Twin Cultures Separated by Centuries: An Indian Reading of 1 Corinthians

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is a New Testament book that many Christians relate to because it deals with pastoral issues that are familiar – though not necessarily easy to resolve. In this commentary, Dr Spurgeon has done a commendable job of exegesis that carefully considers differing views, but is also incisive and illuminating. However, a commentary must not only explain the intended meaning of the text but also make an attempt to interpret the text in terms relevant to the contemporary context. In this case, the Indian context is one that is ancient, pluralistic both culturally and religiously, and very complex. Dr Spurgeon’s exposition is not just sensitive, but delves deep to bring out the intricacies of the context, and then relate the biblical text to it. Twin Cultures Separated by Centuries is a commentary that will prove to be not just interesting to read, but also helpful in explaining how Paul’s teaching is relevant to the contemporary church.

Brian Wintle

Academic Coordinator of Centre for Advanced Theological Studies SHIATS, Allahabad, India

Anecdotes, snippets of Indian history, newspaper reports, observations on what Indians think or do or say or are – these are the planks Andrew Spurgeon tosses together to build a crisscrossing walkway between ancient Corinth and present day India. One minute the reader is in ancient Greece, taking in just the kind of detail needed to make sense of what Paul was saying then. The next minute the Indian reader is in his home country, making sense of what Paul is saying now. Twin Cultures Separated by Centuries is an eminently readable commentary that matches careful exposition with well-researched background, while celebrating the Indian-ness of its author.

Havilah Dharamraj

Academic Dean, Head of Department of Old Testament South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies, Bangalore, India

An understanding into the cultural context of the Bible is imperative to correct comprehension and right application of the Scriptures. This is especially necessary because the contemporary world is vastly different from the Graeco-Roman one. Dr Andrew Spurgeon bridges biblical culture and Indian culture with his expertise and experience as a scholar who knows both the text and the challenges of teaching in a heterogenous (or, richly diverse) culture.

His work considers the different facets of Indian culture and its parallels in ancient Corinth. In a unique approach, he begins each section with an insight into the Indian setting, explains the biblical text in its historical-cultural setting, and astutely applies the biblical teaching to the Indian context. This commentary is a valuable asset for any Christian (church planter, pastor, seminary student, and Bible reader) in India who desires to teach the message of truth accurately. I pray that this work is only the beginning of more commentaries like these!

Binoi Abraham Samuel

Elder, Redeemer Church of Dubai, UAE

It is a rarity to find a Bible commentary that seamlessly moves from context to text and vice versa. Twin Cultures Separated by Centuries does exactly that, as Andrew Spurgeon draws upon his knowledge of Scripture as well as his experience of the Indian situation to provide us with a thorough contextual and exegetical commentary on Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Students of the Bible who desire to remain faithful to the text and also relevant to their culture and context, will find his commentary on 1 Corinthians stimulating and, in his own words, exhilarating! This commentary is an excellent tool for Bible teachers, pastors, seminary students and laity and must find a place in all theological libraries, especially those in South Asia.

Paul Cornelius

Regional Secretary–India, Asia Theological Association

Understanding the culture of the Bible is key to properly interpreting Scripture. Understanding the culture of today is necessary for expositors to keep the Bible relevant within their contexts. In this unique, one-of-a-kind commentary, Andrew Spurgeon explains both the biblical context and the Indian culture, and often draws parallels between Indian culture and the culture of the Corinthians, making it easier to understand. Twin Cultures Separated by Centuries is a must-read for anyone serving in India.

Dave Raj Sangiah

Pastor, Bangalore Bible Church, India

Twin Cultures Separated by Centuries

An Indian Reading of 1 Corinthians

Andrew B. Spurgeon

© 2016 by Andrew B. Spurgeon

Published 2016 by Langham Global Library

an imprint of Langham Creative Projects

Langham Partnership

PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 9WZ, UK

www.langham.org

ISBNs:

978-1-78368-118-1 Print

978-1-78368-140-2 Mobi

978-1-78368-139-6 ePub

978-1-78368-141-9 PDF

Andrew B. Spurgeon has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-78368-118-1

Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com

Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and a scholar’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth, and works referenced within this publication or guarantee its technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

Converted to eBook by EasyEPUB

To Lori, Ethan, Micah, and Jedidiah

Contents

Cover

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Introduction

A Tale of Two Corinths

The Corinthians: A Mixed Group

Sport

Religion

Corinth and India

1 Preliminary Issues

Paul and the Corinthians

Authors and Addressee

Date and Place of Composition

Opponents

Outline of 1 Corinthians

Structure

2 Opening Greetings (1:1–9)

What’s in a Name? (1:1–2)

Perspective: Sheep or Saints? (1:2–3)

The Fatherhood of God and the Son of God (1:3)

Thanksgiving for the Corinthians (1:4–9)

Part I

Paul’s Responses to Chloe’s Report (1:10 – 6:20)

3 1 Corinthians 1:10–31

The Church of South India

The Need for Proper Focus in Order to Dissolve Divisions

Demonstration of God’s Power and Wisdom (1:10–25)

Dalits or Brahmins? (1:26–31)

4 1 Corinthians 2

Paul’s Commitment (2:1–5)

Soul-Person versus Spirit-Person (2:6–16)

5 1 Corinthians 3

The Stages of a Person’s Life (3:1–4)

Gurus and God’s Workers (3:5–11; 4:1, 15)

Build to Last (3:12–17)

Temple of God (3:16–17; 6:19)

Divine or Belonging to the Divine? (3:18–23)

Group Identity

6 1 Corinthians 4

The Evaluation of Christian Service (4:2–6)

At the End of the Parade (4:7–13)

Honor–Shame and Proper Parenting (4:14–21)

7 1 Corinthians 5

Incest and Boasting (5:1–2)

Intensity of Sin (5:3–5)

The Purity of the Community (5:6–8)

Insiders and Outsiders (5:9–13)

8 1 Corinthians 6

Lawsuits and Christians (6:1–8)

Property Rights and Inheritance (6:9–11a)

Ritual Washing (6:11b)

Sanskrit, Greek, and Quotations (6:12)

Food and Sex (6:13–14)

Prostitution and Oneness (6:15–20)

Part II

Paul’s Answers to the Corinthians’ Questions (7:1 – 16:18)

9 1 Corinthians 7

Marriage and Sex (7:1–5)

Devotion to Prayer (7:6–7)

Sati and Remarriage (7:8–9)

Divorce (7:10–11)

Divorce in Case of Conversion (7:12–16)

Saṃtoṣa (7:17)

Bindi, Tilaka, and Vibhuti (7:18–24)

Connections

Arranged Marriages Versus Love Marriages (7:25–40)

10 1 Corinthians 8

Idol Worship (8:1–3)

Prasada (8:4–13)

11 1 Corinthians 9

Brahmin Acharyas (9:1–15)

The Gospel (9:16–18)

Caste and Gospel (9:13–23)

Disqualification (9:24–27)

12 1 Corinthians 10

History as Example (10:1–14)

Pongal (1 Corinthians 10:15–22)

One Body without Caste Discrimination (10:17)

Jhatka and Kutha (10:23–26)

Dana and Food (10:27–33)

13 1 Corinthians 11

Mimesis (11:1–2)

Karva Chauth (11:3)

Ghoonghat (11:4–16)

Langar (11:17–22)

The Lord’s Supper (11:23–26)

Yama and Judgment (11:27–34)

14 1 Corinthians 12

Connections

Curses (12:1–3)

Dana or Gifts (12:4–11)

Ayurveda and Health (12:12–31)

15 1 Corinthians 13

Love (13:1–3)

Characteristics of Love (13:4–7)

Whole versus Parts (13:8–13)

16 1 Corinthians 14

Languages (14:1a)

Prophecy (14:1b–5)

Foreign Language Etiquette (14:6–13)

Silent Speech (14:14–33)

Hindu Priestess (14:34–36)

Impermanence (14:37–40)

17 1 Corinthians 15

Connections

Afterlife

Parampara and Kerygma (15:1–11)

Indian Syllogism (15:12–28)

Death Rituals (15:29)

Karma (15:33–34)

Resurrected Body (15:35–50)

Here and Not Yet (15:51–58)

18 1 Corinthians 16

Daan (16:1–4)

Travel Plans (16:5–9)

Guru-Shishya Relationship (16:10–11)

Apollos (16:12–14)

Stephanus and Family (16:15–18)

The Letter’s Conclusion (16:19–24)

Amanuensis (16:21)

Benediction (16:22–24)

Conclusion

Bibliography

About Langham Partnership

Endnotes

Foreword

The purpose of this commentary is to help readers understand 1 Corinthians from an Indian cultural perspective. My goal has been to be fair both to the biblical text of 1 Corinthians and to Indian culture. The question that I repeatedly asked myself as I wrote the commentary was, How would Paul teach the same teachings in India today? With that thought, I have begun most of the topics with a cultural or religious insight common to Indians, then discussed the passage in 1 Corinthians, and concluded by applying it to the Indian context. The drawback of such a commentary is that I am taking passages out of the literary construct of the original letter. The benefit, however, is that the commentary is contextualized for Indians and those interested in India and Indian culture. My hope and prayer is that the benefit will outweigh the drawback.

In writing this commentary I neither affirm nor deny that Hinduism may lead one to Christ or that it contains divine truths hidden within its practices and beliefs. Likewise, I neither exalt Indian culture above other cultures nor think ill of Indian culture.

I found this study exhilarating. I grew up in India but did not truly know or understand Indian culture or Hinduism. Studying it afresh has given me a great appreciation for Indian-ness. At the same time, it is my passion and prayer that many Indians will come to know God, and that many Indian Christians will learn to interact with other Indians in their own cultural and religious contexts so that the Scriptures might be presented to them in a way they will understand.

All the translations are my own unless indicated otherwise in parentheses. I have tried to be fair to the Greek text and at the same time be reader-friendly. I have taken some liberty in order to make the Scriptures easy to read and understand.

I am not new to Indian culture and Hinduism. Despite my name, I am an Indian. My parents and relatives live in India. I grew up in India until I was seventeen, when I left for higher education. I returned to India aged thirty-one as a married man with children. Since then I have resided in India or nearby. Indian people are culturally as diverse as seashells on the seashore, and Hinduism is ancient and differs vastly between people groups. I have tried my best to authenticate all that I have written. Please forgive the errors and correct me with the facts. I intend no ill towards India or Indians. My prayer is for Indians to know the true Savior of all people, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to several people for making this cultural commentary possible. I am thankful for my dad and mom (Dr D. S. Spurgeon and Mrs Evangeline Spurgeon) who raised me in a Christian home with Indian cultural practices. They live as Christians and Indians, principles that I value. The same is true of my sisters – Jacqueline Gigi and Caroline Naomi. I am blessed to have them as my sisters.

I am thankful to those who gave me this opportunity to write. Pieter Kwant read a chapter and accepted the proposal. Luke Lewis encouraged me to keep writing every time he saw me. And Vivian Doub kept me updated on the progress of the book and sent periodic notes of encouragement. I am grateful for Langham Partnership for publishing this book.

I am indebted to my teachers and friends who taught me to live a Christian life and to understand cultures. I am especially grateful to Dr Mike Pocock who gave me the opportunity to teach as an adjunct in the World Missions and Intercultural Studies Department at Dallas Theological Seminary where I started writing this commentary.

I am grateful for my wonderful wife, Lori, and amazing sons – Ethan, Micah, and Jedidiah. They are God’s gracious gifts to me. They have always uplifted my spirit and trusted me. My wife sacrificed the many hours that I spent hours before books and computer. But without complaining she encouraged me to keep writing.

All glory and honor belong to the Lord of lords and King of kings, the Savior Jesus Christ.

Introduction

Paul was an apostle to the nations. His mission as an apostle was not, however, self-appointed. In fact, in his youth and in his zeal for God, he had opposed any mission to the nations. He was a conservative Jew who had set his mind to stand against Christianity since he thought it was a heretical extension of Judaism. He set out to arrest Christians in order to imprison them and try them for blasphemy. While he was on such a mission, the risen Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him, and that encounter changed his life. Instead of being a persecutor of Christians, he became an apostle to the nations – Jews and Gentiles alike. He traveled far and wide, spreading the gospel from Jerusalem, where it was first proclaimed, to Spain.

On one evangelistic journey he visited Corinth. That journey is commonly known as his second missionary journey, and it is recorded in Acts 16–18. Paul shared the message of the Lord Jesus Christ with the Corinthians and helped them place their faith in Christ. He taught them basic Christian doctrines as a parent teaches a child. He loved the Corinthians and cared for them. The Corinthians were a mixed group of people – ethnically Greek, politically Roman, and from all strata of life (from slaves to landlords). They sometimes misunderstood Paul’s teachings because of their very diverse backgrounds. So he visited them or wrote them letters repeatedly and taught them sound doctrine.

One such letter is 1 Corinthians. In it, Paul first addressed problems within the Corinthian church, as reported to him by people from Chloe’s household (chs. 1–6), Then he answered questions that the Corinthians had asked him, possibly through friends who visited Paul or in a letter (chs. 7–16). In answering them, Paul left subsequent Christians a great letter full of doctrine and practical application. These timeless truths must be understood if we are to grow to maturity within our own context and culture.

A Tale of Two Corinths

The culture of a city inevitably affects the people who live within it. I was born in an Indian city called Nagercoil. In my language (Tamil) the name means cobra temple (from naga, cobra, and coil, temple). In line with its name, in the center of the city stands a Hindu temple where worshippers feed milk and eggs to cobras. Allocco writes,

Snake worship is both old and widespread in India, with roots stretching back to Vedic materials [the Hindu scriptures] . . . It is likely that fear of snakes (nãgas) and their poison was an early motivation for their propitiation, or that some snakes’ unique characteristics, such as the periodic shedding of their skin, led to their being ascribed magical powers and eventually being deified. Whatever initially catalysed religious and ritual interest in snakes, it is clear that Indic traditions have long regarded them as divinities linked with water, fertility and anthills.[1]

Many statues or depictions of deities show them with snakes around their heads, necks, or hands.

The ancient city of Corinth also had a significant culture. Corinth was located on a small strip of land that connected the lower southwest peninsula of Greece (Peloponnesus) with the rest of Greece in the northeast. It also connected two ports: Lechaeum in the northwest and Cenchreae in the southeast. Thus it was a bridge city between northern and southern cities and between eastern and western ports. Like using the Suez Canal, which saves European and Asian sailors hundreds of kilometers of sea travel around the continent of Africa, passing through Corinth saved sailors 322 kilometers of travel around stormy Cape Malea.[2] Sailors arriving in small ships at Lechaeum or Cenchreae transported those small ships from one port to the other (a distance of 6.5 km)[3] using a system of rollers. Sailors on larger ships transported just the cargo from one port to the other.[4] The passing through of these ships and sailors made Corinth an important city for commerce, culture, art, and religion.

The landscape of Corinth was formed of three natural terraces that sloped away towards the sea. The city itself occupied the highest of the three terraces. Beyond the city was Acrocorinth, a tall rocky hill that rose 457 meters.[5] It housed a temple for the mother–daughter goddesses of Greek religion, Demeter and Kore.[6] Although people had lived in Corinth from as early as 3000 BC, it only became a prominent city from the eighth to the fifth centuries BC, when it became an important leader in the Achaean League.[7] This Old Corinth had a reputation for immorality, popularized by one of its enemies, Aristophanes (c. 450–385 BC). He coined the verb korinthiazō, which meant to act like a Corinthian – that is, to act immorally. Whether Corinth was any more immoral than other port cities is questionable.

The Roman consul Lucius Mummius Achaius destroyed that old Corinth in 146 BC. Thomas writes that he took the city, slew the men, made slaves of the women and burned the city and razed the ruins.[8] For a century, the land lay desolate. Then in 44 BC Julius Caesar rebuilt Corinth as a Roman colony and named it Corinth, the praise of Julius.[9] Commerce increased rapidly because of its strategic location. When Caesar Augustus came to power, he made Corinth the capital of the region of Achaia. Old temples were restored and enlarged, new shops and markets were built, old fountains and water supplies were restored and new ones built, and many public buildings were added, including a concert hall that could contain 3,000 people and an amphitheater that seated between 14,000[10] and 18,000[11] spectators. The city’s architecture and people were more Roman than Greek. This New Corinth was so different from the old city that one could say that there were in fact two Corinths, one Greek and the other Roman, each with its distinctive institutions and ethos.[12]

Corinth’s history continued even after Paul’s departure from Corinth in early 50s. During the reign of Emperor Vespasian (AD 77) an earthquake partially destroyed the city. When Emperor Hadrian came to power, he rebuilt Corinth to its former glory, with baths and aqueducts, so that before 200 AD it was probably the finest and modern city of Greece.[13]

The Corinthians: A Mixed Group

Indians: who are they? To many foreigners, all Indians look alike: they are all Hindus, vegetarians, and Hindi speakers. But such a generalization is incorrect. The Indian Genome Variation Consortium reports that the Indian population comprising of more than a billion people, consists of 4693 communities with several thousand of endogamous groups, 325 functioning languages and 25 scripts.[14] Each one of these groups not only looks and acts differently, but also has its own distinct cultural identity.

The same was true of Corinth. Within its 824 square kilometers lived 80,000 to 100,000 people.[15] They were of diverse backgrounds: Roman freedmen, military veterans, Greeks, Jews, the social elite, and urban poor from Rome, Phoenicia, and Phrygia.[16] Because of such a diverse people group, it had two official languages: Latin and Greek.[17] Paul wrote his letter to them in Greek, implying that at least the leaders in the congregation were literate and knew Greek.

Sport

Cricket is India’s most popular national sport. Children and adults alike play cricket. The Indian national cricket team has won several competitions, including the Cricket World Cup in 1983 and 2011. The first definite reference to cricket being played in India goes back to 1721, when English sailors of the East India Company played a game at Cambay, near Baroda. The Calcutta Cricket Club is known to have existed since 1792.

Corinth was also well known for sport: it hosted the Isthmian Games. The Isthmian Games were similar to the Olympics. They were held in Corinth every two years in the months of April–May. These games were second in rank of the four great Panhellenic festivals.[18] Many from Greece and all the free cities of the east (modern Turkey) came to see the games. Corinth would thus have been a popular city like Olympia, where the Olympics were held. Unlike in today’s Olympics, where winners are awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals, in the Isthmian Games winners were crowned with wreaths made of celery or parsley plants.[19] Paul might have attended these Isthmian Games when he visited the Corinthians in AD 51.[20] However, even if he did not actually see the games (being a Jew, he might have been hesitant to see such games where men competed naked), he was aware of their importance in the lives of the Corinthians and made references to runners and boxers to illustrate his message (1 Cor 9:24–27).

Religion

Religion forms an integral part of every culture and India is known for its polytheistic religions. According to the 2011 government census there are 827 million Hindus in India (out of 1 billion 28 million people). In addition, there are 138 million Muslims, 24 million Christians, 19 million Sikhs, 8 million Buddhists, 4 million Jains, and 6 million people of other faiths.[21] Such diversity speaks highly of India’s tolerance of different religions.

Corinth also had a variety of religions and worship centers for different religious groups. Besides synagogues for the Jews (Acts 18:4) and house churches for Christians (1 Cor 16:19) there were temples, such as that for Demeter and Kore (mother–daughter goddesses) at Acrocorinth. Old Corinth had a famous temple for Aphrodite, a goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. Strabo, a Roman historian, wrote that there were many temple prostitutes in that temple (Geo. 8.6.20c). Although the Corinth that Caesar built, with its Roman influence, would not have had such blatant worship of Greek gods and goddesses, it nevertheless would have had a very diverse religious environment that included the Jewish and Christian faiths. Witherington, having expressed doubt as to whether New Corinth would have had such religious overtones and immorality, writes,

Nevertheless, one should not underestimate the place of sexual expression, not only in some pagan religious festivals (cf. Apuleius Met. 10.20–22), but also in some pagan temple precincts. It would be surprising if such activities did not take place in Corinth, especially in connection with the dinner parties (convivia) that were often held in the precincts of pagan temples (cf. Livy 23.18.12). There is also evidence from Dio Chrysostom (near the end of the first century AD) that there were in Roman Corinth numerous hetaerae, who often served as companions of the well-to-do at meals (8:5–10). 1 Corinthians 10:7 is a meaningful warning only if Paul had good reason to assume that sexual play was a regular part of some meals in one or more of the pagan temples in Corinth.[22]

Broneer narrates the following legend about Old Corinth:

A well-known Corinthian legend, made famous through the tragedy of Euripides, was the story of Medea, the inhuman sorceress from beyond the Black Sea who murdered her own sons in order to take vengeance on Jason, her faithless husband and father of the children. Less than a hundred yards to the west of the Archaic Temple stands a fountain house, cut out of solid rock, into whose waters the Corinthian princess Glauke, Jason’s bride, threw herself when her body was consumed by a poisoned robe, the gift of Medea. Nearby, at the tomb of the slain children, stood a frightful figure of Terror in the guise of woman; and at earlier times annual sacrifices, apparently in the form of human victims, were offered by the Corinthians. By the time of St Paul’s arrival these gruesome practices had been discontinued, but the statue existed and images of baked clay were apparently thrown into the fountain in celebration of the event.[23]

Corinth and India

Corinth and India are almost like twins separated at birth. Both are ancient nations, have ancient cultures, and are made up of diverse people groups. Both love sport and have a multitude of religions and religious practices. Katz, in an interesting article, argues that Hindus and Jews have much in common: they both live freely in India, they have the oldest languages (Hebrew and Sanskrit) that have given birth to other languages, both Hinduism and Judaism are non-proselytizing faiths, and both religions have dietary codes, use ritual bathing, and our brides circle their husbands seven times.[24] In summary, India still retains an ancient cultural outlook. What was once alive and vibrant in Roman and Greek cultures is still alive and vibrant today in India.[25] That being so, Paul’s letter to the Corinthians speaks vividly to Indian Christians today.

1

Preliminary Issues

Before proceeding to the commentary on 1 Corinthians, it is necessary to explain a few preliminary issues, such as the nature of Paul’s relationship with the Corinthians, who Sosthenes was, and when Paul wrote this letter. This section does not deal with the bridges between Corinthian and Indian culture, yet it is important for an overall understanding of 1 Corinthians.

Paul and the Corinthians

The Acts of the Apostles narrates three missionary journeys that Paul undertook (13:1 – 14:26; 15:36 – 18:22; and 18:23 – 21:17). On his second missionary journey he visited Corinth (Acts 15:40 – 18:22). The following is a brief summary of his trip.

Paul and Silas, his traveling companion, started their journey in Antioch in Syria, and went through Cilicia, Derbe, and Lystra – regions in modern-day Turkey (Acts 15:40 – 16:1a). At Lystra, Paul took Timothy as another traveling companion (16:1b–5). When Paul reached Troas, he received a vision in which a man from Macedonia (modern Europe) invited him to come to Macedonia and share the gospel there (16:9). Paul and his companions soon traveled through Samothrace and Neapolis, and arrived in Philippi, the first European city to hear the gospel (16:10–12). There a jailor, his family, and a purple cloth-dealer (Lydia) accepted Jesus Christ as Lord through Paul’s preaching. Paul and his friends then passed through Amphipolis, Apollonia, and Thessalonica, and arrived in Berea (16:13 – 17:13). When opposition arose in Berea, Paul left Timothy and Silas and went to Athens alone (17:14–15). After a brief stay and a key speech in Athens’ Areopagus (the high court of appeal), Paul went to Corinth (18:1). He traveled alone because his companions, Timothy and Silas, were still in Berea.

Aquila and Priscilla were in Corinth at that time. This Jewish husband and wife had been living in Rome but were evicted by Emperor Claudius’ decree because of their ethnicity and religion.[1] They were leather tentmakers.[2] Jewish people generally did not touch dead animals because doing so defiled them, but in this case necessity obliged them to do this work. Their shop would have been among those that lined the main marketplace, the agora.[3] Nearby was the meat market (macellum) mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:25. Aquila and Priscilla took Paul into their home as a guest, and he worked with them as a tentmaker in order to earn his living. He stayed in their home and preached in the Jewish synagogues every Sabbath (Acts 18:4–5). When the Jews rejected his message, he pronounced a woe upon them (18:6) and moved into the house of Titius Justus, a God-fearer (he was ethnically non-Jewish and believed in the God of the Jews, YHWH). Paul’s departure from Aquila and Priscilla’s house did not damage their friendship (cf. Rom 16:3–4) but strengthened his ministry among the Gentiles. Titius Justus’ house was next door to the synagogue (Acts 18:7). While Paul stayed there, Crispus, the synagogue leader (a lay leader who aided the rabbi in conducting services[4]), his family, and many others believed in the Lord (18:8). Because of the Gentile Christians’ zeal to learn more about the Christian faith, Paul stayed in Corinth for eighteen months (18:9–11). Gallio, the proconsul (a chief magistrate who became a governor of a province for a year) of Achaia, the province of Corinth, visited Corinth at that time, probably to attend the Isthmian Games. The Jews who opposed Paul brought charges against Paul to Gallio, but Gallio did not respond to their accusations (18:13–17). As a result, Paul continued his stay in Corinth for many more days before leaving for Jerusalem. This was Paul’s first visit to the Corinthians.

After this, Paul made another missionary journey, his third (Acts 18:23 – 21:17). He primarily stayed and ministered in Ephesus for more than two years (19:10). At the end of that time, Paul made plans for another trip to Corinth (19:21; 1 Cor 16:5–9). It was a journey that would start from Ephesus, go through Macedonia (Europe) and Achaia (where Corinth was), and end in Jerusalem (Acts 19:21a). So he sent Timothy and Erastus (the latter was possibly the city treasurer of Corinth[5]) ahead of him to Macedonia, while he himself stayed a little longer in Ephesus (19:22). It is most likely that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians at this time and sent it with Timothy to hand-deliver it to the Corinthians (see below under Date and Place of Composition). His stay in Ephesus was not peaceful: Demetrius, a silversmith, started a riot against him (19:23–41). So Paul also left for Macedonia and stayed in Greece for three months (20:2–3). While there, perhaps he visited Corinth one more time, since it was very near and the Corinthians were dear to him. That missionary journey again ended in Paul returning to Jerusalem (Acts 20:7 – 21:17).

In the Scriptures there is only one clear mention of Paul visiting the Corinthians (Acts 18:1–18). Other than this – and the fact that, as just stated above, he might have visited them again while he was in Greece – there is no mention in the book of Acts of any other visit made by Paul to Corinth or of correspondence by letter between him and them. Scholars, however, conclude that Paul visited the Corinthians a few more times and also that he wrote them other letters that are not in the canonical Scriptures (based on 1 Cor 5:9);[6] however, such a conclusion is not inevitable.[7] What is clear, however, is that there was other communication between Paul and the Corinthians. First, those of the household of Chloe[8] reported to Paul about matters concerning the Corinthians (1 Cor 1:11). Second, Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus – men from Corinth – visited Paul and no doubt informed him about the Corinthians’ faith (1 Cor 16:17–18).[9] Third, Apollos, who had visited the Corinthians, was with Paul when he wrote the first letter to the Corinthians and would have told him of the Corinthians’ situation (Acts 19:1; 1 Cor 16:12).[10] Fourth, Sosthenes – the co-writer of 1 Corinthians – was a Corinthian believer. It is likely that he came to visit Paul with the questions the Corinthians had. By these four means correspondence could have carried back and forth between Paul and the Corinthians. In addition, the Corinthians might have written Paul a letter asking him to clarify certain doctrines, as 1 Corinthians 7:1 clearly implies: "and concerning what you wrote. In short, there was clearly communication between Paul and the Corinthians, and 1 Corinthians was one such response" letter from Paul to them.

Authors and Addressee

In antiquity, letters began with a reference to the author(s) who wrote the letter, and to the addressee(s) who received the letter, and included a blessing pronounced on the recipient(s) by the author(s).[11] This was true of 1 Corinthians.

There were two authors: Paul and Sosthenes (1 Cor 1:1; 16:21). Paul, the apostle, was the one who first shared the gospel with the Corinthians. He was a Jew by race, Greek by culture, and Roman by citizenship. Possibly his family had served in the Roman military, by means of which he received Roman citizenship.[12] When he encountered the Lord, however, he became a follower of Jesus Christ and an apostle to the nations (Rom 11:13; Gen 22:18). His message became the gospel – the good news that the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ was the Messiah anticipated by the Jews and proclaimed by the Holy Scriptures. For this reason he soon traveled wherever he could and shared the gospel with all, including the Corinthians.

Sosthenes was the second author. It is likely that he had two names – Crispus and Sosthenes.[13] This Sosthenes was also a Jew and the synagogue ruler in Corinth (Acts 18:17). He came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as a result of Paul’s ministry (Acts 18:18) and Paul baptized him (1 Cor 1:14). For his defense of Paul and the Christian faith, a mob beat him in front of Gallio, the proconsul of Achaia (Acts 18:17). Later, he visited Paul with news of the Corinthians and co-wrote this letter. He would have been Paul’s primary source of information concerning the Corinthians’ faith and lifestyle. He might even have been a leader in the Corinthian church.

The acceptance of Paul’s authorship of this letter (1 Corinthians) is so widespread, and supported by church fathers such as Polycarp and Clement of Alexandria, that Dunn writes, 1 Corinthians has the kind of attestation of which most students of ancient texts can only dream . . . So firmly is 1 Corinthians linked to Paul that even if we did not have the account of Acts we would have to assume that the Paul of 1 Corinthians was the founder of the church in Corinth.[14] Although Sosthenes was the co-writer, most of the theology no doubt came from the apostle Paul’s inspired thoughts. It is therefore considered to be Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.

Paul wrote this letter to a church that was located in the city of Corinth (1 Cor 1:1).[15] The word church often brings to mind a picture of a building with a steeple, bell tower, cross, and perhaps a baptistery. In Paul’s time, a church was a group of believers who gathered in one place, such as a synagogue or a public meeting place, for fellowship, breaking the bread of the Lord’s Supper, prayer, and listening to the apostles’ teachings (Acts 2:42). More commonly, however, they met in people’s homes, especially in the larger houses of wealthy people. Such hosts were patrons. Patrons often provided land, jobs, money, and legal protection for the less well-off,[16] and also hosted the church gatherings. This was the case in Ephesus, where the church met in the house of Aquila and Priscilla (1 Cor 16:19). The same was true in Rome, where individual churches met in the houses of Aquila and Priscilla (Rom 16:5), Asyncritus and friends (Rom 16:14), and Philologus and friends (Rom 16:15). The same could have been true in Corinth, where the church might have met in the house of a wealthy person such as Sosthenes or Titius. Some large houses had a dining room (triclinium) with a floor space of 41.25 square meters[17] and a central court (atrium) of 5 x 6 meters – thereby accommodating fifty to sixty seated people.[18] The number could have been larger if they sat on mats and very close to one another, as happens in Indian village churches.

The church in Corinth included both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews). Some of the prominent Jews were Crispus/Sosthenes (Acts 18:8), and Aquila and Priscilla, whom Paul met for the first time in Corinth (Acts 18:1). In addition, there were many other Jews (Acts 18:10). Paul’s casual reference to Pentecost (1 Cor 16:8) and his narration of Old Testament events such as the exodus, the wandering in the wilderness, and death from snake bites (1 Cor 10:1–10) imply that the recipients of his letter were familiar with the history recorded in the Old Testament.[19] Similarly, his reference to the patriarchs as our fathers (1 Cor 10:1) and his use of the Aramaic phrase marana tha (1 Cor 16:22) imply he was addressing Jews. Of course, there were also prominent Gentiles in the church: Titius Justus (Acts 18:7), Stephanus, Fortunatus, and Achaicus (1 Cor 16:17), and people from many nations who accepted the message that Jesus is Lord (Acts 18:8). In addition, Paul referred to the Corinthians’ former lifestyle as idolatrous (1 Cor 12:2), implying that they were formerly worshippers of other gods. The Acts of the Apostles also states that when the Jews rejected his message, Paul turned towards the nations (Acts 18:6). It is best, then, to conclude that the church in Corinth was made up of both Jewish and non-Jewish Christians. Such a mixture could easily give rise to tensions (e.g. the party spirit, 1 Cor 1:12), a clash of cultures (e.g. debate over head-coverings, 1 Cor 11:2–16), and misunderstandings (e.g. lack of proper etiquette during table fellowship, 1 Cor 11:17–34).

Date and Place of Composition

When did Paul write this letter, and where was he when he wrote it? The answers to these questions do not affect one’s theology but do affirm the historicity of the composition of the letter. Two events stated in the Acts of the Apostles give clues as to when Paul visited the Corinthians the first time. First, Emperor Claudius’ decree that expelled the Jews from Rome happened prior to Paul’s first contact with the Corinthians, since Aquila and Priscilla were already in Corinth when Paul visited that city. Scholars date this decree to AD 49,[20] so Paul’s visit to the Corinthians must have occurred after that date. Second, the proconsul Gallio visited Corinth at the end of Paul’s eighteen-month stay there (Acts 18:11–17). Scholars date Gallio’s rule roughly from the summer of AD 51 to the summer of AD 52.[21] Gallio probably went there to preside over the Isthmian Games held in AD 51.[22] These two events together suggest that Paul’s letter to the Corinthians must have been written after AD 51 or 52, after Paul’s second missionary journey was completed.

It is likely that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians in Ephesus, where he stayed for two years as his base of his ministry during the third missionary journey (Acts 18:23 – 21:17). As mentioned at the start