1 Corinthians

"Therefore, both he that giveth his virgin in marriage, doth well; and he that giveth her not, doth better," (1 Corinthians 7:38 DRA).

This verse can cause some trouble for readers for the Bible for a quick reading can give a poor understanding. Some read it as a man perhaps selling or giving off a virgin who he owns, this is a gross misunderstanding of the text. In the ANE, it was common for a father to arrange marriages. This is Paul directing his speech to fathers, giving them something to think about.

"Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor" (1 Corinthians 10:24 ESV).

After reading this verse, some have become confused, wondering if this verse means we cannot fulfill our dreams. To clarify, this verse is not saying we cannot have ambitions; rather, the idea is to not act selfishly. As the Lord Jesus has said, “...You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31b-c). 

The context of the passage focuses on the convictions of the Jews and Gentiles. The Jews had obeyed the old covenant’s laws for millennia and became accustomed to these practices. One such practice is not eating certain foods. When Jesus came stating that all foods are made clean (Mark 7:19), this became a struggle for many Jews who began to follow Jesus. Paul–to help these converts–told the Gentiles that when in their presence, be respectful of their customs. Even if it is clean, it is best to be a loving neighbor by following them.

“All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor … But if anyone says to you, “This is meat sacrificed to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake; I mean not your own conscience, but the other man’s; for why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience?” (1 Corinthians 10:23-29 NASB1995). 

To use an example, let us say a friend of yours has an allergy to peanuts. Assuming that you of course do not have this allergy, you can eat them; however, by knowing that your friend cannot or it may even cause them harm, it may be best not to eat it in their presence.

As one scholar rightfully explains, “Let no man seek his own,.... His carnal pleasure and private advantage in eating things sacrificed to "idols", to the hurt and disadvantage of his brethren; otherwise it is lawful for a man to seek his own good, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, to seek for the necessaries of life, his spiritual peace and comfort, and his everlasting welfare and happiness; but then he should not only seek his own…The apostle's meaning is, that a man, in the use of things indifferent, should not seek the gratifying of his sensual appetite or other passions, what may be pleasing or profitable to himself; but should consult the profit and edification of others” (Gill).

"For God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints," (1 Corinthians 14:33 NASB1995).

Here, Paul is rebuking the church of Corinth. At this time, there were many disruptions in the service. Members of the congregation would get up with random teachings, revelations, and words in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:26). Due to this, Paul placed down rules to help determine if these were true so as to make fewer disruptions and more order (1 Corinthians 14:27-33).

Paul's statement here is God is one of order, not disorder, so the church must improve. "The Church is the Church of God, and should bear on it the moral image of its King: there should be order, therefore, not confusion, in their assemblies," (Ellicott).

"His religion cannot tend to produce disorder. He is the God of peace; and his religion will tend to promote order. It is calm, peaceful, thoughtful. It is not boisterous and disorderly," (Barnes).

"Confusion" is, as St. James says (James 3:16), the result of envious and pushing egotism. But of peace; which cannot coexist with inflation and restlessness," (Jones). (C.f. Crossway 2212-2213)

It must be noted that there is a difference between good and bad confusion. Jesus' parables made the reader think harder about what had been said, and it caused the information to stick with the listener. What occurred in the church of Corinth was chaos and disorder. 

References:

Barnes' Notes on the New Testament. United Kingdom, Kregel Publications, 1962.

Ellicott's Bible Commentary, Volume 1. N.p., Delmarva Publications, Inc., 2015.

ESV Study Bible. United States, Crossway, 2008

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

The Pulpit Commentary, Volume 6. United States, Delmarva Publications, Inc., 2015.

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"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures," (1 Corinthians 15:3-4 KJV).

"How that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures" Here, Paul references that according to the scriptures, Christ died for our sins. As the Gospels were likely not written yet, as many scholars conclude the epistles of Paul were written before the Gospels, we must look to the Old Testament. "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth," (Isaiah 53:5-7 KJV). 

"he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" Paul is noting here that Jesus died and rose according to the scriptures. As the Gospels were likely not written yet, as many scholars conclude the epistles of Paul were written before the Gospels, we must look to the Old Testament. Paul seems to be referencing Jonah just as Matthew did in his Gospel (Matthew 12:38-41). Just as Jesus died and rose after three days, so did Jonah: "Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights," (Jonah 1:17 KJV). Some have a problem with this explanation as it is not clear enough to them. This is an example of not understanding the cultural context. According to the scholar Dr. David A. Falk: "You have, say, a type of one thing. Like for example, you look at King David. He's a type of king ... he's the ideal king. ... He's the archetype. ... Then we have Solomon, who's another type of king. Okay, he's also a type of king, and then you get other kings. Some good, some bad, each one is a particular type of king and all of those types of kings are foreshadowing Jesus as king of the Jews ... they're a kind of physical prophecy. It's a prophecy by event or person" Jonah goes into the large fish and clearly dies then raises in three days. Jonah is the archetype of resurrection and Jesus fulfills it.

Work Cited:

Dr. Falk, David. Live Stream #120: What Are You Going To Do With Your Question? YouTube, YouTube, 19 Aug. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WXR_JFYsFQ. Accessed 23 Aug. 2023.