Paul, [a] called apostle of Jesus Christ, by God's will, and Sosthenes the brother,
Paul opens this letter with the one thing the Corinthians disputed. Where did his authority come from? His answer is God's will. Then he sets an ordinary brother's name beside his own.
Paul does not present his apostleship as a rank he earned or a post men voted him into. His call and their standing as saints come from the same source.
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.
Before that call, Paul was a Pharisee — a strict religious leader — and he was attacking the church.
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.
At Corinth his office was under attack, so he states it plainly instead of softening it.
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.
If Paul's own place came straight from God, the same rule holds for gifts in the church at large.
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.
The second name in the verse may belong to the Sosthenes of Acts 18:17, who led the synagogue at Corinth. If so, his name carries a quiet irony.
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.
Commentators differ on whether this is the same man, and one of them refuses to settle it.
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.
Paul names an apostle and a plain brother in one sentence. That settles who the letter is for.
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.
- Called — Paul is an apostle because God called him. Not by birth, not by achievement, not by a vote of men. The same grace that made the Corinthians saints made him an apostle.
- Will of God — his place rests on God's sovereign goodness, not on his own merit. When he was attacking the church, apostleship was the last thing he wanted.
- Asserted, not defended — the Corinthians questioned his place. God does not lower what He has given because men dislike it.
- A pattern, not an exception — God sets teachers in the church as well as apostles. In Scripture no such gift is ever handed out by human choice.
- Sosthenes — perhaps the old opponent from the synagogue at Corinth, now a "strong helper." A plain brother stands beside an apostle, so no reader can call this a letter for leaders only.
to the assembly of God which is in Corinth, to [those] sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all that in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours
Paul is about to correct this church hard. But first his address tells them what God has made them: a local assembly, set apart, called, and joined to all who call on the same Lord.
The title Paul uses belongs to all of Christ's people. Here he ties it to one city, and says who is inside it.
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.
Their calling made them saints. The title is theirs already, not a goal still ahead.
The words "of God" are not decoration. They settle who the assembly belongs to.
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.
"Sanctified" means set apart for God. The striking thing is who receives the word.
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."
That title is the ground Paul stands on when he corrects them.
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.
The word "called" separates this company from Israel, who held their place by birth.
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.
To call on the name of Jesus Christ is more than a label. It is prayer addressed to Him.
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.
The address ends by reaching past Corinth. So does the authority of everything that follows.
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.
- Called — Their standing began with God's call, not with their family line or their record. Israel's place came by birth; theirs came by calling.
- Sanctified — Being set apart in Christ Jesus is a settled fact about standing, not a score for behaviour. The least holy church we read of still wears the title.
- Owned — "Church of God" means more than an assembly that owns God. It is the assembly God owns, and it alone enjoys the privileges He grants.
- Shared — Christians in every place call on one Lord, theirs and ours alike. Calling on His name almost defines what a Christian is.
- Binding — Because that Lord is shared, Paul's corrections were never just a local matter. They apply to the whole Christian profession, in every place, for all time.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and [the] Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul writes to a divided, disorderly assembly. He starts with no rebuke, but with a wish for grace and peace, and he names God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ together as their source. Two questions sit inside this short line. Why these two blessings, always in this order? And why are two names joined as one source?
The order never changes. One writer explains what each word does, and what the letters to individuals add:
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.
Both words come with a history, one Greek and one Hebrew.
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.
Commentators separate three things here: peace with God, peace from God, and the peace of God.
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.
Both blessings answered a need in Corinth.
"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."
Another writer traces their discord to a shortage of grace:
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.
Paul names two persons as one source of the gift. One writer says that joining tells us who Christ is:
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.
The title "Lord" is easily read past, though it appears in letter after letter:
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.
Paul blesses them before he corrects them.
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".
- Source — grace and peace come from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, named together. One writer reads that joining as a mark of the unity of the divine nature.
- Order — grace always comes first, because it is the origin. Peace follows as the healthy state of soul it produces.
- Supply — this is peace from God for daily life. It is not the same as peace with God, and we need it all the time.
- Fit — Corinth needed grace to overcome its evils, and peace to restore the unity and consideration it had lost. It also needed to submit to the authority of its Lord.
- Tone — Paul gives the blessing before a single rebuke. Our part is to enjoy the gift and adore the Giver.
I thank my God always about you, in respect of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus;
Paul writes to a church split into parties, needing stern rebuke over its morals, and full of disorder. Yet the first thing he does is give thanks. That raises the question the rest of the letter presses hard: what can you thank God for in a company like that?
Paul knows what is wrong at Corinth and intends to say so. Yet he begins somewhere else, and the order is deliberate.
The apostle is writing to the saints in a place where almost everything that could go wrong had gone wrong... we are inclined to ask — "What can you thank God for, Paul, in a company like that?" They appear to be doing everything they can do wrong. He is about to tell them of those wrongs. But first he thanked God on their behalf. He thanked God not for what they were doing, but "because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus." He looked at what was of God in them.
This is not softening before striking. It is what made the striking possible at all.
Paul could handle the sword of the Spirit. But he would not have known how to deal with the Corinthians if he had not first taken notice of the good which grace had worked in them.
Paul does not thank God for the Corinthians themselves. He thanks God for something given to them.
Paul could always thank God "because of the grace of God that was given" to the Corinthians in Christ Jesus. He could not thank God for their spiritual state. They were split into parties under various leaders, and their morals called for stern rebuke. Nor could he thank God for well-ordered meetings, since much disorder needed correcting.
Paul would deal with their use of the blessing later. The blessing itself never stopped being a reason for praise.
He has much to say, and far more of blame than praise. But before he speaks to them about their practical condition as believers, he pauses. He gives solemn thanks to God for the rich abundance of His grace... He will notice in due time what use they had made of their blessings. Yet for their positive standing in the grace of God he feels bound to give thanks at all times.
Paul names why this grace came to them at all. He then spells out what it produced.
The occasion of thanksgiving was the grace of God bestowed on them because of Christ Jesus. Paul defines it at once in what follows. They had been in everything made rich in Him. In spiritual discernment of His glory and feeling of His grace? In enjoyment of Christ and devotedness to His name? In these respects, sadly, they were defective, as all that follows shows. He means, as he says, every kind of expression of the truth, and all knowledge — in what they preached or taught, as well as in what they understood.
Paul thanks God for the gift, not for how the Corinthians used it. So the verse carries a warning as well as a comfort. Many assume that trouble among Christians comes from a shortage of talent or leadership.
The apostle tells them how he thanks his God always on their behalf. But he says nothing thankful about their state... This is very important. Many are inclined to think that difficulties and disorder among God's people come from a lack of government and of ministerial power. But no amount of gift, in few or many, can of itself produce holy spiritual order. Disorder is never the result of weakness alone.
So the same verse that praises their gifts also exposes them.
The flesh can boast in knowledge and use gifts to exalt itself. So we do well to remember this: knowledge alone, and the possession of all gifts, will not prevent disorder or secure spirituality if the flesh goes unjudged.
Two small words shape the tone. The thanks are personal, and they are habitual, not occasional.
It is most precious to see that Paul begins his message to them, not with reproof, but by thanking God for them all. And this was a habit with him — "always."... Such an attitude, and such a valuing of the grace of God given to others, will do much to shape the way we seek their correction.
- Grace first. Paul thanks God for what God gave, not for what the Corinthians did with it. In a failing church, that was still worth thanks.
- Grace given. It reached them in Christ Jesus — given to them because of Him, not because of anything in their state.
- Grace enriching. They were made rich in Him — in every kind of expression of the truth, and in all knowledge.
- Grace misused. All their knowledge and gifts did not stop the disorder, because the flesh went unjudged. Talent never makes people holy.
- Grace as method. Paul noticed the good that grace had worked before he named the evil. That is what enabled him to deal with them at all — and it shapes the way we correct anyone.
that in everything ye have been enriched in him, in all word [of doctrine], and all knowledge,
Paul is about to correct this church sharply. Yet he opens by thanking God, who had made them rich in every way. So what are these riches? And how did such wealth sit beside such disorder?
Paul names all the good at Corinth before he touches a single problem. One writer notes the order, and the gap it exposes.
It is striking to see what the apostle does after the greeting in verse 3. He takes up all that he saw to be good, as a testimony to their reality, before he begins to deal with the evil. "You come behind in no gift." There was gift, but very little grace... They had the truth and power to communicate it.
Being rich "in Him" could mean a deep enjoyment of Christ. One writer shows that Paul means something else.
They had been in everything made rich in Him. In spiritual discernment of His glory and feeling of His grace? in enjoyment of Christ and devotedness to His name? In these respects, sadly, they were defective, as all that follows shows. He means what he says: every kind of expression of the truth, and all knowledge. That covers what was preached or taught, and understanding too.
Paul pairs two words: speech and knowledge (older translations say "utterance"). They cover what a believer takes in and what he can pass on. And all of it came as gift.
Grace had enriched them in all utterance and in all knowledge. They received truth, and they could pass it on to others. So God confirmed in them the testimony of Christ that the gospel had brought them... For their part, the gifts were gifts of grace only. That grace decorated poor human clay. They were only "what is low and despised in the world," still earthen vessels that had received the treasures of heaven.
A gift does not shrink when the owner thinks little of it. That is why Paul can call a troubled church rich.
The disorders in the church at Corinth showed they were not spiritually healthy. They had the kind of knowledge that tends to "puff up"... Even so, the Apostle could say to them, "in everything you have been enriched in Him." Their poor idea of the riches did not change them. The riches had still been given.
Paul thanks God for grace at Corinth, but he never praises their condition. Why he stops there is a warning for anyone well supplied with teaching.
The Apostle thanks God for His grace, yet he cannot approve their spiritual condition... A little later he has to admit that they had "all knowledge" and lacked no gift, and were still fleshly. He cannot speak to them "as to spiritual." The flesh can boast in knowledge and use gifts for self-exaltation. But we do well to remember this: mere knowledge, and the possession of all gifts, will not prevent disorder or secure spirituality if the flesh is unjudged.
What God gave them became the very thing they fought over.
How often, since then, jealousy over one another's spiritual gifts or material riches has divided believers. The misuse of spiritual gifts was a source of division in the assembly at Corinth. The apostle can say to them, "In everything you are enriched by Him, in all utterance and in all knowledge." Yet these very riches became a cause of strife and division... Poverty might have led them to cling to one another; their riches divided them.
God enriched a church as troubled as Corinth. So where should a believer look when his own gathering seems to lack?
Not all of us are gifted to understand or open up the word of God "in all utterance, and in all knowledge." But we can be sure that whatever is needed will be there... If we are not getting the gain of these things, we may be sure the fault is on our side... If there is no teacher in the company, have you ever come to the Lord and said, "Teach me Your truth that I may open it out"?
- Grace first. Paul names all the good he can see before he names any evil — a pattern for anyone who has to correct another believer.
- Grace gives. The enrichment is "in Him," and comes as gift to earthen vessels — nothing in it came from them.
- Grace speaks. The riches named are speech and knowledge: truth taken in, and the power to pass it on.
- Grace unenjoyed. Their low estimate of the riches did not cancel the riches; gift was abundant while grace was thin.
- Grace misused. Knowledge and gifts could not judge the flesh. So the wealth God gave them became the thing that split them apart.
(according as the testimony of the Christ has been confirmed in you,)
Paul opens his letter to a troubled church by naming what God had done among them. This verse is the hinge of that opening. The message about Christ, preached in Corinth, showed itself real in the people who received it. So what was this testimony, and what counted as proof of it?
The word "testimony" is not vague. It stands for a definite message Paul brought to the city, and it points to a definite Person.
Paul came to Corinth preaching the gospel, and many hearts were opened to receive it. What was it they received? They received the truth about the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, His burial, His resurrection, His ascension and His place in heaven above. This was all that was testified about Christ as Saviour. When Paul spoke to the Corinthians about their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, it was faith in a Man whom this world had rejected. Yet heaven had accepted Him, and He was glorified at God's right hand.
In the next chapter Paul calls the same message "the testimony of God." Why the two names?
It is called the testimony "of God" because He is the Source of it, and "of Christ" because He is the Subject of it.
Darby adds that a change of name is not a change of thing.
Christ's testimony confirmed in you is the testimony of God brought to you. You give a different name to a thing according to the different feeling you have about it.
This verse runs straight on into the next one, where Paul says they lack no gift. The gifts were the visible seal on the message.
The testimony of Christ was confirmed in them by these gifts being there. The testimony of Christ is abstract. But God gave gifts as confirmation that they had received it. Only the giving of gift brought responsibility with it.
Kelly asks what these riches actually were. They were not a compliment on their inner spiritual health.
They had been made rich in everything in Him. In spiritual discernment of His glory and a sense of His grace? In enjoyment of Christ and devotion to His name? In these respects, sad to say, they were defective, as everything that follows shows. He means, as he says, in every sort of expression of the truth, and all knowledge... God had fully confirmed the testimony of Christ which Paul, above all, with others had brought to their city. Many of the Corinthians, as Acts 18 tells us, heard, believed and were baptized. But there was more than this: the Spirit worked widely and powerfully among them... The result was that they came behind in no gift. That was clearly not in what is called the inward grace of the spiritual life. It was in passing truth on to others and in displays of power.
Gifts proved the message. They did not prove the state of the people who held them.
Sad to say, a little later he has to admit that they were "yet carnal". They had "all knowledge" and came "behind in no gift", yet he cannot speak to them "as to spiritual". The flesh can boast in knowledge and use gifts for self-exaltation. But we do well to remember this: mere knowledge, and having all gifts, will not prevent disorder or secure spirituality if the flesh is unjudged.
The gifts had a purpose, and Corinth turned it around.
The gospel brought the testimony of Christ to them, and in this way it was confirmed in them. God was glorifying Him in whom He had been glorified on earth. He did this in those gifts which, as we shall soon see, the Corinthians were twisting to the glorifying of themselves... They lacked no gift. God had kept back nothing they needed for setting forth Christ while the day of His revelation still delayed — the day they were waiting for.
- Message. The testimony is Christ Himself: His death, burial, resurrection, ascension and glory at God's right hand. God is its Source. Christ is its Subject.
- Confirmed. God set His seal on the message through the gifts among them. That was the proof they had received it.
- Enriched. The riches named here are speech, knowledge and power to pass truth on — not warmth of heart toward Christ.
- Responsibility. Gift never came free of responsibility. Knowledge and gifts alone will not stop disorder if the flesh is unjudged.
- Kept. God held back nothing they needed for setting Christ before the world while they waited for the day of His revelation.
so that ye come short in no gift, awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Paul thanks God for a church that lacked no gift. The same verse then turns their eyes forward, to the day when the Lord Jesus will be revealed.
The gifts Paul names are real, but they are of one kind. They are gifts of power and speech, not a measure of the inner life.
He means, as he says, every sort of expression of the truth, and all knowledge, in what was preached or taught, as well as in understanding. God had richly confirmed the testimony of Christ, which Paul above all, with others, had given in their city... The result was that they came behind in no gift. This was not in what is called the inward grace of the spiritual life, but in communicating to others and in the display of power.
Paul opens with everything good he can say before he touches the evil later in the letter. What they had and what they were are not the same thing.
It is striking to see how the apostle, after the greeting in verse 3, takes up all that he saw to be good, as a testimony to their reality, before he begins to deal with the evil (v. 4-9). "You come behind in no gift." There was gift, but very little grace.
That difference warns any church that measures itself by its ability.
Sadly, he has to admit a little later that they were "yet carnal", despite having "all knowledge" and coming "behind in no gift"... The flesh can boast in knowledge and use gifts for self-exaltation. But we do well to remember this: knowledge alone, and having every gift, will not prevent disorder or secure spirituality if the flesh goes unjudged.
The word Paul uses is apokalupsis. Commentators stress that this is not the usual word for His coming, though some older English versions translated it "coming" here.
In Paul's writings there are three words used for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one which perhaps appeals to us most is the word "Parousia", which means His own personal presence. But in our chapter the word is "Apokalupsis". It is the word used for the Revelation, and it means the rolling aside of the veil.
Kelly held that the older reading was wrong, and that the context settles it:
If it were the coming of the Lord Jesus, it would be a question of grace, which would not suit the context. But notice that he is speaking here about their being faithful in the use of their gifts. They were certainly far from that... It is never translated "coming" except here. It is always translated "revelation" elsewhere.
An unveiling is public. It brings to light what each servant did with what his Lord gave him. That is what a church proud of its gifts needed to hear.
This is not the side of our Lord's return which will unfold and express His grace to His own. It is the side that deals with conscience now, and that will one day display their faithful or unfaithful use of all entrusted to their charge... They needed to judge themselves as to whether they were serving the Lord with the manifestations of the Spirit given to each.
Commentators differ on how much this verse carries. Darby read it more narrowly:
They were waiting also for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is not exactly His "coming". I do not think it means more than that He is hidden as yet. There is nothing about the rapture here, nor the judgment.
Paul describes something all the believers at Corinth were doing together.
They were all there together "waiting" — it was an individual thing, it was a common hope — not all waiting to die, but "waiting for the revelation".
This hope also fixes where believers stand in the world.
They are described as "waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ". So they took the moral position, and held fast the hope. From the moment of the Lord's ascension, God had set that hope clearly before His people as the goal of their race and the end of their desire.
- Enriched — their gifts were speech, knowledge and power for others. They were no proof of a healthy soul.
- Exposed — a church can lack no gift and still be carnal. Gifts never replace judging the flesh.
- Unveiled — the word is apokalupsis, the rolling back of the veil, not the word for His personal presence.
- Examined — that unveiling will show what each one did with what his Lord gave him. So it searches the conscience now.
- Expecting — they all shared one hope. Ever since the ascension it has been the goal of God's people and the end of their desire.
who shall also confirm you to [the] end, unimpeachable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul ends his opening thanks by looking past everything the Corinthians were. How can he tell a church he is about to correct chapter after chapter that they will stand "guiltless" at the end?
Paul says this before a single word of rebuke. Their state did not weaken his confidence.
Verses 8 and 9 are very important. He had the hope that they were saints in a general way. Then he casts them on God's faithfulness, so that they would be blameless in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is one of the plainest cases of what people commonly, though not happily, call the perseverance of the saints. At that time they were going on very badly, yet here he introduces that they would be not safe but blameless. He connects this with the faithfulness of God.
Older translations render this word "blameless" or "unimpeachable." It describes a person no one can bring a charge against.
Besides Colossians 1:22 mentioned above, it occurs only in 1 Timothy 3:10 and Titus 1:6-7, where elders and deacons should be unimpeachable. It also occurs in 1 Corinthians 1:8, where the Lord Jesus will confirm the saints unimpeachable in His own day. There will be no room for any possible accusation.
The verse gives no ground in the Corinthians themselves. Their place in that day rests elsewhere.
In that day they will stand there, not on the ground of what they have done, but on the ground of what Christ has done. Thank God we are never told to strive to get to heaven. We should never get there; but we shall be there despite the trials and difficulties, "blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." Some say that if these things are made known, people will claim it does not matter how we live. But if we are to be there blameless on the ground of what Christ has done, we will seek to be blameless in what we are doing in this world.
The rebukes ahead do not weaken this promise. The promise does not soften the rebukes.
A soul never needs to hold fast grace more than when the unsparing, all-detecting word of God probes and searches it. So the apostle does not hesitate to say that the Lord will also confirm them to the last, unimpeachable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. How sad, then, that a Christian should be a reproach to Christ now! … "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord." If He has called, will He not also perform?
The verse says "the day," not "the coming." One writer ties that choice to service and responsibility.
The apostle speaks of the saints. They are responsible to use each gift in Christ's service now, and they wait for "the revelation" of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also confirm them to the end, unimpeachable in the "day" of our Lord Jesus Christ. But here again we see how responsibility brings in the "day." Grace, in its heavenly privileges, always goes with His "coming" and "presence."
That day carries three titles, and each has its own glory.
1 Corinthians 1:8 shows us the ability of Christ. In view of His appearing in glory, He is able to confirm the saints "to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." Scripture speaks of the "day of Christ" and the "day of the Lord." These point to different aspects of the same period. That period will also display the glories that belong to that Person as Lord, Jesus, Christ. God's purpose is that each one of us should be kept blameless, in moral agreement with the shining out of that glorious day.
The promise reaches wider than the individual. It touches God's whole intention for His people.
This is a very wonderful thing to lay hold of and not to forget: nothing will defeat God's purpose for the church. God has committed Himself to the blessing of His people, and He will secure it despite all the enemy's attacks and despite all our failure.
- Who — Christ confirms us; we do not confirm ourselves. The next verse gives the reason: God is faithful.
- What — not just safe, but guiltless: no room for any possible accusation.
- On what ground — believers stand in that day on the ground of what Christ has done, never on their own record.
- When — "the day," not "the coming": the day brings in responsibility, the coming brings in grace.
- So what — Paul gives this promise before a letter full of correction. Certainty at the end is the reason to hold fast grace now, and to refuse to be a reproach to Christ.
God [is] faithful, by whom ye have been called into [the] fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
God's faithfulness is the last word in Paul's opening to Corinth. He is about to correct that church, starting with its divisions. Before he names a single fault, he tells them who called them, and what He called them into.
Paul puts this at the end of his greeting, just before the corrections start. What he expects for the Corinthians rests on God's record, not theirs.
Verses 8 and 9 are very important. He hoped they were saints in a general way. Then he casts them on God's faithfulness, so that they would be blameless in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is one of the plainest cases of what is commonly called the perseverance of the saints — though that is not a happy name for it. At that time they were doing very badly. Yet here he says they would be not merely safe, but blameless.
The call rests on God, so its completion does too. But a call that sure also lays a claim on the people who received it.
If He has called, will He not also carry it through? (Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:24.) His call into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord is sure in His grace. It is no less serious in the claim it makes on us now: that we cast no shadow of unfaithfulness on either, staining His name, which is named on us.
Greek had two words for sharing. The word here is the closer of the two.
"Fellowship of His Son," which comes just after, means having a part together, and with Christ (koinonia), and in the blessings that are with Him. Partaking (metoke) is not communion (koinonia), and communion is the closer of the two. I partake of a thing, and to that extent I have it in common with someone else.
The exact wording matters. Paul does not write "fellowship with His Son" here. One writer separates this verse from the fellowship John's first letter describes.
Here again we find it set higher than if we limited our thoughts to "the communion of saints." It is the communion, or fellowship, of the Son of God. Notice that this passage does not say fellowship with His Son. That is the wonderful privilege of everyone who has eternal life, and we find it in 1 John 1:1-4. That fellowship with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ, is individual. It would be true of each child of God even if no one else on earth had entered into it.
How does anyone get into this fellowship? The answer separates it from every group people join by choice.
There were famous schools of philosophy when Paul wrote, and men joined them by their own choice. The assembly of God was not formed that way. Our choice did not put us there; His call did. He has truly called us into the fellowship of His Son. Since He has called us into it, we can be sure that here we find what those schools of human wisdom argued over and never reached — the knowledge of God.
Paul does not stop at "His Son." He gives four titles, and each adds something to the fellowship they name.
The full title — "His Son Jesus Christ our Lord" — carries something of the atmosphere of this fellowship. … He is supreme as God's Beloved Son, in whom God finds His delight; supreme as Jesus, the One God has highly exalted; supreme as Christ, the One in whom God will bring "all things" together under one head for His own glory; and supreme as Lord, to whom the whole universe will one day give undisputed allegiance.
Verse 9 is not a polite sign-off. What comes right after it shows why Paul set it there.
If 1 John 1:1-4 presents fellowship in its moral or spiritual power, which alone can keep it real, then 1 Corinthians 1:9 presents it from the side of our being called to it — our responsibility. So the apostle at once begins to speak of the divisions among them.
That responsibility reaches into daily conduct, since the One named is also called "our Lord."
So those who are called should value the dignity that belongs to Him as Lord. Then they will order all their ways by recognising His authority. They will avoid anything that does not fit with His lordship.
- Faithful — the verse starts with God's character, not ours. Paul writes to people who were doing very badly, and still promises them blameless, not merely safe.
- Called — you do not sign up for this fellowship. His call, not our choice, put us there.
- Fellowship — koinonia: having a part together with Christ, and in the blessings that are with Him. It is closer than merely partaking.
- Of His Son — commentators mark this off from the individual fellowship with the Father and the Son in 1 John. Here it is the fellowship that belongs to the Son of God Himself.
- Our Lord — the last title turns the privilege into a claim. What clashes with His lordship has no place here. That is why Paul turns first to their divisions.