Friday, September 14, 2012

God is Faithful

1 Corinthians 1: 4-9


"I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in Him in speech and all knowledge - even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you - so that you are not lacking in any spiritual 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."

When I read this passage my heart stands up inside me and screams "Look at all the AMAZING things God does for you!!! Look at how AWESOME you get to be, and it has NOTHING to do with you!" I feel like that is the basic idea behind what Paul is telling this church. He loves them, he is grateful for them, he thinks they are pretty cool. But, he gives them none of the credit for it. Everything we are is in Christ and everything that we have to be grateful for is because He is faithful.

Paul lays out their life in Christ. First, he is grateful to God "because of the grace of God that was given (them) in Christ Jesus". He is grateful for their salvation. He is glad that they are saved by the grace of God and that this is His work, not theirs (Eph. 2:8). Paul is also grateful that they are "enriched in Him" and "not lacking in any spiritual gift". I'm so blown away but this. God doesn't save us and then walk away from us. It's not as if He says, "cool! now I'll see you in 40 years. Good luck with your life, I hope you make me proud. I guess we'll see on that judgment day how you did." No! If He did I don't think any of us would be surprised. I mean the majority of the church walks around as if that is what they believe anyway (I know I do). Instead, He has equipped us with what we need to glorify Him. He as made us lacking in nothing and it is Him that sustains us till the end. It is the Lord who will present us to Himself "guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ". He saves us, He sanctifies us, He glorifies us. He does it all! Look at all the AMAZING things God does for you!!!

These are some pretty splendid promises. They are massive and our lives depend on them. Paul completes his thanksgiving by remind us why we will not be disappointed. "God is faithful". He is. Always. And the assurance we are given is our salvation. It was by God that you were called to salvation, "into the the fellowship of His Son". When I look back at my salvation I recognize how much I was running in the opposite direction. But God called me. He was irresistible. He was stubborn. He was faithful to me when I was completely faithless. That is how I know He will do what He says. Because He as already done such amazing things for me. He has already done it all, and He will complete my journey to Himself for my good and His glory.

1 comment:

  1. I loved this. I always need to hear about His faithfulness! My pastor always says "His past faithfulness demands my present trust in Him"
    It's way too easy to lose sight of this after we close our Bibles in the morning and head to whatever is next when the reality is I need to know this all day long just to survive the day!
    I miss you and love you and am thankful for your third faithful week of blogging!

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