1 Corinthians 7

1 Corinthians 7:1

Of the [household] of Narcissus. At the time Paul wrote, a favorite of Nero, named Narcissus, was all powerful in Rome. He probably meant a number of his servants having accepted Christ.

1 Corinthians 7:2

Tryphaena, Tryphosa, . . . Persis. These are the names of women. From the fact stated of them, there were probably deaconesses.

1 Corinthians 7:3

Salute Rufus. Some have supposed this to be the Rufus named in Mr 15:21. His father was of Cyrene. And his mother and mine. Paul had certainly met Rufus’ mother elsewhere, for he not only greets her, but says she had been a mother to him.

1 Corinthians 7:4

Hermas. Supposed by some to have been the author of an early Christian writing, called “The Shepherd of Hermas”, which still remains.

1 Corinthians 7:5

And all the saints which are with them. Probably another household church, which met with those just named.

1 Corinthians 7:6

Salute one another with an holy kiss. The kiss is still a common salutation in the East, and was in New Testament times. See Lu 7:45 2 Samuel 20:9 1 Peter 5:14 The custom is still preserved in the Greek churches.

1 Corinthians 7:7

Mark them which cause divisions. Judaizing, or other false teachers, who disturbed the Gentile churches by urging them to keep the law of Moses, or by teaching some heresy. Read the Epistle to the Galatians. See PNT Galatians 2:10. They were not to listen to them, and were to avoid them.

1 Corinthians 7:8

Serve not our Lord Jesus Christ. These men, like many other false teachers, were more devoted to their own appetites than to Christ. The simple. “Innocent” in the Revised Version. The unsuspecting.

1 Corinthians 7:9

For your obedience is come abroad unto all [men]. Your reputation as Good Christians is so well known that you ought not to be deceived by these false teachers.

1 Corinthians 7:10

The God of peace shall bruise Satan. Shall give you the victory.

1 Corinthians 7:11

Timothy. That Timothy was with Paul at this time, we learn from Acts 20:4. He joins with other companions of Paul in greetings. Lucius. Possibly, Lucius of Cyrene (Acts 13:1). Jason. Possibly the one named in Acts 17:5. Sosipater. The same name as Sopater. See Acts 20:4. Kinsmen. Countrymen; Jews.

1 Corinthians 7:12

I, Tertius. Otherwise unknown. Who wrote [this] epistle. Paul dictated the letter, and Tertius acted as scribe.

1 Corinthians 7:13

Gaius, mine host. Paul baptized a Gaius at Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:14). The name occurs several times. He was noted for his hospitality. Erastus the chamberlain. The city treasurer, hence a man of high position. The name occurs in Acts 19:22 2 Timothy 4:20.

1 Corinthians 7:14

The grace of our Lord. At the close of his greetings, Paul adds his benediction. He had already given it in Romans 16:20. It is now written with his own hand (2 Thessalonians 3:17). He also adds a doxology (Romans 16:25-27), which makes a noble conclusion.

1 Corinthians 7:15

To him that is able. They are commended to God. According to the revelation of the mystery. The mystery of the gospel, and especially of the salvation of the Gentiles. See Romans 11:25. A mystery is a divine purpose that had been kept secret. When God’s glorious purpose was revealed, the mystery was made known.

1 Corinthians 7:16

Now is made manifest. The apostles were engaged in declaring this mystery to the world.

1 Corinthians 7:17

To God the only wise. The source of all wisdom.

1 Corinthians 7:19

Now the God of peace [be] with you all. Amen. Asking their prayers, it was but natural that he should ask God to bless them. Compare other benedictions, in 2 Corinthians 13:11 Philippians 4:9 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

1 Corinthians 7:20

The Divisions in the Church Brought to Light SUMMARY OF I CORINTHIANS 1: Greetings to the Church. Thanksgiving for the Grace of God. An Exhortation to Unity. Schisms Rebuked. The Sin of Honoring Human Leaders Instead of Christ. The Preaching of the Cross the Power of God to Salvation. Not the Worldly Wise and Proud, but the Humble and Lowly. Converted. Paul, called [to be] an apostle of Jesus Christ. Some of the Judaizing teachers, who had visited the church at Corinth after the departure of Paul, in order to lessen his authority, had asserted that he was not an apostle, divinely called like the Twelve. Hence, at the beginning, he asserts his apostleship, and refers to his divine call. See 1 Corinthians 9:1 2 Corinthians 12:12. Sosthenes, [our] brother. A Sosthenes, who was then the chief ruler of the synagogue at Corinth, is named in Acts 18:17. The Sosthenes whom Paul associated with himself in the letter must have been well known to, and influential among, the Corinthians, and was probably the former chief ruler, who had been converted. Apollos, Priscilla and Aquila, all well known to the church, were at Ephesus with Paul (1 Corinthians 16:12,19), but Sosthenes is chosen to appear with him in the salutation.

1 Corinthians 7:21

Unto the church of God. This designation of the church appears oftener than any other in the New Testament. To them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus. All of “the church of God at Corinth” were “sanctified in Christ Jesus”; that is, they were set apart from the world and consecrated to God. All Christians are “sanctified” in the sense of the term in the New Testament, and “called to be saints”. The humblest Christian is a saint, as well as Peter or Paul. With all that in every place. The letter is intended for all Christians, as well as for those at Corinth. Call upon the name of Jesus Christ. Recognize him as their divine Savior. Both theirs and ours. The Lord of the saints everywhere as well as ours (1 Corinthians 8:6 Ephesians 4:5). Since there is only one Lord and Master, all Christians should be brethren.

1 Corinthians 7:22

Grace [be] unto you. The favor of God; the divine blessing. This is the apostolical benediction. See PNT Romans 1:7. Peace. This is always an appropriate benediction, since peace is one of the greatest blessings, but was especially appropriate to a church which was torn by dissensions.

1 Corinthians 7:23

I thank my God always on your behalf. Before speaking of the faults which he must rebuke, he speaks of the grounds for praise and hope. He did not forget these, because there was much that he could not praise. He could see their improvement on their former condition, as well as their present faults. A good example for all critics.

1 Corinthians 7:24

That in every thing ye are enriched by him. “The grace of God” (1 Corinthians 1:4) had “enriched” them. [In] all utterance, and [in] all knowledge. The reference is especially, but not exclusively, to the supernatural gifts of tongues and of knowledge which were imparted to the early church. See 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 2 Corinthians 8:7 11:6.

1 Corinthians 7:25

Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. It was confirmed by the fruits which it brought forth; their belief and the spiritual gifts which were bestowed upon some of them.

1 Corinthians 7:26

So that ye come behind in no gift. They were “enriched” by the grace of God (1 Corinthians 1:5), so that they were not inferior to other Christians in privileges. Waiting for the coming. They, like other Christians, were eagerly waiting for the return of the Lord to the earth.

1 Corinthians 7:27

Who shall also confirm you unto the end. He will do his part to confirm you; give you strength to the end, [that ye may be] blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Free from blame when they are called to meet the Lord.

1 Corinthians 7:28

God [is] faithful. Hence he will faithfully discharge his part of the covenant. His promises may be relied upon. By whom ye were called, etc. The fact that he had called the saints to fellowship with his Son, is proof that their salvation will be completed.

1 Corinthians 7:29

Now I beseech you, brethren. How earnest and imploring is the Apostle’s exhortation that they should maintain unity! That ye all speak the same thing. Have no distinctive party declarations. This is violated in the modern sectarian symbols and confessions. [That] there be no divisions among you. “No schisms”, in the Greek. If there were none, and all “were perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment”, all would “speak the same thing”. There would be no variance in their declarations. It is evident, from what follows, that, while the Corinthians had not separated into various church organizations, they had formed several parties within the church (1 Corinthians 1:12). Organized sects, claiming to be “branches of the church”, were unknown till centuries later.

1 Corinthians 7:30

For it hath been declared unto me. He candidly tells them how he had learned of their dissensions. Them [who are of the house] of Chloe. Whether these were her children or her servants, or whether she lived at Corinth and these members of her household had come to visit Paul at Ephesus, or whether she lived at Ephesus and these persons had made a visit to Corinth, these are all unknown. Chloe is not elsewhere name.

1 Corinthians 7:31

Now this I say. I explain more fully what I mean. He shows that there were four existing parties: Of Paul. A Pauline party, clinging to the founder of their church (Acts 18:1-11); Of Apollos. A party of Apollos, who were probably carried away by their admiration of his Alexandrian philosophy (Acts 18:24); Of Cephas. A party of Judaizer, who claimed to be following Peter, called here by his Hebrew name of Cephas (John 1:42); and Of Christ. A fourth party, who claimed to turn away from all these human leaders, and to be only of Christ.

1 Corinthians 7:32

Is Christ divided? The church is “the Body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12,13). Can that body be cut into parts, and these assigned to human leaders? Was Paul crucified for you? The cross binds us to Christ alone. By baptism we are baptized in Christ’s name, into his death, and into Christ (Romans 6:3).

1 Corinthians 7:33

I thank God that I baptized none of you., “The Corinthians hearing, believed and were baptized” (Acts 18:8); but the fellow-ministers of Paul usually administered the baptismal rite. Since some of the Corinthians were claiming to be of his party, he was glad that he had not personally baptized them, lest some of them should say he had baptized in his own name (1 Corinthians 1:15). But Crispus. Formerly chief ruler of the synagogue at Corinth (Acts 18:8). And Gaius. He was Paul’s host at Corinth when the Epistle to the Romans was written. See Romans 16:23.

1 Corinthians 7:35

I baptized also the household of Stephanas. This household was “the first fruits of Achaia” (1 Corinthians 16:15); Stephanas was one of the three Corinthian brethren then visiting Paul at Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:17). There is no proof that this, or any other household named in Scripture, contained infants, but there is proof that most of them did not. “The household” does not mean the same as “the family”, but those dwelling in the house; often the servants only.

1 Corinthians 7:36

For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. Paul does not intend to disparage baptism, but to say that, in the division of labor, the work assigned him was to preach, while others did the baptizing. If the common views of his physical condition are correct, he was hardly strong enough to do a great deal of baptizing. Not with wisdom of words. Instead of seeking eloquence or philosophical speculation, which might hide the cross, he told the simple story of the gospel in plain and simple language.

1 Corinthians 7:37

The preaching of the cross. The gospel of a Crucified Savior. Unto them that perish. Those who are unregenerate. Foolishness. The Greek philosopher and the Jewish scribe scoffed at the thought of a Savior who had been crucified. They held that his crucifixion proved that he was not divine. Unto us who are saved. There are two sections of mankind–the unsaved and the saved. To the first, the cross is folly; to the second, the gospel of the Crucified One comes as the “power of God”. See Romans 1:16. To the unsaved, the cross is a pillar of cloud; to the saved, a pillar of light.

1 Corinthians 7:38

I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. By turning to the passage in Isaiah 29:14, its meaning is clear. God will put aside the wisdom and understanding of men; these will not save; but he will save by what the world called foolishness.

1 Corinthians 7:39

Where [is] the wise? The Greek philosophers. In Greek, the term “philosopher” means “a lover of wisdom”. The scribe? The scribes were the Jewish learned class. The disputer of this world? Probably the Greek teachers who “disputed daily” in the public places (Acts 19:9). Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? All their worldly wisdom is excluded from the gospel.

1 Corinthians 7:40

For . . . the world by wisdom knew not God. Worldly wisdom did not search out the true God. Intellectual speculation had done its utmost, and failed. Hence it was rejected, and the Divine Wisdom chose by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. That is, by preaching what the wise and puffed up of the this world called foolishness. They called the gospel foolishness.