By His Grace

1 Corinthians 1:1-9 “Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, ² To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: ³ Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. ⁵ For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— ⁶ God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. ⁷ Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. ⁸ He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The first letter to the Corinthian church starts in a conventional manner in how letters were formatted in those times, with Paul identifying himself, then proceeding with a standard greeting. He then expresses gratitude for the church’s faith and the gifts they have received from God. 

Paul identifies himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. One of the issues in the church was that Paul’s authority as an apostle was challenged and so as Paul writes that he is an apostle chosen by the will of God, he subtly calls attention to the fact that this was not a position he put himself in. In Acts 9:15, God says “This man (Paul) is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.” Paul’s mission and the church’s existence are grounded in God’s will and initiative. 

Notice, how he addresses the people within the church; sanctified (which means set apart) and holy. Paul was well aware of the struggle and challenge they as a body of believers were going through. But here Paul reminds them of their true identity, of who they were in Christ – Set apart and Holy.

Self-Reflection – when anything weighs you down like sin, guilt or shame, know that the enemy would love for you to make that your identity. Once we put our faith in Christ, our identity is always in HIM. Let nothing else define you. And just as Paul saw the Corinthian believers not for their shortcomings but for who they were in Christ, may we too extend that towards others.

Although the purpose and the content through most of this epistle is correction and instruction to the disquieting news that Paul heard happening in the Corinthian church, these first few verses of the epistle give an insight into the strengths that this small group of Christians were blessed with. By the grace of God, they were blessed with all kinds of speech, knowledge and every spiritual gift. Having thanked God for what they had received, Paul goes on to tell them that Jesus will strengthen them. God is faithful and He alone has given them the ability to do what they have done. And He will not stop strengthening them. God will keep giving them the grace and the gifts they need to persevere until he comes again. They did not lack spiritual gifts but the issue that we later learn of is in that they got puffed up about it (we see that in chapters 12, 13 and 14). Their failure was recognizing the source of their grace. They were there by the grace of God. And so are we and He will strengthen us to the end. So let us with humility and gratitude acknowledge the source of all we are and all we have and give God the glory.

In verses 8 and 9 Paul writes “He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Paul had not lost faith in God’s ability to finish what God began within the people in Corinth. Paul’s words serve as a declaration of faith in the midst of far from ideal behaviour from the people there.

Self-Reflection: Similarly, what we see in our circumstances should not dampen our faith and hope in God. May we too commit things, people and situations to the work of the Holy Spirit and say this is how it is now, but God…… May we remember to not give up hope, not to lose the anticipation of seeing His work and trust in the power of the Holy Spirit on being able to change a heart, restore a situation and do what only the Lord can do.

God Bless.