1 Corinthians 1:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—

NIV: God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you.

NASB: just as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you,

CSB: In this way, the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you,

NLT: This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true.

KJV: Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:

NKJV: even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,

Paul has given thanks, in the previous verses, for God's grace to the Christians in Corinth, including his grace in making them rich in speech and knowledge.

He says now that "the testimony about Christ was confirmed" in them. In other words, Paul sees clear, doubtless evidence that they genuinely believed his teaching. He is assured they have trusted in Christ for their salvation. Their speech and knowledge, among other gifts, showed that they had received God's grace through faith in Christ, just as Paul presented that testimony to them.

Major issues needed to be corrected in the Corinthian church, but Paul was first and foremost grateful for their faith in Christ and God's grace to them. This is a useful piece of information in our understanding of the Christian faith; reminding us that true believers are not immune from spiritual error, and that spiritual mistakes do not prove someone is a non-Christian. Paul makes the Corinthians' position in Christ even more clear in the following verses.

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.

Accessed 5/8/2024 6:37:42 PM