1) You need to know you are a sinner

The Gospel begins with the bad news that we’re all sinners:

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Rom 3:23)

There is none righteous, no, not one. (Rom 3:10)

And our sin places us under God’s judgment:

The wages of sin is death… (Rom 6:23)

We often make the mistake of comparing ourselves to other people. When we do that we convince ourselves that we aren’t so bad. But it’s “the glory of God” that we fall short of. God compares our behavior to His own — not other people — and all of us fall short when held to this standard.

Why this is important to know: 1) We must recognize that we need be saved from our sins in order to be at peace with God and 2) That salvation must come from a source outside of us because we can’t live up to God’s standard.
　

2) You need to know how you can be forgiven for your sins

After laying out the problem, the Gospel then give us the solution to the problem of sin:

The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 6:23)

Christ Himself fulfilled all that God has required in His Law, and paid for our sins:

What the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. (Rom 8:3)

We are saved through Christ’s work, not our own:

It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Eph 2:8-9)

As we learned above, we can’t save ourselves from our sin because our good works can’t live up to God’s standard, but where our works are stained with sin and rejected, Christ’s work is perfect and is accepted.

When we say we recognize our need to be saved, and call on Christ to be our Savior, we mean we’re relying on His sacrifice to be a payment for our sins and to make peace with God on our behalf. When we do this God credits Christ’s perfection to us, we’re justified, and we’re forgiven for our sins.

Why this is important to know: Because only Jesus can save us from the penalty of our sin, any other way we try to make peace with God will fall short (Acts 4:12).
　

3) You need to know how you should respond to God’s forgiveness

Once we are at peace with God, through Christ, we are a new creation:

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Cor 5:17)

We no longer live for sin, we live for God:

Do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. (Rom 6:13)

You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Pet 2:9)

And our lives should bear good fruit:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Gal 5:22-23)

Why this is important to know: In order to grow in Christ we need to know how to respond to God’s grace. What Christ has done for us effects how we live. We do good works, not to be saved, but because Christ has saved us (Eph 2:10). We forgive because Christ has forgiven us (Matt 6:12). We bless because Christ has blessed us (Eph 1:3). We served because Christ has served us (Mrk 10:45). We love because Christ has loved us (1 Jhn 4:19).

1 Corinthians 1:1-9 lists eight ways God blesses us through Christ.

About 1 Corinthians

Corinth was the major commercial center in the Roman Empire. The city was famous for its wealth and also for being filled with every kind of evil. It was home to twelve pagan temples, including the Temple of Aphrodite, which housed over one thousand prostitutes. The city was so wicked that the term “Corinthianize” was coined to describe someone who practiced sexual immorality.

It was a city many would describe as God-forsaken, but God loves the unlovable and saves the unsaveable. So He sent Paul to preach the gospel and establish a church there.

Now living in this environment you can imagine that these new Christians would have trouble – and they did. There were divisions, legal problems, impurity and scandals throughout the Corinthian church. Instead of the Christians influencing the culture, the culture was influencing the Christians. So God lead Paul to write the book of 1 Corinthians to address these problems.

The book begins with nine verses laying out the believers standing before God and Paul uses this standing as the reason why they should change their ways. He basically says, “This is who you were, but this is who you are now in Christ, so live accordingly.”

1) God blesses us by adding us to His Church

Paul addresses the Corinthians in verse 2 as “the church of God which is at Corinth”. The word church means, “The called out ones”. It refers to people of every generation, every race, every nation, every walk of life, who were called out of the world and into the family of God.

1 Peter 2:9 describes the church as “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people,” who are to “proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

It’s a group made up of people so flawed and so deep in sin, yet they’re called “the Church of God.” The reason this is possible is because of the second way God blesses us.

2) God blesses us by sanctifying us

In verse 2 Paul first calls the Corinthians “the church of God”, now he calls them “those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus.”

To be sanctified means to be set apart for God’s purpose. We’re sanctified in three ways: positionally, progressively and ultimately.

We’re sanctified “positionally” when we come to Christ. Hebrews 10:10-12 explains: “We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.”

In the Old Testament the priests would continually make sacrifices because they never permanently paid for sin. But Christ offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice and has paid for our sins once and for all. So we’ve sanctified, or set apart, to obtain salvation through Christ.

Then we’re sanctified “progressively” throughout our Christian lives. Progressive sanctification is the process of dying to sin and living for Christ by becoming more like Him. Galatians 5:22 explains that whereas before we did the works of the flesh we’re now to produce the fruit of the Spirit which “is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Progressive sanctification isn’t about our salvation it’s about how we live after we’ve been saved.

Then finally we’re sanctified “ultimately” when we go to heaven. Throughout our lives we wrestle with sin but when we go to be with the Lord our sinful nature is left behind. 1 John 3:2-3 explains that “now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

That brings us to the third way God blesses us.

3) God blesses us by making us saints

Paul continues his address in verse 2 by referring to the Corinthians as “called to be saints or literally “called saints”. The word “saint” means the same as sanctify – to be made separate or to be made holy. Those who are the recipients of sanctification are called saints. So we could refer to saints as “the sanctified ones”.

Notice that they’re called saints now. Saints aren’t canonized by the church. Verse 2 goes on to explain that saints are those “who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.” If that describes you then you are a saint right now.

Now we move on to verse 4 and find the fourth way God blesses us.

4) God blesses us by making us recipients of His grace

In Verse 4 Paul says, “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus. The reason we’re the church of God, the reason we’re sanctified, the reason we’re called saints is because of God’s grace.

To receive grace means to receive undeserved favor. Just as there are different aspects of sanctification there are also different aspects of grace that the Christian enjoys.

There’s saving grace which is described for us in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Then there’s sustaining grace which we find in 2 Corinthians 12:9 where Paul is asking God to remove some hindrance. God responds by saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” And that caused Paul to say, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

So God’s grace doesn’t just save us, it also strengthens us, encourages us, and enables us to have joy in all circumstances.

5) God blesses us by enriching everything by Christ

Verse 5 says “You were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge.” Or, as the NIV puts it, “you have been enriched in every way-in all your speaking and in all your knowledge.”

James 2:5 tells us that “God has chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him.” In 1 Corinthians 2:16 we’re told we have “the mind of Christ” which enables us to think on spiritual things. God showers us with gifts of salvation, fellowship, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness and faithfulness. We’re given everything we need to serve God and be fulfilled spiritually.

6) God blesses us by confirming us

Verse 6 says that “the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you”

When someone comes to Christ the Holy Spirit applies salvation to the believer. Ephesians 1:13-14 tells us that “In Christ you trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

We can rest secure in the knowledge that the promises of God are guaranteed to those who are in Christ.

7) God blesses us by causing us to be blameless in the day of our Lord

Verse 8 says that “you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The day will come when God will judge men according to their works. But Psalm 32:1-2 reminds us that “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity.” Through Christ we stand blameless before God because all our sins were covered on the Cross.

8) God blesses us by calling us into fellowship

Finally in verse 9 we’re told we’re “called into the fellowship.” We’re called into a relationship with God and with fellow believers. 1 John 1:3 says “That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. God grants us the gift of a relationship with Him and the opportunity to join others in praising Him.