Free Highlighting Guide

TOM · The Owner's Manual · New Testament

1 Corinthians 1

Before you read 1 Corinthians: who, when, why

BOOK 46 OF 66 · NEW TESTAMENT · LETTER

Dear Messy Church

AUTHOR
Paul, with his coworker Sosthenes, 1:1. Paul started the church in Corinth himself and stayed there a year and a half, Acts 18:11.
WRITTEN FROM
Ephesus, on Paul's third missionary trip. He planned to stay there until Pentecost, 16:8.
DATE WRITTEN
About AD 53 to 55.
WRITTEN TO
The church in Corinth, Greece, a mix of Jews and Gentiles, a few rich and many poor, 1:26.
WHY HE WROTE
People from Chloe's household reported fights in the church, 1:11, and the church sent Paul a letter full of questions, 7:1.
KEY VERSE
1 Corinthians 13:13. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
THE OLDEST COPY OF 1 CORINTHIANS

The Oldest Copy of 1 Corinthians

This is page 79 of Papyrus 46, a book of Paul's letters copied in Egypt about AD 200. It holds 1 Corinthians 2:11 to 3:5. You can read the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit, 2:14, then we have the mind of Christ, 2:16, and near the bottom, I follow Paul, 3:4. The number 79 is written in Greek letters at the top. HOW IT WAS FOUND. In the early 1930s, dealers in Egypt sold the pages in batches. No one knows for sure where they were dug up. The collector Chester Beatty bought some for his library in Dublin, Ireland, and the University of Michigan bought others, including this page. Scholars matched them up and found they were one book. Frederic Kenyon published it from 1934 to 1937. WHAT IS INSIDE. The whole book once had about 104 sheets, each written on both sides, and 86 survive. This one sheet holds only 1 Corinthians 2:11 to 3:5. Hebrews comes right after Romans, so the copyist thought Paul wrote it. Look for short words with a line over them. Copyists wrote holy names like God, Lord and Jesus that way, a habit Christians used to show honor to God's name. Most date it to about AD 200, about 150 years after Paul wrote. One scholar argued for about AD 80, but few agree.

The Setting

Corinth sat on a narrow strip of land between two seas, with a harbor on each side, Lechaion to the west and Cenchrea to the east. Rome flattened the old Greek city in 146 BC, and Julius Caesar rebuilt it as a Roman colony in 44 BC. By Paul's day it was rich, busy and famous for loose living. Every two years it hosted the Isthmian Games. Paul came about AD 50 to 52 and planted a church, and the Gallio inscription at Delphi dates his trial there, Acts 18:12. This is really at least his second letter to them. The first one, 5:9, is lost.

What Was Going Wrong

  • Fan Clubs. Believers picked favorite preachers and split into teams, 1:12.
  • Sexual Sin. A man was sleeping with his father's wife, and the church bragged about it, 5:1 to 2.
  • Lawsuits. Believers were dragging each other into pagan courts, 6:1.
  • A Drunk Communion. At the Lord's Supper some got drunk while the poor went hungry, 11:21.
  • Showing Off Gifts. Everyone spoke in tongues at once, and outsiders thought they were crazy, 14:23.
  • No Resurrection. Some said the dead are not raised at all, 15:12.

Where to Find Jesus

  • 1 Corinthians 1:23 to 24. We preach Christ crucified. To the world it is foolish, but to those who are called He is the power and wisdom of God.
  • 1 Corinthians 5:7. Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. Points back to Exodus 12.
  • 1 Corinthians 10:4. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them, and that rock was Christ. Points back to Exodus 17:6.
  • 1 Corinthians 15:3 to 4. Christ died for our sins, was buried and was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures.

Cool Stuff Most People Miss

  • The Oldest Creed. Paul says he passed on what he had received: Christ died, was buried, was raised and appeared, 15:3 to 8. Many scholars, even skeptics, date this creed to within a few years of the cross. More than five hundred people saw the risen Jesus, and most were still alive to ask.
  • The Wedding Chapter. Chapter 13 is read at weddings all over the world. Paul wrote it to a church at war with itself, to say gifts without love are just noise.
  • A Greek Comedy. Bad company corrupts good character, 15:33, is a line from Menander, a Greek writer of comedies, about 300 BC.
  • An Aramaic Prayer. In the Greek, Come, O Lord in 16:22 is one Aramaic word, Maranatha. Paul did not even translate it. The first believers prayed it in the language Jesus spoke.

Did Anybody Listen?

Some did and some did not. Paul made a painful visit and wrote a tear stained letter, 2 Corinthians 2:1 to 4. In 2 Corinthians he is glad many turned around, but new troublemakers showed up. About AD 96, Clement of Rome wrote to Corinth because they were fighting again and told them to reread Paul's letter about factions. The church in Corinth lasted, and its letters became some of the most read pages in the Bible.

Chapter 1 in 30 seconds

Paul writes to a church he planted, and the news is not good. They have split into fan clubs: I follow Paul, I follow Apollos, I follow Peter. Paul asks, Is Christ divided? Then he says the cross looks foolish to the world, but God's foolishness is wiser than the smartest people on earth.

Tap a color to hide it

Greetings from Paul and Sosthenes// Acts 18:1–11; 2 Corinthians 1:1–2

1Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

2To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

  • 1CO 1:2[FIELD NOTES]Erastus, the city treasurer of Corinth, Romans 16:23, may be named on a stone pavement found here. See The Erastus Inscription Field Notes page in Acts.

3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving// Philippians 1:3–11; Colossians 1:3–14

4I always thank my God for you because of the grace He has given you in Christ Jesus. 5For in Him you have been enriched in every way, in all speech and all knowledge, 6because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.

7Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Unity in the Church// Psalm 133:1–3; Ephesians 4:1–16

10I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction. 11My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12What I mean is this: Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”

13Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? 14I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. 16Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that I do not remember if I baptized anyone else. 17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

The Message of the Cross

18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written:

  • 1CO 1:18[FULFILLS]The wisdom of the wise would be confounded ← IS 29:14MEDIUM
  • 1CO 1:18[NOTE]Isaiah 29:14 is quoted in 1:19. God has always turned human wisdom upside down. The cross looked like weakness and defeat, but it was the power of God to save.

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;

the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

20Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

22Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

  • 1CO 1:24[FULFILLS]Called Mighty God (El Gibor) ← IS 9:6

25For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

Wisdom from God

26Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast in His presence.

30It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

  • 1CO 1:30[FULFILLS]His name would be Yahweh Our Righteousness ← JER 23:5-6
  • 1CO 1:31[QUOTES]Quotes ← JER 9:24

See the whole Bible light up in color.

Nate's Highlighting Guide lists every prophecy, fulfillment, miracle and bloodline name in one place, so you can mark your own Bible with the same 15 colors.

Get the Free Highlighting Guide Free. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Troubleshooting

Frequently asked questions

What is TOM?

TOM is The Owner's Manual, a free translation built on the Berean Standard Bible. It uses modern measurements, prints Yahweh where the Hebrew has God's name, and puts words missing from the earliest manuscripts in [square brackets]. Every change is listed in How It Was Translated.

What do the colors mean?

Each color marks one kind of verse: lime green for prophecies about the Messiah, teal for miracles, sand for archaeology, and so on. Tap any color in the chapter key to turn it off. Use Customize to choose exactly which ones you see.

Can I read without highlights?

Yes. Turn off the Highlights switch at the top for plain text. Your choice is remembered on this device.

Do the other translations have the colors too?

Yes. The colors, red letters, bloodline names and study notes come from TOM and are matched to every other translation verse by verse, so you can read the KJV, NIV or any other translation here with the same study helps.

Is this free?

Yes. The whole Bible is free to read online. The printed Owner's Manual Study Bible is coming soon.