THE CALL OF GOD

1 Cor. 1:4-9

Morning Meditation 12/26/2013

"I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord."

All Christian experience has its origin in the call of God. Jesus said in John 15:16, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."

Let’s notice some thing inherent in this call.

IT IS A CALL OF GRACE

Our text brings this out: "I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;”

Paul is expressing his thanks for the work of God in their lives and he calls attention to the reason behind what God is doing; he says it is grace.

This takes all the human pride out of the picture. God is doing the work through them and it is not because they are better, or smarter, or better qualified by natural talents, but the grace of God which is given them.

The word “given” expresses how grace comes. It “is given.” This is an aorist tense passive voice verb form. The aorist tense refers to the point of time in the past that they responded to the gospel message and were saved. The passive voice means that they did not obtain it from any action on their part.. The passive voice is where the subject (the Corinthians) is acted upon by a source (God) outside itself. They received salvation as a gift. And the grace came to them through Jesus Christ. There is no salvation apart from Christ. It comes through Jesus Christ.

IT IS A CALL TO ENRICHMENT

1 Corinthians 1:5, "That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;" The word “enrich” means “to be made rich.” This is an aorist tense verb so it is referring to enrichment possessed at the time of Paul’s writing. They already possessed this “enrichment” and it was “by Him.” Jesus is the one through whom it all comes..

The words “In all utterance” describes one area of enrichment. The word “utterance translates “logos” which in this case means “speech.” When God called Moses his objection was that he was not a speaker. God told him that He made his mouth and He would enable him. Many men who have been called into the ministry have objected on the grounds that they were not good speakers. The believers in Corinth were given the gift of speaking that they might witness effectively. This was not the gift of tongues, it was the gift of using their native language effectively.

The words “in all knowledge” translate “gnosis” and means, “the deeper more perfect and enlarged knowledge of this Christianity, such as belongs to the more advanced.” It could probably be said of those in Corinth that they were very smart and had a clear understanding of the gospel of Christ. This could bring hurtful pride to them. When God gifts people in an area their expertise is a gift of Grace and not in one’s own ability. Every thing we do or say should give glory to God.

IT IS A CALL TO PATIENT WAITING

1 Corinthians 1:7, "So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:"

The Church at Corinth came behind in no gift. The gifts experienced in Corinth are the gifts just mentioned. The gifts also include the miracles that the Lord gave the early Church to confirm the Word preached.

Paul also knew that they were patiently waiting on the coming of the Lord. People wonder, “Will he ever come. It seems so long.” Yes, He will come again just as He did the first time. God’s time clock is not set by our desires. He has plans and will bring this present world order to a termination according to His schedule.

We are faced with some awesome changes that are taking place in the world. And we are not going to change the world and its progress toward Armageddon. This must happen exactly as the Lord says in His Word. But the coming of the Lord for His saints could take place at anytime. I look forward to that event called the rapture. It will happen and we will not be disappointed.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White