1 Corinthians
General
φυσιόω
φυσιόω (physioō): ‘puffs’, ‘arrogant’ mostly just used in 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 4.6
Ταῦτα δέ, ἀδελφοί, μετεσχημάτισα εἰς ἐμαυτὸν καὶ Ἀπολλὼν δι᾽ ὑμᾶς, ἵνα ἐν ἡμῖν μάθητε τὸ μὴ ὑπὲρ ἃ γέγραπται, ἵνα μὴ εἷς ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἑνὸς φυσιοῦσθε κατὰ τοῦ ἑτέρου.
I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.
1 Corinthians 4:18–19
Ὡς μὴ ἐρχομένου δέ μου πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐφυσιώθησάν τινες · ἐλεύσομαι δὲ ταχέως πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ἐὰν ὁ κύριος θελήσῃ, καὶ γνώσομαι οὐ τὸν λόγον τῶν πεφυσιωμένων ἀλλὰ τὴν δύναμιν.
Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power.
1 Corinthians 5.2:
καὶ ὑμεῖς πεφυσιωμένοι ἐστὲ καὶ οὐχὶ μᾶλλον ἐπενθήσατε ἵνα ἀρθῇ ἐκ μέσου ὑμῶν ὁ τὸ ἔργον τοῦτο ποιήσας;
And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
1 Corinthians 8.1:
Περὶ δὲ τῶν εἰδωλοθύτων, οἴδαμεν ὅτι πάντες γνῶσιν ἔχομεν. ἡ γνῶσις φυσιοῖ, ἡ δὲ ἀγάπη οἰκοδομεῖ.
Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up.
1 Corinthians 13.4:
Ἡ ἀγάπη μακροθυμεῖ, χρηστεύεται, ἡ ἀγάπη οὐ ζηλοῖ, ἡ ἀγάπη οὐ περπερεύεται, οὐ φυσιοῦται,
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
Colossians 2.18:
μηδεὶς ὑμᾶς καταβραβευέτω θέλων ἐν ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καὶ θρησκείᾳ τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἃ ἑώρακεν ἐμβατεύων εἰκῆ φυσιούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ νοὸς τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ,
Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,
Chapter 1
Greeting
St Paul was called by God’s will Acts to be an apostle.
St Sosthenes coauthor of 1 Corinthians.
St Paul calls his readers sanctified, and calls them to be saints. That is they are holy and called to be holy. “Become what you are in Christ.” Theosis is growing in Christ according to his calling. Note St Paul says this to the church of Corinth, even tho they have quite a bit of issues (like the man sleeping with his step-mother)(5.1, Leviticus 18.8).
Grace and peace come from God and Jesus Christ. An identification of Christ with God.
Thanksgiving
St Paul thanks God for his time with the Corinthians. He encourages them to wait for the revealing of Christ which will sustain them until the end.
God who is faithful calls the faithful into fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ
Division
Yet this division is broken by factions. Some say I am of Paul or Apollos, or Cephas (or Calvin or Luther). And some say I am of Christ alone (Restorationism?)
Yet Christ is not divided (much made in the Church Fathers of Christ’s seamless robe at the Crucifixion).
The Cross is power, not eloquent words.
Christ and the Wisdom of God
But this power of God is folly to the world.
Quoting Isaiah 29.14 (with references to Job 5.12–13 Jeremiah 8.9 and Matthew 11.25 this is quite the theme in Scriptures). St Paul says God has made foolish the wisdom of this world.
Jesus a stumbling block to the Jews (who should have known from the Scriptures) and folly to Gentiles (who sought wisdom after the powers of the age). But to both of those called by God (theme of unity) Christ’s Cross is the Power and Wisdom of God.
Therefore, although not many of the Corinthian brethren were wise, powerful, or wealthy, noble, God chose the foolish things of this world to shame the wisdom of the world. Cf. Christ born to poor parents in a stable.
Because of this, we cannot boast of ourselves. Our boasting must be in the Lord (Jeremiah 9.23–24). He is our wisdom, righteousness, and sanctification.
Chapter 2
St Paul continues this theme by saying he is not boasting of himself with eloquent speech or wisdom. He only knows Christ and him crucified. The weakness of God is stronger than the strength of the age (world). The Cross is the demonstration of the Spirit and power, enabling us rest in God’s power.
vv. 6 ff. The Spirit of God understands God. The rulers of this age (the devils) do not understand the wisdom of God, for if they had, they “would not have crucified the Lord of Glory”. They are doomed to pass away while God remains.
Great things have been revealed in Christ, and greater things still will be revealed. (v9, Isaiah 64.4 LXX)
v 13. Spiritually should be capitalized as it’s a reference to the Holy Spirit. Those in the Spirit can by the Spirit understand the truths he teaches, whereas to those outside it is foolishness.
We who are united to Christ, have the mind of Christ.
Note the unity of God (the Father), Christ, and the Spirit in this chapter.
Chapter 3
Yet while God’s knowledge is discerned Spiritually, St Paul cannot address the Corinthians spiritually but as of the flesh (carnally.) They are infants in Christ, only able to drink milk and not solid food. (Cf. (Hebrews 5.12–14) The divisions among them witness this carnal behavior.
God gives growth while St Paul or St Apollos may have planted or watered. Without God’s action, our action is nothing. Yet we are called to work with God, to be God’s coworkers (συνεργοί — note the English word synergism).
An aside that St Paul uses synergism, but the Calvinist word monergism (the work of one) is nowhere found in Scripture.
God builds us (the Church) up using the members of the church to do it. For this reason, let us build good works: gold, silver, etc. The foundation is Christ, which enables the Church to survive fire. Yet the fire will test (reveal) what works we’ve done.
Not only a building, but a Temple. God dwells in us Consecration of a Church
Returning to Wisdom: if anyone is wise in this age, let him become a fool in order to become truly wise with the wisdom of the Age to come.
“He catches the wise in their craftiness” Job 5.13 cf. Gen 3.1 where the serpant is described as wise, crafty or sagacious depending on translation.
We are all in Christ, whether taught by Paul, Apollo or Cephas. And Christ is God’s.
Chapter 4
Stewardship:
(interestingly read the passage today (2026-10-06) where Gandalf told Denethor he was also a steward.)
The requirement of stewards is they are found faithful. What we have is not our own, but Christ’s.
We should not judge each other (or even ourselves [according to our whole, but should judge our words and deeds confessing them accordingly]) before the time (καιρου kairos) that is Day of the Lord. When he comes he shall bring everything to light.
We have no reason to boast because we have received all our gifts. Cf James: ‘every good and perfect gift is from above’
Yet in Corinth they have become wise etc. Paul chastises them with sarcastic language. Yet the apostles are least of all (read on many apostles’ feast days).
Yet he is harsh not to shame them but spur them onto greater things. He is their father in Christ (of whom they have few.) He wishes to come to them in gentleness, but in order to do so they must receive his teaching.
Chapter 5
Paul now addresses sexual immorality, a man is sleeping with his stepmother. (He must deal with this so he doesn’t have to come with the rod of 4.20.)
Note the connection of pride/arrogance to the rest of Corinthians.
Now St Paul does pronounce judgment (see ch 4.3) but does this as one in authority of the Church. This authority of the Church is the power of the Lord Jesus.
Excommunication is to be used in order to have the man realize he needs to repent.
Christ calls us to a new way of life, free from pride (which is a greater sin here as it’s more insidious) and sexual immorality.
This must also be excerised at that community level. However, St Paul says the purpose of the Church is not to judge those outside it. That’s for God.
(Yet if we judge ourselves we won’t have to be judged.)
St Paul quotes Duet 13.5 and other passages to remove the evil from one’s midst.
Chapter 6
Dispute should be settled within the Church, not in a court of law. The saints will judge the world & angels, so how can we not judge amongst ourselves.
Paul condemns gluttony and sexual immorality.
Our body is not our own, but we were bought with Christ’s blood to be a temple of the Holy Spirit!
Chapter 7
St Paul discusses the saying “It’s good not to touch a woman.” This only applies to certain people, not everyone is called to celibacy. Most are called to marriage.
But some are called to celibacy, maybe more common among the widows.
Divorce is forbidden from the Lord, but if one does divorce, they should not remarry. A spouse is to remain married to his/her unbelieving spouse, assuming they consent. Marriage given for children and their and the spouses’ sanctification. Cf Ephesians where Marriage is called a Mystery.
Live according to your calling, in all things. On slavery: the slave is a freeman in the Lord, and the freeman is a slave of Christ. We were bought with Christ’s blood, don’t become slaves of men (of this world’s system).
Likewise if called as married remain married, if called as single, it is good to remain single but no sin to marry. Yet this world is passing away, focus on the world to come.
The unmarried person can focus more on the things of God. Cf. the monks praying for the world.
St Paul reiterates his teaching on marriage.
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Love (αγάπη)
Whatever other gifts (even miraculous) one might possess without love, they are worthless.
Martyrdom without love is of no avail.
True love is selfless (kind, unboasting), other oriented (doesn’t insist on its own way) and sacrificial (bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things.)
Love endures, other gifts fade in eternity.
While we know God partially, dimly through a glass Apophasis, in the age to come we ‘shall know as we are known’ (cf Chapter 2. (What does this mean? Surely we’ll know truly, but we can’t understand on this side of the veil how thesois will be accomplish. Perhaps the saints on earth know, but it is beyond me.)
Of the gifts that endure, faith, hope, and love, love is the greatest. Cf 1 John “God is Love”.