1 Cor 1:18-25 - Wisdom

18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 
19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will thwart the cleverness of the intelligent." 
20 Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Mosaic law? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made the wisdom of the world foolish?
21 For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching.
22 For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom,
23 but we preach about a crucified Christ, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.
24 But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Christ is the Power and Wisdom of God

The section of 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16 compares worldly wisdom (or, fleshly wisdom) with spiritual wisdom.

1:18-25 - Foolishness vs. wisdom 1:26-31 - God shames the worldly wise 2:1-5 - Spirit and power 2:6-9 - Wisdom in a mystery 2:10-16 - Wisdom revealed by the Holy Spirit

V. 18 - “The message about the cross is... foolishness” - Verse 18 compares the response of two kinds of people to the gospel - those who do not choose to believe and have faith, and those who do. It is binary. There is no ‘almost believe’, or ‘kind of believe’. I used the term ‘choose to believe’ to impress that you get to make the decision. We are not coerced. We are not tricked or scammed. God says, "Here are the facts. Here is the truth. Do you accept to believe in Me?”
That decision is available to you until you die; your decision is then validated.

If you choose not to believe, there is no salvation. God’s method of saving you from sin made no sense to you, it was “foolish” to believe. God loves you - but you reject that offer of love. He has a wonderful plan for your life - but you want to do it yourself. Jesus said there was no other way to God - but you insist you can find a way on your own. He has provided a way - but that is “too simple”. All these “excuses” add up to the same thing - you choose not to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“[The message about the cross is]... power of God” - The other side of the binary choice. You accept His offer of love. You want to know the plan He has for your life. (See: John 10:10b) You believe Jesus is “the only name under heaven by which man may be saved.” (Acts 4:12) You accept that your way is fraught with danger and death, so you seek relief or help. (See: Pro 14:12)

The same power that raised Jesus Christ from death to life is now yours because of your faith in Him. That power brings peace to your soul; brings comfort and solace during trials and troubles. (See: John 14:27) You now have power to love the unlovable. His power gives you a future and a hope. (See: Jer 29:11, Pro 24:14, John 14:21, 23)

V. 19 - “For it is written” - The following sentence is quoted from Isa 29:14. The passage in Isaiah is fascinating. God is speaking to the rebellious people of Israel. He has given them all the information in His book (or scroll). But the people have excuses. “The book is sealed!” “I can’t read!” God accuses them of worshipping by rote - going through the motions. He is going to do wonderful, exceedingly marvelous things for them!

The things God will do is going to confound the wisest among them. The smart people will have no explanation of what Christ has done for us.

V. 20 - “Where is the wise man... expert in the Mosaic law... debater of this age?” - Paul has thrown down the gauntlet; issued the challenge. If you are so smart, why don’t you have an answer that actually challenges God?

Tell us, O wise men, how do you eliminate sin, cleanse a soul, make people perfect? What no answer? Explain, please, scribes and Pharisees - where does the Law take away the sin? Stand before God, and prevail with reasoned logic that will subdue His claim to make you acceptable to a Holy Lord God. Demonstrate how we can be sinless and holy by our own power!

“Has God not made the wisdom of the world foolish?” - No answer to that claim? No learned person, no religious rules and procedures, no forceful arguments can bridge that expanse between sin and holiness. It is not your sinful actions that condemn you, they are simply manifestations of a deeper spiritual problem. You have a sin nature. God has the answer - man does not, can not. “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” (Titus 3:5-6 )

V. 21 - “in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God” - Mankind cannot know God by its personal effort. All the education in the world cannot provide enough learning so we can personally know God. We may have a collection of data about God. For example: We may watch hours of news on TV, and read newspapers or magazines, listen to various podasts about President Trump. You have tons of information about the president. On the other hand, you don't live with him, talk to him, nor ask him why he does certain things. You do not know President Trump. This is neither and apology for the president, nor an accusation of him, but an acknowledgment there is a vast gap between knowing about someone and knowing them. There must be a personal revelation to begin to know that person. God has revealed Himself to us in Jesus Christ.

Turn to Genesis, chapter 3. If Adam or Eve had truly known God they would have believed Him when instructed to not eat from that one tree.

“God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching” - People will be saved when they hear the truth of the gospel; that is, saved by faith in Jesus. There are those that think it is foolish to talk of being saved by God and not by their own power. That is the ‘fooolisihness’ that Paul preaches, that Christian preachers, teachers, and believers talk about. There is a way that leads to life, as Paul says in Romans, “But what does it say? ‘The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ -- that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for 'Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” (Rom 10:8-14)

There it is, boiled down: You hear the Gospel. If you believe the Gospel, you are saved by faith in Christ. You learned about salvation in Christ when told about it. (Okay, not exclusively by hearing, but generally.) You can now preach the Gospel so others can be saved. It may seem silly that such an important facet is transmitted to each other by preaching and telling.

Part of the message of salvation is telling others what Christ has done for you, personally. “Jesus Christ has done this for me. My life has changed because Jesus saved me from sin”, etc. “Believe by the foolishness of preaching.” Your life belongs to Christ. He has paid the the price for your sin. Because of that, you are commissioned by the Lord to share that message of salvation. You have been saved. Share that information with those around you. Amen, and Thank You.

V. 22 - “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom” - Neither group of people are particularly ‘bright’ when it comes to salvation, and dealing with God. Go figure! Jews demanded “signs” for proof of God’s calling or blessing (See: Jdg 6:17; 1 Sam. 14:10; 2 Ki. 20:9; Matt. 12:38, 16:1). God also gave them “signs” as a reminder to the people that He was with them, always. The Greeks are well known for philosophy and wisdom - Plato, Socrates, Aristotle (the really famous ones. Type in ‘list of Greek philosophers’ into your web browser, whether “DuckDuckGo” or “Google” to see a long list!

V. 23 - “but we preach about a crucified Christ” - Paul’s message is straightforward: Salvation is in Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. Christ died for our sin. He paid the penalty so we do not have to do so. Belief in Jesus is the criterium. No other task, no other duties - believe and be saved. No philosophical discussions, no logical conundrums to work out. By your faith place your life in His hands; by your faith accept His grace freely offered to you.

“a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” - Jews were hyper-focused on obedience to the strictures of the Law. It is no surprise that the “Talmud” is many, many volumes (think quantity of volumes like the Encyclopedia Britannica) and the “Torah”. The ‘Law’ had become more than the last few chapters of Exodus, plus a large portion of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

Why was Jesus a stumbling block for the Jews? Did He violate the Law? Did His followers flaunt their disregard of the Law? That Christ is the fulfillment of the Law, meant that the Jews no longer needed to be so strictly obedient to the Law (nor do we). This had to be a slap in the face for them. The anchor of obedience to the laws no longer held them in check. They had to seem adrift. The idea that salvation comes through belief in lieu of obedience was a scandal to the Jews.

The concept of Jesus’ sacrifice taking away the penalty for sin made no sense to the Greeks. It was not “logical”.

V. 24 - “To those who are the called” - Discovering Christ as Savior is not accidental. (Kinda  like: “I was just walking down the road and I tripped over this guy I didn’t even see until I fell over Him...”) No. Jesus calls each one of us. (See: Luk 5:32; Matt 2:17; Acts 2:39) The call to come to Him is universal, and yet, it is very personal. You are not ‘a face in the crowd’. Jesus knows each person, cares for each person. He speaks to each heart, individually. He came to save me! He came to save you! He says, “Come to Me and be saved!” (See: Matt 9:13, 11:28, 19:21).

“Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” - Only God can conquer death. Only God can give life, both physical and spiritual life. Only God through the wisdom of God do we come to God through faith in Christ. It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who saves us and not we ourselves. It is not by our effort, our wisdom, our intelligence, our skill that our souls can be saved from death. It is Jesus Christ by the will of God - period.

V. 25 - “wiser than human wisdom... stronger than human strength“. The wise men (and women) can plan and calculate; can critique God’s method and declare it ‘silly’. But His ‘silliness’ is wiser than our wisdom; wiser than any human’s wisdom. If we try to work our way into God’s presence, there will always be a slip-up, a mistake, an “Oops!” along the way - we are not perfect, nor can we be perfect. Perfection is required to dwell in the household of God. He has provided that in Jesus Christ.

God’s weakness - Jesus allowed Himself to be lead to the cross and crucified for us. He was not captured and forced to be executed. It was not weakness that lead Him to trial before Pilate! He was not helpless when nailed to the cross. He was fully aware of the death He was to endure. Think on that. He knew how bad it was going to be. I am reminded of the videos of the victims leaping from the top floors of the Twin Trade Towers in New York on 9/11. I turn away and shudder. These people knew they were falling to their death, but believed it could not be as bad a dying the flames and rubble of the towers! Jesus knew it was going to be bad, and did it anyway!

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1 Cor. 1:4-9 - You were made rich in Christ

4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus.
5 For you were made rich in every way in him, in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge -
6 just as the testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you -
7 so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

You Do Not Lack Any Spiritual Gift

V. 4 - “I always thank my God for you” - Paul must have had a HUGE prayer list! He mentions someone in almost every letter he wrote.

“Because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus” - By God’s grace we have been gifted with eternal life. His grace washed away all of the sin that would keep us from Him. There is a hymn that has these words: “Grace. Grace. God’s grace. Grace that is greater than my sin.” The most wonderful thing is: this saving grace was given. We do not earn it. We cannot buy it. We may be searching for it, because we know something is not right in our lives - something eternal and spiritual. We might not even be able to identify the problem, or be willing to agree there is a problem.

God knows this and offers a permanent solution - Jesus Christ. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 ) Grace is freely given to us. Don’t get the idea this gift can be treated like a child’s Christmas present - to be accepted, put down, and on to the next gift. This gift cost Jesus His life sacrificed on the cross. He does not expect us to treat it lightly. We may not comprehend that we are His, completely His when at first we hear of and accept salvation.

V. 5 - “For you were made rich in every way” - This sentence is linked to verse 7, like so: You were made rich (v. 5)... so that you do not lack any spiritual gift (v. 7). Verse 6 is a parenthetical thrown in explaining why they are so enriched.

“in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge” - These riches - speech and knowledge - (from the Holy Spirit) were given to you. The reason the gifts were given is so you would be fully equipped to be a fully functioning believer.

In some ways, this is the theme of the letter: “You have been given everything you need by the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. You should not be having these problems as a church or as an individual believer.”

We see a similar theme in Hebrews 8:10-12, “For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people. And there will be no need at all for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, 'Know the Lord,' since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer."

Three things why the new covenant is better, why the church should not be having the problems like those in Corinth.

1. God will teach us. 
2. We will know the Lord. 
3. He will not remember our sins.

V. 6 - “the testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you” - Paul repeats the testimony later in this letter. “For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received - that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,” (1 Cor 15:3). This testimony, also: "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household." (Acts 16:31) And, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom 10:9)

V. 7 - “so that you do not lack any spiritual gift” - God has provided all you need in and through Christ. Individuals may not be so equipped with every spiritual gift, but the church body is. We see here the riches we have been given.

“as you wait for the revelation” - He will return in power and glory. We wait eagerly for this event. I just read an excerpt from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “Letters and Papers from Prison”, saying we should be blessed with what God has given us each day, and not always looking past these blessings, believing heaven will be so much better than this. I like this sentence, “But, to put it plainly, for a man in his wife’s arms to be hankering after the other world is, in mild term, a piece of bad taste, and not it God’s will.” We wait eagerly for Christ to return, it will be glorious, but He has blessed us beyond measure here on earth. Wait eagerly, but be aware of the blessings we have in this life, and give God the glory for His blessings.

V. 8 - “He will also strengthen you to the end” - As you wait for Christ’s return, you are not alone in this wait. God has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Deut 31:6, 8; Heb 13:5; John 14:18) He, Jesus Christ, came that we might have abundant lives - not just get by. (John 10:10; Eph 3:20 , 2 Pet. 1:11) The “peace of God” and “peace with God” are powerful, and are ours, in abundance.

Between now and that moment, you will live your life on earth. And as you do, you will falter, stumble, and commit sin. Those sins are also forgiven, because all have been forgiven. That is not the point of this statement. Jesus will strengthen you so as you live your life committed to Him, depending on Him, and so guide you away from sinful behavior. You will be guiltless when you face the Lord on that day, because you are in Christ. Christ and the Holy Spirit will speak to you, guide you, help you live a more godly life. See also, “...train yourself for godliness. For physical exercise has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come." (1 Tim 4:7-8)

“so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” - Isn’t that a given?! On the day of our Lord (see: Rev. 19:11-18, 20:11-21:8; 22:1-7) all will be judged. (ALL!)  If your name is in the Lamb’s Book of Life, your judgment has been taken by Jesus - He has borne the penalty for your sin. You are justified! You are righteous in His righteousness! However, this does not mean you now have free rein to live and do as you please. Believers will be judged for their behavior as Children of God. This is not saying they will lose their salvation. There will be weeping (tears) in heaven - God will wipe away every tear. Why is there crying in heaven, since this is paradise and we are with the Lord forever? We will know what we should have done as Christians while we lived on earth. We will know we did not please the Lord. He as forgiven us, but we know - without a doubt - that we have failed. Thank God we are forgiven - Jesus has taken the penalty for that also. He is our comforter.  

V. 9 - “God is faithful” - He is not capricious. He has promised and He will deliver. By His grace you have been given salvation in Jesus Christ; you have been made spiritually rich; given all the knowledge you need to live for Him; and He will empower you to live for Him.

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1 Cor 1:10-17 - End Your Divisions

10 I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree together, to end your divisions, and to be united by the same mind and purpose.
11 For members of Chloe's household have made it clear to me, my brothers and sisters, that there are quarrels among you.
12 Now I mean this, that each of you is saying, "I am with Paul," or "I am with Apollos," or "I am with Cephas," or "I am with Christ."
13 Is Christ divided? Paul wasn't crucified for you, was he? Or were you in fact baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,
15 so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name!
16 (I also baptized the household of Stephanus. Otherwise, I do not remember whether I baptized anyone else.)
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel - and not with clever speech, so that the cross of Christ would not become useless.

Stop Arguing With Each Other

This section of this letter, verses 1:10-19, Paul addresses some quarrels and divisions in the Corinthian church, and the same theme is repeated in 2:3-9. Paul had a “target-rich environment” when dealing with this congregation’s problems. Some of the issues Paul addressed in this letter are:

• Divisions among members based on pastor or evangelist; 
• Worldly wisdom; 
• Fleshly behavior; 
• Immorality; 
• Airing differences before non-believers; 
• Marriage; 
• Idols and Arrogance; 
• Husbands and wives; 
• Communion; 
• Spiritual gifts, 
• including Tongues; and 
• Other Doctrinal issues.

***

V. 10 - “I urge you, brothers and sisters” - After the opening of the letter, Paul gets right to it. He is not invoking his own reputation, or bragging that he was called by Jesus (It would be easy to imagine Paul could say, “You know that Jesus spoke to me on the road to Damascus. Jesus Himself called me, and taught me!” But, he doesn’t do that.)

Paul is not commanding them to get along with each other; he is not demanding. He is asking, begging, urging them to put aside differences.

"by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" -  This mantra, "by the name of..." is not placing some 'magic formula' on the name "Jesus Christ". It is a recognition of an authhority, that the speaker (in this case, Paul) is not stating an opinion or feeling. He is conveying what the One in power is stating as the desired outcome. For example, if someone you know is from the United States government comes to you, and tells you this is what the President wants; the President has asked him to convey this. You immediately pay attention. Essentially you are being addressed by the United States, the power and authority is behind the one speaking to you.

“end your divisions, and to be united by the same mind and purpose” - This is fairly straightforward - stop arguing with each other. It is damaging your witness to the world. Paul is not advocating a ‘Stepford Wives’ mechanical recitation of dogma. He is urging them to focus on the correct and proper issues. 
Remember, Jesus prayed that His followers, the church, would become 'one', just as He and the Father were one. (John 17:17, 20-21)

V. 11 - “members of Chloe's household have made it clear” - Nothing is known about Chloe - this is the only place she is mentioned. I assume Chloe was a Christian in Corinth. She and people in her household  had contacted Paul about the problems that had arisen in the Corinthian church. She was sufficiently well-known in the church there that Paul was able to refer to her directly, not just as the wife of so-and-so. Women are shown throughout the New Testament as significant and valuable witnesses to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, not second-class members.

“there are quarrels among you” - These disagreements are disrupting the church body. As we will see in other chapters these quarrels are not doctrinal in nature.

V. 12 - “Now I mean this” - And so it begins. From this point in this letter to the end of chapter 13 Paul deals with the quarrels stirring up the church.

“I am with...” - Three prominent apostles or missionaries in the early church - Peter. Paul, and Apollos. Of course we know that Peter and James, the brother of Jesus, were the main leaders of the church in Jerusalem. Paul was chosen by Jesus - see Acts 9:1-22. Apollos was a convert (as were they all) and a dynamic preacher/teacher who was taught and trained by Priscilla and Aquila. (Acts 18:24-28).

Is this the beginning of denominations? People were claiming the preacher/teacher they prefer has the one true message. That’s like saying, “I only listen to J. Vernon McGee;” or, “Pastor Gene Curtis is the best!”; or “You think he is good? You should listen to Dale Ebel.”

“I am of Christ.” - Paul may have left the reference to Jesus Christ last in his list because Jesus is the most important one to follow.

V. 13 - “Has Christ been divided?” - The answer is, “No!” This is the key. Christ is one, not many. He himself said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 ) And Peter preached, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12 )

Paul emphasizes this in the next two questions: “Was Paul crucified ?”, or “baptized in the name of Paul?” He may be preaching the gospel, but Paul is not the gospel. Jesus said, “Thus it stands written that the Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." (See: Luke 24:46-48 )

V. 14-16 - “I thank God that I did not baptize any of you...” - (Except Crispus, Gaius, and the household of Stephanas) Paul fully understood that salvation was in Jesus, and in Jesus alone. He wanted no one to claim they were saved through him.

V. 17 - “For Christ did not send me to baptize” - Called to be a missionary. See: Acts 9:15-16.

“To preach the gospel” - See: 2 Cor 10:16: Gal 1:16. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He took the penalty for your sin upon Himself, was resurrected and ascended into heaven.

“not with clever speech” - The message is simple and straightforward. There is salvation in no one or nothing else by which you can be saved. Philosophical discussion, sociological explanations, parsing semantics do not clarify, or make the gospel clearer. Faith in the grace given you. Grace because you cannot earn salvation, cannot work it out. Faith because you trust the Lord to do what He promises. Salvation is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (See: Col. 1:27)

“So that the cross of Christ would not become useless” - If a preacher/teacher focuses his message on anything that makes salvation an admixture of “Christ plus...” he diminishes the sacrifice of Jesus. A diminished Christ is a failed salvation - His death for you becomes useless to you. You don’t believe solely in Him, you are not, cannot be, saved. It is a binary equation.

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1 Cor 1:1-3 - From Paul…

Introduction: Although labeled “First Corinthians”, this may not be the first letter Paul had sent to the church in Corinth. In verse 5:9, he refers to a letter sent earlier.

Chap. 1 Outline 

1:1-3 - Hello. It’s Paul 

1:4-9 - Enriched in Jesus 

1:10-17 - Divisions 

1:18-25 - Wisdom 

1:26-31 - God’s Wisdom

***

1 From Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother,
2 to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord 8Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! (NET)

From Paul - Grace and Peace

V. 1 - “From Paul,... and Sosthenes” - Paul announces who is writing the letter, and based on other letters in the NT, this seems to be way letters were written in the 1st century A.D. (See Note 1)

The identity of Sosthenes is a little cloudy. There is a man with this name mentioned in Acts 18. Paul was in Corinth about a year and a half. The Jews there were upset that he spoke of Jesus Christ in the synagogue. They took Paul up to the Roman governor (proconsul) of Corinth to complain about Paul teaching in the synagogue. The governor kicked them out since their complaint was a religious disagreement, not civil or criminal. He just didn’t care!

I don’t know if there was more than one synagogue in Corinth, because two men, Crispus and Sosthenes, were identified as ‘ruler’ or ‘president’ of the synagogue. Crispus (Acts 18:8) was the leader when Paul started preaching in Corinth, and became a believer after listening to Paul. Sosthenes (Acts 18:17) was leader during the kerfuffle before Gallio, the proconsul appointed by Rome for Corinth. (Maybe a year-and-one-half later) The Jews were furious and beat Sosthenes after Gallio would not listen to their complaint (Acts 18:11-17). Perhaps the Jews were upset that Sosthenes did not force Paul to leave or quit preaching in the synagogue.

It is not clear, maybe the Sosthenes who was beat up by the Jews is the same man mentioned here in the letter to the Corinthian church. This would mean he accepted Christ as Lord and Savior through Paul’s ministry and remained with Paul when he left Corinth. (See: Acts 18:1-18.)

“Called to be an apostle” - An ‘apostle’ is one sent, a messenger, specifically called by the Lord Jesus Christ. There is, or was, a limited number of apostles - no more than 13 to 15. The original twelve disciples called to walk and learn with Jesus, and Paul. The twelve was reduced to eleven soon after Jesus was crucified. It is a unique office of the church.

Paul was accosted by Jesus on the road to Damascus. This is amazing, since it was several days, maybe months after the resurrection of Jesus. See Acts 9:3-7 and following. Paul is struck to the ground by the brilliance of Jesus' presence (No one else in the group saw anything). Paul knew it was God, the Lord, speaking to him. Then Paul was taught by the Lord Jesus, and was 'called' to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. 'Called' is one of those particularly Christian words, or concepts. Pastors are 'called', missionaries are 'called'; but what does it entail? I think it is one of those things that cannot be described, but you know it when you get it. There are people who are singers, musicians and they are not satisfied unless they are singing and making music. People who are 'called' to the ministry know that they need to serve the Lord, wherever that may be.

V. 2 - “to the church of God” - Here are four phrases used to identify the group of believers in Jesus Christ.

1. Church of God 
2. Sanctified in Christ Jesus 
3. Called to be saints 
4. Who Call on the Name of Jesus

While these are synonym phrases, each emphasizes something slightly different. Paul here draws our attention to holiness of the church - believers of Jesus Christ who is God. (This is the ‘first identifying characteristic’.) 
The culture then was saturated with gods. The Jews have a God. The Greeks and Romans had gods - a plethora of gods. In Corinth, one of the major cities in Greece, there were temples to Aphrodite and Apollo, and others. We would not identify some of the religious practices as ‘holy’, but as ‘immoral’, considering the proliferation of temple prostitutes.

There is no doubt the followers of God were expected to be ‘holy’, abstaining from immoral practices. God is holy, and His believes are also holy, so the church of God is a holy gathering.

“Sanctified in Christ Jesus” - Basic definition: ‘sanctification’ is separation from the secular and sinful, and setting apart for a sacred purpose. In the Old Testament - things, places, times, people were sanctified, i.e., consecrated to holy purposes - usually only in a ceremonial and legal sense, to remind the Jews of the need for spiritual cleansing and the grace of God. In the New Testament, people are called to consecrate themselves to God, that is the inward cleansing work of God and Holy Spirit. (Second identifying characteristic)

So, sanctified in Christ Jesus means the church, and the people who make up the church, have been spiritually cleansed and set apart in Christ Jesus from the world. The church of God has been made holy to God by the sacrificial death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5) (ESV)

I think there are no “reluctant saints” - saints against their will. Jesus calls us to follow Him. Compare the reluctant man: “Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” (Luke 9:61), to the man who responded positively to Jesus’s call: “The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael said to him, ‘How do you know me?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’ Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ ” (John 1:43-49)

“Called to be saints” - They are saints, not because of what they have done, but because of who they are in Christ Jesus. This not about character, or behavior, but about being claimed by God as His own, about being consecrated (sanctified) by Him for Him. He calls you to be His. He sacrificed Himself for you. It is a special and individual relationship. At the same time, saints are the collection of believers, all of whom are God’s own. We do not earn our way into ‘sainthood’ - which seems to be a very Catholic Church view. It is none of our own doing, but Christ’s. (Third identifying characteristic) 

“with all those in every place” - Primarily addressed to the believers in Corinth, this letter is intended to a wider audience. All those - i.e., everyone who is a Christian.

“Who call of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” - Those who say, “Jesus, I am yours,” those who submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. “Call on the name” does not mean speaking His name in order to get His attention. I am Jesus’ own possession. He is my master, my Lord, and my God. (Fourth identifying characteristic)

V. 3 - “Grace and peace to you” - Paul includes this combined blessing in every letter he wrote, and almost every letter in the New Testament has this greeting. It is almost unknown in the Old Testament. The closest we see is : "Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is the way you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: “The LORD bless you and protect you; The LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace."' (Num. 6:23-26).

Two thoughts: (1) not the grace of salvation, but grace upon grace - the Holy Spirit living in control of the life, living by faith. (2) the peace of Christ - John 14:27 -  “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.”

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Note 1: "NET" = New English Translation

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