The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV

by John MacArthur

13:14 r Job 29:14; Gal. 3:27; (Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10, 12)

  13:14 s (Gal. 5:16); 1 Pet. 2:11

  Romans 14

  14:1 a (Rom. 14:2; 15:1; 1 Cor. 8:9; 9:22)

  14:2 b 1 Cor. 10:25; (Titus 1:15)

  14:3 c (Rom. 14:10, 13; Col. 2:16)

  14:4 d Rom. 9:20; James 4:11, 12

  14:5 e Gal. 4:10

  14:6 f Gal. 4:10

  14:6 g Matt. 14:19; 15:36; (1 Cor. 10:31; 1 Tim. 4:3)

  14:6 1 NU omits the rest of this sentence.

  14:7 h (1 Cor. 6:19; Gal. 2:20); 1 Thess. 5:10; (1 Pet. 4:2)

  14:8 i 2 Cor. 5:14, 15

  14:9 j 2 Cor. 5:15

  14:9 k Acts 10:36

  14:9 2 NU omits and rose

  14:10 l Rom. 2:16; 2 Cor. 5:10

  14:10 3 NU God

  14:11 m Is. 45:23; (Phil. 2:10, 11)

  14:12 n Matt. 12:36; 16:27; (Gal. 6:5); 1 Pet. 4:5

  14:13 o 1 Cor. 8:9

  14:13 4 any longer

  14:14 p 1 Cor. 10:25

  14:15 q Rom. 14:20; 1 Cor. 8:11

  14:16 r (Rom. 12:17)

  14:17 s 1 Cor. 8:8

  14:17 t (Rom. 8:6)

  14:18 u 2 Cor. 8:21; Phil. 4:8; 1 Pet. 2:12

  14:18 5 NU this thing

  14:19 v Ps. 34:14; Rom. 12:18; 1 Cor. 7:15; 2 Tim. 2:22; Heb. 12:14

  14:19 w 1 Cor. 14:12; 1 Thess. 5:11

  14:19 6 build up

  14:20 x Rom. 14:15

  14:20 y Acts 10:15

  14:20 z 1 Cor. 8:9–12

  14:20 7 A feeling of giving offense

  14:21 a 1 Cor. 8:13

  14:21 8 NU omits the rest of v. 21.

  14:22 b (1 John 3:21)

  14:22 9 NU The faith which you have—have

  14:23 c Titus 1:15

  14:23 10 M puts Rom. 16:25–27 here.

  Romans 15

  15:1 a Rom. 14:1; (Gal. 6:1, 2); 1 Thess. 5:14

  15:1 1 weaknesses

  15:2 b 1 Cor. 9:22; 10:24, 33; 2 Cor. 13:9

  15:2 2 building up

  15:3 c Matt. 26:39; (Phil. 2:5–8)

  15:3 d Ps. 69:9

  15:4 e Rom. 4:23, 24; 1 Cor. 10:11; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17

  15:4 3 perseverance

  15:5 f 1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 1:27

  15:6 g Acts 4:24

  15:7 h Rom. 14:1, 3

  15:7 i Rom. 5:2

  15:7 4 NU, M you

  15:8 j Matt. 15:24; Acts 3:26

  15:8 k (Rom. 4:16); 2 Cor. 1:20

  15:8 5 minister

  15:9 l John 10:16

  15:9 m 2 Sam. 22:50; Ps. 18:49

  15:10 n Deut. 32:43

  15:11 o Ps. 117:1

  15:12 p Is. 11:1, 10

  15:13 q Rom. 12:12; 14:17

  15:14 r 2 Pet. 1:12

  15:14 s 1 Cor. 1:5; 8:1, 7, 10

  15:14 6 M others

  15:15 t Rom. 1:5; 12:3

  15:16 u Acts 9:15; Rom. 11:13

  15:16 v (Is. 66:20)

  15:16 7 Consisting of

  15:17 w Heb. 2:17; 5:1

  15:18 x Acts 15:12; 21:19; 2 Cor. 3:5; Gal. 2:8

  15:18 y Rom. 1:5

  15:19 z Acts 19:11

  15:20 a 1 Cor. 3:10; (2 Cor. 10:13, 15, 16)

  15:21 b Is. 52:15

  15:22 c Rom. 1:13; 1 Thess. 2:17, 18

  15:23 d Acts 19:21; 23:11; Rom. 1:10, 11

  15:24 e Acts 15:3

  15:24 f Rom. 1:12

  15:24 8 NU omits I shall come to you and joins Spain with the next sentence.

  15:25 g Acts 19:21

  15:25 9 serve

  15:26 h 1 Cor. 16:1; 2 Cor. 8:1–15

  15:27 i Rom. 11:17

  15:27 j 1 Cor. 9:11

  15:28 k Phil. 4:17

  15:29 l (Rom. 1:11)

  15:29 10 NU omits of the gospel

  15:30 m Phil. 2:1

  15:30 n 2 Cor. 1:11; Col. 4:12

  15:31 o 2 Tim. 3:11; 4:17

  15:31 p 2 Cor. 8:4

  15:31 11 are disobedient

  15:32 q Rom. 1:10

  15:32 r Acts 18:21

  15:32 s 1 Cor. 16:18

  15:33 t Rom. 16:20; 1 Cor. 14:33; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 4:9; (1 Thess. 5:23); 2 Thess. 3:16; Heb. 13:20

  Romans 16

  16:1 a Acts 18:18

  16:2 b Phil. 2:29

  16:2 c Phil. 1:27

  16:3 d Acts 18:2, 18, 26; 1 Cor. 16:19; 2 Tim. 4:19

  16:5 e 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philem. 2

  16:5 f 1 Cor. 16:15

  16:5 1 NU Asia

  16:7 g Acts 1:13, 26

  16:7 h Rom. 8:11; 16:3, 9, 10; 2 Cor. 5:17; 12:2; Gal. 1:22

  16:11 2 Or relative

  16:13 i 2 John 1

  16:16 j 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:26; 1 Pet. 5:14

  16:16 3 NU All the churches

  16:17 k (Acts 15:1)

  16:17 l (1 Cor. 5:9)

  16:18 m Phil. 3:19

  16:18 n Col. 2:4; 2 Pet. 2:3

  16:18 4 NU, M omit Jesus

  16:19 o Rom. 1:8

  16:19 p Jer. 4:22; Matt. 10:16; 1 Cor. 14:20

  16:19 5 innocent

  16:20 q Rom. 15:33

  16:20 r Gen. 3:15

  16:20 s 1 Cor. 16:23; 2 Cor. 13:14; Gal. 6:18; Phil. 4:23; 1 Thess. 5:28; 2 Thess. 3:18; Rev. 22:21

  16:21 t Acts 16:1; Heb. 13:23

  16:21 u Acts 13:1

  16:21 v Acts 17:5

  16:21 w Acts 20:4

  16:23 x 1 Cor. 1:14

  16:23 y Acts 19:22; 2 Tim. 4:20

  16:24 z 1 Thess. 5:28

  16:24 6 NU omits v. 24.

  16:25 a (Eph. 3:20; Jude 24)

  16:25 b Rom. 2:16

  16:25 c Matt. 13:35; Rom. 11:25; 1 Cor. 2:1, 7; 4:1; Eph. 1:9

  16:25 d Col. 1:26; 2:2; 4:3; (1 Tim. 3:16)

  16:25 7 M puts Rom. 16:25–27 after Rom. 14:23.

  16:26 e Eph. 1:9

  16:26 f (Acts 6:7); Rom. 1:5

  16:27 g Jude 25

  Introduction to First Corinthians

  Title

  The letter is named for the city of Corinth, where the church to whom it was written was located. With the exception of personal epistles addressed to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, all Paul’s letters bear the name of the city where the church addressed existed.

  Author and Date

  As indicated in the first verse, the epistle was written by the Apostle Paul, whose authorship cannot be seriously questioned. Pauline authorship has been universally accepted by the church since the first century, when 1 Corinthians was penned. Internally, the apostle claimed to have written the epistle (1:1, 13; 3:4–6; 4:15; 16:21). Externally, this correspondence has been acknowledged as genuine since A.D. 95 by Clement of Rome, who was writing to the Corinthian church. Other early Christian leaders who authenticated Paul as author include Ignatius (ca. A.D. 110), Polycarp (ca. A.D. 135), and Tertullian (ca. A.D. 200).

  This epistle was most likely written in the first half of A.D. 55 from Ephesus (16:8, 9, 19) while Paul was on his third missionary journey. The apostle intended to remain on at Ephesus to complete his 3 year stay (Acts 20:31) until Pentecost (May/June) A.D. 55 (16:8). Then he hoped to winter (A.D. 55–56) at Corinth (16:6; Acts 20:2). His departure for Corinth was anticipated even as he wrote (4:19; 11:34; 16:8).

  Background and Setting

  The city of Corinth was located in southern Greece, in what was the Roman province of Achaia, ca. 45 mi. W from Athens. This lower part, the Peloponnesus, is connected to the rest of Greece by a 4-mile-wide isthmus, which is bounded on the E by the Saronic Gulf and on the W by the Gulf of Corinth. Corinth is near the middle of the isthmus and is prominently situated on a high plateau. For many centuries, all N-S land traffic in that area had to pass through or near this ancient city. Since travel by sea around the Peloponnesus involved a 250 mile voyage that was dangerous and obviously time consuming, most captains carried their ships on skids or rollers across the isthmus directly past Corinth. Corinth understandably prospered as a major trade city, not only for most of Greece but
for much of the Mediterranean area, including North Africa, Italy, and Asia Minor. A canal across the isthmus was begun by the emperor Nero during the first century A.D., but was not completed until near the end of the nineteenth century.

  The Isthmian games, one of the two most famous athletic events of that day (the other being the Olympian games), was hosted by Corinth, causing more people-traffic. Even by the pagan standards of its own culture, Corinth became so morally corrupt that its very name became synonymous with debauchery and moral depravity. To “corinthianize” came to represent gross immorality and drunken debauchery. In 6:9, 10, Paul lists some of the specific sins for which the city was noted and which formerly had characterized many believers in the church there. Tragically, some of the worst sins were still found among some church members. One of those sins, incest, was condemned even by most pagan Gentiles (5:1).

  Like most ancient Greek cities, Corinth had an acropolis (lit. “a high city”), which rose 2,000 feet and was used both for defense and for worship. The most prominent edifice on the acropolis was a temple to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Some 1,000 priestesses, who were “religious” prostitutes, lived and worked there and came down into the city in the evening to offer their services to male citizens and foreign visitors.

  The church in Corinth was founded by Paul on his second missionary journey (Acts 18:1ff.). As usual, his ministry began in the synagogue, where he was assisted by two Jewish believers, Priscilla and Aquila, with whom he lived for a while and who were fellow tradesmen. Soon after, Silas and Timothy joined them and Paul began preaching even more intensely in the synagogue. When most of the Jews resisted the gospel, he left the synagogue, but not before Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, his family, and many other Corinthians were converted (Acts 18:5-8).

  After ministering in Corinth for over a year and a half (Acts 18:11), Paul was brought before a Roman tribunal by some of the Jewish leaders. Because the charges were strictly religious and not civil, the proconsul, Gallio, dismissed the case. Shortly thereafter, Paul took Priscilla and Aquila with him to Ephesus. From there he returned to Israel (vv. 18-22).

  Unable to fully break with the culture from which it came, the church at Corinth was exceptionally factional, showing its carnality and immaturity. After the gifted Apollos had ministered in the church for some time, a group of his admirers established a clique and had little to do with the rest of the church. Another group developed that was loyal to Paul, another claimed special allegiance to Peter (Cephas), and still another to Christ alone (see 1:10-13; 3:1-9).

  The most serious problem of the Corinthian church was worldliness, an unwillingness to divorce the culture around them. Most of the believers could not consistently separate themselves from their old, selfish, immoral, and pagan ways. It became necessary for Paul to write to correct this, as well as to command the faithful Christians not only to break fellowship with the disobedient and unrepentant members, but to put those members out of the church (5:9-13).

  Before he wrote this inspired letter, Paul had written the church other correspondence (see 5:9), which was also corrective in nature. Because a copy of that letter has never been discovered, it has been referred to as “the lost epistle.” There was another non-canonical letter after 1 Corinthians, usually called “the severe letter” (2 Cor. 2:4).

  Historical and Theological Themes

  Although the major thrust of this epistle is corrective of behavior rather than of doctrine, Paul gives seminal teaching on many doctrines that directly relate to the matters of sin and righteousness. In one way or another, wrong living always stems from wrong belief. Sexual sins for example, including divorce, are inevitably related to disobeying God’s plan for marriage and the family (7:1-40). Proper worship is determined by such things as recognition of God’s holy character (3:17), the spiritual identity of the church (12:12-27) and pure partaking of the Lord’s Supper (11:17-34). It is not possible for the church to be edified faithfully and effectively unless believers understand and exercise their spiritual gifts (12:1-14:40). The importance of the doctrine of the resurrection, of course, cannot be overestimated because if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then preaching is empty and so is faith (15:13, 14).

  In addition to those themes, Paul deals briefly with God’s judgment of believers, the right understanding of which will produce right motives for godly living (see 3:13-15). The right understanding of idols and of false gods, in general, was to help the immature Corinthians think maturely about such things as eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols (8:1-11:1). The right understanding and expression of genuine, godly love was mandatory to right use of the gifts and even to right knowledge about all the things of God (13:1-13).

  So Paul deals with the cross, divine wisdom and human wisdom, the work of the Spirit in illumination, carnality, eternal rewards, the transformation of salvation, sanctification, the nature of Christ, union with Him, the divine role for women, marriage and divorce, Spirit baptism, indwelling and gifting, the unity of the church in one body, the theology of love, and the doctrine of resurrection. All these establish foundational truth for godly behavior.

  Interpretive Challenges

  By far the most controversial issue for interpretation is that of the sign gifts discussed in chaps. 12-14, particularly the gifts of miracles and tongues-speaking. Many believe that all the gifts are permanent, so that the gift of speaking in tongues will cease (13:8) only at the time the gifts of prophecy and of knowledge cease, namely, when that which is perfect has come (v. 10). Those who maintain that tongues and miracles are still valid spiritual gifts in the church today believe they should be exercised with the same power they were in NT times by the apostles. Others believe the miraculous sign gifts have ceased. This controversy will be resolved in the appropriate notes on chaps. 12-14.

  The issue of divorce is a troubling one for many. Chapter 7 addresses the subject, but calls for careful interpretation to yield consistent biblical doctrine on the matter.

  Advocates of universalism, the idea that all men will eventually be saved, use 15:22 in support of that view, claiming that, just as every human being died spiritually because of Adam’s sin, they will all be saved through Christ’s righteousness. The note on that verse will confront the challenge of such universalists.

  From that same chapter, the obscure phrase “baptized for the dead” (v. 29) is used to defend the notion that a dead person can be saved by being baptized vicariously through a living Christian. There have been over 40 suggested explanations for this baptism. As the notes will point out, regardless of how that particular verse is interpreted, the falsehood of dead people having the opportunity to be saved is proven by many other texts that are indisputably clear.

  A much less serious issue concerns the meaning of 6:4, which pertains to Christians taking other Christians to court before unbelievers. The resolution of that problem lies primarily in being obedient to a verse which is unambiguous.

  Outline

  I. Introduction: The Calling and Benefits of Sainthood (1:1-9)

  II. Disunity in the Church (1:10-4:21)

  A. The Need for Unity (1:10-3:23)

  B. The Need for Servanthood (4:1-21)

  III. Immorality in the Church (5:1-6:20)

  IV. Marriage in the Church (7:1-40)

  V. Liberty in the Church (8:1-11:1)

  VI. Worship in the Church (11:2-14:40)

  A. Roles of Men and Women in the Church (11:2-16)

  B. The Lord’s Supper (11:17-34)

  C. Spiritual Gifts (12:1-14:40)

  VII. The Hope of the Church: Resurrection (15:1-58)

  VIII. A Charge to the Church (16:1-24)

  A. Stewardship (16:1-4)

  B. Personal Plans and Greetings (16:5-24)

  The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the

  CORINTHIANS

  1 Corinthians 1

  Greeting

  1Paul, acalled to be an apostle o
f Jesus Christ bthrough the will of God, and cSosthenes our brother,

  2To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who dare 1sanctified in Christ Jesus, ecalled to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ four Lord, gboth theirs and ours:

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

  Spiritual Gifts at Corinth

  4iI thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus,

  5that you were enriched in everything by Him jin all 2utterance and all knowledge,

  6even as kthe testimony of Christ was confirmed 3in you,

  7so that you come short in no gift, eagerly lwaiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

  8mwho will also confirm you to the end, nthat you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

  9oGod is faithful, by whom you were called into pthe fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

  Sectarianism Is Sin

  10Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, qthat you all 4speak the same thing, and that there be no 5divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

  11For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are 6contentions among you.

  12Now I say this, that reach of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of sApollos,” or “I am of tCephas,” or “I am of Christ.”

  13uIs Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

  14I thank God that I baptized vnone of you except wCrispus and xGaius,

  15lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name.

  16Yes, I also baptized the household of yStephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other.

  17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, znot with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

  Christ the Power and Wisdom of God

  (cf. Is. 29:14)

  18For the 7message of the cross is afoolishness to bthose who are perishing, but to us cwho are being saved it is the dpower of God.

  19For it is written:

  e“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

  And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”