“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:4-9 ESV)
Questions:
• What is the grace of God given to us in Christ Jesus?
• What is the testimony about Jesus Christ?
• How is the testimony of Christ confirmed in us?
• How are we, the biblical church, not lacking in any gift?
• What is this “revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ”?
• How does Christ sustain us to the end?
We who believe in Jesus Christ with God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him are saved from our sins by God’s grace, by his kindness to us. For Jesus Christ died on that cross in order to put our sins to death with him so that by faith in him we might be crucified with him in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but to God and to his righteousness. So sin is to no longer reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death, but if obedience to God we obey, its end is eternal life with Christ, our Lord.
The grace which comes from God, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce (say ‘No!’ to) ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
[Tit 2:11-14; Eph 2:8-10; Rom 3:23-25; Rom 5:1-2; Rom 6:1-23; 2 Co 6:1-2; 2 Co 9:8; Eph 6:24; Heb 10:26-31; Heb 12:12-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Jude 1:4]
So, if the testimony about Christ is confirmed in us, that means that there is legitimate and substantiated evidence in our lives, by how we conduct our lives, that we have, indeed, been crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, and that we are no longer living as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Sin is no longer our practice, but righteousness and obedience to our Lord are what we practice. Our lives are surrendered to Jesus Christ to do his will and we are following him in obedience wherever he leads us.
Now this was written to the collective body of Christ in Corinth, so to say that they were not lacking in any gift, which I presume is in reference to the gifts of the Spirit, would be to say that, as a whole body, they were complete in the various gifts of the Holy Spirit. However, the context is the gift of God’s grace, which includes spiritual gifts, but also includes the gift of salvation from our slavery to sin and the hope of eternal life with God for all who have died to sin and who are walking in obedience to our Lord.
And I think as we read on in this chapter, and in this book, that what is said here will make more sense to us and will become more clear. For it appears to me that he his saying to them, that because of God’s grace to them, they are not lacking in any way to be able to live for the Lord and to do his will and to remain guiltless in the sense that they are no longer living in slavery to sin, for by God’s grace Jesus delivered them from their slavery to sin so that, by his grace, they can live holy lives, pleasing to God.
They have all that they need in the Lord Jesus, and in what he did for us and is doing for us, to live godly lives to the glory of God in walks of surrender and in submission to his will and purpose for their lives. So they had no excuse if they were not living for the Lord, which some or many of them were not, and so they needed to be corrected. God is faithful, and he will always hold up his end, but we have to be faithful, too, to walk in his grace and no longer in sin, until the day he returns for his faithful bride.
So, the message for us, I believe, is that we need to first of all know what God’s grace to us really is, and it is not forgiveness of sins so that we can go on living in sin without punishment. It is forgiveness of sins and deliverance from our slavery to sin so that we can walk in holiness and righteousness and in obedience to our Lord and no longer under the control of sin. And God will supply all that we need to remain faithful to him and to walk in his ways and to live holy lives pleasing to him, but we must yield to his authority over our lives and let him do his work of grace in our lives.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]
Grace Greater than Our Sin
Hymn lyrics by Julia H. Johnston, pub.1910
Music by Daniel B. Towner, pub. 1910
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.
Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.
Dark is the stain that we cannot hide;
What can we do to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.
Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xUYE8s_Efw
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