Every True Church is a Wealthy Church (1 Corinthians 1:4-9)

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, [5] that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—[6] even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—[7] so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, [8] who 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. (1 Corinthians 1:4–9)

I. Rich Church or Poor Church?

Let's begin with a question this morning: when it comes to kingdom impact, who can be more effective... or maybe we should say, who can be more fruitful... a rich church, or a poor church? If these churches were exactly the same in terms of their theology and their gospel intentions, who can be more fruitful: a rich church, or a poor church?

Think about it: a wealthy church can hire an all-star staff, they can purchase resources and evangelistic materials, they can send out mailers and host large community events, and... they can invite people to a warm and fully furnished building or campus.

But a poor church may not have their own building. They may not be able to purchase things like resources, or send mailers, or host community-wide events. Heck, they may not even be able to fully support a pastor. So it seems silly, right, to even ask a question like, “Who can be more fruitful for the kingdom?”

But think for a moment about the temptations that are unique to each of these churches. For example, it seems like the wealthy church might be regularly tempted to believe that it's their 'abundance' that ultimately makes them effective, while the poor church is tempted to believe the converse is true: that it's their 'lack' that keeps them from being truly effective for Jesus.

II. The Passage: “In Every Way You Were Enriched” (1:4-9)

As we return to Paul's first letter to the Corinthians this morning, I believe the Apostle is going to help us with this question. Though he doesn't address the exact question that I posed, he is going to tell us something that is incredibly significant in terms of thinking through that question. What is Paul going to reveal in our main passage this morning? He's going to explain for us this simple truth: every true church is, in fact, a wealthy church.

Let me show you how I came to that conclusion as we look together at 1 Corinthians 1:4-9. We just heard the passage read for us, so to begin, let me zoom in on verse 4. Notice what Paul tells them in that verse about why he is constantly thankful for the church in Corinth. It's “because of the grace of God that was given you”. Okay. Is that a broad statement about every good and perfect gift that the Father of lights has given to these believers. I don't think so. Why? Because in verse 5, Paul explains what he means. When he mentions “the grace” given to them in verse 4, he specifically has in mind the fact that (v. 5), “in every way [they] were enriched in [Christ] in all speech and all knowledge”. Okay. Can we get any more specific in terms of what the Apostle has in mind here. In fact, we can. Look at the next verse. The grace of God that was given to them, that has enriched them in all speech and knowledge, means (v. 7) “that you are not lacking any gift”.

Now, brothers and sisters, please look back over those verses and notice the common themes. God has given to this church, in such a way that they are enriched, and therefore, not lacking in any gift. And please don't miss the qualifiers: that they were enriched “in every way”, in “all” speech and “all” knowledge, so that they are not lacking in “any” gift.

What kind of language is this? This is the language of absolute abundance. Do you see that? And how much do they have? Or we might ask, how much spiritual fuel is in their spiritual gas tank? An abundance. So much, according to verse 8, that they will absolutely reach their destination. Jesus Christ “will sustain you to the end”.

So recognizing this theme or this thread present in the opening paragraph of the letter, we have to ask why? Why does Paul begin this letter in this way? Well, when you go on to read the rest of the letter, I think wonderfully, graciously, lovingly, Paul begins this way in order to reassure, but also confront, these believers about their mentality of lack. Right out of the gate, the Apostle wants to establish the fact that every true church is a wealthy church (and they certainly are a true church ...Paul confirms in v. 6 that God's power to save through the gospel was, in fact, “confirmed among them”)(in 1:2, he calls them “called”, “sanctified”). Let me suggest that there are two ways we seem him tackling this mentality of lack among the Corinthian disciples.

First, Paul warns them about the the turnings that take place when we are ruled by a mentality of lack. As we will see clearly in the coming months, failing to grasp or forgetting their true wealth, these disciples began to turn to things like worldly wisdom (1:20), to worldly tolerance (5:1), and even to worldly judges (6:1). They also began to turn inward, cultivating pride (4:6). This then led to factions within the church, as many turned against one another (1:11). You see, when God's people are corporately ruled by a mentality of lack, they will always be tempted to turn away, to turn to other things in order to meet their felt or perceived needs. But...

Second, Paul encourages them by explaining the nature of their true wealth. Instead of letting worldly categories tempt them into a mentality of lack, Paul reminds that they have real power in the gospel of Jesus (1:18); that they are now privy to the “secret and hidden wisdom of God” (2:7); that they are, in fact, a temple of the Holy Spirit (3:16); that they, astonishingly, will judge angels (6:3); that everything in the Hebrew Scriptures was “written down for [their] instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” (10:11); that they are the body of Christ (12:27); that because of Jesus, they will have the victory, even over death (15:57).

This letter is not about Paul calling these believers to come and get something they don't have. It's about Paul helping them to rightly, correctly, wisely use the wealth that is already theirs, by the grace of God. Just like the financially rich and poor churches I described out the outset, it's easy to lose sight of the true nature of kingdom fruitfulness, and even before that, the true nature of kingdom wealth. Kingdom fruitfulness doesn't depend on our money or materials (though they have some value). It depends instead on the wealth that Paul refers to here.

For example, in chapter 6, Paul chastises these believers for going to the civil authorities to settle their disputes. But as Paul explained to them in 1:5, they have been “enriched in... all speech and all knowledge”. That means they already have the knowledge and the words they need to handle that situation. How? Why? They have it in the gospel, in the example of Christ, in the sacred Scriptures, in the Holy Spirit, and in the diversity and true unity of God's people.

And when, in chapters 12-14, Paul confronts the church's warped views on spiritual gifts, especially the gift of tongues, he does this having already told them in our main passage that they... together... “are not lacking in any gift”. These differing gifts were not lacking because they weren't a certain kind of gift. Similarly, these gifts were not lacking because they didn't seem supernaturally impressive enough. That was their impoverished mentality, their mentality of lack manifesting itself, tempting them to feel either boastful or inadequate about their gifts; and as a result, creating deep divisions within the church. But again, Paul wants them to know, right from the outset, “that in every way you (plural) were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge”.

III. The Reality of Gospel Abundance

We could go on... we could go on to talk about how the riches of our gospel speech and gospel knowledge are seen as worth-less in the eyes of the world; as impoverished in light of worldly speech and worldly knowledge. But we'll save that for a future message. What we must do instead is talk about our mentality of lack. Though it will most likely look different than it did in this far-away and long-ago church, how might we be suffering in the same way?

When you think of Way of Grace, do you think of this church as rich or poor? As wealthy, or as lacking? And if it isn't clear by now, I'm not talking about what's in our bank account. From your estimation, are there ways in which we are lacking, that keep us from being effective for the kingdom of God? Or... has the grace of God been given to us, in that we are enriched in all speech and knowledge, so that we are not lacking in any gift?

To be clear, there were things lacking in the church of Corinth, right? They lacked unity. Some lacked humility. They lacked perspective in certain matters. They lacked knowledge on certain matters. In some cases, they lacked courage to do what needed to be done. Worst of all, and too often, they lacked love; genuine, Christ-like love. But none of that changed the wealth that, by grace, was theirs in Christ. So spiritually wealthy churches still need correction and support. But to the degree that many of them (or any of them) believed that some special wisdom, that some critical knowledge, that some superlative gift, that some charismatic leader, or some strategy of cultural relevance would truly make them effective for Christ, they were operating out of a mentality of lack, rather than the reality of our gospel abundance.

Brothers and sisters, if we are a true church, then we are a wealthy church. Amen? If we know the power of the gospel, if the Scriptures are for us, if we exist for one Father (8:6), and have become a temple of the Holy Spirit (3:16), and truly are the body of Jesus Christ (12:27), if we have the mind of Christ (2:16), then we are richly equipped for kingdom impact. We can't say, “I just don't know enough”. We can't say, “I just don't have the right words”. We cannot say, “That's not my spiritual gift”. When you feel that way, you need to let Paul's opening words here reassure you. For a church that was struggling to the degree that this church was struggling, isn't it beautiful that Paul begins with these powerful words of reassurance? We need these words as well!

What's even more beautiful, and what we can't miss, is that Jesus is literally in every single verse in this passage. Verse 4, “Christ Jesus”, (v. 5) “in him”, (v. 6) “Christ”, (v. 7) “our Lord Jesus Christ”, (v. 8) “our Lord Jesus Christ”, (v. 9) God's “Son, Jesus Christ our Lord”. Wow! The wealth we've been talking about this morning, it's only ours because it was secured by Christ's own blood. We could never earn and in no way deserve these riches. That's why Paul begins in v. 4 by talking about “the grace of God” that was given to us. And how long will our cup “runneth over”? How far will this grace take us? (v. 8) To “the end”. To “the day of our Lord Jesus”. Though some misunderstand, and even abuse the idea of “once saved, always saved”, it is nevertheless a biblical truth. As we see in v.9, “God is faithful”. He has called us “into the fellow-ship of his Son”, a risen Savior who will not lose even one (John 6:39). Again, such wealth!

Friends, what will it look like for you to operate today, this week, not from a mentality of lack, but in light of your gospel abundance? What will it look like for all of us, as Way of Grace, to operate with this mentality of abundance? We need to talk about and encourage one another in these things, don't we? Regardless of our bank account (or any other earthly metric), we are a truly blessed people, enriched by grace, and not lacking in any gift. As we are individually and corporately led by Jesus our head, may we use those gifts to see lives changed.