To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours (1 Corinthians 1:2).
Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is an epistle written to straighten out a church with a host of serious problems.
Yet as such it is helpful and enlightening and inspiring to see how Paul the theologian addresses his deep, rich theology to specific, messy, practical issues as Paul the pastor. What an urgency he must have felt to get to the point, to focus on what really matters! And he does:
You Are the Church of God
What really matters, he reminds the Corinthians from the outset of his letter, is not just the ways the Corinthians had gone wrong, but the way Jesus had made them right with God. What really matters is not all the points on which they disagree, but the fact that they are all calling on the name of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Any real church does not belong to itself, is not concerned primarily about themselves. It is “the church of God.”
The church, as divided and broken and failing as it is, is still comprised of the people of God, purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Paul reminds the Corinthian Christians of their common ground – the price that was paid to set them apart from the world, and bring them together as believers. Paul is not writing to the church of Corinth, but to the church of God, a local manifestation of which was in Corinth. Any real church does not belong to itself, is not concerned primarily about themselves. It is “the church of God” – governed and guided by God, and for his glory!
Your Common Ground Is Christ
According to Paul’s own description, the church of God = those sanctified in Christ = saints = everyone who calls on the name of Jesus.
“Church,” put another way, is those sanctified by Jesus, called to be saints. Scripturally speaking, every true believer in Jesus Christ is a saint: not just the famous, or especially holy, or those in leadership roles in the church. The most obscure believer, praying in his or her closet, is just as much in Christ – and therefore just as much a saint – as Paul the apostle himself.
Paul pointed Christians to their common ground in Christ. We ought to also.
There are no second-class citizens in the kingdom of Christ, because every believer is bought with the blood of Christ.
Here is an important mark of a faithful gospel leader: he points you to your common ground with other believers in Christ rather than constantly focusing on the areas of disagreement in order to divide you from other Christians.
What kind of leader are you in your home? Do you constantly point out how the pastor was wrong in his message, or how “other families in the church just aren’t like us”? Or do you teach your children, by words and example, to respect the authority of those God has given as shepherds for the flock, and point your children to the gospel-forgiveness that makes us all Christians even though we are all still deeply imperfect Christians?
Paul pointed Christians to their common ground in Christ. We ought to also.