The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (183 page)

10
 When
Timothy
comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am.
¹¹
So let no one despise him. Speed him on his way in peace, that he may return to me; for I am expecting him with the brethren.

12
 As for our brother
Apol'los
, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brethren, but it was not at all his will
^b
to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.

Final Message and Greeting

13
 Be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.
¹⁴
Let all that you do be done in love
.

15
 Now, brethren, you know that the household of Steph'anas were the first converts in Acha'ia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints;
¹⁶
I urge you to be subject to such men and to every fellow worker and laborer.
¹⁷
I rejoice at the coming of
Steph'anas and Fortuna'tus and Acha'icus
, because they have made up for your absence;
¹⁸
for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such men.

19
 The churches of Asia send greetings.
Aqui'la and Prisca
, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.
²⁰
All the brethren send greetings. Greet one another with
a holy kiss
.

21
 
I, Paul, write this
greeting with my own hand.
²²
If any one has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed.
Our Lord, come
!
^c
1
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
²⁴
My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Commentary on The First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians

1:1 called by the will of God:
Paul's evangelical mission was established on God's initiative, not his own (Acts 9:1-16; Gal 1:12). He asserts his apostolic authority from the outset of the letter because some of the Corinthians either doubted or denied it (9:1-2; 2 Cor 10-12).
Sosthenes:
Possibly the ruler of the Corinthian synagogue named in Acts 18:17. If so, he must have embraced the gospel during Paul's initial stay in the city. 
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1:2 To the Church of God:
Refers to the local congregation in Corinth that is part of the universal Church (CCC 752). Paul's earliest preaching in the city took place in the local synagogue, where both Jews and Greeks accepted his message (Acts 18:4).
those sanctified:
I.e., those made "holy" and "set apart" to serve God. Christians are sanctified by the merits of Christ's sacrifice (Heb 10:10), which first come to us in Baptism (6:11; Eph 5:26).
call on the name:
An act of prayer and worship (Gen 4:26; Ps 116:17). Calling on Christ's name is closely linked with the sacramental liturgy of the Church, as in Baptism (6:11; Mt 28:19; Acts 2:38; CCC 2156).
See note on 1 Cor 16:22
. • Invoking Jesus as Lord
in every place
recalls the universal worship of God's name envisioned in Mal 1:11. The early Christians saw this oracle fulfilled in "the pure offering" of the Eucharist (CCC 2643). 
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1:3 Grace to you and peace:
Paul's customary greeting to local Churches (Rom 1:7; 2 Cor 1:2; Gal 1:3). 
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1:5 all speech and all knowledge:
Gifts of the Holy Spirit (12:8). Before addressing problems Paul celebrates God's gifts to the Corinthians and expresses confidence that the Lord will continue to bless them until the end (1:8). 
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1:6 the testimony to Christ:
Paul bore witness to the gospel by preaching to the Corinthians (2:1-5), writing letters to them (5:9), and modeling virtues for their imitation (11:1). 
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1:7 spiritual gift:
Anticipates the lengthy discussion in chaps. 12-14 about the appropriate use of charismatic gifts. Such manifestations of the Spirit come from God and are meant to build up the Church in love (12:7-11; 14:3-5). 
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1:8 the day of our Lord:
Paul reminds readers of the Day of Judgment, when every thought, word, and deed will be weighed in the balance by Christ (Rom 2:5-10; 2 Cor 5:10; CCC 682). • The "day of the Lord" is a recurrent expression in the OT. It is a day of fiery judgment when God takes vengeance on his enemies and vindicates the saints (Joel 2:30-32; Amos 5:18; Obad 15). Sometimes it refers to a day
within
history, as with the day of Jerusalem's devastation in
A.D.
70 (Zech 14:1-5; Mt 24); other times it refers to the
last
day of history, when Christ will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead (3:13; 5:5; Acts 10:42). Paul rewords the traditional formula ("day of the Lord") to identify Christ with the divine Judge ("day of our Lord Jesus Christ"). 
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1:10-4:21
Paul confronts immature believers whose allegiance to various missionaries was dividing the local Church. Factions had already formed around the missionary mentors named in 1:12 (Paul, Apollos, Cephas). Paul rebukes this partisan behavior of rallying behind one minister of the gospel over against others with the reminder that all of these men are servants of the same Jesus Christ, who alone grants salvation (1:13; 3:3-9, 21-23). This background explains why the first four chapters stress the crucial importance of unity among believers and the supreme allegiance we owe to Christ over every minister of the gospel. 
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1:11 Chloe's people:
Nothing is known about this woman or her delegates beyond this verse. 
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1:12 Apollos:
A Christian leader from Alexandria (northern Egypt) who ministered in Corinth after Paul's initial stay in the city (3:5, 22; Acts 18:24-19:1).
Cephas:
The Aramaic name for Peter that is used throughout this letter (3:22; 9:5; 15:5). This is the only mention of the Apostle Peter's association with the Corinthians in the NT. See word study:
Peter
at Mt 16.
I belong to Christ:
This slogan suggests that one of the factions distinguished itself from others by its allegiance to Christ rather than to a particular missionary. 
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1:14 Crispus:
The ruler of the Corinthian synagogue who converted to Christianity when Paul first arrived in the city (Acts 18:8).
Gaius:
Possibly the individual named in Acts 19:29 and / or Rom 16:23, but this is uncertain since "Gaius" was a popular name in the Hellenistic world. 
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1:16 baptize . . . the household:
The Baptism of entire families, including domestic servants and children, was a familiar practice in the early Church (Acts 16:15, 33; CCC 1252).
See note on Lk 18:16
. 
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1:17 to preach the gospel:
Paul is not minimizing the importance of Baptism so much as stressing his primary obligation to evangelize (9:16; Rom 1:14-15). His words are aimed at certain Corinthians who exaggerated the role of the
minister
of Baptism (1 Cor 1:13-15) and lost sight of the Sacrament's purpose, which is to unite us with Christ (12:13; Gal 3:27).
not with eloquent wisdom:
The power of the gospel to move an audience derives from the message itself, not from the messenger who delivers it (1:18; Rom 1:16). Paul's mission, therefore, is, not to please the ear with the eloquent speaking ability so admired by the Corinthians, but to move the heart by speaking of Christ crucified in clear and simple terms. 
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1:18 the word of the cross:
The gospel divides the destiny of men, leading those who embrace it to salvation and dragging those who reject it to perdition (Lk 2:34). Paul's Greek depicts this as an unfolding process and implies that the final verdict of God's judgment is still open, i.e., there is still hope for
those who are perishing
and still dangers ahead for those
being saved.
 
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1:19 I will destroy:
A reference to Is 29:14. • Isaiah predicts the destruction of every form of human wisdom that asserts itself against the wisdom of God. Originally this was a warning for the leaders of Israel, whose overconfidence in human understanding was manifest when they paid more attention to politicians than to prophets. The same warning is now posted for the Corinthians, who prize the rational wisdom of men over the revealed wisdom of the gospel. 
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1:20 Where is . . . ?:
Paul taunts the intellectual elite of the ancient world. He is convinced that the Greek philosophers
(wise man),
the Jewish experts in the Torah
(scribe),
and the acclaimed public speakers of the day
(debater)
are nothing compared to the power and persuasiveness of the gospel. 
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1:21 did not know God:
Not ignorance of God's existence per se, but ignorance of his ways, especially of his divine plan to save the world through a crucified Messiah (2:8; Acts 17:30; Rom 10:3). Faith perceives what reason alone cannot, namely, the higher wisdom of God (Is 55:9). 
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1:22 Jews:
Israel expected outstanding miracles
(signs)
from the Messiah to authenticate his mission (Mt 16:1; Jn 6:30).
Greeks:
Hellenistic thinkers were always on the lookout for new and compelling explanations of the universe
(wisdom).
 
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1:23 we preach Christ crucified:
Roman crucifixion was normally a sign of disgrace and defeat for its victims. The crucifixion of Christ, however, was a deathblow to the devil and the means of our salvation (CCC 272).
stumbling block to Jews:
For some Jews, such as those who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls, crucifixion was connected with the curse of God in Deut 21:22-23. Paul deals with this apparent difficulty in Gal 3:13, where he insists that Christ endured the curse of death so that Israel and the Gentiles could be blessed with new life. 
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Word Study

Wisdom
(
1 Cor 1:20
)

Sophia
(Gk.): "wisdom", "skill", or "insight". The word is used 17 times in this letter and 34 times in the rest of the NT. Paul's use of it resonates against the background of the OT.
(1)
The Torah is viewed as the embodiment of divine wisdom (Deut 4:5-6; Sir 24:23-25).
(2)
The Wisdom Books associated with King Solomon portray wisdom as the art of prudent living. God gave this wisdom to Solomon to instruct Israel and the Gentiles in the way of righteousness (1 Kings 4:29-34).
(3)
Wisdom is also personified in the OT as a craftsman of creation (Prov 8; Wis 7:22) and one who directs human history (Wis 9-11). Wisdom in this sense had its beginning in eternity (Sir 24:9) and is closely associated with the Word of God (Wis 9:1; Sir 24:3) as well as the work of the Holy Spirit (Wis 9:17). Paul relies on these traditions to make a sharp contrast between the wisdom that comes from God and the philosophical wisdom of men celebrated by the Greeks. For the apostle, Jesus Christ is the divine Wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:24) that is given to believers through the inpouring of the Spirit (1 Cor 1:30; 2:7-13; Eph 1:17; Col 2:3). As such, it cannot be equated with the ingenuity of philosophers and thinkers.