In Corinth you could find the cults of the gods of Egypt, Rome and Greece. The temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, stood atop the Acrocorinth. "A famous temple to Aphrodite had stood on the summit of Acrocorinth in the Classical Age... It had fallen into ruins by Paul's time, but successors to its 1,000 cult prostitutes continued to ply their profession in the city below. Many of them were no doubt housed in the lofts above the 33 wine shops uncovered in the modern excavations. Corinth was a city catering to sailors and traveling salesmen. Even by the Classical Age it had earned an unsavory reputation for its libertine atmosphere; to call someone 'a Corinthian lass' was to impugn her morals. It may well be that one of Corinth's attractions for Paul was precisely this reputation of immorality." (The Biblical World In Pictures).
The city was filled with sailors who gladly spent their money there. The name "Corinth" became a synonym for immorality. This temple gave Corinth it's reputation for gross immorality of which Paul often spoke (1 Cor. 6:9-20; 2 Cor. 12:20-21). "She had a reputation for commercial prosperity, but she was also a byword for evil living. The very word korinthiazesthai, to live like a Corinthian, had become a part of the Greek language, and meant to live with drunken and immoral debauchery ... Aelian, the late Greek writer, tells us that if ever a Corinthian was shown upon the stage in a Greek play he was shown drunk. The very name Corinth was synonymous with debauchery and there was one source of evil in the city which was known all over the civilized world. (William Barclay, The Letters To The Corinthians, p. 2-3).
“One of the fascinating subjects in the life of the apostle is the exchange of communications and news between him and his converts in Corinth. The communications revealed that there were factions forming in the branch with different views regarding moral conduct and doctrine. Some of the converts were assuming a libertine or freethinking attitude with respect to the doctrines which had been taught to them by Paul and the missionaries who worked with him. Some were defending loose sexual standards that were rampant in the notorious city. These problems came into being because of the background of the new converts and the conditions of the time and place in which they were living. There were reactions to the new faith which had been taught to them against the old background which had been part of their former conduct and thinking.
“It was his concern over these disappointing happenings and also the questions that had been asked of him in the communications that caused Paul to write a letter to the saints at Corinth at Easter time, the anniversary of the resurrection of Jesus.” (Howard W. Hunter in CR, Apr. 1969, p. 136.)
In addition to rebuking the Corinthians for their loose manner of living, Paul wrote for at least two other reasons: (1) to correct certain misapprehensions which had arisen from a former letter, now lost, and (2) to answer certain questions posed by the Corinthians in their return letter, also lost. Unfortunately we can only surmise from Paul’s comments in First Corinthians as to the contents of his first letter or the reply thereto ( 1 Corinthians 7:1 ). We are thus in much the same position as one who has found an old letter: we are privileged to read only one side of the correspondence and must guess what the questions and issues were that prompted the reply given.
As with Paul’s other epistles, so with First Corinthians: no precise date can be placed upon it. However, Paul’s reference to tarrying at Ephesus “until Pentecost” (i.e., April–May) and his expressed expectation to “winter” with the saints in Corinth ( 1 Corinthians 16:6–8 ) seems to indicate that the epistle was written some time in the early spring. Putting these statements together with what else is known concerning Paul’s life, we may tentatively assign a date of sometime during March or April of the year A.D. 57.
Chapter 1
Vs. 1 - Sosthenes - See Acts 18:12-17?
Vs. 10 - A plea for unity- Note the cross references.
Vs. 14 - Where the size of a congregation permitted, the Jewish synagogue was presided over by a college of elders ( Luke 7:3 ), who in turn were under control of one who was “the chief of the synagogue” ( Luke 8:41 ; 13:14 ). Crispus was one of these. He was in charge of the synagogue in Corinth at the time that Paul ministered the gospel in that city. He was converted by Paul’s words and shortly thereafter baptized, with his household. Paul mentions him specifically as being one of the few he baptized in Corinth.
Vs. 17 - Some have used this scripture passage to support the notion that Paul saw no real significance to the act of baptism and did not consider it to be essential in God’s sight. To argue thus is to ignore the many other passages in which Paul speaks of the ordinance not only in an approving way but in a manner to suggest its absolute necessity for all who would enjoy a valid relationship with Christ. (See Romans 6:3, 4 ; Ephesians 4 , 5 ; Galatians 3:27 ; Colossians 2:12 .) The context in which Paul’s statement appears is that of chastising the Corinthian saints for their tendency to stir up division and strife, even on the smallest of issues. He begs them to cease such practices and to be “joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” ( 1 Corinthians 1:10 .) The Greek word for divisions, schismata, is very expressive of Paul’s true feelings. It was as if the great apostle was so thoroughly ashamed of such factionalism that he refused to be identified with it. The test of one’s effectiveness as a representative of Jesus Christ is not how many he baptizes but how well he spreads the word of God so that all who will hear and obey may do so.
Vs. 23. In setting forth the idea that the crucifixion was a “stumblingblock” to the Jews, Paul used a metaphor common to both Greeks and Hebrews. The word in the original Greek is skandalon, the same from which we derive our word scandal. The skandalon was the movable triggerstick of a trap or snare which, when struck by the foot, caused the striker to be caught by the trap. It is often used in the New Testament as a symbol of Christ because his appearance and brief sojourn among men was so different from that which the Jews anticipated. They expected a mighty king of glory who would throw off the hated yoke of Rome in one miraculous stroke and establish a messianic kingdom in which faithful Jews would reign supreme. As far as many of the Jews were concerned, Jesus was nailed to a cross just as hundreds of others had been. This was indeed the triggerstick that caused them to stumble and fall into the trap. The prophet Jacob in the Book of Mormon also spoke of this stumbling ( Jacob 4:14, 15 ).
Vs. 26-27 - Examples? See also 2 Nephi 9:28-29; D&C 35:13; 124:1, 17-24 & DNTC, 2:316–17.)
Vs. 28 - Here is an example of how words can change through the centuries by acquiring a meaning almost opposite to that which they originally conveyed. In the English of the 1600s, base meant “lowly” or “humble,” whereas today it carries with it the idea of “lewd and evil.”
Chapter 2 - Vs. 6 & 7 - For centuries the Greeks had glorified wisdom and man’s ability to achieve. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle—these were the men of reverence. Even the very word philosopher means “lover of wisdom.” But Paul’s point is that true wisdom comes only from God, and that therefore only those who are spiritually minded can understand and receive true wisdom. Notice the phrases Paul uses in contrasting the two kinds of wisdom in 1 Corinthians 2:6, 7 . The core of Paul’s whole line of reasoning is summed up in 1 Corinthians 2:14 . The unspiritual (or natural) man misperceives truth because it is perceived only by the Spirit.
Chapter 3 - Unity & humility are again emphasized in this chapter. (How often? How important?
Vs. 16 & 17 - "In a place where several temples were dedicated to Apollo, Aphrodite, and others, Paul taught about the temple of the true God which is the Church Of Jesus Christ. The temple of God spoken of in these verses is the body of believers in Christ, that is, his Church, and the Spirit of God dwelleth among or within you. If any man defiles the temple of God-meaning an apostate who distorts the doctrine and draws away disciples after him-he will be destroyed by God. (Ogden p. 132)
Vs. 19-23 - Who do you choose, Scholars or apostles and prophets.
Chapter 4 - Vs. 16 Oh that we could be able to say, "be ye followers of me".
Chapter 5 - 9 of Paul's 14 Epistles warn about sexual morality. Here Paul reprimanded the Corinthian Saints in the strongest of terms for allowing a case of incest to go uncorrected. He commanded in the name of the Lord that the guilty party be excommunicated. Paul said, “Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” (5:6), speaking of the damaging potential of allowing a moral problem as serious as incest to remain unpurged. It should be recalled that a few years later Paul prophesied that the abandonment of true religion would be accompanied by the acceptance of degenerate standards of moral behavior. (See 2 Tim. 3:1–4.) Bill O'Reilly- "We have shot ourselves in the foot"
Chapter 6 - D&C 58:21-22
Chapter 7 -
1. It is quite certain, based on the customs of his time, that Paul was married early in his life. (Of the 613 commandments that the Jews believed to be found in the Old Testament, marriage was the first-and Paul was at one time a strict Pharisee. Marriage was a solemn duty, and he knew it was not good of for a man to be alone) 2. We know nothing of his family. 3. Much of his council on not getting married pertained to missionaries. 4. Much pertained to his time and not to ours as we can currently understand it. 5. We should be grateful that we do not have to rely only upon the writings of Paul, in their current form, for direction on marriage. 6. There is much that Paul wrote which is very beneficial for married couples of any age. 7:3, 4, 5, 12, 13, 14, (D&C 74 &18:15-16),
Vs. 19, 20, JST 29-33 (Missionaries serve better if they are single)
Chapter 8 - Vs. 8-9, 12 - Eating meat sacrificed to idols. It is not the meat it is the example!
Chapter 9 - Paul is willing to adjust who he is to win converts. Accommodation, but not compromise.
Chapter 10 - Vs. 1-12 - The Israelites in the wilderness thought they were bullet-proof, but many of them fell-vs. 12
Vs. 13- Note Alma 13:28 and footnote a
Vs. 21- Choose ye this day...
Chapter 11 The Sacrament - "With so much at stake, {the sacrament} should be taken more seriously than it sometimes is. It should be a powerful, reverent, reflective moment. It should encourage spiritual feelings and impressions. As such it should not be rushed, It is not something to get over so that the real purposes of a sacrament meeting can be pursued. This is the real purpose of the meeting." (JFHolland CR 1995 p. 89)
Chapter 12-14 Spiritual gifts - See also D&C 46 and Moroni 10:8-18
Charity - We do not love if we do not show our love. "The concept of love is not a giant gift on a special occasion but the continued support of personal caring...The tragedy of many unloving people is that they only imagine they love. In truth they want to love but do not pay the price to move from wishful thinking to reality..The impatient jerk on a child, the harsh word to someone trying to assist, or the cold shoulder to a spouse all reveal a smallness of soul...It is subtly disguised in appearing to care but being too busy...Parents in time with their divine calling know that eternal potential is wrapped up with their helpless and uncoordinated infant. Parents of resistant teenagers are wise if they remember that the potential is still there, and gospel brothers and sisters with this vision will do the same. The future is unlocked by pure love, which believes and hopes all things...For Paul, knowledge must be supplemented and revised but love never fails (13:8). The gospel experience of unselfish love is closer to eternity than anything else. It may be counterfeited by immorality and cheapened in superficial society. But genuine love is a taste of eternity. (Anderson, Understanding Paul 119, 124)
14:1-6 See TPJS p. 162, 195, 247 & 229 for additional information on the gift of tongues.
Chapter 15 - Perhaps the most revealing doctrinal problem at Corinth was the belief of some that there is no resurrection. Here Paul established the validity of the doctrine that Jesus rose from the dead and that all people would do likewise, pointing out that Christianity is meaningless if there is no resurrection. (See 1 Cor. 15:14, 17–19.
The Homer Ellsworth article of Birth Control came from the August 1979 Ensign, "I have a question"
