Scripture Reading:
#1. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:3)
#2. I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High. (Psalm 7:17)
Prayer of Praise to God: Father, we give the thanks you are due because of your righteousness. You are the most high God and we stand before you only on the basis of what Christ has done for us. We thank you that for our salvation you look on him and pardon us. We praise your name today because you are the only God, true and everlasting. We pray in Jesus’ name Amen.
V1. Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great High Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
V2. When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
V3. Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One with Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God!
Reading of the Law: Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace (James 3:13-18).
Silent Confession of Sin/Confession of Sin: O our God, we are ashamed and blush to lift our faces to you, for our iniquities have risen higher than our head, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness that you may be feared; with you there is steadfast love; yes, with our God there is plentiful redemption, and he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Reading of the Gospel: For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit (1 Peter 3:18).
Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 2
Question #1
Q. From where do you know your misery?
A. From the Law of God.
Question #2
Q. What does the Law of God require of us?
A. Christ teaches us in sum, Matthew 22, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Question #3
Q. Can you keep all this perfectly?
A. No, for I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbor.
Prayer of Thanksgiving: Give thanks and praise for the blessings God has given
Prayer of Supplication: Ask God to provide for other’s needs and your family’s needs, others needs, and the needs of our country.
Bible reading and commentary:
Read: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17
In today’s passage we see that the Christians in Corinth were separating into different factions. Paul reports in 1 Corinthians 1: 11 that some of “Chloe’s people” told him about quarreling in Corinth. These arguments were causing some to separate into different groups, each of which claimed to follow a particular individual (v. 12). The cause of these factions probably was not related to differences in foundational doctrine. Paul does not condemn any of the groups listed for the content of their teaching, and Paul was never afraid to condemn any teaching that denied the gospel (Gal. 1: 8– 9). Instead, it seems that different Christians in Corinth were using their association with particular teachers to try to assert power in the church.
We see the same thing today. There are popular preachers on the radio and internet that are good Christian men and leaders and fine expositors of God’s Word. But God has called us to belong to a local church, and it’s the men who lead our congregations who will be at our hospital bedside in our time of need. It will be the elders and deacons who will take care of our families when we cannot. It will be our pastors who will marry our children.
We should note, however, that these different leaders in Corinth probably did not approve of this, although some Reformed commentators have suggested the opposite. What may have been happening is the use of the name of a particular teacher to claim a greater position. Those who said, “I follow Christ,” might have been individuals who thought they were above the conflict altogether, like those today that use names like Luther and Calvin to get an upper hand in the conversation (not that I would ever do that☺).
Since God has unity within the Godhead, Father, Son and Spirit, Christians are commanded to reflect his unity by living together in peace, harmony, and mutual affections. We are all united to Christ by not only agreeing on sound doctrine but also by showing love to those we disagree with. Without love for our brothers and sisters there will be splits in the church. John Calvin comments, “Then only will there be Christian unity among us, when there is not merely a good agreement as to doctrine, but we are also in harmony in our affections and dispositions, and are thus in all respects of one mind.” Paul further clarifies this by asking three questions that are intended to be answered with an emphatic NO! He says this because we all belong to Christ.
Then he goes on to say that Christ did not send him to baptize but to preach the gospel not with words of eloquent speech. If he did that then the cross of Christ would be emptied of its power. It is not the greatness of the preaching or the persuasion skills that moves people to believe in Christ. It is the power of the Holy Spirit teaching us through the preached Word that enlightens us. By the Spirit we learn that it is Christ alone that saves. His blood had to be shed on the cross because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Salvation is found only in the person of Jesus Christ and not in our oratory skills, no matter how good or bad these skills may be.
Lastly, we are all boasters by nature. We love to glory in our own minds, thinking better of ourselves than we should. Paul didn’t rebuke the Corinthians because they boasted but because they boasted in the wrong things. We should boast in God’s saving work and his grace in sending his own Son to the cross, not boasting in our own talents, gifts and graces. Those gifts that God has given to us are not our strengths but our weaknesses that God works through. Paul says: ‘Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:8-10).
*Sources: Gospel Transformation Bible, Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible, ESV Study Bible
Closing Hymn: The Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. Amen.
Closing Scripture: Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 1:24-25)
The Lord’s Prayer (together): Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.