1 Corinthians

 1st Letter of St. Paul to Corinthians  

Title: Paul founded the church in Corinth during his second missionary journey (Acts 18:1-18). That’s where he met Sosthenes – the co-author of the epistle (1:1). Also, this is not the first letter of Paul to the congregation in Corinth (5:9).    

Date of writing: Most likely St. Paul wrote it either between the second and third missionary journeys or when the third journey already began. It should be dates around 50-52 AD.

Structure: based on Lockwood, 1 Corinthians (CPH, 2000), pp. viii-xi

a. 1:1-17, Epistolary Opening

  Word of the Cross is the basis for…

  b. 1:18 – 4:21, …the Church’s Unity 

  c. 5:1 – 7:40, … the Church’s Holiness

  d. 8:1 – 11:1, … the Church’s Freedom

  e. 11:2 – 14:40, … the Church’s Worship

  f. 15:1-58, … the Congregation’s Hope

g. 16:1-24, Conclusion

Main themes:

The power of the Cross

Church’s unity

Maturation of a believer(s)

God’s order reflected in Christian marriage, worship etc. 

Eschatological expectations

Main Characters:

Paul, Apollos, Cephas (Peter), Timothy

Pharisees vs. Sadducees (see ch. 15, cp. Acts 18:12 for the usage of the “Jews”).

Reflection in other parts of the Bible:

The whole theme of chastity is based on the acceptance of the prohibitions set in Torah (Lev. 18).  

The introduction to the worship section Paul uses the Exodus story as a point of reference (10:1-13).

The usage of the Words of institution (11:24-25) shows that Sp. Paul knew the Last Supper narrative. Most likely from Luke (Lk. 22:14-23). But he also refers to the events that happened after the resurrection of Jesus that might not be recorded in the Gospels (15:7).   

To understand the theology of tongues it is important to know the historical background of the sign Isaiah refers to (14:20-25 – Is. 28:11,12).

Lutheran teaching:

The distinction between natural and spiritual man (2:14) is a foundational passage for discussion in Augsburg Confession (XVIII:2; XX:36), Apology (II(I):30, XVIII:73), Smalcald Articles (III, III:18), and Formula of Concord (Epitome II:2, SD II:5, 10, 71) which establish the distinction between the freedom of the will in the civil realm and the restoration of the spiritual righteousness of a man.    

Not surprising that 1 Cor. 10 and 11 is used for the description of the Lord’s Supper. Smalcald Articles (III, VI:1,5), Large Catechism (V:50, 69, 83), etc. make explicit remarks to the institution of the Sacrament of the Altar. 

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 621 – Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

LSB 854 – Forth in Thy Name, O Lord, I Go

Relevancy of the Book:

Even thou St. Paul write the epistle about two thousand years ago, the problems and challenges of the Church are still the same. The unity, the maturation of the members, the proper order in the worship, etc. Which can lead us to despair – nothing improves, or it can teach us that satan has very limited number of temptations. We can/are able to learn from the past and apply the lesson for our current situation.    

Memory verses:  

3:16 – Do you know that you are God’s temple, and that the Holy Spirit dwells in you? (cp. 6:19-20).