First letter to the Corinthians
The Cross, Love and the Resurrection
Reading time approx 1,5 hour
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Core BibleIntroduction: This letter has sometimes been called “the problem letter” because it addresses several issues in the church at Corinth, but while that is true, it contains much more than that. Here we find teaching on the resurrection of the dead in chapter fifteen. The most beautiful description of true love ever written, not only in the Bible but in all literature, is found in chapter thirteen!
Paul founded the church in Corinth during his second missionary journey around 52 AD. He remained there for a year and a half, see Acts 18:1–11. At the end of his three-year stay in Ephesus, he writes this letter to them, see 1 Cor 16:8. He has heard that there are factions and divisions in the church. This is not the first letter Paul has written. We understand that there was an earlier letter that has been lost, see 1 Corinthians 5:9-10. The Corinthians have also written to Paul, see 1 Corinthians 7:1.
Corinth was a large trading city with about 50,000 inhabitants from many different peoples. It was a religious center with many temples. The goddess of love, Aphrodite, was worshipped here, and according to ancient sources, 1,000 prostitutes served in her temple. The city even had a Greek verb named after it, the word “korintize,” which meant to practice sexual immorality. The cult of Dionysus, whom the Romans called Bacchus, was probably very large in Corinth and may explain many of the problems that existed in this particular church. Dionysus was a wine god, and people drank themselves drunk on wine. There was dancing, ecstasy, speaking in tongues, prophecies, and all sexual relations were permitted.
Structure: It is likely that Paul is not writing in a purely sequential manner; instead, he is using a chiastic construction. This is a common Hebrew writing style, where the subject is repeated in reverse order and the main point is in the middle. The pattern is found on several levels, both in larger sections and within them. It is clear in the teaching on spiritual gifts discussed in chapters 12 and 14, and in the middle of these is a chapter on how the gifts should be used in love. In this division, the letter has five parts that together give three main themes:
1. The cross and the resurrection, chapters 1-4 and 15.
2. Men and women in the family and worship, chapters 4-7 and 11-14.
3. How to live as a Christian in a fallen world, chapters 8-11.
If, on the other hand, one chooses to see a sequential structure in which Paul answers questions, the letter can be divided into three parts:
1. Response to Chloe's report, chapters 1-4.
2. Response to rumors of immorality, chapters 5-6.
3. Response to questions from previous letters, chapters 7-16.
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Paul receives disturbing reports from the church in Corinth and writes letters from Ephesus, where he is staying.
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The main street in Corinth. In the background, you can see Acrocorinth, which rises 1640 feet (500 meters) above sea level, where the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, once stood.