1 Corinthians 1:1-3

The FATHER calls who He wills…not man! What to us may seem like the least likely candidate for the work of the Gospel is his choice in the BODY OF CHRIST. He is faithful to all who believe in the salvation He provided in JESUS CHRIST. Together we form the Bride of Christ..the Church.

When we have been stripped of ourself He can use us the most. 

All believers have one and the same Lord a virtual reproof of the divisions of the Corinthians, as if Christ were divided.

1 Corinthians 1:1–3 (NKJV)

1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

² To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:22 (NKJV)

²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;

Paul’s appointment to the office of apostle was God’s decision, not a person’s or group’s. Paul doesn’t need the affirmation of the Corinthians because God chose him.

Corinth was a metropolitan city on the Mediterranean Sea with a population consisting of between 150,000 and 300,000 Roman citizens and approximately 460,000 slaves. Jewish people may have been some of the first settlers. The city contained many freed people who often became criminals because they were unable to work legitimate jobs; these may have represented the poor that Paul mentions (1 Cor 11:17–34). In the first century ad, when Paul wrote his letter, Corinth was known for its banking industry and incredible wealth. Shrines to deities of Greek, Roman, and even Egyptian gods have been discovered, and cult prostitution was common. The biannual Isthmian athletic games were held at Corinth, which made it a travel destination; these games also involved a celebration of the god Poseidon.

The Greek word used here, ekklēsia, refers to a gathering of people, not a building; here, it references the gathering of Christ followers in Corinth. Faithlife Study Bible

The Corinthian church greatly valued human wisdom. This misplaced emphasis had caused some in the church to challenge Paul’s authority. They forgot that Jesus Christ Himself had called him to his ministry as an apostle of Jesus Christ.

A local church of God is a group of people who identify themselves with God and gather together to worship and serve Him.

The work of Jesus Christ makes a believer holy forever in God’s eyes. But in everyday living, sanctification involves small, daily changes. This is why Paul could call the Corinthian believers to become saints, even though the problems in their church testified that they were far from the goal of holiness. The NKJV Study Bible.

Paul’s call as “an apostle by the will of God,” while constituting the ground of the authority he claims in the Corinthian Church, is a reason for humility on his own part. In assuming the ministerial office a man should see he does so not of his own impulse, but by the will of God Paul if left to his own will would never have been an apostle.

The Epistle is intended for all believers, as well as for the Corinthians. The true Catholic Church (a term first used by Ignatius [Epistle to the Smyraeans, 8]): not consisting of those who call themselves from Paul, Cephas, or any other eminent leader, but of all, wherever they be, who call on Jesus as their Saviour in sincerity. Still a general unity of discipline and doctrine in the several churches is implied. The worship due to God is here attributed to Jesus. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible