1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia:
To the church of God which is at Corinth,
The “church” here is the local church, not the universal church, which comprises of all believers everywhere and of all time. The Corinthian church was in the den of iniquity. It was in a city similar to Las Vegas or Paris, cities noted for sinful lifestyles.
The Corinthian church was God’s church— “of God.” To be a member of this church carried dignity and value.
with all the saints who are in all Achaia:
Achaia was the southern province of Greece and included both Athens and Corinth. God’s purpose for writing 2 Corinthians was for all Christians in southern Greece.
The “saints” here are people on earth, not in heaven. It is not proper to make saints of people after they die. The saints of Corinth were Christians who did not act correctly; they were sinful human beings who often failed their Lord. They were saints, but they did not act like saints. The purpose of the local church is to be a workshop for saved sinners. Some of these saints are puncture proof; they do not respond to dynamic Christian living.
PRINCIPLE:
The will of God is crucial to the life of the child of God.
APPLICATION:
Come what may, whatever happens to the child of God is the will of God. His or her problems do not occur because of chance or accident. God has a reason for everything that occurs in our lives. Nothing happens to us without God’s permission. God is always in control; He is always sovereign and omnipotent. That is why we can give thanks for “everything” (1 Th 5:18).
Accepting the will of God means we accept God’s will even before it occurs (Jn 7:17). We accept His will sight unseen. He does not offer a 30-day free home trial before we accept it. To do this, we need to know His will for us (Eph 5:17; Co 1:9). We can “prove” the will of God (Ro 12:1-2). It is possible to know about the will of God and not do it in our lives. We need to stand “complete” in all the will of God (Co 4:12). Mature believers are satisfied with the will of God.
The Christian does not operate by blind chance. God will give guidance in every aspect of our lives. This does not mean that He will explain why negative things happen. Things will happen to us that we cannot rationalize or understand. We still put ourselves into His hands and trust Him unreservedly.
