1 Corinthians 1
1
Paul’s Greeting
1From Paul, divinely appointed according to the plan of God, to be an apostle of the Anointed One, Jesus. Our fellow believer Sosthenes # 1:1 Sosthenes means “savior of his nation.” He was the Jewish synagogue ruler in Corinth who had converted to Christ and had been beaten for his faith (Acts 18:12–17). joins me 2in writing you this letter addressed to the community of God # 1:2 Or “church.” This is the Greek word ekklēsia, which means “a summoned people, called to assemble, a legislative body.” It is also a word used in Greek culture to “assemble an army.” throughout the city of Corinth. For you have been made pure, set apart in the Anointed One, Jesus. And God has invited you to be his devoted and holy people, and not only you, but everyone everywhere who calls on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord, and ours also.
3May joyous grace # 1:3 The Greek word charis, in its original sense, is descriptive of that which brings pleasure and joy to the human heart, implying a strong emotional element. God’s grace includes favor and supernatural potency, and it is meant to leave us both charming and beautiful. In classical Greek it was meant to convey the attitude of favor shown by royalty. See Torrance, The Doctrine of Grace in the Apostolic Fathers, pp. 1–5. and endless peace be yours continually from our Father God and from our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One!
Made Wonderfully Rich
4I am always thanking my God for you because he has given you such free and open access to his grace through your union with Jesus, the Messiah. 5In him you have been made extravagantly rich in every way. You have been endowed with a wealth of inspired utterance # 1:5 Or “in every kind of speaking.” By implication, Paul is commending them for their speaking gifts (prophecy, tongues and interpretation of tongues, preaching, and teaching the word of God). This will be developed further in chs. 12–14. and the riches that come from your intimate knowledge of him. 6For the reality of the truth of Christ is seen among you and strengthened # 1:6 Or “validated” or “confirmed.” The word used here is found in classical Greek in the context of establishing (building) communities. through your experience of him. 7So now you aren’t lacking any spiritual gift # 1:7 Or “You don’t fail to receive any gift of the Holy Spirit.” God wants his church to receive every gift the Holy Spirit has to give us. This may be a figure of speech called a litotes, which means it could also be translated, “You have every spiritual gift.” as you eagerly await the unveiling # 1:7 Or “eagerly accept” or “eagerly await.” The Greek word ekdechomai is a compound word, ek (out of, from) and dechomai (to accept or receive or take hold of). of the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. 8He will keep you steady and strong to the very end, making your character mature so that you will be found innocent on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is forever faithful and can be trusted to do this in you, for he has invited you to co-share the life of his Son, # 1:9 Or “a life of communion with his Son.” That is, a co-participation (communion, fellowship) of the Son. The Aramaic can be translated “You have been called to the (wedding) feast of his Son.” We see a clear picture here that believers are called to share in the sonship of Jesus. By God’s grace, we will share in the Son’s standing and position before the Father. We are not only blameless but made holy by the co-sharing of the life of God’s Son. Jesus, the Anointed One, our King! # 1:9 Or “Lord.”
Paul Addresses Divisions in the Church
10I urge you, my brothers and sisters, for the sake of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree to live in unity with one another # 1:10 Or “that you all speak the same thing”; that is, to have a united testimony. The Aramaic can be translated “that you may all be of one word.” and put to rest any division that attempts to tear you apart. # 1:10 The congregation of believers in Corinth was sorely divided. They had divided over which leader or apostle they followed (chs. 1–3), over the limits of their freedom (chs. 6–8), over their socio-economic status (ch. 11), and over spiritual gifts (chs. 12–14). Division among believers grossly hinders our message and ministry to the world of unbelievers. Paul is pleading with them to unite around the love of God for one another (ch. 13). Be restored # 1:10 Or “fully equipped.” as one united body living in perfect harmony. Form a consistent choreography among yourselves, having a common perspective with shared values.
11My dear brothers and sisters, I have a serious concern I need to bring up with you, # 1:11 Before Paul brought correction to the Corinthians, he first affirmed the work of God in their midst. See vv. 4–9. Perhaps we should look at confused and messed-up Christians differently and speak to how God sees imperfect believers. for I have been informed by those of Chloe’s house church # 1:11 Or “Chloe’s people.” The word household or family is not in the Greek text. By implication, it refers to those who are meeting with Chloe, as the one they are connected to (Chloe’s people; i.e., house church, or Chloe’s congregation). She was obviously a trusted leader in Paul’s estimation and had influence in the church of Corinth. Her name means “green [tender] sprout.” Those who informed Paul of the problems in Corinth may have been Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, mentioned in 1 Cor. 16:17. that you have been destructively arguing among yourselves. 12And I need to bring this up because each of you is claiming loyalty to different preachers. Some are saying, “I am a disciple of Paul,” or, “I follow Apollos,” or, “I am a disciple of Peter the Rock,” # 1:12 Or “Cephas,” the Aramaic word for rock (keefa) transliterated into Greek. Paul is comfortable in calling Peter by his Aramaic nickname, Keefa. and some, “I belong only to Christ.” 13But let me ask you, is Christ divided up into groups? Did I die on the cross for you? At your baptism did you pledge yourselves to follow Paul? # 1:13 Or “Were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
14Thank God I only baptized two from Corinth—Crispus and Gaius! # 1:14 Before converting to faith in Christ, Crispus was likely the ruler of the synagogue in Corinth mentioned in Acts 18:18. Gaius was most likely the one who hosted Paul when he came to Rome (Rom. 16:23). Since they had become believers before Paul’s assistants, Timothy and Silas, arrived from Macedonia, Paul went ahead and baptized them. 15So now no one can say that in my name I baptized others. # 1:15 As translated from the Aramaic. The Greek is “so that no one can say that they were baptized in my name.” 16(Yes, I also baptized Stephanus and his family. Other than that, I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.) 17For the Anointed One has sent me on a mission, not to see how many I could baptize, # 1:17 In the broader context of Paul’s teaching, both baptism and the Lord’s Table proclaim the Lord Jesus (Rom. 6:3–11; 1 Cor. 11:24–27). Therefore, viewing Paul’s statement as somewhat hyperbolic, it is taken to mean that he was not sent just to baptize but also to preach the gospel. but to proclaim the good news. And I declare this message stripped of all philosophical arguments that empty the cross of its true power. For I trust in the all-sufficient cross of Christ alone.
The True Power of the Cross
18To preach the message # 1:18 Or “expression [Gr. logos]” or “the act of proclaiming.” of the cross seems like sheer nonsense to those who are on their way to destruction, but to us who are being saved, it is the mighty power of God released within us. # 1:18 The “message of the cross” becomes the ignition point where God’s power becomes operative and actualized with the ability to convert, transform, and save. The Aramaic can be translated “For he [rather than the message] is the power of God.” 19For it is written:
I will dismantle the wisdom of the wise
and I will invalidate the intelligence of the scholars. # 1:19 See Isa. 29:14 (LXX). Paul uses the prophecy of Isaiah as a warning against leaning upon human wisdom to understand spiritual matters. True wisdom comes from above and is given by divine revelation to those who are teachable and humble before God.
20So where is the wise philosopher who understands? Where is the expert scholar who comprehends? And where is the skilled debater of our time who could win a debate with God? Hasn’t God demonstrated that the wisdom of this world system is utter foolishness?
21For in his wisdom, God designed that all the world’s wisdom would be insufficient to lead people to the discovery of himself. He took great delight in baffling the wisdom of the world by using the simplicity of preaching the story of the cross # 1:21 Or simply “the foolishness of preaching.” However, it is not the act of preaching but the content of what is preached that brings salvation to those who believe. in order to save those who believe it. 22For the Jews constantly demand to see miraculous signs, while those who are not Jews # 1:22 The Aramaic uses the term Arameans for gentiles. It means “Aramaic-speaking people.” constantly cling to the world’s wisdom, # 1:22 To paraphrase, the gentiles seek for success in the world’s eyes, or a wisdom that leads them to succeed. Christ crucified is both a miracle sign and the wisdom that will lead one to reign in life. 23but we preach the crucified Messiah. The Jews stumble over him and the rest of the world sees him as foolishness. 24But for those who have been chosen to follow him, both Jews and Greeks, he is God’s mighty power, God’s true wisdom, and our Messiah. # 1:24 Christ is the supreme manifestation of God’s power to save us from sin, to work miracles, and to defeat evil. Christ is the supreme manifestation of wisdom, for he carries out the eternal plan of God and brings it to completion. 25For the “foolish” things of God have proven to be wiser than human wisdom. And the “feeble” things of God have proven to be far more powerful than any human ability. # 1:25 Although the cross seemed to be the foolishness of God, it reveals his transcendent wisdom. And though God the Son was crucified in weakness, he has risen through the divine power that transforms lives today. God has no weakness or foolishness whatsoever. Yet what looks like weakness is actually his strength, and what looks like foolishness is actually his wisdom.
God’s Calling
26Brothers and sisters, consider who you were when God called you to salvation. Not many of you were wise scholars by human standards, nor were many of you in positions of power. Not many of you were considered the elite when you answered God’s call. 27But God chose those whom the world considers foolish to shame those who think they are wise, and God chose the puny and powerless to shame # 1:27 The Greek word kataischyunō can also be translated “embarrass,” “confuse,” “baffle,” or “frustrate.” the high and mighty. 28He chose the lowly, the laughable # 1:28 Or “despised,” “disgusting,” “outcasts,” “perceived with contempt.” in the world’s eyes—nobodies—so that he would shame the somebodies. For he chose what is regarded as insignificant in order to supersede what is regarded as prominent, 29so that there would be no place for prideful boasting in God’s presence. 30For it is not from man that we draw our life but from God as we are being joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. And now he is our God-given wisdom, our virtue, our holiness, and our redemption. 31And this fulfills what is written:
If anyone boasts, let him only boast
in all that the Lord has done! # 1:31 Or “He who triumphs, let him triumph in the Lord God!” See Jer. 9:24.
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Learn More About The Passion Translation1 Corinthians 1
1
1 Corinthians 1
1¶ Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother,
2unto the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} of God which is at Corinth, to those that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
3Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
4I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given you in Christ Jesus,
5that in every thing ye are enriched in him in all word and in all knowledge,
6with which the testimony of the Christ was confirmed in you,
7so that ye lack nothing in any gift, waiting for the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
8who shall also confirm that ye shall remain unimpeachable unto the end, in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9God is faithful, by whom ye were called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
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 perfect, joined together in the same understanding and in the same perception.
11For it has been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by those of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12In other words, that each one of you says, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ.
13Is the Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized into the name of Paul?
14¶ I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius,
15lest any should say that ye were baptized into my name.
16And I baptized also the household of Stephanas; besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
17¶ For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross {Gr. stauros – stake} of Christ should be made void.
18For the word of the cross {Gr. stauros – stake} is foolishness to those that perish, but unto us who are saved, it is the power of God.
19For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the philosopher of this world? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21For in the wisdom of God, since the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save those that believe.
22For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom,
23but we preach Christ crucified, {Gr. Stauroo – hung on a stake} unto the Jews a stumblingblock and unto the Gentiles foolishness;
24but unto those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
25For that which is foolish of God is wiser than men, and that which is weak of God is stronger than men.
26For look upon your vocation, brothers, that ye are not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble,
27but rather God has chosen that which is the foolishness of the world to confound the wise, and God has chosen that which is the weakness of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
28and that which is vile of the world and that which is despised God has chosen, and things which are not, to bring to nought the things that are,
29that no flesh should glory in his presence.
30But of him ye are reborn in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
31that, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.
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