Paul, called to be an apostle. — Better, a called Apostle of Jesus Christ. His apostolic authority, which was questioned by some in Corinth, is thus set out at the commencement of the Epistle.
And Sosthenes our brother. — Sosthenes the brother, probably the Sosthenes (see Note on 1 Corinthians 1:16) the chief ruler of the synagogue mentioned in Acts 18:17, one of the brethren well known to the Corinthians. From his name being thus joined with that of the Apostle, we may conjecture that he was his amanuensis in writing this Epistle, the salutation only (1 Corinthians 16:21) having been written by St. Paul’s hand.