Paul's Letters 07 First Corinthians 8-16 - Eyewitness Bible Series

Episode: Paul’s Letters Series No. 07

Narrator: Sosthenes

Primary Scriptures: First Corinthians 8-16

Story Summary: Paul’s first New Testament letter to the church in Corinth Location: Roman Empire; Greece, Corinth

Time:
AD 30 Jesus crucified and resurrected; Pentecost; Holy Spirit arrives
AD 48 Paul’s “famine visit” to Jerusalem; First Missionary Journey starts
AD 50 Council at Jerusalem; Start of Second Missionary Journey.
AD 53 Start of Third Missionary Journey
AD 56 Paul writes 1 Corinthians

Suggested Memory Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 8:3, 13; 9:22-23; 10:13-14, 23-24, 31; 11:1, 24-26; 12:3, 11; 13:1-13; 14:40; 15:3-8, 17-18

In the second half of First Corinthians, Paul goes into detail about how a unified church and its members should behave. The Corinthians’ bad behavior provided a backdrop for Paul’s teachings that would be very valuable for churches of all time. We must have humility and remember that reading this letter is a bit like listening to one side of a phone conversation: Paul may be addressing questions and situations we do not fully understand.

For instance, Paul starts 1 Corinthians 8 by addressing food sacrificed to idols. While few people face this situation today, the self-sacrificing, self-disciplined principles Paul lays out are invaluable to modern Christians who live in a self-centered, I-want-my-way society. Paul goes on to show how he personally uses those same principles, the principles that help give Christians freedom and liberty.

Much of Paul’s instructions about spiritual gifts, behavior in worship gatherings, communion, and orderly worship are found nowhere else in the Bible, so modern Christians benefit by the Corinthians’ need for detailed instruction. On the other hand, passages such as 1 Corinthians 11, 12 and 14 are some of the most challenging in the Bible when applying them to modern life.

1 Corinthians 13 is one of the most well-known passages in the Bible. Paul moves from the intricacies of right behavior to the overwhelming, sublime power of love. Throughout his letters, Paul stresses the importance of faith. The early church was motivated by hope. Yet Paul writes, “and these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Paul addresses the subject of resurrection in chapter 15, another subject treated in more detail in this letter than anywhere else in the Bible. Paul’s conclusion: since Jesus has victory over death, we should praise and thank God.