Titles of Christians (#16)

1 Peter 4:10 – 11

Sermon by Pastor Sylvia Chan

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Today we continue to study the titles of Christians in the New Testament. Let’s look at a passage:

 ^NASB 1 Peter 4:10 – 11 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. ¹¹ Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1Pe 4:10-11, NASB)

 According to this passage, 1 Peter 4:10 – 11, Christians are compared to stewards of the manifold grace of God. As stewards have to take care of their masters’ property, business and even family matters, so Christians should use the grace that has been granted us to serve one another so that Yahweh God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

First of all, please take notice that the grace that Yahweh God has granted us is not for our own benefit, but to serve one another so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

For example: Some people are granted the gift of preaching; they can preach with power and clarity, so they ought to preach the word of God. Some people are granted the gift of doing administrative work, they should take care of the administrative work in the church. Some people have the gift of music, they should serve God in the area of music. Some people have the gift of encouraging people, they should encourage those who are sad and discouraged.

Titles of Christians (#15)

John 8:31

Sermon by Pastor Sylvia Chan

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Some time back we studied the title of Christians, “The Sheep of Jesus Christ”; today we are going to study another title of Christians:

ESV John 8:31 – 32 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31 – 32 ESV)

To “abide in” means to “live in”. Here the Lord Jesus says to the people who have believed in him that they are truly his disciples if they live in his word.

“Disciple” was the main title of those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ

Now let’s look at this word “disciple”. In the New Testament, the followers of the Lord Jesus were called “disciples”; the word “disciple” (singular) appears 29 times in the New Testament, and the word “disciples” (plural) appears 239 times, together they appear a total of 268 times.

By contrast, the word “Christian” or “Christians” appears only 3 times in the New Testament. Here are the 3 passages:

Titles of Christians (#10)

1 Peter 2:4—6

Sermon by Pastor Sylvia Chan

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Today we are going to study another title of Christians:

^NAS 1 Peter 2:4—6 And coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God, ⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him shall not be disappointed.” (1Pe 2:4—6 NAS)

Here Apostle Peter is calling Christians to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Here the word “Him” refers to the Lord Jesus Christ; he is a living stone, rejected by men. They killed him by nailing him to the cross. As the Lord Jesus is a living stone, so Christians are living stones. We are being built up into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, and we offer up spiritual sacrifices to God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Please take notice that in this sermon today, I only focus on the living stone. I am not talking about the holy priesthood or the spiritual sacrifices; I will discuss these topics in my next sermon two weeks from now.

This passage contains several spiritual terms, and we need to find out the meaning of these terms one by one. Now let us study this passage step by step.

Titles of Christians (#9)

1 Corinthians 1:1 – 2

Sermon by Pastor Sylvia Chan

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Brothers, sisters and friends, today we are going to study another title of Christians:

^RSV 1 Corinthians 1:1 – 2 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, ² To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: (1Co 1:1 – 2 RSV)

This passage comes from a letter that Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. In verse 2 he says the brothers and sisters of the church are those sanctified in Christ Jesus, and they are called to be saints.

Christians are called saints, the holy ones

Most people think that only outstanding Christians who have accomplished a lot for Yahweh God are called saints, and that ordinary Christians are not saints. But here apostle Paul says all the brethren in the church who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus are called saints!

Indeed according to the New Testament all true Christians are called saints! Let’s look at some passages in the New Testament to confirm this point: