1 Corinthians 1
1 Corinthians 1:1-3 Sanctified is past tense, but called to be a holy people implies an ongoing activity. Or perhaps (since this is the same Greek root word, hagios, with the “to be” inferred) this is simply say that they were sanctified therefore they are called holy people. Regardless of this linguistic nit, Paul calls for both grace and peace from the Father and from Jesus for them. Is this merely a polite greeting, or an invocation of divine blessing? Can we infer that a holy life leads to peace with God, that they are indivisibly the same thing?
1 Corinthians 1:4-9 Paul thanks God with Eucharistic (Strong’s g2168) worship because of His grace through Christ in blessing the Corinthians. They are focused on spiritual gifts, which is the primary topic of this letter, but God is faithful to keep them in fellowship, constant companionship, with Jesus to keep them until they meet Him face to face. That is God’s grace - that even if we get focused on some specific aspect of the faith, He keeps our priorities straight.
1 Corinthians 1:10-17 The primary focus of Paul in this letter is that the Corinthians focus on Jesus and not on different aspects of the faith. As long as they prioritize the phase of faith they are in, they are spiritual infants. It is not that Paul is saying these things are not to be part of the faith, only to recognize that they are part, not the whole. Jesus is the whole center. Ecumenism is based on Christ alone, hence one of Satan’s strategies is to put the aspects of the faith ahead of Jesus Himself as the focus. Focusing on individuals led them, or on theological points, or on religious practices, or on the exercise of spiritual gifts to learn and grow is not to be allowed to give these things priority over Jesus. One aspect of this challenge is that if our individual faith is based on the revelation we receive from Christ, and every person’s revelation is unique to him or her, how do we reconcile differences between us?
This challenge is similar to the question of how we reconcile personal experience or personal revelation of God with the canon of Scripture and the logical understanding of it (theology). The answer Paul will give is synergy - each works with the other to create an outcome that is greater than the sum of the parts. The proclaiming of the good news about Jesus works together with the ritual of water baptism to bring spiritual rebirth and life to us. An adult human is more than the ova and sperm joined together - he or she is the result of decades of growth and development.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 Paul now elaborates on this last question from a slightly different perspective. How do we reconcile earthly wisdom with divine revelation? In quoting Isaiah 29:14, he invokes the history of God speaking to Ariel, David’s city, and its people, the woes that will come on them because they are neglecting God’s revealed truth to follow human reasoning to dark and evil outcomes. The crucifixion of Jesus for sins demonstrates the transcendence of supernatural, eternal power over human and earthly wisdom. Human science is no more able to save people from sin and its consequences than human wisdom (psychology, philosophy) because the eternal continuum of which our space-time universe is a tiny subset has dimensions and laws that are incomprehensible to us.
It might be like trying to explain how GPS works for navigation to a first century Greek who is only acquainted with maps drawn on parchment. The important point is that when GPS gets us to our destination, it is logical to use it, even though we don’t understand how satellites tens of thousands of kilometers away can help us know which road to turn on. The gospel saves us from our sins when we receive Jesus and rely on Him, even though the how of that salvation is incomprehensible to us.
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Paul closes this chapter with a “therefore”. God sovereignly chose the foolish, weak, and lowly of the world to shame the wise, strong, and high-ranking of this world. He did this through Christ, who is to be our all-in-all. Therefore we should boast in the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:24) The world will reap the fruit of the sin they have sowed, and we and they can lament those outcomes, but it is the Lord we should respect, honor, and worship.
1 Corinthians 2
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 God’s power is in Jesus, not in His gifts. They are manifestations of the Presence of Jesus. Jesus came and died because it was the only way to heed and receive God’s transcendent wisdom. Even so, do we receive Him?
1 Corinthians 2:6-10 Paul’s focus is on the wisdom in God’s transcendent mystery - the incarnation and the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Isaiah’s plea was for God to come down, even though His people still sin. (Isaiah 64:4) This was fulfilled in Jesus. The incomprehensible love of God was revealed as fulfilled in Jesus through the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:11-16 The Holy Spirit freely reveals God’s truth, not human theology. Not that theology is bad, but humans make mistakes. The Holy Spirit explains it to us. Isaiah’s plea for the Messiah to come was thus fulfilled. (Isaiah 40:13) The Holy Spirit reveals the mind of Christ to us.
1 Corinthians 3
1 Corinthians 3:1-9 The metaphor of milk vs. solid food was also used in the epistle to the Hebrews, the context there being having senses trained to discern good and evil. In describing solid food, the text that follows refers to Abraham’s offering of Isaac, and Abraham’s interaction with Melchizedek, both specifically pointing to Jesus’ roles. He was the offering for our sin, and He is the great high priest of a new covenant. (Hebrews 5:12-14) Here, Paul continues/repeats his concern about following human leaders. This is the way the world works, but in God’s kingdom, we follow Him, not His workers. In the modern day we might replace the names of Paul, Apollos, and Cephas (Peter) with the Pope, Martin Luther, Greg Laurie, or Robert Barron. All faithfully serving God, but they are men, not God. The church of God is not like the political governance of human nations, because each believer has direct connection to Jesus. Our over-arching loyalty is to Him. The fact that we need teachers to help us understand what He is saying and doing does not mean that we are devoted to these teachers, only that we listen to and learn from them.
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 The work of God in our lives is built like a building (as a metaphor). The foundation that is laid is Jesus. Nothing else. What He has done in our lives, and our reception of it. Just as a physical building must have a firm foundation, Jesus has through both His atoning sacrifice, and His direct intervention in our lives, built a firm foundation for our eternal life. And then the building above the foundation, the part people see, is either built of enduring materials, or of perishable materials. By the light of day we can see what a building looks like - well-built or flimsy, expensive or cheap, but the real unveiling of the building’s quality will be on the Day of Judgment. Fire destroys wood, hay, and straw. The foundation remains, because it was laid by Jesus, but the structure survives and the builder is rewarded, only if built of enduring materials. These materials are not allegiance to a human leader, but the work of Christ in our life.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Paul goes further, in explaining that this building he is talking about is God’s temple, that the Holy Spirit dwells in. (See also 6:19) The church, the fellowship of those who have received Jesus into their lives, is God’s holy and sacred temple. Treat it with respect! There are consequences for damaging or destroying God’s temple.
1 Corinthians 3:18-23 The “wisdom” of the world leads people to political factions, and following individuals amounts to idolatry. This is foolishness in God’s eyes, and in His kingdom. One of Job’s comforters correctly pointed out that God catches the wise in their own craftiness. (Job 5:13) As the psalmist waxes eloquent about God’s judgment on the nations, he simply says that the Lord knows the futility of the thoughts of the “wise”. (Psalm 94:11) The problem is ultimately not the leaders (Paul, Apollos, Peter), but people’s view of the leaders’ position and role. Ultimately, everything good that is ours is from Jesus as a gift, not something we receive by human endeavor or wisdom.
