YouTube: https://youtu.be/8rE_rj5xAoE

Download Audio: https://od.lk/f/MV8yOTU4MTYwMzNf
Download Video: https://od.lk/f/MV8yOTU4MTYwODNf
Download PDF: https://od.lk/f/MV8yOTU4MTYwNjlf

Timothy: I Corinthians 1:1-9
Greeting and Thanksgiving

1 Paul, a called apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, and Sosthenes the brother,

2 to the assembly of God which is in Corinth, those having been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called-out saints, with all those calling on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours:

3 Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 I give thanks to my God always concerning you for the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus,

5 that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all discourse and all knowledge,

6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,

7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting the revelation of our Lord, Jesus Christ,

8 who also will confirm you until the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

[Literal Translation of the Holy Bible]

Dear God, my Beloved Father, I offer my words of praise and gratitude to You. You are my God and my Father in Heaven. I thank You for granting me the grace to drive long distances safely and for keeping me safe on my journeys. I am grateful for Your mercy and forgiveness when You prevented a traffic accident due to my mistake. Thank You for giving me the opportunity to reflect on the eternal living Word of God with the Church. I pray for renewed strength in Christ, and for the Holy Spirit to give me wisdom. I am thankful to Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Dear Father, I want to present my understanding of I Corinthians 1:1-9.

Dear Father, I understand verses 1 and 2 as follows: Paul, the apostle, always began his letters with an introduction of himself as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, which was the Triune God’s will for him. Although the letter was addressed to the Church in Corinth, Paul may have consulted with Sosthenes, the leader of the Jewish synagogue in Corinth, about the contents of the letter, and thus they both signed it. Paul called the believers in Corinth the Church of God. He defined those in the Church as the ones who were sanctified in the Lord Jesus Christ, called to be saints. He said that the content of the I Corinthians was not only meant for the Church in Corinth, but for all the saints of the Lord Jesus Christ everywhere. Therefore, this letter is also for me. I need to read and meditate on it, as Paul wrote it for me.

Dear Father, I understand that in verse 3, Paul offers his blessing to those who read the letter I Corinthians. He wishes for them to receive grace and peace from You and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace from You are the grace of salvation and the peace of forgiveness. Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ are the grace of being cleansed from sin and being united with Christ, and the peace of overcoming evil, death, temptation, and adversity.

Dear Father, I understand from verses 4 to 6 as follows: Paul always remembers and prays for the Church in Corinth. Paul has a habit of calling You “My God.” This habit demonstrates his deep love for You. Paul helps the people of God understand that all the blessings given by You to humanity come through the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, Christ declared: “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Through Your grace, the people of God are enriched in every word and every knowledge. The richness in words is the words that always follow God’s Word, full of grace, bringing edification to the hearer, and glorifying God. The richness in all knowledge is having a deep understanding of God’s Word to behave appropriately in every situation. Paul confirms that he knows that the testimony about Jesus Christ, that is, the content of the Gospel, is firmly established among the people of God in Corinth.

Dear Father, I understand verse 7 as follows: Because the people of God in Corinth are rich in knowledge, firm in the testimony of Christ, they eagerly await the coming of Christ. It is for this reason that the Holy Spirit has bestowed upon them all the gifts necessary to build the Church of God.

Dear Father, I understand verse 8 as follows: You are the one who makes each of Your true children endure to the end. The end here may be the time of the death of the fleshly body, or the time when the fleshly body is transformed. But on the day when Christ comes to take the Church out of this world, Your children, whether they are dead or alive, will not be blamed. Because You are the one who keeps each of them blameless.

Dear Father, I understand verse 9 as follows: You always keep Your promise. The fact that Your children are justified and united with Christ is a gift from You. Christ confirmed this by saying, “Because of this, I have told you that no one is able to come to Me except it is given to him from My Father.” (John 6:65).

Dear Father, I join with the Church in waiting for the coming of Christ and pray that You keep us blameless. Thank You, Father.

In the grace of Jesus Christ, my Lord.

Timothy Christian Huynh
04/17/2023