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Book of 1 Corinthians

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Author and Date

Author and Date

Paul is acknowledged as the author both by the letter itself ( ) and by the early church fathers. His authorship was attested by Clement of Rome as early as a.d. 96, and today practically all NT interpreters concur. The letter was written c. 55 toward the close of Paul's three-year residency in Ephesus (see ). It is clear from his reference to staying at Ephesus until Pentecost () that he intended to remain there somewhat less than a year when he wrote 1 Corinthians.

The City of Corinth

Corinth was a thriving city; it was at the time the chief city of Greece both commercially and politically.
  1. 1.Its commerce. Located just off the Corinthian isthmus , it was a crossroads for travelers and traders. It had two harbors:
    1. (1) Cenchrea, six miles to the east on the Saronic Gulf, and
    2. (2) Lechaion, a mile and a half to the north on the Corinthian Gulf. Goods were transported across the isthmus on the Diolkos, a stone road by which smaller ships could be hauled fully loaded across the isthmus, and by which cargoes of larger ships could be transported by wagons from one side to the other. Trade flowed through the city from Italy and Spain to the west and from Asia Minor, Phoenicia and Egypt to the east.
  2. 2.Its culture. Although Corinth was not a university town like Athens, it was characterized nevertheless by typical Greek culture. Its people were interested in Greek philosophy and placed a high premium on wisdom.
  3. 3.Its religion. Corinth contained at least 12 temples. Whether they were all in use during Paul's time is not known for certain. One of the most infamous was the temple dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, whose worshipers practiced religious prostitution. About a fourth of a mile north of the theater stood the temple of Asclepius, the god of healing, and in the middle of the city the sixth-century b.c. temple of Apollo was located. In addition, the Jews had established a synagogue; the inscribed lintel of it has been found and placed in the museum at old Corinth.
  4. 4.Its immorality. Like any large commercial city, Corinth was a center for open and unbridled immorality. The worship of Aphrodite fostered prostitution in the name of religion. At one time 1,000 sacred (priestess) prostitutes served her temple. So widely known did the immorality of Corinth become that the Greek verb "to Corinthianize" came to mean "to practice sexual immorality." In a setting like this it is no wonder that the Corinthian church was plagued with numerous problems.

Purpose and Theme
Paul had received information from several sources concerning the conditions existing in the church at Corinth. Some members of the household of Chloe had informed him of the factions that had developed in the church (). There were three individuals -- Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus -- who had come to Paul in Ephesus to make some contribution to his ministry (), but whether these were the ones from Chloe's household we do not know.
Some of those who had come had brought disturbing information concerning moral irregularities in the church (chs. ). Immorality had plagued the Corinthian assembly almost from the beginning. From it is apparent that Paul had written previously concerning moral laxness. He had urged believers "not to associate with sexually immoral people" (). Because of misunderstanding he now finds it necessary to clarify his instruction () and to urge immediate and drastic action ().
Other Corinthian visitors had brought a letter from the church that requested counsel on several subjects (see and cf. ). It is clear that, although the church was gifted (see ), it was immature and unspiritual (). Paul's purposes for writing were:

  1. (1) to instruct and restore the church in its areas of weakness, Correcting erroneous practices such as divisions (; ), immorality (ch.), litigation in pagan courts () and abuse of the Lord's Supper ();
  2. (2) to correct false teaching concerning the resurrection (ch. ); and
  3. (3) to answer questions addressed to Paul in the letter that had been brought to him (see previous paragraph).

Theme

The letter revolves around the theme of problems in Christian conduct in the church. It thus has to do with progressive sanctification, the continuing development of a holy character. Obviously Paul was personally concerned with the Corinthians' problems, revealing a true pastor's (shepherd's) heart.

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