1 Corinthians 1

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First Corinthians 1 opens Paul's letter to a gifted, divided, and worldly church with thanks for their grace and a plea for their unity. They have split into factions around Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and Christ, and Paul answers with a question: "Is Christ divided?" He then lays down the letter's foundation, the message of the cross, which is foolishness to the perishing and the power of God to the saved. Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom; Paul preaches Christ crucified. God chose the foolish, weak, and lowly things of the world so that no one may boast except in the Lord.

Apri commento del capitolo

First Corinthians 1 is addressed to a church with every gift and no unity. Paul begins graciously, thanking God for the grace at work in Corinth and assuring the church that God will sustain them to the end. Then he names the problem. Chloe's people have told him that the congregation has split into camps, each claiming a leader: Paul, Apollos, Cephas, even Christ as one party among others. Paul's response is a series of questions that expose the absurdity. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? He is relieved to have baptized almost no one there, because his job was to preach, and to preach in a way that did not empty the cross of its power by dressing it in clever words. From there the chapter becomes the letter's foundation. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing and the power of God to those being saved. Jews want signs, Greeks want wisdom, and Paul offers a crucified Messiah, a stumbling block to one and a joke to the other, and the power and wisdom of God to anyone who is called. Then he asks the Corinthians to look at themselves. Not many of them were wise, powerful, or well born. God chose them precisely so that no one could boast in his presence. If anyone boasts, Paul says, quoting Jeremiah, let him boast in the Lord.

Passi chiave

1 Corinthians 1:10-13 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Isaiah 29:14 Jeremiah 9:23-24

Historical and literary context

Corinth was a wealthy, cosmopolitan port with a reputation for status-seeking and sexual license, and its church, founded by Paul around AD 50, reflected the city. Traveling teachers were judged by rhetorical polish, and the church had begun ranking its leaders the same way. Paul writes from Ephesus a few years later, having heard reports from Chloe's household. His quotations of Isaiah 29 and Jeremiah 9 frame the Corinthian problem as the ancient problem of human wisdom and boasting confronted by God.

How the chapter unfolds

Verses 1 to 3 greet the church as sanctified and called to be holy, with all who call on the Lord everywhere. Verses 4 to 9 give thanks for their gifts and promise that God will sustain them to the end. Verses 10 to 17 name the divisions, the party slogans, Paul's relief that he baptized so few, and his commission to preach rather than baptize, lest the cross be emptied. Verses 18 to 25 set the message of the cross against the wisdom of the world, with Jews demanding signs and Greeks seeking wisdom. Verses 26 to 31 point to the Corinthians' own calling, not many wise, powerful, or noble, as proof that God chooses the lowly so that boasting can only be in the Lord.

Why this chapter matters

The chapter contains the New Testament's classic statement of the scandal of the cross: a crucified Messiah is a stumbling block and a joke by every human measure, and the power and wisdom of God by God's. It has shaped Christian thinking about the relation between faith and human wisdom ever since. Its diagnosis of church division as a form of boasting, attaching oneself to a leader to borrow his status, remains uncomfortably current. And its reminder that most of the first Christians were not wise, powerful, or well born is one of Scripture's clearest statements of grace as God's choice of the unimpressive.

Interpretive tension to watch

Paul seems to dismiss wisdom, yet chapter 2 will claim a wisdom "among the mature," and the letter is itself a highly reasoned argument. The wisdom he rejects is the world's wisdom used as a standard for judging God; the wisdom he commends is Christ himself, "who has become for us wisdom from God." Keeping that distinction prevents the chapter from being read as anti-intellectual.

Domande per questo capitolo

The Corinthians divided over which leader to follow. What are the equivalent slogans in churches today, and what status does each one borrow?
Why is a crucified Messiah foolishness to the world, and why does Paul refuse to make it more palatable?
Paul tells the Corinthians to consider the time of their calling: not many were wise, powerful, or noble. What does God's choice of the lowly say about how he works?

Study with context

Use this as a chapter guide, then press deeper into the text itself. The goal is to slow down observation, notice structure, and ask better questions before jumping to conclusions.

Aggiungi alle note

1 奉　神旨意，蒙召作耶稣基督使徒的保罗，同兄弟所提尼， 2 写信给在哥林多　神的教会，就是在基督耶稣里成圣、蒙召作圣徒的，以及所有在各处求告我主耶稣基督之名的人。基督是他们的[主]，也是我们的[主]。 3 愿恩惠、平安从　神我们的父并主耶稣基督归与你们。 4 我常为你们感谢我的　神，因　神在基督耶稣里所赐给你们的恩惠； 5 又因你们在他里面凡事富足，口才、知识都全备， 6 正如[我为]基督[作]的见证，在你们心里得以坚固， 7 以致你们在恩赐上没有一样不及人的，等候我们的主耶稣基督显现。 8 他也必坚固你们到底，叫你们在我们主耶稣基督的日子无可责备。 9 神是信实的，你们原是被他所召，好与他儿子—我们的主耶稣基督一同得分。 10 弟兄们，我借我们主耶稣基督的名劝你们都说一样的话。你们中间也不可分党，只要一心一意，彼此相合。 11 因为革来氏[家里]的人曾对我提起弟兄们来，说你们中间有纷争。 12 我的意思就是你们各人说：「我是属保罗的」；「我是属亚波罗的」；「我是属矶法的」；「我是属基督的」。 13 基督是分开的吗？保罗为你们钉了十字架吗？你们是奉保罗的名受了洗吗？ 14 我感谢　神，除了基利司布并该犹以外，我没有给你们一个人施洗， 15 免得有人说，你们是奉我的名受洗。 16 我也给司提反家施过洗，此外给别人施洗没有，我却记不清。 17 基督差遣我，原不是为施洗，乃是为传福音，并不用智慧的言语，免得基督的十字架落了空。 18 因为十字架的道理，在那灭亡的人为愚拙；在我们得救的人，却为　神的大能。 19 就如[经上]所记：我要灭绝智慧人的智慧，废弃聪明人的聪明。 20 智慧人在哪里？文士在哪里？这世上的辩士在哪里？　神岂不是叫这世上的智慧变成愚拙吗？ 21 世人凭自己的智慧，既不认识　神，　神就乐意用[人所当作]愚拙的道理拯救那些信的人；这就是　神的智慧了。 22 犹太人是要神迹，希腊人是求智慧， 23 我们却是传钉在十字架的基督，在犹太人为绊脚石，在外邦人为愚拙； 24 但在那蒙召的，无论是犹太人、希腊人，基督总为　神的能力，　神的智慧。 25 因　神的愚拙总比人智慧，　神的软弱总比人强壮。 26 弟兄们哪，可见你们蒙召的，按着肉体有智慧的不多，有能力的不多，有尊贵的也不多。 27 神却拣选了世上愚拙的，叫有智慧的羞愧；又拣选了世上软弱的，叫那强壮的羞愧。 28 神也拣选了世上卑贱的，被人厌恶的，以及那无有的，为要废掉那有的， 29 使一切有血气的，在　神面前一个也不能自夸。 30 但你们得在基督耶稣里是本乎　神，　神又使他成为我们的智慧、公义、圣洁、救赎。 31 如[经上]所记：「夸口的，当指着主夸口。」

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