1 Cor. 1:4-9 - You were made rich in Christ

4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus.
5 For you were made rich in every way in him, in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge -
6 just as the testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you -
7 so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

You Do Not Lack Any Spiritual Gift

V. 4 - “I always thank my God for you” - Paul must have had a HUGE prayer list! He mentions someone in almost every letter he wrote.

“Because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus” - By God’s grace we have been gifted with eternal life. His grace washed away all of the sin that would keep us from Him. There is a hymn that has these words: “Grace. Grace. God’s grace. Grace that is greater than my sin.” The most wonderful thing is: this saving grace was given. We do not earn it. We cannot buy it. We may be searching for it, because we know something is not right in our lives - something eternal and spiritual. We might not even be able to identify the problem, or be willing to agree there is a problem.

God knows this and offers a permanent solution - Jesus Christ. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 ) Grace is freely given to us. Don’t get the idea this gift can be treated like a child’s Christmas present - to be accepted, put down, and on to the next gift. This gift cost Jesus His life sacrificed on the cross. He does not expect us to treat it lightly. We may not comprehend that we are His, completely His when at first we hear of and accept salvation.

V. 5 - “For you were made rich in every way” - This sentence is linked to verse 7, like so: You were made rich (v. 5)... so that you do not lack any spiritual gift (v. 7). Verse 6 is a parenthetical thrown in explaining why they are so enriched.

“in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge” - These riches - speech and knowledge - (from the Holy Spirit) were given to you. The reason the gifts were given is so you would be fully equipped to be a fully functioning believer.

In some ways, this is the theme of the letter: “You have been given everything you need by the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. You should not be having these problems as a church or as an individual believer.”

We see a similar theme in Hebrews 8:10-12, “For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people. And there will be no need at all for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, 'Know the Lord,' since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer."

Three things why the new covenant is better, why the church should not be having the problems like those in Corinth.

1. God will teach us. 
2. We will know the Lord. 
3. He will not remember our sins.

V. 6 - “the testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you” - Paul repeats the testimony later in this letter. “For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received - that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,” (1 Cor 15:3). This testimony, also: "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household." (Acts 16:31) And, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom 10:9)

V. 7 - “so that you do not lack any spiritual gift” - God has provided all you need in and through Christ. Individuals may not be so equipped with every spiritual gift, but the church body is. We see here the riches we have been given.

“as you wait for the revelation” - He will return in power and glory. We wait eagerly for this event. I just read an excerpt from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “Letters and Papers from Prison”, saying we should be blessed with what God has given us each day, and not always looking past these blessings, believing heaven will be so much better than this. I like this sentence, “But, to put it plainly, for a man in his wife’s arms to be hankering after the other world is, in mild term, a piece of bad taste, and not it God’s will.” We wait eagerly for Christ to return, it will be glorious, but He has blessed us beyond measure here on earth. Wait eagerly, but be aware of the blessings we have in this life, and give God the glory for His blessings.

V. 8 - “He will also strengthen you to the end” - As you wait for Christ’s return, you are not alone in this wait. God has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Deut 31:6, 8; Heb 13:5; John 14:18) He, Jesus Christ, came that we might have abundant lives - not just get by. (John 10:10; Eph 3:20 , 2 Pet. 1:11) The “peace of God” and “peace with God” are powerful, and are ours, in abundance.

Between now and that moment, you will live your life on earth. And as you do, you will falter, stumble, and commit sin. Those sins are also forgiven, because all have been forgiven. That is not the point of this statement. Jesus will strengthen you so as you live your life committed to Him, depending on Him, and so guide you away from sinful behavior. You will be guiltless when you face the Lord on that day, because you are in Christ. Christ and the Holy Spirit will speak to you, guide you, help you live a more godly life. See also, “...train yourself for godliness. For physical exercise has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come." (1 Tim 4:7-8)

“so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” - Isn’t that a given?! On the day of our Lord (see: Rev. 19:11-18, 20:11-21:8; 22:1-7) all will be judged. (ALL!)  If your name is in the Lamb’s Book of Life, your judgment has been taken by Jesus - He has borne the penalty for your sin. You are justified! You are righteous in His righteousness! However, this does not mean you now have free rein to live and do as you please. Believers will be judged for their behavior as Children of God. This is not saying they will lose their salvation. There will be weeping (tears) in heaven - God will wipe away every tear. Why is there crying in heaven, since this is paradise and we are with the Lord forever? We will know what we should have done as Christians while we lived on earth. We will know we did not please the Lord. He as forgiven us, but we know - without a doubt - that we have failed. Thank God we are forgiven - Jesus has taken the penalty for that also. He is our comforter.  

V. 9 - “God is faithful” - He is not capricious. He has promised and He will deliver. By His grace you have been given salvation in Jesus Christ; you have been made spiritually rich; given all the knowledge you need to live for Him; and He will empower you to live for Him.

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