In the End, It Is All God’s Work

In the End, It Is All God’s Work

In the End, It Is All God’s Work is a sermon from 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 about God’s Work in our lives and how He changes it for the better.

In the end, it’s God’s will.

“Paul, called as an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Sosthenes our brother:” (1 Corinthians 1:1, HCSB)

Paul felt that it was important for his readers to remember the common relationship that they shared in God’s call. He was called “to be an apostle of Jesus Christ” and they were called “to be saints.” People in the Corinthian church were questioning Paul’s authority. So in this case, he reminds them that he is an apostle (Rom. 1:1; Gal. 1:1; Col. 1:1). In places where his authority is not questioned, he calls himself Paul. (Phil. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:1; Philem. 1:1).1

Pertaining here to the will of God, whatever God has revealed to me, it is because of His will, not mine. Notice that God moves through the lives of many people here. He moves in the life and in the life of Sosthenes. Why Sosthenes? Because Sosthenes was a former Jewish leader who experienced God’s will at the hands of his brothers.

If you read Acts 18, you find that Paul converts the leader of the local synagogue to Christ (Crispus – Acts 18:8). Paul stays because God tells him to stay. Then the Jews make a united attack against Paul and brought him to the judge.

“While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack against Paul and brought him to the judge’s bench.” (Acts 18:12, HCSB)

The context shows that it was the Jews who brought Paul before the judge. Then the judge rules in Paul’s favor and the judge releases Paul. The Jews get angry and beat up Sosthenes.

“Then they all seized Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the judge’s bench. But none of these things concerned Gallio.” (Acts 18:17, HCSB)

Some translations using another earlier text translate the “all” as the Greeks. Scholars explain this translation and context this way:

The Greek mob, who disliked Jews, took the opportunity then of beating Sosthenes the ruler of the Jewish synagogue, while Gallio looked on and refused to interfere, being secretly pleased that the mob should second his own contempt for the Jews. 2

That is one way of looking at the situation. However, I believe these were Jews. The reason is because in the immediate context and in the earlier parts of Acts, the Jews were harassing Paul. The Jews tried to attack Paul by taking their case to the Roman Court. However, the judge didn’t care to hear the case. Paul goes free. The Jews blame the leader of the synagogue. The Jews had been stirring up trouble. They had stirred up trouble in Thessalonica, in Antioch, and now in Corinth. I suspect that Sosthenes was the one who stirred up the trouble in Corinth, and it backfired on him. As a result, Sosthenes had to take a good hard look at himself. In the end, he comes to Christ.

People who are most violently opposed to you and your faith are often the very ones who are most convicted by the Spirit, the very ones who are closest to conversion. Just let them take a few more hits from their friends in the world, and, like Sosthenes, they’ll come around.3

In the end, God is working out His will. God is working out His will not only in Paul’s life, but in the life of Sosthenes. He’s also working out His will in my life and your life.

In the end, it’s God’s church.

“To God’s church at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus and called as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord—both their Lord and ours.” (1 Corinthians 1:2, HCSB)

The word church in the Greek language means “a called-out people.” Each church has two addresses: a geographic address (“at Corinth”) and a spiritual address (“in Christ Jesus”). The church is made up of saints, that is, people who have been “sanctified” or “set apart” by God.4 As a result, it is God’s church. Now in Corinth, they had the problem of personalizing the church. Some thought that the church was owned by someone. This is Peter’s church. This is Paul’s church. This is Apollos’ church. The reality is that this is God’s church, which happened to meet in the town of Corinth. God’s church is always a group of believers. There are no physical boundaries to God’s church. There are no racial or ethnic boundaries as well.

In the end, it’s God’s peace

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:3, HCSB)

“Charis,” or “Grace,” was the typical Greek greeting. “Shalom,” or “Peace,” was its Hebrew counterpart. Here and in his other epistles, Paul marries these two ideas—always putting grace first because a person cannot have true and lasting peace unless he first understands God’s matchless grace.5

In the end, it’s God’s grace.

“I always thank my God for you because of God’s grace given to you in Christ Jesus,” (1 Corinthians 1:4, HCSB)

Paul is not just saying hello. Paul is thanking God in a prayer and reminding the people of the grace that came through Jesus Christ. God’s unmerited favor (grace) and of the wholeness and unity (peace) God brings into our lives happens through His Son.6

In the end, it’s God’s testimony.

“that by Him you were enriched in everything—in all speech and all knowledge. In this way, the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you,” (1 Corinthians 1:5–6, HCSB)

God’s testimony has two parts:

1. God’s testimony was enriched through spiritual gifts. The spiritual gifts of the believers were part of God’s testimony. The phrase “all speech and knowledge” was a reference to charismatic gifts – or gifts of the spirit from 1 Corinthians 14. He is saying that God has equipped you for your testimony through the spiritual gifts He gives you.

2. God’s testimony is enriched by the gospel – this is the testimony about Christ. The gospel – the truth that Christ died for sins, was buried and resurrected – this was shared in both preaching and in personal testimony.

In the end, it’s God’s strength.

“so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:7–8, HCSB)

God’s Spirit gives us spiritual gifts to help us until the end. God’s Spirit does not just give us spiritual gifts, but also God’s strength. You can have all the spiritual gifts in the world, but without God’s Spirit giving you the strength, you will be unable to do what God wants you to do. God’s strength gives us the strength to:

1. Use our spiritual gifts

2. Keep our testimony true and useful.

My testimony which I share with others is true and truthful because I am blameless. What does this mean? We are guiltless, innocent, without condemnation positionally in Jesus Christ. He has taken away our sin. At the same time, our conduct affects our conversation. If want to share the Gospel with other people, they will use my conduct as a standard to see if what I talk about is true. Am I walking the talk? I am living the life I preach? God gives me the strengh to do this.

In the end, it’s God’s end.

“He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:8, HCSB)

In the end, it is God’s end. There will be a time when God will make things right, will judge the wicked, and reward the believer. God has an end to this entire journey we call the Christian life. We look forward to this end with anticipation as Christians. Why do we do this? In the end, God is faithful.

In the end, it’s God’s faithfulness.

“God is faithful; you were called by Him into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:9, HCSB)

God will finish what He starts. Have you tried to finish what you start? That is hard for me to do sometimes. It takes lots of patience, effort, diligence, and determination. God has all of these qualities. He is patient and doesn’t want anyone to go to Hell without a chance to come to Him. He makes an effort as we saw in the life of Sosthenes. He will still make an effort in your life. God is diligence. He doesn’t give up. He is determined. He will see His will get done. No amount of sidetracking by Satan or any of humanity will stop God from finishing His task. Jesus finished His work during the First Coming. He will come back to finish His work during the Second Coming. God has recorded this ahead of time for our benefit. We need to trust God that He will be faithful with what He promises to do.

The hope of the Christian is based on the activity of God and allows us to believe that whatever may be the circumstances there will come a day when life will overcome death, when love will overcome hate, when good will overcome evil, and the kingdom of God will triumph over the kingdoms of this world. It is the assurance of this future that allows us to live more triumphantly in the present.7