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THANK GOD AND BE CONTENT FOR THE GRACE GIVEN US

Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 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."

Grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Well, we’re a few weeks into the new year, and if anybody did make some kind of a resolution for the new year, just how many of those resolutions have already been broken and shattered?

Whether it’s dieting or exercising and weight loss, or quitting smoking, or maybe we know we have to do better in school, or we need to spend more time with the kids. Again, if anybody did make a resolution, just how many good intentions have already failed ?

I suppose that when we look at ourselves, all of us probably have something we want to improve on, something we know we need to do better. As sinners, there are failures of some sort at every turn.

It was no different as the Apostle Paul writes this first letter to the church in Corinth. There are some pretty unflattering things that the Apostle needs to confront them with and try to correct. There were factions in their church -- some following one leader, others following another. There were some very public sins going on in their church, and the Apostle even had to say, “and you are proud of it !” There were also some other important doctrinal matters that he had to correct.

But as he begins this first letter to them, he wants to impress upon them a very important fact that we as believers can always:

1. For GRACE, GIVEN IN CHRIST
2. Having EVERYTHING you NEED
3. While BEING KEPT by a FAITHFUL GOD and SAVIOR

Part 1.
THANK GOD and BE CONTENT for the GRACE GIVEN US IN CHRIST

Note how the Apostle Paul opens this letter to this sin-filled, troubled congregation: “I always THANK GOD FOR YOU because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in Him you have been enriched (made rich, made wealthy) in every way -- in all your speaking and in all your knowledge -- because our testimony about Christ was confirmed (made firm, established), in you.”

He reminds them that in Christ, they have been made rich. This word in the Greek language more often talks about material riches and wealth, and the Apostle tells them in Corinth that they have been made rich in Christ, but then goes on to refer to another way in which they have been made rich: “in all your speaking and in all your knowledge.” They have also been made rich spiritually, because they now have been brought to faith. They know who Jesus is, and their speech is also able to reflect that.

Now how did this happen ? Was it because the Corinthians and us were just such hard working individuals that brought this about? Was it because they (and we) had wills of steel that fought off every sinful inclination and temptation? Or was their “being made rich” from something or someone else? The Apostle Paul in his second letter to them explains how we as Christians have been made rich:

“For you know the grace (undeserved love) of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

We just celebrated the birth of the Savior of the world, not in a palace (as the Wise Men thought might be the case), but in a lowly stable, to poor parents. He put aside the full use of His divine power, and looked just like one of us, because He was (and is) one of us. He became poor, so that we could be made rich -- in Him.

Now the temptation is to look at our lives, and think that we’re not that rich. We can be pulled away from thoughts of appreciation for how God has made us rich, to think that the material possessions and goods of this life are more valuable or more important, or that we don’t have enough wealth. The temptation will always be there to put too much of our priorities on the “here and now,” rather than what we’ve already got in Christ.

So the Apostle shows us another reason why we as Christians can THANK GOD and BE CONTENT for the GRACE GIVEN US . . .

Part 2.)
HAVING EVERYTHING you NEED

“Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” Note that either as a congregation, or as individual believers, the Holy Spirit says through the Apostle that we have every spiritual gift needed for our life here on earth.

Now, have you ever been leaving for something, whether it’s for a trip, or even just going to work or to school, and suddenly think: “Oh my gosh, did I forget--?” Or “Honey, do we have the tickets?!” We can panic, we can worry. But maybe after rifling through our stuff, our fears and worries were wrong -- and there the tickets were -- right where they needed to be.

So do you think we can do that spiritually?

“Oh my gosh! I’m so weak ! I can’t handle this, I can’t handle that!”

“How am I ever going to make it through this?”

We can panic, we can worry even spiritually about our faith or our life, but the Apostle reminds us that we are not lacking any spiritual gifts, either as a congregation, or as a believer. It was the case for the church in Corinth, and it is the case for our church too.

Oh, sure, were there serious things that needed to be corrected and fixed in the church at Corinth? Yes. Are there things which probably we could do better here at Crown of Life? Probably. The same could be said of each of us as individual believers. But we are not lacking any spiritual gift needed from God. Everything we need, He has provided. (And sometimes, it might just be that we are not putting to use the gifts we have been given.)

But as far as our church goes, God’s provided us with the people and the gifts needed through those people, to serve our church and to serve our needs.

Now how long, how far will these gifts take us? How long? The Apostle also tells us that “you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly WAIT FOR OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST TO BE REVEALED.” The Lord has given us everything we as Christians need for our spiritual lives, until the Lord comes again on the Last Day.

That means for us as a congregation that we can simply plow ahead and do the work He has given us, while trusting that we have the necessary gifts to carry it out. The same applies to our lives - each of us has been given what we need to carry on as one of His children.

That same thought is carried on by the Apostle in the last section of the text . . .

THANK GOD and BE CONTENT for the GRACE GIVEN US

Part 3 -- While BEING KEPT by a FAITHFUL GOD and SAVIOR

“HE will keep YOU strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Please note the Apostle’s words: “HE, God will keep YOU strong to the end...” HE will KEEP YOU . . . Remember when we talked about the New Year’s resolutions? If our remaining a Christian depended upon our good intentions and efforts -- wouldn’t they end up about the same as our resolutions?

Thank God that HE KEEPS US STRONG, that He does not leave it up to our own (weak) willpower but HIS power, not ourselves.

So much so . . . “that we will be blameless on the Last Day.” After a life of temptations and fighting our sinful weaknesses, think in what state we will appear before God on that Last Day. Not ashamed, not scared, but rather as Revelation pictures us: standing in white robes before God, dressed Christ’s robe of righteousness. (All won and purchased for us by Christ’s death for us on Calvary’s cross.) Blameless and “not guilty” is what God will declare us to be, all because of Jesus.

The Lord gives us another reason to be thankful -- as if we don’t have enough to be thankful for already. “God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord is faithful...” This word “fellowship” in the Greek reflects a very close relationship, something like the close relationship between spouses. Think of how many things and details that spouses know about each other, that nobody else knows ! Compare that to the close, awesome relationship you have with your Lord.

Think how you have been able to turn to God in prayer, anytime, anywhere. Think for a moment of the details, the things which we have shared with our Lord, things we would NEVER want anyone else to know about. Think of the sins we have confessed in private to our Lord ! (And because of Jesus and His sacrifice, He promises to forgive us!)

On top of it, this faithful God, despite our sins, will continue to be faithful to us, as our dear heavenly Father seeks to keep us in this true faith in Christ.

How often have we taken such a wonderful and close relationship possibly for granted ? Let these reminders from the Apostle Paul in this letter continue to comfort us with all He has done and completed for us sinners.

And so, because of all these things that God has done for us in Christ, we get to start at the beginning: "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” God places His blessing upon us, His grace (undeserved love) and peace.

If it might be (for whatever reason) our last day here on earth - you and I as believers can fall asleep and not worry. We’ve been declared blameless in God’s sight, through Christ’s own death for our sins. Thus we can be at peace, we are at peace, knowing that God’s love for us sinners in Christ has been freely given to us, amen.

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