1 Corinthians 1:4-8: “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge – even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you – so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
It is interesting to note what Paul did state and didn’t state in his letter to the church in Corinth, in the first few verses of 1 Corinthians. He did not say he thanked God for the Corinthians righteousness or faithfulness because neither was the case with the believers in Corinth and Paul later spends time rebuking sin and correcting error in the church. Instead, he thanked God for “the grace of God that was given you.” The people had been given spiritual gifts, due to God’s grace, so their lives were enriched – fortified, enhanced, skilled in speech, well-taught, intelligent, and knowledgeable about the Word of God. The word “enriched” comes from the Greek word plutocrat. A plutocrat is a very wealthy person. The Corinthians were very prosperous in two of the gifts – speech and knowledge of God. They possessed great spiritual wealth. Paul congratulates and praises them on having earned these gifts because it was a testimony to the truth of the gospel, of Christian doctrine, and a confirmation of the evidence of Christ as they were living in eager expectation of Christ’s return. Paul communicated encouragement first before giving stern correction to these immature and prideful believers.
Paul focused on the term “grace” in his greeting and benediction (1 Cor. 16:33). He prayed that the believers would live for the Lord Jesus Christ by experiencing God’s strength – God’s grace. God had given them a variety of grace-gifts because of God’s sovereign will to confirm the reality of their salvation experience. Paul puts grace and peace together in 1 Corinthians and other epistles he wrote, and always put “grace” first because one cannot have real and lasting peace unless he understands God’s powerful grace.
How can you see God’s grace in your life recently?
How are you using the spiritual gifts that God has given you? They are not meant to be only used at church – did you realize that?
God has richly provided His grace in my life especially during the past few weeks. How about you? God has enrichment progressively purposed for the grand finale when Jesus will arrive to take us home.
The Message states 1 Corinthians 1:5-8 this way: “There’s no end to what has happened in you – it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives. Just think – you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus.”
Listen to Your Grace Is Enough lyric video by Matt Mahler.