What Does 1 Corinthians 1:4 Mean?
I give thanks to my God always concerning you, for the favor of God given to you in Jesus the Anointed One.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;THE KEY
The Greek word for “thank” shares its root with “grace,” so the verse’s gratitude already carries the favor it answers.
THE MEANING
God’s favor is reaching you through Jesus Christ, and gratitude rises as that gift is recognized. Favor comes first; thanksgiving is its response.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that gratitude earns God’s favor: here, favor is given first, and thanksgiving follows.
THE ROOT
εὐχαριστῶ
eucharistō
GROWS FROM
χαρ
char
Favor, grace, the root carried in Greek words for both grace and thanksgiving.
The verb translated “I thank” is built on charis, the same word translated “grace” later in the sentence. The line’s gratitude and favor are connected at the root: the thanks already carries the favor it answers.
ALSO GROWS
charis: Favor freely given.
χάρις
This is the word translated “grace” in the verse, revealing its shared root with “I thank.”
charizomai: To give as an expression of favor.
χαρίζομαι
It shows how the root moves from favor received to something freely given.
charisma: A gift or endowment given through favor.
χάρισμα
It echoes the verse’s picture of God’s favor as something given.
THE PATTERN
Received goodness turns into thanksgiving that names its source.
Extend your hands in thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his faithful love reaches to the ages.What shall I give back to the LORD for all he deals out to me?For all things are for your sake, so that the favor, multiplying through the many, might cause the thanksgiving to overflow, so that God may be given weight.THE THREAD
For all things are for your sake, so that the favor, multiplying through the many, might cause the thanksgiving to overflow, so that God may be given weight.Here, “grace” and “thanksgiving” appear together, and both Greek words carry the charis root. It makes explicit what 1 Corinthians 1:4 lets you hear inside “I thank”: thanksgiving rises from favor received.
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