Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes: To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
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. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1)
A Perfectly Imperfect Church ~ 1 Corinthians 1
This past Sunday we read this passage and talked about what it means to be part of a perfectly imperfect church. I love that phrase, because I think it says so much about what it means to live together as a collection of redeemed but still sinful and finite people serving an infinite, perfect God. As I think about my own shortcomings, I often find myself thinking that God could have surely picked someone better to serve him than me. God has graciously given me the opportunity to serve Him and has mercifully blessed that service. I’m so grateful for that grace and mercy that makes it possible for me to be a part of God’s kingdom work.
It’s easy to get frustrated by the “imperfect-ness” of the congregation in which God has planted us, but that frustration is the result of a failure to adequately recognize our own “imperfect-ness.” When we remember God’s grace and mercy that makes our salvation and sanctification possible, it tends to help us look at the people around us through more gracious and merciful lenses.
Instead of bemoaning the flaws of our church or abandoning it in favor of greener pastures, Paul’s words to the church of Corinth challenge us to focus more on Jesus who is the author and perfector of our faith and the ultimate head of our church. That kind of focus helps us see beyond whatever divisions we are facing and work to resolve them. When we look at our lives and look at our church and can’t figure out why God would choose to work through such a mess, we can remember that we serve the God who works through the cross that is “folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). When we get frustrated by our church’s “imperfect-ness” or feel inadequate to serve because of our own shortcomings, let’s try to remember that God works in ways that seem foolish to the world, but His plan is always just crazy enough to work.
You can access Sunday’s English worship service by clicking here and the second part of the Church Hunter’s video that I referenced by clicking here. Have a blessed week!