Being Agreeably One in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:10-11)

“Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you.” (1 Corinthians 1:10–11, NASB95)

Most churches have a Doctrinal Statement of Faith along with some other guiding principles for them as a local body of believers. While they may be closely aligned to countless other churches, these statements are adopted by the church and they serve as guiding positions to govern their oneness. And, in cases where there might even be some disagreement they might even have a statement somewhere in their governing documents that adds in some form, “In the interest of preserving doctrinal and practical unity, members shall not propagate, teach, nor manifest doctrines and practices that would be divisive or conflicting with the doctrinal positions approved of by the Elders.”

There are many distinctives aside from doctrine that mark churches. Some of them are their form of governance while others might be related to translation, tradition, culture, worship style, and even the frequency of the ordinance of Communion or how they conduct baptisms. In addition to these, there are all of the issues of personal preference. Any of these things can and do provide opportunities for disagreement, and sadly enough have been used to even split and close the doors of churches.

We are all charged with accurately handling the Word of God, and the leadership of the church is given a special charge in this regard as its shepherds and overseers. Scripture does have a great deal to say about how we are to walk with each other, particularly in areas of disagreement. While Paul would expand on the areas of disagreement and contention among the Corinthian believers both in the next few verses and the later chapters, Paul began with urging and instruction concerning an overriding principle that was to guide their interactions. That principle is the oneness that they shared in Jesus Christ. Paul wrote as an apostle of Jesus Christ, but here he invoked the very name of Jesus Christ to stress the urgency of the matter. In our culture today, it is common to hear God used in conversations in harsh, negative or scornful ways. One of those phrases that I thought of as I read this verse was, “For Christ’s sake, would you please just get along!” This was in essence what Paul was probably saying to them, though not as we so frequently hear it. “Considering who you are in Christ, stop your arguing and pursue oneness in Him.”

As we will see in the next few verses, factions had started to develop and allegiances were being formed. These factions and allegiances were leading to division and even argument. Paul wrote to them to look first to Christ and to the oneness that they shared in Him. Some of the other stuff he would walk through with them later in the letter, but from the get go they were to remember that it is God who called them, and it is God who is faithful to do the work in them that He started. They needed to be compliant in the process, and not fight against Him and each other.

The local church is more than a club with a constitution and bylaws that are subject to the discretion of man. The local church is a part of the greater church which is the body of Christ. And, as the church, we have all been given the Word of God as our foundation for doctrine and function. Doctrinal unity in the local church is particularly essential. Once we wiggle on that we put ourselves on a subjective slippery slope for the whims of any member or influencer in the body. The church needs to be first and foremost comprised of believers who take their stand on the precepts of God declared in His Word. Secondly, we need also to be a people who formulate our actions together based upon the wisdom principles of God’s Word. In other words, where Scripture does not specifically tell us what to do, we look to the Word of God and wisely decide. So, often in church division it is this later area when precepts and principles are ignored that we allow practices to become divisive.

At the center of this kind of life together is humility. Paul wrote, “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:1–11, NASB95)

We are not to compromise truth, but we are also not to get prideful about our grasp of it. It seems like the Corinthians believers had some legitimate differences in understanding. But rather than working together to resolve them or even to set them aside (if they were not central), they chose to argue and become divisive. This is not how it should be. They were called as one in Christ, and they were expected to preserve that unity as they turned to Christ, the teaching of the apostles as they had it then, and the Word of God to seek to come to a good resolution. And, where they could not figure it out or when they did not clearly see an answer, they were to look to Christ to help them walk as one even in the uncertainty. It was Paul’s charge as an apostle to help them come to a clearer understanding, one which we benefit from today.

God’s Word is not give and take. It is not something from which we pick and choose a list of principles by which we as individuals and as a church are going to live. We develop doctrine from the Word of God, and our understanding of that doctrine forms a framework from which we function. But even as we function, we are to do so as one according to the grace that He has shown to us such that we encourage one another according to truth, knowing that He is faithful to guide our steps and to give us what we need.

God is Faithful!! (1 Corinthians 1:9)

“God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:9, NASB95)

The answer to every struggle is found in this assurance. Years ago, I began exploring the “But God’s” of Scripture. It has not been an exhaustive one, but one that has led me to ask in each of the passages what difference God makes in that context. The contrast to this is the initial reaction that we might have when a trial occurs, and we say, “But God….” Moses did this when He was called by God to return to Egypt to be used of God to set His people free.

We read, “The Lord said [to Moses from the burning bush], “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. “So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. “Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. “Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:7–11, NASB95)

“But … God, who am I…?” Have you ever said that to God? I know that I have on more occasions than I can count or even dare to remember. I love what came next in verse 12, “And He [the LORD] said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”” The LORD told Moses that He would be with him. God made a promise to Moses that when Moses went He would be with Him. He would be faithful to be there. Moses was not going on his own.

However, God’s answer did not fully move Moses into action. He still had objections, and God answered those objections in the rest of chapter 3. The LORD even told Moses what to say and what to do. But this still was not enough for Moses. Chapter 4 begins with another “but God.” We read, “Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’ ”” (Exodus 4:1, NASB95) The LORD once again answered Moses’ objection with another “BUT GOD” assurance. “Then He [the LORD] said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. But the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”” (Exodus 4:3–5, NASB95)

Moses heard this from God, and still he had another “but God” response. “Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”” (Exodus 4:10, NASB95) Of course, Moses’ objections did not catch God by surprise. He already knew every word on Moses’ tongue before it was said and every thought in his head before they were thought. He responded to Moses, “The LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? “Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.”” (Exodus 4:11–12, NASB95)

And still, Moses was saying, “but God….” This time he asked the LORD to send someone else. In response to this we also see the patience of God balanced with the anger of God in the face of someone refusing to trust and obediently respond. We read, “Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. “You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do. “Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him. “You shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.”” (Exodus 4:14–17, NASB95)

God had answered every “but God” objection of Moses with His own ability to meet that objection with His own “BUT GOD” answer. With Moses, it got to the point that the LORD answered Moses’ final “but God” with anger and a command to go and do accompanied with another assurance that He would do just as He said. I found it interesting as I continued to read that the next several chapters included a series of “but’s” and every single one of them ended in God doing exactly as He said. In Exodus 12:51 we read, “And on that same day [10^th plague – Passover] the Lord brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.” (Exodus 12:51, NASB95)

Scripture is full of similar records as God shows Himself immensely faithful to His promises, and it is with this assurance that Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers reminding them of God’s past, present, and future grace in their lives to do exactly as He purposed to do in them. It was God who called them into the fellowship that they shared in Christ, and it was God who was also faithful to keep them. And, the same if true about our faithful God today regardless of the situations that we face personally or in our churches.

“God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:9, NASB95)

Past, Present and Future Grace (1 Corinthians 1:4-8)

“(4) I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, (5) that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, (6) even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, (7) so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, (8) who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:4–8, NASB95)

This is a bigger chunk of Scripture that I usually tackle, but there is something seen here that is important that we consider in the bigger picture. The keys are found in the words “was given,” “were enriched,” “was confirmed,” “are not lacking,” and “awaiting eagerly.” Here in these verses we see the grace of God expressed in its past, present, and future benefits.

Another verse came immediately to mind when I thought about the past tense aspect of the grace of God. It is Ephesians 2:8. But, even when I turned there and read the verses before and after I was reminded once again about the complete picture of God’s grace shown in the past, present and future. Starting with verse 4, I read, “(4) But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, (5) even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), (6) and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (7) so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (8) For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; (9) not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:4–9, NASB95)

I am reminded that apart from God extending grace to us that we are all lost in our sins. In fact, we read that we were dead in our transgressions. We were separated from Him, and once we die we stand judged and eternally condemned to separation from Him and eternal torment. The consequence of my sin is bad, and there is nothing that I could do myself to change it. BUT GOD! He sent His Son to shed His blood for our sins. By His grace we have been saved. This is past tense for me because I have received His gift of salvation in Christ. It is true for you also if you have done the same. And, the great news is that if you have not done so it can quickly become past tense for you by simply going to Him and asking. For the Corinthian believers (in general) they had received that same grace through salvation in Christ, and Paul made sure to begin his letter with this solid reminder of what it was that brought them together—the grace of God in Christ and not any merit or good works which they thought they might have done.

Next, we read, “that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, (6) even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, (7) so that you are not lacking in any gift….” We move from “have been given” to “were enriched,” “was confirmed,” and “are not lacking.” The result of being saved is that God begins a work in us. This work means that we have been moved from a place of spiritual poverty to having been given the very riches of God. We read in 1 Peter 1:3-4, “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” (2 Peter 1:3–4, NASB95) I love all of the things that we read that He has done for us in just these two verses. God has blessed us far beyond imagination in graciously giving us the ability to live the life which He has freely given us in His Son. We have truly been enriched because of His grace, and this was the confident assurance of which Paul was reminding the Corinthians believers.

And, this grace has been confirmed. We read that the “testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you.” From the moment we believed this became a settled fact in theirs and our lives. God promised that He would do it, and with salvation He begins to prove it day by day in our lives. Because we have been made at peace with God we can know the peace of God even in a world that knows no peace. We have been given the Spirit of God to seal us and indwell us to provide that constant comfort, counsel, and help as we look to His Word, hide it in our hearts, and let it guide our steps. This is not something that we can really put a measuring stick to, but it is something that we can definitely know. The testimony or words of Christ have become real in us.

And the third present reality of His grace is, “so that you are not lacking in any gift.” God graciously gave them, and He gives us what we need to live the life He has given us to live. Later in this letter we will look at the supernatural spiritual gifting that the Spirit gives us at the moment of our salvation, but even this gifting is just a part of the picture of what He has and is doing. Whether we avail ourselves of His gifts is a totally different issue. His Spirit continually works in us to develop fruit in us as we seek after and follow Him. But when we take our eyes off of Him we really shouldn’t be surprised that we also find other things crop up that are not consistent with who He has called us to be. This letter to the Corinthian believers will deal in large part with their lack of growth in Christ and their holding on to the things that they did before coming to Him and receiving these great grace gifts. This same lack of growth and holding onto sin can be true of us as well if we ignore Him in our worship and our walk.

Then there is the future aspect of grace. We read, “awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, (8) who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We have a great hope for the future. We have the promise of God that one day we will see our Lord Jesus Christ face to face and be united with our God for all eternity. All of the struggles, the pain, the disappointment, and even the sin will disappear as we enter His perfect presence. This is the great hope we have, and He has promised that He will not disappoint. There will be no getting there and hoping that we have done enough. There will be no getting there to find our reservation cancelled. We have already been judged righteous because of Christ’s righteousness credited to us. We have His Word that because of the grace of God shown to us in His Son that we have already been made fully righteous and fully accepted by Him. Our reservations in heaven have been sealed, and we will be received blameless into His presence on that great day.

Past, present and future grace. All of these are given to us freely in Christ. This is the assurance that Paul began his letter to the Corinthian believers with, and it is the same assurance that we have even today.

Grace to Change (1 Corinthians 1:3)

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:3, NASB95)

Grace” and “peace” are incredible things. So much of the world lives without any permanent peace, both internally and externally. But there are those who have discovered how to be at peace even when the things going on around them are far from being right and when peace is hard to find. Grace is that generous kindness that is extended to another when they are in need and unable to fix things for themselves or when they have greatly failed and are in need of forgiveness, longsuffering and patience while change occurs. It is here that someone from the outside offers to those on the inside a help that lifts a burden or takes some things off their plate, so that those burdens that remain seem more manageable.

In this letter to the Corinthian believers Paul started with them using the path of encouragement before addressing their struggles, and even then, he also gave them what was needed to redirect them onto a correct path. For the believers in Corinth it could be easy to become discouraged, especially when their shortcomings were called out by someone important to them. In these moments rather than experiencing peace, it is easy to experience tension, frustration, helplessness and even anger. It is moments like this that the grace that comes from God provides the assurance of acceptance and reminds of His power for change. And, in this there is the reminder that His peace can be known in the process because of the fact that Christ has made us to be at peace with God by His blood that cleansed them and us from our sins.

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” was not only Paul’s common salutation, but it was also a way of saying, “God bless you” with a healthy reminder of just how He has done so. He reminds those who hear or read this greeting that both grace and peace are a gift to us from God our Father and His Son who He sent to save us from our sins, to draw us to Him, and to give us new life and an everlasting hope—our Lord Jesus Christ.

God loves us so much. Because of our sin we were separated from Him, and He chose not to let that stand as a barrier. He provided the only means by which we can become fully cleansed and brought back into a relationship with Him. And beyond that we know that He constantly lavishes His love on us in countless ways. It is Him who shows Himself strong when we are weak. It is Him who gives wisdom when we lack understanding. It is Him who knows us intimately and wraps His hands around us. It is Him who holds us closely when times like the one mentioned above are so very true and present. God did all of this not because He was obligated to do so, but because He wanted to out of His love and compassion. This is what grace is. It is God giving to us what we need as a gift because it is His joy to do so.

And peace, what an incredible result of knowing that we not only are fully forgiven and will not face judgment for our sins, but that He is also faithful to keep us until that very moment that He ushers us into His presence. There is nothing that comes to us that has not been through His sovereign hands. There is nothing that blindsides Him even though we may be caught by surprise. God is our constant help, and He has promised Himself to be faithful even when we struggle in response. We are at peace with the Father because we’ve been given salvation in the Son. Because Jesus paid for our sins and rose again, we are fully forgiven and forever made alive. Though we may struggle in our walk before Him, He will not forsake us. He is committed to us and His Spirit indwells us to bring about great change in our lives. What He calls upon us to do in response is to give ourselves back to Him in worshipful obedience.

This church had growth issues, and with some reproof given and correction taken they could and would change. Paul loved these believers and he was confident in God’s ability to do incredible things in their lives and with them as a church. He wrote to them for their welfare as their spiritual father, and it was his hope that they would listen. In chapter 4 he wrote, “I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 4:14–15, NASB95)

Paul knew God’s grace and saw himself as an example of God’s power to bring change when we live accordingly. “For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:9–10, NASB95)  

Clarifying their Identity (1 Corinthians 1:2)

“To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:” (1 Corinthians 1:2, NASB95)

The other day I was listening to a pastor on the radio who was being asked questions by listeners. He was asked a very familiar question, “What can one do to become more of a saint?” (wording not exact) The pastor’s response was (boiled down and reworded), first, there is nothing we can do to become a saint. Being a saint is something that happens to us by virtue of our salvation and what Christ does in us. We are intended to live more and more like Christ as we grow in Him, and in this sense, we might know those people that we refer to as “saintly.” It is not that they have achieved something new positionally or have become more of a saint, but that they have been conformed more and more into the image of who they were made by God who calls us as His own.

Positionally, we see this in the introduction of several of Paul’s letters to the churches.

Romans 1:7. “…to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 1:7, NASB95) … “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.” (Romans 1:8, NASB95)

2 Corinthians 1:1. “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia:” (2 Corinthians 1:1, NASB95)

Ephesians 1:1. “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus:” (Ephesians 1:1, NASB95)

Philippians 1:1. “Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons:” (Philippians 1:1, NASB95)

Colossians 1:2. “To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” (Colossians 1:2, NASB95)

It may be notable that Paul does not use the term “saints” in all of the introductions of the church letters. Positively he does not use it in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, though he does heap praise on them for their faithfulness. Negatively, in Galatians Paul chastises them for their desertion of Christ and the true message of the gospel.

But to me, probably his most unique introduction in a letter to a church is the introduction to 1 Corinthians. There was no “to the saints” in this letter. Instead Paul began by laying a foundation of truth from which he would later challenge them concerning how they lived. Rather than focusing on their faithfulness, Paul centered his attention on the faithfulness of God.

“To the church of God which is at Corinth….” The term “church” can mean many things. Typically, it is used in one of two ways in the New Testament letters. The all-inclusive form is the complete body of believers in Christ. We see this in Ephesians 5:23 where we read, “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.” (Ephesians 5:23, NASB95) And later in Revelation we see the church as Christ’s bride presented at the marriage supper of the Lamb. “Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” (Revelation 19:6–8, NASB95) The moment we are saved we become a member of His church.

The second common usage refers to the individual groups of believers that gather together as a local fellowship or even group of fellowships. Later in 1 Corinthians Paul wrote to his readers, “For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.” (1 Corinthians 4:17, NASB95) And, of course, we see this usage of church illustrated in the introductions cited earlier in this post.

In writing to the church of God which is in Corinth Paul brings both truths together as a reminder of who it is that unites them as one body. This local body of believers exists as one body intended to walk together because they “have been sanctified in Christ Jesus.” This word “sanctified” has the same root as the word “saints” which is used later in the same statement. What makes them saints is because they have been sanctified, not because they earned it. “Sanctified” means to make holy or to purify. It also has the meaning of consecrating or setting apart for God’s use.

Paul was confronted with this truth by Christ Himself as we see in his testimony before Agrippa in Acts chapter 26. “at midday, O King, I [Paul] saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. “And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ “And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ‘But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’” (Acts 26:13–18, NASB95) Sanctification comes by faith in Christ.

Having been chosen by God and sanctified by faith in Christ, these believers’ identity has been changed from sinner to saint (Greek: hagios or God’s holy ones). This is what Paul said next of them in his introduction: “saints by calling.” Then Paul reminded them of how they were not alone in this calling, His church, or their identity. Paul continued, “with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:” Paul had some very difficult things ahead for them in this letter, but before getting to them he established their firm foundation of faith that they shared with everyone in every place who called upon the name of Jesus Christ for salvation. Just as He was their Lord so was He Paul’s, Sosthenes and even ours today. There was absolutely nothing that Paul would say to them that was going to change this truth. And even today, there is nothing that can change this truth for us.

Called from Persecution to Serve (1 Corinthians 1:1)

“Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,” (1 Corinthians 1:1, NASB95)

As with Paul’s other letters, he begins by establishing his authority as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Though Paul did not believe in Christ until after His ascension to return to the Father, Paul did have a very personal encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus while he was on the way to make sure that many followers of Christ would be persecuted for their belief (or heresy). The record of this is found in Acts chapter 9. Following his believing and a season of growing in his faith Paul was sent out by the other apostles (Acts 9:25-30). Later in Acts chapter 13, while a group of believers were together praying with Barnabas and Saul (Paul), the Holy Spirit spoke to them saying, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”” (Acts 13:2, NASB95) After they had finished praying, these men laid hands on Barnabas and Paul and sent them off on what we know as their first missionary journey.

While in Antioch and after speaking in the synagogue to the amazement of many on that first Sabbath, we read, “The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. “For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, That You may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’ ” When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region.” (Acts 13:44–49, NASB95)

Not only was Paul called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by Jesus Christ Himself, Paul was also sent, or as he put it “commanded” to go to the Gentiles as well and “bring salvation to the end of the earth.” As stated in the previous post the people of Corinth were direct beneficiaries of Paul having been sent out, and in their case to one of the spiritually darkest cities of the day.

In the last post we looked at the origins of the church at Corinth. What was not mentioned was what happened to one who was most likely responsible for bringing charges against Paul. We read, “But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.” But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrong or of vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you; but if there are questions about words and names and your own law, look after it yourselves; I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters.” And he drove them away from the judgment seat. And they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.” (Acts 18:12–17, NASB95)

Having been rebuffed by Gallio on their charge, the Jews were turned away. As they were leaving there were those there who took advantage of their weakened position, and they attacked Sosthenes who we read was the “leader of the synagogue.” Somehow and sometime before Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthian believers Sosthenes had come to faith in Christ and had actually come to be with Paul. It was likely Sosthenes who even gave Paul information concerning the condition of the church to which he responded in this letter. We don’t know any more other than Sosthenes was once the ruler of the Synagogue opposed to Paul and here he is a believer and possibly even the one who served as Paul’s secretary in the penning of this letter.

There aren’t many words in this first introductory statement, but the words that are there are incredible. Our God took these two men who as Jewish leaders were both called from persecuting followers to becoming servants according to God’s will to reach both Jews and Gentiles in an area that was steeped in darkness, but where people quickly and eagerly believed. Our God is so amazing and His love extends far beyond our imagination. He demonstrates over and over again that He can and does shine the light of life in His Son into the darkest of places so that His glory might shine even brighter. 

A Letter from Papa Paul (1 Corinthians 1:1-2a)

(It's time to start a new book of the Bible for me, and after looking at several and even wanting to skip this particular one, 1 Corinthians is the one. It will likely be a long ride if you are willing to go on it with me.)

“Paul, … To the church of God which is at Corinth….” (1 Corinthians 1:1–2a, NASB95)

In Acts 18:1 we read that while on his second missionary journey, the apostle Paul left Athens to head about 45 miles to Corinth which was located in southern Greece on a narrow isthmus. Because of its location, Corinth was a highly trafficked city. Its importance was greatly enhanced because of the extreme weather and great length of sailing around the southern tip of Greece. In order to avoid this dangerous trip ships would be carried across the isthmus and pass alongside Corinth. Eventually a canal would be excavated, but it took many, many centuries to complete. At Paul’s time the ships had to be manually moved on skids. Corinth was also known for its pagan worship and its home to athletic competitions, including the Isthmian and Olympian games.

As for its cults, Corinth was home to a temple to Aphrodite who they worshipped as the goddess of love where 1,000 temple prostitutes lived and worked during the day while they offered their services in the city at night. Between the economy, sports, and sex Corinth was well known for its debauchery. (Source: MacArthur Study Bible and parallel readings from other sources).

It was on this city that Paul next set his sights, and Acts 18:1-11 records for us a brief record of what happened while he was there. It was upon arriving at Corinth that he met Aquila and Priscilla who had relocated there themselves after being ordered by Claudius had ordered Jews to leave Rome. This couple were tent makers, like Paul, and they hit it off with him right off the bat. They worked together in their trade while Paul “reasoned” with the people in the synagogue on the Sabbath, trying to convince both Jews and Greeks. We also read that as Silas and Timothy joined him that he was able to devote full-time to the work of the word. Eventually the Jews would reject him, and we read that he turned his attention to the Gentiles with a notable Jewish exception. In the year and a half that he was there we read that many of the Corinthians believed and were baptized as God protected him from harm. I love the assurance that Paul was given when in a night vision when the Lord told him, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”” (Acts 18:9–10, NASB95)

Eventually his stay was ended when the Jews gathered together to nab him and bring him before the Roman proconsul in that region. Gallio would not hear their argument, and he turned them away. It was after this attack that we read in Acts 18:18 that he set sail for Syria, leaving Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus along the way.

This concludes the record we have of his time with them. And, in 2 Corinthians 1:23 we read that he did not return. “But I call God as witness to my soul, that to spare you I did not come again to Corinth.” (2 Corinthians 1:23, NASB95)

1 Corinthians is generally thought to have been written about A.D. 55 during Paul’s third missionary journey while he was on an extended stay in Ephesus. His location is affirmed in Paul’s closing comments to the letter where he wrote, “But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” (1 Corinthians 16:8–9, NASB95) It was while there that he again had the opportunity to serve alongside his friends Priscilla and Aquilla who he had left there when he left Corinth. And, having worked alongside them in Corinth, Paul includes a greeting from them in the closing of this letter. “The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.” (1 Corinthians 16:19, NASB95)

1 Corinthians was written by Paul. It was written to a group of believers that he had led to the Lord, and who he dearly loved. And, as we see it unfold we will also see that this was probably a very difficult letter for Paul to write because this church he birthed had floundered greatly in his absence. We’ll look a bit more at his introduction in the next post.