Jesus was our partner

JESUS WAS OUR PARTNER
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
1 Corinthians1:9 9God is faithful, who has calledyou
into fellowshipwith his Son, Jesus Christour LORD.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
"the FellowshipOf His Son."
1 Corinthians 1:9
J.R. Thomson
Socialties are inevitable either for goodor for evil; some are made for us and
others are made by us. All religions have made use of the socialtendency, the
socialnecessity, which distinguish human nature. Christianity adapts itself to
the highestform of the tendency. The Divine Christ has made himself the
Associate,the Friend, the Brother of mankind.
I. THE FELLOWSHIP OF FAITH IN CHRIST'S REDEMPTION. The work
of Christ was perfectin itself, but its benefits are only to be enjoyed through
spiritual associationand affinity with Christ. Union of heart and soul with
Christ is the condition of true salvation. Christians are built on Christ as the
foundation, graftedinto Christ as into the vine, joined to Christ as to the
body, partakers ofChrist as of spiritual bread, friends with Christ as by a
congenialattachment.

II. THE FELLOWSHIP OF SPIRIT WITH CHRIST'S CHARACTER. The
frequent expression, "in Christ," shows whatwas the view of the Lord himself
and of his apostles concerning the identification of the people of Jesus with
their Lord. It is their aspiration to be like him, to have the mind which was in
him. They are followers, disciples, imitators, representatives ofhim whose
name they bear. Sympathizing with Christ's obedience and submission to the
Father, they are practicallyand powerfully and beneficially affectedby this
sympathy.
III. THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE ACTIVE LIFE WITH THE WORK OF
CHRIST. Christians recognize their Master's devotionto the highest interests
of men, his unwearied efforts, his unflinching sacrifice. In communion with
him they make their life one of service, of consecration. In motive the
Christian life is service to Christ; in result it is service to man. How many a
life has been rescuedby the cross from selfishness and from sin, and made a
life of devoted and successfulbenevolence!
IV. THE FELLOWSHIP OF HEART AND OF ACTION WITH CHRIST'S
PEOPLE. Union with the Head is the basis of communion with the members;
yet by this lastthe former is fosteredand perfected. Congeniality and
sympathy of disposition and aim, worship and ordinances in common, mutual
aid, conjoined endeavours and testimony, - these are the results, and, at the
same time, the means of communion with Christ.
V. FELLOWSHIP PROSPECTIVELYIN CHRIST'S INHERITANCE. The
Lord ever encouragedhis disciples, who shared his humiliation, with the
prospectthat they should share his exaltation. It was his promise, "BecauseI
live, ye shall live also;" it was his prayer, "Where I am, there may also my
people be." Fellowshipwith such a Being cannot be for a season, it must be
imperishable. To be "everwith the Lord" is the bright and joyous expectation
of all who honour and who love his appearing. This shall be the crown of
communion. Then in the fullest sense shallhis disciples and friends be truly
"partakers ofChrist." - T.
Biblical Illustrator

God is faithful, by whom ye were calledunto the fellowshipof His Son.
1 Corinthians 1:9
The faithfulness of God
Stopford A. Brooke, M. A.
On this eternal, self-existentfidelity we can repose with safety.
I. IT IS WELL THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING SURE, FOR TALK AS WE
WILL OF THE FIDELITY OF MAN AND WOMAN, THERE IS MUCH TO
SAY ALSO OF THEIR INFIDELITY.
1. Who cansay — in friendship, in love — what a week, a month, a yearmay
not bring forth? In the very strength of human affectionlies its frailty. And it
is in hours when this is realised, when we seemto toss upon a shifting sea in
sailing overhuman love, that we turn to the everlasting firmness of God's
fidelity.
2. But even more than in others do we recognise this faithlessness in ourselves.
How often are we only faithful because we are ashamedto be otherwise, and
how often have we betrayed that which was given us to keep? We look into
our own hearts and know how slight and fluttering, how changeable we have
often been, how we even enjoyed our change. Whatwonder, then, if we turn
from the weaknessofour own fidelity to seek a centre for it and a power of it
in the unalterable strength of the faithfulness of God, and cry, "Faithful
Masterof fidelity, enter into my life and make it all fidelity."
II. What answerdoes God give us to that? Not that we should at first expect.
WE HAVE FLED FROM MAN TO GOD, GOD SENDS US BACK TO MAN.
If a man find not fidelity in his brother whom he hath seen, how can he find
fidelity in God whom he hath not seen? We have been looking on the
unfaithfulness we have found in man. Nothing canbe worse forus. He bids us
searchfor faithfulness, and we shall find it.
1. In the hearts of those that love us. And the moment our whole position is
thus changed, and we look on a new side of facts, we remember all the
uncomplaining patience of long love that mother and father, wife and sister,

have bestowedon us. We recollect that there are friends who have never failed
us, to doubt whom would be a crime.
2. With this new light we look within our own hearts, and we are conscious
that we have been true to many. Surprised, we ask ourselves, Whatis this
faithfulness in the midst of unfaithfulness, this stability in human nature that
accompanies instability? Oh! it is what we searchedfor, it is what we fled
awayfrom man to find. It is the fidelity of God Himself that moves and lives
within His children. The kingdom of God is among you.
III. HAVING LEARNT THAT LESSON, WE LEARN FROM IT —
1. To love and honour men much more. We are not so ready to impute
unfaithfulness, and we are kinder and more gracious, andbeing so, we find
that men and womenare more faithful to us, for we have lost the evil and
unpleasant qualities which made people tire of our love. By believing in
faithfulness we make it grow. Then our power of creating faithfulness has a
reflex action on our own faithfulness. That which we cause to grow in others,
grows by that very effort in ourselves.
2. An ideal of God's fidelity. The beauty of human fidelity forces us to aspire
to a more beautiful fidelity, the realleads us onwards to the ideal.
IV. Still an ideal remains always somewhatin the vague. But to our wonderful
comfort THE FIDELITY OF GOD IS REALISED IN HUMANITY, IN
CHRIST, THE IMAGE OF GOD IN MAN. "He who hath seenMe hath seen
the Father." He who hath seenthe human faithfulness of Christ hath seenthe
Divine faithfulness of God.
1. His faithfulness was faithfulness to duty. At twelve years of age it was
clearly conceived. "Wistye not that I must be about My Father's business?"
For eighteenyears He brooded on His duty, and at thirty it was accepted, and
never let go. The imperative of His later saying, "I must work the works of
Him that sent Me while it is day," was said with the same fervour as it had
been said by the joyful enthusiasm of the boy; and when the supreme hour of
life came He could say, "It is finished." What? tits Father's business!

2. That is the outward aspectofChrist's faithfulness to duty; its inner aspect
was Eternal Truth. He had a few clear, dominant conceptions onwhich His
whole life was built. To these ideas — such as the universal Fatherhoodof
God, the union of the Divine and human, the existence ofa spiritual kingdom,
and the necessityof man being a believer in these things, and being made at
one with God through Him — Christ's whole inner life was faithful. He could
say, with absolute truthfulness, feeling that His whole inner life had been
faithful to them throughout: "To this end was I born, and for this cause came
I into the world, that I should hear witness unto the Truth." This was Christ's
fidelity, the image of God's.
V. BUT WHAT DUTY CAN GOD BE SAID TO HAVE TO WHICH HE IS
FAITHFUL? There can be no duty imposed on Him from without, else there
were another greaterthan Himself. But there can be an imperative within His
own nature which is to Him that which duty was to Christ and to us.
1. With regardto us, that duty is the duty of a Father to His children. By that
imperative of FatherhoodHe cannever cease to care for us, watch over us,
educate us, and finally perfect us.
2. That is the outward form. But the centralidea of which it is the form, and
to which in His owninner life He is for ever faithful, is this: "I am the eternal
spiritual All. I give Myself forth in all that thinks, and loves, and acts, and is."
That being such, it is inconceivable that He should ever be unfaithful to His
thought, for that thought is His own realisationofHimself, and were He
unfaithful to it, Godwere unfaithful to God, which is absurd. To this idea,
then, and to all the duties it brings with it, God is absolutely faithful; He
cannot be otherwise. "Iam," He says, "because Iam." Conclusion:That is
our security. We have arrived at the conceptionof it through Christ, through
our own humanity takenup into and filled with divinity. And once we have
graspedit, it transfigures life and gives us a rock to stand on amid the shifting
sands of our own feeling, amid the wavering of human faithfulness. The
foundation of God standeth sure.
(Stopford A. Brooke, M. A.)

The faithfulness of God
G. Burder.
I. RESULTS FROM, OR STANDS CONNECTEDWITH, ALL HIS OTHER
PERFECTIONS.
1. His power (Psalm146:6). This enables Him, without the possibility of
failure, to accomplishall His promises and threatenings. Honest men may be
prevented keeping their word by unexpected difficulties; but the designs of the
Almighty cannot be frustrated (Matthew 19:26; Genesis 18:14;Romans 4:20,
21; 2 Timothy 1:12).
2. His holiness; without it, indeed, He could not be holy (Psalm 92:15;Titus
1:2; Hebrews 6:18; Numbers 23:19). Well might the Psalmistsay, "Godhath
spokenin His holiness:I will rejoice" (Psalm60:6), for the holiness of God is a
pledge of His faithfulness.
3. His unchangeableness.Angels have changed, and become devils; man is
changed, and become a rebel; but God changes not (Malachi3:6). Men
frequently change their minds, sometimes from goodto evil, at other times
from evil to good;their secondthoughts are best: but God's thoughts can
neither be improved nor depraved (James 1:17). The promises and vows of
men (like Jephthah's and Herod's) are sometimes unlawful or incautiously
made, so that "there may be more honour in the breachthan in the
observance ofthem." Not so the engagements ofHeaven(Job 23. 13, 14).
4. His wisdom. Among men, the non-performance of promises is frequently
occasionedby circumstances whichhuman prudence could not foresee;and
therefore goodmen should not make promises hastily, and never without
reference to St. James's caution(James 4:15). But no provisions are necessary
when God makes a promise. No difficulties, no disappointments, canoccur to
Him; His instruments are always at hand, and shall all subserve His holy
designs.
5. His mercy, love, and goodness(Psalm138:2). His love inclines Him to make
the promise, and His veracity induces Him to fulfil it.

II. OUR CONFIDENCE IN IT IS CONFIRMED by the following facts.
1. The promises are made in and to Christ, as the Head of His Church; and
faithfulness to Him, as well as to us, insures their fulfilment (2 Corinthians
1:20; Titus 1:2; Ephesians 1:6).
2. God has confirmed His promise by an oath (Genesis 22:16;Hebrews 6:13,
17, 18).
3. The experience of the people of God in all ages.(1)The first promise
(Genesis 3:15)has bees fulfilled (1 John 3:8; Galatians 4:5). Remember that
there is nothing like distance of time in the mind of God betweenthe promise
and the fulfilment (2 Peter 3:8), and hence some events are spokenof in the
prophets as present, or even as past, which are yet to come.(2)Was the
universal flood threatened, and Noahwith his family to be secured? The event
correspondedwith the threatening, though one hundred and twenty years
intervened.(3) Was Abraham, when one hundred, and childless, to have a vast
posterity? Every Jew we see is a witness that the promise has been fulfilled.(4)
So with the deliverance of Israel, &c. Conclusion:
1. Learn the unreasonableness and sinfulness of unbelief (1 John 5:10).
2. Let God be honoured in His faithfulness by a suitable confidence in it.
3. Let us, in our humble measure, try to imitate God in this His glorious
attribute (Ephesians 5:1).
(G. Burder.)
Faithful is He that calleth you
R. Candlish, D. D.
Consider—
I. HOW GOD DEALS WITH YOU, IN SO CALLING YOU AS TO UNITE
YOU TO HIS SON. Faithfully throughout. He is faithful —
1. In discovering to you your case.

2. In commending to you His Son.
3. In presenting Christ to you, in free gift, as yours.
4. In not repenting of His call.
II. THE END OF THIS CALLING. You are united to His Son, and to such an
effectas to have all things in common.
1. Common interests. The interests which Christ has as —
(1)God's ally, are identical with those of the Father.
(2)His Son, are identical with ours.
2. A common character.
3. A common history. With respectto —
(1)A birth.
(2)A baptism.
(3)A work.
(4)A cross.
(5)A crown.
(R. Candlish, D. D.)
The specialcalland the unfailing result
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. YOUR CALLING.
1. Its Divine origin. The text says, "Godcalledyou" — does not your
experience prove the same? We thought that we had had no other call than
that which came through our Bibles, goodbooks, &c. But did we not read the
same books years before? but they never touched a chord in our hearts;

therefore we conclude that that time it must have been the finger of God. We
had been calledscores oftimes before, but we always turned a deaf ear. But
when this particular callcame, we threw down our swordand said, "Great
God, I yield!"
2. Its graciousness.Whatwas there in you to suggesta motive why God should
call you? Some of you were drunkards, profane, injurious. John Bradford,
when he saw a cartful of men going off to Tyburn to be hanged, said, "There
goes JohnBradford but for the grace of God." A goodScotchmancalledto see
RowlandHill, and without saying a word, satstill for some five minutes,
looking into his face. At last Rowland askedhim what engagedhis attention.
Said he, "I was looking at the lines of your face." "Well, whatdo you make
out of em?" "Why," saidhe, "that if the grace of God hadn't been in you, you
would have been the biggestrascalliving."
3. The privileges it brings.
(1)Pardon.
(2)Righteousness.
(3)Sonship.
(4)Heaven.
II. TO WHAT END DID GOD CALL YOU? That you might have fellowship
with Christ. Now the word "koinonia" is not to be interpreted here as a
society, but as the result of society; i.e., fellowship lies in mutual and identical
interests. A man and his wife have fellowship with eachother, in that which is
common to both and enjoyed in communion accordingly. Now when we were
calledto Christ we became one with Him, so that everything Christ had
became ours. This was the actof faith. Now we have fellowshipto Christ.
1. In His loves. He loves saints, sinners, the world, and pants to see it
transformed into the gardenof the Lord. What He loves we love, and what He
hates we abhor.
2. In His desires. He desires to see multitudes saved, the glory of God, that the
saints may be with Him where He is — we desire the same.

3. In His sufferings. We do not die a bloody death; yet many have done so, and
there are millions ready to do so. But when He is reproachedwe have learned
to bear His reproachtoo. Some few drops of His cup we drink, and it has been
given to some more than to others to "fill up that which is behind of the
afflictions of Christ for His body's sake, whichis the Church."
4. In His joys. Is He happy? We are happy to think Christ is happy.
5. In His riches. If He has riches in pardoning, supporting, instructing,
illuminating, sanctifying, preserving, or perfecting Christians, they are all
ours. Is His blood precious, His righteousness complete, His merits sweet?
They are mine. Has He powerin intercession, has He wisdom, righteousness
— has He anything? It is mine.
6. In His glory. There is not a crownHe wears but we have part of it; nay,
there is not a gem that sparkles in His crowns but it sparkles for us as well as
for Him. For us the goldenstreets, the chariot, the crowding angels;the shout
of "Hallelujah! for Thou wastslain," &c., the secondadvent with all its
splendours, universal reign of Christ, the day of judgment.
III. ALL THIS LEADS US TO PERCEIVE OUR SECURITY. Saints must be
saved—
1. BecauseGodhas called them. "The gifts and culling of God are without
repentance," Because —
2. God has called them into fellowshipwith Christ, and that fellowship, if God
be faithful, must be complete. You have shared His sufferings, His faithfulness
secures the rest.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The fellowshipof God's Son
G. W. Olver, B. A.
1. The apostle writes as a peacemaker. Partystrife had weakenedspiritual
life, and a weakenedspiritual life had been fruitful in other evils. St. Paul

would remedy all evil and restore harmony. He finds his potent spell in the
Name which is above every name, and recalls Corinthian Christians to the
considerationof the common Saviour, and their one hope which is by Him
and in Him. Christ Jesus is all to eachand to every one of them. Thus it is that
throughout these opening verses this name occurs againand again.
2. Divine fellowship is often spokenof in the Scriptures. In the New Testament
it is naturally most familiar, for there God has come nearestto man, and
therefore man may come nigh unto Him. This is the gospelmessagethat,
"made nigh by the blood of Christ" there is, for all, "boldness to enter into the
holiest." "No one cometh unto the Father but by Me." BetweenGodand men
there is but the one Mediator. Fellowshipwith God must needs be first of all
the fellowshipof His Son Jesus Christ.
3. But what is this high privilege? Ordinarily the term suggests the
interchange of sympathy and thought, or associationin acts of Christian
worship and participation in common joys and sorrows. The word itself has a
meaning which, in its application to ordinary affairs, is very definite and
clear. The sons of Zebedee are twice spokenof as "partners" of Simon.
Without any violence, therefore, we may read: "The partnership of His Son
Jesus Christ our Lord" (cf. Hebrews 3:14). In this busy life, partnerships are
common; but never in human commerce did men look upon one like this.
Suppose a firm utterly and hopelesslyruined. A wealthy man asks to be
admitted as partner. As honest men, the bankrupts must needs protest that
the offererknows not what he is doing. Then comes the reply that all is
known, that wealth is available more than sufficient to meet all the need, and
that practicalwisdom also whereby the ruin may be reconstructedon a safe
and enduring basis. Yet this, and more than all this, is in the gospel. A ruined
race may scanthe present, or peer as they will into the dark future. Sin hath
wrought shame and death. Yet now, in the midst of the utter wreck, there
stands One who offers much, as He offers life — who giveth all, as He gives
Himself. This is true for eachand for all, without respectof persons, and
without limitation of gift.
4. What has this communion brought to the Saviour Himself? The answeris
soongiven. He took upon Himself our nature, "the likeness ofsinful flesh." He

shared to the utmost its weakness, weariness, pain, and death. One burden He
shared not; for Himself hath borne it all. "By Himself" He "purged our sins."
Beyond this He had nothing. Joy became His, "the joy that was setbefore
Him," that of presenting "faultless before the presence of His glory" the
redeemedsons of men. Glory has been given to Him, but it is the glory of
"powerover all flesh, that He should give eternallife." And these things He
hath "receivedof the Father," and not from mankind.
5. But let us turn to the other side, the relation of man to this fellowship. In
the commercialworld, partnerships are not all alike. Modernsociety, under
the pressure of altered circumstances,has invented the contrivance of
"limited liability." But in olden times when any man entered a firm he took in
with him all that he possessed. Thenceforthnone of the things which he had
could, in presence of the common need, be called his own. From such a
partnership the young ruler recoiled:"Sellthat thou hast," &c. Into such a
partnership the early Christians gladly entered, for they "had all things
common." Into such a partnership are we called — one of unlimited liability.
Entire consecrationis the first requirement. "Ye are not your own."
"Whether ye eat, or drink, or whatsoeverye do, do all to the glory of God."
Christ will have all, or nothing. On this essentialcondition, the partnership is
open to every man. He came "to call sinners to repentance," and, when
sinners come, they are acceptedjust as they are. No man may bring less than
his all to the fellowshipof Christ; but no man can bring more. So the
trembling servant comes with his burden of conscious liability. His all is a
debt of ten thousand talents; but the Saviour admits him to the partnership.
The poor wastefuland wastedwanderercomes, with rags and shame as his
only contribution, but he meets with no denial. Penitent, needy soul! Lay thy
gift thyself, whateverthou hast been, whateverthou art — lay it all upon the
altar. It is His will, it is His command; therefore, for once, obey. The gift is
accepted, forHe hath promised. For "Godis faithful, by whom" thou hast
been calledunto this fellowship.
6. Once admitted, "all things are yours." In earthly partnerships, though
there may be unlimited liability, there is only a limited supply. It cannotbe
that every partner shall have powerto draw as he may upon the common
resources.The banking accountis strictly guarded; and the available funds

are doled out to eachand to all, not according to need, but according to legal
claim. For sinful men, all this is blessedlyotherwise. The treasury of grace is
the fulness of God. There is "enoughfor all, enough for each, enoughfor
evermore!" "But all He hath for mine I claim."
7. If, now, we would learn something of the wealthwhich we share with and in
Christ Jesus, we may read His own words (John 17:22, 23). The glory of
Christ is the possessionofHis people. That glory consists in what He is, and
what He has;the riches of life and the gifts of love.
(G. W. Olver, B. A.)
Fellowshipwith Christ
Prof. J. M. Charlton.
I. OUR DISTINCTIVE POSITIONAS CHRISTIANS IS THAT WE HAVE
FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD'S SON. Menare often marked out from others
by the particular fraternity, corporation, or firm to which they belong. We as
Christians are members of the firm of the Son of God; for the word here
means co-partnership.
1. The grounds of this fellowship are —(1) The Divine acceptanceofChrist's
work.(2)"The consequentDivine grant to Christ of all the power and gifts of
salvationfor the benefit of all who should become co-partners with Himself.
2. Its terms or conditions — entire self-surrender. Faith receives Christ"as
He is presentedin the gospel," i.e., in all His relations. To Christ as a Saviour
trust is reliance, as a Teachertrust is teachableness, as a Ruler it is obedience,
as a Leader following, as a King homage, as a Man sympathy, as God
worship. Let there be no mistake here. Many put their trust in Christ as a
Saviour, but not as a King; as man, not as God. They will take all He has to
give, but give nothing in return, or if anything their money, but Hot
themselves. But Christ seeksnotyours, but you. He requires not large capital,
knowledge, skill, art, &c., although He will receive them when offered; what
He does require is your whole affectionand unlimited trust.

3. Its prospects. Our position is that of partners — in spiritual life,
brotherhood and service;but not on equal terms. We take nothing into the
concernbut weaknessand poverty. Without Him we cando nothing, but with
Him we shall jointly realise God's ideal of humanity. Military or commercial
companies have often proposedto themselves the conquestof the world; this
societyhas the same object, and will achieve it, only in a nobler sense.
II. GOD HAS CALLED US INTO THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SON. In the
invitations of the gospelGodis calling men to become co-partners with
Christ; but mere invitation does not come up to the full meaning of the term,
and our hearts must say what that full meaning is. The heart makes God the
author of its whole salvation. "Bythe grace ofGod I am what I am." That
grace makes allthe difference betweena strangerto and a partner with
Christ.
III. EVERYTHING MUST DEPEND ON THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD.
This fellowship from first to lastis His creation;on Him it depends to render
it a failure or a success.
1. Therefore our confidence rests immediately on God. In worldly affairs men
usually contemplate successthrough natural laws and material properties.
Farmers trust to the virtues of the seed, &c., merchants to the winds and
waves, warriors to the spirit of their troops; but even in such cases a devout
spirit will recognise the presence ofGod in all secondarycauses, andmake
Him at leastthe basis of its hope. But in this greatco-partnership we have no
interventions to distract our faith. We go right to God at once.
2. We rest upon the most Godlike thing in God — His faithfulness, which
supports the universe. Our fellowship with Christ is thus placedbeyond the
possibility of failure in God. No storm can shatterour bark, no blight destroy
our harvests, for God is faithful. And what a stimulus to endeavour we have in
this! BecauseGodis so faithful to me I will be faithful to Him. Consequently
the fellowshipof Christ becomes to us the one permanent interestin this
uncertain world. There is no possibility of bankruptcy; we cannot be
outbidden or undersold; for ours is the capital of God's unsearchable Fiches.

His name is pledged to every acceptance inwhich cur safety is involved, and
so long as His throne shall stand our safetyand glory is assured.
(Prof. J. M. Charlton.)
The Divine call, and its design
Jas. Kidd, D. D.
I. THE CALL comprehends all the purposes, decrees,providences, and means
of salvation.
II. THE DESIGN Of this call of God is, that all who obey it may for ever have
"fellowship" or communion with His Son our Saviour, Communion signifies
joint participation in anything, goodor bad. Here all is good. God calls the
believer —
1. To communion with His Son, in His miraculous formation in the womb.
The Spirit creates believers anew "in Christ Jesus unto good works."
2. In His purity from sin. The Spirit keeps ournew nature from sin.
3. In growth in grace. The Spirit brings "unto the measure of the stature of
the fulness of Christ."
4. In fitness for every duty. The Spirit anointed Him, and He anoints the
believer.
5. In working miracles. The Spirit enables the believer to conquer Satan, sin,
the world, death, and hell.
6. In comfort. The Spirit comfortedHim, and He comforts real believers.
7. In death.
8. In the state of the dead. The Spirit preserved His holy body that it saw no
corruption. The Spirit will keepthe bodies of believers "still united to Christ,
till the resurrection."

9. In the resurrection. The Spirit raisedHim up; and the same Spirit will raise
up the believer.
10. In glory. The Spirit glorified our Lord; and He will also glorify the true
believer.
(Jas. Kidd, D. D.)
Sonship and fellowship
H. Bonar, D. D.
Let us considerhis fellowshipor partnership with Christ in the following
aspects:—
I. PARTNERSHIP WITH HIM IN WHAT HE WAS. He was crucified, He
died, was buried, rose again. In all these we have part.
II. PARTNERSHIP WITHHIM IN WHAT HE IS. He has not only risen, but
He has ascended. We share His presentdignity; for we are said to be seated
with Him in heavenly places, and are treated by God as such. We share His
offices;we are prophets, priests, and kings;heirs of God and joint-heirs of
Christ Jesus.
III. PARTNERSHIP WITHHIM IN WHAT HE SHALL BE. Much of His
glory is yet in reserve;for now we see not yet all things put under Him.
(H. Bonar, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(9) God is faithful.—The One who calledthem “unto the communion of His
Son” is faithful, and therefore He will complete His work;no trials and

sufferings need make them doubt that all will at last be well. The same
confidence is expressedin Philippians 1:6, and 1Thessalonians 5:24.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
1:1-9 All Christians are by baptism dedicated and devotedto Christ, and are
under strict obligations to be holy. But in the true church of God are all who
are sanctifiedin Christ Jesus, calledto be saints, and who call upon him as
God manifest in the flesh, for all the blessings ofsalvation; who acknowledge
and obey him as their Lord, and as Lord of all; it includes no other persons.
Christians are distinguished from the profane and atheists, that they dare not
live without prayer; and they are distinguished from Jews and pagans, that
they call on the name of Christ. Observe how often in these verses the apostle
repeats the words, Our Lord Jesus Christ. He feared not to make too frequent
or too honourable mention of him. To all who called upon Christ, the apostle
gave his usual salutation, desiring, in their behalf, the pardoning mercy,
sanctifying grace, andcomforting peace of God, through Jesus Christ. Sinners
can have no peace with God, nor any from him, but through Christ. He gives
thanks for their conversionto the faith of Christ; that grace was giventhem
by Jesus Christ. They had been enriched by him with all spiritual gifts. He
speaks ofutterance and knowledge. And where God has given these two gifts,
he has given greatpower for usefulness. These were gifts of the Holy Ghost,
by which God bore witness to the apostles. Those thatwait for the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ, will be kept by him to the end; and those that are so,
will be blameless in the day of Christ, made so by rich and free grace. How
glorious are the hopes of such a privilege; to be kept by the powerof Christ,
from the powerof our corruptions and Satan's temptations!
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
God is faithful - That is, God is true, and constant, and will adhere to his
promises. He will not deceive. He will not promise, and then fail to perform;
he will not commence anything which he will not perfectand finish. The
objectof Paul in introducing the idea of the faithfulness of God here, is to
show the reasonfor believing that the Christians at Corinth would be kept

unto everlasting life. The evidence that they will persevere depends on the
fidelity of God; and the argument of the apostle is, that as they had been
calledby Him into the fellowship of his Son, his faithfulness of character
would render it certain that they would be kept to eternallife. The same idea
he has presentedin Philippians 1:6, "Being confident of this very thing, that
he which hath begun a goodwork in you, will also perform it until the day of
Jesus Christ."
Ye were called - The word "called" here does not refer merely to "an
invitation" or an "offerof life," but to the effectualinfluence which had been
put forth; which had inclined them to embrace the gospelnote at Romans
8:30; note at Romans 9:12; see Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32; Galatians 1:6;
Galatians 5:8, Galatians 5:13;Ephesians 1:4; Colossians 3:15. In this sense the
word often occurs in the Scriptures, and is designedto denote a power, or
influence that goes forth "with" the external invitation, and that makes it
effectual. That poweris the agencyof the Holy Spirit.
Unto the fellowshipof his Son - To participate with his Son Jesus Christ; to be
partakers with him; see the notes at John 15:1-8. Christians participate with
Christ:
(1) in his feelings and views;Romans 8:9.
(2) in his trials and sufferings, being subjectedto temptations and trials
similar to his; 1 Peter4:13, "But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of
Christ's sufferings;" Colossians 1:24;Philippians 3:10.
(3) in his heirship to the inheritance and glory which awaits him; Romans
8:17, "And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ;" 1
Peter1:4.
(4) in his triumph in the resurrectionand future glory; Matthew 19:28, "Ye
which have followed me, in the regenerationwhenthe Sonof man shall sit on
the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel;" John 14:19, "Because Ilive, ye shall live also;"
Revelation3:21, "To him that overcomethwill I grant to sit with me in my

throne, even as I also overcame, and am setdown with my Fatherin his
throne."
(Immediately on our union to Christ, we have fellowshipwith him, in all the
blessings ofhis purchase. This communion or fellowship with him is the
necessaryresult of our union to him. On the saint's union to Christ, see the
supplementary note at Romans 8:10.)
From all this, the argument of the apostle is, that as they partake with Christ
in these high privileges, and hopes, and promises, they will be kept by a
faithful God unto eternallife. God is faithful to his Son; and will be faithful to
all who are united to him. The argument for the perseverance ofthe saints is,
therefore, sure.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
9. faithful—to His promises (Php 1:6; 1Th 5:24).
called—according to His purpose (Ro 8:28).
unto … fellowship of … Jesus—tobe fellow heirs with Christ (Ro 8:17-28),
like Him sons of God and heirs of glory (Ro 8:30; 2Th 2:14; 1Pe 5:10; 1Jo
1:3). Chrysostom remarks that the name of Christ is oftener mentioned in this
than in any other Epistle, the apostle designing thereby to draw them away
from their party admiration of particular teachers to Christ alone.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
God is faithful: faithfulness is the same with veracity or truth to a man’s
word, which renders a person fit to be credited. It is a greatattribute of God,
1 Corinthians 10:13 1 Thessalonians5:24. This implieth promises of God for
the perseveranceofbelievers, of which there are many to be found in holy
writ. But these promises concernnot all, but such only whom God hath chosen
out of the world, calling them to a communion with Christ, which necessarily
supposeth union with him. So as here is another argument to confirm them
that God would keepthem to the end, so as they should be blameless in the
day of Christ; because Godhad called them into that state of grace wherein
they were, and would not leave his work in them imperfect; he had called

them unto the fellowshipof Jesus Christ;see 1Jo 1:3; into a state of friendship
with Christ, and into a state of union with him, into such a state as he would
daily by his Spirit be communicating the blessedinfluences of his grace unto
them.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
God is faithful, by whom ye were called,.... Thesewords containarguments,
assuring the saints of their confirmation in grace, and of their being preserved
blameless to the day of Christ, taken from the faithfulness of God, who is
always true to his promises: whateverhe has said, he will do it; he will never
suffer his faithfulness to fail; and since he has made so many promises
concerning the establishment of his people, and their perseverance to grace,
they may assure themselves ofthem; and also from his having called them by
his grace, forwhom he effectuallycalls by his grace, he glorifies; and
particularly from his having called them
into the fellowship of his SonJesus Christ our Lord; to partake of his grace,
and to be heirs of glory with him; to enjoy communion with him in private
and public exercises ofreligion, which is an evidence of being in him, and of
union to him; for it is not merely into the fellowship of his saints or churches,
but into the fellowship of his Son they are saidto be called; and such are
members of Christ, of his body, of his flesh, and of his bone; and shall never
be lost and perish, but shall be confirmed to the end; be preservedin him
blameless, and presentedto him faultless, and have everlasting life.
Geneva Study Bible
God is {h} faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son
Jesus Christ our Lord.
(h) True and constant, who not only calls us, but also gives to us the gift of
perseverance.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary

1 Corinthians 1:9. Ground of this confident hope. Comp 1 Corinthians 10:13;
1 Thessalonians 5:24;2 Thessalonians 3:3;Php 1:6; Romans 11:29. Were the
ΒΕΒΑΊΩΣΙς on the part of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:8) not to take place, the
divine call to the ΚΟΙΝΩΝΊΑΤΟῦ ΥἹΟῦ ΑὐΤΟῦ would remain without
effect, which would not be compatible with the faithfulness of God, from
whom the call comes, and who, by His calling, gives pledge to us of eternal
salvation(Romans 8:30).
Rückertfinds in διʼ οὗ, because GodHimself is the caller, a veritable misuse
of the preposition; and others, as Beza and Rosenmüller, explain it without
ceremonyby ὙΦʼ ΟὟ, which D* F G in fact read. But Paul is thinking here
in a popular way of the call as mediated through God. It is true, of course,
that God is the causa principalis, but the mediating agencyis also God’s, ἐξ οὗ
καὶ διʼ οὗ τὰ πάντα (Romans 11:36); hence both modes of representationmay
occur, and ΔΙΆ may be used as well as ὙΠΌ, whereverthe context does not
make it of importance to have a definite designationof the primary cause as
such. Comp Galatians 1:1; Plat. Symp. p. 186 E, Pol. ii. p. 379 E. Fritzsche,
a[152]Rom. I. p. 15;Bernhardy, p. 235 f.
The ΚΟΙΝΩΝΊΑΤΟῦ ΥἹΟῦ ΑὐΤΟῦ is the fellowshipwith the Son of God
(genitive, as in 2 Corinthians 11:13; Php 2:1; 2 Peter1:4), i.e. the having part
in the filial relation of Christ, which, however, is not to be understood of the
temporal relation of sonship, Galatians 3:26 f. (κοινωνίανγὰρ υἱοῦ τὴν
υἱοθεσίανἐκάλεσε, Theodoret), nor of ethicalfellowship (Grotius, Hofmann,
and many others), but, in accordancewith the idea of the ΚΑΛΕῖΝ which
always refers to the Messianic kingdom, offellowship of the glory of the Son
of God in the eternal Messianiclife,[153]—afellowshipwhich will be the
glorious completion of the state of υἱοθεσία (Galatians 4:7). It is the ΔΌΞΑ
ΤῶΝ ΤΈΚΝΩΝ ΤΟῦ ΘΕΟῦ (Romans 8:21), when they shall be
ΣΥΓΚΛΗΡΟΝΌΜΟΙΤΟῦ ΧΡΙΣΤΟῦ, ΣΎΜΜΟΡΦΟΙ of His image,
ΣΥΜΒΑΣΙΛΕΎΟΝΤΕς andΣΥΝΔΟΞΑΣΘΈΝΤΕς, Romans 8:17;comp 1

Corinthians 1:23; 1 Corinthians 1:29; 2 Thessalonians 2:14;Colossians 3:4;
Php 3:20 f.; 1 Corinthians 15:48 f.; 2 Timothy 2:12.
[152]d refers to the note of the commentatoror editor named on the
particular passage.
[153]Comp. Weiss, biblische Theol. p. 310.
Expositor's Greek Testament
1 Corinthians 1:9. The ground of Paul’s hope for the ultimate welfare of the
Cor[110]is God’s fidelity. His gifts are bestowedon a wise and settled plan (1
Corinthians 1:21, Romans 8:28 ff; Romans 11:29); His word, with it His
character, is pledged to the salvationof those who believe in His Son: πιστὸς ὁ
Θεὸς διʼ οὗ ἐκλήθητε = πιστὸς ὁ καλῶν of 1 Thessalonians5:23 f.; the formula
πιστὸς ὁ λόγος of the Past. Epp. is not very different. διʼ οὗ is “through (older
Eng., by) whom you were called”;cf. διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ (1 Corinthians 1:1,
see note), and διʼ οὗ … τὰ πάντα (of God, Romans 11:36); similarly in
Galatians 4:7 : God had manifestly interposed to bring the Cor[111]into the
communion of Christ (see, further, 1 Corinthians 1:26-28);His voice sounded
in the ears of the Cor[112]when the Gospelsummons reachedthem (cf. 1
Thessalonians 2:13). Christ (1 Corinthians 1:8) and God are both therefore
security for the perfecting of their Christian life.—God’s acceptedcallhas
brought the readers εἰς κοινωνίαντοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου
ἡμῶν—i.e., not “into a communion (or partnership) with His Son Jesus Christ
our Lord” (nowhere else has this noun an objective gen[113]of the person: see
parls.), but “into a communion belonging to (and named after) God’s Son,” of
which He is founder, centre and sum. In this fellowship the Cor[114]partake
“with all those that callon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians
1:2); κοινωνία denotes collective participation. The κοινωνία τ. υἱοῦ is the
same, both in content and constituency, as the κοινωνία τ. πνεύματος (see 1
Corinthians 12:13, 2 Corinthians 13:13, Php 2:1, Ephesians 4:4-6). Its
content—that which the Cor[115]share in—is sonship to God, since it is “a

communion of His Son,” with Christ for “first-born among many brethren”
(Romans 8:29 f.; cf. Hebrews 2:10-16), and consequentheirship to God
(Romans 8:17, Galatians 3:26 to Galatians 4:7). The title “our Lord,” added to
“His Son Jesus Christ,” invests the Christian communion with present
grandeur and certifies its hope of glory; Christ’s glory lies in His full
manifestation as Lord (1 Corinthians 15:25, Php 2:11), and its glorificationis
wrapped up in His (2 Thessalonians 1:12;2 Thessalonians 2:14;also 1
Thessalonians 2:12). 1 Corinthians 1:9 sustains and crowns the hope
expressedin 1 Corinthians 1:8. For κοινωνία, see further the notes on 1
Corinthians 10:16 f.
[110]Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.
[113]genitive case.
DIVISION I. THE CORINTHIAN PARTIES AND THE GOSPEL
MINISTRY, 1 Corinthians 1:10 to 1 Corinthians 4:21. Paul could not honestly
give thanks for the actualcondition of the Cor[116]Church. The reasonfor
this omissionat once appears. The Church is rent with factions, which ranged

themselves under the names of the leading Christian teachers. On the causes
of these divisions see Introduction, Chap. 1 Out of their crude and childish
experience (1 Corinthians 3:1-4) the Cor[117]are constructing prematurely a
γνῶσις of their own (1 Corinthians 8:1, see note), a σοφία resembling that
“wisdomof the world” which is “foolishness withGod” (1 Corinthians 1:18
ff., 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 3:18 f., 1 Corinthians 4:9 f.); they think
themselves already above the mere λόγος τοῦ σταύρου brought by the Ap.,
wherein, simple as it appeared, there lay the wisdom and the power of God.
This conceithad been stimulated, unwittingly on his part, by the preaching of
Apollos. Ch. 1 Corinthians 3:3-7 shows that it is the Apollonian faction which
most exercises Paul’s thoughts at present; the irony of 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
and 1 Corinthians 4:6-13 is aimed at the partisans of Ap., who exalted his
ὑπεροχὴ λόγου κ. σοφίας in disparagementof Paul’s unadorned κήρυγμα τοῦ
σταύρου. Mistaking the nature of the Gospel, the Cor[118]mistook the office
of its ministers: on the former subjectthey are correctedin 1 Corinthians 1:18
to 1 Corinthians 2:5 showing in what sense and why the Gospelis not, and in 1
Corinthians 2:6 to 1 Corinthians 3:2 showing in what sense and to whom the
Gospelis a σοφία;the latter misconceptionis rectified in 1 Corinthians 3:3 to
1 Corinthians 4:21, where, with express reference to Ap. and P., Christian
teachers are shownto be no competing leaders of human schools but “fellow-
workmenof God” and “servants ofChrist,” co-operative and complementary
instruments of His sovereignwork in the building of the Church. The four
chapters constitute an apologia for the Apostle’s teaching and office, parl[119]
to those of 2 Corinthians 10-13 and Galatians 1-3;but the line of defence
adopted here is quite distinct. Here Paul pleads againstHellenising lovers of
wisdom, there againstJudaising lovers of tradition. Both parties stumbled at
the cross;both judged of the Ap. κατὰ σάρκα, and fastenedupon his defects in
visible prestige and presence. The existence ofthe legalistparty at Cor[120]is
intimated by the cry, “I am of Cephas,” andby Paul’s words of self-
vindication in 1 Corinthians 9:1 f.; but this faction had as yet reachedno
considerable head; it developedrapidly in the interval between1 and 2 Cor.

[119]parallel.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
9. God is faithful] It will not be God’s fault, but our own, if the promises of the
last verse are not realized.
the fellowshipof his Son Jesus Christ] The important word here rendered
fellowship has unfortunately different renderings in our version. Sometimes,
as in ch. 1 Corinthians 10:16 (where see note), it is rendered communion; and
in 2 Corinthians 6:14, where it is thus rendered, another word is rendered
fellowship. In 2 Corinthians 9:13, it is rendered distribution. Its usual
significationwould appearto be the sharing together, joint participation as
common possessorsofany thing. But it is impossible to go so far as Cremer in
his Lexiconof the N. T. and assertthat it never has the active sense of
communication, in the face of such passagesas Romans 15:26 (where it is
rendered distribution); 2 Corinthians 9:13. Here it refers to the life which by
means of faith is common to the believer and his Lord. Cf. Galatians 2:20.
Bengel's Gnomen
1 Corinthians 1:9. Πιστὸς, faithful) God is said to be faithful, because He
performs, what He has promised, and what believers promise to themselves
from His goodness.—ἐκλήθητε,ye were called) Calling is a pledge of other

benefits, [to which the end, 1 Corinthians 1:8, will correspond.—V. g.]—
Romans 8:30; [1 Thessalonians5:24];1 Peter5:10.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 9. - God is faithful. He will not leave his promises unfulfilled or his work
unfinished (1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Thessalonians 3:3;Hebrews 10:23;
Romans 8:28-30). Through whom. By whom, as the moving cause and agent in
your salvation. Ye were called. The calling was a pledge of the final blessing
(Romans 8:30). Into the fellowship of his Son. Union (koinonia, communion)
with Christ is the sole means of spiritual life (John 15:4; Galatians 2:20).
Through the Son we also have fellowshipwith the Father (1 John 1:3). The
perfect sincerity of the apostle is observable in this thanksgiving. He speaks of
the Church in generalin terms of gratitude and hopefulness, and dwells on its
rich spiritual endowments;but he has not a word of praise for any moral
advance such as that which he so lovingly recognizedin the Thessalonians and
Philippians.
Vincent's Word Studies
Faithful (πιστὸς)
Emphatic, and therefore first in the sentence. See on1 John 1:9; see on
Revelation1:5; see onRevelation3:14. Compare 2 Timothy 2:13.
Ye were called (ἐκλήθητε)
See on Romans 4:17.
Fellowship(κοινωνίαν)
See on 1 John 1:3; see on Acts 2:42; see on Luke 5:10.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES

CALVIN
Verse 9
9.Godis faithful When the Scripture speaks ofGod as faithful the meaning in
many cases is, that in God there is steadfastnessand evenness oftenor, so that
what he begins he prosecutes to the end, (50) as Paul himself says elsewhere,
that the calling of God is without repentance (Romans 11:29.)Hence, in my
opinion, the meaning of this passageis, that God is steadfastin what he
purposes. This being the case, he consequentlydoes not make sport as to his
calling, but will unceasinglytake care of his work. (51) From God’s past
benefits we ought always to hope wellas to the future. Paul, however, has
something higher in view, for he argues that the Corinthians cannot be cast
off, having been once calledby the Lord into Christ’s fellowship. To
apprehend fully, however, the force of this argument, let us observe first of all,
that every one ought to regard his calling as a token of his election. Farther,
although one cannot judge with the same certainty as to another’s election, yet
we must always in the judgment of charity conclude that all that are called are
calledto salvation;I mean efficaciouslyand fruitfully. Paul, however, directed
his discourse to those in whom the word of the Lord had taken root, and in
whom some fruits of it had been produced.
Should any one object that many who have once receivedthe word afterwards
fall away, I answerthat the Spirit alone is to every one a faithful and sure
witness of his election, upon which perseverancedepends. This, however, did
not stand in the way of Paul’s being persuaded, in the judgment of charity,
that the calling of the Corinthians would prove firm and immovable, as being
persons in whom he saw the tokens of God’s fatherly benevolence. These
things, however, do not by any means tend to begetcarnalsecurity, to divest
us of which the Scriptures frequently remind us of our weakness,but simply
to confirm our confidence in the Lord. Now this was needful, in order that
their minds might not be disheartenedon discovering so many faults, as he
comes afterwards to present before their view. The sum of all this may be

statedthus, — that it is the part of Christian candor to hope well of all who
have entered on the right way of salvation, and are still persevering in that
course, notwithstanding that they are at the same time still beset with really
distempers. Every one of us, too, from the time of his being illuminated
(Hebrews 10:32) by the Spirit of God in the knowledge ofChrist, ought to
conclude with certainty from this that he has been adopted by the Lord to an
inheritance of eternal life. For effectualcalling ought to be to believers an
evidence of divine adoption; yet in the meantime we must all walk with fear
and trembling (Philippians 2:12.) On this point I shall touch againto some
extent when we come to the tenth chapter.
Into the fellowship. Instead of this rendering Erasmus translates it into
partnership The old interpreter renders it societyI have preferred, however,
to render it fellowship, as bringing out better the force of the Greek word
κοινωνιας (52)For this is the designof the gospel, that Christ may become
ours, and that we may be engraftedinto his body. Now when the Father gives
him to us in possession, he also communicates himself to us in him; and hence
arises a participation in every benefit. Paul’s argument, then, is this — “Since
you have, by means of the gospelwhich you have receivedby faith, been called
into the fellowship of Christ, you have no reasonto dread the danger of death,
(53) having been made partakers ofhim (Hebrews 3:14) who rose a conqueror
over death.” In fine, when the Christian looks to himself he finds only
occasionfor trembling, or rather for despair; but having been called into the
fellowship of Christ, he ought, in so far as assurance ofsalvationis concerned,
to think of himself no otherwise than as a member of Christ, so as to reckon
all Christ’s benefits his own. Thus he will obtain an unwavering hope of final
perseverance,(as it is called,) if he reckons himself a member of him who is
beyond all hazard of falling away.
JOHN MACARTHUR

The Benefits of Being a Saint
Sermons 1 Corinthians 1:4–9 1811 Apr 20, 1975
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First Corinthians, chapter 1, is our study for this morning. We’re going to be
continuing what we began lasttime on the benefits of being a saint. As I
mentioned to you lasttime, the word saint has come far from its original New
Testamentmeaning. And today, when you think of the word saint, you think
of some angular figure crystallized in stained glass, oryou think of some
person long dead, who has been officially declaredas an ecclesiasticalrelic.
Ambrose Bierce said one of the best definitions of a saint I ever read. He said,
“A saint is a dead sinner, revised and edited.” Unfortunately, none of those is
the biblical perspective on what a saint is. In all of Paul’s letters, Paul uses the
word saint to refer to Christians; not dead ones, but living ones;not a few, but
all. In fact, I think it must have been his very favorite word for Christians,
because he used it about 60 times. We who know the Lord Jesus Christ are
saints.
Just to review that, go back to verse 1 of 1 Corinthians, where we beganand
studied in detail last week. “Paul, calledto be an apostle of Jesus Christ
through the will of God, and brother Sosthenes,unto the church of God which
is at Corinth, to them that are sanctifiedin Christ Jesus, calledsaints” - and
they are not the only saints, but – “all also that in every place call upon the
name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.”
And so, here he says, “You are saints, along with everybody else that calls
upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” So, a saint is somebodywho calls

upon the name of Christ, a Christian. Anyone who is saved, who knows the
Lord Jesus Christ, is a saint. And we said lasttime that he starts out by
saying, “You are sanctified” - it’s the same root word as saint - “you are called
saints” - in order to make them aware ofthe fact that the foundation for his
exhortation to their behavior is in the fact that they are saints.
In other words, “You have been made holy, you are calledholy; therefore, I
am writing you this letter to tell you to actholy.” That’s really the purpose of
his first nine verses, where he talks about being a saint. We talked about that
in some detail lasttime. That the basis or the foundation for all behavior in
Christian life is our own identity. The fact of who we are is the premise upon
which the word of God bases the fact of what we ought to act like.
You might put it this way: the indicative, you are, is the basis for the
imperative, you ought. And that occurs all through the New Testament. In
fact, it tells us that we are holy because of what Christ is; therefore, we ought
to be like Him. We ought to act like Him. Our lives ought to conform to Him. I
think of an illustration. You remember in John 8, the woman taken in
adultery? And Jesus saidto her the words, “Go and sin no more.”
And I think that’s an interesting thing to look at, because He was
commanding a woman who was a prostitute, who lived a vile life, who had
been caught in the very act of adultery, to go and stop doing it. Now, to ask
her to do that would have to assume there had been some kind of a change in
her process ofthinking, or in whateverdominated her behavior. What had
happened, of course, to the woman, I believe, was she had been saved. She had
been granted a new life.
And Jesus said- before He said, “Go and sin no more,” He said, “Neitherdo I
condemn you. Go and sin no more.” In other words, “Fromnow on, I hold no
sin againstyou. You are holy in My eyes;therefore, actlike it.” You see, that’s
the same point that is made throughout the New Testament. As a Christian,
you are not condemned; you are holy. Your sin is forgiven, your sin is set
aside;therefore, you ought to actin consistencywith your own nature.
In Colossians, forexample, Paul says in chapter 3, verse 5, he says, “Kill
therefore your members which are on the earth.” In other words, your

orientation to the world; your physical body, and its physical desires, and
mental desires, are to be killed. Why? “For you are dead, and your life is hid
with Christ in God.” Since you have come into a unique relationship with
Christ and God, those things have no part in your life. And that, again, is the
same impetus.
In Colossians, chapter3 again, and verse 9, I think it interesting to see what
the apostle says. He says, “Lie not one to another.” - quit lying; now, what’s
the basis of that? - “because youhave put off the old man with his deeds, and
you have put on a new man, renewedin knowledge afterthe image of Him
that createdhim.” The reasonyou are not to lie is because it’s inconsistent
with who you are. You have put off the old man, and you put on what? The
new man, and the new man doesn’tdo that. The new man is conformed to the
image of Christ.
You are holy in Christ before God, so act like Christ. And you cangovern
your life that way; since I’m in Christ, I would never do anything that He
would not do. I don’t lie because He won’t. I don’t stealbecause He doesn’t. I
don’t commit adultery because that’s totally foreign to the life of Christ. All of
the things in my life are to conform to His life, because I am in Him. And that
is the foundation, then, of behavior in the Christian life.
And so, Paul begins the first chapter of Corinthians, verses 1 to 9, by telling
them who they are; and he lays down that foundation of “here’s who you are.”
Then, from 1:10 clearthrough the end of chapter 16, he says, “Here’s how to
act commensurate with who you are.” Now, Paul, then, in verses 1 to 3, just
simply calls them saints. Now, from 4 to 9, he expands what that means. What
does it mean to be a saint? What is involved in being a saint?
What is it to be a saint, in terms of what do I receive for it? What are the
benefits of being a saint? Now, if you’ve come this morning looking to find out
the benefits of Christianity, this is a sales pitch. This is a divine presentationof
why you should be a Christian, as opposedto not being one. So, if that’s in
your mind to consider, then these are the things you ought to think about.
These are reasons to be a saint, and they are the results of being a saint that
become the reasons to be one.

They come in verses 4 t 9. Now, there are three dimensions in this, and you
have an outline there to follow, and you can look at it as we go. Simple things,
but they come in three dimensions, and in three tenses:past, present and
future. The benefits of being a saint cover all of the periods of a life; the past,
the present, and the future. In the past, there’s grace;for the present, there
are gifts; in the future, there are guarantees.
What it boils down to is your past is forgiven, your present is takencare of,
and your future is guaranteed. You can’t beat that. That’s the greatestkindof
policy there is. Takes care ofall the past mistakes, gives youall you need to
live in the present, and secures absolutelyyour future. That’s what
Christianity offers. If you want all that, all that’s necessaryis for you to be a
saint. You say, “Right. How do I be a saint?”
Not by becoming canonized, but by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s
what we’re going to talk about. All right, first of all, let’s look at the grace
concept, which deals with the past; verse 4 and verse 6. “I thank my God
always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you in” - the
preposition in the Greek is en, E-N – “in Jesus Christ.” “I thank my God
always on your behalf, for the grace of God.” The first benefit of being a saint
is grace.
And these are aoristverbs: It was given you in Christ Jesus. The idea is some
time in the past, at a very point in time, a moment of time - that’s what an
aoristverb is, it happens in a moment of time - you were given grace. When
did it happen? Verse 6 - “when the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you.”
And that againis an aoristverb, something in the past that happened in a
moment of time. So, from the paststandpoint, at a moment in time, you
receivedgrace, and it was at the moment the testimony of Christ was
confirmed in you.
So, he says the first benefit of being a saint, “just think of it, people,” he says
to the Corinthians, “just think of what you have had. I thank God that you
had receivedthe grace of God. At a moment in time in the past, it became
yours.” And he refers, of course, to their salvation, the time when they
receivedGod’s saving grace. This is the first and most obvious benefit of being

a saint. It’s what happened to you when you became a saint. You were saved;
you receivedsalvation. It was commensurate with you being a saint.
And he says, “I thank God for this.” Now, notice the term “in Christ Jesus.”
This is familiar to Paul, and all blessing and all grace comes whenyou and I
are united in Christ. And again, this is unique with Christianity. This isn’t
believing the teaching of Christ; many do that. It isn’t believing about Christ.
It is being in Christ. And that is an appropriation of committing myself to
Him in total unity by faith. And once I am in Christ, then the grace ofGod is
mine.
Now, what is this grace?I want to look at it for a minute, because it’s so basic
to Christianity. I mean, we talk about grace all the time. That’s the name of
this place, Grace. That’s a very important thing for us to understand. Now the
word grace is charis, a very familiar word, and it was a greeting that people
used back in verse three. “Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father,
and the Lord Jesus Christ.” That was the familiar Christian greeting.
It’s a lot better than, “Hi, how are you?” And, you know, and we ought to use
it. But here, we find the word grace, and it means favor, but it doesn’t mean
favor like we think of. We use the word for party favors, and I do So-and-so a
favor, and it really is kind of watereddown. But the word literally means
undeserved, unrecompensedkindness. It means mercy. It is not some little
ingratiating act; it is undeserved, unrecompensedkindness.
It is super-magnanimous, for it is undeserved, and it cannotbe paid back.
Grace always in Scripture has to be a free gift, unearned. Now, let me expand
this for a minute. In order for us to understand grace, and saving grace, we
need to understand some things. And I think maybe the best wayto approach
this would be to see three things that can’t coexistwith grace, and this will
help you to define grace. Firstof all, any recognitionof human guilt cannot
coexistwith grace.
Now, mark it: grace and guilt cannot go together. Grace must provide for the
alleviation of guilt. Godcannot say, “I am gracious, and I give you salvation.
One false move, and I’ll take it away.” No, that’s not very gracious;that’s just
laying a law on us, isn’t it? You see, gracecannotcoexistwith human guilt.

Grace must provide for the elimination of guilt. It has to. Grace is not grace if
God says, “I will be gracious unto you if you don’t sin.” That’s no grace.
If grace is withheld from the sinner in the leastdegree becauseofhis sin, then
it isn’t grace. Grace is undeserved, unmerited forgiveness. Gracemust allow
for sin. Grace canonly operate when there’s sin there; if there’s no sin,
there’s no grace, right? There’s got to be something to forgive, or grace isn’t
grace. And so, what happened? God, knowing that the penalty for sin had to
be paid, sent Christ to the cross. And in Romans 3:25 and 26, it says, “Christ
died to take care of sin, so that God might still be gracious.”
God had to do with His justice; God had to dealwith it. God is a God of
justice. He can’t just say, “Well, forgetthe sin; who cares?” No, no. Because of
justice, sin had to be takencare of. Once sin was takencare of in Christ, God
could be gracious to sinners, because the price had been paid. So, the cross
pays the penalty for all sin. It frees God from the obligation of His justice, and
He says, “I will be gracious to you,” and He acts in grace.
Now, watch. Once God acts in grace, gracewill never be able to recognize
guilt. So, once you are forgiven and have receivedsaving grace, how much
guilt do you have? None. Because graceis that, by definition, which overrules
guilt. I talkedto a Christian this week who is so absolutelydistraught with
guilt that he cannot even cope with life. He cannot acceptforgiveness.He
continues to hold himself guilty for things. He is overwhelmedby his sin, and
will not recognize the freedom he has in being forgiven of God.
He does not understand what grace is. He may understand it theologically;he
doesn’t understand it practically. Grace means there will be no guilt. I forgive
you. I will be gracious to you. I know you don’t deserve it. I know you can’t
earn it, and I know you can’t pay it back. That’s okay;grace is grace, and
grace means you can’t pay it back, and aren’t expectedto. How much, then, of
a sinner’s sins are forgiven? All of them. Listen, no wonder he thanks God for
grace.
Are you thankful for that kind of grace? Are you thankful for the grace that’s
forgiven you all your sin, and holds you absolutely guiltless before God for the
rest of your eternity? You say, “That’s terrific.” And I sayto you, if you’re

not a Christian, isn’t it somewhatinviting for God to sayto you, “I will
cleanse allyour sin before My eyes. I will forgive all of it. I will setaside all
your guilt. I will hold you blameless and holy forever.” Isn’t that a kind of
nice offer?
Well, that’s the first thing that grace can’t coexistwith: human guilt - so mark
it. When God savedyou, He took awayall guilt and all sin. Forgivenyou all
your trespassesforHis name’s sake, allof them. Grace reigns in your life.
Secondly, grace cannotcoexistwith human obligation. Grace is not something
you have to pay back. Grace is not to be remunerated. You’re not to say,
“Well, God was gracious to me and He savedme, and now I’ve gotto pay Him
back.” You can’t do that.
It was a gift. Can you pay a gift back? No. It’s not a gift if you do. In Romans,
chapter 4, it says, “Whateveris earned is not grace.”Gracecannotbe
reckonedof debt. In other words, when the week is done, or the two-week
time, and the guy comes around with a paycheck, and hands you your
paycheck, you don’t say, “Oh, my boss, my boss, how gracious you are. Oh,
this extended love is beyond me. I thank you, I thank you.” No. No, if the
check doesn’tcome, you go and say, “Where’s the money?”
Why? It isn’t grace. Youearned that money, you want that money. Whatever
is reckonedof reward, whateveris earned, is not grace. So, if you could do one
single thing to earn saving grace, it isn’t saving grace. And believe me, friend,
it is saving grace, so you can’t earn it. You can’t pay God back. So don’t think
that because ofwhat God has done for you, you’ve got to pay Him off. There’s
no way you can do that. Besides,that’d be like throwing pennies at J. Paul
Getty – poof poof, you know.
God is so far richer than you can even dream, and His holiness is so absolute,
that you’re little pittance of offering Him your works, and your recompense,
wouldn’t even be minimal. You see, there is no way that you can find grace
coexisting with human recompense, orwith human obligation. And one of the
wonderful things about salvation is God just gives it to you, and you don’t
have to pay Him back. Notice this; you don’t have to pay Him back.

I’ll tell you one thing, you will want to show Him your love, won’t you? But
it’s one thing to want to, it’s one thing to love Him, it’s one thing to serve Him
out of a heart full of gratitude; it’s something else to think that you’ve got to
pay Him back because youowe Him something. You owe God nothing. God
gave you salvationas grace. In a deep sense, we owe Him affection just
naturally, and I think that comes to the genuine Christian. But we cannot pay
God back for His gift.
Thirdly, grace cannotcoexistwith any recognitionof human merit. That is, it
does not come to the best people. You can’t say, “Well, it’s obvious who the
goodpeople are. Look at us who are saved.” You’re no better than anybody
else. Neitheram I. And that’s wonderful consolation. It wasn’t my goodness
that gotme here. Aren’t you glad of that? Some of you aren’t too sure about
that. Grace cannotexistwith human merit. In other words, God didn’t save
the goodones.
You know who got that in their heads, and had it there for centuries? Israel.
Yeah, they thought that God chose them because they were better than
everybody else. And in Romans, chapter 3, Paul really nailed that one down.
Are we better than they? No. God renders all of you guilty. “He stops the
mouths of the whole world” Romans 3 says. No, you’re not better than
anybody else. Paul said, “I am the chief of” – what? – “sinners.”
You did not deserve salvation. Grace doesn’tgo with that. Grace is the free,
loving forgiveness of God, independent of your deserving it. All of us are vile
sinners. “There is none righteous” - Romans 3:10 says - “no, not one: There is
none that understandeth, there is none that seeksafterGod. The poison of
asps is under their lips. They are full of bitterness and cursing.” All men are
the same:sinners before God. No, grace cannotcoexistwith human merit.
You did not earn your salvation. It was only God’s grace. Now, do you see
how giving you those three concepts help you to understand what grace is?
Just think of it, people, just think of it. When you were saved, grace included
the factthat no sin or guilt would ever be held againstyou the rest of your
eternity. When you were saved, you were given the freedom to know that
you’d never have to pay that back. That’s His gift. There are no have-tos.

Thirdly, know this: that He saved you even when you did not what? Deserve
it. That’s grace. That’s the sum of it. I don’t know about you, but that helps
me define it. And I’ll tell you, I can saywith Paul, I thank my God for that
kind of grace. You know, I’ve been looking at the television, like you have,
and I’ve been watching the masses ofhumanity running, and Vietnam, and
Cambodia, and I say to myself, “God, why me? Why me? Why did you do this
for me?”
Have you said that? Why such grace? And grace beyond saving grace;the
grace ofChristian fellowship, the grace ofa blessedchurch, the grace ofa
precious wife, and beautiful children. The grace beyond grace beyond grace,
and I sayto myself, “Well, did I deserve it?” It takes me about one-half of a
secondto answerthat. No. Can I pay Him back for it? No. Beyond that, He
never holds a sin againstme. That’s the first benefit of salvation, people.
Let me help you to understand a little further why God is gracious to us.
There are three reasons forwhich God did this. Three motives. God savedus
by His grace in order to produce goodworks. You know why? BecauseGod
knew that goodworks could touch the lives of the people in this room. Saving
grace is to produce goodworks. Titus tells us this in 2:14. “Godour Savior
Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, in order to redeem us from all
iniquity” – watch – “purify a people of His own, zealous of good works.”
All right, He wanted us to be zealous of good works. Why? Verse 8 of 3: “This
is a faithful saying, these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they
who have believed in God might be carefulto maintain goodworks, for these
things are goodand profitable unto men.” You know, God savedus to do good
works, becausegoodworks benefitmen. I mean, it’s goodto do goodin the
world; even from the standpoint of an unbeliever, it’s goodto do good.
I mean, even when we do good, we bless them. God wanted us to touch all the
people in the world with our goodness, andso, first of all, saving grace was to
produce goodworks in men that would touch the world. Secondly, saving
grace is to bring blessing to Christians. I can’t help but think of Ephesians 2,
where he says that He has quickenedus togetherwith Christ, raisedus and
made us sit togetherin heavenly places. Then, in verse 7, “In order that in the

ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
toward us.”
God savedus, not only to do goodworks for the world’s sake, but He savedus
to pour blessing on us for our sake;to pour out His riches on us forever. And
lastly, and most importantly, saving grace is to glorify God. God savedus to
be to the praise of His glory. And that’s in so many passages.Ephesians 3, He
said, “I savedyou that all men might see the mystery, that was hidden in the
past.” He says, in Ephesians, “Now, unto Him be glory in the church.”
He says if you let your light shine among men, they’ll glorify your Father
who’s in heaven. The Lord savedus, number one, to do goodworks for the
sake ofunsaved men; two, to pour out blessings onthe sake ofbelievers;
three, to give glory to His name, because whenwe do what is right God is
honored. And so, He was gracious forour sake, forthe world’s sake, forHis
sake. Yousay, “That’s great, that gift. How did it become ours? How does it
become ours?”
Look at verse 6. “You have the grace ofGod given you in Christ Jesus” -
when? - “when the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you.” The word
confirmed means settled, made steadfast, made solid. How is it that the
testimony of Christ is made solid? The word testimony in the Greek is
marturion, from which we get the word martyr. It is translated, in Acts 1:8,
witness. It’s the same word as witness, and it refers to the gospel.
Look at it there. “Even as the gospelofChrist” - the witness of Christ – “was
confirmed in you” - or settled in you, made steadfastin you. It could have
reference as wellto the apostles, who came and preached, and did signs and
miracles to confirm it. But the thing that He’s pointing out is that they
acceptedit, and it became theirs. It was confirmed, not before you, but where?
In you. It was settledin you. It was made solid in you.
And how is it that the gospelof Jesus Christ becomes confirmed in me? It is
by what? By faith. It is by believing it. In Acts 20, we find the very same word
used, just to give you some verses to support its meaning as referring to the
gospel. Acts 20:21: “testifying to the Jews and the Greeks” -and the word
testifying is marturion, same word – “and he testifiedrepentance toward God,

and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. That was the message, the gospel;
same term exactly.
Verse 24, Paul says, “I receivedof the Lord Jesus to testify” - or “to give
witness” – “of the gospelof the grace ofGod.” This term, then, is used to refer
to the gospel. In Acts 22:18, again, he says, “Theywill not receive your
marturion concerning me” - your witness, your presentationof the gospel.
Chapter 23:11, The Lord says to Paul, “You have given witness of Me” - or
“testifiedof Me” – “in Jerusalem, you will also do it in Rome.”
Same word again. It refers to the preaching of the gospel. So. And it’s used
also to refer to that in 2 Timothy 1:8: “Don’t be ashamed of the testimony,”
marturion. It’s used in 1 John 5: “And this is the record.” You know, that
word record is the word marturion. “This is the witness, that God has given
life, and the life is in His Son.” So, the word marturion, used here, refers to
the gospel. Whenthe gospelofChrist was settledin you, then that grace was
made yours.
So, you have in verse 4 the divine side, in verse 6, the human response. You
hear about saving grace and all that it is, and you believed it, and it was
settled in your heart. And then the benefit became yours. Saving grace:all sin
totally forgiven forever; no guilt ever yours again. What a fantastic thought.
And that grace includes the pouring out of riches, and more riches, and more
riches, on your life, for now and throughout eternity. That’s the blessings of
grace.
And the grace equips you to do gooddeeds to men. That’s the first benefit of
being a saint. Let me give you the secondone. The first benefit is past tense,
you receivedgrace. Presenttense, gifts, verses 5 and 7. Saving grace continues
in the present, and it manifests blessings through all the believer’s life. Let’s
look at verse 5. This is so great. Just think of what you have in being a
believer. “Thatin everything you are enriched.”
Did you know that you are enriched in everything? That’s right. Do you know
– that’s 1 Corinthians 4:8 - this is a verse we really ought to plug into. It says,
“And you are full, and you are rich, and you have reigned as kings.” Isn’t that
fantastic? We have everything. You are enriched in everything by Him. And

again, it’s the word en. It’s E-N in the Greek. It’s the preposition in. “You are
enriched in Him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge.”
Now, hang on to this for a minute, ’cause this is tremendously important. He
says, “You are rich, and you have everything.” And of course, when he says
everything, it’s a qualified everything. It doesn’t mean you have everything,
literally everything, everything. It means you have everything that you need.
Does a Christian lack anything? No. According to 2 Peter1:3, you have “all
things that pertain to life and godliness.”You have all things. Keep that in
mind.
In Colossians2:10, Paul says, “Youare complete in Him.” And that’s
fantastic. Ephesians 2 tells we’re “enrichedwith everything.” And I like 1
Corinthians 3:21, where he says, “And you have all things, and you are
Christ’s and Christ is God’s.” You have everything. You lack nothing. And
then, to pull out a few of those things that you have, he says this: “You have
all utterance, and you have all knowledge” -two generalbenefits. You say,
“You mean all utterance?”
Yeah, but it’s a qualified all. You have all the utterance that you need to do
the job. Obviously, we can’t speak everything. You can’t, you gotto getup,
and talk about things you don’t know. But we have all utterance to
accomplishwhat God wants us to accomplish. Now, the utterance is to tell
forth the truth. Now, listento this, Christian; this is so exciting. Do you know
that God has given you the capability and the capacityto speak the truth?
That’s right.
And you know, I think the biggestproblem that Christians have - apart from
just the internal holiness - the biggestproblem in the manifestation of their
Christian life is the ability to speak. And they invariably say, “Well, I don’t
think I can do it.” Well, actually, it’s a case ofsimply reading the verse that
says, “You have been enriched in all utterance.” You can do it. You have the
ability to speak. Listento Acts 1:8. “But you shall receive power, after the
Holy Spirit has come upon you: and you shall be witnesses.”
You see that? There’s aren’t any options there. Those are facts. You are a
witness. You can speak. You’ve been given utterance. Chapter 2, verse 4:

“Theywere filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word.” Chapter 4
of Acts, verse 31. “And they met together, and they prayed, and they were
filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word with boldness.” Do you
have the Holy Spirit as a Christian? Can you respond to the Holy Spirit and
be filled with the Spirit as a Christian? Yes.
Then, can you speak the word with boldness? Absolutely. You have all
utterance. You have all utterance. Now, in order to be fair, it’s obvious that all
of us don’t use the utterance we’ve got. There’s something you’ve gotto do to
get that utterance going. Ephesians 6:19, Paul says, “And for me, that
utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make
known the mystery of the gospel.” He says, “Now, youEphesians, pray for me,
that I may open my” – what? – “my mouth.”
Now, there’s the problem with the Christian. In order for the utterance to
work, you’ve got to open your mouth. And I’ve said so many times, that’s the
hard part.” MostChristians are like the Artic River; frozen over at the
mouth. The hardest thing seems to be to open your mouth. Now, we cantalk
ourselves out of witnessing so easily, can’t we? You know, when Jesus sentout
the 70, in Matthew 10, He said, “Now don’t worry about what you’re going to
say. Just open your mouth.
“The Holy Spirit will give you utterance.” Thatdoesn’t mean leave your mind
a blank. That means trust the Holy Spirit to give you the things to say. You
have been given utterance. You have a message.It’s amazing. I think we
under-sell what we can do. You know, the biggestshock that usually occurs
when somebody leads someone to Christ? The biggestshock is the factthat it
happened. You say, “You won’t believe this, but I led a guy to Christ. It was
amazing. It was a miracle.”
And you know, when they’re talking about the miracle, they’re not nearly so
shockedatthe miracle of the new birth as they are the miracle of their own
usefulness. Right? I remember one time when I was starting out in ministry,
at the schoolI went to first, they used to send me out to preach. And they’d
send me overto the bus depot, and make me preach sermons in the bus depot
to all the people walking around. It was hard to do, you know?

“Repent,” and all this stuff, you know, and you’d try to give Bible verses and
preach, and people would go by and say, “Poorkid, he’s so young,” you know.
There I was, 18-year-old, you know, standing in the bus depot, yelling at all
the people between, “Bus number 42 now leaving for Charlotte,” you know.
So I decided after two weeks ofthat it was ridiculous. So, they’d drop me off,
and I’d go somewhere else,and just get back in time for the pick-up.
Well, now, wait a minute - I’m not finished with the story. See, you’re judging
my characteralready. But anyway, I would go walking up and down the
street, and just witnessing to people as individuals, ’cause it was much more
fruitful. So, in fact, one day I was with Dave Hocking, and we were walking up
the street, and there was two - two guys were coming down the streeton the
way to a dance, which was going on at the YMCA. And so, I said, “Well, I’ll
take the guy on the right. You take the guy on the left.” And he said, “Okay.”
So, we walkedup to them - we were much biggerthan they were - and we
said, “We’dlike to talk to you.” And they said, “Whateveryou say,” you
know. And so, I took this one fellow, and I said - I walkedoverto him, and he
didn’t know what was going on. I said, “I’d just like to talk to you about Jesus
Christ.” He said, “You would?” And I presentedthe gospelto him, and I said
- he was very attentive - and I said, “Would you like to invite Christ into your
life?”
And he said, “I really would.” And I said, “You would?” Now, wait, this is too
easy. Is this the way it’s supposed to happen, you know? Sort of scratchyour
head and say, “Wow, Lord, I didn’t know I could do that.” And I’ll never
forgetwhat a blessing that was. Well, I guess about a week ago Wednesday, a
guy walks up to me in the patio and says, “I’m Jewish, and I want to know
how to be a Christian. What do I do?” And so, I thought to myself, “Well, all
of my seminary training, I can’t use any of it. He’s ready,” you know.
So, we went and had about a 30-minute prayer meeting, and he received
Christ, you know, and then we spent some time getting going and oriented.
But I mean, it’s exciting. But you say to yourself, “Wow. I mean, I did it,” see?
Well, you have to realize that Christ knows that if there is anything
accomplished, He’s going to have to give you the utterance, and all that is

necessaryis that you be filled with the Spirit of God and open your mouth in
the right situation, and God will give you the utterance that is needed for the
moment.
I tell you, when I stop to think about the fact that I have all utterance, that’s
pretty exciting. And I think, too, that, you know, that doesn’t mean that I put
my brain in neutral. That means that I’m going to have to really make sure I
get enoughinformation in there to really be useful to God when the times
comes, and “study to show myself approved unto Him.” And do what Peter
said, in 1 Peter 3:15. He says, “Make sure that I have an answerfor every man
that asks me a reasonfor the hope that is within me.”
And to make sure that I am faithful, and diligent, and patient in dealing with
those who oppose me, and speak the truth to them, as Paul said to Timothy in
2 Timothy 2:24 and 25. But I need to have the truth, and God has given it to
me. Here it is, and I have it hid in my heart, and God will give me that
momentary utterance that is needed to speak His truth. Secondthing I have
that must go with it is knowledge. If I’ve gotall the utterance, and I haven’t
got anything to say, I’m in bad shape, running off at the mouth, so he gave me
all knowledge.
That doesn’t mean I know everything. First Corinthians 13:9 says:“Fornow
you know in part.” But I do know everything I need to know, right? The word
is here, and God has given me enough revelationto speak the truth to the
world. I know the truth. People, just think about it. God’s given you the truth.
You know the truth. First Corinthians, chapter 2 and verse 9: “It doesn’t even
appear unto man what God has given those who love Him. God has revealed
unto you by His Spirit this truth.”
Verse 14: “The natural man doesn’t even have it.” Matthew 11:25, He said, “I
have hidden these thing from the wise and prudent, and I’ve given them to the
babes.” SecondCorinthians 4:6 says that He’s given us “the light of the
knowledge ofJesus Christ.” We have truth. We have knowledge. The new
man was given to us, and it’s renewed in knowledge. Godhas committed His
truth to us. We know Him, we know the Son, we know the Spirit, we know the
revelation, and I’ll tell you something, we need to understand that knowledge.

We need to work with that knowledge. We needto make it ours. Paul prayed
to the Lord about the Ephesians. He said, “Oh, I pray that You may give them
the Spirit of wisdom and revelationin the knowledge that they have.” He said
the same for the Colossians, inColossians1:9 and 10. “Thatthey may have
the knowledge ofYour will,” he said; that they may get a grip on that. God
has given us all knowledge,people, and all we need to do is appropriate it.
He’s given us all utterance;all we need to do is open our mouths. We are
gifted. God’s gifts to us, how beautiful. Just think of it; just think of it. You
have everything. You have everything. You have been made, according to
Colossians 1:12, “Fitfor His kingdom.” Canyou get a grip on that? You are
fit for the kingdom, right now. You have it all. Ephesians 2 says, “All His
grace is poured on you.” Petersaid, “You have everything pertaining to life
and godliness.”
Ecclesiastes, youknow, 3:14 says, “I know that, whatsoeverGoddoeth, it shall
be done forever: nothing can be taken awayfrom it, nothing can be added to
it.” You’re complete. You have everything. Now, Paul goes from the general
area of utterance and knowledge, to the specific that he has given in verse 7.
You have everything and since you have everything “you come behind in no
gift.” Presenttense verb here, come behind. This is the present tense we’re
talking about.
Grace in the past; gifts for the present. You know what he said to these
Corinthians? “You lack” - what? What did they lack? – “nothing.” Now,
somebody might go to the Corinthians and say, “Oh, you guys are in trouble.
Boy, you’re in lots of trouble. You don’t have all of this, and what you need to
get is you need to go over here and getthis, and you need to go over here and
get this, and searchthe Lord for this, and seek the baptism and try to getthis,
and you need more of this.”
And they didn’t lack anything. And yet they were the most corrupt bunch of
Christians in all the New Testament. Theydidn’t lack anything. The word gift
there is charismata, and that makes me feel that the meaning here is in
reference to spiritual gifts. They had no lack of spiritual gifts, which meant
they had everything they needed to minister to eachother. Watch this: I feel

that verse 5 has primary reference to the ability of those believers to present
the truth to the world.
I feel that verse 7 has primary reference of the believers to minister to each
other. They were adequate to reachthe world, and they were adequate to
build the church. They lackednothing. “You come behind in no charismati.
That’s where we get the word charismatic, which is a goodword, and it means
those who have been given gracious gifts of Godto minister to His church.
And we reject what is known as the charismatic movement, which is a
misconceptionof the term, but we do not reject the word. It’s a biblical word.
They came behind in nothing. They had everything. Beloved, you’ve got
spiritual gifts, every single one of you who are Christians have gifts of the
Spirit. It is given to you to minister to the body, and they are adequate to
build this church. And that’s why this church is growing, because so many of
you are ministering those gifts. In the past years of Grace Church - for you
that may not have been here - this has been the constantcry of this pulpit, and
the teachers ofthis church, that we minister our spiritual gifts.
If you’re still foggy on it, we’d recommend a book that we put togethercalled
The Church: the Body of Christ, in which all of this is explained. We won’t
take the time to do it today. But you need to know what your spiritual gifts
are, whether you have the gift of teaching, or preaching, or exhortation, or
administration, or helps, or the gift of giving, or the gift of faith, or whatever
it is, that ministers to one another. This is so critical for you. You need to
know those gifts.
In 1 Corinthians 12:1, Paul says, “I would not have you ignorant, brethren,
concerning spiritual gifts.” And you need to be responsive to the Spirit’s work
in your life. Now, mark this, people. It is extremely important to note that this
is written to the Corinthians. We couldn’t give you this same insight if it was
written to the Thessalonians.Theywere good, solid, growing Christians.
These people were in terrible shape spiritually – vile, in many cases - vices.
But notice what he said. “It isn’t because youlack spiritual resource. You
have all utterance to reachthe world, and all knowledge, andyou come
behind in no gift.” Listen, people, you’ve goteverything you need to be what

you ought to be. You are saints, and a saint is a whole thing. When we talk
about spiritual maturity, you don’t grow up to get something you didn’t have
when you were little. Well, you take a baby. When a baby is born, it isn’t born
with no arms, and then it gets its arms at five.
It’s not a pollywog. It doesn’t become a frog. It isn’t something popping out.
When that baby’s born, it’s got all it’ll ever have, right? In fact, the older it
gets, the more stuff it starts losing. It’s the opposite;that’s entropy. It’s made
whole. And when you were born in Christ, you were made whole, with all the
parts. It’s only a matter of exercising those parts until they can function in a
mature way. You have everything you need. There is no lack. You are
complete in Him. Get it.
Colossians 2:10:“You are complete in Him.” And when a Christian sins, and
when a Christian falls into laziness, and when a Christian falls into ineffective
service, and when a Christian falls into impurity, it is not because he has a
lack of anything. It is because he is not appropriating what he has. You do not
need something else. Listen, God has stockedyour shelf. You don’t need
anything. You have everything for health, and vitality, and growth, and
reproduction.
You have “all things pertaining to life and godliness,” saidPeter. The issue is
your commitment to be faithful to what you have. Do you see? Youhave
everything. Just listen to this: what is the benefit of being a saint; what is the
benefit of being a Christian? One: grace, whichmeans absolute forgiveness
and guiltlessnessforever. Two:gifts, so that you can speak the truth to a
world that desperatelyneeds to hear it, and so that you can minister to the
believers.
You have everything you need in this life. I’d say that’s a legacy, wouldn’t
you? And don’t you say, “Well, I need this, and I need that, and I don’t know
why I’ve failed, and the Lord hasn’t done this for me, and He hasn’t given me
this.” Baloney- to put it mildly. You have everything. If there’s a failure in
your life, it isn’t a divine one, it’s a human one. Isn’t that true? God has never
failed, and He never will fail. You do, and you will, and so will I, and so have
I.

Third thing: God not only gave us grace in the past, and gifts for the present,
but guarantees forthe future. Now, let’s face it, folks;we’re eschatological,
right? We have a future drag. I mean, we feellike we’re being pulled into the
future all the time, don’t we - as Christians? I mean we’re always looking, and
watching, and waiting, and hoping, and Jesus is coming, and I mean, that’s
part of it. We sing about it, oh, you know, we sang it this morning.
“How Great Thou Art,” “whenChrist shall come with shout of acclamation,”
and you getthose spiritual goose bumps, don’t you, thinking about it? The
Lord is coming. Every time I see a day like the last few days, with those big
puffy white clouds, I figure that’s the kind of day He’s gotto come in. Man,
so, now, that’s the secondcoming, so every eye will see Him when he comes
with clouds - the rapture first. But we look forward to the Lord’s coming.
We’re eschatologicalbeings. Our citizenship isn’t here. Philippians 3:20 says,
“Our citizenship is in heaven.” We’re constantly feeling the tug of that world.
We have people who have died and gone there, and we sense that we want to
be with them, and the pull is from there as well. Now, notice verse 7: “waiting
for” - the apokalypsis, the revealing – “the revelationof our Lord Jesus
Christ.” Listen, we wait with that future tug. We’re looking for Jesus to come,
and I believe He’s coming, and I believe He’s coming soon.
“Who shall also confirm you under the end, that you may be blameless in the
day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He’s coming. And look at the word waiting in
verse 7. Waiting is interesting. The Greek word means to waitwith eager
anticipation and activity, not idleness. It’s not like sitting on a corner, waiting
for a bus. It’s like waiting eagerly, while you’re working, and watching, and
hoping, and involved. In 1 Thessalonians, the same word is used in 1:10, to
speak of the Thessalonianchurch, which was “waiting for the Son to be
revealed.”
We’re waiting. We feellike John, when he says, “And Jesus is coming” - and
he says it over – “and He’s coming, and He’s coming, and He’s coming” - and
then finally he says, “Evenso, come, Lord Jesus. We wantYou.” We’re
waiting, folks; and one of the benefits of being a Christian is hope, isn’t it?
Hey, I have hope. Do you have hope? I’m not worried. I have hope. I don’t

care what happens to this world, ultimately, from the standpoint of what I
believe, because I know God’s going to take care of His own.
I care what happens to them from their viewpoint, but it doesn’t threaten my
security. It’s doesn’t stealmy hope. I don’t live in a hopeless world. I have so
much hope; I just trust God totally with it. I’m waiting for Jesus to come, and
I believe He’s coming. Now, why do Christians have this hope? Let me give
you somethings, a little quick outline. Why do Christians hope? Why do we
look for Jesus? Number one: it means the exultation of Christ, and He
deserves it, right?
I want Him to come because He’ll be exaltedwhen He comes, and He deserves
it. In Revelation, you see Him coming on a white horse, crownedas King of
kings, and Lord of lords. When He comes, He’ll be exalted; and it’s time for
Him to be exalted. He’s been humiliated too long. He came the first time in
humiliation, didn’t he? Hebrews 9:28 says, “He’ll come the secondtime
without sin.” No more humiliation and sin-bearing for Him the next time.
He’ll come in glory.
Oh, He’ll come with honor and glory. Read it, in Revelation. Listen, I want
Jesus to come because He’ll be exalted, and He deserves it. Secondly, it means
the defeatof Satan, and he deserves it. When Jesus comes,He’s going to
defeatSatan, He’s going to bind him for a thousand years. At the end of the
thousand years, then He’s going to let him loose fora little while, just to get
the lastlittle bit out of his system. Then He’s going to chain him, and throw
him into the lake of fire, and he deserves it.
Thirdly, I’m glad He’s coming, because it means justice for the martyrs, and
they deserve it. SecondThessalonians1:5, Paul writes in Thessalonians, says,
“I know you’re suffering an awful lot, but remember this” - in verse 6 -
“seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that
trouble you.” Listen, there’s coming a day when the martyrs are going to be
granted vengeance. Godsays, “Vengeanceis mine; I will repay.”
In Revelation6, you have all those martyrs under the altar, and they’re
praying, “How long, Lord, until you avenge the blood of righteous people?”
I’m looking for Jesus’coming because it exalts Him, and He deserves it. It

defeats Satan, and he deserves it. It means justice for the martyrs, and they
deserve. Fourth, it means the death of Christ-rejecters, andthey deserve it.
SecondThessalonians 1:7 says:“Jesus shallbe revealedfrom heaven with His
mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance onthem that know not God,
and obey not the gospelof the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with
everlasting destruction.” He’s coming, and He’s going to judge those who hate
Him, and they deserve it. Lastly, I look forward to the coming of Jesus,
because it means heaven for me, and I don’t deserve it - but I’ll take it.
So will you, by grace. Isn’t that exciting? It means that I’ll be like Jesus.
“When I shall see Him, I shall be like Him.” I don’t deserve that, but oh, what
grace. I look for His coming. You say, “You’re kind of gloating, John.” Not
gloating - I feeljust like John the apostle, in Revelation10. He took the scroll
that representedthe title deed to the earth, “and he ate it, and it was sweetin
his mouth, and bitter in his stomach.” Youknow what that meant?
That meant that his view of the coming of Christ was sweet, becauseofwhat it
would mean for Jesus, and what it would mean for him; and it was bitter,
because ofwhat it would mean for the world. Yes, it’s sweet, and yes, it’s
bitter, but we hope for His coming; we look for it. Now, want to see a
marvelous promise in verse 8? When He comes, He will confirm you; that is,
He will settle you, make you steadfastunto the end, “blameless in the day of
our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The day of the Lord, the day of Christ. This combination term here means the
time of Christ’s return. Listen to this: “When Christ returns” he says “you
will be confirmed blameless.”Now, getthat, people. That is some kind of
promise. You know why you say, “Why should you wait for Christ’s coming?
Isn’t He going to come and say, ‘Now, MacArthur, what have you done? Let
me see. You’ve done those, uh, uh, uh,’” see? And, “Isn’t it going to be, when
He comes and all, it’s going to be flashing a board, all your crud is going to
shown to the world?”
Well, if that was the case, Iwouldn’t be waiting for it. I am waiting for it
because I will be in that day held what? Blameless. Wow.I’m confirmed, I’m
settled, I’m secured, blameless till then. Just geta grip on that promise. How

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