THE REVEALING SALUTARY REMARKS OF PAUL TO CORINTH

1 Cor. 1:4-9

Morning Meditation 4/6/17

Verse 4-9 says, "I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; 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."

It is sometimes difficult for us to accept Paul's good salutary remarks made to a church that was so full of baby carnal Christians, divided over favorite preachers, suing one another in courts of law, members committing fornication, a gross misuse and abuse of Spiritual gifts, and some even going so far as to believe that there was no resurrection of the dead. And yet we have Paul greeting this Church in the warmest of terms and acknowledging God's operation in their midst.

We are so prone, including me, to throw the baby out with the bath water and condemn folks who do not agree with us on WHAT WE CONSIDER to be important issues and say things like, "I'm not even sure that person is saved. If he were, he/she could see this truth." And we stick our chest out a little when we say it, because we think pushing that guy down makes us a little taller! Don't get upset with me, I'm talking to me too.

TRUE THANKSGIVING

Paul says, "I thank God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ.."

1.This is true thanksgiving for those with whom Paul does not agree on some very important issues. He will write 16 chapters doing what he encourages Timothy to do in 2 Timothy 4:2 where he says to him, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine."

2.This is a grace oriented thanksgiving. He is thankful, "for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ." Grace is unmerited favor. When you understand grace, you can't be too judgmental on a failing saint. These believers in Christ are called saints (saved sinners in the Corinthian Church). They had the UNMERITED FAVOR OF GOD given them. The words "is given" translates "didomi" and means, "to bestow a gift." This is an aorist passive participle. The aorist tense goes back in time to the point of their salvation. The aorist tense is a point of time divorced from time and perpetuated forever. It was a permanent gift. The passive voice means that the Corinthian believers were the recipients of the gift. They were the objects on which the gift was bestowed.

3.The sphere of this grace is described by the words, "by Jesus Christ." The preposition "by" translates "en" and means, "in, by, or with." Strong describes it as, "a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively), i.e. a relation of rest." It is by Jesus the Giver, in Jesus the Location, with Jesus our joint heir-ship.

Paul could be truly thankful for these believers because he had a proper grace orientation. He understood that salvation is a free gift to undeserving people.

THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS ACKNOWLEDGED

Paul says, "So that ye come behind in no gift." He says, "That in every thing ye are enriched by him in all utterance and in all knowledge" The word "enriched" translates "ploutizo" and means, "to be richly furnished." It is an aorist passive indicative verb. The aorist tense suggests that the enrichment was at a point in time and permanent. The passive voice in keeping with grace orientation makes the saints in Corinth the objects of God's blessing and not the cause of it. Grace is to the undeserving. There are two specific things Paul mentions here:

1.He says, "in all utterance." The word "utterance" translates "logos" and means, "speech, a word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or idea." This means that God had given them the ability to communicate the truth of the gospel in their language. Have you ever heard someone who claimed to be a preacher but did not have this gift? When he got through speaking you left wondering what he was trying to say? It seems here that the whole Church at Corinth may have had at this time been enriched by the Lord "in all utterance." I believe that if a man is called to preach, he will have this gift. I have personally experienced this enrichment. I was completely without the ability to speak in public when God called me.

2.He adds, "in all knowledge." This is speaking about the gift of knowledge. This gift was to be done away at the completion of the Scriptures. This is brought out in 1 Cor. 13:8,10: "Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away . . . But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." I take it that "that which is perfect" in this verse is the PERFECT WORD OF GOD. The Corinthians were given the gift of knowledge and the gift of utterance to proclaim it.

THE WAITING ON HIS COMING

Paul says, "So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." The word "waiting" translates "apekdechomai" and means, "assiduously and patiently waiting for." These saints were looking for Jesus to come. They were not looking for death. They were not looking for the Antichrist. They were pre-millennial and pre-tribulation rapture believers!!! A lot of preachers are departing from this truth today. They seem to hold a view that the church needs to be purified by fire, i.e., times of severe trials. They say we are not worthy to escape the awful time of tribulation which will come on all the world. Enoch didn't deserve to be raptured before the flood. And let me go a step further. If man were put through severe trials, he won't deserve it even then. We are sinners saved by the grace of God, kept by the grace of God, and will be raptured by the grace of God. Is it too hard to believe that God's grace is great enough to pardon us and free us from all penalties? Glory to God and the Lamb forever. Are you waiting on His coming?

JESUS WAS COMMITTED TO THEM ALL THE WAY

Paul says, "Who shall also confirm you unto the end." The word "confirm" translates "bebaioo" and means, "to make firm, to establish, make sure." It is a future active indicative verb. Paul says Jesus shall, "make you firm, establish you and make you sure" unto the end. The word "end" translates "telos" and means, "termination, the limit at which a thing ceases to be." A. T. Robertson says of this word in his Word Pictures of the New Testament, "end of the age till Jesus comes, final preservation of the saints." Another verse that is saying this same thing is Philippians 1:6: "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." The emphasis in both these verses is on what JESUS IS DOING with reference to the believer.

Then he gives as a result of being confirmed by Him to the end, "that ye may be blameless" The word "blameless" translates "anegkletos" and means, "that one cannot be called into account, unreproveable, unaccused, blameless." A. T. Robertson defines this as "unimpeachable, for none will have the right to impeach."

A good commentary on this is what Paul wrote in Romans 8:31-34: "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." All the law could do to a sinner was to sentence him to die. That is the most the law could do to the worst lawbreaker. Jesus steps in and pays the penalty and satisfies the righteous judgement of God. The one who broke the law doesn't have to pay because Jesus paid it for him. Now that Jesus has paid the debt, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." Someone hold my mules!!! From this court there is no appeal. God has justified the believer and He stands before God in the righteousness of Christ and no charge can be brought against Christ. Therefore we are "blameless" and will be "in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." Amen.. We have that assurance.

THE FELLOWSHIP INTO WHICH WE ARE CALLED

Paul says, "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord."

The Bible speaks of salvation as reconciliation. Reconciliation is where fellowship is restored between enemies. First, he says here that it is fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." The word "fellowship" translates "koinonia" and means, "fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation, intercourse." Fellowship with Him consists in:

a.the knowledge of his will; Job 22:21; John 17:3.

b.agreement with his designs; Amos 3:3.

c.mutual affection; Rom. 8:38,39.

d.enjoyment of his presence; Psa. 4:6.

e.conformity to his image; 1John 2:6; 1:6

f.participation of his felicity;1John 1:3,4; Eph. 3:14-21

Not only is salvation an experience of fellowship with Christ but also with His other children. John speaks of this in 1 John 1:3,7: "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." Then he continues in verse 7 of that same chapter, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

These are tremendous salutary remarks that Paul makes to the Church at Corinth. May the Lord enable us to learn from them.

In Christ

Bro. White