The church in Corinth was dealing with some issues, some serious issues, from division, abusing their spiritual gifts, to questioning the resurrection. When the apostle Paul heard about the mess they were in, it must have broken his heart when he had to write to them.
He had heard of the abuses and contentions that had arisen among them, first from Apollos, and then from a letter they had written him on the subject, and also from some of the ‘household of Chloe,’ and from Stephanas and his two friends who had visited him.
Paul, therefore, wrote this letter for the purpose of checking the factious spirit and correcting the erroneous opinions that had sprung up among them, and fixing the many cases of abuse and disorderly practices that prevailed. If this church were in existence today, I’m not sure many would want to be associated with it!
The city of Corinth is located on an isthmus that connects southern Greece to the Peloponnese, Achaia, Acts 18:12. The connecting isthmus is five miles across. Sailors, coming from Athens or Asia Minor, often stopped in Corinth, walking the five miles rather than sailing around the Cape of Malea.
Sailing around was, to some extent, a treacherous trip due to the strong Mediterranean winds. Because of the geographic location of Corinth, it was perfect for trade and commerce. Ships, on their way westward, would stop here. Quick population and economic growth were the results.
The city of Corinth was a city of great wealth. Wealth and population explosion gave way to an entertainment industry. The Isthmian Games were a main source of entertainment to the Corinthians. The games, similar in nature to the Olympic Games of neighbouring Olympia, occurred every other year. The apostle Paul referred to these games in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.
A city with economic success, a vast population, and world-renowned Olympic-style games would naturally attract a variety of religious movements. Most cities of this day were devoted to a particular god or goddess. Ephesus was devoted to the goddess Diana. The principal deity worshipped in the city of Corinth was Venus, the goddess of love and licentiousness.
Just to the south of the city was a giant rock formation rising 1800 feet above sea level known as the Acro-Corinth. A temple to Venus was erected on the northern side of this mountain. The temple employed one thousand female prostitutes for the worship of Venus.
The morality of Corinth was infamous. Every sin and vice known to mankind could be found there. It was a city with two seaports, one on either side of the narrow neck of land on which it was situated.
And because of this association with the sea and shipping and sailors, just like any major seaport today, it attracted a certain kind of women who were prepared to accommodate the seamen, and others, of course, who arrived at Corinth with money to spend after long periods at sea.
Drunkenness was commonplace, so that whenever a Corinthian was represented on the stage or in the theatre, it was as a drunkard. In fact, there was a well-known saying in those days which was used to describe a person living a wild, reckless life. ‘He lives as they live in Corinth’.
Barnes notes that many merchants lost everything they had in the city of Corinth, ‘worshipping Venus’. A common proverb of their day was: ‘It is not for everyone to go to Corinth.’ The city of Corinth reminds us of our modern-day Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the ‘sin city of their day.’
Paul says that he wrote from Ephesus, 1 Corinthians 16:5-8 / 1 Corinthians 16:19, which corresponds with his third missionary journey. He wrote the letter several years after his initial departure from Corinth in the fall of AD 51/52.
It was written subsequent to Apollo’s stay at the city, Acts 18:25 / Acts 18:27 / 1 Corinthians 1:12, but after Timothy and Erastus had been sent by Paul from Ephesus to Macedonia, Acts 19:22, and after Timothy had been sent to Corinth, 1 Corinthians 4:17. The date was likely AD 55-56
The author of the letter is the apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 1:1 / 1 Corinthians 16:21. The letter to the Corinthian brethren was an obvious response to two letters Paul had received during his three-year stay in Ephesus, Acts 20:31 / 1 Corinthians 16:8-9.
Paul refers to a letter he had received from the ‘household of Chloe’ explaining the contentions among the brethren there, 1 Corinthians 1:11. Again, in 1 Corinthians 7:1, he alludes to a letter that had reached his hands that was written by the church in Corinth.
These two letters outlined the sinful direction the Corinthian church was headed. Paul was well informed of the problems that were occurring among the brethren in Corinth before writing this first epistle.
Paul’s previous time in Corinth afforded him first-hand knowledge of what the brethren were faced with in their everyday affairs, Acts 18. The dissolute condition of immorality within the city of Corinth and false teachers brought an evil influence that had far-reaching effects among the brethren.
The church in Corinth had come to be divided with many problems in regard to following the authorised word of God. Today, we may refer to such a church as an open fellowship or liberal congregation.
The brethren were erroneously dividing themselves based on who had baptised them, 1 Corinthians 1:12-16 / 1 Corinthians 3:3-4 / 1 Corinthians 3:21 / 1 Corinthians 4:6.
Some Christians were guilty of tolerating sin in the church, 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, defrauding each other in human courts, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, committing fornication, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, and not considering each other’s personal conscience, 1 Corinthians 8-10.
Furthermore, Christian women had lost sight of their God-ordained place in public, 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 and among God’s people in the church, 1 Corinthians 14:34-36. The Corinthians had perverted the Lord’s Supper by dividing up into social classes, 1 Corinthians 11:17ff, and faction was running rampant, 1 Corinthians 11:18.
The Corinthians were performing spiritual gifts for selfish reasons rather than for the profit of the whole church and thereby causing schisms in the church, 1 Corinthians 12:14.
The assembly of saints had come to be chaotic, 1 Corinthians 14:26-40, and there were false teachers telling people that there would be no resurrection of the dead, 1 Corinthians 15:12.
The apostle Paul could have easily given up on these brethren due to their multitude of problems; however, due to a great love for their souls, he systematically dealt with each sinful issue. We can do no less today when it comes to the body of Christ.
Though a church may have a multitude of ‘issues’, we nonetheless have the responsibility to systematically deal with each one. From the church at Corinth, because the church consists of human beings, no congregation is ever perfect! ‘Too many hypocrites in the church!’ Come inside! There is always room for one more.
Paul’s apostleship was ‘through the will of God’, which means he was ‘called’, so this wasn’t a career choice! He wasn’t ‘self-appointed’. In other words, it wasn’t a human appointment. ‘A chosen vessel’, Acts 9:15-16, ‘to make thee a minister’. Acts 26:15-18 / Galatians 1:11-14, with authority, Luke 10:16.
As the Gospel calls people to be Christians, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15, so Jesus called Paul to be an apostle. Jesus called Paul to be an apostle so that he may preach the gospel message to Jew and Gentile, Acts 26:16-18 / Galatians 1:15-16.
Many had challenged Paul regarding his apostleship, and for that reason, he was compelled to defend this fact on many occasions, 1 Corinthians 9:1-2 / 2 Corinthians 11:4-5 / 2 Corinthians 12:11-13.
Robertson, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Paul knows that he is not one of the twelve apostles, but he is on par with them because, like them, he is chosen by God.’
What is an apostle? It’s the Greek word, ‘apostolos’, which is a ‘delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders.’ ‘A messenger, ambassador, envoy’.
1. Handpicked by Jesus, 1 Corinthians 1:1.
2. One who had accompanied Jesus during his days on the earth and had seen His resurrected body, Acts 1:21-22.
3. One who had received authority to reveal the will of God, Matthew 18:18 / Galatians 1:11-12.
4. Consider the fact that an ambassador is ‘the highest-ranking diplomatic representative appointed by one country or government to represent it in another’.
Paul was an ‘ambassador,’ 2 Corinthians 5:20, who represented Christ and his government to a lost and dying world. Interestingly, the saint today is an ambassador for Christ, not an apostle, but those who represent and teach Christ in this world, Matthew 28:18-29.
Sosthenes was the chief ruler of the synagogue, Acts 18:17, on whom the Jews vented their anger before the Bema when Gallio, the Roman deputy, refused to listen to their complaint. Became a Christian and was with Paul in Ephesus, from where the letter was sent.
The Corinthians would be very familiar with Sosthenes because this incident was fresh on their minds; approximately four years had passed. Crispus is also described as a chief ruler who had already accepted the Gospel. As had ‘many Corinthians,’ Acts 18:8.
Notice Paul describes the church as ‘the church of God’, not ‘St Paul’s’ or ‘St Peter’s’ or ‘St Andrew’s’. Several scriptural names may be used to identify the church.
Other names in the Bible are ‘church of Christ’ is one. ‘The Body of Christ’, and ‘The Bride of Christ’. ‘The Family of God’. ‘The Kingdom of His dear Son’, ‘The church of the First-born’, and there are others.
Bruce, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The Greek word has both a Gentile and a Jewish background. In its Gentile sense, it denotes chiefly the citizen-assembly of a Greek city… but it is its Jewish usage that underlies its use to denote the community of believers in Jesus. In the Septuagint, it is one of the words used to denote the people of Israel in their religious character as Yahweh’s ‘assembly.’’
We should avoid using the name ‘church of Christ’ in a way that makes it a denomination. For example, a lady described herself as ‘a Church of Christer’. Another lady said she was a member of ‘the Church of Christ Church’.
The word church, in Greek, is ‘ecclesia’, which means ‘an assembly of the citizens regularly summoned, to call an assembly’. Individuals are ‘summoned’ or ‘called’ into the church by the Gospel message, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14. Collectively then, the saints are termed the church, an assembly of those who have been called out of darkness and into the light of God, 1 Peter 2:9-10.
As ambassadors for Christ, the apostles preached the government of Jesus and those who wilfully submit to the terms of admission into this new government or kingdom, church, are citizens thereof, Ephesians 2:19.
The word ‘sanctified’ is equivalent to those of the church. To be sanctified is to be separate from things profane and dedicate to God, to consecrate and so render inviolable.
Since only what is pure and without blemish can be devoted and offered to God, Leviticus 22:20 / Deuteronomy 15:21 / Deuteronomy 17:1, sanctified signifies to purify and to cleanse externally, to purify by expiation, free from the guilt of sin, 1 Corinthians 6:11 / Ephesians 5:26 / Hebrews 10:10 / Hebrews 10:14 / Hebrews 10:29 / Hebrews 13:12, to purify internally by the reformation of soul.
When one is baptized into Christ he or she is sanctified, 1 Corinthians 6:11. Sins are forgiven Acts 2:38 / Acts 22:16. This cleansing of sins is made possible through the blood of Jesus Christ, Matthew 1:21 / Matthew 26:28. Sanctification is not a moral action, it is a state of being.
Since God is light and in Him is no darkness, 1 John 1:5, those who would be in fellowship with him must of necessity be separated from all moral defilements, Isaiah 59:1 / 2 Corinthians 7:1.
This occurs at baptism, Acts 3:28 / Acts 22:16, and is maintained by humble, contrite hearts seeking forgiveness when sin occurs, Psalms 51:1-17 / Isaiah 57:15 / Acts 8:22-25 / 2 Corinthians 7:10-11.
The phrase, ‘in Christ Jesus’, simply means that our sanctification occurs because of Jesus, Hebrews 10:10-14. Those sanctified are those who are ‘called to be saints.’ Every true saint in the universal church has been called into this relationship, fellowship with God, through the gospel, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15.
The saint is sanctified, and the sanctified are those who ‘call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, their Lord and ours.’ The phrase, ‘call upon’, is the Greek word ‘epikaleo’ which means to ‘invoke or appeal to’. ‘To invoke, adore worship, the Lord, i.e. Christ’.
The saint is one who is sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ through faith! Hebrews 13:12. This faith motivates one to make appeals to God. Without such faith, one can in no way be pleasing to God, Hebrews 11:6. The question that must be answered is, how can the Corinthians be viewed as sanctified saints of the church of God, while being found in sin?
When Paul writes to the congregations ‘Grace and Peace’. When he writes to Timothy, Titus and Philemon, ‘Grace, mercy and peace.’ Greetings reflect his feelings towards those to whom he is writing. Varying between affection and severity.
Lenski, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Grace is always first, peace always second. This is due to the fact that grace is the source of peace. Without grace there is and can be no peace, but when grace is ours, peace must of necessity follow.’
Paul kept the Corinthian brethren in his daily prayers and was thankful for their obedient faith. The obedient had received God’s ‘grace’, which is the forgiveness of sins through baptism leading to the hope of heaven, Ephesians 2:8 / Ephesians 1:5-7 / Acts 2:38.
The spiritual blessing of grace, the forgiveness of sins and the hope of salvation are ‘in Christ,’ 1 Corinthians 1:4. Jesus provided the opportunity for man’s salvation through the cross, and therefore salvation is only through or in Him.
Because the Corinthians were recipients of God’s grace, they were enriched in Him, 2 Corinthians 8:9. Every saint who receives forgiveness of sins is rich in God’s grace. This rich state was because the Corinthians had a multitude of people who knew and understood the Scriptures and ably taught them, 1 Corinthians 1:5.
Corinth’s problems did not revolve around a lack of understanding on anyone’s part, as we shall look further into later. The ‘testimony of Christ’, that is the Gospel, was firmly established in them by truth-confirming miracles, 1 Corinthians 1:6.
Paul says they didn’t lack any spiritual gift, 1 Corinthians 1:7. 1 Corinthians 12:1-8 reveals the multiplicity of spiritual gifts that existed in the church at Corinth. The brethren had all the revelations available in a clear and concise form so that they had no excuse for a lack of knowledge. The knowledge of the Gospel left the Corinthian Christians waiting, in hope, for the coming of Jesus, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17.
The same word of God that reveals God’s gracious message of salvation, 1 Corinthians 1:7, shall establish or confirm the Corinthians unto the end that they may be ‘blameless’ when Jesus comes to judge the world,1 Corinthians 1:8. The word ‘blameless’ means ‘not accused, without reproach, void of offence.
The word ‘coming’ or ‘revealed’ is the Greek word ‘Parousia’, and in Latin it is the word ‘advent’. The word is very familiar in New Testament times, describing a Royal visit. The word means ‘the being beside’, and indicates the presence of the Emperor.
Citizens of the Empire had good reason to be familiar with it because the visit was paid for by the taxes and the contributions that were taken up to defray the expenses. Nevertheless, a visit was the cause of great celebration. Coins were struck, monuments were erected, sacrifices were offered, and it was declared a ‘Holy’ day.
A list found that detailed the costs of a ‘coming’ mentioned that a golden Crown was to be presented to the Emperor when he arrived. Another papyrus, found among the wrappings around the mummified body of a crocodile, recorded that a levy of corn had been imposed on a village by its chief and elders, to offset the cost of the Coming.
The saint of God is justified, acquitted of sins, through the grace of God, Romans 5:1-11. The blood of Jesus is the only thing that can make this possible, Matthew 26:28 / Hebrews 10:1-4.
Because any sin will separate man from God, Isaiah 59:1-2 / 1 John 1:5-10, saints must continue to pray for the cleansing of sins and maintain their fellowship with the Father, as Peter instructed Simon in Acts 8.
The word ‘fellowship’, 1 Corinthians 1:9, is the Greek word ‘Koinonia’, and it means joint participation. It is used in a marriage ceremony to indicate the sharing of the same interests. We are called into the ‘fellowship of Jesus Christ,’ therefore, we have the same interests.
God will not disappoint anyone who, by faith, calls upon his name, invoking forgiveness of past sins. The Gospel of Jesus Christ called us into this glorious fellowship with God and His Son, Jesus.
The saints of God shall share eternal salvation. The only thing that breaks this fellowship between God and man, and saint with a saint, is sin, 1 John 1:5-10 / 1 John 3:4.
The word ‘appeal’, 1 Corinthians 1:10, is the Greek word ‘parakaleo’, and it means to ‘call on, invoke, to call to, exhort, cheer, encourage’. The context of the verse indicates that instructions are the subject, Colossians 3:17.
Paul is calling upon the Corinthian brethren to do something in accordance with the will, authority or instructions of our Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle is calling the Corinthians, according to the authority of God, to the following.
1. ‘Speak the same thing.’ 1 Corinthians 1:10.
The Corinthian brethren held preachers and instructors of Christ in such high esteem that they considered themselves ‘of’ such teachers, 1 Corinthians 1:12 / 1 Corinthians 3:4. Paul encourages the brethren to be of Christ and to walk by His authority alone.
2. ‘That there be no divisions among you.’ 1 Corinthians 1:10.
Apparently, Judaism had made inroads in the body of Christ in Corinth as it had in other places, Acts 15. There cannot be unity among brethren when those brethren differ in matters of the faith.
The Corinthian brethren needed instructions in the realm of adiaphorous matters of indifference, 1 Corinthians 10 / Romans 14:1-6. Matters of indifference were mere opinions regarding matters such as what one should eat. Matters such as these should never divide brethren. The first of many problems experienced by the Corinthian brethren, as exposed by Paul, was their lack of unity.
3. The Corinthians were, therefore, exhorted to ‘be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.’ 1 Corinthians 1:10.
To be ‘perfectly united’ is the Greek word ‘katartizo’, and it means ‘to adjust or put in order again, restore, to put nets to rights, mend them’. This phrase suggests that at one time the brethren were united, yet now are in a state of division. The admonition is to repair their thinking and to be one in Christ.
The words ‘same mind’ would indicate unity and are dependent upon the words of Jesus Christ. The words ‘same judgment’ again indicate a common stand in the authority of Jesus Christ. It is the words of Jesus that must unite Christians, John 17:20-26.
Word got back to Paul by the household of Chloe, 1 Corinthians 1:11, not Chloe herself, the fact that there were ‘quarrels’ among the brethren in Corinth. Contentions means ‘strife, quarrel, debate, contention’.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following concerning Chloe.
‘This was doubtless some very religious matron at Corinth, whose family were converted to the Lord; some of whom were probably sent to the apostle to inform him of the dissensions which then prevailed in the Church at that place.’
Remember that Paul is writing to the Corinthians from Ephesus, A.D. 55-56. Apollos had already arrived in Corinth from Ephesus and preached mightily, Acts 18:24-25 / Acts 18:28. We are not told whether Peter had ever preached in Corinth, just as we are not told about Christ being in Corinth preaching, yet both influences were felt.
Here is a great example of how teachings can invade an area without the teacher present. These doctrines spread. The matter here is not that Paul, Apollos, Peter and Jesus were preaching different doctrines, but that the Corinthians were treating these Gospel preachers as philosophers and being more converted to the personality than the message.
They elevated preachers, and this attitude was in line with the Greek way of thinking. They had developed little cliques, which are always devastating for any congregation.
The three questions Paul asks are answered with a simple, no, 1 Corinthians 1:13. The body of Jesus was not divided up on the cross, and therefore the Corinthians were not to be divided spiritually. To lay claims to Christianity through the name of any other than Christ is to greatly err. Our only glorying should be in Christ, Ephesians 3:21.
And so people are to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ, not Paul, Acts 2:28, but into the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:119-20, and no one else.
In 1 Corinthians 1:14-16, Paul said he only had baptised Crispus, Acts 18:8, and Gaius, Romans 16:23, and the household of Stephanas. The household of Stephanas was of the first fruits of Achaia, 1 Corinthians 16:15.
If men were going to claim allegiance to preachers who baptised them, Paul wanted no part of it: ‘I thank God that I baptised none of you’. The Corinthians were suffering from ‘preacher-itis.’ The name of Paul or any other did not carry with it the authoritative power to forgive sins as did the name of Jesus Christ.
Notice that Paul did not have a perfect knowledge of those whom he baptised, 1 Corinthians 1:16. The important thing was his remembrance and knowledge of the teachings of Jesus as an apostle, John 14:26.
Though baptism is necessary for salvation, it was not the purpose of Christ sending Paul. Jesus sent Paul to spread the good tidings of salvation to all who would obtain faith through hearing, Romans 10:17.
Baptism would necessarily be included in that message, Matthew 28:19-20 / Mark 16:15-16 / Acts 2:38 / Acts 22:16. These texts show how highly Paul regarded water baptism.
It is God’s specified way for the believer to identify publicly with his or her Lord, Matthew 28:19-20 / Mark 16:15-16 / Acts 8:16 / Acts 19:5 / Romans 6:3 / Galatians 3:27 / 1 Peter 3:21.
If Paul thought baptism wasn’t necessary, why would he himself be baptised and why would he preach elsewhere? People who come to this text to argue that baptism isn’t necessary for salvation have either already made their minds up about this, or they are not being sincere with the text.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Paul deliberately did not baptise his converts so there would be no question as to whose disciples they were. This was one way he kept Christ central in his ministry. Paul believed baptism was important, but it was valid whether he or any other believer administered it. He was not superior to other believers in this respect.’
The Gospel message would not be in the ‘wisdom of words’, such as grand philosophical arguments that were at the heart of those in and around Achaia, Acts 17:16-34.
Such words would include the manner of eloquence in which it was delivered, 1 Corinthians 2:1. If the Gospel message were treated as mere philosophy from the mouth of an eloquent speaker, its power would be void in the hearts of those who heard it.
Remember, it’s not the messenger but the message which is important. It’s the faith of the candidate for baptism which is important, not the faith of the one doing the baptism. The strength of the Gospel doesn’t lie in people with authority.
Here we find the second problem identified. The Corinthians misunderstood the nature of the Gospel. Here is another term for the Gospel, i.e., ‘the word of the cross.’ The word, ‘perish,’ in Greek is ‘apollumi’, and it means to ‘destroy utterly, kill, slay, waste’, Revelation 22:11.
Jesus divided humanity into two sections, i.e., those who love light and those who love darkness, John 3:18-19. The point is that each will continue in their own interest.
To those who are heading toward destruction, the Gospel message is nothing more than a set of rules or a discipline of philosophy. Yet those who claim faith in Jesus Christ understand that the Word of God is much more than a philosophy; it is ‘the power of God’ to save, Romans 1:16.
To illustrate his point, Paul quotes from Isaiah 29:14. The wisdom of the wise was their own creation, what they reasoned to be correct rather than what God revealed to be correct, Isaiah 29:13.
In this text, the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, was besieging Jerusalem and rather than calling on help from Jehovah, the supposed wise king made an alliance with Egypt. In this illustration, Isaiah 29, God destroyed the wisdom of the wise as He shall do in every age where men set their ideas above His revelation.
The wise may be the philosopher whose reasoning is of his own. The teacher of the law or scribe is the word ‘grammateus’, which means ‘a secretary, clerk, a writer, i.e., professionally scribe or secretary, town clerk’. The disputant or philosopher is the Greek word ‘suzetetes’, which means ‘to search or examine together with another, dispute with a person.’
How did God make foolish the wisdom of the world? The world seems to think it has the answers to creation, life and human existence, yet it is only theory. The Lord’s revelation reveals the beginning and end of man and therefore proves his deity, Isaiah 46:9-10.
Man’s wisdom leads to a life void of hope. Paul is making a comparison between the Gospel of divine origin and man’s immediate human reason. Many things of this earth have been figured out by human wisdom by such minds as Herodotus, Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Hippocrates, Pythagoras, Einstein, Freud, etc. The truths of the Gospel, however, come from Gospel preaching, Romans 10:17.
Contrary to man’s ‘I think, and therefore it is truth to me’ ideology, the Lord reveals truth through the foolishness of preaching, Isaiah 55:8-9. Paul tells us that this preaching has as its source God, Galatians 1:11-12. Such divine instructions are received by those who hear and learn, John 6:44-51.
Here we have a threefold consequence of Gospel preaching. Jesus performed many signs while with the Jews that should have produced faith in them, John 20:30-31; however, they continued to ask for signs, 1 Corinthians 1:22 / Matthew 16:1. No sign was good enough for the unbelieving Jew. Jesus was a stumbling block to them.
What is a stumbling block? 1 Corinthians 1:23. It’s the Greek word ‘skandelon’, and it’s where we get our word ‘scandal’. It means ‘the movable stick or trigger of a trap, trap-stick, a trap, snare; any impediment placed in the way and causing one to stumble or fall.’
Applied to Jesus Christ, whose person and career were so contrary to the expectations of the Jews concerning the Messiah, that they rejected Him and by their obstinacy made a shipwreck of salvation.
The Jews couldn’t accept the message that the Christ, the Messiah who died on a cross, 1 Corinthians 1:23. The Gentiles were more apt to consider words of philosophy than words of a crucified king.
The Gentile considered such preaching utterly foolish, 1 Corinthians 1:23. Why would a god want to die for mortals? The cross went against all human reasoning, John 12:34 / Galatians 5:11.
Though Jesus made many Jews stumble in disbelief and many Gentiles cast out His doctrine, counting it foolish, the ‘called’, 1 Corinthians 1:24 / 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14, recognise Jesus and the Gospel message of Him to be the power of salvation, ‘Christ crucified’, 1 Corinthians 1:23 / Isaiah 55:8-9. God has no foolishness nor is there any weakness with Him, 1 Corinthians 1:25. The phrase is a simple indicator regarding the power and wisdom of God.
A call for every Christian to see clearly who they are and to put the glory of life in its proper place, with God, 1 Corinthians 1:26. Who is it that responds to the Gospel’s call among you brethren? Not many are ‘wise’ by the world’s standards. Not many ‘influential’ listen to the Gospel’s call, listen to the Gospel’s call, 1 Corinthians 1:26.
Not many “noble” obey the Gospel. 1 Corinthians 1:26. Why? Because they have in mind the things of the flesh being satisfied in life with what they have and see no need for Jesus, Jeremiah 9:23-26.
Paul asks them to look at themselves. Crispus and Gaius were noble. Notice the text says, ‘not many’, it doesn’t say ‘not any’. The Gospel is for everyone. It’s not who you are but what you are, a sinner in need of the Gospel.
Those individuals who appear to be foolish because they have accepted by faith their justification and access into the grace of God, Romans 5:1-2, are those whom God chose to put to shame the wisdom of the world, 1 Corinthians 1:27.
Those who possess knowledge of Jesus Christ and cause the hard-hearted philosopher to stumble shame the wise of the world. Godly conduct will do this! We are the conscience of the world.
Those who appear weak, base, and despised are the economically weak. These have no formal education, no mansions, and no material wealth that would cause the world to be interested in them.
Though the supposed weak seem helpless, they are empowered with great joy and hope in this life and therefore bring to nought the noble things of the world, 1 Corinthians 1:28.
The world despises the foolish, weak and basely; however, God has exalted these by their acceptance of the Gospel message. Since that which appears detestable to the world is truly exalted, God has effectively eliminated any boasting on the part of the world.
God has offered His Son, provided the forgiveness of sins through Jesus, and delivered the Gospel message for that salvation, 1 Corinthians 1:29-30. Those who are despised have their wisdom from above. Paul has shown what the Christian’s calling is not, human creeds, traditions of men, science or Philosophy, 2 Timothy 1:3, and now explains what it is.
The word ‘righteousness’ means the state acceptable to God, which becomes a sinner’s possession through that faith by which he embraces the grace of God offered him in the expiatory death of Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 1:30.
The word ‘sanctification’ means purification, consecration; it is the effect of consecration, the sanctification of heart and life, 1 Corinthians 1:30.
The word ‘redemption’ means a release is affected by the payment of ransom, redemption, deliverance, and liberation procured by the payment of a ransom, 1 Corinthians 1:30. The wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23.
One who sins, that is, violates divine law, is under a curse, Galatians 3:10. Jesus redeemed man by paying the awful cost of sin by being crucified on the cross, Galatians 3:11-14. We are free from sin, John 8:32.
Since true wisdom and redemption are in Christ, we ought only to glory in Him and no other, Jeremiah 9:23-24. The call of the Gospel to those despised in the world results in salvation by faith. This message is simple and easily understood, 2 Corinthians 11:3.
If you want to boast, boast about Christ, 1 Corinthians 1:31, which is a quote from Jeremiah 9:23-24. Spurgeon, after preaching one time, had a man come up to him and say, ‘Mr Spurgeon, that’s the finest sermon on that topic which has ever been preached in this place’, to which Spurgeon replied, ‘I know, the devil told me that just as I had finished’.
Paul begins this epistle by reminding the Corinthians of their sanctification in the Lord. They enjoyed fellowship in the Lord only through their ‘blameless’ state, 1 Corinthians 1:8.
Secondly, Paul calls upon the Corinthian brethren to put away divisions that exist among them so that they may maintain their state of sanctification. The household of Chloe had written Paul a letter outlining the current problems at the church in Corinth, 1 Corinthians 1:11.
The first problem identified was that of elevating one Gospel preacher above another. Such activity indicated a misunderstanding of the Gospel message. Paul clears this up by identifying such behaviour as worldly thinking.
The world sees only the here and now, whereas the saint of God sees with eyes of wisdom into eternity. Therefore, the things of God are despised among those who are rich, strong and filled with the world’s wisdom.
Though despised, the perceived weak and ignorant of the world who have accepted the Gospel’s call are the truly wise ones. The Gospel provides redemption, sanctification and fellowship with God. The wisdom of the world provides only temporal pleasures.
Where then should glory be placed? Should we glory in those things that will only last through this life, or shall we glory in those things that go on into eternity? Paul answers the question, ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord’, 1 Corinthians 1:31.