1 Corinthians 1:2-3

Introduction

Last week I mentioned that a first century letter followed a certain pattern. The pattern started with the author then branched out to the audience, greeting, prayer wish of thanksgiving, body, and conclusion. Many Commentaries view the first four parts of an epistle as the introduction to the letter. Even if their assertion is true, this does not erode the powerful impact an introduction has. In many cases, an introduction gives you insight into the direction of the letter. There are clues within the introduction that provides insight into the letter’s objective.

We saw this last week with Paul asserting his apostolic credentials and including Sosthenes, a respected person with the Corinthian Church, as a supporting character witness to his Apostolic authority and the contents of this letter.

This week is not any different. There are wonderful clues to extract from the audience and greeting parts of a letter that provides more insight into the letter’s direction.

Church of God

1 Corinthians 1:2 “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:”

Church - The term “church” means “a called out assembly.” Thayers: “an assembly of the people convened at the public place of council for the purpose of deliberating.” Originally, the word had a secular context. Christianity moved the word to a more religious setting. The idea is a called out assembly that is united in it’s purpose. If there is not a unified purpose then the assembly becomes confused or disjointed. This is illustrated in a secular sense from Acts 19.

In Acts 19, Paul is in Ephesus. Ephesus was committed to the goddess Diana. Many of their business biggest profits came from the worship of Diana. An economic problem arose with Paul preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Ephesus. The power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was changing many Ephesians. Businesses were fearing they would lose money if this movement continued. Therefore, in a riotous and incoherent way, they seized Christian leaders in Ephesus and brought them to the theatre. In the spirit of this mob, some people did not know why they were assembling in the theatre, they just came along for the ride. They were coming together without any unified purpose. Acts 19:32 “Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.”

As this relates to a New Testament Church, an assembly that does not know the purpose of their coming together results in a confusing assembly that produces disunity.

The church in Corinth had little to no unity as to why they were coming together. Their focus was not God but men; their priority was not building others but selfishly edifying themselves; their aim was not a community but sub-communities within a community based upon ethnicity and economics; and, they had selfish ambitions instead of fulfilling the Great Commission. On almost every level there were discord. An old hymn speaks to why these discords should not exist within one of the Lord’s churches.

The Ground Is Level Verse 1: You may own earth's silver Have riches untold But all of earth's wealth, my friend Won't save your soul You may live in a mansion All the world know your name But at the foot of the cross, my friend Everyone stands the same. Chorus: The ground is level at the foot of the cross. Anyone may come there for there is no cost Rich man or poor man, bonded or free. The ground was leveled that day at Calvary. Verse 2: You may be a beggar Have nothing to wear May eat at a table Without one crumb to spare But at the foot of they cross, my friend You may stand by a king 'Cause all of earth's money Won't be worth anything. Chorus: Tag: Rich man or poor man, Bonded or Free The ground was leveled that day at Calvary.

Based upon them having different purposes in congregating they were no different than the crowd in Ephesus. Acts 19:32 “Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.”

Our purpose must be truth. We do not know God, worship, salvation fellowship, etc…outside of truth. Truth has to be the reason we come together. Not your truth or my truth, but God’s truth. Not your feelings or my emotions but God’s words. Many people do not go to church because of their emotions or feelings, while not dismissing their pain or experiences, the power that brings us together is truth! I can disagree with you politically, financially or have conflicting personality, so long as we agree on truth - God’s truth! Consider how important truth is in terms of worshipping God.

John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

John 8:31–32 “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Truth frees us from the reasons that prohibit us from worshipping with like-minded believers.

1 Timothy 3:15 “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” The church must be an institution that is holds up the truth!

1 Corinthians 13:6 “Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;”

Amos 3:3 “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”

1 Samuel 15:22 “And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to hearken than the fat of rams.”

Truth is essential in the worship of God! The number one reason is God is truth!

Psalm 31:5 “Into thine hand I commit my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.”

John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

John 14:17 “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

Steve Lawson asked: How valuable is truth? Psalm 19:10 “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”

John Calvin says, “Nothing is deemed more precious by God than truth.”

The church in Corinth was not united in purpose because truth was relegated to an inferior purpose. The result was this church were saying multiple statements that spoke of her confusion.

Church - Notice, Paul wrote “the church of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:2 “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:” This is a vastly different way to introduce the audience of his church epistles.

Galatians 1:2 “And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:”

Ephesians 1:1 “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:”

Philippians 1:1 “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:”

Colossians 1:2 “To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 1:1 “Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 Thessalonians 1:1 “Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:”

The usual pattern is “in” Christ or in God. In First and Second Corinthians Paul wrote “church of God.” There is a difference between “in” and “of.” “In” speaks of sphere, but “of” speaks of ownership or possession. No doubt that the Church in Corinth was in Christ; however, Paul wanted to remind them that the Church in Corinth belonged to God and is possessed by God! The church was purchased by God (Acts 20:28); therefore, the church belongs to God and not the number of factions within the church.

The Triune Godhead is not divided amongst their members and each person within the Godhead is not divided within themselves. Just like (Mark 3:24) “...if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand,” God could not be God if He were divided against Himself. Paul wrote: 1 Corinthians 1:13 “Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” These are rhetorical questions which means the answers are known. Christ is not divided against Himself. If Christ, which is the Head of the church and the church being His body is not divided against Himself and God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” ) and the value of gifts is to remove schisms within a church (1 Corinthians 12:25 “That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.” ) then why are you representing me is such a self-centered and destructive manner? If God owns the church then the church should reflect the unity of God.

Here is the significance: in Paul wrote in Acts 20:28 “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” God owns the church because Jesus Christ purchased the church with His blood. The context of the “church” is not universal but local. Each pastor, like a shepherd needs to lead their church which has been purchased by Jesus Christ. Christians and the institution of the church has been purchased by the sacrificial work of Jesus on the cross. Therefore, as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:20 “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Our mission as Christians and a church is the glorify God!

Church is sanctified

1 Corinthians 1:2 “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:”

Sanctified - To make holy.

There are two features about this verb that requires our attention:

Perfect Tense - There are three aspects of sanctification: positional, progressive and future. Positional sanctification means that when God saved us, we were made holy and can never be more holy than the day we were made holy. Progressive sanctification means that God uses the truth of His word (John 17:17) to make us more like Jesus Christ. Future sanctification is the future glorification of the believer. The Perfect Tense of this verb references our positional sanctification. The action of sanctification has been completed in the past with present results. Meaning, we have been made holy and are still holy today. Nothing can remove our holiness. This is profound because there is nothing resembling holy within us. Our very essence is sinfulness. David said: Psalm 51:5 “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me.”

God’s grace has the power to make the unlikeliest people holy. Consider the people mentioned in this epistle so far: Paul was a vile persecutor of the Lord’s church. Paul’s veracity as a persecutor is known through his own words: Acts 26:9–11 “I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.” Sosthenes viewed Christianity as an insurrectionist movement (Acts 18:12 “And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat” ). Many of the Corinthian believers lived on the bad side of bad before their remarkable salvation (1 Corinthians 6:9–11 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” ).

Passive Voice - How is it possible that undeserving people can be made holy? The voice of the verb answers the question. The voice is passive, meaning, you are being made holy by someone else. Both Peter and Paul answers the question regarding who makes us holy: 1 Peter 1:2 “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied;” 2 Thessalonians 2:13 “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.”

Paul gives the reason the Holy Spirit is willing to make an unholy and profane person holy: they are “in Christ Jesus.” The preposition “in” speaks of the sphere in which we can be made holy. Our holiness is in Christ Jesus and Him alone. We cannot be made holy in any other person becasue no other person is holy within themselves. We are made holy becasue Jesus’ nature and character is holy.

To write about our sanctification being in Christ Jesus, Paul magnifies God’s grace. The work of sanctification is eternally bound to God’s amazing grace. It is a humbling know the truth that our positional holiness is not attributed to anything about us, but is attributed to the thrice holy God, who in an overwhelming and incomprehensible manner loved us. The very first verb that Paul used to describe the Corinthian church should have sent reverberating shock waves, reminding them of the enormous and infinite cost so that they could be sanctified.

Church is called to be saints

1 Corinthians 1:2 “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:”

Another way of saying “saints” is God has called us to be “divinely different.” Our marching orders from God is to be divinely different. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Jesus says that we are to be the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13–14 “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid”).

To borrow the title of a book I read years ago - Things that are different are not the same. However, the opposite is true: if we are not different than we are the same.

In addition to God calling us to be different, there is a play on words that connects relationally Paul and the Corinthians together. Paul was called to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ, and the church in Corinth was called to be saints. Paul is conscious of God’s initiative in calling him and the Corinthian church. God’s calling brought his apostleship and their sainthood into existence. “If God had not thus called, he would not have become an apostle and they would not have found Jesus Christ to be the wisdom and power of God...”

Paul reminds them of their response to God’s calling. They “call(ed) upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.” A saint lives differently because Jesus Christ is their Lord. The Corinthians were not so much different men as their Lord, instead of Jesus Christ who was their Lord.

Church needs grace and peace

1 Corinthians 1:3 “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”