The Faithfulness of God (1 Corinthians 1:4-9)

Paul had been involved in the early days of the church in Corinth. The Book of Acts informs us that the Lord had given special encouragement to Paul concerning the certainty of converts in that city that was notorious for the range of its sins. Over a period of a few months, while Paul was there, many were converted and he saw with his own eyes the faithfulness of God. Some of them were prejudiced Jews, others were pagan Gentiles, but through the gospel they discovered the way of salvation.

Conversion is the commencement of many things in the Christian life. We can approach it from various viewpoints. At conversion, we discover that there is a golden chain of salvation that is summarised by becoming right with God, joining his family, enjoying his favour, going to be with him when we die, and eventually sharing in the resurrection to glory. That is looking forward, but we can also look back the way and discover that the chain had no beginning. This process can be looked at from our perspective as sinners and when we do we will discover the range of blessings that we have. Or we can consider it from God’s viewpoint, as it were, and when we do we discover details about him. Paul does that here as he thinks about the faithfulness of God towards those in Corinth who had believed in Jesus.

Right away we can see two benefits that Paul had personally because of the faithfulness of God. The first is connected to his practice of prayer because the passage we read is actually Paul’s thankfulness for the believers in Corinth. Thinking about God’s faithfulness was a stimulus to Paul’s prayers. He could picture many of them as he prayed about them, and the memory of them brought back to his mind the days when he and they experienced the blessings of the faithful God.

The second benefit concerns the state of the Corinthian church at the time Paul wrote the letter. When we make our way through it, we discover that the church was facing lots of problems with regard to doctrine and practice. Yet Paul is thankful for them and hopeful about them, and the reason why he is of that mind is connected to the faithfulness of God. I would suggest that we all need to make this connection in order to stimulate our prayer lives and to possess confidence about the commitment of people to the Saviour.

Faithfulness when we start

Paul thanked God for the grace that was given to them in Christ Jesus. The phrase ‘in Christ Jesus’ is Paul’s way of saying that they were united to Jesus in a spiritual way. Their actual experience of this union began when they were converted, and at that time God was faithful to them. We can think of this aspect of faithfulness by recalling what was offered to them in the gospel. The great blessing that was given to each of them was the forgiveness of all their sins.

The Corinthians, like us, were guilty of many sins and of all kinds of sin. Only God knows the full number and the range of them. Yet he had assured them through the gospel that they would be forgiven them all if they repented of their sins and trusted in Jesus. Many of the Corinthians had done so and discovered that the Lord was faithful to his promises about pardon.

It is important to stress the necessity of repentance as well as of faith in Jesus. There is a sense in which it is easy to trust in Jesus. But we have to remember that when we believe in Jesus, it is not a case of sinless angels believing in him. Instead it is sinful humans who believe in Jesus, and their faith in him is always accompanied by repentance. Repentance is regret of our sins, it includes confession of them, and it involves separation from a life of sin. Repentance contains aspirations for a life of new obedience. Without it, faith is not genuine.

In our spiritual journey, it is important to ask God constantly for a spirit of repentance. Such an outlook is the best evidence of conversion. It does not mean that a person is morbid, because a penitent person knows that God is faithful to the promises of forgiveness that he has made in the gospel. Indeed, engaging in such repentance is a way of retaining assurance that we have been forgiven by God and that our record in heaven is clear.

God is faithful in giving the Holy Spirit

We may look at these verses and wonder where the Holy Spirit is mentioned. His name is not there, but the signs of his presence are referred to by Paul. One of the signs come under the description of gifts. Paul says that these gifts were a confirmation from heaven that his message had been blessed by God. We should observe that Paul says that those gifts are expressions of God’s riches. The apostle divides them into two types – speech and knowledge. By speech, he includes abilities to speak publicly and privately about the things of God. We could say that God has ensured that his people will hear explanations of the will of God in different ways. By knowledge, he means abilities, such as wisdom, understanding, and truthfulness, that would enable them to speak accurately about the message of salvation. The point that Paul is making is that the faithfulness of God to his people is revealed in this ongoing provision by him to ensure their ongoing spiritual growth.

The other way by which God reveals his faithfulness through the work of the Spirit occurs when Paul says that God will sustain his people. Of course, he sustains them by the indwelling Spirit, but what methods does he use? One is that he enables believers to help one another make progress in the Christian life. They are to encourage one another by sharing with each other the blessings of comfort that they have received from God. No doubt, he sustains them in other ways as well by bringing to their minds promises from the Bible or by secretly strengthening their resolve. The point is that the faithful God sustains his people. And the faithfulness is seen in the length of time it involves – to the end.

God will be faithful at the return of Jesus

Paul brings into the range of God’s faithfulness what will happen when Jesus returns. It will be an incredible day because everyone will discover who Jesus is – he will be revealed. One of the details that will be revealed is that Jesus is the Judge of all. Even in everyday life it is an important event if a judge is involved in it. But the greatest of all such events will be the universal judgement. Unlike earthly courts, the Judge on that occasion will have all the evidence before him. The evidence concerning each person will be all that they have thought, said or done.

It is obviously very solemn to think of such an event. When Paul says that believers will be guiltless he does not mean that their sins will be ignored. The New Testament is very clear that sins of believers have consequences regarding loss of rewards. Yet the amazing fact is that they will be pardoned on the Day of Judgement. Our confession of faith says that they shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted. The reason why they will be pardoned is because the debt has been paid by the Judge when he was on the cross.  

We can imagine a scene where one criminal gets pardoned; we can even imagine a scene where a number of people get pardoned, such as those who may have participated in a rebellion. Yet we know that on such occasions, no punishment has been endured and no penalty has been paid. In a sense, justice turns a blind eye to the situation. That is not a picture of what will happen on the Day of Judgement. On that occasion, a number that no one can count will be declared blameless, but they will have this legal status because the penalty of their sins has been paid. This will be an incredible wonder to see and to share in. Each one will have different sins, but each will have the same degree of pardon.

This will be due to the faithfulness of God. Sometimes the thought lurks in our minds that while God has forgiven us now he may change his mind in the future and decide that we shall not be pardoned. Believers will discover that such a fear was groundless. All of them will be pardoned for ever. Of course, all the glory will be given to the Judge.

God will be faithful to his calling

Paul points out that all believers have been called into fellowship with the Son of God. They were called through the gospel and entered into this relationship when they trusted in Jesus. The relationship is one of sharing, except in the relationship only one of them has anything to give, and he is Jesus. In contrast, they are empty-handed sinners. This remains the case throughout the entirety of their Christian lives. All the blessings that they have come to them through Jesus. He is the source of all that they have in a spiritual sense. How long will this relationship last? It does not come to an end when believers die because they go to heaven and experience more of the heavenly treasures. Nor will it come to an end on the Day of Judgement because they will be invited to enjoy the kingdom prepared for them. Whose kingdom is it? It is the kingdom of Jesus. They will share the blessings of his domain throughout the eternal ages. This privilege will never come to an end. And it will theirs always because of the faithfulness of God.

Applications

We have been thinking about the faithfulness of God and we can recap what we have observed about it and make some applications. First, we should remind ourselves that God is faithful to the promises in the gospel about pardoning those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus. We can imitate God by reminding one another of those promises.

Second, we noted the way that God shows his faithfulness by giving the Spirit to his people so that they know what to say and think about the faith. We should imitate Paul by giving thanks for one another to God. In addition, we should thank the Lord for sustaining his people in numerous ways.

Third, we looked ahead to the great Day of Judgement and observed that believers shall be declared judicially blameless because the Judge, Jesus, has already paid the penalty for their sins, and God will be faithful to that great transaction made on the cross. One application of this is that when we see the faults of Christians, we should think of the acquittal on the Day of Judgement.

Fourth, Paul reminded the Corinthians that they had been called permanently into the fellowship of Jesus Christ. They are going to share his inheritance for ever because of the faithfulness of God.

How good is the God we adore,

our faithful, unchangeable Friend,

whose love is as great as his power,

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and knows neither measure nor end!    

Preached on 8/1/2017