1 CORINTHIANS

INTRODUCTION

During the last few months of 1957, my wife and I were located in San Francisco. To say we were residents would be a bit of an overstatement, because we were lost most of the time! It was decades before GPS navigation, and we were faced with unpredictable roads —some running perpendicular, others diagonally, and still others that felt like navigating through a giant platter of spaghetti. We had to constantly keep a lookout for one-way signs or risk being rammed by a trolley, which often just leaped out of nowhere. Those roller-coaster hills, twisted streets, and fading street signs rendered city maps almost useless. The old, strange buildings and side-by-side houses looked like somebody copied and pasted the same design over and over along the city blocks. As a result, we couldn’t find our way around by obvious landmarks. Add to all this confusion a thick peninsula fog with a malicious will of its own. After a few hours of playing hide-and-seek with yourself, you start looking for Alice and the Mad Hatter because you conclude, “This city can’t possibly exist on this side of the looking glass!”

It didn’t take long before Cynthia and I devised a means to feel our way around that city. She would sit in the passenger seat, open up a map, and never look up as she would gently voice commands like a flesh-and-blood GPS: “Second street, turn right. . . . First street, turn left. . . . Oops, wrong way, turn around.” I didn’t know where I was, but I believed her. Most of the time as we traveled from point A to point B (often taking unplanned detours through points C, D, and E), we were both in survival mode, hoping the street cars and impatient drivers wouldn’t overtake us.

Well, things changed for us late that fall. We were with some friends atop the new San Francisco Hilton, over twenty stories above the streets, and suddenly the layout of that city fell into place. There we stood, gazing over the peninsula with a bird’s-eye view, discovering the interconnectedness of it all —the inner logic of the system that was San Francisco. Off in that direction was the Golden Gate. Over there was the Bay Bridge. Between the two was Fisherman’s Wharf, and behind us, Nob Hill and Chinatown. Farther south were Daly City and other significant points down the peninsula. Here were the main thoroughfares, parkways, and boulevards. Once we got above the city to see the whole thing at once, San Francisco suddenly made better sense.

Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth can be just as perplexing as a Texan’s first drive through the streets of San Francisco —if one doesn’t first take time for a bird’s-eye view of the whole and place it in its biblical and historical context. Believe me, the twists and turns in the chapters and verses of 1 Corinthians can lose even the most skilled preachers and teachers. Many expositors get snared by the fatal flaw of immersing themselves in the details of the book before getting an overview. This principle holds true for every book of the Bible, but it’s especially vital for 1 Corinthians. So, let me be your guide as we look at the first-century city of Corinth and Paul’s ministry there, and then survey the letter. Once we learn the major boulevards and landmarks of this grand letter, we’ll be ready to explore the interesting streets, intersections, and neighborhoods without getting lost.

KEY TERMS IN 1 CORINTHIANS

agapē (ἀγάπη) [26] “love,” “benevolence”

The Greek noun agapē is rarely found outside Jewish and Christian writings, though verbal forms of the word were used of love in general. The Greek culture celebrated erōs, which, while used in various contexts, often connoted the intoxicating, impulsive romantic love between men and women. They also honored philia [5373], the warm, noble affection of deep friendship. But agapē remained an undeveloped term in Greek literature. Its use, especially of God’s love in Jewish and Christian literature, marked it as an unconditional love that rests on a decision to seek another’s highest and greatest good. This unmerited and selfless affection describes God’s love toward people as well as Christians’ responsibility to reflect that love toward others (see 4:21; 8:1; 13:1-13; 14:1; 16:14). Paul’s “love chapter” (13:1-13) paints a vivid and beautiful picture of what agapē is and is not.

pneumatikos (πνευματικός) [4152] “spiritual” sarkikos (σαρκικός) [4559] “fleshly”

Though the adjective pneumatikos can refer to other nonmaterial things (Eph. 6:12), in the New Testament it most often relates to the Holy Spirit. Thus, things that come from the Holy Spirit such as gifts, blessings, or revelations are called “spiritual” (Rom. 1:11; 7:14; 1 Cor. 2:13; Eph. 1:3), and people who are empowered by the Holy Spirit in their lifestyle are called “spiritual” (1 Cor. 2:15; 3:1; 14:37; Gal. 6:1). It is sometimes contrasted with sarkikos or the related word sarkinos [4560] (both meaning “fleshly”; cf. 1 Cor. 3:1, 3) to emphasize a heavenly, divine origin as opposed to an earthly, human origin. Paul uses these opposites to illustrate the carnal, immature condition of the Corinthians, who should have been striving for spiritual maturity.

sophia (σοφία) [4678] “wisdom”

Not only was sophia, “wisdom,” sought after and praised in the Greek mind, but “wisdom” had a rich meaning in the Hebrew Scriptures as well. Wisdom involves far more than mere knowledge of facts. It advances even beyond skillful living or the emphasis on practical virtue as seen in Greek philosophy. Rather, “wisdom” in the Christian sense is a gift from God (Jas. 1:5) closely associated with the presence and working of the Holy Spirit, producing supernatural discernment and prudence. Because true wisdom comes from God, it is often regarded as “folly” by Gentiles.

CORINTH

In New Testament times, Corinth governed the Roman province of Achaia, which comprised almost the entirety of Greece. As a locus of political power, it hosted the residence of the regional governor, or proconsul.[1] The city had been rebuilt by Julius Caesar in 44 BC and repopulated with freedmen from around the Roman Empire, ending the desolation the city had endured at the hand of the Romans when it had been destroyed in 146 BC.

This influx of outside ethnicities made Corinth very diverse and pluralistic —one of the early cosmopolitan cities. It was a booming place of commerce where many religions existed side by side, and many syncretistic belief systems resulted. The city housed numerous temples to various deities, including a temple to Aphrodite, the fertility goddess. Corinth featured both the cult prostitution associated with such temples and the street prostitution that one frequently finds in such booming port cities.

Corinth was extremely wealthy because of its strategic geographical location. It lay on the isthmus connecting the southern mainland of Greece, the Peloponnesian Peninsula, to the northern border of Greece and the provinces of Macedonia and Epirus, thus commanding access both to the Adriatic Sea on the west and the Aegean Sea on the east. Due to the turbulent waters south of the Peloponnesian Peninsula, many merchants either dry-docked their ships in the harbor on one side to unload their goods and transport them overland to the other harbor, or they paid to have the ship hauled overland —no insignificant task. Corinth’s strategic location along both the overland and marine trade routes brought the city great commercial prosperity, increased even more by the city’s own industries, such as its bronze and terra-cotta works.[2] As an indication of its commercial importance, in the first century the city boasted a marketplace larger than any in Rome itself.[3] The cream of prosperity flowed into Corinth’s cup.

Along with economic prosperity came peace. Upon regaining financial stability, Corinth again began to host the Isthmian Games, in which Greeks and Romans from all over the Empire competed not only in athletics but also in drama, music, and oratory. The Isthmian contests were held every two years and lasted several days, being conducted in Corinth’s huge stadium as well as in its two theaters —one outdoors that seated eighteen thousand people and another indoors that held three thousand. These games were not only popular but also known for their extravagance and licentiousness. The games, of course, brought tourism, which, combined with trade and travel, necessitated the establishment of a banking system that further increased the city’s wealth. Archaeological research in the past century has provided abundant evidence of the city’s splendor, revealing the existence of wealthy neighborhoods, public and private dining, recreational facilities, and upscale rental properties.[4]

Photo of the ruins of Corinth

Barry Beitzel

Ruins of Corinth along Lechaion Road with the Acrocorinth in the background

PAUL’S MINISTRY IN CORINTH

The year was AD 50. After a full year of hard travel over land and sea from Antioch, across Asia Minor, and through Macedonia, preaching the gospel with Silas and Timothy, Paul pressed ahead into Athens, the center of Greek philosophy and culture (Acts 15:40–17:15). Having just escaped the ire of Jewish agitators who had hounded him since he was in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-13), the battle-weary apostle’s arrival in Athens could have brought him some much-needed R & R —had he not felt driven by an inescapable passion for proclaiming the risen Lord.

Observing the army of idols assembled in all the public places of Athens, Paul felt “provoked” in his heart and immediately began engaging Jews and Gentiles alike with the truth of Jesus Christ (Acts 17:16-17). Among his listeners were Epicurean and Stoic philosophers —the intellectual elites of the day. They arranged an ad hoc hearing at the Areopagus, also known as “Mars Hill” (Acts 17:19-21). There Paul’s preaching gained a number of new believers in Christ, including Dionysius the Areopagite, a member of the city’s cultural and social elite (Acts 17:34).

From the famous city of Athens, where even Paul’s critics exhibited common courtesies, Paul crossed the narrow Isthmus of Corinth. That two-day journey along the coast of the Saronic Gulf marked a transition from the famous to the infamous —from what most consider the center of Greek intellectual culture to what we would see as the pit of Greek immoral corruption: from Athens to Corinth. Nevertheless, Paul’s zeal to spread the gospel far outweighed whatever apprehensions he may have had about the abject depravity he was sure to find in that cesspool of self-indulgence.

At the beginning of what could have easily become a dark and demoralizing ministry in Corinth, God provided two bright lights —Aquila and Priscilla. Paul met this Jewish couple, who recently had left Italy when the emperor Claudius ordered all Jews out of Rome (Acts 18:2). In God’s providence, the two men shared the trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3). Drawn together by their Jewish heritage, common trade, and status as displaced residents, Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla struck up a friendship that would last the rest of Paul’s life (see Rom. 16:3; 1 Cor. 16:19; 2 Tim. 4:19). Paul discipled them during the week and preached every Sabbath in the synagogue, “trying to persuade Jews and Greeks” that the Messiah anticipated by the Jews was, in fact, Jesus of Nazareth (Acts 18:4-5). Before long the Jewish leaders turned against Paul and he left the synagogue (Acts 18:6-7).

Map of the area around Corinth

Rome prized Corinth because it controlled a strategic intersection of trade. Rather than brave the treacherous journey around Capel Malea, shipowners preferred to drag their ships, cargo and all, across the narrow Isthmus of Corinth. When Paul traveled from Athens to Corinth, he made a similar journey.

Among Paul’s first disciples in Corinth was a Gentile, Titius Justus, a God-fearer whose home hosted the first Corinthian congregation of Christians (Acts 18:7). Also among this group was Crispus, the president of the synagogue, who converted to Christ with his entire household. So, from the very beginning, both Jews and Gentiles comprised the foundational leadership of the church in Corinth (Acts 18:8). Not wanting this budding work to perish and encouraged to press on by a vision of the Lord (Acts 18:9-10), Paul spent a year and a half “teaching the word of God among them” (Acts 18:11).

The bourgeoning work in Corinth, however, soon caught the eye of the enemy, who once again stirred up religious opposition from Jewish legalists (Acts 18:12). Likely believing they would find an ally in Gallio, the newly appointed proconsul of Achaia, Paul’s Jewish adversaries brought Paul before the tribunal, charging him with preaching an illegal religion. Yet their hopes at a hearing were dashed when Gallio told the Jews that he refused to meddle in matters of “words and names and your own law” (Acts 18:15). This resulted in a frustrated outbreak of violence against believers in Corinth, which Gallio ignored (Acts 18:16-17).

In the fall of AD 51, Paul left Corinth with Aquila and Priscilla, setting sail for Ephesus (Acts 18:18-19). Those disciples-turned-colleagues remained in Ephesus to carry on their budding ministry while Paul himself traveled on to Caesarea, Jerusalem, and then to his home church in Antioch (Acts 18:22). Aquila and Priscilla’s heart for their Corinthian brothers and sisters only grew stronger during their time in Ephesus. In fact, when a well-educated Jew named Apollos arrived in Ephesus boldly preaching what he knew about Jesus, the missionary couple discipled that young teacher, equipping him for a fruitful ministry in Corinth. Acts 18:26-28 describes how Apollos was prepared and sent to Corinth to serve as an influential teacher and apologist in that city:

But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

Photo of the Corinth judgment seat

Barry Beitzel

The bēma, or “judgment seat” in Corinth, is the place where cases were decided by Roman law.

While Apollos served in Corinth, Paul returned to Ephesus (Acts 19:1) and began to correspond with the Corinthian church sometime between AD 53 and 55. Paul had written an initial letter to the Corinthian church not long before the letter we call 1 Corinthians. That letter, probably brief, warned the believers “not to associate with immoral people” (1 Cor. 5:9). The teaching of that first letter apparently was misunderstood or misapplied, however, because Paul saw the need to clarify what he meant (5:10-13). We don’t have the prequel to 1 Corinthians, probably because 1 Corinthians itself contains all the information originally written in the first letter, but in greater depth. Yet Paul also sought to address a growing number of problems dividing the church —effects of its diverse membership of Jews and Gentiles, its rocky beginnings of persecution, and the corrupt religious and moral culture in which it ministered.

As the lights dim on our own culture and our churches begin to look more and more like the disheveled, self-serving church in Corinth, Paul’s words to that fragmented church take on greater import and more urgent practicality.

OVERVIEW OF FIRST CORINTHIANS

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians consists of seven parts, including a brief introduction. In contrast to 2 Corinthians, which focuses on themes related to ministry and Paul as a gospel minister, 1 Corinthians focuses on healthy church life —both by addressing problems and by calling believers onward in sanctification and the exercise of spiritual gifts. Let’s familiarize ourselves with a broad overview of the letter.

Opening Greeting and Prayer (1:1-9). As is typical with Paul’s letters, 1 Corinthians begins with a general greeting from Paul and Sosthenes (1:1), quite likely the one-time leader of the synagogue in Corinth (Acts 18:17), but now Paul’s ministry companion. In this introduction, Paul extends praise where praise is due (1 Cor. 1:4-7), expressing his confidence that God ultimately will confirm their faith to the end (1:8-9). This brief opening, however, quickly leads to a sudden and desperate plea for unity.

Rebuking Divisions and Folly (1:10–3:23). In the first of many rebukes, Paul takes aim at the divisions that had formed among the believers in Corinth. He writes, “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1:10). Part of the problem with the Corinthians was their failure to realize that Christianity is not based on human wisdom, but on revelation from God, given through the person and work of Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit (2:1-16). The wisdom of God makes human wisdom seem like folly. And because the ministry of the gospel is ultimately the work of God, not men, the formation of parties based on personalities such as Paul, Peter, and Apollos is rendered ridiculous, as all these men are merely co-laborers through whom God works His miraculous building project (3:1-23).

Correcting Ills and Immorality (4:1–6:20). Regrettably, disunity was not the only problem in Corinth. After reasserting his authority as an apostle of Christ (4:1-21), Paul challenges the Corinthians on an issue of gross sexual immorality: “that someone has his father’s wife” (5:1). In what follows, Paul outlines the principles and process of church discipline, intended to purge the church of wickedness and purify its people (5:11-13). Besides this, the Corinthian Christians didn’t hesitate to sue one another in secular court (6:1-8), and some failed to accompany their conversion to Christianity with a converted lifestyle of sexual purity (6:9-20). In other words, in many ways those churchgoers in Corinth were living more like Corinthians and less like Christians!

Strengthening Family and Fellowship (7:1–10:33). Chapter 7 transitions from urgent matters that had come to Paul’s attention through messengers (1:11; 5:1) to important matters concerning which the Corinthians themselves had written (7:1). First he addresses issues regarding marriage, singleness, and divorce (7:1-40). Then he answers their questions regarding consuming meat sacrificed to idols and concern for the weaker brother (8:1-13). Using his own lifestyle as an example, Paul urges the Corinthians to selflessly surrender their personal rights for the sake of the gospel (9:1-27). He concludes this section with a reminder of the utter incompatibility of the worship of God through Jesus Christ with the worship of idols and their demonic false gods (10:1-33).

Ordering Church and Worship (11:1–14:40). Paul then focuses his attention on the chaotic character of their worship. The Corinthians had failed to exhibit proper order through submission to Christ and to one another (11:1-16), which resulted in self-centered divisions and factions even in the observance of the Lord’s Supper (11:17-34). Unsurprisingly, the Corinthians had also exercised spiritual gifts in ways that exhibited personal pride rather than humble deference for one another —the exact opposite of the purpose for which the Holy Spirit gives His gifts (12:1–14:40). Only an attitude of true, selfless, unconditional love could cure their self-centered approach to the Christian life (13:1-13).

Concerning Death and Resurrection (15:1-58). If the love chapter in 1 Corinthians 13 is the practical pinnacle of the letter, without a doubt the theological summit of Paul’s treatise is 1 Corinthians 15. He begins by reiterating that which is “of first importance” —the message of the gospel of the person and work of Jesus Christ (15:1-11). From this fountainhead of Christian theology —the atoning death and life-giving resurrection of Christ —Paul dives into the depths of the doctrine of our own future resurrection (15:12-58). So vital is this treatment of the faith of the gospel and the hope of the resurrection that this chapter comprises a complete section in our outline of Paul’s book.

Concluding Instructions and Warnings (16:1-24). Finally, Paul concludes with a few minor matters, concerning neither rebukes nor controversies. He directs them on the proper collection for the saints in Jerusalem (16:1-4). With a few personal remarks, Paul speaks of Timothy’s coming to the church in Corinth —emphasizing the value he placed on personal presence and face-to-face interaction (16:5-12) in addition to his authoritative letter. He concludes this great epistle of strong reproofs with an exhortation to stand firm in the faith, with love for the Lord and hope for His coming (16:13-24).

A timeline of the New Testament from AD 26 to AD 68, with 1 Corinthians highlighted at AD 54
A timeline of the New Testament from AD 68 to AD 106
Map of Paul's Second Missionary Journey

Paul’s Second Missionary Journey. Paul and Silas left from Antioch to return to several of the cities where Paul had planted churches on his first missionary journey around AD 47 to 48. They proceeded through Asia to Greece, all the way to Corinth, where Paul would meet Priscilla and Aquila and minister in a church of new Christians in the home of Titius Justus.

The Book of 1 Corinthians at a Glance chart, left side
The Book of 1 Corinthians at a Glance chart, right side