This salutation contains the three elements common in all of Paul's epistles and other correspondence of his day: the writer, the addressees, and a greeting.
"This salutation exhibits undoubted resemblances in form to secular letters that have come down to us from the same period. But the differences are greater, and that in three respects. There is the firm assertion of Apostolic authority, the clear indication that those whom he addresses are not ordinary people but a consecrated society, and the spiritual character of the good wishes he sends them."7
1:1 Students of the book have suggested various explanations concerning why the apostle changed his name from Saul to Paul. Some say he did so to mark the spiritual conquest of Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:9).8Others claim he did so to show himself the least of the apostles since "Paul"means "little"(cf. Eph. 3:8; 1 Tim. 1:15).9Another suggestion is that he was small in physical stature.10Perhaps he did so because the Greek form of the Hebrew name "Saul"was objectionable since it was identical with an adjective that meant "effeminate."He may have done so simply because it was customary for Roman citizens to bear a Roman name as well as one that reflected their own nationality.11
Paul's use of the term "apostle"(lit. "one sent forth with orders")12so early in his salutation sets the tone for the entire epistle. It is mainly a vindication of his apostleship. He claimed apostolic authority at once.
The Lord's title is also significant though not unusual. Paul called Him Christ (God's "Anointed One"sent forth as theapostle from heaven; v. 20; cf. Heb. 3:1; John 20:21) and Jesus (God in action delivering His people from their sins; 5:19; cf. Matt. 1:21).
Paul claimed that his apostleship came to him "by the will of God,"not by his own or the church's initiative (cf. John 1:13; Eph. 2:8). The gift and office of apostle were special in the early church. Only 12 individuals plus Paul possessed them (1 Cor. 15:8; Acts 1:21-22; 9:15). However "apostle"occurs elsewhere in the non-technical sense of anyone sent on God's great mission of evangelism and edification (cf. 8:23; Acts 14:4, 14; Phil. 2:25; et al.).
"In [Acts 14] vv. 4 and 14 Barnabas and Paul are referred to as the apostles'; this is a more general use of the term than that found elsewhere in Acts. Barnabas, although not one of the twelve, may have been one of the hundred and twenty believers of Ch. 1:15 and a witness of the resurrection of Christ. Here the word may have the sense missionaries' or commissioners'; apart from Paul's special and direct commissioning by Christ, he and Barnabas were commissioned by the church of Syrian Antioch to undertake their present work, at the direction of the Holy Spirit. But that Barnabas was an apostle like himself seems to be implied by Paul in 1 Cor. 9:6; Gal. 2:9f."13
The recipients of this epistle knew Timothy well (v.19, Acts 18:5). He had come to faith in Christ evidently through Paul's ministry in Lystra in Asia Minor (Acts 14:8-20; 1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2). He had accompanied Paul on his journeys from the second missionary journey on (Acts 16:1-3) and had gone to Corinth as the apostle's emissary (1 Cor. 4:17; 16:10). Paul called Timothy simply a "brother."
Paul noted in passing that the church (Greek ekklesia, lit. "called out ones,"the company of Christians)14belongs to God. Even though it was "at Corinth"it was God's church. It did not belong to the Corinthians or their teachers. Therefore its primary allegiance must be to Him.
Corinth was an important commercial center. The city probably contained over a half-million inhabitants at this time.15It stood on the narrow land bridge (isthmus) that connected the southern part of Greece (the Peloponnesus) with the northern part. The southern part and some of the northern part comprised the Roman province of Achaia while the province of Macedonia lay immediately to the north. Corinth was not only the chief city through which land commerce passed north and south, but it was the center for sea commerce and travelers east and west. To the east the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean Sea brought ships to Corinth. From there stevedores transferred their cargoes overland a few miles to ships in the Corinthian Gulf of the Ionian Sea. This shortcut saved merchants the long trip around the southern coastline of Greece. Corinth was the capital of the province of Achaia and the headquarters of a Roman proconsul (governor). It had been the notorious center for the immoral worship of the goddess Aphrodite, and its population was cosmopolitan consisting of Romans, Greeks, Orientals, and Jews.
Paul and his missionary band had established a church in Corinth on his second missionary journey (Acts 18). Jews and Gentiles composed it. Paul labored in Corinth a year and a half then. Due to the influence of its culture as well as that of false teachers the church experienced many temptations and difficulties. Paul's dealings with this church following its founding were as follows. However, there is considerable debate among scholars over some of these points because references in the New Testament are incomplete.
1. Paul wrote a letter to the church before he wrote 1 Corinthians warning the Christians there about associating with immoral people. They misunderstood what he said (1 Cor. 5:9-11).
2. After learning of this misunderstanding, as well as other problems and questions that the Christians had, Paul wrote 1 Corinthians from Ephesus. He probably did so during his third missionary journey in the spring of 56 A.D.
3. When he heard additional disturbing reports Paul visited Corinth from Ephesus shortly after the Corinthians had received 1 Corinthians. Unfortunately he had to leave Corinth quickly because of opposition there.
4. On his return to Ephesus he sent a severe letter, probably by Titus, to straighten out matters (2 Cor. 2:4).
5. Paul received no word concerning the church's reaction to this severe letter until Titus met him in Macedonia. He then wrote 2 Corinthians in which he expressed relief at the church's response to his last letter. In it he also announced his intention to visit Corinth soon, possibly in the fall of 56 A.D. on his way to Jerusalem.
In summary, Paul seems to have visited Corinth three times, and the New Testament refers to four letters he wrote to this church.16
Paul called the addressees "saints"(Gr. hagioi, lit. "holy ones,"those set apart for God, cf. 1 Cor. 1:2).17
"All Christians are holy' in virtue, not of their lives, but of their calling; they are set apart in a holy Society as servants and sons of the Holy God."18
Paul intended that the Corinthian Christians would read this epistle in the church, but he also wanted all the Christians in the province of Achaia to read it. We know that at this time there was another Achaian church in Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1) and perhaps one in nearby Athens (Acts 17:34).
1:2 This greeting expresses Paul's wish that God's grace and peace would be his readers' portion. He named these benefits in the introductions to each one of his epistles. He meant sustaining grace rather than saving grace and the peace of God compared to peace with God.
"In the protocol of salvation, recognized even in a salutation, gracealways precedes peace. The former is the basis and foundation of the latter; therefore, the order cannot be changed. No man can have peace who has not previously experienced divine grace (cf. 8:9)."19
"Graceand peace, the favour of God and its fruits, comprehend all the benefits of redemption."20
The combination of grace and peace in Paul's greeting here and elsewhere unites Greek and Semitic terms to form an unconventional greeting (cf. Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; Gal. 1:3; Eph. 1:2; Phil. 1:2; Col. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:2; Phile. 3; 1 Pet. 1:2; 2 Pet. 1:2). Though the general structure of the salutation was typical of the day, the terms Paul used were uniquely Christian.21
The familiar language of this verse implies the deity of Jesus Christ. He is, along with God the Father, the source of grace and peace.
"This could not be so were He a created entity and not the co-eternal and consubstantial Son."22
Furthermore He is "Lord."The Septuagint, which uses this title to translate the name "Yahweh"in the Old Testament, may have influenced Paul to use it of Jesus Christ. The contemporary religious terminology of oriental Hellenism also used this title to denote deity. Whatever the influences on Paul may have been the term "Lord"undoubtedly implied the deity of Christ.23
In this pericope Paul gave thanks to God for the comfort (vv. 3-7) and deliverance (vv. 8-11) that he had experienced recently. He wanted to enable his readers to appreciate what he as an apostle had endured for Christ and the superabounding comfort God supplies to compensate for all afflictions suffered for His sake.
"It [this section] is no mere amiable preamble intended only to cushion the sterner matters which the Apostle is shortly to broach. On the contrary, it is very much of a piece with the major theme of the opening portion of this epistle, namely, Paul's vindication of his own integrity."24
Paul's main concern in this section was that his readers learn the values of his experiences, not just the facts concerning what had happened to him. Consequently he dealt with these first. He shared the effects of his experiences (vv. 3-7) and then told them of one experience (vv. 8-11).
Paul's almost invariable practice of following salutation with thanksgiving in his epistles was a common feature of secular letters in his day.25Compared with his other epistles, however, there is some difference in this thanksgiving.
"St. Paul usually thanks God for some grace bestowed on those whom he addresses, and hence his omission of the Thanksgiving in the stern letter to the Galatians; here and in 1 Tim. 1:12 he gives thanks for benefits bestowed on himself. But his readers are not forgotten (vv. 6, 7); it is largely on their account that he is so thankful."26
