1 Corinthians 1:4-9, "I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless 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."
I thank my God always: Paul will later spend most the letter rebuking sin and correcting error; yet he is still sincerely thankful for God's work in them.
Specifically, Paul thanks God for the grace which was given to you by Jesus Christ. Everything good the Corinthian Christians have from God has come to them by grace. God has given freely, for His own reasons.
When Paul looked at the Corinthian church, he could say: "These people proclaim Jesus, they know about Jesus, there are the supernatural gifts of God among them, and they are excited about Jesus' return." Whatever problems they had, these are some pretty impressive strong points! Can even this much be said about many churches today? We may pride ourselves on not having the Corinthian's problems, but do we have their positives?
Yet, these positives were no great credit to the Corinthian Christians themselves. They were not the spiritual achievements of the Corinthians, but the work of the grace of God in them.
Dear God, thank you for your faithfulness and the grace you have poured into my life!
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