Grace Institute: The Pauline Epistles: 1 Corinthians: Introduction
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1 Corinthians
Survey of the New Testament:
The Pauline Epistles
Winter 2006
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Introduction (1:1-9)
Author: The apostle Paul (1:1).
Audience: The church in Corinth (1:2)
Date: AD 53-54.
The City of Corinth
Historic & Geographic Background
Corinth was located at one of the great crossroads of the Roman Empire. It was located on an isthmus connecting the Peloponnesian peninsula with the mainland of Greece. The city itself was located at the base of an 1800 foot mountain known as the Acrocorinth.
Corinth's geography made it a prime trading city. The isthmus itself is four miles wide at Corinth, and ancient traders would pass goods over the isthmus from Corinth's eastern and western seaports rather than travel around the treacherous peninsula. The ancient writers described Corinth as a very wealthy city.
While Corinth had been an ancient city, it was destroyed by the Romans in the 2 nd century BC. The city that Paul knew as Corinth was founded in 44 BC by Julius Caesar and populated primarily by Roman citizens and retired Roman army personnel. In the first century AD, the city was one of the most populous in the Empire, with an estimated 400,000 people. The city served as the capitol of the Roman province of Achaia, which encompassed most of the southern part of modern day Greece.
The city's main tourist attraction was the temple to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. The temple itself was a spectacular piece of architecture with giant and aptly named Corinthian columns. But most of the visitors to Corinth were not exactly people who appreciated fine architecture. The temple of Aphrodite housed one thousand temple prostitutes. The worship of the goddess of love would involve participating in sexual acts with a temple prostitute.
As a result of this, the city of Corinth was renowned throughout the empire for its sexual practices, its prostitution, and its "sinful" reputation. In those days, if you wanted to malign a young woman's reputation, you would call her a "Corinthian girl. [1]"
Philosophical & Spiritual Background
Corinth was also the crossroads of many philosophical and religious ideas. Like most Greek cities, the Corinthians had a great love of philosophy and wisdom. The city market place was often filled with people discussing the latest philosophical idea. There was also a very strong Jewish population in the city, which apparently had even seen some Greek converts to Judaism.
The primary Greek philosophy of the time believed in the purity of knowledge, wisdom and rationale thought. The Greek term for knowledge, wisdom and rationality was logos , which is most often translated into English as “the word” (John 1:1).
The physical world was not considered pure. To be spiritual, in Greek philosophy, was to immerse one's self in pure thought and pursue knowledge. Greek anthropology saw human kind of consisting of soul and body. The soul is what connected with the logos , and was immortal. Te body was merely a shell which was part of the impure physical world. Death brought the freedom of the soul from the imperfection of the body and the physical world.
This philosophy led to one of two extremes. Some Greeks lived highly ascetic lifestyles, shunning all physical pleasures as not worthy of the soul. Other Greeks indulged in every form of physical pleasure and Hedonistic lifestyles, for the physical was not considered part of the true self, and therefore the acts of the body could not corrupt the soul.
This philosophy is well engrained in the Corinthian church. Paul repeatedly shows how the physical body and the soul are interconnected. The resurrection of the body, which was would have been so contrary to the Greek understanding of the afterlife (Acts 17:32), becomes a major focus of this letter. Furthermore, Paul addresses the error of both acetic and hedonistic lifestyles in this letter. Finally, Paul will repeatedly emphasize the priority of the gospel over knowledge and wisdom [2].
The Church in Corinth
The Church in Corinth
Paul came to Corinth in AD 51 as part of his second missionary journey (Acts 18). As was his pattern, he began by teaching in the Jewish synagogue. Most of the Jews rejected Paul and the gospel, and eventually Paul was kicked out of the synagogue. Nonetheless, Paul did have several Jewish converts, including the leader of the synagogue, Sostheness.
Next door to the synagogue was the house of Titus Justus, and there Paul, after getting kicked out of the synagogue, started the Corinthian church in his house, teaching and training the new believers. Paul remained in Corinth for 18 months before returning to his home base in Antioch.
Soon after Paul left, another Christian leader named Apollos came and led the Corinthian church (Acts 18:27-28). Apollos was a Jew born in Alexandria, Egypt. He had become a disciple of John the Baptist, and was converted to Christianity by Pricilla and Aquila in the city of Ephesus. Apollos was an outstanding teacher who understood the scripture very well, but also who had a charismatic style which captivated the Corinthians.
We aren't sure how long Apollos stayed in Corinth. But what we do know is shortly after he left things began to fall apart in this new young church. The church began breaking into factions. Sexual immorality, so prevalent in their city, started showing up in the church. Their worship became unruly, wild, chaotic meeting times.
Occasion for Writing
Four years after Paul had established the church in Corinth, Paul is living in Ephesus as part of his third missionary journey (Acts 19). While in Ephesus he receives reports from members of the church, especially those of the household of Chloe (1:11), describing the divisiveness and unruly nature of the church. He also receives a letter from the church asking him for clarification on certain issues (7:1). The book known as 1 st Corinthians is a letter which Paul writes to the church in Corinth addressing these issues.
The First Letter to the Corinthians
Theme
First Corinthians is a call for unity within the church. This unity is to be manifest in very practical ways, including a unified focus on the gospel, intolerance for sin within the body, being willing to give up our rights for the sake of others, and providing for an orderly and safe church service.
Under this theme of unity is a secondary theme of the importance of the resurrection and the gospel, especially in contrast to human knowledge and wisdom. The source of the disunity in the church was an arrogance regarding their knowledge. Paul refutes their wisdom and calls the church to that which he had first taught them, namely the gospel.
Structure
This letter deals with numerous practical topics which are arranged not by a flow of a logical argument, but by the source of the issue. Paul had received reports from various people in Corinth, and he deals with these issues in chapters 1-6. The Corinthian church had also sent Paul a letter asking for clarification on various issues. These issues are dealt with in chapters 7-16.
Often these various issues are introduced with Paul stating “Now…” or “Now concerning…” These key transitional phrases form the basis of the outline of the book. Overall there are thirteen issues that Paul addresses in this letter, which can then be grouped into six major categories:
- Introduction (1:1-9)
- Issues of Divisiveness (1:10-6:11)
- Divisions over Leaders and Wisdom (1:10-4:21)
- Divisions over Church Discipline (5:1-13)
- Divisions over External Litigation (6:1-11)
- Issues of Sex and Marriage (6:12-7:40)
- Issues of Freedom and Idolatry (8:1-11:1)
- Issues of the Church Assembly (11:2-14:39)
- Regarding Head Coverings (11:2-16)
- Regarding the Lord's Supper (11:17-34)
- Regarding the Use of Spiritual Gifts (12:1-14:25)
- Regarding Order & Dignity in the Assmbly (14:26-39)
- Issues of the Resurrection (15:1-58)
- Issues of the Collection (16:1-11)
- Concluding Remarks (16:12-24)
Footnotes
- David K. Lowery, "1 Corinthians," The Bible Knowledge Commentary, (Victor Books), 1988, p.505.
- S. J. Hafemann. “Letters to the Corinthians.” Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, ed. Downers Grove IL: Intervarsity Press. 1993.
[Next: Issues of Divisiveness]
