I Corinthians 1:4-9 –
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Introduction
I grew up in a home with a dad who had a lot of stamina to finish a project. My dad and I would often work on cars. Far too often we were making repairs that were not going as well as we had hoped. When I was younger I would be along side of dad watching—as I got older I would begin to help—but I soon found out that I would grow weary and quit, but my dad would keep on working until the job was done. My dad was amazingly patient and persistent. I always had full confidence that the car we were working on would get fixed no matter how difficult it was. My dad was one of those guys who if he didn’t have the right tool—he would fabricate one to work perfectly. Dad would persistently stay with a repair until it was done.
In a much greater way, our text for this morning tells us how God persistently stays with us to finish the work that He started! And here is why this truth is so important.
- Have you ever battled sin or trials and wondered if you were going to be able to make it to the end?
- Have you ever felt weak, as if you may not have what it takes to make it and to remain strong to the end?
- Have you ever faced discouragement to the point where doubt dominated your thinking?
I hope that at some point in your life you have felt weak and incapable of going on to the end! You might be thinking—Darrel, that is not the encouragement I was looking for this morning—but let me explain. Paul, in II Corinthians 12:9 records the words of the Lord Jesus when He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”. Paul continues: That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong”. You see, hardships remind us that we need God’s grace! Why do we need hardships? Because we are so prone to be self-sufficient and to think that we can make it on our own!
Paul is writing to the church of Corinth, a church that was loaded with problems. But what is at the heart of their problems? Commentator Gordon Fee helps us understand one significant root of their problems when he states “The Corinthians are genuinely gifted, but as the letter reveals, they are self-satisfied and creature-oriented, boasting in mere human beings.” (NICNT, p. 36). Fee also states that “their problem lies not in their gifts, but in their attitude toward these gifts”(NICNT, p. 36). It was their inordinate attention on self and others—rather than God—that caused many problems within the church. Paul writes to them in I Corinthians to help redirect their focus.
Today we will focus upon verses 4 through 9. In typical fashion for Paul, he expresses thanksgiving to God for the Corinthians. But if you have read through the letter to the church in Corinth, you know all the problems they had, and you might appropriately ask—what do the Corinthians have for which can be thankful? Well, what the Corinthians have, we have also been given—and because of that we too should be very thankful to God! But for what is Paul is thankful? Three things. First…
I. Give thanks to God for what He has done (v. 4-7)
In verse 4, Paul says “I always thank God for you because…” and then he gives us three reasons why he is thankful. The first reason is this…
A. God has given you grace in Christ Jesus.
Here “charis” is the Greek word for grace, and it refers to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Jesus is God’s grace to His people. The Father sent His Son, Jesus, to this earth, and ultimately to the Cross to purchase our redemption. Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the penalty for our sin was paid in full. Today, if we are the recipients of God’s unmerited grace by faith, we are counted as righteous before God. We have peace with God. If you are “in Christ” by grace through faith, then there is absolutely no condemnation upon your life. Not now. Not ever again! God’s grace that is given to us in the Gospel of Jesus Christ sets us free from sin and death. That also means that the power of sin was broken. Born-again believers are no longer slaves to sin. We don’t have to keep sinning. We are set free from sin to live in obedience to Jesus Christ. This grace given to us in Jesus Christ also includes the gift of the Holy Spirit, who gives us power to live our lives for God’s glory and others good. We don’t have to keep on living proud, self-sufficient, and self-serving lives. We can, because of the grace given to us in Christ, begin to find our greatest joy in loving God! And, because we are no longer held captive to sin, and because we have experienced God’s great love in Jesus, we can begin to love others in right ways. We can place ourselves at the loving service of others for their good and for God’s glory! Because the grace given to us in Christ Jesus, the penalty for our sin is paid in full, and the power of sin in our lives is broken. But that’s not all! God’s grace given to us in the Gospel gives us great hope for eternity. We are given a great hope that when we leave this earth, we will spend eternity with Jesus Christ without the presence of sin. Because of God’s grace given to us in Christ Jesus, the penalty of sin is paid in full, the power of the sin is broken, and we have a Gospel-infused hope that one day we’ll be entirely removed from the presence of sin, and we’ll see Jesus face to face.
For what is Paul thankful? It is not what the Corinthians have accomplished. Rather it’s what God has accomplished in the lives of the believers through the Gospel of His grace. As Leon Morris states, “Mere human achievement means little to Paul”. Morris continues, “Paul doesn’t thank them for qualities such as faith, hope, and love (as in I Thess 1:2-3), but for what God’s grace has in fact done in them”.
You see, Paul is beginning to redirect their focus from man to God. Imagine for a moment if I was standing next to the Mona Lisa in Paris, France (a picture I actually had the privilege of seeing on a business trip). Pretend that I stood next to the enclosed case and talked with tourists as they came by—and as I talked with them, I talked with them as if I had been the one who had painted the Mona Lisa. What would happen to me there? I would get booted out quickly because everyone knows that Leonardo DaVinci painted the Mona Lisa in 1506. It would be absurd for me to try to take credit for something a famous artist had done centuries before. So to, it is wrong for us to take credit for something that God has freely done in our lives—the Corinthians were squabbling about following Paul, and following Apollos—they were fascinated with all of what man can do, but Paul keeps reminding them all the way through the letter that we are just clay vessels—their focus was on man, and it should have been on God—so Paul is at work to redirect their focus—from man to God
But let us continue, for what else is Paul thankful to God? Here it is…
B. God has enriched you in Christ Jesus.
Paul is thankful to God for how they have been enriched in every way. The idea here is that the Corinthians have been “made rich” or “richly furnished” in every way. But then he gives two specific ways in which they have been made rich:
1. In All Speech: This is kind of funny because one of the Corinthians problems was an inflated view of their speech. Yet, Paul begins by saying he is thankful to God for the way He has made them rich in ALL speech. As we will see later, Paul did not place a high value on rhetorical eloquence. Paul didn’t proclaim the Gospel in lofty words of wisdom. Instead, Paul’s preaching of the Gospel was made effective by the power of the Holy Spirit. Neither did Paul place a great value on the act of speaking in tongues if it wasn’t done in love, or the good of others. In fact, Paul said that if you speak in tongues without love its like an obnoxious clanging noise. Silence would be better than that. In chapter 14 Paul puts a huge emphasis upon speech that builds up the church. Paul was big on the body of Christ being edified. Paul would address their abuse of speech, but here in the beginning of the letter, Paul gives thanks to God for how their lives have been enriched in all Speech. This probably includes edifying speech they had received from him, and it would have certainly included edifying speech they have been able to give to one another in the church. The bottom line is this: Paul is thankful to God for how God has enriched their lives in all speech.
2. Also, they have been enriched in all their knowledge—not only have they been able to speak, but they have also been able to grasp or understand the Truth. They have been able to understand their need for a Savior and know of their need to repent of their sin and place their faith alone in Jesus Christ. This wasn’t something they did on their own. Paul will teach us later that spiritual things don’t make any sense to a person that is not born-again. But, when the Holy Spirit brings you to life, the Holy Spirit will also give you the ability to understand spiritual things. Paul gives thanks to God for giving them knowledge.
Paul is able to do this because, as we see in verse 6…..
C. God’s work has been confirmed among you.
Paul says “our testimony about Christ was confirmed among you”. On Paul’s Second Missionary Journey, he had spent over a year and a half planting the church in Corinth. Paul spent much time testifying about how Jesus Christ was the Messiah and calling people to repentance and faith. Paul says that he is thankful to God that his testimony about Christ was confirmed in the Corinthians. The word “confirmed” is often used with the idea of a guarantee. In other words, the Gospel of Jesus Christ that Paul preached had been received by these Corinthians and their faith in Christ had been confirmed as authentic.
It is a delight to hear of someone who has made a profession of faith in Christ. That is reason to rejoice. The problem is however that all of us can probably think of someone we know who had at one time made a profession of faith—but then we never saw any fruit of that profession, and now today they are not living for God at all. Well here, Paul says that he is thankful to God because of the evidence of God’s work in the lives of the Corinthians believers. Paul has seen spiritual evidences/fruit of God’s work in their lives.
Where is Paul putting the focus? Do you see a trend? Salvation is all about what God has done in Christ Jesus. In fact, the name of Jesus Christ is used 9 times in these first 9 verses, and the name of God has been used five times in these first 9 verses. This message is for us today as well—we must daily remember what God has done for us in Christ Jesus!
As we continue in verse 7, Paul also…
II. Give (s) thanks to God for what He is doing.
There are at least two things we see here. First…
A. God has gifted you for ministry.
On the basis of what God has already done, he asserts that the Corinthians do not lack any spiritual gift. Now this spiritual gift is something that was given at salvation, but the purpose of giving this gift was so that the believers would exercise it daily within the church on an ongoing basis. Because God had gifted the church with spiritual gifts (or charismata), they were able to minister in each others lives effectively so that the body of Christ would be built up (I Corinthians 12-14 teach us all about that).
Think about our local body here for just a moment. Think about how God has gifted each born again believer with a gift or gifts that are being used for building each other up in Christ. It is a joy to see you guys encouraging one another, giving to one another, serving one another, exhorting one another, teaching one another, showing hospitality to one another, leading one another, showing mercy to one another, and the list could go on. God is good—He is orchestrating the building up and maturing of this body—and each one of you is a part of what God is doing for His Glory!
Here in verse 7 Paul emphasizes that the Corinthians do not lack any of the necessary gifts—and that is all because of God’s grace. The result of God’s grace is that believers should mature and grow and become more and more like Jesus Christ. God has gifted you for effective ministry. But that is not all God is doing…
B. God has given you hope for life.
The end of verse 7 gives us an amazing insight. Paul states that you don’t lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ! As great as this present salvation is, it pales in comparison to that day when Jesus will be revealed and we are ushered into His presence for eternity! This life with all its grace in Christ Jesus has a focal point—and its when Jesus Christ returns to complete the work that His Father had given Him to do. Because of God’s grace—and because of the spiritual gifts given to the church—we eagerly wait for that day! We long for that day to come. We anticipate that day, not in apathy, but in an active and positive hope. The grace we experience today is tremendous—but God’s grace will be more fully displayed and experienced on that day when Jesus Christ is revealed in all His glory—for then we shall see Him as He is.
Do you long for that day? Are you getting ready for that day? Quite frankly, sometimes life in America is filled with so many material distractions, that we don’t even look forward to heaven. What a tragedy. As Christians, we must learn to yearn more and more for that day to come when the Glory of Jesus Christ will be revealed fully. Let us be a people that are preparing and eagerly anticipating that day.
Only God’s Grace will enable us to anticipate that great day! Paul gives thanks for what God has done, and is doing, but finally, Paul…
III. Gives thanks to God for what He will do (v. 8).
What will God do? Here it is:
A. God will sustain you to the end (guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ).
This is utterly amazing! This is a promise by God to keep us believing today—and tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day—so that we will be presented guiltless, blameless, without fault or accusation, on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ!
This is a bold and strong promise given to believers! On no uncertain terms—God says that He will keep you strong to the end! How in the world can this promise be made? On what basis can this commitment be made? Clearly, Scripture teaches that man is given the responsibility to persevere in the faith—but God is the One who enables us to persevere. Look at verse 9.
Verse 9: “God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful”
To start with—you cannot take credit for your salvation! God took the initiative for you to be saved. God called you! You have been elected in God’s free grace and according to His will before the beginning of time—not because of any merit on your own, but solely because of God’s great love. God chose you, He called you, He drew you to Himself, He brought you from death to life, He justified you, He is sanctifying you now, and He will glorify you when the Lord Returns!
This call is not into an abstract position of grace—but you are called into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord!
Nearly 43 years ago I became the husband of Michele Ann Solomon. She became my wife. We did not become husband and wife only on a piece of paper that is stored in the courthouse in Allen County, Ohio! We were not husband and wife in status only. No way, we had a relationship—and guess what, we still have a relationship. We have a relationship that is still growing and getting better every single day! Praise God!
I’m afraid that there are far too many Christians in the American Church who have their salvation certificate stored in a safe—but they don’t know Jesus Christ. They don’t have a personal living relationship with Him that is growing and changing!
Why can God make this promise to keep us strong to the end so that we will be blameless on the day of the Lord? Because God has called us to Himself in Christ Jesus! And…
B. God will do this because He is faithful.
Paul tells us, this is what God is going to do—and I’m certain of it because God is faithful—He will do exactly what He says He will do!
Why do we have hope for today? Why do we have hope for the days to come? It’s because of God’s grace given to us IN Christ Jesus! It is because God is faithful! Its because God keeps His Word! We can count on it! It’s because God is at work to keep us strong to the end!
As you evaluate your life today—are you where God wants you to be? Are you submitting your life to the will of God for your life? God has not made us to be robots! He works in our hearts giving us a desire to live daily for Him. God desires to be at the center of all that you think and do? When you look at your schedule—your heart—your speech—your thoughts—your activities—do you see God determining your every step?
God has made a commitment to keep you strong to the end—so that you will be blameless on the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. In light of that, I urge you this morning to get on board with God’s agenda for your life!
Here are at least 3 Implications of this incredible promise:
- Let this passage comfort you when life gets hard and you don’t know if you can make it to the end. Let the faithfulness of God and the promise of our faithful God comfort you. Know that God has made a commitment to finish the work that He started in you! Therefore—keep believing! Don’t quit believing!
- Let this passage give you hope when you see other Christians struggling. You may witness other Christians messing up big time. Remember that God is at work in their lives too. But also remember that God may want you to be the one who will come along side of them and help them grow and change. Remember that God has gifted the church for that very purpose.
- Most importantly, let this passage and this truth of God’s Grace cause your love to grow for our Great God more and more each day! Take time to thank God. Take time to Praise Him for being faithful and for His gracious promise. God will sustain you to the end!