“March 1, 2024 - Blameless in the Day of Christ”

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Blameless in the Day of Christ

Reading:  1 Corinthians 1:1-9
    
    Paul has deep concern for the Corinthian church and the series of problems among them, but we would not guess it from his warm words of introduction here.  Despite their flaws, he still sees them as “sanctified in Christ Jesus” and “called to be saints”(1 Cor 1:1).  He insists that “I give thanks to my God always for you”(1 Cor 1:4) for their acceptance of the gospel (1 Cor 1:6) and the way God has supplied them with all sorts of gifts (1 Cor 1:5, 7).  Even when they tax or disappoint us, our brethren are worth celebrating.

    Yet Paul also wants to direct the Corinthians’ attention away from themselves and toward the goodness of the God they trust.  “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 all speech and all knowledge”(1 Cor 1:4-5).  God has given and given, again and again.  The Corinthians, as we will see, are overly focused on their own gifts and status; Paul turns their focus back to the giver of the gifts (see 1 Cor 4:7).  He is also confident that the God who has so richly blessed them “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”(1 Cor 1:8-9).  “Sustain” here is the same word as “confirmed” in v. 6; just as the spiritual gifts they have confirm the gospel, so God himself will confirm that the Corinthians are his, all the way to the end when Jesus returns.  “God is faithful”; he will not fail them.

    Biblical authors often reason from how Jesus will find us when he returns:  pure and blameless (Phil 1:10), confident (1 John 4:17) or shrinking in shame (1 John 2:28).  Paul here assures the Corinthians that God is faithful to keep them “guiltless” or “blameless” in that day.  He is not saying that it doesn’t matter how they live (this letter will contain a lot that they need to urgently correct), but that God is fully capable to forgive and deliver those who remain tender to his word, willing to repent and obey him.  If we want to be found blameless, we put our trust in a faithful God rather than our own fickle works.

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One Thing to Think About:   How will Jesus find me when he returns?

One Thing to Pray For:  A deeper confidence in God’s goodness and faithfulness
 

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