1
Corinthians Chapter 1
The letter of 1 Corinthians was written by
Paul from Ephesus at the time of Acts chapter 19. We know that because
of the things Paul says in the letter:
1 Corinthians 16:8 But I will tarry at
Ephesus until Pentecost.
1
Corinthians 16:9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and
there are many adversaries.
That
"great door" was to preach the gospel of Christ, to the Jew first and
also to the Greek. Luke says this about Paul's ministry in Ephesus at
the time:
Acts
19:10 And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they
which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and
Greeks.
Previous
to that time, during the time of Acts 16, 17 and 18 Paul had been
forbidden by the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia. Instead he
crossed over into Europe and preached in Macedonia and then wound up in
Corinth in Acts chapter 18 where he stayed for over a year and a half.
So it is from Ephesus that he writes this letter:
1 Corinthians 1:1 Paul called to be an
apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our
brother,
Sosthenes
is evidently the same man who was beaten by the Greeks in front of the
Roman deputy named Gallio in Acts 18:17.
1 Corinthians 1:2 Unto the church of God
which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus,
called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of
Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:
1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace be unto you, and
peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Notice that Paul refers to "God OUR
Father." The only place you find such a reference is in Paul's
epistles. Never in Hebrews through Revelation do you find a reference
to God being "our Father." Another thing you find missing is a
reference to "children of God." Only "overcomers" have that privelege
and only in 1 John they have "overcome the wicked one." In Revelation
20:7 the "overcomers" will inherit all things and will be the sons of
God.
All of
Paul's epistles refer to members of the body of Christ as "children of
God" and all of them have the salutation: "Grace to you and peace from
God OUR Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Today each member of the
body of Christ is given grace. We are not like Peter and the others of
the 12 who were "hoping to the end for the grace" which is to be
brought to them. (1 Peter 1:13)
1
Corinthians 1:4 I thank my God always on
your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
1 Corinthians 1:5 That in every thing ye
are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
1 Corinthians 1:6 Even as the testimony of
Christ was confirmed in you:
1
Corinthians 1:7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
1
Corinthians 1:8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be
blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, by whom
ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Now beginning in verse ten, Paul begins to
address the problems that existed in the church at Corinth:
1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you,
brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the
same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be
perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
This is just one of 20 of Paul's
"beseeches," You find them in Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians,
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, both 1 and 2 Thessalonians and in
Philemon. A study of the "beseeches of Paul" is a good study in and off
itself. But here, Paul beseeches the Corinthians that they all "speak
the same thing." To not speak the same thing would result in divisions
and he wants them all to be of the same mind and of the same judgment.
1 Corinthians 1:11 For it hath been
declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of
Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
Contentions are caused by believers not
"being on the same page" doctrinally. That was the problem in Corinth.
1 Corinthians 1:12 Now this I say, that
every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of
Cephas; and I of Christ.
Apollos
had previously been a disciple of John the Baptist, knowing only the
baptism of John. But in Ephesus, Priscilla and Aquilla had instructed
him:
Acts
18:25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent
in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord,
knowing only the baptism of John.
Acts
18:26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila
and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto
him the way of God more perfectly.
Acts
18:27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote,
exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped
them much which had believed through grace:
And so it was that Paul planted, Apollos
watered, but God gave the increase. Now there were some who were saying
"I follow Apollos" Evidently there were also some at Corinth who had
been involved in Peter's ministry and they said "I follow Cephus."
There could also have been some who had known Christ on the earth,
hence they said "I follow Christ."
But in order that they all
"speak the same things" and that there be no divisions among them it
would be necessary for them to follow Paul....as in the doctrine. Paul
had said, "As a wise master builder I HAVE LAID the foundation." That
foundation is the truth about Jesus Christ. Paul said "I delivered unto
you FIRST OF ALL, that which I also recieved." It was Paul to whom the
Lord had revealed the truth of the cross, the WHY of the cross. The
fact that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, and that he
rose again the third day. Notice:
1 Corinthians 4:15 For though
ye have ten thousand instructers in Christ, yet have ye not many
fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
So
it had been Paul, by his preaching and teaching during the time he
spent in Corinth in Acts chapter 18 that he had "begotten them through
the gospel." They had become believers by the preaching of Paul. Hence
he says:
1 Corinthians 4:16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye
followers of me.
And again he says:
1 Corinthians 11:1 Be
ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
You cannot
follow Peter in Peter's doctrine while at the same time follow Paul in
Paul's doctrine. Why? Because the doctrine is DIFFERENT. It is not the
same. Peter's preaching and Peter's epistles are addressed to a "holy
nation." Paul's preaching and teaching and doctrine is about a joint
body of believers, called the church, the body of Christ in which there
IS NO nationality. (compare 1 Peter 2:9 with 1 Corinthians 12:13)
If Peter is in this joint body described in 1 Corinthians 12:13
then he must not have written inspired scripture.. If he DID write
inspired scripture, which he did, then he is not in the body of Christ.
The
12 Apostles to Israel, and that includes Peter, James and John, had a
DIFFERENT ministry and a different message to a different group of
people. When Paul went up to Jerusalem in Galatians 2:2, at the time of
Acts chapter 15, to "communicate unto them THAT gospel that I PREACH,
they saw that and perceived that. Religion today cannot seem to see
that and perceive that.
1 Corinthians 1:13 Is Christ divided?
was
Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
Paul had baptized a few people at Corinth,
so he says:
1
Corinthians 1:14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus
and Gaius;
1
Corinthians 1:15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own
name.
1
Corinthians 1:16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas:
besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
Water baptism is always associated with
the Jews and the people Paul referred to are Jews. Crispus was the
chief ruler of the synagogue in Acts 18. Now verse 17 is the important
statement:
1
Corinthians 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the
gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be
made of none effect.
He says
that Christ sent him "NOT to baptize" so the question is, why then did
Paul baptize some, at the first. The only conclusion you can make from
that is that Paul was SENT from the road to Damascus in Acts chapter
nine, but later on he was SENT from the temple in Jerusalem, most
likely at the time of Acts 18:22. And the second sending of the Apostle
Paul did not include water baptism and he was sent NOT TO baptize. He
was sent to preach the gospel, he says, not with wisdom of words. In
other words, Paul was never sent necessarily to baptize, but here the
emphaisis is on the fact that he was sent NOT to baptize. That also
puts a distinction between the ministry and the message of Paul from
that of the 12 because, obviously, they WERE sent to baptize, as in
Matthew 28 and Mark 16. Water baptism is NOT a part of the salvation
message today.
When
religious men start playing around
with words and try to insert the word "primarily" into the verse so
that they can hold on to the Jewish water ritual of baptism and adding
water baptism as a requirement of salvation then it makes the cross of
Christ of none effect.
1
Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Notice that it is the preaching of the
cross which is the power of God unto salvation. When the cross is
preached then people get saved and they ARE saved, not working on it.
1 Corinthians 1:19 For it is written, I
will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the
understanding of the prudent.
1
Corinthians 1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the
disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this
world?
1
Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by
wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to
save them that believe.
The
verse doesn't say "foolish preaching" nor the "foolishness of the
message." It is worldly wisdom that views the preaching of the cross as
foolish. But Paul calls it the power of God. Notice in Romans:
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every
one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Notice also the two groups of people in
the
verse: Jews and Greeks. The Greeks are Gentiles, but then, not all
Gentiles are Greeks. The Greeks in the King James Bible are those who
are educated. In other words they read and write in the Greek language.
Greek was the predominate language of the world in the first century
just as the English language is today. The so-called "new testament"
was
written in Greek because Greek was the language of education, commerce
and trade.
The
Greeks in the King James Bible are those who were associated with
Israel. They blessed the seed of Abraham, they fear the God of Abraham
and they associated themselves with the Jews in the synagogues, seeking
the wisdom of the God of Abraham, as well as the blessing of the God of
Abraham. They were IN the promises of God and
not aliens from them, as were the Ephesians to whom Paul later wrote
the Ephesian letter.
1
Corinthians 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after
wisdom:
1
Corinthians 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a
stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1 Corinthians 1:24 But unto them which are
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom
of God.
Notice
that at the time there were two groups being called. The word is "both"
and it is both Jews and Greeks.
So at
the time of Paul's temple vision in the time frame of Acts 18:22 Paul
was in a trance in the temple and saw the Lord:
Acts 22:18 And saw him saying unto me,
Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not
receive thy testimony concerning me.
So Paul left Jerusalem and he goes out and
he fully preaches the gospel of Christ. That was the great door opened
unto him in Asia. Notice what he says in Romans, which was written at
the time of Acts chapter 20, one chapter later than the writing of the
1 Corinthian letter:
Romans
15:19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of
God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have
fully preached the gospel of Christ.
From Jerusalem, he left Jerusalem and went
out into Asia and then all over Macedonia. Illyricum is a province just
north of Macedonia. But he says that he has fully preached the gospel
of Christ.
Romans
15:29 And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the
fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.
"Fully preached" and the "fulness of the
blessing" shows that that phase of Paul's ministry has been completed
and you see a huge turn of events in Acts 20:24 where Paul has received
a ministry. That ministry is to "testify the gospel of the grace of
God."
But
during the time from Acts chapter nine up through Acts chapter 19 Paul
travels and he goes into the synagogues of the Jews in the cities that
he goes to. In those synagogues are Jews and Gentiles. The Gentiles are
called Greeks and they worship the God of Abraham being IN the
promises. And to them, Paul preaches the gospel of Christ:
1 Corinthians 1:25 Because the foolishness
of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1 Corinthians 1:26 For ye see your
calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble, are called:
1 Corinthians 1:27 But God hath chosen the
foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1 Corinthians 1:28 And base things of the
world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things
which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1 Corinthians 1:29 That no flesh should
glory in his presence.
So Paul
went to Corinth, went first to the synagofue of the Jews and preached
to
both Jews and Gentiles, called Greeks. Those who had believed the
message had been baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ. They
had trusted Christ and had the righteousness of God put to their
acccount. Their faith was imputed to them for righteousness.
1 Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in
Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption:
1
Corinthians 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth,
let him glory in the Lord.