Strengthened Among You
Sunday, January 20th, 2008
Epiphany 2
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Theme: Fellowship of believers, growth in the Spirit

1Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— 6just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— 7so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Paul’s letters to the Corinthians aren’t the first letters that come to mind when you are asked to name the great love letters of history.

Let me read a couple of sample letters to you:

First:

I and my heart put ourselves in your hands, begging you to recommend us to your good grace and not to let absence lessen your affection... For myself the pang of absence is already too great, and when I think of the increase of what I must needs suffer it would be well nigh intolerable but for
my firm hope of your unchangeable affection...

Second:

I love you, I cannot live without you... I would like to go through life side by side with you, telling you more and more until we grew to be one being together until the hour should come for us to die. Even now the tears rush to my eyes and sobs choke my throat as I write this... O my darling be only a little kinder to me, bear with me a little even if I am inconsiderate and unmanageable and believe me we will be happy together. Let me love you in my own way. Let me have your heart always close to mine to hear every throb of my life, every sorrow, every joy.

Now THOSE are love letters!

… Or are they? What our society has come to label ‘love’ is a somewhat distorted, shallow reflection of what true love is.

Henry VIII penned the first one in 1528 to Anne Boleyn, unfortunately while he was still married to Catherine of Aragon, his first of six wives. King Henry was desperate for a male heir, and ended up plowing through 6 wives in order to get one. Even having written that beautiful letter to Anne 5 years before they were married, he only allowed their marriage to last 3 years before he fabricated charges against her and had her executed for treason in 1536.

The second was from James Joyce to his at-the-time mistress Nora Barnacle, who eventually DID become his wife, but not until several years after they had met and had at least two children together. She would later confide to her sister that she was terribly disillusioned in her marriage, that James drank too much and that she didn’t understand his writing and hated to accompany him to his ‘artists meetings’.

We call the divisions in our Bible ‘books’, and, more often in the New Testament, ‘Letters’ or ‘Epistles’ – which is just another word for letter. And it is, I think, helpful to remind ourselves now and then that what we have come to regard and understand as scripture is also something else. When we call our Bible ‘scripture’, as with anything that is Holy or important, or foundational for us, we tend to add an element of … otherworldliness to it. We look at it as sacred, of course, which it IS, but in doing that we sometimes lose touch with that initial reason for the writing of the words. In this case, it is a real letter from a real person to a real group of people who were dealing with serious and thorny problems after Paul has had to move on to another place – prison, in Ephesus, by most scholars’ estimation.

I have never been in prison. I hope I never have that experience. But I can imagine that the biggest enemy – the biggest psychological trauma – would come from inactivity. I cannot imagine the loss of freedom, the inability to get up and go when and where I may be needed. Moving around has become such a major part of what I do that it is almost inconceivable to not be able to do it. And yet, it is what Paul was faced with. While travel in the first century was considerably more difficult, hazardous, and relatively expensive than it is for us today, compared to previous centuries it was almost a walk in the park. The Pax Romana – that period of peace imposed by the existence of the world power of the time – the Roman Empire – allowed for trade and travel to flourish. Though still at the mercy of the weather and the occasional band of bandits, the ability to travel on roads built by Rome throughout the empire made Paul’s missionary journeys that much more possible.

For him to have been able to take at least the four journeys we have clear evidence of during the course of his ministry would have, I imagine, given him a travel bug that was rare even in those times.

And here he was, sitting in prison, when HE gets word – perhaps through a letter, or a message sent through a person – about what is going on at the church in Corinth.

And he pours his heart out to them. His love for them is evident in the opening lines of the letter.

3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus,

“I give thanks to my God always for you …” Paul’s not just being polite, he’s not just going through a formality. I truly believe he sincerely means every word he writes – or dictates – to the folks in Corinth.

It is evidenced further in the passion with which he argues his points later in the letter. With as much passion as we heard earlier … in those letters written by Edward and James … only this is a passion that is lit by an eternal flame – the flame of the Holy Spirit.

But in a larger sense – and this is where a simple yet heartfelt letter becomes scripture – as time has passed and different congregations – congregations beyond the one in Corinth to whom the letter was first written – have read and studied the advice, and arguments, and pleading and yes, even berating that comes through in Paul’s writing, we begin to see that it is not just Paul that is writing to us, but it is God.

There IS, in truth, an element of otherworldliness that comes into play when I make that statement. It is a statement of faith to believe that – to speak that – and to hold to the idea that in some way that is not easily or empirically or maybe even theologically clear, God is communicating to us through the words on these pages. Paul’s words are infused with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is, on some level, the Holy Spirit speaking to ALL of us – from that first group of believers who received the letter that was physically addressed TO them, all the way to today – to this group of believers who can simply reach out and pick up one of any number of copies of a book that includes that same letter and have it apply to OUR lives.

So the question always boils down to what does that mean for Jerusalem Baptist Church at Emmerton, on this cold January morning in 2008?

Paul’s initial words, before he gets into the heavy deep and real – and messier parts of what is going on with the church in Corinth – are words of encouragement. They are words that are intended to remind them – and us – of just what it is that we are recipients of in the person of Jesus Christ.

5for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— 6just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— 7so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Did you hear the number of times Paul uses absolutes in those phrases? (Re-read). Paul is trying to convey to his brothers and sisters in Corinth just how much Christ has done for them. He is essentially saying that, when it comes to relating to each other – as well as to the world – in the Spirit of Christ, there is nothing they are NOT capable of doing. The catch is capacity vs. ability. While we may well be capable of doing something, actually DOING it is an altogether different thing. I have the capacity to run a mile. Actually RUNNING a mile is a whole different animal. I have the CAPACITY to smile and shake hands or hug someone who has said or done something that has hurt me deeply in the past. Actually DOING it is a whole different animal. I have the capacity to let that hurt go. Actually DOING it is a whole different animal. But read on to what Paul says next:

8He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord
Jesus Christ.

So not only has Christ provided us with the tools we need to BE in fellowships with one another and to practice BEING the BODY of Christ in the world, he has also provided us with what we need to ACHIEVE that fellowship. He’s given us the whole package. I guess the question becomes: are we going to actually open it up and pick up what’s inside?

Paul’s closing words in the opening passage stand as a promise for us.

9God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Note, he doesn’t say ‘with’ his Son, Jesus Christ, but the fellowship OF his Son. Yes, of course the former – fellowship WITH Christ, is the central part of our relationship with God, but we also get the added benefit of having access to the fellowship OF Christ – that is, his body. And that is where Paul speaks to US here today. Because that fellowship continues – from then until now and into the future – however long God gives us – to learn what it means to love in the name of Christ, to live in the way of Christ, to BE in the name of Christ.

Let’s Pray