The Author The letter of 1 Corinthians was written from Ephesus about a year after the establishment of the church at Corinth, or A.D. 55. Letter writers in the first century would introduce their own name at the very start. Then, they would address the readers and give a greeting. Paul introduced h... [ Continue Reading ]
Words of Encouragement Paul used a Christian approach to the typical greetings in letters of that day. He wanted them to experience all of God's unmerited favor, or grace. Notice, Paul says that grace is given by Christ Jesus. He was thankful they had received God's grace when they obeyed the gospe... [ Continue Reading ]
A Plea to End Divisions Christ's name was used nine times by Paul in the first nine verses of 1 Corinthians 1:1-31. He was shown to be good and important to the Christian. In the tenth verse, his name is used for its authority (Matthew 28:18). The speech of all Christians should be completely in agr... [ Continue Reading ]
Personal Thoughts From Paul Because of the division and strife, Paul was glad he had only baptized a few of them. Crispus was ruler of the synagogue (Acts 18:8). Paul wrote his letter to the Romans from Gaius' house (Romans 16:23). Those who had seen these men obey the gospel knew he neither baptiz... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus Christ, Wisdom from God So, Paul said, not many of those who would be called wise, or powerful or noblemen followed Jesus. Most uprisings are successful because the upper crust leaders join and the lowly commoners follow. Christianity appealed to the lowly and spread to those wrapped up in se... [ Continue Reading ]
The Foolishness of Preaching To those who are worldly minded, the preaching of the gospel is silly and absurd. To those who "are being saved" (footnote ASV) the gospel is mighty, like dynamite. The Greek word used here is dunamis as is also the case in Romans 1:16. To further show man must learn to... [ Continue Reading ]
The Crucified Christ Displays God's Wisdom Instead of gospel preaching, the Jews wanted a sign Jesus was the Messiah. McGarvey and Pendleton mention several examples of the Jews' demands for signs (Matthew 12:38; Matthew 16:1; John 1:18; John 4:48). They looked for a messiah to conquer Rome. So, Je... [ Continue Reading ]