1 Corinthians chapter 1:1-3 Refocus on Christ
Author Paul - Date : 51-52 AD, Corinth in the Region of Achaia Written probably around 53-55 Ad on his 3rd mission trip from Ephesus. 1Cor 5:9 unknown letter previous to 1, 2 Corinthians.
Our first introduction to Corinth in the Bible is found in Acts 18:1-18 - Pauls 2nd missionary journey from Athens where he had debated with the philosophers of the day and had left behind a new church plant.
Corinth was 46 miles west of Athens , in the region of Achaia, today called Greece it was easily accessible with great trade routes a great travel centre situated between the Aegean & Adriatic seas. It was an important city for trade & commerce. Two hundred years prior to Paul's arrival Corinth had been decimated by the Romans and its inhabitants enslaved 146BC . But after a century Julius Caeser rebuilt it a new Corinth, which became the capital of Achia, ruled by a proconsul. From (Acts 18:12) we learn Gallio occupied the office during Paul's 18 month Church planting trip.
44 BC Corinth was a Roman Colony a place where discharged Roman soldiers from the entire Roman empire were often resettled at Corinth. Hence Roman culture and practices were common place As a result Corinth had become a wealthy cosmopolitan sea port and it was renowned for being at the cutting edge of Mediterranean life & culture. It was ethnically diverse with a rich mix of religion & thought and cultic practices. It drew all the itinerant philosophers, rhetoricians, entertainers into this milieu The Apostle Paul brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ Crucified.
Archaeological excavations have shown evidence of a city which was devoted to excesses in entertainment, self indulgence, decadent & immoral life styles with an overpowering desire for more, the idols of success, money, pleasure & pagan practices were palpable these issues come to the fore in the letter 1 Corinthians as Paul addresses them in the embryonic Church of Corinth.
Acts 18:1-3 Team Building Paul meet up Aquila & Priscilla Jew’s ’s who had become Christians and had to flee from Rome as they had been forced to leave. They like Paul they were tent makers and so they worked and lived together. While he waited for Silas and Timothy to arrive from Macedonia to support the Church planting work in Corinth.
Acts 18. 4- 8 Evangelistic Preaching & teaching Paul begin in the Synagogue every Sabbath as custom. Jews & Greek proselytes. He knew much resistance to the Gospel v6 but Paul continued in the house of a man called Titius Justus who was a Worshiper of God who lived right next door to the synagogue v7. Here God powerfully worked as the synagogue ruler Crispus & his whole family got saved as a result many other Corinthians are saved & baptised v8. So this initial Church plant was beginning to take shape into a diverse mix of new believers of Jewish, Greek & Roman with their own previous baggage of practices.
Acts 18: 9- 18 . A word from the Lord It was tough work for Paul and the others in Corinth. But Paul was encouraged in a vision from the Lord to persevere. Paul is assured of protection and to continue preaching Christ because there are many more who were to be saved in his 18 month stay in Corinth. But it wasn't without battles from the Jews who insisted the proconsul of Achia, Gallilio, do something about the heretic Paul. The Lord was true to His word and Paul continued to serve the Lord in Corinth for 18 months teaching the Word of God establishing the foundations of the Church. Days later setting sail for Syria with Priscilla and Aquila.
Literary Theme - This letter is pastoral letter to a spiritually troubled church. The body of the letter is taken up with real life situations in the church and real questions that needed answers. It’s a highly relevant letter today because it deals with the same issues which the Church needs to address in the 21st century. Issues in regard to our relationships between Christians and the surrounding culture, divisions in the Church, personalities have brought division, Paul is seeking unity, the ordering of church practices (Lords supper, appropriate worship , head coverings use of spiritual gifts) Personal & corporate morality in regard to sex, marriage & divorce, celibacy and above all the virtues of love.
Refocus on Christ our Lord v 1- 3
1. The writer - Paul’s stamp of Authority
(i) The Man - His Apostleship
Despite his reader knowing full well who Paul is he wants to open up by laying down his apostolic authority to a Church he had birthed and established and which was at the point of becoming dysfunctional in its practice & purpose, losing its bearing due to strong personalities who sought to undermine Paul’ authority and its cultural surroundings entering into the body. Paul states, he is the man, called by the Will of God, to be an Apostle – An Apostle is one whom is sent with all the authority of the One whom has commissioned him in Pauls case his emphasis is on the Anointed One, Christ Jesus who is their Saviour & Lord. Christ Jesus Himself has called Paul to be an Apostle.
In the New Testament the word refers particularly to twelve men whom Jesus selected to be with him and whom he sent out to preach and to cast out demons (Mark 3:14-15). Other individuals than the Twelve bore that title--for example, Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:14). Apostles were important figures in the early church (1 Cor. 12:28). They were appointed by Christ, not by men (Gal. 1:1), and they gave authoritative witness to what God had done in Christ (Acts 1:22). Paul’s apostleship wasn’t his choosing or chance purposes in the Church that brought his call to be an Apostle the Lord the Lord Himself was the initiator, it was all under the very will of God . His mission was to be Gods messenger and Apostle to Corinth.
(ii) The People - Will of God
They too were part and parcel of the overriding will of God under Pauls Apostleship. God had told Paul that many people out of the city Acts18:9 would be saved and a Church establish. He wants them to be reminded of these truths, of his labours amongst them under the Lord, their Christian faith had been birthed, as they were now being taken in by personalities, rhetoric, gifts & immoral practices v10-13 and such like.
(iii) The letter - Will of God
In the same way this letter was coming to them as a Church a letter written with authority written by apostle, written under the will of God. And although written to the Church in Corinth and its context. We too today are beneficiaries of this letter and the whole Word of God which is written to us under the authority of the prophets, apostles teaching all of which was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit & all under the will of God.
Application- Are we prepared today to submit ourselves under the authority of our leaders called under the will of God to Shepherd and guide the Church (Heb 13:7, 17-18) As we are a people birthed & grown through their labors under the will of God . We must be prepared & willing to remember, to submit and obey them and place ourselves & our doctrine to the rule of the scriptures still today as its taught, to reprove, to correct and for the training of righteousness (2Tim 3:16) . For this is the Will of God that we do so.
2. The Recipients
Are the Church of God that is in Corinth, those who had converted to Christ Jews, Greeks, Gentiles from the outset he wants them to re focus upon God he wants them to see their very existence as Gods community is a result of God’s work alone. That they are a new community that is under God, not divided.
Often we can make divisions through race, class, age, location, lifestyles, appeareance but under God we are one new community and he has brought us together and all those divisions are to come tumbling down.
But more than that he desires to go on & describe the characteristics of such a new community called by God . to be his Church in whatever location he has called us from Corinth to Countesthorpe.
(i) Christians are sanctified in Christ Jesus To those sanctified (hagiazo – make holy ) in Christ Jesus,
The participle here is past- tense so Paul is referring here to what has already happened to when they entered into union with Christ Jesus through faith, they were sanctified, they have been set apart as Christ’s particular possession. They belong to Christ alone. This is mentioned due to them aligning themselves with human leaders v12. It must be Christ we are set apart too, alone. Paul wants them to refocus on Christ Jesus.
Sanctification is also the ongoing process of being made holy, more godly, in our daily experience as believers. It is one of the great blessings of the Gospel through the atoning sacrifice of Christ believers are set apart for Christ at the new birth, they are sanctified & are being sanctified being made holy in and for Christ Jesus. This is something we must be desirous for in our lives......
• The story is told of a young girl who accepted Christ as her Saviour and applied for membership in a local church. "Were you a sinner before you received the Lord Jesus into your Life?" inquired an old deacon. "Yes, sir," she replied. "Well, are you still a sinner?" "To tell you the truth, I feel I'm a greater sinner than ever." "Then what real change have you experienced?" "I don't quite know how to explain it," she said, "except I used to be a sinner running after sin, but now that I am saved. I'm a sinner running from sin!" she was received into the fellowship of the church, and she proved by her consistent life that she was truly converted – Our Daily Bread
(ii) Christians are called to be saints (haigos – holy people ) in Christ Jesus
• Saints are not those whom the Catholic Church formally recognise as saints, saints are simply everyone whom God has called and set apart to be saints, saints make up the Church of God..
Sanctified and saints are closely related with the same Greek word Hagiazo meaning make holy. The noun here used haigos means holy people, literally Gods set apart ones.
In the OT God set apart Israel from the surrounding nations to be his holy Nation Deut 7:6For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession...
He also gave them his law in order that they might live displaying his holiness to a watching world Lev 11:45 You shall therefore be Holy as I am Holy
The Apostle Paul reminds us that in the New Covenant those who are in Christ Jesus, have been called & set apart, as a holy people to reflect Christ’s holiness to the world.
Peter reiterates this truth 1Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, (church as the new Israel) a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light
Paul emphasis this truth to the Corinthian Church because they were acting in unholy ways which dishonors the Lord ( whether in its leadership and its divisions, showmanship, its adultery among the membership, lawsuits, incest and drunkenness) it all was bringing the gospel into disrepute. Paul wants them as called sanctified saints to refocus back on Christ Jesus.
(iii) Christians have a shared faith in Christ Jesus; together with all those in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours
Paul finally reminds the church at Corinth they have a shared faith. Together with all those in every place which is not only in Corinth but all over the world in every place. Paul is telling the church at Corinth they are not at liberty to do their own thing, to be isolated, to go off on tangents, to choose their own path, they share a common faith with others in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We see many lone Rangers in Christian circles these days, whether it the isolated Christ or even Church but God has no Lone Rangers it is a shared faith of our Lord Jesus Christ binds us all together Jesus is their our Saviour, Christ is there and our anointed King, and therefore He is their & our Lord of all.
We need to be reminded as individual Christians & as Churches we are not Lone Rangers, we are not Islands, we need to belong together, we are to be part of the body, not apart from the body we are all part of something bigger, whether locally, nationally & globally with a shared togetherness in Christ Jesus our Lord. Both their Lord and ours.
3. Finally the Greeting v3
Paul closes with this greeting which once again focuses upon the grace (Gods undeserved favor) we've received the peace ( Gods Shalom) we experience which one flows from the other, but both only coming from God our Father through the person & work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus Christ is the centre piece of this short introduction notice He is mention four times in these opening verses. Paul desires them all to refocus upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Because this is not their current focus as we shall see in the weeks & months ahead. Paul wants Christ to have his rightful authority over the Church at Corinth as its in danger of going a drift. He wants the Church to refocus its spiritual eye upon Christ. May it be so Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen
