Category: <span>1 Corinthians</span>

In 1 Corinthians, Paul addressed his concerns in the church in chs. 1-6 and then replied to their questions to him in chs. 7-15. The Corinthians’ final inquiry concerned the resurrection of the dead. Some in the congregation were being influenced by naturalism and proposed that the dead are not raised. Paul wanted the Corinthians to see that such a statement had retroactive effects, necessitating a denial of Jesus’ resurrection. The apostle’s argument for the supernatural was anchored in Christ’s fulfillment of specific Old Testament texts.

(1) In 1 Cor 15:27, Paul quoted Ps 8:6 to distinguish Jesus as the death-conquering representative of humanity. The psalmist wrote that God placed humanity as the stewards of God’s creation. God crowned humanity with glory and honor and placed everything under their feet (Ps 8:5-6). Paul interpreted the Psalm in light of Christ’s death, resurrection, and exaltation. He wrote, “The last enemy to be abolished is death. For ‘He has put everything under His feet’” (1 Cor 15:26-27). In Paul’s mind, death was the final enemy to be placed under the feet of humanity—and Jesus defeated death. The resurrection of Christ marked the end of the old age and foreshadowed the realization of ultimate victory for God and those who believe in Christ (1 Cor 15:23-28).

(2) In 1 Cor 15:32, Paul quoted Isa 22:13 to argue that if the resurrection was not true, then humanity should live only for the pleasure of the moment. In Isaiah 22, the prophet confronted Israel because the people rejoiced during a period when the Lord sent their enemies against them. The people should have mourned and repented but instead Isaiah heard joy and gladness. Since the end was in view, the people said, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” (Isa 22:13). In Paul’s frame of thinking, if the resurrection were not true, then Isaiah’s audience spoke words of truth. But Paul stood in line with Isaiah. The people in Jerusalem failed to trust God and so had some in Corinth. For Paul, the resurrection was personal. He retorted to the Corinthians, “If I fought wild animals in Ephesus with only human hope, what good does that do me?” (1 Cor 15:34). Paul reminded the Corinthians that since bad company corrupts good morals, they should confront those who denied the resurrection lest their sin of naturalism would further harm the church (1 Cor 15:33-34).

(3) In 1 Cor 15:45 Paul cited Gen 2:7 to contrast the nature of Adam and the nature of Christ. After God formed Adam from the dust of the earth, He breathed the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils and Adam became a living being (Gen 2:7). And because of Adam’s sin, God issued a sentence of death for all of humanity, saying, “You are dust and you will return to dust” (Gen 3:19). For Paul, Adam and Christ represented the two ages of salvation history, one act of the former brought about the consequence of death for all those under his dominion, and one act of the latter ushered in the age of eternal life for all who believe. He wrote, “Just as we have borne the image of the man made of dust, we will also bear the image of the heavenly man” (1 Cor 15:49).

(4) In 1 Cor 15:54-55, Paul quoted Isa 25:8 and Hos 13:14 to boast of Christ’s resurrection victory. In Isaiah 25, Isaiah prophesied that the Lord would save His people. The prophet portrayed the day of salvation as a festive banquet with aged wine and choice meat. And Isaiah wrote that God’s victory would include resurrection: “He will destroy death forever” (Isa 25:8). Paul proclaimed Isaiah’s words because the prophet confronted the Corinthians for thinking that they could enjoy the blessings of Christ while adhering to naturalism. Paul would have none of it. In Hosea 13, the prophet described God’s wrath against His people. In Hos 13:14, the Lord called to death to come upon His people and destroy them saying, “Death, where are your barbs? Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes.” Noting Christ’s triumph over sin and death, Paul employed Hos 13:14 as a taunt against death saying, “O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?” While death demonstrates its power and sting upon sinful humanity, through Christ’s resurrection believers have escaped its clutches. Paul exclaimed, “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:57).

In the second half of 1 Corinthians, Paul responded to the questions the church had sent him. Having dealt with matters of marriage (ch. 7), and with visiting idol temples (chs. 8-10), Paul continued the sermonic character of his epistle as he addressed concerns about corporate gatherings. For Paul, the Old Testament influenced why and how the church was to gather in Christ.

(1) In 1 Cor 11:23-26, Paul described how Jesus transformed the Passover meal into a commemoration of His death and His presence among His people. The Lord instituted the Passover celebration to remind Israel of His mercy on them as the death angel killed the firstborn of the Egyptians (Exodus 12-14). God intended that the Passover meal would shape the community of Israel. Moses instructed the people that when Israelite children asked the meaning of the blood on the doorpost and the unleavened bread, parents were to respond, “By the strength of His hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt” (Exod 13:14). Jesus transferred the Passover reference. The bread was to be a remembrance of His body, the cup a representation of His blood (Matt 26:26-29//Mark 14:22-25//Luke 22:17-20). Paul rebuked the Corinthians because when they gathered for worship, the wealthy separated from those who were poor. The former were drunk, and the latter had to go hungry (1 Cor 11:17-21). Paul did not condemn the wealth of some in the community (they provided their homes as a place for the church to gather) but that the wealthy shamed the poor by taking their supper in private, before the poor arrived (1 Cor 11:20-22). Divisions in the church contradicted the very purpose of Christ’s death. Paul warned the Corinthians that whoever would partake of the Lord’s supper without recognizing Christ and the importance of Christian fellowship, ate in an unworthy manner (1 Cor 11:29). The reason that some in the Corinthian church died prematurely was because they did not observe the Lord’s Supper with reference to Christ and each other (1 Cor 11:30-32).

(2) In 1 Cor 14:21, Paul quoted Isa 28:11-12 to argue that the church was edified by those who prophesied in a common language, not by those who spoke in tongues. Paul challenged the Corinthians that, rather than displaying their gifts from a foundation of selfishness, they ought to base their spiritual service on an attitude of love (1 Cor 13:1-13). One particularly noticeable manifestation of a lack of love amongst the congregation was their love of speaking in tongues (1 Cor 14:1-40). According to Paul, the gift of tongues had a legitimate role to play in the propagation of the gospel, but it was superfluous to those who already had God’s revelation in their own language. Paul rooted his argument in Isa 28:11-12. In Isaiah 28, the prophet chastised those in Ephraim because they were drunk on their own status. And in their drunken stupor, they cited Scripture. Isaiah prophesied concerning a foreign invasion; he said that the Lord would speak to His people in what they understood as stammering speech and a foreign language. So when, in 1 Cor 14:21, Paul quoted Isa 28:11-12, saying, “By people of other languages and by lips of foreigners, I will speak to this people; and even then, they will not listen to Me,” he commented that tongues were a sign to unbelievers. If then an unbeliever came into a church gathering where all the members could converse about Christ in the same language and witnessed someone trying to speak in an unintelligible tongue, the unbeliever would think the church out of their minds (1 Cor 14:23). What the Corinthians thought would distinguish them was actually a mark of immaturity. While Paul recognized that the Spirit might bestow an ability to communicate the gospel in a different tongue, he condemned the Corinthians for faking it to show off some arbitrary measure of spirituality. In Paul’s mind, the truly spiritual were not those who sought to distinguish themselves from the norm by speaking in unintelligible sounds, but those who prophesied, taught the word of God in a common language, and called the people to an appropriate response. Paul wanted the church to gather in an orderly manner, because structure led to the edification of the body (1 Cor 14:26).

First Corinthians is composed of at least two sections. In chs. 1-6, Paul addressed his concerns about divisions in the church and the congregation’s tendency toward libertinism—as evidenced by their lax sexual and judicial norms. In the remainder of the letter, Paul responded to the Corinthians’ questions to him, first about sexuality and marriage (1 Cor 7:1-40) and then regarding eating food sacrificed at idol temples (1 Cor 8:1-11:1). To warn the Corinthians of the dangers of casual affiliation with idol temples, Paul pointed them to the storyline of Scripture.

(1) In 1 Cor 9:9, Paul cited Deut 25:4 to substantiate his argument that those who labor in the gospel have a right to be paid for their work. In 1 Corinthians 8-11, Paul argued that submission to Christ is manifested in edifying the church more than one’s socioeconomic status. Paul confronted the Corinthians’ desire to maintain their pagan friendships—and business partnerships—while enjoying the benefits the church might afford them. While Paul acknowledged their common knowledge that idols are useless and there is only one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, he yet challenged their motives for attending festive meals at idol temples (1 Cor 8:1-13). Thus, while the Corinthians had knowledge that idols were nothing, Paul challenged them to set aside their freedom to attend idol temples so that they might avoid ensnaring a weaker brother. The Corinthians were free to go to idol temples, since they were not there to worship, but they needed to value relationships in the church more than relationships they had at those temples. Since this was asking for a significant sacrifice on the part of those Corinthians who had been attending these temple feasts, in 1 Corinthians 9 Paul reminded the Corinthians of his efforts to edify the church more than his own status. Although, as an apostle, Paul was free to receive compensation from his work in the gospel, he did not use this right because it may have hindered what God had called him to do (1 Cor 9:1-12). In Deuteronomy 25, Moses commanded Israel to maintain justice in their dealings with one another. Moses specified how Israel was to exhibit fairness toward persons and beasts. Those found guilty of a crime against a fellow Israelite were to be punished, and the ox was to receive food while it treaded grain (Deut 25:1-4). Paul quoted Deut 25:4, “Do not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” in 1 Cor 9:9 to argue that he had the right to be compensated for the gospel—which made his refusal to be paid by the Corinthians an example of Christ-like unselfishness. The owner of the ox was not to muzzle his animal while he benefited from the animal’s work, but if the ox refused to eat while working, so be it. Paul said, “For although I am free from all people, I have made myself a slave to all, in order to win more people… I do all this because of the gospel, that I may become a partner in its benefits” (1 Cor 9:19, 23).

(2) In 1 Cor 10:7, Paul quoted Exod 32:6 to advance his argument that casual association with those who worship idols can lead one to commit idolatry. Turning the Corinthians’ attention to Israel, Paul warned them that even though those under Moses had experienced the exodus, God’s provision of manna, water from a rock, and direction from a cloud during their wilderness wanderings, they were yet susceptible to idolatry (Exodus 7-15; 32). In Egypt, Israel saw the Egyptians worshipping their gods. When Israel became impatient with Moses because he did not come down from the mountain as quickly as they thought he should, they made an idol in the form of a calf (Exod 32:4). Paul warned the Corinthians that what happened to Israel could happen to them if they continued to associate with pagans while those pagans were worshipping their gods. Though at first Israel thought their idolatry a matter of celebration, “The people sat down to eat and drink, then got up to revel” (Exod 32:6), Paul warned the Corinthians that God exhibited His wrath toward those who committed idolatry and immorality. God was angry with Aaron and Israel for idolatry with the golden calf in Exodus 32 and He later killed 23,000 Israelites because of their idolatry and immorality with the Moabites (Num 25:1-9). Paul’s point was that in light of Israel’s blessings and failures, “Whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall!” (1 Cor 10:12). Some in Corinth thought themselves strong enough to attend temple meals without temptation to actually commit idolatry and Paul was concerned that the Corinthians’ cozy relationship with pagans might well overtake them. For Paul, the Corinthians’ relationship with Christ was at stake. He wrote, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot share in the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Or are we provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?” (1 Cor 10:21-22).

(3) In 1 Cor 10:26, Paul cited Ps 24:1 to establish the Corinthians’ freedom to enjoy the Lord’s bountiful gift of food so long as they ate as slaves of Christ and out of love for the church. In Psalm 24, the psalmist praised God for His supremacy as King over the universe and His people. “The earth and everything it, the world and its inhabitants belong to the LORD,” he wrote to begin the psalm. The psalmist went on to note that it is only those with clean hands and a pure heart that may ascend the hill of the Lord to worship Him and receive His blessing (Ps 24:3-6). Paul cited only Ps 24:1 in 1 Cor 10:26 but the flow of the entire psalm may have been on his mind.

While Paul was in Ephesus during his third missionary journey (Acts 19), he received a report from Corinth that divisions had broken out in the church and that the congregation was picking sides, elevating one leader against another (1 Cor 1:11; 4:6). But there was more. The problems in Corinth included immorality within a family (1 Cor 5:1-13), litigation before the civil courts (1 Cor 6:1-11), and sexual immorality with prostitutes (1 Cor 6:12-20). Paul—ever insightful as to how spiritual problems resulted from doctrinal error—pointed the Corinthians to the lordship of Christ and the church’s high status as slaves of Christ. For Paul, the selfishness of some among the Corinthians sharply contradicted the demands of knowing Christ as Lord. In 1 Corinthians 5-6, Paul took on the role of a trial lawyer. Paul’s verdict in the case against the Corinthians was both guilty and innocent. They were guilty of gross misconduct, but—because of Christ’s death and resurrection, and the presence of the Spirit among them—they were ultimately innocent before God. Paul rendered his verdict in light of Old Testament texts and the finished work of Christ.

(1) In 1 Cor 5:7, Paul pleaded with the Corinthians to pursue moral purity in light of Christ being sacrificed as their Passover. Just as the Israelites ate unleavened bread during the Passover festival (Exodus 12-14), so too the Corinthians were to recognize that they were unleavened. Nothing of the old batch was to remain. Paul was aghast that someone in the Corinthian congregation could receive pats on the back for sleeping with his stepmother. Rather than being filled with grief over the matter, they were drunk with pride (1 Cor 5:2). Paul implored that such a person be removed from the church: “Turn that one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord” (1 Cor 5:5). While Paul was concerned for the final salvation of the immoral man, he was also concerned for the wellbeing of the congregation. Paul instructed the Corinthians that just as a small amount of yeast permeates a whole batch of dough, so immoral behavior—if left unchecked—would soon have an effect on the entire church (1 Cor 5:6). Paul urged the Corinthians to celebrate the sacrifice of Christ “with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor 5:8) and avoid any association with those who claimed to be of the Lord but lived in sexual immorality, greed, idolatry, revelry, drunkenness or swindling (1 Cor 5:11).

(2) In 1 Cor 5:13, Paul cited the judicial procedures established in Deut 17:7 as relevant for how the Corinthians should deal with sexually immoral church members. In Duet 17:2-7, Moses wrote the process Israel was to follow if one in the congregation committed idolatry. The testimony of two or three witnesses would confirm the death sentence by stoning. Moses concluded by warning Israel, “You must purge the evil from you” (Deut 17:7). And Paul urged the Corinthians to put away the sexually immoral man from among them lest some in their numbers turn away from Christ.

(3) In 1 Cor 6:16, Paul quoted Gen 2:24 as a rule that those united to the Lord are to avoid any sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage. For Paul, the pre-fall institution of marriage, where husband and wife become one flesh in their physical union (Gen 2:24), meant by deduction that any physical union made a man and woman one flesh. That some in the church were involved with prostitutes was evidence that they had not grasped their union with Christ, the Lord and Master of the church (1 Cor 6:12-20). Though some in Paul’s audience thought, “Everything is permissible for me” (1 Cor 6:12), and “Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods” (1 Cor 6:13), Paul urged the believers to temper their freedom in light of God’s work among them. Paul asked, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? So should I take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute?” (1 Cor 6:15). Because those joined to the Lord are united with Him in spirit, Paul viewed as deplorable a believer visiting a prostitute. Paul confronted his audience in the strongest terms, saying, “You are not your own, for you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor 6:19b-20).

In 1 Corinthians, Paul used the theology of the Old Testament to confront the glory-seeking leaders in Corinth. The storyline of Scripture had relevance even for these steeped in Roman culture. Their foolish wisdom, unfounded pride, and boasting were not compatible with God’s wisdom and zealous pursuit of glory among His people.

(1) In 1 Cor 1:19, Paul quoted Isa 29:14 to establish that the cross is the means of salvation only for those who are dependent upon God exclusively. Isaiah challenged Judah’s self-sufficiency and willingness to ally themselves with pagan nations so that together they might thwart the rising Assyrian threat. The people of Israel thought themselves wise, crafty, self-sufficient. Isaiah called them foolish. While the Corinthians were boasting in their self-sufficiency and cultural connections, they were implicitly aligning themselves with those who are perishing. The Corinthians were in jeopardy of violating the very wisdom of God, the humility of Jesus. Paul reminded them of God’s posture toward the self-sufficient, saying with Isaiah, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the understanding of the experts” (1 Cor 1:19).

(2) In 1 Cor 1:31, Paul quoted Jer 9:24 to exhort the Corinthians that they must boast only in the Lord. Many in Jeremiah’s day thought themselves secure in the Lord despite their idolatry and the rise of the Babylonian Empire. Jeremiah confronted them for their lack of spiritual wisdom. The people of Judah did not have the insight to boast in the Lord and obey His law. In 1 Cor 1:31, Paul used Jer 9:24 to demonstrate that knowledge of God’s wisdom was the result of the Spirit’s act of revelation, not human greatness. “The one who boasts must boast in the Lord,” Paul declared (1 Cor 1:31). Paul cited Jer 9:24 again in 2 Cor 10:17, asserting that he boasted in the Lord in his ministry to the Corinthians. Paul thus employed Jer 9:24 and its theme of boasting exclusively in the Lord to bookend his correspondence with the Corinthians.

(3) In 1 Cor 2:9, Paul quoted Isa 52:15 to establish a historical precedent for God’s generosity in revealing Himself to humanity. In Isaiah 52, Isaiah spoke of God’s revelation to the rulers of the earth in the day of His servant. Paul understood that day of revelation to have arrived in Christ’s death, resurrection, and exaltation—what the leaders of the ancient world thought foolishness. He wrote, “What no eye has seen and no ear has heard, and what has never come into a man’s heart, is what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor 2:9). Paul argued that since God freely gave knowledge to the Corinthians by the Spirit, why would they need to align themselves behind this leader or that one, boasting in mere humans? Paul’s use of Isa 52:15 in 1 Cor 2:9 served to correct the Corinthians’ problem of boasting, and the resulting divisions, which had been his concern beginning in 1 Cor 1:10.

(4) In 1 Cor 2:16, Paul quoted Isa 40:13 to establish that those without the Spirit cannot know what God has freely given to His people by the Spirit. Isaiah 40 represented a turning point in the prophet’s argument. The Lord had disciplined His people and would restore them. Isaiah described God’s supremacy over creation and the events of history. Who has known His mind or could direct God (Isa 40:13)? Paul’s point was that since the Corinthians were justified in Christ—and had thus received the Spirit—they were able to evaluate all matters from a spiritual perspective. Their pagan neighbors, on the other hand, would continue to look down on the church so long as those neighbors did not have the Spirit. Paul’s use of Isa 40:13 was thus an implicit warning: stop worrying about what the pagans think of you because they will never understand the church. “We have the mind of Christ,” Paul said (1 Cor 2:16).

(5) In 1 Cor 3:19-20, Paul cited phrases from Job and Psalms to portray God’s wisdom in judging believers in the church. Eliphaz warned Job that since God “catches the wise in their craftiness” (Job 5:13), Job should cease any crafty arguments to vindicate himself before God. In Psalm 94, the psalmist described the Lord as the perfect Judge, fully aware of the secrets of human beings. The psalmist’s phrase, “the Lord knows man’s thoughts; they are meaningless” (Ps 94:11), caught Paul’s attention. Paul warned those boasting in mere humans, and those receiving the praise of mere humans, that no one could simultaneously operate by worldly and spiritual wisdom—despite the fact that the Corinthians thought they could do so.