1 Corinthians 1 (2)

Pray Psalm 139.15-18.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

Sing Psalm 139.15-18.
(Ripley: Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah, O My Soul)
All my unformed frame You witnessed when You destined all my days.
Precious to me, LORD, Your precepts; all Your wondrous Word I praise.
More than sand, Your thoughts to me, LORD, far too vast their sum for me!
When the morning breaks upon me, in Your Presence I shall be.

Read 1 Corinthians 1.1-9; meditate on verses 4-9.

Preparation
1. What had God given to the Corinthians?

2. What was the effect of that gift?

Meditation
Here is a theme we will encounter consistently throughout 1 and 2 Corinthians: the grace and faithfulness of God (vv. 1, 9). This theme runs through all Paul’s epistles, but it seems especially urgent in 1 Corinthians. Paul knows these people. He knows they have allowed divisions to come into the church. That some are puffed up against others, looking down on their fellow church members, looking away from blatant sin.

The Corinthians have lost their proper focus, and Paul intended to help them get it back. He reminded them of the grace that came to them from God in the Good News of Christ Jesus (v. 4). Jesus brought them into the new world of His Kingdom and, by His Spirit, opened wide vistas of understanding, knowledge, and speech (v. 5). The realization and expression of this confirmed the faith of the Corinthians, opening to them all the good gifts of God to meet all their needs as they awaited Christ’s return (vv. 6, 7). When He returns, He will confirm those who are His (v. 8). Until then, God, Who called them into the fellowship of His Son, is faithful and will keep them there (v. 9).

It’s all about God and His grace and faithfulness. We are all equally beneficiaries of His matchless love. His Spirit indwells us and is forming us into the likeness of Jesus Himself (2 Cor. 3.12-18). If we keep our focus on God and His grace and faithfulness, we’ll be able to overcome every trial, adversity, stumbling block, failure, or shortcoming. The Corinthians needed to know this from the get-go, and Paul made sure they did.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Paul gives good guidance about how to pray for those who have either fallen away, or who are blatantly not following the teachings of God, while pretending to be in the way. Either way, it’s hard to be thankful.

But Paul said, “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 1.4). We don’t thank God that they are living the way they are, we thank God for what we know assuredly He has done for them in the past. And the potential always there for change.

David, through Nathan’s nudge, came face to face with his sin. And repented. Turned away from it and moved forward in God’s forgiveness and grace. “For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight—that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge…Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me…Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit” (Ps. 51.3, 4, 10, 12).

Paul is nudging the Corinthian church to take a hard look at their doings and repent—to come back to “their proper focus”.

Each one of us is either dealing with this condition in our own lives; or knowing and loving others who are captive to self and sin. But we have Paul’s words to lean on and pray through, as we eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will confirm us and others to the end… “God is faithful” by whom we, and they, were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Cor. 1.8, 9).

So let us pray with anticipation. We are thankful for the gift of salvation, and we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the Holy Spirit is powerful to do His work of convicting hearts of sin, and then the healing work of sanctification. Jesus promised, “I will send Him [the Helper] to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment…” (Jn. 16.7, 8).

And we know that “the Word of God is living and powerful…” (Heb. 4.12). It is of paramount importance that all believers read the Word of God daily because this is how the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and leads us into a proper understanding of a life well lived in the Kingdom.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119.105).
“God is faithful” (1 Cor. 1.6, 9). And He enriched us so that we may:
Walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him,
being fruitful in every good work and
increasing in the knowledge of God;
strengthened with all might,
according to His glorious power,
for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us
to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. (Col. 1.10-12)

“I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you by Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 1.4). For that we can always be thankful.

For reflection
1. The Corinthians had many problems, but Paul’s attitude was gracious and grateful. How can you develop more of that attitude toward the people in your daily walk with and work for the Lord?

2. God is faithful. He doesn’t save us to let us flounder. How should knowing this encourage you in working your Personal Mission Field today?

3. Whom will you encourage today with a word of thanksgiving or a reminder of God’s grace?

[H]e qualifies his congratulations in such a way as to give them no occasion to be puffed up, as he traces up to God all the benefits that they possessed, that the entire praise may redound to him, inasmuch as they are the fruits of his grace. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on 1 Corinthians 1.4

Pray Psalm 139.1-10, 23, 24.
Praise God for the grace He has shown you from before your birth and through all your days. Praise and thank Him for His Presence with you always. Devote yourself and your day to the Lord, to follow in all the ways the Spirit leads.

Sing Psalm 139.1-10, 23, 24 .
(Ripley: Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah, O My Soul)
You have searched me, LORD, and known me, when I sit and when I rise;
from afar, my thoughts discerning, all my path before You lies.
Every word, before it’s spoken, You behold and know it well.
Both behind me and before me, Your sweet Presence I can tell!

Such a blessing is more wondrous than my searching soul can know.
From Your ever-present Spirit there is nowhere I can go.
Whether high above the heaven or below the earth in hell,
even there Your hand shall lead me and Your Right Hand hold me well!

Search my heart, O LORD, and know me, as You only, LORD, can do.
Test my thoughts and contemplations, whether they be vain or true.
Let there be no sin in me, LORD, nothing that Your Spirit grieves.
Lead me in the righteous way, LORD, unto everlasting peace!

T. M. and Susie Moore

The Church in Corinth was in need of revival. But there was much to be done before that would happen. The Church today is in need of revival, and the same is true for us. Our book, Revived!, can help us to discern our need for revival and lead us in getting there. Order your copy by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter, available free by clicking here.