I
Corinthians
Corinth
was the "Las Vegas" of the ancient world. It was the
ultimate party town. Lots of travelers passed through it. It was also
the center of the "Isthmus Games" which were similar to the Olympics.
The
population was primarily Greek and heavily influenced by the
teachings of Plato who taught that the body was basically evil and,
once we pass on, we lose that evil body.
The
concept of a resurrected body was denied by many Christians in
Corinth who had the tendency to want to pick and choose in which
doctrines they wanted to believe.
And,
the last point of introduction is that in Corinth "the best of
everything" was found in the Greek temples built to honor the
so- called Greek gods. The best meat, the best drink, and the best
sex was in the temples with the priests, priestesses, and even farm animals.
This
is important background to have to understand what Paul was saying
to the Church he founded in Corinth - and through this Epistle to all
of us also.
Chapter
1
[Verses
1:2 - Salutation of the Letter/Epistle to the Corinthians]
1~~
Paul,
called/"divinely
selected and appointed" . . . [kletos]
an
apostle of Jesus Christ
through
the instrumentality of/"by means of [dia]
the
will of God [thelema Theos]
and
[kai] . . . {with}
Sosthenes
our brother, 2~~
unto
the church of God which is
in/by/with
[en] Corinth . . .
to
them who
"receiving
set-apartedness/sanctification
with
the result that they are sanctified forever"
[hagiazo - perfect passive participle]
in/by/with
[en] Christ Jesus . . .
called/"divinely
selected and appointed" . . . [kletos]
saints
. . . [hagios]
with
all, [sun pas]
in
every place . . . [en pas topos]
calling
upon themselves/invoking
[epikaleomai - present middle participle]
the
name of Jesus Christ . . .
our
Lord . . .
both
[te] theirs and ours.
[Note:
Saul of Tarsus took, or maybe was given by Jesus, the name
"Paul" because it means "little". It is his
expression of humility. He understands what he is when compared with
God. I said that maybe Jesus gave him this name since Jesus (the Rock
of Ages) gave Simon the name "Peter" which means
"little chip of rock" (Luke 6:14).
In any case, Paul became more productive for Christ than the other
Apostles (I Corinthians 15:10).
Paul also was the human author of the vast majority of the epistles.
Near his death, Peter commented that Paul's writings are deep and
difficult (II Peter 3:16). But they also
are so important to study to come to understand the "doctrines
of Jesus" (Galatians 1:23) which
Paul once ridiculed and persecuted those who had placed their faith
in Jesus and His teachings.
Also
mentioned in the salutation is Sosthenes. A man named Sosthenes is
mentioned in Acts 18. It appears that
Sosthenes was an antagonist of Paul who came to understand grace. If
this is the same Sosthenes, then now he is has become a notable
member of Paul's missionary team. That is the power of the grace of
God. God takes the lowest of low and "through the power of the
Spirit" brings glory to Himself through them. (Even though
politically Saul/Paul was great, he came to understand that he
actually was so low, he was the greatest of all sinners of all time (I
Timothy 1:15).)]
3~~Grace
to you [charis]
and
peace/tranquility/'relaxed mental attitude' [eirene]
from
the ultimate source of [apo]
God
our Father
and
the Lord Jesus Christ.
{Thanksgiving
verses 4-9}
4~~
I keep on thanking my God always on your behalf
[for]
upon [epi]
the
grace of God
which
is being given you . . .
[didomi - aorist passive participle
- a verb/participle of grace -
we receive this first at many different points in time]
in/by/with
[en] Christ Jesus.
[Note:
In most translations "epi" is given the unusual
translation of "for" here. And, while that would be a true
statement (I am sure Paul does thank God for the grace He gives to
the Cornthians) here I think the primary use of "epi"
should be noted - which is "upon". That gives the mental
picture of "God's Grace" pouring over them and that also is correct.]
5~~That
[hoti]
in/by/with
[en] all things
once
and for all
you
keep on receiving enrichment
[ploutizo - aorist passive indicative]
in/by/with
[en] Him
in/by/with
[en] all speech
and
. . . [in] all "knowledge by study or experience" [gnosis].
6~~
Even as/"according as" [kathos]
the
"witness of Christ"/"Christ's testimony"
[marturion Christos]
was
established/confirmed/"made sure"
[bebaioo - aorist passive indicative]
in/by/with
[en] you.
[Note:
Jesus was the prototype. As He lived, thought, and taught, we are to
imitate. Paul said he imitated Jesus and we are to imitate him. Paul
is saying the Corinthians did become effective witnesses.]
7~~
That [hoste]
you
are receiving not a "lacking for"/"wanting of"
[hustereo - present passive infinitive]
[me medeis - literally is "no not any" - a double negative in
the Greek is a strong negative - they lack nothing]
any
"gift of grace"
[charisma -a favour with which one receives without
any merit of his own]
eagerly
waiting
[apekdechomai - present passive or middle participle]
the
coming/manifestation/appearance [apokalupsis]
of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
[Note:
Since this does not say Jesus is seen "on the earth" it
means the first time again that we will see Him. Paul says that will
be when we go up to meet each other in the air . . . where we will be with
Him
forever (I Thessalonians 4:17).
Tie this to the description of the meeting in Philippians
2:10 and we see Jesus at that time.
This
event is commonly called the "rapture of the church".]
8~~
Who {Jesus}
shall
also confirm/establish/"make sure" [bebaioo] you
unto/till
the end [heos telos] . . .
blameless
[anegkletos]
in/by/with
[en]
the
day of our Lord Jesus [Christ].
[some translations have "Christ" others do not - does not
affect the meaning here either way]
[Note:
Paul tells us in II Corinthian the analogy of how a seed must die
for another plant to grow. He tells us that our "body of
corruption" will be left behind. So, when we meet Jesus in the
sky, He will "establish" us, in our new Resurrection body -
similar yet not as powerful as His (He is the "first-fruit"
with the right of double portion).]
{Note:
Blameless here means the removal of your Old Sin Nature.}
9a~~God
. . . faithful!
9b~~By
means of [dia] Whom
you
received calling
[kaleo - aorist passive indicative - God calls at many points
in time - you must respond "yes" at least once in your life]
into/toward
[eis]
the
fellowship/association/friendship [koinonia]
of
His Adult Son [huios] -
Jesus
Christ our Lord.
10~~
Now/Moreover [de]
I
exhort you, [parakaleo]
brethren
through/"by
means of" [dia]
the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ:
for
the purpose that [hina]
you
all may speak
[pas lego - present active subjunctive]
the
same [thing/content/"Divine Viewpoint"] [autos]
{speak from divine viewpoint on all subjects},
that
there may be no divisions [me schisma]
in/by/with/among
[en] you . . . [so that]
you
may be [eimi - subjunctive]
"working
together in unison"/"a tuned-up machine"
[katartizo - perfect passive participle]
in
the same mind [nous]
and
in the same judgment/opinion. [gnome]
{Note:
In Greek Drama, actors were hung from a stage and the machine
sometimes went bad leaving them dangling - literally - over the
stage. Hence the idiom "tune up the machine" meant to get
things in order and everyone work together well}.
11~~
For it has been declared/
"made
known by relating at various points in time"
[deloo - aorist passive indicative]
unto
me
concerning/about
you [peri humon],
my
brethren
by
them who are of the house of Chloe
that
there are contentions/strife/wrangling/debating [eris]
in/by/with/among
[en] you.
[Note:
Chloe apparently was a stable, mature believer that the Corinthians
knew and respected.]
12~~
Moreover [de]
this
thing [touto]
[that
there is contention among them]
I
say because of every one of you who says:
"I
certainly am of Paul"
[this faction is strong in "Grace" - placing their faith
in Jesus Christ and His Doctrine (Followers of the Way)],
now/moreover
[de]
"I
am of Apollos"
[see Acts 18:24 - Apollos was a great
Church Leader. He was
very well educated and excelled in the Written Word to this point.
He apparently was a great orator and the Greeks loved great
speakers. This list is of the great "men" in the early church.
Apollos was included in those that the Corinthians did know.]
and
"I am of Cephas"
[Kephas is another name for Peter. It means "stone". This
group followed Peter (Cephas) - from Galatians we see that
Peter had returned to the Mosaic Law restrictions in error and
the Galatians had Greeks being circumcised under ritual. Maybe
this represents the people who believed you had to still follow
the restrictions of the Mosaic Law - adult sons trying to return to
the bottle - see Galatians 4:1]
and
"I am of Christ".
[in this day, there were Old Testament believers (students of
John the Baptist) who had not even heard of Jesus' coming
(Acts 19:2 and following). This verse
says that to say you are
"of Christ" divides believers.]
13a~~
Is Christ being divided
with
results that last forever? NO!
[merizo - perfect passive indicative]
13b~~Was
Paul crucified over and over
[stauroo - aorist passive indicative]
as
a substitute [huper]
for
you? {NO}
13c~~Or,
were you baptized over and over
[baptizo - aorist passive indicative]
into/toward
[eis]
the
name of Paul? [NO]
14~~
I thank God that I baptized none of you . . .
"if
not"/except [ei me]
Crispus
and Gaius.
[Note:
This is Paul's ritual baptizing record in Corinth. Apparently in
Corinth some thought they were "superior" because of who
baptized them! It is the "I am better than you because I was
baptized by Peter or Apollos" attitude (apparently here we learn
that Paul only baptized a few of them in Corinth and there is no
record of Jesus baptizing anyone in Corinth). Including Jesus and
Paul proves that
there
is just NO valid reason to divide believers! It brings no glory to
Christ when parts of His Body work against other parts!]
15~~
Lest
[hina me - negative purpose clause]
any
should say at any time
[lego aorist active subjunctive]
that
I had baptized
in
"mine own name".
[meaning 'for my own glory or advancement']
16~~Moreover
[de],
I
baptized also the household of Stephanas . . .
other-wise,
I
know not whether I baptized any
other
of the same kind [allos].
[Note:
Paul needs to be very accurate, so he updates the record.]
17a~~
For [gar] Christ
"sent
me on a mission under His authority"
[apostello - aorist active indicative]
absolutely
not [ouk] to baptize,
but
in contrast [alla]
to
preach the gospel.
17b~~Absolutely
not [ouk]
in/by/with
[en]
"the
words of the "wisdom of men"/
"divine
viewpoint expressed in words" [sophia logos]
[sophia - used in the negative sense
so is "human viewpoint"]
lest/"that
not"/"with the negative purpose that" [hina me]
the
cross of Christ
should
be neutralized/"made void"/"deprived of its essence
or virtue".
[kenoo - aorist passive subjunctive]
18a~~For
The Doctrine [logos]
of
the cross
[a title of the teaching/doctrine of Jesus - see Galatians
2:2
and Galatians 2:16]
is
for them in the process of perishing/"total destruction" .
. .
[apollumi - unbelievers in view]
foolishness
[moria].
18b~~Moreover/Now
[de]
to
us having received salvation
[sozo -present passive participle - God does the work]
it
[the Doctrine of the Cross]
is
the "inherent power"/ability [dunamis]
of
God.
19~~
For it received writing in the past
with
results that last forever {Isaiah 29:14},
[gar grapho - perfect passive indicative]
"I
will destroy the wisdom of the wise
and
will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."
[Note:
So clearly Paul has been talking about how studying the doctrines of
Jesus are building up Divine Viewpoint in the soul is good. And, this
is in contrast to genius' who only have human viewpoint. They are
great in their own minds only!]
Continued
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