Commentary on First Corinthians (Commentary on the New Testament Book #7)

Robert H. Gundry

• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN:
  9781441237644
• eBook ISBN:
  9781441237644
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

Delve Deeper into God's Word

In this verse-by-verse commentary, Robert Gundry offers a fresh, literal translation and a reliable exposition of Scripture for today's readers.

Gundry unpacks this first letter of Paul to the church in Corinth, addressing the pressing issues the church faces--issues many churches face today as well.

Pastors, Sunday school teachers, small group leaders, and laypeople will welcome Gundry's nontechnical explanations and clarifications. And Bible students at all levels will appreciate his sparkling interpretations.

This selection is from Gundry's Commentary on the New Testament.

First Corinthians

After a greeting to the Corinthian church (1:1–3) and a thanksgiving for them (1:4–9), this letter of Paul divides into two main parts: (1) his responses to a report he has heard or read about the church (1:10–6:20) and (2) his replies to questions asked him in a letter sent to him by the church (7:1–16:4). (The church’s letter hasn’t survived.) A set of miscellanea concludes the letter (16:5–24). See Acts 18:1–18a for Paul’s evangelization of Corinth, a city located in Greece on a narrow isthmus between the Aegean Sea to the east and the Ionian Sea to the west. He writes this letter from Ephesus, close to the west coast of Asia Minor, on his third missionary journey (Acts 18:22–23; 19:20).

ADDRESS AND GREETING
1 Corinthians 1:1–3

1:1–3: Paul, called through God’s will [to be] an apostle of Christ Jesus, and Sosthenes, [our] brother, 2to the church of God that’s in Corinth, [that is, to those who] have been consecrated in Christ Jesus, called [to be] sacred [in him] along with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours: 3Grace and peace to you from God, our Father, and the Lord, Jesus Christ. “An apostle of Christ Jesus” means someone sent by Jesus to speak and act with the very authority of Jesus himself. The prefixing of “Christ,” properly a title meaning “Anointed One” (“Messiah” in Hebrew), lays a basis for that authority in Jesus’ messianic office. And “called through God’s will” adds further emphasis on Paul’s apostolic authority in that Jesus carried out God’s will when commissioning Paul (for the details of which see Acts 9:15–16; 22:11–15, 21; 26:12–18; Galatians 1:15–16). All this emphasis on Paul’s authority is designed to undergird both his responses to the disturbing report he has heard about the Corinthian church and his replies to disputed questions they’ve asked him in their letter (compare 12:28; 2 Corinthians 10:8; 13:10). Sosthenes is probably a Corinthian who happens to be with Paul at the time of writing (Acts 18:17). If so, Paul’s inclusion of him in the greeting and affectionately calling him a “brother” enlist one of the Corinthians’ own number in support of what he, Paul, is going to write.

For “the church of God” see the comments on 1 Thessalonians 2:14. “Consecrated in Christ Jesus” means “set apart as sacred to God” by virtue of being “in Christ Jesus” and thus distinguishes Christians from the rest of humanity. People come to be in Christ Jesus by believing in him; and when they believe in him they receive the Spirit of God, who is also the Spirit of Christ, so that having the Spirit of God that indwells Christ entails being in Christ (see especially Romans 8:1–11, but also 1 Thessalonians 1:1 for the additional entailment of being “in God, the Father”). “Called [to be] sacred [in Christ Jesus]” refers to God’s effective drawing of certain people into this field of consecration to himself and sets up a parallel with Paul’s apostolic calling. The parallel implies that the Corinthian believers are just as obligated to live out their consecration to God as Paul is to live out his apostolic commission. “Along with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ” indicates that though Paul has addressed his letter only to the Corinthian church and will take up topics specific to that church, what he has to say to them about living as people consecrated to God applies to all Christians everywhere, so that the Corinthians shouldn’t think Paul is “picking on them” when he proceeds to spell out the requirements of their consecration. And they should make this letter available to Christians from elsewhere. “All” and “in every place” underscore the general relevance of Paul’s instructions. “Calling on the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ” means appealing to him for salvation because he’s the Lord and therefore can save (Romans 10:13). “Our Lord” distinguishes him from the Caesars and pagan deities whom pagans designated their lords. “Their Lord and ours” means “the Lord of all other Christians as well as of us,” reemphasizes the general relevance of this letter, and puts forward all Christians’ confession of Jesus’ lordship as a backdrop against which Paul will criticize splits in the Corinthian church (1:10–4:21; compare 7:17; 11:16; 14:33, 36; 16:1). For “grace and peace” see the comments on 1 Peter 1:2; 2 John 3. “From God, our Father, and the Lord, Jesus Christ” transforms an expected greeting from Paul into a greeting from God and Jesus Christ the Lord, so that once more the authority of this letter is underscored. Yet balancing the element of authority is the designation of God as “our Father,” for it establishes a familial framework for Paul’s coming instructions. Since Jesus Christ is the Lord as well as a human being, Paul pairs him with God, so that the two become objects of one and the same preposition, “from.”

A THANKSGIVING
1 Corinthians 1:4–9

1:4–8: On the basis of God’s grace that was given to you in Christ Jesus I’m always thanking my God for you 5in that you’ve been enriched in him in every [respect]—[that is,] in every [kind of] speech and every [kind of] knowledge, 6just as the testimony about the Christ [= Paul’s testimony that Jesus is the Messiah] has been confirmed among you, 7so that you aren’t falling short in any gracious gift while eagerly awaiting the revelation of our Lord, Jesus Christ, 8who will also confirm you until the end [so as to be] unaccusable in the Day of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Having struck an authoritative note in 1:1–3, Paul now strikes a complimentary note. The compliment consists in stating his recognition that the Corinthians have a wealth of gifts having to do with speech and knowledge; and this compliment gets added emphasis from his “always thanking [his] God for [the Corinthians],” from his description of their enrichment as having “confirmed” among them “the testimony about the Christ,” from his statement that as a group they “aren’t falling short in any gracious gift,” and from his description of them as “eagerly awaiting the revelation of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” The details concerning the gracious gifts will follow in chapters 12–14. Meanwhile the multifaceted compliment has the purpose of winning an acceptance of Paul’s coming responses and replies. Yet to forestall the Corinthians’ taking pride in the compliment, he bases his thanking God for them on “God’s grace [= ill-deserved favor] that was given to [them] in Christ Jesus [not because of what they were or are in themselves]” and describes their enrichment in terms of “gracious gifts.” By calling God “my God” Paul supports what he has to say with a back reference to his being an apostle of Christ Jesus “through God’s will” (1:1). “The revelation of our Lord, Jesus Christ” will happen at “the end,” which equates with “the Day of our Lord, Jesus Christ”—in other words, the day when he comes back in a full display and exercise of his lordship (compare 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:10; 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12). “Who will also confirm you until the end [so as to be] unaccusable in the Day of our Lord, Jesus Christ” assures the Corinthians that their “eagerly awaiting” that revelation is well justified. They’ll be confirmed—that is, well-established in Christian faith—just as “the testimony about the Christ has [already] been confirmed among [them].” As a result, no one will be able to accuse them of apostasy when the Lord returns. The four occurrences in 1:1–8 of “our Lord” imply a foundation of shared faith on which Paul will build his coming responses and replies.

1:9: God [is] faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. “God [is] faithful” continues the assurance in 1:8. So he’ll faithfully confirm the Corinthians “until the end.” “Through whom you were called” makes God the agent of calling, which way of putting it involves him as closely as possible in the calling itself. As indicated by “Jesus Christ, our Lord,” “the fellowship of [God’s] Son” refers to Christians’ sharing Jesus Christ as their Lord (versus, as before, other lords: Caesars and pagan deities) and therefore once again implies a foundation of shared faith on which Paul will build his coming responses and replies.

RESPONSES TO A REPORT ABOUT THE CORINTHIAN CHURCH
1 Corinthians 1:10–6:20

ON SPLITS IN THE CORINTHIAN CHURCH
1 Corinthians 1:10–4:21

1:10–12: But I urge you, brothers, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you all say the same thing and [that] there be no splits among you but [that] you be put back together in the same [turn of] mind and in the same purpose. 11For concerning you, my brothers, it has been pointed out to me by Chloe’s [household members] that there are contentions among you. 12I’m saying this [in other words]: that each of you is saying, “I belong to Paul,” but “I belong to Apollos,” but “I belong to Cephas,” but “I belong to Christ.” As often, “brothers” introduces an exhortation on an affectionate note; but in view of Paul’s discussion of divisions among the Corinthians, the present such address implies they should restore family unity in their church. “Through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ” adds to the exhortation the authority of Jesus Christ as Lord. “That you all say the same thing” exhorts the Corinthians to adopt the same slogan rather than different slogans (“I belong to Paul” [and so forth]). “That . . . there be no splits among you” alludes to the divisive effect of those slogans. The unifying slogan won’t become wholly apparent till 3:21–23. Everybody’s “say[ing] the same thing”—that is, adopting the same slogan—will “put [them] back together.” This mending of their fractured fellowship will issue in a shared mindset (“the same [turn of] mind”) and in a shared objective (“the same purpose”).

A repetition of the address, “brothers,” and the addition to it of “my” deepen Paul’s expression of affectionate concern over the report of internal contentions by members of Chloe’s household. (We know no more about Chloe, the members of her household, or how they communicated with Paul, whether by oral report in a visit to him or by way of a letter.) The contentions consist in divided personal loyalties. “I belong to Paul” comes first on the list of slogans representing those loyalties in order to emphasize Paul’s rejection of loyalty even to him. For Apollos, see especially Acts 18:24–19:7. “Cephas” is the Aramaic form of Simon’s Greek nickname, “Peter,” about which see the comments on Matthew 16:16–18 (and see 1 Corinthians 9:5; Galatians 2:11; 1 Peter 5:13 for his itinerant ministry). Though an explanation of “I belong to Christ” will appear in 3:21–23, Paul doesn’t explain how or why these divided loyalties arose; so speculation serves no good purpose. At the same time, “each of you is saying” stresses the extent of the divisions; and a grammatical construction in Paul’s Greek text stresses the slogans’ divisiveness. (A somewhat literal translation of the construction goes as follows: “On the one hand . . . on the other hand . . . on the other hand . . . on the other hand.” But then we have too many hands.[1])

1:13–17: Has the Christ been divided? Paul wasn’t crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name? 14[In view of my misbegotten followers] I’m thanking God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15lest anyone [of you] should say that you were baptized in my name. 16(But I also baptized the household of Stephanas; as for the rest, I don’t know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17For Christ didn’t send me to baptize [people]—rather, to proclaim the gospel, not with wisdom of speech, lest the cross of the Christ be voided. Here Paul counters the divisive slogans with a satirical question that both he and the Corinthians hardly need to answer: “Has the Christ been divided?” This question arises out of Paul’s teaching that all believers are “in Christ,” so that divisions among them falsely imply a division of Christ himself. “The Christ” calls attention to his being the corporate Christ. Paul counters also with a question that the Corinthians are expected to answer: “Paul wasn’t crucified for you, was he?” Of course not, as they well know; for otherwise he wouldn’t be writing this letter. Then he counters with a question that he himself answers: “Or were you baptized in Paul’s name?” But instead of answering that he hadn’t baptized any of the Corinthians in his own name—that is, to gain a following for himself—he proceeds to answer that he hadn’t baptized very many of them at all. Yet the exceptions of Crispus and Gaius (on whom see Acts 18:8; Romans 16:23) do prove that he hadn’t baptized anyone in his name, for baptizing to establish a following of his own would have led him to baptize as many as he could. He’s reminded of further exceptions (“the household of Stephanas”), but the very facts that he didn’t at first remember having baptized them and that he doesn’t remember whether he baptized anyone else add further proof of his not having baptized people to gain a personal following. So too does his thanking God that he didn’t. For if he’d baptized people for that purpose and gained so few followers by doing so, he’d have little reason to thank God—and he wouldn’t have the present argument with which to denounce divisions in the Corinthian church.

But why did Paul baptize anybody at all if Christ didn’t send him to baptize people? The question is wrongly framed. Baptism as such isn’t at issue. Baptism in Paul’s name is at issue. Christ didn’t send him to gain a personal following by baptizing people; but he did send Paul to proclaim the gospel, which has to do with “the cross of the Christ,” not with anything having to do with Paul. (Incidentally, ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• First Corinthians
• Notes
• Back Cover