“We Are Sanctified” 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

When I was learning to cook, one of the first foods I learned was macaroni and cheese from the box. I loved that stuff; still do.

The first time I cooked my mac and cheese, I found a bowl that was large enough to hold the pasta and allow me to stir in the cheese, butter and milk. It became my go-to bowl. It wasn’t a bowl Mom used a lot. I don’t really remember us using it apart from my mac and cheese.

One day, I was preparing my delicious meal but couldn’t find my bowl. I looked all over the kitchen for it, but it wasn’t to be found. I finally asked Mom if she’d seen it. She told me she gave it to my brother since he had moved into his own place. She said we seldom used it and my brother could use it more. I had to find another bowl, but mac and cheese out of a box was never quite the same.

I don’t know if you have a “special” dish or cup that you only use for a specific dish or drink, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we all didn’t have our own special item that we only use or a specific time or event.

Being set apart for a specific or special task is what the Bible means when it speaks of sanctification. Specifically, it means to be set apart for God’s purpose. It has the same meaning as “holy.” When we come to know Christ, we are immediately sanctified, set apart for God’s work.

Background

It is Paul’s custom, when writing his letters, to immediately state who he is—usually as someone called to be an apostle or a servant of Christ—and then moves on to the recipients of the letter. Normally, his comments about the recipients is short and to the point, moving on to a word of praise or encouragement to the ones who are reading the letter. The exceptions are in the letters to the Galatians, where Paul skips words of praise, and in this letter.

Paul spends time to define the Corinthians in a more detailed description. Part of the reason for this is probably because the Corinthians were the most troubling church he ministered to. In reading the letters written to the church, we learn that they are a spiritually immature church filled with people who need a lot of instruction about what it means to be a disciple of Christ.

We come into this letter at the beginning, because we want to focus in on the promise found in the second verse—we are sanctified by God through Jesus Christ.

Central Truth: God sanctifies us through Christ to be able to live for Him.

Because we are sanctified, we:

Are Called to Be Holy (2)

In our world, we often think of the word “saint” as meaning someone who is particularly godly, someone who has a “way” about them that sets them apart as a cut above the rest. We get that in part from the Catholic Church, who has a way of recognizing particular members of the church as saints.

The reality is, though, that anyone who has ever accepted Christ as Lord is a saint, and thus, is sanctified. As we said earlier, to be sanctified is to be set apart for God’s special use. That’s the point of Paul’s comment, “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy.” By these words, Paul is letting all the members in Corinth that they are all called and sanctified by God, having equal footing with each other.

But he’s also letting them know that each one of them is already in that state of sanctification. Quite often, people convince themselves they aren’t as good as God wants them to be, that He can’t really use him or her, simply because they don’t feel particularly sanctified or holy. They look around at the other people in church who all seem to have their act together, who are all walking closely with God. Seeing others, and seeing themselves, they tell themselves they aren’t worthy to be used by God, that they’re not set apart by God for anything in particular.

Again, this sense of not being sanctified comes from Satan using our feelings to distract us from the truth of our faith. In this verse, we are told by God Himself, who inspires the writing of Scripture, that we are sanctified and called to be holy. God does this through Jesus Christ, and that promise is extended to all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. “All those everywhere” includes those who are in Mosheim Baptist Church. That means you and me. We are sanctified.

But there’s more to it than that. Yes, we are set apart for God’s use, to live for Him. But we are also called by God to be holy. When I read this, I think back to the days of P.E. in school or playing games after school. We’d choose up teams. Usually, two people were named captains of the teams and they would decide who would go first. You remember how it worked. Some of us, if we were particularly good at the game, were picked first or second. Others of us, who weren’t very good at the game, were picked near the end. Most of us wound up being picked in the middle. Where you were picked is immaterial, though. The fact that you were picked meant you were called upon to play your best in the game.

That’s what God does for us. He picks us—calls us—to live for Him by making us holy. Peter put it this way: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).

The idea of sanctification is that God is working in us through His Spirit to make us more like Him and more capable of living according to His will. Two of my favorite verses on this truth are Romans 12:1-2 and Philippians 2:13. Romans 12:1-2 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Philippians 2:13 says, “for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.”

The point is that God already knows you and I are worthy of His service, that we are capable of living for Him and following Him because He has already sanctified us in Christ Jesus and empowered us by His Holy Spirit.

Given Grace (3-6)

Verse 3 in Paul’s letter is a common blessing in the early church, and it’s a reminder that we entered into our relationship with God because of His grace. By extending His forgiveness to us and bringing us into His family, God gives us a peace with Him that remains in place at all times. God may not always be pleased with what we do at times, but His gracious relationship with us is never endangered. We are secure in Him, and that gives us a peace that transcends all things.

As Paul continues to write, he mentions that God not only gives us grace, but He also enriches us so that we can learn and know and share. God gives us insight into His thoughts and ways by the presence of the Holy Spirit (“’For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ”—1 Corinthians 2:16). This gift of grace places us in a right relationship with God through Christ, gives us an awareness of His will and plans for us, and enables us to be able to do what He has called us to do.

Fully Equipped to live for Him (7-9)

There are three things Paul mentions quickly in these verses. The first is that, in light of God’s grace, we are equipped with God’s spiritual gift in this life. The spiritual gifts are listed in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, and the purpose of the gifts is to strengthen the ministry of the church. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul uses the analogy of a body with all its different parts working together. He then states that the gifts are akin to the different parts of the body working as one.

Second, Paul reminds us that God not only equips us with His gifts but He also keeps us strong while we wait for the Second Coming. As we read this, we need to look at 2 Corinthians 12. Paul wrote in that letter that he had a wondrous vision, and that God afflicted the apostle with a “thorn in the flesh.” Though Paul asked God to remove the thorn, God’s response was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9a). Paul concludes with, “For when I am weak, then am I strong” (v.10b). God strengthens us not so we can grow independent of Him, but so that we can learn to trust in Him through our weaknesses. It’s when God calls us to do something that we don’t think we can do that we learn to lean on Him and His Spirit. As we walk in humble reliance on Him, we learn and grow and our faith increases.

Finally, Paul writes that God equips us and strengthens us because God is faithful. This is perhaps the most significant statement of these few verses. God is faithful. He is faithful to Himself, which means He is faithful to His promises. He can be trusted and His word can be relied on. That’s what faith is all about. Years ago, someone came up with a bumper sticker that said, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” I always thought that the sticker was overly simplistic, but I understood the intent, and I agree with the intent. If God says something, He can be trusted. We can believe God’s word and His promises.

Conclusion

The realization that God is faithful is central to what we’ve been considering, not just today, but for the past few weeks. It centers on what the Bible tells us about our relationship with God in Christ. It is learning to live by faith, not feelings, by trusting in what the Bible tells us, not in what our emotions say.

God went to a lot of trouble to bring us into a right relationship with Him. He made us His children and He set us apart for His service. Now, because we are sanctified, because we are equipped and strengthened, and because God is faithful, let us put it into practice.

Let us be holy, for He is holy.