1Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2to the assembly of God which is at Corinth—those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours: 3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4I always thank my God concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5that in everything you were enriched in him, in all speech and all knowledge— 6even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you— 7so that you come behind in no gift, waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8who will also confirm you until the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
10Now I beg you, brothers, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are from Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. 12Now I mean this, that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” and, “I follow Christ.” 13Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul? 14I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so that no one should say that I had baptized you into my own name. 16(I also baptized the household of Stephanas; besides them, I don’t know whether I baptized any other.) 17For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Good News—not in wisdom of words, so that the cross of Christ wouldn’t be made void. 18For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise.
I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing.”
20Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn’t know God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe. 22For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks, 24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God; 25because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26For you see your calling, brothers, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, and not many noble; 27but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world that he might put to shame the things that are strong. 28God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that don’t exist, that he might bring to nothing the things that exist, 29that no flesh should boast before God. 30Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31that, as it is written, “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.”
City of Corinth
Corinth was an important city in ancient Greece. Geographically it was an ideal hub for facilitating commerce and exchange between Italy and Asia. The city served as the overlord of two harbors as it sat on the narrow isthmus that joins northern and southern Greece. This strip of land, approximately five miles wide, was flanked by the Saronic Gulf to the east and the Gulf of Corinth to the west. Maritimers who sought to avoid the potentially dangerous journey around the Cape of Malea would have their cargoes unloaded and transported across land and then reloaded to other ships, or, provided that the ship's size was accommodating, the entire ship was dragged across the isthmus. The Acrocorinth, a mountain to the south of the city, made an excellent lookout for controlling the overland commercial traffic.
Corinth was ransacked by the Roman general Lucius Mummius in revenge for an anti-Roman uprising in 146 B.C. Mummius eradicated the male population and sold the females into slavery. Though the attack was devastating, the strategic location of Corinth necessitated its revival. After one hundred years of dormancy, the city was rebuilt in 46 B.C. under the orchestration of Julius Caesar. The location of Corinth gave the already mighty Romans the added advantage of control over east-west commerce as well as the Isthmian Games (9:24-27), which were outranked in magnitude only by the celebrated Olympic Games. Although the Roman culture had been thoroughly Hellenized, the politics were unquestionably Roman. The official language was Latin; however, it is likely that the language of the common people was Greek. According to Strabo, Corinth was a convenient way for Rome to rid itself of persons whose status was only a step above a slave. For the freed slave, Corinth meant an opportunity to improve his socioeconomic standing. The overland shipping of goods made Corinth an international center of mercantile. Along with the flow of merchandise, Corinth received an influx of travelers from both east and west creating ethnic diversity. These factors contributed to a population that burgeoned to 650,000 at Corinth's peak. They also produced a city with a strategic location for spreading the gospel around the world.
Corinth's commercial acclaim was rivaled only by its decadence. The cosmopolitan center flourished in every type of ignoble deed imaginable, and some unimaginable. So pungent was the immorality of Corinth that Aristophanes (ca. 450-385 B.C.) coined the verb korinthiazoamai (to act like a Corinthian) as a synonym for committing sexual immorality. The Corinthians drew attention to their lascivious lifestyle through the worship of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. The Temple of Aphrodite was situated high upon the Acrocorinth and employed one thousand priestess-prostitutes. Greek plays of the day often depicted Corinthians as drunkards and reprobates. Corinth stood as a monument erected to depravity.
Corinth was crucial for the propagation of the gospel. Its strategic location made it doorway to the rest of the world. Its corrupt nature made it a center of need for salvation and a unique opportunity to display to the world the transforming power of Jesus Christ the Savior.