Brief First Corinthians Introduction

Abbotsford

Miss Gina has requested my assistance with a First Corinthians course she has originated and is teaching within the Vancouver Christian singles community.

First Corinthians

Estimated Date

Bible Study Tools.com

First Corinthians  57 AD

(Second Corinthians  57 AD)

Grace Fellowship Church & Robert H. Gundry, A Survey of the New Testament, 3rd ed

First Corinthians 55 AD

(Second Corinthians 56 AD)

Paul W. Marsh

First Corinthians 55 AD (page 1347).

Robert Gundry

First Corinthians 55 AD (page 364).

(Second Corinthians 56 AD) (page 364).

Gordon Fee explains that Paul left Corinth sometime in AD 51-52, and that the writing of First Corinthians took place approximately three years later. (4). This makes the date approximately 54-55 AD.

Elwell and Yarbrough

First Corinthians 55 AD (273).

(Second Corinthians 56 AD) (276).
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Authorship and Location

Scholarly consensus from sources is that First Corinthians is of Pauline authorship.

From  Wikipedia

Cited

'The First Epistle to the Corinthians (Ancient Greek: Α΄ Επιστολή προς Κορινθίους), usually referred to simply as First Corinthians and often written 1 Corinthians, is one of the Pauline epistles of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle says that Paul the Apostle and "Sosthenes our brother" wrote it to "the church of God which is at Corinth" 1Cor.1:1–2 although the scholarly consensus holds that Sosthenes was the amanuensis who write down the text of the letter at Paul's direction.[1]'

I have noted on my websites that a scribe at times, may have written parts the New Testament, via the words of an Apostle or disciple. This may impact some that hold to a fundamentalistic type of dictation theory, allowing for no third party, but within a biblical theory of inspiration, certainly the Holy Spirit can inspire, for example, the Apostle Paul that then accurately dictates to a scribe. Further, we do not possess original biblical autographs and we are dependent on post apostolic scribal accuracy.

Scholarly consensus is that the First Corinthians was written in Ephesus. Dunnett (49).

Cited

'Paul's authorship of 1 Corinthians (see 1 Cor 1;1) is virtually undisputed in ancient and modern times. (273). Elwell and Yarbrough provide the theory that there is an initial letter to the Corinthians, now lost. 1 Cor 5:9.' (272). This is a well-known concept within scholarship.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;

Elwell and Yarbrough note, that First and Second Corinthians...'are only two of a larger collection of writings that passed between the apostle and the church.' (272).

Before one objects to the possibility of this view in haste; is it to be understood that everything the Apostle Paul or an Apostle wrote within the New Testament era was Holy Spirit inspired Scripture?

Did not the Apostle Paul correct as in error the Apostle Peter in Galatians 2?

An Apostle in the New Testament was not necessarily always inspired in writing and action by the Holy Spirit, but was Holy Spirit inspired in the transmission of Scripture. (2 Timothy 3).

Not to venture into the ridiculous, but hypothetically, if the Apostle Paul wrote a note for a servant and disciple to fetch two chickens, and this note also contained the words of Jesus Christ as theological encouragement in service, it does not mean the note is inspired Scripture. It is rather Holy Spirit guided non-Scripture.

There appears to be consensus that Second Corinthians was written in Macedonia. Both Corinthians widely reasoned to be written during Paul's third missionary journey.

ELWELL, WALTER AND YARBROUGH, ROBERT W., Third Edition (2013) Encountering The New Testament, Grand Rapids, Baker Academic.

DUNNETT, WALTER M. (2001) Exploring The New Testament,  Wheaton, Crossway Books.

FEE, GORDON D. (1987) The First Epistle To The Corinthians, Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

GUNDRY, ROBERT (1981) A Survey of the New Testament, Grand Rapids, Zondervan.

MARSH, PAUL, W. (1986) ‘1 Corinthians’, in F.F. Bruce, (ed.), The International Bible Commentary, Grand Rapids, Marshall Pickering/Zondervan.