1 Corinthians 1:1-3

1 Corinthians

 

GREETINGS FROM PAUL

1 Corinthians 1:1-3

Life Application New Testament Commentary:

Through various sources, Paul had received reports of problems in the Corinthian church, including jealousy, divisiveness, sexual immorality, and failure to discipline members. Churches today also address many of the same problems. Believers can learn a great deal by seeing how Paul handled these delicate situation

Greeting

1Co 1:1  This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes.

Life Application New Testament Commentary

1:1 Following the style of first-century letters, Paul began his letter to the Corinthians by introducing himself as the writer: This letter is from Paul. Then he described himself as chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. God chose Paul for special work among the Gentiles (Act_9:15). Paul was not one of the original twelve disciples (later called apostles), but the risen Christ Jesus had confronted him on the road to Damascus and had called him to preach the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles (Act_9:3-19). The apostles’ mission was to be God’s representatives: They were envoys, messengers, and delegates directly under the authority of Jesus Christ. They had authority to set up and supervise churches and to discipline them if necessary (which Paul did in these two letters to the Corinthian church).

The brother named Sosthenes may have been Paul’s secretary, who had written this letter as Paul had dictated it. He was probably the Jewish synagogue leader in Corinth (Act_18:17) who had been beaten during an attack on Paul and then later became a believer. Sosthenes was well known to the members of the Corinthian church, so Paul included his familiar name in the opening of the letter.

(ME) I use the Life Application New Testament Commentary extensively. There is so much information that I do not know that I tend to use it. I think it is fair since it is important to know the who, what, and why’s of each situation.

1Co 1:2  I am writing to God's church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be His own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as He did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

Life Application New Testament Commentary 1:2 Paul wrote this letter to the church of God in Corinth while he was visiting Ephesus during his third missionary journey (Acts 19:1–20:1). Corinth and Ephesus faced each other across the Aegean Sea. Paul knew the Corinthian church well because he had spent eighteen months in Corinth during his second missionary journey (Act_18:1-18). While in Ephesus, he had heard about problems in Corinth (1Co_1:11). About the same time, a delegation from the Corinthian church had visited Paul to ask his advice about their conflicts (1Co_16:17). Paul’s purpose for writing was to correct those problems and to answer questions that church members had asked in a previous letter (1Co_7:1). For more about the city, see the Setting section in the Introduction.

Corinth, a giant cultural melting pot with a great diversity of wealth, religions, and moral standards, had a reputation for being fiercely independent and as decadent as any city in the world. Yet out of this moral wasteland God formed a church through Paul’s ministry. Paul recognized this group of believers as called by God to be his own holy people. The term “called” means designated by God. God had identified them to serve him and not to serve their own purposes. To be made holy means to be cleansed of sin, separated from the world, and belonging to God. This can only happen through salvation in Christ Jesus, for only his death on the cross could accomplish this for sinners. Jesus did this not just for the Corinthians, but for all Christians everywhere. The Corinthian church must have included a great cross section of believers—wealthy merchants, common laborers, perhaps former temple prostitutes, and middle-class families. Because of the wide diversity of people and backgrounds, Paul took great pains to stress the need for both spiritual unity and Christ like character.

1Co 1:3  May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.