January 18, 2026
Have you ever written a letter to someone? Perhaps you have placed it into an envelope and posted it. An envelope often contains a letter. Some books of the Bible are letters; we call them “epistles.” We just heard God’s Word from the book of the Bible called “First Corinthians,” and that is a letter or an epistle. This letter was written by Paul.
Paul says that he is a called apostle. The apostles were special people God chose and sent to preach and teach the Word of God. God called Paul to that special job. Paul was to speak God’s Word, teach the people, correct them when they were wrong, and above all, tell them the good news, the Gospel, about their Saviour, Jesus. In fact, Jesus said about the apostles, “The one who hears you hears Me” (Luke 10:16).
When we send a letter, we include the name and address of the person receiving it. Who received the letter called “First Corinthians”? Paul tells us his letter is to “the church of God that is in Corinth” (1 Cor. 1:2).
The church is those people God called by His Word and made Christians. Corinth was a city in Paul’s day with a congregation of God’s church. Paul tells them and us who they are. They are ones who are sanctified—that means “made holy”—in Christ Jesus. They’re called saints, just like all Christians, then and now. They’re made saints by Jesus’ dying for their sins.
Paul sent his letter because there were problems in the church at Corinth. They weren’t living as God wanted. They were fighting. Paul wrote this letter to teach them that what they were doing was wrong and to remind them who they were in Christ Jesus. God had blessed them with many special gifts by His undeserved love and favour, and since some of the people had forgotten, Paul reminded them of who they were.
There’s one other difference between this letter and First Corinthians. After this reading, we said, “This is the Word of the Lord.” “Thanks be to God!” These aren’t just Paul’s words; it’s God’s Word, which calls the Corinthians and us to repent of our sins and believe in the Gospel of Jesus.
Dear Jesus, thank You for Paul’s letter to the people living in Corinth. Help me not to do wrong to others, and be reminded that I am one of Your children. Amen.