The Unshakeable Foundation of Grace Text: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9
Introduction: Starting with God's Resume
Before the Apostle Paul dives into the long and messy list of problems at the Corinthian church, and believe me, it is a long and messy list, he does something remarkable. Before he corrects their sectarianism, their arrogance, their sexual immorality, their lawsuits, and their liturgical chaos, he first lays a foundation of pure, unadulterated grace. He doesn't begin with their report card; he begins with God's resume. He reminds them not of who they are in their own performance, but of who they are in Christ Jesus.
This is a critical lesson for us. We live in a therapeutic age that is obsessed with self-esteem, and we also live in a legalistic age that is obsessed with performance. The world tells you to look inside yourself for your value. The devil, and our own flesh, tells us to look at our track record for our standing with God. But the gospel tells us to look away from ourselves entirely and to look to Christ. Paul's strategy here is not to butter them up before he tears them down. No, he is establishing the only ground upon which true sanctification can occur. Correction that is not grounded in the finished work of Christ is nothing more than moralistic nagging. It produces either pride or despair, but never holiness.
Paul is about to bring the hammer down on a whole host of issues. But before he does, he wants them, and us, to be absolutely certain of our standing. We are not accepted because we are good. We are accepted because God is good, and He has given us His grace in His Son. Our assurance is not based on the steadiness of our grip on Him, but on the unbreakability of His grip on us. This thanksgiving is not polite throat-clearing. It is the theological bedrock for everything that follows. If you get this wrong, you will get everything else wrong. If you try to build a holy life on the foundation of your own efforts, the whole structure will collapse into a pile of rubble. But if you build on the grace of God, you are building on a foundation that cannot be shaken.
So, as we look at this text, we are looking at the ground of our confidence. We are looking at the source of all our spiritual wealth. We are looking at the guarantee of our final salvation. And it has nothing to do with us, and everything to do with Him.
The Text
I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all word and all knowledge, even as the witness about Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, eagerly awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, beyond reproach in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
(1 Corinthians 1:4-9 LSB)
The Fountainhead of All Blessing (v. 4)
Paul begins with gratitude, directing it to the right place and for the right reason.
"I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus," (1 Corinthians 1:4)
Notice the first thing Paul is thankful for. It is not their zeal, not their potential, not their impressive display of spiritual gifts. He is thankful for "the grace of God." Grace, charis, is God's unmerited, unearned, and unrepayable favor. It is the fountainhead from which every other blessing flows. And notice where this grace is located. It was "given you in Christ Jesus." Grace is not an abstract substance that God sprinkles on people from heaven. Grace is a person, and His name is Jesus. To be "in Christ Jesus" is to be standing in the torrential downpour of God's favor. Outside of Christ, you are under the wrath of God. In Christ, you are under the waterfall of His grace. There is no middle ground.
This is the great exchange. On the cross, Jesus was treated as if He had lived our sinful life, so that in Him, we might be treated as if we had lived His perfect life. God gave Him our charis-less-ness so that He could give us His charis. This is why Paul can thank God "always" for them. His gratitude is not dependent on their current behavior. If it were, his letters to Corinth would be a litany of complaints. But his gratitude is fixed on the objective reality of God's gift. God gave them grace. It is a past-tense, completed action. It is a done deal. Our standing before God is not a variable; it is a constant, anchored in the finished work of Christ.
The Nature of Our Enrichment (v. 5-6)
This grace is not an empty sentiment; it has tangible effects. It enriches the believer in every way.
"that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all word and all knowledge, even as the witness about Christ was confirmed in you," (1 Corinthians 1:5-6 LSB)
To be enriched is to be made spiritually wealthy. In Christ, the believer is not a spiritual pauper. He is a king. He has been given a spiritual trust fund that can never be depleted. Paul specifies two areas of this enrichment: "in all word and all knowledge." The Greek here is logos and gnosis. This refers to the ability to both comprehend and articulate the truth of the gospel. The Corinthians were not lacking in theological understanding or the ability to talk about it. The gospel, the "witness about Christ," had been confirmed in them. It had taken root. They had understood it, believed it, and could speak about it.
Now, this is where we must be careful. The Corinthians' problem was not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of love. They had turned their spiritual riches into a platform for pride. They used their "word and knowledge" as weapons in their factions, to prove that they were more spiritual than the next guy. This is a perennial temptation. It is possible to have a systematic theology that is perfectly orthodox and a heart that is proud and contentious. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (1 Corinthians 8:1). Paul is affirming their genuine enrichment, but he is also subtly setting the stage for his later correction. The gifts of God are good, but they must be used in the service of love, not self-aggrandizement.
The Present Provision and Future Hope (v. 7)
Their enrichment was so complete that they were fully equipped for the present while they waited for the future.
"so that you are not lacking in any gift, eagerly awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ," (1 Corinthians 1:7 LSB)
Because of this grace, the Corinthian church was not "lacking in any gift." The word for gift here is charisma, a grace-gift. This refers to the spiritual gifts given by the Holy Spirit for the edification of the church. The Corinthians had them all in abundance: prophecy, tongues, teaching, and so on. God had fully equipped them for their life together as a church. There was no deficiency in God's provision. All their problems stemmed not from a lack of gifts, but from the sinful misuse of them.
And what is the posture of a church that is so richly gifted? It is one of eager expectation. They were "eagerly awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ." The word "revelation" is apokalypsis, an unveiling. This is the blessed hope of the church. We are waiting for the final appearing of our King. This hope is not a passive, idle waiting. It is an eager, active anticipation. It is what fuels our service and purifies our lives. A church that is truly looking for the return of Christ will be a church that is busy about the Master's business. This eschatological hope is the context for all Christian living. We live in the "already" of our enrichment, but also in the "not yet" of Christ's final revelation. And the gifts are given to us to build up the church in this in-between time.
The Divine Guarantee (v. 8)
This future hope is not a wish or a dream. It is a certainty, guaranteed by God Himself.
"who will also confirm you to the end, beyond reproach in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 1:8 LSB)
This is one of the most glorious promises of assurance in all of Scripture. The "who" refers back to the Lord Jesus Christ. He who enriched you and gifted you is the same one who will "confirm you to the end." The word for confirm means to establish, to make firm, to guarantee. Our perseverance in the faith is not ultimately up to us. It is His work. He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).
And what is the result of this divine confirmation? We will be "beyond reproach." Blameless. Unimpeachable. On that final day, when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, we will be presented faultless. How is this possible for messy, sinful people like the Corinthians, and like us? It is not because we will have achieved sinless perfection. It is because we will be clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ. God will look at us and see not our sin, but His Son. This is the security of the believer. Our eternal destiny does not hang by the thread of our own faithfulness; it is anchored to the unbreakable cable of Christ's faithfulness.
The Bedrock of Faithfulness (v. 9)
Paul concludes this section by grounding all these promises in the very character of God.
"God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:9 LSB)
Why can we be so confident? Why are we sure that He will confirm us to the end? Because "God is faithful." His promises are not "maybe" or "we'll see." They are "yes and amen" in Christ. God's faithfulness is the ultimate bedrock of our salvation. He is the one who initiated everything. He "called" you. Salvation begins with a divine summons, an effectual call that raises the spiritually dead to life. We did not choose Him; He chose us.
And what were we called into? We were called "into fellowship with His Son." The word for fellowship is koinonia. This means partnership, communion, a shared life. This is the goal of salvation. It is not just a fire escape from hell. It is to be brought into an intimate, living, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ. We share in His life, His righteousness, His inheritance, and even His sufferings. This fellowship is the present reality and the future hope of every believer. And because the faithful God is the one who called us into this fellowship, it can never be broken.
Conclusion: Grace as the Engine Room
This opening to 1 Corinthians is a powerful reminder that the Christian life is lived from grace, through grace, and for grace. Before we ever get to the imperatives, the commands to do this or stop doing that, we must be thoroughly saturated in the indicatives, the declarations of what God has already done for us in Christ.
The grace of God is not just the diving board into the Christian life; it is the entire swimming pool. It is the engine room of the church, not just the welcome mat at the front door. The Corinthians' problem was that they had begun to act as if their spiritual status was their own achievement. They were proud of their knowledge and their gifts. Paul brings them back to the foundation: everything you have is a gift. You were called. You were given grace. You were enriched. You are being confirmed. It is all of God.
This is the only truth that can humble the proud and give hope to the despairing. You are not what you do. You are who God says you are in Christ. You are enriched, you are gifted, you are secure, and you have a glorious future, not because you are faithful, but because He is. Let this truth sink deep into your bones. Let it be the fuel for your repentance and the foundation for your obedience. Because God is faithful, you can be confident. Because you have been called into fellowship with His Son, you can face any failure, any trial, and any accusation, knowing that in Christ, you are and will forever be, beyond reproach.