1 Corinthians 1:1-3

1 Corinthians 1:1-3

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ called through a will of God, and Sosthenes, the brother.  To the church of God, the one that is in Corinth having been made holy in Christ Jesus, to the called holy ones with everyone in every place who calls upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: theirs and ours.  Grace to you all and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

When studying a letter of Paul, it is usually very important to stop and reflect upon the word that Paul uses to describe himself in the opening few words.  In some letters it is apostle as it is here.  In other letters it is slave, servant, or even prisoner.  But as I said, the word here is “apostle.”  The word apostle literally means “one who is sent out on the agenda of the one who sent them out.”  There are two points to this word.  The first point is that an apostle is inherently submitted to a master.  In Paul’s case, this word implies that he is submitted to the Father.  The second part of this word is that Paul is sent out to accomplish the agenda of the Father.  Paul isn’t out there to do his own will and accomplish his own desires.  He is out there to accomplish the will of the Father.  This thought pushes us back into why we need to be submitted to the Father.  The only way to accomplish the will of the Father is to submit to Him so that our identity comes from Him.

Are you an apostle of the Father?  Are you sent into the world to accomplish His will?  How is that working out for you?  Why might Paul want to focus on identifying with being an apostle instead of one of his other favorite descriptions like slave or prisoner?

Second Thought:

The second important thing to do when beginning a letter of Paul is to step back and look at the recipients and their description.  Paul tells us that he is writing to the church in Corinth.  He reminds them that they are “having been made holy.”  Note that this description is in the passive voice.  They did not make themselves holy.  They were made holy by someone else!  Of course we know that it is God who made them holy.

What does the word “holy” mean?  {I’ll give you a hint: the word “holy” should never be used as a synonym for “spiritual” or “religious.”  If you’d like the answer, click anywhere on this sentence to be taken to another blog post on this very topic.}  Why would Paul want to remind the Corinthians that they were made holy?  Are you being made holy?

Third Thought:

Finally, Paul extends grace and peace to them.  He doesn’t extend his own grace and peace.  After all, what good are his grace and peace to them?  God’s grace and peace is what matters!  But Paul reminds them that through Jesus we can receive God’s grace and be at peace with Him.  That is a great fundamental understanding with which to begin this new book of the Bible.

Have you received God’s grace?  How do you know?  Are you at peace with God?  How do you know?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9