As I studied through 1 Corinthians 1:4-9, the concept of “the grace of God enriches our lives in everything” really hit me. I mean think about that! The grace that we were given in Jesus Christ can enrich everything – our speech – our knowledge – our testimony – EVERYTHING. If it is enriching everything, then according to verse seven, we are not lacking in any gift. I don’t know about you, but this truth gives me much food for thought.
“The grace of God enriches in everything…”
Think about the word enriches. According to the dictionary it is to make something rich or richer, especially by the addition or increase of some desirable quality, attribute, or ingredient. It is the process of adding or increasing the proportion of a desirable ingredient within something.
In the Greek language, the word used for enriches is (ploutizo), and it means to be richly furnished. But what I found especially noteworthy here is that (ploutizo) is used in the passive voice, meaning we are the receiver of the action. Having an increase in a desirable quality or attribute isn’t something we can accomplish on our own. It is the grace of God in our lives – the addition of the Spirit of God into us – that does the enriching.
Now let’s explore the word everything. The Greek word used here is (pas) and it includes several things. Check this out. The grace of God enriches us in our…
- Virtues (conformity to a standard of right; a capacity to act)
- Vices (a moral fault or failing; a habitual and usually trivial defect or shortcoming)
- Emotions (a conscious mental reaction (such as anger or fear) subjectively experienced as strong feeling usually directed toward a specific object and typically accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes in the body),
- Character (one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual),
- Condition (temper of mind; something essential to the appearance or occurrence of something else; a state of fitness or readiness for use); to indicate in every mode in which such virtue, vice, emotion manifests itself.
In verses 6 and 7 this God lists three major things that God highlighted where the “enriching” should be evident. (This part was “ouchie” for me).
IN SPEECH
The Greek word used for speech is (logos), and it refers to the kind or style of speaking; the words uttered. Often the “topic” of my speech is about God – about what I am studying, about what the Spirit is saying, about where I have seen God working around me, BUT then there are other times where my speech is peppered with negative talk or curse words. I don’t know about you, but this is so convicting to me! As I sit here thinking of the word “peppered” what comes to mind is how I am called to be salt, making people thirsty for God and preserving the goodness of God in this rancid culture I live in. Pause and ask yourself, is my conversation “seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6) or “peppered with perverseness”? The fact that the Spirit of God lives within us should be evident.
IN KNOWLEDGE
The Greek word for knowledge is (gnosis) and it means intelligence and understanding of the Christian “religion”. Let’s look at the dictionary definitions of those two words – intelligence (the ability to learn or understand or deal with new or trying situations; mental acuteness; comprehension) and understanding (the knowledge and ability to judge a particular subject or situation; a mental grasp; the power to make experience intelligible by applying concepts).
THINK ABOUT THAT!! “The ability to judge subject or situation” – if I allowed God’s grace to be effective in my life, for more than my salvation, I would be able to see the truth about subjects and situations and not get so worked up, causing the “pepper” in my speech. LIGHTBULB!! Just wow…
IN TESTIMONY
The Greek word for testimony is (martyrion), and it means: something evident; concerning Christ, the proclamation of the Gospel. This gives me a lot to ponder. “Something evident” ties back into the concept of the grace of God enriching “in everything” that we discussed earlier. Our faith should be evident to others.
First Corinthians 1:7 mentions that God’s grace enriches “so that I am not lacking in any gift” (emphasis mine). Let’s dissect that phrase. Not lacking (hystereo) is written in the passive meaning that Someone else is making sure that I’m not late, I’m not inferior, and I don’t fall short. The word any means Not! Even! One! The word gift (charisma) means a divine gratuity; extraordinary powers, distinguishing certain Christians and enabling them to serve the church of Christ, the reception of which is due to the power divine grace operating in their souls by the Holy Spirit. Bottom line – The Spirit of God within us makes us able to live a life where it is evident that the grace of God has enriched our lives. The Spirit enables, but we have to cooperate with Him (Ephesians 4:30).
So, what happens if we have read all this and come to the conclusion that this all isn’t the case for us? The “enriching in everything” isn’t evident in our lives. What is coming to mind is the battle Paul described in Romans 7:21-25.
“I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind,
and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
There is indeed a war raging in each and every person. God enriches in everything – that’s a given. He has given us His Spirit to help us to live in light of the grace He has extended us. But each of us has a choice to make – often moment by moment – as to whether we will use the gift of grace, in which there is no lack, allowing God to change us from the inside out.