May 23 Click on verses for Full Scripture

previous - - - - - - - - - - next

Today's Pathway: I Corinthians 1:1-7 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 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: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Paul begins his epistle to the Church at Corinth in a fairly standard way. He states that he is an apostle, and thereby is claiming the authority to write to them in the manner that he is going to. He mentions that he is an apostle "through the will of God". Paul had not taken on his apostolic authority arbitrarily; it was been given to him by God. Therefore, the church at Corinth needs to listen to what he has to say. In light of the fact that much of what Paul is going to write in this book is negative, and exposes the carnality of the church, he establishes immediately that he has the divine right to say what he is going to say. In verse 1 he mentions a man named Sosthenes. All we know for sure about Sosthenes is that he is a brother in Christ. However, it is very possible that this is the same man who is mentioned in Acts 18:17 where we read,

"Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat."

In verse 2 Paul states that he is writing to the church. The church members had been "sanctified in Christ Jesus", which simply means that they had been saved and set apart unto Him. They were saints, which is from the same root Greek word as "sanctified". They were believers, but as believers they were expected to be holy. When a man gets saved he is set apart by God positionally. However, the believer also needs to choose to set himself apart from sin as he goes through his daily life. Not only were the Corinthians supposed to do this, but all that call upon Jesus' name should do the same thing. Regardless of where the Christian is, or what his background or ethnicity might be, all have been saved the same way, all have been set apart by God, and all are expected to live lives that reflect their relationship with God.

In verse 3 Paul gives a typical greeting, calling for God to give grace and peace to the church. He then tells them in verses 4-5 that he is thankful for both their salvation and the fact that God has been blessing them. They have been enriched by God, not necessarily financially, but with utterance and knowledge. The church apparently was filled with people who knew the Bible, and who were bold to speak that which they knew to those who needed to hear it. In verses 6-7 he says that they had a testimony that they were saved, and it was confirmed through the spiritual gifts that they received. In fact they were a very gifted church, for Paul says that they "come behind in no gift". They were also looking forward to the Lord's return, as all believers should be.

It is interesting to note that these positive things that Paul has already mentioned are characteristics for which he is going to need to rebuke them later in the letter. In 3:3 he will call these sanctified Christians "carnal". In 8:1 he warns these informed believers that "knowledge puffeth up". In chapters 12-14 he points out to these gifted and vocal church members their abuse of their spiritual gifts, particularly their errors in speaking in tongues. In chapter 15 Paul shows these believers that were looking forward to Christ's return that they were in error concerning the doctrine of the resurrection. That which God had blessed them with they had corrupted, and much of this letter is geared towards showing the Corinthians the proper way to use that which God had so richly given them.

What are you doing with what God has given you?