1 Corinthians 1:9. “God is faithful, by whom ye were called into the fellowship of His Son.”
GOD IS FAITHFUL. There is no mistake – God is at work among His people. How good it is when the people of God are all doing what they should do, in the way they should do it, and in the place where they should be doing it. But what about when things are not the way they should be among the people of God? Does He leave them until everything is straightened out? Or does God move to enable them to face up to the problems and move ahead for Him again? Yes, He does not abandon His wayward children or a wayward church. Clear directions are given for the steps to recovery. Wrongs to be made right are stated. The expectations of the Lord of the church of God are made plain, and then there is time given to right the wrongs. How good of God to give us time to repent and do what He instructs us to do. The Lordship of Christ is very evident in times of failure and departure as He steps up in His supreme authority to make us face our Master.
THE WILL OF GOD, 1:1 We have not been left to try to figure this out. It is revealed to us in His word. We can know this experimentally as we walk forward one step at a time. It is His will I am what I am. It is His will for me to do the work He has given me and not bother with trying to measure the results. It is enough that I am here at this time doing this work in this place, because I know it is His will.
THE CHURCH OF GOD, 1:2 The company of sanctified people here that I am ministering to is as much a church of God as the group in Corinth. The language here is different from mine; the culture is different from mine; the traditions and ways of dress are different than mine, but they are truly a church of God. These saints are God’s own children. They are calling on the name of the Lord here. They are witnessing to their own generation. There is clear evidence that they are the Lord’s own called-out people.
THE GRACE OF GOD, 1:4 The faces of the singing saints here show evidence of God’s grace. The strength of character as they listen to the ministry of God’s word being translated and make it their own shows evidence of the grace of God. The warmth of the welcome and appreciation of the teaching given show evidence of the grace of God. I thank God, as Paul did, for the grace of God seen here in this place.
THE POWER OF GOD, 1:18 The power of God is evident when souls are saved and cleansed from their sins. The power of God and His love is evident when new believers walk with the Lord and are kept by His constraining power. The power of God is seen in the joy that gladdens the saints and gives them new desires in life. The power of God is evident when the Holy Spirit is working in the Gospel, teaching of the Word, and transforming lives.
THE WISDOM OF GOD, 1:21 To know how to live in the world and not be of the world is evidence of the wisdom of God. It is a reality in the lives of God’s people. This wisdom gives understanding as to how to apply the word of God. It enables us to use the knowledge God gives us. It is the Lord’s way of suiting His blessings to my temperament. It is God’s way of displaying the worth of the death of Christ on the cross. The world’s wisdom cannot know this.
THE FOOLISHNESS OF GOD, 1:25 This is not, nor could ever be, a comment made to imply God could be foolish. But to the unregenerate person, even preaching the cross is foolishness. What seems foolish to foolish men turns out to be the greatest and most profound wisdom. Who would ever imagine that a just God would charge His only well- beloved Son with the price and consequences of human sin and degradation? Who would ever conceive such an idea as to impute the righteousness of God on repentant, believing sinners? But it happened!
THE WEAKNESS OF GOD, 1:25 There is more strength in God’s little finger than in all the hands of all men who ever lived, combined. This is not a measure of weakness in God. This is a statement of comparison of the intellectual strength of God, the physical strength of God, the moral strength of God, and the strength of character of God in comparison to any and all men. The reason behind all these statements made to this church of God is that they had forgotten who God is and who they were. God is bringing them back to the place where they will submit to the Lordship of Christ.
“Father God, You know the arrogance of men, even when they are Yours. You have put up with failing family members for so long and for so many times, I wonder in amazement at Your patience and longsuffering. I know the attitude of those in Corinth is seen in many others. Help me to get a new attitude of submission and keep me from such a mind that I would even want to glory in anything but the Lord alone. Amen.”