In his letter to the Corinthian Christians, Paul writes words that at first seem strange: he speaks of the testimony that was confirmed among them, or strengthened in them, if translated literally. What does he mean...
In his letter to the Corinthian Christians, Paul writes words that at first seem strange: he speaks of the testimony that was confirmed among them, or strengthened in them, if translated literally. What does he mean? The apostle also mentions the word and knowledge received by those who heard the testimony. It may appear that he is speaking of the new teaching Paul brought to the Corinthians and that they received.
But Christianity cannot be reduced to teaching alone. Of course, Jesus said many things to His disciples during His earthly ministry, yet He did not come in order to create a new teaching. He came to give the world the Kingdom. Christianity is not a new teaching, but a new life, life in that very Kingdom. This is life that must be received and must be established, strengthened in a person, and made his own, becoming an inseparable part of his existence.
Such life cannot be conveyed by words alone. What is needed here is testimony: the testimony of a person who himself lives the life of the Kingdom and can show visibly, by his own example, what that life is and how it is lived. This is exactly the kind of testimony Paul bore. In fact, this was his apostleship: an apostle is always a messenger who goes to testify to what he was sent to testify about.
He says nothing from himself; he is not a teacher or mentor, but only a witness to what he was commissioned to report. But if the matter is the life of the Kingdom, then to report it means to bring others into it, because no stories about the Kingdom are worth anything without participation in its life. Without such participation, all of them would mean no more than stories about a joyful life in a faraway beautiful country that the hearer will never see. Yet participation in the life of the Kingdom alone is still not enough.
One must live in the Kingdom, and in order to live its life, a person must change, spiritually and even physically, if participation in the Kingdom in all its fullness is in view. This is not a one-time act; it is a process, and a process that will be completed only with Christ's return in glory. Then what was only partly opened to those seeking the Kingdom at the beginning of the path will be revealed to them in all its fullness. And the path will end in meeting face to face with the One who brought the Kingdom into the world.
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1:9 God is faithful - To all his promises; and therefore "to him that hath shall be given." By whom ye are called - Apledge of his willingness to save you unto the uttermost.