Working Together

A series on Pauls’ prayers
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 Corinthians 1:4-9 

[Paul was a controversial figure in the first century church. But it could also be argued that he was the most dynamic and influential apostle. In this series we’ll be looking at Paul’s prayers and what he has to say to us today.]

  

Coaches are not good at giving praise. What they are good at is yelling at you in front of the whole team while pointing out what you did wrong.

 

I remember a high school coach saying that if he quit yelling at us, that’s when we should be worried because that meant he’d given up on us. I could never separate being yelled at from feeling rejected. No wonder I never liked any of my coaches.

 

In the New Testament, the Corinthian church is well-known for their many struggles. In Paul’s first letter to them, he wrote about their problems of division, sexual sin, lawsuits, marriage, idol worship and spiritual gifts. It’s a virtual laundry list of what not to do.

 

Despite this, he started off on a positive note by giving thanks for how God was at work in their lives. In other words, he praised them.

 

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

 

Speech and knowledge were two gifts that would have been highly desirable to the mostly Greek Corinthian church. For them, there was nothing more important than the telling of truth (speech) and the grasping of truth (knowledge). Because of this, Paul’s words would have been high praise.

 

Despite their many problems, Paul was also thankful that the Corinthian believers would finish well because of God’s work in their lives.

 

⁸ He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.      NIV

 

With his prayer of thanksgiving, Paul wasn’t just buttering the Corinthians up so that he could lay the hammer down later. He was letting them know that even though they were not perfect, that God was still at work in their lives; that He was faithful no matter what; and that He would be with them through the end.

 

Like my high school coaches, Paul could easily have started his letter by “yelling” at the Corinthians. “YOU SHOULDN’T BE DOING THAT!” Or, he could have told them that they were so messed up that he was going to invest his time in other churches. But he didn’t do either of these.

 

Instead, Paul’s prayer gave the Corinthian church hope that helped them to persevere and grow in their faith. He was working together with them. He was committed to them for the long haul.

 

The same is true for you and me. Only for us, it’s the Lord that is working together with us. 

He is committed to us for the long haul. He is faithful and will help us through the difficult times to give us hope to persevere and grow in our faith.

 

 

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Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

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