1 Corinthians God’s Grace For A Struggling Church

1 Corinthians is a letter with grace overflowing to what most would call a dysfunctional church.  Paul begins his letter with God’s perspective: what He says about the church, His precious people, these saints IN Christ—saved, sanctified, strengthened and sustained to the end.  The rest of the letter is devoted to strong words to correct behavior (pride, divisions, sexual immorality, lawsuits, etc) and bring clarification on issues (in the form of answering questions they sent him).  

But we can’t miss that from the very beginning it God’s grace that sets the stage for all the strong teaching that follows.  

While they may not “look” like His saints, what God says about them is reality. This ragtag group of believers from varied backgrounds (wealthy & poor, high status & low, slave & free, educated & illiterate, and everything in-between) formed the church in a city known for wealth, education, and moral depravity.  This church, begun by Paul, was in desperate need of help. 

God saves imperfect people—setting them aside as His beloved children, holy IN Christ—and then begins the process of changing and growing them into Christ-likeness (sanctification).  These “being changed ones” are His tools to bring the Gospel to a dark and hopeless world.

BUT…this letter is full of hope for us today!  We too need this same Jesus. We too need to understand how God sees us when we are saved—and—His power to transform us, in every area of our lives.  

What an encouraging picture of the power of God’s Gospel to save people from every walk of life, and to unite and transform them into a church purposed by God to be a lighthouse for the Name of Jesus Christ.

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