Called Saints Live in Christ and Share Christ

January 18, 2026

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:1–9, John 1:29-42a

In the name of Jesus, Amen!

Calling something something doesn’t make it that thing. On the other hand, being something entails that it does things that that thing was made to do. For example, calling a koala bear a koala bear doesn’t make it a bear. But being a koala bear entails that it does things of a koala bear, not the things that a bear does. In our Epistle reading for today, St. Paul, called an apostle, calls the members of the church in Corinth saints. But, are they really saints? Are WE really saints? Who is Paul anyway, to make that call? We call him Saint Paul. Is his sainthood different than ours? Furthermore, what does Paul do as Saint Paul? And what do we do as a called saint? Today, we’ll examine what sainthood is and does.

Apparently, the Corinthians didn’t look like saints. From first and second Corinthians, we can tell that although Corinthian Christians were gifted, there were many problems in the congregation at Corinth: divisions among the people, the Lord’s Supper not being administered rightly, at least not in good order, a person who married his step-mother, a controversy about eating meat or not eating meat causing brothers to stumble, to name a few. Even with Spiritual gifts, some of them used them selfishly, not in love and service to others. Faithless pride caused ranking and division, hurting the Body of Christ, the church.

We too face the same or similar problems today. We look unsaintly. We don’t shave our heads like monks do. We enjoy everyday life like everyone else. Some of us may enjoy beers and a few cigars. Sometimes, we even act unsaintly. With faithless pride, some people may highly value one ministry over another, causing division. Some may lift high a certain human tradition in the church over another that in itself belongs to a matter of indifferent things, stirring up resentment among brothers and sisters. Moral issues are even more of a problem now than the time of St. Paul, open homosexuality, gender transitioning, etc.

Then you may ask, “Why does St. Paul say that the Corinthians aren’t just called saints but called to be real saints?” In the same verse, Paul tells us the reason. They are included among those having been sanctified by Jesus Christ. Whenever we believe in Jesus as our savior, our sins are forgiven and washed away. Therefore, we are sanctified by the Word of His Gospel and become holy before God for the sake of Christ. Yes, we are still sinners. Yes, we still don’t look like saints. But we look like Christ in God’s eyes because we have put on the robe of Christ’s Righteousness. We are both sinners and saints at the same time.

Then, what about Saint Paul? Is his sainthood different than ours? At the beginning of our text, which is the very beginning of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, he describes himself as “called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus”. He is one of the holy apostles. An “apostle” is a sent one. A “holy apostle” is someone sent by Christ Jesus to speak and to write down the Holy Word of God, to do the Holy Ministry in Word and Sacraments, and to bring people to the saving faith of Jesus Christ by spreading the Gospel to the world. After the Holy Spirit had finished writing the Bible through the holy apostles, the work of the apostles was carried out and continues to be carried out by pastors and missionaries, as the Augsburg Confession says in the fifth article, “so that we may obtain this faith, the ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted.” (AC V) If St. Paul’s sainthood is any different than ours, it’s that the Lord uses him in the holy apostolic office. Apart from that, he is just as holy and as sinful as we are. Remember St. Paul’s own words? “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” Though Paul was still a sinner, he is not just called a saint, he is called to be a real saint. Furthermore, as a holy apostle, he did the work and held the office of preaching the Gospel.

Next, let’s examine what sainthood does. We know St. Paul did a lot of the work of Evangelism, traveling from the Mediterranean Sea to Asia Minor and Europe, preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles. And he was not among the original 12 apostles called by Jesus when He began His ministry. The brothers, Andrew and Peter, were among them. Our Gospel reading for today tells us that after receiving John the Baptist’s testimony of Jesus Who is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, and whom the Holy Spirit descends on Him to bear witness that Jesus is the Son of God, Andrew followed Jesus to become His disciple. After that, Andrew first found Peter and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).  This is exactly what a called disciple of Jesus does. A Christian who believes Jesus is the Christ anticipated by Old Testament believers and who becomes a saint by the blood of this Lamb of God does what Andrew did. After we are called and baptized to be saved by grace and through faith, we are called to be real saints in Jesus Christ, we stay, live, and abide with Him through Word and Sacraments like the Vine and branches. Apart from Christ Himself, He tells us in chapter 10 of the Gospel of John, “you can do nothing… but be thrown into the fire, and be burned.” (John 15:5-6) What we can do as a saint in Christ is to live out our sainthood in His grace, and “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1) We are already saints; we are already saved. “Our hearts have been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” of Baptism (Hebrews 10:22) God’s Love compels us. The Gospel is our driving force. We love our neighbors and want to give them the highest good that is the most beneficial to them, the Gospel. We show mercy to our neighbors, share the Gospel and bring them to the church. We also generously support missionaries reaching out to other nations so that every people will know Jesus as their savior and by His death and resurrection they may also be called saints.

St. Peter says to all Christians in 1 Peter chapter 2, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” As a called pastor and missionary, with the help of God through His people, I will do what a called saint and a called preaching minister should do — the work of sharing the Gospel, planting the church, and showing mercy to the local people in Taiwan and beyond. I hope and pray that you’ll be part of this exciting journey of good work that God wills us to do as a real saint.

In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen!