The Called Ones, 1 Corinthians 1:24

1 Corinthians 1:24 – The Called Ones, a simple issue of grammar

²² For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, ²⁴ but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians 1:22-24 (NASB)

I often find great truth and rich treasure in even the simple grammar of Scripture.  In this verse, the phrase translated simply “called” or “the called” is τοῖς κλητοῖς, is an adjective in the Greek.  In English, the phrase is translated “the called” which is a participle, a verbal used as an adjective.  That is not particularly important or interesting at first glance, but on further examination, I found this to be quite significant.

Regarding the question of grammar, the words, “the called” connect logically three things – the action of calling, the caller, and the called ones.  In this case, no one element has meaning without the other two.  The call as an act has significance only with respect to God who calls and to the ones whom God calls.  In like manner, the called ones apart from the call of the God who calls have no particular importance; in reality “called ones” cannot logically exist apart from the God who calls.

This may seem a minor and almost frivolous point, but for me, one of the “called ones,” it is of eternal importance as it focuses my attention beyond the act of being called to the love, grace, and sovereignty of the God who called me.

Divisions in the Church, 1 Corinthians 1:11, 17-18

The central word in this passage describing the problems in the church in Corinth is the word translated “contentions.”  The Greek word is ἔριδες – erides, quarrels (plural).  In recent years, this word has become an unfortunate reality in many, many churches.  The cause and substance of the quarrel is perhaps less significant than the fact that the quarrel exists.  Whatever else may be happening, the foundational weakness that has permitted differences and quarrels to sprout is the movement away from the simple message of the cross.

The message of the church today seems to have become one of how to mix the blessing of God with the difficulties of enjoying the material comforts, recreations, and amusements of the world.  Christians are becoming morphed into victims of disappointment, envy, and unsatisfied desires along with all the emotional and material failures of the “popular” culture, and the messages of the church have become motivational, self-help instructions offering shallow comfort rather than the adoration and presentation of Jesus Christ crucified, buried, risen, and coming again.

According to 1 Corinthians 1:17-18, the solution to the problem that manifests itself in the contentions in the church is to return to the singular focus of the church which is to know and to preach Jesus Christ alone and to live sacrificially for Him and for Him alone.

An Observation - Church Music

JUST MY OWN OBSERVATION: In the last fifteen to twenty years, popular“Christian” music has accomplished a transformation in the church of the same nature and consequences that rock-n-roll brought to the national culture in the 60’s and 70’s. How and why this has happened I am not certain, but whatever the cause, the nature of the degeneration of standards in worship, dedication, and life-style of the church is the same.