1Co 9:1-3 What does Paul mean “Am I not free”? Free from what? See 1Co 9:4 and the context of chapter 8. What was the significance of his being an apostle to the point he is arguing? See 1Co 9:4-6. Who was examining Paul, and what were they saying about him? See 1Co 4:3-4, 2 Cor…
1Co 8:1-3 Recall that Paul has begun answering questions posed to him by the Corinthians; what question does he begin answering here? Note: In Roman and Greek culture, animals were not just slaughtered for food, but nearly always sacrificed to the gods; a portion would go to the officiating priest, and the remainder would then…
Notice the change in format: Paul in the previous 6 chapters has been addressing the divisions, immoralities and lawsuits in the Corinthian church that he had been informed about probably by “Chloe’s people” (1Co 1:11). Now he begins to address “the things about which you wrote” (1Co 7:1), referring to some letter they had written…
1Co 6:1-3 Is there a connection between the topic Paul is now beginning to discuss and that which he has been discussing in chapter 5? What does Paul mean that the saints will judge the world, and even angels? See Ps 149:5-9, Mat 19:28, Jude 1:6,14-15, Rev 2:26-27, 3:21, 20:4. Explain the substance of Paul’s…
1Co 5:1 What sin was found in the midst of the Corinthian believers? What made it particularly grievous? Note: the father’s wife was likely not the guilty one’s mother, and it is entirely possible the father had died, so that these Corinthians, like so many today, were justifying their sin as being “different” from that…
Because of some of Paul’s wording in 2 Corinthians, and perhaps an allusion in 1 Corinthians, some have conjectured that he must have made a hasty and unpleasant visit to Corinth sometime before arriving in Macedonia, probably while still in Ephesus after writing 1 Corinthians, and that following this visit he perhaps even wrote a “severe letter” that has not been preserved for us...
Paul founded the Corinthian church on his second missionary journey as described in Acts 18, after arriving there from Athens, where the soils for spiritual growth were evidently quite sterile because of its many philosophies and the propensity of people there to “spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new” (Acts…
1Co 4:1-5 Who is the “us” in 1Co 4:1? How did Paul want the Corinthians to regard them? How was this different from how they were regarding them? Note: “servant” is literally an “under-rower”; see Acts 13:5 where it is applied to John Mark as Paul and Barnabas’ “helper”. “Steward” was a slave under his…
1Co 3: 1-4 In chapter 2 Paul was talking about God’s wisdom which can only be understood by the spiritual man. Does he regard the Corinthians as such? Why not? What does Paul mean by milk as opposed to solid food? See Heb 5:11-14. Why were the Corinthians not yet ready for solid food? What…
1Cor 2:1-5: How does Paul describe his work among the Corinthians in establishing them in the faith? Why does he say he conducted himself in such a manner? Is this different from the way most ministers present themselves today? What do his words here have to do with the divisions in chapter 1? 1Cor 2:6-8: …