August 31, 2025 SERMON

Live the Difference

WE’RE DIFFERENT

I Corinthians 1:1-9  

Do we know who we are?

A helicopter crew was alerted to search for two geologists missing in the Sierra, Nevada. They spotted two men standing in a clearing and dropped a note: "If you are the lost geologists, go to the center of the clearing and wave." Instead, they turned and walked back to their campfire. Obviously, the crew assumed they were the wrong men and continued their search.

Two hours later they turned up the lost pair’s abandoned snowmobiles. Tracing their footprints in the deep snow led them back to the same camp they’d seen earlier. This time the crew sent a man down on a rescue hoist, who confirmed they had the right men and picked them up. "Why didn’t you respond to our note?" the crew asked.

"Because," the rescued men replied indignantly, “we are hydrologists, not geologists." You see they knew who they were.

Do we know who we are?

Today, we are going to talk about “Living Different”

One of our goals is for us to identify and know who we are! As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to make a difference.
 Not only that…we are different! God has made that difference in our lives.

First Corinthians1 begins [1] Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, [2] to the church of God that is in Corinth…

Before we go any further, let’s do a little background on these key elements revealed in these first two verses…

First, there is Paul. Paul begins the letter by communicating who he is. He is an apostle.

He does not say this to boast, but rather to verify his authority.

 His call by God establishes his, and our, credentials and gives his listeners the reason they need to give attention to what he writes.

Next, let’s consider the city of Corinth. Corinth was known as the “Crossroads of the Roman Empire.” It was prosperous, important, cosmopolitan and multi-cultural. The people there were intellectually alert, materially successful, and morally corrupt. 

 Corinth was especially known for the temple that sat above the city. It was a temple built for the worshippers of the goddess of love, Aphrodite. It was beautiful and the way the sun reflected off its walls it could be seen throughout the city.

 The religious tradition of this temple involved ritual prostitution. And 1000’s of prostitutes would make their way into town every night to practice their “religious” duties. For the typical Corinthian, surrendering to every lust was a way of life.

Now the church at Corinth was not unfamiliar with Paul. Indeed, he was their founder. In fact, Paul had stayed longer in Corinththan in any other place during his journeys. Perhaps, the very culture and moral state of the city bears out the rationale for this.

Neither was the church of  Corinth unfamiliar with Sosthenes. It is apparent that he was known by the Corinthians, as he had been the leader of the synagogue when Paul first approached the city.

 That was the background, now the direction we wish to take today, is simply this… WE ARE TO BE DIFFERENT.

So, how does this difference happen?

In today’s scripture we find three blessings that enable us to be different.

The body of this text is in the framework of a prayer. Paul communicates an attitude of thankfulness because God’s grace is a fact in the church of Corinth.

For those of you that are already familiar with the context of this letter, you might find Paul’s positive attitude a bit strange, for he is thankful for the very things that are causing him grief, so he prays for God’s purpose and plan for those people.

We are to be different, and the first blessing that makes that happen is sanctification.

Sanctified, its meaning is one of being set apart.

Holy, holiness, saint, sanctified, and sanctify are the same words. 

The words purify, consecrate, dedicate, and perfect are related verbs, and are helpful in understanding the concept.

In verses 1 and 2 of this chapter, ‘called" is used three times. It is a very common word in the New Testament we see, among others:

Ephesians 1:18 "hope of his calling

Philippians 3,14 ‘The high calling

II Thessalonians 1:14 "your calling"

II Timothy 1:3 a "holy calling"

Hebrews 3:1 "the heavenly calling"

Ephesians 4:4 "In one hope of your calling"

Romans 8:28 "called according to His purpose"

In scripture, "called" implies an invitation. The call of God is a gracious invitation.

First, let’s understand that God has made us holy. If you are holy, would you please raise your hand.

Called to be holy (v.2). Christ sanctified the believers at Corinth (set apart for His purpose and made holy by His continued work in their lives). They were part of a larger group of believers; in fact, all who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember, call assumes the meaning invite. In other words, as Christ sanctifies the believer, it is reasonable that the believer would invite Christ to be Lord over every aspect of his life and being.

God’s grace is so magnificent, Christ’s atonement so radical; it demands that one give himself/herself completely to holiness, as his “reasonable act of worship” (Romans 12:1-2).

Ask yourself, do we know who we are? If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, I can describe you. You are sanctified. You are cleaned up, renewed, and put back into operation. You have become saintly, even holy, as you have been made whole.

This was true for the believers in Corinth. They were holy in God’s sight. But it did not happen because of what they had done, and certainly not because of what they were doing. 

It was entirely based on what God had done for them. They were cleansed and perfected because God made it so.

The word “holy” though, hardly seems to accurately describe this church (and perhaps us as well). Their choices seemed to be so unholy.

Second, God summons us to be saints. Okay, if you are a saint would you please raise your hand.

Called to Be Saints, we are called ‘to be saints." That means we are saints by invitation or calling. We do not acquire or assume this for ourselves. It comes by the grace of God.

A saint is simply a believer. It applies to all those who seek salvation in Jesus. The root meaning of the word carries the idea of being set apart to the service of God. It means we are called to belong to God.

If God has called us to belong to Him, then we must regard this as a very important calling. Paul calls it the high calling of God."

To be called saints was quite a declaration in view of how the Corinthians lived. In practice, they were gross sinners. But because of their position 

in Christ, they were pure saints. As we are.

We must always remember our position. Because we have been made holy, we are to act holy. Because of who we are in Christ, we are to be different. We are to live this life matching who we are.

If we are set apart, it means we are to bear the character of Him who has set us apart. We are called on to be saintly…holy…with observable righteous behavior that demonstrates a definitive break with our old behavior and allegiances.

That being said, we must recognize that this is truly a struggle. In fact, this was the very reason why Paul was writing this letter to the Corinthians.

 One commentator describes the Corinthian church this way: “In too many ways they look far more like Corinth than they do God’s holy people in Corinth.”

The attitudes, actions, and activities of the city were infiltrating the church. Instead of the church changing the city, the city was changing the church. This had to stop. They were saints!

What about the church in America? Whose being changed? The church, or America?

The good news is that God does not leave us alone. 

 No individual faces this challenge alone. No one church faces this challenge alone. The church is a body of people that find their source in God.

The Corinthians had to learn that they were not the center of the religious universe. They were not unique. Instead, they were to seek unity among themselves. They were to seek unity among all those that called on the name of Jesus. 

They were to learn and practice that the same Lord is the Lord overall. Something we also must learn.

Now we come to the second blessing; we are enriched. It gives us the idea that we are the recipients of abundance. We are made rich, beyond our needs.

This is first observed in that God has given us grace. Contained in the root meaning of grace is the idea of gift. So…when God provides salvation for us through Jesus, it is a gift that is totally underserved and unmerited. 

It is giving that cannot be repaid. It is a gift that turns bad news into good news. What we could not do for ourselves, God does for us. 

This was the good news for the Corinthians. And this continues to be the good news for us as well.

But not only has God graced us with salvation, God has given us what we need to live the difference.

Specifically, Paul was excited that the Corinthians excelled in speech and knowledge. And what this shows us is that God enriches our intellectual and communicative abilities. 

You see, God gives every believer the capacity to speak for Him. We have no excuses. We can speak. We can testify. We will always be able to say everything God wants us to say. When we submit our minds to Him, He empowers us with the right words.

Alongside of this, we will always be able to know everything God wants us to know. You see, we are given everything we need to know to effectively speak. We have His Word, and we have His Spirit to interpret it.

And if speech and knowledge were not enough God has made sure we are not deficient in accomplishing His purposes.

The Corinthians were not lacking in any spiritual gifts. That always blows my mind. Can we even begin to imagine what every spiritual gift amounts to? WOW!

They were, and we are, lacking in spiritual maturity. They were, and we are, lacking in moral purity. Yet the church in Corinth, and America, had/has more than what’s needed!

Suffice it to say that God endows all believers with spiritual gifts. These are special abilities that are given to us when we become believers.

 Before we believed, we were unable to do these things with the same capability or adequacy.

These blessed abilities enable us to achieve God’s purposes for the church. 

Overall, though, I want us to note that we need nothing else from God. God has given to us abundantly.

We have every spiritual blessing.
God has not failed us in any way.

Now, we come to the third blessing; we are SUSTAINED.

Paul refers to our waiting for the second coming of our Lord. It is a waiting that is characterized by eagerness, not anxiety. 

No matter how bad it may seem in the world, its condition does not steal our hope. We have the confidence that God will keep us safe until the end.

Because God’s work on our behalf stands firm, we are blameless. We are free from accusation. You see, our past is already taken care of, for God set us apart. 

Our present is provided for, for God gives us the dynamic of His Spirit to work in our now.

 And, our future is assured, for God will complete the work. He will not leave us undone.

 Therefore, He will sustain our faith. He will keep us believing, even through the most difficult times, making our hope firm to the end.

Sometimes the worst thing that can happen to us is the best thing that could have ever happened to us. This obstacle is a disguised opportunity.

Psalm 107:20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

LIFE’S HARDSHIPS ARE NOT “IF”… LIFE’S HARDSHIPS ARE “WHEN”… ADVERSITY BRINGS CORRECTION. YOU ARE GOING THROUGH THIS HARD DIFFICULT TIME FOR A SEASON, FOR A REASON… THE ENEMY WILL TAKE THE TROUBLE YOU FACE AND KILL YOU. GOD WILL TAKE IT AND MAKE THIS TRIAL A BLESSING… THIS TOO SHALL PASS…

Isaiah 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

Let us start with a valid conclusion.  Real life can cause us to face trouble head on… Strange twist cannot always be explained. Our enemy’s plan is to destroy our hope. 

There are many false teachings that suggest if we live close enough to God, we will be exempt from ADVERSITY, TROUBLES AND HARDSHIPS. Let me assure you fiery furnaces, rain, floods and storms are a reality.

If you have a job, there will be conflict. If you are married there will be battles to overcome. If you are faithful to church, there will be trials and hurts to deal with. THRIVE WHEN YOU FACE DIFFICULT TRIALS…

Often ADVERSITY IS THE WAY GOD GETS US TO LISTEN AND PAY ATTENTION. Life is full of all kinds of ADVERSITY… Depression? Trouble? Trials? Testing? Discouragement? Tribulation? Stress? Worry? Illness? 

Opposition? All these fleshly issues can DRAIN OUR SPIRITUAL VICTORY!

Paul said, TAKE MY WEAKNESSES AND FAILURES AWAY! NOW! 3 TIMES Paul said, GOD REMOVE THIS THORN RIGHT NOW!  

CAN I EMBRACE MY FAILURES AND FAULTS AS OPPORTUNITIES? THIS THORN IS A GREAT GIFT THAT WILL KILL ME OR DRIVE ME TO MY KNEES AND KEEP ME NEAR THE HEART OF GOD…

The setbacks we face in life often appear to us as tragic turns of events. From God’s perspective, however, such setbacks are necessary mileposts enroute to His desired destination for us. You see, life is not easy, but God is faithful (Philippians 1:6). 

Note how the apostle Paul describes it in his letter to the church in Philippi. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.  

Faithful is who He is.

God is always reliable.
God is always true to Himself.

 Therefore, we stay saved because God does not change His mind. This speaks to why Paul is so thankful. The disobedience of the church of Corinth did not change God’s guarantee. He would keep His promise. 

And in the meantime, He will continue to work. He will perfect His people, no matter how immature and chaotic they are at times.

Paul’s prayer for the Corinthian church teaches us so much. So, I want us to consider; Our thinking must always be God-centered, not man-driven. 

We are where we are because of what God has done, not by what we have accomplished.

 The Corinthians were self-satisfied and creature-oriented, and as a result, their behavior did not reflect the One who had graced them. When we focus on ourselves, we fail to live the difference.

You see we live the difference because God enables us to do so. We are in process of becoming more and more like Jesus. Spiritually we are there but fleshly we have a long way to go. What God has started in us is a good work. He will finish it so that we will live the difference.

We were dirty, sinful, impure and unholy. And now, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have been made pure and holy forever.

 Though from time to time, we may struggle to see willingness and His success at the cross. We are united together because of the work of Jesus.

So, it is His work on the cross that enables us to have new life.

Live the difference, for God has made us holy; God has supplied to us all we need to accomplish it; you know what you need to know – you can say what you need to say; you are abundantly supplied in every way.

Live the difference, for God is sustaining you, even at this very moment; and He has guaranteed our future, for He will finish the work He has begun.

Let’s pray: Now may your love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best; and may you be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.