“Thankful for God’s Grace”
(1 Corinthians 1:4-9)
Series: Chaos & Correction (1 Corinthians)
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
• Take your Bibles and join me in 1 Corinthians, chapter 1 (page 767; YouVersion).
Last week we began a series of messages, verse-by-verse, through 1 Corinthians. As a
church that cherishes the Word, we preach through books of the Bible here as we
believe it is the best way to preach and teach God’s Word to us. The Bible comes to us
this way, verse-by-verse, and so we preach it this way, verse-by-verse.
Last week was largely introductory, introducing and surveying the letter, considering the
background and culture of the church at Corinth. We looked at a few slides and we’ll
not go through them all again this week, but just a few by way of review.
Slide 1; You’ll remember where Corinth is located, in modern Greece, Italy to the left
here and Corinth to the south and east. Slide 2; Ancient Corinth was located right on
the isthmus that connected southern Greece to northern Greece. This isthmus is about
4-miles wide. We said the peninsula to the south was dangerous to sail around so
sailors would port on one side of the Corinthian isthmus, offload their supplies, and then
carry them across the 4-mile road (slide 3) that went across the isthmus. Depending on
ship size and cargo (slide 4), the entire ship would be moved from one side of the
isthmus to the other, carried along by a rope and pulley system.
So geographically, Corinth was a port-city, people from all over the ancient world passed
through Corinth. If you were going north to south you had to go through Corinth. And if
you were traveling by sea east to west you chose to go through Corinth. Corinth was a
port-city.
And because it was a port-city, it became a popular city, a city in which to shop and see
virtually anything one wished to see. Without Christ, Corinth was a city full of lost
people who worshiped scores of false gods and goddesses worshiping, for example
(slide 7) high atop this mountain called the AcroCorinth, worshiping at the temple at the
top there that was dedicated to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and pleasure
(slide 8). On the top of this mountain were gathered some 1,000 prostitutes who served
as priestesses of Aphrodite.
So we review those slides again to give us a bit of the salty taste of the Mediterranean
upon upon our tongues as we try to sense what it was like to have been in Corinth
2,000 years ago.
With our Bibles open to 1 Corinthians you will recall this letter is written by the Apostle
Paul. He is writing around AD 54, writing to Corinth from Ephesus after having learned
about some of the things going on in Corinth. The church at Corinth was a mess, there
was division, strife, disorder, and immorality. There was chaos at Corinth.
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By the way, the first few words of 1 Corinthians, “Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus
Christ,” is a reminder to us that God authorized Paul’s ministry, authorizing Paul’s
writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We must remember when we come to
the Bible that all the words of Scripture are God-breathed. All Scripture is equally
authoritative (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The words of Paul are no less authoritative than the
words of Jesus. Red-letter editions of the Bible are helpful in locating quickly the words
of Jesus, but that does not mean that the words of Jesus are more authoritative than the
words of Paul. The black letters of Scripture carry as much weight as the red letters of
Scripture. So we must never imply that because we are reading the red letters that,
somehow they carry more weight. No, 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God.”
We left off at verse 3 last time so we’ll pick up in verse 4. And we’ll read verses 4
through 9. In these few verses, Paul mentions “Christ” or, “Christ Jesus” five times in
these few verses, not including his references to Jesus. So, were you to count them up,
you would find no less than ten references to Christ in the first ten verses.
This raises the question about the use of “Christ” or “Christ Jesus” in our personal
correspondence. How often do you mention Jesus Christ in your personal
conversation? How frequently do you talk about Him? The conversations you have
with other folks here at the church, or as you meet through the week, how frequently do
you talk about Jesus, about the person of Christ, the work of Christ, the cross, who He
is, what He has done?
• Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you
by Christ Jesus,
5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge,
6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,
7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus
Christ,
8 who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless 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.
• Pray.
Introduction:
Well, these first nine verses, 1-3 from last week and now 4-9 this morning, comprise the
introduction of Paul as he addresses the church members at Corinth. And when it
comes to Paul’s introduction, it’s not so much what he does say as what he does not
say.
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I remember Johnny Carson the former host of the Tonight Show, he had this thing he
would say and, in fact, he recommended its use by others, if he ever heard somebody
sing or he watched a particular act and he wasn’t too crazy about the song or the act,
rather than saying he didn’t like it, he would say, “I’ve never heard anything quite like
that.” It’s not always what one says, but what one doesn’t say, what a person leaves out
in his praise.
When you compare Paul’s introduction to the Corinthians to his introductions in other
letters, you’ll find there are some things he does not say that gives you a sense of the
chaos in Corinth.
In Paul’s other introductions, he includes thanks and praise for the love of the
Christians. Consider, for example Philippians 1:9, “And this I pray, that your love may
abound still more and more…,” Colossians 1:4, “…we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus
and of your love for all the saints;” 1 Thessalonians 1:3, “… remembering without
ceasing your work of faith, labor of love,” 2 Thessalonians 1:3, “… the love of every one
of you all abounds toward each other,” Philemon 1:4-5, “I thank my God…hearing of
your love.”
The word love is missing from this introduction. Paul mentions the Corinthians’ spiritual
gifts of utterance and knowledge, but will write later that, more important than any other
spiritual gift, is the gift of love. This church at Corinth needs to grow in love for one
another.
Paul loves the church. Despite the factions and failures of the Corinthians, he writes in
the verse beginning our text this morning, verse 4, “I thank my God always concerning
you.” Just stop there for a moment and consider that statement: I thank my God always
concerning you.” I mean, after last week’s survey on the divisions, disorder, and
difficulties at Corinth, you may wonder whether there was anything in the Corinthian
church for which to thank God! And there is. Paul says, verse 4, “I thank my God
always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus.”
In the time remaining, let’s walk through these verses and talk about being thankful for
God’s grace. Christians should thank God for His grace. First, let’s talk about:
I. His Grace to Save Fully (4)
Raise your hands with me if you can say this. How many of you could say, “I am saved
and I know it?” Amen. I raise my hand with you. I am saved. How do I know that?
Because God has given to me His grace.
The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9 “by grace you have been saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
So while we are saved by faith, by believing in Jesus Christ, believing that He lived a
perfect life for which we get credit, and believing He died a perfect death for which we
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also get credit, believing that Jesus lived and died for us and rose the third day, the very
reason we believe at all is because of God’s grace. “By grace you have been saved
through faith.” Christians are saved by grace through faith. Grace is poured out upon
us and we believe in Christ Jesus.
Paul says, “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was
given to you by Christ Jesus.” That last phrase should really be translated, “in Christ
Jesus,” as it is in the original Greek and in most of the English translations: in Christ
Jesus, a favorite phrase of the Apostle Paul, a phrase he uses some 164 times in his
letters.
The stress in verse 4 is that God has given this grace. It is a grace that, first of all,
saves Christians. As John Newton writes in that great hymn, “Amazing Grace,” he
writes, “‘twas grace that taught my heart to fear.” Grace teaches us to fear God. We
don’t just drum that up, God gives us grace to believe in Christ, to fear God and serve
Him.
So Paul is like, “Let me just begin here with gratitude to God for His grace given to you
in Christ.” and Paul himself is a recipient of God’s grace. Later in chapter 3, verse 10,
Paul mentions, “the grace of God which was given to me 1 Corinthians 3:10.” Also in 1
Corinthians 15:9-10, where he refers to himself as, “the least of the apostles, who am
not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. [He adds]
“But by the grace of God I am what I am.”
Remember in Acts 9, Paul is on his way to Damascus to persecute the church? He was
not a believer, he was not a Christian. He was like some of you, very religious but not a
believer. So Paul is on his way to Damascus one day, on the road to Damascus, and
Jesus Christ appears to him and “body slams” him with His grace, grace to believe. So
Paul could also say, “I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.”
If you and I see at all it is all owing to God’s grace. I agree with Charles Spurgeon who
was fond of saying that salvation is, “all of grace.”
Christians should thank God for His grace; grace to save fully, secondly:
II. His Grace to Serve Faithfully (5-7)
The Apostle Paul expands upon this grace that saves Christians and talks about how
God gifts Christians with spiritual gifts to be used to serve the Lord and His church.
Verse 5 and following:
5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge,
6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,
7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus
Christ,
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Let’s break this down. Paul has just said in verse 4, “I thank my God always concerning
you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus,” –now, verse 5– “that
you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge,” The sense
here is Paul’s saying something like, “Man, I thank God for His grace given to you,
church, I mean He really has blessed you all with spiritual gifts, namely the gifts of
utterance and knowledge.”
Paul will teach later that each Christian has at least one spiritual gift. When you come
to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the God who gave you grace to believe and
be saved is the same God who gives you the grace of a gift to be used in the church, a
grace-gift to be used to serve the Lord and His church.
That’s why Paul in verse 6 speaks about “the testimony of Christ” being “confirmed in
you,” confirmed in the Christians at Corinth. Their having spiritual gifts confirms that
they had received the “testimony of Christ,” the word of Christ, or the Gospel. Having a
spiritual gift was one of the evidences of conversion, of salvation.
So Paul thanks God for His grace given to the Christians at Corinth, noting in verse 5
that they were, “enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge.” So
Paul mentions two main categories of spiritual gifts that were highly evident at the
church of Corinth. These two categories are “utterance” and “knowledge,” or speaking
gifts–such as preaching, teaching, prophecy, and evangelism–and knowing gifts–such
as gifts of wisdom, insight, and discernment. Or, if you like, the two main categories of
spiritual gifts to which Paul refers are the truth proclaimed and the truth apprehended;
gifts of speaking–the truth proclaimed, and gifts of knowing–the truth apprehended.
Now remember, it’s not always what one says, but often what is unsaid, what is left out.
While the ancient world, ancient Greece, highly regarded the gifts of oratory and
knowledge, Paul is going to correct them by pointing out what they lack. Because while
the ancient world highly regarded oratorical gifts, speaking gifts, Paul is going to say to
the church later in chapter 13, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels,
but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal (1 Corinthians
13:1).” A church without love is a church in trouble.
And while the church at Corinth may be praised in verse 5 also for their gifts of
knowledge, Paul will dress them down for how their focus upon “knowing gifts” has
puffed them up and made them prideful. So Paul will ask eleven times in this letter, “Do
you not know?” (1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 5:6; 1 Corinthians 6:2, etc.). It’s as
though he’s saying, “You guys boast of all your so-called knowledge, but do you not
know this and do you not know that?!”
The church had become so prideful they had forgotten that spiritual gifts were given by
God to edify the church, to build-up the church body. The Corinthians had become so
factionalized and divisive, that they had forgotten they were “all in this together.” The
Christian faith is not an individual faith, it is a collective faith.
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That is, Christians are not to function like individuals but rather are to live as a collective
group of people, brothers and sisters working together as a family, living in harmony
with one another. We each discover our spiritual gift or gifts and then use them not to
build up ourselves, but to build up others.
The pronouns in this passage are in the plural form. Paul is not addressing a Christian
individual, but a collective church body. He is saying, “You all.” You all are in Christ
Jesus together. You all share in Him. None of us is detached from another.
This is why church membership is so important. Paul refers to the church as a body.
He says just as the body has many members, or body parts, so the church has many
members, many persons who are connected together and need one another in order to
be healthy.
So Christians thank God for His grace to save fully, His grace to serve faithfully, and:
III. His Grace to Stand Firmly (8-9)
Paul has just referred to the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of verse 7. In fact, he has said
in verse 7 that the Church in Corinth has every spiritual gift necessary, that they “come
short in no gift,” and then he adds, “eagerly awaiting for the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
And the idea is, we’re not to focus on the gifts as though it’s all about the spiritual gifts,
we have these gifts to be used temporarily in the church until Christ returns. When
Christ returns, many of these gifts will no longer be necessary. So Christians exercise
their spiritual gifts, while they are at the same time, verse 7, “eagerly waiting for the
revelation (or the coming) of our Lord Jesus Christ,” who will do what? Verse 8:
8 who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
I like the ESV of verse 8, “(He) will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our
Lord Jesus Christ.”
Verse 8 refers to the Christian’s perfect position in Christ. When the Christian is saved
he or she is justified, declared righteous, and this is something God declares on the
basis of the work of His Son. Because of Christ, God the Father declares Christians
legally righteous, free from the penalty of sin, a righteousness that lasts forever.
God is faithful to do this. Verse 9, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the
fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Christians are “called into the fellowship–
the partnership–of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” This fellowship, or partnership, is a
communal participation with Christ, pictured in the Christian’s baptism–being buried with
Christ and raised with Christ in newness of life. Our baptism pictures a position in
Christ that never changes. God will “sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our
Lord Jesus Christ.”
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Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ
Jesus,” period. Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” period. Don’t put a question mark where God
puts a period.
However weak your Christian faith, whatever the difficulties you face this week, you are
saved and you will go on being saved if you are “in Christ Jesus.”
Are you “in Christ Jesus?” Do you have the assurance that, because of God’s grace,
you are without guilt now and that because of God’s grace, you will remain guiltless
then, when Christ returns?
Do you have the assurance that you will stand firmly on the Day of Judgment, not on the
strength of your good works or on the basis of your Christian performance, but on the
strength of the Gospel?
Can you say:
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
• Stand for prayer.
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