The meaning of this verse is clear, but the grammar in Greek is awkward: it says literally “to the church of God which is in Corinth, made holy in Christ Jesus, called saints.” Paul begins by speaking of the church as a group, and then goes on to speak about its members. Those and Good News Bible “all” are not in the Greek text, but help to make the transition from the singular church to the plural saints. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch breaks the sentence after the church of God which is at Corinth, and the Italian common language version (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) even begins a new paragraph:
… we write to the church of God that is found in Corinth.
We greet you, united with Jesus Christ ….
The Greek word for “church” may mean either a local Christian community, as in this verse, or all Christians everywhere. In certain languages where the word for church refers to a building or to a group of people who meet in it, it may be necessary to translate this word as “God’s people,” “those who believe in God,” or even “the group of God’s people.” Translators may be tempted to use a capital letter for “church” when it means “all Christians,” but they should remember that such a distinction will be lost when the translation is read aloud.
In some languages it may be necessary to show that Corinth was a city, not a country or district such as Galatia. In such a case one may say “in the city of Corinth,” to show that it is an important center of population. In certain cultures where cities are unknown, “city” will often be translated as a “large group of houses with a strong high wall around them.”
The words saints and sanctified are related to each other. Both of these words express the idea that Christians “belong” (Good News Bible) to God and are therefore set apart to serve God’s purposes alone. This fact is made clear in Good News Bible‘s translation, “God’s holy people, who belong to him.” The saints and sanctified are like Israel in Old Testament times whom God chose as his people for a special purpose. So the basic meaning of these two words is that Christians belong to God. It follows from this that Christians must live good lives, but it is the idea of belonging to God, not that of sinlessness, that is important here. There is no suggestion here or anywhere in the New Testament that special individuals may have the title “saint.” “Saints” in the New Testament are always a community of Christians; in translation “saints” may sometimes be rendered “the people of God.”
There is a slight difference of meaning, though, between saints and sanctified. Called to be saints, like “called … to be an apostle” (Good News Bible) in verse 1, refers to a single past event. The tense of the word translated sanctified, on the other hand, expresses the idea of a past event whose consequences stretch into the present time.
In biblical Greek, as well as in Hebrew, writers often used related words such as saints and sanctified to add emphasis to their message. In some languages, however, this may sound heavy and awkward. Translators may need to find some other way to convey emphasis. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, for example, uses two expressions that are unrelated: “set apart for God and called to be God’s people.” In other languages it may be best to use a single strong expression such as “whom God has set apart for himself” or “whom God has made his own people.” The meaning of “set apart” here refers to being set apart for God, not separation from other people.
In Christ Jesus is a very common expression in Paul’s writings, but its meaning is not clear. Paul probably means that a Christian’s new life depends closely and entirely on Christ. Good News Bible‘s rendering “in union with Christ Jesus” gives this meaning. Other possible translations are “and whose whole lives are lived with Jesus Christ,” “who depend entirely on Jesus Christ,” or “whose lives are lived close to Jesus Christ.”
There is no difference in meaning between Christ Jesus and Jesus Christ. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, for example, have “Jesus Christ” in both places. Translators should use whichever order is more natural in their own languages. In some places in the New Testament “Christ,” on its own, is a title meaning “Messiah,” meaning “the one whom God has chosen to be king.” In this verse and normally in all of Paul’s writings, he uses “Christ” simply as a name.
It is possible from the standpoint of Greek grammar to connect the clause together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ with either (a) Paul … and our brother Sosthenes in verse 1, or (b) To the church of God which is at Corinth, or with (c) called to be saints. Choice (a) is least likely. It does not seem that all Christians are joining Paul and Sosthenes in greeting the Christians at Corinth. Choices (b) and (c) have almost the same meaning; both refer to the Christians in Corinth. Good News Bible shows that it chooses (b) by repeating the word “all” and by its ordering of the clauses in the sentence. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says “Moreover, our letter is for all those who confess Jesus Christ, our common Lord, wherever they are.” The words “is for” are perhaps too strong, since in much of 1 Corinthians Paul deals with the particular problems of this one church. An additional reason for choosing (b) is that this is certainly the meaning of 2 Cor 1.1-2. However, it is possible to choose (c) as the meaning. Revised Standard Version has done this. New Revised Standard Version adds a comma after “saints,” making its choice less clear.
The word place in the phrase every place was sometimes used by the Jews to mean a synagogue. In a similar way Paul may have used it to mean a Christian meeting place, which at that time would normally have been someone’s home. It is therefore possible to translate every place as “wherever they meet.” In certain languages, following (b) or (c) above, it will be helpful to render this phrase as “together with all people everywhere in Corinth who….”
The phrase call on the name of has the essential meaning of “worship,” implying prayer and trust. Good News Bible translates it this way. In the Old Testament it often has the meaning “ask the Lord for help,” for example Joel 2.32. This verse is quoted both in Acts 2.21 and in Rom 10.13. To call upon someone’s “name” is a natural Hebrew way of speaking about “calling for help” from the owner of the name. Such language was used in the Old Testament about speaking to God, and it is used in the New Testament about Christ.
The phrase Lord Jesus Christ may be rendered as “Jesus Christ who is our Lord.” However, in some languages one cannot possess the person who controls. In such a case a translator may say “Jesus Christ, who controls us.”
Both their Lord and ours is the most probable meaning of the Greek phrase, which can be translated literally as “theirs and ours.” It can also mean “in every (meeting) place, both theirs and ours.” This second meaning is a little easier grammatically; but the first, namely their Lord and ours, makes much better sense. It also fits the major theme of this letter, which is “unity” among Christians. In some languages an appositional construction such as Christ, both their Lord and ours is difficult to translate. In such cases a translator can render this as “Christ, who is both their Lord and our Lord” or “Christ, who commands both them and us.” If in certain languages, as we have indicated above, the phrase “our Lord” indicates possession, one may translate, for example, “Christ, who is the one who controls both them and us.”
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .