1 Corinthians 1:3-9 (KJV)
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
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.
The book of First Corinthians is a rebuke. Paul scolds this church for all sorts of issues. But before he told them how wrong they had been, he first gave them confidence that they were really saved.
There is a place to rebuke. When someone has done wrong, they need to know they have done wrong. It might be your place to tell them. But always remember that it is important to tell people what they are doing right too.
In the first two verses Paul spoke about the calling.
· How they had called out for salvation,
· How they were called to be separated from sin, and
· How he was called to be an apostle.
In verses 4-9 he gives a capsulized edition of what the Christian life is all about.
But first, notice 1 Corinthians 1:3 (KJV)
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
I can't help but ask this question, DID PAUL REALLY MEAN THAT?
Do you think that when he used these words they were a formality with him, or do you think this was a sincere request offered to God for these people?
I am sure Paul meant these words. They would need grace and peace to handle what Paul was about to tell them in this letter.
How often are our words of greeting just a formality?
I call the lesson Wrong But Righteous.
Paul corrects them again and again in this book – but he never challenges their salvation.[1]
Notice
*I. THE BEGINNING OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
1 Corinthians 1:4 (KJV)
I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
We are SAVED BY GRACE.
There are three key words in this verse to point out:
A. Grace
The word is the one that means "a gift."
It is something given to us free of charge.
Most of what is called Christianity is not built on this concept. They teach a type of Christianity that is based upon what we can do.
· If we can go to church,
· If we can get baptized,
· If we can fight the good fight,
· If we can make it through life without sinning too much
then we earn a right to go to heaven.
That isn't the salvation of the Bible.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)
For by grace are ye saved, through faith and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast.
B. Given
This word means, "to add."
Salvation is something that comes to us later in life. We are not born saved. It is added to our life later.
We make a decision. We come to that place in our lives where we know we are not saved, are not going to heaven, are not going to escape eternal hell unless something happens.
And when the decision is made to trust Christ’s gospel for redemption of sin and reconciliation to God, then He saves us.
C. By Jesus Christ.
The Greek word “by” means, "a fixed position."
When we make that decision to call upon the Lord for salvation, a binding contract is drawn out in heaven. And, by the way, it is a one sided contract. It depends entirely upon what Jesus Christ has done in the past, and not at all upon what we will do in the future.
Salvation is a gift given to us from God, purchased and paid in full for us, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ! And added to our lives at the point of decision when we call out to Christ for it.
The Christian life begins with salvation by grace. Paul said he thanked God always that the Corinthians had experienced that grace and gotten saved.
Notice with me secondly,
*II. THE CONTINUANCE IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
1 Corinthians 1:5 (KJV)
That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
1 Corinthians 1:7 (KJV)
So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
This has to do with our Christian experience after salvation, which should be an enriching time.
A time when we are growing, and increasing in three vital areas of the Spiritual walk.
Notice these words:
A. Utterance
We ought to be growing in our ability to speak for the Lord Jesus Christ.
While it is true that we can help people come to Christ just by living the right kind of lifestyle. Our lifestyle should certainly back up our talk. However no one gets saved ever unless someone speaks up and tells him or her specifically how to be.
Paul prayed for Philemon "that the communication of thy faith may become effectual."[2]
It ought to be our desire to be able to more and more effectively communicate our faith as we progress in our Christian life.
*B. Knowledge
2 Peter 3:18 (KJV) says;
But grow in grace, and in the KNOWLEDGE of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Our continuing Christian life should be a time when we are growing in our knowledge of:
· God,
· Salvation,
· The Bible,
· Christian truth and doctrine
*C. Gift.
This is the word, charisma. It refers to the gifts of the Spirit that are given to us for service to God.
So that, our continuing walk with the Lord is a walk of growth,
Growing in:
· Our ability to speak for the Lord
· Our knowledge and understanding of spiritual things, and
· Our use of the gifts God has given us for His service.
By the way, look at verse 6 and see how this testimony of living for Christ CONFIRMS our salvation.We are not saved by how we live, but our life for Christ does bear evidence of our life in Christ.
I can never ever be sure that a person, not living for Christ, is genuinely saved.
Finally see;
III. THE END OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
Vs 7-8
Here is another passage teaching eternal security.
A. The Word Confirmed
Means, "to make secure."
B. The Word End
Refers us to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
Jesus makes us secure while we wait for Him to come again for us.
It isn't something we do.
It is something He does for us. So He can present us blameless, "without accusation" in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is the Christian life all capsulized in these few verses.
[1]He does once urge them to examine their own salvation.
2 Corinthians 13:1 (KJV)
This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
[2]Philemon 1:6 (KJV)
That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
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