The Promise before the Problem

Admittedly, every church has it's problems. Corinth is no exception. We discussed that in the last post that even though they were undeniably gifted they had serious failings Paul needed to correct.

In the Old Testament "epistles" (we call them the Prophets) the nation was often rebuked for sins followed by a promise of restoration. Consider one of the all-time favorite memory verses in the church: Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV) For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

We love to put that verse on our coffee mugs, t-shirts and bumper stickers.  But the context of those words is anything but good. The nation is about to be carted off to exile, their temple burned, their homes ravaged, their land turned over to a godless nation at the whim of a dictator. They have not listened to God and they are to be corrected. But AFTER the rebuke, Jeremiah brings the promise. God still has great plans for them even if the next 70 years are going to be hard, trying, and painful.

In the New Testament, the order is reversed. The promise comes before the rebuke! Why? Because in Christ we are sealed in the Holy Spirit! We have an inheritance that cannot spoil or fade kept in heaven. We have a new birth that cannot be undone!

Consider what Paul says to the Corinthian believers who are anything but a shining example of Christ-like behavior...

1 Corinthians 1:8–9 (ESV) (Jesus Christ)... "will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

How could these Corinthians be guiltless? Simple... God's faithfulness.

Paul offers the promise of what they will be before He corrects what they are now. What a perspective. To remind ourselves that God is going to complete the work He started in us. To remember that He is able to present us spotless before His glorious presence with great joy! (Jude 24). 

I think "remembering" who will are going to be is better than moaning about what we are now. Don't get me wrong, we need correction, we need discipline and we need rebuke. But those without His promise seem debilitating and unachievable. Without God's sustaining power we're utterly hopeless. With God's sustaining power we're confidently correctable. 

What Paul offers Corinth is what we all need... a promise of what will be by God's power. You aren't perfect but you're also NOT DONE. Just as He called you, God will complete you...

...Faithfully.

PRAYER:

Thank you Lord for who I will be! If I were to only look at my faults I'd see an endless spiritual to-do list. But you see me for what I can be... and that brings joy to my life! I praise you for saving me and sustaining me!  Amen.