God is Faithful

The philosophy of many who live in our country today is that God is an impersonal being who created the world, but has little interest in their daily lives. The Bible teaches that God is not only the Creator, but He is personally involved in His creation and is a giver of gifts. 

In Paul's letter to the church in Corinth he reminded them of four things that God had given them as saints for which he was thankful. 

1 Corinthians 1:4–9 (ESV) -- "I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— ⁶ even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸ who will sustain you to the end, guiltless 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."

1. God has given His GRACE

In verse 4, Paul wrote that he always gave thanks to God for the "grace of God" that was given to them in Christ Jesus. Grace is the undeserved and unmerited kindness and mercy of God that is given to sinners through the work of Jesus on the cross. 

It is God's grace that removes our guilt. The Bible teaches that we stand before God guilty and helpless, and because God is just, He cannot just turn His head and ignore our sin. The Bible teaches in Romans 6:23 that, "The wages of sin is death." But in His great love for us, God sent His Son to bear the penalty of our sins on the cross. It was there that God poured out His judgment upon our Savior. 

It is God's grace that removes our obligation. Because of our sin the wage that we had earned was death. Death speaks of eternal separation from the God who created us in His image. God's grace isn't received as a result of us being good. It is a free gift. If we could pay God back for the grace that we have received then it would no longer be a gift, it would be a loan (Romans 4:4). 

We have not received God's grace because we are good, and it isn't through our goodness that we retain God's grace. It is a free gift that is received by faith. 

2. God has given His RICHES

In verse 5, Paul wrote that they "were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge." The word "enriched" means to be caused to become very wealthy. It is in Christ, that we have been given everything that we need to live life to its fullest (2 Peter 1:3). 

Here Paul gives two specific things that we have inherited from Jesus: (1) We are enriched with "all speech." God has empowered us to speak for Him. This doesn't mean that we will be eloquent, have an extensive vocabulary, or an attractive personality. What it does mean is that when we speak up for Him, that he will use us in our uniqueness. (2) We are enriched with "all knowledge." This doesn't mean that we will know everything, but that He will give us all that we need to speak effectively for Him.

3. God has given His GIFTS

In verse 7 Paul writes, "So that you are not lacking in any gift." Later in this letter Paul will give more details about the gifts that God has given. Here I will just say a couple of things about the gifts. (1) The gifts were given primarily to build up the church. (2) Since we aren't lacking in any gift, then we don't need to look for some other gift to make us complete or to make us more spiritual.

4. God has given us HOPE

We live in a hopeless world, and often we cannot help but grieve over it. But the world's hopelessness should not steal our joy. In 1 Corinthians 1:7–9, the apostle reminds us of four truths that should give us hope despite the circumstances that are going on around us.

1 Corinthians 1:7b–9 (ESV) -- "As you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸ who will sustain you to the end, guiltless 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."

(1) Jesus will be exalted

• When Jesus was came the first time, He came as a suffering servant to take away the sins of the world. But on that day, He will be crowned "Lord of lords and King of kings" (Revelation 17:14).
• Over the last 2,000 years their are many who have mocked Him and His name, but on that day "every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2:10).
• On that day, Jesus will receive the glory, honor, and majesty that He is due (Revelation 4:11; 5:12).

(2) God will sustain us until the end

The word "sustain" in verse 8 means to increase in inner strength. The Bible teaches that God has placed His Spirit in us to strengthen and empower us until that day (2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Ephesians 4:30). It is for this reason that we can rest in the truth that our security isn't based in us being holy. Our security rests in God's faithfulness. 

(3) We will be found guiltless on that day

The apostle reminds us in verse 8 that on the Day of Judgment that those who are in Christ will be found "guiltless." We will not be found guiltless because of who we are, or because of what we have done. We will be found "guiltless" because of who Jesus is, and because of what He has done for us. 

(4) We are called to fellowship with the Son

The word "fellowship" in verse 9, means partnership. It speaks to the intimate relationship that we are to enjoy with our Savior and Lord. Jesus told us in John 15, that we are to abide in Him. 

In Christ we have been given everything that we need to live life and to establish His kingdom on earth. Let us live for Him not out of guilt or obligation, but because of the depth of the love that He has poured out on us!