One Corinthians One
by Dr. Henry M. Morris
(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)
Sosthenes. “Sosthenes,” until just a short time before, had been ruler of the Jewish synagogue at Corinth (Acts 18:17), even suffering a beating by the Corinthian Greeks because of his involvement with the Jewish insurrection against Paul (Acts 18:12). Somehow the Lord had used these experiences to bring Sosthenes to believe Paul and accept Christ. He had even gone to Ephesus with Paul, and now was joining Paul in his letter back to his Christian friends in Corinth (1 Corinthians 16:5-8; Acts 20:31.
sanctified. As the further development of his letter makes evident (e.g., 1 Corinthians 3:1; 5:1-2; 6:1), Paul knew these Corinthian believers were not “called saints” because of their saintly behavior. Rather, they were “sanctified in Christ Jesus”that is, “set apart” to God through faith in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
unto the end. It is obvious that even the first-century church was “waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:7), looking for His imminent return and “the end” of the present age.
1 Corinthians 1:14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
1 Corinthians 1:15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
not to baptize. Paul did baptize believers, for this was a part of the great commission (Matthew 28:19-20), but baptism, as this verse makes very clear, is not a part of the gospel, and therefore not a requisite of salvation, for it is by the gospel that men and women are saved (1 Corinthians 15:1-2).
foolishness. Those who regard Christianity as foolishness, rejecting and perhaps even ridiculing God's Word, thereby prove to others that they are perishing in sin, on their way to hell.
it is written. Paul is quoting here from Isaiah 29:14, with somewhat similar relevant passages in Jeremiah 49:7 and Obadiah 8. The section from this verse through the end of chapter 2 is a sobering indictment of supposed human wisdom, as opposed to true wisdom in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30).
wisdom knew not God. Human wisdomwhether ancient Greek philosophy or modern evolutionary scientismhas always sought to explain the origin of the world by some means apart from its God and Creator. In the sight of God, this attempt is not true wisdom, true philosophy, or true science, but mere rebellious foolishness (Psalm 14:1; Romans 1:22).
foolishness of preaching. To the wisdom of the ungodly, “foolish preaching” is preaching the crucifixion of the world's Creator by His creation.
1 Corinthians 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
require a sign. Note Christ's rebuke of this carnal attitude in Matthew 12:39-40 and John 4:48.
not many. Paul does not say: “Not any,” but: “Not many.” There have always been a few brilliant or powerful or aristocratic men who have devoted their gifts to the Lord and His Word, but they have always been the exceptions. This passage, in fact, is a remarkably fulfilled prophecy, having remained incisively true for almost two thousand years. Rather than being discouraged by the intellectual snobbery of educated unbelievers, their very dominance in the world should be regarded as merely another proof of the inspiration of the Scriptures.
1 Corinthians 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
made unto us. All we are, and all we haveif it is of any value at all in the scale of eternityis given us by our Creator and Savior Jesus Christ. “In [Him] are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3); “[He] is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4); we are “sanctified in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 1:2); and, “in [Him] we have redemption through His blood” (Colossians 1:14).
1 Corinthians 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
it is written. See Jeremiah 9:23-24. Pride is the devil's sin (1 Timothy 3:6), and “God resisteth the proud” (James 4:6).