Bible Commentaries
1 Corinthians 1

Verse 1

1 CORINTHIANS IntroductionBy W. REES

In connexion with the special problems of the Second Epistle the best defences of the ’Kennedy theory’ are J. H. Kennedy’s own book The Second and Third Epistles of St Paul to the Corinthians ( 1900) and Kirsopp Lake ’s Earlier Epistles of St Paul ( 1911) pp 112-227. Plummer adopts the theory in its fullest form. Allo, Goudge and Menzies accept it in a moderate form, while MacRory rejects it altogether.

Of more general works we may mention F. Prat: The Theology of St Paul [Eng. trans. 1926-7] above all. Other works will be found in the list given in the article "The Life of St Paul", § 663a.

1 CORINTHIANS INTRODUCTION A. The City of Corinth —Corinth occupied the site of an old Greek city, famous for its commerce, its pottery and fine bronze work, and notorious for its luxury and immorality. But this city had been destroyed and after a century of desolation a new Roman city had been founded there. It was a ’colonia’ deliberately planted by the Roman government to serve as an outpost of Roman influence. It was not till the following century that its people began to regard themselves as the heirs of the Greek city. In Paul’s time they still thought of themselves as Romans. Corinth was not a settlement of veteran soldiers like Philippi and Lystra, but of civilians, and a considerable proportion of them are said to have been emancipated slaves or their sons, mainly of Italian origin. The descendants of these men now formed the core of the population, a civic aristocracy, proud of the name of Romans, and still largely imbued with Italian tradition and sentiment. Only Roman citizens could be citizens of Corinth, and the official language was Latin. No doubt a number of Greeks and Asiatics had settled at Corinth by Paul’s time, but these for the most part would be outside the citizen-body, and in an inferior position in many ways. The Roman element was still dominant, and although the non-citizens might include some very immoral sections, Corinth was probably one of the more wholesome of the cities in which Paul preached, certainly superior in this respect to Antioch, and very likely to Tarsus and Ephesus also. We have no right to identify Roman Corinth with the vanished Greek city. There is no evidence whatever that the Roman colonists had revived the gross immorality formerly connected with the worship of Aphrodite at Corinth.

The prosperity of Corinth depended on its control of the Isthmus, across which merchandise and even small ships were frequently being transported. The city profited also by the Isthmian Games, held every two years, which attracted a greater concourse than even Olympia. The city was now the capital of the province of Achaia, the seat of the Roman governor. Corinth was not actually on the Isthmus but a few miles southwest of it, finely situated on a terraced slope two miles from the Corinthian Gulf, and overshadowed by the steep rocky summit of Acrocorinthus (1,880 feet) on which its citadel had once stood. The great central square of the city and some newly planned straight streets had now been adorned with colonnades. A basilica or city hall had been built near the square, as its foundations show—it was probably the place where Paul had appeared before Gallio (Acts 18:12). The great temple of Apollo, of which some pillars are still standing, was five or six centuries old when Paul saw it.

There seems to have been a fair number of Jews living at Corinth. An inscription which stood over the entrance to a synagogue is so rudely lettered that it points to a poor and ignorant community, but perhaps this was not the only synagogue. In any case most of the Jews would not be citizens of Corinth and seem to have been unpopular, as we should expect in a city of Roman traditions. Corinth was the first place west of Antioch where the Jews tried and failed to interrupt Paul’s work.

B. The Corinthian Church: Foundation, Crisis, Pacification —Our only sources of knowledge are Act_18;19:21; Acts 20:1-3; Romans 15:23-26; Romans 16:1-2, Romans 16:21-23, and the two epistles. Paul first arrived at Corinth in a.d. 50 or possibly in 49, § 676f. He spent at least eighteen months there, and for most of the time Silas and Timothy were with him. He gained converts first among Jews and half-proselytes and later among the pagans. In general they seem to have been noncitizens and of humble position, although one name (Titius Justus) suggests a few citizens too. The Jews were very hostile but they had not sufficient influence either with the city council or with the populace to raise effective obstacles. Their appeal to the proconsul Gallio was a failure, Acts 18:12 ff. Paul departed probably towards the end of 51 and perhaps did not see Corinth again for something like four years, but he may have paid a short visit in the intervening time, which he spent chiefly at Ephesus, not very far away by sea.

Within a year of his departure Apollos arrived at Corinth, Acts 18:27. He not only kept Paul’s converts together but, having been brought up in Alexandria, where he had received a more thoroughly Greek education than Paul, he gained new converts, both Jewish and pagan, from among men of similar education. After perhaps a year at Corinth, Apollos joined Paul at Ephesus. Later some close associates of St Peter came and made some converts at Corinth. Possibly Peter himself paid a short visit. During the next year

or two Corinth received a much longer visit from some Jewish Christians from Palestine who had once been zealous missionaries but had now deteriorated. Paul calls them ’false apostles’ (2 Corinthians 11:13) and it will be convenient to adopt this name for them. Boasting of a close connexion with the original Twelve Apostles, they made it their chief aim to undermine Paul’s influence. They seem to have also tolerated a dangerous laxity in the relation of Christians to paganism, and the force of their example would naturally encourage other sections of the church to selfassertion and extravagance. Their influence lowered the whole spiritual level of a promising church. Disturbing rumours about Corinth reached Paul at Ephesus, and at last (in the spring of some year which may be anything from 54 to 57) three leading Corinthian Christians crossed the sea to him. They brought a letter from the loyal Corinthians, which asked for advice on several subjects including the relations of Christians to pagans. The visitors gave Paul a full account of the False Apostles and they probably urged him to come to Corinth at once.

Paul however seems to have decided to postpone a direct clash with the False Apostles till he had secured the loyalty of a number of doubtful and wavering Christians who must be given some time for reflexion. He therefore wrote our First Epistle: he answers the questions in their letter, severely rebukes several sections of Christians for various faults, and exerts all his eloquence and tenderness to win back the hesitating, but the persons who were the main cause of the troubles are mentioned only twice and then in a reserved manner. At Corinth this letter was backed up by Paul’s tried assistant Titus. It was successful Many who had been confused by the False Apostles returned to heir allegiance to Paul. But a minority remained defiant. On hearing the result of his letter, Paul, knowing that he now had the support of the majority, decided that the time had come to speak more plainly. He therefore wrote our Second Epistle, in which he first expressed his joy at the reconciliation, revealing the distress which the crisis had caused him, and then clearly denounced and condemned the False Apostles, and gave a last warning to their followers. Some time later he arrived at Corinth and spent three months there. He may have had to excommunicate some rebellious members, but on the whole the church was restored to peace and order.

This seems to be the most probable account of the crisis at Corinth. Different views are held by many modern scholars, and these will be considered later.

C. The False Apostles: (1) Who and what they were —The False Apostles’and their party are the main subject of the last chapters of the Second Epistle. It seems practically certain however that they had been active at Corinth for some time before the First Epistle was written. This is the view of Goudge, Plummer, and others, Briefly the evidence for it is: 1. The interval between the epistles (probably well under six months) seems too short for a new trouble of so serious a kind to have arisen. 2. The hostile party mentioned in Ep 1 chh 4 and 9 have many points in common with that of Ep 2. Both deny Paul’s equality with the Twelve (1 Corinthians 9:1-3; 2 Corinthians 11:5; 2 Corinthians 12:11-12) and both claim a superior kind of eloquence or style (1 Corinthians 4:19; 2 Corinthians 10:10; 2 Corinthians 11:6). 3. The bitter and sarcastic tone in which Paul refers to his opponents in Ep 1 is very like that used in Ep 2 (see Comm. on 1 Corinthians 4:1; 1 Corinthians 9:1). 4. If the party of 1 Cor 4 and 9 is not identical with that of 2 Cor 10-13, who are they? Can we believe that they suddenly disappeared and that another party, strongly resembling them, as suddenly arose?

We therefore conclude that the enemies whom Paul speaks of in 1 Cor 4 and 9 are none other than the False Apostles of Ep 2. The tone of these two chapters shows how seriously he thought of them, and they must have been in his thoughts all through Ep 1. Therefore this is the best place to give a sketch of them, based on indications given in both epistles.

They were Jews and claimed to be of the purest Jewish stock, Palestinians and probably Aramaic-speakers (2 Corinthians 11:22). They may have been among the early converts at Jerusalem, and at one time they had done some work as Christian missionaries (2 Corinthians 11:23) and had suffered for their faith. Very likely they were personally known to some of the Twelve, may once ave been highly esteemed by these, and may have received letters of recommendation from them (2 Corinthians 3:1). But in the course of fifteen or twenty years they had greatly deteriorated. Fervour and even honesty had gone, and they were now little better than adventurers, trading on their former reputation.

It has often been thought that they were Judaizers, but there seems to be no good ground for this view. It is true they boasted of their Jewish descent, but so did St Paul. If they were Judaizers, we should have expected the chief points at issue between Paul and the Judaizers (circumcision, ceremonial purity, etc.) to be much more plainly referred to. But they are hardly given a passing allusion (e.g.1 Corinthians 7:19; 1 Corinthians 9:20) and in a matter-of-fact tone. One longish passage might be equally well directed against Judaizers or Jews, 2 Corinthians 3:6-18. There is no hint that Paul had the False Apostles in mind when he wrote it, and the calmness of its tone is not favourable to that idea.

Others have suggested that they were ’liberal’ Jews, men who had gone too far in seeking compromise with paganism. (See e.g. Lake: Early Epistles, p 226.) Their probable laxity towards pagan rites and even immorality (see below) fits in with such a view, although such Jews indeed are more commonly found among the Dispersion, whereas the False Apostles seem to have come from Palestine [2 Corinthians 11:22.] While there are few signs of any tangible false doctrine, yet the use of certain catchwords: ’knowledge’, ’litberty’ and the phrase: ’All things are lawful’ harmonizes with the pretension to a false liberalism which was doubtless a matter of practice rather than theory. Such a practical ’liberalism’, based on pure self-interest, must have been common among Jews connected with the Herodian princes and their courts ( A. H. M. Jones: The Herods of Judaea, p 212).

Paul does not explicitly accuse them of encouraging laxity, but there are strong arguments for connecting them with this fault: (1) There are only two evils which are mentioned at some length in both epistles: (a) The intrigues of the False Apostles, (b) The danger rising from too close association with pagans (1 Cor 8 and 10, and 2, Cor 6:14-7:1). This implies some connexion between the two evils. The association between pagan rites and immorality, though not specially close at Corinth, was always a fact (1 Corinthians 5:11; 1 Corinthians 10:8). (2) In the First Epistle the ninth chapter, which certainly refers to the False Apostles, is abruptly inserted in the middle of the section on the dangers of intercourse with pagans, an insertion which appears much less surprising if we suppose a connexion between the two subject-matters.

Many believe that the party formed by the False Apostles at Corinth called itself the ’Christ Party’. This view is based on certain interpretations of 1 Corinthians 1:12 and 2 Corinthians 10:7. But it is very doubtful if there existed any party calling itself the Christ party (see last note on 1 Corinthians 1:12), and even if there was one, its identification with that of the False Apostles would be very far from proved by 2 Corinthians 10:7 which can be quite naturally interpreted without reference to such a party.

It is very unlikely that the False Apostles headed the party which over-rated spiritual gifts, 1 Cor chh 12-14. Paul’s tone to this party lacks the bitterness of his references to the False Apostles.

(2) Their Intrigues at Corinth —We may suppose that these persons on their arrival received an enthusiastic welcome owing to what was known about their early missionary work and their connexion with the Twelve

(from some of whom they may have produced old letters of recommendation), and that they established themselves as honoured visitors without at first showing any ill-feeling towards Paul. But before long they began to form a party of their own, using the double method of self-praise and disparagement of St Paul. They boasted of their acquaintance with the Twelve, dating perhaps from a time before Paul’s conversion, and of their abours and sufferings for the gospel. In all this there may have been a considerable amount of truth. On the strength of these merits they assumed an imperious and arrogant manner very different from Paul’s. As they found that Paul had refused to be supported by the Christians, they thought it wise to pretend to do the same (2 Corinthians 11:12 note) but they managed to extract contributions from the Corinthians on some excuse or other ( ibid. 20 ). They claimed the title of apostles ( ibid. 13 ) but not in the full sense in which it was given to the Twelve. They said that they themselves and also Paul, Barnabas, etc., belonged to an inferior class of apostles; that only the Twelve were entitled to live at the cost of the Church (1 Corinthians 9:6), and Paul, by refusing to do so, admitted that he was not on an equality with the Twelve (2 Corinthians 11:5; 2 Corinthians 12:11). This device by which they turned Paul’s selfdenial into a weapon against him is a good specimen of their mean cunning. They said that Paul had nevertheless contrived to make money from the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 12:16-18) by getting his assistants to take presents. They said Paul had no dignity, and they ridiculed his delivery and perhaps his language also (2 Corinthians 10:10). They very likely called him ignorant, and perhaps they even said he was crazy (2 Corinthians 5:13). Although they did not want to see Paul at Corinth, yet they may have made the postponement of his visit an occasion to accuse him of apathy (1 Corinthians 4:19) as they on a further postponement accused him of fickleness (2 Corinthians 1:17).

Many of these slanders were no doubt put outstealthily so that it was difficult to trace their authors. The simpler Corinthians, remembering the past record of the visitors, might long fail to penetrate their true character and designs. They would become uneasy and perplexed, and probably their anxious desire that Paul should in future accept maintenance from the Church (2 Corinthians 11:7 f.; 12:14) was due to the calumnies about his inferiority. If the False Apostles did, as seems likely, countenance an easier intercourse with pagans, they would soon gain many followers among those Christians who for prudential or social reasons were loth to cut themselves off entirely from paganism (see Comm. on 1 Corinthians 8:1).

The Corinthian Church was now grievously divided, but the serious division was into two parties only—the followers of the False Apostles and those who were at heart loyal to Paul. A large number of scholars (probably a majority) including those who believe that the False Apostles were Judaizers, are agreed on this point. Few think that the parties of Apollos and Peter were a grave danger to unity, nor was the hypothetical Christ party unless this party was identical with that of the False Apostles. Between the two important parties there seem to have been many wavering and confused Christians.

Perhaps the False Apostles directly encouraged some smaller groups who feared Paul’s disapproval. But even without such encouragement, all sorts of unwholesome tendencies would naturally gather momentum as soon as it was realized that Paul’s authority and that of the presbyters he had appointed were being undermined. Of this kind were the misuse of the gift of tongues, and the erroneous teaching about the Resurrection and about marriage. The same atmosphere would cause an increase of offences against chastity.

D. Other Troubles at Corinth —Though eclipsed by the plots of the False Apostles, the other troubles were no doubt grave in themselves, as St Paul’s language proves. The danger of compromising Christian truth by some sort of tolerance of pagan religious rites (whether or not it was aggravated by the action of the visitors) was an urgent one, owing to the worldly advantages which tolerance woudl secure (see Comm. on 1 Cor 8). The increase of unchastity was another serious matter. Paul opens this subject by speaking of the incestuous marriage and the failure of the church authorities to pronounce excommunication (5, 1). Other passages (1 Corinthians 5:10-13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20; 1 Corinthians 10:8; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 2 Corinthians 12:21) indicate that the evil was widespread and obstinate. It was terribly easy for men who had once been pagans and still lived among pagans to fall away from the higher Christian standard after the bonds of discipline had once been relaxed. (See Comm. on 6:12-20 and 7:1.)

The bad example set by the visitors had probably given an impetus to party-spirit in many forms. It is seen not only among the parties expressly mentioned by Paul (1:12) but in a still more odious shape at the very gatherings which preceded the Mass, when the congregation was split up into a number of exclusive circles, the plainest sign of the ruin of Christian charity. (See Comm. on 1:12 and 11:21.)

Corinth had received an abundance of those extraordinary spiritual gifts which God bestowed on the earliest Christians to enable them to gain converts and to weld them together into one body. A number of Corinthian Christians had been particularly fascinated by the miraculous power of speaking new languages, and had made it a regular and disproportionate part of Christian worship (a use for which it was never intended), till it had become a burden and a nuisance to the general body of Christians. (See introd. to ch 12 and ch 14.)

False ideas bout the Resurrection had appeared, based probably on Greek popular or learned notions about matter and the body, and leading to denial of the resurrection of the body, and apparently open. ing the door, in the case of some minds, to doubts about immortality itself. (See introd. to ch 15.)

E. Sequence of Events leading up to the First Epistle —The epistle was written in March or April (1 Corinthians 16:8). Perhaps as far back as the summer before, Paul had very likely promised to visit Corinth and all his churches in Greece for the sake of the collection for the Jerusalem Christians.

Some time during the autumn or winter he sent Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia probably in connexion with this collection, Acts 19:21-22.

About the same time or a little later he wrote to the Corinthians a letter which has not been preserved, 1 Corinthians 5:9. In it he asked them to help in the collection and made known a definite plan for his visit: in the spring he would sail directly across to Corinth, then visit Macedonia and return to Corinth (2 Cor: 1:15-16). He had heard of Corinthian Christians lapsing into grave sins, and asked the faithful to break off association with these, 1 Corinthians 5:9-11.

Probably towards the end of winter he had news of Corinth from ’Chloe’s people’ (1 Corinthians 1:11) either by letter or word of mouth. He now heard of the serious division caused by the intrigues of the False Apostles, and of other signs of party-spirit. He seems to have taken no immediate action—perhaps the news was confused or incomplete.

At the beginning of spring, as it seems, the three visitors from Corinth arrived at Ephesus to see him (1 Corinthians 16:17), sent by the loyal Corinthians who had now reached a state of great distress and alarm. They brought a letter from the church, but for some good reason the chief matter which they wished to lay before him (the mischief which the False Apostles were doing) was communicated to Paul by word of mouth.

Other grave matters raised orally by the visitors were: (a) The failure of the church authorities to deal firmly with the case of incestuous marriage, 5:1-8;

(b) uncharitable conduct of some group or groups at the Lord’s Supper, 11:17-34; (c) false teaching about the Resurrection, ch 15.

We can make a plausible guess at some of the contents of the letter which the visitors brought, for in seven passages in the First Epistle Paul’s expressions seem to snow that he was replying to questions raised in that letter. Two of these subjects are treated at great length: (a) the question of eating food which had been offered to pagan gods—this involved the whole topic of social intercourse between Christian and pagan (chh 8-10); (b) the right use of extraordinary spiritual gifts, especially the gift of speaking strange languages (chh 12-14). The five other points receive less space. (c) They asked for clearer directions about intercourse with notorious sinners (5:9-13) and they asked four questions connected with marriage; (d) about some false notion that marriage was sinful (7:1-7); (e) about the best conduct for converts whose wives or husbands remained pagans (7:8-16); (f) whether a father should choose marriage or celibacy for his daughters (7:25-38); (g) whether widows were free to marry again (7:39-40). Finally the letter seems to have asked him to send Apollos over to Corinth (16:12) —no doubt as an alternative to an immediate visit from Paul himself.

F. The Composition of the First Epistle —St Paul had now before him a full and reliable picture of conditions at Corinth. The problems he had to deal with fell into three groups: (1) The plot of the False Apostles, whose activities have been described (C 1.) This was by far the worst problem. (2) The other troubles laid before him orally by the visitors: the incest, the disorders at the Lord’s Supper, and the errors about the Resurrection. (3). The matters contained in the letter from Corinth, especially intercourse with pagans and the use of the ’gift of tongues’, etc.

To us it may well seem that the natural course would have been to denounce the False Apostles plainly and immediately, either at Corinth or by letter. But Paul decided otherwise. He again postponed his visit (1 Corinthians 16:5-6; 2 Corinthians 1:15 ff., see notes). He did indeed write at once (our First Epistle) and sent Titus to Corinth, but the letter makes little direct mention of the False Apostles—his plain denunciation was postponed to the Second Epistle, written perhaps three months later. We must believe that Paul had strong reasons for this mode of action. Two possible reasons may be suggested: (1) Perhaps the False Apostles were such accomplished hypocrites that even now Paul was not convinced that the disaffection was due chiefly to them. He was not a suspicious or jealous man—his cordial acceptance of Apollos’s work at Corinth is itself a proof of that, and cf.Philippians 1:15-18. He may have decided to wait for Titus’s report before believing the worst about these men (2) It is more likely however that he was aware of their true character, and that his delaying policy was due to that almost limitless patience which was as much a part of him as his fiery energy. He suspected that many Corinthians had erred from thoughtlessness and ignorance and were still loyal to himself at heart. It would be dangerous to force them at once to decide on the purely personal issue. It would be wiser to test their obedience on some matters of principle first, and to do this by letter in order to give time for reflexion and thus to lead them back quietly to their former attachment to himself. (See notes on 2 Corinthians 1:23; 2 Corinthians 7:12; 2 Corinthians 13:10.)

The First Epistle therefore deals frankly with all the subjects of the second and third groups, but is reserved about the first. The points raised in the letter from Corinth are treated in the middle portion, while the first and last portions are about the subjects reported by the three visitors. Like the Epistle to the Galatians, it is essentially a letter of reprimand. On at least eight topics he condemns the Corinthians or certain sections of them. His tone is that of an offended father, often stern, sometimes bitter or sarcastic. But he intersperses sentences of tenderness and humility, and several passages of his most moving eloquence. His purpose was not only to test their obedience but also to bring back before them the living image of himself which had been blurred by long absence and calumny; he wanted both to regain his authority and to re-awaken their dormant affection and devotion; he desired, as he expressed it later, ’that your zeal for me might be made manifest to yourselves’ (2 Corinthians 7:12, see note). In two passages only it is clear that he refers to the False Apostles (chh 4 and 9). Did these vehement words burst from him in spite of himself contrary to his intention? We cannot tell, but we can well believe that they were written ’out of much affliction and anguish of heart . . . with many tears’ (2 Corinthians 2:4).

As Apollos was unable to go to Corinth, his first was to ask Timothy, who was then in Macedonia, to go on there (4:17; 16:10), but Titus, an older and more experienced assistant, seems to have arrived at Ephesus unexpectedly after the letter was finished, and it was he who actually went as Paul’s deputy, either with the three Corinthians or soon after them. Timothy, as far as we know, never came to Corinth till he accompanied Paul there later in the year.

G. Value of the Epistle —Certain passages in the epistle, above all chh 13 and 15, are probably, to the average man, the most familiar things in all St Paul’s writings, and well-known phrases meet us everywhere. For its variety of precious matter it is surely unequalled among all the letters, because besides its doctrinal and spiritual value it is a most important historical document.

As regards doctrine, it contains St Paul’s fullest exposition of the organic unity of Christ’s church as his mystical body (ch 12), a subject which appears under other aspects in many places. It also has his fullest passages on the Resurrection (ch 15), on the Holy Eucharist (11:17-34) and on Christian chastity (chh 6 and 7). The supernatural character of the whole Christian religion, founded and maintained by superior Divine wisdom and strength, is insisted on at the beginning (1:18-3:2).

To the ordinary Catholic reader the letter holds out spiritual and devotional treasures of the highest kind. First of all, there are the grand outstanding passages— on the wisdom of the Cross (1:18-2:8), Apostolic renunciation (4:9-14), the foundation of chastity (6:15-20), detachment from the world (7:29-32), consideration for weaker Christians (8:11-13 and 9:19-22), charity (13) the resurrection (15:35-58). Although Paul wrote to meet temporary emergencies which are only half understood by us, he dealt with them in the light of eternal principles, so that his words outlast their occasion. He solves every passing problem by looking to Christ and considering the union of the soul to him. Besides these longer passages, nearly all sections of the letter frequently contain weighty and profound sentences, e.g. to take a page at random ’All things are yours’ (3:21), ’he that judgeth me is the Lord’ (4:4), ’What hast thou that thou hast not received" (4:7), etc. A great part of the spiritual value of the epistle comes from its revelation of the author’s personality, his wonderful union of tenderness and indomitable courage, of practical sense and high speculation. In this epistle there is one outstanding passage (9:14-27) and some others of note (2:1-6; 3:3-8; 4:14-21; 14:17-19; 16:15-18). But every chapter and every section of it bears the mark of its writer—those trumpet-notes, as St John Chrysostom calls them—down to the very last sentences, than which nothing is more characteristic.

As a historical document it is more valuable than any other epistle in the New Testament, for none of the others give us so much material for forming a picture of a Christian church in the Apostolic age, at a time of crisis, it is true, but such crises could not have been

uncommon. We see here not only the difficulties which we hear of elsewhere (internal rivalries, external temptations, invasions of false doctrine, etc.) but better than anywhere else we see the more prosaic troubles—correction of refractory members, social intercourse with pagans, marriage problems, irreverence at services, questions of dress, control of thoughtless devotees, etc. The view of this unmanageable material is in itself a proof of the superhuman power which the Apostles wielded.

H. Short Synopsis—1:1-9 Salutation and Thanksgiving. 1:10-4:21. The evil of party-division. This includes the description of the true and false wisdom (1:18-3:4), a section on the true function of Christian teachers (3:5-23) and a direct complaint about the False Apostles (ch 4). Chh 5-7. Matters connected with the relations of the sexes. This begins with his complaint about the case of incest (ch 5), followed by a digression on litigation among Christians (6:1-11). Then 6:12-20 gives the basic teaching on chastity. Ch 7 deals with three questions about marriage: its lawfulness. (1-7), relations between a convert and a pagan wife or husband (8-24), and the marriage of daughters (25-40).

Chh 8-11:1. The problem of social intercourse between Christians and pagans, arising from the question of the lawfulness of eating food offered to pagan gods. Ch 8 shows how this must be solved in the light of the Christian law of charity. This is illustrated by reference to Paul’s own example (ch 9); then the danger of presumption is illustrated from Old Testament history (10:1-13). Detailed instruction for conduct, based on these two considerations, are then given (10:14-11:1). 11:2-16. Women are to veil their heads at prayers. 11:17-34. He condemns the selfishness, party-spirit and irreverence shown at the suppers preceding the Mass.

Chh 12-14. The over-estimation of certain spiritual gifts, especially the gift of languages. Ch 12 teaches that all the gifts are from God and each one has its place, but only a limited place, in the church. Charity is superior to the rest for it is eternal (ch 13). Ch 14 condemns the way in which the Corinthians have misused the gift of languages and lays down rules for its public use.

Ch 15. The resurrection of the body. He gives the evidence for Christ’s resurrection (1-11) and the proof of the resurrection of Christians drawn from it (12-34). He then draws some conclusions about the nature of the resurrection body (35-58).

Ch 16. Brief directions about several matters, especially the collection for Jerusalem (1-4), his coming visit to Corinth (5-9) and the three visitors from Corinth (15-18). Then come his last greetings.

Verses 2-31

COMMENTARY I 1-3 Salutation—1. ’Called’, etc.: lit. ’a called apostle’—an apostle appointed by Christ. Elsewhere the phrase occurs only in Romans 1:1. But cf.Galatians 1:1. He insists on the Divine commission which placed him on a level with the Twelve (cf.2 Corinthians 11:5; 2 Corinthians 12:11) not in the same class as Barnabas, etc., still less in the same class as the False Apostles at Corinth. ’Sosthenes’: he is inscribed here as nominal joint author of the letter, as Timothy is in the Second Epistle. A Corinthian Jew named Sosthenes had once been one of Paul’s chief enemies at Corinth (Acts 18:17). He may have been converted and followed Paul to Ephesus, but we cannot tell: the name was common.

2. ’Called to be saints’: lit. ’holy men called (by God)’. Paul’s usual term for Christians is ’holy men’ for Christians was not yet accepted. The call means conversion. See note on v 24. ’That invoke, etc.’: ’That invoke in any place the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours’.

4-9 Thanksgiving for God’s Favours to the Corinthians —He begins with a few cheerful words, so as not to start the letter with fault-finding. These words seem to show that he had good hopes of regaining the loyalty of a large proportion of the Corinthians—God’s rich blessings to Corinth would surely not be in vain.

4. ’For you’, probably means ’about you’. ’Utterance’, i.e. power of expression, eloquence.

6-7. All that had been said to them about Christ (by Paul and others) had been proved true among them by various miraculous signs, such as those spoken of in ch 12— these are the ’graces’ mentioned here.

7. ’Manifestation’: the Second Coming of Christ (see 7:26). The thought that this might happen very soon was vividly present to the minds of early Christians. 8. ’Confirm’, etc.: ’Make you steadfast unceasingly so as to stand faultless in the day, etc.’

9. ’Fellowship’, etc.: ’To share the society of his Son’ or ’into union with his Son’.

I 10-IV 21 The Party Divisions at Corinth — This is the first large section of the letter, setting forth Paul’s first complaint against the Corinthians. Although he names several parties, and does not expressly name that of the False Apostles, this last seems to have been in his mind throughout, for ch 4 is directly aimed at it, and seems to be the climax to which the rest leads up. The chief sub-divisions are: (1) The False Wisdom and the True Wisdom (1:18-3:4). (2) The true place and function of the Christian teacher (3:5-23). (3) Paul’s reply to his critics and rivals (ch 4). (See Introd. § 867d.)

I:10-17 Paul states his Accusations In general terms — 10. ’Speak’ etc.: ’Agree together’, have no disputes. ’Schisms’: ’Divisions’.

11. ’The house of Chloe’: ’Chloe’s people’. A vague expression: it may mean relatives, servants, or even friends. We know nothing of Chloe, not even whether she herself was a Christian. He evidently means he had first heard of these divisions from Chloe’s people, but the three visitors would no doubt have told him more.

12. ’This I say’: ’This is what I mean’. ’Of Paul’: ’I follow Paul’, am one of Paul’s party. These would be the first converts at Corinth, and would very likely for that reason feel somewhat superior to the later comers. ’Apollo’, more correctly ’Apollos’. He was the Alexandrian Jew who had been converted by Aquila and his wife, had made converts at Corinth since Paul’s departure from there, and was now with Paul. (See notes on Acts 18:24-28.) Luke there calls him an eloquent man —he probably had a command of that rhetorical style which was popular in the Greek-speaking provinces: thus he would appeal to a rather more educated class at Corinth. His converts therefore tended to form a group which felt some cultural superiority to Paul’s. (See note on 2:4.) ’Cephas’: i.e. St Peter. Our Lord had said, speaking in Aramaic: ’Thou art a rock (kepha) and on this rock I will build my church’. His original name, Simon, had in course of time been supplanted by Rock, either in its Aramaic form Kephas, or in its Greek translation Petros. Paul uses both names. In view of this verse and 9:5, several scholars have concluded that Peter had paid a short visit to Corinth just before this. This is quite possible but cannot be proved. The ’party of Peter’ at Corinth may well have grown up round some friends or converts of Peter’s, even if Peter had never been there. Owing to Peter’s long association with Christ and his unique position among the Apostles, such a party might feel a little superiority to both Paul’s converts and Apollos’s. There would probably be a strong Jewish element among them but it is most unlikely that they were Judaizers for (1) It would be the height of impudence for Judaizers to shelter themselves behind Peter’s name. (2) We have no evidence that there were any Judaizers at Corinth. (See Introd. § 865d.) Nor is it likely that this is the party of the False Apostles: St Paul seems to admit (see esp. 3:22) that they had a right to use Peter’s name, whereas he would have flatly denied such a right to the False Apostles. ’Of Christ’: many have thought that Paul here names a fourth party, who denied that the other parties were true Christians, and some have held that this ’Christ party’ is to be identified with those who over-estimated spiritual gifts (chh 12-14) or with the party of the False Apostles or with both. But there is no other hint in this part of the letter that there was a Christ party, and no evidence that either of the two groups referred to laid claim to any such title. (Introd. C 1.) It seems best therefore to suppose that these words are spoken by Paul in his own person, as a protest against the use of party names: ’But I (Paul) am a follower of Christ.’ This fits in well with the next sentence.

13. ’Is Christ divided?’ A division in his mystical body, the Church. is as monstrous as a division in Christ himself, in his real body or his person.

14. ’Crispus’: the synagogue-governor whom Paul had converted (Acts 18:8). Caius, more correctly Gaius, was his host during his next visit to Corinth (Romans 16:23). Most converts were baptized by his helpers, Silas, Timothy, etc.

15. ’That you’, etc.: accusing him, not of using another formula, but of intending the converts to be Paulists rather than Christians. A slander of the Judaizers perhaps.

16. ’Stephanas’ was one of the three Corinthians now visiting Paul (16:17, Introd. E). Perhaps he heard Paul dictating this, and reminded him of his baptism.

17. ’Made void’: ’Deprived of its power’. Same thought in vv 18, 22-24 and 2:5.

I 18-III 4 The Lower Wisdom and the Higher Wisdom —Paul does not content himself with particular criticism. He writes two passages of much wider scope, as he loves to do. The first is a magnificent contrast between the inferior wisdom of Judaism and Paganism and the higher wisdom of God as revealed in Christ. Its application to the present case is deferred till its close.

1:18-31 The Lower Wisdom —Human wisdom in itself is an excellent thing, yet in fact many of its possessors have overlooked truths or fallen into great errors. Knowledge has its special temptations as riches and power have.

18. ’Word’: ’Announcement’, ’preaching’, ’that perish i.e. have rejected the gospel.

19. From Isaiah 29:14.20. Where’, etc.: based on Job 12:17. ’Scribe’, i.e. scholar, learned man.

21. God in his wisdom permitted the human wisdom of the world to become so distorted that it was no longer able to know him.

22. ’Both’: ’The Jews on the one hand . . . on the other’. ’Signs’: i.e. miracles. The Jews wanted chiefly superhuman power in the Messiah, power proved by stupendous miracles. They wanted an emperor mightier, than the Roman emperor. A suffering and dying Messiah was a stumbling-block to them, i.e. they would not accept him. But the Greeks wanted a teaching which completely satisfied the intellect. They were impatient of anything unexplained or mysterious. They hated to accept any great truth on another person’s authority. Faith was not in their line. Moreover the idea that suffering could do more than wisdom would appear nonsense to them.

24. ’Called’: i.e. Christians. Our Lord said: ’Many are called but few are chosen’. But the Apostles usually confine the word ’called’ to believers, and use ’called’ and ’chosen’ as identical in meaning. (See 1:2.)

25. ’The foolishness of God’ —God’s ways which the world considers foolish.

26. ’Vocation’: ’Consider your call’,i.e. your conversion. The converts were nearly all of humble station. ’Flesh’. A word of many shades of meaning in the New Testament: 1. The body. 2. Mankind, 3. Human nature. 4. Human nature in its fallen state, without grace or Christian truth. This is the meaning here. Practically synonymous with ’the world’.

27. ’The foolish things’, etc.: i.e. things which the world calls foolish.

28. ’Base’: i.e. ’common’ not high-born or refined. ’Contemptible’: ’despised’. ’That are not’: Those whose very existence the world ignores, or perhaps those yet unborn but known to God.

29. ’Flesh’: i.e. man—the second meaning given at v 26. ’Glory’: ’boast’, ’feel pride’.

30. ’But it is from Him that you have your being, through Christ’. Their (spiritual) existence, the life of their souls, is from God; they are his children, born by grace.

31. ’So that . . . let him glory’, etc. Not a quotation but a summary of a long sentence in Jeremiah 9:23-4.