1 Corinthians - An Introduction

In an interesting turn of events, we go from Romans to 1 Corinthians, which was written “sometime between A.D. 54 and 57.” I struggle with this because it would be so much easier if all this was put in chronological order and then interspersed between the book of Acts when they would be written as well. But here we are. There is some background on 1 Corinthians that is good to know as we go into this book.

The IM reminds us that “early in his third missionary journey, Paul went to Ephesus, where he preached for approximately three years.” The IM also says that the book that we have and know as 1 Corinthians is actually the second letter sent to the Corinthians as a response to a second letter written to Paul about the state of the Church in that city. The first letter to Paul and his response have been lost to the annuls of time.
Also interesting to note is that “this epistle was likely written earlier than any of the other New Testament books, including the Gospels. If this is true, Paul’s brief references to the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ found in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 and 15:3-4 are the earliest New Testament accounts of these events.” We have to remember that Paul wasn’t present for any of these events when they happened because he wasn’t one of the original apostles that were with Jesus during his mortal ministry.
Any information or understanding that Paul had about Christ’s life and the atonement would have come from those who were with Christ before he died or from a resurrected Christ Himself, who taught Paul when he spent three years in Arabia before his personal ministry. This means that whatever Paul learned and understood about the gospel and Jesus Christ came to him through the Spirit which means that it’s also available to us if we chose to live worthy of it. This doesn’t mean that Jesus Himself will come down and teach us, but even if he had appeared to Paul during his time of learning, anything Jesus said wouldn’t have stuck with Paul or been understood by him without the abilities of the Spirit to help him.
1 Corinthians was the earliest written portion of the New Testament, written by Paul while he was preaching in Ephesus to the saints in Corinth. Let’s remember that Paul had established the church in Corinth during his 2^nd mission, and that this letter is the 4^th in a back and forth series between the saints in Corinth and Paul in Ephesus, with the first three being lost. This means that we must make deductions about the content of the other letters by what is discussed in this one.
Since it’s been several months since I’ve studied Paul’s missions, let’s go back and refresh on the history here. During his second missionary journey, Paul stayed for 18 months in the city of Corinth and established a branch of the church there. The IM gives background on the city of Corinth, saying, “in Paul’s day, the city of Corinth was the capital of the Roman province Achaia, which covered most of ancient Greece south of Macedonia.
As a wealthy trade center, Corinth attracted people from throughout the Roman Empire, making it one of the more diverse cities in the area. Idol worship dominated Corinthian religious culture, and there were numerous temples and shrines throughout the city. At the time of Paul’s ministry, the Corinthians had a reputation of being grossly immoral. For instance, ritual prostitution was reportedly practiced at the temple of Aphrodite.”
One of the issues that we will see Paul address in 1 Corinthians is that of incorporating pagan rituals and traditions into the ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I tried to think of the modern day equivalent to that for us, and I think that I am very fortunate in that my country is largely Christian, and so I don’t have a lot culture or anything like that that is completely out of line with Christian teachings. I think something similar would be like Buddhists or Muslims coming to the gospel and trying to incorporate one while separating from the other. But even then, I can’t think of anything in those two specific religions that would be had if taken into Christianity.
Like Romans, 1 Corinthians is promised to be very confusing to “modern readers… such as Paul’s advice regarding relationships between men and women, hair coverings, and the role of women in worship services. Remembering that Paul was giving direction to solve specific problems among the Corinthian Saints of that day will help readers recognize the relevant gospel principles that are applicable to all followers of Jesus Christ.”