1 Corinthians 1
1
1 Corinthians 1
Salutation
1Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
2 #
Acts 7.59; 18.1; Rom 1.7 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord#1.2 Gk theirs and ours:
3 #
Rom 1.7
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4I give thanks to my#1.4 Other ancient authorities lack my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— 6#2 Tim 1.8; Rev 1.2just as the testimony of#1.6 Or witness to Christ has been strengthened among you— 7#Phil 3.20; Titus 2.13; 2 Pet 3.12so that you are not lacking in any gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9#Isa 49.7; 1 Jn 1.3God is faithful, by whom you were called into the partnership of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Divisions in the Church
10 #
Rom 12.16; 2 Cor 13.11 Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you but that you be knit together in the same mind and the same purpose. 11For it has been made clear to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. 12What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13#Mt 28.19; Acts 2.38; 2 Cor 11.4Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14#Acts 18.8; Rom 16.23I thank God#1.14 Other ancient authorities read I am thankful that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16#1 Cor 16.15I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else. 17#Jn 4.2; Acts 10.48; 1 Cor 2.1, 4, 13For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel—and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.
Christ the Power and Wisdom of God
18 #
Acts 17.18; Rom 1.16; 1 Cor 15.2 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 #
Isa 33.18; Rom 1.22 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21#Gal 1.15; 1 Tim 4.16; Heb 7.25For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of the proclamation, to save those who believe. 22For Jews ask for signs and Greeks desire wisdom, 23#1 Cor 2.14; Gal 5.11but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles, 24but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
26 #
Rom 11.29
Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards,#1.26 Gk according to the flesh not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27#Jas 2.5But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to abolish things that are, 29#Eph 2.9so that no one#1.29 Gk no flesh might boast in the presence of God. 30#Rom 3.24; 1 Cor 6.11; Eph 1.7, 14; 1 Thess 5.23In contrast, God is why you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31#Jer 9.23, 24; 2 Cor 10.17in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in#1.31 Or of the Lord.”
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New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, copyright © 2021 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
1 Corinthians 1
1
Greeting. 1Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,#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 fidelity are central ideas in this introduction, emphasized by repetition and wordplays in the Greek. and Sosthenes our brother,#Rom 1:1. 2to the church of God that is in Corinth, to you who have been sanctified 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.#Acts 18:1–11. 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#The testimony: this defines 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. to Christ was confirmed among you, 7so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.#Ti 2:13. 8He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus [Christ].#Phil 1:6. 9God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.#1 Jn 1:3.
II. DISORDERS IN THE CORINTHIAN COMMUNITY
A. Divisions in the Church#1:10–4:21] The first 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.
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.#Phil 2:2. 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#I belong to: the activities of Paul and Apollos in Corinth 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. Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”#3:4, 22; 16:12; Acts 18:24–28. 13#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. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified 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,#Acts 18:8 / Rom 16:23. 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.)#16:15–17. 17#1:17b–18] The basic theme of 1 Cor 1–4 is announced. Adherence to individual leaders has something to do with differences in rhetorical ability and also with certain presuppositions regarding wisdom, eloquence, and effectiveness (power), which Paul judges to be in conflict with the gospel and the cross. For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence,#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 effective application of means to achieve an end. The same term can designate the arts of building (cf. 1 Cor 3:10) or of persuasive speaking (cf. 1 Cor 2:4) or effectiveness in achieving salvation. Eloquence (logos): this translation emphasizes one possible meaning of the term logos (cf. the references to rhetorical style and persuasiveness in 1 Cor 2:1, 4). But the term itself may denote an internal reasoning process, plan, or intention, as well as an external word, speech, or message. So by his expression ouk en sophia logou in the context of gospel preaching, Paul may intend to exclude both human ways of reasoning or thinking about things and human rhetorical technique. Human: this adjective does not stand in the Greek text but is supplied from the context. Paul will begin immediately to distinguish between sophia and logos from their divine counterparts and play them off against each other. so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.#2:1, 4.
Paradox of the Cross. 18The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.#2:14 / Rom 1:16. 19For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the learning of the learned I will set aside.”#Is 29:14.
20Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish?#Is 19:12. 21#True wisdom and power are to be found paradoxically where one would least expect them, in the place of their apparent negation. To human eyes the crucified Christ symbolizes impotence and absurdity. For since in the wisdom of God the world did not come to know God through wisdom, it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation to save those who have faith. 22For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,#Mt 12:38; 16:1 / Acts 17:18–21. 23but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,#2:2; Gal 3:1 / Gal 5:11. 24but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
The Corinthians and Paul.#1:26–2:5] The pattern of God’s wisdom and power is exemplified in their own experience, if they interpret it rightly (1 Cor 1:26–31), and can also be read in their experience of Paul as he first appeared among them preaching the gospel (1 Cor 2:1–5). 26Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong,#Jas 2:5. 28and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, 29so that no human being might boast#“Boasting (about oneself)” is a Pauline expression for the radical sin, the claim to autonomy on the part of a creature, the illusion that we live and are saved by our own resources. “Boasting in the Lord” (1 Cor 1:31), on the other hand, is the acknowledgment that we live only from God and for God. before God.#Eph 2:9. 30It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,#Rom 4:17 / 6:11; Rom 3:24–26; 2 Cor 5:21 / Eph 1:7; Col 1:14; 1 Thes 5:23. 31so that, as it is written, “Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”#Jer 9:23; 2 Cor 10:17.
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