Study Notes Ed Underwood

1 Corinthians You Were Bought with a Price—Live Like It! “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own. For you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.”

(Paul to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

The thirteen Pauline Epistles develop the foundational truths of Christianity introduced in the Gospels. Paul wrote nine letters to churches and four to individuals. He writes from the perspective of the Apostle to the Gentiles, church-planter, pastor, and friend. His letters contain instructions, exhortations, and corrections that were real-time—messages to real people, gathered in real churches, with real problems as they endeavored to follow Christ and make a difference in their world. One consistent theme undergirds all of Paul’s teaching—the reality of every believer’s position in Christ.

Corinth was one of the most influential cities in the Roman Empire and the capital of the province of Achaia. The “Las Vegas” of the Empire, Corinth was a wealthy and debauched place inviting all to come and taste the pleasures of the hundreds of temple prostitutes at the Temple of Aphrodite. The city prospered on commerce, entertainment, vice, and corruption. Corinth had gained such a reputation for sexual depravity that Aristophanes had coined the verb korinthiazo = to act like a Corinthian, i.e., to commit fornication.

Paul planted a church there on his second missionary journey (Acts 18:1-7). He taught the Word of God in the city for eighteen months, and recruited Apollos from Ephesus to replace him as pastor of the Church in Corinth. About five years later during his third missionary journey, the disquieting news that the Corinthian church was tolerating immorality reached Paul at his headquarters in Ephesus. He responded with a touch letter that was not preserved by God (5:9). Then he heard from “Chloe’s people” that factions had developed (1:11). He had also received a letter from Corinth asking for his apostolic guidance in matters (7:1). This prompted the letter we know today as 1 Corinthians. “These two epistles constitute the most telling condemnation of arrogance, self-promotion, boasting, and self-confidence in the Pauline corpus; conversely, they describe in practical terms the nature of Christian life and witness, emphasizing service, self-denial, purity, and weakness as the matrix in which God displays his strength. Perhaps the high-water mark is the emphasis on love as 'the most excellent way' (1 Cor. 12:31—13:13) all Christians must pursue.” (Donald A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament, p 451)

Paul’s introduction hints at the purpose of his letter, “To the church of God that is in Corinth” (1:2). The community of faith (the church) was losing the battle against the culture of its surrounding community (Corinth). The Corinthian believers were failing at their assignment to influence their culture because they had forgotten their resources in Christ. Paul’s message to them comes from his pastor’s heart. He’s not afraid to reprimand them as he calls them to remember who they are and, more importantly, to whom they belong—Jesus Christ:

The problems in the Corinthian church prompted Paul to offer them practical guidance that God preserved in the canon of Scripture so that we too could learn how to face the same problems today. Most of the problems in Corinth had to do with immature excesses.

I. INTRODUCTION (1:1-9): Paul reminds the Corinthian believers of their sufficiency in Christ. They lack nothing they need to accomplish their God-given mission.

II. STOP FIGHTING! (1:10-4:21): In the name of loyalty they were sinning the sin of divisiveness. Devotion to leaders was superseding their devotion to Christ. False pride and self-centered behaviors were ruining their witness to their culture and exposing their immaturity. They should worship only Christ, not His under-shepherds who are merely His servants.

1 Corinthians: Use your resources in Christ to reach your culture for Him! III. STOP FORNICATING AND SUING ONE ANOTHER! (5:1-6:20): In the name of love they were tolerating incest! Paul demands church discipline to encourage the offender to repent. In the name of self-protection they were suing one another in secular courts. Paul tells them to first try to work it out in the assembly under the guidance of spiritual authority.

IV. NOW, CONCERNING YOUR QUESTIONS... (7:1-16:24): In some of the most practical chapters of the New Testament, Paul answers the Corinthians’ questions concerning marriage, liberty, public worship, the resurrection, and giving.

V. CONCLUSION (16:5-24) Paul greets and encourages specific friends in the church at Corinth.

1 CORINTHIANS AND YOU: The “spirit” of the city of Corinth had invaded the church at Corinth. The primary way this manifested was in self-centered behaviors that led to excesses—in devotion to human leaders, in tolerance of immorality, in suing one another, in divorce, in selfish expressions of spiritual gifts, Christian freedom and worship, and in confusion over the resurrection. The core issue, however, was that the church at Corinth had forgotten its uniqueness. “The church of God is a community of people who share the life of God, are under the governing will of God, and cooperate in the work of God.” (Constable, 1 Corinthians)

Church, rethink your position, power, and purpose on earth!

1. You do not belong to yourself, but to Christ  -1Corinthians6:19-20.

2. You have the capacity to resist temptation and overcome trials -1Corinthians10:12-13.

3. You are part of one community that shares the life of one Lord, the power of one Spirit, and called to one purpose - 1 Corinthians 12.

4. You are held accountable to a new law, the law of love - 1Corinthians13.

5. You have a new power, resurrection power - 1Corinthians15.

1 Corinthians and Worship: All of the problems and issues in the church at Corinth manifested at their remembrance of Christ at His table. Paul dealt with this rigorously for the sake of the Savior’s reputation and the well being of the saints.

Authentic expressions of worship occur in assemblies where believers love one another selflessly and intentionally.

--The Corinthians were abusing one another rather than regarding one another. The rich were living selfishly, even and especially at their Lord’s Supper. Also, the church had divided along schisms—groups that disregarded other groups or strata in society.

Authentic expressions of worship occur in assemblies where believers love the Lord Jesus by displaying His glory in the way they treat one another and remember His work often.

--The Corinthians were abusing the Lord by making the meal and their personal groups more important than proclaiming His death and displaying His love for one another.

Christ: The Corinthians are clamoring for meaning and power, but they need to understand that Jesus meets their every need.