[For Pictures, please see attached power point]
I Corinthians Bibliography
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•Carl Mosser
•“I wanted to teach a class on Christian ethics, but the idea was rejected. Then I realized I Corinthians is basically Christian ethics. So here we are.”
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•Fee, Gordon D. The First Epistle to the Corinthians Revised Edition, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Eerdmans, 1987, 2014.
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•Hays, Richard B. First Corinthians, Interpretation A Biblical Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Westminster John Knox Press, 1997, 2011.
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•Thiselton, Anthony C. The First Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Greek Testament Commentary. Eerdmans, 2000.
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I Corinthians Bibliography
[Supplemental List]
•Calvin, John. Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. Translated by Pringle, William. Baker Books. Reprinted 2009.
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•English Standard Version Study Bible. Crossway. 2012.
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•Thiselton, Anthony C. 1 Corinthians, A Shorter Exegetical & Pastoral Commentary, Eerdmans, 2006.
•I Corinthians 1:1-3
•Introduction to I Corinthians (Why Corinthians?)
•1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
•2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
•3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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(I Corinthians 1:1-3, ESV)
•Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
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(I Corinthians 1:1, ESV)
•Authorship
•Concerning Paul
•“But Saul was ravaging the Church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.” (Acts 8:3, ESV)
•But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” (Acts 9:1-2, ESV)
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•Authorship
•“3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.” (Acts 9:3-7, ESV)
• 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
(Acts 9:15-16)
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•Authorship
•“26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.” (Acts 9:26-30, ESV)
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•Authorship
•“1 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.” (Acts 13:1-3, ESV)
•First Missionary Journey
•Second Missionary Journey
•Third Missionary Journey
•Authorship
•But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?
(II Corinthians 11:21a-29, ESV)
•1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
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(I Corinthians 1:1, ESV)
•Authorship
•Sosthenes
•“If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. 15 But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” 16 And he drove them from the tribunal.” (Acts 18:14b-16)
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•Authorship
•17 And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.” (Acts 18:17, ESV)
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•Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
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(I Corinthians 1:1, ESV)
•To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
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(I Corinthians 1:2, ESV)
•Corinth
•Acrocorinth
•Diolkos
•Diolkos 2
•Diolkos 3
•Preferable Travels
•Corinth
•Corinth
•Babbius
•Isthmian Crown
•To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
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(I Corinthians 1:2, ESV)
•Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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(I Corinthians 1:3, ESV)
•1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
•2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
•3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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(I Corinthians 1:1-3, ESV)
•Main Point
•These verses give us important information on this letter
•Who wrote the letter
•Who it is written to
•By whose authority, the author speaks
•It all hinges on God the Father and His Son our Lord Jesus Christ
•Application Points
•Introduction to Corinthians (Why I Corinthians?)
•Has anyone wondered what kind of letter the apostles would write to the American Church?
•Personally I think if there were a specific letter written to the American Church it would be I Corinthians
•It is full of God’s grace, mercy, rationality, morality, focus on truth above rhetoric, the necessity of the cross and resurrection of Jesus, to a people very much like us
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“Given the issues of (1) status inconsistency, (2) religious pluralism, (3) cosmopolitan immigration and trade, (4) priority of market forces not only in business but also in rhetoric, and (5) the emphasis upon recognition and perception of honor or shame within a socially constructed world, Paul would been surely astonished at either (a) early twenty-first century laments about the problem of having to address a pluralist culture supposedly for the first time or (b) early twenty-first celebrations over the demise of a transcontexual rationality in favor of “local,” social constructions of truth. With today’s “postmodern” mood we may compare the self-sufficient, self-congratulatory culture of Corinth coupled with an obsession about peer-group prestige, success in competition, their devaluing of tradition and universals, and near contempt for those without standing in some chosen value system.
All this provides an embarrassingly close model of a postmodern context for the gospel in our own times, even given the huge historical differences and distances in so many other respects. Quite apart from its rich theology of grace, the cross, the Holy Spirit, the ministry, love, and resurrection, as an example of communicative action between the gospel and the world of given time, I Corinthians stands in a distinctive position of relevance to our own times.”
-Thiselton, Anthony C. The First Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Greek Testament Commentary. Eerdmans, 2000. Pages 16-17
•Application Points
•Introduction to Corinthians (Why I Corinthians?) 2
•In other words, our own culture is very similar to that of ancient Corinth
•They became subject to whatever philosophical winds blew, or whatever rhetoric could win the day
•In seminary I asked a student why they were voting for a particular candidate
•“I like the way he makes me feel when he speaks.”
•It wasn’t about truth…it was about the sway of the crowd
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•Application Points
•Introduction to Corinthians (Why I Corinthians?) 3
•Many of the most popular preachers are more rhetoricians than teachers
•If the pastor is unable to cause emotion to rise up within the congregation, then that pastor is perceived as not being a very good pastor
•Never mind if the pastor is speaking truth, or is theologically sound
•Manipulation has become a key ingredient to preaching
•What has this done to the American Churches soul?
•We can no longer withstand the pluralism of our own times
•We do not know how to answer the many pressing philosophical and theological issues plaguing us
•We become easily duped by the culture because we do not know how to reason from the cross
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•Application Points
•Introduction to Corinthians (Why I Corinthians?) 4
•I Corinthians is perfect for us because it challenges all these things
•By God through Christ there is sanctification
•If we are in Christ then we are being sanctified day by day by God’s truth
•Corinthians is about truth claims
•Which will we build our lives upon?
•I Corinthians gives us a basis for truth, and in this, morality, love, righteousness, and all good things
•It pits God and His ways against the world
•Why I Corinthians?
• We are in need of being reminded of the truth of God
•Buckle up, we’re about to be handed a hard dish of Christian ethics for the ages
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•Application Points
•The Gospel of Christ
•Origins
•Where it begins
•Fall
•What went wrong
•Redemption
•How it is fixed
•Glorification
•Where it at leads
