In verse 2 Paul also says, “With all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, theirs and ours.” Notice that here he does not say “and all those,” but “with all those.” This indicates that a local church, like the church in Corinth, is composed only of those believers in that locality, not of all believers in every place. It also indicates that this Epistle was intended not only for the believers in that one church in Corinth, but for all believers in every place. First Corinthians is for all believers of whatever place or time.
If I had been writing this Epistle, I probably would have used the word and instead of with. Paul’s wording here is very important. As we have seen, it indicates that a local church includes only those in that particular locality, not all the saints on earth. Paul wrote this Epistle to the church in Corinth with all the saints on earth. Only the local saints are the components of a particular church. The saints in other localities are not components of that church. However, this greeting indicates that this book of illustrations was written not only to the saints at Corinth, but to all the saints, no matter where they may be.
When referring to the local saints at Corinth, Paul uses the expression “called saints.” But when he speaks of all the saints on earth, he uses another description: “all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place.” In this verse we see two callings: first, we are called saints; second, we call upon the name of the Lord. This indicates that we, the believers, the saints, have been called by God to call upon the name of the Lord. We have been called to call! To be called is a matter once for all, but to call upon the name of the Lord is a lifelong matter. Continually we need to call on Him.
To call upon the name of the Lord implies to believe in Him (Rom. 10:14). All believers in the Lord should be His callers (Acts 9:14, 21; 22:16). We have been called to call, called by God to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.
In the opening verses of this Epistle, Paul gives us the definition of an apostle, of the church, and of the saints. A saint first is one who has been called by God unto Him. Second, a saint is one who calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus.
Calling on the name of the Lord Jesus is not a matter of praying silently. It is to call on the Lord audibly. Christians often pray silently or in a very low voice. But if we would call on the name of the Lord Jesus, we need to audibly call out to Him. I can testify that this kind of calling makes a great difference.
When you call on the name of the Lord in this way, you are the first to listen to your prayer. If you do not listen to your own prayer, how do you expect the Lord to listen to it? But if you listen to your prayer, you will have the assurance that the Lord has heard it also.
As saints in Christ Jesus, we are not machines. Our praying to the Lord, therefore, should not be mechanical. When we call on the Lord Jesus, our entire being is stirred up. Our whole inner being is exercised.
We have pointed out that a saint is a person who has been called by God and who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus. However, some Christians strongly oppose calling on the name of the Lord. But to call on the name of the Lord Jesus is not only scriptural; it is also necessary in our daily living. As Christians, we should not be dumb. We should not come to the meetings and sit silently as if we were dumb idols. We should call on the name of the Lord Jesus aloud. Sometimes we may even need to call out to Him in public places. You may think that this will cause you to lose your face. Actually, instead of being put to shame, you will be uplifted in the Lord.
You have been called by the Lord, but are you calling on Him? I am concerned that even among us there are some who do not call on the name of the Lord. They are still concerned about losing their face. The more we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, the more we are released and uplifted. Furthermore, this calling designates us as called saints.
In verse 2 Paul says that the Lord Jesus Christ is “theirs and ours.” Christ as the all-inclusive One belongs to all believers. He is our portion given to us by God (Col. 1:12). The apostle added this special phrase at the end of this verse to stress the crucial fact of Christ’s being the unique center of all believers in whatever place or situation. In this Epistle the apostle’s intention was to solve the problems existing among the saints in Corinth. For all the problems, especially the matter of division, the only solution is the all-inclusive Christ. We have all been called into the fellowship, the participation, in Him (v. 9). All believers should be focused on Him, not distracted by any gifted person, any overemphasis on doctrine, or any particular practice.