Greeting From Paul and Sosthenes
- 1 Paul, called to be an emissary of Jesus the Anointed through God’s will, and Sosthenes our brother,
- 2 to the church assembly of Godfnquotation/allusion to Numbers 16:3, Deuteronomy 23:1, and 1 Chronicles 28:8; it’s a direct match to the version in the Septuagint, an ancient translation of the Old Testament into Greek. living in Corinth, (who were *made holy in Jesus the Anointed) called to be holy with all the men calling on the name of our Lord Jesus the Anointedfnquotation/allusion to Joel 2:32 (also quoted/alluded to by Acts 2:21; Rom 10:13) in every place, both theirs and ours;
- 3 gracefn“grace” The Greek word here is “χάρις” (charis), most often translated “grace” or “gift”. It was a technical term in the 1st century, referring to the Patronage system in place. The Patron (from “pater” = “father”) would give gifts or do favors (both called a charis) for someone. A charis was always given/done freely to anyone who would be grateful for it, and this person then became a “client” of the patron. The clients were expected to reciprocate by telling everyone what the patron had done, and offering their services to the patron whenever the patron needed them. This reciprocal act was also called “charis”, and the ones who reciprocated were “being faithful”. Both were done out of gratitude, not legal obligation. A client who wasn’t faithful and grateful probably wouldn’t receive any more charis from his patron, or any other patrons. The patron was responsible for taking care of all his clients, and making sure their needs were met. Christian Grace and Faith are well pictured by this system. The Heavenly Patron (God the Father) freely gave a gift (Jesus’ blood), and the clients who accept it (Christians) are expected to “be faithful” out of gratitude. to you and peacefnlikely quotation/allusion to Numbers 6:24-26. from God our Father and the Anointed Lord Jesus.
- 4 I thank my God always concerning you, for God’s grace which was given to you in Jesus the Anointed,
- 5 because in everything you were made rich in Him, in every word and all knowledge,
- 6 even as the testimony of the Anointed was secured in you,
- 7 so you don’t lack – not even in one giftfnor “grace”, see note on verse 3. – while eagerly awaiting the unveiling of our Lord, Jesus the Anointed,
- 8 who will also secure you until the end, blameless in the day of our Lord, Jesus the Anointed.fnquotation/allusion to the Old Testament “day of Yahweh” motif (e.g., Joel 2:31; Amos 5:18; Isaiah 13:6; Zephaniah 1:7, etc.), which Paul applies to Christ.
- 9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, our Lord, Jesus the Anointed.
Call for Unity
(Parallel teachings: Ephesians 4:1-6; Philippians 2:1-5)
- 10 But brothers, I urge you through the name of our Lord Jesus the Anointed that you all speak the same thing, and that there wouldn’t be divisions among you, and that you would be *joining togetherfn“joining together” is a single difficult-to-translate word in Greek. It properly means to “fully adjust” so the object is prepared and in a proper working order. Thus, it can also have the sense of repairing/mending something which was already prepared so it’s prepared again, or joining two things together a first time so they function properly. Further, the passive and middle voice of this verb share the same ending. Therefore, Paul could be saying they should “join themselves together” (middle voice) or “be joined together” (passive voice). Either or both could’ve been intended. in the same mind and in the same judgement.
- 11 For about you my brothers, it was revealed to me by Chloe’s men that there are quarrels among you.
- 12 Now, I mean this: each of you says: “I’m indeed following Paul.” or “I’m following Apollos.” or “I’m following Cephas.”fn“Cephas” is Aramaic for “a rock”, and is another name for the disciple Peter. or “I’m following the Anointed.”
- 13 Has the Anointed been divided? Paul wasn’t crucified for you, was he? Or were you immersed in the name of Paul?
- 14 I thank [God] that I immersed none of you except Crispus and Gaius,
- 15 so that someone couldn’t say that you were immersed in my name.
- 16 And I also immersed the household of Stephanas; as for the rest, I don’t *know if I immersed any other.
- 17 For the Anointed didn’t send me to immerse, but to proclaim the good news, and not in wise speech, so that the cross of the Anointed won’t be emptied of its power and value.fn“emptied of its power and value” is one word in Greek. It’s in the passive form here, which means to be emptied out, which can carry the connotation of losing power, losing value, or both. I.e. it becomes powerless and/or valueless.
Wisdom of God and Foolishness of Man
(Thematic parallels: 1 Samuel 2:1-10; Luke 1:46-55; Acts 17:18-34)
- 18 For the message of the cross is indeed foolishness to the men perishing, but it’s the power of God to us, the men being saved.
- 19 For it’s *written:
- “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
- and I will nullify the intelligence of the intelligent.”fnquotation/allusion to Isaiah 29:14
- 20 Where is the wise man?fnquotation/allusion to Isaiah 19:12 Where is the scribe?fnquotation/allusion to Isaiah 33:18. Note: the specific meaning of “scribe” comes from the Septuagint (an ancient translation of the Old Testament into Greek), since the Hebrew is not specific to a “scribe” there. Where is the debater of this age? Didn’t God certainly prove the wisdom of the world foolish?fnquotation/allusion to Isaiah 44:25. Also, “prove… …foolish” is one word in Greek. It can also mean to make something foolish; either or both senses might’ve been intended.
- 21 For since in God’s wisdom, the world didn’t know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save the men believing through the foolishness of the proclamation of the good news.
- 22 And since Jews ask for miraculous signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
- 23 we also proclaim the Anointed *crucified, (which indeed is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles),
- 24 but to the called – both Jews and Greeks – we proclaim the Anointed as God’s power and God’s wisdom.
- 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
- 26 For look at your calling, brothers, that not many are wise according to the standards of the flesh, not many are powerful, and not many are of noble birth.fnquotation/allusion to Jeremiah 9:23, and this quotation is continued in verse 31.
- 27 But God chose the world’s foolish things so that He might shame the wise. And God chose the world’s weak things so that He might shame the strong.
- 28 And God chose the world’s low-born, and the things which are *despised, and the things which are not, so that He might abolish the things which are,
- 29 so that no flesh might boast before God. CFParallel teachings for v26-29: James 2:5; Matthew 11:25-26
- 30 But because of Him, you are in Jesus the Anointed, who became wisdom to us from God, and righteousness, and both holiness and redemptionfn“redemption” This Greek word refers to the act of freeing a slave or prisoner of war by the payment of a ransom. Acts 20:28 and 1 Peter 1:18-19 make it clear that the “ransom” was Jesus’s blood, and verses like Romans 6:17 and 2 Timothy 2:26 indicate that we were slaves of sin and held captive by the devil respectively. There have been four major views on this ransom and what it means throughout church history: (1) The ransom was paid to God. (2) The ransom was paid to Satan to free us from his captivity. (3) The ransom was paid to death itself. (4) The ransom is metaphorical, similar to the idiom “He paid the ultimate price”. This view says that no one was “paid” anything, but rather that it cost Jesus something valuable (His life) to free us. This has precedent in the Old Testament, since 2 Samuel 7:23 says that God “redeemed” Israel from Egypt, and yet God didn’t “pay” anyone. Isaiah 52:3 promises that God will “redeem without money” as part of the intro to Isaiah 53, which is arguably the most famous prophecy about Jesus in the Old Testament. ,
- 31 so that just as it’s *written: “The man who’s boasting, let him boast in the Lord.“fnquotation/allusion to Jeremiah 9:23-24 (also quoted/alluded to by 2 Cor 10:17), and this quotation is begun in verse 26; also see the Septuagint version of 1 Samuel 2:10