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Scripture
Taken from the ESV
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
"Paul, a called b by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those c sanctified in Christ Jesus, d called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."
Observation
Paraphrase:
"I, Paul who am called by God's will to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our Christian brother Sosthenes, write this letter to God's church in Corinth comprised of all those who have been set apart by Christ Jesus together with everyone in every place who has called upon Him; whom we all claim as Lord.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Every time I think of you I give thanks to God for the grace He has given you through Christ Jesus. You have been given so much since the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. Your knowledge and speech have been enriched, you don't lack any kind of spiritual gift, and as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ's return He continues to keep you blameless. God, the one who has called you into this fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, is so faithful!!"
What is God saying?
God is wonderful in his grace. Even though we don't deserve it he continues to bless us beyond belief by THE gift given through Jesus. Though his sacrifice is the greatest gift, greatest blessing, greatest act of grace given, it also serves as the catalyst for other gifts/blessings. One of those gifts is the change that takes place within our lives after we've received Christ as Lord and Savior. God enriches our lives. He changes the way we think, talk and do things. Not only has he saved us from hell, but he provides tools that help us to become more like Jesus. He is faithful to continue doing so.
What is God saying to me?
In the letter to the Romans Paul writes that we are to no longer be conformed to this world but to continue to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. The transformation isn't something that happens immediately when we receive Christ as our Savior. What does actually happen is that a process begins. God is in the process of changing the way we think, talk and walk. It is a process that doesn't end until the great and glorious day when we all stand before God waiting to enter into the rest promised.
Paul is writing to the Corinthians to help them see that the initial "enrichment" of knowledge and speech and the giving of every kind of spiritual gift wasn't the only change that was to take place. God was still in the process of transforming them. As will be seen, they hadn't let God's grace completely change their paradigm. They were taking the gifts that God had given them and they were trying to fit them into a more worldly context, one that they were familiar with.
I continue to fall into the same trap. I falsely tell myself "This is the end of the transformation period" when in reality it's probably still in the beginning stages. God has given me so much and yet I limit his gifts by continuing to think wrongly. Fortunately I'm still in the process of transformation, and that is exactly what it is. I'm going through the process of transformation. There has to be a point (or probably several points) where God says "Hey, time to get out of that old pattern of thinking so that I can move you further towards the person I've created you to be." I'm at that point again and I need to be open to what God is teaching me.
Application
I need to continually examine my life according to what God reveals in Scripture. I need to take a hard and thorough look at myself. Am I truly being transformed by renewed thinking? Am I allowing God to change my worldly paradigm?
Prayer
Father, I acknowledge that I am still in the process. There is a lot that I know I don't see and am not dealing with. I ask for you to take control of the process. Open my eyes to see where I have not allowed change to take place. No matter how painful it may be, please change me. Help me to model my life after your Son's. Thank you. Amen
Scripture
Taken from the ESV
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
"Paul, a called b by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those c sanctified in Christ Jesus, d called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."
Observation
Paraphrase:
"I, Paul who am called by God's will to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our Christian brother Sosthenes, write this letter to God's church in Corinth comprised of all those who have been set apart by Christ Jesus together with everyone in every place who has called upon Him; whom we all claim as Lord.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Every time I think of you I give thanks to God for the grace He has given you through Christ Jesus. You have been given so much since the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. Your knowledge and speech have been enriched, you don't lack any kind of spiritual gift, and as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ's return He continues to keep you blameless. God, the one who has called you into this fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, is so faithful!!"
What is God saying?
God is wonderful in his grace. Even though we don't deserve it he continues to bless us beyond belief by THE gift given through Jesus. Though his sacrifice is the greatest gift, greatest blessing, greatest act of grace given, it also serves as the catalyst for other gifts/blessings. One of those gifts is the change that takes place within our lives after we've received Christ as Lord and Savior. God enriches our lives. He changes the way we think, talk and do things. Not only has he saved us from hell, but he provides tools that help us to become more like Jesus. He is faithful to continue doing so.
What is God saying to me?
In the letter to the Romans Paul writes that we are to no longer be conformed to this world but to continue to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. The transformation isn't something that happens immediately when we receive Christ as our Savior. What does actually happen is that a process begins. God is in the process of changing the way we think, talk and walk. It is a process that doesn't end until the great and glorious day when we all stand before God waiting to enter into the rest promised.
Paul is writing to the Corinthians to help them see that the initial "enrichment" of knowledge and speech and the giving of every kind of spiritual gift wasn't the only change that was to take place. God was still in the process of transforming them. As will be seen, they hadn't let God's grace completely change their paradigm. They were taking the gifts that God had given them and they were trying to fit them into a more worldly context, one that they were familiar with.
I continue to fall into the same trap. I falsely tell myself "This is the end of the transformation period" when in reality it's probably still in the beginning stages. God has given me so much and yet I limit his gifts by continuing to think wrongly. Fortunately I'm still in the process of transformation, and that is exactly what it is. I'm going through the process of transformation. There has to be a point (or probably several points) where God says "Hey, time to get out of that old pattern of thinking so that I can move you further towards the person I've created you to be." I'm at that point again and I need to be open to what God is teaching me.
Application
I need to continually examine my life according to what God reveals in Scripture. I need to take a hard and thorough look at myself. Am I truly being transformed by renewed thinking? Am I allowing God to change my worldly paradigm?
Prayer
Father, I acknowledge that I am still in the process. There is a lot that I know I don't see and am not dealing with. I ask for you to take control of the process. Open my eyes to see where I have not allowed change to take place. No matter how painful it may be, please change me. Help me to model my life after your Son's. Thank you. Amen
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