1 Corinthians 1:1 - By the will of God

1:1

The introduction to Paul’s letter is fairly typical of the introductions to most of his letters. He starts off by introducing himself as “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God”. Sometimes today the term apostle is bandied about far too freely, and seen as a status symbol. This is not the way that Paul used it. First, we must understand that with respect to people like Peter, John , Paul etc it had a particular relevance, including being a direct witness of Jesus Christ, His resurrection and what He did (Acts 1:21,22). With regard to this, Paul was somewhat unusual, as he acknowledges in this very letter (1 Cor 15:8). Paul is an apostle “of Christ Jesus”. No one was an apostle for their own sake, but for the sake of Jesus Christ. Then he was an apostle “by the will of God”. This is abundantly clear from the Damascus road account in Acts 9. Paul did not apply for the job! He was told by Christ that he was going to do it. Sosthenes is also mentioned. Sosthenes had been the synagogue leader in Corinth (Acts 18:17), this may or may not be the same person. I incline to think he was, it seems he was known by the church in Corinth.