As always, it is my great joy to minister the word of God to you, and I would invite you to take your Bibles and turn to First Corinthians, chapter one, as we continue to make our way verse by verse through this amazing epistle that is so encouraging to each of us; one that should give us all a reason for praise and hope. And it's for this reason that I've entitled my discourse to you this morning, "Reasons for Praise and Hope."

Let me remind you of what's going on here in this letter, after Paul founded the church at Corinth, he left the region, and later he was made aware of some distressing accounts of immorality that was occurring in the church that still existed among them, and he even sent them a letter confronting it. According to chapter five and verse nine, he says, "I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people." Referring to those within the church. And by the way, this letter does not exist today. And Paul will deal with moral issues and other spiritual matters later; exhortations that will ultimately culminate in the great resurrection chapter in chapter 15.

But what happened is, while Paul was on his third missionary journey, when he was in Ephesus, he received word from Corinth, from the household of Chloe that the church in Corinth was greatly divided. Some cliques had developed within the church, even though it was under the able leadership of pastor Apollos. Factious, divisive people had made people in positions objects of worship and ownership, and they were following men and their own selfish agendas, rather than following Christ. You will recall in chapter three and verse one, he speaks of them as "men of flesh." He calls them "infants in Christ," filled with "jealousy and strife." Sothere are people that were loving themselves more than Christ and his Church, causing division and strife. And Paul is going to address that issue at the very outset of this epistle, but before he does that, he is going to lay a very encouraging and I might add, instructional foundation. And this is what we are going to examine in his introduction here this morning, in verses four through nine of chapter one. These, once again, are reasons for hope and for praise. Shall we say, he is going to begin with the good news so as to not overly discourage them by the succeeding bad news inherent in his reproof of them. So bear this in mind, now, before I read the text to you, although the church is plagued by worldliness and immorality and spiritually immature people that are causing strife, the Spirit of God now inspires his apostle to begin with these remarkable blessings of grace that belong to every saint, regardless of their level of spiritual maturity, regardless of their sinfulness.

So here's what he says, beginning in verse four,

"I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus,

that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge,

even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you,

so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

So what we have here, dear friends, in this introduction, is a doctrinal foundation that should excite every believer, a foundation upon which the superstructure of our life and our ministries need to be built. A foundation, shall we say, of granite and of marble and gold; the gold of God's grace that will make any superstructure of immorality and worldliness and divisiveness look completely out of place. That is going to be his point here. Who on earth would want to build a building made of manure on top of such a glorious foundation? And here, in verses four through nine, we will be encouraged and exhorted by three glorious blessings that belong to everyone who has placed their faith in Christ. And those blessings are the past confirmation of God's grace; secondly, the present provisions of God's grace, and finally, the future revelation of God's grace.

And my friends, whenever we lose sight of these foundational blessings inherent in our salvation, our flesh will begin to rule our thoughts and our actions, rather than the Spirit of God and unwittingly things like worldliness, immorality, pride, envy, divisiveness and so on, will begin to rule our heart, our mind and our life, and we will begin to behave like the Corinthians. And whenever I encounter Christians who manifest those types of sinful behaviors, it's patently obvious that these aspects of God's grace, that we're going to examine, are not the ruling convictions of their life, and frankly, we all need these encouraging reminders so that we can live consistently with them.

Now before we look at the text more closely, keep in mind that this letter is primarily an exhortation - pleading with the people to act holy because they have been made holy. In other words, to be in practice who you are in position. You have been sanctified; you have been made holy. You have been given this wonderful gift of grace. So you need to act like it. And by the way, this is so basic to New Testament teaching; a principle we should never forget. Who we are in Christ is foundational for who we ought to be. You will recall that in Ephesians four Paul pleads with the people to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called." That's the idea here. You might say the indicative is always the starting point for the imperative. The indicative basically means the statement of fact is the foundation for the imperative. In other words, how we ought to live - the indicative - is you are in Christ. You've been giving these wonderful blessings of grace.

By the way, Paul uses the phrase "in Christ" repeatedly. We're in Christ, we're united to Christ. Therefore, if that's the indicative, that's the basis for the imperative, which is, here's how you ought to behave. That's the idea. And Paul is going to drive this home right from the beginning.

So he begins number one by reminding them of the past confirmation of God's grace. Notice verse four, and also portion of verse six, he says, "I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you." Notice the word "confirmed," it's in the past tense. And what we know from Greek grammar is the aorist tense of a verb denotes an action that has been completed at a particular definite point of time in the past. And of course, this is referring to the gift of God's grace that was given to them when they came to saving faith in Christ, when they were united to Christ. In other words, their salvation.

May I remind you that man, by nature, is both relationally alienated from God, and he is judicially accountable to God. Apart from Christ, man is unable to enjoy the fellowship with God for which he was created, and required therefore, to pay the penalty for breaking God's law and belittling his glory. And of course, that penalty is death. But the moment a man comes to a saving faith in Christ, his sins are forgiven. Moreover, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to him. He is given eternal life, and he is instantly united to Christ in Christ's death, burial and resurrection and. Instantly he receives the free, unmerited, undeserved gift of God's grace. Moreover, the testimony of that reality is instantly confirmed in his heart. That is a work of God.  It is established. It is fixed. A truth that will remain steadfast with him forever.

Now keep in mind, Paul knows full well what's going on in the church at Corinth. You've got a number of spiritual infants causing all kinds of mischief. We also know we'll see this later on in chapter 16; that they've got some unbelievers, some phony Christians that are in the church. They're Christians in name only. But nevertheless, he has already referred to the believers that are there, despite their spiritual immaturity, according to verse two, as those who are "sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be saints." And now he is thankful for the gift of God's grace in salvation that has been confirmed in their life. So this is a cause for great rejoicing.

And notice how all of the glory goes to God. He is the one who gave them his grace in Christ Jesus. He is the author of salvation. Now, may I remind you what grace is the original language. It is the word "charis." It means unmerited favor. Grace speaks of the undeserved, unmerited, unearned and free gift of God in salvation. You will remember what Paul said in Romans chapter six and verse 23 that "...the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." And he also said in Ephesians chapter two, verses eight and nine, that it's "...by grace that you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not as a result of works that no one should boast."

Now, sadly, most people think that somehow, they can earn God's favor by doing good works; by being religious, by somehow attaching themselves to a church or a denomination. I was thinking about this in regard to a situation that happened to me not too long ago. It was really rather comical. I had just come back from the shooting range, and I had grabbed some guns and things from my truck. I had a M4 in one hand, a Colt 1911 on my hip and an ammo can, and I'm walking from my truck across the driveway, going into my house, and all of a sudden, a car pulled up, and two people in suits got out, and I knew immediately Jehovah Witnesses; either that or Mormons. And I thought, this is kind of odd here. So I put my arsenal down, and I went over and I began to talk with them, and they were very friendly. They were inviting me to a resurrection celebration, he said. And so, he opened up his material, and I said, "Oh, you're from the Watchtower Society, so in other words, you're a Jehovah's Witness. So I guess you're out trying to earn your salvation, right? I'm curious, do you think you're going to make the cut?" Well, they didn't really know what to say, but it was interesting. The comment was, "Well, we hope so." We hope so. Isn't that sad? "We hope so." Of course, that's what they're trying to do, is earn salvation. And I went on to tell them what I tell Mormons and all people that belong to these false religious systems. I told them that you know I know that I could never make the cut. I know that I'm not good enough. I never will be. I can never satisfy the justice of a holy God, and that's why I've placed my faith in his provision, his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for my sins and gave me his righteousness so that I can have the assurance that one day I'll be able to stand in the presence of a holy God, blameless with great joy. And I said, then, "But of course, you don't believe that, do you?" And the one man that was the spokesman said, "Well, in some ways, we do, but perhaps we could sit down and talk about it." And I said, "No, sir, I know precisely what you believe, and with all due respect, what you believe is a damning lie. You have nothing to say that I want to hear. But my friend, you have been deceived, and I plead with you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved and accept the gift of his grace, because you will never be able to earn your way into heaven. You will never make the cut." Well, they were very kind, but immediately he said, "Well, sir, it's nice talking to you. Have a nice day." And they got back in the car.

I ask Mormons, Roman Catholics, Muslims, the same thing, "Do you think you make the cut?" You see, no one believes they will with certainty. Everyone has that lingering question. "I don't really know, but I hope so." And the reason they don't really know is because the gift of God's grace has never been confirmed in their heart by God himself. Remember, there are only two kinds of religions in the world. There is the religion of human achievement, and then the religion of divine accomplishment. And only Christianity is the religion of divine accomplishment. And it's so sad that most people don't understand grace, and many resent it, because they really don't think they're bad enough to need it, and until God brings that conviction to their heart, they're just not going to see that. You ask the average person why or where they're going to spend eternity, and most of them will tell you, "Well, I'm sure that I'm going to go to heaven." Well, why would you say that? Well, it's because I've tried to be a good person, and God is a loving God, something along that line. That's what you hear commonly. But what people don't understand, and frankly, what most don't want to understand, is that, in comparison with the righteousness of God, our very best is like a "filthy garment", Isaiah 64, six. We may look very good in comparison to other people, and of course, we are hopelessly biased in our own favor. Right? We may look good to other people, but dear friends, we are depraved beyond our ability to even fathom, in comparison to an infinitely holy God and so, oh, what a blessing grace is. We don't deserve it. We can't earn it, and we can't lose it. As Paul says in Christ, all my sins past, present and future have been forgiven forever. And in Christ, all of the guilt, all of the condemnation, have been removed forever. And this is why Paul said in Romans 3:24, we have been "justified" freely "by His grace." In other words, we've been declared righteous freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And in Ephesians one and verse seven, he says, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace."

Now won't you also notice in verse six, something very important. He speaks of "...the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you." Testimony - “martyrion" in the original language - it could be translated "witness." In fact, our English word martyr comes from this word. The very moment we place our faith in Christ, we are born again. There's a spiritual resurrection, you might say, that takes place, a transformation of nature, of our nature, a new disposition. And immediately we become partakers of God's grace. And immediately, it's at that point that that reality is confirmed in us. "Confirmed" carries the idea of being anchored solidly in our heart by faith.

By the way, in the original language, it's in the passive voice, which means that it is God who is the agent of the confirmation. It is God that does this. And notice in verse four, we see that that the Corinthians responded to quote, "the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus," and it's for this reason that he's so thankful. And then in verse six, he speaks of "the testimony concerning Christ is confirmed in you."

Now let me dwell on this for a minute, because it's a precious thought. There will be an inner and an outer confirmation that occurs in every believer, shall we say, a private and a public witness. First of all, we know that it will be true in our heart, this confirmation, and this is the work of the Spirit. We know, for example, in Romans chapter eight, beginning in verse 16, that, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ." It's this subjective awareness of being united to Christ. That is a great work of the Spirit of God.

I remember a philosophy professor who mocked Christianity and in order to undermine the confidence of the students in the class who were Christians, and there were probably five or six of us, he wanted us to read some philosophers and religious people that believed different things so that, hopefully, he could undermine our confidence and we would renounce our faith. But of course, whenever you read those things, you know, it's like smelling roadkill, all right? All I have to do is get near it. I don't have to eat all of it to know that it's no good. I just get near it,and it just stinks. It's repulsive. And it's the same thing when we read or were around false teaching. Just as soon as we get near it, we can tell, well, this is repulsive. Well, why is that? Because Christ, the testimony of Christ, has been confirmed in us by the Holy Spirit. That's why. When we come to Christ in saving faith, we suddenly see the hideousness of our sin. We see the glory of the cross. We see the horror of divine judgment. We see our desperate need for a Savior, and suddenly we understand what Isaiah said, that "all of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." We understand those things. And at the moment of our salvation, grace becomes operative in our soul. This is what Paul is so thankful for. Suddenly we begin to love what God loves and hate what he hates. Suddenly, his word comes alive to us. Suddenly, Christ becomes the longing of our heart, our soul's delight. We begin to see the work of divine providence in our life. We begin to experience his love and his all sustaining grace in times of trouble. We begin to understand that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, nevertheless, we bless the name of the Lord. And in 1000 other ways, the testimony concerning Christ continues to be confirmed in us.

Now obviously, Paul knew a lot of these believers well enough to know that that was their testimony; and he's rejoicing in this. But I might add, there's not only an inner confirmation, there is an outer confirmation, meaning a public witness, whereby other people can see grace operating in our lives. They can see that there's something that has changed in an individual. Suddenly, others can see a change that they cannot explain. Suddenly, the new creature in Christ begins to manifest the virtues of Christ. Suddenly, a person's love is unconditional, his joy is inexpressible; his peace is inexplicable; his patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, they're all remarkable. Suddenly he bears the taunts of wicked men without revenge. Everything is different. Suddenly he forgives in ways that he never has before. He loves in ways that no one has ever seen before. He ignores injuries, he overlooks insults, and suddenly he is able to face death as a welcomed friend, not as a hated foe. We can all tell stories of this. Can we not? We've all seen this before, perhaps in our lives, hopefully in our lives, and certainly in the lives of others, Even as I tell you this right now, I remember the day a woman came in that door, and she looked like a hooker the way she was dressed. She came in, she sat down, she was obviously uncomfortable - as she should be. To make a long story short, within about three, four months, she came to Christ in her living room, and there was such a radical change that her husband didn't know who she was. Eventually, her husband came in, and you might say he was the male version of her before she came to faith in Christ. I'll never forget the look he gave me when he came in. He was a fearsome chap, and he hated Christians, but he couldn't understand what was going on with his wife. Again, to make a long story short, after a period of time of about, I'm going to say eight, maybe nine months, I remember that man sitting back there during communion, and you could hear someone sobbing their heart out, and that man came to Christ, and when you hear his testimony -  they've long since gone, they're in another place now, another area in another church, still walking with Christ - but when you hear his testimony, he will tell you that one of the things that God did to bring him to a saving faith in Christ was change his wife in such a way that he didn't know who she was; but he really liked what he saw, and God used that confusion to bring conviction to his heart.  Beloved, don't miss this lesson here. Do you realize that your life may be the only Bible that people will read? And we all know how the ungodly are highly skilled at spotting the smallest speck in the eye of a believer in the eye of a neighbor, so that they can turn into a beam that's the size of a giant redwood, and then they can justify their hatred for Christ and for the church, because they're all a bunch of hypocrites. For this reason, we must be all the more on our guard to make sure that our testimony concerning Christ is confirmed in us and outside of us so others can see it. You want people to say, "Yes, I think that man is a fool for Christ. I think what he believes is is ridiculous. But I have to say this, that man is humble, and he is kind, he is compassionate. There is something different about him. There is something good about him, which says something about this Christ that he claims to believe in."

You see, folks, this is what the apostle Paul was so concerned about in the lives of these believers in Corinth, if God has made you holy, you need to act holy. That's the idea. That's what he wants for each of us. And so first of all, he begins by having them just rejoice with him concerning the past confirmation of God's saving and sanctifying grace in their life. He wants them to celebrate the super abundance of his blessings on them when he lavished his grace upon them when they first came to Christ; a grace that will sustain them and cause them to stand blameless before a holy God. So folks, let's all make it our life's goal to confirm the witness of Christ among our family members, our friends, even strangers, so that they can behold the power of Christ in us, that they too might be saved. Let's be in practice who we are in position.

So Paul encourages them, first with the reminder of the past, confirmation of God's grace. Secondly, the present provisions of God's grace. This gets very practical. Notice what he says in verse five, he's also thankful, he says, "...that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge." And then if you look at the first part of verse seven, "...so that you are not lacking in any gift." Now, some technical things here that are important. The term "gift" is "charisma" in the original language, referring to the gift of grace. And this term is derived from the term grace, which is "charis," that's used in verses three and four. In fact, our English word "charismatic" comes from the plural of this very term, which is "charismata." So he's saying here that that you are not lacking in any gift, referring to the operation of divine grace in your life.

Now I want you to understand, I want you to see this clearly, he is not speaking of some special endowment. He is not speaking of some astonishing gift available to only those who are really spiritual. He's not referring to some second blessing that comes upon an elite Christian, those who are more advanced in spiritual maturity and faith, nor does he say here, or anywhere in scripture, that we are to seek spiritual gifts - like many the charismatic movement would have us to believe. In fact, I know of some churches in the Nashville area who offer courses in certain spiritual gifts so that you can get them. For example, would you like to learn how to speak in tongues, and so forth. Now, what we see here and in so many other passages, and certainly, when we get to chapter 12, we will get into this in great detail, because spiritual gifts were really a confusing issue for the Corinthians.

But what we see is that that every believer has been enriched "in all speech and all knowledge," so that you are not lacking in any gift. Now it's true that not all of our spiritual gifts may be developed, but the point is, they're there. It's like when you have a baby that is born a healthy baby, all the parts are there, right? An infant doesn't need to somehow have added to him or her some eyes or ears or or limbs or organs. The little one simply needs to develop what he or she has. In fact, Paul says in Colossians 2:10 we "have been made complete." There's nothing missing here. We have all the resources we need to know and to serve, to worship and to enjoy Christ. And when we're serious about this, we will see that the operation of divine grace, through the gifts that have been given to us, will begin to manifest themselves in our life; we will begin to develop those gifts; and those gifts will be affirmed by other believers who will be encouraged by them and edified by them in the church.

So what Paul is saying is that everything that Christ has to give, everything that you will ever need, maybe not what you want, but everything you're going to need to enjoy him and bring him glory has been given to you at the moment you came to saving faith in Christ. What an incredible truth. In fact, Peter says in Second Peter one three, that "...His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness."

Now, here Paul reminds them of two present provisions of God's grace that are essential for all members of the church to be qualified to labor for the edification of the body of Christ. Number one, he says, we are "...enriched in Him, in all speech." The term "logos," which can also mean "in all word or reason," and here it ultimately refers to all kinds of Christian speaking, proclamation, messages and so forth. In other words, when we come to faith in Christ, we are all divinely gifted with a versatility of communication that is manifested in multiple ways that are unique to each individual. To say it differently, when we come to Christ in saving faith, we are all given the ability or the capacity, and therefore, I might add, the responsibility, to proclaim the truths of God's word as it is revealed in Scripture, especially as it relates to the gospel. For example, every believer can give his testimony and be a witness for Christ, and this is a present provision of God's grace. You will recall after Jesus was resurrected, he appeared to his disciples, and he commissioned them in Acts 1:8, and he said this, "'You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses.'" So folks, none of us can blame our failure to be a witness for Christ on our lack of ability. We are enriched in him, in all speech, what we have right here.

Now, I've heard all of the excuses. And to be honest, I've used all of the excuses myself; and they're all lame. "Well, Pastor, I'm just not gifted in that way." No, dear friend, you are a coward. "Yes, but pastor, I'm just not that good at talking about spiritual things." No, you are a coward. "But pastor, I'm just the quiet type." No, you are a coward. But Pastor, I just don't know the Bible all that well." No, you're a coward. You begin to get the point? You see, we need to remember that in everything we were "...enriched in Him, in all speech."

My mind went wild as I was thinking about the examples of this in Scripture. And I landed on the great story of Peter and John. You remember they were boldly proclaiming the gospel in Acts four. Remember, there were 5000 that were saved. I mean, the Spirit of God was just doing a work. And then they were arrested, and they were put on trial and as we would say here in Tennessee, as they stood before the Sanhedrin and all of the judges, they began to shuck the corn on them. You know what that means? They began to, well, some of you are from California, you wouldn't understand that. Everybody from Tennessee knows exactly what I just said. They began to really preach the word boldly, without holding anything back. And you remember that great passage of Scripture, how they told them that you were the ones that crucified the Messiah, whom God raised from the dead. They went on to say that there, "...there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." That's what it means to shock the corn, right? And then I love it in verse 13, "Now, as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed." And I love this phrase, "...and they began to recognize them as having been with Jesus." Folks, there's the point. We have the gift. You want to use it properly. Get with Jesus. Commune with Him. We are "enriched in him"  Paul says. So in other words, when we enjoy sweet fellowship with the lover of our soul, when we have communion with Him, His grace becomes all the more operative in our life, in all speech.

And it's interesting, it's for this reason they went on to pray in verse 29 saying, "'And now, Lord, take note of their hearts and grant that Your bond servants may speak Your word with all confidence.'" You see, folks, here's the point - We don't need more ability. We've already been given all of the resources. We need more bravery, right? We need more faith. In fact, Paul asked the saints in Ephesians chapter six to pray for him. In verse 19, he says, "...and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me and in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel , or which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it, I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Well, the second present provision of God's grace that is so essential for us to have, is "all knowledge." Again, notice "...we are enriched in Him and all speech and all knowledge." Now, obviously this doesn't mean that we know everything about God's word and his will. In fact, later on, in First Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 12, he's going to remind them and remind all of us that that now we only know, quote "...in part." We don't know everything, but he has given us enough revelation and enough illumination - that is enough understanding - to be an effective witness for Christ. We all have that. God has made it clear as well in his word.

"'THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.'

And I really want you to understand this; that his truth is non- discoverable by human beings. It's not like we can use human cogitation, or meditation, or empirical research, or even rational thought to understand who God is and what he wants to have happen. He has not and he will not reveal himself through human means. He does that through revelation. I'm going to get ahead of myself a little bit here in First Corinthians two, beginning in verse nine, he speaks of this. There, he says,

For to us, God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God."

So the point is, it's the Spirit of God that has to reveal who God is in his word. So he moves from revelation to then inspiration, and he says in verse 12, "Now we," referring to the apostles, "have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words."

You see, folks, this is referring to the knowledge that God has revealed to us through his word. He, first of all, inspired 40 authors over a period of 1500 years to write down who he is and what he's up to. In other words, as we look at Scripture, we see over history a progressive revelation of who God is and his purposes. And this is the faith, which was once for all, delivered to the saints, for which we must earnestly contend, remember in Jude four.

By the way, as a footnote here, God's redemptive purposes and plan are revealed in Scripture in five very easy to remember recurring motifs. In fact, one or more of these motifs can be found on every single page of Scripture. What you're going to see is that he speaks of, first of all, the character of God. Secondly, the judgment for sin and disobedience. Third, the blessing for faith and obedience. Fourth, the Lord Savior and sacrifice for sin. And finally, the coming kingdom and glory. If you want the Bible in five points, there it is. You know, the greatest philosophers and scientists and religious gurus in the world could have never come up with any of this. And apart from regeneration, being born again, they will never be able to understand any of this. But God has revealed these things to us in his word, and therefore we can rejoice with the Apostle Paul that quote, "...in everything, every believer has been enriched in him, in all speech and knowledge." Again, in verse seven, "so that you are not lacking in any gift."

"Well, yes, Pastor, I understand that. I know what you're saying there, but I just don't have a very good grasp of the Bible. It seems very confusing to me. It's just kind of overwhelming.' Well, you know what? That's fair, I understand that. Many people say the same thing, but remember, you have some knowledge, because God has given it to you. It says you're not lacking in any gift, and that includes knowledge. However, I might add that if you struggle with Bible knowledge, God has graciously told us how to remedy that. And I hope you will write this down, because it is going to unlock the secret of ignorance. Are you ready for this? It is going to unveil a truth that may be utterly foreign to you, and I'm going to give it to you in the old King James, because this is how I first heard it, and it penetrated my heart. Then, as it does to this very day, it is a passage that brings conviction to my soul and drives my life. And the first word of that passage, write this down is the word "study." Let me say it again, "study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Now folks, you all have some knowledge. If you want more, guess what you've got to do. You've got to study.

So again, Paul is saying, here, I thank God, verse four, "always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him in all speech and all knowledge, so that you are not lacking in any gift."

Then he says, "awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ." Oh, I love that word, "revelation" It's a Greek noun "apokalypsis."  It means "to uncover" or "to unveil" or "to disclose." And of course, this speaks of the revelation of Christ's second coming, his glorious return when he is going to be revealed as King of kings and Lord of lords. In fact, the book of Revelation, in chapter one and verse one begins like this, "apocalypsis yesu Christo," which literally means "the unveiling of Jesus Christ."

So this speaks here of these believers that are "not lacking in any gift," and you're awaiting "eagerly this revelation of our Lord  Jesus Christ;"  that day when the veil of his humanity that he once wore in  his incarnation is going to be replaced with the ineffable splendor of his majesty and his glory as he comes as King of kings and Lord of lords. Wow, I cannot wait for that day. I hope you're waiting eagerly for it.

Paul's encouraging them, therefore, finally, concerning the future revelation of God's grace. He's looked at the past confirmation of God's grace, the present provision of God's grace. And now, thirdly, the future revelation of God's grace. Again, he says, "awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ." Folks, I understand, believe me, I understand we live in a wicked world, a cruel world, a world filled with sickness and sorrow and persecution and violence, every imaginable kind of sin; death is all around us. And I know that a number of you right now are hurting in this congregation in various ways, and I grieve with you, especially some of you that have lost your income, your jobs and even your health. But oh, dear Christian, may I remind you of this? Never lose hope. Keep waiting, keep looking for the revelation - the unveiling, the disclosure of our Lord Jesus Christ. To put it in the words of Bunyan in "The Pilgrim's Progress," never allow Giant Despair to keep you incarcerated in Doubting Castle, when in fact, you have a key in your pocket called Promise that can let you loose, that can set you free.

I remember not too long ago, when I was in Uganda after I would speak, and we had time, and these, these dear pastors would come around me; and I remember so many of them would, would ask questions about Christ's second coming. It's interesting. They don't have anything. They're not concerned about material things. In fact, they don't even know that they need a lot of the things, you know? I mean, we complain if our internet's a little bit slow. I mean, these people, they don't even think about that stuff. What they wanted to know about is Christ's return. And I remember one man in particular asked me to explain. You see, he said, "Can you help me understand the difference between the promises that God gave to Israel and the promises he gave to the church so that we can understand what's going to happen when Christ returns?" And I thought, wow, what a great question. And as I began to talk with him, I mean there, there's probably 12, 15, maybe 20, men all around me, and I began to explain to them the difference between the Abrahamic and the Davidic and the New Covenant and the promises that are there, and how this is going to work out in in the days to come. And it was so precious as I began to talk with them, some of them teared up, some of them clapped. At times they would say, "Oh hallelujah, praise God." And you know, they're very demonstrative in their emotion, and it's like I'm preaching a little sermon to these guys as they are rejoicing in the revelation that it's going to come.

Folks that is a work of God, that is evidence of the confirmation of the gift of grace in their life; men that are starving for the glory and the greatness of God; longing for his return. So what evidence that is of the operation of God's grace.

So because of the grace of God, Paul is saying, You're not lacking in any gift, and you're waiting eagerly for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. And finally, he says, in verse eight, "...who will also confirm..." in other words, he's going to keep, he's going to establish you, "...to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."

By the way, as a footnote, this verse alone can refute the heretical idea that a person can lose their salvation. Just this verse is all you need to refute that. But what a magnificent truth to know that it is Christ Jesus that is going to keep us blameless to the very end; that we will be free from any charge leveled against us up to and on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. And beloved here again is the great doctrine of justification - that we have been declared righteous because of the righteousness of Christ. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. It's because of God's grace in our justification, every believer can anticipate, in advance, the verdict that will be pronounced upon them when they stand before a holy God. And that verdict is blameless. Blameless - saved by grace alone, in Christ alone; free from any charge.

So folks, he's reminding them, as he's reminding all of us, that when we enter heaven and stand before the throne of God, Christ Himself, is going to affirm our blamelessness, because he died in our stead and paid the penalty for our sin so the Father will not look upon us and see our sin, but rather, instead, he will see saints - those who have been set apart from sin; from its from its penalty, from its power, and eventually from its very presence. And he is going to see that we are clothed in the righteousness of his beloved Son who purchased our redemption with his very blood. And it's for this reason, Paul would say in First Thessalonians five, verse 23, "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." And of course, that great doxology in Jude 24 says the same thing, "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to make us stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, dominion and authority before all time, now and forevermore, Amen."

And then Paul closes this section of praise by reminding them finally, in verse nine, that God is faithful. Aren't you glad of that? Because we couldn't do it; if he were not faithful, we'd be in big trouble. "God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." Fellowship the word "koinonia" - it means oneness. God is the one who is faithful that called you and that is going to keep you in oneness with His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. What a blessed truth. When God calls us unto himself, we will come, and he will save us, and he will unite us to Christ forever. He is going to keep us to the very end. That's why Jesus said in John 13 one that he will love us "to the end” - eternally, fully and completely.

So indeed, friends, we're recipients of God's uninfluenced, sovereign love and grace that was set upon us before the foundation of the world. And yes, like the Corinthian believers, we may have many things that we need to be ashamed of because of our sin, but like them, aren't you encouraged that we are saints? Saints by calling. What a wonderful truth, and for this reason, we can rejoice over these three glorious blessings that belong to us: the past confirmation of God's grace, the present provision of God's grace, and the future revelation of God's grace. Even so come quickly Lord Jesus, amen? Let's pray together.

Father, we celebrate what we have just examined, and I thank you for your super abounding grace to us; to know that we always have every resource that we need, To worship you, to serve, to enjoy you. We have all sufficiency in all things. We have an abundance for every good deed. So therefore, Lord, I pray that by the power of your Spirit, you will help us not to squander these exquisite blessings that you have given us. Cleanse us so that we might more fully and clearly reflect the glory of Christ in our lives. And then finally, Lord, for anyone who might be within the sound of my voice, who has never placed their faith in Christ, who has never experienced the miracle of the new birth, I pray that by the power of the Spirit, you will convict them so that today they can be united to Christ in saving faith. We commit all of these things to you, and we praise you once again for your grace. In Christ's name, I pray, amen.