1 Corinthians 1:26

1:26 Think about the circumstances of your call, ¹  brothers and sisters. ²  Not many were wise by human standards, ³  not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. ⁴ 

1 Corinthians 5:5

5:5 turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved ⁵  in the day of the Lord. ⁶ 

1 Corinthians 6:16

6:16 Or do you not know that anyone who is united with ⁷  a prostitute is one body with her? ⁸  For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” ⁹ 

1 Corinthians 15:50

15:50 Now this is what I am saying, brothers and sisters: ¹⁰  Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

[1:26]  ¹ tn Grk “Think about your calling.” “Calling” in Paul’s writings usually refers to God’s work of drawing people to faith in Christ. The following verses show that “calling” here stands by metonymy for their circumstances when they became Christians, leading to the translation “the circumstances of your call.”

[1:26]  ² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.

[1:26]  ³ tn Grk “according to the flesh.”

[1:26]  ⁴ tn The Greek word ευγενής (eugenh") refers to the status of being born into nobility, wealth, or power with an emphasis on the privileges and benefits that come with that position.

[5:5]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps “turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of your fleshly works, so that your spirit may be saved…”; Grk “for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved.” This is one of the most difficult passages in the NT, and there are many different interpretations regarding what is in view here. (1) Many interpreters see this as some sort of excommunication (“turn this man over to Satan”) which in turn leads to the man’s physical death (“the destruction of the flesh”), resulting in the man’s ultimate salvation (“that [his] spirit may be saved…”). (2) Others see the phrase “destruction of the flesh” as referring to extreme physical suffering or illness that stops short of physical death, thus leading the offender to repentance and salvation. (3) A number of scholars (e.g. G. D. Fee, First Corinthians [NICNT], 212-13) take the reference to the “flesh” to refer to the offender’s “sinful nature” or “carnal nature,” which is “destroyed” by placing him outside the church, back in Satan’s domain (exactly how this “destruction” is accomplished is not clear, and is one of the problems with this view). (4) More recently some have argued that neither the “flesh” nor the “spirit” belong to the offender, but to the church collectively; thus it is the “fleshly works” of the congregation which are being destroyed by the removal of the offender (cf. 5:13) so that the “spirit,” the corporate life of the church lived in union with God through the Holy Spirit, may be preserved (cf. 5:7-8). See, e.g., B. Campbell, “Flesh and Spirit in 1 Cor 5:5: An Exercise in Rhetorical Criticism of the NT,” JETS 36 (1993): 331-42. The alternate translation “for the destruction of your fleshly works, so that your spirit may be saved” reflects this latter view.

[5:5]  ⁶ tc The shorter reading, κυρίου (kuriou, “Lord”), is found in Ì⁴⁶ B 630 1739 pc; κυρίου ᾿Ιησοῦ (kuriou Ihsou, “Lord Jesus”) is read by Ì^61vid א Ψ Ï; κυρίου ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (kuriou Ihsou Cristou, “Lord Jesus Christ”) by D pc; and κυρίου ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (kuriou Jhmwn Ihsou Cristou, “our Lord Jesus Christ”) by A F G P 33 al. The shorter reading is preferred as the reading that best explains the other readings, especially in view of the mention of “Jesus” twice in the previous verse.

[6:16]  ⁹ tn Or “is in relationship with.”

[6:16]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “is one body,” implying the association “with her.”

[6:16]  ¹¹ sn A quotation from Gen 2:24.

[15:50]  ¹³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.