Paul wrote the letter we know as 1 Corinthians to the Christians in Corinth probably in AD 54, three years after he established the church (the fall of 50 to the spring of 52). Paul set out from Antioch in Syria in the spring of 49, after the Jerusalem council concluded, to engage in missionary ministry in the province of Asia, a plan that God did not allow to be carried out. When the new goal of preaching the gospel in the province of Bithynia also proved elusive, Paul accepted God’s guidance and crossed over to Europe (Acts 15:40—16:10). After establishing churches in the province of Macedonia, including Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea (16:11—17:15), Paul moved south into the province of Achaia, where he founded churches in Athens (17:16–34) and Corinth (18:1–18).
The City of Corinth
Corinth was situated in a strategic position about six miles (ten kilometers) west of the isthmus on the junction of the routes linking the Peloponnese and Attica. The city flourished from about 725 BC and first struck coins about 600 BC. Since it led the resistance against Rome, Corinth was destroyed in 146 BC by the Roman consul Lucius Mummius. The city remained virtually deserted for a century. In 44 BC Julius Caesar reestablished the city as a Roman colony (Colonia Laus Iulia Corinthus), settling 3,000 freed slaves and army veterans there. The colony was intended to safeguard Roman control of the trade between Rome and the eastern Mediterranean. Corinth flourished soon after it was reestablished. Many of the destroyed buildings were restored, including the temple of Apollo, the temple of Asclepius, the South Stoa, the Fountain of Peirene, the Fountain of Glauke, and the theater; new buildings were erected with a distinctly Roman architecture. By 27 BC Corinth was the administrative center of the senatorial province of Achaia. The famous Isthmian Games were returned to Corinthian control in AD 50. It is estimated that Roman Corinth had about 80,000 inhabitants; if we include the inhabitants of the towns and villages belonging to the territory of Corinth, that number would grow to 100,000. To understand the society and culture of Corinth in the first century, one needs to analyze Roman rather than (classical) Greek culture: the majority of inscriptions dating to the first century were written in Latin. The most important deities were Aphrodite and Poseidon. The Latin-speaking elite were active in the imperial cult. The deities Demeter and Kore/Persephone were popular among the poorer population, as were Isis and Sarapis. The presence of Jews is attested by Luke’s account in Acts 18 as well as by a second- or third-century lintel with the inscription “synagogue of the Hebrews.”
Paul and the Problems of the Church in Corinth
In 52–55, while establishing a new center of missionary work in Ephesus, the capital of the province of Asia, Paul received news about problems in the Corinthian church. He first responded by writing a letter about how the church should treat Christians living sexually immoral lives (see 1 Cor 5:9); this letter has not been preserved. Paul evidently heard of further problems in Corinth, prompting him to send his co-worker Timothy, who was to remind the Corinthians of apostolic life and teaching (4:17). Further news from Corinth prompted Paul to write the letter we call 1 Corinthians. The news about Corinth came from at least two sources: (1) a letter some Corinthian believers wrote to Paul (7:1) and (2) verbal information given to Paul by people from the household of a certain Chloe (1:11; cf. 5:1).
The multiplicity and variety of themes that Paul discusses in 1 Corinthians does not mean that he simply addresses various problems of the Christians in Corinth of which he has been made aware. Paul argues with a basic coherence and unity. The problems in the Corinthian church derive from contemporary cultural values of Greco-Roman society that some of the Corinthian believers never abandoned or to which they returned after Paul left the city. They include concerns with superior rhetoric, competitively evaluating orators (the church’s missionaries and pastors), purely pragmatic behavior regarding sexuality, social status expressed in dress codes, ranking spiritual gifts, and dominating church meetings.
The themes that Paul discusses in 1 Corinthians can be divided into two main areas: conflict within the congregation and compromises with the non-Christian, hedonistic values of Greco-Roman society. Five themes are connected with congregational conflict: church leaders (1:10—4:21), lawsuits (6:1–11), the Lord’s Supper (11:17–34), spiritual gifts (chs. 12–14), and Stephanas and Apollos (16:12–18). Seven themes are associated with cultural compromise: incest (5:1–13), sexual immorality (6:12–20), marriage (7:1–24), the unmarried (7:25–40), dining in pagan temples (8:1—11:1), head coverings (11:2–16), and resurrection (15:1–58).
What connects all these subjects is the gospel: God forgives and saves people through Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Savior and Lord—a fundamental reality that directly affects the life of the church and individual believers. God’s power as revealed in Jesus’ death and resurrection powerfully moves Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, educated and uneducated (1:26–29) to believe the gospel (2:1–5); and the gospel powerfully transforms Christians so they can resist the lure and convenience of “worldly” traditions and the values of contemporary society (3:1; 5:10–11; 6:9–11; 15:32–34) and live lives of “righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1:30).
Paul addresses ethical questions by clarifying the relevant theological parameters, focusing on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Thus, in addition to revealing Paul’s position on specific ethical matters, 1 Corinthians provides fundamental insight into Paul’s theology and its application to specific questions of everyday behavior and lifestyle.
Focus on Jesus Christ
Paul consistently focuses on Jesus’ death on the cross and its consequences. (The only exceptions are his discussions regarding head coverings [11:2–16] and the gifts of the Spirit [chs. 12–14].) Paul demonstrates the futility of divisions and rivalry in the church by emphasizing that the center of the gospel is “Christ crucified” (1:23): Jesus, the crucified Messiah, is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks but “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1:24; see 1:30; 2:1–2) for those whom God has called. The one and only foundation of the church is thus Jesus Christ (3:11; see 4:15). The missionaries and pastors of the church should not be judged “until the Lord comes” (4:5), at which time the Lord will expose the motivations of each Christian worker. When Paul addresses a case of incest in the church, he speaks of “Christ, our Passover lamb” (5:7). In his critique of believers who initiate lawsuits against other believers, he reminds the Corinthian Christians that they were washed, sanctified, and justified “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (6:11). Paul clarifies that one of the reasons believers must not have sexual relations with prostitutes is that they “were bought at a price” (6:20), which refers to Christ’s death on the cross. Paul repeats this when discussing changing one’s social status: “you were bought at a price” (7:23). When discussing whether Christians can participate in banquets held in pagan temples and eat food that has been sacrificed to idols, Paul repeatedly refers to Jesus’ death. He reminds Christians that Jesus Christ is the mediator of creation, God’s own agent in creation, the one who caused all things to come into being; Jesus is Lord as God is Lord (8:6). Paul exhorts believers to avoid behavior that would destroy a fellow believer “for whom Christ died” (8:11), and Paul demonstrates the incompatibility of dining in pagan temples and participating in the Lord’s Supper by pointing out that in the Lord’s Supper, Christians enjoy and celebrate “participation in the blood of Christ . . . [and] the body of Christ” (10:16). As regards the neglect of poor Christians by rich Christians during the meetings of the congregation, Paul extensively narrates the tradition of the Lord’s Supper with its remembrance of Jesus giving his body and his blood (11:24–25), reminding the believers that as they “proclaim the Lord’s death” (11:26) in their meetings, they must be willing to share with others as Jesus shared, indeed sacrificed, his life. Finally, Paul’s discussion of the resurrection of the body is prefaced by an extensive reference to the gospel tradition that all Christians receive and believe: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures [and] . . . was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (15:3–4).
Outline
I. Introduction (1:1–9)
II. Divisions in the Church (1:10—4:21)
A. A Church Divided Over Leaders (1:10–17)
B. Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom (1:18—2:5)
C. God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit (2:6–16)
D. The Church and Its Leaders (3:1–23)
E. The Nature of True Apostleship (4:1–13)
F. Paul’s Appeal and Warning (4:14–21)
III. Ethical Confusion in the Church (5:1—6:20)
A. Dealing With a Case of Incest (5:1–13)
B. Lawsuits Among Believers (6:1–11)
C. Sexual Immorality (6:12–20)
IV. Issues Related to Lifestyle (7:1—11:1)
A. Marriage and Celibacy (7:1–40)
1. Concerning Married Life (7:1–16)
2. Concerning Change of Status (7:17–24)
3. Concerning the Unmarried (7:25–40)
B. Food Sacrificed to Idols and Participation in Banquets (8:1—11:1)
1. Concerning Food Sacrificed to Idols (8:1–13)
2. Illustration: Paul’s Own Behavior (9:1–27)
a. Paul’s Rights as an Apostle (9:1–18)
b. Paul’s Use of His Freedom (9:19–23)
c. The Need for Self-Discipline (9:24–27)
3. Warnings From Israel’s History (10:1–13)
4. Idol Feasts and the Lord’s Supper (10:14–22)
5. The Believer’s Freedom (10:23—11:1)
V. Issues Related to Behavior in Church Meetings (11:2—14:40)
A. On Covering the Head in Worship (11:2–16)
B. Correcting an Abuse of the Lord’s Supper (11:17–34)
C. The Gifts of the Spirit (12:1—14:40)
1. Concerning Spiritual Gifts (12:1–11)
2. Unity and Diversity in the Body (12:12–31a)
3. Love Is Indispensable (12:31b—13:13)
4. Intelligibility in Worship (14:1–25)
5. Good Order in Worship (14:26–40)
VI. Resurrection (15:1–58)
A. The Resurrection of Christ (15:1–11)
B. The Resurrection of the Dead (15:12–34)
C. The Resurrection Body (15:35–58)
VII. Concluding Matters (16:1–24)
A. The Collection for the Lord’s People (16:1–4)
B. Personal Requests (16:5–18)
C. Final Greetings (16:19–24)
Ruins of the Temple of Apollo at Corinth.
© 1995 by Phoenix Data Systems