029 Seeing Christ In The Fellowship

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

November 2, 2025

This morning I want us to come one more time to our look at fellowship.

· We are studying “The Necessity of Sanctification”

· We are looking at THE DYNAMICS OF SANCTIFICATION

· Those tools which the Spirit of God uses to sanctify us.

· Scripture, Prayer, Providence, Fellowship, Obedience

Right now we are looking at FELLOWSHIP.

And thus far we’ve been real practical about it.

· We’ve seen how the Lord’s Supper, an ordinance partaken of in the fellowship, shows us Christ and causes us to examine ourselves.

· We’ve seen how we encourage one another in providence and push one another to keep moving forward.

· We’ve seen how the fellowship can be an encouragement even to our leadership and those around us when we are faithful.

· We’ve seen how the fellowship can be a sanctifying agent as we learn to live among one another in submission and service and love.

Before we leave this particular tool of sanctification

I want us to look at one more passage.

I remind you again:

2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

While a tool like fellowship can be very practical for sanctification

As we learn to die to self and preserve unity and things like that.

Ultimately we know that fellowship is a tool because it shows us Christ.

And when we gaze on the glory of Christ

The Holy Spirit transforms us into the same image.

I want us to consider this morning

How we see Christ just in the fellowship in general.

To consider how we gaze upon the glory of Christ in the fellowship

And thus are transformed into His image.

And I don’t think this is a hard concept to grasp.

Most of you know what it is to live in some sort of a family dynamic.

· You were likely raised in a home with brothers and sisters.

· Maybe you now even have kids of your own.

· You may even be at the grandkid phase of your family.

But one thing that is often commented on in the family is

How family members will share traits of other family members.

· More than once we have commented on how much of Carrie’s dad runs through Zek.

· Every time Zech gets in a verbal sparring with you, my dad is evident.

· Hannah demonstrates the fortitude and stubbornness of my mom. She’s also got Carrie’s drive and work ethic.

· And Abigail, well, she’s just me.

You probably see that in your family.

And there’s even something nostalgic about seeing past generations shine through in the current generation.

· When you see the eyes or nose of a great-grandparent…

· When you hear the laugh of a family member now gone on…

· When you recognize a personality trait of someone no longer with you…

You sort of see the family live on in the next generation.

They are a part of one another.

Well this is how the fellowship of the church

Helps us to see the glory of Christ.

As we gaze around the room, we see Him.

· We see His love…

· We see His endurance…

· We see His wisdom…

· We see His zeal…

· We see His compassion…

Maybe we don’t see the full package in any one person,

But as we look around the room,

We are able to see Him in the various members.

We also see the power of His accomplishments in the lives of the redeemed.

A family might today live in a nice house and credit how hard an ancestor worked,

· Maybe to come to America,

· Or start a business,

· Or work long hours,

· And now the entire family is enjoying the benefits of their labor.

SO IT IS WITH CHRIST.

We see the effects of His work all around us.

We see His power to transform lives.

We see His power to strengthen the weak.

We see His power to equip the powerless.

All of this is to gaze on Christ and all of it is sanctifying.

THINK OF PAUL.

First we think about his transformation from sinner to saint; from persecutor to missionary:

Galatians 1:22-24 “I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.” And they were glorifying God because of me.”

The churches glorified God because of

The transformation that took place in Paul.

Think about the confidence a conversion like that gives sinners in the work of Christ on their behalf.

1 Timothy 1:12-17 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Paul says that believers should take tremendous comfort from his conversion as they see that if Christ can save him, then Christ can save anyone.

You see how Paul’s conversion caused people to see

The mercy and power of Christ to save and transform sinners.

But then move on to Paul’s testimony of faithfulness and see how that encouraged the church.

Philippians 1:12-14 “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”

· The church could see through Paul’s endurance that Christ was trustworthy.

· They saw how Christ cared for Paul in prison

· It gave them courage to speak more boldly as well.

THE POINT IS, YOU SEE CHRIST IN PAUL.

You see His saving power.

You see His abundant mercy.

You see His sufficiency.

NOW, WE HAVE SEEN THAT IN OUR CONGREGATION AS WELL.

I think about the first time Chris Horn signed up to go youth camp with our teenagers.

· I remember Amy saying, “If you would have told me in high school that someday I’d go to youth camp with Chris Horn as one of the sponsors I would not have believed you.”

· Christ is merciful and powerful to save!

I think back to Winston Fitzgerald’s funeral.

We used the passage:

Luke 22:24-27 “And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ “But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. “For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.”

And people read that passage with Winston in mind and they nod their heads and think, “Yes, that was Winston for sure.”

Except I remind you that that passage is NOT about Winston.

That passage is about Jesus.

It’s just that we saw Jesus in Winston.

Or we think about the encouragement we get from watching believers suffer well.

· Are you not encouraged every week by the smile on Paula Fincher’s face?

· Are you not encouraged by the endurance and faithfulness of some our older members who face pain and other obstacles to endure?

· Are you not spurred on to greater faithfulness to watch them be committed to the fellowship?

And again, you’re not seeing people

Who are just stronger than average people,

You’re seeing people who are bearing testimony

To the power and sufficiency of Christ.

You’re seeing people who are showing that Christ is glorious

And worthy of worship even in their trials.

When you look around the room, you are seeing Christ.

· You are seeing His attributes displayed.

· You are seeing His power displayed.

· You are seeing His mercy displayed.

· You are seeing His sufficiency displayed.

You see His glory and the Holy Spirit uses that to transform you

Into the same image from glory to glory to glory to glory.

That again is why you need the fellowship.

· It’s why you need to be here.

· It’s why you need to have intimate relationships.

· It’s why you need to be invested in each other’s lives.

You’ll see Christ and His finished work in their lives

And it will have a sanctifying effect on you.

You can’t experience that in isolation or virtually

But if you’ll give yourself to the fellowship

You’ll see Christ and it will sanctify you.

And that is THE POINT we want to make this morning in our text.

We’ve looked at 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 many times over the years

Because it is such a powerful text relating to God’s sovereign election.

· I mean this passage makes no sense if election is not real.

· This passage is incomprehensible apart from the understanding that God

chooses sinners to be saved.

So we love the passage.

But THIS MORNING I just want you to pick up on

The aspect of the fellowship that is also included in this text.

To be certain the main point

· Is that God chose you, you didn’t choose God.

· It is that God saved you in spite of you and you contributed nothing.

· Is to shatter your pride and eradicate your boasting.

· Is for you to see that the only reason you are here is because God did a

supernatural work of salvation in your life.

That’s the point.

But we learn about the fellowship because what God did for you,

He in fact did for each of us who are part of the church.

AND THAT’S WHAT I WANT US TO SEE THIS MORNING.

Now, just for a little background.

The entire segment begins when Paul rebukes the Corinthians for the division that is occurring in their church.

· The church is dividing over their favorite pastor.

· “I am of Paul…I am of Apollos…I am of Cephas…I am of Christ”

· You remember that.

Paul seeks to withdraw his name even from such a consideration

By reminding the people that he didn’t baptize any of them.

And Paul says

(17) “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.”

And that statement is really the springboard.

Paul wants no glory

For anything that occurred in the lives of the Corinthians,

He wants the glory to go where it should

And that is to the cross of Jesus Christ.

And then Paul begins a short dissertation on why the cross of Christ

Deserves all the glory and boasting that you can muster.

(18-19) – Paul says that the message of the cross is foolishness to the world, but it is our power.

· The message that God would atone for sinners by crushing His own Son seems like a nonsensical and foolish message to the world.

· The world always thinks that salvation comes through our own personal efforts and renovation.

· The world thinks we get saved when we “turn over a new leaf” and work hard to start doing good things instead of bad things.

· The world sees no need for a substitutionary atonement, and indeed they think the very concept of one is foolish.

But for those of us who have been saved,

The cross is anything but foolish.

The cross is everything.

The cross is all we have.

It is the sum total of all the power which produces our salvation.

And this is why:

(20-21) Paul says you don’t see any of the worldly wise in the church.

· The educated elite, and those puffed upon their own reason and intellect don’t typically show up in church because they refuse to believe a message as foolish as the cross.

· To them, that is nonsense, and they are above it.

· They aren’t here because they think you’re dumb for believing such a message.

In (verse 22) Paul reveals what they are looking for.

· They want signs and logical reasoning.

· They want clear evidence and intellectual sounding arguments.

· They don’t want a message as offensive and foolish as God’s Son dying on a cross to save sinners.

But, as Paul said in (verse 23)

We hold to the cross in spite of their scorn.

They can call it foolish.

They can call us fools for believing it.

But to the cross we cling.

And we don’t just cling to this cross, WE PREACH IT!

(23-24)

The cross is everything to us.

· We don’t see foolishness when we look at the cross, we see the wisest plan ever devised.

· We don’t see weakness when we look at the cross, we see the power to save sinners.

· We look at the cross through a totally different lens.

(25) And we know that God’s plan will always be wiser and stronger than anything the world might concoct.

That sort of highlights the doctrine of the church.

That highlights where we separate from the world.

We don’t believe we have the wisdom or power to save ourselves,

We believe the wisdom and power for salvation are from God.

And we believe that wisdom and power is put on display at the cross.

Where God, chose to do for man, what man could not do for themselves.

God paid a price we could never pay.

Romans 3:21-26 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

TO US THE CROSS IS EVERYTHING.

That is Paul’s point.

And then Paul moves into the segment we are interested in this morning.

He asks the Corinthians to look around the room.

(26) He says “For consider your calling, brethren…”

· He wants them to look around the room.

· It would do you good as well.

Just take a look to your right and to your left.

Look at the people around you.

See who they are, remember who they were.

Maybe some of them you were even here when they were saved.

Remember what that was like.

Look around the room now and bring to your mind

The glory of Christ’s salvation.

Look at what Paul says:

(26) “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;”

That’s not an overly flattering statement.

But it is important to grasp

If you are to see the glory of Christ in this fellowship.

The church is no country club…

The church is no university…

Think about what it takes to get accepted into a university.

Typically you need one of 3 things to get in.

1) GOOD GRADES

· You take the SAT or the ACT or you graduate valedictorian or salutatorian and the school accepts you.

2) ATHLETIC ABILITY

· You are exceptional at some sport and you demonstrate the ability to help their athletic team be successful.

3) CONNECTIONS

· You’ve got the right uncle or grandparents and so the school lets you in based on your pedigree. Included here would be money. Your family makes the right kind of donations.

In the 90s a 17 year old high school senior named Hugh Gallagher pondered the requirements of college as he wtoe his application essay.

· The question asked him to list any great accomplishments in his life.

· He thought it absurd that a 17 year old would need such things to attend.

· He wrote an essay and initially submitted it to an essay contest, though later he did also submit it to colleges.

Pondering the need to wow the college with good works,

Here is what he wrote.

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently.

Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants.

I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I'm bored, I build suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller 'number nine' and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat .400.

My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven.

I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But I have not yet gone to college.

https://www.tumblr.com/jonnyandy/401136693/funny-college-application-essay

He seemed to understand that to get in you needed to be spectacular.

But if you’re not spectacular you aren’t getting in.

· If you’re not smart…

· If you’re not strong…

· If you’re not connected and have no money…

There is no benefit to the college for letting you in.

And they deny your application.

People with no wisdom, no power, and no pedigree

Aren’t sought after in the world.

They are deemed as more trouble than they are worth.

They are excluded rather than accepted.

And then Paul says, “LOOK AROUND THE ROOM”

“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;”

“not many wise according to the flesh”

· Not a lot of Harvard grads in here.

· Not a lot of PhD’s in here.

· Not a lot of prolific authors.

· The disciples were referred to as “untrained and uneducated men”

· Paul was called an “idle babbler” in Athens.

· Jesus’ followers were fishermen, tax collectors, even a terrorist.

Nothing exceptional to the world.

Paul goes on to say that when you look around there are “not many mighty”.

We’re talking about a person with great ability.

It is someone who can do something that no one else can do.

· Nolan Ryan could throw a baseball over 100mph

· Deion Sanders could run 40 yards in 4.2 seconds.

· Ussain Bolt could run the 100meters in 9.48 seconds.

· Larry Allen could bench press 705 pounds.

You could see why people wanted them for specific tasks and roles.

But when you look around you don’t see anyone like that here.

· Kolbey probably throws a baseball harder than anyone in here, but there’s a 50-50 chance he’s going to hit you with it.

· Les Fincher is one of the fastest, but I doubt his hamstrings hold up.

We just don’t have any sought after abilities here.

Paul continues that there are “not many noble”

The Greek word for “noble” is (you-gen-ACE)

“Eu” = well

“Genos” – family

So it would speak of someone from a good family.

· There is that pedigree.

· There is that wealthy foundation.

And Paul says we don’t have any of them either.

That is the reality of the church.

We are not the sought after.

But that is where we start to see the grace of God on display.

(27-29) “but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.”

When God formed His church He did not select those who were worthy.

He selected the unworthy.

· He selected “the foolish things of the world”

· He selected “the weak things of the world”

· He selected “the base things of the world”

“base” (a-gen-ACE)

“A” = not

“GENOS” = family

Those of no family.

Paul goes on to add that God selected the “despised”

EXOUTHENEO

Rendered “of no account” later on in 1 Corinthians.

That is the type of people God selected to be a part of His church.

And He did so, for His glory.

Paul wrote “so that no man may boast before God.”

NO ONE was going to be able to brag about

How they got into heaven based on their wisdom or power or pedigree.

NO ONE was going to enter this place

And see themselves as more worthy than anyone else.

Later on to address this brewing arrogance in the Corinthians Paul would write:

1 Corinthians 4:7 “For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”

He was just reminding the Corinthians that

They did not earn their entrance into the church.

The people who make up the church are not impressive in the world.

Luke 6:20-26 “And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. “Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. “Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”

That is what the church is comprised of.

Those rejected by the world.

Those of no account in the world.

Those who are unworthy.

You say, “Well that’s not very flattering.”

True, it’s not supposed to be.

It’s a passage meant to highlight God’s glory, not your worth.

BUT HERE IS WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING

And what we want to focus on this morning.

God selected us as the foolish, weak, unworthy,

But He did not leave us that way.

Look at what Paul says next:

(30-31) “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

It is certainly God who caused us to be in Christ.

We get that.

· We didn’t accept Christ because we were the smartest…we weren’t.

· We didn’t accept Christ because we were the strongest…we weren’t.

· We didn’t accept Christ because we were the noblest…we weren’t.

THAT HAS BEEN PROVEN.

The only reason we are in Christ is because God chose us in spite of us.

· His sovereign election…

· His sovereign grace…

· That’s the only reason we are here.

BUT CHOOSING US IS NOT ALL GOD DID.

Look at what it says:

Paul says we are “in Christ Jesus”

“who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.”

This is really cool stuff here!

3 categories.

· “wisdom”

· “righteousness and sanctification”

· “redemption”

ARE YOU FOLLOWING ALONG?

We said that in order to get into college you needed:

· Intelligence

· Power

· Pedigree or money

What did God provide for you in Christ

So that you could gain access into the kingdom?

“wisdom” – He gave you the mind of Christ.

· You were not worthy, He made you worthy.

· He renewed your mind.

· He opened your mind.

· He taught you His very words.

He gave you “righteousness and sanctification”

This speaks to your power or ability.

On one hand He justified you by wrapping you in Christ’s righteous robe,

But He also set you free from the law of sin and death and gave you the freedom to walk in obedience, that’s sanctification.

You may not be set apart based on your ability to throw a baseball,

But you are set apart based on your ability to live righteously.

Only believers can do that.

It was granted them in Christ.

And He gave you “redemption”

What is that?

Redemption means to “buy back”

It speaks of God purchasing you through the spotless blood of Christ.

· This is your tuition so to speak.

· This is God paying your bill.

· This is God granting you access through a very high price.

And all of these things were provided for us in Christ.

SO NOW, TAKE A LOOK AROUND THE FELLOWSHIP.

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

· The foolish? No

· The weak? No

· The base? No

· The despised? No

YOU DON’T SEE THAT AT ALL.

And that’s strange because that’s all that walked in here.

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

You see the wisest in all the world.

· These people actually know how to go to heaven.

You see the most mighty in the world.

· These people can stop sinning.

You see the most noble in the world.

· These people were purchased with the highest price ever paid.

Shoei Ohtani signed the richest baseball contract ever signed this past spring.

It was a 10 year 700 million dollar deal to play for the LA Dodgers.

God paid far more than that for us.

1 Peter 1:18-19 “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

When you look around this room

You see the wise and the mighty and the noble.

WHY?

BECAUSE IN THEM YOU ARE SEEING CHRIST.

· That is Christ’s wisdom you are hearing when they speak.

· That is Christ’s power you are seeing when they repent.

· That is Christ’s glory you are witnessing in their behavior.

Look around at the fellowship, Jesus is all over this place.

And as I listen to the wisdom you speak,

· I am molded into the image of Christ.

As I watch the victory over sin you demonstrate,

· I am molded into the image of Christ.

As I observe the glory with which you live,

· I am molded into the image of Christ.

· Every time I watch you endure with joy…

· Every time I watch you speak with wisdom…

· Every time I watch you obey a command…

· Every time I watch you grow in righteousness…

Every time I see that I am seeing Christ.

(Because that is not who you were when you came in here)

THIS IS WHY THE FELLOWSHIP MATTERS.

WHERE ELSE ARE YOU GOING TO SEE CHRIST?

People like to say,

· “I saw God today in the face of homeless man…”

· “I saw God today in that child’s smile…”

That’s only true if that homeless man and that child were believers.

We only see Christ in those who are in Christ.

We only see Christ in those who Christ is in.

If you want to behold Christ beyond the page.

If you want the Spirit to transform you into His image from glory to glory.

· Then you need to fellowship with the body.

· The church needs to be your running circle!

· The church needs to be your family!

· You need to devote yourself to fellowship!

It will sanctify you!

Don’t overlook this wonderful resource we have in each other.