CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER 14 OF 1 CORINTHIANS

This epistle has caused many divisions in the Church today, specifically the fourteenth chapter, which will be the focus of this study. Before beginning our exegesis of this chapter from the original Greek text, we must briefly examine all of the preceding chapters, as well as the ones that follow our chapter in view. We must first objectively analyze the author of the epistle, as well as to whom the author was writing to, the historical time and place of the writing, and the Greek words and grammar. We must also reconcile all of the pertinent scriptures so that none contradict themselves. When a Pastor or a Teacher overlooks any of these factors, it is inevitable that distortions will ensue. As you embark in this study, please continue to keep all the evidence in mind, so that the correct message comes together as the Lord intended it to be. When we read a regular book, we don’t take a sentence from the middle of the book and totally ignore what comes before and what follows that sentence, do we? Why do we do this with God’s Word? In doing so, we will take scripture out of the context in which it was intended to be in.

Author and Date

Paul’s Authorship of this Epistle is acknowledged by the Epistle itself (1:1‑2; 16:21), as well as by the early church fathers. Today, there should not be any contradictions to this fact; since scholars do not have a problem with the epistle’s authorship, to do so would simply be a waste of time. Paul also tells us in this epistle that he was writing from Ephesus, right before Pentecost (1 Cor.16: 8). The time of this writing was when he was about to conclude his three year stay in Ephesus (Acts 20:31), probably sometime between AD 54 and AD 57.

The City of Corinth

In the time of the New Testament, Corinth was a very flourishing and roaring city due to its centralized location. Greece was basically divided into two parts with Corinth located on the strip of land connecting the two. The southern part of Greece was called the Peloponnesus; the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf separated it from the northern section of Greece. The Gulf of Corinth was to the west and the Saronic Gulf was to the east. The only piece of land that acts as a doorway for land travel between the two sections of Greece was a very narrow, four-mile wide strip of land called the isthmus. In the middle of the isthmus, a little south, is where the City of Corinth is situated. In ancient times all north and south overland traffic had to go through Corinth, which made Corinth benefit tremendously.

Another reason that Corinth was such a thriving City was not only the land travel, but the sea travel as well. Since traveling around the Peloponnesus was, not only dangerous, but also a long journey at over two hundred miles in distance, most captains chose the alternative. That alternative was to carry their smaller ships overland on rollers across the narrow piece of land called the isthmus. This course of action was much more economical, much faster and much safer than sailing all the way around the southern part of Greece. Since goods not only flowed by land, but by sea as well, is it any wonder that Corinth benefited from traffic in all directions and so became a major commercial trade center.

Another item of importance to remember is the number of temples that were in the city; these were used for pagan worship. One of which was the temple dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, which housed hundreds of priestesses, who were ritual prostitutes. Needless to say, this priestesses would prostitute themselves to, not only all the foreign travelers in the city, but to the local men in the name of religion. Not far from the temple of Aphrodite, was the pagan temple of Apollo, the immortal son of Zeus and Leto. These were just two pagan temples that were among several others which were dedicated to other false gods. The city was synonymous with open and unrestrained sexual immorality, drunkenness and idolatry, even among the pagan world. In an environment of this nature, is it any wonder that the church of Corinth had been plague with numerous problems. Not only because this environment was around the church of Corinth, but because they themselves were part of this environment before they were saved.

History of the Church at Corinth

Paul had not traveled to Corinth until he was in the process of his second missionary journey. After doing missionary work at other cities like Trosa, Samothrace, Neapolis Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea and Athens, he then arrived at Corinth (Acts 16:11‑18:1).

The first people that Paul met when he arrived in the city was, a Jew named Aquila and his wife Priscilla. Paul stayed with them and worked with them, because he was a tentmaker as they also were. During this time, Paul preached in the synagogue on every Sabbath and so many Corinthians, including Jews, began to believe in Jesus Christ (Acts 18:2‑ 4). When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching and he encountered some opposition from some Jews (Acts 18:5‑6). Even though some Jews oppose, others believed, as we see in the example of Crispus, the synagogue ruler and his entire household (Acts 18:8).

We know that Paul continued to teach the Word of God in Corinth for a year and a half (Acts 18:11). During this time, Jewish opposition continued towards Paul, but it was not successful (Acts 18:12‑16). Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time, but eventually left Corinth along with Priscilla and Aquila to move on to Ephesus (Acts 18:18‑19).

After Paul, a Jew named Apollos, who was a native of Alexandria, became the next leader of the Corinthian church. He was a dynamic speaker, but although he had a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, he knew only the baptism of John. Apollos knew something about Jesus, but basically he, like John, was still looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. His baptism was based on repentance rather than on faith in the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Fortunately the Lord used Priscilla and Aquila to clarify to Apollos the way of God more adequately (Acts 18; 24‑28; 19:1‑ 4).

Chapter 1

After introducing himself, Paul begins the Epistle by reminding the Corinthians of their position in Christ. All believers have been sanctified in Christ and are saints the moment they accepted His work on the cross. The Greek word translated “sanctified” is [hegiasmenois], meaning “set apart as sacred to God, holy, purified.” We are holy because of the Lord's substitutionary sacrifice on the cross and it is His perfect righteousness, which is credited to us, that makes use holy. Likewise, the Corinthian believers had been set apart as sacred to God because of God’s gift of salvation, regardless of any sins which they were guilty of committing. This was a permanent position, regardless of the doctrinal distortions that were going on among the Corinthians, as we will see as we progress through the Epistle.

From reading verses 5‑7, Paul seems to be referring to the Corinthians as spiritual giants, but as we read in chapter 3:1, we see that they were mere infants in Christ. The reference was to the complete provisions that God has provided to believers. The Corinthians did not lack any of these provisions, which they had in Christ of growing and using their spiritual gift; they had simply not used them properly. This was something that caused various problems within the Church at Corinth, which Paul will begin to deliberate on shortly.

In verses 4‑5, Paul is thankful for what God has provided to every believer during his or her life on this earth. The first provision that we have in Jesus Christ is, of course, salvation. After salvation, God has provided everything that it takes to reach spiritual maturity (Heb. 6:1). Every believer has the capacity to reach spiritual maturity and thus be enriched continually in his or her speech and knowledge by accurately handling the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). Paul is telling the Corinthians that he prays that in-taking accurate teaching of God's Word will continually enrich them, and that it be manifested in them being prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks to give the reason for their hope (1 Pet. 3:15). The blessing of speech and knowledge refer primarily to sharing the saving work of Christ to the world, and continuing with the comprehension and application of the spiritual mechanics that result in spiritual growth and maturity.

In verse 7, Paul is telling the Corinthians, as well as every believer in Christ, that whatever gift we receive from God the Holy Spirit (1 Cor.12: 11), was received the moment we were born again. As in physical birth, a newborn possesses all of his or her physical assets. As the newborn grows in stature, so does their physical assets, no new assets are added later on in life. When we become newly born again believers, we fully possess our spiritual assets as well, in those assets will be included the spiritual gift that the Holy Spirit determines we should have (1 Cor.12: 11). We must grow in our spiritual life to the point where we identify what that gift is, and develop it. Some believers, due to disinterest or inability to rightly divide the Word of truth (2 Tim.2: 15), never even recognize their gift, much less develop it, even though they already posses it.

After comforting the Corinthians in their position in Christ, and giving thanks for all God has provided for them as believers, Paul now begins to address the problems that were occurring in the church of Corinth.

The first problem that Paul addresses was the divisions that were happening within the congregation (v. 11). These divisions were occurring because the Corinthian believers were quarreling over their loyalty to men (vs. 11,12). The fact that Paul did not spare the confidentiality of the source that had informed him of this problem indicates that indeed it was a serious problem (v. 11).

After Paul had left Corinth, he then sent Apollos to be the second pastor. Apparently some of the believers had become devoted to Apollos and Paul exclusively. Another group of Jewish Christian was of a loyal following to Cephias (Peter). The fourth group laid a special claim to Christ. Even though the last group had the right name of our Lord, judging from Paul’s allegation, their mentality was one of self-righteous arrogance. The result of this type of self-righteous mind-set can lead to thinking that they have no need of a pastor or teacher, because they have revelation directly from God. This is a fertile ground for distortions of God’s Word. These believers should have been loyal to God's unadulterated message, regardless of who God used to communicate that message, not losing perspective that the message was what was important and that these men were only the means that God used to communicate His truth (3:5). Today, such divisions are evident when Christians tend to classify themselves under certain denominations or particular movements.

Chapter 2

In the City of Corinth, an occult was beginning that emphasized human philosophy or human wisdom. The wisdom of the creature cannot possibly compare with that of the creator and Paul did not want the Corinthians to have confidence in man's wisdom, but in God's power (v. 5). Some believers, in their arrogance had become carnal minded and were operating from human wisdom. Paul communicates to them that the only wisdom that matters is God's secret wisdom (vs. 6‑7), which is revealed through His Spirit (v. 10) to those who train themselves to have the mind of Christ (v. 16), and this through consistent and accurate doctrinal intake of His Word. The mind of Christ is a reference to the completed bible. To build the thoughts of our Lord in the soul is the process that must be followed in order to understand all the things that God has prepared for those who love Him (v. 9-10). Everyone has an opinion as to what God must be like or if He exists. Apart from the revealed truth in the bible and God the Holy Spirit's guiding power in our understanding of that truth, it is nothing more than speculation on the part of an individual without the Spirit. On his own resources, the creature can only achieve human wisdom at the most. It is only through God's resources that the creature can achieve an understanding of his Creator and the Creator's plan for His creation.

Chapter 3

In beginning this chapter, Paul continues on what he has gradually been building in the previous two chapters. In chapter one, he lovingly reminded them of their position in heaven and the provisions that their heavenly Father has provided for all His children (1:1‑9). After comforting the Corinthians in these matters, he continues to still progressively build his case (1:10). In verses 11 and 12 of chapter one, Paul opens it up and point blank, addresses the first pressing issue of the Epistle. In continuance of chapter 2, the Apostle differentiates mere carnal knowledge (human wisdom) and God's perfect knowledge (divine wisdom).

In this chapter, the Apostle begins to really lay on the Corinthians a little heavier. He begins by focusing on the fact that even though they were Christians they were not the spiritual giants that they thought they were. He refers to them as carnal infants in Christ who had never grown to learn what the Christian way of life really was (3:1-3). They had substituted their own set of human standards according to what their human wisdom dictated. The fact that jealousy and quarrels were the result of their actions is evidence that their motivation was not from the Holy Spirit, but their sin nature (Gal. 5:19‑20; Rom. 7:17; 8:8; James. 4:1).

The problem of divisions, which was the result of their idolatrous behavior towards mere man, is once again addressed and explained by Paul in verses 5‑9.

In verses 11‑15, Paul now uses the fear of their loss of heavenly rewards, due to their motivation being wrong. Paul is led to use a magnificent analogy to describe what occurs after God has laid our foundation to our spiritual house (salvation). The Christian who is out of fellowship (carnal) may appear to be a good and moral individual to those around him. Unfortunately, if there is even the slightest mental attitude sin of gossip or slander (2 Cor. 12:20) in their life, it will mean that their house was build out of wood, hay and straw. This the Apostle tells us, will results in their house burning (loss of rewards) when they stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive their rewards, yet they themselves will be saved, thanks to the foundation that was laid down in Christ.

Those Christians that train themselves to correctly divide the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15) and distinguish when they are out of fellowship (Heb. 5:14), will use God's provision of confession (1 Jn. 1:9). By confession, the Christian is now restored to fellowship with God and controlled by the Holy Spirit, who is strengthen by the amount of metabolized doctrine in their soul. This will result in the right motivation and will cause our spiritual house to be made out of gold, silver and costly stones (heavenly rewards) (Rev. 3:18). This, of course, will result in great inequality in heaven amongst believers. This is much like those born in this country. Even though we all have the same opportunity to succeed before the laws of this country, some will use that opportunity to become rich and others will become poor. Some become famous and others are obscured, some succeed as starters for their team and others are only backups, some are in jail and some are not. Even though we all live in this country, our opportunities are manifested differently amongst each individual.

In heaven likewise, although we all had the same opportunity to buy gold from Christ (Rev. 3:18) by reaching spiritual maturity during our life here on earth, some took advantage of that opportunity and some did not. This will result in some having authority over nations and some not (Rev. 2:26), some will have the right to eat from the tree of life and other will not (Rev. 2:7), some will have the right to sit with Christ on His throne and some will not (Rev. 3:21). Even though all believers will be in heaven, the opportunity that they had here on earth will be manifested differently amongst each believer in eternity. Paul is using this example to motivate the Corinthians into getting on the right path; otherwise they risk losing great rewards in heaven, even though they themselves will be saved (v. 15).

In the remaining verses of the chapter, Paul stresses that the Corinthian believers are defiling the temple of God, which is the body of every born‑again believer (v. 17). This defilement would be considered a state of moral degeneracy, which these believers were manifesting in their envy, strife and divisions.

Chapter 4

Now the Apostle points out the Corinthian's self‑righteous arrogance, because in their blindness, they had gotten divorced from grace orientation. Some thought that somehow they were better because of the man that they followed. They were judging themselves by human standard, in a sense saying, “I am a better Christian because I studied under Paul.” And whether it was Paul, Apollos or Cephas (Peter), they were taking pride in one man over against another and this is one of the root causes of division (V. 6).

In verse 8 Paul uses irony and sarcasm to get the Corinthians to see how poor they really were because of the haughtiness and spiritual immaturity in comparison with apostles. And in verse 10 the sarcasm continues. The fact that the Apostle was not praising the Corinthians, but in actuality was trying to shame the Corinthians to see the error of their ways is verified in verse 14.

Paul then urges the Corinthians to stop walking in the power of their flesh and instead imitate him as he walks in the power of the Holy Spirit (vs. 16‑20).

Chapter 5

Up to this chapter, the apostle has addressed the motivational, emotional and volitional evil within each believer. Now he begins to address the evil that was being overlooked within the Corinthian church.

Paul states that there were some within the church that were sexually immoral. He specifically pinpoints the problem as being incest, for there was a man who was having sexual relations with his father's wife. He tells the Corinthians that this type of behavior is not even tolerated amongst unbelievers, yet they were winking at this man's sin instead of excommunicating the man who did this (vs. 1,2).

In the same manner as many Christians today, the Corinthians looked on the incest as part of their Christian freedom, probably justifying it in the name of love. The fact that so many Christians today share the same view when they say, “well that's just one of their weaknesses and who are we to judge them for it,” is reason to grief. Towards this attitude the Apostle tells the Corinthians that they are to pass judgment on the man by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus' power is present through His Word and His Holy Spirit; God's Word condemns the continued practice of such fornication (Lev. 18:7‑8; Deut. 22:30; 27:20) (vs. 3‑4).

In verse 5, Paul says to abandon this sinful man to the devil that he may afflict the man as he pleases. This abandonment to Satan was to be accomplished, not by some magical incantation, but by expelling the man from the church (vs. 2,7,11,13). To expel him was to put him out in the devil's territory, severed from any connection with God's people. So that being officially ostracized from the church will cause the man such anguish that he will repent and forsake his wicked way. Tolerating such sin (yeast) will eventually effect the rest of the church (dough) by opening the door to every type of sin imaginable such as homosexuality, lesbianism, people living together out of wedlock and all the other sins condemned by God's Word (vs. 6‑ 8).

Paul now concludes the chapter by telling the Corinthians that they are not to associate with sexually immoral people (v. 9). Not at all, referring to the unbelievers, for we are to witness to them (v. 10), but to the ones who call themselves professing Christian, yet they disobey God’s Word by their sexual immorality, greed, idolatry, slandering, drunkenness or swindling (v. 11). To these, Paul says do not even eat with, because calling oneself a Christian while continuing to live an immoral life is reprehensible and degrading, and gives a false testimony to Christ. If the true Christian has intimate association with someone who does this, the non‑Christian world may assume that the church approves such immoral, ungodly living and thus the name of Christ would be dishonored. Questions could arise concerning the true character of the Christian's own testimony (Rom. 16:17‑18; 2 Th. 3:6,14‑15).

Chapter 6

In this chapter the matter of lawsuits among believers and sexual immorality are address. Paul begins by addressing the disputes that the brethren were having amongst one another. Paul seems to be talking about various kinds of property court cases here, not criminal cases that should be handled by the state (Rom. 13:3‑4).

In verse 2, Paul views believers as fully competent to resolve cases where Christians have claims against each other, because they view matters from a divine viewpoint. In comparison with the future role of a Christian in the judgment of the world and of angels (v. 3), judgments of this life should be insignificant. Yet Paul raises the Corinthians sense of shame by saying, “Isn't anyone among you wise enough to settle such simple disputes, that you have to take each other to court, and this in front of unbelievers (vs. 5‑6).”

The fact that these believers were having lawsuits amongst themselves gave evidence that they had no idea what it was to have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). Someone with divine viewpoint would not have retaliated when wronged, but instead would have endured it with joy practicing unselfishness, forgiveness and love‑even willing to suffer loss. These believers were so concerned with their possessions of this world that they were willing to cheat and wrong their own brethren in order not to lose those possessions (vs. 7‑8).

In verse 12, Paul is quoting some in the Corinthian congregation who boasted that hey had a right to do anything they pleased. The apostle counters by observing that such freedom of action may not benefit the Christian, because one may become enslaved by those actions in which he freely indulges.

Again in verse 13, the apostle quotes some who were claiming that as the physical acts of eating and digesting food have no bearing on one's inner spiritual life, so the physical act of promiscuous sexual activity does not affect one's spiritual life. Paul denies that what one does with his body is unimportant. This is particularly true of the use of sex, which the Lord has ordained in wedlock for the good of mankind (Heb. 13:4).

The inner defilement of God's temple that Paul mentions in chapter 3 is due to moral degeneracy. This moral degeneracy had ultimately manifested itself into immoral degeneracy, which Paul addresses in the second part of this chapter. He refutes the sexual evil that the Corinthians had gotten involved in (v. 18) and says that sexual relations outside the marriage bond is a gross perversion of the divinely established marriage union (v. 16).

Chapter 7

In this chapter, based on the immoral degeneracy of chapter 6, Paul begins to bring out some of the things about marriage.

Since there was so much immorality within the city of Corinth, it was very likely that someone who was single might fall into the sin of sexual immorality. Therefore, Paul advises that each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband (v. 2). And one party should not deprive the other of sexual relations because of anger, displeasure or emotional frustration. They should both build a Christian relationship with each other so that every evening before bed would be a time of prayer. This time would be a time when God the Holy Spirit is involve in their lives and if this is the case, there would be no such thing as anger or any of the other things that women and men use against one another such as, “don't touch me, etc.” The normal God‑given sexual drive in the human is strong and depriving one another would open the door for temptation by Satan to sexual immorality (v. 5).

Paul then continues by saying that marriage is not mandatory and wises that all could have the gift of celibacy as he had (v. 6‑7). He says that if you have no desire for marriage it is good, because your whole time can be devoted to the Lord, but if you have no control, then you should marry (vs. 8‑9).

Now he addresses the subject of divorce, which was yet another problem that the Corinthians had. He states that a believer's first choice should not be to divorce, but to stay and win over the unbelieving spouse, unless the unbelieving spouse leaves (vs. 15‑16).

Verse 36 of this chapter has cause much trouble to many, mainly because it seems to be saying that a man who is engaged to his virgin can do as he wants, as long as they are engaged he is not sinning. The word virgin should be translated “virgin daughter” and the male who is in reference here is her father.

In Jewish culture, the father had an influential role in deciding their daughter's future husband. Apparently, some fathers had dedicated their young daughters to the Lord as permanent virgins. But when some of the daughters became of the age to marry, many of them had a desire to get married. Since celibacy is a gift from the Lord, it would be difficult for someone without this gift to maintain his or her single status. This caused a dilemma for the father, because he had to make a choice whether he should break the vow that he had made for the girl and let her marry or force the girl to stay a virgin. Paul is saying that the father can choose either way that he should decide is best and that neither decision will cause him to sin.

Chapter 8

In this chapter, Paul is going to open us up to the mentality that he is going to be faced with throughout the rest of this Epistle and that's the mentality of “I'm more spiritual than you are.”

Another of the problems that these believers were having was about eating food sacrificed to idols. He states that food that is sacrificed to an idol, means nothing to him who has the knowledge of knowing that there is no other God but one (v. 4). Therefore, the idol that the food is being offered to represent no real god and possesses no power, thus it is not any different than any other food and he knows that he is free to eat it.

He then tells us that not all Christian know that an idol has no personal reality. These Christians cannot eat such food, because having a weak conscience they think that they have sinned against Christ. By thinking this, they felt guilty and defile themselves by the mental attitude sin of guilt. The apostle marbled at the fact that there were still some who had such a weak conscience and states that what you eat doesn't make you worse or better before God (vs. 7‑8).

In the remainder of this chapter, Paul expresses to the stronger brethren not to cause their weaker brothers to stumble. The fact that knowing that this food was all right to eat was no reason to do it in front of those that taught differently, because in doing so, the stronger believers were causing the weak to sin. Paul says that he would rather refrain from eating in front of the weaker brethren then to be the cause of their fall.

Chapter 9

We must keep in remembrance that Paul is talking about the difference between those who think they are spiritual and those who think they are not spiritual based on a particular type of relationship.

Paul begins by saying that even though he may not be an apostle to others, to the Corinthians he should be. Apart from the fact that he had seen the Lord, his ministry in Corinth should have been evidence enough, because it had resulted in them being saved and sanctified into the family of God (vs. 1‑2).

The apostles' main objective was to win as many as possible to the Lord (v. 19). He would adapt to any situation around him in order to witness the gospel, as he explains in verses 20‑22. If it meant mingling in an immoral environment of the nature of Corinth and eating food offered to idols he would do it in order to preach the gospel.

The Corinthians were judging Paul because he was being what he was called to be “shrewd as serpent, and harmless as dove (Matt. 10:16).” A judgmental Christian is going to judge the true evangelist, because the true evangelist is every Christian who makes the winning of souls the most important part of his live.

There were some in the church of Corinth that had set standards that caused them to judge Paul. When somebody judges somebody and finds them lacking, it only means that they are better than the person whom they judging. Therefore, there were some who by judging Paul in other areas, were placing themselves above Paul, because “I don't do such a thing, I'm glad I'm not like Paul,” is what they said. This is what Paul writes in defense of in verse 3.

He then continues in verse 11 to tell them that he had a spiritual right to except financial support from them, for if the tax‑collectors have this right, shouldn't he have it all the more (v. 12). Yet, Paul surrendered all his rights so that the gospel might not be hindered and may be offered free of charge (v. 18). Paul was living in poverty and preaching the gospel and there were those who were saying, “it is a judgment of God upon him,” because his reward was not the carnal things of the Corinthians.

This entire chapter, along with chapter 8 is designed to humiliate in every possible way those who have decided to base spirituality on any outward expression. Examples of this type of outward expression of spirituality would be something like how esthetic you get on Sundays, or an outward expression of how you live, such as not drinking, smoking etc. or what you have, such as material possessions.

Chapter 10

This is a strong doctrinal chapter in which Paul uses the example of Israel to parallel the Corinthians' situation. He begins to set the stage for the high point of the epistle.

Paul begins by writing that just as our forefathers were under the bondage of slavery in Egypt and were freed by passing through the passage that God had provided across the red sea. So to, they were also freed from the bondage of the world when they accepted Christ as their savior and were baptized by the Holy Spirit into the family of God (vs. 1‑2).

At the moment they believed in the saving work of our Lord on the cross, they were born spiritually. God has provided His Word, which is the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16), to all who are born again so that they might eat it and grow to spiritual maturity (Matt. 4:4; Heb. 6:1).

Unfortunately, most of the Corinthians had committed the same mistake as most of the people of Israel (v. 5). Paul reminds them of Israel's examples so that they might turn from their idolatry, which was evident in their quarreling, jealousy and pride over who they followed, as well as them cheating one another (3:1‑4; 6:8). And he once again warns against sexual immorality, which was occurring among them (5:1). He now writes to say that they should not test the Lord (v. 9) by their continuance in their moral degeneracy (chap. 3) and immoral degeneracy (chap. 6), for they to might follow the same faith as Israel.

In verse 9 the apostle tells them not to grumble as Israel had done before them because of lack of faith. For this reason, the Israelites wondered the desert and did not enter the promise land. The Corinthians as well as many Christians today, after being born again, never enter the promise land of maturity by rightly dividing God's word (2 Tim. 2:15) and understanding what the Christian way of life is. This ignorance will manifest itself in grumbling against God in time of suffering in the words, “why is God letting this happen.” Yet, those in maturity will understand its purpose and will rejoice (Rom. 5:3).

In continuing, Paul tells these self‑righteous believers that these examples are warnings to those who may be caught in the same type of sin (v. 11). So he tells them not to be so sure of themselves, for they to might fall (v. 12).

He says in verse 19 that a sacrifice offer to an idol is nothing and that an idol is also nothing. And then he continues to say that even though they are nothing, they are offered to demons and he doesn't want them provoking the Lord to discipline His children that He loves because of disobedience (vs. 19‑22).

In the remaining verse of the chapter, Paul once again addresses the subject that he addressed in chapter 8. This was to not ask no questions about the food that an unbeliever may invite you to eat (v. 27), that is unless it causes someone else to stumble because of their weak conscience whether Jews, Greeks or the Church of God (v. 32). Paul is saying that the Christian should seek not what is only good for him, but what is best for everyone involved (v. 33).

Chapter 11

Paul now continues in this chapter by saying, “follow me as I follow Christ (v. 1).” This was in preparation to give the order of relationship between men and women, not only in propriety of worship but also in marriage.

The basic problem in the Corinthian church did not concern doctrine but morals, not theology but life‑styles. They remembered and believed the cardinal truths about God's nature and work, but they did not live godly lives. And so Paul praises them for their strengths before he again begins to correct their weaknesses. In this case was their misunderstanding of male‑female roles and relationships (v. 2).

In verses 3‑10 we see some verses that prohibit women from claiming the gift of pastor/teacher. In the order of God's plan we should realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God (v. 3). The body (church) can never dictate to the head (Christ) what to do; it cannot lead the head because it does not have the eyes to lead. In the same way as the church is to learn to glorify or magnify Christ, so to is the woman to learn to reflect man's glory. This by reflecting all the positive attributes of the man to the extent that when people see her mate and people see her, they see the same. This is only accomplished when the man first trains himself to have the mind of Christ. It is impossible for a woman to reflect man's glory if she is trying to be the leader. This can only be done as a follower. Any woman, who is trying to reflect the glory of her husband to the extent that she is an image of him, cannot pastor a flock because she is under subjection to someone other than Christ.

The apostle then establishes this relationship once again when he writes that woman was created for man and not man for woman, and man was created for God (vs. 8‑9). For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head (v. 10).

In the second part of this chapter, Paul addresses another aspect of divisions, which was occurring during the communion service (vs. 17‑18). The early church held the agape (love) feast in connection with the Lord's Supper (2 Pet. 2:13; Jude 12). This meal was something like a present‑day potluck dinner. In good Greek style they brought food for all to share, the rich bringing more and the poor less, but because of their cliques the rich ate much and the poor were left hungry (v. 21). Once again, this showed the Corinthian's standard of judging with the mentality of “well you didn't bring anything, so you don't get anything.” For this type of behavior, Paul had absolutely no praise (v. 22), and if continued, it will ultimately result in disciplinary action from the Lord in physical ailments or the sin unto death (v. 30).

All this once again is just setting up the stage for divisions occurring in the Corinthian church.

Chapter 12

Now Paul begins to really get into it full blown by talking about spiritual gifts.

The first thing to note out of all of these gifts is that they are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, as He determines (v. 11)! All spiritual gifts are a decision of God the Holy Spirit at the moment we are born‑again, as discussed in chapter 1. Today Christians run around begging for other gifts after they have already been born‑again. This is due to misapplication and misexegesis of scripture.

God the Holy Spirit is the builder of the body and the Spirit baptized us all into one body (v. 13). At the moment we are baptized, God the Holy Spirit decides what part of the body you are by giving your gift at that time according to what the body needs. What we are supposed to do is grow to learn how to operate with the gift that we have because the Holy Spirit knows that it is what the body needs.

Paul then gives an analogy of the body of Christ as liken unto our physical bodies. Only God could build such a complicated and amazing thing as the human body, in the same way only God the Holy Spirit could build the body of Christ (v. 18). When we have an ear infection, it can develop to the point that the balance of the whole body is effected. When the kidneys malfunction, the whole body suffers. The body of Christ in the same way must have all the parts mutually working together in order for it to stay healthy and one part cannot take the place of another.

After Paul has stressed God's sovereignty in distributing the gifts and believer's responsibility to be content with them, he now addresses the reason they were fighting amongst themselves. This was due to the fact that in their arrogance they had been seeking the showier gifts such as tongues. In verses 29 and 30 the Apostle states that not all can have the gift of apostle, prophet, teachers, miracles, healing, speaking in other languages and interpreting. He ranks the communication gifts such as that of teacher as the important gifts and that of tongues to the lowest position. In their blind arrogance, the Corinthians had gotten their rankings backwards and had placed the speaking in tongues in the forefront. The superordinating conjunction [de], which is translated "but" is introducing a contrast to what the Corinthians were guilty of doing. Paul is now going to express a command for the Corinthians to follow. It was a command that is contrary to what the Corinthian believers were doing.

The Greek verb [zeloo] is the Greek root word from which the words "earnestly desire" are translated. This verb is in the imperative mood, present tense, active voice, and is second person plural. The second person plural is indicating that Paul was talking to the entire Corinthian congregation. The second person imperative is the most forceful way of telling someone to do something. This form of the imperative mood is conveying Paul as an authority figure from God who expects those that he is addressing to do exactly as he has ordered. He is commanding the Corinthian believers to desire that when they assemble together, the bests gifts such as teaching may be used instead of those in lower ranking, which tongues was. One gift is not greater than another, for it is God the Holy Spirit who gives them and they are all equally important for the building up of the body of Christ. But, in the list of spiritual gifts, tongues was at the bottom of the totem pole and was never to be coveted by the Corinthians as they had been guilty of doing. It is a sad fact that many today are guilty of this same action. In conclusion to all this, Paul states the alternative to the action of the Corinthians when he states, "and now I will show you the most excellent way."

Chapter 13

In this chapter Paul continues by saying that the thing that they did need to seek and were not seeking was the most excellent way, and this way was the way of love.

Paul now describes the qualities of true divine love which are develop as we learn to love God through the study and obedience of His Word (2 Jn. 6) (vs. 4‑7). He points out these qualities to show the Corinthians that the divisions of the previous chapters were caused due to the fact that they lacked these characteristics. If they had been operating from true divine love, everyone would have work with one another for the betterment of the other as oppose to the betterment of self.

The apostle writes that this true divine love never fails (v.8), as oppose to “prophecies which shall fail.” The apostle tells us that there will come a time when the gift of prophecy would cease. The last prophetic words were written down in the book of Revelation by the apostle John. This marked the completion of the Bible and further addition is strictly disallowed (Rev. 22:18). Now that the Scriptures are completed, there is no further need for the gift of prophecy.

In continuance, we now read that “whether there be tongues, they shall cease.” At the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jewish people in AD 70, the gift of tongues was the first to be suspended. The words “they shall cease” is used for the Greek verb [pausontai] meaning, “to stop, prohibit, be done with, cut off, come to an end.” [Pausontai] is in the middle voice (subject is benefited by the action of the verb) and in the indicative mood (mood of reality; indicates that an event actually occurred as indicated). We have seen some of the problems that the misuse of tongues had caused the Corinthian Church. The termination of this gift would benefit the Corinthians in that these problems would cease once the gift terminated. The indicative mood declares the reality of the termination of this gift. The attempted practice of tongues today has resurfaced many of the problems that plagued the Corinthian Church, from strife to inferiority and superiority complexes (12:15-16; 12:21).

In addition to prophecies and tongues terminating, the gift of “knowledge” was to also cease. The Greek noun for "knowledge" is [gnosis] and it pertained to the temporary gift of teaching believers certain doctrines of the faith. We have to remember that the New Testament had not yet been completed, this gift was use to teach the doctrines that would eventually be part of the New Testament scriptures. These doctrines were being built to a time when they would be completed, but had not yet gotten to that point. In the mean time, those with this gift only knew "in part" and could only teach "in part" (v.9). They communicated on the basis of what they knew at the time until the "perfect" would be completed (v.10).

In verse 10 the phrase “that which is perfect” is a reference to a perfect thing and not a perfect person. The Greek noun [to teleion] is the nominative neuter singular from the noun [teleios]. The fact that it is in the neuter gender reflects that it is speaking of a thing and not a person. We could therefore translate this noun as “the perfect” or “the completed” since it is a reference to the completed bible. Another reference to the "perfect" is in the epistle of James when he refers to the “the perfect law of liberty” (James. 1:25) as being synonymous with God's completed Word.

We now see the conclusion of this chapter with Paul saying that the Corinthians should put away the childish attitudes that they were guilty of committing. Instead, they should grow to spiritual maturity so that they may walk in love, because God is love (1 Jn. 4:8) and has communicated His love to us through His Word (1 Jn. 4:10), and He commands us to love one another (Jn. 13:34‑35). This divine love that we are commanded to have is obtained only through first loving God, which comes from knowing Him (2 Pet. 3:18), thereby obtaining the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).

The Corinthians might have known God's Word, but did not understand it, otherwise they would have known what the Christian way of life was all about, they were learning but never coming to an understanding of the truth (2 Tim. 3:7). They had failed to grow to know what the Christian way of life was and had substituted God's standards for their own self‑righteous moral standards, and in the next chapter Paul comes to the high point of this epistle.

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