General Comments on 1 Corinthians This letter can be divided up based upon subject as follows: Offenses within the Corinthian Church (ch. 1-6) Divisions based on Doctrine (ch. 1-3) Pride (ch. 4) Avoiding Immorality (ch. 5-6) Doctrinal matters addressed (ch. 7-15) Marriage (ch. 7) Idolatry (ch. 8-10) Worship (ch. 11) Spiritual gifts (ch. 12-14) Resurrection (ch. 15) Closing (ch. 16) The letter to the Corinthians is a letter of warning and admonition sent by Paul to check improper conduct among people within the Church. Paul was staying at Ephesus, which is a neighboring sea-trading partner with Corinth, when he received word of wrongdoing within the Church (cf. 1:11). There was prior written communication between Paul and the Church at Corinth. Paul cites the contents of some letter presently lost to us (cf. 5:9). And in this letter he responds to questions posed (cf. 7:1, 8:1). Paul is clearly dismayed over their present condition. They have ignored his prior written admonitions to avoid immorality. People within the Church are tolerating gross immorality in the other Church members (cf. 5:1-2), and division is arising within the Church as a result of pseudo-intellectualism (cf. ch. 2). The result is this letter, wherein Paul addresses their behavior and admonishes them to abandon their Gentile ways. How did the Corinthian Church fall into such problems so quickly? Under the entry for Corinth Smith's Bible Dictionary states: Corinth was a place of great mental activity, as well as of commercial and manufacturing enterprise. Its wealth was so celebrated as to be proverbial; so were the vice and profligacy of its inhabitants. The worship of Venus here was attended with shameful licentiousness. And Coneybear and Howson in _The Life and Epistles of St. Paul_ state (p. 376-377): One evil at least, we know, prevailed extensively, and threatened to corrupt the whole Church of Corinth. This was nothing less than the addiction of many Corinthian Christians to those sins of impurity which they had practiced in the days of their Heathenism, and which disgraced their native city, even among the Heathen. We have before mentioned the peculiar licentiousness of manners which prevailed at Corinth. So notorious was this, that it had actually passed into the vocabulary of the Greek tongue; and the very word 'to Corinthianize,' meant 'to play the wanton;' [footnote: it is so used by Aristophanes] nay, the bad reputation of the city had become proverbial, and even in foreign languages, and is immortalized by the Latin poets [footnote: Hor. Ep. i. 17., 'Non cuivis homini contingit adire Corinthum'] Such being the habits in which many of the Corinthian converts had been educated, we cannot wonder if it proved most difficult to root out immorality from the rising Church. Thus, the culture at Corinth was quite decadent. Regarding some of the sports imagery Paul employs in this letter, he draws on the setting of Corinth itself. Under the entry for Corinth Smith's Bible Dictionary states: This article would be incomplete without some notice of the Posidonium, or sanctuary of Neptune, the scene of the Isthmian games, from which St. Paul borrows some of his most striking imagery in 1 Cor. and other epistles. This sanctuary was a short distance to the N. E. of Corinth, at the narrowest part of the Isthmus, near the harbor of Schaenus (now Kalamaki) on the Saronic gulf. The exact site of the temple is doubtful; but where the foot-races were run (1 Cor. 9:24); to the east are those of the theater, which was probably the scene of pugilistic contests (1 Cor. 9:26); and abundant on the shore are the small green pine trees which gave the fading wreath (1 Cor. 9:25) to the victors in the games. Finally, the KJV on Paul's letters is, in general, poor. Paul's writing style it obtuse to start with, and the KJV does little to clarify it. When making a careful study of these letters I suggest using a modern scholarly translation such as the New American Standard (NAS) which reads much more clearly yet remains true to the Greek. Comments on 1 Corinthians 1 v1-3 The opening of the letter, identifying who wrote it (v. 1), who it is addressed to, the authority of the author (v. 2), and his good will (v. 3). v4-9 Paul gives thanks for the grace shed upon the Church at Corinth and for their testimonies in Christ. This statement forms a lead in to v. 10-17. Here Paul's intent is to emphasize their faith is in Christ, the Son of God, and not men. v10-17 Paul indicates he is aware of division within the Church based upon seeming differences between the teachings of various Church leaders. Some are choosing to focus on Paul, some on Peter, some on Apollos, some claim to follow Christ. Paul wants none of this personality cult, and tells them their faith is in Jesus, who was crucified for them. Paul then identifies the core problem in v. 17: pseudo-intellectualism. v7 The ancient apostles saw Jesus' Second Coming as imminent, cp. Acts 1:6. v17 Paul is referring to the subject of 2:1-5. The gospel was delivered to them not with clever sophistry, but with the power of the Spirit. If it were merely clever sophistry, then Jesus' atonement would be meaningless. v18-25 Paul rejects the sophistication of men and asks them to consider the wisdom of God instead. A spiritually discerning person can perceive the wisdom of God, but a carnal person cannot perceive it. Instead, they seek after signs, stumble over spiritual things, and turn to human machinations. v18 is obscure in the KJV. I would rearrange the KJV as follows: For to them that perish the preaching of the cross is foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. v19 Paul paraphrases Isa. 29:14. v26-31 Paul points out to them that few noble, mighty, wise men of the world are chosen of God. Instead, God has chosen the humble and contrite of the world, who look debased, weak, and foolish to the men of the world. These are chosen so that no man may glory in himself, bit rather the chosen give glory to God. Those who boast may only boast justifiably in the Lord. v31 Paul quotes Jer. 9:24. The KJV "glorieth...glory" would be better translated "boasts...boast". Copyright © 2002 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. Digital or printed copies may be freely made and distributed for personal and public non-commercial use.