1 Corinthians 1:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

NIV: He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

NASB: who will also confirm you to the end, blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

CSB: He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

NLT: He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.

KJV: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

NKJV: who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is one of Scripture's truly great promises about what it means to be in Christ. Paul has been giving thanks to God for all the amazing things He has done for the Christians in Corinth. Everything he has mentioned is true of all Christians.

Reading these words, it's important to notice that nothing Paul has written mentions anything the Corinthians themselves have done. God has done it all, in and for them, as a free gift because of their faith in Christ. The rest of Paul's letter will show that as individuals and as a church, these believers in Corinth struggle with major spiritual problems. They are indulging in attitudes and actions that are sinful. Still, Paul writes the words of this verse to them and to all who are in Christ. God will not stop giving the Corinthians His good gifts. He will not stop sustaining them, keeping them going, holding them together. They will remain guiltless or blameless in His eyes all the way to the return of Christ on the day of the Lord.

How is this possible? Why would God do this? God's grace to us is rightly called "amazing." For those who come to Him by faith, God receives Christ's death as payment for our sins and gives us credit for Christ's righteous, sinless life on earth (Romans 5:6–11). That's why, instead of dreading the return of Christ, Christians can wait for it with eager hopefulness (Galatians 5:5; Romans 8:19–25).

First Corinthians 1:4–9 is about God's grace to the Corinthians. Before beginning to address problems in the church, Paul first declares his thanks to God for the people. Specifically, he is thankful for God's grace and the good gifts God has given to them. Those gifts confirm that the Corinthians are truly in Christ. This means Christ will sustain them all the way to the end. Because they are in Christ who has paid for their sin with His blood, they will stand blameless before God on the day of the Lord.

Paul's letter to the Christians in Corinth begins with thanks for the great and powerful gifts God has given to them by His grace and through their faith in Christ. They will stand blameless before God in the end. Right now, though, they must stop dividing themselves according to which Christian teacher they follow and become unified in and around Christ. The gospel message of Christ's death on the cross is weak and foolish to the world, but God has given faith in Christ to those who believe it and find God's power and wisdom.

First Corinthians 1 begins Paul's letter to the Christians in Corinth, a big, bustling city on a major trade route. Paul knows them well, having spent a year and a half leading people to Christ and establishing the church there. He writes from Ephesus to correct some of their wrong attitudes and behaviors and to answer some of their questions. First, though, he thanks God for His grace to the Corinthians, knowing they will stand blameless before Him on the day of the Lord. Still, they must stop being divided and unite in and around Christ.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.