First Epistle to the Corinthians Facts for Kids

The First Epistle to the Corinthians, or the First Letter to the Corinthians, is a long letter written by the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth.

Paul gives instructions for marriage, against worshipping worthless idols (idolatory), for spiritual gifts like prophecy. He praises the superior way of love and urges the church to be united.

At the end of the letter Paul states that the resurrection of Christ is true.

Finally, Paul tells of his plans to visit the Corinthians, and that Timothy, his co-worker, is coming to their church very soon.

Composition
Content
- "Through a glass, darkly"
- Resurrection of Jesus
Interesting facts about The First Epistle to the Corinthians
Images for kids
See also

Composition

About the year AD 50, towards the end of his second missionary journey, Paul founded the church in Corinth before moving on to Ephesus, a city on the west coast of today's Turkey, about 290 kilometres (180 mi) by sea from Corinth. It was while staying in Ephesus that he received disconcerting news of the community in Corinth regarding jealousies, rivalry, and immoral behavior. It also appears that, based on a letter the Corinthians sent Paul, the congregation was requesting clarification on a number of matters, such as marriage and the consumption of meat previously offered to idols.

Content

The foundation of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11); posted at the Menno-Hof Amish and Mennonite Museum in Shipshewana, Indiana

Paul wrote 1 Corinthians letter to correct what he saw as wrong views in the Corinthian church. Throughout the letter, he presents issues that are troubling the community in Corinth and offers ways to fix them. Paul states that this letter is to "admonish" them as beloved children. They are expected to become imitators of Jesus and follow the ways in Christ as he, Paul, teaches in all his churches.

In general, divisions within the church at Corinth seem to be a problem, and Paul makes it a point to mention these conflicts in the beginning. Specifically, pagan roots still hold sway within their community. Paul wants to bring them back to what he sees as correct doctrine, stating that God has given him the opportunity to be a "skilled master builder" to lay the foundation and let others build upon it.

Paul then wrote about immorality in Corinth explaining how to resolve personal disputes. Regarding marriage, Paul states that it is better for Christians to remain unmarried, but that if they lacked self-control, it is better to marry than "burn" (πυροῦσθαι).

This epistle contains some well-known phrases, including: "all things to all men","through a glass, darkly", and:

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

—1 Corinthians 13:11, King James Version.

"Through a glass, darkly"

1 Corinthians 13:12 contains the phrase βλέπομεν γὰρ ἄρτι δι' ἐσόπτρου ἐν αἰνίγματι, blepomen gar arti di esoptrou en ainigmati, which was translated in the 1560 Geneva Bible as "For now we see through a glass darkly" (without a comma). This wording was used in the 1611 KJV, which added a comma before "darkly". This passage has inspired the titles of many works, with and without the comma.

The Greek word ἐσόπτρου, esoptrou (genitive; nominative: ἔσοπτρον, esoptron), here translated "glass", is ambiguous, possibly referring to a mirror or a lens. Influenced by Strong's Concordance, many modern translations conclude that this word refers specifically to a mirror. Example English language translations include:

"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror" (New International Version)
"What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror" (Good News Bible)

Resurrection of Jesus

After discussing his views on worshipping idols, Paul ends the letter with his views on resurrection and the Resurrection of Jesus.

3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures 4 and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

Paul then asks: "Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?" Chapter 15 closes with an account of the nature of the resurrection, claiming that in the Last Judgement the dead will be raised and both the living and the dead transformed into "spiritual bodies" (verse 44).

For orthodox Christians, the resurrection is the central event of the Christian faith.

Interesting facts about The First Epistle to the Corinthians

Scholars suggest that the letter was written sometime around AD 53–57.
Despite the name, it is not believed to be the first such letter, only the first canonical letter.
The letter contains the aphorism "evil company corrupts good habits", from classical Greek literature.
Paul admonishes Christian women for not covering their hair while praying. The practice, however, was uncommon as the pagan Greek women used to pray unveiled.