27/08/2026
BEFORE YOU GIVE UP ON THE CHURCH
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:1–9
“God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:9
Quote:
“The Church is not a gallery for the exhibition of eminent Christians, but a school for the education of imperfect ones.”
Henry Ward Beecher
Devotion:
Paul thanks God for a church he is about to rebuke.
The church in Corinth was divided, morally compromised and spiritually proud. Its members quarrelled over leaders, misused spiritual gifts and brought disorder into worship. Yet Paul begins his letter by saying:
“I always thank my God for you.”
How could Paul thank God for such a church?
He was not celebrating their failures. He was recognising God’s grace at work among them. Beneath everything that was wrong in Corinth, there was still something their failures had not erased: they belonged to Jesus Christ.
We often judge the Church only by what is wrong with it. We see rivalry among leaders, hypocrisy among believers, scandals in ministry and divisions within congregations. These things must be confronted. Paul devoted much of this letter to confronting them. But he refused to speak as though human failure had defeated the grace of God.
His confidence was not in the Corinthians. His confidence was in God:
“He will also keep you firm to the end.”
The Church is sustained by more than the faithfulness of its members. She is sustained by the faithfulness of Christ. He corrects her because she belongs to Him. He disciplines her because He has not abandoned her. The presence of correction is evidence that God is still at work.
This passage also turns the question towards us. It is easy to identify what is wrong with the Church while overlooking what is wrong within us. Corinth was not an institution somewhere else. It was made up of believers whose pride, appetites and loyalties had not yet been fully surrendered to Christ.
Before you give up on the Church, remember whose Church it is. Before you condemn her failures, allow Christ to examine your own. And before you conclude that her best days are behind her, remember Paul’s assurance:
God is faithful.
Prayer:
Faithful God, forgive us where we have wounded Your Church. Correct what is wrong within us, restore our fellowship in Christ and keep us faithful until the end. Amen.
Benediction:
May God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son, establish you by His grace and keep you faithful until the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
