Charis-e

I preached this sermon on 10/31/2010.

Charise was born on 02/10/2009. I dedicate this sermon to this baby girl.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9

Topic: Hindsight, Insight, Foresight

Last week, we looked at Paul’s thanksgiving in Philippians. His thanksgiving in Philippians is different from the thanksgiving in Corinthians: not only in content, but also in their mutual relationship. In Philippians, he said that you have been my partners from the first day until now: Koinonia with one another. But in Corinthians, he said, “fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord”: Paul did not say that they were his partners. Rather, “we are called into fellowship with His son”—Koinonia with the Son.

                                                  

However, it doesn’t diminish Paul’s thanksgiving for the Corinthians. Paul said, “I always thank God for you” (1:4a). The rest of the letter shows that he has every reason not to be thankful. But Paul said, “Because of his grace,” not “because of your partnership of the gospel” as he said in Philippians. Grace is something that is always given. This church, good or bad, holy or unholy, in Paul’s mind, was God’s church. The church is not Paul’s church. The church is not my church. The church is not your church. The church is God’s church. This is the primary reason why he gave thanks for the Corinthians. Giving thanks for the church doesn’t mean that the church is okay and has nothing to improve. Paul did not have to solve all the problems, and then he gave thanks. He gave thanks in spite of, not because of. This is Paul’s theology of grace.

In his thanksgiving, not only do we see that Paul introduced some major themes for the rest of the letter, but also redirected the attention of the Corinthians. He redirected their attention in three different aspects: past, present, and the future.

“God called us” is a past reality (Hindsight).

Paul urged the Corinthians to have hindsight about a past reality: They were called by God. The calling of God was the beginning of their Christian journey. Their life and ministry began with God’s calling. God called them to do certain tasks out of His graciousness—Charis. Then He gave them spiritual gift—Charisma—to finish His tasks. Out of His charis, He called them and bestowed charisma upon them.

“For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge” (1:5). Then he said, “Therefore, you do not lack any spiritual gift [charisma]” (1:7a). In the beginning of the letter, Paul guided them to look closely at their charisma, which stresses that it’s a gift of grace—not just gifts, but gracious gifts. Because we receive these gifts out of His graciousness, no one can boast. But the Corinthians did the exact opposite. It’s precisely these gifts (of speech and knowledge) that have become the instruments of division in the community. Paul said, “I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ” (1:4a). Paul gave thanks for God’s charis, not their charisma. Charis always precedes charisma because the former is the foundation of the latter, and the latter is the expression of the former.  They didn’t lack of charisma. Rather, they lacked of the attitude toward their charisma. Paul redirected their attention from charisma to charis: from spiritual gifts to theological grace. This is the hindsight, which is grounded in God’s own calling, Paul urged them to revisit.

Nowadays, the majority of the people in the congregation are educated. We are competent people. (Or at least we think we are competent.) We don’t lack of charisma—the gifts of grace. To the Corinthians who had a sense of superiority due to their charisma, or their social status, Paul said, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong….so that no one may boast before him…” (1 Cor. 1:26-31) The passage is applicable to us also.

“Brothers/sisters, think of what you were when you were called…” In the beginning of our faith, we did not think much about charisma when God called us to serve Him. We were convicted that God called us because of His charis. We focused on grace, not gracious gifts, even though we started to learn to exercise those gracious gifts. We only used our charisma to respond to His charis, not to compare, not to be competitive, not to show that we were competent, etc… Think of what we were when we were called. Think of whether or not we use our charisma faithfully and relationally to respond to his charis. From charisma to charis, Paul urged them to have hindsight about the past reality: the Call. Out of His charis, God formed us into being. Our having is for our serving in order to respond to His calling.

“Fellowship with Christ” is the present experience (insight).

Paul urged the Corinthians to have insight about the present experience: “fellowship with Christ.” We need insight when we have fellowship with one another. What I mean is that we derive our insight from our fellowship with Christ (e.g. prayer and Bible reading). For the Corinthians, their fellowship with one another was not so good. In the following section, we see that Paul started to talk about divisions in the church (1:10ff). There is a reason why Paul mentioned “you were called into our common participation in Christ.” He who has regular “fellowship with Christ” tends to have more gracious capacity to have fellowship with one another.

Here and there I encounter personal problems in the church. I am upset. When I read the Bible, I dialogue with God through the Bible. One day I came across 1 Cor. 6:19-20. Paul said that the church was purchased with a price, which is the blood of Christ. I said to myself, “I am part of this church too.” I was purchased with a price. The one who is right next to me was purchased with a price. The English congregation was purchased with a price. The Chinese congregation was purchased with a price. And the thing is that I am part of both congregations that were purchased with a price. It’s this kind of “fellowship with Christ” that gives me insight in regard with having fellowship with others in the church. “Fellowship with Christ” puts our fellowship with others into perspective.

When you hang around the church for a quiet some time, it’s easy to become cynical. When people do a lot of good things in the church, we feel indifferent. But when a bad thing happens, or a thing that is done badly, we criticize it, saying that “I told you. Church people are always like that.” From time to time, I may inherit this kind of cynical spirit in my faith. I don’t say it out loud because of my pastoral position. I know that what I say or how I view things have impact on others. If I am positive, people may not be positive. If I am negative, people will definitely be negative. However, I know that a cynical spirit is not good for myself, and it’s not a right attitude to approach life, anyway. Moreover, it’s not beneficial to others. I start to think that cynicism has done much damage to the church as hypocrisy has done to the church and people outside of the church. “I always thank God for you because of his grace” (1:4). The you is always plural, not a particular singular in the church. The fact is that we are always part of the plural. Because of that, constructive criticism with a moderate spirit is welcome, but not cynical criticism with a mean spirit.

“God is faithful” is the ground for our confidence for the future (foresight).

“God called us” is a past reality. That’s our hindsight. “Fellowship with Christ” is our present experience. That’s our insight. “God is faithful” is the ground for our confidence for the future. That’s our foresight.

“God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful” (1:9).

The God of Israel is always faithful and reliable. This faithful God called them into being. In the NIV, the adjective faithful comes last in the sentence. But in the Greek it comes first: “Faithful is God who…” In verse 9, Paul put the emphasis on God’s faithfulness.

“In him we have been enriched in every way” (1:5). “You do not lack of any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:7). “He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on that day” (1:8). Now they had been enriched and lacked of nothing. But Paul urged them to redirect their attention from now to the future: what is not yet to come. Not only have we been enriched now, but also be blameless in the future. The Corinthians were satisfied with the now. They failed to live up towards the future. The ambiguity of the Corinthians is that they were sanctified yet still sinful. They were enriched yet still defective. The Corinthians were living in the tension between the already and the not yet. From the already to the not yet, from enriched now to then blameless, “God is faithful” is the ground for our confidence for the future.

There is a story called “My name is Rose” from Sandy’s Friday Story:

An 87 years old lady went to college for a bachelor degree. Someone asked her, "Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" She replied, “I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" Due to her unique status in school, at the end of the semester, she was invited to speak at their football banquet. She said, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success."

(1)    "You have to laugh and find humor every day."

(2)    "You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die."

(3)    "Find the opportunity in change. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!  There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.  If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old.   "If I am eighty seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change."

(4)    "Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."

It's never too late to be all you can possibly be. “So that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We are blameless not in a sense that we are perfect and sinless. We are blameless in a sense that we fully utilize all the resources in our lives and try to be better persons. We try to find the opportunity in change. We grow up by always finding the opportunity in change. We always try to live a life with no regrets. The things we think we should do today, we should do it with determination and courage. Otherwise, it may become our regrets in our lives. From here (already) to there (not yet), “Faithful is God who called us into fellowship with His Son.”