1 Corinthians 1:4-9 God Is Faithful!

1 Corinthians 1:4-9  I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.  For in him you have been enriched in every way — in all your speaking and in all your knowledge — because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.  Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.  He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Paul's introduction in this letter of correction states a basic tenet in the lives of Christians: For in him you have been enriched in every way.  Paul desires for them to remember that their very existence as believers depends on the life of Jesus Christ.  They are not just following a philosophy or idea about living for God, but in God's eyes, they are literally immersed in Jesus Christ.  Their righteousness is Christ's righteousness.  As Paul wrote at another time: For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  (Colossians 3:3)  God sees the purity of Christ instead of our purity, for we are encapsulated or hidden within his eternal life.  As the scriptures indicate, we died in him at the cross, and we are resurrected in him.  Therefore, Paul can confidently say, you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.  We are children of God equipped to endure the world's onslaughts and trials through Christ himself.  Our life is his, we are hidden WITH HIM.  With that fact, the mind in us is also susceptible to the Spirit of God's influence.  The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.  For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him?  In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.  (1 Corinthians 2:10-12)  Paul goes on in this passage and says by the will of the Holy Spirit: The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?”  But we have the mind of Christ.  (1 Corinthians 2:15-16)  Even with the reality of having the mind of Christ in us, as free and living souls, we can override the Spirit's unctions and will in our lives.  Paul says THE SPIRITUAL MAN lives with the mind of Christ operative, but the carnal man who does not know or care about his special place IN CHRIST will still function and think as a worldly person.  His works will be burned up at the judgment seat, for his life has been based on the temporary and not the eternal.  His storehouse in heaven will be empty. 

Paul also desires the Corinthians to know that because they are IN CHRIST, with his Spirit embedded in their souls, God will not abandon them.  He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  They will be in Christ, with Christ, all their lives, even to the judgment day.   Jesus told his disciples He had made provision for them: I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth.  The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  But you know him, for he lives with you and WILL BE IN YOU.  I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  (John 14:16-18)  Jesus will always be with us, for we are part of him in the body of Christ.  We also know that when we die, He will come to receive us home.  We will see Jesus first, for He is the great lover of our souls.  He paid the price for our redemption; He pleased the Father by bringing many into the Kingdom of Heaven, to be present with God forever.  When Jesus said we should trust God for everything, He said, Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  (Luke 12:32)   God loves us so much, He made us blameless in Christ.  His plan for our salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has brought us into fellowship with God the Father and guaranteed us eternal life in our heavenly home.  Until that time, we have the Holy Spirit to teach us and to guide us.  After promising to send the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  (John 14:26)  Jesus knew they would need the Spirit's help as they went forth to spread the Good News in a world that would not treat them well.  He wanted them to realize they were not alone: they could call upon the Holy Spirit at all times and in all situations, and He would faithfully serve them and remind them of the truth they had learned as they had been with Jesus.  This is the same Spirit Paul depended upon to work in the Corinthian church, to enrich them with spiritual gifts and to confirm Christ's work in them.

In the modern church, we do not have elder statesmen such as Paul to write letters from distant places, encouraging and correcting us.  Perhaps it would be to our benefit if we did.  Maybe that spiritual elder would ask us to take inventory of our walk with the Lord and check whether or not we lack any spiritual gift or if we are allowing the Lord to keep us strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Surely, since we are not without help, for we have the Holy Spirit to guide us, we should not need someone from afar to keep track of our spiritual progress and to spur us on.  As John wrote: As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you.  But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit — just as it has taught you, remain in him.  (1 John 2:27)  As we remain in Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to teach and to motivate us, we will grow in Christ and move forward in our spiritual journey.  We will also grow as we share Jesus with others and see people come to a saving knowledge of our Lord.  As we see others coming to Jesus, we are motivated to help and to encourage them, and this brings us closer to the Lord.  If we remain in him, we will desire to pray and to read the Word more; we will spend more time pursuing God's will and not our will.  There is a peace that the world does not know and cannot give that comes into our lives as we yield more and more to the Holy Spirit, allowing God to control us and to lead us.  One of the verses to the hymn, Blessed Assurance, describes this so well: "Perfect submission, all is at rest; I in my Savior am happy and blest, watching and waiting, looking above, filled with his goodness, lost in his love."  Many of the writers of the old hymns caught a glimpse of what it means to be totally lost in the love of the Lord.  When we begin to embrace our Lord and to give ourselves to him without reservation, we will experience profound fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and we will realize afresh and anew that our God is faithful!  Bless you today dear readers.