I love Paul’s correspondence with the church in Corinth.
Corinth was a wealthy trade city. Its first century public market was bigger than any in Rome. By 50 a.d., when Paul visited, it was the most beautiful, modern and industrious city of its size in Greece, with temples that had been restored and enlarged, new shops, markets and government buildings and an amphitheater that sat 14,000 people. Most who lived there were Greek, but there also was no shortage of Roman soldiers.1
Addressing the first Christ-followers in Corinth, Paul drew their eyes from the wealth that surrounded them to the wealth God had placed inside them.
“In him you have been made extravagantly rich in every way. You have been endowed with a wealth of inspired utterance and the riches that come from your intimate knowledge of him. For the reality of the truth of Christ is seen among you and strengthened through your experience of him. So now you aren’t lacking any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the unveiling of the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One.”2
The “inspired utterance” Paul referred to were supernatural speaking gifts: prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues, preaching and teaching the word of God—all of which you and I enjoy today.
I mean, think about this stuff.
A “wealth of inspired utterance,” the Scriptures of Moses and the prophets, revealing the Son of God creating the earth and its sun and moon in a galaxy that numbers about four hundred billion stars like our sun and at least one hundred billion planets. And this massive display of stars and planets is merely one of between one and two hundred billion galaxies you could see through a Hubble telescope. Scriptures that recall Eden and the sin of Adam and Eve, which explains the sinful condition of man—why he is the way he is and does the things he does and how small and insignificant he is to everyone but the true God who created him and came to the earth as a man himself to be scourged and crucified in payment for all your sins and make you eligible once again to live forever with God.3
Think of “the riches that come from your intimate knowledge of him,” the ability to speak the words of our Creator, not only in your own language but also in foreign languages and even in languages of angels. And when angels speak to you, you have the ability, through the Holy Spirit, to understand them.
You also have the ability to teach the words of our Creator. Words of wisdom and revelation, faith, hope and love.
You have more truth than the greatest philosophy professor, more knowledge of the world than the most learned history professor and more wisdom than Socrates. It’s good to remember that from time to time, on rainy days and when life isn’t quite going your way. God made you awesome!
~ Artwork by Jeremy Bishop
1. Padfield, David, “The Biblical City of Corinth,” www.padfield.com, 2005.
2. 1 Corinthians 1:5-7.
3. Who do you say I am? Ron Brackin, 2019, pp. 4-5.
