SERMON: “A Divine Word through an Apostle” (1 Cor. 1:1)
“A
Divine Word through an Apostle”
(1 Cor. 1:1)
Series: “1 Cor: Holiness from Messes” #1 Text: 1 Corinthians 1:1
By: Shaun Marksbury Date: Sept.
7, 2025
Venue: Living Water Baptist Church Occasion: AM Service
I.
Introduction
Who gets to define Christianity? There are always people who think that the
Apostle Paul took over the Christian faith, changing it from the vision that
Jesus and His twelve disciples had.
Perhaps you’ve seen a video or read a comment to the effect that Paul
hijacked Christianity and made it his own.
Of course, that’s a criticism that came from people who
lived a lot later than the first century.
Throughout the New Testament and the testimony of the early Christians,
Paul preached exactly what the Lord wanted Him to preach. In fact, it was typically false teachers,
some of whom were at Corinth, who wanted to challenge and change the gospel and
the Christian message.
Let’s briefly consider those to whom Paul is writing. As one study notes, “The city of Corinth was
located in southern Greece, in what was the Roman province of Achaia, ca. 45
mi. W from Athens. This lower part, the
Peloponnesus, is connected to the rest of Greece by a 4-mile-wide isthmus.”[1] There was a Jewish synagogue there, but the
city of Corinth was one filled with all manner of idolatry and sexual immorality. It was a mix of “New York, Los Angeles, and
Las Vegas,” with many sins akin to what we see today.[2] As such, Christian converts had a lot of baggage
they brought into the church. We’ll talk
more about this next week when we get into v. 2.
Let’s just say that he wants to correct their behavior and
to see them grow. As such, we’re
considering this book with this theme in mind: Holiness from Messiness. All believers have some messes in their lives,
but Christ can clean them up and sanctify us all in the process. As Paul writes and encourages the change that
only Christ can bring, he must not write from a place of mere personal opinion,
though.
What’s noteworthy about Paul is that he had divine authority
to write, and that’s our consideration this morning. In this verse, we see a remarkable author,
but something even greater — a penned Word from God. This is the message God wants us to hear, and
we’ll consider that in three points: First, this message comes from a
regenerate believer. Second, this
message comes from a divine authority. Third,
this message comes from a humble heart.
II.
First, this Message Comes from a Regenerate Believer
Paul,
You may know that Paul
was born Saul in Tarsus. This was
in Cilicia, a thriving Grecian community not far from Galatia. This made him a Roman citizen (cf. Acts 16:37;
22:28).
Sermons have been preached on his apparent name change from
Saul to Paul. However, it was common for
many Jews in that day to have a Hebrew name (Saul) and a Greek/Roman name
(Paul).[3] Paul references his name as “Saul” as late as Acts
26:14 without explanation, indicating he was known by both names. As Paul began interacting with more Gentiles
later in life, he simply began using his Roman name more with them.
As a Jew, he had a religious upbringing. He was born to a Pharisee (Acts 23:6), an
ultra-orthodox sect of his day. He also
was trained in a trade known as “tentmaking,” as Acts 18:3 notes. This will become important in 1 Corinthians 9
when Paul says he didn’t ask the Corinthians for a salary.
Yet, it was his scholastic background that is most
interesting to us. He also learned from
one of the preeminent Jewish leaders of his day, Gamaliel (who had been trained
by Hillel, the preeminent rabbi when Christ was born). Paul was fluent in Hebrew, Aramaic, and
Greek, and his exposure to reading was broad.[4] Because of his brilliance
and strong education in Greek and Hebrew, he was beyond the abilities of many
of his peers (1:14). He became a member
of the Pharisees, able to consider himself blameless under the law (Acts 23:6,
Phil 3:5–6).
It was this upbringing that animated Paul for a defense of
his traditions. He began to violently
persecute Christians — in Acts 8:1, we see that he consented to the murder of
Stephen, and in v. 3 there, we read that he began “ravaging the church, entering
house after house, and dragging off men and women, he was delivering them into
prison.” Yet, while traveling a road to
the town of Damascus, Paul met Jesus Christ, who transformed his priorities (recorded
in Acts 9:1–9).
After Paul’s conversion, he didn’t immediately consult with
the apostles or begin his ministry. His
first contact were believers in Damascus (Acts 9:10–23). Instead, he spent time in Arabia (present-day
Saudi Arabia) for an unspecified period. Following this, Paul returned to Damascus,
where he stayed for three years, during which time, he began preaching Jesus Christ
as the Messiah in synagogues (cf. Acts 9:26–30).
It was after this time of preparation and initial preaching when
Paul returned to Jerusalem. There, he spent
fifteen days with Peter and also met James, the Lord’s brother (but didn’t see the
other apostles — Gal. 1:18–19). After
this brief visit, Paul went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia, where he
remained largely unknown to the Judean churches. This time of independent ministry and
preparation lasted several years, during which Paul developed his understanding
of the Gospel and his mission to the Gentiles.
Considering his zeal for the traditions of his people, it
seems strange that this man would become a powerful advocate for the Christian
faith. He even says, “But whatever
things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of
Christ” (Phil. 3:7). Indeed, he is the
most prolific author in the New Testament.
This is the Paul who pens this book — a regenerate believer
in Christ. As one study notes, “Pauline
authorship has been universally accepted by the church since the first century,
when 1 Corinthians was penned,” supported by the testimony of the early church.[5] He was working for the Lord who changed his
life.
He received a calling that we see in these words: “called as
an apostle of Christ Jesus.” Let’s
consider what that means for what we’re reading. This isn’t a message just from a learned
Jewish scholar; this is the Word of God.
We turn to that point next:
III.
Second, this Message Comes from a Divine
Authority
called as an
apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
As we noted a few minutes ago, Paul spent years in study and
preparation after he came to Christ. He
also didn’t have any interaction with Peter and the other apostles until well
into that period, and then only limited contact. Throughout this period, Paul emphasized that
his gospel and apostleship came directly from a revelation of Jesus Christ, not
from human teaching.
Let’s back up for a moment.
The word apostle isn’t one common to our English vernacular, but
it was a common word used in Greek culture.
It wasn’t a religious word; it spoke of someone operating in a kind of
ambassadorial role. The term literally
means “sent one,” focusing more on a commission
than a message. When someone simply claimed to have an apostolic
commissioning, a natural question would be “of whom?”
We see this general sense of the term in the New
Testament. For instance, we read of
missionaries or “messengers of the church” (cf. 2 Cor 8:23), such as Barnabas,
Silas, and Timothy. In other words, in
Greek, they would claim to be apostles representing churches.
Yet, that’s not what Paul claims here when he says he’s “an
apostle of Jesus Christ.” This is a far
more restrictive sense, it is an office that only fourteen men held (the
original twelve disciples including Judas, Matthias, who replaced Judas, and
Paul). These were the commissioned
leaders of the church, and there is no evidence of one of these men (besides
Judas) being replaced.
Theirs was a prophetic role.
They spoke for God, receiving revelation. Yet, it was an even higher role than that of
the Old Testament prophets, for the apostles ruled in the early church.
Paul claims an authority, then — he has the highest
commission of any Christian. It’s not a
church sending him; it’s Christ. He says
in 1 Timothy 1:12 that he thanks Jesus because He “strengthened me, because He regarded
me faithful, putting me into service.”
It is only by the grace of the Lord that any of us find strength and
commissioning.
This commission was specifically to the Gentiles. In Galatians 2:7, he says, “I had been
entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised.” The Lord had a task for Him.
Paul has received this special commissioning because he saw
Christ. He learned the holy gospel from
no man but Christ, and operated with solidarity alongside Christ’s other
disciples. He has an authority to speak
to the church that was recognized by the other apostles (Gal. 2:9).
He not only writes that he’s Christ’s apostle, but “by the
will of God.” In 1 Timothy 1:1, he says
he’s an apostle of Christ Jesus “according to the commandment of God our
Savior, and of Christ Jesus” Even though
apostleship in the New Testament is established by Jesus, Paul highlights that
the Father is also involved in the selection process. That makes sense considering Jesus said He
came to do the Father’s will.
To a lesser extent than Christ, Paul is nonetheless God’s
representative, God’s apostle. He
often underscores that God the Father has also commissioned him (e.g., Rom 1:1;
Gal 1:15–16). If the authority of Christ
isn’t enough, then understand that Paul writes according to the will and commandment
of God!
It’s not that Jesus and the Father would have different
ideas about this. Again, in 1 Timothy
1:1, Paul writes that this is the commandment of God and also “of Jesus
Christ.” The wills of the Father and Son
are in perfect alignment on the question of Paul, and he equates the Father and
the Son with his words. Indeed, Paul has
really already said this when he said he’s “an apostle of Christ Jesus.” It’s as though he’s highlighting and
underscoring and putting an exclamation mark on this point — he writes with a
divine authority.
He wrote something similar in Titus 1:3. He says there he was entrusted with the
proclamation of God’s Word “according to the commandment of God our Savior.” When Paul writes, he speaks as a mouthpiece
of God.
This is important in this letter. Just as there are some today who question
Paul’s right as an apostle, there were some who did in the church of
Corinth. We’ll talk more about this next
time, but it was important for them to remember that he wrote with a divine
authority.
Consider this: This isn’t the first time Paul is writing the
Corinthians. He wrote them before, and
he will write them one more time before he finally pens what we call 2
Corinthians. That means there are four Corinthian
letters, not two. However, God chose to
preserve only these two letters for the rest of the church to read, divinely
crafting them as part of the canon of God-breathed Scripture.[6]
In other words, we’re obligated to accept this as the Word
of God. Just as the Corinthians needed
to pay attention to these words, God preserved them for the rest of us to read
and to heed, as well.
Yet, note what is absolutely unique about this authority
claim. Even in these words, Paul isn’t
tooting his own horn, and he shows compassion and concern for them. This brings us to the next point:
IV.
Third, this Message Comes from a Humble Heart
and Sosthenes our
brother,
Some have interpreted Paul’s words to be harsh — “I’m an
apostle, so listen up!” Some also might
perceive it to be a boast. However, that
couldn’t be further from the truth.
We see that here. Consider
that this is one of the few times Paul shares an opening. He likely means here that Sosthenes is with
him or that he was a secretary — Paul uses the first person singular throughout
the letter.
Sosthenes was a believer known to the Corinthians. As one commentary notes, “This Sosthenes, now
with Paul in Ephesus, is probably the same Sosthenes who received the beating
meant for Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:17). If
so, the beating did him good for he is now a follower of Christ.… He may have
been compelled by the Jews to leave Corinth when he, a ruler of the synagogue,
became a Christian.”[7] Now, Sosthenes is a co-laborer with Paul.
How is this a mark of humility for Paul? Consider that this is not an apostle, nor is
he a notable teacher. As one church
father noted, this is another “instance of his modesty; he puts in the same
rank with himself one inferior to Apollos; for great was the interval between
Paul and Sosthenes. Now if where the
interval was so wide he stations with himself one far beneath him, what can
they have to say who despise their equals?”[8] An author writing later noted that Sosthenes,
“a Corinthian by birth, as is most probable, and dear to this people, for which
reason Paul, to ingratiate himself with them, joins them with himself in his
first salutations.”[9] Paul is not seeking to lord his position over
the Corinthians, but instead show his compassion for them.
V.
Conclusion
This is the man who writes to the Corinthians. He is a believer with a tender heart but with
a powerful message. He writes to them according
to his wisdom in Scripture as well as his role in apostolic ministry. He wants them to understand that there is a
better way, a more excellent way than they’ve been practicing the faith, and he
writes according to the calling of God upon him.
We’re not opening someone else’s mail by reading this. We, too, must accept the word of the Lord
through His apostle. We know that we
have messes in our lives that need to be sanctified. Yet, with the Lord’s help, we can live lives
of holiness before Him. So, let’s study
this book together for a while, learning the lessons God may have for us
together!
[1] John MacArthur Jr., Ed., The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed., (Nashville, TN: Word
Pub., 1997), 1726.
[2] Andrew David Naselli, Romans–Galatians, 2020, X, 212.
[3] Roy E. Ciampa and Brian S. Rosner, The First Letter to the Corinthians, The
Pillar New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 7.
[4] Ibid.
[5] MacArthur, 1726.
[6] Andrew David Naselli, Romans–Galatians, 2020, X, 212.
[7] A. T. Robertson, Word
Pictures in the New Testament, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), 1 Co
1:1.
[8] John Chrysostom, Saint
Chrysostom: Homilies on the Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians, 1889, 12,
3.
[9] Matthew Henry, Matthew
Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume,
(Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 2245.