It is generally admitted that First Corinthians was written at about A. D. 55. The eleventh chapter of the epistle gives an account of the institution of the Lord's Supper, in which Jesus teaches the sacrificial significance of his death; and the fifteenth chapter gives a list of the appearances of Jesus after his resurrection. The information contained in these passages was not invented by Paul; indeed he distinctly says that it was "received." In A. D. 55, then, not only Paul, but also the Church generally believed that Jesus' death, according to his own teaching, was sacrificial, and appealed in support of his resurrection to a wealth of competent testimony. But from whom had Paul "received" these things? Hardly from anyone except those who had been Christians before him—in other words, from the Palestinian church. We have here an irremovable confirmation of the Gospel view of Jesus. First Corinthians is a historical document of absolutely priceless value.
The incidental character of these historical passages is especially noteworthy. It shows that Paul knew far more about Jesus than he found occasion in the epistles to tell. If he had told more, no doubt the Gospel picture of Jesus would have received confirmation throughout.
In the Library.—Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. 213-221. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": article on "Apollos"; Purves and Davis, article on "Corinthians, Epistles to the." Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Robertson, article on "Corinthians, First Epistle to the." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 58-64. Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. ii, pp. 281-356: Shore, "The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians." "The Cambridge Bible for Schools": Lias, "The First Epistle to the Corinthians." Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. i, pp. 256-306. "The International Critical Commentary": Robertson and Plummer, "A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians." The two last-named works presuppose a knowledge of Greek.
LESSON XX
THE APOSTLE AND HIS MINISTRY
1. ADDRESS AND THANKSGIVING. II Cor. 1:1-11
In First Corinthians the obscure Sosthenes is found to be associated with Paul in the address of the epistle; in Second Corinthians it is Timothy, one of the best-known of the helpers of Paul. Even if that mission of Timothy to Corinth which is mentioned in First Corinthians had resulted in failure, Timothy's usefulness in the church was not permanently affected.