Ancient Corinth stood on the narrow neck of land
connecting the mainland to the Peloponessus. In Paul’s day it was an
important trading centre. Merchants sending goods to Italy preferred to
transfer cargo from Cenchrea, east of Corinth, cross land to Lechaeum on
the west, rather than taking the hazardous journey round the southern
tip of the Peloponessus. The Romans destroyed the city BC 146, but in BC
46 Julius Caesar rebuilt and colonised it. As capital of the senatorial
province of Achaia the seat of the governing proconsul was here.
Corinth was wealthy and cosmopolitan, with a mixture
of Jews, Romans, Greeks; traders, sailors, skilled workers and the poor.
It saw wealth and poverty and all
extremes of human life. Jews came to
trade; Romans were there on official business or descended from the
original colonists; Greeks gravitated from the countryside. Corinth was
a centre for sensuality and sport, renowned for morals that were loose
even by the low standards of paganism. To Corinthianise was a
term for the lowest kind of life. At one time, its Temple of Aphrodite
had a thousand sacred prostitutes.
Background
Paul arrived from Athens (45 miles east) in autumn 51
AD. Gallio’s proconsulship is thought to have begun mid-52. Paul was
there a year and a half, including many days after appearing
before Gallio so he probably left in spring, 53 AD. He arrived without
his companions, Silas and Timothy, but soon met Aquila and Priscilla.
Previously in Rome they were forced to leave in 50 AD, when Claudius
ordered all Jews out. Whether they were converted before leaving Rome or
in Corinth is uncertain. Like Paul they were also tent-makers. They
worked together throughout Paul’s early days.
Paul began at the synagogue, as was his custom,
reasoning from the Scriptures concerning the Christ they foretell. When
Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, he seems to have devoted
himself solely to preaching. Maybe they brought funds from the
Macedonians (cf Philippians 4:15, 16). As so often, the Jews’ reaction
was hostile (Acts 18:6) so Paul turned to the Gentiles. His centre of
operations did not move far – just next door to the home of Titius
Justus, a proselyte. The Lord blessed Paul’s preaching. Crispus, the
synagogue leader, was converted and many others.
Opposition continued despite the blessing but (Acts
18:9-10) the Lord spoke to Paul one night, encouraging him not to fear
but to keep preaching. This suggests Paul needed encouragement.
However, there is nothing to link this with what had happened in Athens
nor to suggest that he altered his strategy for Corinth. The continued
opposition culminated in the Jews dragging Paul before Gallio, accusing
him of persuading men to worship God contrary to the law. The Proconsul
was not about to step into a theological controversy outside his
expertise and he threw out the case. We read (Acts 18:17) that they
all took hold of Sosthenes, the synagogue leader, and beat him in
front of the judgement seat. It is unclear who was involved. Some
suggest a crowd of Gentile onlookers did it because the Jews were
causing trouble but perhaps it was the Jews because their leader had not
put the case strongly enough. Sosthenes had obviously succeeded Crispus
as synagogue leader but appears to have been converted too. His name
appears with Paul’s at the head of 1 Corinthians.
Later, while Paul was just across the Aegean Sea in
Ephesus he wrote to Corinth. The church was unstable and immature and
had many problems. The largely Gentile membership had a pagan
background. They lacked the moral principles that long exposure to
Scripture would have given.
After Paul’s departure Apollos came to Corinth. He
was an accomplished speaker and debater, something the Greek culture of
Corinth would appreciate. Peter also may have visited, though we have no
details. Paul refers to him and his itinerant preaching in chapter 9. We
know from the letter that rival factions were lining up behind Apollos,
Peter and Paul. Others claimed to be just of Christ.
Paul wrote a letter to Corinth before 1 Corinthians.
In 5:9 he refers to it, saying that he had told them not to associate
with immoral people. They misunderstood this so he makes clear that he
was not advocating withdrawal from society but discipline within the
church. We do not have this original letter, so we cannot know its
contents. Some speculate that it was kept at Corinth and parts of 1 and
2 Corinthians contain pieces from that letter (including 6:12-20; 2
Corinthians 6:14-7:1). There is no evidence to support this conjecture.
It is clear that the lost letter produced an
unsatisfactory response and there was still confusion in the church.
Apollos was no longer at Corinth. He was probably with Paul in Ephesus (cf
16:12). Paul was urging him to revisit Corinth. There is no indication
that Peter was in Corinth. Paul would have mentioned him if he was. The
church seems to have lacked strong leadership at this time. News of the
church had reached Paul from members of Chloe’s household, possibly
slaves in Ephesus on business. Also three members of the church,
Stephanus, Fortunatus and Achaicus, had come to Paul (16:17). They seem
to have brought him a gift and a letter containing questions the church
wanted Paul to settle.
Paul’s response to the questions and the rumours he
had heard was to write 1 Corinthians. It must have been written near the
end of his time in Ephesus, as he had already made plans to leave for
Macedonia and may come to them soon (16:5-7). It may have been written
in winter 55 AD, as he speaks of staying on until Pentecost, because of
the blessing he is seeing.
A possible outline
1 Corinthians is one of the most varied of Paul’s
letters in content and style. Many diverse topics needed dealing with
and Paul uses all kinds of literary devices to make his points - logical
reasoning, sarcasm, pleading, scolding, poetry, narrative and
exposition. Some suggest this is the kind of style he would have used to
address the elders in person. Despite the wide variety of topics, a
theme runs through the letter – how to live in the world in light
of the cross. The matters dealt with are relevant today. Many issues
dealt with are increasingly familiar in the west as society grows more
pagan.
Theme: The application of the cross
1. Salutation 1:1-9
2. Reply to report from Chloe’s household
1:10-6:20
Party strife 1:10-3:23
Defence of Paul’s ministry 4:1-21
Criticism of immorality 5:1-13
Criticism of lawsuits 6:1-11
Reply to libertarianism 6:12-20
3. Reply to questions in their letter 7:1-16:9
Marriage 7:1-24
The unmarried 7:25-40
Things sacrificed to idols 8:1-11:1
Evaluated by considering
the idol 8:1-13
freedom 9:1-27
God 10:1-22
others 10:23-11:1
Problems of the conduct of worship 11:2-34
Head coverings 11:2-16
Lord’s Supper 11:17-34
Spiritual gifts 12:1-14:40
Resurrection of the body 15:1-58
The Collection 16:1-9
4. Closing greetings 16:10-24
The letter’s structure is determined by the order
in which topics were mentioned to Paul by Chloe’s household and in the
letter brought by the visitors. He deals with the news he has heard
first (Chapters 1-6) then says Now concerning the things about which
you wrote ... (7:1). He subsequently divides the questions up by
starting each new section Now concerning .... (7:25, 8:1, 12:1,
16:1).
The letter gives us an insight into the problems
experienced by a young church, formed in a pagan environment. It was
taken to Corinth by Timothy, or at least he would soon follow (16:10).
Paul commends him, urging the church not to despise him (a reference to
his youth or characteristic timidity). Paul had encouraged Apollos to
go. He was reluctant, perhaps fearing he would harden divisions. The
letter did not solve all the problems. Divisions and opposition to Paul
continued, as we see in 2 Corinthians.
