«
»
0 I hear there are fornicators among you (1 Cor 1-6)

Episode 281: I hear there are fornicators among you

1 Corinthians 1-6

Greetings and salutations!

1 1-2 A letter from Paul and Sosthenes to the church in Corinth.

7 So that you will be ready when Jesus comes again.

Believe the same things (agree on everything)

10 I beg you all to say the same thing and agree on everything.

11 I've heard from people in Chloe's house that some of you are arguing with each other.

12 You're all saying, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas." or "I belong to Christ."

13 Is Christ divided? Was I crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?

Thank God I didn't baptize any of you

14 Thank God I didn't baptize any of you, except for Crispus and Gaius.

15 Or some might say that I baptized in my own name.

16 I also baptized Stephanas's family. I can't remember whether I've baptized any others.

17 Because Christ didn't send me to baptize, but to preach.

God will destroy the wisdom of the wise

19 Scripture says, "I'll destroy the wisdom of the wise and the understanding of the prudent."

21 God saved believers by the foolishness of preaching.

27 God chose the foolishness of the world to confound the wise.

I know nothing but Jesus

2 2 I decided to know nothing but Jesus.

Judge everything (but be judged by no one)

15 Spiritual people judge everything but are judged by no one.

Aren't you carnal?

3 4 One of you says, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos."

Aren't you carnal?

6 Paul plants, Apollos waters, but God makes it grow.

Save yourself by burning your work

15 If your work burns, you lose your work, but you save yourself with fire.

16 You are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God lives inside of you.

17 If you defile yourself, you defile the temple of God. And God will destroy you.

18 If you want to be wise, become a fool.

19 Because the wisdom of the world is foolishness to God.

20 God knows that the thoughts of the wise are worthless.

22 Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life, death, and everything else is yours.

23 And you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.

Don't judge anyone (until the Lord comes)

4 3 I don't care if you or anyone else judges me. I don't even judge myself.

4 I don't know of anything against me, but the Lord judges me.

5 Don't judge anyone or anything until the Lord comes.

10 We are fools for Christ’s sake.

16 Be followers of me.

17 I have sent Timothy, my son in the Lord, to teach you my ways.

18 Some of you who are proud, think I won't come to visit you.

19 But I will come soon and deal with those people.

20 Should I come to you in love or with a rod?

I hear there are fornicators among you

5 1 I've heard that there are fornicators among you. One of you is having sex with his stepmother.

3 I've already judged him.

Give him to Satan (to save his soul)

5 He should be given to Satan to destroy his body so that his spirit may be saved when Jesus returns.

Shun fornicators (and other wicked people)

9 In a previous epistle, I told you not to associate with fornicators.

10 I wasn't referring to fornicators who are nonbelievers, because then you'd have to stay away from everyone.

11 But you must shun all fornicators, idolaters, and drunkards who are believers. Don't even share a meal with them.

12 Why should we judge nonbelievers? Isn't it only believers that we should judge?

13 God will judge the nonbelievers. But you must shun wicked people.

Christians will judge angels

6 1 Do you dare take a fellow believer to court to be judged by unjust people?

2 Don't you know that believers will judge everyone on earth?

3 We will judge angels, so we can judge everything in this life.

4 Don't take believers to court where they'll be judged by unbelievers.

People not allowed in God's kingdom

9-10 Unrighteous people will not inherit the kingdom of God, including: Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate men, men who abuse themselves with other men, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, or robbers.

Everything is lawful to Paul

12 Everything is lawful to me, but not everything is expedient.

But I am subject to no law.

Fornication (making the members of Christ one with a harlot)

13 Meat is for the belly, and the belly is for meat. But God will destroy both meat and bellies.

The body is for the Lord, not for fornication.

15 Don't you know that your bodies are members of Christ?

Should the members of Christ become members of a harlot?

16 If you're joined to a harlot you become one body with the harlot.

The harlot and the body become one flesh.

18 Fornication is a sin against your own body.

19 And your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost.

A few more words about this episode

A letter from Paul and Sosthenes (1:1)
First Corinthians is one of Paul's undisputed letters. But apparently there was a co-author - Sosthenes.
The name "Sosthenes" appears in only one other place in the Bible. In Acts 18, Sosthenes is referred to as the chief ruler of the synagogue at Corinth, who was beaten by a mob - just before the story about how Paul shaved his head because he made a vow.
So that you will be ready when Jesus comes again. (1:7)
Paul expected Jesus to come again within the lifetime of his followers.
Chloe's house (1:11)
Nothing is known about Chloe, except that she was the head of a household - an extremely unusual situation at that time.
Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and Christ (1:12)
Christians started out divided [into followers of Paul, Apollos, Cephas (Peter), or Christ], and it has remained so ever since.
Judge everything (2:15)
Should you judge others?
Paul plants, Apollos waters, but God makes it grow. (3:6)
This verse is used by Doug Wilson when "planting" his Protestant fundamentalist churches throughout the United States. His goal is to take control of the country and make it a Christian nation with the Bible as its law.

I have sent Timothy (4:17)
This is the guy that Paul circumcised in Acts 16:1-3. (Episode 275)
But you must shun all fornicators, idolaters, and drunkards who are believers. Don't even share a meal with them. (5:11)
Jehovah's Witnesses use these verses to justify disfellowshipping those who fail to follow the teachings of the Governing Body. JWs are told to shun disfellowshipped family and friends. They are not to speak to them or share a meal with them. If a witness is caught doing so, they will be disfellowshipped as well.
In a previous epistle (5:1)
Despite its title, First Corinthians wasn't the first epistle that Paul wrote the Corinthians. There was another (Zeroth Corinthians?) that was either lost or considered not worthy of including in the Bible.
No comments yet

Copyright © 1999-2025
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible

Send comments to Steve Wells
at swwells(at)gmail.com