"I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge."
- 1 Corinthians 1:4-5 -

These timeless opening verses of Paul’s letter are as relevant today as they were to the Christians in Corinth...We are all called, the people of the Corinthian church then and all of us today who ‘call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (v 2). We are called to be holy ‘in Christ Jesus’ (v 2), to be set apart as God’s special people by faith in his Son.

We are called. We belong to Christ and continue to belong only through the grace of God (v 4). That grace makes possible the beginning of faith and sustains us who belong throughout the whole of our lives: ‘the indispensable ground of the life of faith from its beginning to its end.’

As we shall see, the Christians in Corinth were not allowing that grace to permeate all aspects of their lives. They did not lack the spiritual gifts which were vital to the life of their Christian community (v 7). No group of Christians does. The gifts of the Spirit have always been given, but we must not let them lie dormant. We already have the gifts to be the church, even in these troubled and challenging times – and we must use them.

Prayer: Loving Lord, I’m thankful that life in you is more amazing than I could ever imagine. I praise you that I have been born again to a living hope.

(from Encounter with God).

* In this text of Paul's greeting and thanksgiving, we see the phrase, 'Jesus Christ', 'Christ Jesus', 'Jesus Christ our Lord' about 8 times. Indeed, the grace of Jesus was overflowing in every aspect of Paul's life. I pray that grace Jesus will permeate every aspect of our life as well today.