Hey readers! Thanks for checking in. Conversation of late with some of my favorite, most intentional and thoughtful Christian friends, has led me to the book of 1 Corinthians. Through the next few posts (which may or may not be few or far between as we dive into moving!), I’ll share some of the treasure that I discover in the pages of this book as I study. As always, your thoughts (via the comment section or email), are deeply appreciated.
1 Corinthians, Part One: By way of Introduction
Here we find ourselves, in chapter one of the first of two letters we have from Paul to the church “that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours…” (1 Corinthians 1:2, ESV*).
There is SO much in this book, so much that is rich and beautiful, and even a good deal that is disorienting and confusing. Some verses in 1 Corinthians are so well known and loved, that they are well stocked on the shelves of Christian clichés. Others, however, are fuel for the furnaces of long-standing debate and contention within church walls and denominational organizations. Understanding this, I think it is really important to spend significant time in the opening of this letter, where, as I’ve discovered is typical of the apostle Paul, we will find the backbone from which the rest of the book grows.
Let’s begin by doing a quick analysis of the first portion of this book, highlighting important and continuing themes as laid out for us by Paul.
1 Corinthians: An Introduction
After introducing himself and claiming his apostleship, Paul says “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours…” (1 Cor.1:2).
This verse hit me in the funny bone. In summary, this is how it comes across to me: ‘to y’all who are made alive in the life of Jesus, who are supposed to be living like brothers and sisters united with all the others who call on Jesus, who is, by the way, as much their Lord as He is ours.’ This may just be the mom in me, but I’m definitely picking up on a “stop treating your brothers and sisters like that!” kind of mood here.
In step with that general vibe, there are a couple of big themes that stood out to me:
1. As Christians, our identity is in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
2. As Christians, our identity in Jesus demands loving unity (“togetherness”) with other Jesus followers, in acknowledgement of the authenticity of their faith and of their access to and belonging to Jesus as Lord.
Let’s trace those points through the first few chapters. After writing the greeting in which Paul subtly calls to attention disgruntled, angry, and possibly very misbehaving hearts (he seems to be indirectly challenging an “us-only” religiosity), he moves on to validate his readers’ faith. In verses 4-9, he dwells on their identity in Christ, giving thanks for their faith, confirming their knowledge and spiritual giftings, and finally, reminding them that the God who called them into this family of believers, is faithful to sustain His children until the end, and is faithful to preserve our justification through the ups and downs of every conflict. Paul is acknowledging their status in the family of God.
If we plan to approach the teachings found in this book with open minds and hearts, we need to take hold of these truths for ourselves. Left to the security of only our own understanding, we will not be in a secure enough place to grapple honestly with the texts up ahead.
Following directly on the heels of his warm note of encouragement, we find ourselves immersed in an intensely confrontational sequence of appeals (ch.1-ch.3). At the heart of these appeals is an earnest concern that the Corinthians understand the comprehensive significance of the cross of Christ, and how all their interactions with one-another should flow from this reality. Submitting to Jesus as fellow Christians, means uniting in the prioritization of the truth and power of the gospel under the headship of Christ, as His body (1:2, 9, 10-13, 17-18, 24, 2:1-3, 3:11). This attitude contrasts sharply with the quarrelsome attitude of uniting against other Christians, using positions of social power, religiosity, or culturally appealing eloquence to undermine them or to validate ourselves (1:14-15, 28-31, 2:13, 3:18-23). The apostle Paul points out the absurdity of “following” this or that Christian leader (himself included) as validation for fighting with other Christians, or of establishing moral and religious practices on the cultural “wisdom” of the time, stating that it is none other than jealousy, strife, and immaturity, rooted in a fleshly oriented worldview that is leading to these wrong attitudes and behavior within the church at Corinth (1:11-17, 1:18, 2:6, 2:14, 3:1-7). Looking at chapters 1-3, it appears (to me) that there were Christians in Corinth who were using the names of “Paul,” “Apollos,” “Cephas,” or even “Jesus,” and cultural ideologies, as official stamps to authenticate their own personal religious convictions and practices. Arguing that they followed so-and-so, gave them grounds for self-superiority and religious power over other, “weaker” brothers and sisters (who will be mentioned in coming chapters). Showing that sexual promiscuity was a socially desirable aspect of worship, freed them to experiment with cultural sexual practices in the context of the congregation.
Paul directly addresses the core of these ways of thinking throughout chapters 1-3, leveling the religious and moral playing field with the Gospel of Christ. The wisdom of man is confounded in the reality of the Creator crucified, and the power of man is made silly when all things are made ours (3:18-23). We can create or erase all the moral laws we’d like, but if our reasoning emphasizes the power or wisdom of man over the equalizing reality of the Gospel of Christ Jesus, our religion will be fleshly. It will be driven by jealousy and strife, defined by argumentative attitudes, focused on self-satisfying behaviors at the expense of others. It will be characterized by a focus on bending others to our religious standards, and on judging the behaviors and giftings of others. In contrast to this social ethic that continually calculates everything in relation to one’s power, status, and even sexual potential (a very culturally relevant tendency for the Corinthians that Paul will get into later), Paul calls the Corinthians to remember the ethics of the Kingdom of Christ:
“God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (1:30-31).
At the end of chapter 3, Paul restates what he said in the first verses of chapter 1, the gist of which is this: those who call upon the name of Jesus are one body, united in Christ, equally God’s, equally heirs in the inheritance of eternal life (3:21-23). There is only one thing in which we boast, and that is Jesus Christ. There are no divisions of power and status that man can employ that Jesus has not overcome in the Gospel.
So, two opposing realities have been presented to us in these introductory chapters: a reality in which man determines meaning and holiness, and a reality in which the Gospel determines meaning and holiness. A life lived in bondage to the first is defined by labor, anger, exhaustion, and disappointment, while a life spent embracing the second is colored with the confident love that only comes with hope and joy. Personally, I think most Christians live a bit tangled up in the first, with sparks of invigorating hope breaking their various bonds as they come to know Jesus more and more. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to be a Christian, with other Christians, orbiting around the life-giving reality of the Gospel; Christians who are united in love for one-another, unthreatened by each other’s gifts, weaknesses, and strengths, because our focus is unalterably fixed on the source of our life. Don’t you want to worship and serve freely with one-another, trusting that the Holy Spirit is more than capable of bringing life and grace to those who love and follow Him?
With that, I’d better wrap up. Paul has spent three chapters directly confronting the Corinthians with their small, fleshly approach to Christianity. He’s challenged their thinking, but not left them without hope. In the midst of his direct condemnation of their worldly attitudes towards religion and one-another (and themselves), he has gifted them with the stabilizing reality of Jesus. In view of this real Savior, he will proceed to look at how the Gospel penetrates matters of conscience, personal and corporate, and will challenge the Corinthians to centralize their thinking around Jesus. Please, go to your Bible, and read 1 Corinthians! Our readings and thoughts may be different, and I’d love to hear your perspectives as I continue working through the text!
*All Scripture quotes are in the ESV translation.
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