Paul to the Churches of the Corinthians - Notes and thoughts
As much as Jesus left us an example of How to Live ,through Him, Paul left us an example of how to conduct and build our church, whether it be big or small.. As such I referred myself to Corinthians and to his teachings even though it is a departure from our scheduled bible study lesson. As I have been facing a health crises in my own life it is most helpful to understand that how ever it is determined to finish it will be God's will and that makes it good...
But as I will likely be absent for a while I have been concerned for the spiritual welfare of our church, in this case our bible study. It is a place where the word of God speaks to us as we reach out to one another with love and brotherhood. To bring this thought current I will say also sisterhood. The fellowship is the foundation for all good things to come of it...
Even in his first recorded letter Paul addressed a state of division that existed within the churches... In this it is evident that Paul notes that divisions that come from pride are erroneous as we all gather under the name and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. this was true then and it is true now... In a humble passage Paul articulates the following:
"And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." What a wonderful spirit Paul had !
The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians - Κορινθίους Α - follows his Letter to the Romans in the New Testament of the Bible. Paul then wrote a Second Letter to the Corinthians, again in response to issues that arose with time. I will confine myself to chapter 1...
St. Paul visited Athens and then established a Christian community in Corinth, a seaport in Greece, about the year 51 AD, on his second missionary journey from Antioch, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles (15:36-18:22). While Paul was on his third journey (Acts 19:1-20), he learned that the community had become divided, as members began identifying themselves with different religious leaders. Thus this letter, written in about 56 AD, opens with a plea for Christian unity, and is written in response to various issues raised by the Corinthians.
The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians is one of the most quoted of his Epistles and in fact of the Bible, particularly the passage on Love. The book is rich in content, as it refers to the message of the Cross and Christ Crucified (1:18-23); Communion, the Memorial of the Last Supper (Chapters 10 and 11); the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit (Chapter 12); on love (Chapter 13); and on the Resurrection of Christ and of the Body (Chapter 15).
Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians provides us with excellent insight into the life of the early Christian Church in the middle of the first century AD. Paul's reflection on the Church as the Christian community of believers begins in this Letter, as he calls for harmony within the community (1:10). The Greek word for Church - ἐκκλεσία or ecclesia - actually appears 24 times in First Corinthians, more than any other book of the New Testament.
Paul emphasizes in the very beginning that God is faithful and has called us into fellowship or relationship - κοινωνία or koinōnia - with his Son Jesus Christ (1:9).
St. Paul visited Athens and then established a Christian community in Corinth, a seaport in Greece, about the year 51 AD, on his second missionary journey from Antioch, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles (15:36-18:22). While Paul was on his third journey (Acts 19:1-20), he learned that the community had become divided, as members began identifying themselves with different religious leaders. Thus this letter, written in about 56 AD, opens with a plea for Christian unity, and is written in response to various issues raised by the Corinthians.
The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians is one of the most quoted of his Epistles and in fact of the Bible, particularly the passage on Love. The book is rich in content, as it refers to the message of the Cross and Christ Crucified (1:18-23); Communion, the Memorial of the Last Supper (Chapters 10 and 11); the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit (Chapter 12); on love (Chapter 13); and on the Resurrection of Christ and of the Body (Chapter 15).
Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians provides us with excellent insight into the life of the early Christian Church in the middle of the first century AD. Paul's reflection on the Church as the Christian community of believers begins in this Letter, as he calls for harmony within the community (1:10). The Greek word for Church - ἐκκλεσία or ecclesia - actually appears 24 times in First Corinthians, more than any other book of the New Testament.
Paul emphasizes in the very beginning that God is faithful and has called us into fellowship or relationship - κοινωνία or koinōnia - with his Son Jesus Christ (1:9).
Paul in 1:17 indicates that Christ did not send him to baptize but to preach the Gospel - εὐαγγελίζω or evangelize, to "preach Christ crucified" (1:23). His preaching or proclamation - κήρυγμά or kērygma - was a demonstration of the Spirit (2:4). He used the term "mystery" - μuστήριον or mystērion - to express the plan of God’s salvation once hidden and revealed in the person and redemptive life of Christ (2:7). Paul distinguishes between the natural man - ψυχικός or psychikos - who lives in the present age and the spiritual person - πνευματικός or pneumatikos - who looks to the age to come (2:14-15). He reminds us twice that we are temples of God and the Holy Spirit who dwell in our bodies (3:16 and 6:19). He points out that whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him (6:17).
Paul points out in First Corinthians 5:7-8, that even though the Corinthian community has tolerated grave sin, they are "unleavened. For Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed." Thus Jesus, through his death and Resurrection, is the fulfillment of the Jewish Passover. Through his Sacrifice on the Cross, Christians are saved, and can become the "unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
St. Paul refers to his Conversion on the Road to Damascus in 9:1 and 15:8-11. He calls Christ the Rock in 10:4. Paul recalls the institution of the Eucharist - εὐχαριστία or eucharistia, the New Covenant - διαθήκη or diathēkē - in Christ (11:23-26). He advises that there are varieties of service - διακονία or diakonia - but the same Lord (12:5). As in Romans 12:5, his analogy of one body with many parts refers to our union in the Body of Christ (12:27). Paul further develops this concept in Ephesians 1:22-23 and Colossians 1:18 when he calls Christ the Head of his Body the Church.
St. Paul asserts that each of us is given a spiritual gift or charism. In 12:7 he notes that "to each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit." He urges us in 14:1 to "pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy." See also Ephesians 4:7 and First Peter 4:10.
Chapter 15 on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (15:3-9) is the earliest written evidence of his Resurrection. Paul makes the point that just as Christ the first-fruits rose from the dead, so the followers of Our Lord, the body of Christ, will also rise again (15:23). "If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body" (15:44). First Corinthians 15:50-53 speaks on the Last Day.
In addition, First Corinthians 2:10-13 refers to the relation of God and the Holy Spirit, and 3:8 on labor and wages. 3:11-15 is considered a reference for the existence of Purgatory. Paul expresses an essential tenet of our Christian faith on the Father and the Son in 8:6. Clerical marriage, as with the Apostle Peter and the brothers of the Lord, is indicated in 9:5. One of the more comforting quotes is 10:13, which assures us that God will not let us be tested beyond our strength.
CHAPTER 1
Greeting
1 Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
An Appeal for Christian Unity
10 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.
11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ." 13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. 16 Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other.
The Wisdom of the Cross
17 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.
18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside." 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 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, 28 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, 29 so that no man may boast before God.
30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord."
Paul points out in First Corinthians 5:7-8, that even though the Corinthian community has tolerated grave sin, they are "unleavened. For Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed." Thus Jesus, through his death and Resurrection, is the fulfillment of the Jewish Passover. Through his Sacrifice on the Cross, Christians are saved, and can become the "unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
St. Paul refers to his Conversion on the Road to Damascus in 9:1 and 15:8-11. He calls Christ the Rock in 10:4. Paul recalls the institution of the Eucharist - εὐχαριστία or eucharistia, the New Covenant - διαθήκη or diathēkē - in Christ (11:23-26). He advises that there are varieties of service - διακονία or diakonia - but the same Lord (12:5). As in Romans 12:5, his analogy of one body with many parts refers to our union in the Body of Christ (12:27). Paul further develops this concept in Ephesians 1:22-23 and Colossians 1:18 when he calls Christ the Head of his Body the Church.
St. Paul asserts that each of us is given a spiritual gift or charism. In 12:7 he notes that "to each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit." He urges us in 14:1 to "pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy." See also Ephesians 4:7 and First Peter 4:10.
Chapter 15 on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (15:3-9) is the earliest written evidence of his Resurrection. Paul makes the point that just as Christ the first-fruits rose from the dead, so the followers of Our Lord, the body of Christ, will also rise again (15:23). "If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body" (15:44). First Corinthians 15:50-53 speaks on the Last Day.
In addition, First Corinthians 2:10-13 refers to the relation of God and the Holy Spirit, and 3:8 on labor and wages. 3:11-15 is considered a reference for the existence of Purgatory. Paul expresses an essential tenet of our Christian faith on the Father and the Son in 8:6. Clerical marriage, as with the Apostle Peter and the brothers of the Lord, is indicated in 9:5. One of the more comforting quotes is 10:13, which assures us that God will not let us be tested beyond our strength.
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS
CHAPTER 1
Greeting
1 Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
An Appeal for Christian Unity
10 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.
11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ." 13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. 16 Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other.
The Wisdom of the Cross
17 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.
18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside." 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 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, 28 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, 29 so that no man may boast before God.
30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord."
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