Summary of the Book of
1 Corinthians New Living Translation NLT
This summary of the
book of 1 Corinthians provides information about the title, author(s), date of
writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the
chapters of the Book of 1 Corinthians.
The city of Corinth,
perched like a one-eyed Titan astride the narrow isthmus connecting the Greek
mainland with the Peloponnese, was one of the dominant commercial centers of
the Mediterranean world as early as the eighth century b.c.
No city in Greece was
more favorably situated for land and sea trade. With a high, strong citadel at
its back, it lay between the Saronic Gulf and the Ionian Sea, with ports at
Lechaion and Cenchrea. A diolkos, or stone road for the overland
transport of ships, linked the two seas. Crowning the Acrocorinth was the
temple of Aphrodite, served, according to Strabo, by more than 1,000 pagan
priestess-prostitutes.
By the time the gospel
reached Corinth in the spring of a.d. 52, the city had a proud history of
leadership in the Achaian League, and a spirit of revived Hellenism under Roman
domination after 44 b.c. following the destruction of the city by Mummius in
146 b.c.
Paul's lengthy stay in
Corinth brought him directly in contact with the major monuments of the agora,
many of which still survive. The fountain-house of the spring Peirene,
the temple of Apollo, the macellumor meat market (1Co 10:25)
and the theater, the bema (Ac 18:12), and the
unimpressive synagogue all played a part in the experience of the apostle. An
inscription from the theater names the city official Erastus, probably the
friend of Paul mentioned in Ro 16:23 (see note there).
Paul is acknowledged
as the author both by the letter itself (1:1-2; 16:21) and by the early
church fathers. His authorship was attested by Clement of Rome as early as a.d.
96, and today practically all NT interpreters concur. The letter was written c.
55 toward the close of Paul's three-year residency in Ephesus (see 16:5-9; Ac 20:31). It is clear from his reference to staying
at Ephesus until Pentecost (16:8) that he intended to
remain there somewhat less than a year when he wrote 1 Corinthians.
Corinth was a thriving
city; it was at the time the chief city of Greece both commercially and
politically. See map and diagram, p. 2355.
- Its commerce. Located just off the Corinthian isthmus (see
map, p. 2288), it was a crossroads for travelers and traders. It had two
harbors: (1) Cenchrea, six miles to the east on the Saronic Gulf, and (2)
Lechaion, a mile and a half to the north on the Corinthian Gulf. Goods
were transported across the isthmus on the Diolkos, a stone road by which
smaller ships could be hauled fully loaded across the isthmus, and by
which cargoes of larger ships could be transported by wagons from one
side to the other. Trade flowed through the city from Italy and Spain to
the west and from Asia Minor, Phoenicia and Egypt to the east.
- Its culture. Although Corinth was not a university town like
Athens, it was characterized nevertheless by typical Greek culture. Its
people were interested in Greek philosophy and placed a high premium on
wisdom.
- Its religion. Corinth contained at least 12 temples. Whether
they were all in use during Paul's time is not known for certain. One of
the most infamous was the temple dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of
love, whose worshipers practiced religious prostitution. About a fourth
of a mile north of the theater stood the temple of Asclepius, the god of
healing, and in the middle of the city the sixth-century b.c. temple of
Apollo was located. In addition, the Jews had established a synagogue;
the inscribed lintel of it has been found and placed in the museum at old
Corinth.
- Its immorality. Like any large commercial city, Corinth was a
center for open and unbridled immorality. The worship of Aphrodite
fostered prostitution in the name of religion. At one time 1,000 sacred
(priestess) prostitutes served her temple. So widely known did the immorality
of Corinth become that the Greek verb "to Corinthianize" came
to mean "to practice sexual immorality." In a setting like this
it is no wonder that the Corinthian church was plagued with numerous
problems.
Paul had received information
from several sources concerning the conditions existing in the church at
Corinth. Some members of the household of Chloe had informed him of the
factions that had developed in the church (1:11). There were three
individuals -- Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus -- who had come to Paul in
Ephesus to make some contribution to his ministry (16:17), but whether these
were the ones from Chloe's household we do not know.
Some of those who had
come had brought disturbing information concerning moral irregularities in the
church (chs. 5-6). Immorality had
plagued the Corinthian assembly almost from the beginning. From 5:9-10 it is apparent
that Paul had written previously concerning moral laxness. He had urged
believers "not to associate with sexually immoral people" (5:9). Because of misunderstanding he now finds it
necessary to clarify his instruction (5:10-11) and to urge
immediate and drastic action (5:3-5,13).
Other Corinthian
visitors had brought a letter from the church that requested counsel on several
subjects (see 7:1 and note; cf. 8:1; 12:1; 16:1).
It is clear that,
although the church was gifted (see 1:4-7), it was immature and
unspiritual (3:1-4). Paul's purposes for
writing were: (1) to instruct and restore the church in its areas of weakness,
correcting erroneous practices such as divisions (1:10 -- 4:21), immorality
(ch. 5; 6:12-20), litigation in pagan
courts (6:1-8) and abuse of the
Lord's Supper (11:17-34); (2) to correct
false teaching concerning the resurrection (ch. 15); and (3) to answer questions addressed to
Paul in the letter that had been brought to him (see previous paragraph).
The letter revolves
around the theme of problems in Christian conduct in the church. It thus has to
do with progressive sanctification, the continuing development of a holy
character. Obviously Paul was personally concerned with the Corinthians'
problems, revealing a true pastor's (shepherd's) heart.
This letter continues
to be timely for the church today, both to instruct and to inspire. Christians
are still powerfully influenced by their cultural environment, and most of the
questions and problems that confronted the church at Corinth are still very
much with us -- problems like immaturity, instability, divisions, jealousy and
envy, lawsuits, marital difficulties, sexual immorality and misuse of spiritual
gifts. Yet in spite of this concentration on problems, Paul's letter contains
some of the most familiar and beloved chapters in the entire Bible -- e.g.,
ch. 13 (on love) and ch. 15 (on resurrection).
I.
Introduction (1:1-9)
A.
The Fact of the
Divisions (1:10-17)
III.
Moral and Ethical
Disorders in the Life of the Church (chs. 5-6)
IV.
Instruction on
Marriage (ch. 7)
V.
Instruction on
Questionable Practices (8:1;11:1)
VI.
Instruction on Public
Worship (11:2;14:40)
VII.
Instruction on the
Resurrection (ch. 15)
