Paul’s First Letter to the Church at Corinth – Chapter One Paul Addresses the Local Church in Corinth – 1:1-9 Paul begins the letter by establishing some foundational facts about servants of God – 1:1-3, [All, including Paul himself, are called by the will of God, John 15:16; 2 Corinthians 5:20. All Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ, Romans 12:2-3; Philippians 2:3- 4; Acts 20:28; 2 Corinthians 6:17-18; 1 Peter 1:14-15; Ephesians 4:24; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Acts 10:34; Romans 14:4.] and Paul’s greetings and purpose for writing: [Notice that Paul mentions Jesus Christ ten times in first ten verses. Paul’s goal is for them to exalt Jesus, to focus upon Him, 1 Corinthians 2:1-4. With Jesus as their central focus all other matters will take care of selves, see also Hebrews 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.] 1 Corinthians 1:1 [Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,] As the gospel calls people to be Christians, 2 Thessalonians 2:13ff, so Jesus called Paul to be an apostle. Jesus called Paul to be an apostle that he may preach the gospel message to Jew and Gentile, cf. Acts 26:16-18; Galatians 1:15-16. Many had challenged Paul regarding his apostleship and for that reason he was compelled to defend this fact on many occasions, 1 Corinthians 9:1-2; 2 Corinthians 11:4-5; 12:11- 13.
[An apostle, Apostolos is a delegate, a messenger, one sent forth with orders Thayer’s Greek English Lexicon [hereafter designated as Thayer] pp. 68. A messenger, ambassador, envoy Liddell and Scott’s Greek English Lexicon [hereafter designated as the LS] pp. 107.] Qualifications of an apostle of Jesus Christ required that they be: hand-picked by Jesus, 1 Corinthians 1:1; one who had accompanied Jesus during his days on the earth and had seen His resurrected body, cf. Acts 1:21ff; and one who had received authority to reveal the will of God, Matthew 18:18; Galatians 1:11ff. [Consider the fact that an ambassador is the highest-ranking diplomatic representative appointed by one country or government to represent it in another Webster’s New World Dictionary pg. 43.] Paul says he was an ambassador, see 2 Corinthians 5:20, who represented Christ and his government to a lost and dying world. Interestingly, the saint today is not an ambassador for Christ; not an apostle, but those who represent and teach Christ in this world according to the written word, Matthew 28:18ff. Page 1 of 5 Sosthenes, our brother was a saint but is otherwise of unknown identity. There is another Sosthenes mentioned in Acts 18:17. The year was A.D. 51. Paul was preaching in Corinth. The unbelieving Jews had arrested Paul and brought him before the Roman Proconsul of Achaia, whose name was Gallio. Gallio dismisses the charges against Paul and thus angered the Jews. Gallio uses his men to force the accusing Jews back, beating many including a man named Sosthenes who appears to have been the spokesman for the Jewish Synagogue in Corinth. If indeed the Sosthenes mentioned here in 1:1 is the same one as mentioned in Acts 18 then a conversion must have occurred. The Corinthians would have been familiar with Sosthenes because this incident was fresh on their minds, even though approximately four years had passed. Whoever Sosthenes is, it is apparent that he was working with Paul in Ephesus and joined with him, in unity and harmony, in admonishing the Corinthian brethren. 1 Corinthians 1:2 [To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:] This letter or epistle is addressed to the church of God which is at Corinth. [The word church, ekklesia is an assembly of the citizens regularly summoned… to call an assembly LS 239.] Individuals are summoned or called into the church by the gospel message, again, 2 Thessalonians 2:13ff. Collectively then, the saints are termed the church, an assembly of those who have been called out of darkness and into the light of God; cf. 1 Peter 2:9ff. [As ambassadors for Christ, the apostles preached the government of Jesus and those who willfully submitted to the terms of admission into this new government or kingdom, the church, are citizens thereof, cf. Ephesians 2:19. Terms of entrance are: hearing and believing, Romans 10:17; repenting of past sins (choosing to turn away from sin and back to God), Acts 2:38, 17:30; confessing the name of Jesus (submitting to His authority), Romans 10:9-10; baptism for the remission of sins, Acts 2:38; and faithful living, Titus 3:8.] To be sanctified is equivalent to being those who the Lord has added to the church. To be sanctified is to be separated from things profane and dedicated to God, to be consecrated and so rendered inviolable. Since only what is pure and without blemish can be devoted and offered to God, Leviticus 22:20; Deuteronomy 15:21; 17:1. [Sanctified signifies to purify and to cleanse externally, to purify by expiation, free from guilt of sin: 1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 5:26; Hebrews 10:10, 14, 29; 13:12… to purify internally by reformation of soul Thayer 6.] Page 2 of 5 When one is baptized into Christ they are sanctified, cf. 1 Corinthians 6:11. Sins are remitted, Acts 2:38. This cleansing of sins is made possible through the blood of Jesus Christ, Matthew 1:21; 26:28. [Sanctification is not a moral action; it is a state of being. Since God is light and in Him is no darkness, those who would be in fellowship with him must of necessity be separated from all moral defilements, Isaiah 59:1; 1 John 1:5ff; 2 Corinthians 7:1.] This occurs at baptism, Acts 22:16 and is maintained by humble, contrite hearts seeking forgiveness when sin occurs, Psalm 51:1-17; Isaiah 57:15; Acts 8:22f; 2 Corinthians 7:10ff. The phrase in Christ Jesus simply means that our sanctification occurs because of Jesus, cf. Hebrews 10:10-14. Those sanctified are those who are called to be saints. [Every true saint in the universal church has been called into this relationship, a fellowship with God through the gospel, 2 Thessalonians 2:13ff. A saint is sanctified and the sanctified are all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. The phrase call upon, epikaleo means to invoke or appeal to LS 292. To invoke, adore, worship, the Lord, i.e. Christ Thayer 239.] A saint is one who is sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ through faith! This faith motivates us to make appeals to Jehovah God. Without such faith we can in no way be pleasing to God, Hebrews 11:6. The question that must be answered here is, How can the Corinthians be viewed as sanctified saints of the church of God while being found in sin? 1 Corinthians 1:3 [Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.] Revelation 22:21 states, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Grace was intended to be the Lord’s instructions that lead to salvation, cf. Titus 2:11. By God’s grace man is justified from sin, Romans 5:1ff. Paul’s desire was that the Corinthians be recipients of God’s grace through their faith. 1 Corinthians 1:4 [I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God, which was given to you by Christ Jesus,] Paul kept the Corinthian brethren in his daily prayers and was thankful for their obedient faith. The obedient had received God’s grace, which is the forgiveness of sins through baptism, leading to the hope of heaven, see Ephesians 2:8; 1:5-7; Acts 2:38. The spiritual blessing of grace is the forgiveness of sins and the hope of salvation in Christ. Jesus provided the opportunity for man’s salvation through the cross and therefore salvation is only through or in Him.
Page 3 of 5 1 Corinthians 1:5-6 [that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,] Because the Corinthians were recipients of God’s grace, they were enriched in Him. Consider 2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. Every saint that receives forgiveness of sins is rich in God’s grace. [This rich state existed because the Corinthians had a multitude of people who knew and understood the scriptures and ably taught them utterance and knowledge. Corinth’s problems did not revolve around a lack of understanding on anyone’s part as we shall look further into later. The testimony of Christ, the gospel, was firmly established in them by truth confirming miracles.] 1 Corinthians 1:7-8 [so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.] Chapter 12 reveals the many spiritual gifts that existed in the church at Corinth. The brethren had all revelation available in clear and concise form so that they had no excuse for a lack of knowledge. The knowledge of the gospel left the Corinthian Christians waiting, in hope, for the coming of Jesus second coming as in 2 Thessalonians 4:13ff. The same word of God that reveals God’s gracious message of salvation shall establish or confirm the Corinthians unto the end that they may be blameless when Jesus comes to judge the world. [The word blameless means not accused, without reproach, void of offence LS 66. The saint of God is justified, acquitted of sins, through the grace of God, cf. Romans 5:1ff. The blood of Jesus is the only thing that can make this possible, cf. Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 10:1ff. Because any sin will separate man from God, Isaiah 59:1-2; 1 John 1:5ff, saints must continue to pray for cleansing of sins and maintain their fellowship with the father just as Peter instructed Simon in Acts 8.] 1 Corinthians 1:9 [God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.] God will not disappoint anyone who, by faith, calls upon his name, see Acts 22:16, invoking forgiveness of past sins. The gospel of Jesus Christ called us into this glorious fellowship with God and His Son Jesus. The saints of God shall share eternal salvation. [The only thing that breaks this fellowship between God and man, and saint with saint … is sin, 1 John 1:5ff; 3:4.]
Page 4 of 5 Questions: List four facts about the author of this book – 1:1.
Who was Sosthenes?
Define sanctified and saint – 1:2
According to 1:5-7, how had God enriched this church?
What are utterance and knowledge? Compare chapters 12-14.
Give book, chapter & verse showing how Jesus’ testimony was confirmed.
What gifts did Corinth have?
What did the Corinthians do regarding Jesus’ revelation, and what help was God giving them – 1:8?
Define faithful, 1:9 and tell why this quality of God is important.
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