Would the Corinthians have stood blameless if Jesus returned right after Paul wrote 1 Corinthians?
Yes. Scripture indicates that if the Lord had returned shortly after 1 Corinthians was received, the Corinthian believers would have stood before Him blameless. Paul states God would confirm them to the end, and this standing rests not on their performance but on grace, despite their failures and weaknesses.
Les explains that the testimony of Christ was confirmed, sealed, and settled in the Corinthians, so they came behind in no gift as they waited for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul writes that God would confirm them unto the end, that they might be blameless. Les calls this mind boggling: people like the Corinthians, with all their failures and weaknesses, if the Lord had come within a day or two after they received this letter, would they have stood before God shaking in their boots? No. Paul says if the Lord should come, they would stand before Him blameless. Yet they were not blameless. The basis for that standing is grace.
Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
More Questions
How could the Corinthians stand blameless before God despite their failures?
Even though the Corinthians had many failures and weaknesses and were not practically blameless, they would stand before God blameless if the Lord returned right then, and the basis for this is grace, not their own behavior.