Bigger Grace: Fully Equipped
"Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed." (1 Corinthians 1:7)
We make a big deal about God's grace in saving us from hell and giving us the gift of eternal life. And we should! None of us could ever earn either of those things. Jesus paid the price, but we're the ones who receive God's riches forever.
But God's grace also provides for us on this side of heaven, right now, today. Paul wanted to make sure the Christians in Corinth understood that they weren't missing any spiritual gifts they needed to do what God wanted from them right now. All the pieces were in place -- not because they had earned them but because God is good.
Peter put it this way: "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." (2 Peter 1:3)
Think: Do you sometimes forget that God has already given you everything you need to serve Him and other Christians? Do you sometimes forget that all of your talents, abilities -- and spiritual gifts -- are God's grace gifts to you so you can do what He asks of you?
Pray: Thank God that you have been given everything you need to live the life He's called you to.
Do: Check out more from 2 Peter 1:3-9.
Bigger Grace: Evidence
"For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge—because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you." (1 Corinthians 1:5-6)
How do you know if you are "in Christ" and have received the grace of God? How do you know for sure that you are forgiven and settled into a permanent place in God's family with a changing heart and a future home in heaven?
Paul told the Corinthian Christians that he had seen the evidence of it in their lives, specifically in the spiritual gifts he had seem them put into practice. Every Christian receives -- by God's grace -- God's Spirit as a comforter, guide, and source of power to serve other Christian, among other things. You and I, too, should notice a change in our attitudes and abilities because of the Spirit with us.
In addition to that, we have God's unbreakable promise that those who trust in Christ have received God's grace. Listen to Romans 8:1:
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
And Romans 8:38-39:
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Think: Do you ever have a hard time being convinced that God has forgiven and saved you by His grace through your faith in Jesus? Have you seen evidence of God working through you? Do you believe that He keeps His promises?
Pray: Thank God that everyone who is in Christ because we've put our trust in Him alone can be confident that we have been forgiven and saved by God's grace.
Do: Read Romans 8 and notice all the good gifts God gives to us as His children.
Bigger Grace: In Christ Jesus
"I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus." (1 Corinthians 1:4)
Paul is writing these words to Christians. God gives His grace to those who are in Christ Jesus -- and that does NOT include everyone. God's grace is the free gift that includes becoming His family and living forever with Him -- and not apart from Him in hell.
Is that a mean thing to say out loud, that not everyone has God's saving grace? I don't think so. In fact, it's important to say it out loud, and it's really easy not to. Especially during this time of a year when "Jesus is the reason for the season," it's easy for us to use language that communicates that everyone who says the magic words "Merry Christmas" has received the salvation made available through Jesus.
But in today's verse, Paul makes clear that God's grace -- His gift of the eternal life we do not deserve because of our sin -- is given only "in Christ Jesus." All who reject faith in Jesus alone to forgive and to save also reject the free grace of God.
And without God's grace, we will be judged by our works and by our sins -- and nobody is good enough to earn eternity with God on that scale.
Think: Does it bother you that God's saving grace comes only through faith in Jesus or does it make you feel grateful? Is it hard for you to say that you believe that truth to people who don't? Why or why not?
Pray: If you're a Christian, thank God for His grace given to you in Christ Jesus.
Do: Write as briefly as possible what it means to be "in Christ Jesus." How would you describe it to someone who might not be a Christian?
Bigger Grace: Changed and Changing
"To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 1:2-3)
We're calling this week's devotionals "Bigger Grace" because God's grace to us sinners is always bigger than we think it is. Just when we start to think we understand how much good He gives to us -- and how very little we deserve it -- we discover either that we are far less deserving than we thought or His goodness is even more huge.
Today's passage says a phenomenal thing: We Christians are both already "sanctified" and also "called to be holy." That means God has already changed our DNA, made us fundamentally different people than we were before we trusted in Jesus. Our identity and potential to live for Jesus are no longer the same -- and will never be changed back.
Notice what the God of grace doesn't say to us: "I've given you a chance for a fresh start. Don't blow it. Prove yourself to me, or I'll put you back on the road to hell."
Nope, He says this instead, "I've changed you now and for good. You are not the same you. I've made you mine. Now live like the person you are -- and are becoming."
Think: As a Christian, do you think of yourself as being truly changed in some way, already sanctified? Do you think of yourself as having a mission from God to live a holy life? Why or why not?
Pray: Thank God that you have been sanctified in Christ Jesus and ask Him to help you to be holy.
Do: Look up the words grace, sanctified, and holy in a dictionary.
Bigger Grace: The Same Sosthenes?
"Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes." (1 Corinthians 1:1)
We're trying to wrap our minds around the huge idea of grace this week and starting with Paul's pen man for his letter to the Christians in Corinth. Scholars guess this might be the same guy -- with the same name -- who dragged Paul in front of a Roman court in Corinth in Acts 18 trying to get him jailed or killed for converting so many people to Christianity.
That Sosthenes was the Jewish "synagogue ruler" who had his case thrown out by the Roman judge and then got beat up by an angry Gentile mob of people who hated the Jews. That's the last we hear of him, lying beaten on the street while Paul goes back to spreading the good news about Jesus.
Then this verse quite a while later. What an amazing story if this is the same guy. It would mean that, like the synagogue leader in Corinth before him, Sosthenes also believed in Jesus, putting all of his hope in the grace and forgiveness of God instead of following the Law -- and went to work with the same apostle he tried to get arrested.
God's grace works like that, converting enemies into family members, granting the highest privileges to the worst of sinners, offering forgiveness in exchange for simple belief. Stay tuned.
Think: Do you know anyone who lived the worst kind of life -- even hating God -- before finally coming to faith in Christ and the promise of heaven? Does that bother you or excite you?
Pray: Ask God to help you to better understand His grace this week.
Do: Read the whole story of Paul and then Sosthenes in Acts 18:1-17.
Humility Week: What Mary Said
"And Mary said: 'My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me -- holy is his name.' " (Luke 1:46-49)
Mary was probably a teenager when an angel showed up and told her she was going to be pregnant with and give birth to the Son of God -- even though she'd never had sex. I'd guess someone in that position could see it all as either evidence of her own greatness -- or as the worst news ever.
Instead, Mary shows us what humility looks like. How? First, she believed the message of the angel. Believing things you can't understand takes humility. Next, she accepted the assignment; allowing God to change your plans and send you into a potentially humiliating situation takes a lot of humility.
Finally, she praised God for noticing her humility and lifting her up to a blessed position for His own glory. As we've seen this whole week, that's what God promises to do for humble people.
Mary was just a girl, not without weakness or sin. And that's the point. Like us (kind of), she received a gift of grace, the call to carry inside of her the Savior, the hope of glory. The only reasonable response for her -- and for us -- was to humbly say "yes," then "thank you," and then "for Your glory."
Think: What can you learn from Mary's example? Do you think you would have said to God yes, thank you, and "for your glory"? Have you done that with the assignment(s) He's given to you today?
Pray: Ask God to help you to respond to His direction in your life with humility, gratitude, and a desire to see Him get the glory.
Do: Read Mary's whole song in Luke 1:46-55.
Humility Week: Scared to be Humble
"He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble." (Proverbs 3:34) "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." (Proverbs 11:2)
So why would anyone not be humble? After talking about all of the benefits of humility this week, we might start wondering why it's so unusual for us to choose a humble attitude. Here's one reason: We're all cowards.
Seriously. We're afraid that we're worthless, weak, dumb, or ugly. We're terrified of being unloved nobodies. We can't think of anything worse than being rejected by the people we respect for not being good enough. So we build an armor of arrogance to convince ourselves that we're pretty good, that we're not that bad, that we've got it going on, after all.
We already know the flaw in that approach, though. God rejects the self-reliant. He tosses down the self-important. As a life strategy, pride leads us in the exact opposite direction of the one we want to go. It leads to disgrace. It leads to worthlessness. It leads to being mocked by God.
God asks us to trust Him, instead. He asks us to believe that 1) His opinion of us is the most important, and 2) He will lift us up with Him, exalt us, make us somebodies forever.
Think: Have you ever noticed people trying to use pride (bragging, arrogance, smugness) to hide their fear of being worthless? Why does that fail in the long run?
Pray: Ask God to help you to reject pride for any reason and to find grace and wisdom in choosing humility.
Do: If you watch sports, look for examples of humility and pride in action this week.