1 Corinthians

Corinth was a busy seaport. The port was in the Mediterranean. And everybody knew about the people there. Their moral lives were very bad at that time. Other people might call someone ‘a Corinthian’. And this meant that the person was evil.

Before they became Christians, many people in Corinth were very evil (6:9-11). In a place like this, the church had difficulties. And Paul wrote this letter to help them. The church lacked love. There were several errors, both of belief and of behaviour. Paul wanted to correct these errors. So he appealed for:

Agreement (Chapters 1-4)

There were different groups in the local church. And they were opposing each other (1:11-12; 3:3-4). But this was against the nature of the church. The church is one body. (Read 12:12-27.) Paul said, ‘You cannot divide Christ into different groups! You know that Paul did not die on the cross for you!’ (1:13).

[Note: The Church refers to a group of believers, not to a building.]

Christ's death on the cross had been Paul's main subject. God uses people to tell about Christ. And he often chooses weak people for this work. He often chooses people who are not important (1:26-31). So they cannot praise themselves. No ‘party’ or ‘group’ can think that it is the best. Nobody is better than the Lord (1:31).

Paul explained about himself when he came to preach at Corinth. He was not proud. And he did not have confidence in himself. He trusted only in God (2:1-5).

Notice how Paul described people who were in different groups (3:1-4). There were those who were natural (they did not know God). There were those who were spiritual. (They understood the things of God.) Then there were people of the world. (They were Christians. But they lived like people who did not know God.) God showed his truth to spiritual people (2:6-13). Natural people could not understand it (2:14-16).

Lack of unity showed what the people of this church were like. They were people of the world. They should unite to serve Christ. And they should work as a team (3:5-11). Paul emphasised the importance of these two things. And he used clear picture language. He did this to emphasise the nature of his own work. He was like:

• a gardener (3:6)
• a builder (3:10)
• a slave (4:1. The actual Greek word used here is different. It is the word for people who used oars to move a ship. There would be upper and lower rows. They would usually be slaves).
• a manager (4:2)
• an apostle (4:9)
• a fool (4:10)
• a father (4:14-21). Paul had become their spiritual parent. So he had responsibilities for them. He must teach them and he must correct them.

Moral Goodness (Chapters 5-7)

This section is about particular relationships. Chapter 5 is about a serious moral sin (5:1). The church had done nothing about it. But Paul told the church members that they must act. They must put the man out of the local church for a time (5:5). This evil could affect the whole church (5:6-8). And they must be ready to act in such matters. They should not leave it to judges in the law courts to decide these things (6:1-8).

The church must keep its moral and spiritual goodness (6:9-14). There was a reason for this. Remember that the whole church is like a body (12:12-30). And the body of each believer is a special house for the Holy Spirit (6:15-20).

The people of Corinth asked for Paul's advice. They had some questions about marriage (chapter 7). People have misunderstood his teaching in a serious way. And we must remember something important. Here, Paul was supporting the state of being single. He was not opposing marriage. Paul was thinking about the fact that the Lord was coming back to earth soon. So the times were urgent. (Read 4:5; 5:5; 6:2-3; and especially 7:29-31.)

Liberty (Chapters 8-10)

Paul now discussed another problem. People who were not Christians offered meat to idols. Then they ate it. Paul shows the importance of Christian liberty. Some believers ate meat like this. They said that ‘an idol is nothing’ (8:4). So they did not feel guilty about it.

However, Paul thought about weaker Christians in this matter (8:9-13). ‘You hurt them when you cause them to do things that they feel are wrong’. If you do this, ‘then you are also sinning against Christ’ (8:12). So he would rather not eat meat if it caused someone else to sin (8:13). He did not please himself. Instead, he used every possible way to bring people to Christ (9:20-27).

Chapter 10 reminds us about something important. Christian life and service are serious matters. And Paul talked about events from the Old Testament to explain this. We read about this time in the book of Exodus. And Paul talked about that time. He mentioned ‘baptism’ and ‘spiritual food’ (10:1-4). Most of God's people could not enter the Promised Land then. [Note: This Land was Canaan, now called Israel. God had promised to give the land to Abraham.] Now, we must be right with God. And we must obey him. If we do not, ceremonies have no value.

These Old Testament events warned believers (10:11,12). They must stay away from the worship of idols (10:14). Paul said, ‘I do not mean that the food offered to an idol is important’. Then he said some very serious words. ‘The things that people offer to idols they are offering to demons, not to God (10:14-22).

[Note: A demon is an evil spirit from Satan.]

All that we do should bring honour to God (10:31). Christian liberty does not neglect the fact that we should be an example. We are free. But our freedom must do two things. It must recommend Christ. And it must encourage other people.

Unity (Chapters 11-12)

Paul mentioned three problems here: public prayers, behaviour at the Lord's Supper and spiritual gifts. [Note: Remember that it was a new church, so there would be many questions.]

• Prayer. Jews covered their heads when they prayed. Romans did the same. But Greeks did not cover their heads. So members of this Greek church wondered what they should do. And Paul gave instructions in 11:1-16.
• The Lord's Supper. This had become an unhappy time. It was because of bad behaviour (11:18-34). Such behaviour was against the purpose of the Supper. And they would bring the judgement of God.
• Spiritual gifts. Their use had caused problems. Paul showed that there are various gifts (12:4). And the Holy Spirit decides which gift to give to each person (12:11). Not every person has all the gifts. Also, the gifts are for the good of the whole church (12:20-30). An example is in 12:14-27.

Love (Chapters 13-14)

Love is the best gift (12:31). Chapter 13 is full of great language. But it claims our constant attention too. It is love alone that matters most (13:1-3). It is difficult to love all the time. But love lasts (13:7-13). Chapter 14 discusses love's practical use in two areas. First, there is the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages. Then there is the gift of prophecy. [Note: This means to speak or to teach things from God.] Someone who has this gift will give people strength. He or she will encourage and comfort them (14:3).

Confidence (Chapter 15)

There was confusion and a lack of confidence in the church. Its members knew the Christian message (15:1-8). But they were not loyal to its truths. Some of them doubted that people could come alive again after death. Therefore, they doubted that Christ came alive again. Paul reminded them about something serious. If they left out one Christian truth, then they would lose other truths. (Read 15:13-19.)

The chapter began with Christ coming alive again (15:12). This was in the past. It ends with us coming alive again (15:51-57). This will be in the future. But Paul was always practical. And he spoke about the present (15:58). Christians must be steady and strong. And they must work hard.

Generous Giving (Chapter 16)

The chapter ends with some greetings (16:19-24). First, there are instructions about money. The Christians in Corinth had collected some money. It was for the poor people in the church at Jerusalem (16:1-4. Read Acts 11:29; Romans 15:25). Paul taught that ‘love’ is not just a beautiful word. (Read 13:1-13.) Their love would result in action. They would give:

• with sympathy (16:1) − for God's people
• regularly (16:2) − on the first day of every week
• the right amount (16:2) – this would be a certain proportion of their income
• generously (2 Corinthians 8:2)
• eagerly (1 Corinthians 9:2)

This letter has things to say to Christians today. Their moral standards are often low. And, often, they do not care about the truths of God's word. So the letter speaks to Christians in the 21st century.