1 cor. 1:4-6 i
thank my god always concerning you for the grace of god which was given
you in christ jesus, that in everything you were enriched in him, in
all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning christ
was confirmed in you,
the
grace of god was given you in christ jesus
what is grace? simple answer : grace is getting something
you don't deserve grace differs from mercy in that mercy is not
getting something you deserve and grace is getting something you
don't deserve. the
bible often uses the term grace to encapsulate the mercy and grace of
god as shown at salvation because our salvation involves so much more
than just mercy.
the grace of god is most clearly demonstrated in the substitution
of christ's suffering for our own and the resulting gifts of being
made "the children of God. and if children, then heirs; heirs of God,
and joint-heirs with Christ" (rom 8:16,17).
this is something that has already happened; this is the gift of
salvation (though, as mentioned,it goes far beyond salvation).
1 cor. 1:5 that
in everything you were
enriched in him , in all speech and
all knowledge
speech and knowledge two things that the corinthians
seem to consider important, and also two things that the paul addresses
as 'trouble spots'; speech comes up right away (1cor 1:17 and as a
theme of the first 4 chapters), and knowledge is addressed in 8:1 (and
in that chapter). speech would relate to the cultural patterns of
sophism, and knowledge would tie to the greek gnosticism that many/most
believe afflicted corinth.
paul's emphasis of these two points, combined with the past tense
(aorist) that he uses (this has already happened), make it likely that
this statement is a comparison between what the corinthians had
(sophism and gnosticism) and what they do have (true salvation and the
wisdom of god).
this sort of comparison helps us to understand the 'grace of god';
moving from man's 'qualities' to the virtues of god. consider the
difference in the terms 'wealthy', 'happy/joyful', 'love', 'useful'
with and without christ; pursuing these ideas as a non-christian is a
very different affair than as one 'in christ'.
1 cor. 1:6
even as the testimony concerning christ was confirmed in you,
testimony concerning christ this refers (almost
certainly) to the sanctification and transformation which accompanies
salvation. sanctification is not a result for some christians; it is
the result for all christians. consider verse 2 :
to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus,
saints by calling,
also relevant is 1 john 1:6,7, where john focuses on fellowship as a
measure of sanctification (but also declares that we will 'walk in the
light') :
1jo 1:6 if we say that we have fellowship with him
and {yet} walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
1jo 1:7 but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we
have fellowship with one another, and the blood of jesus his son
cleanses us from all sin.
paul is not directly attempting to answer the question "how may i know
that i am saved"; he assumes that we know this. the testimony of christ
that is confirmed in us is our transformed, sanctified lives.
the rest of the book provides interesting balance to this; the
christians at corinth aren't perfect, but they are being sanctified,
and there are changes that confirm christ.
on a more technical note, we may ask to what is the testimony? is it to
the power of christ or to the salvation of the corinthian church? i
would argue that the testimony is to the power and reality of christ as
within the corinthian church; the focus is never off of christ in this
section, but i think we are speaking of the effect of christ upon the
church at corinth here.
our reaction : thankfulness
paul is thankful for the corinthians because of god's
grace to the corinthians. thankfulness to god should be a constant
mindset
this is somewhat of a normal introduction for paul; consider the
following :
rom 1:8 first, I thank my god through jesus christ
for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the
whole world.
phl 1:3 i thank my god in all my remembrance of you,
col 1:3 we give thanks to god, the father of our lord jesus christ,
praying always for you,
1th 1:2 we give thanks to god always for all of you, making mention {of
you} in our prayers;
2th 1:3 we ought always to give thanks to god for you, brethren, as is
{only} fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of
each one of you toward one another grows {ever} greater;
2ti 1:3 i thank god, whom i serve with a clear conscience the way my
forefathers did, as i constantly remember you in my prayers night and
day,
phm 1:4 I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers,
it is clearly typical for paul to feel thankfulness to god for the work
of god in creating the church. this is a nice example of how
our
desires should be aligned with god's desires;
what keeps us from being thankful? reasons i have trouble being
thankful :
i allow myself to care more about "the cares of this world"
mark 4:18 "and others are the ones on whom seed was
sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the
word, 4:19 but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of
riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word,
and it becomes unfruitful."
a subtle supplanting of the correct priorities; our spiritual
obligation and hope lose out to temporal worries and desires.
honestly, i think it's safe to say that most christians will not
struggle with an open decision between the deceitfulness of riches and
christ; however, how many of us sympathize with martha based on
personal experience in luke 10?
Luk 10:38 Now as they were traveling along, He
entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.
Luk 10:39 She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's
feet, listening to His word. Luk 10:40 But Martha was distracted with
all her preparations; and she came up {to Him} and said, "Lord, do You
not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then
tell her to help me." Luk 10:41 But the Lord answered and said to her,
"Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; Luk
10:42 but {only} one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good
part, which shall not be taken away from her."
we forget what christ has done for us.
nothing fancy or direct; we just don't think about it.