A Sermon on 2 Corinthians 1:1-2 was delivered on May 17, 2026. Please visit our Sermon Archives for more sermons in this series.
Introduction
Before diving into the text, the sermon lays out the background of Paul’s turbulent relationship with the Corinthian church. Paul planted the church during 18 months there on his third missionary journey. After receiving a bad report through Timothy, he made a painful visit that ended in humiliation — false teachers claiming apostolic authority had undermined his credibility. He later wrote what he calls a “stern letter” (also lost to history), which brought genuine repentance. He then wrote what we know as 2 Corinthians around 55-56 AD to address lingering criticism and false teaching.
The false teachers attacked Paul on three fronts: he wasn’t eloquent enough, he refused payment (which apparently marked you as second-rate in that culture), and most significantly — he suffered. In their view, God’s favor meant health, wealth, and the absence of suffering. Paul spends most of the letter dismantling that claim. The overarching theme of 2 Corinthians is this: ministry under the new covenant is a ministry of weakness and suffering — and that’s exactly where God’s strength and glory show up.
God’s Apostle
Paul opens by identifying himself — a first-century convention — as an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. Nobody asked Paul if he wanted the job. Jesus knocked him off his horse, blinded him, converted him, and commissioned him. That’s God’s initiative, not Paul’s career ambition.
The sermon draws a distinction between the broad and narrow senses of “apostle.” In the broad sense, every believer carries a message and the authority to deliver it — Christ crucified, in the context of everyday relationships. In the narrow sense, the capital-A Apostles held a unique foundational office that has now closed. Five reasons support this:
- The qualifications were specific: direct contact with Jesus, witness of the resurrection, direct appointment by Christ, confirmed by signs and wonders.
- Paul himself called his own calling unique: “last of all” and “least of all.” His uniqueness signals the closing of the office, not a template for others.
- The canon is complete. The Apostles brought God’s revelation; we now have all of it. Teachers and preachers today explain Scripture — they don’t add to it.
- Apostles laid the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20). Foundations go down at the beginning, not 2,000 years later.
- The earliest church fathers — Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenaeus — already spoke of the apostolic age in the past tense.
The practical implication: anyone today driving expensive cars and private planes while claiming apostolic authority looks far more like the false teachers Paul warned against than like Paul himself.
God’s Church
The church at Corinth doesn’t belong to Paul, to the elders, or to anyone in the congregation. It belongs to God. The local church gathers specifically to worship, and worship is not just the songs. Everything from the call to worship to the benediction constitutes worship: the reading and preaching of Scripture, singing, the sacraments, and prayer. That posture of worship then flows out into daily life through service, proclamation, and holy living.
Saints Through Grace and Peace
Paul calls the Corinthians — a deeply troubled congregation — saints. This cuts against the common idea that saints are an elite class of super-Christians. Paul uses the word to describe ordinary believers who struggle with sin. How does that work?
Grace is unmerited favor. What humanity earns before God is death and judgment — Romans 6:23 makes that plain. God owes us nothing but condemnation. Yet God extends salvation through Jesus to all who believe. Where we fail in righteousness and worship, Jesus succeeded perfectly — satisfying God’s holy requirements, earning life, and then taking death on the cross in our place. The result is peace: reconciliation between God and humanity.
Titus 2:11 ties it together: the same grace that saves us also trains us toward holiness. Grace isn’t just the entry point — it’s the ongoing power for the entire Christian life. That means a grace-filled life in this world looks like weakness acknowledged, suffering endured, and God’s glory shining through both.
Conclusion
2 Corinthians launches with a direct challenge to the prosperity gospel — ancient and modern. God’s people are not saints because they are impressive; they are saints because grace has set them apart. Ministry and life under the new covenant don’t avoid weakness and suffering; they embrace both as the very places where God’s strength and glory become most visible. The question for every believer is not “am I successful and comfortable?” but “am I zealous for the holiness to which God has called me?”