1 Corinthians 1:1-3 (NIV)
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is no casual “newsy” letter that Paul is writing. He is going to be trying to correct some critical things that have gone awry in the church in Corinth since he had moved on a few years earlier after having spent eighteen months building and strengthening it during his second missionary journey (Acts 18:11). So, Paul begins with two vital anchors that will set the stage for what he will write later.
The first anchor is Paul’s calling. Paul is no self-styled evangelist, gaining followers for himself like some in the church were doing at that time. Instead, he was an apostle, sent to them specifically by the calling and command of the risen Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. Thus, his instructions and directives were not to be received as coming from him, but from Jesus Himself.
The second anchor is the calling of the Christians in Corinth. Paul gives three facets of this anchor. First, they are the Church of God those “called out” by God to be separate from the world.
Next, they are those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus. To be sanctified is a two-fold action: it is to be set aside for God’s sole use, and then to be made holy by having their sins forgiven, and by receiving a new heart by the work of the Holy Spirit, so that they are enabled to keep God’s commands (Ezekiel 36:24-27).
The final anchor is their calling to be God’s holy people, the new Israel. This is not about being called holy while still living in sin, a legal fable. God is able to save completely those who come to him through Jesus (Hebrews 7:25), including giving them complete victory over sin (1 John 3:9), and a transformed mind (Romans 12:1).
With these three anchors set firmly in place, Paul is ready to begin helping the Corinthians see where they are in need of restoration and transformation so that all the appropriate corrections can be made. And he urges all those outside of the Corinthian Church who call on the name of Jesus, those who will read this letter down through the ages, to receive the words of Jesus as well.
Sosthenes, one of Paul’s fellow ministers in Corinth, who was actually beaten by a crowd trying to denounce Paul (Acts 18:17), is listed as the co-author of this letter, and an approver of all that Paul includes. This is important because the scriptural standard is that there be at least two witnesses of every accusation (2 Corinthians 13:1).
Father, it’s really easy to casually skip over the introduction to these biblical letters, but Paul put a lot of important foundational things in them. In these times of easy access to paper and email, where much “fluff” can be included in our communication, it is easy to forget that in those days paper was harder to come by, and everything had to be written out by hand. So, every word included in a letter was there for a reason. I am also reminded of who I am by Paul’s second “anchor”: a part of your church, a sanctified believer, a genuine saint who must receive this communication as one of the people who call on the name of Jesus. Thank you, Lord, for these important reminders. Amen.