If I were a liberal one of the first places of Scripture I’d target as inauthentic is 1 Corinthians 1:1-9. There is such a disjunction between these verses and the next sixteen chapters. If you read those first nine verses and didn’t know the rest of the story you’d expect the next chapters to be a glowing review of how tremendous God’s beauty has been on display in Corinth.
But it isn’t. After that first nine verses the next 16 chapters we read of a church who arrogantly celebrates their ability to accept unrepentant sinners without disciplining them. We also read of a church who believes they have “arrived” even though they are suing one another and fighting endless battles over perceived rights. There are members of this local congregation who are asking all the wrong questions and starting from the wrong foundation. Instead of asking how they best can serve one another they are using the gospel and theology and the freedoms of Jesus as a means to harm and wound their brothers and sisters in Christ. It gets so bad that at one point Paul basically says, “it might just be better for y’all to not even meet together”. Even the massive amount of spiritual gifts they have been given has turned into a debate about who has the most important gifts.
That is quite the contrast between what Paul says of them in the first nine verses. But that he does this intentionally. Paul isn’t merely buttering them up. Nor is he only looking at them with rose-colored glasses and doting on them as only a mother would. No, Paul knows that their fundamental problem is that they are living out of the wrong identity.
This same thing is true of us today. We, as the Corinthians did, live out of an identity. If you’re identity comes from your bank account then you’re going to be prone to sue your brother in Christ. Likewise if you pride yourself on being a religious icon then you’ll fight over spiritual gifts instead of use them to serve. The Corinthians were playing the “one-up” game because they weren’t firmly fixed in Christ. They wanted to the Apollo sect to beat out the Cephas sect. Much like we Baptist can think we’ve got the God-market cornered. Or worse yet, the secular sectarian politics which sadly drives many Christians. Such foolishness betrays which kingdom we are living for—which kingdom gives us our identity.
Who are you?
What a vital question this is. We answer that in a myriad of ways. For some we answer it connected to our families: “I’m a husband, wife, daddy, mommy, son, daughter, grandma, etc.” For others we connect it to our vocations. We are what we do. Still others will connect it to things like their pocket books: “I’m one of the wealthiest guys in town”. Or, “I’m flat broke and busted.”
We answer this question in accordance with our level of power: “I’m the guy in charge around here. Not me, man, I’m just a little guy nobody even notices—stay behind the scenes—that’s my job.” We answer it connected with personalities—type A, type B, excited, somber, quiet, loud, and sometimes we even make sinful choices part of this—I’m a curious person (gossip), I’m kind of angry person, I’m just a worrier. We answer it in a way tied to our morality—I’m a pretty good person, I’m a nice guy, I’m a giver. Or maybe our church activities, positions—I’m a deacon, a trustee, a Sunday school teacher, a pastor.
And sometimes we are defined by other stuff—I’m an addict, I’m gay, I’m a victim, I’m abused, I’m divorced, I’m worthless.
Sometimes our identities are things which we take great pride in. Other times we hide in shame. It’s kind of like when your kid does something really good…”That’s my boy!!” You want everyone to know you are connected to this person. But when he just burned down the house the husband is greeted with, “Do you know what your son did…”
We will always attach our identities to something or somebody. If our identity is not attached to Christ it will be attached to someone, something. Whether we puff out our chest in pride (I’m the wealthiest guy in town) or hang our head in shame (I’m flat broke) we are speaking out of an identity –a desire to “be somebody”.
In Corinth they had similar things. Who are you? I’m part of team Apollos. I’m the guy who speaks in tongues better than any of those other jokers. Oh, I’m not like those fools who can’t eat meat they got at the market, I understand the gospel. I’m a forgiving dude. I’ve arrived. I’m knocking this Christianity thing out of the park….you get the picture.
Do you ever wonder if Team Apollos got jealous when God used Team Cephas? Can you imagine their Twitter wars? There was probably an outrage of the day for each of these factions. Sinners will always give you fodder for your rage cannon.
But notice how God, through Paul, works to put a stop to all this nonsense. From the beginning he reminds them of who they are. Their identity is found in Christ not anywhere else. They were saying “I belong to Apollos, I belong to Cephas, I belong to Paul” and God is saying, “No, you belong to me.” Notice how verse 2 begins. “The church of God…” Not Apollos, not Paul, not Cephas, but God. It is God’s church. They belong to God– those who have settled in Corinth and have been rescued by Jesus.
How does this change things?
If my identity is found in money then I’ve got to claw and scrape and do everything I can to be financially successful. Same with power. Same with parenting. Same with pastoring. None of those are big enough to hold the weight of our identities. They will all come crumbling down. So when I hear in the gospel that my identity is found in Christ that changes everything. I don’t have to make my life about these other things. I belong to God. That means he calls the shots. My job is obedience.
Paul also reminds the Corinthians that they aren’t the only church. Their identity is found in Christ just like all of the others who “in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”. You don’t have to compete or compare yourself with other churches. That’s just silly. But you’ll do that if your identity isn’t found in Christ. You’ll compete instead of cooperate. You’ll start asking the wrong questions and make wrong comparisons. But Paul reminds the Corinthians that they aren’t alone in calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are in this with other believers from all around the globe. Their calling is to be the church at Corinth. To be obedient to God and do their thing that God has called them to do.
Did you notice that Paul also called them “those sanctified in Christ Jesus”? Corinth? Sanctified? That’s foolishness, Paul. These guys are messed up and the furthest thing from holy. But do you see what Paul is doing. He is reminding them of what Christ has done. That he has set them apart. He has bought them at a price. They just aren’t living it out. They are living out of a different identity. What would happen at Corinth if they lived out of their identity as those who belong to God, who are sanctified to Jesus along with all the other saints? It’d change things wouldn’t it?
And so too for us when we see that our identities are found in Christ we will be freed up to be kingdom focused instead of self-focused.
“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am” –John Newton
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