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First Corinthians 1:4-9

Paul was responding to a letter sent to him by the assembly in Corinth. In his letter, Paul wrote with the
authority granted him by God as an apostle of Jesus Christ - apostle to the Gentiles, and apostle to the
Corinthian church in particular, which Paul himself established, three years prior to this time.
By virtue of that divine authority, Paul would be issuing a sharp rebuke to the assembly in Corinth. They
were discarding the sound doctrines that Paul had taught them, in favor of some new and improved
teachings introduced by various leading figures within their assembly.
The new thinking was not of God - it was a religious thinking of the world system, by which one could
serve self, and rationalize sin. And the effect of the thinking could already be seen in the assembly itself by its divisiveness, its selfishness, its permissiveness.
So, with all this going on, where does Paul begin? He begins with God, because the very first thing that the
church in Corinth needs is to get some light on the subject - Divine Light.
In Pauls salutation, he has already reflected on the divine calling of the believers in Corinth - to be saints Gods holy people. From the eternal perspective, they were already completely sanctified in Christ Jesus.
Now, as Paul continues in the body of his letter, well see that he is looking at how that sanctification was
being worked out, through time.
[First Corinthians 1:4-9]
Looking back over this section of the letter, we see that Paul is thanking God; in verse 4-6, for what God
has done for the Corinthian believers in the past; in verse 7, for what He is doing for them, in the present;
and in verse 8, for what God will yet do for them, in the future. Then Paul concludes with a reflection on
the faithfulness of God - faithful to accomplish His purposes.
It was traditional in letters of Pauls day for the writer to express thanks for the recipient. In virtually all of
his letters to the churches retained in Scripture, Paul conforms to this tradition.
There is glaring one exception, however; does anyone know it? Galatians. Thats a letter of stern
correction - like this one.
In all the other church letters, Paul expresses his thanks to God, specifically for the faith of the church to
which he is writing - meaning their faithfulness - the living out of their faith (Rm 1:8, Eph 1:15-16, Phil
1:3-5, Col 1:3-4, 1 Th 1:2-3, 2 Th 1:3). But he could not express thanks for the faith of the Galatians, for at
the time, the Galatian assemblies were completely taken in by a deceptive system of works.
What I want you to realize is that, this is actually true here, as well. Paul is not really expressing thanks to
God, for the church in Corinth. Notice it says he is thanking God - always - concerning them. And is Paul
thanking God for their faith? No. What is Paul thanking God for? For Gods grace, given to the
Corinthian believers.
Now, this omission on Pauls part had nothing to do with Paul, who is writing by the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit. The truth is that Paul could not thank God for faith which wasnt there.

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Of course, many of those in the assembly had initially put their faith into the Lord Jesus, to be saved. But
at this time, most of them were not walking by faith (2 Cor 5:7); they were walking according to the course
of this world - according to its thinking - the way they had always walked, before.
Thats very sad, isnt it? And certainly it was grieving to Paul. But Paul simply thanks God for what he
could - and what Paul could thank God for was, not the Corinthians faithfulness to God, but Gods
faithfulness to them.
Paul first thanks God for the grace He had given to the Corinthians, in the past. God had sent His Son
Jesus - the Son of His Love - sent Him to die, in order that the Corinthians might have life - through grace
they had been saved (Eph 2:5).
What were they saved from? They were saved from perishing. They were born under the sentence of
condemnation, a sentence they themselves confirmed to be just, through their own personal sin (Rm 5:12).
In themselves, they could not escape that sentence; they had no recourse, before a holy God.
So God Himself intervened, on their behalf. Because God is just, He could not simply remove the sentence
of condemnation from them, as sinners. Instead, He removed the sin from the sinner, so that their sentence
could be overturned, and they could be free.
And how did God remove the sin from the sinner? His sinless Son took their sin upon Himself, on the
cross. And why did God do it? Because God is love. And when did God do it? When they were yet in
their sins - God extended His mercy to those who didnt deserve it, who couldnt earn it - by His grace.
While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rm 5:8).
And the sacrifice of Jesus effected more than the Corinthians justification from sin - much more. Not only
were they now freed from all charges of sin - what else were they freed from? Death.
Through the death of Jesus, God could now release the Life that the Son had brought down from heaven (1
Jn 1:2) - eternal Life for the body, so that the body would live forever. This was the great salvation
accomplished in Christ Jesus, whereby those who believe in Him are saved from condemnation for sin (Rm
5:9) - and from perishing through death (Rm 5:10).
But Gods grace went still further. God sent the Corinthian believers One who would help them to live the
new life that they had received - the eternal Life, that Christ had died to give them. Who did God send to
them, as their helper? The Holy Spirit.
Each one of them was indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Rm 8:9), who was there to enlighten them as to how to
walk in the spirit of this new Life they had. The Spirit would lead them into all truth (Jn 16:13).
And by the Holy Spirit, they had all been baptized into one body (1 Cor 12:13) - what body? The Body of
Christ, which had received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).
That was the anointing of the Body of Christ with power for their ministry of reconciliation - and that
power was manifested in the spiritual graces, the charismata, given to the Body of Christ at its anointing the spiritual abilities which the Holy Spirit distributes to each member, as He wills (1 Cor 12:11).
This is what Paul is referring to when he says that the believers in Corinth were enriched in every thing in
Him - Christ - in all utterance and all knowledge. In Christ, they abounded in these graces of the Spirit.

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Utterance refers to the spoken word; and knowledge here means the knowledge of the truth. God had
richly bestowed upon the Corinthian believers the ability to know the truth, and enabled them to speak that
truth.
Thats the order we would think of those things in, wouldnt we? First you have to know, and then you can
speak what you know. But Paul puts them in the reverse order, here; speaking, before knowing. Could
there be a reason? Perhaps the reason was because speaking was so highly prized in Corinth, a Greek city;
the love of fine rhetoric.
Now, you can know something, but until youve uttered it, no one knows that you know it. Utterance is
what shows that you know, and as we get further into this letter, well see that the Greek attraction to fine
speech carried over into the church there - for it can be used as a vehicle for self-promotion.
But Paul doesnt mention knowledge in his letter simply to provide utterance with a more prominent
position. Knowledge was also a prime commodity in Corinth, which was awash with various Greek
philosophies.
The Greeks liked nothing better than their endless debates over God and the meaning of life. Engaging in
such debates, men elevated themselves to a position where they determined how God fit into their universe,
and what He was doing there. In this way, they denied God His rightful place as the Creator and Lord of
all.
Pauls letter will show that the church in Corinth was revisiting the worldly wisdom of these philosophies,
searching for higher knowledge; greater enlightenment.
But Paul is saying here that God had enriched the believers in Corinth in all utterance and all knowledge so much so, that they came short in no spiritual grace. This fact confirmed the testimony of Christ in them that they did indeed receive Jesus as their Lord - because the evidence of the Spirits enablements - the
spiritual graces - were manifested in each of the believers, in Corinth.
So the Corinthian believers had everything necessary to grow personally in the grace and the knowledge of
their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3:18). They were fully equipped for the work of their ministry to reconcile men to God (Eph 4:12).
They had every spiritual grace they needed, so that their local church, in particular - and the Body of Christ
in general - could grow - to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:13, 16). What we see
is that the Corinthian believers had been blessed with every spiritual blessing, by God (Eph 1:3).
Coming short in no spiritual grace, the believers in Corinth were enabled in the present time to completely
and effectively live the Life that Christ had given to them, while they eagerly waited for the revelation of
their Lord, Jesus Christ.
The word revelation here means an unveiling. In His first coming to the earth, Jesus was unveiled as the
Prophet from God; He came speaking the words of the Father, doing the works of the Father, to make the
Father known (Jn 1:18).

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Currently, Jesus is veiled from our sight; how so? Hes in heaven - at the right hand of the Father. But
soon He will be unveiled once again - as the Bridegroom, who will come for His Bride, the Body of Christ,
in the air ( 1 Th 4:17); unveiled to His own as High Priest, of His kingdom of priests (Rev 1:6). Then about
seven years later, Jesus will return again, to set up His kingdom on a cleansed earth - unveiled as the King
(Rev 19:16).
The believers in Corinth are members of the Body of Christ, so what unveiling would Paul be speaking of,
to them here? The unveiling of the Bridegroom, the One who loved them, and gave Himself for them (Gal
2:20). And of course, any bride would be eagerly awaiting her bridegroom!
For us, waiting often communicates the idea of doing nothing; of being inactive. The Lord Jesus Christ
will return for us soon, and we just stand around doing nothing, just looking up at the sky, waiting till He
gets here.
But this is not that kind of waiting. The word is in an intensive form here; thats why its translated
eagerly waiting, in the NKJV. And the form is continuous action; eagerly waiting; looking for Him;
expecting Him. This involves the ideas of anticipation, and focus; of patience, and hope.
If a bride was expecting her bridegroom, what would she want to be? She would want to be ready. It takes
preparation to be ready, doesnt it? So we have the additional ideas of making oneself ready, of being
completely prepared. So preparation would require action, wouldnt it? Now we see that this waiting does
not mean doing nothing.
But what is it that we should be doing? Well, Jesus told a parable that showed this very well.
Turn to Luke chapter 19. Jesus was about to enter Jerusalem. People had heard of the mighty works that
Jesus had done, and were full of speculation that this meant that God was about to set up His kingdom.
The people had believed their teachers, who ignored OT passages that spoke of Messiah as the Servant who
must suffer for the sins of His people; they were only interested in those passages that spoke of Messiah as
the glorious conquering King.
So the people had a false expectation of Messiah, and for that reason, Jesus told this parable to show them
that the kingdom would be delayed - because its citizens werent ready to receive their King.
[Luke 19:11-27]
v. 11-12 So Jesus begins to teach them using a parable; a representative story. In this story, we see that
there was a certain nobleman - a man of a high-ranking family. This nobleman went into a country far
away, to receive for himself a kingdom. This means that the nobleman was the heir to the throne, right?
Yes.
So who would this heir to the throne represent? Jesus. And the far country He went to, to receive for
Himself, His kingdom? That would be heaven.
After Jesus died, and rose, and ascended back into heaven, He was anointed by His Father as the King (Heb
1:8-9, 2:9). And at this time, Jesus is seated at the right hand of God, waiting till the Father makes His
enemies His footstool (Heb 10:12-13, Ps 110:1). Then Jesus will return.

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v. 13-14 So Jesus speaks of two different groups here: the noblemans servants, and his citizens. First we
see that the nobleman called ten of his servants, and gave them each a mina - a valuable silver coin, worth
three months wages.
The nobleman commands them to do business, until he comes back. The KJV has it, Occupy, till I come.
The word carries the meaning of trading. The nobleman expects them to trade what he has given them, to
make more. We could say, He is telling them to make his money grow; to reproduce more.
So the relationship between the nobleman and these individuals is that of master-servant. As servants of the
master, they are to obey his commands; to be about the masters business, while he is away. This is
emphasized in the parable by there being ten of them, which in Scripture is the number of testimony and
responsibility. This is their responsibility, to their master, whom they serve.
So who would these servants represent, who are serving the master until he returns? They would be the
members of the Body of Christ - the church. This period of time is sometimes called the church age.
The coin they have each been given is silver; what does silver picture, in Scripture? Redemption. Jesus has
obtained that redemption through the shedding of His own precious blood (1 Pet 1:18-19); redemption of
the soul from sin, and the body from death (Eph 1:7, 14) - a redemption most valuable. And the same coin
was given to each one of them; the redemption in Christ is available to any and to all who believe (Rm
3:23-24).
Jesus has given to each member of His Body the ministry of reconciliation, in which they hold out that
redemption which they themselves have received, to others - that others too, may be redeemed.
This is how the noblemans wealth would grow, as precious souls are added, to the Body of Christ (Acts
2:47). By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples (Jn 15:8) servants of the Master.
Then in verse 14, we have the citizens. The relationship of them to the nobleman is as citizens of a
kingdom, to their King. But these citizens hated the nobleman, and refused to submit to Him; they would
not accept the noblemans rule over them.
Who would these citizens represent, who rejected Jesus? The Jews; the members of the nation, Israel.
Jesus came to His own, but His own did not receive Him (Jn 1:11). Together with the Gentiles, the Jews
conspired to have Jesus put to death, not realizing that in so doing, they were fulfilling the Divine purpose
(Acts 4:27-28).
Notice that in verse 14, after saying the noblemans citizens hated him, it says that they sent a delegation
after him, indicating their decision with finality. Do we find this also represents something, in the history
of redemption? We do.
After him would refer to after the nobleman went into the far country; this would be after Jesus died, and
returned to heaven. When did the citizens - the Jews - send a delegation after the death of Jesus, indicating
their final decision, to God?

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The word delegation refers to a council of elders, and was a term used for the Jewish Sanhedrin. It was
after the death of Jesus that Stephen made a final appeal to the nation before the Sanhedrin to repent and
receive their Messiah. What was the decision of the Sanhedrin? To put Stephen to death - We will not
have this man reign over us. The unbelieving Jews in Israel in our day still call Jesus that man.
As we continue, we see that the nobleman returns. For the sake of the story, he returns only once, having
received his kingdom. But two revelations of Jesus are actually represented in that - the return of Jesus in
the air for His church, and the return of Jesus to the earth to set up His kingdom.
v. 15-19 So these servants come to the nobleman, their master, and give an account to him. You can almost
hear their excitement; they have been eagerly waiting for His return, even as they diligently carried out his
bidding.
They know they have done well, and he tells them so. They have proved themselves to be faithful to him;
loyal, obedient servants. We see that the master rewards them, and the reward is commensurate with what
they have accomplished, for him. And the reward is amazing! They are given authority over cities.
Each of the members of the Body of Christ will give an account of himself before the judgment seat of
Christ. Each one will be rewarded according to the good he has personally done, since the time he has
believed - his obedience to the will of the Master (2 Cor 5:10), whom he has taken as His Lord. We will
revisit that in our letter to the Corinthians, eventually.
Notice that the reward of the servants is to rule over cities. The Bride of Christ will sit with Christ on His
throne (Rev 3:21), ruling and reigning over the earth with Him (Rev 2:26), from the New Jerusalem (Rev
21:2).
But now the account of the servants changes.
v. 20-26 So one of the servants who had been given a mina by the nobleman did not obey the master, and
trade with it, to make more. Instead, this servant put it away in a handkerchief - literally, its a sweat-cloth hardly a fitting place for a precious mina!
And then, when the master returned, this servant offered the mina back - heres your mina. Did we read
that the other servants offered it back? No; the master hadnt asked for it back, and theres no sense they
gave it back - intended by Jesus to create a contrast, with this servant.
Now, the servant stated his reason for doing this - he was afraid of the nobleman; he viewed him as harsh,
and exacting, expecting his servants to profit him.
But isnt that what servants are supposed to do - profit their master, in some way? And isnt the
responsibility of the servant to obey his master? The other two servants did this, and even though one
earned less than the other, the master was pleased with both - hardly harsh and exacting!
But that was what this servant claimed to be his perception of the master. And the master used the servants
very own claim against him - word for word - to issue his judgment. If thats what the servant really
thought, then why did he not simply put the mina in a bank - far safer than a sweat-cloth! - so it would at
least accrue some interest?

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Through his wise assessment, the nobleman proved that this servant had no intention of doing his masters
will. And the fact that the servant offered the mina back to the master showed that he wasnt just
disobeying the masters will; he despised the master, and what the master gave him. So the nobleman
pronounces him a wicked servant; he wasnt a true servant of the master, at all.
This is reinforced as the master commands his faithful servants to take the mina from this wicked servant.
That mina was then given to the servant who had most profited the master, a token of the masters pleasure.
And it is interesting to see that the other servants seem to think thats unfair!
So who would this wicked servant represent? The servants are the members of the Body of Christ. This one
carries the name of servant to the master, but proves by his actions that he is no true servant.
So this is someone who professes to believe - who goes by the name Christian - but has never really
submitted himself to Jesus as his Lord. Jesus must judge this one as unworthy of His redemption represented in the mina being taken from him. This does not signify that a person can lose his redemption.
A person who merely professes to believe has never made the redemption in Christ Jesus his own, so that
redemption passes them by, and is extended to others, for their profit.
Outside of the story, in reality, one who merely professes to believe will never appear before the Judgment
Seat of Christ, a judgment of reward for believers (1 Cor 4:5); he will instead be subject to the Great White
Throne judgment, a judgment of condemnation (Rm 2:5).
Meanwhile, there is one last part to the story.
v. 27 So when the nobleman returned, having received his kingdom, he now pronounces judgment on those
who were unwilling to submit to his rule over them: they are enemies, and so they are executed.
We can see that this represents the return of Jesus at His Second Coming to the earth, to set up His
kingdom. At that time, two thirds of the nation of Israel will have perished in the fiery judgment of the
Tribulation; but the remaining one-third, the remnant, will gladly receive Jesus at their Messiah, and submit
to Him as King (Zech 13:8-9, Ps 110:3).
At that time, the Gentile nations will be judged. The rebels will be gathered out of the kingdom by the
angels, and judgment will be executed on them; while the rest of the Gentiles will be invited by Jesus into
His kingdom (Mt 25:31-46).
If the Jews to whom Jesus told this parable had ears to hear, they would understand that the kingdom of
God on earth could not yet appear, because the subjects of the kingdom werent ready to receive their King.
And meanwhile, we understand from this parable that in eagerly awaiting the return of Jesus, the members
of the Body of Christ are to be going about the business of their Master - we are to occupy, until He
comes.
What is the business that Jesus has committed to us? The ministry of reconciliation. This is
accomplished through extending the redemption that is in Christ Jesus to others, through the gospel. We
are responsible to share the testimony of Christ, which He has entrusted to us.
For that, we must have an opportunity to share - opportunity that is primarily brought about through the
witness of a sanctified life. Thats the light that draws others close enough to share with them - for they
want to know the reason for the hope that is in you (1 Pet 3:15).

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Lets return to First Corinthians. Paul first pointed out to the believers in Corinth the grace that God had
extended to them in the past, to save them. Then Paul showed how God was at present equipping them
with every spiritual grace for their work of reconciliation, until Jesus returns for His church. And finally,
Paul goes on to write of how God was graciously ensuring their future.
Paul writes in verse 8 that the Lord Jesus Christ will confirm the believers in Corinth - all believers - to the
end, meaning the end of their lives.
Notice that the words that you may be are in italics in verse 8, indicating that the translators added them,
for clarification. I think that confuses Pauls meaning, a little bit. Paul is saying that the Lord Jesus Christ
will confirm you to the end, blameless.
When you believed into Jesus, you were justified by your faith - you were freed of all charges of sin against
you; God declared you not guilty - and now, you are blameless - meaning unaccusable. And you remain
unaccusable until the day you die.
It is Jesus who confirms our unaccusable state before God. How does Jesus do that? By the merits of His
blood. That blood washed away all of our sin, for all time. And so we are blameless, and remain
blameless, until the day when we come into our Lords presence - the day of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Lets turn to Romans chapter 8, where we can see this from a different perspective. The chapter begins by
saying, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rm 8:1). And the chapter
ends with the result of this - there is therefore now no separation.
Paul has been showing the assembly in Rome that God will assuredly fulfill His purposes, for the believer.
Those who have responded to the call to become a son of God in Christ He has justified; and whom He has
justified, He has also glorified. Its as good as done. And Paul pauses to marvel at this absolute assurance
that we have.
[Romans 8:31-39]
v. 31 Paul is saying, if God is for us - meaning that He, as the Judge, has ruled for us, in our favor - who
can be against us? Who can overrule God? No one!
v. 32 The idea is, since God made the greatest sacrifice that could ever be made - the sacrifice of His Son in order to bring many sons to glory, will God not ensure that His purpose is fully realized? Of course He
will!
v. 33-34 The answer to both questions - who can bring a charge against Gods elect, that is, believers; and
who can condemn them - is no one. Why not? Because the believers sin has been removed from him,
forever, by the blood of Jesus. The believer is blameless; unaccusable.
As High Priest, Christ continuously intercedes for us in heaven on the basis of His shed blood, so that we
remain unaccusable. The author to the Hebrews wrote, Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost
those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them (Heb 7:25).
In this way, Paul is assuring the believers that sin no longer separates them from God. He then goes on to
consider other things that might cause separation.

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v. 35-37 Paul lists a series of difficult circumstances the believer can encounter in life, even to the point of
death. Why would a believer think that these things might separate him, from God? Perhaps he is fearful
that he will fail to believe God, in that circumstance.
But Paul is implying that these things cannot separate the believer from God. Why not? Because the
believer has been secured by the love of God, in Christ; he is eternally secure, in Gods firm grasp (Jn
10:28-30). In fact, these things simply serve to strengthen believers faith, making them more than
conquerors - in Christ.
v. 38-39 Paul cites more things, that believers fear might separate them from God. Death of the body - no,
for we have the Life of Christ. Life on earth - the world system - no, because we are in this world, but not
of it.
Angels, principalities, and powers - referring to the demonic spirits, including Satan - no, because we have
the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16), the Spirit of discernment (1 Jn 2:20) - and greater is He that is in us than he
that is in the world (1 Jn 4:4). Satan is a defeated foe.
Things present, or to come - no, because we already belong to eternity.
Height nor depth is an expression that refers to celestial powers. The Greeks feared that the power of Fate
worked through the stars, controlling their destinies. But superstitious fears - fate, luck, fortune - they have
been melted away by the reality of Gods love for us - no separation, there.
And finally, Paul writes - nor any other created thing. Did he miss anything? If he did, he includes it here Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. The believer is completely assured;
his destiny - as a glorified son of God - completely secured. And that brings us to Pauls final point of
thanksgiving, in our letter.
[Return to First Corinthians 1]
v. 9 God is faithful - He will be true to Himself, to do what He promised. Those in Corinth who
responded to His invitation through the gospel are already part of the fellowship of His Son - they are sons
of God, joint heirs with Christ - born again, right into Gods family of love.
So it is to God that Paul gives his thanks for the Corinthian believers - for all that He has done, is doing,
will do for them - assuredly. Now, look back to the very beginning of the letter. Look at every verse we
have read so far. Who is referred to, in every single verse? Jesus Christ. Because it is through Christ, that
God has done it - and in Christ that the believers in Corinth have been secured.
Reading: Chapter 1. Acts 18:24-28; Rm 6:1-4.