1 Corinthians 1:1

PAUL'S FIRST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

1 COR. 1

Paul began, as always, with a salutation (1 Corinthians 1:1-3), and thanksgiving (1 Corinthians 1:4-9), moving immediately to the principal objective of the epistle, which was that of correcting rampant disorders in the Corinthian church. He first took up the problem of disunity (1 Corinthians 1:10-17), expounded on the glory and power of the cross of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:18-25), and brought forward the character of the Corinthian congregation itself as proof of the wisdom of God in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).

Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother. (1 Corinthians 1:1)

The words "to be", added by the translators, are unnecessary and even cloud the meaning. Paul was stating what he was, not what he intended to be. As in most of his writings, Paul stressed his divine commission as an apostle, thus invoking the authority needed for dealing with the errors prevalent in Corinth.

Sosthenes ... Many identify this brother with the one mentioned in Acts 18:17, but it is not certain. Apparently, he was the amanuensis by whose hand the letter was written, Paul himself inscribing only the salutation and lovingly including his helper. The emphatic first person singular pronoun in 1 Corinthians 1:4 denies that Sosthenes had anything to do with the content of the epistle.