1 Corinthians

An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture

Mark Taylor

• Publisher: Holman Reference
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781433681028
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." -1 Corinthians 3: 11 The New American Commentary series is an exceptionally acclaimed resource for ministers and Bible students who want to understand and expound the Scriptures. Each volume includes: • Commentary based on the New International Version.
• NIV text printed in the body of the commentary.
• Sound scholarly methodology reflecting capable research in the original languages.
• Interpretation emphasizing the theological unity of each book and Scripture as a whole.
• Readable and applicable exposition. Mark Taylor's commentary on 1 Corinthians looks at Paul's missionary journey to Corinth where he planted a church and nurtured the new believers for approximately eighteen months. Taylor pays careful attention to the nuances of the English translation (NIV), the Greek text, and the units of meaning that are vital to interpreting this letter. He presents with clarity the range of scholarly opinion regarding the issues in 1 Corinthians and then makes a case for his own views.

SECTION OUTLINE

I. Letter Opening

1. Salutation (1:1–3)

2. Thanksgiving (1:4–9)

I. LETTER OPENING (1:1–9)

Letters in the first century typically opened with a salutation followed by a prayer or thanksgiving.¹ The salutation identified the sender and recipient of the letter followed by a brief greeting. Paul’s letter introductions generally follow this pattern,² but the content is always uniquely Christian. In this letter, for example, Paul writes as an apostle of Jesus Christ to the church of God in Corinth and extends greetings of grace and peace from God and Christ (1:1–3). Furthermore, in contrast to the routine prayer or thanksgiving for good health or prosperity typical of secular letters of the time, Paul offers an expansive thanksgiving for the grace of God given in Christ (1:4–8) and extols the faithfulness of God, who called them into fellowship with his Son (1:9).

One of the outstanding features of this particular thanksgiving is the remarkable optimism that precedes Paul’s response to divisions in the church (1:10–4:21), an incident of egregious immorality (5:1–13), civil litigation before the unrighteous (6:1–11), libertine attitudes toward sexual immorality and idolatry (6:12–20; 8:1–11:1), a deficient understanding of the function of spiritual gifts in building up the church (12:1–14:40), and the denial by some of the resurrection of the dead (15:12). Throughout the letter Paul repeatedly mentions the poisonous sin of pride that had gripped the community.³ Yet, in spite of their failures, Paul offers continual thanks to God for them (1:4), their enrichment in Christ (1:5–6), and their sufficient endowment of spiritual gifts (1:7), and he expresses confidence that God will establish them blameless in the Day of the Lord (1:8). How are we to reconcile Paul’s favorable attitude with the wide-ranging problems that needed correction?

Some suggest Paul’s affirmative stance in the letter opening serves a rhetorical purpose to establish good will between the author (Paul) and the recipients (the church at Corinth) while at the same time encapsulating the main themes of the letter.⁴ Certainly Paul accomplishes both, yet he does so sincerely with a pastoral purpose without irony or flattery.⁵ He does not commend the Corinthians directly for their faith and love as he does other churches⁶ but rather “boasts” for what God has done for them in Christ (cf. 1:31).⁷ The theological focus of the letter opening, coalescing around the twin themes of God’s grace (1:4–8) and God’s faithfulness (1:9), explains Paul’s gratitude and confidence.

1. Salutation (1:1–3)

¹Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

²To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who 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.

All letters attributed to Paul begin with a three-part structure of sender, recipient, and greetings. Paul often adds a further descriptor to his name, such as apostle⁸ or servant,⁹ but not always.¹⁰ Slight variations also occur in the description of the recipients and the manner of greeting.¹¹ Additionally, Paul sometimes expands on any one of the three standard components. Romans 1:2–7, for example, develops the “gospel of God” theme following the identification of the sender. Galatians 1:3 extends the greeting of grace and peace, focusing on Christ’s saving work. In 1 Cor 1:2 Paul expands on the recipients more than in any other of his letters to the churches (1:2).¹² Other noteworthy adaptations to the salutation in 1 Corinthians include the epithet “called apostle,” found elsewhere only in Rom 1:1, and the mention of Sosthenes as the co-sender of the letter. The differences and elaborations among the salutations in Paul’s letters is best explained by the occasional nature of his correspondence with the churches.¹³

1:1 By identifying himself as a called apostle through the will of God, Paul emphasizes that his apostolic call was a matter entirely of God’s choice. Similarly, Gal 1:11–17 accentuates the revelatory nature of Paul’s conversion and his summons to preach Christ among the Gentiles,¹⁴ that his call was according to God’s purpose, even before birth, like the call of the Old Testament prophets.¹⁵ Further insight into Paul’s conversion and call appears in his autobiographical accounts in Phil 3:3–17 and 1 Tim 1:12–16 as well as Luke’s accounts in the book of Acts.¹⁶ At various points in the letter Paul mentions the fruit of his apostolic labors (see 1:17; 3:6; 4:15; 9:1–2).¹⁷ Because he formerly persecuted the church Paul deemed himself unworthy of his calling and considered himself to be the least of the apostles; yet, by God’s grace he claimed, “I worked harder than all of them” (15:9–11; cf. also 3:10).

Since Paul does not always include his apostolic credentials in the salutation of other letters,¹⁸ why does he do so here? Fee detects evidence of a crisis between Paul and the Corinthians and thinks he intends to defend his apostleship and re-establish his authority.¹⁹ Apostleship possesses inherent authority by virtue of the divine call, and we cannot rule out the possibility that Paul’s authority was in question among some in Corinth.²⁰ Thiselton, however, draws attention to another perspective in the history of interpretation, namely, that apostles not only uniquely bear witness to Christ’s death and resurrection but also endure the practical experience of suffering as a necessary sign of apostleship.²¹ Paul patterned his life and preaching according to a crucified Messiah (2:1–5; 4:6–13), and he urged others to follow his example (4:16; 11:1; see also 9:1–18). The Corinthians, on the other hand, were boasting in men, as the lengthy exposition in 1:10–4:21 demonstrates. Perhaps they expected Paul to “boast” like the great public speakers of the day in order to elevate his worldly status, but he would have none of it.²² Such ostentatious motives would have been completely out of line for one commissioned by a crucified Messiah.

Sosthenes, the co-sender of the letter,²³ may be the “synagogue ruler” mentioned in Acts 18:17, who was beaten by the Jews when the Roman proconsul Gallio refused to hear their complaint against Paul.²⁴ If this is the same person, then presumably he was converted to Christ and was with Paul in Ephesus at the time of the writing of 1 Corinthians. Since the name Sosthenes occurs only twice in the New Testament, we know nothing further about him. Apparently, he was well-known to the Corinthians and co-labored in ministry with Paul in some way. It is uncertain if he participated in some way in the writing of the letter, although not out of the question.²⁵ In Romans, the name of Paul’s scribe, Tertius, appears at the end of the letter (Rom 16:22) rather than at the beginning as the co-sender. The mention of a co-sender highlights the collaborative nature of Paul’s ministry.²⁶

1:2 Paul elaborates more on the recipients of this letter, the church of God in Corinth, than he does in any of his other letters. His description of the believers in Corinth is replete with Old Testament imagery and phrases, and he addresses the church as a whole without any mention of its factions or leaders.²⁷ In addition to the usual identification of the church’s location, Paul describes the recipients as “those sanctified in Christ Jesus²⁸ and called to be holy,²⁹ together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This last phrase does not identify other co-senders (the whole church) or a second group of recipients to whom the letter was written.³⁰ Paul simply asserts that the Corinthians are God’s holy people by calling, as are all other believers everywhere who call on the name of the Lord. The statement that Jesus is both “their Lord and ours,”³¹ reminds the Corinthians of their solidarity with other believers and prepares the way for the exhortation to unity in 1:10. To “call on the name of the Lord” is an Old Testament expression for the worship of Yahweh as the God of Israel, which in the New Testament context refers to an acknowledgement of the Lordship of Christ, the confession of all believers.³² In using the term Lord with reference to Jesus, “Paul acknowledges along with the rest of early Christians that the risen Christ is on a par with Yahweh of the OT.”³³

In classical Greek the word translated “church” denoted a political assembly.³⁴ In the LXX the term describes the people of Israel.³⁵ The New Testament usage emphasizes the idea of the people of God gathered in the Lord’s presence.³⁶ Here, Paul speaks of the church “of God,” that is, an assembly of believers that is God’s sole possession (cf. 3:9). The use of the term translated “set apart” occurs only here in a Pauline greeting.³⁷ This, along with the designation “holy ones,”³⁸ reflects the Old Testament background of God’s people as holy, that is, set apart unto the Lord’s purposes.³⁹ Likewise, the notion of calling on the name of the Lord has Old Testament roots.⁴⁰ Furthermore, Paul locates the Corinthians with other believers “everywhere,” which may be a reference to the world-wide worship of God spreading throughout the world in the Gentile mission.⁴¹

That Paul strikes such a universal tone in his elaboration on the recipients is no accident in light of the self-sufficiency that plagued the Corinthian church. His intent is to strike at the independent spirit among those in Corinth who wanted to go their own way. He reminds them that they are under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and they exist in relation to other churches. Throughout the letter Paul gives instructions with reference to the commonly held teachings of all the churches.⁴² What he says to the Corinthians he says to all. They are part of a much larger picture. Paul speaks collectively to the church of God in Corinth, not to any one house church, and he reminds them that they are only one assembly of believers among many.

1:3 Paul always extended greetings of grace and peace to his readers,⁴³ even in his letter to the Galatians when he was quite displeased with what was occurring there (Gal 1:6–9).⁴⁴ The terms “grace” and “peace” are theologically significant and appropriate to those who have received the gospel. Grace indicates God’s unmerited favor⁴⁵ and peace flows from grace, presupposing a former state of rebellion.⁴⁶ The combination of grace and peace may echo the blessing uttered by the sons of Aaron over the Israelites in Num 6:24–26.⁴⁷ Porter contends that since there is little evidence of superscriptions with “peace” in Hellenistic Jewish letters of the time, “Paul has consciously created his own superscription to emphasize the comprehensive work of God: it is one of gracious giving and forgiveness for previous hostility.”⁴⁸

Paul’s greeting of grace and peace extends from both God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, a juxtaposition that occurs throughout the salutation. Paul is an apostle of Jesus Christ, through the will of God (1:1). He writes to the church of God, which has been set apart in Christ (1:2). The designation of Jesus as “Lord” in 1:2 and 1:3 evokes a title ascribed to Yahweh in the Old Testament. It is hard to miss the profound theological implications of the divine functions accorded to both God the Father and Jesus the Son. As Fee explains, “If in 8:6; 11:3, and 15:26–28 there is a functional subordination of the Son to the Father in terms of his work, texts such as this one, and 1 Thess 3:11 and 1 Cor 12:4–6, make it clear that in Paul’s mind the Son is truly God and works in cooperation with the Father in the redemption of his people.”⁴⁹ The salutation as a whole emphasizes God’s action in and through Christ, which carries forward to the thanksgiving in 1:4–9 and sets the tone for the rema...