The Calling
1 Corinthians 1
1. Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
10. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
Called to be holy (saints)
Forget every other calling for now - called to preach, to a special work or position. Your first calling is to be holy. Your first calling is to please God. Holiness is simply a matter of pleasing God - of doing what he wants.
Don't get hung up in all these complicated definitions of holiness. Don't get confused and frustrated and bound up in man-made rules and sanctions trying to be holy. Just do what pleases God. Just live a life of obedience and conformity to Him. Just do His will as best as you can determine it in the scriptures.
Twice in the scriptures we see it commanded.
Le 20:7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.
1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
And Jesus repeats it a different way:
Mt 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Now, don't get all hung up with perfection - "What does He mean? I can't be perfect." Of course you can't. But you can be anything God requires, commands, or instructs you to be. You just have to lean a little harder on Jesus to do it.
1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
Sanctification is holiness.
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
We are righteous only in Him.
2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: …
Remember, we are new creatures. I'm not sure we even understand or realize what we are yet. Keep praying for revelation knowledge in this.
Be holy and other callings will fall into place.
Our primary calling is to be with Him.
Mr 3:14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
Ordain simply means to order, or to arrange - to appoint.
We are ordained for two things : to be with Him and to preach.
You have nothing to preach until you have been with Him. Being with Him will make you holy and keep you holy.
Enriched
5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
Enrich =
1.
To make rich or richer.2.
To make fuller, more meaningful, or more rewarding:.3.
To add fertilizer to.
Salvation improves the quality of your life in every way.
You should have an enriched attitude, an enriched outlook (hope), an enriched spiritual condition.
The touch of God enriches the life. Now, for the moment, for get about earthly riches. We're talking about spiritual riches. He came to give abundant life. That's better life - a better quality, a greater fulness.
No lack in spiritual gifts
7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Again, I want you for change the way you think of these familiar terms. Spiritual gifts are not just manifestations, though they certainly had those. The Corinthians abounded in spiritual manifestations above others churches.
But spiritual gifts are also gifts given to your spirit (peace, fulfillment, assurance, access to the Father, etc.)
As we await the coming of our Lord we need every spiritual gift we can get.
strength from above - FOR blameless living (see 1 - holiness)
Zec 4:6 … Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
If we ever needed his strength it is today. We don't need worldly power or wisdom or any thing of the sort. We need spiritual power - spiritual strength.
Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Unity
10. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Agree - not to be clones, not playing along with, but cooperating. Just be agreeable.
Save the fights for issues worth fighting for.
Do not be divided. Do not allow anything to divide you. You can be different and even disagree without being divided.
Concentrate on positive not negative, likenesses not differences, things in common not things in conflict.
i.e. We may differ on HS, baptism, etc. but agree on Jesus for salvation.
1Co 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
Follow Christ, not man or doctrines or methods.
We may disagree on manifestations, but we all want revival.
Gospel is not words or works or methods, etc. but Christ.
All this conflict spoils the message and power of the cross. The personality following puts emphasis in the wrong place.
Preach with the Spirit's power, not man's wisdom. If we will do theses things, we will represent Christ and His message will go forth with His power and His effectiveness.