Paul's first letter to the Corinthians

Do you need a 'plain man's guide' to true Christian love, or to the responsibilities of marriage?  Do you want to be sure about what happens at death and whether there really is an after-life?  (Can anyone be truly indifferent about so important a matter?)  If so then read this letter of the Apostle Paul carefully.  Because he was guided by the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 7.40; 14.37) Paul wrote in complete harmony with Christ's own teaching.

He set such a practical example of loving service for his Master that he could say without boasting: 'Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ' (1 Corinthians 11.1 RSV; 4.16).  The more we acquaint ourselves with his dedicated life the more we will appreciate why he was chosen to proclaim the 'Good News' of the kingdom of God to the Gentiles (including us!) (Acts 9.15, Galatians 2.7), and to write most of the New Testament letters.

This epistle (written about AD 54) is Paul's reply to a letter sent to him by the Christian 'church' or congregation in Corinth.  Their letter has not been preserved, but we can get some idea of its contents from the answers the Apostle gives to certain questions they raised.  But why did they write to him at all?  Quite simply, because he had been the first to preach the 'Good News' to them during the course of his second missionary journey.

Luke describes (Acts 18.1-11) how Paul arrived from Athens and was rejected by the Jewish synagogue in Corinth.  Subsequently, however, he settled down for eighteen months to spread the 'the Hope of Israel' to the large number of Gentiles in Corinth who were willing to accept the gospel.  So Paul became their 'spiritual father' (1 Corinthians 4.14,15) and the Corinthians naturally turned to him for advice.

After his stay there Paul returned to Syria, but not before following his usual practice of appointing elders to care for the spiritual welfare of this new and inexperienced gathering of Christian believers (cp. Acts 14.23).  The goal set before them was spiritual maturity, 'the whole measure of the fulness of Christ.'  They were no longer infants to be blown here and there by every 'wind of teaching' (Ephesians 4.13,14 NIV).  But the Corinthians had a long way to go before attaining that high standard! (1 Corinthians 3.1-4).

Although the questions they sent to the Apostle were important, he did not begin to answer them until well on in his letter.  Looming large in his mind and first from his pen (after some introductory commendation for their progress in the Faith) was his reproof for the scandal of division amongst them.  There was jealousy and quarrelling, and that among people claiming to be brothers and sisters of Jesus! (1 Corinthians 1.10-12)  Christ was their head, not Paul, Cephas (Peter) or Apollos, for all were united in Him, having been baptised into his Name.  They must not therefore split into factions claiming one Apostle or another as leader (1 Corinthians 1.13; 3,4).

True, Paul had sown 'the good seed of the kingdom' among them and Apollos had watered it, but the spiritual growth was from God (1 Corinthians 3.5-7).  Or changing the analogy, as an expert builder Paul had laid the foundation stone (i.e. the basic truth that the crucified Nazarene was Israel's promised Messiah) and others were fellow builders.  They erected upon that foundation a spiritual temple for God to dwell in (1 Corinthians 3.10-16).  Sooner or later a fiery trial of persecution and false teaching would test the quality and materials of the building, that is of the converts themselves.  Would they prove to be like gold, silver and precious stones, worthy of inclusion in the completed structure, or would they burn to ashes as wood, hay and straw? (1 Corinthians 3.12-15)  Already they were being tested and beginning to falter!

Corinth was a busy cosmopolitan port in Achaia (southern Greece).  In the ancient world the city was a byword for sexual laxity, and Paul from the start must have emphasised that chastity and self-control are essential characteristics of the Christian life (cp. 1 Thessalonians 4.3-8).  To allow such evil practices to creep into their assembly would be a defiling of God's holy temple, of which they were constituent parts (1 Corinthians 3.17, 6.19).  Specious arguments were being advanced to justify these shameful deeds (1 Corinthians 6.12,13) but the believers should not allow themselves to be deceived.

Paul states clearly that 'Neither the sexually immoral nor idolators nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders ... will inherit the kingdom of God' (1 Corinthians 6.9, 10 NIV).  We would like to ask in passing, what do 'trendy' church leaders today make of such a forthright condemnation, except to ignore or even despise it?

In fact the Corinthians were already compromised, for they were tolerating in their midst an incestuous member (1 Corinthians 5.1).  Paul commands them to expel the wicked man from their company, lest the yeast of wickedness work its corruption through the whole assembly (1 Corinthians 5.6-8).  True, we cannot avoid some contact with such people in the outside world, but we must certainly not associate with them in the brotherhood of Christ (1 Corinthians 5.9-13).

A further matter about which they had become neglectful was the principle of non-retaliation when others ill-treated them.  This was a principle which Jesus had both commended and exemplified (Matthew 5.38-42; 1 Peter 2.21-23).  Instead of asking their appointed elders to judge disputes the Corinthians were taking their complaints against their own brothers to outside law courts presided over by unbelievers! (1 Corinthians 6.1-6).

Re-asserting the Christian standard Paul writes: 'Why not rather be wronged?  Why not rather be cheated?  Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers' (1 Corinthians 6.7,8 NIV).  How many avowed Christians today are prepared to uphold this precept and forgo enforcement of their legal rights?

It is with moral dangers still much in mind that Paul comes to the first of the questions sent him - 'Now for the matters you wrote about...' (1 Corinthians 7.1 NIV).  It seems that some believers had argued that celibacy was the best answer to the sea of immorality with which the Corinthians were surrounded.  Would it not be better even for married couples to refrain from intimacy?

Paul's reply starts with guidance based on what Jesus had already directed.  While staying single and totally committed to God's work (as he himself had done) is better, not everyone is able to maintain this level of commitment (Matthew 19.10-12).  If, then, believing partners enter into marriage, it should be for life.  Marital duties should be unselfishly fulfilled.  A wife should not separate from her husband and a husband must not divorce his wife (1 Corinthians 7.3-11).

However, the Corinthians had a further problem.  Unlike the Jewish world, where every adult was under the Law of Moses, the Gentile churches would have many cases where one partner became a believer while the other remained unconverted.  On this issue Paul says he has no direct command from the Lord, but gives his advice based upon the Spirit of God within him (1 Corinthians 7.12,40).

Briefly, his counsel is to stay together if the unbelieving partner is willing to accept the situation and live peaceably.  If, however, the unbeliever chooses to leave, let him do so.  In such circumstances the believer is not bound, for God has called us to live in peace (1 Corinthians 7.12-15).

Finally, comes the problem of 'virgins' or perhaps 'daughters', for this was a society where a father's agreement to his daughter's marriage was essential (1 Corinthians 7.25-38).  Paul may simply mean here that young people should preferably stay single so that they can serve the Lord without the distractions of married life and raising a family.

Especially was this true in the (unspecified) stressful situation through which the Corinthians were then passing (1 Corinthians 7.29-31).  But it was not wrong to marry or for widows to remarry so long as both partners were 'in the Lord' and certainly better to marry than to burn with passion (1 Corinthians 7.39; 8.9).

Next we have a query about the propriety of eating food which had been offered to an idol (1 Corinthians chapter 8).  Paul replies that in fact idols are 'no-gods', non-entities, but some that are weak in the faith could be led astray if they saw other members eating such food.  If therefore they had among them some with weak consciences, then in love they should (must!) refrain for their sakes, lest their 'knowledge' became a stumbling block to these others for whom also Christ died' (1 Corinthians 8.10-13; Romans 14.21).

To press home this and an earlier point in his letter, the apostle then cites items from Israel's history.  When God saved His people from Egyptian bondage they too had been baptised into Moses and had been sustained with 'spiritual' food and drink throughout their wilderness wanderings (1 Corinthians 10.1-3).  But when they lapsed into idolatry, sexual immorality and ingratitude, God punished them severely:

'These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfilment of the ages has come' (1 Corinthians 10.11 NIV).

Paul's argument is that as God does not change (Malachi 3.6) and similar evil practices in the Christian communities will invariably receive appropriate punishment.

The divisions amongst the Corinthians were even disrupting the weekly 'breaking of bread' memorial meetings which Jesus has asked all his followers to hold (1 Corinthians 11.23-26).  They were making a mockery of what should have been a spiritually upbuilding occasion.  'The Lord's supper' was no time for self-indulgence in food and drink, but for solemn recollection of the significance of Christ's sacrifice and for sober self-examination.  It was an opportunity to see how far each one was conforming to the heavenly pattern of godliness (i.e. 'God-likeness') Jesus has set us (1 Corinthians 11.27-32; 2 Corinthians 13.5).

The Apostle Paul now turns to yet another matter, which was causing strife in Corinth.  The background to this situation was as follows.  As Paul and his companions spread the 'Good News' through Asia Minor and westwards, they appointed elders over each newly-formed assembly of believers (as already stated) and imparted the 'gifts of the Spirit' to them by 'the laying on of hands' (cp. Acts 8.14-17; 2 Timothy1.6).

These gifts included the power to heal the sick, perform miraculous signs, speak in foreign languages and exercise certain other powers listed in this section (1 Corinthians 12.7-11).  Such direct guidance from God was particularly necessary in the early church while the gospels and letters were still being written and not yet generally available to believers.  The end in view was the development of a mature Christian body, and Paul frequently likens the corporate assembly of all Christians to Christ's 'body', Jesus himself being the head (Romans 12.5; Ephesians 4.4; 5.30; Colossians 1.18 etc).

In the natural body, says the Apostle, the various members and organs have differing functions but all are necessary and work together for the common good.  It just would not do if we were all eyes but no nose or ears.  How would we then smell or hear? (1 Corinthians 12.14-26)  So with the 'body of Christ'.  The Corinthians should recognise that each member had their special role in the 'body' and should not be jealous of another's gifts (1 Corinthians 12.27-30).

As it was, some in Corinth were attaching far too much importance to speaking in foreign tongues and even using this gift during collective worship when there was no-one present to interpret.  ('Interpreting' was a separate gift - 1 Corinthians 14).  They were doubly at fault in so doing, for within the assembly the gift of 'prophesying' (i.e. inspired exposition of Scripture in order to strengthen and encourage the believers - 1 Corinthians 14.3-5) was more important than speaking in foreign languages.  The latter was a gift primarily intended for the convincing of outsiders (1 Corinthians 14.22).

What is so often overlooked in this context is the statement that these special gifts were temporary, designed to span the interval until 'the perfect thing' (1 Corinthians 13.10).  This perfect thing was the New Testament, and therefore the whole Bible which it completed.  Paul expressly says here that the power to prophesy and to speak in (foreign) tongues would cease; (1 Corinthians 13. 8) and so it has happened in spite of repeated claims of 'Pentecostals' (and others) to the contrary.  Is it not strange that 'evangelical' groups lay such stress on this least important of the Spirit's gifts?  As it is, no impartial observer has substantiated their claims.

When these gifts cease, writes the Apostle, there are three superior virtues which will remain - faith, hope and love (1 Corinthians 13.13).  The greatest of these is love, for God Himself is love (1 John 4.8).  We have here a marvellous definition of love in action:

'Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.  Love never fails...' (1 Corinthians 13.4-8 NIV).

Lastly Paul comes to an extended exposition of the doctrine of the resurrection.  It was prompted by the extraordinary statement of some in Corinth who said that there was no resurrection of the dead (1 Corinthians 15.12).  This assertion was easily refuted, for there were many witnesses still living who had seen the resurrected Jesus and not least Paul himself.  Jesus had appeared to him on the Damascus road (1 Corinthians 15.5-8).  There was also a chain of serious consequences which this error entailed, for if there is no resurrection, then Christ has not been raised either.  Therefore the Corinthians were propagating a faith that was powerless to save people from sin and death (1 Corinthians 15.13-19).

But Jesus has been raised, being the 'firstfruits' from among the dead (1 Corinthians 15.20).  The word 'firstfruits' implies a later 'harvest' of others.  Are these to be 'gleaned' one by one, as soon as they die?  That is the teaching of virtually all the churches today.  Not at all!  Those who belong to Christ will all be raised together, 'when he comes' (1 Corinthians 15.23).  This teaching is confirmed by many other pronouncements of Scripture (1 Thessalonians 4.16; Revelation 11.18).  Then what happens in the interval between a believer's death and his resurrection?  The simple truth is that he or she is asleep in Christ (1 Corinthians 15.20,51; 1 Thessalonians 4.14,15), completely unconscious of the passing of time, whether it be days, years or centuries.  This is a view favoured by Professor F.F.Bruce, a leading evangelical scholar.

In relation to this important subject, Professor Bruce writes:

'Paul evidently could not contemplate immortality apart from resurrection; for him a body of some kind was essential to personality.  Our traditional thinking about the never-dying soul, which owes so much to our Graeco-Roman heritage, makes it difficult for us to appreciate Paul's point of view.  (Except when immortality is ascribed to God Himself in the New Testament, it is always of the resurrection of the body that it is predicated, never of the soul)'.

The learned professor has put his finger on the crucial point.  If we allow our Graeco-Roman (i.e. our pagan) heritage to influence us, Paul's (i.e. the Spirit's) arguments are irrelevant!  Why worry about any resurrection of the body if a 'never-dying soul' is released at death?  But for Paul and for all true Christians the teaching of the Bible must be the infallible guide, not the traditions of men.

As Professor Bruce comments again:

'...if Paul longed to be delivered from the mortality of this present earthly 'dwelling', it was with a view to exchanging it for one that was immortal; to be without a body of any kind would be a form of spiritual nakedness or isolation from which his mind shrank.' (Ibid page 311)

What of those believers who are still alive at Christ's return?  They too will be called away to join the vast company of raised persons (1 Thessalonians 4.17), so that everyone may be changed together from mortality to immortality.  Paul writes: 'We shall not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet' (1 Corinthians 15.51,52 NIV).

Perhaps because Paul was confident that the Corinthians would win the 'race' for eternal life, he omits here any reference to judgment, i.e. a final assessment of the faithfulness each believer has shown during his mortal life.  However, in his second letter to the Corinthians the Apostle writes:

'... we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad' (2 Corinthians 5.10)

Two points here should be specially noted.  We do not just 'appear', but are to be 'made manifest' (2 Corinthians 5.10 RV) before Christ.  In other words our inner lives and motives revealed, as Paul has already indicated early in his first letter (1 Corinthians 4.4,5).  Secondly, the word 'done' in parenthesis is an insertion by the translators.  We are to receive 'through the body' (2 Corinthians 5.10 RV margin) according to what we have done in this life.  We are to receive 'in the body' the change to immortality if we are approved by Jesus.

If however, we are disqualified because we have not 'kept the rules' (1 Corinthians 9.27, 2 Timothy 2.5 NIV) the punishment will be condemnation to 'the second death', to an eternal grave from which there will be no release (2 Thessalonians 1.9; Revelation 2.11; 20.14,15).  Careful analysis of this will reveal a somewhat different view of judgement to the one usually held.

In spite of the above evidence, some may still object to a judgment intervening between resurrection and reward, since Paul expressly says here that 'the dead shall be raised incorruptible' (1 Corinthians 15.52).  So he does, but the difficulty vanishes once we recognise that the apostle, in using this phrase, is speaking of a process, which reaches its climax in the instantaneous change to immortality and incorruption.

When Paul wrote to the Philippians and said that his great aim was to attain to the resurrection from the dead, (Philippians 3.10,11) he was clearly looking beyond his emergence from the grave (which both righteous and wicked will experience - Acts 24.15 NIV) to the reward of eternal life with his Lord.  So 'resurrection' to him was ultimately a 'state' rather than a mere renewal of life (Similarly in Luke 20.33-36).

In this chapter we have another example of a stage-by-stage process summed up as a single act.  Here Paul compares the creation of the first man Adam, who 'became a living being,' with Jesus, 'the last Adam,' who became 'a life-giving spirit.'  Over thirty years of development, from the conception of Jesus to his ascension, are covered in this latter clause! (1Corinthians 15.45 NIV)

Thus 'raised incorruptible' is Paul's summary of a series of events experienced by faithful men and women at present 'asleep in Christ.'  It begins with their awakening by the Lord's commanding voice.  They are gathered to his judgment seat to give an account of their stewardship (Romans 14.10-12) and when acknowledged as 'overcomers' are rewarded with that glorious change to the divine nature, equal to the angels (Luke 20.36).

The prophet Daniel puts it in a nutshell:

'Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.' (Daniel 12.2)

In this chapter Paul confines his attention to the reward of the righteous.

(Web Editor's note: It has to be said that the view of 1 Corinthians 15:32 given above - that Paul is speaking of the total process - is not the only one possible.  It is very important to note Paul's use of the word 'incorruptible', and not, as one might expect, the word 'immortal'.  To emerge immortal from the grave is clearly contradictory to many scriptures, the parable of the sheep and goats being just one example.  But incorruptibility is not immortality, and is the nature that Adam possessed before his fall.)

After instructions about collections to help the poor amongst Jewish Christians and sundry personal matters, Paul sends the greetings of the brothers and sisters in the province of Asia and adds his own (1 Corinthians 16).  He ends as he began, with mention of the great hope of all first century Christians - the Lord's return - for the meaning of the Aramaic 'Maranatha' is 'Come, O Lord' (1 Corinthians 1.7,8; 16.22).  This remains the constant hope and prayer of all Christ's true followers, for with Jesus comes the fulfilment and vindication of all their hopes (Revelation 22.12).