46) The Book of 1st Corinthians

FIRST CORINTHIANS was written to the Corinthian church that Paul began and established on his second missionary journey (Acts 18: 1-11). This church was very carnal because it was full of spiritual babies (3:1-3). The word carnal is kin to carnage, carnival, and carnivorous. Marks of carnality are divisions, envy, and strife. The divisions of the church of Corinth were caused by heresies (11:18-19). The people did not have one final authority for their absolute standard of truth. No church can be of one mind when multiple bibles are used as sources of beliefs (John 12:48; Eph. 4:4-7; Phil. 2:2-3). The Bible is the final authority for all matters of faith and practice. Spiritual unity can only be accomplished when every person of an assembly humbly submits to the one final authority (Ps. 133:1; Eph. 4: 1-16).

The Corinthian church wrote Paul about four major problems. The four chapters that begin with the word Now answers the four issues in the church of Corinth (7:1; 8:1; 12:1; 16:1). The two chapters that begin with the word Moreover provide additional information (10:1; 15:1). The fifteenth chapter is the great resurrection chapter. Paul bawled out the carnal Corinthians about their contentions, divisions, jealousy, fornication, self-centeredness, strife, and worldly wisdom for six chapters before he answered their questions. The issues were questions about divorce and remarriage, eating meat that was offered unto idols, spiritual gifts, and giving.

The word Corinthians means ornaments and the people of this church boasted of their gifts. Chapter fourteen reveals the guidelines for the gift of tongues and its scriptural practice. The letter contains 16 chapters and 437 verses.