1 Corinthians 1.4-9

Exegetical Idea: Paul regularly thanked God for the grace given to the church in Corinth.

Theological Idea: Believers should respond to God’s gift of grace in Christ with thanksgiving.

Preaching Idea: The proper response to God’s gift of grace in Jesus Christ is to be a living thank you note.

Notes:

I.        Introduction

A.      Illustration: Growing up, having to write thank you notes was a chore for me.

B.      When we are given a gift, the proper response is to write a thank you note.

1.       If someone gives you a gift it is because they care about you.

i.         That person will want to know that you received the gift.

ii.       They will also be curious to know if you are enjoying the gift or have found it useful.

iii.      Knowing that a gift was received well brings joy to the giver.

2.       God has given His grace to believers in Jesus Christ.

i.         God already knows who has and has not received his gift.

ii.       God knows whether we put his gifts to good use or are enjoying them.

iii.      The proper response to God’s gift of grace is to be a living thank you note.

3.       From 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 we will discover four elements of proper thank you notes.

4.       As we discover what these four elements are, we will be able to apply them and become living thank you notes in response to God’s gift of grace in Jesus Christ.

C.     [Read 1 Corinthians 1:4-9]

II.      A proper thank you note addresses the giver by name. (v. 4)

A.      Paul was thankful to God for the grace that was given to the church in Corinth.

1.       Paul saw the evidence of God’s grace in the lives of these struggling believers.

i.         The rest of 1 Corinthians gives us a picture of a church that struggled with a number of issues, and many of these issues created a sense of disunity among the believers in Corinth.

ii.       The issues they were faced with are not unlike the issues churches today continue to wrestle with, so the principles we can pull from this letter are still very relevant to us.

iii.      Even though the church in Corinth wasn’t perfect, they were still genuinely the church made up of authentic believers in Jesus Christ.

2.       Paul brought the message of Christ to Corinth, but God brought the Corinthians to Christ.

i.         We can read about Paul’s first visit to Corinth in Acts 18.

ii.       It could be tempting for a man like Paul to pat himself on the back after seeing people in Corinth come to faith.

iii.      But Paul realized that he was merely only a tool in God’s hands; he had merely been called by God to be an apostle of Jesus Christ.

iv.     It was in God’s sovereign plan that he would send Paul and his associates to bring the gospel to Corinth and to establish his church in that place.

3.       Paul took every opportunity to offer prayers of thanksgiving for this church.

i.         We might think Paul was exaggerating when he said he always prayed for this church.

ii.       Paul would not have meant that he spent every waking moment in prayer, but that in his regular pattern of prayer he made sure to thank God for the church in Corinth as he did for other churches connected to his ministry.

iii.      If we are tempted to dismiss Paul’s example as unreachable, we should take a step back and realize that the goal is not about how much we pray, but is there a regular pattern of prayer that we take part in.

iv.     Paul had a heart for these believers, and especially while he could not be with them physically, he was committed to keeping them before the Lord in prayer.

B.      God’s grace in Christ was His gift to us.

1.       God’s gift of grace initiated in His purposes.

i.         Sometimes the idea of God’s sovereignty makes us a little uncomfortable.

ii.       Actually, reflecting on God’s sovereignty should do the opposite and bring us comfort.

iii.      Paul in Romans 3 reminds us that no sinner seeks God, and that includes everyone of us.

iv.     None of us sought God’s gift of grace; God’s grace was offered to us as his gift. (cf. Eph 2:8-9)

2.       God’s gift of grace belongs to anyone who is in Christ.

i.         We need to understand that God’s gift of grace is only given on His terms; no one can try and renegotiate the deal to get the gift without receiving it God’s way.

ii.       That is why Paul reminds his readers here that the gift of grace is given in Christ.

iii.      When a person comes to Jesus Christ by faith, that person is found in Christ; he is united with Christ in his death, and raised with Christ to new life.

iv.     Sometime sit down and look through the pages of the NT and see how many times the little phrase “in Christ” is mentioned, and what those passages say about a person who is in Christ.

v.       Those who are in Christ receive God’s gift of grace.

C.     We can respond to His gift by giving thanks to His name.

1.       Give thanks to the Lord for what He has done for you in Christ. (2 Corinthians 9:15)

i.         Take some time to reflect on what God has done for you by his grace.

ii.       Each of us should be able to point to some specific outward areas of our lives that have been affected by God’s grace in Christ.

iii.      The Scriptures also tell us about the inward changes that began in Christ and are continuing to take place as we commit to walking with Him.

iv.     It is good to note what God has done and continues to do in your life; maybe find a way that you can express those things in thanks to him.

2.       Give thanks to the Lord when you see evidence of God’s grace at work in other’s lives.

i.         The same thing goes when we see God’s grace in the lives of others.

ii.       What Paul does here is to direct his thanksgiving to God, but shares that thanksgiving with those he is thankful for.

iii.      Is there someone that you can encourage by letting them know you are thankful to God for the grace you see in their life?

3.       Make thanksgiving a regular habit of prayer. (cf. Psalm 107)

III.    A proper thank you note acknowledges the giver’s generosity. (vv. 5, 7)

A.      Illustration: Mark’s generosity when I raised support for China.

B.      Paul remarked on how richly God had blessed the church in Corinth with spiritual gifts.

1.       One of the evidences of God’s grace given to the church in Corinth was seen in how God gifted the believers for the work of ministry.

2.       In particular God had gifted these believers with the ability to speak spiritual truth and with knowledge of spiritual insight.

3.       The issue of spiritual gifts became a hot topic in Corinth not because of the gifts themselves, but because many of the Corinthian believers were misusing their gifts.

4.       Paul wanted the believers in Corinth to understand that any gifting they possessed was due to God’s generous act of grace and not by any merit of their own.

C.     God’s grace in Christ has richly gifted the church for His purposes.

1.       The church is not a collection of gifted people that God has assembled together.

i.         God’s mission for the church is not to recruit the best of the best.

ii.       We should be very careful if we ever start to think that God is blessed to have us as a part of His church.

2.       God has called together a church full of ungifted sinners and has generously gifted them for His purposes.

i.         By doing so and transforming sinners into gifted saints, God is honored and glorified.

3.       Because it is through the Holy Spirit that God’s gifts operate, believers can be sure that no gift will ever be lacking or come up short when empowered by the Spirit.

i.         It’s easy to compare what God may have gifted you to do with someone else and think your gifts don’t amount to much.

ii.       When some in Corinth began to go over the top with their gifts, others in the church were made to feel like second class Christians.

iii.      Later in this letter Paul uses the picture of the body to remind the church that no one part is better than any other.

iv.     Every part has an essential role to play in the body, even if it isn’t one of the more fashionable parts from the other’s perspective.

v.       When the Holy Spirit empowers a believer’s gifts, God see that believer as functioning the way he intended.

D.     We can respond to His gift by being good stewards of our gifts.

1.       Understand God’s gifts in light of what Scripture teaches.

i.         There seems to be a lot of confusion about Spiritual gifts in churches, and a lot of that seems self inflicted.

ii.       When we find ourselves seeking understanding it is best to return to God’s Word on the subject and to those God has raised up in the church to help teach us.

2.       Seek to identify how God has gifted you for ministry.

3.       Encourage one another as you see evidence of God’s gifting in their lives.

4.       Seek God’s leading in how to grow in grace and in the gifts He has given you.

IV.    A proper thank you note appreciates the gift’s value. (vv. 6, 8)

A.      Illustration: A gift with a lifetime guarantee.

B.      Paul saw how the gospel took hold in Corinth. (v. 6)

1.       Paul had been called by God to preach about Jesus Christ in Corinth.

2.       Paul witnessed the transforming grace of God at work in Corinth as many there came to faith in Jesus Christ.

3.       God’s grace was being established in the lives of believers through Paul’s preaching ministry.

C.     Paul believed that God would carry that work to completion. (v. 8)

1.       God not only established their faith by His grace, but God promised to keep that faith secure until the very end. (cf. Philippians 1:6)

2.       But the fact that God’s promise was made secure in Christ did not mean that life in the meantime didn’t matter.

3.       Paul encouraged these men and women to live their lives in eager anticipation of the Lord’s return.

D.     God’s grace in Christ is guaranteed from beginning to end.

1.       God’s promise is that anyone who is in Christ will be declared blameless before God on the day when Christ returns to judge the world.

i.         It is the promise that at the Lord’s return when he comes to judge the world, there will be no charges brought against those who are in Christ. (cf. Rom 8:1)

ii.       No surprise witnesses will be called, no hidden evidence, no overturned rulings.

iii.      When God justifies a believer in Jesus Christ, He declares that individual “not guilty” in anticipation of the final verdict to be made on the last day.

2.       Christians live in between the finished work done at the cross and the day of the Lord when the final verdict will be declared.

i.         Just because God’s verdict will stay the same doesn’t mean that we are free to live our lives as we choose.

ii.       God redeemed His people through the death of His Son so that they would be set right with Him and would return to living life as He intended them to live.

E.      We can respond to His gift by eagerly awaiting the day of the Lord.

1.       We should not confuse eagerly awaiting the day of the Lord with total withdrawal.

2.       We should make the most of the Lord’s patient plan. (cf. 2 Peter 3:8-10)

3.       We should make it our goal to please the Lord. (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10)

V.      A proper thank you note accepts the giver’s purpose. (v. 9)

A.      Illustration: Have you ever received a gift and not understood what it was?

B.      Paul pointed the church in Corinth back to their calling in Jesus Christ.

1.       Paul had already mentioned that one aspect of their calling as the church was to be God’s holy people. (cf. v. 2)

2.       Now Paul mentions of another aspect of their calling in Jesus Christ; God called them into fellowship with his Son.

C.     God’s grace in Christ called all believers into fellowship with His Son.

1.       Fellowship is a word we use that easily lose its biblical meaning.

2.       To be in fellowship with God’s Son means that a believer has been united into Christ.

3.       We are then able to speak about being in fellowship with other Christians because we share a common fellowship in Jesus Christ.

4.       Illustration: The Fellowship of the Ring – bound together to join Frodo on his quest to destroy the ring.

5.       The church is bound together in our shared fellowship in Jesus Christ.

D.     We can respond to His gift by living out our calling as the church.

1.       Our claim to be in fellowship with Christ will be evidenced in our lifestyle. (cf. 1 John 1:6)

2.       Our claim to be in fellowship with Christ will be evidenced in our love for one another. (cf. Philippians 2:1-4)

VI.    Conclusion

A.      As you look at your own life this morning do you consider yourself to be a living thank you note?

B.      As a kid I was just lazy and needed my parents prompting to write my thank you notes.

C.     Perhaps this morning you are feeling a bit prompted in one of these area to be more of a living thank you note in response to God’s gift of grace.

1.       Maybe some of here need to start by simply addressing our great Giver by giving thanks to his name?

2.       For others we may need to focus on acknowledging God’s generosity by becoming better stewards of the spiritual gifts we’ve been entrusted with for ministry.

3.       It could be that we need to have a greater appreciation of the value of God’s lifetime guarantee through a life live in eager anticipation of the Lord’s return.

4.       We may just need to reconsider God’s purpose and calling for us to be the church in fellowship with his Son.

5.       I don’t know about you, but as I examine these things I see that I could grow as a living thank you note in all four areas.

D.     As we close this morning let’s go before the Lord with hearts of thanksgiving, and a desire to be the men and women that God is calling us to be in Jesus Christ.