“I’m a little foggy on the meaning of this passage. ‘That in everything ye are enriched by Him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you’ (I Cor. 1:5,6).”

The key to understanding this passage is to remember that Paul was writing to the Corinthians during the transition period. The apostle was showing them how they had been enriched by the Lord when He imparted to them the supernatural gift of tongues (utterance) to communicate Paul’s gospel, and the gift of knowledge that they might more fully understand the will of God (I Cor. 12:4-11). This is confirmed for us in the very next verse where Paul said to them, “So that ye come behind in no gift” (I Cor. 1:7). These miraculous gifts were the “testimony of Christ” that was confirmed in them. This was a demonstration that God was now working among the Gentiles. Thus we are introduced by the Apostle Paul to a new creation, which is the Church, the Body of Christ.

Once the Body of Christ was established in the faith, and the Word of God was completed by Paul (i.e., the Mystery), the supernatural sign gifts of the Acts period ceased (I Cor. 13:8-11 cf. Col. 1:25,26). God has replaced these gifts with something infinitely better: faith, hope, and love (I Cor. 13:13). Subsequently, if you want to know the will of God for this present age you must turn to Paul’s epistles for guidance. This is also true as you live for Him day by day

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

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