1 Corinthians Blog 1

These are basic facts of 1 Corinthians. The apostle Paul wrote 1 Corinthians to the Church in Corinth most likely from Ephesus. First Corinthians was co-authored by Sosthenes who “may well have been the synagogue official mentioned in Acts 18:17” (Sampley, 2035). This book is an epistle that argues what a Christian is supposed to look like (chapters 1-4), what a community is not supposed to be doing sexually (chapters 5-7), what the proper view of meals (chapters 8-11), what the community should be doing in regard to spiritual gifts (chapters 12-14), and what the term “resurrection” means. First Corinthians was written around 53-55 AD (Sampley 2035).


At the time that 1 Corinthians was written and delivered to the church, Corinth “was one of the major urban centers of the ancient Mediterranean and one of the most culturally diverse cities in the empire” (Keener 451). It was also known for its promiscuous activities. The people of the church in Corinth were not getting along with each other. The Church in Corinth was mostly Gentiles who had previously been involved with idol worshiping.

It is thought that 1 Corinthians is actually the second letter that Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth. The topic of the “presumably lost” letter was “how to maintain holiness (5:9-11), and they had written him, asking about several issues” (Sampley 2036). Between the two letters to Corinth and the missing one, we can see how Paul has become the spiritual father to the members of the Corinthian church, even as he “uses sarcasm and irony (cf. 4:8-13) and rebuke (cf. 11:17; 15:34)” (Sampley 2036).

There are several parts in this book (and of course others) that I noticed this amazing contrast between God and humans. I think the reason that this read-through of 1 Corinthians brought this topic out into the open consciousness of my mind was partly because of the Finger of God film where one of the people being interviewed cited 1 Corinthians 1 to back what he was saying about what a human considers foolish which is 1 Corinthians 1:27a). But that whole section is full of God’s wisdom. “For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25 NRSV) and “But 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, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:27-31). So try to wrap your mind around the awesomeness of God. Then check out 1 Corinthians 2:14-15 which says “Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny.”

Only those who are in God have true wisdom, and not nearly all true wisdom. True wisdom to humans looks foolish because it is so wise that we cannot comprehend it. God’s foolishness is still wiser than our wisdom. Therefore, if we are in God and He is in us, then we get a little wiser. In that small portion of added wisdom we all look foolish to the world. The gospel sounds foolish to those who do not accept it as Truth. A man comes and dies for everyone. He died young. He died as if He were simply a rebel who was simply a crazy radical.

So Halloween is over and Christmas is on everyone’s minds now. Well, sometimes we think of Thanksgiving, but Christmas is still right there. When I read through 1 Corinthians and picked out the previous verses about God’s wisdom, which I treasure, I was listening to music. My mp3 player was on ‘random’ and every once in a while a Christmas song will come on. This time it was “The Rebel Jesus” by Bebo Norman from his album From the Realms of Glory which came out in 2007:


All the streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season
And the merchants’ windows are all bright
With the faces of the children
And the families hurrying to their homes
As the sky darkens and freezes
They'll be gathering around the hearths and tales
Giving thanks for all God's graces
And the birth of the rebel Jesus
Well they call him by the Prince of Peace
And they call him by the Savior
And they pray to him upon the seas
And in every bold endeavor
And they fill his churches with their pride and gold
As their faith in him increases
But they've turned the nature that I worshipped in
“From a temple to a robbers den”
In the words of the rebel Jesus

We guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why they are poor
They get the same as the rebel Jesus

But please forgive me if I seem
To take the tone of judgment
For I've no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In this life of hardship and of earthly toil
There's a need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure
And I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel Jesus.
(Emphasis added)

Maybe we should listen and follow the example of the rebel Jesus. Yes the world killed Him, but in God’s eyes…think about it. God is the one who can truly determine what is acceptable and what is not because He is the one who determines what is wise and what is foolish. Nothing foolish is worth doing, but you have to make sure that you are following God’s measuring stick of what is foolish and what is not.
WORKES CITED
Keener, Craig S. “1 Corinthians,” Pages 451-490 in The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993.
Sampley J. Paul. “The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians.” Pages 2035-2039 in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible with the Apocrypha. Edited by Walter J. Harrelson et al. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003.