The Corinthians Epistle of Paul
deals with the problems of church in Corinth and at large. It is not only the
problems of the first century’s church but also all the churches throughout the
centuries. There are two Epistles remaining as 1 and 2 Corinthians. But there
were four letters written by the pen of the Apostle. The first and third ones
are missing. The First Corinthians we have now is the second letter of Paul written
in response to the questions of Corinthian church. The blunt and harsh rebuking
letter was sent to the church because they refused to repent. It was the third
one. But when Titus brought the news that they changed their minds Paul sent
another letter to the church which is the Second Corinthians.
The key verse of this letter is
Chapter 1 Verse 9, saying “God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship
with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” The church was abundantly blessed in the
Spirit but there were all kinds of problems like dissensions, cliques, adultery,
idolatry, lawsuits, and even drunkenness in the Lord’s Table. Though the church
should shine the light in the world, all the worldly practices were present in
the church. One thing they critically missed was that they didn’t enter into
the fellowship with the Son Jesus Christ.
“Christ in you, the hope of
glory” is the mystery of God revealed and manifested by the Son Jesus Christ.
All Christians have Christ within, who is the means and dynamics of life. Who
does not have Christ does not belong to Him (Romans 8:9). Christ Jesus is still
alive and in our midst just as He was ever present in the church of Corinth.
Church is not functioning and operating for the human’s cause but for His
cause. It exists here on the earth to shine the light of God the Father and the
Son Jesus Christ. It is all possible because church doesn’t operate by itself
but through the fellowship with Christ Jesus. As our Lord Jesus is one with God
so are we one with Christ.
“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.” (1 Corinthians 1:1-3)
Paul introduces himself as the
one who was called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. He was
the most infamous persecutor of the church but Jesus found him in a dramatic
way on the way to Damascus to arrest Christians. About ten years after that
conversion, Paul began the great work of Jesus Christ in the church of Antioch for
the Gentiles. Sosthenes was the chief synagogue ruler at Corinth and converted
by the gospel of Jesus Christ. He suffered much for the name of Christ Jesus
the Lord.
Paul still calls the
problematic church at Corinth infallibly as the church of God and the people in
the church as His holy saints who were sanctified in Christ. No matter what
outward appearance may be and what denomination may be, once called by God
there is no change of the position as the dearly loved children of God. We don’t
see through yet and everybody in Christ Jesus is in the process of growth to be
like Him according to the divine program of God the Father. All Christians on
the earth are under the construction and are sanctified by the Sovereign God.
Sanctification means to put to the proper use. Christians are called and put to
the proper use and cause strategically by the hand of God, which is irrevocable.
Apostle Paul also includes
those who everywhere call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the same Lord of
all since there is one Lord (Ephesians 4:4-6). Those who have been made
righteous can call on the name of Christ Jesus. The evildoers never call on the
name of the Lord. ‘Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people
as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord.” (Psalm 14:4) Cain and his
descendants never called on the name of the Lord, but Seth and his descendants
began to call on the name of God. “Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.
At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.” (Genesis 4:26) In
Christ, we call on the name of Christ Jesus which means we live by Him and
through Him and for Him.
What is the greetings? “Grace
and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Grace and
peace are what we need desperately every day in the midst of following our Lord
Jesus Christ. Grace is the love of God manifested though we don’t deserve at
all. God’s grace is coming through the channel of the Son Jesus Christ who paid
the ransom price for the sin of the world in our place. We were bought at a
price, so that we are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). In Christ, we are
His captives since the liberation from the bondage of sin and death has come
through the faith in the blood of the Son.
God’s grace has broken through
the barrier of hang-ups caused by the fall of human race. God made His son
Jesus Christ sin in our place and let Him die on the cross of Calvary while we
were still sinners. God has reached out His unconditional loving hand toward
the lost mankind this way by means of the death of the Son. Apostle Paul
asserts the fact in full assurance and confidence, saying “Since we have now
been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath
through him!” (Romans 5:9) His grace is ever pouring out of the throne of
grace, overflowing from rivers of living water within. Christ Jesus indwells in
the heart of believers, so when we keep on believing in Him He will keep on
pouring out the grace of God in our midst.
Peace is shatterproof and
indestructible serenity in the midst of pressure and stress. Where is such
peace? It can come only from God as well as grace. Peace is not temporal agreement
between the hostile neighbors or countries. That is not peace at all because it
can be broken at any moment. Jesus is peace and He stands forever on the same ground
of peace. Jesus Christ broke His body in our place in order to break down the
walls of hostility between Israel and the nations and to bring peace for all
humanity.
“For he himself is our peace,
who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing
wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and
regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the
two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God
through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” (Ephesians
2:14-16)
Prayer: Thank God for pouring
out grace and peace from the throne of grace, rivers of living water within. Thank
God for this blessed assurance in Christ that we have been made free and
righteous and that regardless of differences in appearance we are all the
children of God, belonging to the Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ’s name. Amen.
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