1 Corinthians 1:4-9
Ps Paul Cheng
Dear Bethelites,
In our previous pastoral chat, we had learned that the word saint was a reference to the living believers, not the dead believers, and it was not only referring to a few special individuals but to all. In the Corinthian church, there would be a mixture of believers who were mature and young, strong and weak, but they were all called saints. Just as every believer in our church would vary in his or her spiritual maturity.
There are many spiritual blessings one would have in being a saint (c.f. Ephesians 1:3). Today, we want to consider the believer’s spiritual blessings in the past, present and future.
I. Our Past Blessings.
I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; (1 Corinthians 1:4)
The first blessing was the grace of salvation the believer had received in the past; at that moment when he trusted and believed in Jesus Christ, he received God’s grace of salvation and the testimony of Christ was confirmed in him (c.f. verse 6). The believer did not deserve God’s saving grace in sending His only begotten Son; it was free, unearned and totally undeserved, and that made His grace even more magnanimous.
God did not say, “I am giving you my gracious salvation, but if you make one mistake, I will take it away,” or, “I will give you salvation only if you do not sin.” If one could ever stop sinning on his own, he would not need grace because he could earn his salvation. That is why it is not right to believe that one can lose God’s grace of salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9, For by grace are ye saved through; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. This grace was a gift of God, therefore Paul said, I thank my God always on your behalf.
The greatest comfort and motivation the believer can ever have, is to know that in Christ, all his sins, past, present and future, are forgiven. One does not need to be buried in guilt, depressions and live in constant fear of judgment, simply because he has received the grace of God.
The phrase Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you (verse 6), means it was settled and established in the believer. He had not only heard and believed in the testimony of Christ’s saving grace, but it was also evidenced in his life as well.
Does your life reflect the fact that you have been saved by Christ’s saving grace?
II. Our Present Blessings
That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; (1 Corinthians 1:5)
The second blessing was that the believer had been enriched by God. The word enriched (ploutizo) means to be made wealthy. God had given to the believer this continuously treasury of riches throughout his earthly life. He had everything that Christ had to give, and He gave to him everything he needed.
Among the most important things, the believer was given all utterance, all knowledge and gift (verse 7). It did not mean that the believer was the best orator or all-knowing, but rather, he would always be able to say everything God wanted him to say, and to know everything He wanted him to know.
Utterance – The word utterance or speech was about telling God’s truth. God gave every believer the ability to speak for Him. The believer might not have eloquence, or articulative skills, or special personality, but he had the necessary God-given ability and capacity to speak for Him in the unique way that He wanted him to speak. The key was about the believer’s willingness to testify!
One of the most common failures of the Christian life is not speaking for the Lord. People would often give the excuse, “I don’t know what to say, or I don’t know how to say it.” We have no excuse for not speaking for Christ because we have been enriched with all utterance. Maybe you are afraid of opposition and hostility, and you ask the Lord to help you. In Acts 4:29, when the disciples felt they were threatened, they prayed, And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word. What did the Lord do? Verse 31,….and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. All believers have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and God will enable them, just like the disciples in the New Testament, to speak for Christ with boldness.
One must not forget the aspect of human responsibility. He must be prepared with the knowledge of God’s Word and prayers. Therefore, he must study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15), so that he would be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15).
Knowledge – God had enriched the believer with all knowledge. Again, it did not mean that he knew everything. But God had given him enough revelation and understanding to speak the truth to the world. The believer had His Word and His Spirit to interpret the truth!
If your neighbour asks you, “I notice that you go to church every Sunday. You must be a Christian. What is it that you believe?” Are you ready to explain not only what you believe, but why you believe it? Are you ready to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear? Interestingly, the word “apologetic” was derived from the phrase to give an answer (apologia).
After the time of the Apostles in the second century, there was a man named Justin Martyrs who was one of the most important early Christian apologists. His most famous writing was titled “The Apology,” which he addressed to Emperor Antonius Pius. He wanted to defend the Christians against the false charges being spread around the empire against them. In those days, the Christians were accused of being atheists because they did not embrace polytheism (the worship of many gods) and emperor worship which was widely practised in Rome. Since they would not worship the emperor, they were accused of sedition and being traitors to the empire. They were accused of cannibalism because rumours spread that the Christians met together in secret to eat someone’s body and drink someone’s blood. This rumour was nothing more than a terrible distortion of the Lord’s Supper.
Justin Martyrs clarified what the Christian church believed and told the emperor that Christians were not atheists but they were believers of a God who was one and not many. He explained that Christians did not worship Caesar because only Jesus Christ was Lord but nonetheless Christians were obedient to the king and judges, they paid their taxes and prayed for those who ruled over them. He also explained the nature of the Lord’s Supper which was far from cannibalism. By means of apologetics, the way was then opened to help believers to correct the misunderstanding and distortion that were spread about God and His Word.
Are you able to defend the faith, and give an answer to every man who asks you why you believe what you believe?
Gift – God had enriched the believer with gift that he needed to serve Him. The phrase So that ye may come behind in no gift (verse 7) means the believer was never lacking in any gift. The Corinthian church might be lacking in spiritual maturity and moral purity, but they were not lacking in any spiritual gift. Here, Paul was not speaking how the Corinthians utilized their gifts; he was simply speaking about God’s provisions. Despite the fact that they were unfaithful and perverse in using their spiritual gifts, they sought for gifts they did not have. They lacked no gifts but lacked their willingness to use them.
As believers, we all have spiritual gifts, but because of our ignorance, it may take years for us to recognise them, and many more years to develop them. We must not be ignorant, we need to recognise, identify and ultilize our spiritual gifts. We need to know whether we have the gift of teaching, preaching, exhortation, administration, hospitality, giving and so forth. God has been so faithful to give us gifts, what we lack is the willingness to use what we have.
Do you know your spiritual gifts, and are you willing to exercise them?
III. Our Future Blessings
1 Corinthians 1:7b-9,….waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
God’s grace had not only provided past and present blessings, but also future blessings. In the past, God had saved the believer by His grace; presently He had enriched him with His gracious gifts, and promised him the final fulfilment of His grace. The best was yet to come!
As believers, we are grateful for past grace. We are responsible to use the present grace, but our greatest joy is looking forward to the future grace. That is why we watch for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What does Christ’s second coming mean to us?
- At Christ’s first coming, He was born as a humble babe, but at His second coming, He will come as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth (Philippians 2:10-11).
- At Christ’s second coming, Satan will face his final defeat and judgment which he deserves. He will be bound for a thousand years in the bottomless pit, and then released for a little while, and finally be thrown into the lake of fire forever and ever (Revelation 20:3).
- At Christ’s second coming, all those who have persecuted and afflicted God’s people will be punished. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-7, God would recompense tribulation to them that trouble you….when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.
- At Christ’s second coming, He will bring judgment to all who have rejected Him, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.
- For all those who believe in Him, Christ’s second coming will mean heaven for all eternity.
When Christ returns, He shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (verse 8). When the believer enters into heaven, he will not have his sins and shortcomings, the Lord who has cleansed him by His precious blood and clothed him with His righteousness; He will reckon him as blameless before the eternal throne of God. Christ is going to present the church in all her glory having no spot or wrinkle.
To be blameless does not mean the believer is sinless, for no man is perfect. To be blameless means to be above reproach. In other words, our Christian testimony should not be in question, and there ought to be nothing which people can accuse us of. That is the way we should live our lives until the Lord’s return!
With love in Christ,
Pastor Paul Cheng