1 Corinthians 1

Corinth was known throughout the Roman Empire for its immorality. There was a temple to Aphrodite that overlooked the lower part of the city. Plato equated Corinthian girls with prostitutes. There are a couple of things that are interesting about 1 Corinthians. First, it isn't the first epistle from Paul to them; it is the second. The first has been lost along with their response to Paul. So what we are reading is the middle of a correspondence between Paul the Corinthian members. It's like we have walked into the middle of a conversation. Second, the Corinthian saints were not good saints. The great apostasy was already started among them with some claiming to be followers of Paul, some of Apollos, some of Cephas. They were also divided on their views of the human body. Some felt that the body should be denied of all pleasure, that sex was evil. Others felt that you should not deny the body of any pleasure. So as one commentary says, the epistles to the Corinthians are so good because the Corinthians are not.

The main message I get from chapter 1 is the importance of the church having no divisions. It becomes powerless if it struggles within itself. This is true for the church at large, for stakes, missions, wards, and for families. As soon as divisions creep in, it becomes consumed with itself and its own problems, lessening its ability to be of good influence to others. Paul, who declares his calling as an apostle for the first time in the scriptures, pleads with the brethren, the church leaders, to have no divisions amongst themselves. He tells them that it is the humble who God uses. It is those who appear to be weak because of their faith who are really the strong in the world.