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| Paul's
First Letter to Corinth
BOOK : 1 Corinthians Description : A long letter written by the apostle Paul to the church in Corinth, responding to various difficulties they were having. Author: The apostle Paul Date written : Probably about 55AD Chapters : 16
Brief Synopsis:
Outline :
Some Key Verses:
Problem to be dealt with: No.1 – Divisions 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
The foundation for Christian ministry 2:1-5 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
Problem to be dealt with: No.2 – Sexual Immorality 5:1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife.
Problem to be dealt with: No.3 – Disputes 6:1 If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints?
Problem to be dealt with: No.4 – Marriage in an age of persecution 7:1,2 Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry. But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.
Problem to be dealt with: No.5 – Eating food previously offered to idols 8:4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.
A principle when considering Christian freedom 10:23,24 Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
Problem to be dealt with: No.6 – Propriety in worship (seen in light of current culture) 11:3-5 Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head--it is just as though her head were shaved.
Problem to be dealt with: No.7 – Propriety at Lord's Supper 11:20,21 When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.
Problem to be dealt with: No.8 – Administration of spiritual gifts 12:1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.
Problem to be dealt with: No.9 – Resurrection of the dead (& Jesus' resurrection) 15:3-5 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve 15:20,21 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
Possible future plans 16:3,4 when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.
Concluding Comments
Thus we see that this is a pastoral epistle, from the father of the church there in Corinth while he was in Ephesus , to address a variety of problems that had been drawn to his attention. Perhaps we may see the nine difficulties we have observed as follows:
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