Commentary on First Corinthians -- General Comments
by Dave Brown
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1st Corinthians 1-5
1st Corinthians 6-10
1st Corinthians 11-16
General Comments
This letter was written by the apostle Paul to the Christians at the church at Corinth, that Paul with other new converts had established by preaching the gospel, as we read in Acts 18. He wrote it from Ephesus shortly after leaving Corinth (1 Cor. 16:8). Paul spend 18 months at Corinth (Acts 18:11), during which time he apparently imparted to them many spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 1:7). Nevertheless, there were many issues at Corinth that Paul had written them about previously (1 Cor. 5:9) and now once again to attempt to address issues that had been brought to his attention by correspondence and perhaps by direct contact with some Christians who had been to Corinth.
We will often say things like: "Paul said this, or Paul inferred that." It would be laborious for us to say "the Holy Spirit said this through Paul" -- but this is what we mean. So we ask the readers to please recognize that we do not believe that any of the books of the bible are mere works of men. They are scripture, and they are inspired of God. By Paul's own assertion (1 Cor. 14:37): "If any man thinks himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him take knowledge of the things which I write unto you, that they are the commandment of the Lord." So, unless we believe Paul to be lying or perhaps insane, we must believe that these words were not just things he made up out of his own imagination. This is explained in more detail in Chapter 2. Thus, with this in mind, but for purposes of expediency, we will say that these things came from Paul.
Go to 1st Cor 1-5
1st Corinthians 1-5
1st Corinthians 6-10
1st Corinthians 11-16
General Comments
This letter was written by the apostle Paul to the Christians at the church at Corinth, that Paul with other new converts had established by preaching the gospel, as we read in Acts 18. He wrote it from Ephesus shortly after leaving Corinth (1 Cor. 16:8). Paul spend 18 months at Corinth (Acts 18:11), during which time he apparently imparted to them many spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 1:7). Nevertheless, there were many issues at Corinth that Paul had written them about previously (1 Cor. 5:9) and now once again to attempt to address issues that had been brought to his attention by correspondence and perhaps by direct contact with some Christians who had been to Corinth.
We will often say things like: "Paul said this, or Paul inferred that." It would be laborious for us to say "the Holy Spirit said this through Paul" -- but this is what we mean. So we ask the readers to please recognize that we do not believe that any of the books of the bible are mere works of men. They are scripture, and they are inspired of God. By Paul's own assertion (1 Cor. 14:37): "If any man thinks himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him take knowledge of the things which I write unto you, that they are the commandment of the Lord." So, unless we believe Paul to be lying or perhaps insane, we must believe that these words were not just things he made up out of his own imagination. This is explained in more detail in Chapter 2. Thus, with this in mind, but for purposes of expediency, we will say that these things came from Paul.
Go to 1st Cor 1-5