TRANSFORMED IN CHRIST

FIRST CORINTHIANS

TRANSFORMATIVE WORD

RON ELSDON & WILLIAM OLHAUSEN

Series Editors

Craig G. Bartholomew & David J. H. Beldman

Transformed in Christ: First Corinthians

Transformative Word

Copyright 2021 Ron Elsdon and William Olhausen

Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are the author’s own translation or are from the Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Print ISBN 9781683594819

Digital ISBN 9781683594826

Library of Congress Control Number 2021930746

Series Editors: Craig G. Bartholomew and David J. H. Beldman

Lexham Editorial: David Bomar, Allisyn Ma, Kelsey Matthews, and Mandi Newell

Cover Design: Lydia Dahl

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1: A Guided Tour of Corinth

2: I Once Was Blind but Now I See

3: Reading 1 Corinthians with the Spirit’s Help

4: Rehearing Paul’s Message about the Cross

5: Why Does Sex Matter So Much to Paul—and Should We Care?

6: The Challenge of Economic Self-Interest

7: The Spirit in Christian Worship and Service

8: The Promise of Resurrection

9: Where Does 1 Corinthians Take Us Next?

Recommended Reading

1

A GUIDED TOUR OF CORINTH

A fellow tourist stopped me (Ron) in the street in Barcelona. “Somebody has stolen my money and credit cards!” she exclaimed. They had been in a shopping bag slung over her shoulder. I had taken precautions. This was a Spanish city with an unenviable reputation: it was notorious for street thieves. Many cities, past and present, have reputations, including the Greek city of Corinth. But was its reputation deserved?

Two of Paul’s letters usually command more attention than the others. In the case of Romans, the theological content is particularly significant, but there is little content focused on the dynamic of Christian life in the city of Rome. First Corinthians is different. Here Paul addresses issues that reflect the life of Corinth and the church there. To understand 1 Corinthians, it is helpful to know something of the history of the city. It would be easy to start with Aristophanes, who coined the term korinthiazesthai (“to play the Corinthian”) to depict its immorality. After all, Paul refers to a climate of sexual immorality (7:2) and expresses horror at a report of it among members of the Corinthian church (5:1). There is also Strabo’s description of one thousand temple prostitutes dedicated to Aphrodite. But the ancient Greek city described by Aristophanes, Strabo, and others was destroyed in 146 bc by a Roman army in reprisal for Corinth’s refusal to submit to the authority of Rome. The city then lay in ruins until being rebuilt by Julius Caesar as a Roman colony in 44 bc, probably on account ...