Page 47 - New Testament Survey Student Textbook

Corinth was in Greece, but during Paul’s time the city was part of the Roman Empire. It was a major
commercial center, had a bustling port, and as the third largest city in the Roman Empire, was a
cosmopolitan city; it also was known for its sexual permissiveness. Many of the problems Paul addresses
come from the Corinthian Christians’ tendency to reflect the values of their city rather than those of the
76
body of Christ (6:15).

Author:
“Paul, called an apostle by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes” (1:1). Both extant letters to the
Corinthians are nearly universally recognized as authentic. This is Paul’s letter to which he appends his
signature of authentication (16:21). Sosthenes (synagogue ruler at Corinth now converted [Acts 18:17]?)
probably served as the amanuensis.

Provenance and Date
In 1 Cor 16:8 Paul indicates he is in Ephesus and will remain there until Pentecost in late Spring. This
probably indicates he is in the final year of his three-year stay in Ephesus. A date of Spring A.D. 56
before the riot and his subsequent departure from Ephesus in May 56 is a reasonable conjecture.

Addressees
The background setting in Acts 18:1-18a and the contents of the letter point to a mixed church of Jew
and Gentile members but predominantly Gentile. They have been saved out of past lifestyles of idolatry
and immorality (1 Cor 6:9-11) and continue to be pulled toward a compromising ethic in these two
foundational matters (esp. Chapters 8, 10).

Occasion (see G. Fee, First Corinthians, 4-15)

At least eleven major problems are addressed—both doctrinal and behavioral. The Corinthians’ pagan
Greek background and worldview conditioned their interpretation of Christian truth and included: (i) the
elevation of wisdom, knowledge and rhetorical skill that skewed their appraisal of Christian leadership
(Chapters 1-4); (ii) an over-realized eschatology leading to spiritual triumphalism (4:8-13; 13:1; Chapters
12, 14); (iii) a Greek view of the body leading to opposing extremes of hedonism and asceticism
(Chapters 6-7; 11:2-16; Ch 15); (iv) magical understanding of the sacraments (10:1-13).

The internal factions in the church (1:10-12) with varying tendencies (pneumatics/ecstatic; libertines;
ascetics) are troubling, but there is no evidence of troublemakers from the outside having usurped
authority at this early stage. The problems seem to be at the “middle stage” (Fee): growing anti-Paul
sentiment, but not the deteriorated situation of 2 Corinthians with deeply entrenched pseudo/super-
apostles uniting the church against their apostle-founder (2 Cor 11:5, 13;12:11).

In response to reports from Chloe’s household (1:11) and perhaps others (5:1), Paul addresses in
Chapters 1-6: Divisions in the church (1:10-4:21), case of incest (5:1-13), law suits among fellow
Christians (6:1-11), and sexual immorality (6:12-20). In response to a letter with questions from the
delegation led by Stephanus (7:1; 16:15-18), Paul writes Chapters 7-16: 7:1, 25; 8:1; 12:1; 16:1, 12;
Marriage and related matters (7:1-40), meat sacrificed to idols (8:1-11:1), decorum of women and men
in worship (11:2-16), social divisions around the Lord’s supper (11:17-34), spiritual gifts: use and abuse
(12:1-14:40), resurrection of the body (15:1-58), collection for the Jerusalem believers (16:1-4), the
coming of Apollos (16:12)

76 Barry, J. D. et al
46