Grace for all time

He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:8-9 (NRSV)

Each day we live for Christ is a day closer to the coming of Christ. We look forward to this day because all of our trials and hardships here on earth will end. Then, we will be able to fully live for Christ, unencumbered by earthly cares and concerns.

What does it look like to live each earthly, 24-hour period, for Christ? To many of us, this looks like a never-ending struggle to keep Christ first in our lives. We may start the day with prayer and devotion, but by noon, an encounter with an angry unbeliever has diverted our thoughts towards a problem and taken our thoughts away from God. Work, errands, eating, and sleeping take up so much of our time that our devotion to God can sometimes be something we eke out of our spare time.

If a person’s supervisor gives him a project to do, and a deadline to accomplish it, the person will, most likely, work hard to meet the deadline with a quality product. The supervisor has control over employees’ time, and it is the supervisor who can decide the allotted time for what needs to be done. A good supervisor will support the employees in order to accomplish the goal.

This is exactly what Paul is saying in verse 8. God, who is in complete control of all of the time that has ever existed or ever will exist, will strengthen us, day by day, hour by hour, and minute by minute to accomplish His goals for us. God will strengthen us to the end, and He is faithful--He will take responsibility for all of the work we do.

The end goal is going to be good. Satan will be destroyed and we will have everlasting fellowship with Jesus Christ the Lord. There will be no more day-by-day, hour-by-hour or minute-by-minute. It will be fellowship with God forever. What a gracious God He is.

The meat of grace

"I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ."  1 Corinthians 1: 4-8 (NRSV)

Many of us have been to a restaurant and ordered an appetizer as the main course for our meal. Just as an appetizer can fill us with substantial food, so does Paul’s introduction provide us with solid, spiritual nourishment. Paul’s letter begins with a standard introduction. Greek, which was the standard written form in Paul’s day, usually offered the sender’s name(s), the recipient name(s), and a blessing in the opening of the letter.

A standard greeting should not deter us from considering the significance and impact of this introduction. We do not need to skip through the introduction in order to get to the “meat” of the letter. Just as we sometimes eat appetizers for our main course, we should ponder Paul’s introductions for their spiritual meaning.

Paul gives thanks to God for the church in Corinth because of the grace of God that has been given to them. Paul reminds them (and us!) that it is through God’s grace that we receive knowledge and spiritual wisdom. This is a very “meaty” concept. Our growth in spiritual knowledge does not come from our study or our effort to know God; it comes from God’s grace toward us.

Again, to use a meal as an analogy, God is the gracious host who has prepared a bountiful meal for us and has laid out a table, resplendent of every nourishment that we require. Our willingness to partake of the meal does not make the meal more delicious; our willingness allows us to enjoy the deliciousness. Paul is saying, in his introduction, that our willingness to accept spiritual knowledge in Christ does not make our knowledge better. Spiritual knowledge comes from God, and by grace we are able to understand it and enjoy it.

The fullness of the blessings of Christ

But now, with no further place for me in these regions, I desire, as I have for many years, to come to you when I go to Spain. For I do hope to see you on my journey and to be sent on by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a little while. At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem in a ministry to the saints; for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to share their resources with the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.  They were pleased to do this, and indeed they owe it to them; for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material things. So, when I have completed this, and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will set out by way of you to Spain; and I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessings of Christ. Romans 15:23-29 (NRSV)

The setting for this letter to the Roman Christians is linked to the part of Paul’s journey in Acts 20-21 where  Paul is headed toward Jerusalem to meet with the church there.  Acts 20:16 says that he was eager to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost

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Paul loved Israel, and he is eager to return to Jerusalem and deliver, to the poor Christians, money collected by the Gentile churches. Paul wants to minister to these people, and his desire is so strong to go to Jerusalem, that he ignores all of the Holy Spirit-filled advice given to him by the churches in Miletus, Tyre, and Caesarea.  These churches urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem, but Paul was determined to go anyway. (Acts 20 and 21). 

 

We know the ending of the story.  Paul went to Jerusalem, was arrested and sent to Rome where he was a prisoner until his death. In the scripture quoted above, Paul expresses his desire to see the Roman Christians, and he prophecies that he will “come in the fullness of the blessings of Christ.” 

 

Paul acted against the instructions of the Holy Spirit when he returned to Jerusalem.  Yet, God still used Paul in a way that was mightier than anyone could imagine.  After Paul was arrested and imprisoned, the “fullness of the blessings of Christ” extended not only to the Roman Christians, not only to the Gentile churches, but to all churches throughout the ages. God used Paul’s disobedience to bless our lives right now—right this very moment. What grand, all encompassing, time surpassing grace!     

The fullness of grace

"But now, with no further place for me in these regions, I desire, as I have for many years, to come to you when I go to Spain. For I do hope to see you on my journey and to be sent on by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a little while. At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem in a ministry to the saints; for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to share their resources with the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. They were pleased to do this, and indeed they owe it to them; for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material things. So, when I have completed this, and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will set out by way of you to Spain; and I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessings of Christ."  Romans 15:23-29 (NRSV)

The setting for this letter to the Roman Christians is linked to the part of Paul’s journey in Acts 20-21 where Paul is headed toward Jerusalem to meet with the church there. Acts 20:16 says that he was eager to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.

Paul loved Israel, and he is eager to return to Jerusalem and deliver, to the poor Christians, money collected by the Gentile churches. Paul wants to minister to these people, and his desire is so strong to go to Jerusalem, that he ignores all of the Holy Spirit-filled advice given to him by the churches in Miletus, Tyre, and Caesarea. These churches urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem, but Paul was determined to go anyway. (Acts 20 and 21).

We know the ending of the story. Paul went to Jerusalem, was arrested and sent to Rome where he was a prisoner until his death. In the scripture quoted above, Paul expresses his desire to see the Roman Christians, and he prophecies that he will “come in the fullness of the blessings of Christ.” Paul acted against the instructions of the Holy Spirit when he returned to Jerusalem. Yet, God still used Paul in a way that was mightier than anyone could imagine. After Paul was arrested and imprisoned, the “fullness of the blessings of Christ” extended not only to the Roman Christians, not only to the Gentile churches, but to all churches throughout the ages. God used Paul’s disobedience to bless our lives right now—right this very moment. What grand, all encompassing, time surpassing grace!