1 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. _____________________________________ The Church is God's Church and is part of His body. Eph 1:22-23 "And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, {23} which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." Eph 5:23 "For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body." The church at Corinth was not THE church, but part of the church. I think that Paul would define the church as "all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours, and seek after the will of God." The Church was at first centered at Jerusalem, even during the persecution that dispersed the Christians, and was guided by the Apostles. God has given the church authority. Some people don't like that. Some didn't during the time of the apostles. Usually because they want to exercise their own authority. But just like God uses individuals to accomplish His purposes, He uses the church to accomplish His will. It may not appear to in every action, but over the long run, the church directed by the Spirit will accomplish God's will. Matthew 16:17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth be loosed in heaven. The church is God's idea. Not man's. But to operate in the world God gave the church human leadership, also. Not only did God provide leadership, but he gave them direction through the Holy Spirit, and provided them with the tools they needed. Acts 20:28 ""Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." 1 Cor 12:28 "And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. "The church is where those being saved find their spiritual home. God ordained it so. God never intended that Christians should be loners. He called the Children of Israel, not Moses. The Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost created a church, not an assent to the truth. Our next text supports that. The apostles did not add to the church. Read what Luke records. Acts 2:47 "praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." The Church is made up of real people. As we look at the people in the church, we find the same cross section in the early church that we would find in the church today. We find a couple of ladies in the church that are creating such dissension that Paul pleads with them to get along. We find church members that are actively spreading the good news. We see people in sexual sins. We see church members that condone sin. We see class and racial prejudice. We see people more interested in their truths than they are the TRUTH. We see people becoming swayed by fanaticism of many types. We see people who search the scriptures carefully to learn truth. In short, we see the full spectrum of humanity in the early church, just as we do today. That makes some uncomfortable. There are those who want to see the church be just like them. And only like them. Which brings us to the next point. The Church is sanctified by God. The members called to be saints God's church can only be God's church. When it ceases to be God's church, it becomes nothing in the eternal scheme of things. It has never been populated with perfect people as we often think of perfection. But in Christ we find completeness. In our passage, Paul speaks of the church being sanctified by God. What does sanctify mean? To make holy. This is a sense that we have lost. A sense of holiness. If you believe that God is behind the setting up of this church and the direction of this church and the doctrine of this church, then it is only logical to say that it is a holy treasure to Him. And anything that belongs to God is holy. Eph 5:25-27 "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, {26} that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, {27} that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish." The only thing that makes the church holy is that it belongs to God. We can never be good enough of our own to be holy. That comes from God. But it is God's church, and has always been populated with saints. 1 Corinthians 1:2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: No doubt you are familiar with the messages to the seven churches in the first part of the book of Revelation. In there you find all manner of faults within the church. But they are all God's church. Many will say that they cannot support a church that has faults. If that is the case, you cannot even start your own, unless you are perfect. Jesus spoke of the vine and the branches. Paul speaks of the grafting in of the gentiles and the pruning of the Israelite. It still works that way. Eventually those who hold back the spreading of the gospel will fall away, because they lose contact the vine. Those who have unhealthy lifestyles will fall away, because they lose contact with the vine. Eventually even an organization can lose contact with the vine. Many have and many will. But I am pleased that I see in the church today a strong healthy emphasis on maintaining the connection with the Lord. It is the life of the vine flowing into the branches that makes the branches lively. It is that life that grows the transplanted shoot into a branch that bears fruit honoring the vine. But we forget that God has to take the shoot from wherever He finds it to graft it in. He grows it. He makes it holy. Which brings us to the next step. The Church has received grace through Christ Jesus Not one of us is worthy of being part of God's church. Again I repeat, God's church. Not the pastors. Not the board's. We are part of this church because God wanted to share with us the joy of being part of the heavenly family now. If you have no joy in being part of that family of grace, something is wrong. It is not a necessity to be part of God's family, it is a privilege. Acts tells us over and over that God added to the church those who were being saved. Note the tense: being. All of those people in the church that you feel should not be there, have been put there by God with the promise of grace, that God wants to give them, and grow in them. To grow them into his image. Perhaps the biggest question is not "Where am I in my spiritual walk today?" but "How am I growing as I walk with the Lord?" Through Christ, God is using the church to bring the message of grace to the world and to those in the church. The Church is to grow in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the agent of applying grace to the church. This wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit brings all the gifts that we could possibly need. There is no situation that the church faces, or the individuals of the church face that God has not already prepared for through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 1:4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God calls us Holy. God sees us as holy. God covers us with His holiness. God works through to spirit to make us Holy. But it is all God's work. Always The Church will be made ready for the Second Coming. The purpose of the church is to get ready for Jesus to come. This is made possible by the gifts of the Spirit that are given for this purpose. Again, it is God working in us to prepare us. That event is one to which each Christian should look with joy, not fear. Mark 13:26 "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 "And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven. Try to imagine that scene. I hope you spend time thinking of it, visualizing it. Jesus breaks open the sky and descends as King. The graves burst open. The righteous begin ascending to heaven. The wicked call for the rocks and mountains to fall on them. What is your reaction? It is the purpose and privilege of the church to assist each other in preparing for that event. And to proclaim that event to the whole world. Let's go back to Paul and let him summarize for us today: 1 Corinthians 1:2 To the church of God which is at ______, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: I believe that we are the church of God. I believe that we are sanctified in Jesus Christ. That's what it means when we are called saints. I believe we are part of the family with all who call the name of the Lord. I believe that Jesus is coming again for His church, to make the sanctification complete. I believe that God's church will survive throughout eternity to glorify and praise God. I thank God for His church. Benediction 1 Thessalonians 3:12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.