I Corinthians 1: 1-9
Paul, called to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
Paul, formerly Saul of Tarsis, knew that it was God's decision to give him the gift of faith, not his own. And he appreciated the position God gave him to be an Apostle, a founder who would lay the foundation for God's church.
Paul wrote this letter from Ephesis. Sosthenes was the "chief ruler of the synogogue" in Corinth, who was beaten in the court of Gallio when the deputy of Achaia wouldn't listen to their case against Paul (Acts 18:12-17). Apparently he traveled with Paul to Ephesis.
To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling,
Paul wrote to the church, who were called by God to be separate from the World (sanctified).
with all who are in every place call on the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
As every person in the whole world who God calls to faith in our Lord. He is Lord (Boss) of every Christian, no matter where they live or what their genealogy is.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
God's grace is His goodness upon us that we could never earn. Only Jesus is worthy, and it is only through Him that we have access to God. Now that we are cleansed by His Blood, and He has given us His Holy Spirit to live in our spirit, we have the peace of Christ that surpasses what we can even understand, in the middle of all the chaos of our lives.
I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus,
Paul is so grateful to God that He poured out His grace upon all these people who live in this wicked city.
that in everything you were enriched in Him,
God makes us rich and wealthy in so many ways.
in all speech and all knowledge,
Wealthy in knowing how to speak in positive ways, to build up and encourage; and wealthy in knowing all that God teaches us about Himself and how much He loves us and done so much for us.
even as a testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you,
Just as it was proven that Christ changed their lives and their thinking and their relationships with one another.
so that you are not lacking in any gift,
They have everything they need, they are wealthy and rich, in all the gifts God has for His church.
awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
They know Jesus will return to set up His Kingdom here, and they are looking forward to His coming.
who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God will keep them in His hand, and will finish what He started in them, not letting them go, to keep working in them all the way to the Day of the Lord.
God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
God will always do what He says He will do. He is trustworthy, fully worthy of our total trust. Father God is the One who called us into having friendship with Himself and His Son, through what Jesus has done for us. Nothing we can do could ever accomplish this. That's why Jesus left Heaven to die for us. He not only Loves us, but He likes us and wants us to live with Him where He is.
This is incredible. Our God, the Father and the Son and the Spirit, made us to be the pinnacle of all He has made, and we will even have a position above His holy Angels, to be His kings and queens to assist Him in ruling and governing all He has created or will create.
So He has placed us in this World for now as His little children, learning how to be sons and daughters in His family; how to think and speak and live with His character through all of our own personalities.
This World is our school. We need to learn all the lessons and pass all the tests He puts us through while we're here, learning more and more of who He is, how He sees us, and how we are to respond to Him, in living our lives according to His ways.
Then He will give us all the things He put in this World for us to use to promote His Kingdom. So when He gives us financial wealth, it is a tool to use for helping others and spreading the Gospel, not to keep for ourselves.
When He gives us spiritual gifts, like to be able to pastor or teach or whatever, it is to minister to others, to help them; not to just use for our own benefit.
If He gives us natural abilities, they are also to use to benefit other people in helping them, not just ourselves.
Nothing He gives us is for ourselves. Yes, we can enjoy all He gives us, but we will enjoy all of it more together, when we share and give it away.
The rest of this letter Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth will show us how to do this.
O my Father, You are so good to us, in creating all You made just so You could make us and we could live here for a while as we prepare to live with You and enjoy You forever, doing all the things You planned and prepared ahead of Time for us to be and do. You are Great and You are Good and You are Generous. You didn't need us, but You wanted us, so You could share Yourself with us.
Help us now to learn what we need to know, to do what we are made to do, and to love You back and love others as You have Loved us!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
