The Asset Identity - 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Sermon Series: Confused?

Some of you may know that my favorite movies are the Bourne movies. They are a series of movies about a character named Jason Bourne that began with the first film that released in 2002 called The Bourne Identity. The story which unfolds in these movies begins with an unconscious Jason Bourne floating out in the open water. He is picked up by a fishing boat where he eventually regains consciousness. However, when he regains consciousness, he is unable to remember who he is. So Jason Bourne begins to follow a series of clues to discover who he is and what he does. As the story and plot develop throughout the three movies the viewers discover that Jason Bourne is a secret agent who works for the US government – but that isn’t who he had always been. He was born David Webb, and after serving in the armed forces he was recruited to serve as a secret government agent who would carry out black operations for the US government in places all around the world. In order to serve in this role he would have to be given a new identity first. So through a series of torturous actions, doctors in charge of creating the secret agents for this government program destroyed David’s old sense of identity and created for him a new identity. A new identity was only part of what David Webb needed to become Jason Bourne though. To serve as a secret agent the government would need to resource Jason Bourne with the tools he would need to carry out his secret missions. Jason Bourne would need fake passports and documents, he would need money and other financial resources, he would need a phone and means of communication, and he would need weapons. To be successful in the missions assigned to him a new identity wasn’t enough – the government would have to provide for and resource his new identity in order for Him to carry out his assignments successfully.

In the Bourne movies the characters representing US government officials refer to Jason Bourne by the title of ‘asset.’ I thought it was a made-up term until recently when I was watching a documentary about a real US government black operation. In that documentary there were two men referred to by US government officials as ‘assets.’ They were men who had been given new identities, who had been placed in the village where the mission was to be carried out, and who had been resourced with tools and equipment to help gather intelligence so that the operation could be carried out successfully. I found the idea pretty fascinating – given a new identity, placed in the area where the mission was to be carried out, and then resourced with everything they needed (i.e. money, fake documents, equipment, and weapons). I even remember looking over at Amy after the documentary was over and saying to her, “When I grow up I’m going to be an asset.” I was kidding of course, but the idea is an exciting one. I’m just a guy living in Hickory, NC whose life seems to impact only a very few individuals. My days can sometimes be pretty adventurous when they involve Nerf wars and superhero imaginations with my kids. But how cool would it be to have a new identity, to be given cool equipment like guns and surveillance equipment, to be equipped with new traits, and to be placed on a mission of utmost importance? That would be awesome! It would certainly give me a new perspective on life and cause me to think differently about my significance and the role I play in this world. It would be hard to think about each day as just another day. I would have to remember every day that I was living with a new identity, that I was given that identity for a very specific mission, and that I needed to use the resources that I had been supplied with to carry out the mission successfully. Every day would count! Every tool would be necessary! And the mission would be primary!

A New Identity

The NT book of 1 Corinthians is a letter. As was customary during the time this letter was written and in the region where this letter was written, the letter begins with an introduction identifying who the author was, identifying who the recipients were, and declaring a brief word of thanksgiving or praise. This is the portion of the letter that we are going to be examining this week – the introduction. And while the introductions to most historical letters have very little significance, that is simply not the case with the NT letters. God had a way of using the authors of the NT letters to fill even the seemingly insignificant portions of letters (like the introduction) with profound truth. So let’s do our best this week to unpack some of the profound truth stuffed into the introduction of this letter.

“Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes” (1:1).

This letter begins by identifying Paul as the author (along with his co-worker, Sosthenes). But verse one touches on several other important truths that we need to keep in mind as we begin our examination of this letter. First, and often quickly overlooked, is the title that Paul gives to himself – “apostle of Christ Jesus.” The word ‘apostle’ literally means messenger, or sent one. It carries the idea of being an ambassador. But when we look more carefully at the use of ‘apostle’ in the NT we find that the title was reserved for a very few, who met at least two specific requirements, and who were given a very specific task. The title ‘apostle’ in the NT was reserved for a handful of men who were followers of Jesus, who had had an encounter with the resurrected Jesus, who had been given the specific task of proclaiming salvation through faith in Him and who had been given the authority to teach in His name. By referring to himself as an apostle Paul was declaring that all of these characteristics were true of himself. Then quickly note whose will and initiative it was for Paul to be appointed as an apostle. Paul hadn’t pursued the title or strategically positioned himself around Jesus or His other disciples with the hopes of acquiring the position of apostle. Instead he says that he was, “called by the will of God” to serve as an apostle. Paul’s service as an apostle was planned by God, initiated by God (see Acts 9:1-19), and carried out by God.

So while verse 1 seems to only introduce the author of this letter, it should influence greatly the way that we read this letter. This letter was written by an individual who had encountered the resurrected Jesus, who had been appointed as Jesus’ ambassador and given authority to proclaim the truth of Christ, and who was serving in this position because of God’s plan and initiative. This isn’t some letter from some self-appointed ‘spiritual leader’ who possessed little knowledge or authority. This isn’t a letter from a man whose right to speak into the lives of this church was questionable. This is a letter from a man who had been appointed to speak the truth of Jesus into the lives of others and who was more than qualified to do so. This should both encourage us and challenge us to pay careful attention to the content of this letter if we are really wanting to grow in our knowledge and understanding of God, Jesus, the Gospel, and how they impact our lives.

“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours” (1:2).

In verse 2 the recipients of the letter are identified. Paul was writing this letter to the church he had helped to plant and establish in the city of Corinth on his second missionary venture. This will be important for us to understand throughout our examination of the letter as this will help provide context for some of the things that Paul writes about. But of far more importance is how Paul describes the church – for Paul’s description of the church in Corinth is a description of the church in all places and at all times. So Paul’s description of the church at Corinth provides great insight into who we are. So let’s really dial in here!

The first descriptive phrase Paul uses of the church is, “to those sanctified in Christ Jesus.” To sanctify something means to set something apart for holy purposes or to set something apart for God’s purposes and use. But it also carries with it the ideas of cleansing or purifying. So it’s not simply setting apart something that is already pure and holy for God’s purposes – it’s taking something that is profane, defiled, or dirty, and purifying it and making it holy so that it can be set apart for God’s purposes. It’s a transformation! But wait . . . there’s more! The verb ‘sanctified’ as Paul used it in this verse is a “perfect, passive, participle.” (I know that explaining Greek verb tenses isn’t always valuable and helpful, but sometimes it is. This is one of those times.) Passive verbs don’t communicate that a person or object is performing the action (that’s an ‘active’ verb) but that they are receiving the action. (For example, in the phrase “I hit the ball,” ‘hit’ is an active verb because I am performing the action on the ball. On the other hand, in the phrase “I am hit by the ball,” ‘hit’ is a passive verb because I am receiving the action from the ball.) Paul uses a passive verb form of ‘sanctify’ to describe the church. In other words, those who have trusted in Jesus as Savior and Lord are acted upon. We aren’t doing the cleansing, the purifying, or the setting apart – we are receiving the cleansing, the purifying, and the setting apart. Some other person or thing is performing the action on us. Additionally, the verb also exists in the perfect tense. The perfect tense in the Greek is very unique because we don’t have a verb tense quite like it in the English language. The perfect tense in the Greek described a completed action, but one that had ongoing effects. So in this instance, Paul says that those who have believed in Jesus as Savior and Lord are sanctified – completed action. In the moment that a person places his or her faith in Jesus all their sin is cleansed and they are completely set apart for God. But the sanctification that we received in that moment has ongoing effects – it means that every day, every moment, after we trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord we exist as one who has been purified and cleansed from our sin and depravity, and that we are continuously set apart for God and His purposes. So the action was completed – we were cleansed and set apart, but the results of that action continually define who we are and what we are set apart to do.

Paul gets even more descriptive about the implications of this transformation that we receive when he wrote, “called to be saints.” The word ‘saint’ means “holy one” and “holy” means to be “set apart.” So Paul is continuing to emphasize what he was emphasizing when he described the church as being sanctified – that God’s purpose for us is to be “set apart” for Him, for His glory, and for His mission. This is hugely significant for the content of this letter. Paul hasn’t just picked a couple of ‘spiritual words’ out of the ‘spiritual dictionary’ to add some impressive language to the opening of his letter. From the outset of His letter Paul is reminding the church that part of our calling and identity is to live lives that are entirely set apart for God. The church at Corinth had some confusion about what that looked like though. So for a majority of this letter Paul is going to be helping the church to understand how to do this. How do we be the church set apart for God’s glory? How do we live in a culture that is obsessed with immorality and be set apart for God’s glory? How do we live in a culture that is saturated with idolatry and be set apart for God’s glory? How do we live in relationship with our spouses and be set apart for God’s glory? These are all real life questions, with important answers, that Paul is going to address in this letter.

In simply identifying who the author of the letter is and who the recipients of the letter are, Paul reveals some remarkably profound truths concerning how God, Jesus and the Gospel impact our lives. When God opens our eyes to the truth of the Gospel and we come to a point of trusting in Jesus alone as our Savior and Lord, we are radically transformed and given an entirely new identity. Paul would say to this same church in another letter, “. . . if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). When we place our faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord the evil and sin in our lives is washed away; and having been cleansed and purified and made into a new creation we are given a new purpose and a new mission. We are called to be ‘holy ones’ who serve the King! It’s the same thing that happened to Jason Bourne in the Bourne movies and the same thing that happens to real life ‘assets.’ The US government takes these individuals, they give them an entirely new identity, an entirely new mission and purpose, and then locate these individuals right in the middle of the mission. If you have trusted in Jesus as Savior and Lord you are an asset for God. He has given you a completely new identity in Christ, He has set you apart for His mission and His purpose, and He has placed you right in the middle of His mission. Everyday He calls you to embrace and to live out this new identity and to everyday serve the mission. This is your reality! How cool is that?!

Resourced for the Mission

This might seem a little overwhelming for some of us. God doesn’t wire all of us with an adventurous spirit. Some of us like things to be quiet, calm, and predictable. To think of yourself as an asset for God, given a new identity and a new purpose to live for His glory seems incredibly scary. Even more so for those of us who don’t think we have the skill-set needed to live a life set apart for God. But don’t be discouraged or overwhelmed yet, because Paul has some even more exciting news.

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in Him in all speech and all knowledge – even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you – so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called in the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1:4-9).

Paul begins verse 4 saying, “I give thanks to my God always for you . . .” Don’t make any assumptions here. Don’t simply assume that Paul is giving thanks to God only because he really cares for the people of this church and is thankful that he can count them as his friends. Ask the question, “Why does Paul always give thanks to God for the church at Corinth?” And then note that Paul provides the answer – he tells the church at Corinth exactly why he is always giving thanks to God – “because of the grace of God that was given you [plural – you all – reference to the church as a whole] in Christ Jesus.” Paul was always giving thanks to God for the church at Corinth because God had given them great grace in Christ Jesus. But let’s continue to dig and to ask questions. Does Paul give us any further insight that would help us better understand what exactly this grace of God was? And the answer is ‘yes.’ Paul defines the grace of God that was given to this church and these believers like this, “that in every way you were enriched in Him . . . so that you [plural – you all – reference to the church as a whole] are not lacking in any spiritual gift . . .” So the picture becomes clearer. Paul is incredibly grateful to God for what He had done for this church. God had given them grace by enriching the church in every way. He had not enriched the church in ‘some’ ways, nor had He enriched the church in ‘many’ ways. He had enriched the church at Corinth in every way. He had ensured that after giving these believers in Christ a new identity and a new mission and purpose, and after calling them to do life and ministry together as a group, that they were resourced in every way to carry out that purpose and mission. The church was not lacking any spiritual gift that would be necessary for successfully living out their new identity and carrying out their new mission. The individuals making up the church were all unique individuals with unique talents and abilities, and when joined together there wasn’t anything that they needed to carry out their mission – they had all that they needed.

This is fantastic news for those of us who are overwhelmed by the idea that God transforms our lives, giving us a new identity and setting us on mission. God makes us His assets, but He doesn’t send us out without first resourcing us! In the same way that Jason Bourne was provided with documents, with financial resources, with means of communication, and with weapons to carry out his assignments God looks at all that we will need to carry out the mission He has given us and then He provides it for us! So God gives some individuals an outgoing personality to partner with us to reach out to new individuals in our community. God gives some individuals a compassionate personality to love on those who are hurting. God gives some individuals an ability to communicate and teach so that the church can help people grow in their understanding and knowledge of God. God gives some individuals a desire to work behind the scenes so that we can have a welcoming and inviting space to invite people into. The list goes on and on, but the truth is amazingly clear – in regards to resources, we are not lacking in anything to carry out the mission that God has called us to.

Before we conclude allow me to back track and point out one important note from verse 2 that we did not touch on earlier. Paul makes it clear in verse 2 that not all people are sanctified, not all are called to be saints. There is a terrible misconception in our world today that because God loves all people He extends forgiveness freely to all people. But Paul is very clear in verse 2 that the cleansing and purifying from sin and the setting apart for His purpose and His glory is only extended to those who “call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Scripture is incredibly clear that God does love you! Scripture is incredibly clear that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin! And Scripture is incredibly clear that Jesus offers to you the gift of salvation and cleansing! But that salvation isn’t applied to all people. While God extends the gift freely to us, we have to respond to the offer by receiving the gift of salvation and we do this by calling on and believing in Jesus alone as Savior and Lord.

From the very beginning of Paul's letter - in the introduction itself - Paul is working to clarify points of confusion! The good news of the Gospel is that God and Jesus have an unbelievably real and profound impact on our lives. When we trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord we are given a new identity and a new mission! Then in order to live out that identity and to carry out that purpose, we are equipped and resourced – God changes our hearts and He gives us gifts and talents that we need to make His glory known. And He does this for us while we are living in the specific mission field that He has placed us in. Those who have trusted in Jesus as Savior and Lord are God’s assets and their lives matter. Our new identity counts! Every talent, every unique trait, and every ability that we have been given counts! Our every day counts! And our mission is primary!