Text -- 1 Corinthians 1:1-13 (NET)

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother, 1:2 to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. 1:3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Thanksgiving

1:4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus. 1:5 For you were made rich in every way in him, in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge– 1:6 just as the testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you– 1:7 so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1:8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Divisions in the Church

1:10 I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree together, to end your divisions, and to be united by the same mind and purpose. 1:11 For members of Chloe’s household have made it clear to me, my brothers and sisters, that there are quarrels among you. 1:12 Now I mean this, that each of you is saying, “I am with Paul,” or “I am with Apollos,” or “I am with Cephas,” or “I am with Christ.” 1:13 Is Christ divided? Paul wasn’t crucified for you, was he? Or were you in fact baptized in the name of Paul?

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Co 1:1

¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

² tc Many important mss, as well as several others (א A Ψ 1739 1881 Ï sy), have a reversed order of these words and read “Jesus Christ” rather than “Christ Jesus” (Ì⁴⁶ B D F G 33 it). The meaning is not affected in either case, but the reading “Christ Jesus” is preferred both because it has somewhat better attestation and because it is slightly more difficult and thus more likely the original (a scribe who found it would be prone to change it to the more common expression). At the same time, Paul is fond of the order “Christ Jesus.” As well, the later Pauline letters almost uniformly use this order in the salutations. Thus, on both external and internal grounds, “Christ Jesus” is the preferred reading here.

NET Notes: 1Co 1:2

¹ map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

² tn Grk “theirs and ours.”

NET Notes: 1Co 1:3

¹ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

NET Notes: 1Co 1:5

¹ sn Made rich refers to how God richly blessed the Corinthians with an abundance of spiritual gifts (cf. v. 7).

² sn Speech and knowledge refer to the spiritual gifts God had blessed them with (as v. 7 confirms). Paul will discuss certain abuses of their gifts in chapters 12-14, but he thanks God for their giftedness.

NET Notes: 1Co 1:7

¹ sn The revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ refers to the Lord’s return, when he will be revealed (cf. the reference to the day of our Lord Jesus Christ in v. 8).

NET Notes: 1Co 1:8

¹ tn Grk “who,” referring to Christ. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

NET Notes: 1Co 1:10

¹ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

² tn Grk “that you all say the same thing.”

³ tn Grk “that there be no divisions among you.”

⁴ tn Grk “that you be united in/by the same mind and in/by the same purpose.”

NET Notes: 1Co 1:11

¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.

² tn Or “rivalries, disputes.”

NET Notes: 1Co 1:12

¹ tn Or “And I say this because.”

NET Notes: 1Co 1:13

¹ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “was he?”).

² tn This third question marks a peak in which Paul’s incredulity at the Corinthians’ attitude is in focus. The words “in fact” have been supplied in the translation to make this rhetorical juncture clear.