1 Corinthians Simplified

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Background

Corinth was a Thriving City

It was the Commercial and Political Capital of Achaia

Located Just Off the Isthmus Between the Peloponnesus and the Remainder of Greece

It had 2 Ports Which Made it a Major Trading Center

The Roman Historian Strabo wrote,

“Corinth is called ‘wealthy’ because of its commerce, since it is situated on the Isthmus and is master of two harbours, of which the one leads straight to Asia, and the other to Italy; and it makes easy the exchange of merchandise from both countries that are so far distant from each other.”

Corinth was a Roman City, But it Still Had a Lot of Greek Culture

There Were at Least 12 Pagan Temples (Temple of Apollo & Aphrodite on the Acrocorinth)

Theater

Athletic Events (Isthmian Games)

These Things Would Have Brought in Many People as They Do Today

It’s Estimated that the City’s Population was Between 80,000 and 100,000

It’s Possible that 1/3 of that was Slaves

Corinth was an Ancient Equivalent to Many of the Major Cities We See Today:

Exciting and Vibrant with Lots of Opportunities for Financial Success

But it Also was Filled to the Brim with Wickedness and Immorality…

As Well as the Poor and Oppressed

Author & Audience

Author is the Apostle Paul

Paul, Along with Silas and Timothy, Established the Church on Paul’s 2nd Missionary Journey

After Establishing the Church, He Stayed There a Year and a Half

Paul Wrote this Letter Sometime After that

Audience is the Christian Church at Corinth

Purpose

Paul’s Purpose for Writing this Letter was to Straighten Out Some Problems in Corinth

1 Corinthians 1:10–11 (NASB95)

Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you.

After Establishing and Leaving the Church in Corinth…

Some People Had Come and Told Him About the Problems Going On There

He Also Received a Letter From the Church…

Asking Him About Certain Subjects

1 Corinthians 7:1 (NASB95)

Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman.

1 Corinthians 7:25 (NASB95)

Now concerning virgins I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy.

1 Corinthians 8:1 (NASB95)

Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.

1 Corinthians 12:1 (NASB95)

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware.

1 Corinthians 16:1 (NASB95)

Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also.

Paul’s Purpose for Writing this Letter was Because:

This Immature Church Needed Guidance in a Number of Different Areas

Divisions, Immorality, False Teaching, etc.

Themes

The Theme of the Book is Very Much Paul’s Focus On the Problems Taking Place in the Corinthian Church

These Problems Were Causing a Lot of Damage Because They Were Dividing the Church

Paul Wrote this Letter to Bring Unity to this Fractured Body

There are 2 Key Words in 1 Corinthians that Relate to Some of Their Main Problems:

“Wise/Wisdom”

In Corinth, Greek Philosophy and Seeking After Wisdom was Very Popular

And the Church was Not Immune to that Desire

They Believed Worldly Wisdom Made You More Spiritual

What Exactly is this Worldly Wisdom They Desired?

1 Corinthians 1:17 (NASB95)

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.

Worldly Wisdom is Following After People Because of Their Wise/Persuasive Speech…

Instead of the Content of Their Message

Lots of Professional Speakers Would Come to Large Cities Like Corinth

They Would Make Lots of Money and Impress Lots of People with Their Speaking Abilities

Other Aspects of Worldly Wisdom:

1 Corinthians 1:26–29 (NASB95)

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.

Wisdom, Power, and Nobility

They Desired All the Same Things We Desire Today

They Wanted to Be Perceived as Intelligent and Wise

They Wanted Power, Influence, and Wealth

They Wanted Popularity and High Social Standing

These Were All the Things They Were Seeking to Attain…

Because They, Like Us, Loved Having Something to Brag About

These are the Things Worldly Wisdom Considers Success

But Paul Tells Them that God Saved Them When They Didn’t Have Any of Those Things

He Saved Them in Their Foolishness, Weakness, and Low Social Standing

The Wise, Strong, and Noble Don’t Typically Come to Faith in Jesus

Because Only Through Humility and Self-Surrender can Someone Do So

Paul’s Solution is:

1 Corinthians 3:18 (NASB95)

Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.

They Need to Humble Themselves and Stop Seeking After Worldly Wisdom

Let Go of Your Pride and Selfish Pursuit of Worldly Wisdom

1 Corinthians 1:30–31 (NASB95)

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Christians Have Nothing to Boast About

Everything We are is Because of What Jesus has Done for Us

Our Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption are All Because of Him, Not Us

He is True Wisdom From God

And if We are Going to Brag, Let Us Brag About Him

“Body”

Body Refers to 2 Things in Corinthians:

Our Individual Bodies

The Body of Jesus/the Church

The Corinthians had the Pagan Belief that Our Individual Bodies are Not Important

They Were Using Their Bodies to Satisfy Their Sexual Desires

I’m Going to Read a Passage From the NIV Because it Captures the Idea Better

1 Corinthians 6:12–14 (NIV)

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.

Paul is Quoting 2 Slogans of the Corinthians

“All Things are Lawful for Me”

“We Have Freedom in Christ and that Means We are Allowed to Do as We Please”

“Food is Meant for the Stomach and the Stomach for Food”

God Made Food to Satisfy the Desire of Our Stomachs

Therefore, Bodily Desires are Meant to Be Fulfilled

God Made Our Bodies to Desire Intimate Relationships

So it is Lawful for Us to Satisfy Those Desires

Besides, God is Going to Destroy Our Body in the End Anyway

Paul Straightens Them Out By Saying:

Your Body is Not Made to Satisfy its Every Desire

Your Body is Made to Live for Jesus

It’s Not: Body for Sex and the Sex for the Body

It’s: Body for Jesus and Jesus for the Body

And God is Not Going to Destroy Your Body in the End!

God is Going to Resurrect Your Body

What You Do with Your Body Matters!

Because You are Going to Live in Your Body Forever!

1 Corinthians 6:15–20 (NIV)

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Your Body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit

Don’t Believe the Pagan Teaching of “The Body Doesn’t Matter, We’re Just Waiting for the Day We Can Get Rid of it!”

God Created Humanity to Live an Embodied Existence

If He Wanted Humanity to Live a Non-Physical, Disembodied Existence…

He Would Have Created Adam and Eve as Disembodied Spirits

Our Bodies Matter and What We Do with Our Bodies Matters

Because We are Going to Live Eternally in Our Resurrected, Immortal Bodies

Paul Focuses On Our Resurrection in Chapter 15 Making this Exact Point

If We Don’t Believe in the Bodily Resurrection of All Believers…

Then We Should Stop Being Christians All Together

Because that is Our Hope in Christ

So Use Your Body for Jesus, Not for Your Desires

The Other Way Body is Used in this Letter is Referring to Jesus’ Body, the Church

Not Only Were the Corinthians Misusing Their Individual Bodies…

They Were Dividing Jesus’ Body/Church

They Divided Based Upon Which Teachers/Leaders They Followed

They Divided Based Upon Worldly Wisdom, Power, Wealth, Social Standing

The Poor, Insignificant, and Lowly Were Often Neglected and Looked Down Upon

They Divided Based Upon Who had What Spiritual Gifts

They Believed Some Gifts Were Better Than Others

They Were Looking Down Upon Those of Certain Gifts

But Paul Taught that Every Gift is Important to the Body

And Without Every Member Using Their Gift, the Body Doesn’t Function Properly

That’s Why I Chose this Slide for 1 Corinthians

If Any Single Gear Were to Stop, the Entire Body of Gears Would Stop

The Body of Jesus Works the Same Way

Each Person with Their Individual Gifts is Needed for the Entire Church to Function

There Were Several Problems Taking Place in Corinth that Were Threatening the Unity of Jesus’ Body

Paul’s Solution to Every Problem Always Dealt with Jesus and His Gospel

Summarized Outline

5 Main Sections Dealing with Problems and Their Solutions

1.) Divisions (1-4)

The Corinthian Church was Dividing into Different Groups Based Up Their Favorite Teachers

They Were Focused On Following Worldly Wisdom

Paul’s Solution was to Recognize Where True Wisdom Come From

Placing Faith in the Gospel of Jesus is True Wisdom

They Need to Stop Dividing Under Worldly Wisdom, Which is Foolishness

And They Need to Be United Under Their True Leader

The One Who was Crucified for Them

2.) Sex (5-7)

The Christians in Corinth had a Very Lax View of Sexual Immorality

A Man was Sleeping with His Step-Mother and Sexual Immorality was Rampant in Corinth

They Believed that it Wasn’t a Big Deal Because it was Only Their Bodies

Paul’s Solution was the Bodily Death and Resurrection of Jesus

Just as Jesus’ Body was Resurrected Never to Die Again…

So Will Our Bodies Be Resurrected Never to Die Again

When You Become a Christian, it Isn’t Just Your Spirit that Belongs to Jesus, So Does Your Body

And Since Your Body is Going to Be Resurrected, Not Abandoned for Eternity…

You Must Surrender it to Jesus

Those Whose Sexual Desires are Weighing Them Down Should Get Married

In Marriage These Desires Can Be Satisfied to the Glory of God

3.) Food (8-10)

The Christians in Corinth Were Divided Over the Topic of Foods Sacrificed to Idols

Some Believed it was Okay and Others Believed it was Sinful

Paul’s Solution was the Love and Lordship of Jesus

Everything a Christian Does Ought to Be Out of Love

To Eat Foods that Were Sacrificed to Idols in the Presence of Those Who Might Get the Wrong Idea is Not Love

To Eat in Fellowship with Pagans Who are Eating Foods Sacrificed to Idols is Denying the Lordship of Jesus

To Eat Foods Sacrificed to Idols in and of Itself is Not Sinful

But if Done in Circumstances or Settings Where it Could Turn Others Away From Jesus…

Deny Yourself that Right Out of Love for Others and Allegiance to Jesus

4.) The Assembly (11-14)

The Church Assembly in Corinth was Divided, Disorderly, and the Very Opposite of What it Should Be

They Were Corrupting the Lord’s Supper By Not Sharing it Together as a Family Community

They Were Misusing Their Spiritual Gifts to Show Off and Turn the Gathering into a Chaotic Mess

Paul’s Solution was to Focus on the Purpose of the Spirit’s Gifts

They are to Encourage and Edify the Church

And the Greatest Gift that Every Christian Should Desire and Show is Love

If People are Being Left Out, Ignored, or Left Unloved in the Assembly of the Church, Then You’re Doing it Wrong

5.) Resurrection (15)

The Christians in Corinth Were Being Led to Believe that Bodily Resurrection Wasn’t Important

They Believed in a Glorious Afterlife, But Resurrection Wasn’t a Part of it

Paul Told Them that if Resurrection Isn’t Real Then None of Us Should Be Christians

If Our Resurrection Isn’t Our Hope, Then Jesus Didn’t Raise From the Dead

Our Resurrection is Inseparably Linked to Jesus’ Resurrection

That’s How Serious Resurrection is to Christianity

Do Deny Our Physical, Bodily Resurrection is to Deny Jesus’ Physical Bodily Resurrection

And to Deny that is to Deny Christianity Entirely

But That’s Exactly What We’ve Done in the Church

We’ve Taught a Pagan, Gnostic Gospel of Living a Non-Physical Spirit Life After Death

Paul Vehemently Taught Against that and We Should to

6.) Final Greeting (16)

Conclusion

1 Corinthians is a Book that is Extremely Useful for Us Today

The 21st Century American Church Suffers With Many of the Same Problems

Just Like Corinth Looked Like Many Big Cities Today

The Church There Looked Like Many Churches Today

Division Based Upon Arrogance, Sexual Immorality, Division Over Opinions, Assembly Becoming About Me Instead of My Siblings, and Resurrection Theology