The Church
The word "church" is used in a general or universal sense to refer to all the saints of God (Mat. 16:18). It refers to all who have been called out by the gospel and are bound by a common faith in Christ. It is also used in a specific or local sense (I Cor. 1:2). Here Paul gives three descriptions of the church that demand our deepest consideration. He speaks of it as "them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus," "called to be saints," and "all that call upon the name of the Lord."
The church is not a physical structure, but a body of people. The "sanctified" are those who are "set apart." The Corinthians had been called out of the corruptions of Corinth to serve the living and true God. Meyer translates this "the church of God, men sanctified in Christ Jesus."
We are all sanctified (set apart) when we obey the gospel (John 17:17). To be sanctified does not mean that it is impossible to sin for the Corinthians sinned. The last of chapter one shows their guilt of being factious. "Sanctified" does, however, suggest the kind of life to be lived as those devoted to God. The church is to be without "spot or wrinkle or any such thing." It "should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:25-27, see also I Cor. 6:9-11; Heb. 9:13, 14).
Sanctification is "in Christ Jesus." It was by the authority and power of Jesus that the Corinthians were separated from the heathenism about them. Faith in and obedience to Christ makes men different. Only the power of the blood of Jesus can set people apart from the world. To be "of God" we must be "in Christ."
Those set apart in Christ are "called to be saints." The purpose of Christ's coming was to make saints (Mat. 1:21). We are saints because Christ called us to be such (II Tim. 1:9). The word "saints" is from the same root word as "sanctified" and its meaning is very similar. "Since every believer is sanctified in Christ Jesus, I Cor.
1:2 .... a common New Testament designation of all believers is 'saints' . . . 'sanctified' or 'holy ones.' Thus sainthood, or sanctification, is not an attainment, it is the state into which God, in grace, calls sinful men, and in which they begin their course as Christians ..." (Vine). The calling that results in men becoming saints is not some mysterious, "better felt than told" experience, but is the gospel of Christ addressed to human hearts. (II Thess. 2:13, 14).
It is a source of hope to be called of God (Rom. 8:28). The end of that call is to be holy. "But like as He who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living" (I Pet. 1:5).
The words "sanctified" and "saints" describe the church in relationship to God. In action it is described as "all that call upon the name of our Lord." To call upon the Lord's name means to call Him to our aid in spiritual need — "to invoke the aid of." It involves much more than calling self by the Lord's name and is much more than merely saying, "Lord, Lord" (Mat. 7:21). It involves worship and prayer (II Tim. 2:22). To call upon the name of anyone implies trust in that one. Such is a distinguishing mark of Christians (Acts 7:59; 9:14). Saints are identified by their calling upon the name of the Lord.
But we must call upon Him in the way He has ordained. In so doing we are depending upon Him. For example: In baptism we appeal to God through Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 22:16). After baptism we call upon Him in His appointed way of worship and prayer for continued forgiveness and spiritual blessings. "Calling on the name of the Lord" is expressive more of a habitual state of mind than a single act. It involves looking to Jesus in worship and for aid. It implies trust in Him.
The religion of Jesus is the universal religion with a universal book. Paul had the same feeling for all of God's people. He was not narrow in his outlook. The Corinthian epistle was addressed to the church of God at Corinth and to "all. . . in every place" that call upon His name. What a glory to be a part of the church of God, to be among the sanctified and to call on the name of the Lord.
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