I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
Paul continually thanks God for the grace given through Jesus Christ to those set apart in Him and called to holiness, a thanksgiving that reaches all who call on the name of the Lord in every place to the close of time. That grace comes only through Christ, turning people from idolatry to the worship and service of the true God and washing, sanctifying and justifying those once defiled by grievous sins. By it believers are enriched in all speech and knowledge and the testimony of Christ is confirmed among them with gifts of the Spirit, so that they come behind in no gift while waiting for His coming. The faithful God who called them into fellowship with His Son will confirm them blameless to the end, calling them to speak the same thing with no divisions but to be joined in one mind and love with their varied gifts blended in His work. This thanksgiving brings comfort, hope and courage amid increasing trouble near the close of earth's history, and lays on all who receive such grace the privilege and duty to keep advancing toward Christ's purity and to carry its truths into character and work rather than trusting human ability.
Thanksgiving for Grace Received
Paul always thanks God on behalf of the believers for the grace of God given to them by Jesus Christ, joined with grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. That continual thanksgiving is itself reason for thanks, for God's grace given through Jesus Christ calls forth thanksgiving.
The thanksgiving is spoken to the church sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be saints, together with all in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Its words extend to all of God's people to the close of time, so that every Christian may enjoy the blessing of sanctification. The greeting of grace and peace opens into enrichment, confirmation, and unity, and is to be read in the churches to sink deep into every heart.
The grace thanked for comes only through Jesus Christ. It was seen in turning from idolatry to the worship and service of the true God, including gifts of the Holy Spirit and enrichment in speech and knowledge. It accompanied the washing, sanctification and justification in the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God of people who had been corrupted by grave sins.
Heartfelt, continual thanking of God for this grace marks truly converted souls as part of their condition. When the Holy Spirit molds and fashions mind and heart, believers reveal this thanksgiving in everything, in all utterance and all knowledge.
Enrichment and Confirmation Bestowed
By that grace believers are enriched in everything, in all utterance and in all knowledge, in speech and knowledge in Christ. This enrichment is the direct fruit of the grace of God given them by Jesus Christ, standing at the head of all that follows in thanksgiving.
By that same grace the testimony of Christ is confirmed in and among believers, with Christ's testimony established in them through gifts that are benefits of God's grace to the church, including gifts of the Holy Spirit. So confirmed, they come behind in no gift while waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, lacking nothing as they wait for Christ's return. They are equipped with every spiritual gift to sustain them as they wait, having received spiritual gifts in connection with being enriched in Christ and having His testimony confirmed.
Christ Himself will confirm them to the end that they may be blameless in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ, confirming believers to the end so they may be blameless on His day. This is certain because God who called them is faithful. God has faithfully called them into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ the Lord.
That fellowship calls them to harmony and mutual love, to live in harmony with one another and cherish mutual love, strengthening the church and giving the world a good impression of their faith. On that basis they are urged in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to all speak the same thing with no divisions, but to be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. The different gifts entrusted to them are to be blended together in His work in that unity, without division, in obedience to the plain will of God.
These realities place wonderful possibilities and probabilities within the reach of all who believe. Since the testimony of Jesus includes all the gifts of the one Spirit, what was true of the Corinthian church proves that when the remnant of the gospel church, the last generation on earth who keep the commandments of God, are fully confirmed in the testimony of Jesus, they too will come behind in no gift.
Encouragement and Faithful Application
The thanksgiving for grace given through Jesus Christ is a precious assurance that brings comfort, hope, cheer and courage to God's children when trouble increases near the close of earth's history, keeping them from discouragement and doubt. That grace carries both privilege and responsibility to keep advancing in the Christian life toward Christ's purity and holiness. Advancing means taking hold of Christ by faith so that He will work for the believer, with careful speech and watchful action.
The strong truths of the chapter are to be taken into life practice for the building of Christian character. God's work is to be done through the grace He gives rather than by relying on human ability. That grace is given to reshape human character according to the divine model. Heavenly intelligences wait to cooperate with the human agent in that reshaping, and each person must decide whether to do the God-given work or bend every effort toward shaping character after the worldly pattern.
The verse is set before souls newly come to the faith as the pattern for aggressive work, personal diligence and reformation of character. It carries out Protestant principles and resists delusive principles and practices opposed to religious freedom that seek to control conscience. By baptism members are pledged to a ministry of good works in seeking to save others who do not know the truth. The first chapter is to be read and studied in order to get back into right lines of work. God is leading out a people and preparing them for translation, calling workers to stand as sentinels, to labor unitedly, to serve all willingly, and to follow Jesus as the great Exemplar.
The verse with its context is to be read in the churches together with the Thessalonian scriptures, that it may sink deep into every heart and bring change, peace among brethren, increase in love and readiness for Christ's coming. Ministers and teachers are under solemn obligation to practice in harmony what is read. The grace shows how willing and even anxious Christ is to bless believers because He died for the ungodly while they were still sinners, in order that those He blesses may be a blessing to others. When a person turns wholly to God, that grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is imparted so that truth triumphs in life, Christ takes charge of the affections to center them on proper objects, and the person stays true to marriage vows in thought, word and deed, refusing impurity in mind or heart.
The grace is the standard for medical missionary work in all its bearings, so that the work fully answers to its name. Workers are not to trust their own wisdom or leave correct principles unpracticed, are not to give careless education or undertake work without qualification, but are to unite prayer and sobriety with cheerfulness, to watch over every word and action to avoid evil surmising, and to realize individual responsibility so that God can work with them. The same grace that distinguished its receivers for spiritual excellencies will today be imparted to devoted Christian missionaries. All are called to cultivate physical and mental powers to the utmost, gaining intelligence and knowledge to work where providence calls, so that God's glory may be revealed with clearness and power.
Paul continually thanks God for the grace given through Jesus Christ to those set apart in Him and called to holiness, a thanksgiving that reaches all who call on the name of the Lord in every place to the close of time. That grace comes only through Christ, turning people from idolatry to the worship and service of the true God and washing, sanctifying and justifying those once defiled by grievous sins. By it believers are enriched in all speech and knowledge and the testimony of Christ is confirmed among them with gifts of the Spirit, so that they come behind in no gift while waiting for His coming. The faithful God who called them into fellowship with His Son will confirm them blameless to the end, calling them to speak the same thing with no divisions but to be joined in one mind and love with their varied gifts blended in His work. This thanksgiving brings comfort, hope and courage amid increasing trouble near the close of earth's history, and lays on all who receive such grace the privilege and duty to keep advancing toward Christ's purity and to carry its truths into character and work rather than trusting human ability.
Thanksgiving for Grace Received
Paul always thanks God on behalf of the believers for the grace of God given to them by Jesus Christ, joined with grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. That continual thanksgiving is itself reason for thanks, for God's grace given through Jesus Christ calls forth thanksgiving.
The thanksgiving is spoken to the church sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be saints, together with all in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Its words extend to all of God's people to the close of time, so that every Christian may enjoy the blessing of sanctification. The greeting of grace and peace opens into enrichment, confirmation, and unity, and is to be read in the churches to sink deep into every heart.
The grace thanked for comes only through Jesus Christ. It was seen in turning from idolatry to the worship and service of the true God, including gifts of the Holy Spirit and enrichment in speech and knowledge. It accompanied the washing, sanctification and justification in the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God of people who had been corrupted by grave sins.
Heartfelt, continual thanking of God for this grace marks truly converted souls as part of their condition. When the Holy Spirit molds and fashions mind and heart, believers reveal this thanksgiving in everything, in all utterance and all knowledge.
Enrichment and Confirmation Bestowed
By that grace believers are enriched in everything, in all utterance and in all knowledge, in speech and knowledge in Christ. This enrichment is the direct fruit of the grace of God given them by Jesus Christ, standing at the head of all that follows in thanksgiving.
By that same grace the testimony of Christ is confirmed in and among believers, with Christ's testimony established in them through gifts that are benefits of God's grace to the church, including gifts of the Holy Spirit. So confirmed, they come behind in no gift while waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, lacking nothing as they wait for Christ's return. They are equipped with every spiritual gift to sustain them as they wait, having received spiritual gifts in connection with being enriched in Christ and having His testimony confirmed.
Christ Himself will confirm them to the end that they may be blameless in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ, confirming believers to the end so they may be blameless on His day. This is certain because God who called them is faithful. God has faithfully called them into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ the Lord.
That fellowship calls them to harmony and mutual love, to live in harmony with one another and cherish mutual love, strengthening the church and giving the world a good impression of their faith. On that basis they are urged in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to all speak the same thing with no divisions, but to be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. The different gifts entrusted to them are to be blended together in His work in that unity, without division, in obedience to the plain will of God.
These realities place wonderful possibilities and probabilities within the reach of all who believe. Since the testimony of Jesus includes all the gifts of the one Spirit, what was true of the Corinthian church proves that when the remnant of the gospel church, the last generation on earth who keep the commandments of God, are fully confirmed in the testimony of Jesus, they too will come behind in no gift.
Encouragement and Faithful Application
The thanksgiving for grace given through Jesus Christ is a precious assurance that brings comfort, hope, cheer and courage to God's children when trouble increases near the close of earth's history, keeping them from discouragement and doubt. That grace carries both privilege and responsibility to keep advancing in the Christian life toward Christ's purity and holiness. Advancing means taking hold of Christ by faith so that He will work for the believer, with careful speech and watchful action.
The strong truths of the chapter are to be taken into life practice for the building of Christian character. God's work is to be done through the grace He gives rather than by relying on human ability. That grace is given to reshape human character according to the divine model. Heavenly intelligences wait to cooperate with the human agent in that reshaping, and each person must decide whether to do the God-given work or bend every effort toward shaping character after the worldly pattern.
The verse is set before souls newly come to the faith as the pattern for aggressive work, personal diligence and reformation of character. It carries out Protestant principles and resists delusive principles and practices opposed to religious freedom that seek to control conscience. By baptism members are pledged to a ministry of good works in seeking to save others who do not know the truth. The first chapter is to be read and studied in order to get back into right lines of work. God is leading out a people and preparing them for translation, calling workers to stand as sentinels, to labor unitedly, to serve all willingly, and to follow Jesus as the great Exemplar.
The verse with its context is to be read in the churches together with the Thessalonian scriptures, that it may sink deep into every heart and bring change, peace among brethren, increase in love and readiness for Christ's coming. Ministers and teachers are under solemn obligation to practice in harmony what is read. The grace shows how willing and even anxious Christ is to bless believers because He died for the ungodly while they were still sinners, in order that those He blesses may be a blessing to others. When a person turns wholly to God, that grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is imparted so that truth triumphs in life, Christ takes charge of the affections to center them on proper objects, and the person stays true to marriage vows in thought, word and deed, refusing impurity in mind or heart.
The grace is the standard for medical missionary work in all its bearings, so that the work fully answers to its name. Workers are not to trust their own wisdom or leave correct principles unpracticed, are not to give careless education or undertake work without qualification, but are to unite prayer and sobriety with cheerfulness, to watch over every word and action to avoid evil surmising, and to realize individual responsibility so that God can work with them. The same grace that distinguished its receivers for spiritual excellencies will today be imparted to devoted Christian missionaries. All are called to cultivate physical and mental powers to the utmost, gaining intelligence and knowledge to work where providence calls, so that God's glory may be revealed with clearness and power.