Jesus Is Coming Again Pt. 5 Jesus Will Be Fully Revealed When He Comes Again.

Paul brings up the second coming of Jesus Christ in this paragraph of his first letter to the Corinthians.

Paul expressed thanks to God for the gifts He gave to Christians. 

1 Corinthians 1:4-6  I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;5)  That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 6)  Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 

We know Paul had to give many rebukes and corrective actions for this particular church. He begins by sharing what he is blessed to know about the Christians at Corinth, before he addresses their problems.

Each time that he prayed for this church, Paul thanked the Father for the manifestation of the grace of God in their lives. 

He is speaking more about the spiritual graces and gifts poured out on them by the Spirit of God. They were enriched by the Spirit's work. A Christian will always find our richest treasure is found in Jesus Christ. 

The apostle was thankful that all the truths of God relative to salvation, had been explicitly declared to them. They had all knowledge and perfectly comprehended the doctrines which they had heard. This was praiseworthy. 

He speaks of the church being enriched in all utterances, which seems to anticipate addressing the abuse of spiritual gifts.  

When God gives these two gifts of knowledge and utterances, He has given a great capacity for gospel ministry. Some may have the gift of communicating without proper knowledge, their conversation is barren. 

Some may have a treasure of knowledge, but do not have the gift of communicating it clearly. Thus, the gospel truth is veiled instead of made open and plain for all to understand. 

But, a man who is enriched in all utterances where God gives both gifts, is ready for great usefulness in gospel ministry.

Jesus confirmed gospel preaching with signs & wonders.

Mark 16:19-20  So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20)  And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. 

The testimony of Christ is the Gospel which the apostle had preached, and which had been confirmed by various gifts of the Holy Spirit, and miracles wrought by the apostle.

The end of Mark's gospel tells us that Jesus would confirm the preaching of His gospel with signs, and so it was at Corinth. 

God certified that those who preached the gospel were His spokesmen by signs, wonders and miracles, just as He did with the Old Testament prophets. 

Christians are to diligently wait for Jesus to come again.

1 Corinthians 1:7-9  So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8)  Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9)  God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 

This is the point where Paul references the second coming of Jesus Christ. 

Paul referred to the rapture of the church by using the word "coming" and he referred to the day of final judgment when Christ returns to the earth to judge all nations by using the words "day of our Lord Jesus."

Thus, Paul encompasses both truths about the second coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus will return at the rapture, for the first resurrection of life, and the transformation of all living saints. He will snatch us up to the clouds and take us to heaven.

The day of Jesus Christ, is the second resurrection, the resurrection of damnation, where all unbelievers will be judged for the sins, both the living and the dead. 

Every good gift and grace of God’s Spirit was possessed by the members of that Church, some having their gifts after this manner, others after that.

The idea of "waiting" refers to consciously anticipating and diligently waiting for Christ to come back again. 

The Greek verb implies that Christians will constantly expect Christ to come, not just for a certain period of time, but right up to the end, when the expected event happens.

It is the character of Christians that we are waiting for Christ's second coming. All of our faith and Bible doctrine places a strong emphasis on this.  

We believe it, and hope for it, and it is the purpose of our lives to prepare for it. 

The Greek word translated "coming" means that Christ, who is now in heaven, and invisible to our eyes, will be fully visible to us, when He comes to take us home to heaven. 

Jesus' coming is the idea of bringing to us a full disclosure of all the truth we have been taught about Jesus. What God's Word says about the Son of God will be on full display when we see Him.

Those who wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ will be kept by him, and confirmed to the end. 

Our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, will keep all the sheep of His pasture with all safety, care and provision, until that day we arrive in heaven's splendid pastures.  

Christ will present us blameless at the day of His return.  Positionally, we are fully justified before God right now.  Practically, we still live in a world of sin and still have our flesh. Therefore, we still need the gracious forgiveness and cleansing from God day by day. 

Our blamelessness before the throne of God is not in rigor of law, but from His rich and free grace. How wonderful it is for believers to be confirmed and kept by Christ for such a purpose as this!

And the more confirmed we are in the Christian faith, the more firm our belief is of our Lord's second coming, and the more earnestly we expect it.

Christ's return is sure because of God's faithfulness.

1 Corinthians 1:9  God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 

All of the encouraging hopes Paul had for the Corinthians, regarding the coming of Jesus Christ, were founded on the power and love of Christ, and the faithfulness of God.  

Philippians 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 

The apostle knew that He who had begun a good work in them and would not leave it unfinished until it was brought to completion. 

May these simple truths encourage us to keep on living for our Lord, as we patiently wait and watch for His return. 

Bob