The book, First Corinthians gets its name from the community of Christian believers in Corinth that are the letter’s recipients from Paul. This book is important as it gives a glimpse into the life of an early church in the Greco-Roman world. There were challenges and experimentation as to how to live as Christians with different religious, socio-economic, and ethnic backgrounds that Paul attempts to address within this letter. They also had questions around marriage, food sacrificed to idols, spiritual gifts, and other matters. While the letters from the church did not survive, Paul’s response did and was copied again and again to instruct early believers as to how to truly live “in Christ.”
I Corinthians 1:4-9
“4I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— 6just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— 7so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Prayer
Gracious Lord, continue to speak to me of the transformation in Christ I continually need and hope for as I live as your disciple. May my gifts be utilized for your glory and may my love for you be reflected in how I love others, Amen.
