BIG IDEA:
GOD’S CALLED SAINTS NEED TO HEED THE MESSAGE FROM GOD’S CALLED APOSTLE
BACKGROUND TO THE EPISTLE:
Dan Nighswander: Corinthians is a letter. That observation helps us to know how to read it and what to look for as clues for understanding. This awareness is especially useful in the letter opening, the thanksgiving section, and the closing. In the opening, the first three verses, we expect to see three characteristics of a typical letter—and we do see them. However, what catches our attention is not the conformity to a standard format, but rather the specific content and the nuances found within the format.
These opening sentences express some profound convictions about the nature of the Christian assembly, about believers, and about Paul. Here we read that Paul does not work alone: our brother Sosthenes is a cowriter. The sentences address not only the whole Corinthian Christian community but also all those . . . in every place for whom Jesus Christ is both their Lord and ours. Collective and plural forms of words throughout the opening draw attention to the corporate community of faith, as does the blessing from both the Father and the Son of the Holy Trinity.
Prominent in the opening is an understanding of call: Paul is called to be an apostle; the believers are called to be saints; believers call on the name of Jesus.
Finally, Paul says that the believers are sanctified and called to be saints (NIV, his holy people). The behaviors, attitudes, and convictions that we learn about in this letter stretch our understanding of what it means to be sanctified/saints/holy. Already in these opening words we see a signal that these kinds of issues need to be addressed and will be in the rest of the letter. . .
Because he wrote the letter for a particular occasion to a particular assembly, Paul did not explain all the background to what he wrote. It was not necessary to provide details of which they already knew, except to make a brief identifying reference to a quotation or an issue, as we will note at several points in this commentary. His teaching and advice are contextual. It is quite possible that if he had written to a different context, even on the same matters, he would have written differently. This is one of the interpretive questions that we readers in a much different context of time, place, culture, assumptions, and experience need to discern as we read this letter.
I. (:1) THE DIVINE CALLING OF THE AUTHOR — DIVINE APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY LENDS CLOUT TO PAUL’S INSTRUCTION TO THE SAINTS
A. Author = Apostle Paul
“Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God”
- His Identification
a. Paul’s pre-Christian Roots
– Upbringing
– Persecution of the church
b. Paul’s Conversion on Road to Damascus
c. Paul’s Connection with the Church at Corinth
- His Apostolic Calling
a. Concept of a “Calling”
– Implies Divine Initiative and Determination
– How does this relate to our spiritual giftedness and role in the church?
– How did this relate to Paul’s tent-making role on different occasions?
b. Apostolic Function and Credentials
– Basic Mission of Apostle
– Foundational in the building of the church
– Nature of Apostolic Authority
– Credentials of Apostle
c. Representative of the Head of the Church = “of Jesus Christ”
d. Divine Initiative and Determination
“by the will of God”
Mare: Here he refers to it [his apostleship] because his authority has been challenged (cf. 1 Cor 1:12 and 9:1-27).
Paul Gardner: To have been “called” (κλητός) by God to be an apostle of “Christ Jesus” and thus to have a foundational role in proclaiming, interpreting, and demonstrating the gospel of Jesus Christ in his life might have been regarded as an arrogant claim, even a boast. Yet the Corinthians’ complaint about Paul was that he was not like this, and his bearing was hardly that of a person who had the “authority” of Christ. In fact, Paul was not boastful. Rather, he presented the gospel in weakness of speech (1:17) and also through what appeared to be a weak life (see 2 Cor 10–11). In doing this he both spoke and lived out the message of Christ, following in his footsteps and even in his sufferings. This opening is, then, a strong claim to authority founded in both God the Father and in Jesus Christ. Paul will develop further the nature of this calling as he speaks against the divisive Corinthian view of power and wisdom.
B. Companion – Accompanied/Assisted by Brother Sosthenes – Family Intimacy Also Lends Clout to These Instructions to the Saints
“and Sosthenes our brother”
Principle: Differing roles of authority in the church do not compromise equality of brotherhood in terms of personal relationships in the church of Jesus Christ.
Principle: Paul’s ministry is always portrayed as part of a larger team effort, not as a one man crusade.
Probably the same individual identified in Acts 18:17 as ruler of the synagogue at Corinth during Paul’s first visit there. Thus you would have two former Jewish leaders, former opponents of the church of Jesus Christ, who are not united as brothers in their concern for the saints at Corinth. (see Zondervan Pict. Ency of the Bible)
Lenski: In associating himself with this brother Paul conveys the idea that the voice of apostolic authority here unites with the voice of brotherly solicitude and that each is represented in a person who is known to the Corinthians.
Richard Hays: “Sosthenes the brother,” mentioned as co-sender of the letter (1 Cor. 1:1), is probably the same person described by Luke in Acts 18:17 as a leader of the synagogue in Corinth. According to that account, he was roughed up by a crowd of Corinthian Jews who were frustrated by the decision of the Roman proconsul Gallio to ignore their complaints against Paul. Why they picked on Sosthenes is not clear in the Acts narrative; perhaps if he had not already become a Christian convert he was at least perceived as sympathetic to Paul. By the time of the writing of this letter—two to four years later—Sosthenes was apparently with Paul in Ephesus, sharing in Paul’s missionary work. If he was a notable Corinthian convert who had suffered for the gospel, he might have been a person of some influence among the Corinthian Christians. Thus, though he is not mentioned again in the text, his appearance in the salutation perhaps lends some additional weight to the appeals that Paul will make throughout the letter. This is the first indication of a fact we will note repeatedly: Paul employs considerable political tact in addressing the touchy situation in the Corinthian church.
II. (:2) THE DIVINE CALLING OF THE RECIPIENTS – HOLINESS SHOULD CHARACTERIZE THE CHURCH OF GOD BECAUSE OF THEIR INTIMATE CONNECTION TO THEIR LORD JESUS CHRIST
A. Application to the Local Church at Corinth
“To the church of God which is at Corinth”
- – the church belongs to God . . . not to the Apostle Paul
- – Significance of membership in local church
- – Context of situation in Corinth
Paul Gardner: Right at the start Paul reminds them that they are God’s church. “The church does not ‘belong’ to any of its in-groups or leaders, but to God.”
Craig Blomberg: The recipients of the letter are the Corinthian Christians. They probably comprise several house-congregations, but Paul addresses them as a collective whole, “the church” or assembly of those God has saved.
Richard Hays: Even in the opening address of the letter, Paul places the church at Corinth and its particular concerns within a much wider story, encouraging them to see themselves as part of a network of communities of faith stretching around the Mediterranean world. The importance of this broader framework will emerge as the letter proceeds. We will see that Paul chides the Corinthian Christians for their prideful presumption that their spiritual freedom liberates them from accountability to others: “[D]id the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?” (14:36). The answer is, of course, that the word of God has reached many and that the Corinthians must see themselves as part of a much larger movement, subject to the same Lord whose authority governs the church as a whole. They are not spiritual free agents. The church of God that is in Corinth is just one branch of a larger operation.
B. Identified as Saints
- Historical misuse of this term by Roman Catholic Church
MacArthur: A saint, as the term is used in the New Testament, is not a specially pious or self-sacrificing Christian who has been canonized by an ecclesiastical council.
- Sanctified by Virtue of Our Union with Jesus Christ
“to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus”
Perf passive participle
Grosheide: God has sanctified them. He has liberated them from the unclean world and has put them in a relationship to Himself whereby they might have intercourse with Him (Jn. 17:19; 1 Thess. 5:23).
- Saints by Calling (and by Nature)
“saints by calling” (same root word)
Richard Hays: This does not mean that the Corinthians have some special vocation that sets them apart from other Christians; rather, they—along with all other Christians—are set apart from a confused and perishing world, marked by God as God’s people. Paul regards all the members of all his churches as “the saints,” the elect of God.
Anthony Thiselton: Paul does not imply that Christians are already morally perfect. Another writer well expresses the point that “the church is a school for sinners, not a museum for saints.” Nevertheless, Christian discipleship involves striving to become that which in terms of status God has already given. Practical holiness entails being transformed in Christ-likeness and goodness day by day. This is living out in practice what belonging to God means.
C. Application to the Universal Church
- Extends to All Believers Without Exception
“with all”
- Ethnic Background — Gentile vs Jew
- Gender — Male vs Female
- Age — Young vs Old
- Social Class — Rich vs Poor
- Not limited by Time – back then or today
- Not Limited by Physical Location (John 4:24)
“who in every place”
- Common Faith = Distinguishing Characteristic of Believers
“call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”
- – Background from earliest times – concept of Progressive Revelation Gen. 4:26
- – Background from days of Abraham Gen. 12:8; 13:4; 21:33
- – Background from Psalms of David Ps. 116:4
- – Characteristic of Believers in Church Age Romans 10
- – Characteristic of Believers in the day of the Lord Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21
What do we call on Jesus for?
For Salvation, Deliverance, Provision, Guidance, Protection . . .
Connection to Prayer – the lifeline for believers
Significance of “the name” = the character
– need to get to know Jesus Christ better so we can better call on His name
Hodge: To call upon the name of any one is to invoke his aid.
- Common Allegiance
“their Lord and ours”
[Alternative translation would connect these genitives to “their place of worship and ours”]
Cannot have a possessive or exclusivistic approach as if our particular local church or denomination has some special claim on the Lord
How can people take a stand against “Lordship salvation” and claim that calling on the name of Jesus bears no connection to a willingness to own Him as our Lord and God?
Call to Holiness and conformity to the divine will and character runs throughout the epistle.
Anthony Thiselton: No Christian, or group of Christians, possesses a monopoly of the presence, wisdom, or power of Christ.
III. (:3) THE CALLING FOR DIVINE PROVISION OF SPIRITUAL RESOURCES — GRACE AND PEACE SUM UP THE UNIVERSAL NEED OF SAINTS
A. Two Essential Provisions
Gordon Fee: In a sense this sums up the whole of Paul’s theological outlook. The sum total of all of God’s activity toward his human creatures is found in the word “grace”; God has given himself to them mercifully and bountifully in Christ. Nothing is deserved; nothing can be achieved: “’Tis mercy all, immense and free.” And the sum total of those benefits as they are experienced by the recipients of God’s grace is found in the word “peace,” meaning “well-being, wholeness, welfare.” The one flows out of the other, and both together flow from “God our Father” and were made effective in human history through our “Lord Jesus Christ.”
Adewuya: Paul then wishes the Corinthians grace and peace (v. 3). Grace has to do with both the favor that God bestowed upon the Corinthians at salvation and the continuing power to sustain their Christian life. Peace is the result of the believer’s relationship with God. Peace does not necessarily imply the absence of trouble, but the calmness and assurance that derive from the knowledge that God is always in “control,” no matter what. He is in charge.
- “Grace”
Paul Gardner: The word “grace” (χάρις) is one of the most loved of all Christian words. Its origins lie in the idea of favor. In Classical usage it could refer to the favor of the gods. As it is used in the New Testament and specially by Paul, however, it often becomes effectively a shorthand for all God’s loving care for his people and for all that believers receive from God and the Lord Christ, especially their salvation. In modern Christendom, the English word “grace” is normally understood as referring to the entirely undeserved mercy and forgiveness of God toward sinful humanity that issues from his love and from his purposes to redeem a people for himself. However, it is important to realise that the word itself (χάρις) is embedded in the terminology relating to the giving of gifts. Indeed, on occasion its most natural English translation will simply be “gift” (cf. 1 Cor 16:3), or “act of giving” (2 Cor 8:6–7; NIV: “grace of giving”). Gifts can indeed be utterly undeserved, but they can also be given for a whole variety of other reasons. For example, they can be given to people by way of reciprocation for a gift received, or given to a person to curry favor, or because someone has done something to deserve it. In understanding this, it becomes important to examine carefully the context, which alone may reveal whether such gift-giving is in some sense deserved or undeserved. Frequently this will be tied into the relationship between the giver and the one receiving the gift. In an outstanding treatise on the subject of gift and grace, John Barclay has demonstrated how varied can be the meaning of this word, even in relation to God’s various giftings of his people. That grace that is given without reference to the recipient’s status, worth, or otherwise he refers to as “incongruous” grace. In v. 4 the word is defined in relation to the saving and sustaining work of God in Christ, the Lord. Here it surely carries the sense of an undeserved gift that elicits great thankfulness from the apostle as he sees among them the gift of God in their calling, in what he has given them for the encouragement and benefit of the church, and in the way God will ensure they are found “not guilty” on the day of the Lord (v. 8).
- “Peace”
Morris: It is not simply the absence of strife, but the presence of positive blessings. It is the prosperity of the whole man, especially his spiritual prosperity.
Anthony Thiselton: The Greek translation of the Hebrew shālōm denotes an objective state of well-being. In a distinctively Christian context this includes most especially a state of harmony with God, who is the source of peace or well-being.
B. Two Reliable Providers
- Ultimate Source
“from God our Father” – our inclusion in the family of God
- Mediating Channel
“and the Lord Jesus Christ” – our allegiance to the head of the Church
Hodge: These infinite blessings suppose an infinite source; and as they are sought no less from Christ than from God the Father, Christ must be a divine person.