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Don't overthink it...start walking!
12 Plays4 years ago
Vernon talks through 1 Corinthians 1:1-17 and untangles this idea of being called, and then shares what all those who accept the call have in common, and it is pretty spectacular. Now that you know, you can stop trying so hard to get what you already got! Don't overthink it, start walking!
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Transcript
Introduction to 1 Corinthians
00:00:03
Speaker
This is your host Vernon Terrell with Grace Ministries International and it's time for Walking Free and welcome back today we're going to look at
00:00:25
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one of my favorite books. I've got so many, don't you, as we look into the
Paul's Divine Calling and Apostleship
00:00:31
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scripture. But I wanna focus, and I'm sure I've talked about this before, but I wanna look at a couple of ideas in 1 Corinthians chapter one. And in verse one, Paul writes to this group in Corinth, and he opens up with some incredible language that we just don't wanna miss.
00:00:55
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So as a reminder, let me just go through it again, just this little bit. Paul called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and so is our brother. He says, to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling with all who in every place call in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
00:01:24
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Theirs and ours, grace to you and peace. From God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sanctification Through Faith
00:01:32
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So Paul starts this letter identifying himself as one who is called as an apostle of Jesus Christ. And you know we often we get that word called or we see and read that word called and
00:01:53
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I think we overthink it. That word called simply means, it's clitosis, means to invite. Paul was welcome, invited. In some cases it can mean appointed, but most often it's invited. Like at the marriage supper, they were called and invited
00:02:19
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At the end of that it says, many are called or invited, but few are chosen, different word, those who've accepted that invitation. Paul called, what was he called as? Invited as, as an apostle of Jesus Christ. That word apostle is simply one who is sent. An ambassador, one who is sent. He's representing Jesus Christ. So Paul is invited to be sent out
00:02:50
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by the will of God. And the will of God isn't the demand of God, the, oh, you gotta do this. The will of God implies the good pleasure of God. It is an expression or inclination toward something or someone he likes. Paul was invited
00:03:21
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to go out by the good pleasure of His loving Heavenly Father. I think the Lord is in the business of inviting. He's inviting all to come to faith and to believe on Him for eternal life.
Walking in Holiness
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He's calling you and I to all kind of adventures in life
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He's inviting, what is God inviting you to? And He's inviting you because He loves you. He likes you. He wants the best for you. What is He inviting you to? Paul called, invited as an apostle of Jesus Christ. By the will of God, His good pleasure.
00:04:16
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He continues and he says, to the church of God, which is at Corinth. And here's some just power-packed words. To those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus. You are sanctified, if you're in Christ Jesus, you are sanctified. And he goes further, he goes, saints by calling, by invitation. You are a saint by invitation.
00:04:49
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And you know how that comes to pass with all who in every place, not just Corinth, not just Ephesus, not just in Jerusalem or Judea, but with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours. That word call is the idea to call out and call for help
00:05:19
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to ask for help, to call and receive what? His help, his forgiveness, his life. That's how we become saints. We're invited to receive his forgiveness, to receive his help, because we can't help ourselves. And when we do,
00:05:49
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We are sanctified, we are set apart, we are made holy in Christ. We are placed in Christ, moved from Adam into Christ. And we are made holy, separated and made holy. That's you as a believer. You are already right now holy.
00:06:16
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You're a holy one, a saint. By calling, by invitation, you accepted that and you were sanctified with everybody who will call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:06:36
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Isn't that incredible? So many of us try so hard to be holy. We try so hard to get what we've already got in Christ. The Lord wants you to flip that around and realize that you already got it. Now rest in it, learn how to walk in it.
00:07:01
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That's what this journey of life is all about. Learning to walk as an expression of who we are and who he is in us. That's the journey. You're not gonna get it perfect even though he's made you perfect in him. Even though he's made you 100% holy in him. You're gonna stumble around
00:07:26
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and get it right, but you got it. You got all the holiness you're gonna get. Now I ask God to help you express that in your family, at your job, in your church. That's what it's all about.
Gifts and Grace in Christ
00:07:44
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And then it continues, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:07:58
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We need grace and we need peace, especially in a country like the United States where we're so divided right now. We're divided about certain theological points. We're divided about our political affiliation. We're divided about the vaccine. We're divided about so many things.
00:08:29
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And he says in verse four, I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus. Here it comes.
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that in everything you were enriched in Him. You were given this abundant supply of grace, this abundant supply of victory, this abundant supply of overcoming power in Him. In everything, everything about you,
00:09:26
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because of the grace of God in Christ in every way you were enriched in Him. In all speech, in all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you and among you.
00:09:50
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so that you're not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. We're always thinking, oh, I wish I had that gift or I was gifted that way. You know, you were enriched in Him in every way. You have all that you need, everything you need in Him.
00:10:19
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Stop wishing your life away and wishing the days away focused on what you think you don't have when in Christ Jesus, in everything, you were enriched in him. You're not lacking in anything. And I love this in verse eight,
00:10:48
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You know, it was confirmed among you that, yeah, you're a believer. God just confirms in so many ways that you're his, and he's yours. But he said this, who will also, verse eight, confirm you to the end. He's gonna make it firm, reliable, that's gonna inspire confidence,
00:11:19
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all of that, all the way to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. You're blameless. And when you mess up, guess what? The cross covered that. God's gonna confirm you, strengthen you. He's gonna make you stand firm to the end in him.
00:11:49
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blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. And God is faithful, verse nine, through whom you were called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Wow. That's power-packed words right there.
00:12:17
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You know, I think this can help free us up. We're so often looking at what we don't have, often looking at our behavior and where it should be and all the failures and mistakes that we've made and maybe that we continue to make. And God says, Paul says through, God says through Paul, who will also
00:12:45
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confirm you to the end. He's not gonna stop. All the way to the end. Blameless. Can you imagine that? From now until you die, until he comes back, he's confirming you as blameless. You're gonna be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ without blame.
00:13:17
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And the word doesn't just mean unaccusable, like you're just unaccusable and they can't find anything against you. But the word means unaccused, free from any legal charge. When you stand,
00:13:46
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before the Lord Jesus Christ. And you will, we all will. For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive the things done in the body, whatever we've done, both good and bad. You're gonna be unaccused, free from any legal charge.
Unity and Shared Righteousness
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You know why? Because all the bad stuff
00:14:16
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that you did do was taken care of. And all the good stuff, which is, by the way, everything you do, that's just not, that's not sin. It's good. Because you are good. You're made brand new. That's your new default. That's what's left. And there's a lot of it. And the most good, it's
00:14:43
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the person you are in Christ, the brand new righteous creation you are. Those without Christ, all the good they try to do, it's tainted. It's sin. It's missing the mark. That's what sin is.
00:15:13
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So yeah, we're all going to stand and you're going to stand blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. So get that out of your mind and now start being the incredible person, the brand new you that you are.
00:15:32
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Be holy, be righteous, be kind, be loving. I don't know what to do. I don't know what God's will is for me. Yes, you do. I just gave it to you. Be the brand new you that Christ made. Let Christ express his life and love through you. How? Just get out there, start walking. Stop talking about it. Stop wishing about it.
00:16:00
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and get out there and start walking, walking it, expressing kindness. Oh, I don't want it to be fake. It's not fake. It's you. You overthink it.
00:16:19
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I don't want to do it for the wrong motivation. I get that, I understand. Do you realize that you can't earn any more brownie points for God? You got them all. Do you realize that you're loved? You can't get any more loved. Well, if you got that, you're on the right track for the right motivation because you're just loving. Why? Because that's you. That is the new you.
00:16:48
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Don't overcomplicate it. Be free. Walk free. In Galatians 5.1, Paul writes to that group saying, stand firm in the freedom where Christ sets you free. I want you to know that
00:17:13
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As Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 1, you are sanctified in Christ Jesus. You're set apart made holy. You're a saint with everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. In Christ, you have been enriched in him in everything because he is in you the omnipotent, all
00:17:42
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powerful, victorious Christ is in you, and you are enriched, fully blessed, overflowing abundantly in him. And all speech, all knowledge, and even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed among you, he goes, so that you're not lacking any gift. You're gifted.
00:18:12
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You got it all. Paul told those at Ephesus, he said, you've got every spiritual blessing in Christ, all of them. And I know God gifts us for certain things in certain ways with these spiritual gifts and giftings. You've also got talents and abilities that God's given you just in your human birth, in your experience,
00:18:45
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God's gonna use all of that. And the beautiful thing, he's confirming you to the end, making you stand firm, confirming you as blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. And again, that word blameless doesn't mean unaccusable. It means unaccused.
00:19:16
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Isn't that incredible? And you know why that can happen? Because God is faithful through whom you were called, invited into fellowship with his son Jesus Christ, and you accepted the invite, and you were chosen. And that chosen goes to anyone who accepts the invite.
00:19:47
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So, as Paul continued, and I'm gonna stop right around here, he says, now I exhort you, now that you've got all this good news, in verse 10, verses one through nine, he goes, I exhort you in verse 10, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.
00:20:20
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He goes, look, y'all are all in this together. I will not start singing that song. Okay, we're all in this together. I'm not going there. But they were having some, like we do in our humanness. He goes, look, I heard from Chloe's people that there's some quarreling going on.
00:20:44
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Some of you are saying, I'm of Paul, and I'm of Apollos, I'm of Cephas, or Peter, I'm of Christ. And I love, has Christ been divided? Has Paul wasn't crucified for you, was he? And he says, look, I'm so glad I didn't baptize any of you guys, except Crispus and Gaius, and oh yeah, I did do the household of Stephanus. But beyond that, I don't know if I baptize anybody else.
00:21:11
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He goes, Christ didn't send me to do that. He sent me to preach the good news. Not in cleverness of speech, Apollos got that covered. He just told me to preach it, the good news. And that's what I'm doing. He goes, so stop with the idolizing of people and getting into different camps.
00:21:37
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You're all enriched, you're all called, you're all in Christ, you're all victorious, you are all made adequate and blameless in Him. So go out and do the one thing Jesus told you to do.
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go out and love, make disciples, make other learners who can see that they're loved, who can see the invite and accept the invite and learn of Him and to learn who they are in Him and share and spread that good news because God has reconciled all back to Himself through Jesus Christ. That's the point.
00:22:25
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And that's why I said, look, in verse 8, the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. It's like, what are you guys talking about? But to us who are being saved and that idea of being saved, those who are heard the invite and accepted, others who heard the invite and accepted it. You've got people being saved every day.
00:22:49
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To those who are being saved, man, it's the power of God, this message, this good news. And that's why I said in verse 21, for since the wisdom of God through the world, or for since in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn't come to know God. God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message
00:23:20
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of Jesus Christ being crucified, dying, buried, rising again to pay for our sin, to offer forgiveness in life. That message, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message, priest, to save those who believe. Wow.
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We want to share the message so others will believe and share the message of the transformation that happened to those who believed. And it's foolish to some, but it's power to the rest of us. So I want to encourage you with that. I want to encourage you that, man, you have got everything you need.
00:24:14
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That's the message. The message is Christ crucified, buried, and resurrected for our sin to offer forgiveness and life. And that's what we needed. And everything else, there's going to be differences. Don't quarrel about it because God has made everyone who believed
00:24:39
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Righteous, we're all on level playing field. Men, women, black, white, USA, Europe, Asia, Africa, doesn't matter.
Living in Victory and Sanctification
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God has made us one in Christ.
00:25:04
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And we need to see each other as one in Christ. And he was really hinting at that in the first part of this letter. He says, to the church of God who is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, made holy in Christ. You're not made holy by all the things you do. You're made holy because you're in Christ. You're a saint by calling
00:25:34
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with all who in every place called on the name of the Lord in whatever city, state, country, province, doesn't matter. Everyone who calls were put on a level playing field. And that playing field is pretty good. Righteous, holy, pure, victorious.
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And if you're not experiencing that, if you're not experiencing and walking in that victory, chances are you don't understand the victory that is yours. Chances are you know it, you hear the words, you can say the words, but you haven't accepted it. It's true for you.
00:26:23
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Often it doesn't feel like you're
Healing and Truth with Grace Ministries
00:26:25
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dead to sin. Romans, Paul writes to those in Rome, but you are dead to sin. You're dead to sin and alive to God. You are sanctified. You're not feeling it right now because, well, you're not believing it. You got some baggage, some thoughts and beliefs in there that you gotta figure out, unpack, and throw away. That's what we do at Grace Ministries.
00:26:52
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In our counseling ministry, we help people unpack some of the traumatic issues they've been through, some of the lies and beliefs they've come to hold as true, unpack it, identify it.
00:27:05
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Get rid of it, understand the truth, and embrace it. Learn how to walk in it. Not everybody needs one-on-one counseling. Some just need some guidance. Can't wait to share what we're doing in 2022 to really blow the doors off of all of this to help you help everybody walk free. That's what we're all about.
00:27:30
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So stay tuned to the podcast, to Facebook, to the emails that are coming out. Lots about to be announced. Life Untangled is just starting. LifeUntangled.com, check it out. Of course we have the podcast. More is coming. Get ready. And why are we developing this stuff? Because so often I hear people talking about it and failing, and talking about it and failing.
00:27:59
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I want you to learn how to stop talking and start walking and enjoying your life and enjoying what God through Christ has done for you, has done in you, and so desires to do through you.
Resources and Conclusion
00:28:20
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You've been listening to Walking Free, a production of Grace Ministries International in Marietta, Georgia. For more information, go to our website at gment.org. That's gminc.org.