbelieving spouse wants to leave, then let them leave. As he says, “God has called you to peace.” That is not to say that marriages between two Christians aren’t difficult or can’t be conflictual, we just talked about that; the point is that a Christian isn’t doomed to endless marital conflict because of their faith.

If they want to stay, then stay; if they want to leave, let them leave. Serve God faithfully, and trust God with the outcome. In either case, the Christian spouse is called to faithfulness where he or she is.

Conclusion

So I think the unifying principle of this text has been repeated enough to be clear: live faithfully for God where you are.

If you’re married, obey God and serve your spouse.

If you’re single, obey God and practice self-control.

if you’re married to an unbeliever, obey God in your home and stay there if you can.

If you’re abandoned by an unbeliever, obey God and live in peace.

Every person in this room is concerned by what we see in this text in one way or another. But it goes even deeper than that. The Corinthians have assumed that spiritual growth requires a change in their circumstances. But the gospel does not demand that all Christians move into the same structure of life; it demands that everyone submit their current life to Christ.

This may speak to many of us even more than the question of marriage or singleness or purity. How many people here have felt frustrated by the circumstances in their lives, and imagined that if only _______ was different, my Christian life would be so much more fulfilling? How many people here have had that thought that if only I lived in this place, or had this job, or was married to this person, or wasn’t married to this person, or had this security, then finally I’d be able to live for God the way I want to?

I know for a fact that this is a thought that comes up very often, because I’ve thought it myself more than once, and I’ve had discussions with so many people over the years that come down to this simple fact.

If I can be frank with you all, with all the love I have for you: God is sovereign over your life. The life that you have—the situation in which you find yourself today—is the life he has given you. It may not be the life you wanted, but it’s the life he’s given you. And when he saved you, it wasn’t to give you different circumstances, but to give you a different heart, a different identity, and a different eternity.

Christian maturity is not about escaping the life you were living. It is about transforming that life through obedience.

The question is not: “Do I need a different life?”

The question is: “How do I live faithfully to Christ in the life he has given me?”

The Real Sexual Revolution (1 Corinthians 6:9-20)

Hello everyone,

If you're joining us, we're currently reading through the first letter to the Corinthians in the Bible.
Here is our question for this morning: how does Jesus change the way we experience sexuality?

Or to put it more positively: how does Jesus enable us to experience a beautiful sexuality?

Some of you may be thinking, "I don't see how Jesus enables us to experience beautiful sexuality at all!"

[SLIDE] We live in a world that has been profoundly shaped by the sexual revolution of the 1960s.

In May 1968, people demanded the right to freely choose their partner(s), to change them, and to do whatever they wanted as long as there was consent between adults.

This revolution left its mark on all of us.

If today the majority considers sexual relations outside of marriage to be normal, this is the result.

Tinder, Grindr, Gleeden and all similar apps are consequences of this.

And for many, the very idea that someone could tell us how to live our sexuality is scandalous.

How does Jesus change the way I live my sexuality? Many would respond: I don't want to know. [SLIDE]

A healthy sexuality would only be possible if we affirmed, as protesters did 60 years ago:
"My body is mine."

For Christians today, taking a stand is not easy.

Perhaps we have experienced this:

"Why don't you ever have fun with someone you meet at a party? Why are you so uptight?"

Or: "How come you've been dating for months and still haven't slept together?"

Or: "Watching porn to unwind is just satisfying a natural need. What's the problem?"

If you're like me, this kind of talk can seem appealing. It can be tempting to go with the flow and adopt the same slogan:
"My body is mine. What I do with it is my business."

How does Jesus change the way we experience sexuality?

Two thousand years ago, the Christians of Corinth in Greece were just as lost.

Corinth had a reputation for debauchery. There was even a verb: "to Corinthianise" - to lead a promiscuous sexual life.

And the Christians of Corinth saw no reason why they should live differently from others.

Their reasoning was simple: for God, only the spiritual matters, not the material.

But the body is material. Therefore, it is of no importance to God. We can do whatever we want with it.

So there was no problem with sleeping with a prostitute from the pagan temple or having an incestuous relationship. God doesn't care what we do with our bodies.

***

This is precisely where they were wrong.

How does Jesus change the way we live our sexuality?

Everything!

(slowly) Because for God, our bodies — and what we do with them — matter deeply.

That is the message this morning:

Our bodies matter to God.

They are precious to him. What we do with them is of great importance.

The real revolution is that of Jesus. Jesus frees us for a sexuality that is much more beautiful and healthy than what our society offers us.

...

A brief aside.

We all approach the issue of sexuality—myself included—as people who have failed.

No one can 'preach', certainly not me.

So no moralising this morning!

Our goal is to see how God's grace frees us to live a beautiful sexuality.

Two points:

1. Our bodies matter to God

2. Let us consecrate our bodies to God

1. Our bodies matter to God

Read with me 1 Corinthians 6:19

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.”

Fifty years after the sexual revolution, there is no evidence that we are any freer with our bodies.

In the age of Instagram, many feel completely enslaved by their bodies.

Why?

Because although it sounds good to say that my body belongs to me, it puts me under pressure! My body has to be attractive!

And if it is less appealing than Kim Kardashian's — or even that of my friend who has a string of partners — then I have failed.

I can say it belongs to me, but in reality, it is a slave to others whose gaze can be merciless.

The apostle Paul starts elsewhere.

If I believe in Jesus, my body belongs to Jesus.

He is the master. And he is infinitely more benevolent than Instagram!

Paul gives us three reasons why our bodies matter to God:

We have been redeemed by Jesus
We will be resurrected with Jesus
We are connected to Jesus.

We have been redeemed by Jesus (vv. 9-11)

Verse 9

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practise homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you have been washed, but you have been declared holy, but you have been declared righteous in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

A few years ago, Paris Saint-Germain bought Neymar Junior from FC Barcelona.

222 million euros, the most expensive transfer in football history, but with a significant cost to the player's loyalties as well.

He had to be reminded: Neymar, you play for PSG now! You no longer belong to Barcelona. Remember which side you're on! You've changed teams.

This is somewhat similar to what happened to Christians.

We have been redeemed, transferred to God's side to play on his team and live according to his ways.

Paul describes the life of the Corinthians before they became Christians.

Debauched, idolaters, adulterers, transvestites, homosexuals (a better translation would be those who practise homosexuality), thieves, always wanting to possess more, drunkards, slanderers, exploiters...

Paul is clear. Those who live these lifestyles will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But he continues: this is what some of you used to be! You were no different from others.

Just as we, too, may have all kinds of dark things in our past...

But verse 11:

...you have been washed, but you have been declared holy, but you have been declared righteous."

***

He has "washed" us

We may have done or suffered things that we are ashamed of.

Even if the memories remain in our minds, they no longer cling to us before God. He has cleansed us, through the death of Jesus, from all our defilements, if we have believed in him.

He has "declared us holy" - he has set us apart for himself.

Some people have knives that are only for cheese. Nothing else! They are set apart for the glorious purpose of eating cheese.

That is what it means to be "declared holy". God has set us apart to serve him.

And he has "declared us righteous".

If we visited the church in Corinth and asked them to tell us their stories, we would probably want to vomit. But when God looked at them, he didn't see sexual sinners. He saw... Jesus!

No matter what your past is. No matter what wrongs you have committed or suffered. God declares us perfect — as righteous as his Son!

So, since God paid the price for our transfer,

since we have a clean jersey with Jesus written on the back,

since we have been set apart to serve on God's team...

...we no longer follow the prevailing culture. We play the other way. We have changed sides.

Our bodies matter because we have been redeemed by Jesus.

It also matters because...

• We will be resurrected with Jesus (vv. 12-14)

Verse 12

“Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial; everything is permissible for me, but I will not be dominated by anything. Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, and God will destroy both of them. But the body is not for sexual immorality: it is for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. Now God, who raised the Lord, will also raise us up by his power."

The expressions "everything is permissible for me" and "food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food" are undoubtedly the slogans of the Corinthians.

Perhaps they were saying this: sex is a simple biological process. Like digesting a meal. It is a spiritually neutral function of the body.

What matters is the spirit. The spirit is eternal. The body is only temporary.

We are like a snake that sheds its skin and leaves it behind.

This is not so far removed from what we hear today.

I remember a song released in the late 1990s by the band Bloodhound Gang:

You and me, baby, ain't nothing but mammals

So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel

You and me, baby, we're nothing but mammals

So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel

Sex is a biological function with no consequences!

I have read quotes from Catholic priests who defended their one-night stands by saying, "It's just a way for my body to unwind." "I am still chaste in my soul."

As if their bodies were unimportant.

But to God, our bodies matter... because they have a future!

Verse 13

"The body is not meant for sexual immorality: it is for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. Now God, who raised the Lord, will also raise us up by his power."

We are not just spirits trapped in bodies that we will leave behind.

God raised Jesus' body; He will raise ours too.

So we cannot use this body as if it were destined to be thrown away. A glorious future awaits it!

Imagine it's the day before your wedding.

Tonight, someone invites you to play football on a muddy pitch... wearing your outfit already prepared for the ceremony.

You refuse.

Not because the outfit is fragile, but because you know what it is meant for.

You already treat it according to the glorious event for which it is made.

That is Paul's idea: our bodies are destined for resurrection. They will be resurrected to glorify God perfectly. So we already treat them in a manner consistent with that future, not as something mundane.

Our bodies are for the Lord and therefore not for "sexual immorality."

The expression "sexual immorality" translates the word porneia. It refers to any form of sexual stimulation outside the framework intended by God for marriage between a man and a woman.

Our bodies are too precious, and their future too glorious, to be treated carelessly.

Our bodies matter... because we will be resurrected.

And our bodies matter because...

• We are connected to Jesus (vv. 15-17)

The Bible teaches that the ultimate purpose of marriage and sex is to serve as a portrait of the relationship between Jesus and his people.

That is why marriage is a public, permanent, and physical commitment between a man and a woman.

Because it illustrates Jesus' public, permanent and physical commitment to us.

On the cross, Jesus committed himself to us publicly, in front of the whole world.

He committed himself permanently, with a view to a relationship that will never end. We will be loved by him forever!

He committed himself to us physically, by shedding his blood.

Sex and marriage point to this.

So if I claim to have a relationship with Jesus, but my sexual life denies this kind of commitment, there is a contradiction.

Look at verse 15.

“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Certainly not! Do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, ‘The two shall become one flesh. ’ But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.”

Since sex exists to illustrate Jesus' commitment to us, it always creates a bond.

Paul quotes the book of Genesis, where God created sex so that husband and wife would become one.

Whether you are a believer or not, I think we all know this!

A 'one-night stand' is never just a one-night stand. It creates a bond between two people.

But if we are Christians, our bodies are bound to Christ.

Paul says that our bodies are members of Christ. He says that

"He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him."

We are attached to Jesus.

The problem is not physically uniting with someone while being united with Christ.

It is not that sex and Jesus are incompatible.

Next Sunday we will see that the Bible encourages husbands and wives to make love!

Rather, if my body is bound to Jesus, I cannot use it for sexual relations that completely contradict this idea of a public, permanent, and physical commitment.

Sex is much more important and meaningful than we usually think.

When God was looking for an illustration of the relationship he wanted with us, when he was preparing a trailer for eternal joy, intimacy and love... he invented sex!

It's not that sex is desirable for us but disgusting for God.

No, God has a much more glorious vision of sex than we do!

That is why human beings desire sex. We do not just crave a sensation, but a relationship.

The writer G. K. Chesterton said that every man who knocks on the door of a brothel... is looking for God!

Because God invented sex as an image of the relationship he wants with us!

It is scandalous, almost blasphemous, that Christians have sometimes presented sex as dirty when it is eminently spiritual.

But if it is true that my body is united with Jesus, who has committed himself to us, I cannot use that body for relationships that totally contradict the idea of a public, permanent and physical commitment.

Paul speaks of prostitution, but this applies to any sexual stimulation outside of marriage — in bed or through a screen.

We cannot celebrate a permanent union with Christ and multiply temporary unions elsewhere.

Our bodies matter because we are connected to Jesus.

_______

You may be familiar with the series Sex and the City.

It features New York women who have a string of casual relationships.

I came across an article written by a journalist who is a fan of the series and admits to having tried to live like the main character.

"As soon as I had the opportunity to adopt the same lifestyle as Samantha (the protagonist), I did so and suffered. I had as many men as possible, drank as many cranberry martinis as possible, and tried to convince myself that I too could live in a blaze of alcoholic, feminine, and possibly feminist glory.

"The problem was that I wasn't up to it. I had feelings. I was incapable of feeling indifferent when cutting ties after sex, whether I liked the man in question or not. I couldn't manage to use men light-heartedly. It always depressed me, just as it did when I was the one being used."

To my knowledge, she is not a Christian.

But she saw something true.

Our bodies matter.

It is not meant to be used lightly.

It is made for a public, permanent, physical union.

They are made for Jesus.

If we grasp that, it is revolutionary... and there is only one answer...

Our bodies matter to God...

1. Let us consecrate our bodies to God (vv. 18-20)

This passage contains two imperatives.

The first is in verse 18

"Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body."

Perhaps you are thinking: OK, our bodies matter to God, we must use them to honour Him, sex is for marriage... but where is the line between what we can and cannot do?

How far can we go physically if we are dating someone, for example?

Where is the line between what is permissible and what is not?

But it is striking that Paul does not ask himself: where is the line?

He says, "Flee... sexual immorality."

I don't know if you've ever had to run for your life.

My family has a dog, so we see how dogs interact with humans, and sometimes we see what it looks like to run for your life!

The classic case: a small child in a park. Suddenly, a big dog (not ours) runs towards him barking.

What does the child do?

Seeing this beast charging towards him with its fangs dripping with saliva, he doesn't think, "I wonder how close I can let it get... without it biting me?

He runs... as far away as possible...

... and he runs to his father or mother for protection.

That's what Paul says about any sexual stimulation outside of marriage.

Flee from it!

The question of limits is the wrong question.

"Flee!"

With a boyfriend or girlfriend, the question is not: how far can we go physically?

It's how to flee from danger!

For example, if I am a young man dating a young woman who lives in another city.

When she visits me, where does she sleep?

She could sleep at my place. It's not a sin to sleep under the same roof.

But is being alone in an apartment with someone I'm attracted to and not yet married to the best way to avoid danger?

Personally, I would avoid it.

Or for those of us who are married, it's likely that at some point we'll meet someone with whom, under different circumstances, it could have worked out.

We could have gotten together.

We must be extremely vigilant!

It is tempting to think that a little flirting won't hurt anyone.

But God asks us to flee from sexual temptation, not to play with fire.

We are particularly at risk when we are tired, when our spirits are low, or when our relationship is going through a difficult time.

Or if we struggle with pornography, and let's not be too prudish, it's a struggle for a lot of people, men and women...

...let's be radical!

Let's flee from danger and flee to Jesus.

Flee from danger – download a filter for your computer or phone today.

Put your devices in the basement overnight if you have to.

Anticipate risky moments and plan other activities.

Let us flee from danger, even if it means taking radical measures.

But to win this battle, it's not enough to simply say no to the desires of the flesh. If we stop there, we will eventually crack. We must flee to Jesus.

This is the only approach that works in the long term, and here's why.

Where does the desire to consume pornography come from?

Some hypotheses

From the feeling of lacking something.

From loneliness

From the feeling of not being desired

From shame about our bodies

A feeling of futility in life.

I could go on.

(slowly) All these things, the good news of Jesus answers them!

That's where the war will be won. Not just by saying no to our desires, but by saying yes to Jesus.

If loneliness is the problem... we are connected to Jesus! We have the most important relationship. He loved us at the cost of his blood. We are never alone! We are cherished by him today and for eternity!

Or if we feel like we are missing out because we are depriving ourselves of certain pleasures, let us flee to Jesus and take the Bible at its word:

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Psalm 23

"Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing" - Psalm 34

"There is abundance of joy in your presence, eternal happiness at your right hand" - Psalm 16

Pornography promises to fill a void. Only Jesus can fill that void.

But we must flee to him to experience it.

Or if we feel trapped in shame, it alters our perception of ourselves. We may end up saying to ourselves, "This is who I am, a sexual sinner—there's nothing I can do about it."

But when God looks at us, He doesn't see sexual sinners. He sees... Jesus!

He sees people who have been washed, sanctified and declared righteous.

We must flee to Jesus so that He can remind us of this.

Let us flee from sexual immorality and finally,

• let us glorify God in our bodies.

Verse 20

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

The Corinthians were wrong. Our sexual behaviour is indeed part of our spiritual life.

Seeking a sexuality that pleases God is a form of worship.

The sexuality He created for this body is truly the best!

I am addressing the married people among us. Let us strive to live a beautiful sexuality!

This may surprise some people; it is easy to neglect this area. We must be proactive!

(slowly) If you are going through things in your relationship that prevent you from enjoying a beautiful sexuality, please seek help. The couples' course is there for that. The leaders are there to listen to you.

***

If you are single and finding it difficult, we will have a sermon on singleness in a few weeks, but the Church is there for us to share our struggles, frustrations and temptations!

If you are a student, you are probably bombarded with the message that what we do with our bodies is inconsequential as long as there is consent.

But God made us for a sexuality that is much more beautiful than what you see on Instagram or at most student or high school parties.

No matter what our friends or hormones suggest.

And parents... teach this to your children.

Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You do not belong to yourself, for you have been bought at a great price!

Many of our children are young, but it is better to tell them too soon than too late.

***

Finally, if you have discovered that you are attracted to people of the same sex, and in a group of this size, that will apply to several of us, do not keep it to yourself!

It is a heavy burden to bear alone... in a world that encourages us to act on these desires!

I would have liked to have a whole sermon on homosexuality.

I will simply say that temptation is not sin...

...and that if you have chosen to obey Jesus rather than your desires, going against the grain of our society, you are a modern-day hero of faith.

And you have much to teach us about what it means to be a disciple who takes up his cross to follow Jesus.

Open yourself up to other Christians. Ask them to wrestle with you in prayer.

***

In conclusion, one of the paradoxes of our time is that our culture is both ultra-sexualised and actually devalues sex.

A few years ago, there were advertisements in the underground for the dating site "Adopte".

Love letters written by users of the site, some of them rather beautiful and romantic.

Then underneath, in total contrast, was the site's logo - a woman placing a man in a supermarket trolley.

Sex everywhere. The meaning of sex lost.

The good news of Jesus offers us so much, so much better.

Perhaps you wouldn't identify yourself as a Christian this morning. We are delighted to have you with us.

If you want to discover sexuality in all its beauty, if you want the authentic version, not the cheap version, if you want to know its true meaning...

...come to Jesus!

His is the real sexual revolution.

And I pray for all of us that we may be true revolutionaries.

_______________

How can someone struggling with same-sex desires be assured of their salvation and avoid thinking that this disqualifies them?

Same-sex attraction ≠ sin

Homosexual relations are not a separate category of sin

If you experience this temptation, you are no worse than anyone else

We are all broken by sin, and this is just one way that some of us are broken

But if you believe in Jesus, God sees you as perfect

Hebrews 4:16

Just a dispute? (1 Corinthians 6:1–11)

Introduction

Most of you don't know this, but the television programmes that air in the afternoon on weekdays in Latin America are a catastrophe. They are truly absurd shows.

There was one programme in particular that was, admittedly, interesting to watch, but I always found it very unhealthy: Casos de Familia ("Family Cases"). A show where the host listens to two members of the same family arguing over a particular issue, and the host asks questions and acts somewhat like a mediator — though not too much, because if reconciliation comes too quickly, the show loses its appeal. And I always thought to myself, "Why are these people exposing themselves to this level of ridicule? Are they being paid to do it?" Because, most of the time, the disputes were rather petty, and it was clear that one of the parties — or both — were acting in bad faith.

You might think that what the apostle Paul wants to avoid here is the Corinthians, as a church, exposing themselves to the same kind of ridicule.

The context is, indeed, somewhat similar: people within their community had disputes — civil disputes, not criminal ones — and were taking each other to court before potentially corrupt tribunals.

Is it simply that Paul doesn't want them to have bad press by airing their conflicts out in the open like that? One could read this text as a recommendation to "keep your dirty laundry in the family." But it would be a mistake to reduce this passage to that.

No, the rebuke Paul makes here is a continuation of the corrections he brings to the church of Corinth — yet another example of the problems this church had. The reality of what it means to be a community of Jesus' disciples had not yet penetrated the minds and behaviour of this community. Hence Paul's emphasis on the gap between the faith they profess and their failing communal life.

"Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?"

Here, Paul makes an important and striking theological statement: those who belong to Christ, the Messiah, will join him at the Last Judgement to judge the world — all of creation, angels included.

This may seem strange, and you might even think it's something you don't particularly want to do. But this was declared by Jesus himself:

"Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." — Matthew 19:28

And similar texts appear elsewhere in the Bible, such as Daniel 7 or Revelation 2. But isn't it Jesus who will judge? In what way will those who belong to Christ actually judge the world? Much ink has been spilled on this subject, with differing opinions.

I won't go into the details of the various interpretations, but the most important thing is that they all point to the following reality: those who belong to Christ will share in his discernment between what is good and evil, what is just and unjust.

It may seem like a lot — judging angels — but in another epistle, the letter to the Galatians, Paul tells Christians to judge, to discern, whether someone comes proclaiming a gospel different from the one they received. Even if it were an angel!

So yes, as people who belong to the Messiah, our destiny is to have discernment perfectly aligned with his, guided by the Holy Spirit. And therefore to understand and participate in his judgement — the ultimate determination of what is just or unjust, good or evil.

If that is our future destiny, at the end of all things, how should we act now? Should we not, in word and in practice, hold justice in the highest regard in both great and small matters?

But one might ask, what's wrong with going before a civil court to defend your case? The question I ask — and that Paul asks — is "why?" It's the same question I used to ask myself when I watched people going on that TV show to complain about their brother, cousin, or aunt. Why? Are they really in a family so devoid of people who can offer good counsel? Are they in a family so divided that no one can be considered trustworthy?

That is the same question Paul asks: Is there not a single wise person among you who can judge between brothers and sisters? Is there no one who shows even a little of the discernment of justice that comes with Christian maturity, with the work of the Holy Spirit in us? Are we really sure this is the community called to judge the world and the angels?

If we think there is no one in our community who can advise us, it is either because that community is no longer truly putting its faith into practice, or because — more likely — we despise the wisdom of our brothers and sisters and, out of pride, refuse to submit to their counsel.

Here, it is important that I pause to make an important distinction: we are talking about disputes, civil disagreements. We are not talking about criminal offences. Violence, abuse, crimes — these matters fall within the criminal domain and are outside the scope of a dispute between two individuals. A criminal offence is an attack on public order, and therefore concerns all citizens — the criminal justice system of the state must be engaged in such cases. The same cannot be said for civil proceedings — where even the state encourages, when possible, the reconciliation of the parties through alternative means. We are talking about things like disagreements following the sale of property, financial consequences of a late payment, liability following an accident.

So yes, I dare say that if you are in a church faithful to the gospel, you will find — and even easily — someone who is ready to listen to you and act as a mediator in a dispute. "Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the matters of everyday life!"

But even better is not having disputes against a brother at all. That is what the apostle suggests to us in his question: "Why not rather suffer wrong?"

"Why not rather suffer wrong?"

The question may seem surprising. And not at all a solution. But yes, in a dispute, one can say that one party is wrong and the other is right — though sometimes both are wrong. Here, Paul is speaking to the person who would, in principle, be in the right. Why not endure the injustice, for the sake of your brothers and sisters?

You see, what Paul asks here is no different from what he himself does. He describes his own behaviour, and that of the other apostles, in chapter 4: "When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly." And he asks the Corinthians to imitate this behaviour. To be patient in the face of injustice. To forgive those who have wronged you.

Nor is this any different from what Jesus taught his disciples: "If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well." (Matthew 5:40)

This is what Jesus taught, and what Paul teaches here. It is a radical call to those who are "in the right" in a dispute: endure with patience and goodwill. Respond to an offence with a blessing.

In verses 9 and 10, one might get the impression that Paul changes the subject by listing sinners who will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. It is, moreover, a list that is not at all a random sample of sins, but rather sins particularly prevalent in the city of Corinth at the time.

But Paul has just told us to accept injustice and, in the very next sentence, warns us that the unjust will not inherit the Kingdom! Why this transition?

The first reason: it is yet another reminder, like the one from last week, that living in a state of unrepentant sin is not an option for a Christian. The one who lives in injustice, who defrauds their brother, and who systematically refuses to repent of their sin — that person renders their profession of faith void and should not have any assurance of an inheritance in the kingdom.

The second reason: Paul reminds them that "that is what some of you were." It was in a state of sin and injustice that the Corinthians found themselves before their conversion. They may not have practised all of these sins. But sinners nonetheless, and therefore unjust before a just and holy God who would have been fully within his rights to condemn them. But God, instead of passing sentence upon them, responded to injustice with his grace.

"But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."

Now, being aware of having received such great forgiveness, can it really seem coherent to go and sue a brother over trivial matters? As a disciple of Christ, at my own level, I must seek to imitate him and forgive in turn.

Conclusion

You see, this passage begins and ends with two profound theological statements: at the beginning of the passage, the reminder of the end of times, when the saints will participate in judgement alongside Christ, who has received the authority to judge all things. At the end of the passage, the reminder of salvation — the sacrifice of Christ that declared us righteous when we were unrighteous. Two theological truths about Christ, about us, about our relationship to his justice, present and future.

Two truths that may seem very transcendent to us but which invite us to concrete and practical behaviours right now.

Particularly concerning possible disputes with a brother or sister. So, if you have a disagreement, if you think a brother or sister has wronged you in any way, this text invites you to:

• Consider how you can put forgiveness into practice in that situation;

• Call upon the wisdom of a brother or sister for mediation;

• Not adopt a vindictive posture, even when you are clearly in the right.

When we do this, we imitate — at our own scale — the Christ who saved us and declared us righteous when we were still unrighteous. When a local church puts this into practice, it looks like a community of disciples whose behaviour points towards its Saviour, and not like a dysfunctional family that ends up on a reality TV show.

A Church Freed for Holiness (1 Corinthians 5)

Incest,

adultery

sexual immorality,

greed,

idolatry,

slander,

drunkenness,

theft,

lawsuits between Christians,

frequenting prostitutes

This is what awaits us in the next three weeks.

With just one question:

Do we know who we are?
Do we know who we are?

Do we understand our identity?

When someone asks you, "What is your church?", what do you say?

An evangelical Protestant community?
People who share a tradition?
A family?
A group of friends?

Perhaps you have never asked yourself this question.

But it's crucial.

Our identity always guides our behaviour.

During the Six Nations Championship or the World Cup, some people change their shirts, their schedules, their moods... why?
Because of their identity.

(After yesterday's results, my mood has changed too! Forza Italia!)

Our identity always guides our behaviour.

And that is exactly the problem in Corinth.

In the new section of 1 Corinthians that we are beginning, chapters 5 and 6, we see a Church that tolerates things it should never tolerate —and Paul keeps coming back to the same question:

Do you know who you are?

1 Cor 5:6: "Don't you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you are unleavened." We will see what this means. Let us just note the question: do you know who you are?

1 Cor 6:2 "Do you not know that the saints—that is, Christians—will judge the world?"

1 Corinthians 6:3 “Do you not know that we will judge angels?”

1 Corinthians 6:15 "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?

1 Corinthians 6:19 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.”

Do you see the logic?

Our identity always guides our behaviour.

***

This morning, we're going to talk about the connection between our identity, sin, and what we call church discipline.

The word itself may sound boring.

"Discipline"

Many of you here participate in summer camps for teenagers. We always start by explaining the rules of discipline.

Not many young people say at the end of camp, "You know what my favourite part was? The discipline briefing!"

And yet—it's vital.

If we understand our identity correctly, we will see that the health of the Church,

the credibility of our mission,
and the reputation of Jesus are at stake.

Before going any further, two things.

First, our supreme pastor is Jesus Christ. He cares for us by teaching us. He teaches us through all of his word, the Bible, even the passages we would rather avoid. So let's keep our noses in the text.

Second, we are going to talk about sexuality, among other things. We do so as sexual sinners saved by grace. Preachers included.

We are not here to preach! I need to hear this passage as much as anyone else.

***

This morning, we are going to look at this:

We are the people whom God has liberated for holiness.
And so... a people called to purify themselves from the remnants of their former slavery.

Let us read together 1 Corinthians 5.

It is widely reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and immorality of a kind that is not even mentioned among unbelievers—so much so that one of you has taken his father's wife. And you are proud! Should you not rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? As for me, absent in body but present in spirit, I have already judged the perpetrator of such an act as if I were present. When you gather in the name of [our] Lord Jesus[-Christ]—I will be with you in spirit—with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a man to Satan for the destruction of the sinful nature, so that the spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord Jesus.

You really have nothing to be proud of! Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Purge out the old leaven so that you may be a new batch, since you are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. I did not mean in an absolute sense the people of this world who are sexually immoral or are always greedy for more, thieves, idolaters; otherwise, you would have to leave the world. In fact, what I wrote to you was not to associate with anyone who, while calling himself your brother, lives in sexual immorality, is always eager to possess more, is an idolater, a slanderer, a drunkard, or a thief, not even to eat with such a man. Is it for me to judge those outside? Is it not those within that you are to judge? God will judge those outside. Drive the wicked out from among you.

We will not start at the beginning of the passage but in the middle this morning.

Verses 6 to 8 give the reason for the other instructions that are given.

First point:

1. We are no longer of the same mould – what a liberation!

Since God has saved us from sin, let us throw away all its rotten remnants!

Our daughters love to bake cakes.

One day, we opened the packet of flour... disaster.

There are worms in it.

"This is rubbish! We can't make snacks anymore!"

So we rush to the supermarket, buy more flour, and throw away the old one. "We're saved! Chocolate fondant!"

Now imagine someone saying: "It's a shame to throw away the old flour... We've already eaten it and we didn't die... Come on, let's get some back out of the bin... for the taste! More protein..."

(Come and have afternoon tea at our house whenever you like!)

No one does that! That's exactly what Paul says to the Corinthians

Verse 1 - He has learned that there is immorality among them that even non-believers do not tolerate: a man is sleeping with his father's wife.

And Paul replies: Don't you understand that Jesus came to save you from this?

To show them why they cannot tolerate this, he takes them back to the Old Testament.
Verse 6

"You really have nothing to be proud of! Don't you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Purify yourselves [therefore] from the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, since you are unleavened.

For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed [for us]. Let us therefore celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

Paul compares our salvation to the liberation from Egypt in the book of Exodus.

The Pharaoh refused to let Israel go; God sent plagues; the last one was the death of the firstborn.

To be spared, the Israelites sacrificed a lamb and put its blood on their doors: the death of the lamb took the place of the firstborn.

They had to leave quickly, without letting the bread rise. The only bread they had time to eat was unleavened bread.

At that moment, leaven was incompatible with their liberation and therefore became the life they were leaving behind.

When they later celebrated this liberation, they cleaned their homes to remove all traces of it.

Jewish families still do this today.

Hence verse 7

Purify yourselves [therefore] of the old leaven so that you may be a new batch, since you are unleavened.

In other words, God has set you free!

Jesus' sacrifice saved you from his judgement! You are... unleavened. Pure! Free! Saved from judgement! No longer slaves!

This is an objective fact! Are you a Christian?

You have a totally new life and identity!

You are no longer made of the same stuff as before!

In Christian life, the indicative precedes the imperative.

What we are... determines... what we must do.

Not the other way around.

So Paul says: you have a new identity, you are free... get rid of all the rotten remnants of your former slavery!

What remnants?

Verse 8 - Let us therefore celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

The problem with the Corinthians is that they have too narrow a view of salvation.

For them, it's like personal development... a new philosophy.

Paul says no.

It is God's dramatic intervention to free a people.
A new life.
A new identity.
True freedom.

And the special flavour of our new dough, our new identity, is not perfection —

It is... repentance!

The effort to live in accordance with our status as liberated people.

We too can have too narrow a view of salvation.

For example, by confusing grace with something that superficially resembles it but has nothing to do with it... complacency. Tolerating evil.

'I know I'm doing wrong, but God forgives and accepts us as we are.'

That's true. God forgives and accepts us as we are. Thank you, Lord!

If you are here this morning because you have questions about God, God wants to meet you as you are.

He is not waiting for you to reach a certain level of holiness.

Come as you are!

But... his salvation is too great to leave us as we are!

He did not say to the Israelites: if you want, take your chains with you!

He does not say to us, "If you want, continue to eat infested flour!"

He says that all that is in the past!

Get rid of the remnants of your slavery.

This may be the message that some need to hear this morning.

Perhaps you attend church as spectators; intrigued but unwilling to embrace the change God wants to make.

God does not want us to be spectators of his salvation. He wants us to be participants!

If that scares you, rest assured! This salvation does not lead to a new slavery, but to purity, truth, freedom, and life.

We are no longer made of the same stuff – what a liberation!

***

It is because we have this new identity that Paul asks us to draw all the consequences from it.

Sometimes this means taking radical measures, not only individually but also as a Church.

2. We are no longer of the same mould – the need for separation

The second thing to understand is that as a redeemed community, we must be prepared to sometimes exclude from the church, out of love, those who persist in sin.

Let us return to verse 1

It is widely reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and immorality of a kind that is not even mentioned among unbelievers, to the extent that one of you has taken his father's wife. 2 And you are proud! You ought rather to have been filled with grief, so that the one who has done this deed might be removed from among you. 3 For I, though not present in body, am present in spirit, and I have already judged the one who has done this deed, as though I were present. 4 When you gather in the name of [our] Lord Jesus[-Christ]—I will be with you in spirit—with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ 5 deliver such a man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord Jesus.

Let us acknowledge this from the outset: talking about exclusion is painful to hear.

To say that sometimes someone must be excluded from the Church—or, as Paul says, delivered over to Satan—does not seem very loving to us.

We live in a society where tolerance is a supreme value:
"We can tolerate everything except intolerance!"

And yet... there are situations where exclusion is the most loving thing to do.

We do not accuse a doctor of lacking love when he quarantines a contagious patient—to treat him and to protect others.

By tolerating in the Church this man who sleeps with his mother-in-law,

the Corinthians did not act out of love but out of pride.

Perhaps they boasted about being so open-minded.

Perhaps they just didn't see what was wrong with it.

But for Paul, the question was not whether what this man was doing was right or wrong.

Even the pagans of Corinth knew it was inexcusable.

Paul's target is the Church:
Why did you do nothing?
You think you are spiritual — your inaction proves otherwise.

You should weep.

***

Let's be clear: Paul is not saying that this man should be excluded because he sinned.

We all sin.

Nor is it someone who was struggling with sin without having overcome it.

We all struggle.

Paul does not even say that this man should be excluded because his sin was particularly serious.

He had to be excluded because he was someone who was clearly living in sin without wanting to come out of it. Without repentance.

In verse 11, he says: "What I have written to you is not to associate with anyone who, while calling himself your brother, lives in sexual immorality."

This sin characterises him. He indulges in it instead of putting a stop to it.

He is like an Israelite who remains in Egypt instead of seizing his salvation.

This passage made me think about how to practise church discipline at Connexion.

Here is a very important principle.

Connexion Church will never exclude someone we believe to be a true Christian.

Where it becomes necessary is when someone persists in sin in a way that contradicts their profession of faith.

The mark of genuine conversion is repentance.

Exclusion is always a last resort.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus describes the steps:
First, one-on-one, we approach the person. "Dear friend, I care about you. I believe the Bible requires you to stop doing this."
Then with one or two others,
then involving the rest of the Church,
and only if they still refuse to repent... exclusion.

At each stage, the goal is repentance, involving as few people as possible.

Exclusion—removal from the membership list, prohibition from partaking of the Lord's Supper—is the last resort.

And note: Paul is speaking to the whole church.

The holiness of the assembly is everyone's business.

If you are a member, it is as much your concern as it is the elders'.

The covenant of membership that you have agreed to says so.

If you'll pardon the pun, we are all invited to lend a hand in promoting the holiness of God's people.

Perhaps this seems harsh to us.

But when the Church comes to the conclusion that someone must be excluded from the congregation—which is extremely rare; in ten years of pastoral ministry, I have never seen it, thank God—

When it comes to this conclusion, it acts first...

• Out of love for the unrepentant sinner who refuses to change.

Verse 5

“Hand such a man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord Jesus.”

To hand someone over to Satan is to stop considering him a member of God's family.

It means no longer considering them a Christian.

And it is the loving thing to do!

If someone has a terminal illness, it is not loving to say that they are healed.

Love is telling them that they still need treatment.

We must not give false assurance. If someone persists in sin in a way that invalidates their profession of faith because there is no repentance, they must understand that they are in danger.

The goal is the "destruction of the sinful nature."

This is a way of saying that, after several warnings, we allow the person to go to the end of their sin, to the end of their slavery, so that they realise that it is horrible, that they are heading towards death and that they need a saviour.

What does this mean in practice?

In verse 11, Paul says not even to eat with such a person.

I am not convinced that this means cutting off all social contact.

Jesus says to treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.

How did Jesus treat pagans and tax collectors? With love and compassion... offering them forgiveness... but without giving the false impression that they were part of God's people until they repented.

It is up to us to think about the types of activities, synonymous with fellowship, that we could no longer do with such a person.

What form would the relationship take?

***

This approach works!

In 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks of a man who was disciplined by the church, perhaps the same one in this passage, who repented and was restored as a brother.

We act out of love for the unrepentant sinner.

We also act...

• Out of love for the church

Verse 6 again

You really have nothing to be proud of! Don't you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

My children love baking. Our interns are good at baking.

It's not my area of expertise. That's why Debs, Dahlia, Eva and Silvain, I'll leave the baking to you.

One thing I do know is that sachets of yeast are small, and you only need to add a tiny pinch to make the whole cake rise.

Paul knew this too. A tiny bit of leaven is enough to affect the whole dough, the whole church.

Tolerating serious sin risks contaminating the whole Church.

If we allow someone to persist in sin, even though God is calling them to change, we are sending the message that it is okay. It is not.

God cares too much about his people to let them sink because complacency has replaced repentance.

I have never been on a leadership team that has asked for someone to be excluded from the church.

I have had to ask someone to step down from a position of responsibility because of serious sins.

It's not a pleasant thing to do. There's no joy in it.

It had to be done.

God loves his people too much to let them return to slavery.

We act out of love for the church and...

• Out of love for the world.

Verse 9:

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. I did not mean in an absolute sense the people of this world who are sexually immoral or are always greedy for more, thieves, idolaters; otherwise, you would have to leave the world. In fact, what I wrote to you was not to associate with anyone who, while calling himself your brother, lives in sexual immorality, is always greedy for more, is an idolater, a slanderer, a drunkard, or a thief—not even to eat with such a man. For what business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Is it not those within that you should judge? God will judge those outside. Drive the wicked out from among you.

Church discipline does not mean sectarian ghetto.

We are the pure ones! Outsiders, yuck! We want nothing to do with them.

Perhaps this was the attitude of the Corinthians.

We must seek the opposite!

The Church must be in the world, but not of the world.

We are like the crew of a lifeboat sent to rescue people who are drowning.

To succeed in our mission, the boat must be in the sea.

The sea must not be in the boat.

If the captain discovers someone opening the portholes to let water in and sink the boat, that person must be removed from the crew. It is a matter of life and death for the crew and for those who need to be saved.

This is what Paul says about the church.

That there are people in mortal danger because of their sin outside the church is our world.

That is why God sent a Saviour!

This should inspire in us not moralistic judgement, but compassion.

We have received salvation by pure grace to share it.

The problem is when the church itself does not take its own salvation seriously.

We are saved for the beautiful and good life of freedom and joy that can only be found in God!

The church is therefore of no benefit to the world if outsiders say, "They are just like us."

Then we are just a club for early risers on Sundays!

The world needs a church that truly lives out its salvation, that seeks holiness...

...and so strange as it may seem, the world needs a church that enforces discipline.

So that it is clear that true salvation from God is salvation from sin... for... freedom and holiness.

A true liberation that cannot be found anywhere else!

***

So, becoming a moralising ghetto could be dangerous for us.

We stay among Christians.

We do everything together.

We despise those who do not share our faith.

God calls us, on the contrary, to be open to the world, in contact with our contemporaries, serious about our salvation, and therefore serious about holiness.

That doesn't mean we want a culture of policing at Connexion. Always looking for faults in our neighbours.

God forbid!

No, the first thing I must do, if I care about the church, is look in the mirror.

How am I doing?

Do I have a beam to remove from my own eye?

Only then can I humbly approach my brother and say, "I think you have a little splinter to remove." It happens to me too.

God wants us to have the humility to examine ourselves, and also to listen to the brother or sister who, out of love, points out something we need to correct.

________

So...

Do we know who we are?

It is easy to have a much too small view of who we are as a church.

A Sunday morning club

A tradition

A place where we feel comfortable

A group of friends – great if Connection is your group of friends.

But it's much, much more than that!

The Church is the people whom God has rescued from slavery through the blood of His Son.

The Church is the community of liberated people

The Church is the people saved for holiness and for a mission

of rescue in a world that is perishing

No other group has such an identity!

Not our sports club

Not the alumni of polytechnic or ENA, No one!

We are the people saved for holiness...

and to show the world that true freedom exists.

There is nothing on earth that God cherishes more... than you! His church.

Let us cherish it too?

When the Church takes its identity seriously, it becomes beautiful and attractive.

A Church where we repent,

where we rise again,

where grace truly transforms lives

where we take our salvation seriously

that is what the world needs to see.

Since we are already purified, already liberated, already God's people, let us live as we are.

It is a privilege

It is a blessing

It is also... a responsibility

Proven Maturity (1 Corinthians 4.8-21)

Ever since the beginning of this series, we’ve been hearing Paul make a contrast between the perceived wisdom of the Corinthians, and the true wisdom of God. Wisdom and philosophy were a big deal in this city at this time, and Paul wants this church to see that what they think is wisdom is actually hollow and empty, while the gospel is true wisdom.

But he’s clear that this is going to seem illogical to them at first. In 1 Cornithians 1.18, the apostle Paul says that “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing.” We talked a few weeks ago about why that is the case: a Savior who obtains victory by dying doesn’t make any sense, especially in the context of first-century Rome.

But that’s not the only reason why the word of the cross seems like folly to those who don’t have faith in Christ. It’s not just because without faith, we won’t be able to see how a crucified Savior can be victorious; it’s also because following Christ means following him in his suffering. In other words, it’s not just about what it cost him to save us, but what it costs us—and that cost will just be one step too far for many people.

That’s what Paul’s going to get at today. In last week’s text, Paul put all of the emphasis on the Corinthians’ immaturity and pride—they’re assessing their leaders to make judgments on which leader is the best, using their own opinions as weapons for their own pride, but the tools they need to even think such thoughts show them they have nothing to boast about. You have nothing that you didn’t receive, Paul says, so you have no reason to boast.

Now, he’s going to transition from a slightly abstract idea—the idea of leaders as servants, not as reasons for pride—to a very concrete idea that the Corinthians won’t be able to deny, because they’ve seen it with their own eyes.

Proof of Truth (v. 8–13)

This is just my opinion, but I stand by it: as a rule, especially in conversation, sarcasm is almost always more harmful than helpful. Sarcasm feels really good to the person who uses it, and usually bad for the person who receives it. I’m not talking about good-natured sarcasm, but of the sort that comes out when you’re having an argument. It almost always serves to build one person up and to tear another person down.

However, there are occasions during which sarcasm can be helpful. If someone has come to a point where no logical argument can sway them, then sarcasm may be the only thing that can hit home, because it presents a false picture of what’s going on, in order to show the other person they’ve actually started believing that false picture. It paints a ridiculous picture—a ridiculous lie—in order to show the other person that they’ve fallen for the lie.

That’s what Paul’s doing here. He’s positively dripping with sarcasm, but he’s not doing it to hurt the Corinthians; he’s doing it to help them see the contrast between themselves and the leaders they claim to follow.

V. 8:

8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! 9 For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.

The Corinthians believe they are spiritually mature—already you’ve become rich! They believe they’re wise. They believe they’ve achieved the status of people who can take command, who can reign as kings. They believe their reputations are protection. They believe they’re doing well—they have all that they want.

You see, they haven’t accepted wisdom; they’ve redefined wisdom. They claim their spiritual life is founded on the cross, but they’re operating by a worldly system of evaluation.

The cross shows us what true wisdom looks like, by showing us Jesus. What Christ showed us at the cross is the polar opposite of what we see in the Corinthians.

The Corinthians think wisdom means superiority; the cross says that wisdom means humility.

The Corinthians think wisdom means strength; the cross says that wisdom means weakness.

The Corinthians think wisdom means prestige; the cross says that wisdom means suffering.

The Corinthians think wisdom means present glory; the cross says that wisdom means future glory.

The Corinthians knew this already; they’ve heard the gospel, they know what Jesus was like. But they’ve forgotten it in practice, because the world around them is so radically different from the way Jesus lived.

So now that Paul has reminded them of this, he lets the sarcasm go and tells them the simple truth—and it’s a truth they’ve seen with their own eyes, something they cannot deny. V. 11:

11 To the present hour we [the apostles] hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, 12 and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; 13 when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.

The apostles’ lives could not have looked more different from the lives the Corinthians set up for themselves. They endure material suffering; they’re hungry and thirsty; they’re poorly dressed and homeless. This isn’t episodic; it’s not occasional. This is the way they live.

They endure social injustice: they’re reviled and persecuted and slandered. And yet, when they are reviled, they bless; when they’re persecuted, they endure; when they’re slandered, they entreat (they continue to encourage those who slander them).

So you see, Paul now proves everything that he has been saying over the course of the first two chapters. The cross looks foolish to the world, he said—so do the apostles. The cross looks weak to the world—so do the apostles. Christ was rejected—so are the apostles. Christ was mocked and reviles—so are the apostles. Christ was crucified in weakness—the apostles suffer in weakness.

Paul’s life, and the life of the other apostles, are proof that he is telling the truth, that his life, and the lives of the other apostles, are in keeping with the gospel of Christ.

This is the difference between genuine Christianity and cultural Christianity, between real faith and inherited faith. Lots of us here grew up in church, so we know what Christianity sounds like. But many people who grew up in church don’t necessarily know what true Christianity looks like.

It’s easy to speak of trusting God in the midst of suffering; it’s really different to be genuinely at peace when you’re fighting cancer. It’s easy to speak of persevering in persecution; it’s really different to remain open about your faith when you live in a part of the world where you can be killed for being a Christian. It’s easy to speak of sacrificing for the gospel; it’s really different to literally leave your world and your possessions behind to serve God as a missionary in a needy country.

Or, a much simpler example: it’s easy to pray for God to make us holy, but it’s really different to be faced with a temptation to sin that no one is ever going to see but you, and to resist that sin anyway.

Christ gave everything for us when he lived our life, took our sin on himself and suffered in our place, for our sin. If we have truly grasped what he did for us in the gospel, then we will see that the gospel gives us not only salvation, but a life pattern to follow. The cross doesn’t just save us; it forms us.

A Life Worth Imitating (v. 14–17)

It might be easy to look at Paul’s sarcastic rebuke as simply mean, but that’s not his intention; he wants to help the Corinthians see more clearly, because he loves them. V. 14:

14 I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me. 17 That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.

I’ll be honest—coming on the heels of everything Paul said in the first three chapters about how the Corinthians shouldn’t be so attached to one leader or another, I found this to be a bit confusing at first. But if you take it in the context of what he said just before, it actually makes sense. You have countless guides in Christ, he says, but “you do not have many fathers.” He calls himself their “father”, not because he feels they owe him loyalty, but because he’s the one who first introduced them to the gospel, and because they have seen that his teaching is trustworthy: they’ve seen it worked out in his own life.

Several weeks ago I mentioned the fact that my dad could discipline me more effectively than my mom. I said it clumsily, because I gave the impression that I didn’t take my mom seriously, which wasn’t true. But my dad was different—in part because of his demeanor, but also because my dad was the picture of what I, as a young man, wanted to be. When I looked at my dad, I saw a picture of what a mature Christian man looks like.

That’s the kind of relationship Paul is pleading for here—he doesn’t want the Corinthians to be loyal to him, but he does want them to recognize that the life he has showed them is worthy of being imitated.

And that really is the difference between infancy and maturity. When you’re a child, you take orders; you’re expected to do what your parents tell you because they’re your parents, and you have to. When you’re older, your parents can’t expect the same obedience, but they do hope that you are able to recognize the good things they taught you and do those things on your own—not for the sake of obedience, but simply because it’s the right thing to do.

That’s the Corinthians’ problem: they have accumulated voices, but resisted formation. So Paul is pleading with them to let themselves be formed by his example. Their own spiritual birth came through Paul’s suffering, Paul’s preaching, and Paul’s sacrifice. To despise the pattern of life Paul laid out for them is to despise their own origin story.

And this—that model Paul has shown them—is the power of which he spoke before, in chapter 2. Remember, he said (2.3-5):

3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

He didn’t come with lofty speech or philosophical brilliance. He came to them in weakness and fear and trembling, which showed that the true power of the gospel didn’t come through him, but through God. And now, they have the same example in Timothy, Paul’s apprentice who has come to them. Timothy lives like Paul lived. He’s there to show the Corinthians that the pattern of the apostles is consistent and transferable.

To put it another way, Paul’s telling them all of this and reminding them of his life and sending Timothy as another example in order to say, “We aren’t innovators. We are disciples of Christ. Live like us.”

The Power of God’s Kingdom (v. 18–20)

Timothy’s coming may be taken as a sign that Paul is passing the torch—which the Corinthians might take to mean they no longer really need to take him seriously. Distance from Paul has produced an inflated sense of their own ego. But Paul is planning to return, he says, and when he does, truth will be exposed. V. 18:

18 Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. 20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 21 What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?

Paul is closing the loop now before moving on to other topics. Remember, in 1.18, he said,

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

If the word of the cross is the power of God to those who are being saved, then it is no surprise that life in the kingdom of God consists in that same power—a power that looks like folly.

The Corinthians have assumed that impressive words, impressive rhetoric, confer authority. But that’s not what true power or kingdom authority look like. Kingdom power doesn’t consist in eloquence or charisma, but in endurance, and holiness, and sacrificial love.

The same paradox holds here: true power doesn’t look like strength to those outside the kingdom; it looks like weakness.

One of the most convincing signs of maturity is not feeling the need to fight, even when you know you can win. Not needing to be impressive, even when you know you can impress. If a little kid wants to show you how fast he can run, you’re not going to laugh and say, “Come on—I can run so much faster than that.” If you’re mature, you don’t need to prove yourself to those who are immature.

That’s what Paul’s going to examine when he comes—not giftedness, but formation. And there will be two possible outcomes to what he finds. Either he will come with “a rod”, meaning with correction and discipline, or “a spirit of gentleness,” meaning encouragement and comfort.

This is just my opinion, but I don’t think he means that if the Corinthians can’t be mature, Paul’s going to go in guns blazing to make them all look dumb. I think Paul’s going to have the same basic discourse in either case—the same arguments he’s been maintaining since the beginning of this letter.

But maturity changes the way you hear correction. An immature person will listen to correction and react to it as being harsh or overbearing. They’ll reject correction, because it doesn’t fit into their idea of their own value.

A mature person will listen to correction—even unpleasant correction—and will recognize it as useful, as helpful. A mature person feels encouraged by the prospect of further growth, even if it hurts a little to get there.

Again—power looks like weakness. It’s okay to need correction. It’s okay to need someone to tell you the areas in which you need to change. A mature child of God, a person of kingdom power, will recognize that they aren’t perfect, and will welcome any opportunity for growth.

Conclusion

One of the big problems the Corinthians show us here is that of an over-realized eschatology. The word “eschatology” refers to the theology of last things—the theology of the return of Christ, and eternal life. Proper eschatology tells us that Christ will one day return to judge the living and the dead, after which he will rid all of creation of the ravages of sin and reign forever with his people in the new heavens and the new earth.

But the Corinthians—and, frankly, many Christians still today—assume that if they’ve made a decision to follow Christ, then that eternal glory, that kingdom reign, will begin for us now.

It’s not at all difficult to see. Think of the number of people who have left the Christian faith, or who at the very least have struggled with extreme doubt, because their life didn’t get better when they decided to follow Christ. Their relationships didn’t get easier; their problems didn’t go away; their financial problems weren’t solved; their jobs didn’t suddenly fulfill them—and they’re devastated and filled with doubt, because they came into the faith with the assumption that Christ would make everything better.

Of course, Christ will make everything better…he just didn’t promise to do it right now.

The apostles are a wonderful example of this. Paul never presents the apostles as heroes; he presents them as patterned after Christ. They are dishonored; they are weak; they are rejected; they suffer. This isn’t incidental hardship; this is their call. You can’t have the power of the resurrection without the humility of the cross.

Christ reigns now today, absolutely, and one day he will reign in full view of all creation, and his people will reign alongside him. But during his life, Christ was not valued. He was despised and rejected. He had a fiery ministry for a short time, but that ministry ended in his rejection by his own people, abandonment by his disciples, false accusations, and ultimately, death.

In regards to the Christian life, the true grace of Jesus Christ is shown, not in the fact that he prevents us from suffering, but rather that he preceded us in suffering, to show us that present struggle, present weakness, is in no way a sign of failure. The kingdom of God consists not in words but in power; but that power often looks like weakness. As Paul said in chapter 1, God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.

So as we close, let’s try to put ourselves in the Corinthians’ shoes. If we received this letter from the apostle Paul, how would we hear it? Would we recognize in ourselves impatience with weakness or suffering? Are we easily disilusioned when we go through difficult times? Do we have a fascination with status, or an inflated sense of our own value?

If we are like this—and I think most of us are to some extent, if we’re honest—then what Paul says here very much applies to us.

The cross doesn’t just grant us salvation; it also guides our formation. Maturity isn’t a question of moving beyond suffering, but of being shaped through it. If we pay attention to the Bible, we see it time and again: the God of all miracles most often brings his people to maturity through misunderstanding, through rejection, through loss of reputation, through perseverance in suffering.

And if we pay attention, we’ll be able to see this in the Christians around us. Think about it for a minute: who do you know that models this kind of maturity for you? Whose life has been marked by growth in Christ, not through good fortune, but through endurance in the hardship that God allows? Whose life isn’t just a voice box for the gospel, but a picture of the gospel? Whom would God call you to observe and imitate?

We can be sure that no one who has grown in Christlikeness has come by it without struggle. And no one who has truly grown in Christlikeness will boast that they have “made it”—that they are like Christ. They’ll see what God has done in them, and they’ll be thankful to him; they’ll boast in him.

The power of God, which shames the strong, is not found in miracles—every religion in the world boasts of miraculous signs. It is not found in influence—every major religion has significant influence around the world. It is not found in success—that’s the world’s metric for truth.

The true power of God can be seen in his people when they grow in holiness; when they endure faithfully through hardship; and when they love well under great pressure.

That is the power of God that Paul models. It’s the power of God I want to see in myself, and it’s the power of God I pray to see in our church.