Paul was a genius in the area of religious living. However, his genius was not that of a man with one outstanding talent, which was utilized relentlessly to achieve a goal. It was many-sided. He combined genuine courtesy with passionate convictions; he united intellectual brilliance with deep piety; he merged powerful preaching ability with extraordinary missionary labors; he allied a profound concern for the present with an overwhelming expectation for the future. Many of these traits appear in the introduction to the letter.
The apostolic greetings contain three familiar patterns in Paul’s approach to a delicate church situation. There is the declaration of his personal apostleship, the note which reminds the church of its spiritual relationship to Christ, and the courteous expression of spiritual concern.
1. Paul’s Apostleship (1:1)
Paul was not a reluctant prophet, nor did he have the “preacher’s itch.” He did not debate with God about his ability to preach and to lead, as did Moses (Exod. 3:11—4:17). Nor did he shrink from the task of preaching, as did Jeremiah (Jer. 1:6). For Paul, to know God’s will was to attempt to do it. His willingness to preach may have reflected a particular personality response in the man, but beyond this there was the sense of divine imperative, the recognition of the lordship of Christ, and a submission to God’s will. From the time of his conversion on the Damascus road until his death, Paul had one overwhelming purpose—to preach the message of redemption in Christ. Luke, the historian, states that within a few days after Paul’s acceptance of the lordship of Christ “straightway he preached Christ … that he is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20). Paul never varied from this divinely appointed mission.
a. The divine imperative. Paul was called. The divine call is mysterious in its selection, but real and knowable in its expression. To a spiritually sensitive soul like Paul, to be “divinely selected and appointed”1 to the ministry of preaching was the greatest of honors as well as the highest of obligations. Paul was always careful to present his apostolic credentials (Rom. 1:1; Gal. 1:1; Eph. 1:1). An apostle is one who is directly commissioned and dispatched with a message, as a delegate, envoy, or ambassador.2 The title is used at times in a general sense to include associates and assistants, such as Barnabas. But Lenski writes that “this is evidently not the case when the word is employed in the introduction to a weighty letter. Only the Twelve and Paul are ‘apostles’ in the strict sense of the term.”3
By referring to his apostolic commission Paul indicated that it was the sovereign will of God and not human merit that qualified men to preach. In the case of the Corinthian church Paul may have desired also to suggest that his authority was God-ordained, not self-assumed. Self-appointed prophets have no vital concern for the church. But a called … apostle has a concern and a compassion that become a divine imperative which transforms the course of his life. Paul regarded his apostleship as “an express intervention of the divine will.”4 He was called “to be herald and dispenser”5 in God’s redemptive work.
b. Christ-centered commission. Paul made his message relevant to his day by preaching about Christ. Bypassing the rational appeal and the oratorical approach, Paul announced at the outset that the foundation of his message was the crucified and resurrected Saviour. He was well aware of man’s involvement in sin. But Paul was also aware that no human self-analysis and no personal human power could transform the nature of man. Thus his message was Christ-centered; Paul was always an apostle of Jesus Christ. Further, his commission was by the will of God, which placed the whole matter of his apostleship beyond any valid challenge.
c. Brotherly fellowship. Sosthenes was included in the greeting, because Paul was all-inclusive in his outreach, and always individualized his religious concern. He was more concerned with people than with causes. Sosthenes was a Jew by birth and had been a ruler of the synagogue at Corinth (Acts 18: 12-17). When Paul was arraigned before Gallio, Sosthenes either defended Paul or declared himself a Christian. At any rate, he was mobbed and beaten by his own countrymen in the presence of Gallio (Acts 18:17). He was probably with Paul in Ephesus when the apostle was writing. Sosthenes was a noted convert to Christianity in Corinth and well-known to the Corinthian congregation. Paul referred to him as our brother or “our colleague.”
2. Spiritual Recognition (1:2)
Paul’s sense of apostleship was always two-dimensional—it came from God and it was directed to the Church of Jesus Christ. In shifting the emphasis of his greeting from personal apostleship to the wider area, Paul suggests four things about the Church. First, it is universal in scope—it is the Church of God. Second, the Church is a unique fellowship—it is separated. Third, the Church has a particular calling or vocation—it is to be saintly. Finally, Christ is the Object of worship in the Church and is the Lord of all the Church.
a. The universal nature of the Church (1:2). In the NT the word church (ecclesia) means “the community of the redeemed.”6 In its primary meaning the Church is “the entire congregation of all who are called by and to Christ, who are in the fellowship of His salvation—the church.”7 The idea of the universality of the Church is found in Acts 2:47; 9:31; and Rom. 16:23.
Here Paul speaks of the church of God which is at Corinth. Every individual church is but a fragment of the. universal Church of the redeemed—the Church of God. The Corinthian church had a tendency to act as a law unto itself in matters of conduct and of doctrine. But Paul issued the mandate clearly and precisely; it is the church of God which happens to be located in Corinth. As such it is a member of the whole body. Churches may differ in creed, policy, or conduct and yet belong to the body of Christ. But no group can isolate itself from the community of the redeemed and remain part of the Church of God.
b. The Church is sanctified—separated (1:2). When Paul refers to the Corinthians as them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, he indicates a unique state of dedication and separation rather than a state of self-righteous isolation. As it is used in the context of this greeting, “the term ‘sanctified’ signifies set apart to God, and is a designation applied to all believers.”8 The Corin thians, like all followers of Christ, were God’s called-out people. They were called to dedication to God and to separation from sin. As believers they had received the grace of regeneration, or initial sanctification. As in any mixed group of Christian people, some of them no doubt had experienced entire sanctification. As one writer states it: “Here is the gospel for a city with all its corruption and licentiousness, vice and ignorance—a gospel that is completely adequate for every situation when it is intelligently preached and intelligently understood.”9
c.The Christian vocation (1:2). The Christian vocation is holiness. Paul calls the Corinthians saints. This is a rather gener ous use of the word in the light of the low spiritual state of these people. However, saints here is a general term meaning “mem bers of this church.” Yet it means more than nominal member ship in the Christian community. When Paul calls the Christian a saint (hagios), he means that this man has a specific calling which makes him different because he belongs to God. Barclay writes: “And that difference is not to be marked by the with drawal from ordinary life and activity, but by showing in ordi nary life a difference of quality and character which will mark him out as the man of God.”10 Adam Clarke interprets the words called to be saints as follows: “Constituted saints, or invited to become such; this was the design of the Gospel, for Jesus Christ came to save men from their sins.”11 These church people were dedicated to God, were separated to God, and were to indicate their dedication by a sense of vocation climaxing in holiness. As Vine put it, “The phrase ‘called to be saints,’literally, ‘called saints’… does not simply assign the name to them; it signifies ‘saints by calling.’“12
d. Christ is Lord of the Church (1:2). The entire idea of being sanctified and called as saints assumes the lordship of Jesus. For all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord bow to His authority and leadership. The significant title “Lord Jesus Christ” is used four times in the first 10 verses of this opening chapter, and the title Jesus Christ our Lord is used twice (vv. 2, 9). The frequent reminder of the lordship of Christ was particularly meaningful to a church that was split into factions and which had strong tendencies to disregard the sovereign rule of Christ in their lives.
3. Courteous Spiritual Concern (1:3)
Paul’s approach to a carnal and fractious church was expressed in courteous spiritual concern. He did not evade issues nor did he bypass personal convictions. But he dealt with basic issues and expressed strong convictions in a spirit of courtesy. Paul’s method of saying “hello” was to say: Grace … unto you, and peace.
a. The meaning of grace. Grace is defined as the free, unde served favor, or mercy of God. In its original usage, it refers to something which is “conferred freely, with no expectation of return, and finding its only motive in the bounty and freeheartedness of the giver.”13 But grace is much more than mere favor or goodwill. Grace comes, as Paul declares, from God our Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. God is the Spring or Source, while Jesus Christ is the Channel or Medium through which it comes. Grace is thus God’s holiness and purity extended to man. It is God’s willingness to share himself with an unde serving sinner.
b. The presence of peace. The ancient Hebrew greeting was, Shalom, Peace. But Paul found personal peace only through the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace, in the Pauline sense, does not suggest laziness, inactivity, or freedom from adverse conditions. It implies inner security without friction. It also means inner peace and outer poise, a sense of harmony and well-being because guilt is gone and the power of sin is broken. Peace is a sense of meaning and purpose which comes from centering one’s life on doing God’s will.
B. PERSONAL APPRECIATION, 1:4-5
Paul was big-spirited. Apparently without any personal family ties and with no material possessions, his source of satisfaction was in his converts. Thus he could write: I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ (4). Even though the people in the church at Corinth were beset by an amazing catalogue of carnal qualities, yet the comparison of their new life in Christ to their old life in corrupt heathenism was a source of satisfaction to Paul. He knew full well the glory and the power, the truly revolutionary nature of redeeming grace. Yet Paul was also realistic enough in his thinking to realize that there was no such thing as “instant sainthood.” While he did not condone the sins and the faults, the lack of spiritual growth in the church, he expressed his appreciation for the degree of spiritual progress they had made. Further, he may have desired to state his gratitude in order to temper the severity of his later discussions of their problems.
Paul also appreciated the spiritual enrichment and the knowledge of the Corinthians. He writes: That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge (5). Bishop Lightfoot interprets this enrichment as follows: “Not only were the Corinthians rich in the knowledge of the truths of the Gospel, but they were also gifted with the power of enunciating them effectively.”14 The reference suggests that the Corinthians were once utterly destitute spiritually, but now had come into great spiritual wealth. From the context it is clear that Paul had in mind primarily the gift of grace, which is true wealth.
Paul’s preaching had promised a revolutionary new way of life. This promise was fulfilled with abundant spiritual gifts and power.
1. Spiritual Expectation Fulfilled (1:6)
The testimony of Christ was the proclamation that as the Son of God He would grant peace, joy, and pardon. Now this testimony was verified and established by their acceptance of the gospel. The verb confirmed (bebaioo) is a technical term meaning “guaranteeing the delivery of something of which the earnest had already been paid.”15 Thus when the Corinthians accepted Paul’s gospel of Christ, they received a down payment of spiritual wealth which was delivered as promised. When God guarantees delivery, the goods are already in transit.
2. Abundant Spiritual Gifts (1:7)
In the expression so that ye come behind in no gift, the verb come behind means to be deficient in, fall short, to be lacking. Stated in positive terms, the Corinthians had an abundance of spiritual gifts, all that was necessary to salvation. The word gift (charisma) is used only by Paul in the NT (except I Pet. 4:10). Paul used the word in two ways. Generally, the word means “the effect of God’s gracious dealings, the positive blessing bestowed upon sinners through grace.”16 In this general sense it includes all spiritual graces and all spiritual endowments. It is used by Paul also in a special way to refer to particular spiritual endowments which would be used in the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Such gifts are discussed toward the end of this letter, in cc. 12—14.
In this first chapter Paul used the word gift in its more general sense. Regarding the use of the word here Bishop Light-foot writes: “That it is here used in this wider sense, is clear from the context, which shows that St. Paul is dwelling especially on moral gifts, as for instance on holiness of life.”17 God had enriched their lives so that they lacked nothing necessary to salvation.
3. Spiritual Expectation (1:7)
Paul, with the Corinthians, was waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle combined present spiritual vitality with future spiritual anticipation. He looked out at life realistically, knowing the sins of man and proclaiming the redeeming grace of God. He also looked up expectantly, knowing that the second coming of Christ was the ultimate answer of grace to a world enmeshed hopelessly in sin. The verb translated waiting for carries the idea of strong, earnest expectation, and alert watching. The word coming (revelation, apocalypsis) means literally an uncovering, an unveiling. “Here it refers to the return of the Lord to receive His saints to Himself at His Parousia. … It is used of His coming with His saints and angels to dispense the judgments of God. …”18 Paul made the gospel relevant to the current needs of man. But he, along with other NT writers, always made the expectation of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ a spur to spiritual pursuits and a means of spiritual enrichment and of spiritual power (cf. II Pet. 3:11-12; I John 3:2-3).
4. Spiritual Strengthening (1:8)
Personal redemption is a matter of crisis and process. Thus Paul declares that the Christ who initially transformed them would continue to confirm (establish and strengthen) them. The purpose of this process of nourishment and strengthening was to present the Christian blameless in the day (at the coming) of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus the grace of God produces a life that will be irreproachable, or unimpeachable, when the individual stands before Christ. This blameless life is the life of holiness.
5. God’s Faithfulness (1:9)
Man tends toward doubt, and needs to be reminded of God’s faithfulness. Here Paul declares, God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Such passages as Psalms 89, where God’s faithfulness is mentioned seven times, and Isa. 11:5; Heb. 10:23; and I John 1:9 testify to this truth. God has called man into a fellowship (koino-nia). Such fellowship includes partnership, common sharing, and communion of spirit.
The prologue to this letter might be called the gospel in miniature. In it Paul presents the basic aspects of all that is involved in man’s redemptive relationship to God through Christ.