Bible Study - 1 Corinthians Chapter 1
Bible Study - 1 Corinthians Chapter 1
| 1 Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, |
Paul, the founder of the church in Corinth, was being challenged on his authority, specifically whether he was an apostle or not. This greeting is the opening of his response to that challenge. (He didn't need to do this in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Philippians, and Philemon.) He specifies that he has a divine calling. Sosthenes' role is not specified. It is likely he was acting as Paul's secretary transcribing this letter, especially since he is mentioned in conjunction with this letter and no one else is. Or it may be that he was just a coworker with him at the time. He is not mentioned elsewhere in scripture. | ||
| 2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: |
Paul specifically addressed the letter to the whole church, and specified that the church belongs to God, not any person. Second he narrowed the address to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus. This puts the action of sanctification as divine. This is not saying that the process of sanctification is complete. It will only be complete at eschaton, (the end times including judgement day.) However, only believers will have begun it. Saint isn't a special class of Christian as in some traditions like the Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholic. It is simply another word for Christian. That we are called to be Christians is a poetic way of saying we are to be a holy people who reflect Jesus to others. Last, he reminded them that they are part of the greater church that calls on the name of Jesus everywhere. Implied is that they, (the Corinthian church,) are not supposed to be going their own way. | ||
| 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. | Even in greeting Paul preached Christ. Grace, the unearned mercy and favor from God, and the peace of God, from both God the Father and God the Son who is the Christ. The Christ is Greek for the Messiah. This grace and peace is from God's actions for us. This affirms the deity of Jesus, and is in complete cooperation with the Father. In all three parts of this greeting the focus is on Christ. | ||
| 4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, |
In saying "my God" Paul was referring to the God he serves. This is not a distinction between gods such as exists between worshipers of different pagan idols. It is the beginning of the clause expressing Paul's subordination to Christ. In essence, he is giving credit to God for what he could otherwise be lauded for. Paul expressed thanks for other believers, even those he disagreed with and must discipline. Even though they were the result of his own missionary work, the thanks is to God because they belong to Christ, not him. The reason for Paul's thanks is the grace of God given to the Corinthians. This is the gift of mercy given through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. There is no cause for Paul or the Corinthians to boast as it all is from God without merit. | ||
| 5 that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, |
In 1 Thessalonians, Philippians and Colossians Paul included love, faith and hope in the list of gifts from God. Those three are omitted and Paul addressed only speech and knowledge because these were being used negatively in Corinth. Paul only uses the term enriched, eploutisthete in Greek, in the letters to the Corinthians. This may be because they were using this term among themselves and Paul wanted to correct their usage. | ||
| 6 even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, | These spiritual gifts are evidence that the gospel Paul taught them was true. | ||
| 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, |
The you here, humas in Greek, is a plural you. (When translating in Greek and Hebrew classes, we would use "y'all" to humorously but properly translate a plural you from the original language.) Thus, this does not refer to individuals, but the church as a whole. This is an important point as spiritual gifts are for the purpose of edifying the church. Not lacking any means they have all of the gifts. In other words, as a group the church has all of the spiritual gifts. So each person's individual gift makes the church complete. It is expressly stated in 12:7-11 that the gifts are for the common good, and no one gift is given to everyone but people are given different gifts as the Spirit chooses. There is a strong implication here. Since the Corinthian church was "not lacking in any gift" then they had all the gifts of Spirit. And Paul lists the gifts of the Spirit in 12:8-10. Therefore, there are no other gifts of the Spirit and anyone trying to add more to the list is contradicting scripture and trying to add what is false and fake. Here the revelation of Christ is not referring to a revelation of knowledge like scripture, the evidence of creation, or prompting by the Spirit. The word apokalupsis in Greek is properly translated as revelation. But this is the final revelation of Jesus' return in the Apocalypse when all is revealed. This is a reminder that our current state is a "not yet" rather than a final state. And the second coming of Jesus is what we are waiting and preparing for. | ||
| 8 who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. | The one who will confirm us is Jesus, who is God. The day of our Lord Jesus Christ is another way of saying judgement day. Therefore, on judgement day God will confirm them and they will be blameless standing before the bema seat. This is a remarkable statement considering how badly they were behaving in the Corinthian church. There was rampant sin, and worse, tolerance and acceptance of sin. | ||
| 9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. | This sums up verses 4-8. Paul reminds them that God fulfills His promises. Also, that in becoming Christians we are entering into a direct relationship with our Lord Jesus, the Son of the Father. This fellowship is the interaction of family living together under one roof. | ||
| Here Paul begins an argument that continues through the end of chapter 4. | |||
| 10 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. |
This verse is often abused by bad actors. They try to argue that we should be unified with them when they are acting for selfish ends and often are frauds rather than Christians. In fact, this is not really a call to unity than an argument against a cult of personality. Those that abuse this verse are often those that Paul is teaching against in this passage. Exhort is to urge with encouragement. Brethren is in the sense that includes men and women, and could be translated as brothers and sisters. While Paul is exhorting and not commanding, he uses the vocative conjugation for brethren in Greek and states that this exhortation is in the name of our Lord. Thus, while explicitly making it less than a command this is clearly non-optional instruction. What Paul is exhorting is unity. However, this is not unity for unity's sake. It is unity under the gospel. Nor is it unconditional unity. There can be no unity between Christians and others like pagans, false Christians, or false teachers. The call for unity has three parts. First is that all agree. What is to be agreed on is on the gospel. The second is that there not be divisions. This does not mean all Christians all meeting under the same roof. That wouldn't be physically possible. It means being able to join together in worship, able to discuss scripture and theology, and able to care for one another regardless of who our earthly leaders are or whether we disagree on disputable matters. Third, we are to be made complete in the same mind and judgement. The only one who can make us complete is Jesus. Therefore, we are to be of Christ's mind and our judgment should be like His and not the world. | ||
| 11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. |
The mention of the source of the information being Chloe's people is very likely because Chloe would have been viewed by all sides as being impartial. At the least they would not have been part of the camp in the church that claimed Paul as their leader. It may be that these were not even part of the Corinthian church at all. (As we will read later, Paul is not pleased by people being partisan even under his name.) The reason for the call for unity is because of the report of quarrels, that is angry arguments, between members of the Corinthian church. We are to discuss and argue, as iron sharpens iron. If we deny any difference of opinion for the sake of fake-unity then most people in the church will remain in the wrong, and some won't even be Christians. It it is in the witness and argument of others that we are convinced and convicted. However, these right-types of Christian discussion are for the edification and benefit of us as individuals and of the church, not tearing each other down. | ||
| 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ." |
With the opening phrase Paul stated that there is a specific problem that needs to be addressed. That there was disagreement in the church is not the problem. The problem is that they were disagreeing about something that was in itself wrong, whether they disagreed or agreed on it. Factions had formed around various leaders, and people were arguing for the supremacy of their particular leader. Paul was the founder of the church. Apollos was a dynamic speaker whose bad theology had to be corrected by Priscilla and Aquila. Peter was one of the inner circle of three with Jesus when he walked the earth. However, putting one's allegiance to a person is a cult of personality, and it is not just a slippery slope but a rocket-powered sled to heresy. No individual is beyond reproach. As Paul wrote in Galatians 1:9, if anyone teaches a different gospel, even if it is an angel or Paul himself, they are to be accursed. It is not who is giving the message that determines if it is right or wrong. It is scripture that determines who is right and wrong. All should be questioned and compared to scripture like the Bereans did. It is likely that at least some of those who said they were of Christ were saying the right thing for the wrong reason. That wrong reason being out of sectarian division rather than advocating for the truth. If the comparisons were equating Christ with men then even the discussion was heretical. | ||
| 13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? |
When Paul finds a situation appalling, (dad-joke intended,) he frequently uses hyperbolic rhetorical questions so the reader will see how ridiculous it is and come to the right conclusion from their own reasoning. Paul counters only the factionalism that is towards him personally, but in a way that makes it clear that all are wrong no matter who was the focus of their cult of personality. This factionalism is wrong because it is based on arguments of superiority of one person over another rather than an honest discussion of opposing views. Even a discussion of differing styles would be appropriate as long as it isn't arguing style over truth. Dynamic speakers like Apollos easily mislead people, either by ignorance as in the case of Apollos, or deliberately as in the case of Marcion or today's prosperity and hyper-charismatic preachers. It is not a human leader that saves us. It is not into their faith that we are baptized. If anyone is claiming that, (usually under the guise that only this church or that denomination can save people,) get away from them immediately and find a real Christian church that teaches scripture, not just bits out of context. Do not confuse the colocation in this passage of the crucifixion of Christ and baptism. This is not a theological equivalence or connection between them. It is merely to counter the arguments of the Corinthian factions which often centered around who was baptized by whom. | ||
| 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. |
This brief digression is not theologically significant, other than to say who performs a baptism is unimportant. Churches who require re-baptism into their tradition are wrong if the person's first baptism was done in a Christian fellowship. However, it would be acceptable to re-baptize someone who was only baptized as an infant. Scriptural baptism was only of adults, which in biblical terms meant having reached the age of reason and being able to choose for themselves. This was normally at least eight years old, and more often between ten and twelve. A twelve year old would be of age to choose their career and start an apprenticeship. Infant baptism was not practiced until centuries later. It is likely that the two mentioned here were early converts, making it natural that Paul would have baptized them. That Paul didn't baptize more is a point of thanks because it helped minimize Paul's footprint in this factional argument. It is likely that Paul believed this fact helped him be a more neutral party in this argument, and thus more likely to be listened to. | ||
| 16 Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. |
Paul added the household of Stephanas to tiny list of those he personally baptized. These were the very first converts, and Stephanas became a leader in the church. Paul commends him at the end of this letter. He mentions he can't remember any others in case there is someone he missed. Paul wrote his scriptural letters under the inspiration of the Spirit, and did so without editing. Thus the side notes and digressions are not a distraction but an illustration and addition to the whole. But it should be viewed in context of the whole and all scripture. Even when Paul writes a side note out of his own wisdom and identifies it as such, it is still the inspired word of God. | ||
| 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. |
Returning to the point at hand, Paul verbally grabbed the Corinthian factions and pointed out their silliness. Paul didn't choose to be an apostle nor a missionary. He was sent by Christ. His calling was not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. He deliberately states that he was presenting the unvarnished truth of the gospel, and didn't use the cleverness of speech like Apollos did. Just like our pagan culture today, form was valued over substance in the Greco-Roman culture that was dominant in Corinth. That is the world's values both then and today, and not the values of a Christian. Paul stated that he didn't use clever speech or rhetoric so that the gospel would not be made void. The cross being made void is easily seen today in the prosperity preachers and cult of personality preachers who completely violate the gospel message. Instead they push their own theology and/or tell people what they want to hear. They directly contradict scripture and twist it to teach the opposite of what it really says. | ||
| 18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. |
The "for", gar in Greek, connects this section through verse 25 directly to the end of the previous verse. Remember that verse, paragraph, and chapter breaks are an addition to the text made centuries later for making references easier. Thus we must take care not to allow them and English conventions to distort our understanding of the text. The contrast is between the gospel message of the cross and man's wisdom. The gospel is the truth, and man's reasoning where it contradicts scripture is wrong, no matter how attractively it is presented. The verb forms of perishing and saved can be accurately translated as they are in the NASB as present continuous tense or as past completed tense as in other translations. In Greek they are in the present middle tense which has no direct English equivalent. Either way the meaning is the same. | ||
19
For it is written,
|
Here Paul quoted Isaiah 29:14. This prophecy had come to pass. The countering of man's wisdom by God had taken place. This is also to say that the man who believes they can outthink God is beyond foolish. This is not to say all human wisdom is done away with. It is human wisdom that conflicts with the gospel and scripture that is countered. Human wisdom that is built firmly on scripture stands up. And human wisdom built on human reasoning that does not counter scripture may or may not stand. But in comparison to God's wisdom it is dwarfed more than man's reasoning dwarfs that of an ant. | ||
| 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? |
Continuing in the rhetorical style of Isaiah and that prophet's occasional use of sarcasm, Paul called out any who would view themselves as wise in the eyes of men. With the wise man he called out the traditional Greek. With the scribes he called out the Jews. And with the debater he called out the contemporary influence of false or misleading teachers, and almost certainly includes those who seek to lead via a cult of personality. The last rhetorical question is not self-evident. Thus, Paul backed it up in the following verses that God has indeed shown the wisdom of this world is foolishness. | ||
| 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. |
Creation is the general revelation of God. Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. (ESV) However, creation only tells us that God exists and is the creator. We can't know God by general revelation. Even more, we cannot know God by man's reasoning either. In God's wisdom he made a way for us to know Him, and that is by his word which is scripture. This is called special revelation in theology. It is by the gospel that we are saved. Our salvation and our knowledge of it is solely by the work of God and not man. But the gospel is foolishness to the wisdom of man. Man's reasoning comes out of our fallen nature. As such it reinforces our fallen, that is sinful state. It makes us arrogant and self-important which is pride based on a false premise. It's like someone marveling at how much of Mount Everest they have moved using chopsticks, when the reality is they don't even see the whole mountain, let alone have made a dent in it. God's wisdom is humbling. The more we learn about God's wisdom the more we realize how amazing He is. Learning about God is real knowledge. | ||
| 22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; |
Here are two groups that were seeking after the wrong things, and they are the two main idolatries both then and today. Both groups are two sides of the same coin. Instead of seeking the real God, they seek their own view of how God "ought" to be in their twisted view. In reality, they create an idol and worship it, falsely calling it God. Jews were seeking signs, semeia in Greek, which could also be translated as miracles. Salvation is not in signs, it is in the gospel. Those who seek after signs are not seeking God, and that is absolutely still true today. God does not give us what we want. He gives us what is best for us. Not to mention that seeing signs and wonders does not result in belief in God. The Israelites abandoned God after seeing with their own eyes the ten plagues in Egypt, the Egyptian army being held back by a pillar of fire, the parting of the Red Sea and the drowning of the pursuing Egyptians, and many, many more. The Jewish religious leaders saw Jesus resurrect the dead and determined they had to kill him. Seeking signs does not lead to God. Scripture does. Greeks, (in this context this refers to Gentiles,) were seeking wisdom, and were making an idol of it. They viewed knowledge as the path to salvation. Their idol was the ultimate wisdom, except that it really wasn't. What they really sought was wisdom that conforms to their views, values, and expectations. Actual Godly wisdom, the real ultimate wisdom, is rejected as foolishness by those who set themselves up as the standard for knowledge and wisdom. | ||
| 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, |
The gospel, Jesus the Christ crucified, is in direct opposition and contradiction to the idolatry of man's knowledge and wisdom and the idolatry of signs and wonders. This is a stumbling block to Jews who reject the parts of scripture they don't like. The prophets wrote of the triumphant Messiah, which they liked and accepted, and the suffering Messiah, which they hated and rejected. But God does not conform to our expectations, wants, and wishes. He is the I Am, not the what you want. Even today Jews ignore those scriptures, never reading them and pretending they don't exist. One of the ways that Christian apologists reach Jews is to challenge them to read their own scriptures that talk about this. The reality is the suffering Messiah is the salvation of humanity. Christ crucified is foolishness to the Gentiles. That God would become man was itself foolishness since the "wisdom" of man at the time viewed our physical being as something to be shed as it was thought to be inherently evil, and man's spirit was good when it was freed from the corrupt body. Even worse, that God would allow Himself to be killed by His enemies in the most humiliating and degrading fashion known was insanity by their standards. While the formula has changed from the direct perfection of the individual via knowledge and wisdom of that time to today's view of perfection of humanity as a whole by man's knowledge and wisdom, the idolatry is the same. And the results are the same. The pseudo-science of eugenics began as ideas and teaching in academia of American universities. Those who tried to point out the inherent flaws and contradicting evidence were labeled deniers and had their careers destroyed. It quickly led to atrocities in Europe, America, and Asia. | ||
| 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. |
But to those who believe and follow Christ, whether they came from either group, Jesus the Christ crucified is not the weakness it appears to be to man apart from God. It is the ultimate strength and power of God himself. It is not the foolishness it appears to man's wisdom, but is the full and complete wisdom of God. That believers are referred to as "the called" is used as an argument for Calvinistic predetermination. Even if that view was consistent with the rest of scripture it would still be a stretch to say this phrase in this verse indicates predetermination. It refers to those who answered the call of Jesus, and doesn't mean that Jesus was not calling those who didn't answer. If I were to call twenty friends to invite them to go to a movie, and only twelve answered my call, I could refer to those who answered as "the called" to differentiate them from all the others at the theater, or to refer to the ones I actually spoke to. It doesn't necessarily mean I only called the twelve. Regardless, one cannot ignore the many and repeated scriptures calling for us to choose God. The reality is that God being sovereign and us having free will are not mutually exclusive unless one is being like the Greeks Paul is criticizing here and insisting on God conforming to man's wisdom. | ||
| 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. | This is a rhetorical way of saying that God's wisdom and power is so far beyond man's that our best cannot even come close. Paul was not saying that God is foolish and weak. He was saying that even man's limited perception of God is still better than our best. To think ourselves to be superior to God in any way, in wisdom, strength, morality, etcetera, is more than just pretentious. It is foolishness beyond foolishness. Worse, it is making an idol of oneself. | ||
| 26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; |
Another way to put this verse is, "In your own church look at who God is using. Not many were wise, mighty or noble by man's standards." People who were not rated highly by the world had accomplished incredible things and manifested the power of the Holy Spirit. There were some people in the Corinthian church who were wise, mighty and noble by worldly standards. But the majority were not. Historical records show the people of the church of Corinth came from all social and ethnic groups, which was and still is a very stark exception to the standard tribalism of the world. | ||
| 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, | Continuing the contrasts of the preceding verses, Paul stated that God chooses the opposite of what the world holds up to knock down the world's standards. In other words, God uses what the world thinks is worthless to shame what the world values. By the world's standards, God uses the foolish to shame the wise, the weak to shame the strong, the common and low-born to shame the noble. | ||
| 29 so that no man may boast before God. | The conclusion to the preceding paragraphs and the purpose of God operating this way is so that our utter dependence on God is made clear, and everything we accomplish or are is nothing by comparison. When we stand before the bema seat, (the judgement seat,) we will all be on equally low ground regardless of any accomplishments or status in this world. It is God's grace and mercy that matter and of that we can boast. | ||
| 30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, | It is by Christ Jesus' action on the cross, willingly becoming the perfect sacrifice for us, that we are able to be in Him. Jesus became the things those outside of Him seek but never find. He is the source of any righteousness as we are sinners by nature. And the process of sanctification is through Him. Most importantly, He became our salvation. | ||
| 31 so that, just as it is written, "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord." | Paul concludes by quoting from Jeremiah 9:23. The only thing worth boasting of is that we belong to Jesus. |
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation.