Epistle of 1st Corinthians

The Epistle of 1st Corinthians

The most common misconception amongst Christians regarding the letters to the Corinthian church is that Paul was writing to a congregation of thousands. In fact, the church at Corinth in the time of Paul was very small, numbering probably less than 100 believers, and almost certainly under 200, although we can expand this number somewhat by presuming the letter was intended not just for Corinth, but for all the churches of southern Greece.

In many ways, Corinth itself could be considered the San Francisco of the Roman Empire. A major seaport, it was the hub of commerce between Italy and Turkey, boasting a huge population of over 100,000. Many of its inhabitants were Jews, having taken up residence there after being expelled from Rome by Claudius around 50 AD after fights between Christian and non-Christian Jews.

Corinth was legendary for its licentiousness, and even gave birth to a term coined by Aristophanes: Corinthianizing, which meant to go all the way into sin and decadence. (There were supposedly up to a thousand temple prostitutes in the temple of Aphrodite.) Bi-annual games were also held there, rivaled only by those in Athens, and this is the basis of Paul’s use of sporting terms in these letters.

It is very important to note that the churches in Corinth met in houses, and that only a handful of believers would be present. Therefore, many admonitions (for instance, 1 Cor. 14:27) are directed not toward congregation sizes of today, but were written with twenty or thirty believers in mind. Thus, some theologians incorrectly teach a flawed doctrine that such commands are meant to be legalistically observed in all situations and in all settings, regardless of the number of people in the church.

The famous Oracle of Delphi was near Corinth, and its priestess would inhale fumes of ethylene, causing her to babble incoherently. A scribe would then give an interpretation, and in this manner the fortune of the visitor would be told. The clear parallel here with the Christian gift of Tongues is obvious, and apparently caused problems for Paul as some Christian women--based on Delphic practices--were getting out of order in the church, requiring correction.

The Epistle was written around 54-55 AD from Ephesus.

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes¹ our brother,
2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
7 So that ye come behind in no gift²; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.³
9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by 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 perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ⁴.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize⁵, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words,⁶ lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world?⁷ hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: ⁸
23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
24 But unto them which are called⁹, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things¹ of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. ¹¹
1 From Paul--called by the will of God to be an apostle of Jesus Christ--and from Sosthenes, our brother,
2 To the church of God at Corinth, who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be righteous ones together with those everywhere else who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of all of us.
3 Grace and peace to you, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
4-8 I always thank my God for you and the grace given you through Jesus Christ that has caused you to be enriched in every word you say and every thing you know, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. Thus, you lack nothing of (God’s grace) as you await Christ’s coming. He will keep you strong in the faith so you will be found blameless on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns to earth.
9 For God, by whom you were called into relationship with His son, Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful (and can be counted on to continue the work He has been doing in you).
10 (Mindful of what He has done for you,) by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, brethren, I beg you all to speak with one voice, and do away with any divisions among you, so that you are perfectly united with the same goals and attitudes.
11 I ask this, my brethren, because I have heard from some of those in the church meeting at Chloe’s house that there is strife among you.
12 I hear you all are saying things like: “I am a follower of Paul.” “I am a follower of Apollos.” “I am a follower of Cephas (Peter).” “I am a follower of Christ.”
13 Is Christ divided up into different parts? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God I baptized no one but for Crispus and Gaius,
15 Lest any say that I was baptizing disciples to myself.
16 Oh--and I did baptize the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I don’t recall baptizing anyone else.
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel--and preach it plainly, without relying on creative intellectual arguments (as an orator would employ), lest the (message and power of) the cross of Christ be diluted.
18 For the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved (by it), it is the very power of God!
19 For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 So then what can the “wise” to say in response to this? Or the Torah teacher? Or the philosopher? Hasn’t God turned their worldly wisdom into foolishness?
21 For after God in His wisdom decided that the world through its wisdom would never know Him, it pleased God to use (simple) “foolish” preaching to Save those who believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks want intellectual persuasion.
23 But we preach to both the concept of a crucified Messiah, which winds up being a stumbling block to the Jews, and utter foolishness to the Greeks.
24 But to those whom God calls, both Jew and Greek, Christ (is the personification of) the power and wisdom of God.
25 This is because the “foolishness” of God is wiser than the greatest wisdom of man, and the “weakness” of God is mightier than the greatest strength of man.
26 Look at those in the church there, brethren. Do you see that God has not called many intellectuals, influential people, or aristocrats?
27 Instead, God has chosen the “morons” of the world to confound the wise, and God has chosen the uneducated (people) of the world to confound those whom the world thinks are wise.
28-29 And the common (people) of the world, and those (people) the world rejects, are the very ones God chooses to use. Yes, those whom men think are nothing, He uses, in turn, to reduce to nothing those whom the world thinks are something, so that no man in His presence can take credit for what He has done.
30-31 But through God (and His grace), you are one with Christ Jesus who, through God’s plan for us, is the source of all wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written: Let anyone who boasts, boast in the Lord.

1. Probably the same opponent of Paul in Acts 18:17, who seems to have converted to become a fellow servant of Christ.

2. “Gift” could refer to what the church today knows as the “Charismatic Gifts” of the Spirit, but may actually be better understood as Paul’s affirming that there was clear evidence of the abundance of God’s grace and favor poured out upon the believers, who nonetheless needed correction for some of their behavior.

3. Verses 7 and 8 are better paraphrased as: “So that you lack nothing of God’s grace as you await Christ’s coming. He will keep you strong in the faith so you will be found blameless on the day when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to earth.”

4. Those who were saying they were “of Christ” appear to have held the more mature attitude over those who seem to have been followers of specific ministers. However, they seem to have been a bit arrogant and went the other direction in refusing to accept correction from anyone. Interestingly, Paul rebukes those claiming to be followers of Peter (“Cephas”), which can be inferred as calling into question the doctrine that Peter was the head of the church.

5. Though often used as a clarification to the Gospel message showing that salvation is not forensically tied to baptism, the context seems to be that of Paul’s being glad he did not baptize followers to himself.

6. Paul here is making a point that many of us miss: People are not truly converted by reaching them on an intellectual level through the “wisdom of words,” but rather through the power of the Spirit. This is one reason why I have only a modest respect for Christian Apologetics. Apologetics is useful mostly to strengthen a believer in his faith against the arguments of skeptics, for 99% of the time the skeptic himself won’t believe because he doesn’t want to believe, and no argument will serve to convince him. Even if it does, the former skeptic rarely continues on in the faith, because one who converts to Christianity on an intellectual basis all too often has converted outside of the drawing of the Spirit, and winds up as one of the unfortunates talked about in the Parable of the Sower. There are exceptions to this, but they are indeed the exception, and not the rule.

7. The “disputer of this world” is a reference to philosophers.

8. Once again, a criticism of those who require intellectual proof in order to believe. The Jews require a supernatural sign in order for their minds to be satisfied, while the Greeks (Gentiles) require logic and intellectual persuasion.

9. A reference to those who, through the grace imparted by the Spirit, respond to the Gospel from the heart.

10. Although use of the word “things” does not clearly convey it, Paul is referring to the non-aristocratic, non-educated people in the Christian community, which fits the context perfectly. More than once, Paul uses the word “weak” to refer to someone lacking education (Romans 14:1, for instance). This concept also harmonizes with Christ’s words in Luke 10:21.

11. A good example of two verses that should only be one verse. Verses 30 and 31 could be paraphrased like this: “But through God’s grace you are one with Christ Jesus, who, through God’s plan for us, is the source of all wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption: so that, as it is written: Let anyone who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom,¹ declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.²
6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes³ of this world, that come to nought:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.⁴
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit:⁵ for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man⁶ receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.⁷
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1 So when I came to you, brethren, (this is why) I did not declare to you the testimony of God by using brilliant intellectual arguments or deep philosophical wisdom.
2 For I decided the only thing I wanted to know among you was (this simple message): Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 In fact, I was weak, fearful, and my knees knocked when I was with you.
4 And I spoke and preached, not with skilled oratory expressing man’s wisdom, but with the demonstration of the Spirit and power,
5 So that your faith would not be based on earthly wisdom, but in the power of God.
6 But to those who are mature in Christ, we explain in detail God's wisdom, which is totally different from that of carnal humanity and the demonic origins behind it, for they (and their wisdom) will all be overthrown and demolished.
7-8 We preach the (“illogical”) wisdom of God (in sending a Messiah to be crucified), which is a mystery normal human intellect cannot understand. This was specifically a hidden wisdom that God established for our ultimate glory before the world was even created, which even the demonic powers (--and their human puppets--) over this world did not understand. For if they had understood it, they would never have crucified the Lord of Glory. (So you see, the idea made no sense to them either!)
9-10 But as it is written in the Scriptures: Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God has revealed these (once-hidden) mysteries to us by His Spirit, for the Spirit searches out the deep mysteries of God.
11 For what man truly knows the secret things in his heart save for his own spirit that is in him? In the same way, no man can understand the (hidden) things of God, for only God’s own Spirit can.
12 And we have not received the (Satanic) spirit that governs this world, but we have received the Spirit of God so that we might be enlightened about all the things that God wants to freely give us.
13 So we speak about these things without using earthly wisdom and the ideas from it, but instead using the wisdom that the Holy Spirit teaches, discerning and conveying one spiritual mystery after another.
14 However, the (unsaved) natural man rejects the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness so far as his unregenerate mind is concerned, and he can’t understand them because they must be understood through the enlightenment of the Spirit.
15-16 But a person whose mind is enlightened by the Spirit can understand all things, while the unsaved man simply cannot understand nor make a judgment about him and his beliefs (for to do so would be to make a judgment against the mind and wisdom of God Himself. Remember what Isaiah said in the Scripture:) For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the very mind of Christ (through the Spirit)!

1. An acknowledgment of Paul’s near complete failure to reach the crowds on Mars’ Hill through intellectual debate (Acts 17:32).

2. Once again, an acknowledgment that one should not attempt to reach the unsaved through Apologetics and intellectual persuasion--but through the anointing and power of the Spirit.

3. A very difficult verse that may be better paraphrased as: “But to those who are mature in Christ, we explain in detail God’s wisdom, which is totally different from that of carnal humanity and the demonic origins behind it, for they (and their wisdom) will all be overthrown and demolished.”

4. Almost certainly an acknowledgment that the “princes” referred to are not human authorities, but the demonic principalities behind them who defeated themselves by crucifying Christ through the human rulers they had influence over.

5. The actual second half of verse 9 that is almost always ignored when verse 9 is quoted from the pulpit!

6. The “natural man,” of course, refers both to the lost, who do not have the regeneration of the Spirit enabling them to perceive the way of God in their heart; and also to natural human logic and reasoning. Many of God’s laws and ways simply are not logical, and make no logical sense when the natural human mind tries to dissect them intellectually in an attempt to understand them.

7. One the of the most difficult of Paul’s passages better understood as: “But he whose mind is empowered by the Spirit understands all things (through the Spirit), while the unsaved man simply cannot understand nor make a judgment about him and his beliefs (for to do so would be to make a judgment against the mind and wisdom of God Himself). Remember what Isaiah said in the Scripture: For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the very mind of Christ (through the Spirit).”

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.¹
3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; ²
13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. ³
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?⁴
17 If any man defile⁵ the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
21 Therefore let no man glory⁶in men. For all things are yours;
22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours⁷;
23 And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.
1 But unfortunately, brethren, I could not speak to you on the spiritual level I wanted to reach you on, but I had to speak to you like you were carnal babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, not meat, because you weren’t able to eat more solid spiritual food, nor can you do so even now!
3 You are still carnal (letting your childish impulses rule over you). For since there is envy, strife, and division there, is this not proof that you’re carnal, and not walking as mature men?
4 When someone is foolish enough to say that, “I am a follower of Paul,” or, “I am a follower of Apollos,” are you not proving your carnality (and worldly way of thinking)?
5 Who is Paul or Apollos but ministers who preached the Gospel you believed, each doing the work of the Lord among the specific group he happened to be assigned to?
6 I planted, Apollos watered--but God did the growing.
7 So neither he who plants, nor he who waters is anything--only God, who does the growing, matters.
8 The planter and the waterer are equal in God’s eyes, and every man shall receive his own reward based on his own labors.
9 For Apollos and I are laborers together with God, but you are God’s plants...you are God’s building.
10 According to the grace of God that is given to me as a wise master builder, I laid the foundation that another is building on. But let every man be careful of what sort of building he erects.
11 For no other foundation can be laid (upon which to build), other than the foundation of Jesus Christ.
12 It’s possible for a man to build upon the foundation of Christ a structure of gold, silver, jewels, or precious stones. But it’s also possible to erect a building of wood, hay, or stubble.
13 And every man’s construction materials will be clearly displayed, for on Judgment Day the fire will show what he used, and the fire will test the quality of his construction.
14 If any man’s structure survives the fire, he will receive a reward.
15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss of potential reward, though he, himself, will be saved--but saved like a man running out of a burning house with only the clothes on his back.
16 Do you not know that you are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God lives inside of you?
17 And if a man destroys the Temple of God, God shall destroy that man.
18 So let no man deceive himself. If any of you seems to be wise in worldly wisdom, let him become a fool so that he can truly become wise!
19 Because the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s eyes. For it is written: He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
20 And it is also written: The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
21 Therefore, let no man boast about (or take his identity from) mere men (like Paul and Apollos). Everything we do, we do for your benefit, for we are here to serve you.
22 Whether it is Paul, Apollos, Cephas (Peter), the earth, or life or death, or things in the present, or things to come--all of it is made for your benefit and good.
23 And you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

1. This fact is universally overlooked when the book of 1st Corinthians is studied. Although we usually look to it as plumbing the depths of Christian theology, Paul seems to indicate here that he is forced to limit himself to reaching out to the Corinthians with only superficial teachings of the faith.

2. Paul here is characterizing the quality of Christian service amongst the teachers of the church. The “wood, hay and stubble” referred to may be viewed as the ministries of those who sought their own glory, or who outwardly did the work of God for improper motives.

3. This is the strongest verse in the New Testament used by Catholicism to justify the teaching of Purgatory, but it fails to conform to the doctrine that Purgatory is where God completes any remaining punishment a person deserves for the sins (Heb. 12:5-6) that He was unable to deliver prior to death, nor does it appear to be a process where the Christian is delivered from any remaining attraction to sin. The belief that the verse refers to one who has failed to follow God well, but escapes hell to enter heaven with little or no reward, appears to make the most sense.

4. In opposition to the teachings of some, Paul is not saying Christians are “in relationship” with the Spirit of God, but the text here indicates literally that the Spirit of God is supernaturally housed within the Christian’s body in the same way the Christian’s own spirit is spatially located within his own body. The words here for “dwell in” in Greek mean to live inside of a house.

5. “Defile” should be translated: “Destroy.”

6. “Glory” should be translated: “Boast.”

7. Paul’s point in the last two verses was to say that rather than see themselves as followers of certain ministers like Apollos or even Paul himself, the Corinthians must understand that these ministers actually belong to the people as their servants, to help them grow--which is what he means when he uses the phrases like “All are yours.”

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4

1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.
4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.
5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.¹
6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written,² that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.
7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?³
8 Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings⁴ without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.
9 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.⁵
11 Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;
12 And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
13 Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.
14 I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.
15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers⁶: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.⁷
17 For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my⁸ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.
18 Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you.
19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.
20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
21 What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?
1 Therefore, let people see us as nothing more than ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
2 And it is required of a steward that he be faithful to what he has been called to do.
3 But so far as I am concerned, it matters very little to me what you, or any others sitting in judgment, think of me. I think nothing of myself whatsoever.
4 For I can’t think of any wrongdoing I have done. But I am not justified on the basis of having a clear conscience, but rather through the examination (and approval) of the Lord.
5 Therefore, don’t presume (to praise one person above another) in the Age we live in; leave that to the Lord, who will do that himself when he comes and brings to light the things done in secret, weighing the motives of the heart, and then each man shall have whatever praise (or condemnation) from God that he actually deserves.
6 Brethren, I have expressed these concepts using myself and Apollos as examples to you so you might learn from us not to overly exalt any human man, but to think of us as no better than the sinners (saved by grace) that the writings of Scripture reveal we are, so none of you there thinks himself better than the next man.
7 What makes you think yourselves better than everyone else? What do you have that was not given to you (by someone else)? And if you admit someone else gave it to you, why do you act as if you had invented it yourself?
8 Now you are full. Now you are rich. You have been arrogant as kings, refusing any correction or reproof from us. Well--I wish you were all kings, so we could reign with you!
9 For I think that God has appointed we apostles to be like captives marching at the end of a Roman triumphal parade as a public spectacle to the world, the angels, and to men.
10 We are morons for the sake of Christ, while you are the wise ones. We are the weak ones, while you are strong. You are respected, while we are scorned.
11 Even until now, we hunger and thirst. We are naked, beaten, and have no place that we can call home.
12 We labor, working with our hands. When cursed, we say blessings in return. When persecuted, we endure it in silence.
13 When slandered, we answer politely, though we are treated like scum and dirt even to this day.
14 I am not writing these things to shame you, but I write to warn you as beloved sons.
15 For even if you have ten thousand teachers in Christ, you don’t have many fathers. For, in Christ Jesus, I fathered you through the Gospel.
16 Because of this, I implore you to follow my example.
17 For this reason, I have sent my beloved son Timothy, who is faithful in the Lord. He will reiterate the principles of proper conduct in Christ that I teach in every church.
18 However, some of you are arrogant, as though I will never return to you.
19 But I will visit shortly, if the Lord wills, and then I’ll see for myself--not the words of these arrogant people, but what power they have to back up their words.
20 For the Kingdom of God doesn't stand on mere words, but it stands upon the power of God!
21 So how do you want me to come to you? With a switch, ready to use it on you; or in love, with a meek spirit?

1. Verses 1 through 5 are a continuation of the thoughts being expressed at the end of chapter three. Unfortunately, they are written in a confusing manner, but can be paraphrased like this:

Therefore, let people see us as nothing more than ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.

And it is required of a steward that he be faithful to what he has been called to do.

But so far as I am concerned, it matters very little to me what you, or any others sitting in judgment, think of me. I think nothing of myself whatsoever.

For I can’t think of any wrongdoing I have done. But I am not justified on the basis of having a clear conscience, but rather through the examination (and approval) of the Lord.

Therefore, don’t presume (to praise one person above another) in the Age we live in; leave that to the Lord, who will do that himself when he comes and brings to light the things done in secret, weighing the motives of the heart, and then each man shall have whatever praise (or condemnation) from God that he actually deserves.

2. Contrary to popular evangelical belief, this verse is not necessarily an endorsement of the doctrine of Sola Scriptura. When Paul is saying ‘not to go beyond what is written,’ his point is not to make the claim that only Scripture is profitable to derive correction from; he is commanding them not to glorify man--including Paul himself--whom Scripture reveals is unworthy of exaltation on his best day, compared to God who alone is pure. Some suspect that he is quoting a proverb, but there is insufficient evidence to verify that theory.

3. Better paraphrased as: What makes you think yourselves better than everyone else? What do you have that was not given to you (by someone else)? And if you admit someone else gave it to you, why do you act as if you had invented it yourself?

4. “Reigned as kings” is an idiom meaning to be arrogant and unteachable, acting like a king who is under no one’s authority.

5. Paul is sarcastically mocking the Corinthians’ attitudes toward he and his co-workers.

6. It should be noted that some anti-Catholics rebuke the church for priests being called “father” based on Matt. 23:9, yet here Paul uses the same title about himself.

7. Paul is not coming against the admonition of Christ in the Gospels, nor is he trying to draw followers after himself; rather, he is saying to follow his example of seeking only after the glory of Christ.

8. Once more, a verse calling into question Peter’s primacy over the church, for Paul makes it clear that Gentile Christian practices came not from Peter, but through Paul himself.

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 5

1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.¹
2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh,² that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7 Purge out therefore the old leaven,³ that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.⁴
9 I wrote unto you in an epistle⁵ not to company with fornicators:
10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortionists, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortionist; with such an one no not to eat.⁶
12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
1 Word has spread far and wide that there is a case of fornication among you so bad that not even the Gentiles have anything to compare to it: One of you is in an incestuous relationship with his own stepmother!
2 And you are actually proud (of your tolerance and non-judgmental attitude toward this person), instead of grieving over such a situation and taking action to expel the man guilty of this sin!
3 (Since you won’t take action--I will!) Though absent in body, but present in my spirit, I have judged the case of this individual as if I were there in person.
4 (And so I decree:) In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together with my spirit, and with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 Excommunicate and hand this person over to Satan for the destruction of his physical life so that his spirit may yet be saved in the Day of the Lord Jesus.
6 Your pride over this is not good. Don’t you know that: A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?
7 Throw out the old leaven so that you can be a fresh lump of unleavened dough--for Christ, our Passover lamb, is sacrificed for us.
8 Therefore, let us keep the Feast, not with old leavened bread, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but let us keep it with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9 Remember, I wrote you before not to fellowship with fornicators!
10 I didn’t mean the fornicators of this (unsaved) world, nor with its greedy, its extortionists, or its idolaters--for to totally separate yourselves from these, you would have to leave the world altogether.
11 But to clarify what I meant, I now write to you that you must not fellowship with any man who is called a brother if he is a fornicator, greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, drunkard, or an extortionist. I don’t want you to even eat at the same table with such people (lest it appear that you endorse their behavior).
12 For what authority do I have to judge those outside the community? (None.) So why aren’t you reasonably judging those within the church?
13 But those outside the church God will judge. Therefore, cast out from among you that wicked person (and let God judge him)!

1. Apparently, this man was living with his stepmother, a violation of Lev. 18:8.

2. Verse 5 is very enigmatic and difficult to understand. We see no other clear reference to something similar by any other writer in the Bible, and so we cannot know for certain precisely what Paul has instituted here, or what its precise purpose is. From the best we can glean from the text, Paul seemed to have a belief that the community of believers had the authority to grant the devil the right to bring pressure upon this man. (Interestingly, the woman is not mentioned, so apparently she was not a Christian.) This pressure, Paul felt, would seemingly be sufficient to make his life uncomfortable enough that he would repent. An alternate understanding of the verse is that Paul meant for the devil to take the life of the man before he had gone so far as to disqualify himself from salvation and be lost, but this understanding is a bit less justified from the Greek than the first premise, although it is within the scope of possibility, and believed by many.

3. Leaven in the New Testament refers to sin, teaching, or practices, and here Paul is making an allusion to the Jewish practice of searching the house before Passover to remove every bit of leaven (down to beans and rice in the case of some Jews), that the house may be clean for the Festival. The allusion here is that the community of believers should purge out all uncleanness from their group.

4. Some Messianics believe that Paul here is confirming that both Jew and Gentile were to keep the Jewish Festivals. Actually, he was speaking figuratively, or else he was directing his comments to the elders of the church, most if not all of whom would be Jews. We can surmise this because physically uncircumcised people were forbidden to eat the Passover lamb (Ex. 12:48). Since Paul makes it clear in Galatians that Gentiles need not be circumcised, the logical conclusion is that he did not expect these same Gentiles to keep the Festivals, which is also confirmed in Gal. 4:10, where Paul specifically rebukes the Galatians for keeping “times” which refers to the appointed times, or Jewish Festivals.

5. This original letter to the Corinthians has unfortunately been lost; the letter we are reading now is actually the second letter to Corinth.

6. Tough talk in which Paul here, in contradiction to what many from our culture might believe, is saying that any member of the church involved in sexual impropriety, greed, idolatry, mischief-making, excessive drinking*, or less-than-upright business practices should be booted from the community and treated like a heathen until he repents.

* Paul absolutely is not teaching that Christians are forbidden to drink alcohol; the prohibition is against drunkenness only.

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 6

1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?¹
2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.²
5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?
6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortionists, shall inherit the kingdom of God.³
11 And such were some of you:⁴but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.⁵
13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that commiteth fornication sinneth against his own body.⁶
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price:⁷ therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
1 (While we're talking about judging cases in the church,) do any of you with a dispute against another in the community go and argue your cases before the unjust, rather than seeking judgment from the righteous?
2 Do you not know that the righteous will someday rule the world? And if you will rule the world, are you really not qualified to judge simple matters?
3 But so far as I am concerned, it matters very little to me what you, or any others sitting in judgment, think of me. I don’t even worry about scrutinizing myself.
4 For I can’t think of anything wrong I have done. But I am not justified on the basis of having a clear conscience, but rather through the examination (and approval) of the Lord.
5 I say this to shame you. Is there no wise man in the community who can make a fair judgment between his brethren?
6 But brother goes to court against brother, and the court they go to is one judged by unbelievers.
7 The members of the community have no business suing each other anyway! Why don’t you rather accept the wrong done to you? Why aren’t you willing to allow yourself to be defrauded (and leave it to God to vindicate you)?
8 Instead, you go out to wrong and defraud others--and your fellow Christians at that!
9-10 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Neither those who commit sexual sin outside of marriage, nor idolaters, nor heterosexual adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor (unrepentant) homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit the Kingdom of God.
11 In time past, some of you were one or more of these things. But you were washed and sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and placed in a state of right standing in the name of the Lord Jesus, through the Spirit of our God.
12-14 “All things are Lawful unto me”--but I want you to know that all things are not necessarily good. “All things are Lawful for me”--but I will not be brought under the power of any. “Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats”--but God shall destroy both it and them. The body also is not made for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord wants the best for it. And God has raised up the Lord Jesus (from the dead), and will also raise us up by His own power.
15 Don’t you know that your bodies are the body parts of Christ (on the earth)? Shall I then take parts of Christ’s body and mate them with a prostitute?! God forbid, no!
16 What? You mean you don’t know that he who mates with a prostitute becomes one body with her? For two, God says in Scripture, shall become one flesh.
17 But he who is spiritually mated to the Lord becomes one spirit.
18 Run as fast as you can from sexual sin! Every other sin a man might commit is one done by the body rather than with the body. But he (or she) who commits sexual sin, sins with and against his body.
19 What? You didn’t know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is inside of you, and given by God, thus meaning that you no longer belong to yourself?
20 For someone put his own life at risk to save you (--and now, according to custom, he owns your very life, and you have a debt you can never repay to get back your own freedom). So glorify God in your body and spirit, which belong to Him.

1. Paul here appears to acknowledge the Noachide commandments (see What you never knew about the New Testament’s view of the Law), held by Judaism as the laws by which God meant Gentiles to live, one of which is to establish courts of justice.

2. This is one of the worst-handled verses in the King James Bible. It should be rendered like this: “If you have issues of this life needing judgment, is it that you are setting up those least qualified in the church to do the judging?”

3. It should be noted that the list of sinners in verses 9 and 10 disqualified from salvation refers to those who practice and justify these sins, not to those brethren who struggle with sins like homosexuality.

4. Although Paul here shows that some of the Corinthians had practiced these sins in the past, but no longer, this should not be understood to be saying that “true” Christians are magically delivered from all sinful desires and never need struggle with them again. It should also be noted that the remainder of the verse incorrectly uses the word “are” (“are washed,” etc.). It should be translated as: “Were.”

5. Verses 12 and 13 are often misunderstood, for Paul is repeating and correcting the abuse arising out of a common saying and belief among the Corinthians. He is not making an intentional theological statement about the Law having passed away, for instance. The verses could be written in our grammar and punctuation like so:

“All things are lawful unto me”--but all things are not expedient. “All things are lawful for me”--but I will not be brought under the power of any.

“Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats”--but God shall destroy both it and them. *

* The next line of verse 13 (“Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body”) probably should be treated as the beginning of verse 14, not the end of verse 13.

6. The condemnation against immorality here traces itself to a belief by some at the time that sex was as important to the body as food, thus giving birth to licentiousness in the church.

7. “Bought with a price” is an Eastern idiom meaning that someone has saved another’s life at great personal risk to himself.

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 7

1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.¹
2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.²
3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
5 Defraud³ ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.⁴
7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.⁵
10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:⁶
11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.⁷
12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not⁸, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.⁹
15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases:¹⁰ but God hath called us to peace.
16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?
17 But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.
18 Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised.¹¹
19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.¹²
20 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.
21 Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather.
22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant.
23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.
25 Now concerning virgins¹³ I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.
26 I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.
27 Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.
28 But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.
29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;¹⁴
30 And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;
31 And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.
32 But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:
33 But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.
34 There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
35 And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.
36 But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry.
37 Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well.
38 So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better.
39 The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.¹⁵
40 But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.¹⁶
1 Now concerning the questions you asked: Yes, it is good for a husband to refrain from having relations with his wife at times.
2 Nevertheless, to avoid the chances of being tempted into fornication, let husbands and wives have normal physical relations.
3 Let the husband give the wife what she has a right to expect, and vice versa.
4 In marriage, each person gives up the rights over his body to the other person, husbands to wives, and wives to husbands.
5 Don’t deny one another unless you both agree to dedicate yourselves to (fasting and) prayer. Then have relations again so Satan does not tempt you.
6 But what I am about to say (in verse 8) is not by God’s command, but by His permission.
7 For I wish that all people were celibate as I am. But every man has his proper gift from God, be it (marriage or celibacy).
8 So I say to the single people and the widows, it is good for them to continue in that state like I do.
9 But if they cannot handle temptation, let them marry, for it is better to be married than to struggle constantly with lust.
10 And to those who are married, the Lord--not I--says: “Let the wife not separate from her husband.”
11 But if she does depart, she must not remarry, though she can reconcile with her husband. Also, the husband must not divorce his wife.
12 To the rest, I--not the Lord--say: If a brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and that woman wishes to continue living with him as his wife, he should not divorce her.
13 And the woman who has an unbelieving husband should stay with him if he wishes to continue living with her as well.
14 For the unbelieving husband is (made positionally holy) within the marriage by his wife, and vice versa. Otherwise, your children would be treif. But they are kosher in God’s eyes.
15 But if the unbeliever departs the marriage, let him or her go. A brother or sister is not bound in such cases. But keep in mind that God has called us to peace (and reconciliation when possible).
16 For who can say, O wife, whether your witness will someday result in your husband embracing the Gospel? Likewise, who can say, O man, whether your influence will wind up saving your wife?
17 I say this because in every church I make the rule that each man should accept the background in which God called him, and then walk in the faith from that point on.
18 So is any man called to Christ in a state of being physically circumcised? (In other words, as a Jew?) Then he should not become uncircumcised. (In other words, he should not abandon his Judaism.) In the same way, is a man called in a state of being physically uncircumcised? (In other words, as a Gentile?) Then he should not become circumcised. (In other words, he should not become Jewish.)
19-20 Being physically Jewish is as meaningless as being physically Gentile. But keeping the commands of God, let every man abide in the same calling (--be that Jewish or non-Jewish--) that he was first called in.
21 In other cases, are you called, being a slave? Don’t worry about gaining your freedom. But if you can be free, then be so.
22 For a man who is called in the Lord as a slave is really the Lord’s freeman. In the same way, he who is called as a freeman is in reality Christ’s slave.
23 Someone put their life on the line to save you, so don’t be the slaves of men (and the philosophies of the world).
24 Again, brethren, let every man continue in the circumstances that God has called him, and develop his relationship with God therein.
25 Now concerning unmarried women: I have no solid command from the Lord on the subject, but I will share my own considered opinion as a person who has experienced the mercy of the Lord to make me faithful:
26 I think that in our present circumstances of persecution by the world, it is good for a man to be single.
27 But do you have a wife? Then don’t seek to become unmarried. Are you freed from a wife? Then don’t seek to find a wife.
28 But if you marry, you have not fallen short of what God deems appropriate. And if a virgin woman marries, she has not fallen short of the mark either. Even so, married people will have problems in their lives, something I’d like to spare you.
29 Let me make this point, though: The time is short. So men who have wives should not let marriage be what they focus on.
30 And those who now weep should live as though they weep not; they that rejoice as if they do not rejoice; they that buy (and trade), as if they had no goods requiring their constant attention.
31 And those with possessions and influence in the world should not become intertwined by them, for the normal patterns of human existence are passing away.
32 I want you to be free of various worldly cares, so keep in mind that he who is unmarried concerns himself with the things of the Lord, and how he can please him.
33 But he who is married is forced to concern himself with earthly matters like how to keep his wife happy.
34 There is also a difference between a wife and a single woman. The single woman cares for the things of the Lord so she can be holy both in body and spirit. But she who is married cares for earthly matters like how to please her husband.
35 Now this I say for your benefit--to do what is best, and not to drag you around by a leash--so you can serve the Lord without being distracted.
36 But if a man who is betrothed to a woman feels he cannot adequately deal with his passions unless he gets married--and his fiancée is of adequate age to marry--then he should go ahead and marry her. Certainly, there’s no sin in that.
37 Nevertheless, a man who has his passions under control, and who has decided to remain celibate so far as his betrothed fiancée is concerned, does good.
38 So then the man who delivers his fiancée into marriage does well. But a man who does not deliver her into marriage does even better.
39 After marriage, the wife is bound by the Law as long as her husband is alive. But if he dies, she can marry whoever she wishes so long as the man is a believer in the Lord.
40 But she will be happier if she remains single. At least, that’s my opinion; and I think my opinion agrees with the Spirit of God.

1. What a pity we do not have the original letter from Corinth asking the questions! This fact has given rise to some bad translations and understandings of these passages. First, “man” and “woman” in this verse should be translated as “husband” and “wife” as both words are in verse 2. The verse could thus be paraphrased as: “Now concerning the questions you asked, it is good for a husband to refrain from having relations with his wife at times.” (For temporary purposes of seeking God, not because sex is somehow bad.)

2. “Have” obviously means to, “Have sexual relations with.”

3. Better translated as: “Deprive.” Also, the words “fasting and” in the verse are a later addition to the text.

4. Verse 6 refers to the upcoming statement in verse 8, not to what Paul has just said in verse 5. Paul thus is admitting his admonition is not a commandment, but he thinks that the unmarried and widows should stay single if possible.

5. Paul here clearly understands that some people simply cannot live a celibate lifestyle, and that these folks--if they lack the faith and spiritual strength to do so--should marry to remove that stumbling block from their Christian walk.

6. This should not be taken as a command to stay with a spouse under any and all circumstances. (For instance, in a physically abusive relationship.) Paul is presuming a stable relationship in which one partner for some reason desires to separate from the other when personal safety is not a factor.

7. This is a very important message to Christians in our day and age: Divorce and remarriage are not options except in cases of adultery or abandonment (see verse 15). Christians who divorce for reasons other than these two listed reasons are in adultery if they remarry. Nothing in the Scriptures suggests that relationships prior to conversion factor into this command.

8. “Believeth not” refers to a non-Christian spouse.

9. There is debate on what Paul means here. The best speculation is that he is saying that when the couple become one flesh, the unbeliever is given the benefits of the believer’s state of purity before God, resulting in any offspring being considered to have been conceived in a state of sanctification. The believing spouse is also protected from spiritual defilement from normal sexual relations with a spouse who is not a Christian. The only way to fully convey Paul’s thoughts when he declares a child to otherwise be “unclean,” is to use the Hebrew word treif, which refers to something being non-kosher, and thus not up to full acceptable standard.

10. This verse appears to give license for remarriage if a Christian’s spouse abandons or divorces them.

11. One of the most important verses in the New Testament dealing with the false doctrines of some Messianic believers. Paul here commands that Jews and Gentiles remain in their cultural milieu. This is an absolute denial of the false doctrine that God requires Gentile believers to follow Mosaic Law once they accept Christ. Likewise, Paul encourages Jews to remain within their own cultural background, and remain faithful to keeping the Torah. Thus, God equally accepts both Torah-observant Jews and non-observant Gentiles, and neither side is required to adopt or reject Mosaic practices in order to obtain or retain salvation.

12. Paul here may not necessarily be speaking only of the physical act of circumcision. “Circumcision” can be considered a synonym for being Jewish and Torah observant versus being a non-observant Gentile. With that in mind, Paul could be paraphrased like so: “Being physically Jewish is meaningless, just as physically being a Gentile is, for keeping the commands* of God is what truly matters, whether one is Jewish or not.” The paraphrase, meanwhile, takes another view as some food for thought.

* Those commands are not the entirety of the 613 laws of Moses, but rather the universal moral precepts within those laws. We know this because Paul obviously is not contradicting himself, and he just exempted Gentiles from becoming Jewish while in verse 12 he repeats that every man should remain in the state in which he found Christ--either fully observant, or unobservant, but for the reasonable moral precepts of the faith. It is impossible for Paul to be teaching that all should keep Mosaic Law while commanding Jew and Gentile to remain in the state in which they were called--especially in light of the fact that a physically uncircumcised man is forbidden by the Law to eat the Passover lamb. The uncircumcised also is forbidden to enter the Temple to participate in the Festivals the Law demands be observed. The word for “commandments” also does not necessarily refer to the commandments in the Law, but can also refer to simple orders or instructions, hence the author’s rendering it as commands rather than commandments.

13. Meaning unmarried daughters of a Christian man. There is debate as to whether the verses following relate to the woman’s father or fiancée.

14. The last few verses were motivated by the mistaken apostolic oral tradition that Jesus would be returning within the lifetime of the apostles (John 21:23).

15. Often the basis for a teaching that divorced persons are denied remarriage for any reason until their former spouse dies, but that strict interpretation of the verse seems inconsistent with both verse 15 and the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels regarding adultery.

16 When Paul says he has “the Spirit of God,” he is probably using the phrase in its typical form for the time: that of a Jewish idiom for “the wisdom (or inspiration) of God.”

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 8

1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
2 And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
3 But if any man love God, the same is known of him.
4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols¹, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
7 Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.²
8 But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.
9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.
10 For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;
11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.³
1 Now as regards foods that have been offered up in idolatrous rituals before being sold, we know that we all have knowledge (regarding things like there is only one God). Knowledge, however, has the potential to make one boastful, but love always builds up.
2 So keep in mind that no man is as smart as he thinks he is.
3 But if a man loves God--God recognizes that man!
4 So in the matter of eating those meats and things that have been sacrificed to idols, we all know that an idol is nothing, and that there is only one God in the world.
5 For though there are many beings men call gods, whether in the heavens or on earth, including many “gods” or “lords”(in the form of human rulers),
6 To us, there is only one God--the Father--out of which came all things (including those beings trying to pass themselves off as gods), to whom we belong. And there is also one Lord, Jesus Christ, who created all things (including these beings), and by whom we have our very existence.
7 But not everyone has that knowledge. Some people still think there are actually other gods in existence, and when they eat such foods, they eat in conscious belief of the “gods” behind the practice (thinking those gods are taking notice of them; or else they eat it as acts of worship toward an idol). Thus, their weak consciences are defiled.
8 But meat that we eat does nothing at all to make us more or less acceptable to God. Whether or what we eat has no bearing on anything, really. It’s neither good nor bad.
9 But be careful, lest the freedom you have becomes a stumbling block to a man who is less knowledgeable in the faith.
10 For if such a man sees you, with your knowledge, in the temple of a false god eating some of the sacrificial offerings, won’t the conscience of this less-educated brother prompt him to go in and eat himself (thinking it’s allowable to participate in pagan rituals)?
11 Should your less-mature brother, for whom Christ died, perish because of your superior knowledge?
12 When you do things like this to cause weaker brethren to stumble against their consciences, you are sinning against Christ.
13 So if my eating meat will cause my brother to stumble (and sin), I will not eat meat while the world stands, lest I be the cause of my brother stumbling.

1. Paul here is dealing with the concerns of those afraid that they were committing sin by obtaining meat that had previously been used in idolatrous religious ceremonies. The meat from such sacrifices was often given out, or else sold--and since the Torah forbids sacrificing to idols, some were concerned. Paul points out that idols are not true gods, and thus there is no reason to discriminate against food that may have previously been used in pagan religious ceremonies.

Some have attempted to claim a contradiction between what Paul says here, and Rev. 2:20. The difference between the two should be obvious: Jezebel had literally been leading the church in worshipping idols and making sacrifices to them. Paul, in contrast, is referring only to meat that had come from pagan rites the Christians had no direct participation in. Even the term “Sit at meat in the idol’s temple” mentioned at the end of the chapter, did not refer to the Christian having made sacrifice to foreign gods, but rather to having dined on free food given to the poor by some of these temples.

2. Meaning that some in Corinth still had the mistaken belief that there were deities other than the One God, and that by eating these sacrifices they were subjecting themselves to the influence of, or else paying conscious homage to, these gods.

3. It is very important to understand that Paul’s use of the word “offend” does not refer to someone who takes umbrage at Paul’s doing something the person himself thinks is wrong, causing him to become resentful. Paul means someone who sees him doing something and then imitates it or does it although in his heart he thinks the act is sinful.

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 9

1 Am I not an apostle? am I not free?¹ have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?² are not ye my work in the Lord?
2 If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.
3 Mine answer to them that do examine me is this,
4 Have we not power to eat and to drink?
5 Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife,³ as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?
6 Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working?
7 Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?
8 Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?⁴
9 For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?
10 Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.
11 If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?
12 If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.
13 Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?
14 Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.
15 But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void.
16 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
17 For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.⁵
18 What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.
19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.
20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;⁶
21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.
22 To the weak⁷ became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
23 And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.
24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
1 Am I not an apostle? Don’t I have the right to expect the support that should come with that, without having to toil for it? Have I not seen, face-to-face, Jesus Christ our Lord? And are you not work in the Lord?
2 If I’m not an apostle to anyone else, I am undoubtedly one to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
3 So my answer to my critics is this:
4 Do we apostles not have the right to have a decent meal and something to drink?
5 Have we not the right to be accompanied by a believing wife, as the other apostles, the kinsmen of the Lord, and as Cephas (Peter) does?
6 Or do only Barnabas and I have to work day and night to take care of our own needs?
7 What soldier pays for his own equipment and food? What farmer plants a vineyard and doesn’t eat from it? Who feeds a flock and takes no milk from it?
8 Is this just my own opinion? Doesn’t the Torah say as much also?
9 For it is written in the Torah of Moses: Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Now did God write that because He’s worried about what an ox eats?
10 Or was He saying that somehow for our benefit, so we men could learn an important axiom? It was for our sakes, no doubt, that this was written--so that a man who plows should plow in confidence that he will see a harvest, and that a man who threshes grain should thresh, expecting to partake of the grain!
11 Since we have sown spiritual things amongst you, is it outrageous if we reap from some of your natural things in return?
12 If others (who came after us) have this right over you, don’t we (who brought you the Gospel to start with) have an even greater right?! Even so, we have never exercised our rights over you, but we endure our problems on our own without burdening you, lest we should somehow hinder the Gospel of Christ.
13 But are you unaware that those who minister amongst the holy things in the Temple live off the offerings at the Temple; or that those who serve at the altar eat the offerings from the altar?
14 In the same way, the Lord has established the precept that those who preach the Gospel should live off the Gospel.
15 But I have used none of these precepts to my own advantage, nor am I writing to start making use of them now, for it would be better for me to die than do that! I won’t let any man have cause to criticize me, and rob me of the pride I take in what I do!
16 For though I preach the Gospel, I can take no credit for my ministry, because I am doing this because I was commanded to. In fact, woe is me if I don’t preach it!
17 If I preach willingly, I am doing something for which God will reward me; but, willingly or not, God has given a commission to me.
18 So what is my reward then? Well, it’s (the pride I take in) preaching the Gospel of Christ without profiting off it so that I don’t abuse my authority in the Gospel.
19 For though I’m not a slave, but am free, I have made myself a slave to all men so that I might save as many as I can.
20 Thus, when I am around Jews, I emphasize my Jewish background and traditions so that I might reach the Jews with the Gospel message. So to those under the Torah, I appeal to them on the basis of one who thoroughly understands the Torah and what the men I meet believe about it, in hope that I might reach those who are under the Torah.
21 To reach those not under the Torah, I appeal to them as one who is also not under the Torah, though by saying that I do not mean that I live a reprobate life; but rather, that I live the moral heart of the Torah of God (--which can never pass away--) through Christ (who has placed the heart of the Torah in my own heart).
22-23 To the uneducated, I likewise appear uneducated (speaking in simple terms and precepts). I try to find something in common with all men so that I might reach out and save some, and I do this for the sake of the Gospel so that we can both share in its blessings.
24 Do you not know that while many run in a race, only one wins the prize? So run so you can win that prize!
25 Every man who devotes himself to sports doesn’t give in to excess in anything. Athletes train and deny themselves in many ways in order to win a laurel crown that will dry up and waste away--but we do the same thing to win a crown that can never waste away!
26 So I fix my gaze on the finish line and sprint as hard as I can to reach it. And I also fight like a man who spars with real opponents instead of just shadow boxing.
27 Even so, I still keep my own body under subjection (to my spirit), lest somehow I fail to measure up and, after having preached the truth to others, I find myself cast away.

1. This is one of those sentences that the person delivering the letter would have explained. It’s also an example of Paul's habit of condensing two or three sentences of what he means into just one. When Paul speaks of being “free,” he means, “As an apostle, aren’t I supposed to be free from the responsibility of working for my own upkeep? Don’t I have a right to expect support from the churches instead of toiling day and night to support myself?” See verses 6, 11, and 12.

2. Some teach a doctrine from misusing this verse, claiming that only someone who literally saw Jesus was qualified to be an apostle. This flies in the face of examples like Epaphroditus, called in Greek an apostle in Phil. 2:25, along with a number of other brethren in 2 Cor. 8:23 likewise dubbed “messengers,” although the word is the same for “apostle.” Barnabas, in Acts 14:15, is also called an apostle, although there is no certain proof he ever knew Jesus personally.

3. An interesting point by Paul, directly challenging the Western rites of the Catholic Church, which mandate priestly celibacy. Scholars of course, debate whether the term “brethren of the Lord” refers to cousins or actual brothers of Christ. In all probability, it refers to cousins for reasons stated in the commentary in Matthew.

4. Sometimes used to accuse Paul of hypocrisy for teaching that Christians “aren’t under the Law,” while appealing to the Torah to validate his views. Well, there is no real inconsistency. As I have attempted to point out, Paul never repudiated the keeping of the Torah as lifestyle and culture (though he affirmed that the Torah as an obligatory covenant was no longer in force); he merely remained consistent with the more liberal strain of Judaism which held that Gentiles need not keep the full Torah in order to worship God.

5. Better paraphrased as: “If I preach willingly, I am doing something for which God will reward me; but, willingly or not, God has given a commission to me.”

6. This, and the next few verses, are sometimes used by skeptics to accuse Paul of hypocritically pretending to be something he is not--for instance, an observant Jew when he (supposedly) has concluded the Law has passed away. In fact, the verse records that Paul tried to reach people where they were at by finding something in common with them. Being an observant Jew himself, it was easy for Paul to interact with fellow Jews, while with unobservant Gentiles he could minister to them without expounding on the types and shadows pointing toward Christ in Mosaic Law.

7. “Weak” is better understood as: “Uneducated.”

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 10

1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;¹
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them:² and that Rock was Christ.
5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play³.
8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.⁴
9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.⁵
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
15 I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.
16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
18 Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?
19 What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?
20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.⁶
22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.⁷
24 Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth.⁸
25 Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake:
26 For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.
27 If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake.
28 But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof:⁹
29 Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience?
30 For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks?
31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.¹⁰
1 Moreover, brethren, I want you to keep in mind how our ancestors were all underneath the cloud of God that was above their camp, and that they all passed through the sea,
2 And were all baptized into Moses by passing under the cloud and through the sea.
3-4 They also ate the same spiritual food (--the manna--) and also drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the rock that followed along behind them. That rock, by the way, was actually a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ (and foretold his sending the Holy Spirit to humanity)!
5 Even so, God was displeased with many of them, for they were destroyed in the wilderness (despite having received a promise that God would lead them into a good land).
6 These events are examples to us not to lust after evil things as they did.
7 Nor should we be idolaters as some of them were. For it is written: The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
8 Neither let us partake of sexual sin as some of them did. Twenty-three thousand died for that in one day!
9 Neither let us challenge Christ as some of them challenged (God). Snakes destroyed them for this.
10 Neither should you grumble and complain as some of them did, and were slain by the angel called “the Destroyer.”
11 Now all these things that happened to them were examples to us, and they are written as admonition to us, who are approaching the end of the world (to behave properly).
12 So let he who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall!
13 There is no temptation that you have faced which isn’t normal to humanity. But God is faithful, who will not let more come upon you than you are able to bear. And with every temptation, He will make a way to escape, so you can bear it (without being overcome by it).
14 Because of this, my dearly beloved, run from idolatry (and any thought of worshipping God and other “deities”).
15 I know I am talking to wise men, so judge whether or not what I say makes sense.
16 The cup of blessing that we pray over--is it not partaking of the blood of Christ? The bread that we break--is it not partaking of the body of Christ? (And how much greater is that than partaking of the essence of some imaginary deity as some of these pagan rituals claim happens in the temples?)
17 For we, being many people, are made to be one loaf and one body, for we are all partakers of the one bread (which is Christ).
18 Consider physical Israel: Are not the ones who partake of the sacrifices of the altar partakers of what the altar stands for?
19 So what am I saying? That an idol is anything real, or that food which is sacrificed to an idol has any innate power or efficacious effect if eaten? (No.)
20-21 I’m saying that things sacrificed by Gentiles in such a manner are actually being sacrificed to demons (masquerading as gods), and not to the true God--and I do not want you to have communion with demons, for you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils, nor can you partake of the Lord’s table and also the table of demons.
22 Do we (dare) provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
23 “All things are lawful for me”--but all things are not necessarily good. “All things are lawful for me”--but all things don’t necessarily edify.
24 Don’t selfishly worry only about your own good--concern yourself with the good of others!
25 Whatever is sold in the marketplace, go ahead and eat, asking nothing about its background for the sake of your conscience.
26 For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.
27 If an unbeliever invites you to dinner, go if you want to, and eat what he gives you. But ask nothing about the background of the food for the sake of your conscience.
28 However, if any man tells you, “This was sacrificed to idols,” don’t eat it for his sake, and for the sake of conscience (for again: The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof).
29-30 When I say “Conscience,” I don’t mean your own, but that of your host. Now you might ask: “Why should my freedom be regulated by someone else’s conscience? For if the grace of God permits me to partake of this sort of food, why does someone criticize me for that which I give thanks?”
31 Well, whatever you eat and drink--or whatever you do--make sure it is all done to the glory of God.
32-33 Don’t be a stumbling block to anyone: Either Jews, Gentiles, or the church of God, just as I accommodate everyone in what I do, not seeking my own good (or convenience), but the good of many other people in hope they can be saved.

1. This Baptism into Moses was one of seven general baptisms mentioned in the Scripture. The seven include:

1. Baptism in the cloud.

2. Baptism in the sea.

3. John’s Baptism of repentance.

4. Baptism of fire.

5. Baptism into Messiah.

6. Baptism of suffering.

7. Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Of these, only number five is associated with salvation; and ultimately this form of baptism, while there is a physical expression of it, comes through faith and not through the act of dipping in water.

2. Here we have absolute proof that the Bible does not contain all historic facts about the faith. Nowhere in the Scripture is there any mention of the rock of Exodus 17 literally following the camp of Israel, but Jewish oral tradition asserts that this rock rolled along behind the Israelites during their sojourn, and thus Paul confirms the validity of extra-biblical oral tradition in some matters of history. Paul here also seems to be saying that the rock was an appearance of Christ. Most assume he is saying that it only represented Christ, but the Greek literally says that the rock “was the Christ.”

3. “Play” would be best understood as committing idolatrous acts, and not as some reference to sexual immorality, which also occurred.

4. A direct contradiction to Num. 25, which lists 24,000 victims. This could be attributable to Paul’s recalling the number from memory (people didn’t carry Bibles for handy reference back then); or his quoting a source which may have rounded the number down instead of up; or he is not including any Egyptians in the camp who may have died in the event, but only the Hebrews.

5. Paul’s point in the last few verses is to admonish the Corinthians to gird up their loins and show a lifestyle acceptable to God, lest He cast them away as happened to the Israelites in question. Certainly, it militates against the “Once saved, Always saved” doctrine.

6. Paul is not contradicting what he wrote in Chapter 8 about sitting at meat in an idol’s temple. Instead, he is admonishing the Corinthians not to mix idolatry with their Christian faith by worshipping Christ while also making sacrifices to other deities, a common practice of merchants and farmers in that day. It should also be noted that some pagan rituals had a doctrine similar to the Christian Eucharist. Someone who ate a food offering to some gods was believed to be partaking of that god in some fashion and receiving benefits from it. In no way does this relegate the Christian doctrine of the Eucharist to a pagan ritual, for the concept to some degree was taught in the Old Testament. Also, Paul here (arguably) has been touting Eucharistic benefits to his readers.

7. This could be written as: “All things are lawful for me.” But all things are not expedient. “All things are lawful for me.” But all things edify not.”

8. Better paraphrased as: “Don’t selfishly worry only about your own good--concern yourself with the good of others.”

9. The Christian is instructed not to eat in this case to make a statement to the unbeliever that his gods are false.

10. A re-admonishment to live and act temperately so as not to give the faith a bad reputation among those who otherwise might be open to receive the message of the Gospel. Even so, Paul understood that some people would denounce the faith no matter what, and he did not waste time on them.

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 11

1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances,¹ as I delivered them to you.
3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.²
5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.
9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.³
11 Nevertheless neither is the man without4 the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of god.
13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.
17 Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.
18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.⁵
21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.⁶
22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.⁷
25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation⁸ to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.⁹
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.¹⁰
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.
34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.
1 You should all follow my example as I follow Christ’s.
2 And I praise you, brethren, that you remember all the things I told you, and you are keeping the instructions (regarding worship) that I gave you.
3 But I would point out to you that Christ is the authority over every man, and the authority over the wife is the husband, and the authority over Christ is God.
4 So every man who prays or prophesies with something over his head (--especially if it reflects some earthly authority--) dishonors Christ, his true authority.
5 And every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered (in the manner of a prostitute) dishonors her (husband, who is her authority). This is as bad as if she were to shave her hair off!
6 And if the wife isn’t covered, let her hair be shaved off as well! And if it is shameful for a woman to have a masculine hair style or to have a shaved head--well, then let her cover herself up, as is proper for a woman!
7 For a man should not hide his head with a veil, because he is the image and glory of God. But in the case of women, they are the glory of man.
8 For (in the beginning,) the man did not come from the woman, but the woman came out of the man.
9 Nor was the man created for the woman, but the woman was created to assist the man.
10 This is why the woman should have a sign of authority upon her head. Remember, the angels are watching what goes on among you.
11 Even so, neither men nor women exist independent of each other in the Lord.
12 For even though the woman first came out of a man, men have come out of women since that time, but all things come from God.
13 You tell me--is it proper (in our society) that a woman prays with her head exposed (like a prostitute)?
14 (And) isn’t it only natural that if a man has a long, feminine hair style (like a male prostitute), it is a disgrace?
15 But if a woman has long, beautiful hair, it is something she can be proud of, for her hair is given her for a covering.
16 If anyone has problems with these points, neither we, nor the churches of God, have any other custom.
17 Now--here’s something I do not praise you for: When you assemble for worship, you don't come together for the better, but apparently for the worse.
18 First of all, when the church gathers for worship, I hear that there are cliques among you, and it doesn’t surprise me.
19 For it’s unavoidable that there would be factions among the congregation, that those truly approved of by God should stand out from those who are not.
20 When you assemble in one place, it is (apparently) not toS eat the Lord’s Supper.
21 (I say this because) when you eat, each one eats his own food up without sharing with someone else who is hungry, while someone else gets drunk in a corner.
22 What? You don’t have your own houses to eat and drink in? Why do you disrespect the church of God, and shame those who are poor? What shall I say about this? Shall I praise you over this? Well, I will not praise you.
23 For the Lord revealed to me what I passed on to you: The same night the Lord Jesus was betrayed, he took bread,
24 And when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said: “Take and eat, for this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
25 In the same way, he also took the cup after eating, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. As often as you partake of it, you do so in remembrance of me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you remember the Lord’s death until he returns.
27 Because of this, whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord!
28 But let a man examine himself, and then eat the bread and drink from the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks in a state of unworthiness, eats and drinks condemnation to himself, because he does not recognize the fact he is eating and drinking the Lord’s (holy) body (and blood)!
30 This is why more than a few are weak or sick among you--and many even die!
31 For if we would judge ourselves (and correct our misbehavior), we would not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, the Lord punishes us so that we do not receive the condemnation and punishment coming to the unbelieving world.
33 Therefore, brethren, when you come together to eat, treat it like a potluck and wait for one another (making sure to share what you have).
34 And if any man is too hungry to share, then let him eat at home so you don’t wind up coming together in a manner that brings condemnation. The rest we need to deal with, I will get to when I come there.

1. “Ordinances” should be understood as oral traditions of the faith and instructions for communal worship.

2. Here, in verses 2 through 15, some false doctrines arise that Paul is criticizing men’s hair length, along with rebuking a man who has some sort of hat on. This is basically untrue. All Jewish men prayed with their heads covered by some sort of head covering (akin to what Moslems of today wear), and not to do so was tantamount to being disrespectful to God. Though verse 7 does make mention of a man’s head being veiled, it simply cannot be that Paul is overturning universal Jewish decorum in worship. Were Paul actually suggesting that Jews should abandon covering their heads with some traditional garb, he would be flying in the face of basic Jewish propriety, and opening himself to the very sort of criticism he just boasted of avoiding in the last chapter. Paul’s rebuke about men having a head covering* most likely traces itself to criticizing a man who deliberately hides his head with a covering in some manner (perhaps to keep from being recognized as a believer by outsiders); or it may be have some relation to verse 14, where Paul rebukes men, not for hair length, but for having a feminine hair style. If this is the case, it may refer to some sort of worldly head adornment rather than a specific head covering. It certainly cannot be an indictment against any and all coverings for the head, and in any event traces itself to a cultural prohibition that does not necessarily apply in the world of today, or in cultures where it would be deemed disrespectful for a man not to be wearing some sort of head covering in normal life.

When Paul speaks of men having “long hair,” he is referring to local temples that employed male homosexual prostitutes who sported feminine hairstyles. The Greek word translated as “long hair” refers to having such a hairstyle, and is a direct reference to the coiffures that marked these men as male prostitutes. Female prostitutes, meanwhile, were known for walking about without wearing veils or shawls to advertise what they were. Paul’s concern was that no one mistake Christians for pagans, which in that culture could occur because of dress and hairstyle. Thus, these admonitions are entirely cultural, and so do not apply in our day and age. The principal, however, would apply today in the sense of admonishing Christian women not to come to church looking like various media personalities and entertainers.

* The words translated “head covered” literally mean “down on head.”

3. Jewish belief held that the angels were very concerned with God’s being worshipped properly, and God constantly had to dissuade them from destroying men for even the slightest faults.

4. “Without” should be understood as: “Existing independently from.”

5. In contrast to the way much of Christianity views Sunday worship, Paul reveals his focus on worship was to partake of the Lord’s Supper rather than simply gather to sing hymns, and preach.

6. As noted, the early Christian worship services were nothing like we have today. Basically, they had a potluck, with fellowship and Bible teaching thrown in, finishing with partaking of the Eucharist. A problem that cropped up, as Paul refers to, is that people were more interested in enjoying a good meal than they were in Christian fellowship or the Eucharist.

7. This may be the first written reference to taking Communion as a fundamental part of the weekly worship service.

8. “Damnation” is far too strong a word; it should be translated: “Condemnation” or “judgment” (whether light or heavy).

9. It is mind-boggling to me that, in its zeal to condemn Catholicism in favor of more biblical Christianity, Protestantism denies a central truth of Scripture: that the bread and wine--however it’s accom