Paul writes of the first “bright spot” in the Corinthian church in verse 2: “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He says that the Corinthians are sanctified, or holy.
Paul writes of the first “bright spot” in the Corinthian church in verse 2: “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He says that the Corinthians are sanctified, or holy.
Paul visited Corinth on his second missionary journey. He had been in the northern portion of Greece, in Philippi. He had made his way down the coast from Macedonia, spending some time in the city of Berea. He then went further south into Attica and came to Athens, where he spent some time. After he left Athens, he went down to Corinth, leaving for the time his companions behind.
Every time I begin a study of a new book of the Bible I do so with mixed feelings because, on the one hand, the book is a challenge. It is exciting because it is filled with thoughts that we need to make our own. And yet, at the same time, any book of the Bible, as the Holy Spirit speaks through it, as we trust He will and as He promises to do when we study it, is going to produce changes in us. It is going to challenge us in areas of our discipleship. It is going to address us in areas in which we need to grow.
Proper evangelism, proper missionary work, proper Christian activity is to go out with the Gospel, win men and women to Christ, and bring them into the fellowship of the church where they are then taught the things that are found in the Scripture. Christianity is a full-orbed doctrine and approach to life which we grow into increasingly as we share and study Christ’s Word.
It’s easy to look back to the resurrection on Easter Sunday and say how marvelous it is that Jesus rose from the dead two thousand years ago, and then go home to your dinner and leave it at that. But if Jesus rose, and if He is the Lord that His resurrection declares Him to be, this is the Lord who tells you to go into the world and to tell others that He is risen from the dead. Furthermore, Jesus doesn’t make the Great Commission vague, because He tells us how to do it.
Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. His authority transcends all other authority. Now there are other legitimate authorities as well and we’re instructed to recognize them. There is the authority of the state. There is the authority of parents. There is the authority of church officers. These are all legitimate authorities. But over all of these authorities is the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is on the basis of that authority over us as individuals within the church that He makes the Great Commission which follows.
Now as we look at this commission, we see three parts to it. First, there is an announcement of Christ’s authority, which we find in verse 18: “All authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Second, we find a command: “Go ye therefore and teach [make disciples of] all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (vv. 19-20). And then third, we have a great promise: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (v. 20).
Canadian Committee of The Bible Study Hour
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