The gift of....

1 Cor. 1:1  "Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 
1 Cor. 1:2  To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, 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: 
1 Cor. 1:3  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
1 Cor. 1:4  I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 
1 Cor. 1:5  that in every way you were enriched in Him in all speech and all knowledge—
1 Cor. 1:6  even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—
1 Cor. 1:7  so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
1 Cor. 1:8  who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
1 Cor. 1:9  God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." 

I started in chapter two, so I'm going back to chapter one, then I'll go to chapter 3, (I'm just trying to confuse you).

1 Cor. 1:1  "Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,"

Paul was called by the WILL of God - His determination, or His choice. He is an Apostle; he asserts his authority because of the many things he will chastise the Corinthians for, and the many things he will teach them. He wishes to make sure they know he is from God and has the authority to say what he says. Sosthenes is talked about one other time in Scripture, in Acts. 

Act 18:17  And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this. 

1 Cor. 1:2  "To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, 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:"

Something interesting that was once pointed out to me about this passage is that this isn't "Paul's church," or "John's Church," it's God's church. All churches are God's, if they are seeking to follow Him, which you can tell when Paul says "to those sanctified", for when we are sanctified, we are saved, and therefore we belong to the church of God. Being Saints, which means we have been sanctified, brings us together in Christ with all other people who have been sanctified in and by Christ.

1 Cor. 1:3  "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Although you may see this as his common greeting, it has meaning to it.
Grace is favor from God, both in giving us salvation and in giving us provision, and in everything He has given, both to the human race and to Christians. 

Paul also wishes the Corinthians peace, which means to have stillness of mind. The only true peace you can have is if you fully and totally trust in God, in which case your mind should never be in conflict with itself or have anxiety. Grace is given to all people, and peace is given to those who are willing to trust in God fully.

1 Cor. 1:4-5  "I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in Him in all speech and all knowledge—"

Even though the Corinthian church had problems, Paul still thanked God for what He had done for them, through Christ. Paul sets an example here that we should note. He is thankful for what God has done, he doesn't complain about what He hasn't done. Paul says that the Corinthians abound in "speech" and "knowledge". Speech may refer to them speaking in tongues, for both in this and the next letter Paul talks several times about the Corinthians' ability to speak in tongues, and possibly to prophesy. When he speaks of knowledge, he is probably referring mostly to doctrine. Christ gave the Corinthians strong doctrine through Paul; however, just because they were given strong doctrine and the body of this church, as a whole, had strong doctrine does not signify that each individual, within the body at Corinth, had strong doctrine. This can be seen as we continue through the rest of the book of Corinthians (both one and two). There are many places where Paul has to dispel some kind of false doctrine within these two books.

1 Cor. 1:6  "even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—"

Testimony means evidence. Therefore, this verse is saying "as the evidence of Christ was proven to be among you." The phrase "even as" refers back to verse 5, which says "You were enriched in all speech and knowledge," so it is saying that they were being enriched in speech and knowledge while the testimony of Christ was being confirmed among them.

1 Cor. 1:7-8  "so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."

"So that"..... what is the "so" referring to? It is referring to this comment in verse four: "I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus."  Paul gives thanks because of this grace, because they are not lacking any gift.
This is the definition of "gift" here, in this passage.
χάρισμα
charisma
char'-is-mah
From G5483; a (divine) gratuity, that is, deliverance (from danger or passion); (specifically) a (spiritual) endowment, that is, (subjectively) religious qualification, or (objectively) miraculous faculty: - (free) gift.

(Strong)

This can mean a lot of things, perhaps the free gift of salvation, or it may be referencing the previous verses talking about "speech and knowledge," or it may possibly be referring to the other spiritual gifts. You could probably accept any of the previous explanations but, looking ahead to verse 8, you will see that these gifts are going to help keep you guiltless till the day of Jesus. Because of the phrase that follows, I would say that salvation, specifically sanctification, and spiritual gifts are being spoken of in this instance. Sanctification will be continued forever after you have been saved, thereby qualifying it as the only thing that will keep you holy till the end, unless you become perfect on earth. Sanctification brings you to perfection in God's eyes. 

This guiltlessness is what is being talked about in this passage. In order to be sustained to the end, you must be holy, in order to be holy, you must be either perfect by nature (which according to Paul when he wrote Romans, is not possible "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God") or you must be sanctified. To be sanctified, you must have Christ die for you, which is exactly what God has given to us. "Revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ..... in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" 

These are both referring to the second coming of Christ, which is talked about right before he goes to the cross, as well as in Hebrews: Heb 9:28  "so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him." The second coming of Christ is when we will be saved eternally from the effects of sin and death.

1 Cor. 1:9  "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

This verse is reinforcing the previous verse, "who will sustain you". This verse, is saying that God is faithful, and will follow through with His promises. He brought you into fellowship with Christ, He will never let down His side of the covenant. As it says in Romans, 8:35-39:  "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Once God has brought us into fellowship with Christ, we can't ever "lose" our salvation. To me, it sounds like Paul is saying "Don't worry, God will bring your salvation to completion." He says a similar thing in Philippians 1:6 "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."  He is saying that God doesn't start something He doesn't intend to finish. If you are saved by Him, you will continue in your salvation into eternity. We are brought into salvation by a faithful God who will sustain us till the end. We can be sure that we will reach the end, where He will complete the good work He began in us.

This verse has an interesting idea in it that a casual reading may not reveal. He says we were called by God. A call to arms, or being called to the mission field. Once He has given the call, we have to follow that call in order for our salvation to be complete. By disobeying the call, you are thereby sinning once again and more or less, spitting in the face of God. Who knows if you will receive a second call if you pass by the first? This should also dispel the notion of us initiating salvation, because if God has to call us then He is the one who initiated our chance for salvation.Without God opening our hearts and minds we have no choice to accept his salvation because we are dead in sin, a dead man can't do anything but stay dead. However, it should also dispel the idea of God completely controlling us and salvation having nothing to do with our choices. He raises us from out death in sin, and brings us to life in Him, allowing us to answer His call. However it is a call, not a command, nor does it say God forced anybody to be saved. You have to answer a call to arms, and you have to answer a call to the mission field. It is up to you to act on what God has called you to do. After saying this, I need to say that God may convince you like he did Paul, the only way out of your situation may be to follow God.


Paul gives thanks in this passage for all that God has done. He then gives some testimony to what God has done (not lacking in any spiritual gifts, they were given speech and knowledge,  and that Christ was shown to be among them.) He then confirms that God will continue to bless the church, and those who are sanctified by saying that He WILL sustain them, and that God IS faithful. This is his greeting to the church before he gets to the the real "issues" at hand.

the great trap

As Promised, I will talk about the trap that we can fall into.
This trap has trapped many, and eventually leads away from Christ. Grace abounds we know that, Christ's death paid for all sins, and could pay for unlimited amounts of sin. Also we have died to the law, and are not responsible to it. So does that mean that we can sin whenever? does that mean that there is no sin for those who are saved?

Let me present this passage of Scripture to you as evidence. (ESV)


Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 
Rom 6:2  By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 
Rom 6:3  Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 
Rom 6:4  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 
Rom 6:5  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 
Rom 6:6  We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 
Rom 6:7  For one who has died has been set free from sin. 
Rom 6:8  Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 
Rom 6:9  We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 
Rom 6:10  For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 
Rom 6:11  So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 
Rom 6:12  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 
Rom 6:13  Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 
Rom 6:14  For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. 

We are not to live for ourselves, or sin, BY NO MEANS, How can after we die to sin still live in sin? we can't, we can only live for God. Does this mean we will be perfect? No, but I just said we are not allowed to sin. How does this work? Well let me explain how this works: are we to continue in sin THAT GRACE might abound? "By no means" is what the scriptures say. However when you read this you think that it means we cannot sin, not allowed to sin. what is says it says that grace might abound, let me rephrase that: "Shall we sin so that grace can abound all the more?"We all know the answer is no, there is no reason to sin except for obeying your own mortal, sinful passions. However, this goes back to the previous post that said we must give ourselves over to God, so he can control us. Don't fight his truth, don't fight his control over your life. give him complete control.

those two words, that none will ever obtain this side of death.

Self Control is something we all struggle with, (if you don't then I applaud you, and you can stop reading right now)

The phrase "Self Control" is mentioned 24 times in the Bible (ESV). It is used in the positive sense, and in the negative sense

1Co 9:25  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 
1Co 9:26  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 
1Co 9:27  But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. 
And in the negative:

2Ti 3:1  But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 
2Ti 3:2  For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 
2Ti 3:3  heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 
2Ti 3:4  treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 
2Ti 3:5  having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 
2Ti 3:6  For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 

yet it is mentioned more in the positive sense, of what we will get or complete, if we exercise self control.Those who didn't exercise self control, paid dearly: Esau, Samson, Saul, David and even Moses, all failed to have self control and paid for it dearly. Esau gave  up his birthright because he was hungry (Gen. 25:29-34), couldn't he have waited? Couldn't he have made something for himself? Samson, could not resist telling the secret to his strength. He was enslaved by the Philistines, forced to grind grain, had his eyes poked out. Saul, let himself be overcome with anger, trying to kill David. He never had peace, and eventually killed himself. David, he could not control his lust for Bathsheba, committed adultery and then murder to cover his sin. His first child with her, died because of that sin. Moses, when he was told to speak to the rock, he struck it in anger, causing him never to enter the Promise Land. 

Lack of self control is something everybody struggles with , it comes in many forms: in the form of lust, want for wealth, food, power, and almost anything else you can think of. What happens when you try to obtain self control over something you have let yourself do in the past? well, as I grit my teeth and say I will never do that again, I try to pray harder, but then I get tempted, and I do it anyway, always digging the hole deeper, and deeper. So what can we do to gain self control? The answer is nothing, now before you jump to conclusions, let me explain what I mean. We are humans, and except for in rare cases, we can't fight addictions alone. We need help, that is why we have counseling centers. Places like Teen Challenge, because we as humans have figured out we can't do it alone. Why is this? Why can't we do it alone? before I answer that, let me tell you something, the biblical meaning of self control is walking by the spirit , under the lordship of Christ [Priola, 2013] The only way we can control ourselves is though Grace, first we are saved though grace, (not perfection) second we are changed though grace (we are not perfect after we are saved) thirdly we are given not what we deserve though grace, (not taking into account our sins before or after we are saved) God wants us to realize that we CANNOT do it on our own, that is the answer the question. We must admit that we can't do it on our own, before God will intervene on our behalf. I find myself praying quite often: God help ME to overcome this, or that. I should be praying: "God please overcome this FOR me, because I can not do it at all.
 Tit 2:11  For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 
Tit 2:12  training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 
Tit 2:13  waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 
Tit 2:14  who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. 

as you can see in Titus 2:11, and 14 God saved us though Grace,
as you can see in verses 12, and 14 God wants to change, train, and purify us.
in verses 13, we wait for our hope, which is Christ, who is also our reward: Eternal life

Your only hope of ever controlling an addiction, or ever controlling yourself, is though God. you can on rare occasions overcome an addiction with the help of people. But you will never be free from it.
Christ, when he died on the cross, freed those who accept his gift, from judgment by the law,
Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 
The law, brings to light sin, and therefor leads to death.

Rom 7:4  Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 
Rom 7:5  For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 
Rom 7:6  But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. 
Rom 7:7  What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." 
Rom 7:8  But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 

once we accept his gift we are apart from the law, and the sin lies dead. However this can lead to another trap, which would give us licence to sin. This is not the case, and in one of my future posts, I shall cover that subject.

The world isn't ending yet

The world is not going to end until Christ returns again, 

God is here for you and I, and all other believers on earth, or he wouldn't have sent his son to die the worst death ever. We are worried about Money, school, our country,  and many other things that will not determine your future eternal status. 

God is good, Rom 8:28  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 

Rom 8:29  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 

this could really be what turns our country around, and is what God can and will use for his glory. If our economy collapses, if we get attacked, if we go to war, if our country starts to fall in any way, that is what will be a huge ministry opportunity. When people have nothing left to fall back on, where do they go? God can use this to bring the moderate/ half/ Christians like your room mate, like 80% of the American church today, to himself, so they will fall back upon him, a cleansing of the church. 

this is what we need to focus on: 

Psa 68:33  to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. 

Psa 68:34  Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies. 

Psa 68:35  Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God! 

Not the election, but Gods power, Majesty and his will. 

Hopefully it didn't' sound preachy, but we as Christians need to not worry so much about what our country does, and worry more about what we do for God and how he can use is in these times of trail 

hard times?

are you going through a hard time? in pain? having family trouble? and in fear?

then the question is: why? are you failing in your trust in God? or don't you trust in God?

Let me tell you something, God is the only strength that: will last forever, give you true peace, and will help you in your time of need.

Psa 23:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 
Psa 23:2  He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 
Psa 23:3  He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 
Psa 23:4  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 
Psa 23:5  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 
Psa 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. 

A common mistake is taking this as saying that we will not die, or shall not starve, or thirst.
This passage is talking about that we shall have eternal peace if you follow God. You my die, you may be in pain, you my be hungry, but God will provide something for you, whether it be death, food, water, relief from the pain. If you are saved, death should be something you look forward to, (don't take this out of context and go kill yourself....). the pain and suffering for the sake of God, you should look forward to. You should look forward to the struggles through life; so that you are able to learn and serve God.
God says we should not fear man, death, sin, satan, or anything except him. We will still fear if left to our human resources, but we must take his strength and he will keep you from fear.


Eph 6:10  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 

Eph 6:13  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 

Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 

Eph 6:15  and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 

Eph 6:16  In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 

Eph 6:17  and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 

Eph 6:18  praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 

Take what he has to offer, stand firm, and fear no evil. 

Am I saved?

sorry it has been so long for another post, but you know how busy life gets.


Anywho, one of the things I have been thinking about is assurance of salvation. There are christian faiths that do not believe in assurance of salvation. The Catholic faith, (I have heard this from multiple people, but please leave a comment if I am wrong) does not preach assurance of faith, neither do arminian thinking people. They preach that you can lose your salvation. I don't understand where this comes from, but I do understand where this leads. The thought that you can lose your salvation leads to people always worrying about "I wonder if I have been good enough today." or "oh no! I better confess my sins because I am not saved anymore". The Catholic church uses it as a way to get money, and to get people into the church on the holy days. The Catholic leadership has told people that if they don't go to church, and if they don't do good works, they get points marked off their card with God. You can gain points by helping the priest and such.The problem arises that it is now salvation by works. (Which is spoken against many places in the bible.) This is one of the passages I have found.
Rom 9:31  but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.
Rom 9:32  Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,

Rom 9:33  as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." 

Some Jews still believe that, and it is the same type of thing that the Catholic leaders have used. 

I am not saying works are bad at all, for in James it says:

Jas 2:13  For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 

Jas 2:14  What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 

Jas 2:15  If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 

but Faith is necessary, along with works. 

Jas 2:21  Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 

Jas 2:22  You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 

Jas 2:23  and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"—and he was called a friend of God. 

Jas 2:24  You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 

Jas 2:25  And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 

Jas 2:26  For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. 

works follow faith, it is not the other way around. faith leads to salvation, which in-turn leads to works.

Joh 3:16  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

and also in Romans 

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 

it says all you have to do is believe!

and once saved we can not be plucked from Gods hand for we are Christs sheep.

Joh 10:25  Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me,

Joh 10:26  but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.

Joh 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

Joh 10:28  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Joh 10:29  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

If your really believe in Christ, have faith you are saved in him, are embodied by the Holy Spirit,  you are saved.  

you get and assurance from the Holy Spirit. 

Rom 8:11  If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 

Rom 8:12  So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 

Rom 8:13  For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 

Rom 8:14  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 

Rom 8:15  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" 

Rom 8:16  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 

In conclusion, 

you are not saved by works, but by faith. However, works are part of the faith, and follow the faith as if we are Christ like, we must do good works, for him. we can be assured of faith, there should be no guessing, for God given those that are saved his spirit, (the Holy Spirit) who will bear witness to us, from God, about our salvation. 

so if you are not assured that you are saved, ask yourself "why don't I know?" you can be assured, and should be assured of salvation. Follow Christ, serve God, and then the Holy spirit will give you that assurance, that you crave. Remember, you are in the hands of an eternal, all powerful God, who will take care of you, when you give your whole being over to him.