The Called Out Ones in a Crooked Culture Text: 1 Corinthians 1:1-3
Introduction: A Letter to a Messy Church
We come now to the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians. And we must begin by understanding that this is not a letter to a stained glass museum. This is a letter to a hospital, and a rowdy one at that. The church in Corinth was a tangled mess. It was a chaotic, gifted, carnal, brawling, Spirit filled, and worldly congregation. They had everything. They had incest, lawsuits between believers in pagan courts, drunkenness at the Lord's Table, sectarianism, spiritual arrogance, and a profound confusion about the basic tenets of the gospel. If your church had even one of these problems, your elders would be calling emergency meetings for the next six months. The Corinthians had all of them, all at once.
And so, we might be tempted to ask why we would study a letter to such a dysfunctional church. The answer is simple: because we are so often a dysfunctional church. We may have learned to hide our dysfunctions under a respectable veneer, but the root sins are the same. We have factions, we have pride, we have worldly wisdom that we try to baptize, and we have a constant temptation to compromise with the spirit of the age. Corinth was a major metropolitan hub, a center of commerce, philosophy, and pagan religion. It was a boom town, full of new money, sexual license, and intellectual swagger. Planting a church in Corinth was like planting a church in the middle of Las Vegas, while it was hosting a philosophy conference, during spring break. It was a direct assault on the kingdom of darkness in one of its strongholds.
So this letter is profoundly relevant. It is a divine course correction. Paul is writing to bring this chaotic church back to the central, foundational, and non negotiable reality of the gospel. The theme of this book is the war between true unity in Christ and the thousand false divisions the world, the flesh, and the devil want to introduce into the church. But in order to get to true unity, you must first have true division. You must be divided from sin, from the world, and from idols. Paul is going to take a spiritual axe to the Corinthian desire to be friends with the world. You cannot baptize paganism. You cannot make a treaty with the enemy. You must declare war.
Before he gets to the long list of their problems, however, Paul begins where he must always begin. He begins with their identity in Christ. He reminds them who they are, not based on their performance, but based on God's sovereign call. Before he tells them how to act, he tells them who they are. This is the fundamental pattern of the gospel. Identity precedes and determines ethics. You are in Christ, therefore live like it. In these opening three verses, Paul lays the foundation for everything that will follow. He establishes his authority, he defines their identity, and he pronounces the blessing that is both the means and the goal of their salvation.
The Text
Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
(1 Corinthians 1:1-3 LSB)
Apostolic Authority (v. 1)
We begin with the author and his authority.
"Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother," (1 Corinthians 1:1)
Paul immediately puts his credentials on the table, and it is crucial that we understand why. The Corinthian church was shot through with factionalism, and some of those factions were challenging Paul's authority. They were puffed up with pride, enamored with eloquent speakers, and were beginning to look down on the man who founded their church. So Paul doesn't begin with, "Paul, your friendly neighborhood church planter." He begins by reminding them of his office. He is an apostle of Jesus Christ.
But notice the basis of this authority. He was "called." This was not a career choice. This was not something he put on a resume. This was a divine summons. And it was "by the will of God." Paul's apostleship was not his idea, and it was not the church's idea. It was God's idea. This is a direct strike against the democratic, consumerist mindset that infects the modern church, where we think we can hire and fire our spiritual leaders based on their performance or personality. Apostolic authority is not derived from the congregation; it is derived from the will of God. Paul is not an employee of the Corinthian church; he is an ambassador of King Jesus, and he speaks with the authority of the one who sent him.
An apostle is a "sent one," one who has the authority to speak for the one who sent him. The original apostles were unique. They were eyewitnesses of the resurrection and were given the authority to lay the foundation of the church and to write Scripture. That office is closed. But the principle of God-given authority is not. God still calls and equips men to lead His church, and that authority must be recognized. To reject the authority of a man sent by God is to reject the authority of God Himself.
But Paul is not a lone ranger. He includes "Sosthenes our brother." This is likely the same Sosthenes who was the ruler of the synagogue in Corinth and was beaten by the mob in front of Gallio's tribunal (Acts 18:17). If so, what a glorious picture of the gospel's power. The former adversary is now a brother in Christ, a co-laborer with Paul. This also demonstrates that Paul's authority is not a domineering, autocratic power. He operates in fellowship. He is an apostle, yes, but he is also a brother among brothers. True biblical authority is never isolated; it is always relational.
The Church Defined (v. 2)
Next, Paul defines the recipients of this letter, and in doing so, defines the church.
"To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:" (1 Corinthians 1:2 LSB)
First, they are "the church of God." The word for church is ekklesia, which means "the called out ones." They are an assembly, called out of the world by God, to belong to God. They are not a social club or a civic organization. They are the possession of God, located "at Corinth." This is crucial. The church is both a universal, spiritual reality and a tangible, local, zip code reality. It is not one or the other. You cannot claim to be part of the universal church if you are not a committed member of a local church. This is where the rubber of our confession meets the road of reality.
Then Paul gives two descriptions of these church members. They are "sanctified in Christ Jesus" and "called as saints." Notice the grammar. These are not commands; they are statements of fact. "Sanctified" is in the perfect tense in Greek, meaning it is a past action with ongoing results. It means they have been set apart. In the Old Testament, the temple vessels were sanctified; they were set apart from common use for a holy purpose. In the New Covenant, believers are sanctified. We have been set apart from the world, for God's exclusive use. And where does this happen? "In Christ Jesus." Our sanctification is not the result of our moral effort or spiritual discipline. It is a gift we receive by virtue of our union with Christ. We are holy because we are in Him.
Because they are sanctified, they are "called as saints." The word "saint" simply means "holy one." This is not a title for a spiritual superstar. It is the job description for every single Christian. If you are a believer, you are a saint. You have been called to be what you already are in Christ. God calls things that are not as though they were. He calls you a saint, and then spends the rest of your life making you act like one. Again, identity precedes ethics. God does not call us because we are holy; He calls us in order to make us holy.
But this reality is not limited to the messy church at Corinth. Paul expands the address to include "all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." The Corinthians needed to be reminded that they were not the only church in the world. They were part of a vast, global family. To "call on the name of the Lord" is Old Testament language for worship and salvation (Joel 2:32). It means to confess Jesus as Lord and to trust in Him for deliverance. And this Jesus is "their Lord and ours." He is the one Lord over the entire church. This is a direct rebuke to their factionalism. You cannot divide up Christ. There is no "Paul" party or "Apollos" party because there is only one Lord, and He is the Lord of the whole church, everywhere.
The Apostolic Blessing (v. 3)
Finally, Paul delivers the standard apostolic blessing, which is anything but standard.
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 1:3 LSB)
This is not a polite "hope you are well." This is a powerful declaration of what God provides for His people. "Grace" (charis) was the standard Greek greeting, and "peace" (shalom) was the standard Hebrew greeting. Paul fuses them together. Grace is God's unmerited favor, His free gift of salvation and all its benefits, given to those who deserve condemnation. Peace is the result of that grace. It is not just the absence of conflict, but the presence of wholeness, flourishing, and reconciliation with God.
And where do this grace and peace come from? They flow "from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." The Father is the ultimate source, the fountainhead of all blessing. The Lord Jesus Christ is the channel through which those blessings flow to us. By putting the Father and the Son on the same level as the source of divine blessing, Paul is making a massive statement about the deity of Christ. No mere man can be the source of grace and peace in this way.
But we should also ask, where is the Holy Spirit? He is not mentioned by name, but He is most certainly present. The Holy Spirit is the grace and peace. He is the love of God poured out into our hearts. He is the gift that proceeds from the Father and the Son to us. So when Paul says "grace and peace," he is essentially saying "the Holy Spirit be with you." The entire Trinity is involved in the salutation, just as the entire Trinity is involved in our salvation. The Father plans it, the Son accomplishes it, and the Spirit applies it.
Conclusion: The Foundation for Correction
Before Paul launches into his extended rebuke of the Corinthians' sins and errors, he first lays this unshakable foundation. He reminds them of his God given authority. He reminds them of their God given identity as the sanctified, called out saints of God. And he reminds them of the God given grace and peace that is their portion in Christ.
This is profoundly important for us. When we must confront sin in our own lives or in the life of the church, we must do it from the foundation of the gospel. We do not correct one another by wagging our fingers and demanding moral improvement. We correct one another by calling each other back to who we are in Christ. You are a saint, so stop acting like the world. You have been set apart for God, so don't dabble in the idolatry of the culture. You have one Lord, so stop dividing His body into factions.
The problems in Corinth were severe, but Paul had not given up on them. Why? Because their standing did not depend on their performance. It depended on the call of God, the work of Christ, and the gift of the Spirit. The same is true for us. Our hope is not in our ability to get our act together. Our hope is in the grace and peace that flow to us from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And because that is our foundation, we can receive correction, we can repent of our sins, and we can grow up into the saints God has called us to be.