Sermon Tone Analysis

a)      This is the usual manner in which Paul greets those to whom he is writing to.

Most, if not all of his letters to the churches include this greeting.

b)      It sounds a bit odd to us today, we just don’t really talk this way anymore, but it is rich with deep theological truth about the grace and peace which flows from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

i)        Grace –

(1)    “The sum total of all God’s activity toward his human creatures is found in the word ‘grace’; God has given himself to them mercifully and bountifully in Christ.

Nothing is deserved; nothing can be achieved.

‘Tis mercy all, immense and free” (Fee, 35).

ii)       Peace

(1)    “The sum total of those benefits as they are experienced by the recipients of God’s grace is found in the word peace” (Fee, 35).

(2)    Means “well being, wholeness, welfare.”

It is not the absence of strife, but the presence of positive blessings.

It is the prosperity of the whole person, especially spiritually speaking.

c)       Peace flows out from grace and both flow together from God our Father and were made effective in human history through our Lord Jesus Christ.

d)      So, although odd to our ears today, it would be valuable for us today, and each day, to pray for this grace and peace in each of our lives.

We could all use it, as undeserving as we may be of it.

e)      “A final note, therefore, about the salutation as a whole, namely its Christological emphasis.

Paul is an apostle of Christ Jesus; the Corinthians have become believers in Christ Jesus; Christians universal are designated as those who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; and grace and peace from God the Father are effected through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Fee, 35).

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*God’s Holy Calling – Its Gracious Blessings*

*Structure – *

Four things I want us to notice about verses 4-9 as a whole before we start digging deeper into it.

It is unique, it is thematic, it is corporate, and it is God centered and Christ exalting.

*First, it is unique.*

Here we enter upon the characteristic thanksgiving that is to be found in all but one of Paul’s letters to the churches (two if he wrote Hebrews).

In some ways, it is very similar to the other thanksgivings, in other ways it is unique.

This “thanksgiving” is very similar to others that Paul wrote in that He gives thanks, to God, always, for the recipients, and reasons then elaborated.

However, in other ways, this introduction to the letter is quite different from others.

When Paul enters into thanksgiving to God for the other churches, he is filled with praise for the recipient’s love and work.

To the church of Philippi he says, “and this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight…” (Phil.

1:9), to the churches of Colosse he says, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints…” (Col.

1:3, 4), and to the church in Thessalonica he says, “We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.

We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess.

1:2-3).

But you will notice Paul makes no mention of praise to God for the Corinthians love and work.

Both appear to be wanting in the Corinthian church.

Paul will later seek to correct the problem of the Corinthians lack of love by exalting it over both knowledge in 8:1-3 and 13:2 and speech in 13:1, 8-13.

What is not found to be wanting in the Corinthian church are the spiritual gifts, especially those of speech and knowledge, and Paul makes no hesitation to give thanks to God for this even though the Corinthian church abused these spiritual gifts.

Indeed, they do not lack gifts in any way, but they use them disorderly and improperly.

In this thanksgiving, therefore, Paul accomplishes two things: he gives genuine thanks to God both for the Corinthians themselves and for God’s having ‘gifted’ them, but at the same time he redirects their focus” (Fee, 36).Paul redirects their focus in two ways.

First, as was already touched on, he redirects them to why they have these gifts to begin with, the grace of God given to them.

Second, he redirects them from focusing on these temporal gifts to the eternal glory of the day when our Lord Jesus Christ is revealed.

In short, Paul wants them to stop being short sighted.

Stop focusing on the here and now, and live with eternity in mind.

*Second, it is thematic.*

As is the usual case, this introduction contains a number of items that anticipate the body of the letter and I point this out to you because I find it quite fascinating how Paul does this and to help you appreciate all the more the depth of God’s word.

In verse 5, Paul touches on the topic of spiritual gifts, and later in chapters 12-14, he will discuss grace gifts in depth.

More specifically, he addresses the gift  of “word” or “speech” in verse 5 ( reference to tongues and prophecy) and he will later expand upon this in 1:10-4:21 and 13:1-14:40.

He addresses the gift of knowledge in verse 5 (prophetic revelation, special knowledge) and will later expand upon this in 8:1-13 and 13:1-13.

In verse 6, Paul’s preaching to the Corinthians is mentioned, and is later the topic at hand in 2:1-16.

In verses 7 and 8 Paul mentions the day of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, eschatology, and this is addressed repeatedly throughout the entire letter, especially in chapter 15, and even at the close of the letter out  in 16:22, “Anathema and Maranatha,” Come Lord Jesus.

In verse 9 Paul makes mention of our fellowship together in Jesus Christ our Lord and who can miss all the emphasis and comment Paul makes upon this throughout this letter.

You see then, this thanksgiving does more than just recount Paul’s cheery attitude, it is proleptic.

It anticipates a number of themes that will dominate the letter.

I should also note the emphasis on grace, specifically its past, present, and future blessings.

Notice in verse 4 it is past tense, “given you” in Christ Jesus.

In verse 7 it is present, right now “you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ…” and in verse 8 it moves to the future with, “He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

*Third, it is corporate.

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Eleven times Paul makes mention of the church as a whole with the use of the plural pronoun “you.”

Paul is not addressing individual believers here.

He is rather addressing the church as a whole.

It is the entire assembly of called out ones who have been given the grace of God, enriched in every way, and are not lacking in any spiritual gift.

It is the entire assembly of called out ones who eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ, who God will keep strong to the end, so that they will be blameless, and who have been called into fellowship with Jesus Christ.

The implication of this is profound.

If we are “to know the fullness of God’s blessing, if we are to experience all the gifts of his grace which are ours in Christ, it has to be together in fellowship” (Prior, 24).

This is a fellowship that begins because of our union with Christ and it extends to all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

*Fourth, it is God centered and Christ exalting.*

Just as the introduction to the letter by Paul was Christ centered, so this body of Scripture is both God centered and Christ exalting.

Notice with me how the thanksgiving centers on God.

God is thanked for every blessing of grace given in Christ Jesus.

God will keep us strong to the end so we might be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God has called us into fellowship with His son Jesus Christ our Lord.

God is faithful.

Additionally, notice with me how the thanksgiving exalts our Lord Jesus Christ.

Six times Christ is referenced by either name or pronoun in a matter of six verses.

God’s grace is given to us in Christ Jesus.

In Christ we have been enriched in every way.

We read of the “testimony about Christ” in verse 6, of eagerly waiting for “our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed” in verse 7, of “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” in verse 8, and of the “fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord” in verse 9.

One cannot help but rejoice at the manifold blessings of grace that God gives in Christ Jesus.

1)      God’s Gracious Blessings

a)      A Spirit of Thankfulness (v.4a)  God’s gracious blessings begin with this.

i)        Remarkable thankfulness-It really is quite remarkable that Paul can begin this section of his letter with a spirit of genuine thankfulness to God for the Corinthians.

It speaks volumes about his character, because as we all know, the Corinthian church was a mess – full of problems, sins, division, and heresy.

(1)    As Fee says, “If he must speak strongly to them, indeed at times be sarcastic and shame them, he nonetheless never ceases to be thankful for them….In every redeemed person there is evidence of the grace of God, and that brings forth Paul’s gratitude, both to God and for them.”

(Fee, 37).

(a)    This genuine spirit of thankfulness really should take us back.

Our nature is to complain and whine when things do not go right.

Our nature is to see the bad in things instead of the good.

If I was Paul writing back to the Corinthian church I am pretty sure it would not begin with a kind greeting and word of thanksgiving for them.

It would more be filled with words like, “what are you thinking!”

“Why would you be doing such a thing!” “How could you do that!”

(b)   Don’t get me wrong, Paul will get to a point in the letter where he uses very strong language to correct and reform their errors, but he does not start there.

He starts with grace and thanksgiving.

In addition, Paul is not naïve and thinking that having a cheery, thankful disposition will make everything OK.

That is just madness.

(2)    What is even more remarkable about this is he is thankful to God for the very things in the church that, because of the abuses, are also causing him grief.

Paul recognizes something here we would all do well to note.

The problem with the Corinthians lies not in their gift, but in their attitude toward these gifts.

As O’Brien points out in his book, “The Corinthians had forgotten that what they had received were gifts, sovereignly distributed by the Holy Spirit and that their purpose was ‘for the common good’ (12:7), or that the church might be edified (14:5)” (O’Brien, 114).

Remember also Paul’s biting words in 4:7, “For who makes you different from anyone else?

What do you have that you did not receive?

And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”

Precisely because the gifts come from God, Paul is bound to give thanks for them.