God's Sovereign Grace in Salvation

October 8th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

1 Corinthians 1:4-6 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you…

When Paul first arrived in Corinth sometime in AD 51, he came to a bustling city full of debauchery and paganism—seemingly void of any true prospective Christians. Even his fellow Jews rejected his preaching about Jesus of Nazareth being the Christ (Acts 18:5-6). In spite of this, God spoke to Paul and encouraged him: “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will lay a hand on you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city” (Acts 18:9-10). For God to have “many people” in Corinth can only mean that God had many of His elect, although yet-to-be-born-again, people waiting to hear the gospel of Christ so that they could believe. And believe they did! Paul remained in Corinth for 18 months (Acts 18:11), aided by friends like Silas, Timothy, Aquila, and Priscilla. Then he departed. What emerged out of the Corinthian decadence was a church of Jesus Christ.

In v. 4, Paul informs the Corinthian Christians about his continual prayers for them, how he thanked God “always concerning you” for how God’s grace had brought them to faith in Jesus Christ. This means that Paul did not plant the church in Corinth and then forget about them; instead, he prayed for them and thanked God for them “always” (pantote). So, although the great majority of 1 Corinthians is pejorative, it is evident from vv. 4-9 that Paul was not rebuking unbelievers in the Corinthian church; he was lovingly correcting stray Christians. Paul was therefore being tactful at the outset of his epistle, acknowledging that the Corinthian Christians were indeed brothers in Christ, before attempting to lovingly correct their many sinful ways.

Note in v. 4 how Paul speaks of the “grace of God” and how it “was given you in Christ Jesus.” The verb “was given” (dotheisē) is a past tense Greek aorist in the passive voice. This means that God’s grace was foisted upon the believers in Corinth and not something they “accepted” of their own free will. It is God who acts upon His people in love to draw them to Christ (John 6:44). He loves first, we love Him in return (1 John 4:19). God gives us grace, and we receive Christ by faith alone. Salvation is thus all God; to Him alone belongs the glory.

In v. 5, Paul speaks specifically as to what he is so thankful to God for concerning the Corinthian Christians: “that in everything you were enriched in [Christ], in all word and all knowledge.” Note how thoroughly God had blessed them, causing them to lack nothing. The verb “were enriched” (eploutisthēte) means “to cause to become very wealthy in resources,” whether figurative or literal. Like “was given” in v. 4, “were enriched” is an aorist passive, meaning that the Corinthian Christians were the passive recipients of what God gave as their enrichment. That “enrichment” is specified as being “in Him,” that is “in Jesus Christ,” with two things. First, “all speech” (panti logos). This means that the Corinthians knew how to explain Christ and do so eloquently. They knew the gospel thoroughly and how to communicate it. Second, they had “all knowledge” (pasē gnōsei). This means that they fully understood who God is, what He has done in Christ, and what He is going to do. The Corinthians thus lacked nothing!

Note in v. 6 the verb “was confirmed” (ebebaiōthē), again an aorist passive verb. God thus was responsible for giving the Corinthian believers His grace for salvation (4), His enrichment for speech and knowledge (5), and His confirmation of their “testimony” (marturion). This verb refers to the miraculous signs that God used to confirm the gospel preached by Christ’s apostles (cf. Heb. 2:3), even in Corinth. Paul himself spent 18 months establishing and confirming a firm foundation for their faith (1 Cor. 3:10)—one that was genuine in its origin from an apostle and proven by God Himself who allowed Paul to see the spiritual fruits of his labor with the gospel.

Food For Thought
We sometimes think that we lack certain spiritual gifts. It’s unlikely that any one Christian possesses all the gifts of the Spirit, but in spite of this, we truly lack no good thing. We might not have the gift of evangelism, but God can work through people who can barely speak! As for teaching, some of the most boring sermons have been the most powerful. Since the Spirit of God indwells us (Rom. 8:9-11), we don’t need to ask God to give us anything else, for we already possess what we need to glorify Him. Perhaps we should pray instead for God to enlighten us to our gifts, that we should strive to sharpen the gifts we know we already possess. But may we rest securely knowing we have all we need straight from heaven! And what we have, God gave us.