As we
continue our voyage through the Book of Acts, we come to chapter 18 and Paul’s
arrival in 50 AD in the city of Corinth, some 50 miles South West of Athens
from whence he had just come. It was a very cosmopolitan centre of commerce and
it had a terrible reputation. It was Julius Caesar who had founded it as a
Roman colony in 46 BC for its strategic merits; and from that time it had began
to grow. It was a now real hotchpotch of entrepreneurs, ex-Roman soldiers,
merchants, sailors, slaves, and agents of every – and I mean every - form of
vice. It was a rough, tough place and a byword in the empire for debauchery. It
is not surprising then that in his first letter to the Corinthians (I Cor 2:3) written
around 54AD, Paul talks of his arrival there ‘in much fear and trembling’.
Nevertheless, Paul knew that if the love of Jesus Christ could actually take
root in Corinth of all places, the most populated, wealthy, commercial-minded
and sex-obsessed city of eastern Europe, it must prove powerful anywhere.
And that‘s
the reason, whatever else you may hear from other pulpits or in the media, why
I do not believe that we should give up on the generation we have been given to introduce to Jesus, or change or waterdown
his Good News just because his message seems to many people today to be so
strange, and increasingly so socially and morally unconventional. This is the problem when a generation or more of
Christianity has been effectively lost, discarded, undermined by so-called ‘new’
cultural, social, and moral mores that have blinded people not only to the
truth of Jesus and his love for them but also to the unpalatable truth about
themselves and about their love of themselves. Jesus came to liberate people
from their destructive preoccupation with themselves and with the various
little gods that control their lives and lead them into the slavery to all
kinds of ambitions and attitudes that are destructive of self, of others, of
community. And we must not kid ourselves that just because we happen to have a
circle of nice friends or that what we see on the TV sometimes are just ‘the
exaggerations of a minority’: just talk to Mike, our youthworker, or to Rachel,
our Headteacher about the kind of attitudes and outlook they encounter in their
work. No, this generation desperately needs the Good News of Jesus; and he has
called you and me to share it with them lest we drift slowly but surely back
into a Corinthian-style society. It’s no good just complaining that the country is going to the dogs morally and
socially: we need to stay faithful to Jesus and to act!
Compared
with his rough treatment at the hands of the Macedonians, especially at Philippi,
Paul had a relatively straightforward time in Athens – the usual combination of
mockery and interest, but sadly not many believers that time. At least the
church was founded there. He arrives now in Corinth probably feeling weak in
every way – physically battered, emotionally deprived of the partnership of
Silas and Timothy, and naturally in some fear at the prospect of coming face to
face with ‘the city of love’. But as we see in our passage today, God is faithful to those who serve him,
providing the support and encouragement he needs. First,
Paul encounters the warm welcome of Aquilla and Priscilla; then Silas and
Timothy turn up; then, when he storms out of the synagogue, he is welcomed to
base his ministry right next door; and then Crispus and v8 ‘many of the
Corinthians who heard Paul became believers and were baptised’. Not only can
Paul see things working in his
favour now, reassuring him that he is in the right place, but God himself also
confirms these encouraging developments
by reassuring him in a dream
that v10 (Read).
Now it is
perhaps easy for us to say to ourselves today, ‘Well, that’s a lovely story;
but what relevance is it to me today. I don’t see these things happening in my
life and I certainly don’t get dreams from God? ‘ Well I think there are one or
two things here that we need to recognise and to ask of ourselves.
First, this
burgeoning team and the work around Paul is being blessed by God because it is his work, it is the work of the Gospel,
and it is about their being open,
willing, and obedient. The Church often and still today can easily get
side-tracked into what I call ‘churchy matters, church business, church activities,
that often have little to do with our first calling and responsibility - which
is to proclaim the love and the truth of
Jesus to the generation in which we live. Unless this is our first priority as a church, we cannot expect God to
bless and prosper activities or business that detracts from this calling. For
different churches, this can mean different things: what each church and each
individual member needs to ask themself is this: where do our, where do my,
priorities lie, and am I giving my time to the things that really matter to God
– not just to me, and how I like to ‘do church’? All I would say here is that if we open our
eyes to what God is already doing around us in regard to establishing and
furthering his kingdom, and if we open our minds and our hearts to what he is
saying to us – or trying to say through us the competition from elsewhere! - then
he will let us know where he want us and what he really wants us to be
volunteering for. And another important thing: whilst churches can be sources
of comfort, consolation, and community in themselves – because the world so
often does not offer these, the strongest, most genuine, liberating and
fulfilling Christian relationships are those – like that of Paul, Aqilla,
Priscilla, Silas, Timothy, and Crispus, that are lived out together in responding to our calling to share Jesus with
others.
It is very
pertinent in respect to note in our own day the reasons why many churches have
closed though lack of numbers (over 450 Anglican churches in England in the
past 5 years!) whilst hundreds more have opened in England in the same period.
A very simple comparison demonstrates that the closed ones by and large had not made the sharing of the Gospel their
priority.
(The fact is you can never have enough jumble sales or flower
festivals or concerts to keep a church open. Why? Well because churches need
members, and members are people, and people become Christians - as opposed to
churchgoers - not for sales or shows
or concerts but through receiving the Gospel. And that is why so many more churches are opening and growing in
England; because those Christians are prioritising their first calling in the life of their church.)
Secondly, we
need to ask ourselves some questions about this young church in Corinth that
Paul founded and, in the 18 months he was with them, began to grow? Was it a
fellowship of superheros? Was it a model Christian maturity? No! Quite the
opposite, as Paul’s letters reveal.
It
was a large church. But it was full of cliques, each following a different
personality. Many Christians were very snobbish: at fellowship meals the rich
kept to themselves and the poor were left alone. There was very little church
discipline: a lot of laxity was allowed, both in morals and doctrine – an all
too common combination experience strongly suggests. They were unwilling to
submit to authority of any kind and the integrity of Paul’s own apostleship was
frequently questioned. There was a distinct lack of humility and of
consideration for others, some being prepared to take fellow believers to
court, and some celebrating their new freedom in the most selfish of ways. They
seem to have been very keen on the more dramatic gifts of the Spirit and were
short on love rooted in the truth.
The picture Paul
paints is of a far from perfect
church, which is why of course he had to write his letters of which we know,
from the two letters we possess, that there must have been at least 4 and not
just the 2. But what Paul discovered in Corinth was not only that God supported
those who were faithful to their calling but also that he was willing to work
with the dregs – those who, in the world’s eyes anyway, had little to offer.
Paul discovered that God can work most effectively through the weak when they
allow him to do so. Indeed God actually chooses to do so in order to humble or
‘shame’ the proud. You see, money, education, success in life, pride in our
ourselves can so easily become stumbling blocks to humility and to service if
we reckon them to be our achievements rather than God’s gifts. So in spite of
all their shortcomings, shortcomings Paul has to write to them about and
reprimand them about, he still loves them and wants them to continue into
maturity, a path that can only be taken in humility. Paul is wonderstruck by
the grace that God has given to this very rum bunch: he has no blindspots when
it comes to recognising their weaknesses; but he knows, from great personal
experience, just what God can do in the humble and faithful. Read Chapter 1 of
his first Letter and you will see exactly what I mean.
So, to sum
up some lessons for us from this passage:
First, the primary calling of
Christians and the work in which we will discover both the faithfulness and
grace of God and the joy and encouragement of real relationships with our
fellow Christians is in the sharing of the Gospel with this generation. That
Gospel does not need to be changed or watered down to fit in with the latest
world views and people will find it challenging.
Secondly, whoever we are and whatever our credentials or lack of
them, God can and wants to use each one of us in the service of the Gospel. We
just need to open our eyes, our minds, and our hearts to what he is already
doing, and then humbly offer ourselves in his service.
And thirdly, God will provide. He will provide whatever it is we may
lack.
Sometimes this will mean that we have to set aside what we think are strengths because they are
in fact weaknesses that actually inhibit our effectiveness as disciples.
Here is a
verse for us all to take to heart and to put into practice I Cor 15: 58
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