originally published 10/6/19
“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus … 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, 7-9)
If you know anything about the church of Corinth to whom Paul was writing in the passage quoted above, you know they were messed up! That fact makes Paul’s assurance about their being sustained in a guiltless position an unfathomable statement about the mystery of God’s wonderful grace.
The church in Corinth had a wide and destructive variety of struggles. They were dividing into groups based on their favorite church leaders. They so misunderstood the grace of God that they condoned sexual immorality of a type that shocked even the immoral culture around them. They were suing each other in public court over matters that should have been resolved lovingly in the church. They were not respecting different maturity levels pertaining to things they were permitted to do but about which there was much misunderstanding; therefore, they made people feel pressured to do things they weren’t ready to acknowledge as acceptable. They were taking the Lord’s Supper in a way that made some people feel left out and rejected. They were abusing the gifts of the Holy Spirit in a way that belittled certain people and fostered division. Some people were even denying the Resurrection of the dead!
Paul wrote this letter to correct all these abuses and destructive practices and beliefs. Paul did not waffle in asserting that these practices were wrong and destructive. He was abundantly clear that they were not pleasing the Lord when they did such things. This is what makes his assurance that God would be faithful to sustain them to the very end all the more incredible.
It should give us immense hope and confidence about our own salvation. If God was able to sustain the Corinthians, then He will be able to sustain us Cedarhillians as well! Let’s praise His holy name!
Let’s keep our ears open for His gentle guidance. If we veer off the path, we can be sure that He will be faithful to do all that is necessary to wake us up and bring us back. May we always be open to His grace-filled correction.