Page 348 - Demo

In 55-56 AD, when Paul wrote this letter, Corinth was a prosperous city in Greece. Like many seaports, Corinth was a meeting-place for people of many races, cultures, and faiths.
1:4 Paul gives thanks for the work of God in the Christian community at Corinth, and especially for the abundance of spiritual gifts they have been given as they await the second coming of Christ. This thanksgiving prepares the way for one of Paul’s major points in this letter: spiritual gifts are given to individuals not just for themselves, but for the bene t of the entire community.
1:10 We tend to think of the early Church as an ideal, simple community, without the complex issues we face today. Reading I Corinthians, we see that Christians of every time have experienced tension and even division. Paul’s advice on dealing with such problems is relevant in every time and place.
* [1:1–9] Paul follows the conventional form for the opening of a Hellenistic letter (cf. Rom 1:1–7), but expands the opening with details carefully chosen to remind the readers of their situation and to suggest some of the issues the letter will discuss.
* [1:1] Called. . .by the will of God: Paul’s mission and the church’s existence are grounded in God’s initiative. God’s call, grace, and delity are central ideas in this introduction, emphasized by repetition and wordplays in the Greek.
* [1:6] The testimony: this de nes the purpose of Paul’s mission (see also 1 Cor 15:15 and the note on 1 Cor 2:1). The forms of his testimony include oral preaching and instruction, his letters, and the life he leads as an apostle.
* [1:10–4:21] The rst problem Paul addresses is that of divisions within the community. Although we are unable to reconstruct the situation in Corinth completely, Paul clearly traces the divisions back to a false self-image on the part of the Corinthians, coupled with a false understanding of the apostles who preached to them (cf. 1 Cor 4:6, 9; 9:1–5) and of the Christian message itself. In these chapters he attempts to deal with those underlying factors and to bring the Corinthians back to a more correct perspective.
* [1:12] I belong to: the activities of Paul and Apollos in Corinth
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are described in Acts 18. Cephas (i.e., “the Rock,” a name by which Paul designates Peter also in 1 Cor 3:22; 9:5; 15:5 and in Gal 1:18; 2:9, 11, 14) may well have passed through Corinth; he could have baptized some members of the community either there or elsewhere. The reference to Christ may be intended ironically here.
[1:13–17] The reference to baptism and the contrast with preaching the gospel in v 17a suggest that some Corinthians were paying special allegiance to the individuals who initiated them into the community.
[1:17b–18] The basic theme of 1 Cor 1–4 is announced. Adherence to individual leaders has something to do with di erences in rhetorical ability and also with certain pre- suppositions regarding wisdom, eloquence, and e ectiveness (power), which Paul judges to be in con ict with the gospel and the cross.
[1:17b] Not with the wisdom of human eloquence: both of the nouns employed here involve several levels of meaning, on which Paul deliberately plays as his thought unfolds. Wisdom (sophia) may be philosophical and speculative, but in biblical usage the term primarily denotes practical knowledge such as is demonstrated in the choice and
g. [1:12] 3:4, 22; 16:12; Acts 18:24–28. h. [1:14] Acts 18:8 / Rom 16:23.
i. [1:16] 16:15–17.
a. [1:1] Rom 1:1.
b. [1:2] Acts 18:1–11.
c. [1:7] Ti 2:13.
d. [1:8] Phil 1:6. e. [1:9] 1 Jn 1:3. f. [1:10] Phil 2:2.
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 CORINTHIANS 
I. ADDRESS*
1Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,* and
a2
Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, to
1Greeting.
you who have been sancti ed in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.b 3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving. 4I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, 5that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, 6as the testimony* to Christ was con rmed among you, 7so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.c 8He will keep you rm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus [Christ].d 9God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.e
II. DISORDERS IN THE CORINTHIAN COMMUNITY
A. DIvISIONS IN THE CHURCH*
Groups and Slogans. 10I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.f 11For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you. 12I mean that each of you is saying, “I belong to* Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”g 13* Is Christ divided? Was Paul cruci ed for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14I give thanks [to God] that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,h 15so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16(I baptized the household of Stephanas also; beyond that I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)i 17* For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of