First Letter from Small Man to the Sacred Family in Village of Pleasure 1
1
GREETINGS
1From Small Man (Paul), called to be a message bearer for Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One, and from Safe and Strong (Sosthenes), our spiritual brother.
2To the members of Creator’s sacred family who gather in Village of Pleasure (Corinth).
I write to you, the ones who have been made holy in harmony with the Chosen One, Creator Sets Free (Jesus), who have been chosen to walk the road of life with him in a sacred manner. I also write this to all people everywhere who call out to and put their trust in Creator Sets Free (Jesus) our Honored Chief and all that his name represents. He is their Honored Chief and ours.
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
3Great kindness and peace to you from our Father the Great Spirit and from our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus), the Chosen One. 4I am always giving thanks to Creator for you, for the gift of his great kindness given to you in Creator Sets Free (Jesus), the Chosen One. 5He has blessed you with the right words to speak and a deep understanding of all things. 6So we can now be sure that your lives are telling the true story of the Chosen One. 7This shows that you have all the spiritual gifts you need as you wait with pounding hearts for the great revealing of our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus), the Chosen One.
8He will keep your feet on solid ground and guide you to the end of the trail so that you will have a good reputation when the day comes for our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One to be revealed. 9Creator can be fully trusted for these things, for he is the one who chose you to walk side by side with Creator Sets Free (Jesus), who is the Chosen One and our Honored Chief.
FIRM WORDS OF CORRECTION
10My sacred family members, I come to you representing our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus), the Chosen One. I am speaking to you from my heart with firm words. To keep the family from splitting into opposing groups, you must seek harmony with each other and speak with one voice. In this way, you will be joined together with one mind and purpose.
11My sacred family members, some who gather at the house of Tender Grass (Chloe) have made it clear to me that there is much conflict among you. 12It was told to me that one says, “I follow Small Man (Paul).” Another says, “I follow He Tears Down (Apollos).” Another says, “I follow Stands on the Rock (Cephas).”#1:12 Cephas is Aramaic for Peter. And someone else says, “I follow the Chosen One.”
13Has the Chosen One been broken into pieces? Was Small Man (Paul) killed on a cross for you? Did you participate in the purification ceremony#1:13, 14, 15, 16, 17 Baptism under the name of Small Man (Paul)? 14I thank the Great Spirit that I performed the purification ceremony for only Curly Hair (Crispus), Glad Heart (Gaius), and no one else, 15so no one can say their purification ceremony was done in my name.
16I also remember that I performed the purification ceremony for Headdress of Many Feathers (Stephanas) and his family, but I do not remember performing the ceremony for anyone else. 17For the Chosen One did not send me to perform the purification ceremony. He sent me to tell the good story, not with the wisdom found in high-sounding words, because that kind of wisdom empties the cross of the Chosen One of its power.
THE WISDOM OF THE GREAT SPIRIT
18The message of the cross seems foolish to the ones who are walking a path to a bad end. But for us who are being set free and made whole, the message itself is the power of the Great Spirit.
19For it has been written in the Sacred Teachings, “I will tear down the wisdom of the ones who see themselves as wise and undo the understanding of those who think they know all things.”#1:19 Isaiah 29:14
20So then, where are the ones who think they are wise? Where is the scroll keeper who explains the meaning of our tribal law? Where is the trained speaker of this present world? Has not the Great Spirit made the ones who are trusting in the wisdom of this world look foolish? 21In his great wisdom Creator knew that the world through its wisdom would not come to know him. So his heart was glad to rescue and set free the ones who trust in the “foolishness” of the good story we tell.
22The people of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) require powerful signs. The Wisdom Seekers (Greeks) search for wisdom. 23But we tell the good story about the Chosen One, who died on a tree-pole—the cross. This message puts a stumbling stone in the path of our Tribal People and is nothing but foolishness to the Outside Nations. 24But to the ones who have been called out from among our Tribal People and the Wisdom Seekers (Greeks), the Chosen One is the power and wisdom of the Great Spirit. 25Creator’s foolishness is wiser than the wisest of human beings, and his weakness is more powerful than the strongest of all.
WHO CREATOR CHOOSES
26My sacred family members, take a look at your own calling. In the eyes of the world, there are not many wise or powerful or of noble birth among you. 27For the Great Spirit has chosen the foolish to shame the wise and the weak to shame the strong. 28He has chosen the ones the world looks down on, those who seem to have nothing to offer, to bring to nothing the ones the world looks up to. 29In this way, no one will be able to boast when they stand before the Great Spirit.
30It is the Great Spirit himself who has brought you into harmony with the Chosen One, Creator Sets Free (Jesus). The Chosen One has become Creator’s wisdom for us. He put us in good standing and made us holy, by paying the highest price to set us free.
31This brings full meaning to the Sacred Teachings that say, “Let the one who boasts boast in what the Great Spirit has done.”#1:31 Jeremiah 9:24
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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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