READING TIME: 2 MINUTES
October 28, 2019
David, does 1 Corinthians 1:8 teach that every true believer will live a blameless life to the end?
In verses 4-9, Paul does not express gratitude for the Corinthians’ spiritual response to God, for it was not commendable. During this series of statements of divine accomplishment in 1 Corinthians 1:4-9, Paul makes a magnificent promise of God’s grace in verse 8, namely, that the Lord would maintain the judicial and positional forgiveness of each Corinthian saint in Christ until the end of their earthly lives.
In light of the Corinthians’ notorious carnality, the blamelessness Paul speaks of in verse 8 must refer to the positional, judicial forgiveness every child of God possesses today in Christ, which is received at the moment of justification and new birth. The Lord promises judicial forgiveness in several passages of Scripture, saying that He will no longer remember the believer’s sins (Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 38:17; Micah 7:19; Hebrews 8:12; 10:17). Of course, God is omniscient and does not forget sin, so this figure of speech must be indicating that He does not hold the believer’s sins against him in the sense of condemning or punishing him.
The word “blameless” in this verse is a legal term. Since Paul has very little positive to say to the Corinthians about their walk with the Lord, he chooses in the introductory section of 1:4-9 to emphasize God’s work on behalf of the Corinthians and their standing or position in Christ. Even though they were not persevering in faithfulness to God, the promise of divine preservation still applied to these carnal Christians—that Christ “will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:8). The italicized words “that you may be” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to make the English read more smoothly. Thus, verse 8 is not stating a mere possibility for the Corinthians; it is issuing an ironclad promise from God.
The phrase “to the end” refers twice in the immediate context to the return of Christ at the Rapture. Since Paul and the first-century church lived with the expectation that Jesus Christ could come back at any moment, believers’ earthly lives were expected to end at the time of Christ’s coming, when they would be instantaneously resurrected and glorified to meet the Lord in the air at the Rapture. When the promise of 1 Corinthians 1:8 is compared to the Corinthians’ track record of carnality, it is clear that verse 8 is promising preservation without the manmade requirement of perseverance for final justification. Progressive/practical sanctification is certainly desired, but not automatic or guaranteed!
Source Used
Stegall, Tom. Must Faith Endure for Salvation to Be Sure?: A Biblical Study of the Perseverance versus Preservation of the Saints. Grace Gospel Press.