By Sam Nobles
Corinth was the capital city of
Achaia, and was one of the richest cities in Greece. Since it was a trade
center, Corinth was invaded by many different kinds of religions. The church in
Corinth was founded by the Apostle Paul over the span of a year and a half on
his second missionary journey.
If churches were graded, the
church at Corinth would be given a D for divided, defiled, and defamed. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians can be
divided into two parts. The first part, chapters 1–6, deals Paul’s concern
about the sin that was so evident in the church. The second part, chapters
7–16, deals with the answers Paul had for them concerning marriage (ch.7), idolatry (ch.8-10), public worship (ch.11),
spiritual gifts (ch.12-14), the
resurrection (ch.15), and a special
offering that he was taking up for the Jews (ch.16).
Paul opens his letter to the Corinthian church with accolades about their knowledge, their readiness to
share the testimony of Christ, their spiritual giftedness, and their eagerness
for the return of Jesus (v.1-9). The
problem Paul brings up first is that he has heard from Chloe’s people that
there was division within the church based upon the leadership. Some of the
Christians claimed to follow the teaching of Paul (v.10-11). Others pledged their allegiance to the great orator,
Apollos. There was also a group that claimed that they followed the teachings
of Cephas. Still, others said they followed no man, only Christ (v.12). There is a tendency within the
heart of man to want to follow human leaders and become a fan club for how God
uses them, but Paul let the Christians in Corinth know that Christ was the one
who died for them, and when they were baptized it wasn’t in the name of Paul,
Apollos, or Cephas (v.13-16). Paul
wanted all of the Corinthian church to know that he wasn’t an Apostle of Jesus
just so he could baptize people or show off how smart he was. The purpose of
Paul’s ministry was to spread the gospel message that Jesus was crucified and
risen from the dead (v.17).
The Greek culture placed much value on human
wisdom, and to them the gospel seemed foolish. Paul contends that “the foolishness of God is wiser
than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (v.18-25). To end out this first
chapter, Paul lets the Corinthian believers know that God does things that look
foolish to shame the intelligence and wisdom that man thinks is so superior. In
the end, no man will boast in anything except the Lord and what he has done (v.26-31).
Scripture to Claim:
“For the word of
the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it
is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV
Courson’s Application Commentary on
the New Testament,
accessed May 16, 2017, https://www.christianbook.com/coursons-application-commentary-the-new-testament/jon-courson/9780785251552/pd/251553.
