God's Confirmation to Our End
1 Corinthians 1:4, 7-9 …the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus… 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul lists the kinds of sinful living that guarantee exclusion from the kingdom of God. He says, “Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” Then he reminds the Corinthians, “Such were some of you; but you were washed… sanctified… justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” In other words, when Paul came into Corinth to preach the gospel, those who heard and believed the gospel were among the most heinous of sinners.
God did three things with the Corinthian believers. First, He “gave” them His “grace” in Christ Jesus (v. 4). No works to merit this; just grace. Second, God “enriched” them with Christ, manifesting their spiritual gifts in both their speech and knowledge (v. 5). Third, God “confirmed” the “testimony concerning Christ” in the Corinthian believers, meaning that their faith was established as genuine. In all this one can see that it is God who calls the spiritually dead to life (cf. Eph. 2:1-5), drawing His elect children, chosen from before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4-5), to His Son Jesus Christ (John 6:44), enabling them to believe (John 6:65).
In v. 7 Paul makes it clear that based on all that God had given to the Corinthian Christians, they “were not lacking in any gift.” The Greek term for gift is “charisma”—a gift given as a sign of charitable favor. In chapters 12-14 in 1 Corinthians, however, Paul rebukes the way in which the Corinthians were abusing the gifts, specifically of speaking in tongues. So, although they possessed the gifts of the Spirit in abundance, their abuse of them was harming their testimony.
In further commending the Corinthians, Paul adds in v. 7 to their having no lack of spiritual gifts, they were “awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This means that they were alert to the future prophecy of Christ’s return—His revelation. Being prophetically alert, they knew Christ could return at any moment, and they were therefore engaged in ministry and worship, faithfully anticipating His return.
Speaking of Christ, v. 8 says that He will “also confirm” (kai bebaioō) believers as “blameless” (anegklētos) when Christ returns—“in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The “also” is in addition to God’s confirmation of the genuine faith of the Corinthians in v. 6 at the outset of their faith. The additional confirmation means that God secures and establishes His people as “blameless”—without any accusation—to the very end. God thus confirms true faith at its outset and preserves it to our ultimate end, either at our death or when Christ returns. What a great passage for the eternal security of the believer! Paul continues this thought in v. 9, affirming God’s faithfulness to His gift of salvation to us: “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Note again the verb “called” (kaleō) which speaks of a summoning of God’s elect for rebirth in Christ. Paul himself was “called” to believe and be an apostle (1:1) along with the Christians in Corinth—the “church” (ekklesia), or “called out ones.” God’s faithfulness to Christians means that He will never forsake us.
Food For Thought
Being in Christ means that we came out of spiritual darkness and into the eternal light of Christ. God called us out, saved us in Jesus, and has guaranteed our eternal redemption. We rely daily on God’s faithfulness, using our spiritual gifts, as we eagerly await His return. Is that you?
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul lists the kinds of sinful living that guarantee exclusion from the kingdom of God. He says, “Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” Then he reminds the Corinthians, “Such were some of you; but you were washed… sanctified… justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” In other words, when Paul came into Corinth to preach the gospel, those who heard and believed the gospel were among the most heinous of sinners.
God did three things with the Corinthian believers. First, He “gave” them His “grace” in Christ Jesus (v. 4). No works to merit this; just grace. Second, God “enriched” them with Christ, manifesting their spiritual gifts in both their speech and knowledge (v. 5). Third, God “confirmed” the “testimony concerning Christ” in the Corinthian believers, meaning that their faith was established as genuine. In all this one can see that it is God who calls the spiritually dead to life (cf. Eph. 2:1-5), drawing His elect children, chosen from before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4-5), to His Son Jesus Christ (John 6:44), enabling them to believe (John 6:65).
In v. 7 Paul makes it clear that based on all that God had given to the Corinthian Christians, they “were not lacking in any gift.” The Greek term for gift is “charisma”—a gift given as a sign of charitable favor. In chapters 12-14 in 1 Corinthians, however, Paul rebukes the way in which the Corinthians were abusing the gifts, specifically of speaking in tongues. So, although they possessed the gifts of the Spirit in abundance, their abuse of them was harming their testimony.
In further commending the Corinthians, Paul adds in v. 7 to their having no lack of spiritual gifts, they were “awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This means that they were alert to the future prophecy of Christ’s return—His revelation. Being prophetically alert, they knew Christ could return at any moment, and they were therefore engaged in ministry and worship, faithfully anticipating His return.
Speaking of Christ, v. 8 says that He will “also confirm” (kai bebaioō) believers as “blameless” (anegklētos) when Christ returns—“in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The “also” is in addition to God’s confirmation of the genuine faith of the Corinthians in v. 6 at the outset of their faith. The additional confirmation means that God secures and establishes His people as “blameless”—without any accusation—to the very end. God thus confirms true faith at its outset and preserves it to our ultimate end, either at our death or when Christ returns. What a great passage for the eternal security of the believer! Paul continues this thought in v. 9, affirming God’s faithfulness to His gift of salvation to us: “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Note again the verb “called” (kaleō) which speaks of a summoning of God’s elect for rebirth in Christ. Paul himself was “called” to believe and be an apostle (1:1) along with the Christians in Corinth—the “church” (ekklesia), or “called out ones.” God’s faithfulness to Christians means that He will never forsake us.
Food For Thought
Being in Christ means that we came out of spiritual darkness and into the eternal light of Christ. God called us out, saved us in Jesus, and has guaranteed our eternal redemption. We rely daily on God’s faithfulness, using our spiritual gifts, as we eagerly await His return. Is that you?
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Our mailing address is:
Harvest Bible Church
14954 Mueschke Road
Cypress, TX 77433
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