The Grace of God
Scripture Passage: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 (NASB)
Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
SUMMARY
The book of 1 Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul in the form of a letter to the church of Corinth. Paul wrote this letter to the church of Corinth to address a number of issues that were plaguing the church: "faction, intellectual pride, immorality, lawsuit, marriage and adultery, idolatry, sacrament, spiritual gifts, and the denial of resurrection body" (p. 6 of the August QT book). As the church of Corinth was struggling with their faith in Jesus Christ, Paul reminded them of the wisdom of God, which is foolishness to the world, and encouraged them to hold fast to Him.
In today's passage, Paul addresses the Corinthian "saints by calling" (v. 2). He blesses them by proclaiming, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 3), followed by thanking God for the grace He had given the saints at Corinth (v. 4). The grace that God had given the saints was wisdom "in everything" (v. 5), but especially in the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (v. 6). Paul also encourages the saints that God will keep them "to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 8) because He is faithful (v. 9).
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
There have been days and seasons that I would feel so weak in my faith that I just didn't know if I would be able to make it to the end and hear God tell me, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" (Matt. 25:23) But, Paul writes in verses 4-9, that it is God who gave me the grace to know Jesus Christ and the mystery of the Gospel at the beginning, and it is God who will faithfully sustain me and bring me blameless before His throne to the end. The pressure is off of me! Sanctifying myself is impossible without Him. So, I praise God that He has made His everlasting covenant with me, and He will bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom (2 Tim. 4:18).
Not only that, but God has given us, His church, every good gift so that we are "not lacking in any gift" (v. 7) to grow and mature together in Christ. He has given His church all that we need to live victoriously in Him, building one another up in our faith and witnessing to the good news of Jesus Christ. According to 1 Corinthians 12, these gifts are given to us by God through the Holy Spirit, in order to edify the church.
I just can't help but think about how great and good God is. He really cares for His children. He does not abandon us when we sin greatly against Him, but He remains faithful and works to turn our hearts back to Himself. He also provides all that we need to fight spiritual battles and teaches us how to live victoriously in Him--not perfectly, but victoriously.
APPLICATION
I am very used to wallowing in my struggles and failures. It has gotten to the point that sitting in the pit has become "comfortable," in the sense that I don't have to put on my armor of God and fight, I can just sit on the couch and throw myself a pity party and become self-absorbed. But, God has called me as His child, His soldier as He called Paul and the church of Corinth. He calls me to put on my armor of God each day and to use it to fight the battles that come at me each day.
So, I want to focus on two things: giving myself enough time to absorb and really understand God's Word, and fighting my battles in prayer first instead of running ahead to try to fix problems through my fleshly efforts (I always lose these battles). I have been spending time in God's Word at least for an hour before I sleep every evening (almost). Mornings have been difficult. I've been lacking motivation to wake up early in the mornings. I want to, no... I WILL sleep earlier at night and wake up at the time I set my alarm clock to each morning and spend time in the Word during the extra time I am awake for. I also want to spend time in prayer in the mornings to get into the habit of fighting in prayer first, before I do anything else. I may just win half the battles I usually face during the day in that time of prayer.
PRAYER
Dear Lord, You are my banner. You are my victory. Help me to always remember that, especially when I'm down in the dump and I want to stay there. I pray that You will strengthen the spiritual gifts that You have given me that I may live in victorious fellowship with You and help to build up and strengthen Your Bride for Your return. Here I am, Lord, give me victory in You today, Jesus!
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