The Principal Thing

Tag: Bible Study

  • Who is 1 Corinthians Addressed To?

    Who is 1 Corinthians Addressed To?

    Line Upon Line: 1 Corinthians 1: 1-2

    Article by:

    Brandon Wood

    Verse 1: A Letter From Paul

    This letter starts with one of Paul’s standard letterheads. Typical of Paul’s writings is the statement of who the letter is from. In this case, the letter is from Paul and Sosthenes “our” brother. The word “our” implies that Paul is writing to someone who is of the same group as Paul. The word “brother” shows that Sosthenes shares a familial relationship with this group.

    An apostle by the will of God

    Paul says he is “called as an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God.” The word “apostle” is a Greek word which means “sent forth” or “messenger.” Paul is an apostle “of” Jesus Christ. The word “of” could mean from, as in he is a “messenger from Jesus;” or “of” could mean about, as in “Paul is a messenger sent forth to tell about Jesus.” The fact that Paul is called “by the will of God,” shows that it’s not by his own will or effort, but rather the will of the higher power of God that he occupies this role.

    Verse 2: To the Believers in Corinth

    In continuing the letterhead, the author indicates to whom the letter is addressed. In this case, it’s addressed to the Church of God at Corinth, which is described as “those who have been sanctified in Jesus Christ.”

    This second part strikes me as being similar to the way some letters of official business are addressed in modern times like the following, where the business is where this is going, but it’s specifically sent to the “ATTN:” personnel:

    To: ATTN: So-and-So

    XYZ Business

    So this letter is being addressed to the Church of God at Corinth, but specifically to “those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints.”

    These Corinthians have already been sanctified

    What stands out to me is that these “have been” sanctified, as opposed to “are being,” or “will be” sanctified. “Have been” is past tense, implying that the sanctification of these people happened in the past instead of being an ongoing process or a future event. What’s more, this sanctification is “in Christ Jesus,” not in themselves. So Christ is the one who is sanctified, and they are in Christ, and therefore they are sanctified in Christ.

    The word “sanctified” means to be set apart, or declared as Holy. Clearly, this holiness is not of themselves, but rather, they are sanctified in Christ, so any holiness would also be in Christ. This is found in other passages where our blessings are “in Christ.”

    They were called as saints

    Another point in the past tense is that those being addressed are “called as saints.” Note that it’s not that they will one day be saints, but that they have already been called as saints.

    “As saints” could have a couple of meanings:

    1. First, they were already saints when they were called;
    2. Second, they became saints when they were called, “as” meaning “to be.”

    Seeing that they are those “who have been sanctified,” I find it likely that their sainthood is tied to their sanctification, especially since the word for saint is the same Greek word as “sanctified” and both can be translated as holy one, set apart and also Holy. To follow the fact that they “have been sanctified” with them being “called as saints” is likely a restatement to bring further emphasis to their state in Christ as those that are set apart

    With all in every place

    The next clause says “with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.”

    This could be saying one of two things:

    1. Those listed above, the church at Corinth, who have been sanctified and called saints, are called that ALONG WITH all “who in every place call upon the name of our Lord.
    2. This is another addressee of the letter. This letter is addressed to BOTH the Church at Corinth AND ALSO “all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord.”

    Paul says that Jesus is “their lord and ours,” which seems to indicate that option one from above is the case, as it speaks of Jesus as “their” Lord as if they are not the ones being spoken to directly in this letter. His usage of “their Lord” implies that this is written directly to the church at Corinth, since if it was written also to those referred to as those “who in every place call upon the name of our Lord,” then he would have left it at that and there would have been no need for “their Lord and ours” at the end.

    Conclusion

    So then, in these first two verses of 1 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul addresses the letter from himself, as an apostle of Jesus Christ, and Sosthenes, to the Church at Corinth. He begins by saying that they are sanctified in Christ, called saints, just like all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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  • Bible Study Notes: Genesis 27

    Bible Study Notes: Genesis 27

    6/4/22

    Recently, as I sat on the deck behind my house, admiring the beautiful clouds with my wife and daughter, I read the story of how Jacob stole his brother Esau’s blessing from Genesis 27. In this chapter there was a great picture of what Jesus does for those who have faith in him, as well as a foreshadowing of Gods plans for his people.

    Chapter 27 begins with Isaac, who is old and frail and can’t see. He calls his eldest son, Esau, to him and tells him to go hunting and to bring him some of his favorite meat so he can bless him. Rebekah overhears this, and tells their younger son, Jacob, to go kill two goats and to take the meal that she will make to his father. She says that in doing this, Jacob can get his brother’s blessing.

    Jacob obeys his mother. But Jacob recognizes that he isn’t anything like his brother. Esau is hairy and spends most of his time in the field. To disguise himself, Jacob puts on his brother’s clothes and covers his smooth skin with goat’s skins.

    As he approaches his father claiming to be Esau, Jacob gives him the savory meal which Rebekah had prepared. Isaac can’t see, and notices that when his son speaks it sounds like Jacob, instead of Esau. After eating the meal, he asks Jacob to come close so he can smell and feel him to be sure to it was Esau. Isaac is fooled by Jacobs disguise and proceeds to give Esau’s blessing to him.

    A few key things stand out to me in this story:

    1. Jacob brings a “savory” meal to his father that he did not prepare by himself.
      • This is paralleled in several other stories and examples throughout the Bible:
        • Abraham offers the ram which God prepares instead of his own son;
        • The law of Moses requires that sacrifices were to be made as a “sweet savor unto the LORD;”
        • Jesus is a sacrifice of a “sweet smelling savor” unto God that we did not prepare ourselves. (Ephesians 5:2)
    2. Jacob wears his brothers clothes and covers his bare skin with goat skins in order to appear to Isaac as his bother Esau, and he is successful.
      • Similarly, Adam and Eve were also covered by skins in the Garden of Eden to cover their bare skin.
      • The older brother’s clothes along with the goat skins essentially seal the deal: if it weren’t for them, Isaac would have noticed that Jacob didn’t feel or smell like Esau.
      • Because the disguise works, Isaac truly believes that he is passing on the family blessing to Esau.
      • Esau is the first born in this story, while in the new testament Jesus is called the firstborn of the Father.
        • Jacob is given the blessing because Isaac was giving it to Esau. We are given the blessings found in the new testament because of how God the Father blesses his son, Jesus.
    3. Even after the deception is found out by Isaac, he doesn’t retract his blessing, in fact, he doubles down.
      • Immediately after the deception is discovered, Isaac confirms “yes, and he will be blessed.” (v.33)
      • While Jacobs blessing is that God give him the dew, the fatness, and the plenty, Esau’s blessing is that he shall dwell in those things.
      • We know that in the end Jacob/Israel end up fully inheritying the land and all the plentifulness of it, and just like many other examples, the first becomes last and the last becomes first.
      • This forshadows God’s plan for his people, that Israel ends up not being the ultimate people who are called by His name, but rather the Church is, and God will call them His people which before were not. (Hosea 1:9-10, Romans 9:25)