I Corinthians 1:1

First Corinthians 1:1

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians who lived in the city of Corinth and he said to them in First Corinthians 1:1-2, "Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their’s and our’s."

Paul introduces himself as an apostle. He is presenting to the Christians at Corinth the basis for his authority. Why should they read this letter that Paul has written to them and consider it seriously? Because Paul was an apostle. The word "apostle" means one who is sent. Paul went to the Corinthians because he was sent to them. There was only one way to become an apostle, just as there is only one way to become a preacher, or a teacher, or an evangelist: to be called by God. If you are called by God to do one of these types of things then you will know. If you do not know, then you are not called. And if you are called by God, then you will be equipped and gifted to fulfill your calling. You will not be asked to do it with your own strength and abilities alone. Therefore, if you do not have the enabling or the gift to do the work, then you are not called either. Some have resisted the calling of God, but others have tried to go where they were not called. Both have failed to do God’s will.

But Paul did not resist the will of God, and therefore the Corinthians were given this letter through Paul the apostle in order to help them in their spiritual growth and in their Christian service. And because Paul did not resist the will of God, and because he went God’s way instead of his own way, 2,000 years later we still have the book of Corinthians as well as all the other epistles written by Paul to teach us and to guide us and to strengthen us. You never know what God might do through one person who surrenders to the will of God.

Paul identified those to whom he was writing in verse 2. He said in First Corinthians 1:2, "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their’s and our’s." Paul wrote to the church of God. He was writing to people. In the Bible when the word "church" is used, it is talking about people and never about a building. The word "church" in the Greek language means "those that are called out."

Jesus was the first one to use the word "church." When Peter said to Jesus, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God”, Jesus responded to Peter’s confession and said about the confession, "Upon this rock will I build my church." We should never call a building a church. The building may be the meeting place of the church, but the building is not the church.

Paul said that the church was sanctified in Christ Jesus. To be sanctified means to be set apart and to be made holy. Once you have been called out by the Lord, you automatically become a member of His church and you have the added benefit of being set apart by Him. Now you belong to God. He will take care of you, He has a purpose for you, and your final destiny will be to be with Him forever. Paul said that the believers were sanctified in Christ Jesus. The great privilege of being sanctified by God is not due to any goodness on the part of the believers, neither is it earned in any way. The position of being sanctified is obtained by grace through faith, and is due solely to the work of Christ and the death of Christ and the goodness of Christ. Notice also that all believers have the same benefit of sanctification. Those that are new in the faith or weak in the faith have the same standing as the apostles themselves, because all are sinners who are saved by grace.

Paul said that the believers were sanctified and he also said that they were saints. All the believers are saints, not just a few. You are a saint because of your spiritual standing and your relationship with Jesus. No one can ever earn sainthood, because true sainthood requires perfection. Because we cannot attain the saintly status that would be required to enter the kingdom of God, we are freely given the calling of saints. If God calls us saints freely and mercifully, then our goal should be to live as saints. The word "saint" means holy, separate from evil.

In First Corinthians chapter one Paul addressed the believers as a group by telling them what God has done for them. God has called them out from the world, God has set them apart as His special people, and God has called them saints: the holy ones. That is what God has done for us because of Jesus. Then Paul mentions something in First Corinthians 1:2 that the believers do as a result of the salvation that they have received from Jesus. Paul said that he was addressing "all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ out Lord." If you have been called out by God, and separated by God, and made one of His saints: then one of the sure evidences will be that you will call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. We call that prayer.

It may very well be that the first time that you really called upon the name of the Lord was when the Spirit of God came over you and introduced you to Jesus. Paul wrote to the Romans and said in Romans 10:13, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." You must call upon the name of the Lord to be saved, and one of the sure evidences that you have been saved is that you will keep calling upon the name of the Lord.

Paul said that he was writing to everyone that called upon the name of the Lord. A little later in the book of Corinthians we will see that Paul will address problems that had arisen among the Christians in Corinth, not the least of which was the problem of unwarranted divisions. There have been some divisions that have taken place among Christians and among churches that ought not to have taken place. You can read the prayer of Jesus in John chapter 17 and you will see that Jesus intended that His believers be united in their service to God. Jesus called the unity of the believers a oneness and He compared it to the oneness that He Himself had with the Father. Paul said that he was writing to "all that call upon the name of Jesus Christ out Lord," and he emphasized it by saying "both theirs and ours." Why should we be united: because we have the same Lord.

In just one verse of the Bible Paul teaches both the doctrine of the universal church and the doctrine of the local church. Every human who has lived on the earth since the time of Christ and who has believed in Jesus is a member of the church of Jesus Christ. That is the one true church: the universal church: the body of all believers. Those believers live in individual cities. They can be united in spirit with all those who believe, but they can only be united locally with those in their own city, and so Paul said that he was writing to the church of God which was at Corinth. That is the local church, which is limited by geographical and practical limitations, as far as assembling with and communicating with other believers.

Paul wrote in First Corinthians 1:3, "Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ." Paul hoped that good things would happen to these believers to whom he was writing. He prayed for them and desired for them the best. The best that he could hope for them was grace and peace. Some people think that God has blessed them if they acquire certain material benefits in this world. But Paul knew that there was something much more important: grace and peace.

We experience God’s grace when He does something for us that we cannot do for ourselves, when He gives us something on a spiritual level that we otherwise would not have, or when He enables us to do something that we otherwise would not be capable of doing. A Christian is totally dependent upon the grace of God. We are saved from our sins by grace, and then after being saved we need more grace in order to serve God in this world. Do not ever think that you must depend upon your own efforts and abilities. Instead you must always realize that you are dependent upon God’s grace to do what He wants you to do. There is always plenty of grace available. God has an unlimited supply of grace because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, so you have every reason to desire grace for yourself or to desire it for others the way that Paul did, and then to anticipate that it will be given.

Grace is not the only thing that believers need in abundant supply. We also need peace. Peace is one of those important commodities that cannot be purchased. No one could ever be happy with their lot in life if they did not have peace. The rich and powerful are miserable if they do not have peace and you will also be unable to enjoy your situation without peace. Life was meant to be enjoyed because God created life and gave it as a gift to man, but you will not be able to enjoy your life if you are troubled by anxiety or fear or anything else that keeps you from having peace. Jesus thought that peace was important. When He rose from the dead, one of the first things that He said to His disciples was, "Peace be unto you."

Faith and peace go together. If you have the right kind of faith, then you will also have peace. If you believe and consider that God is, and that He loves you, and that He is with you, and that He will take care of you, and that He will only allow things to happen for a purpose, and that no matter what happens to you: you can handle it because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, then you will have peace and no fear will take your peace from you. Only Christ can give you that kind of peace and for many situations that come your way in life you will need to have peace from God about it. It is a very good thing and a very important thing to desire peace for yourself and for others just like Paul did. Pray for peace.

Paul wrote in First Corinthians 1:4-5, "I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing you are enriched by Him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge." Paul said to the believers in Corinth that in everything they are enriched by Him. The word "enriched" is a word that was commonly used in the Greek language to refer to material riches, and it literally means to be made rich. But instead of talking about material riches, Paul continued by stating in what ways believers are enriched by God and he said "in all utterance, and in all knowledge."

This is a theme taught by Jesus and then by all the other writers of the New Testament: that spiritual things are much more important than material things, and much more valuable. Peter said, "Silver and gold have I none, but such that I have I give thee." Jesus said, "What shall it profit a man should he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?" And here Paul says that you are made rich by God if you have all utterance and all knowledge.

The word that is translated "utterance" is the Greek word that comes from "logos" and means "word." It truly is a gift from God when we say what we ought to say, and when we use the words that we ought to use. Many of the important things that happen to you in life will be a result of what you say and how you say it. Many of the worst sins committed by humans are a result of not controlling their tongue or their words. "The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity." Jesus warned us about the words that we use when we speak, and he said that those who are judged will be judged by their own words. If you say what you ought to say in a certain situation, then you know that you have been blessed by God, because no man can control his own tongue: it takes the blessings of God.

What we say is often a result of what we think or what we know. If I think about something, I will only then be able to speak about it. All actions and all speaking start with the thought process. To have any chance at doing what is right or saying what is right, we must first think about what is right and proper. To serve God we must understand certain spiritual things about serving Him, and those things are spiritually discerned as a result of spiritual communication with a spiritual God. If you know the words and if you have this knowledge from the Holy One, then you have been blessed indeed: you have won the spiritual lottery: you have been enriched by God with spiritual things that are of utmost importance: words and knowledge.

The Bible says in First Corinthians 1:6-7, "Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that you come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ." Once a person becomes truly converted to Jesus Christ, there will be certain results and certain evidences in the life of that person. One evidence will be a changed life. "If any man be in Christ he is a new creation. Old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new." Another result from coming to know Jesus Christ is that every believer is gifted in some way to serve God. The Bible says in Ephesians that when Christ ascended to heaven He gave gifts unto men. If you have come to know Christ, then in some way you have been gifted in order to participate in the work that God gives you to do. It is important for a believer to understand in what way and for what purpose they have been gifted by God, and then to be very careful that they exercise their gift for God’s glory. Paul wrote to Timothy and told him to "neglect not the gift that was given to him."

As students of the Bible we know that the return of Jesus Christ will be the great event of the future that will be an end to the history of mankind as we now know it. We hope for His return, we look for His return, and we wait for His return. But while we are waiting, we are expected to be doing certain things for Him. If you want to know what God wants you to do, then understand what the gift is that He has given you. Paul admonished the Corinthians and said, "...see that you come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of the Lord."

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