God Get the Glory

1 Corinthians 1:3-17
"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."

Devotional:
The church in Corinth started with a lot of promise. The Apostle Paul himself preached the gospel in Corinth during his second missionary journey to great effect. Both Jews and Gentiles came together as converts to the Way of Jesus to establish a new body of believers. Paul stayed in Corinth for more than 18 months and helped these new converts get their feet under them as followers of Jesus. What better way for a church to launch than under the leadership of Pastor Paul?

However, as we read and study the letters to the Corinthian church we find that there are some deep-seated issues that developed in this congregation. Throughout the first letter to the Corinthians Paul addresses issues of division, abuse of the sacraments, disorder during worship services, various theological problems, extreme cases of moral laxity, and spiritual pride. The church may have had a roaring start, but over the course of time their divisions, spiritual pride, and other sins endangered the future of their congregation.

The text for today, 1 Corinthians 1:3-17, contains the Thanksgiving section of Paul’s letter (vs 4-9). In his other letters, Paul typically uses Thanksgiving sections to praise churches for their faith and good deeds in the name of Christ. Paul uses the thanksgiving section in 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 to give a glimpse into the Corinthians’ deepest issue. In 1 Corinthians 1:4-9, Paul is gently addressing and redirecting their spiritual pride. The Corinthians had many spiritual gifts, many converts, and a large impact. This led to the development of their spiritual pride as they saw the fruit of their faith as something they themselves did. 

A careful reading of verses 4-9 show that Paul does not highlight any cause for thanks that originates in the Corinthian community itself. Rather, Paul’s reason for thanksgiving is entirely rooted in God’s grace to the Corinthians. Peter O’Brien writes “the visual image of himself that Paul evokes is of the apostle deliberately pointing his finger up to heaven as he gives thanks to God - not to them! - for the gift of grace that God has given to the Corinthians.”

Paul says:
- Vs 4: “I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.”
- Vs 5: “For in him you have been enriched in every way…”
- Vs 6-7 “God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift…:”
- Vs 8: “He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless…”
- Vs 9: “God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

I find this to be a challenging but helpful word for us. It is a challenging reminder that whatever is good in us, as individuals or as a body of believers, is only because of God’s work among us. Whatever impact we’re making in our homes, neighborhoods, city, state, or in the world is only because of God’s activity and not ours. Christians can become puffed up because of our good works, roles in leadership, or our moral effort. The anti-dote to this spiritual pride is a reminder of who is the primary actor in our lives. Anything good that is present in us is because of God who is at work in us. Therefore, we ought to be the most humble people around because we know who we would be without God’s life-giving presence in our once-dead hearts.

Glory to God who brings to life what was dead.