{"id":30404,"date":"2021-01-13T10:32:32","date_gmt":"2021-01-13T16:32:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?page_id=30404"},"modified":"2021-01-14T19:33:18","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T01:33:18","slug":"salutations-and-thanksgiving","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-corinthian-letters\/salutations-and-thanksgiving\/","title":{"rendered":"Salutations and Thanksgiving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Salutations and Thanksgiving<\/h1>\n

Addressing\u00a0(I Corinthians 1:1-2)<\/h2>\n

Letters typically begin by stating who is writing and to whom the letter is addressed. In this case, the letter is from Paul and Sosthenes and it is addressed to the church at Corinth. Paul makes it clear that he was called to his position as an apostle of Jesus Christ by God’s will (Acts 9:15-16; 26:15-18). The only other time Sosthenes is mentioned is in Acts 18:17. At that time he was the ruler of the synagogue in Corinth, the replacement for Crispus who was converted by Paul to Christianity. He had tried to get the Gentile courts to arrest Paul but failed and was beaten by the Gentiles for his attempt. It appears that sometime later Sosthenes was converted and now was with Paul in Ephesus.<\/p>\n

Paul emphasizes that the church in Corinth also belonged to God and was set apart for a holy purpose in Jesus, thus they were called “saints” along with all other Christians in the world. While the church in Corinth is the primary recipient of the letter, Paul knows that its content is also for all Christians in the world. What unites these Christians is that they all claim Jesus as their Lord.<\/p>\n

Benediction\u00a0(I Corinthians 1:3)<\/h2>\n

Paul’s desire is that both grace, that is the divine blessings of God, and peace, the freedom from conflict, come to them from God, their Father and Paul’s, and the ruler, Jesus Christ. Paul uses similar benedictions in his other letters (Romans 1:7; II Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:2).<\/p>\n

Class Discussion:<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. In what style is I Corinthians written?<\/li>\n
  2. What is the overall nature or purpose of Paul’s letter?<\/li>\n
  3. How does communicating in a letter further God’s purpose for the Corinthians?<\/li>\n
  4. Why does Paul start out with thankfulness for the Corinthians if they are doing so many things wrong?<\/li>\n
  5. What should we learn from this if we must rebuke another?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Thanksgiving\u00a0(I Corinthians 1:4-9)<\/h2>\n

    For the most part, Paul’s letter is a severe rebuke of the Corinthians, but he doesn’t immediately start with criticism. A foundation needs to be laid that Paul cares for the Corinthians and that he sees good in them. A person knowing that isn’t completely bad in another person’s eyes is more likely to listen to even harsh criticism. The same technique is shown by Jesus in writing to most of the seven churches in Asia in Revelation 2 and 3.<\/p>\n

    The very nature of writing about these topics in the form of a letter is conducive to an effective rebuke. A letter is personal communication from one person to another. No one in Corinth could read Paul’s letter and think he must have been talking about someone else. But along with the rebukes, Paul is able to express his personal concern for the brethren, his love for them, and his desire that they should improve.<\/p>\n

    Paul is thankful for the things the Corinthians were given by God through Jesus Christ. They were richly blessed by God in everything, including the various manifestations of the spiritual gifts given to them. Two, in particular, are named, the ability to speak in other languages and knowledge of God’s will. The purpose of those gifts was to confirm to the Corinthians the gospel message. Here the gospel is called the testimony of Christ because it was relayed to those who heard through witnesses (II Timothy 1:8; Revelation 1:1-2). The gifts from God then confirmed that message as true (Philippians 1:7). As a result, the Corinthians do not lack, or are not behind, other Christians in regards to God’s gifts. And they, like other Christians, eagerly looked forward to the return of the Lord.<\/p>\n

    God will keep His promises made to the Corinthians and other Christians. It is by God they were invited or called into the common association of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 49:7; Galatians 3:26-28; II Thessalonians 2:14; I Peter 5:10).<\/p>\n

    Class Discussion:<\/h2>\n
      \n
    1. In describing his thankfulness, what topics does Paul introduce which he will address in detail later in his letter?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\t

      Word Study: Call<\/h2>\n
        \n
      1. Make a list of all the verses in I Corinthians where some form of the word “call” or its synonyms are used.\n
          \n
        1. Jot beside each reference what you learn from the verse about being called.<\/li>\n
        2. Organize those ideas. Which verses address the ideas of who, what, where, when, why, and how?<\/li>\n
        3. Write a paragraph about what “call” means, addressing who, what, where, when, why, and how.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Corinthian Letters\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Salutations and Thanksgiving Addressing\u00a0(I Corinthians 1:1-2) Letters typically begin by stating who is writing and to whom the letter is addressed. In this case, the letter is from Paul and Sosthenes and it is addressed to the church at Corinth. Paul makes it clear that he was called to his position as an apostle of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":19928,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-30404","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22666,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/survey-of-the-bible\/survey-of-the-bible-i-corinthians\/","url_meta":{"origin":30404,"position":0},"title":"Survey of the Bible – I Corinthians","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Survey of the Bible - I Corinthians Text: I Corinthians 1:18-31 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This letter of Paul shows us the difficulty of living a Christian life in a society that given over to idolatry and immorality. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This letter, like the other letters of Paul are found in the codex P46, which\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30385,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-corinthian-letters\/background-to-i-corinthians\/","url_meta":{"origin":30404,"position":1},"title":"Background to I Corinthians","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Background to I Corinthians Class Discussion Who did you find mentioned in the book? Are any the same person but mentioned with a different name? What are the various names for God and the members of the Godhead? What locations did you find mentioned in the book? Using a map,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10202,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/acts-of-the-apostles\/paul-in-corinth\/","url_meta":{"origin":30404,"position":2},"title":"Paul in Corinth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 20, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Paul in Corinth Text: Acts 18:1-22 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Athens never produced a strong church. It is never mentioned in the Scriptures again, even though some there had believed. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Paul, though, moved onto more productive ground in Corinth. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In Corinth he met a couple named Aquila and Priscilla \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They had recently come\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30523,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-corinthian-letters\/salutations\/","url_meta":{"origin":30404,"position":3},"title":"Salutations","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Salutations Encouragement\u00a0(I Corinthians 16:13-14) Paul exhorts the Corinthians, in light of all that he has told them to continue on. They had been losing ground because they had been slumbering (I Corinthians 11:30; Ephesians 5:14), they had been tottering (I Corinthians 15:12), they had been cowardly and acting like children\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30520,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-corinthian-letters\/future-plans\/","url_meta":{"origin":30404,"position":4},"title":"Future Plans","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Future Plans Paul's Plans\u00a0(I Corinthians 16:5-9) Paul plans to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, which is around the beginning of summer. He has a number of opportunities for teaching the Gospel in Ephesus and because of the strong opposition (Acts 19:9), he does want to leave too soon. 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