1st and 2nd Corinthians
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1st Corinthians demonstrates the transformational power of the gospel to address any problem. Paul brings the gospel to bear on a wide range of issues, always driving home the point that through all these things God is maturing his holy ones into the likeness of Jesus. This is clearly as needful for us today as we look to the gospel in the midst of our own troubles to grow up into Christ.
We see here again God causing all things to work together for good to us – if this church had not had all these problems, then we would not have all the wisdom given in this letter.
Background: The City of Corinth
- Old Corinth was a tremendously immoral pagan city, with a nasty reputation
- Rivaled Athens in size and importance before the Romans destroyed much of it in 146 B.C.
- Rebuilt in 44 B.C. and populated with a great number of Roman citizens.
- By Paul’s time, Corinth was one of wealthiest cities in Greece
- It was also a major port city in the Empire
- Cosmopolitan crossroads of commerce and culture
Jews and Gentiles populated the city of Corinth, the church at Corinth was likely an ethnically diverse congregation. With different religious and cultural backgrounds, coupled with the presence of rampant immorality within the city, these Christians were trying to live out their faith in a complex cultural context. Sound familiar?
Author and Audience and Date
- Church founded by Paul and his companions during his 2nd missionary journey
- This is recounted in Acts 18.1-17 NASB95
- Here he met Priscilla and Aquila
- Paul spent one and half years there for the strategic increase of the Gospel, c. AD 49-50
- This letter is written by Paul from Ephesus about 5 years later during his 3rd missionary journey c. A.D. 55.
- See Acts 19 NASB95 for the account of Paul’s time in Ephesus
Situation
- Sometime after he left Corinth, during his 3rd missionary journey, Paul heard troubling reports and corresponded with the church in Corinth.
- This letter is much less formal than Romans, more “situational”
- 1st Corinthians is not the first letter he wrote to that Church
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; (1 Cor. 5:9)
Paul writes 1st Corinthians to:
- Address troubling reports he has heard about the church from Chloe’s people
- Answer questions the Corinthians had raised in previous letters
Outline
- Greeting and Blessing 1.1-1.9
- Sectarianism 1.10-4.21
- Sexual Immorality 5.1-13, 6.10-20
- Litigation against brothers 6.1-8
- Marriage and Singleness 7.1-40, 11.1-16
- Christian Liberty and Yielding Rights 8.1-10.33
- The Table of the Lord 11.17-34
- Spiritual Gifts and Love 12.1-14.40
- Resurrection of the Dead 15.1-58
- Personal Greetings, Instructions and Blessing 16.1-24.
Themes
The Gospel and our Problems
Divisions and Rivalries
The first issue Paul addresses is the divisions present within the church. This is because it is a primary core issue which strikes at the heart of the Gospel.
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.” Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1:12-14)
For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? (3:3)
But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. (12:24-26)
The Corinthians are bragging over which leader they follow (1 Cor. 1:12–13 NASB95). Some were evidently proud because one individual or another had baptized them. Yet Paul undermines their whole train of thought by saying he baptized nobody (1 Cor. 1:14 NASB95). Instead he simply preached the gospel (1 Cor. 1:17 NASB95), and not with “eloquent wisdom.”
In the gospel, far from presenting one wise, God has destroyed the wisdom of the world. Through the gospel, the wise are put to shame and the foolish are exalted. In other words, don’t worry about what human personality you align with, we are all fools from the world’s point of view. The apostles were simply workers on God’s behalf (1 Cor. 2:9 NASB95).
Sexual Immorality
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. (6:19-20)
After chastening the Corinthians for failing to deal with the issue, Paul writes, “you are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19–20 NASB95). How can you take your bodies, which are “members of Christ” (1 Cor. 6:15 NASB95), and give them over to sexually immorality? Jesus purchased us and gave us His Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19 NASB95), and calls us to walk in the Spirit and be like Him! The gospel tells us that we have been reconciled to God and are members of His body.
Transformation From Immaturity
We want to see all of God’s people move into deeper depths of life in the Spirit. The problems at Corinth stem mostly from immaturity. When the Corinthians are involved in factionalism, they are living as immature believers at best and pagans at worst. When they are engaged in sexual immorality (1 Cor. 5–6 NASB95), lawsuits with one another (1 Cor. 6:1–7 NASB95), and abusing the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:20–34 NASB95), they are behaving as infants in Christ (1 Cor. 3:1 NASB95). What the Corinthians need is to grow in their union with Christ, as those who have been bought by Him (6.20, 7.23).
Boasting and Arrogance
It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. (1 Cor. 5:1-2)
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. (5:6-7)
The Resurrection of the Dead
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…(15:3-5)
For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. (15:16-17)
Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (15:51-52)
2nd Corinthians
Author and Audience and Date
- Church founded by Paul and his companions during his 2nd missionary journey
- This is recounted in Acts 18.1-17 NASB95
- Here he met Priscilla and Aquila
- Paul spent one and half years there for the strategic increase of the Gospel, c. AD 49-50
- This letter is written by Paul from Ephesus during his 3rd missionary journey c. A.D. 56, probably about a year after 1st Corinthians
- See Acts 19 NASB95 for the account of Paul’s time in Ephesus
The Situation
- Paul had planted the church in Corinth during his second missionary journey (Acts 18:1–17 NASB95), c. AD 50.
- Many were baptized as the church began to grow during Paul’s eighteen-month stay (Acts 18:8 NASB95).
- After he left, he received news from those in Chloe’s house that problems persisted in Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:11 NASB95).
- Paul quickly sent what we know as 1 Corinthians to address the reports and answer questions raised by the church.
- Later on Paul received news, likely from Timothy and Erastus (Acts 19:22 NASB95; 1 Corinthians 16:10 NASB95), that some of the problems had actually gotten worse.
- So Paul sets out on a second visit that proved to be brief and painful.
- He was not well received then, but he would not let things smolder. So he wrote a “sorrowful” or “severe” letter that Titus delivered.
- Titus reported back to Paul that the letter was effective and that the Corinthians had repented (cf. 2 Corinthians 7:8–13 NASB95).
- Then he writes what we know as 2 Corinthians (probably at least the 4th letter he had written them).
Structure
Outline
- The Nature of New Covenant ministry (chapters 1-7)
- Collection for the Jerusalem church (chapters 8-9)
- Defense of Paul’s apostleship (10-13)
Themes
Ministers of the New Covenant
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (5:17-21)
God’s Power perfected in our weakness
From the first letter:
consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 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, 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, so that no man may boast before God. (1:23-29)
From the second letter:
indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; (1:9)
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; (4:7)
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (12:9-10)
Assignment
Preparing
- Read chapter 11 of Introducing the New Testament (1 and 2 Corinthians)
- Read 1 Corinthians 1-4, 13, 15; 2 Corinthians 4,5,12
- Watch The Bible Project 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians below
Respond to the following:
Knowing
- What important husband and wife team did Paul meet in Corinth?
- How long did Paul stay in Corinth to preach the Gospel and equip the church?
- Did Paul write any other letters to the Corinthians besides these 2?
- Where was Paul when he wrote these letters?
Reflecting
- How does Paul show his pastoral care for the church in Corinth?
- Why are the letters to the Corinthians of such great value to us in our own times?
- Why was it important to Paul that he so forcefully defend his apostolic ministry?
Communicating
In light of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, if you were to confront a fellow Christian over a persistent pattern of sin, and they accused you of being judgmental, how would you respond?
