- Paul gives thanks to God.
- 1:4; also e.g. Rom.1:8; Phil.1:5. It is not there in 1 Timothy, Titus (both personal letters) or Ephesians (a general letter, almost a treatise), and is replaced by horrified wonder in Galatians – Gal.1:6. But even in wayward Corinth, Paul can still give thanks to God.
- God equips a people.
- 1:5-7. In 1 Corinthians 12-14 Paul will criticise the Corinthians for misusing their gifts, but here he is grateful that God has granted them gifts.
- testimony in Acts 20:21, 24. The Corinthian church had received the gifts of speech and knowledge.
- God preserves a people.
- 1:8-9. The Old Testament looks ahead to a day of the Lord. The New Testament calls this ‘the day of our Lord Jesus Christ’.
- God will not lose any of His people – Phil.1:6; 1 Thess.5:24. Calvin says we make a judgment of charity concerning who is a Christian.
- if someone turns his back on Christ, the Bible would say he never really was a Christian. God is faithful and He preserves His own till the end.
- God has set apart a people for Himself, equipped them, and will preserve them until Christ comes again.