Remember Who You Are
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Introduction
Introduction
A. In the Lion King,
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Remembering who you are …
I. Live Thankfully — You Are Not the Same (v. 4)
I. Live Thankfully — You Are Not the Same (v. 4)
4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus,
A. Setting the Stage
Paul is writing to a group of Christians, many of whom are:
Sexually immoral
Self-Centered
Divisive
Prideful
Abusing their spiritual gifts
And yet, what does Paul say?
B. Thankful to God
I thank my God …
What’s the next word that Paul writes?
Always! Paul writes 4 letters to the church in Corinth, two of which we have in our Bible, in order to course correct their lifestyles, and yet here he is thanking God for them always.
Why is Paul able to do that?
Not for their behavior
Not for their obedience
Not for their attitude and mindset
For the grace of God given to them in Christ Jesus.
Paul thanks God for His grace in the lives of this troublesome church because Paul has firsthand experience of God’s grace in his own life.
How many of you can honestly say you thank God always for the Christians who have wronged you in some way? It’s a rhetorical question, no need to raise your hands.
Paul can, not because they are perfect, but because the moment they trusted in Jesus Christ, they received the full measure of His grace in their lives.
C. A Done Deal
When will they receive this grace?
It’s a done deal. It already happened.
See, here’s what happens at the cross:
The moment you recognize your dire situation, this disease you have called sin, and your need for a Savior
The moment you seek His forgiveness and purpose to follow His plan for your life
The moment you turn to Jesus Christ and confess Him, verbally declare Him, as your Lord
There’s a Divine exchange that takes place. Jesus takes all your sin, He takes all your brokenness, He takes all your failures, He takes all your inadequacies; He takes all that on Himself and in return fills you with the Holy Spirit, the fullness of His grace.
In that moment we would say:
I was empty … but now I am full
I was broken … but now I am restored
I was sick … but now I am healed
I was lost … but now I am found
I was dead … but now I am alive
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
There is no greater message for the Christian. Such were some of you.
One of my favorite book series is The Circle Series by Ted Dekker.
In those books he portrays those who don’t know Christ as something called Scabs. They have crusty, flaky, grey skin. They live their lives in pain, trying to soothe their aches superficially.
And in these books, those who know Christ have drowned in the red lakes. They literally die, and the painful scabby disease that once covered them is stripped away to reveal beautiful flesh, allowing them to live their lives in freedom.
That’s what happens at the cross. Baptism symbolizes what happens at the cross, where Jesus baptizes you not with water, but with the all-consuming, purifying fire of the Holy Spirit. He recreates you from the inside out.
Remember who you are. You are a new creation. Remember who you are. You are not the same.
D. The Lies of the Enemy
satan knows your new identity better than you know your new identity.
satan knows when you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, you were adopted as a son or as a daughter into the kingdom of God.
satan hates that, because satan hates God but he can’t do anything against God, so he goes after those who bear His image, specifically those God calls His children.
So what does he do?
He lies to you.
John 8:44 says he is the father of all lies. All too often we believe those lies.
How do we deal with those lies?
We declare what we know to be true.
When Jesus is led into the wilderness to be tempted, His responses to satan are the truth of God’s Word.
If it was good enough for Jesus, why is it not good enough for us?
When the darkness is exposed to the Light, the darkness can’t comprehend the light (John 1:5)
So here’s some truths you can hold on to, and proclaim, straight from God’s Word:
When you hear the enemy whispering you are worthless, you say, “No I’m not! Because the Word of God declares I’m chosen. I’m royal. I’m holy. I’m God’s special possession (1 Peter 2:9).”
When you hear the enemy whispering that God is disappointed in you, you say, “No He’s not! Because the Word of God declares He takes great pleasure in His people (Psalm 149:4).”
When you hear the enemy whispering that you are a mistake, you say, “No I’m not! Because the Word of God declares I am His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:10).”
Embrace your identity. When you do, your walk with Christ becomes so much more exciting, because even though you will continue to sin, and stumble, and fall, you can come to Jesus and say, “I messed up, I sinned. And I know that You have created me for so much more, and I thank You that you loved me enough to die for me, and I want to live that life You have prepared for me, so Jesus go to work in my life and continue changing me so that I can better glorify You. I’m not the same, not because of anything I have done, but because of everything You have done.”
Your identity is now firmly rooted in Christ, and in the next few verses, Paul shows us how that further changes the way we live.
Remembering who you are …
II. Live Courageously — You Are Fully Equipped (vv. 5-7a)
II. Live Courageously — You Are Fully Equipped (vv. 5-7a)
1 Corinthians 1:5–7 (NASB95)
5 that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift
A. Ready for Anything
What does Paul say flows out of the grace Christians are given?
You are enriched in …
What’s the next word that Paul writes?
Everything!
Do you feel wealthy?
You should! Maybe not materially, but spiritually God has lavished you with riches, with gifts.
That means whatever God calls you to do, you already have everything you need to accomplish it.
Paul mentions two areas in particular that you have been fully equipped, so let’s talk about them:
Speech
The Corinthians highly valued speech, their rhetorical eloquence.
Wisdom
Along with speech, the Corinthians believed wisdom was evidenced by a person’s speech capabilities.
That’s why some of them took issue with Paul.
Not only those two, but Paul says they are not lacking in how many spiritual gifts?
None.
Together, as the body of Christ, you lack no spiritual gift to be the local, visible, tangible representation of Christ’s power and work here on this earth.
B. Confirmation
Paul says the evidence of these gifts are confirmation of the working of God in this community.
Remember, they still have all sorts of problems which need to be addressed, many of which come from misunderstandings of the three things Paul just addressed, but Paul says he sees glimpses of Christ in all of them.
A common misunderstanding of spiritual gifts.
The same problems the Corinthians had with spiritual gifts exists in our churches today: either an overemphasis or an underemphasis on spiritual gifts.
Certain denominations and Christians overemphasize certain gifts (e.g., tongues and prophecy) by saying that if you were really a Christian you would possess these gifts.
I believe there is a focus on these for a couple of reasons. We consider them to be more “flashy,” and therefore “more important,” and they are also easier to fake.
You know what you can’t fake?
The gift of service
The gift of helping
The gift of giving/generosity
The gift of mercy
Does that mean tongues and prophecy can’t be used to edify and buildup a church?
Absolutely not!
They are given as gifts for this purpose just like the rest.
But some of the clearest evidence of a living, active church body is seen through service, through helping, through giving, through encouragement, etc.
Israel was called God’s people, but Israel was not called God’s body.
The body of Christ, the Church, came into existence only after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the evidence of it’s existence is a community that not only gathers together, but also supports, encourages, and builds up one another for the glory of Christ using the gifts they have been given.
C. Courage
A lot of Christians live fearfully, but when you remember who you are, and more importantly whose you are, you begin to live courageously.
We tend to think of courage as these grand moments in a person’s life, and while courage encompasses those moments, it also involves the “little” fears in our lives.
Evangelism
We’re all called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, but once again the enemy lies to us, telling us we’re not qualified.
Financial Burdens
Scripture tells us that God will meet our every need, but once again the enemy lies to us, telling us that there’s no way these issues can be resolved.
Major decisions
Scripture tells us that we plan our steps, but the Lord directs our paths, but once again the enemy lies to us, telling us that we’ll make the wrong decision.
Emotions
Sin
Scripture tells us everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Many of you are painfully aware of that because we all have areas that it seems like we are constantly going to God and seeking forgiveness for, and the enemy lies to you and tells you are defined by your sins.
In every one of these areas, we listen to the lies, and when we listen to the lies we live in fear.
But here Paul says, “Hey! Remember whose you are! You are a son or a daughter of the Most High God, and not only does He love you, He loves you so much that He gave you everything you need to meet any challenge or trial or struggle that you may encounter in your life.”
When you remember who you are, you live thankfully because you are not the same. When you remember who you are, you live courageously because you are fully equipped.
And when you embrace that identity fully, here’s the last way you begin to live.
Remembering who you are …
III. Live Confidently — You Are Secure in Christ (vv. 7b-9)
III. Live Confidently — You Are Secure in Christ (vv. 7b-9)
1 Corinthians 1:7–9 (NASB95)
7 … awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
A. Eagerly Awaiting
The revelation of Jesus Christ is also known as the day of the Lord. Peter, in 2 Peter 3, explains that day as this:
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!
Now, if that’s what the day of the Lord is like, why is Paul saying you should be eagerly awaiting it?
You see some Christians read passages like that and think to themselves, “I’m not sure I’m ready for that. I mean the heavens disappearing by burning, all the elements melting away, sounds a little scary!
Can I just tell you something? For everyone who doesn’t know Jesus Christ, this will be the most terrifying day of their lives, when Jesus comes back in all His glory and splendor.
For everyone who does know Jesus Christ, there is no greater day that you can look forward to.
In the previous verses Paul said God had equipped His Church with everything they needed, and so they were to live courageously.
For the Christian there is nothing to fear about this day, because just as spiritual gifts among a body confirm the presence of God in their midst, so also Jesus with confirm (i.e., make sure) you reach the end.
B. Blameless
If you continue to place your faith in Jesus, not only will He ensure you reach your destination, the grand communion in His presence forever, but He will bring you there blameless.
That’s what predestined means. You’ve bought the ticket, purchased and paid for with His blood, and though every single one us will stand in judgment before the throne of God, Jesus will present you before His father delighted in you as His son or His daughter.
Why?
Because God is faithful. He said He would do it and nothing will change that.
