Verses 1-3: Called, Sanctified, and Gathered in Grace

¹ Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, ² to the assembly of God which is at Corinth—those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours: ³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

• Ministry and authority are rooted in God’s will and calling:

  Paul identifies himself as “called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God,” grounding Christian leadership not in personal ambition or social status but in God’s initiative and commissioning. This helps the church discern true spiritual authority as service under Christ, not self-promotion.

• The church is God’s assembly, made holy in Christ and marked by prayerful dependence:

  The Corinthians are addressed as “the assembly of God,” “sanctified in Christ Jesus,” and “called saints,” showing that holiness is fundamentally a gift and identity anchored in union with Christ. Yet the church is also described as those “who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” highlighting active faith expressed through worship and reliance upon the Lord.

• Grace and peace flow from the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

  The greeting presents grace and peace as divine gifts coming from “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” This frames the entire letter: correction and growth in holiness come within the sphere of God’s gracious initiative and reconciling peace, not mere moral improvement.

Verses 4-9: Enriched by Grace, Kept by Faithful God

⁴ I always thank my God concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus; ⁵ that in everything you were enriched in him, in all speech and all knowledge; ⁶ even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: ⁷ so that you come behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ; ⁸ who will also confirm you until the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

• Spiritual life begins and grows by grace given in Christ:

  Paul thanks God for “the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus,” teaching that the Christian life is rooted in God’s generosity, not human deserving. The church’s gifts and growth are traced to Christ as the source and sphere of grace.

• God equips the church with real gifts for real witness:

  The Corinthians were “enriched in him, in all speech and all knowledge,” and the “testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,” indicating that God’s gifts are not decorative but serve the confirmation and spread of the gospel. The church is meant to bear coherent witness to Christ through truth and Spirit-empowered communication.

• Hope is oriented to Christ’s future revelation, shaping present faithfulness:

  The community lives “waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,” placing Christian existence in an already/not-yet framework. The church is called to persevere with expectant hope, understanding present life as preparation for Christ’s appearing.

• Perseverance rests on God’s faithfulness and is expressed within fellowship with Christ:

  Paul says Christ “will also confirm you until the end,” and grounds this in the confession “God is faithful,” emphasizing God’s sustaining action toward the goal of being “blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This same passage also insists believers are truly “called into the fellowship of his Son,” highlighting a lived communion with Christ in which faith, worship, repentance, and obedience are meaningful and necessary expressions of that fellowship.

Verses 10-17: One Mind, One Lord—No Celebrity Christianity

¹⁰ Now I beg you, brothers, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹ For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are from Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. ¹² Now I mean this, that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” and, “I follow Christ.” ¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so that no one should say that I had baptized you into my own name. ¹⁶ (I also baptized the household of Stephanas; besides them, I don’t know whether I baptized any other.) ¹⁷ For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Good News—not in wisdom of words, so that the cross of Christ wouldn’t be made void.

• Church unity is a gospel obligation, not a personality preference:

  Paul appeals “through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ” for believers to have no divisions but to be “perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” Unity is not mere institutional harmony; it is a response to the Lordship of Christ that should shape speech, priorities, and discernment.

• Factionalism contradicts the meaning of the cross and baptism:

  Paul exposes the absurdity of party-spirit with three questions: “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?” The theological center is clear: the church belongs to the One who was crucified, and baptism signifies incorporation into Christ, not attachment to a human minister.

• Preaching serves the cross; rhetoric must never replace its power:

  Paul explains his mission: “to preach the Good News—not in wisdom of words, so that the cross of Christ wouldn’t be made void.” The church must beware substituting eloquence, novelty, or intellectual pride for the crucified Christ; the message’s power is inseparable from its content.

Verses 18-25: The Cross—Foolish to Some, Power to the Saved

¹⁸ For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing.” ²⁰ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the lawyer of this world? Hasn’t God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn’t know God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe. ²² For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Greeks, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God; ²⁵ because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

• Humanity divides over the cross because salvation is God’s work, not human achievement:

  “The word of the cross” is not received neutrally: it is “foolishness to those who are dying,” yet “the power of God” to those “being saved.” Paul portrays salvation as an ongoing divine work experienced in the present, while also exposing how human pride resists a message that refuses to flatter self-sufficiency.

• God deliberately overturns worldly wisdom to reveal true knowledge of God:

  Quoting Scripture, Paul declares, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,” then challenges the age’s recognized experts: “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the lawyer of this world?” The point is not anti-intellectualism; it is that the world’s wisdom, by itself, cannot arrive at saving knowledge of God.

• God saves through proclaimed Christ, received by believing:

  Paul states it was “God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe.” This holds together God’s initiative (“good pleasure”) and the genuine call to faith (“believe”), presenting salvation as God’s gracious act applied through the gospel, not through human ingenuity or merit.

• The “called” recognize in the crucified Christ God’s power and wisdom:

  While many stumble over “Christ crucified,” Paul says that “to those who are called… Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” The same public message produces different responses, highlighting both the necessity of God’s drawing work and the real, responsible reception of the preached Christ.

Verses 26-31: God Chooses the Lowly—So the Lord Gets the Glory

²⁶ For you see your calling, brothers, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, and not many noble; ²⁷ but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world that he might put to shame the things that are strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that don’t exist, that he might bring to nothing the things that exist, ²⁹ that no flesh should boast before God. ³⁰ Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption: ³¹ that, as it is written, “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.”

• God’s call often upends social expectations to display grace:

  Paul points to the Corinthians’ own experience: “not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, and not many noble.” God’s pattern highlights that the church is not built on natural advantage; it is a community formed by grace that can include all kinds of people, but cannot be explained by status alone.

• Divine choosing humbles pride and lifts up the overlooked:

  Three times Paul says, “God chose,” emphasizing God’s freedom and purpose in salvation history: the “foolish,” “weak,” and “lowly” become instruments through which God shames the presumptions of the “wise” and “strong.” This confronts spiritual elitism and comforts the humble with the truth that God delights to work through what the world dismisses.

• Salvation excludes boasting because it is grounded in God’s action and Christ’s sufficiency:

  The stated goal is “that no flesh should boast before God,” and the reason is decisive: “Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus.” Believers stand in Christ by God’s initiative, so self-congratulation is ruled out; gratitude and worship are the only fitting response.

• Christ himself is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption:

  Paul gathers the whole Christian life into Christ: he “was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.” This anchors justification and ongoing transformation in the person and work of Jesus, so that growth in holiness and final deliverance are received as gifts flowing from union with him.

• True boasting is worship: all glory belongs to the Lord:

  Paul ends with Scripture: “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.” Theological maturity is seen when confidence shifts away from self—whether intellect, gifts, leaders, or achievements—and rests openly and joyfully in God’s grace in Christ.

Conclusion: 1 Corinthians 1 calls the church to unity under the one crucified and risen Lord, insisting that the gospel’s center is not human wisdom, status, or religious celebrity but “Christ crucified.” God’s faithful grace both initiates and sustains the believer’s life, drawing people into fellowship with his Son and supplying every necessity in Christ—so that the only rightful boast of the church is in the Lord.