1st Corinthians was written in A.D. 56 from Ephesus at the close of Paul's 3 year residence there (Acts 20:31, 1 Corinthians 16:5-8). Paul's relationship with the Corinthian church is in Acts 18:1-18. He met Aquila and Priscilla there and taught in a house next door to the synagogue for 18 months. It is here that God told Paul to keep teaching and said He had many people in that city.
Paul is not writing to commend the Corinthians for a job well done. He is writing to condemn certain practices and bring major correction to a church that had fallen into division, class distinctions, and support of sin in their midst.
Like a frog slowly being boiled does not know the water temperature is rising to lethal levels, the Corinthians were unaware as their characters were being assimilated into the culture around them.
The letter is not a Christian doctrinal primer, but an expression of the grief and revulsion of an Apostle to his work.
Despite its corrective nature, 1 Corinthians also contains the most beautiful expression of the character of love found in Scripture (chapter 13).
In a way you could sum up this letter as "Lessons in how not to be a Christian".
In some ways it is a very practical book-how to get along with other believers, how to be a believer in a lost world, how to live as a married Christian, and how to properly behave in a worship service.
The Corinthians were in an environment where being like Christ was not the norm-by far-and the ease of slipping back was ever present. For instance, Corinth had at least 10 pagan temples. At each of these temples were at least 1,000 men and women who were ready willing and able to fulfill worshiper's sexual desires. Corinth was so sinful that even other Roman citizens called people "Corinthian" to mean overly debauched.
In many many ways, however, the Corinthian culture was like our own, with the pull of sexual immorality just the click on a mouse away, and culture pressure to be unlike Jesus at the click of a remote. Lessons learned in Corinth have huge implications for Christians today.
Paul wrote the letter in answer to some specific questions the Corinthians had concerning marriage. Paul answers them, but in a way says "And here are answers to questions you should have asked." Sometimes we think we know what we have and what we lack in terms of building into the character of Jesus. Too often we are simply not asking the right questions because we are more evil than we realize!
1 - 3
Sosthenes, by the way, was probably the synagogue ruler in Acts 18:17 who had been beaten in an attack on Paul but who later came to Christ and acted as Paul's secretary.
There are (at least) three significant things in Paul's greeting which, on the surface, sounds very normal: "Hey, it's Paul, wazzup?"
1. I don't belong to myself. God recruited me for this job, it was by His will, not mine. (verse 1)
Paul will say (1 Cor 6:19-20) You are not your own, 20 for you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body.
We no longer have the right to be self determinate. It doesn't mean we are no longer ourselves-just robots with no feelings or personality, but as far as our character and our behavior we can no longer just either make it up as we go along or rely on what others in our culture mirror or teach us to do.
2. You don't belong to yourselves either. You are "God's church." Not my church, and not anyone else's either! (verse 2a)
In 1 Corinthians 10:17 Paul will say: "we who are many are one body." And in 1 Cor 3:9 For we are God's co-workers. You are God's field, God's building.
And in Eph 2:21-22 The whole building is being fitted together in Him and is growing into a holy sanctuary in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for God's dwelling in the Spirit.
And even more, we are "sanctified" (Gk: Hagiazo), which essentially the process of being made into God's character ("holy") and "called as saints", meaning to be "appointed" or "invited" to be like God.
3. You aren't a special case worthy of special exemptions from the character of Jesus Christ (verse 2b)
"Theirs and ours" here refers to Jesus. Every Christian calls on the same Lord. He isn't up to our interpretation. The Corinthians were from a "cool" culture and thought they were a special case. They weren't and we aren't, we are all part of a building God is constructing for His dwelling place. You don't get to decide you are a faucet handle rather than a brick.
Paul ends with his traditional greeting of grace and peace!
4 - 7
Paul begins by thanking God for the Corinthians because of grace (unmerited favor) available only in Jesus Christ. There are no big "atta boys" here, for Corinth was mired in division, squabble, and sin. Note Paul emphasizes that "in Him" we are rich, not by worldly wealth, which divided the Corinthian church into classes-and notice what they are made rich in: speaking and knowledge. The Greeks put a big emphasis on head knowledge and oratory abilities. We'll see that as Paul confronts the "super apostles" who were big talkers but not reflective of the character of God at all.
These people had been given knowledge of God and the ability to speak about salvation in a way no other generation before them had possessed.
Knowledge: 2 Cor 4:6 He has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
Speaking: Luke 12:11-12 Whenever they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities, don't worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say. 12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said."
And what is it they are speaking about? "...the testimony of Christ confirmed."
Paul tells them basically that every spiritual gift they need is at hand. In Chapters 12 - 14 Paul chides them for the improper use of the gifts. They wanted to use the Holy Spirit instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to use them. The gifts of the Spirit are designed as a tool to grow the believer and spread the gospel, not a toy in the hands of giddy believers who want the latest "Holy Spirit High" experience.
Why? Because we must always keep in mind that Jesus is coming back. And when He does we will have to account for what we have done with the tools He has given us.
8
* Jesus may not be here now but He will be very visible when He returns
"Revelation" used in verse 7 is the Greek word "Apokalupsis" and means "unveiling" and is the same word used as "The Revelation of Jesus Christ"
An invisible Lord, an invisible Spirit and an invisible kingdom makes us lax in accountability and prone to becoming "Lone Ranger" Christians.
Everything we are and everything we are becoming should roll up into being transformed into the revealed character of Jesus Christ for the express purpose of being used effectively to spread His kingdom on earth now.
When Jesus returns we will all have to sit through an audit of what we've done here. It won't be punishment but an honest look at what was accomplished in and for Jesus and what was just us. You will be "blameless" of sin, but we should indeed pay particular attention to whether our attitudes and behavior are or are not like Jesus as revealed in Scripture.
We are blameless in the end not because of what we can do but because of what Jesus has done!
9
If God said he would equip us and use us and present us blameless in the end, He will follow through.
* God never gives up on you-ever!
I like how the message paraphrases verse 9:
1 Corinthians 1:9 God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.
You've got everything you need and everyone you need to do well. You don't have to succumb to the world's values, or your idea of how to get things done because God doesn't seem to be following your playbook.
Phil 1:6-7 I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
In the end, fellowship with Jesus is what it is all about. It is what we were made for and what we lost in Eden. It's not about position or what gifts we can show off; it is about having the one relationship that will bring the most of everything we really need.
