Expositions of Holy Scripture: Romans Corinthians Part 24

THE APOSTLE'S THEME (1 COR. ii. 2)

G.o.d'S FELLOW-WORKERS (1 COR. iii. 9)

THE TESTING FIRE (1 COR. iii. 12, 13)

TEMPLES OF G.o.d (1 COR. iii. 16)

DEATH, THE FRIEND (1 COR. iii. 21, 22)

SERVANTS AND LORDS (1 COR. iii. 21-23)

THE THREE TRIBUNALS (1 COR. iv. 3, 4)

THE FESTAL LIFE (1 COR. v. 8)

FORMS _VERSUS_ CHARACTER (1 COR. vii. 19, GAL. v. 6, GAL. vi. 15, R.V.)

SLAVES AND FREE (1 COR. vii. 22)

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE (1 COR. vii. 24)

'LOVE BUILDETH UP' (1 COR. viii. 1-13)

THE SIN OF SILENCE (1 COR. ix. 16, 17)

A SERVANT OF MEN (1 COR. ix. 19-23)

HOW THE VICTOR RUNS (1 COR. ix. 24)

'CONCERNING THE CROWN' (1 COR. ix. 25)

THE LIMITS OF LIBERTY (1 COR. x. 23-33)

'IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME' (1 COR. xi. 24)

THE UNIVERSAL GIFT (1 COR. xii. 7)

WHAT LASTS (1 COR. xiii. 8, 13)

THE POWER OF THE RESURRECTION (1 COR. xv. 3, 4)

REMAINING AND FALLING ASLEEP (1 COR. xv. 6)

PAUL'S ESTIMATE OF HIMSELF (1 COR. xv. 10)

THE UNITY OF APOSTOLIC TEACHING (1 COR. xv. 11)

THE CERTAINTY AND JOY OF THE RESURRECTION (1 COR. xv. 20)

THE DEATH OF DEATH (1 COR. xv. 20, 21; 50-58)

STRONG AND LOVING (1 COR. xvi. 13, 14)

ANATHEMA AND GRACE (1 COR. xvi. 21-24)

G.o.d'S YEA; MAN'S AMEN (2 COR. i. 20, R.V.)

ANOINTED AND STABLISHED (2 COR. i. 21)

SEAL AND EARNEST (2 COR. i. 22)

THE TRIUMPHAL PROCESSION (2 COR. ii. 14, R.V.)

TRANSFORMATION BY BEHOLDING (2 COR. iii. 18)

LOOKING AT THE UNSEEN (2 COR. iv. 18)

TENT AND BUILDING (2 COR. v. 1)

THE PATIENT WORKMAN (2 COR. v. 5)

THE OLD HOUSE AND THE NEW (2 COR. v. 8)

PLEASING CHRIST (2 COR. v. 9)

THE LOVE THAT CONSTRAINS (2 COR. v. 14)

THE ENTREATIES OF G.o.d (2 COR. v. 20)

I. CORINTHIANS

CALLING ON THE NAME

'All that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.'--1 COR. i. 2.

There are some difficulties, with which I need not trouble you, about both the translation and the connection of these words. One thing is quite clear, that in them the Apostle a.s.sociates the church at Corinth with the whole ma.s.s of Christian believers in the world. The question may arise whether he does so in the sense that he addresses his letter both to the church at Corinth and to the whole of the churches, and so makes it a catholic epistle. That is extremely unlikely, considering how all but entirely this letter is taken up with dealing with the especial conditions of the Corinthian church.

Rather I should suppose that he is simply intending to remind 'the Church of G.o.d at Corinth ... sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints,' that they are in real, living union with the whole body of believers. Just as the water in a little land-locked bay, connected with the sea by some narrow strait like that at Corinth, is yet part of the whole ocean that rolls round the world, so that little community of Christians had its living bond of union with all the brethren in every place that called upon the name of Jesus Christ.

Whichever view on that detail of interpretation be taken, this phrase, as a designation of Christians, is worth considering. It is one of many expressions found in the New Testament as names for them, some of which have now dropped out of general use, while some are still retained. It is singular that the name of 'Christian,' which has all but superseded all others, was originally invented as a jeer by sarcastic wits at Antioch, and never appears in the New Testament, as a name by which believers called themselves. Important lessons are taught by these names, such as disciples, believers, brethren, saints, those of the way, and so on, each of which embodies some characteristic of a follower of Jesus. So this appellation in the text, 'those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,' may yield not unimportant lessons if it be carefully weighed, and to some of these I would ask your attention now.

I. First, it gives us a glimpse into the worship of the primitive Church.

To 'call on the name of the Lord' is an expression that comes straight out of the Old Testament. It means there distinctly adoration and invocation, and it means precisely these things when it is referred to Jesus Christ.