1 And 2 Corinthians Freedom

     Paul wrote First Corinthians primarily because of a division in the local church caused by several different situations. Paul writes, “Now, dear brothers and sisters, I appeal to you by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ to stop arguing among yourselves. Let there be real harmony so there won’t be divisions in the church. I plead with you to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose” (First

The first section of the note on 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 in the HarperCollins Study Bible leads the reader to contemplate the issue of unity in the body of Christ, the lack of which is arguably the origin of most, if not all of the issues facing the Corinthian church. The Christians in Corinth were challenged with several internal problems, many of which could have been solved by the members seeking unity in their diversity. Paul introduces the idea that the church should function as the body of Christ, valuing the abilities and roles that God chose for each member. The first part of the note states, “Like certain other ancient writers, Paul regards the human body as illustrating the point that unity and diversity are not incompatible, applying

His love for them and his desire to see the church as a whole restored took precedence over his own personal feelings. He knew that if he came to oversee the resolution of the problem, it might intensify the situation. If he didn’t address the situation and it remained unresolved, there could and would be greater sorrow in the future. Paul knew that writing a letter to the Corinthian Church might bring them pain, but this would be for their good rather than their harm.

Paul wrote in his first letter to the church in Corinth: 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 (ESV)

Paul begins his letter with honesty and speaks of his genuine dealings with the church of Corinth. He goes on to

When looking at the 1 Cor. Passage, it is important to realize that Paul’s letters are occasional, they were meant for a specific audience. In this case, the Christians in Corinth were taking other Christians to court. Court cases in this context were extremely public, something

Around 51 AD, Paul was in the city of Corinth. This city was made up of many different people with very different ideas concerning God, cults, and moral depravity. While in Corinth, Paul was approached by a woman named Chloe who described to him the misdeeds of dissention, immorality and wrong doing in the city. Dismayed, Paul immediately addressed the issues in his letters to the Corinthians.

Traditionally, 1 Corinthians is attributed to Paul, as are many of the New Testament letters. Paul was writing to a church in Corinth, a church and town that would have been primarily Gentile. This means the congregation would likely have been familiar with, and influenced by, pagan practices. Paul had since left Corinth and it seems that other Christian leaders had visited after Paul’s departure. Paul writes to correct and address issues that have arisen in the church. It seems the Corinthians have written Paul with a list of questions, but this has been lost. Some of the issues seem to have arisen from poor reports of the church reaching Paul. It is important to read this letter in the context of a church asking for direction regarding specific issues. This letter allows us to eavesdrop on Paul’s side of the conversation, but we not not privy to the other side of the conversation.

They have been cowardly and acting like children (3:1-2), as well as full of strife (1:11). Paul desires, on behalf of the Corinthians, the pardoning mercy, sanctifying grace, and comforting peace of God, through Jesus Christ (Henry). Paul references Our Lord Jesus Christ six times in the salutation to remind the Corinthians to not make too frequent or too honorable mention of him (McGee).

This basic feature of the Christian message brings the growing sense of unease within some in Paul’s audience (Fernando, p. 476). However, Paul’s strategy of reasoning with the Athenians is instructive of the gospel message. His message does not contain direct quotations or appeals to the Old Testament (Fernando, p. 476). However, such appeals would have meant nothing to his audience, who did not accept the authority of the Scriptures. But, the message was thoroughly scriptural (Fernando, p. 476). Paul uncovers the Athenians’ admitted need for the knowledge of the one true God.

At first glance, Paul appears to be affirming the church’s stance for freedom to eat this food; however, Paul makes a distinction between those who worship idols and those who worship God, by the phrases “some people worship” and “but for us” (1 Corinthians 8:5-6). This thematic contrast of those who belong to Christ and those who do not is seen in many sections of Paul’s letter. For example, in chapter five, Paul condemns the church for living worse than the pagan in regards to the man living in an incestuous relationship. Then in chapter six, Paul encourages the church to not seek courts to settle their disputes as the rest of the culture would, but instead solve their differences within the church. As can bee seen, Paul continues to drive home among these people who have been freed in Christ to live out their freedom.

While Paul was in Ephesus, around the year 54 AD, he wrote two letter to the church to Corinth. He wrote these letter to direct and to bring some correction to the church in Corinth. I am going to look at the first letter he wrote, 1 Corinthians. The people of Corinth had been polytheists, meaning they worshiped more than one god, and they we having a hard time wrapping their minds around the idea of Christianity. There area host of issues that Paul addresses in this letter such as: sexual immorality, women, the abuse of the Lords Supper, division in the church and the abuse of spiritual gifts. It is important to point out the way that Paul addresses these issues not from a condemning standpoint, but from the mindset of fatherly correction.

Thus, we cannot live in sin any longer and we cannot live under the Law any longer, which is the strength of sin. Being dead to the Law, we are not “guided by the Law” but by the Spirit, we are to walk in and “according to the Spirit” and it is “by the Spirit” that we to “put to death the deeds of the body”—John 8:31-36; John 14:15-26; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, 56; Romans 5; 6; 7; 8; 1 Corinthians 5:11-13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 2:19-20; Galatians 3; Galatians 5:16-26; Galatians 6:14-16; Ephesians 4; Philippians 3; Colossians 1:3-29; Colossians 2; 3:1-17; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; 1 Timothy 1:8-10; 1 John 1; 2; 3,

As with most other Pauline attributed documents, 1 Corinthians is believed to be a single document that addresses salient topics and rationalizes Paul’s view of faithfulness to Christ with Corinth citizens. The newly founded church of Corinth was in correspondence with Paul requesting his answers to questions they posed on topics ranging from marriage to the resurrection of the dead; the latter being one of the most highlighted in 1 Corinthians. Paul’s assurance of resurrection illustrates a concern for Corinth as he admonishes their disbelief in resurrection of the dead with a series of explanations as to why such doubt would render the faith of Christ “in vain”. Given the context of the time, Paul’s correspondence with Corinth clearly

The previous section of the letter is the introduction and Paul’s note of thanks for the Corinthian believers. There is a distinct note of commendation and love in the first section before Paul begins to condemn and exhort the Corinthians for their poor behavior. Much of this behavior is linked to their boasting about their wisdom, or the wisdom of those whom they choose to follow. Therefore, much of Paul’s teaching is in relation to true wisdom, as opposed to worldly wisdom. Paul continues to address the issue of factions in the church by further concentrating on the issue of wisdom, before he begins approaching other issues from the report in chapters 5 and 6. Following this, Paul begins to address the questions posed by the