1 Corinthians 1

David Lipscomb Commentary On 1st Corinthians 1 1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God,—Paul had first preached the gospel at Corinth (Acts 18:1) ; had planted the church there, yet his authority as an apostle had been denied, and in this letter he vindicates his claim to be an apostle. He therefore begins the letter with the assertion that he was an apostle and called of Jesus Christ to the apostleship. “ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God,” is a simple and literal translation, giving the idea clearly. Jesus called Paul to be an apostle to the Gen­tiles when he appeared to him on the way to Damascus. Hence, it is said: “ Paul, an apostle (not from men, neither through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead).” (Galatians 1:1.) and Sosthenes our brother,—Sosthenes is doubtless the same person mentioned in Acts 18:17, who as ruler of the synagogue was set upon by the Jews. He became a follower of Christ, was persecuted at Corinth, and likely went with Paul when he left the city under persecution, and when Paul wrote this letter to the church at Corinth, Sosthenes joined him in it, probably acting as amanuensis. To this position it is objected that it was he, who, as ruler of the synagogue, had dragged Paul himself before Gallio, the Roman proconsul, and who, when Gallio refused to meddle with the case, as out of his jurisdiction, was set upon and roughly handled by the Jews, even before the judgment seat. (Acts 18:12-17.) But since the name of Sosthenes occurs nowhere else but in this epistle addressed to the Corinthians as one with whom they were familiar, and since it is often that the most violent op- posers of the truth, when once won by it, become, like Paul himself, its most enthusiastic promoters, I can but conclude that the position here taken is correct.

2 unto the church of God—The church is a divine name for the disciples of Christ in a city or community. The term church is used in a general and universal sense, also in a specific and local sense. Jn its universal sense it embraces all the spirits in the universe that obey God as the ruler and the lawgiver. (Hebrews 12:22-29.) In its local sense it embraces all persons in a community who have been called out, separated from the world by the gospel, and who are bound together by a common faith in Jesus Christ. While in the world we can know and approach this church only in its local manifesta¬tions. So far as this church is composed of spirits that are invisible, the church is invisible; so far as it is composed of visible men and women, it is a visible body. No visible being can be a part or a member of an invisible church, any more than visible arms and legs can compose an invisible body.

If a visible material person is a member of the church, he is a member of the visible local church where he lives. All Christians in the days of the apostles were members of the local churches. They became so by obedience to God. These local churches were bodies distinct and separate, without any organic connection with one another. Each was a distinct body within itself. The members of these local assemblies, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, chose their own overseers and workers.

The local congregation was the highest and only manifestation of the church. Each congregation stood on a perfect equality with all others. The elders of the local con¬gregation were the highest “ dignitaries” of the church, and they were chief servants and ruled by example rather than by authority. which is at Corinth,—The members of the church at Corinth had fallen into many sinful habits, yet Paul recognized them as a church of God. even them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus,—The sanctified are set apart or separated to a sacred service of purpose. It does not mean that they were sinless, or free from temptation from sin; but consecrated to the service of God. All who have entered into Christ, and have obligated themselves to serve him, are said to be sanctified in Christ Jesus regardless of their degree of consecration or perfection of character. There are degrees of sanctification just as there are degrees of Christian knowledge and fidelity to Christ. The growth in sanctification and holiness is to be attained by a constant and persistent study of God’ s will, and a daily effort to bring oneself into obedience to the same. The claim that religion in any of its parts is to be obtained otherwise than through learning the word of God and striving faithfully to do the things commanded is a sad mistake that results in the perversion of religion from a faithful, self-denying service to a spasmodic feeling or impulse of excitement. True religion is to be felt and appreciated, not as fleshly excitement or emotion, but as the result of right thinking and doing. It is the abiding consciousness of duty performed to the best of one’ s ability. This feeling of joy and happiness that thus comes is permanent and enduring. All excitement of the fleshly emotions are short lived and deceptive. called to be saints,—All who accept the invitation offered in the gospel are the called of Jesus Christ. Saints are sanctified ones, set apart to the service of God. with all that call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ— [To call upon is to invoke his aid. To call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord is to invoke his aid as the Christ, the Messiah predicted by the prophets, and as our almighty and sovereign possessor and ruler. It is in that sense that Jesus is Lord. All authority in heaven and on earth was committed unto him (Matthew 28:18) after he died and rose again that he might be the Lord of the dead and of the living; that is, that he might acquire that peculiar right of possession in his peo¬ple which arises from his having purchased them with his own blood. (Acts 20:28.) To call upon the name of Jesus as Lord is therefore to worship him. It looks to him for that help which God only can give. All Christians, therefore, are the worshipers of Christ. And every sincere worshiper is a true Christian. The phrase expresses not so much an individual act of invocation, as an habitual state of mind and its appropriate expression.] in every place,—This shows that while the epistle was written directly to, and for the instruction of the church at Corinth, it was also intended for the instruction and use of all who call upon the name of Jesus Christ at all times and in all places. In other words, it was an epistle for universal use. their Lord and ours:— This means that Jesus is at once the Lord and Savior of all God’ s children wherever they be.

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.—This is a prayer that favor be unto them and peace that God and Christ have and alone can give should be given unto them. This peace nothing can destroy.

ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 4 I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus;—He thanked God for the great favor that had been shown them as servants of Christ Jesus. [He congratulates them on the abundant gifts and graces bestowed on them from God, and to express his hope as to their spiritual progress; in order, by a praise calcu-lated to conciliate their good will, to introduce, with less of¬fense, the reproofs which their state rendered is necessary for him to administer, and which he skillfully introduces. There was much to be thankful for, and hopeful about, in the Corin¬thian church. And on this he first dwells, in order to appeal to their better feelings, and thus place the contrast in stronger relief, and so fix a deep conviction of sin.]

5 that in everything ye were enriched in him,—In the fourteenth chapter Paul mentions the many gifts bestowed on the church at Corinth, showing that in everything they, as a church of Jesus Christ, had received blessings and favors that spiritually enriched them, or placed the rich gifts of the favors unto which these gifts brought. in all utterance— The ability to speak the gospel in different tongues. and all knowledge;— The spiritual gifts that would bestow all knowledge needful for salvation and the power of im¬parting it to others by the gift of tongues had been freely bestowed on the members of the church at Corinth. These gifts had been so distributed to the members of the church that they would supply the knowledge of God’ s will to them.

6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:— The testimony concerning Jesus was confirmed by the miracles wrought and the gifts bestowed, making sure that the things spoken were from God.

7 so that ye come behind in no gift;—The gifts were so freely bestowed that they fell behind other churches in no gift. “ For what is there wherein ye were made inferior to the rest of the churches, except it be that I myself was not a burden to you?” (2 Corinthians 12:13.) waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ;—These gifts were to impart all instruction and knowledge while they waited the coming, or restitution, of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is difficult to determine whether this coming refers to the destruction of Jerusalem, which would be a full confirmation of all that had been said of Christ and the apostles; or whether to “ when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed … in that day.” (2 Thessalonians 1:10.) [That it has reference to the latter there can be but little doubt, since the Lord promised his anx¬ious disciples when he was about to leave them that he would return, and this promise was renewed by the angel on the very day that he ascended into heaven. (Acts 1:11.) It be¬came the settled hope of Christians that he would return. (Tit. 2; 12, 13; 2 Peter 3:12; Heb. 8: 28.) And the apostle John, who was present when Jesus ascended, closed the vol¬ume of inspiration with the earnest prayer that he would come quickly. (Revelation 22:20.) The expectancy of the coming of the Lord steadied and strengthened the Christian life, and probably here it is introduced as the motive by which they were kept from anything that would impoverish their spiritu¬ality. This earnest desire and expectation is the greatest proof of maturity and richness of the Christian life.] 8 who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye be unre¬provable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.— God would so confirm them in the truth of what had been taught them that they would remain steadfast and be blameless when Christ should come to judge the world. [This would cause them to hold themselves in readiness for that great day, not knowing when it might come.]

9 God is faithful,—He assures them that God is faithful to do what he has promised. If they continued steadfast in their obedience to him, he would preserve them without blame, through the power he exerts in Christ Jesus. through whom ye were called into the fellowship—Fellowship with Christ means a partnership with him, a merging our individuality in the body of Christ. Earthly partnerships are limited. Business partnerships are limited to the business proposed in the combination. The relation of husband and wife is the most extended partnership of this life, yet it is limited. The partnership in Christ is unlimited as to time or ob¬jects of accomplishments. The completeness of the partner¬ship is indicated by the comparison to the union of the fleshly in one body.

They are indissolubly joined together; the inter¬est of the one is the interest of all. One cannot possibly pros¬per at the cost or detriment of another. If “ one member suf fereth, all the members [the whole body] suffer with it.” (12: 26.) If one member prospers, all rejoice with it, the union is complete. of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.—Of that partnership Christ is Head. He is Head in the sense that from him all the strength and power come, all the wisdom descends. He is the center to which all the members are bound, from him all the impulses and guidance flow. [Paul’ s whole desire was to rivet the mind of the Corinthian church to the name of Jesus Christ. He makes no mention of any apostle or teacher, but evermore of Jesus. Nowhere in any other epistle is the name of Jesus Christ so often repeated. In these introductory verses, he repeats the name nine times, making it the connect¬ing link of the whole introductory part of the epistle. The frequent mention of his name doubtless grew out of the desire of the apostle to draw them away from their party admiration of particular teachers to Christ alone.]

TO UNITY AND REPROOF OF PARTY SPIRIT1 Corinthians 1:10-17 10 Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,—Paul, as a brother in Christ, tenderly entreats them from God, speaking for Jesus Christ and by his authority (2 Corinthians 5:20), [not to let any other name eclipse the name of Jesus Christ, by making it a rallying point around which to gather.] that ye all speak the same thing,—To speak the same thing is to speak only as they were taught by the Holy Spirit, with which he had told them they had been richly endowed. and that there be no divisions among you;—They were di¬vided- over their favorite teachers or ministers. [The divisions which existed in Corinth were not of the nature of hostile sects refusing communion with each other, but such as may exist in the bosom of the same congregation, consisting in alienation of feeling and party strife.] but that ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.— To be of the same mind and the same judgment must be practical among Christians, else Paul would not have urged it. But it is practical only when all follow the things taught by the Lord. By deferring our judgment to his teaching and following the same we can be one. When we change things which God directs or add things not taught by God, we will differ and divide. In any matter not taught by God involving no fidelity to his laws or to institutions, each must defer to the other.

11 For it hath been signified unto me concerning you, my brethren, by them that are of the household of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.-—Chloe and her house are mentioned only here. They had probably come from Corinth to Ephesus where Paul was when he wrote this letter and had told him that contentions had arisen among them at Corinth, that divided them into factions and parties.

12 Now this I mean, that each one of you saith, I am of Paul;—Some Judaizers had come among them and denied that Paul was an apostle. Others became so zealous in his de¬fense that they claimed to be his followers. He had planted the church, was plain, direct, and uncompromising in his teaching, withal was not commanding in appearance or elegant in speech. His enemies said: “ His bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” (2 Corinthians 10:10.) and I of Apollos;—Apollos, an eloquent speaker and learned in the Scriptures, had gone among them, become popular and a party had sprung up claiming him as their teacher. At this writing he was with or near Paul (16: 12)., in communication with him and likely cognizant of the condition at Corinth, and of the writing of this letter. and I of Cephas;—Others had come from Jerusalem and were now at Corinth. They claimed Peter as their leader and teacher, as he had been the leader at Jerusalem and in Judea. and I of Christ.—Others still claimed to ignore all teachers and to be of Christ. This could be done in a partisan spirit. To ignore the teachers sent of Christ, and while doing this to claim to be of Christ, was to be a party. Jesus said: “ He that heareth you heareth me; and he that rejecteth you rejecteth me; and he that rejecteth me rejecteth him that sent me.” (Luke 10:16.)

13 Is Christ divided?—This was said in condemnation of their divided state. To divide and rend the church of Christ into parties is to divide Christ. The church is his spiritual body, to establish which he sacrificed his fleshly body. Then it is a greater sin to divide the church of Christ than it was to pierce and mutilate his fleshly body. He who introduces things not required by God, that cause division and strife, is guilty of the strife. All the divisions in the churches arise over the introduction of teachings, orders, and institutions not ordained of God. Hence the followers of Christ cannot divide— cannot introduce things not required by God. was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized into the name of Paul?—That is, they should be followers of none, save him who died to redeem them, and into whose name they had been baptized. He does not mention Apollos, but shows the folly of human leaders by showing the sin of following himself instead of Christ. [To be “ baptized into the name of” signifies to be baptized while engaging henceforth to belong to him in whose name the rite is performed. In the name is summed up all that is revealed regarding him who bears it, consequently all the titles of his legitimate authority. Baptism is therefore a taking possession of the baptized on the part of the one whose name is invoked on him. Never did Paul think for a moment of arrogating to himself such a posi¬tion in relation to those who were baptized by him.]

14 I thank God that I baptized none of you,— He said this on account of their divisions and strife, save Crispus and Gaius;—Crispus was one of the first con¬verts (Acts 18:8), and was baptized before Timothy and Silas reached Corinth. Of Gaius we know but little. In the epistle to the Romans (16: 23), he calls him “ my host, and of the whole church.” He was doubtless one of the first converts.

15 lest any man should say that ye were baptized into my name.—Had he baptized in his own name he would have taken unto himself the honor that belonged to Christ alone.

16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas:—The household of Stephanas were the first fruits of Achaia. (16:15.) Because it is said that Paul baptized the households of Stephanas, Lydia, and the jailer (Acts 16:15 Acts 16:34), some en¬deavor to prove that infant baptism was practiced in the apos¬tolic age, on the ground that these families contained infants and that when Paul baptized the household he must have bap¬tized the infants. But that these three persons, one a woman in business of whose husband nothing is said, had infant children is far from certain. Nor does the phrase “ baptized the household” make it certain that the infants, if there were any, were baptized. [For we are told that the nobleman “ believed, and his whole house” (John 4:53) ; that Crispus “ believed in the Lord with all his house” (Acts 18:8) ; that the jailer “ rejoiced greatly, with all his house, having believed in God” (Acts 16:34) ; that Cornelius “ feared God with all his house” (Acts 10:2); and that “ the house of Stephanas … is the first fruits of Achaia, and that they have set themselves to minister unto the saints” (1 Corinthians 16:15). But this by no means implies that in these five houses there were no infants, or that infants believed the gospel, feared god, or rejoiced but that those capable of understanding the gospel believed it and rejoiced. Just so in reference to baptism. Consequently these passages render no aid whatever to those contending for infant baptism.] besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.—[Paul guards against the statement being taken absolutely, so that any slight error in it could be used against him. The Spirit was given to the apostles to lead them into all the truth (John 16:13); but it was truth relative to man’ s salvation which was thus made known to them, and not truth like the fact here mentioned, the certain knowledge of which was of no use to the world. ]

17 For Christ sent me not to baptize,—By this he did not mean to deprecate baptism, or to say it was not important. An inspired man could not preach Christ without preaching baptism. Usually Paul was accompanied by his companions in labor who baptized those who believed under his preach¬ing; but he went into Corinth unaccompanied by any of them (Acts 17:14 Acts 15; comp. 18: 5), and “ reasoned in the syna-gogue every sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks” (Acts 18:4), and those persons most likely believed before the ar¬rival of Silas and Timothy. So he baptized with his own hands those who believed, and after their arrival he baptized no more of them. They ministered to him by doing such service. Paul, no matter who were his companions, was the chief leader and teacher. His pre-eminence was marked and always recognized. but to preach the gospel:—To preach the gospel is to preach Christ as God’ s representative, and no one can preach Christ as he is represented in the Scriptures without teaching all he taught. Paul could only claim to be free from the blood of all men by declaring the whole counsel of God. (Acts 20:26-27.) not in wisdom of words,— Christ sent him to preach the gospel, not with the wisdom of learning, nor by the philoso¬phy of human wisdom, nor with eloquent and persuasive speech, but with the simple facts of the gospel. lest the cross of Christ should be made void.—The simple facts of the gospel, with the requirements growing out of them, told in an earnest and loving spirit, and not eloquence and learning, should be relied on to win men from their sins to serve the living God. [To a people thoroughly vitiated in their taste, the preacher of the gospel is open to the tempta¬tion of shading off those features of the gospel which are re¬pulsive to the pride of the heart, and of urging the reception of it rather on the ground of its own “ sweet reasonableness” than on its being an authoritative message from heaven.]

THE OF THE CROSS AND ITS MODE OF AS OPPOSED TO 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 18 For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolish¬ness;—To those who reject the story of the cross, the death of Jesus for the deliverance of man from sin is all foolishness. They regard it so, treat it so, and it, standing to them as foolishness, has no influence or power to save. but unto us who are saved it is the power of God.— The cross, which stands for the facts and truths of the gospel, is the power to save from sin. The idea that to humble himself as a servant, to suffer and die as a criminal, is the way to exert influence and power to overcome man and to lead him away from selfishness and sin is contrary to all feelings and propensities of human nature. While Christ reveals in his hu¬manity a new power to men, and through thus humbling him¬self he can lead others away from sin, he also reveals to men a new and living way to happiness. The only sure way to happiness is to help others in the name of him who became a sin offering for the whole human family.

19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, —The wisdom of the world is folly in the sight of God. The great living principle of salvation is that man must hear God and be guided by his wisdom. God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe and all things must be brought into harmony with his will and be subject to his laws. All God’ s dealings with man are intended to bring about this end. The trouble with man is that he prefers to walk by his own wisdom rather than surrender to the wisdom of God. All God’ s dealings with man from the beginning have been to show that man’ s own wisdom has brought him to ruin. Therefore he must eschew it and seek the wisdom of God. (Isaiah 29:14; Jeremiah 8:9; Romans 1:16.) And the discernment of the discerning will I bring to nought.—So God has foretold that he would bring all the devices and inventions of human wisdom to nought by the things that seemed to men weak and foolish.

20 Where is the wise?—The wise doubtless were the Greek philosophers who sought after wisdom and claimed to be its chief upholders. where is the scribe?—The scribes were a learned body of men, otherwise denominated lawyers, whose influence over the Jewish people was very great. where is the disputer of this world?—The disputers were the Epicureans, Stoics, and other schools of philosophy devoted especially to disputation. None of these classes, the learned and wise of their nations, accepted the truth. Jesus said: “ I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes: yea, Father; for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight.” (Luke 10:21.) hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?— When properly used, learning, instead of being a hindrance, is a great help in coming to a knowledge of the truth; but if a man is puffed up by it, so as to think he is wise and not de¬pendent upon God, it hinders. God has shown by his teachings and dealings with the world that all such wisdom is fool-ishness.

21 For seeing that in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom knew not God,—To know God is to know his character, will, judgments, and his manner of dealings with man, when he will bless and when he will curse. It was a part of the wisdom of God, in ordering all things, that man by his own wisdom should not thus know God. it was God’ s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe.— Nothing in man can teach him these things. He is dependent upon God made known through the preaching of the gospel which seems foolishness to man. The gospel is a revelation of God and of his will made known through Christ. Those who believe in Christ and accept him and his teachings as the true wisdom of God will be saved by it. The things suggested by human wis¬dom cannot save.

22 Seeing that Jews ask for signs,—The Jews had been trained to accept the revelation of God attested by signs and miracles. It was the test of one claiming to be a teacher of the truth. The Jews repeatedly asked signs of Jesus. (Matthew 12:38 Matthew 16:1; Mark 8: 11, 12; 4:.48.) and Greeks seek after wisdom:—The Greeks asked philosophy— wisdom of the world. The religion of the Jews was based on signs and miracles; [but the more they got of them; the less they were satisfied; contrariwise, the Greeks looked with philosophic indifference on the whole field of the supernatural, regarding even the resurrection of Christ as adding but one more of the already plentiful childish fables, fit only for the simple-minded. “ Give us wisdom” was their cry— anything that will carry its own evidence on its face. Nor was this state of things a peculiarity of that time. Every age has its blind devotees of supernatural interposition and its self-sufficient worshipers of human reason.]

23 But we preach Christ crucified,—This they did as the only means offered to man to escape sin and its penalties. unto Jews a stumblingblock,—Jesus was a living miracle and sign in his life, his teaching, and his works. The life and teaching of Jesus are as much a miracle, above human power, as were the works he performed. They are not so striking to the unthinking mind, but the life and teaching of Jesus are just as far above the capacities of man as it is beyond the power of man to raise the dead. The Jews could not account for his wonderful life. [It is well known that to the Jews no doctrine was more offensive than that the Messiah was to be put to death, and that there was to be salvation, in no other way. It was so in the time of Paul, and it has been so ever since.] and unto Gentiles foolishness:— His whole teaching and manner of helping man was without reason or sense to the philosophic Greeks. They could see neither reason nor sense in it. [Nothing in the apprehension of the modernist can be more absurd than that the blood of the cross can remove sin, promote virtue, and secure salvation; or that the preaching of that doctrine is to convert the world.]

24 but unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks,— The called were those who believed in Jesus and accepted the invitation to come unto him. And those who accepted him were not those filled with the conceit of their own wisdom and self-sufficiency; but those conscious of their own weakness, willing to hear, and be guided by his wisdom. Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.—The provisions made in Christ for the salvation of men embodied what God in his wisdom saw was best to save man, and in these provisions the full power of God to save is found.

25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men;—The things provided by God that seem foolish to man have much more true wisdom than the things that seem to man the greatest wisdom. and the weakness of God is stronger than men.—The things of God that seem to man weak have more strength in them than the mightiest of man’ s devices. The seemingly weakest of God’ s appointments, used in God’ s name for God’ s honor and glory as he directs, have all the power and strength of God in them.

26 For behold your calling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:-—This will bear two constructions. One is, not many worldly or great ones accept the divine call and become servants of God. The other is, that not many wise, noble, or great ones of earth are chosen of God to preach the gospel. Both propositions are true. The latter one seems more in harmony with the context.

27 but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise;—God to show his power and presence, and to manifest the folly of man’ s wisdom, and the weakness of his greatest inventions, chose the things that to human wisdom appear foolish to confound or confuse the wisdom of the great ones. and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;—Jesus himself came as a helpless babe among the poorer classes of the people and without human power or greatness, and undertook the rescue of the world from the dominion of the evil one. All the appointments of God correspond to the character of Jesus and his condition, lack worldly wisdom. When man uses means fitted to the end sought, he is prone to attribute the result to the means used, to his wisdom in choosing the means. But when the conditions are inadequate to produce the end, then he who ordains the means is looked upon as the source of the power. Of such character was the separating the waters of the Red Sea, the throwing down the walls of Jericho, and the healing of Naaman of leprosy, and this is characteristic of God’ s work generally. The things that seem foolish and weak to the wisdom of man are chosen by God to overturn the works of man, and to effect what his wisdom chooses to accomplish.

28 and the base things of the world, and the things that are despised, did God choose, yea and the things that are not,—God chose the things that seem base, that man despised as un¬worthy, and even things that are not— are dead— as Rachel weeping for her children; and she would not be comforted, because they are not— dead. that he might bring to nought the things that are:—God depended upon a dead Christ to call them to repentance, to establish the reign and authority of God, overturn the mighty works of man that had been built up in the world in rebellion against God.

29 that no flesh should glory before God.—God requires man to work through means unfitted to the end to be accomplished, to show him that the power is of God, that God does the work, that man might not glory as though he did it himself ; but his glorying was in God the giver of all good. The great end of God’ s dealings with man is to cause him to trust God, and lead him to walk in accordance with his will. God imposes on man conditions which in themselves are inadequate to the accomplishment of the end sought, that man may show his faith in God and his willingness to obey him, and in this obedience show his fitness to receive the blessings of God, and that no man should glory in himself in the presence of God. Man had so sinned, so fallen from God’ s favor, that God would receive him only as he distrusted self and trusted God who redeemed him.

30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,—By the provisions of God we are brought into Christ Jesus through faith. Faith affects the heart, the emotions, and directs the confidence and trust toward Christ. Faith carries into Christ only as it leads us to perform the acts that place us in Christ. Faith perfected by obedience is the bringing the whole man—“ spirit and soul and body”— into harmony with the faith of the heart. Faith perfected by obedience embodied and expressed by repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38), puts us in Christ. “ For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ." (Galatians 3:26-27.) who was made unto us wisdom from God,—Jesus Christ with his works, teachings, and requirements is the perfection of divine wisdom to save man. When man acts according to his teaching and follows his ways, he appropriates and uses God’ s wisdom to guide his steps. This lifts the humble man of earth above the weakness of his own wisdom and ignorance, and enables him to walk by the wisdom of God. When Solomon gave divine sanction to the wise proverbs of nations and peoples, he enabled every one who has faith in God to appro¬priate this wisdom as his own and to walk by it. So Jesus Christ is to us the wisdom of God. “ Behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” (Matthew 12:42.) mon gave divine sanction to the wise proverbs of nations and peoples, he enabled every one who has faith in God to appro¬priate this wisdom as his own and to walk by it. So Jesus Christ is to us the wisdom of God. “ Behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” (Matthew 12:42.) and righteousness—Jesus suffered and died as though he was a sinful man that sinful men might stand clothed with the righteousness of God, and live as though he had never sinned. God is righteous, and for man to become righteous, he must live according to the will of God, that in character he may be like him. Man by faith enters into Christ, drinks into his spirit, walks as he walked, and so clothes himself with the righteousness of Christ, thus has God made him righteousness to us. and sanctification,—Jesus sanctified himself that in him man might be sanctified or set apart to the service of God. Only in Christ, and walking in his wisdom, can man be set apart or sanctified to the services of God. Out of Christ man cannot serve God. and redemption:—Jesus Christ came to rescue man from the thralldom of sin, and gave his life to rescue him from death. In Jesus Christ as his servant God will accept him. Thus is Christ made unto us redemption.

31 that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.—All these blessings came to man, not in his own name, or by walking in his ways, but as a servant of Jesus Christ, redeemed, sanctified, saved by him in fulfillment of the Scripture: “ Thus saith Jehovah, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he hath understanding, and knoweth me, that I am Jehovah who exerciseth lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith Jehovah.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24.) There is no room for man glorying in himself. His own wisdom, his own ways, his own strength brought death, and still bring only ruin. So he cannot glory in himself. He that glorieth in honors won, or in blessings enjoyed, must do it in the Lord, as he alone can guide with wisdom, clothe with righteousness, sanctify man to his service, and redeem him from his iniquities and from death.

Verse 1 PAUL’S FIRST LETTER TO THE 1 Corinthians 1Paul began, as always, with a salutation (1 Corinthians 1:1-3), and thanksgiving (1 Corinthians 1:4-9), moving immediately to the principal objective of the epistle, which was that of correcting rampant disorders in the Corinthian church. He first took up the problem of disunity (1 Corinthians 1:10-17), expounded on the glory and power of the cross of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:18-25), and brought forward the character of the Corinthian congregation itself as proof of the wisdom of God in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother. (1 Corinthians 1:1) The words “to be”, added by the translators, are unnecessary and even cloud the meaning. Paul was stating what he was, not what he intended to be. As in most of his writings, Paul stressed his divine commission as an apostle, thus invoking the authority needed for dealing with the errors prevalent in Corinth. Sosthenes … Many identify this brother with the one mentioned in Acts 18:17, but it is not certain. Apparently, he was the amanuensis by whose hand the letter was written, Paul himself inscribing only the salutation and lovingly including his helper. The emphatic first person singular pronoun in1 Corinthians 1:4 denies that Sosthenes had anything to do with the content of the epistle. Verse 2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, even them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, their Lord and ours.The church of God … The church did not belong to the Corinthians but to God, unto whom they were set apart (sanctified) to serve God by reason of the fact that they were “in Christ.” In Christ … denotes the status of all Christians, a relationship brought about through an obedient faith when they were baptized “into” him (Galatians 3:27; 1 Corinthians 12:13; and Romans 6:3). The epic importance of this phrase appears in the fact that it is used no less than 169 times in Paul’s epistles.[1]Called to be saints … Again, “to be” is an unnecessary additive to the text. The Corinthian Christians were not merely candidates for sainthood but were in fact already entitled to this designation by virtue of their being in the spiritual body of Christ, “in him,” and therefore possessing a complete identity with the Saviour. With all that call upon the name … makes this epistle applicable to the saints of all ages in every place and circumstance. Lord Jesus Christ … This use of the compound name JESUS CHRIST by Paul, and by the whole church, barely a quarter of a century after the crucifixion of Christ in A.D. 30 declares the historical accuracy of John’s Gospel, which recorded the first usage of it by the Saviour himself in the great prayer of John 17, making it certain that “in Christ Jesus” is equivalent to “in thy name” of John 17:3 John 17:11 John 17:26. Lord … Likewise, this title of Jesus was not a development in the last first-century church but was firmly established by the time of Paul’s writing here, having been used by Paul in his very first encounter with Jesus (Acts 9:5). ENDNOTE: [1] John Mackay, God’s Order (New York: Macmillan Company, 1953), p. 67 Verse 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.Grace and peace … This double salutation combined the common greetings of both Greeks and Hebrews, but with a remarkable extension of the meaning of both. [@Chairein] was the Greek word for “greeting”; but Paul’s word [@charis] means “grace,” calling attention to God’s unspeakable gift to humanity. The Hebrew salutation, [shalom], meaning “peace,” was united with an affirmation of its coming through Jesus Christ alone.[2]In Paul’s style of mentioning himself first, then the addressee, and next a formal greeting, he followed the format employed by all educated persons of that era. “When Paul wrote letters he wrote them on the pattern which everybody used."[4][2] Leon Morris, Tyndale Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1958), 1Cor., p. 35. [4] F. W. Grosheide, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1953), 1Cor., p. 25. Verse 4 I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus.THE thank my God … This is one of the most amazing words in the New Testament. How incredible it appears on the surface that a church troubled by so many errors and outright sins, as in the case of the Corinthians, should have been the occasion of fervent thanksgiving by an apostle! The explanation lies in the key wordsIN CHRIST JESUS. In the Lord, the Corinthians were credited with the holy righteousness of Christ himself, even as the Christians of all ages; and the blood of Christ, operative in his spiritual body, was cleansing them from all sins (1 John 1:7). Verse 5 That in everything ye were enriched in him, in all utterance and all knowledge.Grosheide explained the last phrase of this verse as meaning that “Their richness in Christ consists especially in the ability to speak well about the revelation of God."[5]In everything … has the meaning of “in everything that really matters.” The Corinthians were of the same status as all of them “that know the truth” (2 John 1:1:1). Although every Christian is required to study and learn continually, there is a certain corpus of truth that he must know before he can become a Christian; and that body of teaching having been acquired, and the believer having acted upon it by being baptized into Christ, he is at that point “enriched in everything.” This was the enrichment enjoyed by the Christians at Corinth. “All things” therefore has in view elementary knowledge and not in the superlative sense of knowing absolutely everything they needed to know, else there would have been no need for Paul to write to them. That Paul intended this verse as a compliment to the Corinthians upon their ability to speak in tongues is evidently a false interpretation. ENDNOTE: [5] Ibid., p. 28. Verse 6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.Testimony of Christ was confirmed in you … is Paul’s way of declaring that the Corinthians had believed and obeyed the gospel of Christ as it had been preached to them. This was the source of all the riches of grace which they had received through their being united with Christ and “in him.” Ye come behind in no gift … The reference here is to the entire galaxy of gifts, in the general sense, which attended establishment of churches of Christ under the apostolic preaching. As Grosheide said: In early Christian times people must have seen all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the special as well as the permanent, as a unity. They were not differentiated, neither had the church as yet experienced that the special gifts were not going to remain.[6]Waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ … This is a reference to the Second Advent of Christ, indicating that the final redemption of people will take place then, and that the time of probation is essentially a period of waiting and expecting. There is no hint here that Paul or the Corinthians believed that the last Advent would come immediately, or in their lifetime. ENDNOTE: [6] Ibid., p. 29. Verse 8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye be unreprovable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.Who shall also confirm you unto the end … Some scholars refer back to God as the antecedent of “who” in this place; but Guthrie seems correct in seeing here an exhortation for the Corinthians not to trust in spiritual gifts which they had received, but that they should look to Christ who would be their strength even to the end. To the end … is “a gentle reminder that the Corinthians had not yet `arrived’ at perfection, despite their many gifts."[7] Full redemption for all people must await THAT DAY when the Lord shall come in his glory and all his holy angels with him (2 Timothy 4:8). ENDNOTE: [7] Donald Guthrie, The New Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Win. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 1053. Verse 9 God is faithful, through whom ye were called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.Here is the ninth reference in as many verses to Jesus Christ. God is faithful … The thought is that God, having begun a good work in the Corinthians, would not change his purpose of leading them into eternal life. Bad as conditions were with the church at Corinth, God’s purpose would continue operative on their behalf. Ye were called … “Called, that is, called to be a Christian, is in the New Testament always A CALL OBEYED."[8]ENDNOTE: [8] Ibid. Verse 10 Now I beseech you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.ON THE PROBLEM OF beseech you … Paul’s tone in this is one of tender and affectionate appeal, delivered in the all-powerful name of Christ. No divisions … All divisions are contrary to the will of Christ; and by reference to the perfect unity which is the ideal of Christian relationships, Paul highlighted the broken fellowship which had marred the body of Christ in Corinth. Be perfected together … This comes from a versatile Greek word, meaning “to adjust the parts of an instrument, the setting of bones by a physician, or the mending of nets."[9] The general meaning would appear to be “put the broken unity back together”; and thus by the use of such an expression Paul states by implication the disunity of the church in Corinth. Paul at once stated the source of his information concerning such a disaster. ENDNOTE: [9] S. Lewis Johnson, Jr., Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 591. Verse 11 For it hath been signified unto me concerning you, my brethren, by them that are of the household of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.The household of Chloe … It is generally assumed by commentators that Chloe was a respected member of the church, and Metz expressed confidence that she was “a woman of character and good standing”;[10]but it should be noted that it was not Chloe who gave Paul the information regarding Corinth, but her “household,” a term usually applied in the New Testament to the “familia” (household slaves), as in the case of “the household of Aristobulus” (Romans 16:10). Guthrie pointed out that Chloe was the popular name of the goddess Demeter, who had 56 temples in Greece, including one at Corinth; and CHLOE’S PEOPLE appear as disinterested critics outside the church parties mentioned.[11]This is the only mention of Chloe in the New Testament, making it impossible to solve the question of who she might have been. The principal point, perhaps, is this: Paul named the source of the evil report he had received, not relying at all upon mere gossip or rumor. [10] Donald S. Metz, Beacon Bible Commentary (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1968), Vol. VIII, p. 314. [11] Donald Guthrie, op. cit., p. 1053. Verse 12 Now this I mean, that each of you saith. I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.Are there three sinful parties in view in this passage, or four? Despite the numerous opinions to the effect that “I of Christ” denotes a sinful division no less than the other slogans, this student cannot agree that there was ever anything wrong with a follower of the Lord claiming to be “of Christ.” The glib assertions of many to the effect that the Christ party was a self-righteous little group insisting that they alone had the truth are as ridiculous as they are unsupported by any solid evidence whatever. Paul himself declared that he was “of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:7); and, indeed, the evidence is strong enough that he made such a declaration in this verse, the final “AND I OF CHRIST” being the words not of a faction at Corinth but of the blessed apostle himself. Guthrie admitted that “I belong to Christ could be Paul’s own corrective comment."[12] William Barclay punctuated the verse thus: “I am of Paul; I am of Apollos; I am of Cephas - but I BELONG TO CHRIST."[13] As Adam Clarke expressed it, “It is not likely in any sense of the word that Christ could be said to be the head of a sect or party in his own church."[14] Macknight, commenting on “and I of Christ,” said, “Chrysostom thought this was said by Paul himself to show the Corinthians that all ought to consider themselves the disciples of Christ."[15] Any other interpretation of this passage cannot be made to fit. What was wrong with the first three of these slogans? Those who were using them were glorying in people; but then it follows as a certainty that those who were saying “and I of Christ” were glorying in the Lord. Thus, the uniform construction of the four slogans which is made the basis of construing them all as sinful becomes the positive reason for denying it. It is impossible to make glorying in Christ a parallel sin with glorying in men, the latter being condemned by Paul and the glorying in Christ being commanded. It should be remembered that all of the speculative descriptions of these various groups are unsupported by a single line in the New Testament. Shore’s comment that “a faction dared to arrogate to themselves the name of Christ,"[16] on the basis of having seen and heard Christ preach personally, is an example of unscholarly guessing, apparently engaged in for the purpose of imputing blame to those who were doing exactly what they should have done in affirming that they were indeed “of Christ.” Would to God that all people, even as Paul, were “of Christ.” The three schismatic groups which were glorying in the names of people have had their counterparts in all ages. Such conduct then, as it still is, was sinful. Paul moved at once to show how ridiculous is the device of glorying in human teachers. [12] Ibid. p. 1054. [13] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 17. [14] Adam Clarke, Commentary (New York: Carlton and Porter, 1831), New Testament, Vol. II, p. 192. [15] James Macknight, Apostolical Epistle, with Commentary and Notes (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1969), Vol. II, p. 22. [16] T. Teignmouth Shore, Ellicott’s Commentary on the Holy Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), Vol. XII, p. 290. Verse 13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized into the name of Paul?In Paul’s dealing with the parties, it should be discerned that this triple question was designed to expose and correct the sin of the three groups glorying in people, but they do not cast the slightest reflection upon those who were “of Christ,” who could have given the proper response to Paul’s question. The other three groups, however, would have been forced to confess that neither Paul, Apollos, or Peter had been crucified for them, and that they had not been baptized into any of those three names. As McGarvey observed, “We should note how inseparably connected in Paul’s thought were the sacrifice of the cross and the baptism which makes us partakers of its benefits."[17]ENDNOTE: [17] J. W. McGarvey, Commentary on First Corinthians (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing Company, 1916), p. 54. Verse 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, save Crispus and Gaius; lest any should say that ye were baptized into my name.It was Paul’s custom to entrust the physical act of baptizing converts to an assistant such as John Mark, Silas or Timothy. There were occasions, however, when he found it necessary to do the actual baptizing with his own hands, as in the cases here cited. He, in this passage, viewed it as providential that he had baptized so few of them, thus denying them any excuse for connecting his name with a party. Both Gaius and Crispus were prominent Christians, Crispus having been the ruler of a synagogue. Verse 16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.Stephanas … was of “the firstfruits of Achaia” (1 Corinthians 16:15), evidently having been baptized by Paul before the beginning of his great work in Corinth (Acts 18:5 ff). Verse 17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not in wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made void.Christ sent me not to baptize … Some have been diligent to make this passage an excuse for denying the necessity of the believer’s baptism into Christ, as for example, Metz, who said, “The gospel of grace and faith that he proclaimed was as free from outer ritual and ceremony as it was devoid of legal observances."[18] If such a view is tenable, how can Paul’s baptism of Stephanas, Gaius, and Crispus be explained? Of course, what Paul referred to here was the OF THE RITE OF BAPTISM, there being nothing here to the effect that Paul preached salvation without baptism. He like all the apostles had been commanded to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them” (Matthew 28:19). Not in wisdom of words … The great apostle renounced the pretentious rhetorical flourishes so dear to the Greek intellectuals, deliberately rejecting the complicated elocutionary devices which were the stock in trade of the philosophers. The Greek word “sophist” (wise man) had fallen from its glory, and in Paul’s day had come to denote a nimble tongue and an empty brain. Dio Chrysostom described the Greek wise men thus: They croak like frogs in a marsh; they are the most wretched of men, because, though ignorant, they think themselves wise; they are like peacocks, showing off their reputation and the number of their pupils as peacocks do their tails.[19]It is clear, then, that Paul used the word “wisdom” in a sarcastic sense in this phrase having the meaning of “gobbledegook” as now used. See more on this under 2 Corinthians 11:5. So-called intellectuals of our own times are by no means exempt from the conceited shallowness of the Greek philosophers. Even a sermon may be well organized, rhetorically excellent, stylishly delivered, “beautiful” and worthless. Lest the cross of Christ should be made void … Digressions are frequent in Paul’s works; and this word “cross,” mentioned as the antithesis of the philosophers’ so-called wisdom, was made the subject of a characteristic Pauline digression. [18] Donald S. Metz, op. cit., p. 316. [19] William Barclay, quotation from Chrysostom, op. cit., p. 22. Verse 18 For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the discernment of the discerning will I bring to naught.THE GLORY OF THE CROSSAll of the value judgments of people were nailed to the cross of Christ. People glorify the arrogant, proud, mighty and successful, but Christ was patient, meek, humble and submissive. A crucified Saviour was simply beyond the boundaries of human imagination. It is the power of God … There are two reactions to the mystery of the cross on the part of two classes of people who behold it. The two classes are those who are perishing and those who are being saved (English Revised Version margin). To the former, the cross is foolishness, but to the latter it is the power of God. As an illustration of God’s power contrasted with human wisdom, Paul cited Isaiah 29:14 where, according to Marsh, The prophet, referring to the failure of worldly statesmanship in Judah in the face of the Assyrian invasion, states a principle that the wisdom of man is no match for the power of God.[20]ENDNOTE: [20] Paul W. Marsh, A New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1969), p. 377. Verse 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?The wise … refers to the worldly wise such as the Greek sophists. The scribe … denotes the expert in Jewish religion. “The disputer of this world …” includes both the others as well as all others who rely upon their own intelligence and do not trust in God. Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? … Although Paul doubtless had in mind that phase of wisdom relating to the eternal things of the spirit, there is also an undeniable application to all phases of human wisdom. History is one long dramatic denial of the world’s wisdom. The pyramids of Egypt, upon which generations of men worked for centuries, are merely colossal monuments to human stupidity. The textbooks of a generation ago are worthless today. Permanence has never yet come to any human government. Every mystery ever solved unlocks a hundred others and raises infinitely more questions than are answered, leading to conviction that the ultimate wisdom on the part of people can never be attained by new formulas and gadgets, that the infinite wisdom is a person, Almighty God, and that people may know him only through Jesus Christ our Lord. Verse 21 For seeing that in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom knew not God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.Knew not God … The ineffectiveness and frustration of human wisdom are nowhere more dramatically evident than in the long pre-Christian history of the Gentiles, who, turning away from God and walking in the light (!) of their own intelligence, drowned the whole earth in shameful debaucheries. Paul developed this thought extensively in the first chapters of Romans, and there is a brief mention of the same thing here. Who can believe that modern man, now in the act of turning away from God, will be any more successful in finding the good life apart from his Creator than were his ancient progenitors? The foolishness of the preaching … has reference to the foolishness of the thing preached (English Revised Version margin), that is, foolishness from the human viewpoint. To save them that believe … “Believe” is here a synecdoche for turning to God through obedience of the gospel, and it includes such things as repentance and baptism. Verse 22 Seeing that Jews ask for signs, and Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified, unto Jews a stumbling block, and unto Greeks foolishness.Dummelow paraphrased this thus, “The Jews will not believe unless a miracle is wrought before their eyes; the Greeks will accept no truth that is not commended by philosophical speculation."[21]Of course, the Jews had witnessed many miracles, not only by the Lord of life, but also by the holy apostles; but what they demanded was the performance, at their bidding, of some spectacular wonder of their own choosing, which, even if it had been wrought, would have had no moral value and would have proved just as ineffective as the true miracles they had already seen (Matthew 16:1). We preach Christ crucified … The cross is central to the Christian religion; no person may be a true follower of the Lord who is unwilling to take up his cross and follow the Master (Matthew 16:24). Despite the Jewish law which declared, “He that is hanged on a tree is accursed of God” (Deuteronomy 21:23), and the hierarchy of Israel having accomplished such a death for the Lord of glory, the cross was the instrument of Jesus’ atonement for the sins of the whole world. It was the place where God, having entered our earthly life as a man, paid the penalty of human transgression, bruised the head of Satan, and purchased the church with his own precious blood. The glory of the cross is seen in what it denied, what it declared, what it accomplished, whom it defeated, and whom it saved. All the human wisdom of all the ages is powerless to achieve the most infinitesimal fraction of the redemption that was achieved to the uttermost on Calvary. ENDNOTE: [21] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 895. Verse 24 But unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.Called … This should not be understood in the narrow and restricted sense, for God has called all people to receive eternal life in Christ, the usage here having reference to people who heed and obey the call. Both Jews and Greeks … This has the meaning of “all men” of whatever race or nation, time or circumstance. Verse 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.Christ on the cross appeared to be weakness in the eyes of people; but that “weakness of God was stronger than men and everything that men could produce."[22] The sign-seeking Jews could not comprehend the mighty “sign of the prophet Jonah,” enacted before their very eyes; and the wisdom-seeking Greeks could not discern the most profound wisdom in all history, not even after it had been preached to them! Despite this, however, the rolling centuries have vindicated the truth which Paul here proclaimed. THE GLORY OF THE SHAMEWe have borrowed this subtitle from Barclay, for it accurately summarizes the argument Paul was about to make. He would use the character of the Corinthian church itself as a demonstration of God’s foolishness being wiser than human beings. ENDNOTE: [22] Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 47. Verse 26 For behold your calling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.Many of the earliest Christians were slaves, a majority were poor, most were uneducated; and few of them had any claim to distinction in the wretched world of their day; but they were the roots from which all that is holy and beautiful has blossomed in succeeding centuries. In their achievements through faith in Christ one reads the pattern of many wonderful things which have happened in America. As Emma Lazarus’ poem on the Statue of Liberty reads: Your wretched refuse of all lands - your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, Homeless and rejected, send them to me. I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door! How those rejected ones have blessed the world! but this is only a feeble parable of what Christianity did on a cosmic scale. As Barclay put it, “Christianity was and still is literally the most uplifting thing in the whole universe."[23]Look at that congregation in Corinth, rescued from the dens of vice and debauchery, gleaned from the dregs of a cruel and heartless society, recruited from the hopeless ranks of slaves, delivered from the treadmills of commerce and industry; but Christ redeemed them, named upon them the eternal name, announced from heaven the plenary discharge of their sins, and made them partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Thank God for the church at Corinth and everywhere. However, it should be kept in mind that Christianity was not denied to the noble, the mighty, and the wise; for Paul did not say that “none” of what might be called the higher echelons of society were called. Indeed, the truly wise, the really noble, also received the Lord, despite the tragedy of many failing to do so. The treasurer of Queen Candace became a Christian (Acts 8:27). The proconsul of Crete, Sergius Paulus, accepted the gospel (Acts 13:6-12). Dionysius the Areopagite, a mighty judge at Athens, believed (Acts 17:34). Crispus and Sosthenes were both rulers of a synagogue when they obeyed the gospel (Acts 18:8 Acts 18:17). Erastus, Chamberlain of the City of Corinth, became a Christian (Romans 16:23). Many women of the nobility in Thessalonica and Berea accepted the truth (Acts 17:4 Acts 17:12). Such examples as these, however, were the exception, the vast majority of the Christians, at first, coming from the ranks of earth’s unfortunate and poor. ENDNOTE: [23] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 24. Verse 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong.Those “foolish” Christians of Corinth triumphed over all the vaunted learning of the philosophers; those “weak” followers of Christ spread the truth over the world while Corinth and Athens crumbled. To go with Christ is to go with the future! Verse 28 And the base things of the world, and the things that are despised, did God choose, yea and the things that are not, that he might bring to naught the things that are.This verse taken in conjunction with 1 Corinthians 1:27 gives five designations to Christians (as they were esteemed by the world of that period). The foolish, the weak, the base, the despised, the things that “are not” (in other words, the “nobodies”); but the great apostle’s words on behalf of those who were despised by the world are to the effect that the triumph, the success, the honor, and the glory belong to them. In the last three designations, as in this verse, the Jewish attitude of despising all Gentiles and actually speaking of them as “dogs” appears to be in Paul’s thinking (see Matthew 15:26). Verse 29 That no flesh should glory before God.How incredible it is that a man, a creature of flesh and blood, created of the dust and to the dust certain to return, whose glory at its zenith is only for a moment, whose days are spent in frustration, whose tears flow incessantly, whose very righteousness is filthy rags - how unbelievable is it that such a creature as man should glory before God! Such is the wretched state of Adam’s race that only God can give salvation and even God could do so only at the extravagant cost of the blood shed on Calvary. God desires that man should recognize and confess his sin and unworthiness, and, like those poor mortals of Corinth, turn to the heavenly Father through Jesus Christ the Lord. If the first converts to Christianity had been the wealthy rulers of earth, there would inevitably have prevailed an impression that such persons had earned eternal life. However, no man, but no man, was ever capable of earning one second of eternal life; and Paul’s thought here stresses the wisdom of God in saving the outcasts of Corinth in order that no flesh should glory before God. Those former debauchees of unspeakable Corinth deserved salvation as much as the wisest and greatest of earth, which is not at all; and fortunate is every man who comprehends this basic truth of salvation in Christ. Verse 30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus who is made unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the LordIn Christ Jesus … In Christ alone is there salvation; and in Christ the saved possess all things. Behold here the only true ground of justification in the eyes of God. Jesus is perfect, holy, undefiled, righteous in the superlative degree. In Christ and as Christ and as fully identified with him, it is true also that Christians are holy, righteous, etc. It is not their righteousness, of course, in the sense that they achieved it; but it is theirs in the sense that Christ achieved it and they “are Christ,” being members of his spiritual body.

Satan, death and hell have no claim on the one who is “in Christ.” Why? Because what is true of the head is true of the entire body; and our head, which is Christ, having paid the penalty of death for sin, the whole spiritual body (the church) has likewise paid it in the person of Christ. That is what is meant by being dead to sin by the body of Christ (Romans 6:11). There are four things mentioned by Paul in this passage which belong to the Christian by virtue of his being “in Christ.” Wisdom of God. In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). The person “in Christ,” by reason of having believed and having been baptized “into Christ” is thus identified with Christ, being a part of his spiritual body; and thus, as Christ he has become the possessor of the wisdom of God. Righteousness. All that has been said of wisdom in the above paragraph pertains with equal force to righteousness, which may be acquired by the believer in no other way except through being baptized into Christ. The notion that “this righteousness is forensic,"[24] that is, an imputed righteousness, bestowed on the grounds of faith alone, is incorrect. It is not an imputed, forensic, bestowed righteousness in any sense whatever. It is a pure, perfect, genuine, and ACTUAL righteousness performed and achieved by Jesus Christ our Lord; and when the believer becomes a part of the Lord’s spiritual body, that true righteousness belongs to him as being “in Christ,” “of Christ,” and in fact part of the spiritual body which “is Christ.” And when does one become a part of that spiritual body which is Christ? “In one Spirit were we all baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13), as Paul declared a little later in this same epistle. Sanctification. The person who is “in Christ” is sanctified, set apart for spiritual service, and through spiritual growth endowed with whatever may be needed for development in the Christian life. Redemption. Significantly, the salvation of the soul is a reality only for those “in Christ.” Although Paul gave only an abbreviated list of four blessings in this verse, as resulting from the believer’s being “in Christ,” it must be construed as merely a token list, despite the all-importance of the four. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul stated that “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” is “in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). It is not fair to leave this brief discussion of the salvation (inclusive of all spiritual blessings) which is “in Christ,” without pointing out for those who truly desire to know the truth that in all the Holy Scriptures there is no other way revealed by which a believer might acquire the status of being “in Christ,” except through being baptized “into him” (Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27; 1 Corinthians 12:13). Could there be any wonder, therefore, that Jesus himself said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord … In this concluding sentence in the paragraph, Paul quotedJeremiah 9:23, where the meaning is that people should glory in God; and, by his application of this text to Jesus Christ, he testified to the deity and godhead of our Lord Jesus Christ. As Morris said, “No higher view could be taken of the Person of Christ."[25][24] S. Lewis Johnson, Jr., op. cit., p. 593. [25] Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 51.

“THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE "

Chapter One IN THIS CHAPTER

1. To understand how division is unacceptable is the Body of Christ

2. To see why our boasting should be only in the Lord

SUMMARY In his opening remarks Paul expresses gratitude that the Corinthians had been enriched by God, came behind in no gift, and were eagerly waiting for the revelation of the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:1-9). He immediately begins dealing with the first problem, that of division which manifested itself in what we might call “preacheritis” (1 Corinthians 1:10-17). Discerning that the underlying cause concerns the exaltation of human wisdom, Paul demonstrates the folly of boasting in such (1 Corinthians 1:18-31).

OUTLINE I. (1 Corinthians 1:1-9) A. FROM PAUL AND (1 Corinthians 1:1-3)1. To the church at Corinth, and those who in every place call on the name of Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:2) 2. Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:3)

B. FOR GOD’S GRACE TOWARDS THEM (v4-9)1. Enriching them in all knowledge, even as Christ’s testimony was confirmed in them (1 Corinthians 1:5-6) 2. Coming short in no gift as they eagerly await the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:7) 3. Who will confirm them so they may be blameless (1 Corinthians 1:8) 4. For God is faithful, who called them into the fellowship of His Son (1 Corinthians 1:9)

II. THE NATURE OF THE AT CORINTH (1 Corinthians 1:10-17) A. AS TO PAUL (1 Corinthians 1:10-12)1. His plea for unity (1 Corinthians 1:10) 2. For those of Chloe’s household have reported contentions among them (1 Corinthians 1:11) 3. Evidently involving “preacheritis” (1 Corinthians 1:12)

B. PAUL’S INITIAL (1 Corinthians 1:13-17)1. Rhetorical questions to illustrate the absurdity of what we would call “preacheritis” (1 Corinthians 1:13) 2. Gratitude that he personally baptized few of them (1 Corinthians 1:14-17) a. Lest any should accuse him of baptizing in his own name (1 Corinthians 1:14-15) b. Administering baptism was not his chief calling anyway (1 Corinthians 1:16-17)

III. THE FOLLY OF IN HUMAN WISDOM (1 Corinthians 1:18-31) A. GOD WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)1. Granted, the message of the cross is foolish to some, but not to the saved (1 Corinthians 1:18) 2. But God will the destroy the wisdom of the world (1 Corinthians 1:19-20) 3. God chose to use His foolishness and His weakness to save those who believe (1 Corinthians 1:21-25) a. Because the world through its wisdom knew not God (21a) b. So God chose to save mankind through a “foolish” message about Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:21-24) c. But even God’s “foolishness” and “weakness” is wiser and stronger than men (1 Corinthians 1:25)

B. THE ’ OWN CALLING THIS TRUTH (1 Corinthians 1:26-29)1. Not many of them were “wise, mighty, or noble” (1 Corinthians 1:26) 2. But God has chosen those things that are “foolish, weak, base, despised, and which are not”, so that no flesh should glory in His presence (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)

C. INSTEAD, BOAST IN THE LORD (1 Corinthians 1:30-31)1. He provides for us the true wisdom, plus righteousness and sanctification and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30) 2. We should glory only in Him (1 Corinthians 1 :1 Corinthians 1 :1 Corinthians 1 :1 Corinthians 1:31)

REVIEW FOR THE CHAPTER

1. List the main points of this chapter- Introduction (1 Corinthians 1:1-9)

• The Nature Of The Division At Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:10-17)
• The Folly Of Boasting In Human Wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18-31)

2. Who joined with Paul in addressing this letter to the Corinthians? (1 Corinthians 1:1)- Sosthenes

3. What was one thing the church did not lack in Corinth? (1 Corinthians 1:7)- Spiritual gifts

4. What is the first problem Paul deals with in this epistle? (1 Corinthians 1:10)- Division

5. Who reported this problem to him? (1 Corinthians 1:11)- The household of Chloe

6. How was their divisiveness expressed? (1 Corinthians 1:12)- Calling themselves after men

7. Who had Paul personally baptized at Corinth? (1 Corinthians 1:14 1 Corinthians 1:16)- Crispus, Gaius, the household of Stephanus

8. Why was Paul thankful that he had not baptized any other? (1 Corinthians 1:15)- Lest they should say he baptized in his own name

9. In what two ways do men view the preaching of the cross? (1 Corinthians 1:18)- Foolishness to those who are perishing

• The power of God to those being saved

10. How did the preaching of Christ crucified appear to the Jews and the Greeks? (1 Corinthians 1:23)- A stumbling block to the Jews

• Foolishness to the Greeks

11. How has God chosen to confound the wise of this world? (1 Corinthians 1:27-28)- By using that which in their sight is foolish, weak, base, despised

12. Upon what grounds may we boast? (1 Corinthians 1:31)- Only in the Lord

Questions by E.M. Zerr For 1st Corinthians Chapter I1. Who called Paul into the apostleship? 2. Whom did he associate with him in the epistle? 3. Give his spiritual relationship to him. 4. Give the name of the group to which Paul wrote. 5. What spiritual state does he ascribe to it? 6. Called to be what? 7. Were any others to be interested in this epistle? 8. Name the antecedents of “ theirs” and “ ours” verse 2. 9. Prom whom must grace and truth come? 10. For what does Paul give thanks to God? 11. Did this grace consist in temporal blessings? 12. What happened to the testimony among them ? 13. By what means was this done? 14. How did Corinth compare with others in gifts? 15. For what event were they to wait? 16. State Paul’ s promise as to their confirmation. 17. What the final result of this confirmation? 18. Into whose fellowship had they been called? 19. How are they besought to speak? 20. In what name was this request made? 21. There should be no what among them? 22. Joined together in what? 23. Was there any special occasion for this request? 24. Who had given Paul this information? 25. Are contentions ever right? 26. What was the reputation of Apollos? 27. Who is meant by Cephas? 28. Is Christ divided ? 29. Did Paul do any baptizing? 30. For what did he thank God? 31. Why was this ? 32. For what was Paul sent? 33. Why not to baptize? 34. Must he not use wisdom in his writing? 35. How would worldly wisdom affect the Gospel? 36. What class considers the Gospel as foolishness? 37. How do the other people consider it? 38. What prophecy is here cited? 39. Does this mean Christians should be unwise? 40. What has God turned into foolishness? 41. What great failure is charged against wisdom of men? 42. Was God pleased to use foolish preaching? 43. Tell what class this preaching will save. 44. What do the Jews require? 45. Is this the same that the Greeks seek? 46. Which class does Paul gratify? 47. How do the two classes view the Gospel? 48. Were there any exceptions? 49. How were they “ called” ? 50. Compare foolishness of God and wisdom of men. 51. Compare their weakness and strength. 52. May any of the nobility be saved? 53. May the worldly wise be saved? 54. State God’s use of foolishness. 55. And his use of weak things. 56. Name some other instrumentalities used. 57. Why use these things? 58. What is Christ made to the Christians? 59. How should we glory? 60. With what will this be in accord?

1 Corinthians 1:1

1 1 General remarks. It will throw much light on many passages of this epistle to learn something of the city of Corinth. I shall first quote from Smith’s Bible Dictionary: “The situation of Corinth and the possession of its eastern and western harbors, Cen-chrea and Lecheun, are the secrets of its history. Corinth was a place of commercial and manufacturing enterprise. Its wealth was so celebrated as to be proverbial; so were the vice and profligacy [extravagant living] of its inhabitants. The worship of Venus [heathen goddess of bloom and beauty] here was attended with shameful licentiousness [immoral thoughts and practices]. “I shall next quote from the Schaff-Herzog.

Encyclopedia on the city of Corinth: “It soon became one of the most important commercial places on the Mediterranean; but its character was somewhat peculiar. Its population was extremely heterogenous [a mixture]. A numerous colony of Jews settled there when driven away from Rome by Claudius, and among them were Aquila and Priscilla. Everybody went to Corinth to make money or to spend it. All nations were represented there; but nearly the only bonds which held the inhabitants together were their common enterprises and their common debaucheries.” A number of serious defects had come into the church at Corinth when Paul wrote his first epistle to it, which will be commented upon as we come to them in the course of this study. Notwithstanding these evils, the apostle recognized it as a church of God. It will help to understand this apparent inconsistency by considering the case of the church at Ephesus as recorded in Revelation 2:1-5. The Lord had a serious complaint against this church, yet he recognized it as one of His at the time of sending a letter to it. But the candlestick that represented its standing was to be removed if it did not repent. This means that a church (and likewise an individual) does not necessarily lose its standing with the Lord at the mere instance of doing wrong; it loses it when it refuses to correct itself after being admonished. The church at Corinth acted favorably upon the admonition of Paul (2 Co rinthians 7:8-11), hence it continued to be recognized as a church of God. Verse 1. Called is from KLETOS, which Thayer defines at this place, “called to some office,” and he explains it to mean, “divinely selected and appointed.” Of Jesus Christ denotes by whom Paul was thus called unto the apostleship, which also was according to the will of God. Of Sosthenes, Thayer says historically, “a Christian, an associate of the apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 1:1.” Paul chose this brother to join with him in the salutation.

1 Corinthians 1:2

1 Corinthians 1:2. The terms church of God and church of Christ are both used for the same institution because of their common relation to the Deity. For the meaning of church see the notes on Romans 16:16, in volume 1 of the New Testament Commentary. The various qualifying terms following the phrase of the church do not indicate separate groups, but are qualities belonging to the one institution. Sanctified is from HAGIAZO, which Thayer defines, “1. to render or acknowledge to be venerable, to hallow. 2. to separate from things profane and dedicate to God, to consecrate.” Saints is from HAGIOS, which Thayer defines, “set apart for God, to be, as it were, exclusively his.” With all, etc., means to apply the epistle to Christians everywhere. For the meaning of calling on the name of the Lord, see the notes at Acts 22:16 in volume 1 of the New Testament Commentary. Lord . . . theirs . . . ours, signifies there is only one God.

1 Corinthians 1:3

1 Corinthians 1:3. Grace is from CHARIS, and one part of Thayer’s definition is, “kindness which bestows upon one what he has not deserved.” This phase of the word explains why the apostle specifies that it is the grace from God he is wishing for his brethren, since all of God’s favors upon man are undeserved. Such favors are bestowed upon man only through the Lord Jesus Christ. That is because the sacrifice of Christ provided the way for God to maintain his Justice and at the same time extend this unmerited favor to humanity. (See the notes at Romans 3:26, volume 1 of the New Testament Commentary.)

1 Corinthians 1:4

1 Corinthians 1:4. In his unselfishness Paul was thankful for the favors bestowed upon the brethren at Corinth. In this he was carrying out his own words in Romans 12:15.

1 Corinthians 1:5

1 Corinthians 1:5. Riches do not always consist of material wealth; the Corinthians had been given the wealth of spiritual blessings in the form of utterance and knowledge. The first is from LOGOS which is the Greek term for “word,” and is applied in a variety of senses. It denotes any expression of thought, whether in single words or in sentences, or even in entire discourses. It is also applicable either to inspired or uninspired speech, so that it would include the gift of tongues. The second word is from GNOSIS and the outstanding definition in Thayer’s lexicon is, “intelligence.”

1 Corinthians 1:6

1 Corinthians 1:6. This verse shows ’the preceding one has special reference to the spiritual gifts that were bestowed on the church at Corinth, since that was the primary purpose of those gifts (Mark 16:20; Ephesians 4:8-15).

1 Corinthians 1:7

1 Corinthians 1:7. Come behind in no gift. Not every member of a congregation was given a spiritual gift, but a sufficient per cent of the membership would be thus endowed to accomplish the Lord’s work. The Corinthian church was large in numbers (Acts 18:8), which would call for a proportionate number of gifted men. Waiting for the coming. All persons must of necessity wait literally for the coming of Christ. Strong defines the original word, “to expect fully.”

1 Corinthians 1:8

1 Corinthians 1:8. The promise to confirm them unto the end does not mean that spiritual gifts will continue that long. The idea is that the Lord will do whatever is necessary for the purpose. After the New Testament will have been completed, spiritual gifts will not be needed and they will cease (chapter 13:8-10). The grand purpose of all divine means for the confirming of God’s people, is that they may be prepared to stand approved by Christ when he comes again.

1 Corinthians 1:9

1 Corinthians 1:9. A part of Thayer’s definition of faithful is, “worthy of trust; that can be relied on,” and this definition is especially applicable to the Lord. It carries the idea that He may be expected fully to fulfill all his promises. God had promised to bless all mankind through Christ, who is the seed promised to Abraham (Genesis 22:18). In being faithful to redeem that promise, God called the Corinthians into the fellowship of his Son.

1 Corinthians 1:10

01 Corinthians 1:10. The apostle now approaches one of the serious defects referred to in the “general remarks,” that of divisions. This is not a formal or bodily division, but one of sentiment that causes contention and strife. That is why he specifies the mind and judgment in his exhortation, to the end that all would speak the same thing. The mind means the faculty of reason, and judgment denotes the conclusions arrived at with the mind. The apostle beseeches them all to be united in sentiments.

1 Corinthians 1:11

1 Corinthians 1:11. The name Chloe does not appear in any other place, and all we can learn of her is that she was a disciple who was concerned about the conditions existing in the church at Corinth. She passed the information on to the apostle which he repeated in his epistle to the church in that city.

1 Corinthians 1:12

1 Corinthians 1:12. The reader should not be confused over the apparent similarity between contentions and “contend,” both of which are used in the New Testament. The first means quarrels and wranglings over petty matters of personal opinion. The second is from the vocabulary of contests in the physical exercises, in which a man engages with a contestant under recognized rules of combat. Every one of you. That is, each man among them had his preference and was wrangling with the others about it.

The four persons named were not literally the subject of their quarrels; chapter 4:6, 7 shows this, which will be commented upon in detail when we reach that place in this study. But until that time, the apostle reasons as if their contentions were actually over these men (even including Christ), and I also shall make my comments from that standpoint. The idea of Paul seems to have been that, having received the force of the argument before their actual prejudices were aroused, they should be prepared to see the folly of their variances.

1 Corinthians 1:13

1 Corinthians 1:13. The three questions in this verse require negative answers. In is from EIS which means “into” the name of another, that was supposed to have been accomplished by the ordinance of baptism.

1 Corinthians 1:14

1 Corinthians 1:14. There was more than one man named Gaius, one of whom belonged to the congregation in Corinth, and was among the few persons whom Paul baptized.

1 Corinthians 1:15

51 Corinthians 1:15. The apostle gives his reason for the feeling expressed in the preceding verse. In is from the same word as in verse 15.

1 Corinthians 1:16

1 Corinthians 1:16. Paul did not place much stress on the question of who personally does the baptizing, consequently he seems to have overlooked this case in verse 14. Household is from OIKOS, and in the King James Version it has been rendered by house 102 times, home 4, household 3, temple 1. The first definition in Thayer’s lexicon is, “an inhabited house.” We know the inhabitants of Stephanas’ house were old enough to believe on the Lord, for Acts 18:8 shows that such were the ones baptized.

1 Corinthians 1:17

1 Corinthians 1:17. Christ sent me not to baptize. This statement has been perverted by some who seek to belittle the importance of baptism, and to represent Paul as thinking little of the ordinance. What he teaches in Acts 19:1-5; Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:27 and Colossians 2:12 indicates the weight that he attaches to the ordinance. But as to what person does the physical act of baptizing a believer, because of the wrong use that might be made of the subject, Paul was thankful he had let others do most of it at Corinth. What Paul could do that others could not was to preach the Gospel, which required more than physical strength. And even that great work was not to be accomplished by the use of words or speech that consisted of worldly wisdom, for that would detract from the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:18

1 Corinthians 1:18. The Greek nation was devoted to the importance (as it was considered) of philosophy, or what we would term worldly wisdom. Its people estimated any theory proposed to them in proportion to whether it agreed or disagreed with this philosophy, and it was in view of this truth that Paul wrote as he did in this and several verses following. However, the relation between divine truth and philosophy is somewhat similar to that between it and “science.” When this last term is understood, it is found to be in harmony with divine truth. Likewise, when true philosophy is understood, it will be seen that it, too, is in harmony with divine truth. In support of this from the standpoint of history, I shall quote from the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia:

" AND . Both philosophy and religion must first have had some historical development before their relations could appear -for investigation. In fact, they may be said to have proceeded apart until the Christian era, when they openly met as strangers whose mutual interests were yet to be perceived and adjusted. It was not until Christianity had emerged from the symbols of Judaism, that religion stood forth in a mature form, free from philosophic speculation; and it was not until Grecian wisdom had outgrown the myths of Heathenism, that philosophy appeared in a pure state, disengaged from religious superstition. Nor was it strange that the first meeting of the two great powers should have resulted in misunderstanding and conflict. The early Christians, claiming a revealed knowledge from Heaven, could only denounce philosophy as the foolishness of the world; and the philosophers, in their skeptical pride of intellect, were fain to despise Christianity as a mere vulgar superstition.

The struggle had its practical issue in the bitter persecutions which prevailed until the triumph of Christianity under Constantine.” Corinth was in Greece and the church there was made up in most part of Greeks, hence the occasion of Paul’s teaching on the subject of worldly wisdom. The reader should note this paragraph and refer to it frequently as he reads the comments on the following verses. Perish and saved in this verse refer respectively to the philosophers and Christians described in the quotation from Herzog. Before this development, the philosophers were inclined to judge religion by the standard of their theories, and Paul was opposing that position.

1 Corinthians 1:19

1 Corinthians 1:19. This quotation is in Isaiah 29:14. What was once called the wisdom of the sages was proved to be not only unwise, but utterly contrary to natural evidences.

1 Corinthians 1:20

1 Corinthians 1:20. Where is the wise? etc., means what has become of the theories of these so-called wise and great ones? Made foolish means the foolishness has been made apparent by the light of truth. Only one out of the many examples will be cited here. For years the “wise” men of the world taught that the earth is flat, but today the engineers have been compelled to make certain changes in the operation of television in order to compensate for the curvature of the globe.

1 Corinthians 1:21

1 Corinthians 1:21. The world with all its theories that it called wisdom, failed to attain unto that wisdom that would make known to it the true God. Foolishness of preaching. Paul is not admitting that the Gospel is foolish, but is using the term expressed by the professed wise men. What they consider as foolishness is the very means God uses to save the believers. But it must be made known in order to save anyone. The third word in italics is from KERUGMA and is defined by Thayer, “that which is promulgated [publicly proclaimed] by a herald or public crier, a proclamation by a herald; in the N. T. the message or proclamation by the heralds of God or Christ.” (See Romans 10:13-18 on the necessity of preaching.)

1 Corinthians 1:22

1 Corinthians 1:22. The Jews professed to believe in a higher form of knowledge than was possessed by mere human beings, but they were critical of any teaching that claimed such a quality unless accompanied with some direct demonstration from heaven. The Greeks were not interested in anything that did not come up to the standard of their own philosophy. (See the long note and historical quotation at verse 18.)

1 Corinthians 1:23

1 Corinthians 1:23. The first clause is virtually the same as the last part of verse 21. The preaching of Christ was always a stumblingblock to the Jews (Romans 9:32). The story of Jesus did not agree with the philosophy of the Greeks, hence they regarded it as foolishness. This was manifested when Paul was in Athens (Acts 17:32).

1 Corinthians 1:24

1 Corinthians 1:24. Them which are called denotes the ones who respond favorably to the Gospel call. There were persons among both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles) who were sufficiently free from prejudice to recognize the merits of the story of Christ, and to them He represented both the power and wisdom of God.

1 Corinthians 1:25

1 Corinthians 1:25. That which seemed like foolishness in the estimation of the ones clamoring for worldly wisdom, was far beyond the best that the philosophers of the nations could display. The weakness of God is used in the same comparative sense as the foolishness of God, using the language of the philosophers for the sake of argument.

1 Corinthians 1:26

1 Corinthians 1:26. Are called has the same bearing as the words in verse 24, namely, those who accept the call of the Gospel. The classes named are among the philosophers and wise men of the nations. The invitation and promises held out by the story of a slain and risen Lord, do not appeal to many of those classes, hence a comparatively small number are willing to accept the favor.

1 Corinthians 1:27

1 Corinthians 1:27. In all of these verses Paul uses such terms as foolish and wise in the sense attached to them by the so-called leaders of thought among the people of Greece especially, and of the world in general. To confound means to confuse and baffle. The unpretentious proclaimers of the Gospel were able to put their adversaries to shame. The case of Stephen in Acts 6:10 is an outstanding one which states: “And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.”

1 Corinthians 1:28

1 Corinthians 1:28. This has virtually the same thought as the preceding verse, with a different set of terms. Base and despised means the subjects that the philosophers looked down upon. Things which are not of any consequence in the eyes of these wise men of the world, were to have such an influence with the sincere believers who hear the sacred story that the things that are so important in the estimation of the proud sages would be exposed and shown to be vain.

1 Corinthians 1:29

1 Corinthians 1:29. No flesh should glory. The self-exalted accomplishments of fieshly man were to be stripped of their show of wisdom, and leave them without anything of which to boast.

1 Corinthians 1:30

1 Corinthians 1:30. Ye in Christ refers to the brethren at Corinth, and Him stands for God in verse 28, who had received these brethren in Christ. Is made unto us denotes that Paul ascribed to them the qualities named in the verse, even though the philosophers might belittle them.

1 Corinthians 1:31

1 Corinthians 1:31. As it is written has such a wide scope of references that it is unnecessary to cite them. The whole teaching of the Bible is that man owes all to God.