Author: Jinson Thomas

Good morning church! Hope you’re well this morning. Happy Women’s Day to all the wonderful women at our church. On behalf of the church, I just want to say that we’re so thankful to God for each of you & the immense blessing you are to our church.

I can’t begin to put into words how much I’ve been encouraged and challenged by your faith & you all are indeed indispensable (critical) partners with us in the mission of God. Thank you for all that you do – you all are truly a blessing!

So with that, let’s turn our attention to our time with the Word this morning. As a church, we place a high value on this time with the Word because we believe that the God of the universe speaks to us individually & personally through His Word.

This isn’t like a Ted talk where an expert shares his opinions and experiences on different topics. No, it’s our conviction that if this passage is faithfully opened up and preached as it is, then we’re not listening to someone’s opinion but to God Himself. Which is precisely why Paul could say this to the Thessalonian believers in 1 Thess 2:13:

13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.    

That’s why this time is critical, so let’s prepare ourselves to listen to God’s Word with attentive ears and open hearts.

If you’ve been tracking with us, you’re probably aware that we began a new series last week from the book of Job titled God’s blessing in suffering.

For some of us, this title seems like a contradiction because we’re not used to saying blessing and suffering in the same breath. We always think of these as two opposite ends of the spectrum.

What’s even more strange to our ears is to suggest that God blesses us in suffering because when someone goes through suffering, the last thing that he or she would say is “I’m blessed”. This simply defies our logic and expectations of what we consider as a blessed life.

And so the journey that we have set on is in seeing how God’s blessing comes in different shapes, forms and sizes. Sometimes blessing will come in the form of prosperity which is what Job experienced at the start of the book.

But other times, blessing will come in the form of suffering which is what we’ll explore over the next few months. And let’s state it right off the bat – some of these lessons aren’t going to be easy for us.

Some lessons might challenge our deep rooted beliefs (that we’ve held onto for many years). Some lessons might require unlearning. Some lessons might mean humbly surrendering to God’s will (instead of fighting with God’s will). Are we prepared to be unsettled? We need help, so let’s pray and ask God to help us.

(Pray)

It’s important to remind ourselves of the context in which Chapter 2 plays out. In a single moment, in a blink of an eye, Job lost everything he had.

He lost his property – his hard earned wealth and resources that he accumulated over many years. Some may say that’s just material stuff – but it wasn’t just that, he lost his own children!

They were pieces of his own heart. As a loving dad, he loved his kids, he gave them everything he could give them, he looked after them, he watched them grow up, he prayed for them & even offered sacrifices on behalf of them.

And yet for no reason of his own, he finds himself propertyless and childless – just like that. He’s still processing his shock and grief, and instead of becoming bitter toward God, he chooses to worship God!

That’s how we arrive at chapter 2 – where the suffering doesn’t seem to stop. It persists. What do we do when suffering persists? That’s the question that we will seek to answer today.

1. We acknowledge that there are things happening in the background which we don’t understand (v1)

There are things happening in the background which we aren’t privy to.

1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord.

It’s almost like the curtains to God’s throne room have been pulled back. We’ve been given exclusive inside access into one of those throne room discussions.

V1 tells us that the sons of God or angels present themselves before God & similarly Satan also presents himself to God like he did in Chapter 1.

In other words, Satan is answerable & accountable to God. Which tells us that like any other created being, Satan is not an equal to God and he exists under the authority of God.

Sometimes people assume that Satan is equally powerful & authoritative as God’s enemy. No, absolutely not – he is a lesser being and he is subjected under the authority of God.

Although, we know that he hates God’s authority & continuously rebels against that authority. In fact since creation, Satan has been making several attempts to usurp God’s authority – and that’s the biblical storyline which is played out from Genesis to Revelation.

But the main thing we need to take away and admit is that we often don’t understand what happens in the background. Even as all this is happening, Job has no clue about this. (Minutes of the meeting weren’t shared with him).

This should tell us that we should not jump to conclusions when we witness people experience suffering. As Saju explained last week, there is no simple explanation and in fact we should avoid simplistic explanations for suffering. Many times it’s actually not helpful when we try to explain all suffering to some sin that the person committed. We have to acknowledge that suffering is complex and our limitation to understand what happens in the background.

But not only do we acknowledge that there are things happening in the background which we don’t understand, we also

2. We should also acknowledge that there’s no suffering without God’s purpose attached to it (v2-6)

2 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.”

V2 & 3 is almost like a repeat of the discussion in Chapter 1 where God commends Job referring to him as His servant (my servant) and then gives the most remarkable testimony of his faith where God says that there’s no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns from evil.

And then God adds a line which is different from Chapter 1. He still holds fast his integrity – despite all that has happened to him, he has not forsaken and sinned against God. He’s maintained his innocence.

And then God accuses Satan and says although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.This can be a troubling verse for us because it almost seems like God is admitting to being tricked, provoked and manipulated into doing something that He didn’t want to do. And if that’s possible, then how different is God from us?

But that’s where we’ll need to filter this through against our understanding of who God in the whole Bible.

From the Bible we know that God is all-knowing who also sees the hidden intentions in His creatures hearts and so there’s no way He can be tricked or provoked or manipulated to doing something that He doesn’t want to do.

That’s what separates God from fallen beings like us. We are weak and flawed. He is not. So then why did God give into the ask from Satan? Let’s look at the previous Chapter. Maybe that might give us a clue – Job 1:9:

Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?

What Satan was trying to do was say that Job’s faithfulness is transactional – matlabi. He loves God only because of the gifts & blessings that God gives Him.

Satan’s challenge was that the moment you take away these gifts and blessings, Job will lose all reason to remain faithful to God. And that’s the same challenge which was being continued in Chapter 2:4-6:

4 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”

So God wasn’t being tricked or provoked or manipulated by Satan. God’s allowing Satan to do this!

Please underline this – God is permitting Satan to do this and also setting clear boundaries for what Satan can do and what he cannot do. Satan is restrained and constrained by the boundaries that God has put for him. He can’t operate independently.

So the question is why? Why is God allowing and permitting Satan to do this? God is allowing this to happen to Job so that the true quality of his faith is uncovered and revealed.

It’s to show if Job’s faithfulness is tied to God’s gifts and blessings or if it’s tied to God Himself. Does Job love the gifts or the gift giver? 

Even as we think about Job, I’m sure it’s also hitting us at a very sensitive spot in our own hearts. Oftentimes suffering and difficulties will uncover and reveal the true quality of our faith.

It will reveal our faith for what it is. It shows us if our faith is tied to all the good blessings and gifts that God gives us or if our faith is tied to God Himself?

If God were to remove the blessings in our life one by one, would we still love God? If God were to remove our comforts, physical health, material wealth, our jobs, relationships one by one, would we still love God? Is God God for us only because of the blessings that He gives? Or is He God just because He is our God and Savior?

Who is God to you and me? If we see God only for the gifts he gives us, then He’s no more than a genie to us – someone who exists to make all our wishes and dreams come true.

But God is not a genie. He is our Creator and Redeemer and in fact one of the reasons Jesus came into the world was to save us from this transactional relationship and help us see Him as the best Gift ever! 

But not only do we acknowledge that there are things happening in the background which we don’t understand & not only should we acknowledge that no suffering is without God’s purpose but

3. We acknowledge that it’s only the truths of God that can keep us rooted in Him during suffering (v7-10)

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.

9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”

10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

In V 7 & 8, we see the after-effects of that meeting in heaven.

After facing the terrible unbearable pain of losing his family & property, if things couldn’t get worse he now carries loathsome sores all over his body – no area was untouched.

It’s not just his physical attractiveness that was affected. Whenever people looked at him, they would see him as someone unclean who needed to be kept at a distance. This was going to impact the way others saw him and related to him.

And it’s at that time that his closest confidant in life speaks to him – V9.

She’s basically telling him “What’s the point in you holding on to this God who has brought this upon you?”

You can imagine how discouraging it was for him to hear that. But not just that, when you’re experiencing such pain and processing that, it’s very easy to get swayed by thoughts like this because we’re in a very vulnerable place. And yet somehow we see Job choose to honor God in that moment.

10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

There’s a rebuke for what was being told to him but more than that there was an acknowledgment of truths that Job knew to be true about God.

He didn’t view God as a genie whose job was to deliver good gifts and blessings to him. He saw God as a wise Father who knows best what needs to be given and what needs to be taken away. Although he didn’t fully understand God’s ways, he wanted to trust in the wisdom and judgments of his God.

I know as we’re hearing some of this, most of us would probably think “this is so difficult to implement. Job was a great holy man, so he was able to trust God. I’m not like Job and I can’t do this”. 

I just want to say that I resonate with that. None of us have it in us to produce this kind of clarity and trust in God especially when we’re hit with unexpected suffering.

That’s why we need God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s help to nail down these truths about God in our hearts, because when we’re being tested that’s when these truths come to our aid.

That’s why the church – form an appetite for good bible theology. It’s not so that we become puffed up in pride and use that as a way to look down at others but so that our hearts are changed so that we’re aided in seasons of suffering to go back to what we know is true about God.

It’s like consuming junk food and consuming healthy food. In the short term, it may seem like junk does the job in filling your stomach but in the long run when sickness and illness hit us, junk food wouldn’t be able to sustain us – in fact it’ll cause more issues. And so that’s why – don’t settle for shallow theology. Form a good solid biblical appetite for God’s Word.

11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

So terrible was his physical condition at the time that Job’s friends failed to recognize him. All they could do was weep and grieve with him because his suffering was so great. In the coming weeks we’ll see if they were actually able to do what they planned to do which was offer sympathy and comfort. But let’s realize that as people who are friends with those suffering, we do have a responsibility.

Just to summarize – what do we do when suffering persists?

• We acknowledge that there are things happening in the background which we don’t understand
• We acknowledge that there’s no suffering without God’s purpose attached to it
• We acknowledge that it’s only the truths of God that can keep us rooted in Him during suffering

How is God calling you to repentance and faith this morning?

Good morning church! A warm welcome to all who have joined us at the hall & those who have tuned in online. Happy New Year! This being the first Sunday of 2025, I wondered what’s the one thing that we all need to focus on at the start of the year?

As I prayed and pondered over this, this passage from John 15 was impressed on my heart. And it’s a wonderful passage that tells us about Abiding in Jesus. But before we proceed, would you join me as we pray and ask God to help us understand and apply this passage?

Every new year gives us another chance to do things that we weren’t successful at doing the previous year. Which is why we have new year resolutions.

And what’s usually at the top of everyone’s list? Improving physical fitness – and that’s why every new year is the best time for gym businesses around the world. Gym memberships see an unusual spike at the start of every year.

Even among believers, we’ve got our own version of spiritual new year resolutions:

• Bible reading plan – to complete the entire bible in one year
• Spend at least 30 minutes of quiet time in prayer and the word daily

But exactly one month into the year, what happens? These spiritual new year resolutions rarely last!  Which often leads to spiritual dryness, disappointment and discouragement and then we wait till next year to re-attempt once again. That’s the typical cycle.

And so these grand new year resolutions which began with great intentions end up becoming a burden for us. Within a month, it ends up looking like any other joyless task. But that’s not God’s intention for us. God wants a relationship not a resolution.He wants an abiding relationship with us.

Brothers and sisters, if you’ve been there & if you’re able to relate with this struggle, then this message is for you. God desires abiding. God wants us to know what it means to abide in Jesus.

Today we’ll learn 6 things about abiding in Jesus from John 15:1-11:

1. Abiding is a gift (V1)

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

Jesus would often use everyday examples to explain spiritual truths to His disciples. So that’s the obvious part that we see in this passage where Jesus uses an everyday example of a vine & branches to explain a spiritual truth. But as I studied this passage, my mind was blown away to realize that there was another reason why Jesus used this specific example.

Firstly, Jesus refers to himself as “I am”. He intentionally uses the word “I am” or “Yahweh” which is the name by which God introduces Himself to Israel in the OT. It’s referring to God’s eternal nature (He’s always existed) and His total rule and authority over every single thing.

That’s the weight in the name. And that’s why Jews would take a lot of care to ensure that it’s not used casually. And yet, here we find Jesus unapologetically saying that the “I am”, that’s me! “I’m the eternal God who’s always existed and rules over every single thing”. 

Secondly, Jesus says that He is the true vine and His Father is the vinedresser. Now we might not get this immediately but for a Jew they would immediately make an OT connection. In the OT, God would often use an example of a vineyard to describe His relationship with His people. Look with me at Isa 5:1-4:

Let me sing for my beloved

          my love song concerning his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard

          on a very fertile hill.

2 He dug it and cleared it of stones,

          and planted it with choice vines;

he built a watchtower in the midst of it,

          and hewed out a wine vat in it;

and he looked for it to yield grapes,

          but it yielded wild grapes.

3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem

          and men of Judah,

judge between me and my vineyard.

4 What more was there to do for my vineyard,

          that I have not done in it?

When I looked for it to yield grapes,

          why did it yield wild grapes?

So God’s people Israel are the vine which God planted with so much of love and care, but it yielded the opposite of what was expected – “wild grapes” which is why judgment has come upon them.

In contrast, Jesus is the True Vine – the True Israel – the True Son – who did exactly what His Father wanted Him to do. He lived a life of perfect obedience. He yielded the fruit which was acceptable to the vinedresser. Where we all failed, Jesus succeeded.

But here’s the amazing truth – Jesus shares His success story and acceptance with everyone who trusts in Him. By dying on the cross for us, Jesus took on the judgment for our failures & unfruitfulness.

And by His resurrection on the Third Day, all of us spiritual failures who trust in Him and are united with Him are now looked on by God as an extension of Jesus’ success story & His acceptance! That’s why we are called branches in this passage – we are silent beneficiaries of Jesus’ success story & acceptance.

Let this truth humble us this morning to realize that Abiding is a gift from God. It’s not a right for any of us. To be able to abide – that in itself is a complete gift!

But not just that,

2. Abiding is pruning (V2-3)

2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

Pruning is a gardening process by which certain parts of plants like branches, leaves or shoots are removed to improve its health, shape and productivity.

V2 tells us that every branch which doesn’t bear fruit is taken away or removed. This isn’t referring to believers but unbelievers. Believers by definition will bear fruit. Some fruit of the Spirit will definitely be visible in that person’s life if he is a believer. Even in seasons where you feel like you aren’t growing, some fruit will be there because the Spirit of God is within you.

But for the true branches that bear fruit, V2 says that the vinedresser will prune us, will cleanse us, will clip out everything that is not good for us so that we can bear more fruit. That is what the Father is committed to doing. How does He do that?

V3 – through the word that Jesus has spoken. God’s primary way of pruning us, cleansing us, clipping away the unhealthy stuff is through His Word. That’s why spiritual growth cannot happen outside of God’s Word.

Over everything else in our church, we prioritize God’s Word because that’s God’s primary way of pruning us. And if this is God’s primary way of pruning, then we need to expect God’s Word to make us uncomfortable. We need to expect God’s Word to reveal many things that we need to unlearn. We need to expect God’s Word to convict us of many things that we need to repent of.

If that’s not happening, then something might be wrong. Then we need to question if we are being pruned. If we are not being pruned, we need to question if we are truly in the faith because the Father will not stop doing what He is committed to doing.

And so when we sit down with God’s Word everyday, we need to expect pruning to take place. We need to sit down with the expectation that I will have to unlearn and change myself because the Father is in the process of pruning.

Abiding is pruning! But also,

3. Abiding is depending (V4-6)

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. That word “Abide” is a beautiful word – It means – Remain in me – Be attached to me. Jesusis explains the concept of abiding by telling us that we are not the vine or the stem, we are simply the branches attached to the vine.

We know that the plant gets all of its nourishment & strength from the stem or the vine and not the branches. So for the branch to be fruitful, it can’t do it by itself, it has to be attached to the vine.

By using this example, Jesus is making it clear that we aren’t independent people. We aren’t self-sufficient people. We cannot bear any fruit apart from Jesus. “Apart from me you can do nothing”. Nothing? Something I can do right? Nothing!

Such a humbling verse right? It hits at the core of our pride. Sometimes as believers we get into this thinking where we admit that we needed grace to believe, but then after that it’s up to our discipline and commitment which makes us grow. What does this verse say? “Apart from me you can do nothing”.

Which means that you may be a year into the faith or seventy years into the faith, your status is still the same – you are simply a branch who needs to abide in Jesus. You are totally dependent on Jesus.

What would it look like if we woke up every day this year not saying – “what all can I accomplish today by myself?” but rather declaring “Jesus, apart from you I can do nothing”. “Apart from you, I have no hope to grow spiritually, I have no hope to grow physically, mentally, financially, relationally”. That’s total utter dependence on Jesus for our nourishment and strength.

But not just that,

4. Abiding is surrendering (V7-8)

7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

If we read V7 quickly, we might wrongly assume that God is telling us to wish for anything and he’ll give it to us as though he was a genie or a personal vending machine.

But that’s not what the verse is saying. It’s telling us that if we abide in Jesus and His words in us, then whatever we wish will be done for us. In other words, as Jesus’ words shape our hearts, we will desire and ask for things which are in accordance with His will and that will yield answered prayer.

God is glorified in those prayers which are made according to His will. And that’s why I think it’s more appropriate to see these verses as surrendering – surrendering to God’s will in prayer.

Many times we think about prayer as only asking things from God. Now that’s one part of it, but more than that God wants us to surrender ourselves to His will through our prayers.

When Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane just before his crucifixion, what did He pray?

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)

And when He taught the disciples how to pray in Matt 6, what did He teach right at the start of the prayer:

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,[b]

    on earth as it is in heaven. (Matt 6:10)

As God speaks to us daily through His Word, we should expect that it changes our prayer life. The tone of our prayers should change from demanding to surrendering.

If you and I were to go and stand before a powerful king, would we go there and just make demands? No, we would put forward our requests with a disclaimer – “as long as you’re okay with this”. And so when it comes to God – we know His authority, we know His character and we also know what He wants through the Word, and so that should change the way we pray and surrender ourselves to Him.

But not only that,

5. Abiding is obeying (V9-10)

9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

Jesus is saying that just as He abides in the Father’s love by obeying His commandments, He wants us to abide in Him by obeying His commandments. Abiding happens through obedience. Just one chapter earlier in Jn 14:15, Jesus said this “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

He doesn’t say “If you love me, you will know 1000 worship songs by heart”. He doesn’t say “If you love me, you will have the bible knowledge of a theologian”. He says that “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”.

Now knowing 1000 worship songs or bible knowledge isn’t bad. But the question is – what’s the point in knowing 1000 worship songs and having all the bible knowledge in the world if there isn’t obedience? If there isn’t any obedience, can we really say that we love Jesus? In Jesus’ economy, obedience counts more than anything else.

That’s why if we’re really trying to abide in Jesus, it can’t be limited to our 30 minute daily quiet time or our weekly Sunday gathering. Our abiding actually happens throughout the day and throughout the week – because that’s when we actually have to obey what we have heard and read. That’s when we have the opportunity to express our love for Jesus. That’s when our love is actually tested – after a stressful day of work, after a conflict at home. But that’s not to say that obedience means perfection. God knows that we are prone to fail daily, and so oftentimes our obedience involves confession.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Obeying God means not hiding from God, neither does it mean justifying before God but confessing to God so that we can receive forgiveness and cleansing daily.

But not just that,

6. Abiding is enjoying

11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

The reason why God wants us to abide in Jesus is because He wants us to experience joy to the fullest! He’s not trying to suck the joy out of our life but He wants us to truly enjoy our relationship with Him!

And again that can’t be limited to a 30 minute quiet time. Imagine if I were to sit down with my wife and tell her – “Honey, I’m giving you 30 minutes of my time. Make the most of it. Tell me all that you need to tell me & all that I need to do within these 30 minutes”.

It would be offensive and dishonorable to her if I were to reduce our relationship to simply 30 minutes every day. What she wants is a relationship which I would enjoy with her, not a task or a chore that I somehow need to complete.

Oftentimes that’s what we reduce our relationship with God to. And God doesn’t want that, He wants a real abiding relationship where we would enjoy being with Him. And to tell you the truth – there might be seasons in life where 30 minutes would be a luxury.

Ask young moms who are scrambling between responsibilities to care for their infants that they don’t have enough time to sleep. But even in those seasons, they can still abide in Jesus. How? Even in the little time that they can have with the Word:

1. They can acknowledge how abiding is a gift from God
2. They can show their openness to be pruned by God
3. They can express their total dependence on Christ
4. They can surrender themselves to God’s Word and will
5. They can commit to obedience and confession
6. They can enjoy their relationship with Jesus

So this 2025, don’t work towards a spiritual new year resolution. Work towards abiding in Jesus! 

Good morning church! Hope you’re well. As a church we began a new Advent series titled Receive the King. And what we’ve been trying to do is reflect on what it means to receive Jesus into our lives – not just as a baby or as a holiday symbol but as the King of our lives!

Couple of weeks back we spoke about the Prophecy about the King – prior prophecies were given to God’s people to prepare them for this coming King. Last week we spoke about the Lineage of the King – Jesus is the centre point of human history & all the covenant promises given to Abraham & David – and his lineage and genealogy is evidence for it.

Today we’ll talk about the Birth of the King. One thing we can all agree to is that in terms of the prophecy & lineage regarding Jesus, it’s nothing short of extraordinary. Similarly, even the birth of Jesus is nothing short of extraordinary! It was an extraordinary event! There was nothing ordinary about how Jesus came into the scene & what He came to do. But before we move ahead, I’d love to pray for us.

In many movies, they introduce a surprise character entry somewhere in the middle of the movie. It’s usually the point of the movie where the tension has built up to its peak.

It seems like the bad guys are winning, and the good guys are losing. And when we least expect, is when the surprise character bursts into the scene & lowers our blood pressure.

And in some ways that’s how Jesus Christ is being introduced into the biblical storyline. The only difference here is that God’s people have been given hints throughout the Old Testament about a coming King. In that sense, it’s not really a surprise.

But yes, the surprise was in terms of the timing because people didn’t know when Jesus would appear & also in the details of what He was going to come and do. Hints and clues were dropped in the Bible but people didn’t have the full picture.

So what Matthew is trying to do here is after laying down the foundation of Jesus’ lineage, is unravel the details about this King! He’s beginning to show how this King is no ordinary king. Everything about him is extraordinary!

So today we’ll look at 3 extraordinary aspects from the Birth of the King:

1. Extraordinary circumstances (v18-20)

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed[f] to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

The circumstances in which Jesus was born was in no way ordinary! V18 introduces us to this recently engaged or betrothed couple Joseph & Mary.

Just to help us understand the context – a betrothal was different from how we perform engagements nowadays. In those days, betrothed couple would need to have a marriage agreement in place which was legally bound & it was done in front of a witness.

The only way you could be break the betrothal is through a process of divorce. That’s way different from how we view engagements today. In our modern day and age, engagements are simply a formality indicating our intention to marry someone but there’s no marriage agreement which is being signed.

And now you can imagine the difficult, confusing situation that this recently engaged couple finds themselves in. Joseph gets to know that Mary is already pregnant – and the only plausible rationale is that she probably had committed adultery with another man. All the expectations that Joseph was building up to his wedding day immediately came crashing down. All he can experience now is betrayal, hurt and confusion. How was he going to respond?

And yet in V19 it tells us something interesting about how Joseph responded. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

The punishment for adultery was not just shame & humiliation but was death! According to the OT, any person involved in adultery was to be stoned to death!

The easiest thing for Joseph to have done was to shame & humiliate Mary who he thought did all this to him, but we can see the character of this man that even as he was experiencing deep betrayal and hurt, he wanted to protect Mary. He didn’t want her to be shamed. So he contemplated a quiet divorce.

But as he contemplating through this. As he wrestled through his emotions, V20 tells us that an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. We see God’s providence to comfort this newly engage couple but not just that, to advance His plan of redemption. Yes, protect their marriage off course but the big picture is to move forward God’s plan of redemption!

How does the angel address Joseph? Joseph, son of David. It’s not by coincidence that the angel calls him that. Joseph – in the lineage of David – he’s playing a part in God’s redemptive plan to unveil the coming King.

And then the angel goes on to instruct him to not fear, to not be frightened to take Mary as a wife because her conception is from the Holy Spirit not a result of adultery.

The angel is making it abundantly clear that the child who is in Mary’s womb is not a result of physical, sexual relations between 2 individuals but a miracle of God to set God’s redemptive plan into motion.

The obvious question is why did it have to happen this way? Why did it have to happen through a virgin birth? Why was it necessary to conceive by the Holy Spirit and not by natural means?

The reason was to preserve this truth about Jesus – that He was fully human & fully divine at the same time. It wasn’t as though Jesus suddenly came into existence during His earthly birth. No, He’s the eternal God who Has always existed. This is how apostle John refers to Jesus in John 1:

John 1:1-3: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Everything else in creation has been created with a start date. But not Jesus, He’s always existed. He is the pre-existent God. That divine nature had to be preserved even as He entered into the world, and so the only way that could be done is through the virgin birth where He was conceived with the help of the Holy Spirit.

And so as we think about the Birth of the King, let this truth of the extraordinary circumstances of Jesus’ birth amaze you & draw you to worship. That the pre-existent God would chose to enter into our shoes, put on the clothes of humanity while still maintaining His divine nature. What an amazing, extraordinary God we serve?

But not only do we extraordinary circumstances during the Birth of the King, but we also see

2. Extraordinary calling (v21)

21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

In biblical times, the name given to person had a much greater significance than just identifying that person. To know a person’s name was to know something about that person’s character & nature.

And here the earthly parents didn’t get to choose from a catalogue of baby names but the angel told them precisely what to name the child – he told them to name him Jesus which means “God saves” – for He will save his people from their sins.

Right at the start itself, we have clarity on what is the calling of the King – what is the mission of this King – what is the purpose of the King – to save His people from their sins!

That word “save” means to be “delivered, rescued, protected”. It’s the idea of people being in grave danger like drowning in an ocean and desperately needing someone to rescue them.

What do we need to be saved from? We need to be saved from our sins. This ocean in which we are drowning, suffocating and struggling to breathe is our own sins.

That’s something that we don’t readily acknowledge. Even referring ourselves as sinners doesn’t come naturally to us. If we had to describe ourselves: we’d first list out all our accomplishments, all our good works and then maybe leave a couple of line for a few sin mentions.

But that’s not how the Bible views it. Look at the way in which our sinful condition is described in Ephesians 2:1-3

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body[a] and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

This passage takes it one step further by saying that we’re not just drowning in sin, we are dead in our sins. We are lifeless.

And this life of sin is not just minor faults or mistakes that we make through the day, sin consumes every aspect of our lives and a result of that is that we are objects of God’s wrath. And we know that being an object of God’s wrath and punishment is not a good thing. That’s why we’re in grave danger!

But for Jesus – “for He will save His people from their sins”. What’s expected from God is wrath, judgment and punishment for all that we’ve done. What’s unexpected from God is to be the Same One who saves, rescues and protects us from that judgment. That’s unbelievable.

That’s why Jesus came – to boldly go up and that cross and bear the wrath of God to save, rescue and protect us from our sins.

That’s Jesus’ single-minded calling. He didn’t come to be a healer – though He did heal people. He didn’t come to be a teacher – though He taught quite a bit. He didn’t come to change the politics of the land – though rulers and kings became quite threatened by Him. He didn’t come to give people a better, comfortable life – though He promised people of a better life in the afterlife. He came to save people from their sins!

Do you recognize the extraordinary calling & mission that Jesus came to fulfil? You’ll only find that calling precious and valuable if you see yourself as someone drowning in the ocean of sin.

If you feel like you’re on a boat or on a cruise, then you’ll never value and appreciate the single-minded calling and purpose and mission of Jesus Christ. But if you see yourself as drowning in sin, then be hopeful and assured because your Saviour has come. He has come to save His people from their sins. His name is His mission statement.

Not only do we see extraordinary circumstances and extraordinary calling, but in the Birth of the King we also see

3. Extraordinary commitment to be with us (v22-23)

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”(which means, God with us).

The word “Immanuel” is a word that we often hear said or sung during Christmas season especially with songs like “O come O come Emmanuel”. We’ve become very familiar with the term Immanuel but I feel like the impact sometimes gets lost.

So the word means “God with us” as defined in V23. But let’s take a minute to understand what a big deal this truth is for broken sinners like us. Broken sinners like us have no business being around Holy God & that’s what makes this such a big deal!

Let’s rewind back to the creation story where we see the first glimpses of “God with us”. After creating Adam and Eve, we see that God spoke to them, walked with them & provided for them. They looked forward to being with God. There was immense safety and security in their relationship with God.

But all of that quickly changed after their rebellion in the garden. Genesis 3 tells us that after sinning, they hid from God! They no longer looked forward to being with God. Instead of safety and security, they now experienced immense fear & guilt in their relationship with God.

That feeling of fear and guilt in front of God has been transferred to every single human who has ever lived. All of us know what fear and guilt means.

Just when the idea of “God with us” seemed impossible, God introduced an arrangement of the tabernacle / temple where God could still be with us but it wasn’t the same. Everyone didn’t have access to God, only a select few during certain times of the year after observing certain rituals. Still not the same as it was earlier. “God with us” at this point seems like a distant dream.

But then we come to the New Testament, and we find out that this God is so committed to be with us that He sends His Son to step into the shoes of humanity & then die on the cross for us so that every barrier that stood between us and God could be removed once and for all.

For those who trust in Jesus, no more fear and guilt in our relationship with God. He’s restored back the safety and security which was lost. We can finally look forward to being with God. And to top it all, He’s placed His Holy Spirit within us to remind us that “God with us” is a definite reality!

And don’t assume that this “God with us” is a temporary reality, Jesus tells us this in Matt 28:20: And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Revelation 21:1-4 ESV

[1] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. [2] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. [4] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

From start to end, this is a story of God’s extraordinary commitment to be with us! What’s your response going to be to this King who has shown such extraordinary commitment to make “God with you” a reality? Do you look forward to being with God today? What defines your relationship with God today? Is it safety and security or is it fear and guilt?

Brothers and sisters, the Birth of the King is no ordinary event! It tells us about:

• Extraordinary circumstances surrounding His virgin birth
• Extraordinary calling to save people from their sins
• Extraordinary commitment to be with us

Good morning church! Hope you’re well. So glad that we have another opportunity to gather together as God’s people and hear from God’s Word. It’s a privilege!

As we’ve entered this Advent season, we’ve begun a new month-long series titled Receive the King. And what we want to do through this series is reflect on what it means to receive Jesus – not simply as a baby or a holiday symbol but as our True King! Last week Saju preached on The Prophecy about the King & today we will spend some time on The Lineage of the King.

Now at the outset I want to acknowledge that this is not a simple passage to interact with. Some of us who aren’t into history or list of names are probably thinking that “this is the history lesson that I did not sign up for”. Or if there was an option to “Skip Intro” & directly jump into the action of Jesus’ birth, then that’s what we would go for.

But the reason why we’re tackling this text is because we believe that “All Scripture is God breathed and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction & training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). Every single verse (including passages on genealogies) is a 100 percent God’s Word & relevant for every believer.

But it’s not just that, Matthew who is the author of this Gospel account has intentionally put the genealogy in there to serve a purpose. We’ll come to that in just a bit, but first let’s pray and ask God for help to interpret and apply this passage in our lives.

Before we get into the genealogy and why it’s in there, I think it’s important for us to understand the context. The context always reveals a story!

Throughout the OT, one consistent pattern that we observe is that God speaks & tells His people about a coming Messiah. Despite all the ups and downs of God’s people, that consistent pattern of God speaking & telling them about a coming Messiah continues…up until prophet Malachi.

After Malachi, something unusual happens. There’s pin drop silence…for 400 years! For 400 years between Malachi and Matthew, there’s no hearing from God & there’s no message about a coming Messiah. Pin drop silence!

Just imagine what must have gone through the minds of God’s people. “Has God forgotten us? Is He mad at us? Has He changed His mind about sending us a Messiah? Have we really messed up bad this time? Has God’s grace been exhausted once and for all? Has God shut the door on us forever?”

And it’s in the midst of that where we hear the comforting words of Matthew like a glass of cool water on a hot day: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham”.

God hasn’t shut the door on His people after all! That’s precisely why Matthew wrote this book. And as a proof that this IS the real deal…this is the main thing, he starts out with the genealogy. He starts out with the Lineage of the King.

3 things that we learn from the Lineage of the King:

1. We get to know that Jesus is Centrepoint of all human history

He is the focus & culmination of all human history. All of human history has been marching towards the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (v1)

Genealogies played a very important role in the life of a Jew. Genealogies were used to establish a person’s credibility, position in society & inheritance rights.

Even if we go to the countryside or our native villages, we’ll find that people often ask us about our family name & background to establish our credibility, position in society & inheritance.

Similarly, Matthew uses the genealogy or lineage of Jesus to establish Jesus’ credibility, position & inheritance rights.

And Matthew does that by referencing him to Abraham & David. Now both of them were ancestors, but more than that Matthew intentionally mentioned these two “biblical hall of famers” to establish a direct connection between God’s covenant promises (God’s unbreakable promise) that He made with Abraham & David.

In other words, the arrival of Jesus was no accident. It was rooted in the covenant promises which were made centuries before with Abraham and David.

What were those covenant promises?

• Abraham

Way back in Gen 22:18, God made a covenant promise with Abraham: and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed

Who is this offspring? Not Isaac. Paul explains who this offspring is in Gal 3:16: Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

So Jesus Christ is the promised offspring by whom blessing would flow out not just to the nation of Israel but all nations of the earth!!

• David

God made a covenant promise with David in 2 Sam 7:16: And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.[c] Your throne shall be established forever.’”

Take a minute to think about the enormity of this promise. It’s one thing to promise David that he and members of his family will reign for the next 10 or 20 generations.

It’s whole another thing to promise David that his family’s throne would last forever! He was going to have a permanent, unending, forever reign!

And the crazy part is that in V11 it seems like this forever plan didn’t work out: and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

Jechoniah was the last of Israelite kings who reigned for only mere 3 months before the mighty Babylonians came and captured the entire nation & took them back as prisoners & slaves.

Was God just exaggerating just like some of tag lines that say “Diamonds are forever”? Or was God actually serious about doing this? And if God was serious, did God actually have the power to see this promise to the end?

V16 gives us the answer – and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ which means Anointed One. All of history was being prepared for the revelation & unveiling of the Christ – the anointed One who was specifically selected to fulfill these covenant promises and have a permanent, unending, forever reign!

What’s unbelievable is that the timeline between the time when God made the covenant promise with Abraham & the coming of Jesus Christ was nearly 2000 years! And if we go back to Adam, that would have been 4000 years.

So think about this – God had to orchestrate all human history with all of its ups and downs and turns to ensure that it was all moving towards this centre point and focus – which was the revealing and unveiling of this Promised Forever King who was going to be the source of great blessing to all nations of the earth. He is the centerpoint of all human history.

But not just that, but through the lineage

2. We get to know that Jesus is the Saviour for all kinds of people

As we look at the list of names throughout this passage, we’ll notice a few unexpected mentions – some of them who have made questionable moral choices are included.

V3 – Judah is mentioned as the father of Perez & Zerah by Tamar. This was the result of a sad, outrageous sexual encounter with Tamar who was Judah’s daughter in law. She disguised herself as a prostitute and became pregnant with Judah’s child.

V5 – Boaz’s mother was Rahab – who was a prostitute living in land of Jericho & because she spared the Israelite spies out of confidence in God, she and her family’s lives were spared when Jericho was conquered. Also, Joshua allowed her to live among the people of Israel – in other words, even though she was a Gentile she was integrated into God’s people.

V5 – Ruth was also Gentile – a Moabite to be precise. Moabites were actually enemies of God’s people for the longest time and Israelites were commanded to not marry them primarily because they would lead the people into idolatry.

But in Ruth’s case, she embraced and feared the Israelite God as her own and the result is that not only was she included into God’s people but also along with Boaz, she became the grandparents of the most loved Israelite king David.

And as I read the list, it’s quite surprising that these names feature on the list. If any of us were given the choice to design the lineage of Jesus Christ, I’m pretty sure we would have come up with a list very different from this.

Many of these names would have been rejected because of their moral choices and because they don’t fit the bill of respectable people in society & yet God doesn’t have any such qualms in using them in the lineage of Christ. And I wondered why was that the case?

I think it was to show us the scope of Jesus’ saving grace – for all kinds of people! Not just the ones whom we by our worldly standards would qualify as cultured, well-mannered, respectable & religious.

Jesus Christ in fact has special interest in those who in the world are considered as the back-benchers in religious life…the black sheep…the outcasts…the worthless.

In fact, this was something that Matthew understood up close and first hand. Let’s not forget that he used to be a tax collector who needed to collect taxes on behalf of the Romans.

But most of the time these tax collectors would be corrupted & would take more than they needed. Hence, they became the most disliked people in Jewish society. If people needed to take an example of the worst sinners, they would often think of a tax collector.

So that was his life until Jesus met him. What’s amazing is that Jesus sees him while he’s in the middle of collecting taxes & instead of judging him despite everything Jesus knew about him, he calls him to follow him!

Immediately Matthew gets up, leaves his work in the middle of the day, follows Jesus & then is later seen dining with Jesus. Some Pharisees who saw Jesus hanging out with Matthew and his tax collector friends were not happy and asked Jesus’ disciples why Jesus did that. And this is Jesus’ response. It’s the most remarkable response – “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” – Mark 2:17

The point Jesus is trying to make is not to say that there are some people who need Jesus, and some who don’t. All of us are sick and helpless in our sin. But often times it’s the ones who have already hit rock bottom in their sin who will humbly and desperately turn to Jesus Christ.

Those who see themselves as morally good will find it extremely hard to turn to Jesus Christ because they simply don’t see any reason to do it. And so Matthew understood that despite being on the blacklist of religion, he was still not out of the reach of Jesus’ saving grace. He is truly a Saviour for all people.

But not only does the lineage of the King help us know that Jesus is the centrepoint of human history and that He is a Savior for all people, but it helps us

3. To know that Jesus is Superior than all other kings

This list mentions quite a few kings in the lineage – some were good kings – others were wicked kings. But the most well known and loved out of all of them was King David. In the heart and mind of every Israelite, he was the ideal king.

In fact, the bible describes him as “a is man after God’s heart” (1 Sam 13:14). Wow! What a testimony about the kind of person He was. And yet this is how David is mentioned in V6: 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah

It’s interesting that Matthew doesn’t filter out his description. He doesn’t try to sound politically correct. He doesn’t conveniently overlook certain character flaws in David. No, he tells it as it is: David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah. He was guilty of committing adultery with Bathsheba and then tried to cover it up. And when the cover up failed, he ended up murdering Uriah – Bathsheba’s husband.

Although King David does repent & receive forgiveness from God later on, it’s humbling to recognize that someone as ideal as King David was, as gifted as King David was & as faithful as King David was – was ultimately broken & deeply flawed. At best he could offer a faint glimpse of what the perfect King would be, but He could never be that perfect King.

But where King David and the other kings failed, King Jesus succeeded. This King Jesus lived the perfect life unto God that you and I were required to live but failed to live.

And then this King Jesus sacrifices His own life on the cross to pay for our failures. This concept of self-sacrifice is sometimes hard to comprehend in our world where people who are in high authoritative positions will do whatever it takes to protect themselves even if it means throwing others under a bus.

And here’s our King who willingly puts Himself in harms way to pay for our multiple moral failures. He dies on the cross, gets buried and then on the third Day rises from the dead to give us what we couldn’t earn – His own perfect life credited to our name with a brand-new identity & relationship with the Father which will last unto eternity.

Wow! What a wonderful King Jesus is!

I’ve always wondered why do elections become very emotional & personal for many people. Obviously, there are the immediate practical needs like state of the economy & safety which have a direct impact on people’s lives.

But I feel that deep down there’s a longing in every heart a true ruler who will govern us with fairness, justice & kindness. Maybe all of us are longing for a True King. Well, today’s passage introduces us to the lineage of that True King:

1. This King Jesus is the Centrepoint of all human history
2. This King Jesus is the Savior for all people
3. This King Jesus is Superior to than all other kings

Good morning church! Hope you’re well this morning. And even if all is not well in your life, that’s okay. God intends to comfort and encourage you today especially through our time in the Word.

And that’s why this time is so precious as a church – not because we get to become more smarter in the Word. Not because we get more rules to obey. No, it’s precious to us because it’s God’s way of comforting and encouraging weak & sinful people like us. So if you’re in that needy place today – needing God’s comfort and encouragement today – you’re in the exact right place. God wants to meet with you through His Word.

As a church we’ve been going through a series titled The Church: God’s Dwelling Place from the letter of 1st Corinthians. And what we’ve seen so far is that the church is not a building but a People – the redeemed people of God among whom God dwells!

And as we arrive at the final chapter of 1st Corinthians, it almost seems like we’ve come to the more insignificant, anti-climatic part of the letter. This passage tells us about collecting offerings & travel plans – seemingly mundane administrative stuff. What’s that in comparison to all the action that we’ve read earlier.

But what we will see today is that this passage is in no way insignificant or anti-climatic. It’s as important as every other topic we’ve covered in this series. But before we proceed I’d love to pray for us.

If you’ve ever had an opportunity to listen to a symphony orchestra performance, there’s this point called the crescendo which is the loudest and most impactful point of the song. In fact everything else in the performance is a build up to the crescendo point.

And I think the crescendo point of 1 Corinthians was Chapter 15 where Paul gives us this amazing, certain hope of our physical, bodily resurrection! He tells us that when Christ returns, all who believe in Him will be gifted a perfected, glorified body that resembles Christ’s own body. How amazing is that?

And that amazing, certain hope should inspire us to be steadfast, immovable, resolutely moving ahead in the work of the Lord because we know that our labor in the Lord will not go to waste.

And what is this labor in the Lord? There are multiple ways in which it can be fleshed out, but in chapter 16:1-11, Paul gives us 3 practical ways in which our hope can inspire us to labor in the Lord

1.Generous Giving (v1-4)

1 Now concerning[a] the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. 3 And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

From these verses, we can understand that Paul was coordinating a large fund collection to support the church in Jerusalem. What was happening there was that these believers were facing fierce persecution for their faith in Jesus. They probably lost their jobs, driven out of their homes. This persecution reduced them to poverty.

Seeing this great need, Paul decided to raise funds from all the Gentile churches that he planted like Galatia and Corinth so that they could support the Jerusalem church at a time when they needed it the most.

And as I read this, I kept wondering what should motivate the Corinthians to give. Why should they care to give for a church that is located far away from them? Why should they care to give to a church that is so unlike them? Jerusalem church – predominantly Jews; Corinthian church : predominantly Gentiles.

Should they give because Jerusalem is the Christianity HQ? Should they give out of an obligation to Paul? Should they give out of a sense of charity? What should motivate them to give?

I think a passage that we read sometime back answers that for us:

1 Corinthians 12:26 ESV

[26] If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

The main motivation to make them give is recognizing that they are together members and parts of the same body and family of Christ. By giving to the church in Jerusalem, they are not sponsoring a charity project. They are caring for people whom they consider as part of the same body of Christ. That’s our body – we have to look after it. They are caring for people whom they consider their own. That’s the motivation.

And that’s counterintuitive when we look at how the world may respond to something like this? The world tells us to only look after our own needs, but the hope we have in Christ inspires us to give radically.

Okay – motivation is clear but how do they go about collecting the funds? And I think there is practical wisdom for all of us as we give.

V2 tells us that there is a priority to giving – “on the first day of every week”. It’s not an afterthought, it’s not loose change. It’s not a leftover of the surplus. It’s a priority for the believer in Christ. It’s a line item on their family budget.

Not only is there a priority, there is an equal participation – “each of you is to put aside”. Giving is not only meant for the rich and wealthy, but for every member in the church including the poor.

There’s also proportionality – “each of you is to put something aside, as he may prosper”. The NIV puts it in this way – “in keeping with your income”. When it comes to gospel giving, there is no set amount or percentage to give. Giving one-tenth is actually an OT principle but no percentage is commanded in the NT.

And the reason is because God wants our giving to be a worshipful event. In proportion to the income that God gives us, how wonderful would it be to monthly prayerfully decide and set apart an amount that is a response of our faith and not an obligation!

And then Paul talks about careful planning – “so that there will be no collecting when I come”. Isn’t it interesting that Paul is in some way discouraging spontaneous giving at least in this situation? Now there may be times when spontaneous giving is the only option, but I think there is a wonderful principle here in planning, because it then gives us the opportunity to prayerfully and systematically work towards generous giving. Because each week you’re going to count the cost, figure out what you’ll need to give up in order to bless someone else with your giving.

I’m more and more convinced of this truth – if you really want to show love and care for someone – you can’t do it without planning and preparation. Spontaneous love has its place, but true care will demand time and a cost from you.

Isn’t it amazing how God has ordained this grace of giving? It’s much more

deeper than the amount we give, it’s more to do with the attitude of our hearts as we give.

V3-4 is also very encouraging & challenging because it tells us how serious the early church was to ensure that the collected money was treated with transparency and integrity. They understood how something like money if not dealt with honestly could mess up the message and reputation of the church.

Not only is hope inspiring us to generous giving, but hope inspires us to

2. Deep Discipling (v5-9)

5 I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia, 6 and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

I find this part of the passage most interesting because out here Paul details out his travel plans. In v8 we know that Paul was currently at Ephesus while he wrote the letter. After Pentecost, he was planning to go through Macedonia visiting the churches of Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea. And then after that to arrive in Corinth where he intended to spend the winter there.

And I kept wondering why did Paul give all these details? Is it a mere formality (where he didn’t intend to go but just said it for the sake of it) ? Is it for inspection (to warn them to be ready for a spanking once he gets there)? Is it because he wants something from them – some form of financial gift (which he does mention in v6)?

Although he does mention about receiving support from them for his next journey, I don’t believe that’s the main reason why Paul wanted to meet the Corinthians. I believe it was his close relationship that he shared with the church.

Let’s not forget that this was one of the churches where he spent maximum amount of time while planting. Acts 18 tells us that he stayed there for a year and a half before moving on. He developed a very close bond with the believers out there. In fact earlier on in the letter, he tells them that he became a “father” to them by bringing the Gospel to them. He was their spiritual father who was longing to be with them, hear them out & encourage them.

No wonder he tells them in v7 that he doesn’t want to see them in passing but wants to spend time with them. And I find this as a wonderful illustration of discipleship. Discipling isn’t a training program. It involves teaching the Word off course but through relationship. Teaching through relationship is discipleship.

We see that in the way Jesus modeled discipleship for us. He didn’t simply run a 3-year training program for his 12 disciples but he intentionally taught them while doing life with them. Jesus did teach the disciples in the Temple, but he also taught them at home. He taught them over a meal. He taught them while they traveled in boats or walked across fields. He taught them while they were ministering to people. Every single moment was a discipling opportunity for Jesus. It was teaching through relationship.

Again this might be counterintuitive in today’s world because relationships are increasingly becoming transactional. Even in the church, we’re looking for more ways to reduce discipleship to just a crash course or a weekly training program.

But relationships don’t work like that. It’s like telling a parent that their parenting responsibility is limited to study time! Off course not. That’s why I think a passage like this should inform our view of discipleship – it’s teaching God’s Word through relationship.

And I acknowledge that this type of discipleship is hard and time consuming. Relationships involve alot of listening, reassuring and correcting & repeating the same process everyday. But in the end, God has designed it in a such a way where He uses us as a tool of change in another person’s life – so every moment spent in discipling another brother or sister will bear fruit in eternity.

Not only does hope inspire us to giving and discipling, hope inspires us to

3. Warm Welcoming (v10-11)

10 When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. 11 So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.

What we understand from these verses is that although Paul planned to meet the Corinthian church later that year, he didn’t wait until then to encourage the church but immediately sent one of his dearest disciples Timothy to make a quick visit. Again another example of genuine love and care – though he couldn’t make it immediately, he sent one of his closest and dearest disciples to encourage them on his behalf.

But I found it unusual that he would give specific instructions on how they are to welcome and treat Timothy while he’s there. V10 – tells them to put him at ease because he’s doing the work of the Lord just like Paul. Paul is basically clarifying that he and Timothy are colleagues and team mates when it comes to the Lord’s ministry.

Then in V11, Paul tells the church to not despise him – they should not think of him as someone who doesn’t deserve their respect. And I found that strange as to why would Paul expect them to do that. And it’s probably because of Timothy’s young age – he was mostly between late twenties and mid thirties. And the culture of the day, similar to some cultures in India, considered older men to be wiser, mature and younger men to be immature.

And so Paul’s concerned that although he’s sending Timothy to encourage them, he won’t be met with welcome and honor but with contempt. And hear me out – he’s not just saying that out of a concern for Timothy but their welcome of Timothy is in some way a reflection of their response to the risen Lord.

The fact was that Timothy was a representative and servant of Christ Jesus just like Paul. In Jesus’ economy, both Paul and Timothy have equal designation. And so therefore the church is called to honor them in the same manner without distinction out of their loyalty to Christ.

A couple of examples from the Bible. Jesus says this in Matthew 10:40-42

[40] “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. [41] The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. [42] And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

In Lydia’s conversion story in Acts 16, we see a remarkable response. Not only does she and her whole household get baptized immediately but she insists on hosting Paul and his fellow companions at her home. Paul and his companions didn’t demand this from her, but she really wanted to do it out of her deep gratitude for the people who brought the message which changed her life.

Again this is counterintuitive in a world which teaches us to slander and despise any kind of authority be it at home, at work and the church. In a sharp contrast, we are called to receive & welcome & esteem those who labor in the Lord. And this warm welcoming is a reflection of our response to the risen Lord.

Brothers and sister, our amazing, certain hope in the resurrection should inspire us to abound in the work of the Lord – giving, discipling and welcoming. Now we know that these are not the only ways of abounding in the work of the Lord. The same could be applied in the way we fulfill our vocations, the way we chose to live in purity, the way we share the Gospel etc.

But here’s the main point that Paul is driving through this passage. By telling us about generous giving, deep discipling and warm welcoming, he’s telling us that for us as believers in Christ – our time, talents and resources need to reflect the hope that we have in Christ. It needs to be radically different from the rest of the world who don’t have that hope.

Good morning everyone. Hope you’re well! We hope that you’re encouraged and strengthened in faith through the service today.

If you’ve been tracking with us at the Gathering, you’d be aware that we’re going through a series titled The Church: God’s Dwelling Place from 1st Corinthians. And the recurring theme we’ve seen each week is this – that the church is not a building but the redeemed people of God among whom God dwells! Isn’t that an amazing thought? That God delights to call us His dwelling Place! That God would make His home among His people!!

And the reason it’s so amazing is because we realize that we’ve not got it all together. Just like the Corinthian church, we too struggle with moral issues, relational issues and theological issues. And yet God doesn’t move out of His dwelling Place but continues to cleanse, nurture and nourish us until we become like His Son Jesus. That’s why we need letters like 1st Corinthians to remind us of this.

Today we continue on in chapter 15 where Paul spends some time describing the nature of our future resurrected body. But I’d love to pray for us before we proceed.

Pray

Imagine if an announcement of an upcoming church retreat was being made where we just generically stated that we’re planning a retreat sometime in 2025. Maybe some would get excited but I guess most others would probably wait for details before getting their hopes up.

But what if the announcement was made with specific dates and pictures of the venue, then suddenly everyone is excited. Everyone is looking forward to it. Why? Because everyone realizes that this is now a reality. It is happening. The planning teams are beginning their preparations. We’re beginning to anticipate and look forward to it.

Similarly I believe that Paul is giving us a visual picture of the future resurrection in today’s passage. He’s giving us the details and visuals to make us realize that this is a reality. This is really happening. And if it’s really happening, then we have so much to anticipate and look forward to. There is so much prep which needs to be done today.

And here’s the thing I want us to start from – I don’t believe that most of us think alot about the resurrection. I don’t think we give it a lot of mindspace. Even in churches, we only end up focusing on justification and sanctification, but rarely do we talk about glorification – what is that going to look like. By not doing that, we’re losing out on the great hope , anticipation and preparation for the life to come. And that’s what this passage is trying to change for us.

The title of today’s sermon is The Glory of the Resurrected Body and we’ll try to unpack that verse by verse.

35] But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” [36] You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

Let’s try to recap the context of this passage within the Corinthian church. There were some in the church who were denying the truth of a physical, bodily resurrection. Either they held onto a belief of no life after death or only the existence of a person’s soul after death but no physical, bodily resurrection. And this major theological error was having deep, damaging effects on their lifestyle. It caused them to say things like V32 – “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” It was leading them to live sinful lives without any boundaries because they felt there was nothing beyond the grave. And that’s why Paul had to give them this stern warning in V34

[34] Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

That’s the context and that’s how we get to V35. And here Paul is quoting a question that was asked to him by the Corinthian church. (Imagine it like a Ask Pastor Paul podcast)

[35] But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”

Now if you just read this verse, it seems like an innocent, curious question but that’s not the case because of the manner in which Paul responds in V36.

[36] You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

Paul wasn’t overreacting to the question but rather addressing the sneering, snarky attitude with which it was being asked. In essence the Corinthians were asking in this way – “Oh, dead are being raised? Hmm, and what kind of body will they have”?

This snarky attitude is bringing a strong reaction from Paul in V36. But he’s also trying to address it by using a farming illustration. He says that when a seed is sown into the ground, it has to die first before it germinates into a plant.

Not just that, the body of the plant is way different than the body of the seed. Look at V37-38.

[37] And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. [38] But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.

When farmers grow rice or wheat in their land, they don’t sow the harvest grain. They simply sow the kernel seeds of the grain & what appears during harvest is something totally different with a different shape, size and look.

If you’ve seen an acorn seed, it’s a small seed which can be held in your hand but once it’s planted it grows into an enormous oak tree. The seed and the final tree are totally different in terms of their shape, size and look.

What’s Paul saying through this illustration is that the body in which we die is not the body in which we will be resurrected. It will be a different physical body. That’s the point he’s driving home.

[39] For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. [40] There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. [41] There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

Paul is carrying forward that same thought in these verses. In the same way God has chosen and determined a different kind of body for each of the heavenly bodies (those placed in the heavens above like sun, moon and stars) and each of the earthly bodies (humans, animals, birds, fishes, plants), God has chosen and determined a different resurrected body from our natural earthly body.

Now I don’t think it’s by coincidence that Paul talks about the glory of the heavenly bodies and the glory of earthly bodies. By saying that he’s actually taking us back to the creation story bringing to mind the wonderful works of God which was created out of nothing.

God didn’t use existing raw materials to make the universe but simply spoke and it came to be! And the same powerful God who did that is the same powerful God who promises to give us a new, glorified, physical body when Jesus Christ returns. It’s not going to be a problem for him.

Just a side note – these verses tell us that earthly bodies like ours were created with glory! In other words, there’s an intrinsic value, worth, dignity and purpose attached to each and every one of us. In fact we’re the only ones among all of creation who have the privilege of being created in the image of God. That’s something that no other created being shares.

Hence, none of us should ever feel or think or say that our lives don’t matter or doesn’t have any worth or doesn’t have any purpose. No, God has created you and I with glory. No, but what about our family who keeps saying this to us or when we say it to ourselves. No, it’s only our Maker who attaches value, worth, dignity and purpose to us because He made us. Only His word counts and He says that He created us with glory.

So coming back to this passage – one thing is clear from this. Our resurrected body is going to be way more different and glorious than our current natural body.

And in V42 to 44, he explains the stark difference between our current natural body and our future resurrected body.

[42] So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. [43] It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. [44] It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

He’s connecting it to the farming illustration once more. V42 tells us that our natural, physical body is perishable. In other words, it will age, it will waste away, it will decay.

I was reading online that the anti aging cosmetic industry is a multi billion dollar industry that sells costly products to people promising them that it will somehow slow down the impact of aging. But the reality is that this physical body is going to waste away no matter how much money or treatment or products that you apply on it.

But he’s contrasting that with our resurrected body which will be free from decay, aging, wasting away and corruption. It will be an immortal, physical body which will be granted to us.

Not just that V43 tells us that our current body is sown in dishonor. In other words when we die, it’s a reminder of humanity’s fallen condition and shame. It was not the way God intended when He created us. God created us for life and not to experience death.

In fact that was the clear warning that was given to Adam and Eve telling them that if they ate the forbidden fruit, they would die. But despite the warning, Adam and Eve willfully decided to rebel against God and they experienced immediate spiritual death followed by eventual physical death. God wasn’t kidding when He told them that they would die. And that consequence of death – spiritual and physical has been inherited by every human being ever since. We all carry that fallen condition in our bodies and the shame associated with it.

But thanks be to Christ and His wonderful sacrificial work that gives us what we don’t deserve. When we are resurrected, it will be a visible declaration of God’s restoration & approval over us.

Now this declaration is already a reality for believers when we receive Christ, but it will be put on full display at our resurrection. Like a showpiece on the wall, our resurrection will be God’s declaring to the whole world that “these are my redeemed and restored children whom I’ve redeemed through my Son’s blood and they’ve got my stamp of approval!”

V43 continues to tell us that our current body is sown in weakness. It’s one that is physically weak and frail. It constantly deals with body aches, broken bones, sicknesses, chronic illnesses and different kinds of physical ailments. What the whole season of Covid-19 taught us is that irrespective of how physically strong and healthy you think you might be, the fact is that this is a physical body which is weak.

But the amazing hope is that that won’t be the description of our resurrected body. It will be body free of frailty, aches, broken bones, chronic illnesses and all other forms of physical suffering. It will truly be a physical body with true strength and power. Just the way God intended our bodies to be.

V44 tells us that it is sown a natural body, but raised a spiritual body. Now what does that mean? It obviously still means a physical body otherwise Paul would be contradicting what he was trying to day through the whole passage.

What he means by spiritual is that it will be body which is being readied for heaven while still having a solid, physical form. We see the same in Jesus’ risen body after His resurrection.

He could be seen, heard, and touched (John 20:24–29), and He could eat (Luke 24:36–43). He could also, move through solid objects (John 20:19). He had been raised into His spiritual, glorified body. That’s the kind of spiritual body we are talking about.

And in V45-49, Paul brings this entire discussion to a close by comparing the life and body inherited from our forefather Adam and the life and body that we’ve inherited from Jesus Christ. That helps us put everything into perspective.

[45] Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

The first man Adam was a created living being but had no capacity to give life to others. But Jesus Christ (uncreated, self-existent) is able to give life to others. The number of times Jesus is referred to as “life” itself in the Gospels.

John 14:6 ESV [6] Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 10:10 ESV I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Jesus – the Son of God has come to be a life-giver. That’s His goal. That’s His purpose.

[46] But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. [47] The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. [48] As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. [49] Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

A result of us being born as a descendant of Adam is that we have all taken in his nature (spiritual and physical). We will all experience the burden of our fallen condition with sin, sickness and death. That’s the image that each of us carries with us. We’ve all got broken hearts and broken bodies.

But there’s amazing hope! We’re not just left there. God loves us so much that He sent His One and Only Son to carry on the cross our entire burden of sin, sickness and death.

He paid the price for this fallen image. And then on the third Day He rose from the dead to give us a renewed image in His likeness. That process began in our hearts on the day when we believed and that process will fully complete on the Day when He returns when our hearts and bodies will be fully renewed.

And not just renewed but replaced with a spiritual, glorious body that resembles Jesus Himself.

How amazing is that? Did any of us do anything to deserve this? No, nothing, it’s just a gift of His grace.

Church, look at the details and visual pictures of what our resurrection is going to look like. Think about it, long for it, praise God for it and let this fill your heart with so much of hope and anticipation and endurance as you wait for that day to come.

Let that hope cause you to prepare yourselves for it. Let your life decisions be aligned to this “coming soon” reality. Let your lifestyles be reflective of this resurrection reality. It is going to happen! The God who promised this doesn’t lie and has the power to make it happen exactly as He said He would in this passage.

Good morning church! A warm welcome to all who have joined us at the hall and who have joined us online this morning. Hope you are doing well.

As a church we’ve been going through this series titled The Church: God’s Dwelling Place from the letter of 1st Corinthians. What we’ve learnt so far is that when the Bible uses the word “church”, it’s not referring to a building, an organization or a Sunday event that we attend. The church is the redeemed people of God among whom God dwells.

And because the church is referring to the redeemed people of God who are not perfect yet, we’re bound to see issues, struggles and conflict between them. This is what we see taking place in the Corinthian church and yet God hasn’t given up on them and still calls them as His dwelling place. In fact this letter is used as a means of grace to correct them and draw them to repentance.

That should give hope and encouragement to us today even as we look inwards and see issues, struggles and conflict. This letter should remind us that God has not given up on us but still graciously calls us His dwelling place! And in His grace He won’t leave us where we’re at but is using this letter as a means of grace to correct us and draw us to repentance.

Today we arrive at this passage of 1 Corinthians 15 where we see issues in their theology – issues in their understanding of God especially around their understanding of the resurrection.

At the sound of this, I know it seems like a topic which is relevant to only seminary circles but that’s not the case.

What we will see today and in the next couple of weeks is that this understanding of the resurrection has deep implications as to how we live our lives in the here and now.

Your understanding about the resurrection will affect the way you work. Your understanding about the resurrection will affect your faithfulness in your current stage in life (either as a single person or married). Your understanding about the resurrection will affect the way you make your future plans (where to live, work).

Your understanding about the resurrection will affect the way you commit to a local church. Your understanding about the resurrection will affect the way you look at your suffering in this life. Your understanding about the resurrection will affect the way you view death – death of a loved one or the eventuality of us passing away one day.

As you can see the resurrection affects and impacts every aspect of our life because it’s closely tied to what we truly believe about our future state in eternity. What this passage boils down to is that Christ’s resurrection (and what it does to us) is our only sure foundation.

[12] Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? [13] But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

The background to this passage is that there were some in the Corinthian church who were denying that there was life after death. This seemed to have been affected by the Greco Roman culture where they believed in life in the here and now.

They were basically saying “jiyo, mauj manao, ash karo sirf ye zindagi ke liye”. One of the executive directors at work once said this “hum log kiske liye jeete hai? Khaane ke liye hi jeete hai.” And we can replace that khaana with anything in the world – shaadi, shopping, traveling etc.

And so recognizing this false understanding that some in the Corinthian church had, Paul wanted to address it.

But the way he addresses it is different from how we would expect. Instead of looking ahead to the future resurrection and providing proofs for what will bring it about (that’s how I would tackle it), Paul looks back to Christ’s resurrection event and tries to build a case from there.

In fact he tries to answer it from the negative. His point is that if as believers in Christ, we’re not going to experience a physical bodily resurrection, then even Christ’s physical bodily resurrection didn’t take place. Christ’s resurrection should be considered a fraud. It should be considered as bogus. Christ’s resurrection should be considered as an urban legend.

In other words, Paul is saying that Christ’s resurrection wasn’t just an isolated event that took place 2000 years ago with no bearing on anyone else. On the contrary he’s arguing that Christ’s resurrection has deep implications for us in the present and also for our futures.

[14] And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

He’s carrying forward that argument from the negative. If Christ didn’t rise, then our preaching and your faith is in vain. That word “vain” means empty, meaningless, useless.

Christ’s resurrection was central to Paul’s preaching. It wasn’t a side note. It wasn’t a minor disclaimer. It was the main thing!

Paul’s saying that if Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead, then all of his preaching amounted to nothing. It didn’t really matter. He was just wasting everyone’s time.

Not only was he wasting everyone’s time, but if Christ didn’t rise from the dead, then our faith simply has nothing to stand on. If Christ didn’t rise from the dead, then what are we believers for? The sum quality of our faith would be empty and useless. It’s like going to a gold jewelry store to exchange your old gold ornaments only to find out that it wasn’t real gold – it was gold plated but not real.

That’s how important & significant the resurrection should be to us. It’s not a simple side note to the Gospel. It’s not just a dramatic historical event. Our preaching and faith hinges on the certainty & confidence of Christ’s resurrection. If Christ didn’t rise, then we are all wasting our time this morning.

[15] We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.

If Christ didn’t rise from the dead, not only is our preaching and faith in vain, but also that Paul would be guilty of misrepresenting God – which means a false witness. He would be guilty of being a false witness by saying that God raised His Son Jesus Christ from the dead if that didn’t happen.

Paul saw his calling as a preacher of the Gospel as one who was just an honest witness of what really took place – that’s precisely what the word “testify” means. He was just giving a ground report on the reality of the resurrection.

He wasn’t supposed to add his own “tadka” to make it more palatable to the ears of the Corinthians because the goal was not to draw crowds but reveal the grace of God to people.

That should encourage us to know that that’s the scope of our responsibility whenever we have the opportunity to share the Gospel with someone. Many times we think we have to make it more engaging especially when we are connecting with unbelievers. But I think this passage should inform us that we don’t have to add or subtract anything from the Gospel.

Our responsibility is simply to testify – give an honest ground report of who God is, what our sin problem is, what has Jesus done for us to save us and what are we called to do in response to His saving work. That’s it! That should lift up the burden from us who think that we don’t have the storytelling or oratory skills to be a good evangelist. God is not calling us to that, He’s asking us to bear witness, testify, give an honest ground report.

[16] For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. [17] And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

Paul repeats the same theme in V16 again – if we have no hope for a resurrection, then even Christ wasn’t raised & our faith is futile. Futile is the same as vain – it’s empty, useless and profitless.

If Christ didn’t truly rise from the dead, then all the spiritual blessings and benefits that we have claimed in Christ are nullified and rendered empty, useless and profitless. It’s like thinking that you’ve won the jackpot lottery only to find that the company who is supposed to give you the jackpot doesn’t exist.

And then Paul goes on to say that “…and you are still in your sins”. This part of the verse stumped me for many years because I was under the impression that forgiveness of sins only had to do with Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross.

For a long time I thought that the significance of the resurrection was only about bringing Jesus back to life and proving that He is indeed God’s Son. Now that’s true of course but there is a forgiveness significance as well.

Romans 4:24-25 ESV[24] but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, [25] who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

This tells us that Jesus’ death on the cross was more about dealing with the punishment and judgment for our sins. On that first Good Friday when Jesus was dying on the cross, He was bearing God’s wrath and judgment which was meant for us.

Jesus’ Resurrection was for our justification – our acquittal. So that we would be pronounced innocent free of any charge.

Imagine being in a tense courtroom where you’re standing before the Ultimate Judge who knows all the details of what you’ve done. There’s no rationalizing and manipulating that can be done because here is the Ultimate Judge who reads the hidden motives our your heart.

You’re standing there, nervous, crippled with fear and perspiring because you know what you’ve done and what you’re supposed to face as a punishment. When the final judgment is pronounced, you get to know that you are not guilty!

You’re speechless and are finding it hard to make sense of the judgment because this was a miracle! How in the world could we be called innocent after what we’ve thought, said and done? You enquire how this came to be and find out that somebody else exchanged his free life for yours and that’s why you are now free!

It’s so humbling to realize what Christ did for us – not only did He pay our enormous debt with His own life but He also granted us His perfect righteousness as a free gift so that we don’t have to ever wonder if God looks at us as condemned criminals. No, he looks at us as His adopted free children because he views us through the person and work of Christ! How amazing is this?

[18] Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. [19] If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

V18 tells us that if Christ didn’t rise from the dead, then all those who have died in Christ have perished – they are eternally lost and separated from God forever – they are hopelessly abandoned to hell.

V19 take it one step further. If our Christian life & hope is only limited to life on earth, then we are the most miserable of all people. Not only are we wasting our time but we are most pitied of all people! That’s the phrase being used for us.

If there’s no hope of life after death, then what’s the point of faithfully enduring suffering in this life? What’s the point in being faithful to God when we go through long term illness? Why are we holding onto God even when we struggle financially? Why are we continuing to trust God when we are being rejected & taunted because of our faith? Why should we continue to love God when we continue to experience betrayal and hurt in our relationships? Why do we have to daily fight with temptation if it’s all pointless in the end? Why should we make all our life decisions based on how it impacts God’s glory and kingdom purposes if it’s only meant for this life? Why spend all of our time and resources trying to share the Gospel and reach people who don’t know Jesus if it’s all for this life?

But that’s not the case. There is an indication in V18 itself. Paul uses the term “fallen asleep” intentionally to remind us that so real is the reality of our resurrection that our earthly death is only to be viewed as “sleep”. Fall asleep and then you will wake up!

[20] But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. [21] For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.

He starts v20 with “But” which contrasts it with what was said earlier that Christ indeed rose from the dead because He is the firstfruits of those who will come back from the dead.

Firstfruits were the first of the season’s crop that Jews would give to God. Jesus’ resurrection was the first crop among the dead to be resurrected. His resurrection was a prototype of what lies in the future for believers. The harvest that started with Jesus will apply to all believers who trust in Jesus!

V21 completes that idea. Just as Adam was a prototype of those who would sin and die as a result of sin, Jesus was a prototype of those who would be redeemed and brought back to life! Jesus’ death was going to reverse the damage and destruction that took place when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden. All that was undone was going to be fixed and repaired.

Just want to end with a couple of examples.

Look at what happened to the disciples after they realized that Jesus really rose from the dead. It transformed them from terrified disciples locked up in a room to bold apostles willing to go all over the world and preach about the risen Lord and die for the sake of their risen Lord. Would they have been ready to preach & die for the Lord if this wasn’t true?

Gladys Staines is a person familiar to many of us. Her whole family moved to India to serve the people in a rural part of Orissa. She lost her husband and 2 sons due to an attack by a radical group where they were burnt alive. On the day of the funeral, she said that she forgave those who did this to her and held no bitterness toward them. It didn’t make any sense to the outside world on why she forgave the people who murdered her husband and children. But she sang this song on the day of the funeral which gave a glimpse on why she was able to do what she did:

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,Because He lives, all fear is gone;Because I know He holds the future,And life is worth the living,Just because He lives!

Her conviction about the risen Christ gave her strength to forgive and continue to serve the people of Orissa. The same Lord for Gladys Staines and the same Lord for the disciples is alive and is our Lord as well. I’ll end by asking us this question: what is the foundation of your faith? What is your faith banking on?

Good morning church! Just wanted to welcome all who have joined us this morning. We’re glad that you’re here and we hope that your hearts are encouraged through our gathering time.

One of the things that we deeply value as a church is the preaching of God’s Word because we believe that God speaks to us and shapes us to look more and more like Jesus as we listen and respond to God’s Word.

So even as we prepare our hearts to listen to God’s Word this morning, let’s remember that the goal is not to accumulate more bible information, but to hear from God and have our lives shaped to look more and more like Jesus.

If you’ve tracking with us, you would be aware that we’re going through a series titled The Church: God’s Dwelling Place from 1st Corinthians. The common theme that we’ve seen right through this letter is that the church is not a building but a People – the redeemed people of God among whom God dwells.

Interestingly, this church – this chosen dwelling place isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination. It’s got it’s fair share of issues as we have seen through this letter. The height of it is that even something as wonderful as spiritual gifts are being twisted to serve selfish interests.

And yet amazingly God doesn’t shift his dwelling place. He shows abundant grace in different ways to Himself fix this “far from perfect” dwelling place. And that’s what 1st Corinthians is all about.

Today we’re in chapter 14 where we’re concluding this entire section on spiritual gifts. Would you join me in prayer before we jump into today’s text?

One of the things that we’ve been trying to do over the last few years is that every Monday – a few of us on the serving team will get on a call & review the Sunday service. Each of us will share our thoughts on what went well and what didn’t go so well.

And I wondered that if in the same way the Lord Jesus reviewed our Sunday service, what would he say? Because not only would we be reviewed on “what we do” but also on “how we do what we do” and not just that but “why we do the things that we do”.

In other words, the Lord Jesus isn’t just going to review the content of our services, but also the manner in which we conduct our services & also our motivations as we approach each of our services. And so that’s a sobering thought for our hearts to recognize that the audience of our services is not us but the Lord Jesus Himself. All that we do needs to be geared towards honoring the name of Jesus.

Today’s passage tells us about the necessity for orderly worship. It’s connected to the previous passage on biblical prophecy and tongues. In case you missed it last week, I’d highly recommend going back and reading through last week’s notes because it sets the foundation for today’s passage and also explains our church’s position on the spiritual gifts of prophecy and tongues.

The necessity for orderly worship – like last week we’ll study this verse by verse.

[26] What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.

What then, brothers – These words mean therefore. Whenever we see the word “therefore”, it connects us to the previous passage. In this case it’s connecting us back to all that we’ve read from chapter 12 to chapter 14. Brief recap :

• Spiritual gifts are given to us by the Holy Spirit for the common good (1 Cor 12:8 paraphrased)
• We might have every kind of wonderful spiritual gift, but if we don’t have love, it is pointless (1 Cor 13:1,2 paraphrased)
• In the context of public corporate worship, prophecy is a more helpful and effective gift to the church than tongues without interpretation (1 Cor 14:5)

So Paul is summing up his teaching in all these three chapters by saying “what then brothers”.

When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation – This gives us a practical picture of what any church gathering or meeting should look like. It’s different people coming together carrying their different gifts with the goal of serving one another. Serving one another is not supposed to be a one-man show. Serving one another isn’t just the task of some professional ministers.

Oftentimes we look at our church meetings like going to a fine dining restaurant where we are being served at our tables. But that’s not the picture God has in mind, the picture of our meetings should be like a potluck where everyone brings something from home and sets it on the table to serve others.

Let all things be done for building up – The word building up is the one used for construction. We’re all in the spiritual construction business. We’re building spiritual bricks upon spiritual bricks in each other’s lives every time we get together with God’s people.

As people who have been given the task of building up each other, we need to constantly evaluate to see if what we do while we’re with others is being a benefit and a blessing to them. If what we do is being a hindrance and counterproductive to others, then we should rather not do it.

[27] If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. [28] But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.

I find it so interesting that there is a clear biblical guideline as to how we need to use the gift of tongues in public worship. It’s not ambiguous. There is a limit to the number of people who (2-3) can use the gift during a meeting. They need to use their gift one after the other. They can’t be speaking at the same time.

The main thing is that they need to use this gift in public worship only as long as they have someone else with the gift of interpretation. In my experience, I’ve seen many who have claimed to have the gift of tongues have used it in public worship. But rarely have I seen people use their gift with an interpreter. V28. Paul is clear that if there is no interpreter, then we need to be silent and just privately pray to God.

The intention is not to downplay or degrade a particular gift, but chosing to use what is most beneficial for others in public worship.

[29] Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.

He moves on to prophecies. Again, there is a limit to the number of people who are sharing prophecies during a meeting. It says that as the prophecies are being said, it needs to be “weighed”. In fact the original language uses the word “judge”. It needs to be examined and scrutinized.

This should tell us that the NT gift of prophecies isn’t infallible or inerrant. The NT gift of prophecies isn’t at the same level as the bible. It doesn’t have the same authority as the bible. That’s why prophecies need to be vetted and examined by others in the church.

To give an example from the book of Acts. In Acts 21:10-14, the prophet Agabus takes Paul’s belt and ties his own hands and says that this will be the end of the owner of this belt if he goes to Jerusalem. And everyone seated there concluded that Paul shouldn’t go to Jerusalem.

But Paul makes it clear to them that he’s willing to not only go to prison but also to die for Jesus. Now if this was at the same authority as Scripture, then Paul would be guilty of disobeying God. But that’s not how Scripture puts it across.

This tells us that the NT gift of prophecy is kind of like a hazy picture to the prophet and needs to be vetted and examined by the elders & the others in the church to make sure that it’s actually from God.

[30] If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. [31] For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged,

Similar to the guideline for tongues, prophecies need to be made in an orderly fashion to benefit all those who are gathered at the meeting. People should not talk over one another. People shouldn’t dominate the discussion and not allow anyone else to speak. Everything needs to be done so that all may “learn and be encouraged”. The goal is encouragement and building up one another.

[32] and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.

V32 debunks the popular myth that the prophet is just compelled to speak and has no control over what he says. In contrast, a believer who genuinely has the gift of prophecy has full control over what he shares. [33] For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. This verse is so important because it’s telling us that it’s necessary to maintain order in public worship not only so that it is mutually beneficial for the church but more than that because it’s telling us something about the God we worship!

Our God is one in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are equally God and have distinct roles within the Godhead and yet we see them in perfect harmony. They are not competing with each other. They are not fighting for supremacy. There’s no commotion among themselves. There’s no confusion in what they need to do. They are in perfect harmony in all that they do. And our worship services should portray the God we worship! Have you ever considered this thought?

As in all the churches of the saints, [34] the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. [35] If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

Now comes the uncomfortable verse. At first glance it seems like something from the past, a patriarchal system of thought where women have no dignity and no right to speak. But these verses can’t mean that women shouldn’t speak in church meetings because just a few chapters earlier in Chapter 11:5, Paul talks about women praying and prophesying in church.

[5] but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven.

So obviously Paul isn’t changing his position. So there has to be a different context. Now there are 2 explanations for the verse:

• Women being silent is in the context of evaluating the prophecies of believers which is primarily a role given to elders in the church. Like fathers in the church, our role is not only to provide through the preaching of the Word, but also to protect the church from any false doctrine. This governing responsibility of providing and protecting is given to elders and as part of God’s design that’s a role for men. Now in no way does that make men more superior or women less dignified. Both are equal and have the same standing and dignity before God. It’s God’s design for complementary roles in the church.
• Some Corinthian women were interrupting their husbands as they prophesied. They kept asking questions during the service were being a disturbance in the church and Paul was saying that it was bringing shame upon them by doing that. So his instruction is for them to ask questions at home and not interrupt the public worship.

It could be either of these explanations, we can’t be fully clear but one thing is clear that there is no ban OR prohibition on women speaking in the church. Like any other believer, they need to bring their gifts to the table and serve others through it.

[36] Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? [37] If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. [38] If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.

These verses give us a glimpse to the real problem that the Corinthians had. The Corinthian church’s problem wasn’t a lack of spiritual gifts problem. Their problem wasn’t a lack of opportunity problem. Their problem was a sin problem – a pride problem – a selfishness problem which is what brought about confusion and division in the church. These were believers that Paul wrote to not unbelievers.

That same sin problem which resided in the hearts of the Corinthians resides within us. That same sin problem is capable of causing all kinds of confusion and division among us.

That’s why you and I need the Lord Jesus today. We need Jesus to rescue us from our sin, pride and selfishness. That’s why Jesus went up on the cross to die – to first pay the full price for our sin. He was buried and rose again on the third Day to restore us back to God in a permanent, unbreakable relationship and then give us His own Spirit to completely uproot the sin problem from the deepest places of our hearts

[39] So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. [40] But all things should be done decently and in order.

Paul ends his teaching by summarizing that our gatherings need to have a space for all types of gifts to be exercised but that in no way should promote chaos & confusion. It should be conducted in an appropriate and civil way.

What does that practically mean for the Gathering? We also want to encourage all kinds of gifts to be used in the church. But as we’ve learnt in the passage today – there is a time and a place for everything. We believe that the best setting to use these gifts are during a GC because it gives us an opportunity to hear each other out and respond. Our Sunday Gatherings will continue as is because we want it to be focused on singing songs of worship, listening to the preaching of God’s Word and participating in the Lord’s Table.

Brothers and sisters, even as I end this I know that some of us who have experienced the abuse of these gifts in the church can still be skeptical about how this may explode in the church & turn out to be counter productive. Let me share something from my own life. Some months back I was in the middle of a very stressful day at work. I felt cornered, under pressure and extremely discouraged. In those moments you feel like God’s so far away from you.

I remember receiving a text message from a friend who dropped a message to check on how I was doing and tell me that she was praying for me because the Lord brought me to mind at that particular time.

My immediate response was – how did she know? Because there’s no way she could’ve known what I was going through. Then it took me a few seconds to realize that it was the Lord’s doing to remind me that He sees me in my stress and is near me in that moment. Such a comforting thing to know that the Lord brought me to my friend’s mind that day so that she could pray for me at a time when I needed help the most. My encouragement from this is that don’t let the negative experiences hinder you from experiencing the blessing and comfort of the real blessing. As God’s church we need all of the gifts to build us up in the faith but it needs to be exercised in a way that is healthy, biblical and orderly because it’s telling us something about our God!