Ancient letters (at least those known to us from Egypt and Rome) followed a standard pattern. The introduction would normally contain these elements:

• the name of the author (and sometimes his occupation or position)

• the name of the recipient(s)

• the greeting

• an assurance that the author is praying for the health of the recipient(s)

• (in some cases:) an expression of the author’s longing to see the recipient(s) in person

Paul also followed this pattern when writing his letters. Yet he expanded on each element in a way that would strike ancient readers as unusual.  Every word in his letters was shaped by the riches of the gospel.

Thus, we find him not simply introducing himself as Paul the apostle, but as Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. The word apostle means one who is sent out. Paul became an apostle in an unusual way, when Christ appeared and talked to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1–8; Galatians 1:11–24). Yet, despite his unusual calling, he too was called by the will of God (see also Galatians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:1).

Sosthenes was a fellow-worker who must have been with Paul in Ephesus at the time this letter was written. It is possible that the letter was written down by Sosthenes (1 Corinthians 16:21 suggests that Paul did not do the writing himself).

Could this be the same Sosthenes who had served as synagogue ruler at the time when the Jews in Corinth made a united attack against Paul (Acts 18:12–17)? This is a possibility, since the phrase our brother suggests that the Corinthians knew this Sosthenes well. If this is the case, it is another testimony of the power of the gospel.