I follow Christ

1 Corinthians 3: 1-9

Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen.  The sermon text for the sixth Sunday after Epiphany is the epistle reading 1 Corinthians 3.  Paul is very blunt when he speaks to the church in Corinth.  He said these words.  “But, I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.  I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it.  And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh.”  Throughout this epistle, Paul describes all the problems that the congregation was having. They argued which disciple was the greatest.  “I follow Paul!  I follow Apollos!”  They argued over which spiritual gifts were the best: “I speak in tongues!”  “I prophesy!”  One of them sued his fellow church member, which caused a public embarrassment.  Some were living sexually immoral lifestyles, and no one corrected them.  They fought about women’s roles in the church.  They had divisions between rich and poor, which led to an abuse at the Lord’s Supper.  Some in the congregation even denied the resurrection!  What a mess.  The reason all these problems and divisions were happening in the congregation was due to the fact that they were indulging the desires of their sinful flesh. They were following the ways of the world.  That is what happens when you ask questions like “What’s in it for me?  What would make me happy?  What is my heart telling me?  If you are asking those questions, then you will arrive at one conclusion. The wisdom of the world.  

We are also tempted to follow the desires of our heart and the ways of the world.  And so, Paul’s blunt words also apply to us.  It is the Law of God that reveals our spiritual immaturity.  It is the Law of God that shows us when we are in the flesh.  Paul exposes our sins to be sure but he does not leave us there.

Throughout this epistle, Paul points the congregation to Christ.  Throughout this epistle he proclaims the Gospel to us all.  All ready in chapter two Paul said these words. “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”  The cross of Christ is at the center of our faith.  The cross of Christ is the key to shedding light on all matters of faith and life.  We believe that Christ died for us, and whoever believes in Him has eternal life. And so, Christ gives to us the gift of life and salvation.   But the cross of Christ is also at the center of our temporal life, for we seek to live our lives following Him.  What does it all mean?  It means this.  We are saved by Christ and are looking forward to being in His presents for all eternity.  And we desire to live a life pleasing to Him now. 

Throughout this epistle, Paul addresses all the problems by asking two basic questions:  What brings glory to Christ?  Do I treat others in a Christlike way?  For instance, consider the issue of lawsuits.  Should you sue your fellow Christian?  Let us apply the two questions.  First, would it bring glory to Christ to sue your brother? Would this cause the name of Christ to be praised or to be mocked?  That’s the first question.  Second, would it be Christlike to sue our brother?  Would it be helpful and build the congregation up in love or would it tear it down?  We can ask those questions about the gifts that God gives to us.  Do I use my gifts to bring glory to God?  Do I treat others in a Christlike way with my gifts?   When you ask the right questions, the decision becomes quite clear.  As Christians we should be asking those questions in all that we do.  Does this bring glory to Christ?  Does this treat my neighbor in a Christlike way?

The only way we can have those two questions in our mind is to have Christ at the center of our life. Paul describes this in Philippians. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name.” (Phil 2: 3-9)        

Paul is always pointing us back to Jesus.  Have you ever noticed that Jesus never once looked to His own interests?  Have you ever noticed that Jesus only used His miraculous power for others?  When He was hungry, He did not make the stones into bread.  He entrusted Himself to God.  But when others were hungry, He fed the five thousand and again the four thousand.  When others were sick, suffering, or dying, He gave them healing.  But when He was dying, He stayed on that cross, and He did nothing for Himself.  He entrusted Himself to the Father, and He persevered out of love for you.  If you want to be mature in the faith, then you should always look to Christ. 

We need to be reminded of this again and again.  Why? Because Satan is tempting us, and the world is pulling at us.  We still have our sinful flesh attached to us.  As we move about in our life it is easy to forget the Gospel.  It is easy to forget Christ.  And so, our heart becomes arrogant.  Our pride starts to well up.  What follows is jealousy, division, rivalry, and strife.  We start to live as people of the world.  We live according to the flesh.  We ask, “How does this benefit me?”  “How much of an inconvenience will this be to me?”  “How can I gain the most?”   

Paul saw that the congregation at Corinth was living by the flesh and so He pointed them back to Christ. He points us to Christ.  When we look to the Lord, we see that He comes to us in His Word.  What does He do?  He exposes our sinful flesh and brings us to repentance.  We are poor miserable sinners who have been forgiven and saved by the blood of Christ Jesus.  It is a message that we need to hear again and again. 

When we look to Christ we see that He has won our salvation and that He is our way of life.  We can look forward to the time when the Lord will come in great power and might and bring us out of this vale of tears and into His eternal kingdom.  As we wait we can look to the Lord with the eyes of faith and be moved to live as His disciples.  We follow Him and we look to the needs of those around us.  In all things we ask the important questions.  Does this bring glory to Christ?  Does this treat my neighbor in a Christlike way?   

We have been foolish, but God is willing to teach us again.  How many times did you have to teach your children or grandchildren something before they finally learned it?  How many times did you have to repeat yourself?  In a similar way, God must repeat Himself constantly if we are ever to learn.  But its okay. God is patent For He desires all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.  He wants us to receive His gifts and for us to bear fruit.  Remember what Paul said.  “You are God’s field, God’s building”.  Paul points us to Christ and for good reason.  It is Jesus who is at the center of our faith.  It is the Lord who is at the center of our life. Amen.