When it is said that the church today should be more like the first century church, most people aren’t referring to the church at Corinth. The church there had some very serious issues. They were divided over their favorite preachers. There was jealousy and strife among them. Some were bringing lawsuits against their own brethren. Some arrogantly stood by while a man in the congregation had an ongoing incestuous relationship with his father’s wife. Some acted unlovingly toward one another. Some made a mockery of the Lord’s Supper with their unloving attitudes. Some of them even questioned the reality of a bodily resurrection. This is quite a list!
What would you say about a congregation with so many serious issues? Would you see them as brethren? Would you associate with them?
What does the Lord say about them?
This may be a little bit shocking to our ears, but listen to the inspired words of Paul about the Corinthians: “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours…” (1 Corinthians 1:2 NASB95)Listen to the words Paul uses to describe who these people are. They have been sanctified (set apart, made holy) in Jesus. They are saints (holy ones)! They are a part of the universal church who call on the name of the Lord Jesus!
Paul goes on to describe not only who they are, but also what their future holds, reminding them that the Lord Jesus Christ “will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:8-9) Jesus will confirm and establish them. They will stand before the Lord blameless!
In these words, we have a beautiful reminder about why the Corinthians, or you or I, or anyone else, can be in right standing with God. It is because of Jesus Christ! It is because of what He did! It is because God called us through the gospel into a relationship with Him! The blood of Jesus is what has sanctified us, not our own goodness. Not our knowledge. Not our doctrinal purity. Not our morality. None of these is what brought us into right standing with God. Everything is because of Christ!
Are we saying that the Corinthian brethren didn’t need to repent? Are we saying that they could defiantly go on in their sinful ways and still be right with God? Of course not! The promises are for those who are walking in faith. As one author put it, “We’re not talking about open decadents, but struggling penitents.”1 For such people—people like you and me—we can be assured that God will be faithful to His promises to sanctify us, establish us, and make us able to stand in His presence without blame.
—Scott Colvin
1. Jim McGuiggan, 1 Corinthians.
Posted by Scott Colvin 
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