1st Corinthians

Walter Pickering

• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781098069766
• Topic: Théologie et religion
• Subtopic: Études bibliques

First Corinthians is a letter about subjects. Paul visited Corinth around AD 50, about twenty years after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. His visit to Corinth was during his second missionary journey. He stayed in Corinth eighteen months to establish a church, then left and went to Ephesus. A prominent church member of the Church of Corinth named Chloe wrote Paul a letter about subjects they did not understand. In turn, Paul, under the inspiration of God, gave answers to those subjects in his epistle we call 1 Corinthians. So 1 Corinthians is a letter about subjects-subjects such as: God's Plan of Salvation, Celibacy, Singleness, Marriage, Sex, Divisions in the Church, Living the Christian Life, Going to Court, Marriage and Divorce, Offending a Weaker Brother or Sister in Christ, Love and Christianity, Prophesy, Women Preachers, Giving to the Church, Long and Short Hair, and many, many more intriguing subjects you can find in the contents section at the beginning of this book.

Chapter 1 Has Four Subjects

Verse 1 introduces Paul as an apostle and author of 1 Corinthians.

Verse 2 presents God’s plan of salvation.

Verse 3 presents God’s grace and God’s peace.

Verse 4 covers the subject of Thanksgiving.

Verses 5–9 present the way to be enriched in Christ.

Verses 10–17 show how splits in the local church occur.

First Corinthians 1:14–17 deals with Baptism.

Verses 18–31 deal with those who call preaching foolishness.

The first subject in the outline is found in 1 Corinthians 1:1, and it deals with Paul as an apostle and author of 1 Corinthians.

Verse 1 introduces Paul.

Paul called to be an apostle by Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother.

Both 1 and 2 Corinthians open with words about Paul being an apostle. Paul was called to be an apostle by Jesus Christ through the will of God. Jesus called Paul and gave him a special job. Acts 9:6 and 15 state that Paul’s call to be an apostle happened immediately after his conversion. Paul said to Jesus,

Lord what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him [you are], a chosen vessel unto Me to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.

Notice the three groups Paul was called to evangelize: Gentiles, kings, and Israel. He accomplished that over his lifetime. His voice lives on.

Paul reminded the Corinthian church of the source of his calling. Romans 11:13 said,

I speak to you Gentiles in-as-much as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office.

Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles, but he often preached to the Jews and to those in the upper echelon of life—even kings.

Many believe Paul was the twelfth apostle that took the place of Judas, who hanged himself. The following information about Paul being the twelfth apostle is not fundamental to salvation; nevertheless many believe Paul was the twelfth apostle to take the place of Judas. This is a fascinating thought to consider.

The eleven remaining apostles chose Matthias to take the place of Judas. However, there are several reasons that some believe Paul was chosen by God to be the twelfth apostle.

First, apostles had a unique calling and title. Man cannot assign this calling to himself or to others. Only God through Jesus Christ can call a person to be an apostle. Since that is true, did Peter overstep his authority when he suggested they choose Matthias to take the place of Judas? Many Bible teachers suggest he did.

Second, they assembled with Peter to “cast lots” (a form of chance) to determine who should take the place of Judas. Acts 1:23 states,

They appointed two, Joseph, called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

Acts 1:26 states,

And they gave forth their lots, and the lots fell on Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Each candidate had a 50 percent chance of winning. It happened that Matthias won.

Third, perhaps it occurred to the remaining eleven apostles that Jesus had called twelve and it was their duty to choose someone to take the place of Judas. The Scriptures do not explain why they chose to do it the way they did. Even though they prayed and sought God’s advice, God nor Christ was not mentioned in influencing them in their decision.

Fourth, Matthias was never heard of again. Signs and wonders always followed apostles to authenticate their appointment. Nowhere does the Bible record Matthias performing signs to authenticate his apostleship. Perhaps he did, but it’s not recorded in the Bible.

No one knows for sure whether Paul or Matthias was chosen to take the place of Judas. To be frank, it doesn’t make that much difference. Only God knows for sure, and if you want to know, you will have to wait until you get to heaven and ask Matthias or Paul. Bible scholars can make a case for either, but it doesn’t matter because neither belief is essential to salvation. This was just an intriguing thought. However, we do know from Scripture Paul was called to be an apostle to the Gentiles.

God gave signs to authenticate Paul’s calling to be an apostle. Second Corinthians 12:12 said,

Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.

Acts 16:16–23 tells about one sign Paul performed to authenticate his apostleship. He was cast into prison for it. Acts 16:16–23 says,

And it came to pass, as we [Paul and Silas] went to prayer, that a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination [fortune-telling] met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying. The same followed Paul and us and cried, saying: These men are the servants of the Most-High God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And this she did for many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee, in the name of Jesus Christ come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

On the surface this woman looked as though she was doing a great deed, but keep in mind, she was possessed with a demon and was a fortune-teller. Demons and fortune-tellers don’t promote the cause of Christ. She had a hidden motive in mind. The demon in her was working to silence Paul’s ministry in Philippi.

An illustration may explain this better. Let’s say you were in an Islamic country secretly leading Muslims to Christ. As you walked through the streets looking for opportunities to tell Muslims about Jesus, a woman followed you day after day saying, “This person is a servant of the Most High God who proclaims to us the way of salvation.” Don’t you agree the Islamic government would silence you? That was what concerned Paul when he traveled through the streets of Philippi. I personally believe the woman had a sneered lip, and her comment sounded like she was asking a question. That is why Paul, through Jesus Christ, cast the demon out of her. However, it was too late. The woman accomplished what she had set out to accomplish—silence Paul. Let’s pick up the story in Acts 16:19 and read through verse 24,

And when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, and brought them to the magistrates, saying, these men, being Jews do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates rent of their [Paul’s and Silas’s] clothes and commanded to beat them. And when they laid many stripes on them, they cast them in prison.

Let’s go back to verse 1 where we introduced Paul.

Paul called to be an apostle by Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother.

Notice the name Sosthenes. Who was Sosthenes, and what did he have to do with Paul’s calling? Notice how Sosthenes was introduced…

AND Sosthenes our brother.

That implies he had something to do with Paul’s calling to be an apostle, but I must say that could not be true. Allow me to explain. After Paul’s eighteen months stay in Corinth, he left the city and took Aquila and Pricilla with him to Achaia—Southern Greece. After they arrived in Achaia, they joined the synagogue. Sosthenes was the ruler of the synagogue. He was converted to Jesus after hearing Paul preach that Jesus was the way of salvation. What happened to Sosthenes after his conversion to Christ is found in Acts 18:17,

Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat.

That gives us an idea of who Sosthenes was, where he lived, and what he did for a living, but it does not tell us what he had to do ...

Table of contents

• Chapter 1 Has Four Subjects
• Chapter 2 Has Four Subjects
• Chapter 3 Has Four Subjects
• Chapter 4 Has Four Subjects
• Chapter 5 Has Three Subjects
• Chapter 6 Has Four Subjects
• Chapter 7 Has Five Subjects
• Chapter 8 Has One Subject
• Chapter 9 Has Three Subjects
• Chapter 10 Has Three Subjects
• Chapter 11 Has Three Subjects
• Chapter 12 Has Four Subjects
• Chapter 13 Has Four Subjects
• Chapter 14 Has Four Subjects
• Chapter 15 Has Ten Subjects
• Chapter 16 Has Three Subjects