A Model of Thanksgiving

As we begin our study this morning, I invite you to turn in your Bibles to First Corinthians. This is the first of two letters written by the Apostle Paul to Christians in the city of Corinth.

Last week, we started a series looking at the prayers of the Apostle Paul. We looked at his prayers in his letter to the Romans, and today, we will be looking at the prayers in First Corinthians.

In studying Romans, I found eight passages that gave us some insight into Paul’s prayer life, so in coming to First Corinthians—which is also divided into 16 chapters—I figured the number of passages would be similar. If there was a significant difference in the prayers of Paul for the Romans and the Corinthians, I assumed that Paul would have prayed more fervently for the Corinthians, and that would mean more prayers for them in his letter.

The church of Rome had it’s own problems and threats, but the problems in Corinth were much more severe. In fact, it seems like Paul was trying to keep the Roman church from falling to the level of the Corinthian church. Corinth was in a much more dangerous place, so, I figured we’d have more prayers in that letter. But I was wrong.

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians only includes one major prayer at the beginning, and two shorter prayers in the final chapters. In the providence of God, however, his first prayer is a prayer of thanksgiving, which seems appropriate for this coming week.

Giving thanks is not natural for many of us. We find it much easier to complain and to be discontent, and it’s not difficult to find people who will agree with us.

Well, Paul would have had many reasons to grumble over the church in Corinth, and that’s part of the motivation for this letter. He’s writing to address a number of problems. But before he gets into all of that, Paul begins by giving thanks. It’s a short, simple prayer, but it’s an important reminder and example for us about what should characterize our thanksgiving. And I mean more than just the holiday; I’m talking about how we give thanks to God any time during the year and during the day.

Today, we’re going to see some pretty basic or foundational elements of giving thanks, but all of us need to be reminded about them from time to time.

Let’s start by reading his prayer from First Corinthians 1:4-9. First Corinthians, chapter 1, verses 4-9. Very short, but so profound.

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, [5] that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— [6] even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— [7] so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, [8] who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. [9] God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

What we see in this prayer is a simple pattern, or a simple reminder, for giving thanks. Based on what God has given us in the word of Paul, let me give you four reminders about true thanksgiving. What is God looking for?

Number one, God is looking for Christian thanksgiving. Christian thanksgiving.

What is Christian thanksgiving? Let me unpack that by looking a little more closely at Paul’s prayer. He shows us what that is.

First of all, Christian thanksgiving is directed toward God the Father. When Paul gives thanks, he’s not just saying “thank you” to the sky, or to the universe, or to some magical, mystical force. He states very clear the direction of his thanksgiving. He gives thanks to His God.

Today, people talk about being thankful or about feeling blessed, and the natural follow-up questions should be, “To whom are you thankful? Who has blessed you with this?” And it seems like a lot of people prefer not to answer it.

Well, Paul knew exactly whom it was he was supposed to give thank to. He gave thank to His God. Now, how did the God of all creation, the God who made the universe, the God who rules in perfect holiness, become Paul’s God and Father? The end of verse 4 gives us the answer.

Paul gives thanks because of the grace of God given in Jesus Christ. That’s the second component of Christian thanksgiving. Christian thanksgiving is directed toward God the Father. And secondly, Christian thanksgiving is rooted in what Christ has done.

Paul gives thanks, not just for what God has done in his own life, but for what God has done in the lives of other believers.

Are there Christians in this world, or even in this church, who annoy you? Who make your life unnecessarily difficult for you? Who seem to cause more problems than they solve?

I think Paul could have said that about the Corinthian church. They were marked by division, by idolatry, by immorality and foolishness, but as he starts his letter, he begins with giving thanks for them. Why?

Because even though he could see the problems in the church, even though he knew what the Corinthians were doing wrong, that was infinitely outweighed by what God had done.

That’s a powerful principle for prayer and thanksgiving. You and I need to be more focused on what God has done than on what others have done. The foolishness, or the stubbornness, or the sin, of any person cannot compare with the infinite grace of God shown to them in Jesus Christ.

Every time you pray for a brother or sister in the Lord, you have an opportunity to give thanks for them. Before you get into the problems they’re facing, or the problems they’ve caused, stop and give thanks for the amazing grace God has shown them.

God sent His Son to live the life none of us could ever live. And then Jesus willingly laid down His life; He died a horrible, painful death so that He could pay the price of sin and satisfy what God’s justice demands. Jesus, the perfect Son of God, came to trade places with sinners. He placed Himself under the wrath and the justice of God so that those who would trust in Him would never have to face that.

And then, to prove the glory of what He had accomplished, Jesus rose again on the third day. And He places His Spirit in all who trust in Him. This is the grace of God given to us in Christ Jesus.

If you have confessed your sinfulness to God and surrendered your life to Jesus, and if you are trusting in Him alone for salvation, that grace is yours.

And if you will do that today, God will give you this grace. God commands you today to recognize your sin before Him. Recognize that you cannot save yourself. Trust only and fully in Jesus Christ for eternal salvation.

Do that today, and God will forgive you and make you His child. If you have any questions about that, or want to learn more, any member of our church, myself included, would be glad to talk to you about it. It would be a joy to see someone new come have a heart of Christian thanksgiving.

True Christian thanksgiving is directed to God the Father for what He has done for His people through Jesus Christ. How can any Christian ever say he has nothing to be thankful for? And how can any of us ever say we don’t know what to pray for a brother or sister in Christ? Give thanks for what God has done.

Now, in verse 4 of Paul’s prayer, we see a second element of thanksgiving, and it’s a second reminder for us as well. We want to have Christian thanksgiving, and secondly, we want to have continual thanksgiving. Continual thanksgiving.

This also comes from verse 4. How often is Paul giving thanks for what Christ has done in the lives of the Corinthians? He gives thanks always.

On numerous occasions, God’s word tells us that we need to be marked by continual thanksgiving and joy. And I’m going to share those New Testament verses with you.

In Ephesians 5:20, as Paul talks about being filled with the Spirit, he says we should be giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Philippians 4:4, we’re told to rejoice in the Lord always. And, by the way, the Greek word for rejoicing is related to the Greek word for giving thanks. They’re related ideas rooted in the grace of God.

First Thessalonians 5 says: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Again, we are commanded to be thankful and rejoice continually.

Second Thessalonians 1:3—We ought always to give thanks to God. Second Thessalonians 2:13—We ought always to give thanks to God. Paul always gave thanks for His brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Lastly, Paul says to Philemon in verse 4—I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers.

God did not intend for thanksgiving to simply be one day on our calendar. It’s supposed to be a continual attribute in our lives. So, if you are a Christian, you should ask yourself: Am I a joyful and grateful person? Do I give thanks to God all the time? Or am I more marked by discontentment and complaining?

If you want to get a good answer to that question, ask your spouse, or a close friend. See what they tell you.

Rejoicing and giving thanks all the time doesn’t mean you aren’t going to address problems, but it does affect the disposition you take as you do so. Before Paul started correcting the Corinthians, he gave thanks for them. And he did it all the time. May God help us all give Him continual, Christian thanksgiving.

Coming to verse 5, now, we see the dominant theme in Paul’s prayer, and this is the third attribute of his prayer. Paul gives Christian thanksgiving. He gives continual thanksgiving. Number three, he gives comprehensive thanksgiving. Comprehensive thanksgiving.

It’s one thing to simply say, “Thank you” in a generic way, but Paul does more than that. In his prayer, He unpacks the grace of God for the Corinthians. He wants the church to have a complete understanding and appreciation of the grace of God.

Look at verses 5-7 again withe me. Here’s what he says about the grace of God they have received and for which he gives thanks—that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— [6] even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— [7] so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ

The main verb in that section, Paul’s main emphasis here, is that the Corinthians have been enriched. These aren’t physical blessings, but they are spiritual riches that they’ve received through Jesus Christ. Upon receiving the grace of God in Christ Jesus, Christians are also enriched in Him.

What kind of riches do we get? It’s a comprehensive enrichment. Verse 5 says they are enriched in every way, in all speech, and in all knowledge. There is no area in their life that it not affected by what Christ has done for them. They have a new way to speak and a new way to think.

How did they get that? Verse 6 tells us. It all happened as the testimony about Christ, that is the message of Jesus, was confirmed among them. As they came to hear and believe in the gospel, they received the Spirit of Jesus. And with that they got spiritual gifts enabling them to serve God.

As a result, verse 7 says, they are not lacking in any gift.

Because of what God has done for the church in Jesus Christ, Christians have everything they need to serve God and fulfill His purpose in the world. We’re not missing anything. We’re not waiting to enter into some second level of worth or usefulness. We have everything we need.

It’s like opening the box you bring home from IKEA. All the pieces are there. You’ve got everything you need. You just need to start following the instructions and putting it together.

Sometimes we can, individually as a Christian, or collectively as a church, look at someone else, or some other church, and think, “Well, look at what they have. No wonder God is using them. I don’t have anything. If I had what they have, I’d be doing amazing things too.”

The problem isn’t what you have versus what they have. It could be how you put your gifts to use, or how you’re trying to measure success and effectiveness. But there is no such thing as a second-level Christian. Every Christian and every church has everything it needs to serve God and fulfill His plan for their lives.

You have everything you need to serve God and please Him. And our church has everything we need to be effective for the glory of God. We’re not missing anything. We have been given a comprehensive grace of God. We have been enriched in every way. We need to remember that, and we need to give thanks for it.

Now, as Paul’s prayer comes to close, he turns our attention to our future hope. In the past, we received the grace of God in salvation. In the present, we have everything we need to minister. And one day, in the future, the Lord Jesus Christ will return for us. God’s redemption will be complete. There will be a new heavens and a new earth, and sin will be completely destroyed.

That’s what Christians are waiting for. The past and present manifestations of God’s grace are a promise and a taste of a future grace. That’s what Paul mentions at the end of verse 7, and then he continues on that theme in verses 8 and 9.

Speaking of Christ, Paul says—[He] will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. [9] God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

God the Son and God the Father will faithfully sustain us until the end. For God’s children, final glorification is not simple a possibility; it is a guarantee. That word “sustain” or “confirm” in verse 8 is the same word as “confirm” in verse 6. Just like we know God’s word to be true, and just like we know it’s going to be fulfilled, and just like we’ve seen it work in our own lives—we know that Christ will hold us and preserve us in His power and mercy.

And this leads us to a fourth and final characteristic of thanksgiving we should have. There should be Christian thanksgiving. There should be continual thanksgiving. There should be comprehensive thanksgiving. And lastly, there should be confident thanksgiving. We should give thanks with confidence.

When you mediate on the glorious blessings you’ve been given in Christ, you don’t need to be afraid that it might be lost one day. We might not get all the earthly things we’re hoping for, but every blessing we face in this life is a glimpse, or a preview, of a final blessing that is guaranteed for us.

First Peter 1 says we have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for [us], [5] who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

The Apostle John says he wants us to know that we have eternal life. We are to live and to give thanks with certainty, with confidence, not with some sinking feeling that we might lose everything we’ve been given.

Along those lines, I’d like you turn with me to 1 Corinthians 15:57. This is one of those short prayers at the end of the letter. Paul is talking about the final resurrection and victory of God’s people. And in praise to God, he gives another confident thanksgiving. First Corinthians 15:57—[sin and death are powerful] but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Learn to say that every day. When life is hard. When money is tight. When relationships are strained. When you feel like you have more reasons to complain that to praise God. Or when a brother or sister is facing a difficult time. Just say, “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

That’s confident thanksgiving, and we need to do it more often. We need to remember what God has promised us. We need to remember what is waiting for us. We need to remember that Holy Spirit is a guarantee of more to come.

God is faithful. He has united us to the Son right now. Like verse 9 says, we were called into fellowship with Jesus, and that fellowship will endure for eternity. How can we not be people who give thanks to God always with joy and with confidence for what He’s done, for what He’s doing, and for what He will do?