November 20, 2015                 1 Corinthians 1:1 – 17

Download discussion questions:  1 Corinthians 1_1-17 no divisions

Paul spent a year and a half in Corinth in a ministry that appears successful (a church was established) and turbulent (the disturbance described in Acts 18).  He left the city around AD 51-52 and wrote this letter about three years later.[1]  The letter (followed at a later time by his second letter) is apparently his response to reports that had reached him about the state of the church.

Paul begins this first letter to the church at Corinth with an assertion of his status, “called as an apostle.”  Then he elaborates the authority implied by that word:  “by the will of God.”  As one member of our discussion group pointed out, the tone of Paul’s opening sounds a bit defensive.

In the series we have been going through (the letters Paul wrote to the churches he established) we have looked at Galatians and the two letters to the church at Thessalonica.  Consider Paul’s opening to those letters along with this Corinthian letter:

The opening in 1 Corinthians sounds similar to his beginning in the letter to the Galatians.  Both have a decidedly different tone from the two letters to Thessalonica.  Recalling our discussion on the earlier letters may give a preview of this one.  Galatians expressed Paul’s exasperation with a church that seemed to be forgetting about grace and was being drawn back into following the law.  The tone of the letter comes across in his challenge, “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?” (Galatians 3:1).

The two Thessalonian letters begin much more personably, and those letters are much more affectionate, expressing Paul’s closeness with the church.  He compares his relationship with them to a nursing mother (1 Thessalonians 2:7) and an encouraging father (v. 11).

If the opening lines are any indication, we might expect that the letter to the Corinthians will be more like the Galatian letter than the Thessalonian.  Paul wastes no time before establishing his authority to say hard things to them later on.

The letter starts on a very positive note.  The group spent a few minutes noting the affirmations (the “atta-boys” as one member expressed it).  The list is significant:  sanctified, called, recipients of grace, enriched, confirmed, not lacking, eagerly awaiting Christ, blameless.  At this point (as the letter was read aloud to the congregation, the usual method of delivering Paul’s messages) the church may have been feeling pretty good about themselves.  Listen to all the great things Paul (an apostle, after all) has to say about us!

Then comes what is verse 10 in our Bibles:  “Now I exhort you…”  Not everything in the church was perfect.  Paul immediately addresses what appears to be a serious problem of factionalism, following particular teachers:  Paul, Apollos, Cephas (Peter).  We considered what the differences might have been.  Presumably all the teachers had the same message, what Paul calls “the cross of Christ” in verse 17, i.e., the Gospel.  Perhaps there were differences in style, maybe even different degrees of relationships.  For whatever reason, as one person commented, the church members were more focused on the vehicle than the message.  Apparently some even tried to distinguish themselves as “super saints” by claiming the top allegiance:  “I am of Christ.”  That approach is just as divisive, an exclusive attitude that separated them into one more faction.  The parallels with modern day denominationalism (including, “I of non-denominational” superiority) are too obvious to need more comment.

The fact that Paul mentions himself is interesting.  Without that inclusion (the first on the list) he might have been accused of criticizing the other factions.  But he makes it very clear (“Paul was not crucified for you, was he?”) that no faction should overshadow the Gospel.  Even his loyal followers in Corinth needed to reevaluate their loyalties.   “You should all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and the same judgment” (v. 10b).  They needed to see their divisions as a sign of immaturity, an incompleteness in the outworking of their faith:

One person raised the question about Paul’s source of information, “Chloe’s people” in verse 11.  Did that put Chloe and his family or friends on the spot?  Why would Paul say that?  Our consensus seemed to be that Chloe was respected and known, and Paul wanted to be clear that he was responding to real, not imagined problems in the church.

Another question came up:  does “you all agree” (v. 10) mean an end to discussions or differences of opinion?  One person recalled his childhood experience in a mainline denomination, where the confirmation classes were an indoctrination into the distinctive aspects of that church’s doctrinal positions.  Does “you all agree” mean an end to thought and questions and dialog?  (Which, by the way, would certainly be an end to this group!)  After further discussion (we didn’t stop!) Paul’s words would seem to encourage dialog and even honest debate.  If different opinions are only based on “I of Paul” and “I of Cephas,” then there is no discussion.  The conversation is over when we establish each other’s labels.  But when we get past the party pigeon-holes, then the real discussion can begin.  We can explore why we have differences and where we are in agreement.  We can discover that we are absolutely in accord on the cross of Christ, but we see other details of Scripture differently.  We can study Scripture together fearlessly looking for God’s truth.  Sometimes denominational study groups are forced to carefully avoid any “unacceptable” interpretations of the Bible.  I remember being in a group once when the leader of the group responded to an awkward question with, “Well, we know it can’t mean that.”  Ideas that don’t fit with “I of Apollos” or “I of Cephas” are out of bounds in that environment.  The freedom from those partisan attitudes enables us to discuss our differences.  We are of the “same mind” about core issues of the Gospel, and we are free to challenge each other and examine our beliefs to dig deeper into our faith.

[1] Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987), 5.