Introduction
Overview
The church at Corinth was wracked by problems caused by faulty beliefs, arrogance, and immaturity. The members’ pagan past certainly didn’t help (see 1 Co 6:9–11; 8:7; 12:1–3). The main problem in both letters seems to revolve around the issue of what it means to be truly “spiritual.” They seem to have embraced a “spirituality” that included intellectual pride and emphasized exciting experiences (see, e.g., 1 Co 1:5; 8:1, 7, 10, 11; 12:8; 13:2). Some felt they had already arrived spiritually, and this overly triumphant attitude explains, for example, why they divided into rival factions (e.g., 1 Co 1:11–12) and why they prided themselves in displaying the more spectacular gifts of the Spirit (e.g., 1 Co 4:8; 13:1). Such an immature understanding of true spirituality led to a variety of problems within the church. In 1 Corinthians Paul deals with these local church issues.
The Church at Corinth
According to Ac 18:2, among the Jewish residents of Corinth in the middle of the first century AD were a husband and wife—Aquila, a native of Pontus (a Roman province in northeastern Asia Minor), and Priscilla (whose name suggests that she may have come from a Roman family). They had only recently come to Corinth as the result of a decree issued by the Roman emperor Claudius (AD 41–54) in which he expelled the Jewish population from Rome. Paul joined them shortly after his arrival in the city (Ac 18:3).
According to Orosius, a fifth-century Christian writer, the decree of Claudius was issued in the ninth year of his reign (AD 49). The first- and second-century Roman historians Suetonius and Dio Cassius (respectively) provide confirmation for the issue of the decree. But their accounts lack any reference to the year of the decree, as do the extant works of Josephus, upon which Orosius claims to depend. As a consequence, there is some debate among scholars concerning the precise date of the decree, but none with respect to the certainty of its issue.
Fortunately, Luke provides two other reference points that enable us to speak with more certainty about the chronological framework of Paul’s initial ministry in Corinth. The first of these is his mention of a hearing granted by the proconsul Gallio to the Jews of Corinth in their attempt to prosecute Paul (Ac 18:12). The proconsular term of L. Junius Gallio to which Luke refers may be dated (with the help of an inscription discovered at Delphi in 1905 by the French archaeologist Emile Bourguet) as having occurred during AD 51–52. Thus, since Luke’s account also makes reference to a period of ministry for “a year and a half” (Ac 18:11), it would appear probable that Paul’s initial mission to Corinth began sometime early in AD 50 and finished in the latter half of AD 51. [The City of Corinth]
Thus, in a period that in duration exceeded all the other missions mentioned by Luke in conjunction with the apostle’s second journey, the church at Corinth was brought into being by the grace of God and the labors of a man whom he had called (1 Co 1:1). Several further features of this founding mission should also be mentioned.
First, it is important to note that Paul’s initial mission in the synagogue in Corinth seems to have lasted longer than his initial mission in many other cities and resulted in some significant conversions within the Jewish community (e.g., of “Crispus, the leader of the synagogue” [Ac 18:8; see also 1 Co 1:14]; “his whole household” [Ac 18:8]; and perhaps of his successor Sosthenes [Ac 18:17; cf. 1 Co 1:1]). Thus, from the outset there was an important and influential Jewish Christian minority within the Corinthian church.
Second, though the truth of the apostle’s generalization in 1 Co 1:26 must be given its full weight, the Corinthian Christian community that constituted the fruit of the Pauline mission seems nonetheless to have had a significant number of socially, educationally, and economically privileged members. Among them were Crispus (whose status has just been mentioned), Gaius (whose means were sufficient to provide hospitality for the whole church; cf. Rm 16:23), and Erastus, “the city treasurer,” whose name has also been found on a dedicatory pavement at Corinth (cf. also Rm 16:23).
Third, partially as a result of the success of the initial Pauline mission, the church that the apostle left was a church accustomed to persuasive preaching, to official tolerance, and to relative freedom from persecution (due no doubt to the reluctance of Gallio to consider Christianity a religion separate in any significant sense from the legally sanctioned Judaism [Ac 18:15]), and to the teaching of a variety of Christian leaders (one should consider, for example, the roles that may have been played by Silvanus and Timothy [2 Co 1:19] or by Aquila and Priscilla, whom Paul names as his coworkers [Rm 16:3], as well as, of course, Apollos [1 Co 1:12; 3:4, 5, 6, 22; 4:6; 16:12]).
Corinth
Date, Occasion, and Major Themes
The book of Acts records in summary fashion that, following his departure from Corinth in the fall of AD 51, Paul returned to Antioch by way of Ephesus (where Priscilla and Aquila remained [Ac 18:26]) and Caesarea (Ac 18:18–22). However, after spending some time in Antioch, Paul decided to return to Ephesus and traveled overland back through Galatia and Phrygia, arriving in Ephesus again apparently toward the end of AD 52. According to Ac 19:1–10, 21–22, Paul subsequently spent more than two years in a mission to the Ephesians before deciding to return to Macedonia and Achaia to take up a collection for the church at Jerusalem. Linking this account of Paul’s movements with 1 Co 16:8 indicates that 1 Corinthians was written toward the end of Paul’s stay in Ephesus, probably some months before Pentecost of AD 55.
First Corinthians itself, however, shows that there had been comparatively frequent communication between Paul and the church at Corinth for some time before the composition of this letter. From 1 Co 5:9 one learns of an earlier letter from Paul to the Corinthians, from 1:11 of a report brought to Paul by members of Chloe’s household, and from 16:17 of a subsequent delegation probably bearing a letter from the church that Paul had only just received. Given the regular trade between the cities of Corinth and Ephesus, such frequent contact should occasion no surprise, but it does point clearly to the fact that 1 Corinthians is itself a product, at least in part, of an ongoing dialogue between Paul and the church. The information that Paul received most recently, then, by way of a report and a letter, prompted him to write, responding in turn to both in 1:10–6:20 and 7:1–16:4, respectively.
From the report, Paul learned that the church was becoming increasingly polarized by serious divisions among its members as they attempted to locate wisdom and leadership that would enable them to develop appropriate standards for Christian conduct and spiritual maturity (1:10, 26; 2:6; 3:1–4, 18; 4:4; 5:1; 6:1). The situation, however, was further complicated by a high regard at Corinth for eloquent speech (2:1–5, 13; 4:18–20). Accordingly, differences in eloquence between teachers were apparently being taken as indicative of different degrees of inspiration, and this had led, in turn, to painful and divisive comparisons (1:12; 3:5–9, 21–23).
It is not odd, in light of this, that the Corinthians’ letter should reflect their divergence of views even as they queried Paul about the propriety of marriage and divorce (7:1–40: Should one state be considered more spiritual than another?), the consumption of food sacrificed to idols (8:1–11:1: Should the practices of those with strong or weak consciences be followed?), the practice of authentic Christian worship (11:2–14:40: Should distinctions in gender, wealth, and gifts find expression, and if so, how?), the nature of the resurrection (15:1–58: Should one believe in an event that would involve the body as well as the spirit?), and the collection for God’s people (16:1–4: When and how should it be gathered?).
Outline
1. Epistolary Introduction (1:1–9)
2. Paul’s Response to Reports about the Community at Corinth (1:10–6:20)
A. A Report of Factions within the Community (1:10–4:21)
B. A Report of Immorality, Arrogance, and Improper Judgments (5:1–6:20)
3. Paul’s Response to Questions from the Corinthians (7:1–16:9)
A. Questions about Marriage, Divorce, and Celibacy (7:1–40)
B. Questions about Food, Idolatry, and Freedom (8:1–11:1)
C. Questions about Worship, Gifts, and Order (11:2–14:40)
D. Questions about the Resurrection and Life in the Age to Come (15:1–58)
E. Questions about the Collection and Paul’s Plans (16:1–9)
4. The Recommendation of Others (16:10–18)
5. Final Greetings and Formal Closing (16:19–24)
The Location of Corinth
Corinth is strategically located on an isthmus between the main body of Greece and the Peloponnese. Its two harbors were integral to trade between Asia and the western Mediterranean.
