Sermon – 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 - “Enriched in Every Way”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Churches
Sermon – 1Corinthians 1:1-9 - “Enriched in Every Way”
January 16, 2011

This morning I am beginning a series of sermons drawn from the opening chapters of the Book of First Corinthians. Corinth was a Roman city first established as a colony in 44BC. It was built on the ruins of an old Greek city which had been destroyed by the Roman legions a century before. The new city had grown spectacularly in the years that followed, and a great temple to the pagan goddess Aphrodite had been constructed. Corinth was an important trading center and generated great wealth for the Roman empire.

The Apostle Paul arrived in Corinth the year 52AD. He found work in the leather industry where he met two Christians who had been expelled from Rome with all the Jews and Jewish Christians the year before, Priscilla and Acquilla. As was his usual custom the Apostle Paul began to teach in the synagogue. There he would reinterpret the Hebrew scriptures in light of the coming of Jesus, the Messiah or Christ. A conflict developed in the synagogue over Paul's teaching and he was forced to leave. He then established his own group in the nearby home of a gentile convert. But the conflict with people in the synagogue continued and ended up in the civil courts. Eventually the conflict turned violent when the leader of the synagogue, Sosthenes, was assaulted by the opponents of Paul. When this happened Paul decided to leave and eventually returned to Jerusalem.

In 57AD Paul was in Ephesus and received a letter from the churches in Corinth about problems they were experiencing. This concerned Paul very much because he had established the church there and loved the people. So Paul wrote a letter in response. But before we get to that letter, please pray with me.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)
1 Corinthians 1:1-9 NIV 1 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ-- their Lord and ours: 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way-- in all your speaking and in all your knowledge-- 6 because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

This is January, the time of year when you will get all your financial statements. Your employer will send you a W2 with you wages and withholding. You will receive year end statements from your bank accounts and mutual funds. You will receive statements of charitable giving. You will receive financial statements from the businesses you own. And, of course, you will get started on your taxes. If you are like me you probably will see an increase in your 401K and IRA, but you still may have a little unease about the economy. Some of you may be fearing the return of inflation, and some may even be buying gold. With rising prices and a high unemployment rate we all have at least a little fear of the future. We don't feel as rich as we used to.

The reason the Romans established a colony at Corinth was get rich because Corinth was the perfect location for trade. It was located on a narrow isthmus. Anyone traveling from northern Greece to southern Greece had to pass nearby. Also just to the east was a major port the led to trade with Asia. And just to the north was a port that led to the Adriatic and Rome. Add to this the rich agricultural land surrounding the city and you have the potential to make lots of money from international trade. So many merchants from Rome and all over the world went to Corinth with the hope of making a fortune which many did. Money was the foundation upon which the Roman city of Corinth was erected.

But there must have been something wrong in Corinth. They had all the money they needed, but something was still missing. Money wasn't enough. They needed something more. They needed to be rich in another way. Despite their unease, Paul knew that the Corinthians were rich in the truest sense of that word. So Paul wrote a prayer thanking God for all the riches the Corinthians had received. Through this prayer Paul taught the Corinthians that in Jesus Christ they were enriched in every way. Paul was telling them that wealth was not necessarily money in the bank, rather wealth was a gift, Jesus Christ, provided to us by the grace of God. So how are we enriched by this gift from God? Paul says that we are enriched in three ways.

First, Paul tell us that the gift of Jesus Christ enriches us in knowledge. This is knowledge about God as revealed in scripture and though the person of Jesus Christ. We see in Christ an example of how we should lead our lives. In Christ we know that we are to love God with all our hearts, souls and minds. And we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. In Jesus Christ we are enriched with the knowledge that God loves us and we are called to respond to that love by loving God and all of God's creation. Wealth is measured in terms of love which we receive as a gift and multiply it by giving it to others. And if we measure wealth in this way then all of us as Christians are truly wealthy.

The gift of knowledge about God can be found in our study of the Bible here at church. On Sunday mornings and Wednesday evening you have an opportunity to grow in the knowledge of God. I urged you, if you have not yet, to go to one of the adult Bible studies we have at the church. Donna/Mary teaches a Bible study before/after church each week. And I teach a class on Wednesday evenings. There you will find the knowledge of God that will enrich your life.

Second, Paul tells us that the gift of Jesus Christ enriches us in testimony. Testimony is when we tell others about Jesus Christ and what Jesus Christ has done for us. Testimony is how others see Christ working in us. This is how we are to love one another. We show how God's love has affected our lives and invite others to share in that love. We are enriched when we share love through our testimony because love is something that grows whenever it is first given away. So our wealth is, paradoxically, maximized by giving our love away through our testimony to others. So every time you tell someone else about what God is doing in your life you are creating love and making deposits in a heavenly account making you very rich.

You have ample opportunities to share your testimony here at the church. Women gather in monthly groups and men get together weekly to share stories of how God has impacted their lives. Through these testimonies God's love is shared in these groups. So I urge you to get involved with a group where testimonies and God's love are shared.

And third, Paul said that we are enriched in Jesus Christ by the grace of God with spiritual gifts. Each of us has received different gifts, but they all come from the same Holy Spirit and they are given us for building up the common good. Some of us are rich in wisdom and have the ability from the Holy Spirit to advise others. Some of us are rich in knowledge and have the Spirit given ability to teach others about God and Jesus. Others of us are rich in faith and are able to comfort others when their health fails or a loved one dies and their faith is a little shaky and they need some of your faith to get through their difficulties. Some of us have the gift of healing and are blessed with the power of the Holy Spirit to bring someone to health. This is a gift of prayer being to pray unceasingly for those in need and to help other rely on God's grace in difficult times. Some of us are blessed with miraculous gifts that allow us to prophecy, distinguish between evil and good spirits, and speak in tongues. In extraordinary times when our faith is shaken to the core we need people with these gifts to lead us forward. And the church is enriched by having people to whom the Holy Spirit has provided all of these gifts.

In today's hard economic climate when the price of gas and food are rising, when our investments are flat or falling, when we feel like we are becoming less and less rich we need to remember, with the churches at Corinth, that we are rich, enriched by God's Holy Spirit with the gift of Jesus Christ. We have been enriched with gift of knowledge of God in Jesus Christ. We have been enriched by the gift of the ability to love others through our testimony about God, we have been enriched with a variety of spiritual gifts for our collective good.

But, why had God given us these wonderful gifts? What does God want to accomplished by blessing us so much? The answer Paul gives is that we have been enriched to prepare us for the coming of Jesus Christ. We don't know when Jesus will return. But God wants us to be strong while we wait. So God gives us knowledge, testimony for others and spiritual gifts so that we will be strong until Christ returns. And this strength preserves our faith and allows us to live lives pleasing to God as we wait for Christ's return. We see in all of the God's great faithfulness to us. God has enriched us and strengthened us to prepare us for the day when Jesus comes again.

So this month as you assemble all the paperwork for you taxes and when you calculate you net worth remember all the other riches you have received. These don't have to go on your tax return. But do ponder them in your heart. Consider all the ways God has blessed you this year: how you have been enriched by the knowledge of God you have received in this church, how you have been enriched by the testimonies you have given and heard, how you have been blessed with spiritual gifts which have strengthened you to remain holy until Jesus returns. And once you have considered all of this in your heart you will realize that you are truly rich indeed. Amen