Paul greets his friends warmly at the beginning of his letter.
Ancient letters which have survived, mainly as papyri, from the first-century world of Graeco-Roman civilization follow a fairly set pattern. The writer gives his name, addresses those to whom he is writing and offers a greeting. There is also a frequent reference to thanksgiving to the gods and a prayer for the recipients’ good health and safety.
The apostle Paul took over much of this pattern, but filled it with a new, Christian content. Notice the distinctive Christian elements in the opening verses:
1:1 reveals his privileged position, shared by only a limited number in the early church, of apostleship and unique in the sense that he alone was called to be God’s special messenger to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15; Romans 15:15-18; 1 Timothy 2:7).
Those he is writing to in 1:2 are the people of God in southern Greece, the chief city of which was Corinth. With Israel, God’s elect and holy people, they are included in one covenant of grace, but distinguished as those who call on the name of Jesus as Lord just as Old Testament saints called on the name of Yahweh their God in worship (eg Genesis 4:26; 21:33). As a local part of the universal church, the church at Corinth is made to feel it is part of the spiritual family with all other believers (as in 1 Peter 1:1-2).
The specific Christian blessings of grace and peace are called down in the apostolic prayer. It is not accidental that this order is preserved throughout the New Testament. We may enjoy peace with God and the gift of his peace only on the ground of his gracious act of redemption in Christ (Romans 5:1-2).
Thanksgiving for Paul takes the form of praise to God for the enrichments which the Corinthian believers have known (1:4-5); indeed, they are deficient in no spiritual gift-by-grace (Greek charisma). But as Paul chides them later (14:12), with all their preoccupation with these gifts they must be sure of a right motive. What is it(12:31)?
In case any of them had imagined that they had received all that God had to offer, a gentle reminder follows (1:8), namely that Christians are still pilgrims on the road to God’s fullness. They await their completed redemption (Romans 8:23-25) at the Lord’s triumph-day. Then God’s faithfulness which has already called them to the state of grace will promote them to the state of glory (1:9).
