Growth In The Threefold Grace Of God (1 Corinthians 11:17-34, Psalm 84:1-12)
Rev. William L. Barron, July 30, 2023Part of the Morning Worship at North Greenville Church series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
There are four aspects to Grace. Historical future, personal and communal. We must always remember Jesus' suffering. We remember special moments benefitting from God's gracious provisions: John the Baptist's ministry and Simeon's declaration of the birth of the Messiah. In the institution of Holy Communion, Jesus charged the disciples to remember His body and His blood. The core of our faith is communion; without it, we lose our focus. We remember John's warning to the church in Ephesus, which had lost its first love--Jesus Christ. For historical grace, we remember what Jesus came for. Regarding future grace, we remember that He is coming again. For personal grace, we are charged to reflect upon how we are to come to the table. In 1 Cor. 10, we are warned about idolatry, and to flee from it. We participate in Jesus' shed blood and broken body, and are blessed by the grace of unity in faith. This is not just "me and Jesus," it is "we and Jesus." The church is communal; we enjoy a relationship with each other in Christ. We flee from not caring, selfishness and gossip. We see future and present grace expressed in unity. We must ask, "Are we growing in Him as we should?" God is calling out a people for Himself. He died for a relationship with Him and with one another.
| Earlier: | Same day: | Later: |
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| « What You Are Before God (Part 1) | None | What You Are Before God (Part 2) » |
1 Corinthians 11:17–34 (Listen)
17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another—34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.
(ESV)
Psalm 84 (Listen)
To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
84:1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise! Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.
8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!
10 For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!
(ESV)