(A) Introduction. (Read the reference)

These few verses read very much like a testimonial. I have written several of these through the years. A testimonial is invariably positive in tone and summarises the good qualities of an individual. Insofar as Paul is writing about a church, perhaps, it would be truer to say his words are similar to a summary of an organisation's strengths in a report on that organisation.

(B) Paul's account of the assets of the church at Corinth.

(1) Their qualifications
When a team of inspectors write a report on, for example, a school they deal with the qualifications of the staff. In England it is a cause for concern that Science and Mathematics are taught in so many Secondary Schools by teachers with minimal qualifications in these subjects.

The Corinthians qualified as Christians because of his (God's) grace given them in Christ Jesus. v4. They did not qualify as believers by being disciples of Paul - by being educated by him. Paul was very much aware of his own inadequacy. When Paul entered Corinth he was overwhelmed by the challenge facing him. Wickedness abounded in the city. Paul preached Christ crucified and God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believed. v21. The wayward, wicked Corinthians were transformed through belief in the Lord Jesus Christ - saved by grace and through faith - and adopted into the family of God.

It is a very real strength when the vast majority of those attending a church are genuine, born again believers. In Britain numerous church congregations contain many who remain strangers to God's grace and the Holy Spirit's work of regeneration. Needless to say hybrid fellowships often lack vitality and spiritual zeal.

(2) Special aptitudes
A school or hospital may be noteworthy for some special expertise. A school, for instance, could be renowned for performing arts or sport. Papworth Hospital near Cambridge has a worldwide reputation for heart surgery.

Paul wrote that the Corinthian Christians were enriched in every way .... because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. v5and6. Paul promised those who listened to him preach the gospel that by believing in Jesus they would receive God's Holy Spirit. The Christians at Corinth were enriched by the Spirit and were gifted in speech and knowledge. For in him you have been enriched in every way - in all your speaking and in all your knowledge .... . v5.

The believers at Corinth were articulate and well informed. Now it is true that in many churches there are people with the gift of the gab. Sadly many who have so much to say are remarkably ill informed about spiritual matters - nor are they willing to listen and learn! There are others who are knowledgeable and wise but say very little. Sometimes they keep quiet because what they say will be very badly received. I am aware that most of the Christians I am in fellowship with want to believe that God made everything in 6 days. They are not interested in an interpretation of the first few chapters of Genesis that makes the creation account compatible with the findings of Science. See article on Creation. So I keep quiet on the subject.

What did the existence of articulate, well informed Christians make the Corinthian church? It was:

(a) Stimulating. Paul wrote later in his epistle: Now for the matters you wrote about .... Cor7v1. The Corinthians asked Paul lots of questions. A schoolteacher knows that pupils are vitally interested in, and thinking about, his subject if they ask questions. The more the better! I got asked very few questions during my 37 years as a teacher! So it was a very good sign that Christians at Corinth questioned Paul. They were hungry for information.

It wasn't dull in the Corinthian Church - anything but! There are plenty of churches where it is far from exciting and stimulating. There is no spirit of enquiry and no thirst for knowledge. If spiritual life be likened to a fire - it barely smoulders in some fellowships.

Paul played his part in fostering the stimulating atmosphere in the Corinthian Church. In his letters to Corinth he addressed issues of immediate relevance to the Christians there. I heard recently of a church in Suffolk with an American pastor who is working his way through the Jewish festivals and boring his dwindling congregation to death.

(b) Edifying. There were lots of preachers and teachers in the Corinthian Church. They were so eager to speak that they all spoke at once! Paul had to tell them: For you can all prophecy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 1Cor14v31.

It is healthy if there are several different preachers in a church and they are all given the opportunity to speak. I am afraid that this is the exception rather than the rule! Gifted laymen do not get much opportunity to preach in Roman Catholic churches and even among Nonconformists the pastor does the bulk of the speaking. The early church was nothing like this. Anyone with the gift was able to address their fellow Christians. A lot has been lost to the 'cult of the professional'.

(c) Demanding. The articulate, well informed Christians in the sophisticated, cosmopolitan city of Corinth expected the highest standards of their leaders. The apostle Paul did not quite measure up. He wrote with some bitterness: For some say, "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing." 2Cor10v10.

Christians today have this very much in common with the Corinthians. I was talking recently to a Suffolk farmer who said, "What we need is more men like Pastor Winsome with warm, attractive personalities. Just take poor old Billy Boring; he's got no personality at all and will never attract a congregation." Needless to say my farmer friend attended the church of Pastor Winsome - a fellowship that has not grown by people in the locality being converted but through attracting ready-made Christians from other causes. It seems to me that the more inactive and dependent believers become the more demanding they are of their leaders.

(d) Arrogant. The gifted Corinthians thought more highly of themselves than they should. Paul rebuked them: Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings - and that without us. 1Cor4v8. Some of you have become arrogant. v18.

It is possible for gifted, talented Christians who are articulate, confident and persuasive to attract a following and to become arrogant. It is not unknown for a successful church to be self-congratulatory and pleased with itself. In my experience well supported churches do not provide much, if any, help for small and struggling ones. Their attitude to the declining, dispirited fellowship tends to be: "You'd be better off closing down and joining with us." When this happens there are inevitable casualities - some old, vulnerable, isolated Christian gets forgotten about and abandoned.

The Corinthians were fortunate. Paul wrote: Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift. v7. Paul deals with the gifts of the Spirit in chapter 12. The church had visits from the apostles and within its ranks there were prophets, teachers, workers of miracles, healers, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration and many who spoke in different kinds of tongues.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to belong to such a church! The small cause I attend is remarkably short of some of these gifts. Yet, as we shall discover, for all the gifts represented in the church at Corinth it was a very flawed fellowship.

(4) Motivation
The motivation of staff is very important to any organisation. So, too, is what motivates them. Not all motives are worthy! I have noticed recently that my doctor is very keen to get my blood pressure and cholesterol levels down. Can it be a coincidence that the government has set doctors targets to reduce these in their patients and made pay part dependent upon meeting targets? School teachers may be motivated by the three P's - pay, promotion and pupil performance. Thankfully there are probably still a great many professionals who simply wish to do their work to the best of their ability.

So what motivated the Christians at Corinth? Paul wrote of them: You eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. v7. They lived in the expectation of Christ's return and were active in his service.

Jesus warns his followers to be prepared for his second coming by diligently doing their duty. We should be like servants left by the owner of a large house in charge of the property until the day of his return. Jesus said: "If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch'. Mk13v36. A strong conviction that we will be held accountable for what we have done and what we have left undone on the return of Jesus will keep us from growing weary in well doing.

(C) Paul's forecast for the future.

A testimonial will usually contain a brief statement of the expectations of the writer. I might indicate in a testimonial about Sally Smith that in the future I expected her to be a loyal, hardworking and cheerful employee.

Paul had high hopes for the Corinthians. He wrote: He (God) will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. v8.

(1) Paul's expectation.
(a) Paul was confident that the Christians at Corinth will be kept strong to the end. It is not absolutely clear what Paul means but he is probably affirming that the Corinthian believers will stand firm in the faith, remain useful in service and continue to witness powerfully throughout their lives.

It is remarkable how many of the Christians I have known that have been kept strong to the end. In the four months from December the small fellowship at Brockley lost three members to death. Three lights went out. But I am happy to say that notwithstanding great physical frailty my trio of Christian friends remained strong to the end. One of the last things Henry, of whom I wrote in my previous exposition, said clearly to his wife before he died was, "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine."

He quoted the first line of Fanny Crosby's famous hymn and I can think of no better words to sum up Henry's life than the concluding verse:

Perfect submission all is at rest
I in my Saviour am happy and blest
Watching a waiting, looking above,
Filled with his goodness, lost in his love.

Lord in all our doings guide us;
Pride and hate shall ne'er divide us;
We'll go on with Thee beside us
And with joy we'll persevere.

(2) The basis of Paul's hope.
Paul summarised the ground of his hope when he wrote: God who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

(1) It was God who called the Corinthian Christians into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. It was in God's will and purpose that many in Corinth became believers in Jesus. It must be said in all honesty, notwithstanding my dislike of Calvinism, that we have much greater assurance of forgiveness of sins and receiving eternal life if we are Christians by God's selection and invitation rather than by our own choice alone.

In my town of Bury St Edmunds lots of courses are run by the West Suffolk College of Further Education. Anyone can attend the majority of these courses by their own choice until they are fully subscribed. There is no selection procedure. Now the sad fact is that relatively few who sign on for a course actually complete it. There is a huge wastage. This is not the case for those who are selected to attend one of the London or Cambridge University Colleges. You cannot become a member of University College London by your own choice - the college authorities choose you! In doing so they make a commitment to you. In my day at U.C.L. Dr Eric Brown had a pastoral role - maintaining discipline and keeping us up to the mark. Only one girl dropped out.

God in calling us and choosing us does watch over us and will both protect and discipline us.

(2) It is an inestimable privilege to be in fellowship with God's Son - the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Christian's friend. There are some friends whom we admire and love that we never want to lose. What a tremendous blessing to have Jesus as our friend. If we are sensible of this it will certainly help us to remain faithful to the journey's end.

I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.

(3) God is faithful - faithful to his redeeming purpose. He is not likely to abandon lightly those for whom his Son died. God our Saviour will not disown us at the judgement. Paul wrote words of great comfort to the Romans: If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all .... how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Rom8v31to33.

I very much like the sentiments expressed in this hymn of William Dickinson:

Hallelujah who shall part
Christ's own church from Christ's own heart?
Sever from the Saviour's side
Souls for whom the Saviour died?
Dash one precious jewel down
From Immanuel's blood-bought crown?

A testimonial stresses the positives. If I write a testimonial for someone I put down all I can in favour of that individual. So my omissions are very significant. It would not help a person applying to work in a bank if there was nothing in their testimonial about personal honesty. A Geography graduate would be unlikely to find a job as a teacher if his references said nothing about his social skills.

So what does Paul leave out in his brief but heartfelt words of thanksgiving for the Church at Corinth. There is nothing about love! In several of his other epistles he comments upon the love shown by the members. For example, he wrote to the Ephesians: For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. Eph1v15. The same is true in his letters to Colossae, Philippi and Thessalonica.

There was a lack of love in the Corinthian Church. That is the greatest and most serious omission of all. It resulted in many of the problems that Paul went on to address. Spiritual gifts although to be profoundly desired were no substitute for love. Paul had to write to the Corinthians: And now I will show you the most excellent way. 1Cor12v30.

What Paul wrote remains true today. A church can be successful, growing, packed with talented Christians and led by a preacher of immense eloquence and erudition but if its members lack love there is absolutely no gain.