To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling

 

Good morning. Last time we finished the book of Romans, and today we start the book of first

Corinthians. My Bible says that in Paul’s day the city of Corinth had a population of about 250,000 free persons, plus as many as 400,000 slaves. Paul starts out like he does a lot of times listing his credentials. Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. As was the custom, he starts the letter with his name instead of having it just at the end. An apostle was a messenger, or one sent by some one or group. Paul says that he was sent by Jesus according to the will of God – he did not go out on his own. We now find out to whom he wrote this letter. To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. My Bible says that the term “church of God“ was only used by Paul and only in one place in Acts, here, and one place in second Corinthians. Legally we were sanctified at rebirth, but experientially it is worked out in our lives until we die. We were not called to be ain’ts; we were called to be saints. Father thank You that we were called to be something special. Help us to show that specialness every day in our lives so that we may bring others into Your kingdom.

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