Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

1:4 thanks. See note on Rom. 1:8.

1:5 enriched in him. In 4:8 Paul will say that the Corinthians' spiritual riches have led to an inappropriate pride. Paul's thankfulness here shows that the problem lay not with the gifts God had given them but with the way the Corinthians used those gifts. The cure is found in a healthy dose of gratitude (4:7). The Corinthians valued especially the gifts of speech and knowledge (see 8:1-3, 10; 12:8; 13:2; 14:1-40), but because they had used these gifts in wrong and improper ways, the exercise of the gifts led to disunity (8:1-3; 12:29-30; 14:4).

1:7 When Paul tells them, "you were enriched" in Christ "in all speech and all knowledge" (v. 5) so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, he implies that many spiritual gifts are "enrichments" of speaking abilities, knowledge, or skills that people had before they became Christians. As you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ implies that spiritual gifts are given as temporary provisions until Christ returns (see 13:10).

1:8-9 guiltless. There is no condemnation on the final day for those who, like the Corinthians, are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1). They already have been justified and, in a sense, even sanctified (1 Cor. 6:11; cf. Rom. 5:1), so no one will be able to bring a charge against them at the judgment (Rom. 8:33). The Corinthians have a long way to go before their behavior matches their status before God (1 Cor. 3:2-3a), but Paul is confident that God, who is faithful, will make them what they should be.