What is the meaning of 1 Corinthians 1:6? Setting the context Paul opens 1 Corinthians with thanks that believers in Corinth “have been enriched in every way, in all speech and all knowledge” (1 Corinthians 1:5). He reminds them that the grace of God evident in their lives validates the gospel he preached. Acts 18:1-11 records how Paul first delivered that gospel in Corinth; God told him, “I have many people in this city,” and Paul stayed eighteen months teaching the word (v. 11). By the time he writes this letter, their transformed lives stand as living proof that “the message of the cross…is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). “Our testimony about Christ” • Paul’s “testimony” is the simple, historical proclamation that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…was buried…was raised on the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). • He insists that he and his co-workers “did not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord” (2 Corinthians 4:5). • From the start, he presented the gospel “in weakness and in fear” so that faith would rest “not on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5). Cross references within this section—Romans 1:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:3-4—underline that Paul viewed his own message as God’s unchanging, authoritative truth. “Was confirmed in you” “Confirmed” means established as true, proven beyond doubt by evidence. How did that happen in Corinth? • Their conversion: Pagans turned from idols “to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9). • Spiritual gifts: Paul observes, “you do not lack any spiritual gift” (1 Corinthians 1:7). The miraculous operation of those gifts authenticated the gospel (Hebrews 2:3-4). • Perseverance under pressure: “You stand firm in the faith” (1 Corinthians 16:13), demonstrating a reality that mere words could never engineer. These visible, measurable changes showed that the gospel Paul preached was God’s own work; what he testified about Christ had taken root and borne fruit. Implications for the church today • The same gospel remains the sole standard. Any message that alters it is “a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all” (Galatians 1:6-9). • Evidence still matters. Genuine conversion manifests in new desires, obedience, and love (John 14:15; 1 John 3:14). • Spiritual gifts continue to confirm the gospel’s power when exercised biblically and lovingly (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 14:26, 40). • Every believer is a living letter “known and read by everyone” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3). The credibility of our witness rises or falls on whether Christ is being formed in us (Galatians 4:19). summary In 1 Corinthians 1:6 Paul reminds the Corinthians that the undeniable transformation God worked in them certified the truth of the gospel he proclaimed. Their changed lives, spiritual gifts, and steadfast faith put God’s seal of authenticity on Paul’s message. The church today inherits the same calling: to let Christ’s power be visibly “confirmed” in us, so the world sees that the testimony about Jesus remains true, living, and undefeatable. |
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