Trinity Study: 1 Corinthians 1:1–3 application questions

Following up on the exposition part of the study earlier in the week, here are some application questions about 1 Corinthians 1:1–3.

• What do you usually think about your own sanctification? Does it challenge your way of thinking to consider how Paul addressed the Corinthians as "those sanctified"? Do you think of yourself as being viewed as already sanctified in the eyes of God, even as he continues to do the work of bringing this to fuller reality?
• When you consider Paul's address of the Corinthians as "those called to be saints" does it bother you, in light of their ongoing struggles with sin? Who do you think is worthy of the label "saints"? Do you count yourself in that category? If your category of "saints" doesn't include ALL Christians, what requirements or qualifications allows one to be a saint and prevents another from being one? How does that definition of "saints" compare to the way that Paul (and the rest of the Bible) uses the word?
• Paul greets them with a familiar but significant greeting: "grace and peace to you." What does it mean to pass along these two states of being in a greeting? Do you read those words as being perfunctory and empty because they are words of greeting? Or do you recognize that Paul genuinely meant them as what he would have for the Corinthians?

Areas for Prayer

• Lord, teach me to view myself and my spiritual status through your eyes—that, because of the work you completed on my behalf, I need never fear that you see me as fully sanctified and having all righteousness. Remind me of that when I struggle with sin, that I might live according to the identity you have given me through my union with you, and not live according to the flesh.
• Father, give me a sense of unity and inclusion in the church, and protect me from feeling like an outsider from those who are part of your body. Show me what it means that you call me a "saint"—someone set apart for your purposes—and help me to understand my life in light of that reality.
• Lord Jesus, you became incarnate to bring your kingdom to all of creation, and through your life, death, resurrection, and ascension you have graciously secured the permanence of your kingdom come for all the world. Help me, and all of those who believe and trust in you, to see life with "grace and peace" in view, and to relate to one another, to your creation, to ourselves, and to you in light of the grace and peace that you make possible.