1 Corinthians 1:1–3

To both churches he writes officially as an "apostle." This was not by birth, not by anything he achieved, not by any vote of men, but as "called" — that is, by God's calling. He reminds both that they themselves were saints, and this too by calling. It was grace which chose them as saints, grace that chose him not as a saint only but as an apostle... It is "by God's will," as he adds — "a called apostle of Jesus Christ by God's will," not by his own ability or merit, nor by other men's choice. God's sovereign goodness is the source of it all.

In our first verse Paul speaks of himself as a called apostle of Jesus Christ by God's will. He knew God's call not only as a saint of God, but as a servant. He did not choose this apostleship himself. It was the last thing he would have wanted when, as a proud Pharisee, he was persecuting the Church of God.

The Corinthians were in a turbulent state, going so far as even to deny the apostleship of Paul. But God never lowers what He has given because men do not like it. To act and speak as an apostle was as much a part of his humble obedience before God as it was a part of God's grace to him. If he had not done so, he would have failed in his duty.

There is no room for argument. It is God, not man, who places people in the church. 1 Corinthians 12:28 tells us so plainly, and this is as true of "teachers" as of "apostles." Scripture never shows man calling them. The church never chose them, the way it chose the men it trusted with its money for the poor.

Paul reminds them also of his own call as an apostle by the will of God. That will had worked despite the opposition of the human heart — in his own case, and in the case of "Sosthenes our brother," whom he joins with himself in this letter. Sosthenes is now a "strong helper," which is the likely meaning of his name. Yet during Paul's earlier work at Corinth he seems to have been a strong opposer.

Sosthenes may have been the leader of the synagogue at Corinth, converted after his shameful failure to harm Paul before Gallio, the Roman governor. But I claim nothing, as there is no direct evidence, and the name was not uncommon. He was certainly known at Corinth, and he was with the apostle at Ephesus at that time.

This may be the Sosthenes mentioned at Corinth in Acts 18:17, but little more is known about him. Perhaps one reason Paul links him so closely with himself is that no one may limit the apostle's message to leaders. Someone who is only "a brother" is involved in this too.

The apostle here uses the name "church of God," which is the title of the whole Body of Christ, and applies it to one place, "that is in Corinth." He describes the people it includes: "those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints." The term "sanctified" covers all who have a share in the work of Christ, all who are sheltered by His blood. It does not describe personal state. It describes the standing of every believer, who is called a saint — a saint because of his calling. So everyone there who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ made up the Church of God at Corinth.

When the church in any place was called the church of God, nothing could be simpler. The word church means assembly. So the Christians of a certain place, gathered together, really were the assembly of that place. But it was not only the assembly that owned God. It was the assembly God owned, and it alone enjoyed the privileges He could grant it, as His assembly.

We start by taking hold of the great fact that God has sanctified us. Scripture is very definite and plain on this point. Perhaps the most striking example it gives us is the case of the Corinthians. Of all the Christians of that first age that we know anything about, they stand out as the least marked by sanctification in practice. The Apostle Paul criticised their behaviour in very plain language. Yet in his first letter he calls them "saints," "sanctified in Christ Jesus."

The state of the Assembly in Corinth was terrible when Paul wrote. Almost every form of evil was active there: party strife; gross immorality; lawsuits in the world's courts; eating and drinking in idol temples; gluttony at the Lord's Supper; disorder in speaking; and dangerous teaching about the resurrection... Yet with all these evils in his mind, the Apostle addressed them as "the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints"... What God had made true of them because of Christ and His work formed the basis of his later rebukes and appeals.

There are two classes. First, the church of God, saints by calling, in contrast with Israel, who had their place by birth... Then Paul adds "all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours." This second class is profession, and it is individual. Even though it is only profession, it is assumed sincere, unless there was ground to judge it false.

No Christian denies he should pray to the Father. But it is just as certain that Christians pray to the Lord — indeed, calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus is, so to speak, a definition of a Christian in 1 Corinthians 1:2. Stephen called on the Lord Jesus to receive his spirit, and Paul called on Him to take away the thorn.

There is only one Lord of whom each local assembly can say, in reference to all others, He is both theirs and ours. This matters deeply in a letter about the daily conduct of the Christian, and about keeping discipline and order in the assembly. It clearly shows that the instructions apply to the whole Christian profession for all time.

The common and needed blessing of the redeemed is one of "grace and peace." Neither things nor people can rob them of it, because God Himself gives it and keeps it. Grace is the source of all blessing, and peace is the right and happy state before God. In the greetings of the apostles, grace always comes before peace. In the letters to individuals, such as those to Timothy and Titus, "mercy" is usually added, because mercy takes account of personal need and circumstances.

Paul again uses that grand Christian word, grace (karis). The root of the word means to cause joy. In the Greek Old Testament this same Greek word translates a Hebrew word for the favour and blessing a person receives from someone greater than himself. The word "peace" clearly matches "Shalom" in the Old Testament. This peace is the healthy state of soul that those who experience God's grace enjoy. God is the source of these blessings. The believer enjoys them as he has communion with the Father and the Son.

It is a mistake to confuse this with the ordinary apostolic greeting, which asks grace for the saints and "peace from God." We need these all the time, and we feel the need of them all the more because we have peace with God. Again, "the peace of God," which the apostle speaks about in Philippians 4, is quite different, for that too is what the Christian needs in his daily circumstances.

"Grace to you": in this case, shall we not say grace to overcome the evils that so seriously endangered this wealthy assembly? "And peace" — the peace of true unity according to God, the peace of godly consideration for one another, in precious fellowship with Him who is "the God of peace."

Paul's desire for the Corinthians was that God would supply them with grace and peace. There was clearly a good deal of discord among them, and more grace among them would have removed it.

This is the apostle's opening wish or prayer here, as in Romans 1:7: from God in His relation of Father to us, and from Jesus Christ as Lord. Such a joining would be impossible in an inspired writing, and would dishonour God anywhere, if they were not one in the unity of the divine nature. True and sovereign favour was the spring, and grace was the result that would prove and magnify its source, shedding its light even on those too blind to see beyond the effect. Let it be ours, while enjoying the gift, to adore the Giver.

There is another thing to notice, and that is, "Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father," (one Father), "and from the Lord Jesus Christ." Practically, the Lordship of Christ is overlooked; it is the common address of the letters, only it is lost sight of in Christendom.

The Apostle will have to speak plainly about the disorder in this assembly. But behind all his plain words of condemnation, his deep desire is that they may enjoy the blessings of grace and peace from "God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ".