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1 Corinthians - - page 1.



1 Corinthians: Bible Study and Commentary

The person whom the Holy Spirit leads, acts in love

A Bible Study in EasyEnglish (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of 1 Corinthians

Keith Simons

EasyEnglish is a system of simple English designed by Wycliffe Associates (UK).

Contents:

1 Corinthians chapter 1 1 Corinthians chapter 2 1 Corinthians chapter 3 1 Corinthians chapter 4 1 Corinthians chapter 5 1 Corinthians chapter 6 1 Corinthians chapter 7 1 Corinthians chapter 8 1 Corinthians chapter 9

1 Corinthians chapter 10 1 Corinthians chapter 11 1 Corinthians chapter 12 1 Corinthians chapter 13 1 Corinthians chapter 14 1 Corinthians chapter 15 1 Corinthians chapter 16 1 Corinthians: a study guide

1 Corinthians chapter 1

About Paul's first letter to the Corinthians

(1 Corinthians 1:1)

"Corinthians" means inhabitants of Corinth. Corinth is an important city in southern Greece.

In Acts 18:1-8, you can read how Paul started the first Christian church in Corinth. Paul stayed there for 18 months (Acts 18:11). Afterwards, Paul went to Ephesus where he worked for 2 years. At about the same time, another Christian leader called Apollos went from Ephesus to Corinth (Acts 18:24 to Acts 19:1).

When Apollos left Corinth, Paul was still at Ephesus. The church in Corinth now had many members. Some local men became the leaders of the church, but they had some difficulties. The members of the church did not respect them as they had respected Paul and Apollos.

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Perhaps for that reason, one of those leaders called Stephanas went to Ephesus to visit Paul (1 Corinthians 16:15-18). It seems that he brought a letter from the church leaders to Paul (1 Corinthians 7:1). That letter explained their problems. But both Paul and Apollos were unwilling to go back to Corinth at that time (1 Corinthians 16:7-9; 1 Corinthians 16:12).

So Paul sent the Book of 1 Corinthians as a letter to the church in Corinth. Its purpose was to give advice on the matters that the church leaders had asked about.

Paul was extremely busy in Ephesus. He did not just teach the people about God; he also worked to earn money for himself and his companions (Acts 20:34). Paul's job was to make tents (Acts 18:3). So one of the local Christians called Sosthenes offered to help Paul as he wrote this letter. It seems that Sosthenes wrote down Paul's words for him. Otherwise, Paul could not have written such a long letter.

The nature of God's church

(1 Corinthians 1:2-3)

Paul reminded the Christians in Corinth about their relationship both with God, and with other Christians.

So, at the start of his letter, Paul called them: `the church of God'. That means `the people whom God has separated for himself'. He also called them `the saints', in other words, `the holy people'. Paul used the word `saints' to describe all Christians. `Holy' means that a person belongs to God. Paul also said that God had `sanctified' them. That means that God had made them holy.

Because they are now holy, that should have an effect on their lives (1 Corinthians 3:16). They should not continue to act in a wicked manner (1 Corinthians 6:9-13). They should love other people (1 Corinthians chapter 13), and they should respect their leaders (1 Corinthians 12:28-31).

Paul emphasised their connection with other Christians, both in Corinth and elsewhere. Some groups in Corinth were acting as if they were the only real Christians (1 Corinthians 1:11-12, 1 Corinthians 14:36). They were even taking each other to court (1 Corinthians 6:18). Paul had to tell them that all Christians need each other (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). He had to warn them about proud attitudes (1 Corinthians 4:6-7).

These Christians belonged to the church of God in Corinth because they lived there. But everyone who serves Christ belongs to God's church. They are all people whom God has separated for himself. They all have a relationship both with God, and with all other Christians.

And the nature of that relationship should be love (1 Corinthians chapter 13; John 13:34; 1 John 4:8-12; Mark 12:29-31).

Paul's prayer

(1 Corinthians 1:4-9)

We will see that the first Christians in Corinth were doing many wrong things. Many of them did not love each other, and they did not respect their leaders. But still, Paul was kind to them and he wrote to them in a gentle manner. He knew that they had not been Christians for a long time. Most of them had not chosen on purpose to have those wrong attitudes.

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So in Paul's prayer for them, he expresses his thanks to God. God had been very kind to them, and he had done wonderful things in their lives. Most Christians in Corinth were not wealthy (1 Corinthians 1:26), but they lacked nothing in their relationship with God. God had made them able to speak for him. God had given them the knowledge that they needed. God had given them his Holy Spirit, and there was evidence of that fact in their lives.

God had begun to do his work in their lives. And Paul was confident that he could trust God to complete that work. God had given them a real relationship with Christ. It was true that they were not perfect yet. But in this world, Christians are not perfect (1 Corinthians 13:9-12). They are waiting for Christ's return (1 Corinthians 15:24-26), and when Christ returns, God will change them completely (1 Corinthians 15:51). So on that day, all God's people will be perfect.

Of course Paul would have to warn the Christians in Corinth about their wrong behaviour. But before that, he showed them how grateful he was to God for his (God's) work in their lives. Paul recognised that their relationship with God was real. And Paul told them that he still prayed often for them.

Arguments about who leads the church

(1 Corinthians 1:10-13)

All the Christians in Corinth met together as one church, but there were different groups in that church (1 Corinthians 11:18). Those different groups were constantly arguing with each other.

One group said that Paul was their leader. It was true that Paul had been the first leader of the church at Corinth. But Paul did not want to be the leader of a group that argued with other Christians! Paul was not trying to make himself important; he considered himself God's servant (1 Corinthians 3:5).

Another group were loyal to Apollos. Apollos led the church after Paul left Corinth. You can read about this extraordinary man in Acts 18:24-28. Apollos's work at Corinth was very successful. But at that time, Apollos had not even met Paul. The two men probably had different opinions about many subjects.

A third group would only accept the authority of the first Christian church in Jerusalem. That was where Cephas, usually called Peter, served God.

The last group probably thought that churches should not have any human leaders. Paul did not agree with that idea - see Titus 1:5.

Paul reminded the people in all these groups that Christians belong to Christ. It was Christ who died to save them.

God appoints many different kinds of people to be the leaders of his church (1 Corinthians 12:28). But perhaps `leaders' is the wrong word, because really they work as God's servants (1 Corinthians 3:5; Mark 10:43-45).

Christians who constantly argue need to become more mature in their relationship with God. Then they will not still want to argue about their opinions. Instead, they will desire to love and to serve other people.

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Why Paul did not carry out many baptisms

(1 Corinthians 1:14-17)

It surprises us to read that Paul did not carry out many baptisms in Corinth. Baptism is an important ceremony in the Christian church, as Paul explained in Romans 6:3-4. It shows that a person has left his former life in order to begin a new life with Christ. The first Christians usually carried out that ceremony soon after a person began to trust Christ (Acts 2:38; Acts 8:34-38).

Paul only carried out a few baptisms because he had an even more important task to carry out. He declared God's good news in Corinth. He told people that everyone has done wrong things against God. He explained to the people that Christ had died for them. Because of Christ's death, God can forgive their evil deeds. And so Paul urged the people to confess their evil deeds to God, and to invite Christ into their lives.

The result of Paul's work was that many people in Corinth believed in Christ. They accepted baptism but, clearly, one of Paul's friends carried out that ceremony (Acts 18:8). As each person believed, Paul went immediately to speak to the next person. Clearly, Paul was extremely busy.

The result was that Paul only had time to carry out a few baptisms. Crispus was a leader of the Synagogue in Corinth (Acts 18:8). A Synagogue is a building where people meet to pray. Gaius was probably a wealthy and generous man; Paul mentions him in Romans 16:23. Stephanas was the first person in Corinth who became a Christian (1 Corinthians 16:15). Perhaps Paul had time for his baptism because not so many people wanted to speak to Paul then.

The cross is the power of God to save

(1 Corinthians 1:18)

Really, there are only two groups of people in the world. What separates the two groups is their reaction to Christ's death on the cross.

God's people believe that God has saved them by means of Christ's death. They even call it `the Gospel', which means `the good news'. Like everyone else, they were guilty of many wrong and evil deeds, and they did not deserve God's kindness (Romans 3:23). But on the cross, Christ suffered the punishment for their evil deeds (Hebrews 9:28). The result is that God is saving them from the power of evil deeds (Romans 6:23), from the devil (Hebrews 2:14), and from death (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).

But for other people, Christ's death is not good news. It is clear evidence that they too must die. And it reminds them that they cannot avoid God's punishment for their evil deeds. Of course they do not want anyone to tell them about Christ's death. It seems foolish even to mention such a shameful matter. The Son of God died in an awful manner, as criminals die.

Such people do not see how powerfully God was acting to save his people. And they do not realise that God wants to save them, too. God does not want to punish anyone for their evil deeds (2 Peter 3:9). But he can only save people who believe his message (John 3:16). And nobody can believe a message that they have never heard (Romans 10:12-14).

So it is essential for Christians to speak about Christ's death. Of course many people will consider that message foolish. But some people will believe, and by means of that message, God will save them.

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The limit of human intelligence

(1 Corinthians 1:19-21)

The Bible is not against science. In fact, the Bible encourages people to study our world carefully (for example, Job chapter 39; Ecclesiastes 1:13). However, the Bible does insist that human intelligence, like everything else in the world, has a limit (Psalm 119:96; 1 Corinthians 13:9).

We see that limit whenever intelligent people cannot believe in God. All their education has failed even to show them that God exists. They may be very wise, but in this most important matter, they are no better than fools (Psalm 53:1).

God does not just want people to know that he exists. He wants to save people from their evil deeds, from the devil's power, and from death and hell. Human wisdom and intelligence cannot save people from any of these things. So God chose a method that people consider foolish. That method is the message about Christ's death on the cross, which Christians call the `Gospel' (the `good news').

God did not want only to save the most intelligent people. So he did not choose a message that only intelligent people can understand. You do not need great knowledge about the world before you can benefit from God's message. But you do need to believe God and to trust him.

Jesus said that a person must become like a little child in order to enter heaven (Mark 10:15). Even little children realise that they have done wrong things against God. They can understand that, at his death, Christ suffered the punishment for their evil deeds. They are often ready to pray and to invite God into their lives.

It is very sad when older and wiser people do not do the same.

How Christ's death shows God's wisdom and power

(1 Corinthians 1:22-24)

The Jews are the people who came from the families of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Paul speaks about them in particular because God had made special promises to their nation. God did that because he wanted to use them to tell people in every nation about himself (Genesis 12:3; Isaiah 49:6).

The Greeks are really the people from Greece. However Paul uses the word to refer to people from all the other nations too. We can see that from 1 Corinthians 1:23, where Paul uses the word for `nations' instead of `Greeks'. Paul uses the word `Greeks' only because he was writing to people in Greece.

In Greece especially, people considered wisdom and special knowledge to be very important (Acts 17:18-21). They believed that these things came from the gods. And they had many gods (Acts 17:22-23). They thought that they would know the thoughts of their gods by their study of wisdom.

The Jews knew about the real God. They knew about the powerful things that he had done to rescue their nation in the past. Their nation was in a weak state. They wanted God to do powerful things like that to rescue them again.

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