New Testament

Week 21: 1 & 2 Corinthians

As I mentioned in class I've been some experiencing some personal challenges that have made it
difficult to keep up with the preparation of lesson material for the New Testament class.
The next few weeks are going to be especially difficult, and so I regret that I have to put the class
on hold temporarily so I can focus on other things.
At this point I don't know when we'll be resuming, but I do hope to start up again soon and finish the
class during the summer.
1) Introduction.
a) Last week we introduced Paul’s letters as the earliest Christian New Testament writings
and a major influence on the spread of Christianity in the mid-1st century. Much of
Christian doctrine as we know it is based on Paul’s epistles.
b) This week we take a look at 1 and 2 Corinthians, two his best-known letters that cover a
wide range of subjects, including Paul’s writings on morality, love, and the resurrection.
c) Authorship.
i) As we discussed last week, not all of Paul’s letters are universally accepted as having
been written by him. 1 and 2 Corinthians, however, are among the letters which
virtually all scholars believe were written by Paul. There is no question about their
authorship.1
d) [SLIDE 2] Background on Corinth.
i) Corinth is a major port city on the isthmus that connects the Peloponnesian
Peninsula to the Greek mainland.2
ii) It was established as a Roman colony in 44 B.C. The Romans sent the surplus
population from Rome to settle there, including recently freed slaves, peasants, and
army veterans. It had a large mixed population of Romans, Greeks, and Jews.
iii) It rapidly became one of the largest urban centers in the Empire, with a population
as large as 600,000–800,000 by New Testament times.
iv) It had a widespread reputation for immorality. The phrase “live like a Corinthian”
was Roman slang for debauchery.
e) Paul in Corinth.
i) [SLIDE 3] Paul first visited Corinth during his second missionary journey (Acts
18:1–17), arriving in A.D. 50 and staying for more than a year and a half (Acts 18:11).3
(1) [3.1] While he was there, he converted many Jews, including Aquila and
Priscilla, who became his missionary companions (Acts 18:2, 18; 1 Corinthians
1
That is not to say that every word in the text we have today was written by Paul. There is widespread (although not
universal) belief that some of the material in these two letters was inserted by later scribes. Candidates for “Paul didn’t write
this part” include 1 Corinthians 14:33–35 and 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1.
2
Trade ships that wished to avoid the long and treacherous sailing voyage around the peninsula would dock at Corinth,
unload their cargo, carry it across the 4-mile isthmus to Cechreae, and reload it on another vessel (or vice versa). Smaller ships
could be dragged on rollers between the two cities. In A.D. 67 the Romans started to dig a canal across the isthmus (with
Emperor Nero himself breaking ground on the project with a gold shovel), but the endeavor was not completed. A canal was
finally finished in 1893.
3
See lesson 13, pages 7–8; http://scr.bi/LDSARCNT13n

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Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class New Testament: 1 & 2 Corinthians Week 21, Page 2

16:19), and Sosthenes, the head of the synagogue in Corinth (Acts 18:17). He also
converted many Greek Gentiles, like Justus (Acts 18:7) and Crispus (Acts 18:8; 1
Corinthians 1:14).
ii) After departing Corinth, Paul went to Ephesus with Aquila and Priscilla. He left them
there and continued on to Jerusalem and then back through Asia Minor.
(1) [SLIDE 4] While Aquila and Priscilla were in Ephesus, a Jewish Christian named
Apollos came, preaching a gospel based on John the Baptist. They corrected his
teachings and sent him on to Corinth with a letter of recommendation. [4.1] He
greatly strengthened the Corinthian church. (Acts 18:24–28.)
iii) Paul himself then came to Ephesus, where he stayed for more than two years (Acts
19:10; see Acts 19:1–20:1).4 [4.2] While he was residing there he wrote 1 Corinthians
(1 Corinthians 16:8), somewhere around A.D. 54 or 55.5
(1) During this time there was much communication between Paul and the
Corinthian saints. Paul had written them a previous letter (1 Corinthians 5:9),
and the Corinthians had responded (1 Corinthians 7:1). There were also members
of the Corinthian church who had come to Ephesus, bringing news.6
iv) Paul indicated that he intended to send Timothy to Corinth as his personal emissary
(1 Corinthians 16:10–11). Timothy returned with news that a group of Jewish-
Christian missionaries had come to Corinth and were undermining Paul’s authority.7
(1) Paul then made his second visit to the Corinthians, where he stayed six months
(Acts 20:2–3). Things went very badly this time—he called it his “painful visit”
(NRSV 2 Corinthians 2:1). After he left, he wrote them a difficult letter “with
many tears” (2 Corinthians 2:4; 7:8); this letter may be lost.8
(2) [4.3] 2 Corinthians is not a single letter, but a compilation of perhaps three
letters written by Paul after his painful visit to Corinth. In these letters he
discusses taking up an offering for the saints in Jerusalem (chapters 8–9),9
attacks the false teachers who had caused him so much trouble (chapters 10–13),
and tries to reconcile with the Corinthian saints (chapters 1–7).
f) Unfortunately the large amount of material we’re dealing with in this lesson means that
we’ll need to move quickly and limit ourselves to just an overview of Paul’s material.
2) 1 Corinthians 1:11–4:21. Divisions among the Corinthians saints.
a) Paul is concerned that the saints in Corinth aren’t united as a single body under Christ,
but rather have divided into factions.

4
See lesson 14, pages 1–2; http://scr.bi/LDSARCNT14n
5
The letter would have been written in the spring, since Pentecost was near (1 Corinthians 16:8).
6
Sosthenes himself had come to Ephesus, and co-wrote 1 Corinthians with Paul (1 Corinthians 1:1). Members of the house
or family of Chloe brought news of divisions among the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 1:11). Stephanas, Fortunatus, and
Achaicus also came to visit Paul (1 Corinthians 16:17).
7
Paul sarcastically calls these individuals “the very chiefest apostles” (or “super-apostles”; 2 Corinthians 11:5; 12:11), “false
apostles” (2 Corinthians 11:13), and ministers of Satan (2 Corinthians 11:15).
8
Some scholars have concluded that the “tearful letter” is 2 Corinthians 10–13, in which Paul attacks those who have
sullied his reputation and defends his own apostolic authority.
9
These chapters may have been written before Paul came to Corinth for his second, painful visit. He speaks of his intent to
take up a collection for Jerusalem in 1 Corinthians 16:1–12, and 2 Corinthians 8–9 may have been a follow-up letter to prepare
the Corinthians for his arrival as he traveled through Macedonia.

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Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class New Testament: 1 & 2 Corinthians Week 21, Page 3

KJV 1 Corinthians 1:10–13 NRSV 1 Corinthians 1:10–13

10
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name 10
Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all
same thing, and that there be no divisions of you should be in agreement and that there
among you; but that ye be perfectly joined should be no divisions among you, but that
together in the same mind and in the same you should be united in the same mind and
judgment. the same purpose.
11
For it hath been declared unto me of you, 11
For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s
my brethren, by them which are of the house people that there are quarrels among you,
of Chloe, that there are contentions among my brothers and sisters.
you.
12
Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I 12
What I mean is that each of you says, “I
am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or
and I of Christ. “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”
13
Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? 13
Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified
or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? for you? Or were you baptized in the name of
Paul?
i) Paul here argues against divisions in the church—some Corinthians claim to be
followers of Paul, others followers of Apollos, and so forth. Each of them held to
certain beliefs and interpretations that were unique to each person.
ii) This problem has not gotten better over the last 2,000 years; rather it has become
worse: There are thousands of Christian denominations, and even within
denominations there are sometimes divisions and disagreements.
iii) Paul’s warning still applies to the restored gospel—we need to be careful that we
don’t categorize ourselves into “doctrinal camps,” with some saying, “I am of Bruce
R. McConkie,” and “I am of Orson Pratt,” and “I am of Ezra Taft Benson,” and so
forth.
iv) A little further on Paul teaches that he and Apollos were simply servants of the Lord
who, like a gardener, planted and watered, but it’s God who caused the garden to
grow; we are simply “labourers together with God” (1 Corinthians 3:5–9).
b) The main cause of the division in the Corinthian church appears to be over wisdom—
some of the saints were claiming to be superior to others due to their more noble birth
and hence superior intelligence and wisdom with regard to things of the world. These
class distinctions were tearing the church apart. Paul tries to explain that worldly
wisdom is nothing when compared to true wisdom found in the gospel of Jesus Christ:
KJV 1 Corinthians 1:20–25 NRSV 1 Corinthians 1:20–25
Where is the wise? where is the scribe?
20 20
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the
where is the disputer of this world? hath not scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has
God made foolish the wisdom of this world? not God made foolish the wisdom of the
world?
21
For after that in the wisdom of God the 21
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world
world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased did not know God through wisdom, God
God by the foolishness of preaching to save decided, through the foolishness of our
them that believe. proclamation, to save those who believe.
22
For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks 22
For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire
seek after wisdom: wisdom,
23
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the 23
but we proclaim Christ crucified, a
Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to
foolishness; Gentiles,

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Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class New Testament: 1 & 2 Corinthians Week 21, Page 4
24
But unto them which are called, both Jews 24
but to those who are the called, both Jews
and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God. wisdom of God.
25
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than 25
For God’s foolishness is wiser than human
men; and the weakness of God is stronger wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than
than men. human strength.
i) The world’s wisdom is foolishness to God (1:20), and God’s wisdom (“Christ
crucified”—1:23) is foolishness to the world. Neither understands the other. Only
when we have the Spirit of God do we understand the wisdom of God.
c) In 1 Corinthians 3:10–15 Paul constructs a metaphor: He is a skilled “master builder”
who established the church at Corinth, laying the foundation (which is Jesus Christ) for
others to build on. This foundation is a temple:
KJV 1 Corinthians 3:16–23 NRSV 1 Corinthians 3:16–23
16Know ye not that ye are the temple of 16 Do you not know that you are God’s
God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
you?
17If any man defile the temple of God, him 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will
shall God destroy; for the temple of God is destroy that person. For God’s temple is
holy, which temple ye are. holy, and you are that temple.
18Let no man deceive himself. If any man 18 Do not deceive yourselves. If you think
among you seemeth to be wise in this world, that you are wise in this age, you should
let him become a fool, that he may be wise. become fools so that you may become wise.
19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness
with God. For it is written, He taketh the with God. For it is written,
wise in their own craftiness. “He catches the wise in their
craftiness,”10
20And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts 20and again,
of the wise, that they are vain. “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are futile.”11
21Therefore let no man glory in men. For all 21So let no one boast about human leaders.
things are yours; For all things are yours,
22Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the
the world, or life, or death, or things world or life or death or the present or the
present, or things to come; all are yours; future—all belong to you,
23And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s. 23and you belong to Christ, and Christ
belongs to God.
i) 3:16. Although we often read this verse in the sense of taking care of our physical
bodies (“my body is a temple”), in context “ye” is plural, and more likely refers to the
church as a group. If so, it means that the church is the temple of God, and the Holy
Spirit dwells within or among the church.12
(1) This reading would make more sense, because Paul is speaking of divisions
within the church over wisdom. Only when we are united can the Spirit dwell
among the church.
ii) His point here is disunity over issues of class and status are defiling the church. “The
wisdom of this world is foolishness [to] God” (3:19), so we should not boast about

10
A quote from Job 5:13.
11
A quote from Psalm 94:11.
12
Compare footnote c in the LDS edition of the Bible at Luke 17:21, which indicates that “within” could be translated
“among” because the pronoun “you” is plural in Greek.

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Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class New Testament: 1 & 2 Corinthians Week 21, Page 5

human leadership (3:21); rather we should see ourselves—all of us—as servants of

Jesus Christ.
3) 1 Corinthians 5:1–7:40. Sexual immorality and the law of chastity.
a) Paul spends quite a bit of time in 1 Corinthians dealing with issues related to immorality
and chastity. Some of his teachings are difficult to understand, especially in light of
modern revelation and its focus on the doctrine of sealing of husbands and wives.
b) Let’s review the situation here, and see if we can address the difficulties:
i) 5:1–13. Paul first comes to the issue of immorality in chapter 5. He’s very concerned
that a member of the Corinthian church is having a sexual relationship with his
stepmother (5:1), and he commands the Corinthians to excommunicate this man
immediately (5:3–5), and not to allow sexually immoral persons in the church (5:9–
11). So far, so good.
ii) 6:9–20. Paul then turns his attention to the common sexual practices of the Greeks,
and tells the Corinthians to shun them (6:9–11).13
(1) He quotes several popular phrases that the Corinthians were using to justify their
behavior (“all things are lawful for me,” “food is meant for the stomach and the
stomach for food”—NRSV 6:12–13), and tells them that their freedom in Christ
does not mean they can do whatever they want. Their bodies belong to Christ, not
themselves.
(2) He commands them to “flee [or shun] fornication” (6:18), and tells them that
“your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost” (6:19; “your” is singular, and is an
individual application here, as opposed to the group application in 3:16). “Ye are
not your own, for ye are bought with a price” (6:19b–20a).
iii) 7:1–40. In this chapter Paul deals with the Corinthians’ questions on marriage.
(1) He is tentative here, in several places indicating that he is giving his own opinion
(7:6, 12, 25).
(a) In fact, one key to understanding this is found in 7:26, 29, and 31, where Paul
says that he is writing “in view of the impending crisis” (NRSV; KJV “for the
present distress”), that “the time is short,” and “the present form [KJV
“fashion”] of this world is passing away.”
(i) He doesn’t state what this “crisis” is, nor whether it applies to the entire
world, just Christians, or just the saints in Corinth;14 however it’s
important that we view his instructions here as circumstantial, not
general. In other words, Paul’s instructions are based on a specific
problem and should not be applied at all times and in all conditions.
13
The KJV terms “effeminate” and “abusers of themselves with mankind” can be confusing to the modern reader. Our
modern culture divides sexuality into heterosexual and homosexual conduct, but the ancient Greeks and Romans didn’t
perceive it that way; rather, they saw it from the perspective of those who active and those who are passive. “The active
partner, i.e. the partner of a higher social status, assumes the role of the penetrator; whereas, the passive partner, i.e. the
partner of inferior social status, takes on the penetrated position” (http://bit.ly/fvSe4u). The gender of the passive partner was
inconsequential; it was quite common for adult men in that society to have sexual relations both with women and with men of
lower classes (especially slaves). The Greek terms in 1 Corinthians 6:9b are μαλακοι (malakoi, “soft”), which refers to young
males who play the “passive” role, and αρσενοκοιται (arsenokoitai), which refers to older, mature males who play the “active”
role with young male partners. Both of these practices were abhorrent to Jewish and Christian moral sensibilities, but neither
is directly analogous to the modern homosexual relationship, which involves two adults of the same gender in a relationship of
equal status.
14
It seems likely, though, that Paul is expecting a sudden, immediate return of the Lord. We discussed this last week—see
lesson 20, page 8; http://scr.bi/LDSARCNT20n

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Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class New Testament: 1 & 2 Corinthians Week 21, Page 6

(b) His basic belief is that it’s best to be unmarried and chaste (7:7–8), but he
makes concessions for certain people based on their circumstances.
(2) Case #1: To married persons (7:1–7). Paul indicates that because sexual
immorality (KJV “fornication”—7:2) is such a problem, each man should have his
own wife, and each woman her own husband. They should fulfill their sexual
obligations to each other (KJV “render…due benevolence”—7:3), and not deprive
each other physically for long periods of time (7:5). This, he says, is not a
commandment, but a concession (7:6).
(3) Case #2: Unmarried persons and widows (7:8–9). It’s better for them to remain
unmarried, but if they can’t exercise self-control, they should marry.
(4) Case #3: Regarding divorce (7:10–16). Paul recommends against divorce, but if
a woman does separate from her husband, she should remain chaste (7:10–11).
To those in mixed marriages, where only one spouse is a Christian, he
recommends against divorce, saying that the unbelieving spouse is sanctified by
the believing spouse, and their children are holy (7:12–14; see also D&C 74:1–7).
(5) Paul’s general rule (7:17–24): In the middle of this section, Paul states that his
general rule that he has given all the churches is that people lead the lives God
has assigned to them, and not seek to change their conditions. If they’re
circumcised or uncircumcised, stay that way; if they’re slaves or free men, don’t
seek to change that. “In whatever condition you were called…there remain with
God” (NRSV 7:24).
(6) Case #4: To young virgins and those engaged to be married (7:25–40). His final
counsel is to those who are young and of marriageable age. He says he has no
commandment from the Lord to them, so he gives them his opinion (7:25) that “it
is well to remain as you are” (NRSV 7:26). If you’re single, remain so; if you’re
married, stay that way (7:27). Marriage is not a sin, but it adds additional
pressures that could be avoided during the “impending crisis.”
c) So how do we reconcile Paul’s teachings with modern revelation?
i) Some parts of what he has written conform very well to how Latter-day Saints
understand things: Abstinence outside of marriage and complete fidelity within
marriage are the rule; other practices are immoral and forbidden, and those who
engage in them are subject to church discipline.
ii) His general view that it is better to be unmarried and chaste than it is to be married
is not compatible with modern revelation on the subject, which clearly states that the
highest level of exaltation is only available to couples who are sealed for eternity by
one having authority (D&C 131:1–4; 132:4–33).
(1) It’s possible that this had not been revealed to Paul in its fulness, or that he
believed it shouldn’t be practiced due to the (unexplained) “impending crisis”
(7:26). We simply don’t know.
(2) In any event modern revelation supersedes ancient revelation, so the
commandment that we Latter-day Saints operate under overrides anything Paul
wrote to the contrary.

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Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class New Testament: 1 & 2 Corinthians Week 21, Page 7

4) 1 Corinthians 8:1–11:1. On eating food sacrificed to idols.

a) This is a long and complex section, and, for the sake of time, we won’t go into it in detail.
In summary, though, here Paul deals with the problem of doing things are not sinful, but
have the appearance to new converts of being sinful.
i) Specifically the issue has to do with eating food that has been sacrificed to idols.
Greeks and Romans worshipped a multitude of gods, and it was common in their
society for a wealthy individual to buy a large amount of food for use in a pagan
ceremony and then offer it to the people of the city. Those who were poor or living
hand-to-mouth relied on these charitable events for meals.
ii) The question arose among the Corinthian saints if eating this food was a sin, since it
had been involved in pagan idol worship. Paul argues that it’s not a sin because these
false gods don’t really exist (8:4), but, he said, not everyone understands this—some
Christians have become so accustomed to idols that they still think of that food as
food offered to an idol (8:7). Paul warns those who are more spiritually mature not to
let their freedom to eat this food become a stumblingblock to those who are weak
(8:9). It’s better not to eat it than to offend them and cause them to lose their
testimonies (8:13).
iii) Paul then uses himself as an example of this: As an apostle he could have relied on
the churches he planted to support him. However, he didn’t want to hinder the
gospel message, so he instead supported himself through his own labors that he
“may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that [he] abuse not [his] power in the
gospel” (9:18; see 9:1–27).
iv) Using the example of the Israelites who “lusted after evil things” (10:6), Paul warns
them not to return to idol worship, but to eat what’s put before them. If they are told
it’s been sacrificed to idols, however, he asks them to refrain so as not to give offense
(10:27–28; see 10:1–11:1).
5) 11:2–14:40. Behavior in church meetings.
a) Paul now turns to the subject of how people should conduct themselves when they come
together to worship.
b) 11:2–16. He begins with an argument that women should cover their heads when
praying or prophesying. In the interest of time we’re going to skip over this; only please
note that he does not say that women should remain silent in church—he clearly
indicates that public prayers and spoken prophecies by women are okay (11:5).
c) 11:17–34. Next he turns to abuses in taking the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. At that
time the sacrament was partaken during a communal meal in the early evening (similar
to the Last Supper, which was an evening meal). It turns out that the wealthy Corinthian
saints were showing up early and “pigging out”—even to the point of getting drunk on
the sacramental wine!—and when the poor arrived, there was nothing left to eat (11:17–
22). Paul condemns them for this, reminds them of the sanctity of the sacrament
(11:23–32), and commands them to wait until everyone arrives, or, if they’re hungry, eat
at home first (11:33–34).

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Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class New Testament: 1 & 2 Corinthians Week 21, Page 8

d) 12:1–14:40. In these three chapters Paul focuses on spiritual gifts.

i) 12:4–11. Paul lists the different types of gifts given by the Holy Ghost. (Similar lists
also appear in Moroni 10 and D&C 46).15
ii) 12:12–31. But the Corinthian saints were divided on this issue, too. They apparently
believed that some spiritual gifts were better than others, and that a person who had
one gift was superior to another person who had a different one. Paul compares the
members of the church to members, or parts, of a human body:
KJV 1 Corinthians 12:13–16, 20–23 NRSV 1 Corinthians 12:13–16, 20–23
13
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into 13
For in the one Spirit we were all baptized
one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or
whether we be bond or free; and have free—and we were all made to drink of one
been all made to drink into one Spirit. Spirit.
14
For the body is not one member, but 14
Indeed, the body does not consist of one
many. member but of many.
15
If the foot shall say, Because I am not the 15
If the foot were to say, “Because I am not
hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that
not of the body? would not make it any less a part of the
body.
And if the ear shall say, Because I am not
16 16
And if the ear were to say, “Because I am
the eye, I am not of the body; is it not an eye, I do not belong to the body,”
therefore not of the body? that would not make it any less a part of
the body.
*** ***
20
But now are they many members, yet but 20
As it is, there are many members, yet one
one body. body.
21
And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I 21
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have
have no need of thee: nor again the head no need of you,” nor again the head to the
to the feet, I have no need of you. feet, “I have no need of you.”
22
Nay, much more those members of the 22
On the contrary, the members of the body
body, which seem to be more feeble, are that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
necessary:
23
And those members of the body, which and those members of the body that we
23

we think to be less honourable, upon these think less honorable we clothe with greater
we bestow more abundant honour; and our honor, and our less respectable members
uncomely parts have more abundant are treated with greater respect.
comeliness.
(1) There is, all too often, a concern among individuals in the church that they don’t
contribute very much and are therefore not of much benefit. It’s easy to look at a
stake president or a Relief Society president or a wonderful Gospel Doctrine class
teacher and think, “I wish I could be like that. I don’t feel like I’m important.”
(2) Paul’s message here is still important today. He taught that we are all members of
the body of Christ, and each one of us is important. Just because we can’t teach,
or counsel, or lead, or play the piano, or whatever doesn’t mean that we’re
unimportant. We all have at least one spiritual gift (D&C 46:11), and we all
contribute to the building up of the kingdom. As Paul teaches in 12:22–23:
22
On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are
indispensable, 23and those members of the body that we think less honorable
15
We covered gifts of the spirit in the lesson on D&C 46—see Doctrine and Covenants lesson 12, pages 1–5;
http://scr.bi/LDSARCDC12n

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Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class New Testament: 1 & 2 Corinthians Week 21, Page 9

we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated
with greater respect. (NRSV)
(3) 12:31. But in this contention over which spiritual gifts are best, Paul tells them
that he will show them “a more excellent way”—love.
iii) 13:1–13. First Corinthians chapter 13 is one of the best known and most loved
passages in the New Testament. In this part of his epistle, Paul extols the virtues of
what the King James translators rendered “charity.”
(1) Unfortunately the meaning of “charity” has changed since the KJV was produced
in AD 1611. We typically think of charity as being charitable acts, such as giving
our old clothing to Deseret Industries or preparing a meal for a family whose
mother is sick. But although Paul’s teachings certainly include and encourage
such acts, that’s not what he’s getting at here.
(a) In modern Bible translations “charity” is usually rendered “love.” But this too
has its problems: Love is an imprecise word in English, one which can include
many feelings and behaviors, including passionate love and brotherly love—I
love both my father and my wife, and yet the love I have for my wife is
different than the love I have for my father.
(b) The type of love Paul is referring to here is αγαπε (agape / “uh-GAH-pay”).
This is the active love of the Father for his Son (John 10:17) and his people (1
John 3:1), and the active love his people are to have for God (Luke 10:27),
each other (John 13:34-35), those around them (Matthew 19:19), and even
their enemies (Matthew 5:44).
(i) The prophet Mormon called this kind of love “the pure love of Christ”
(Moroni 7:47).
(ii) Paul is talking about this last kind of love—agape—in 1 Corinthians.16
When we read “charity never faileth” (13:8)—the motto of the Relief
Society—we should render it “[the pure] love [of Christ] never ends.”
(2) 13:1–3. Paul’s point here is that we can have all the spiritual gifts in the world,
but if we don’t have love, then we have nothing.
(3) 13:4–7. He identifies the traits of pure love.
(4) 13:8–12. Love never ends, which makes it superior to spiritual gifts. Our growth
in spiritual understanding is hampered by our mortality; we are unable to see
what we will become, just as a man looks into a mirror (these are ancient bronze
mirrors) and sees an imperfect reflection of himself. Yet we are growing in grace
and one day will know all things—love is the key to that growth.
(5) 13:13. Of faith, hope, and love, the greatest is love.
iv) 14:1–32, 36–40. Instructions on the use of the gift of tongues. One who speaks in an
unknown tongue should have someone else interpret, otherwise the church isn’t
edified (14:5, 13). The gift of prophecy is superior to the gift of tongues.
16
The other two types of love in Greek are:
φιλεο (phileo) refers to affection or regard of a very high order, what we would commonly call “brotherly love.” This is the
kind of love had between family members and between good friends (Romans 12:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:9). It can also refer to
affection or desire for material or immaterial things, such as attention from others (Matthew 6:5; John 20:46) or money (1
Timothy 6:10). Sometimes Christ’s love for us is identified as phileo (Titus 3:4; Revelation 3:19).
ερος (eros), the root of the English word “erotic,” is sexual love, the kind we would call “lust.” This word does not appear
in the New Testament.

© 2011, Mike Parker http://bit.ly/ldsarc For personal use only. Not a Church publication.
Hurricane West Stake Adult Religion Class New Testament: 1 & 2 Corinthians Week 21, Page 10

(1) The passage in 14:33–35 appears in different places within chapter 14 in various
early manuscripts (although it is always there). These verses make no sense in the
context of the chapter’s message about the gift of tongues and prophecy, and they
contradict what Paul himself wrote in 11:5. They may be the work of a later scribe.
6) 15:1–58. The resurrection of Christ and the universal resurrection of all mankind.
a) 15:1–11. The proclamation of Christ’s death and resurrection by credible witnesses.
b) 15:12–34. A logical argument for the resurrection and against the Corinthians’ denial of
it.
c) 15:35–58. Types of bodies in the resurrection.
i) 15:40. Heavenly bodies vs. earthly bodies.
7) Next week we’ll continue our study of the writings of Paul by examining three more of his
letters.
a) Reading: Galatians, Philippians, and Philemon.

© 2011, Mike Parker http://bit.ly/ldsarc For personal use only. Not a Church publication.