1 Corinthians Introduction

Paul had established the church at Corinth on his second missionary journey, about which we read in Acts:

Acts 18: Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. They had left Italy when Claudius Caesar deported all Jews from Rome. Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was. Each Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue, trying to convince the Jews and Greeks alike. And after Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time preaching the word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. But when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, “Your blood is upon your own heads - I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles.” Then he left and went to the home of Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God and lived next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, and everyone in his household believed in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also heard Paul, became believers, and were baptized. One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.” So Paul stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God. But when Gallio became governor of Achaia, some Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him before the governor for judgment. They accused Paul of “persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to our law.” But just as Paul started to make his defense, Gallio turned to Paul’s accusers and said, “Listen, you Jews, if this were a case involving some wrongdoing or a serious crime, I would have a reason to accept your case. But since it is merely a question of words and names and your Jewish law, take care of it yourselves. I refuse to judge such matters.” And he threw them out of the courtroom. The crowd then grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him right there in the courtroom. But Gallio paid no attention. Paul stayed in Corinth for some time after that, then said good-bye to the brothers and sisters and went to nearby Cenchrea. There he shaved his head according to Jewish custom, marking the end of a vow. Then he set sail for Syria, taking Priscilla and Aquila with him.

Acts 19:1,21-22; 20:1-3: While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. ... Afterward Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. “And after that,” he said, “I must go on to Rome!” He sent his two assistants, Timothy and Erastus, ahead to Macedonia while he stayed awhile longer in the province of Asia. ... When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia. While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece, where he stayed for three months. He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews against his life, so he decided to return through Macedonia.

As we so often do, let's start with the "who, what, when, where, why, how" reporting method:

WHO:

• We already read about Paul, Aquila, Priscilla (Prisca), Silas, Timothy, the Jews, the Gentiles, Titius Justus, Crispus, Apollos, Erastus, Gallio and Sosthenes in Acts. The names "Jesus" and "Christ" appear in 1 Corinthians some 85 times. The title "Lord" appears an additional 61 times.
• 1 Corinthians 1:1-2,11: This letter is from PAUL, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother SOSTHENES. I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. ... For some members of CLOE’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters.
• 1 Corinthians 3:6: I planted the seed in your hearts, and APOLLOS watered it, but it was God who made it grow.
• 1 Corinthians 16:10-17: When TIMOTHY comes, don’t intimidate him. He is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am. Don’t let anyone treat him with contempt. Send him on his way with your blessing when he returns to me. I expect him to come with the other believers. Now about our brother APOLLOS - I urged him to visit you with the other believers, but he was not willing to go right now. He will see you later when he has the opportunity. Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love. You know that STEPHANAS and his household were the first of the harvest of believers in Greece, and they are spending their lives in service to God’s people. I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, to submit to them and others like them who serve with such devotion. I am very glad that STEPHANAS, FORTUNATUS, and ACHAICUS have come here. They have been providing the help you weren’t here to give me.
• The majority of the population was Greek, but a large number of Roman military veterans lived there as well, with a sprinkling of Phoenicians and Phrygians. 200,000 free men and 500,000 slaves once populated Corinth. The Roman character of the city is reflected by the many Latin names associated with it in the New Testament: Aquila, Priscilla Crispus, Lucius, Gaius, Tertius, Erastus, Quartus, Fortunatus, Achaicus. Jews flocked to this center of trade; and this is one reason why Paul remained there so long (Acts 18:11). The Jews had established a synagogue; the inscribed lintel of it has been found and placed in the museum at old Corinth.
• Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue (Acts 18:8), was baptized by Paul himself (1 Corinthians 1:14). Apparently Silas and Timothy baptized the other converts at Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:14–17).
• The fact that he referred to "Christ" nine times in these first nine verses shows the central place that the Lord Jesus occupied in the apostle's thinking and writing that follows.
• It is difficult to know the size of the Corinthian church at the time of this first letter. Scholarly estimates range from 40 to 150 persons. It is often assumed that when “the whole church” came together for worship (14:23), it did so in a believer’s home, but Paul’s distinction between church and home in (11:22) may suggest otherwise.
• One writer wrote of the Corinthian church saying: "They were carnal, immature, immoral, selfish, proud, heretical, and divisive. They were enamored with human philosophy. They identified with little cliques which followed different spiritual leaders. They tolerated sin, fornication and incest. They took each other to court, abused God's intended role for men and women, and were gluttonous and drunken at the Lord's Supper. They allowed pagan worship ritual to be brought into their own worship, perverted and abused spiritual gifts, and [didn't understand]... the resurrection. They had managed to drag into the church all the old practices of the world. They had not made a clear distinction between the holy and the profane!"

WHAT:

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  Above image from https://www.insight.org/resources/bible/the-pauline-epistles/first-corinthians
• THEME: 1 Corinthians 1:10: I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.
• Chapters 1-6 discuss Paul's response to different reports he had heard about the Corinthian church.
  Chapters 7-16 discuss issues that the Corinthians themselves had brought up: issues about worship, spiritual gifts and doctrinal controversies.
• The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia observes: “The church had broken into factions, and was distracted by party cries. Some of its members were living openly immoral lives, and discipline was practically in abeyance. Others had quarrels over which they dragged one another into the heathen courts. Great differences of opinion had also arisen with regard to marriage and the social relations generally; with regard to banquets and the eating of food offered to idols; with regard to the behavior of women in the assemblies, to the Lord’s Supper and the love-feasts, to the use and value of spiritual gifts, and with regard to the hope of the resurrection.”
• Windell Gann (Walk Thru the Bible): "The core of Paul's message is Christ. He insists that the most important topic he discussed with these Christians was the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). When he sums up the essence of his message, it is "Christ crucified" (1 Corinthians 1:23). Paul likes to show how the cross - which seems to be evidence of weakness and appears so foolish to many - is really evidence of great power (1 Corinthians 1:18) and wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16, 3:18-20, 8:1-3)."
• Ray Stedman: "This letter is especially written to those who live in a sex-saturated, wisdom-loving atmosphere and are trying to live as Christians in the midst of all the pressures that constantly come from these two areas."
• Dr. John MacArthur: "The main thrust of the letter is for pure, godly living".
• Andy Rau (Bible Gateway): This letter richly answers the question “As a follower of Christ, how should I live?”
• The pinnacle of Paul’s letter is in chapter 13, the love chapter.
• Quick outline of 1 Corinthians (from Overbible.com):
• Paul greets and encourages the Corinthian church (1:1–9).
• Paul corrects them in areas of immaturity (1:10–6:20).
• Quarrels over leadership (1:10–4:21).
• Dealing with the church’s lack of judgment on sex and legal disputes (Chapters 5–6)
• Paul addresses issues the church raised in an earlier letter (Chapters 7–10)
• Marriage, divorce, virginity (Chapter 7)
• Eating meat used for idol worship (Chapters 8–10)
• Paul calls the church to order
• Head coverings and authority (11:1–16)
• The Lord’s Supper (11:17–34)
• Using spiritual gifts (Chapters 12–14)
• Perhaps the best place to discover what will happen at the time of the resurrection lies in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians.
• Instructions for greeting other Christians (Chapter 16)

WHEN:

• Bear in mind that this pre-prison epistle was written during the Acts period, before Acts 28:28, when Paul turned from the Jews to the Gentiles who would hear it. The Acts period is a period of transition. Therefore, this epistle has an emphasis on gifts of the spirit such as speaking in tongues. The epistles written to the Body of Christ, such as Ephesians and Colossians, were written after Acts 28:28.
• Paul gives the place from which he was writing as Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:8). It was probably written during the latter part of his stay in Ephesus (Acts 19) about 55 - 57 A.D.
• Reconstruction Of Events And Dates. The following is taken from Survey Of First Corinthians, by Jimmy Allen, pp. 19-20:
• 50-52 A.D.: Paul’s first visit to Corinth. He remained for eighteen months.
• 51 A.D.: Paul writes 1 Thessalonians.
• 52 A.D.: Apollos went to Corinth from Ephesus (Acts 19:1).
• 53 A.D.: Paul, from Ephesus, wrote Corinthians A which dealt with the matter of refusing fellowship to Christians involved in sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 5:9).
• 54 A.D.: Paul received a report from Chloe’s house concerning division in the Corinthian church. He also received a letter from Corinth asking a number of questions.
• 54-55 A.D.: From Ephesus, Paul wrote Corinthians B (i.e. 1 Corinthians) in response to the report and letter he had received from Corinth.
• 54-55 A.D.: Paul then sent Timothy and Erastus into Macedonia (Acts 19:22). He intended to follow them (Acts 19:21; 1 Corinthians 16:5-6), however, it seems that his plan was not carried out since he stayed in Asia for a while (Acts 19:22).
• 54-55 A.D.: Paul learned of trouble in Corinth and crossed the Aegean Sea to deal with it. He then returned to Ephesus.
• 54-55 A.D.: When back in Ephesus, Paul wrote the severe letter or Corinthians C to the church at Corinth (2 Corinthians 2:3-4).
• Nero was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68 A.D.
• 55 A.D.: Either the severe letter was carried by Titus or Paul sent him later to learn how the brethren had received it (2 Corinthians 2:12-13; 7:6-8). Apparently, Titus made his journey across the Aegean Sea to Corinth and was to return by land to meet Paul at Troas (2 Corinthians 2:12). This is implied from the fact that Paul, not finding Titus at Troas, went into Macedonia.
• 55-56 A.D.: Paul left Troas and went into Macedonia where he met Titus who comforted him with a favorable report about how the Corinthians had responded to his severe letter (2 Corinthians 7:5-7).
  55-56 A.D.: Paul was united with Timothy in Macedonia (Acts 19:22; 2 Corinthians 1:1).
  55-56 A.D.: Paul wrote Corinthians D (i.e. 2 Corinthians) in Macedonia (2 Corinthians 2:12-13; 7:5).
• 55-56 A.D.: Paul made his third visit to Corinth (Acts 20:1-3; 2 Corinthians 12:14).
• 56-58 A.D.: Paul writes the Epistle to the Romans from Corinth.

WHERE:

• 
  Above image from http://bibleatlas.org/full/corinth.htm
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  Above map of Paul's second missionary journey is from
  www.generationword.com/bible_school_notes/22.html
  
• 
  Above map of Paul's third missionary journey is from
  www.generationword.com/bible_school_notes/22.html
• 
  Above city plan of Corinth from:
  donsnotes.wordpress.com/2014/09/07/introduction-authentic-context-corinth-in-pauls-day-and-some-historical-context/
• Strabo's Geography: "Corinth is called 'wealthy' because of its commerce, since it is situated on the Isthmus and is master of two harbors, of which the one leads straight to Asia, and the other to Italy; and it makes easy the exchange of merchandise from both countries that are so far distant from each other."
• Winter shipping lanes around the southern most point of Greece were very dangerous. Therefore, a land route of the shortest possible length was crucial. The geographical location of Corinth on the four-mile-wide isthmus between the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea made the city a major commercial shipping, trading (specializing in types of pottery and a special type of brass), and military center. Corinth's location also made east-west trade common because ships that traveled from the Adriatic Sea to the Aegean Sea would cut through this isthmus to save hundreds of miles of dangerous sea travel. The method of crossing the isthmus involved putting the ships on rollers and transporting them across the four-mile stretch of earth that connect the two land masses. In Paul's day this was literally where the cultures of the East and West met.
• During Paul’s time, Corinth was the most important city of Greece, probably the fourth largest city in the Roman Empire - 5 times the size of Athens. It was also the capital of the province and it was the sin center of the Roman Empire in Paul’s day. The sexual immorality of Corinth was so internationally well-known that the expression Korinthiazomai, "to act like the Corinthian," was descriptive of the immoral condition of the city. It came to mean "to practice fornication." Plato used the term “Corinthian girl” to refer to a prostitute. The city was the center of immorality with the Aphrodite temple, the Greek goddess of love, and its 1,000 pagan priestess-prostitutes who came down into the city from their mountain temple at night.
• Aelian, the late Greek writer, tells us that if ever a Corinthian was shown upon the stage in a Greek play he was shown drunk." (Barclay)
• Written from Ephesus: 1 Corinthians 16:5-8: I am coming to visit you after I have been to Macedonia, for I am planning to travel through Macedonia. Perhaps I will stay awhile with you, possibly all winter, and then you can send me on my way to my next destination. This time I don’t want to make just a short visit and then go right on. I want to come and stay awhile, if the Lord will let me. In the meantime, I will be staying here at Ephesus until the Festival of Pentecost.

WHY:

• Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:11 he wrote this epistle because members of Chloe’s household had informed him of problems in the church.
• Paul learned that the Christian community in Corinth had fallen into a variety of serious moral errors. The immoral culture of Corinth had crept into the church there - to the point where there was little that distinguished the Christians from the non-Christians.
• Paul’s purposes for writing were: (1) to instruct and restore the church in its areas of weakness, correcting erroneous practices such as divisions (1:10-4:21), immorality (chapter 5; 6:12-20), litigation in pagan courts (6:1-8) and abuse of the Lord’s Supper (11:17-34); (2) to correct false teaching concerning the resurrection (chapter 15); and (3) to answer questions addressed to Paul in the letter that had been brought to him.

KEY VERSES:

• 1:8-10: He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
• 1:10-13: I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.” Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!
• 1:21, 27-29: Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. ... Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
• 2:9-16: That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But, it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.
• 4:14: I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children.
• 6:12: You say, “I am allowed to do anything” - but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.
• 9:20-21: When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.
• 9:24-27: Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
• 10:13: The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
• 10:31: So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
• 13:1-7: If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
• 15:3-9: I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.
• 15:22: Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.
• 15:32: ...if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
• 15:33: ... “bad company corrupts good character.”
• 15:41-33: The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory. It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.
• 15:51: But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.
• Disclaimer: Source material for this study has been gleaned from many different sources. If you want further study, I have attempted to acknowledge these sources at http://1corinthiansblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/1-corinthians-references.html
• Index to all our 1 Corinthian studies are at 1corinthiansblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/index-to-1-corinthians.html
• Index to all our studies are at oakview-bible-fellowship.blogspot.com/