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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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
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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