CORINTHIANS, EPISTLES TO TIIE (trans lation of Gk. rpOs Kop4v0lot's, se. pros Korinthious, to the Corinthians, Sc. cpisto/ui, epistles). Two writings in the New Testament addressed by Paul to the Church at Corinth, which he had founded in A.D. 50. The former of these letters was written during Paul's stay in Ephesus, from A.D. 52 to 55, probably shortly before Pentecost of 55 (cf. xvi. 8, 9: "But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost; for a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there arc many adversaries"). it was occasioned pri marily by reports brought to the Apostle through certain members of the Corinthian Church to the effect that there were grave disorders in the Church, consisting chiefly in party factions, gathering around the names of the Apostles and their workers and Christ (chaps. i.-iv.), and also in grossly immoral practices (chap. v.) and in a contentious spirit which resulted in bringing one another before the courts of law (chap. vi.), all of whieh things the Apostle sternly rebuked. The further occasion of the Epistle was a letter addressed by the Corinthian Church to the Apostle, apparently in reply to a previous letter sent by him to them, in which lie had prohibited their companionship with persons of bad char acter and life, but evidently in such terms as to lead to the misunderstanding that he had in mind all persons of this character in tneir com munity. The practical impossibility of com plying with this command they had doubtless laid before the Apostle in their letter, in view of which protest he explains that his intention was to prohibit Christian companionship with such persons in the membership of the Church (v. 9-11: "1 wrote unto you in my Epistle to have no company with fornicators; not at all meaning with the fornicators of this world . . . but . . . if any man that is named a brother he a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such an one no. not to eat"). In this same letter the Corinthians apparently laid before the Apostle definite questions regard ing certain troubles in their church life, to which the Apostle replies in order (chaps. vii.-xvi.). These questions regarded marriage (chap. vii.), the eating of meat offered in sacrifice to idols (chap. viii.), the proprieties of public worship (chaps. xi.-xiv.)—ehiefly as to the use of the charismata or spiritual gifts (chaps.
the doctrine of the resurrection (chap. xv.), and the collection for the saints in Jerusalem (chap. xvi.)—possibly also the return of Apollos to work among them (xvi. 12).
The second of the letters was written after Paul had left Ephesus, while lie was on the journey from that city to Corinth, most likely in the spring or early summer of 55, from some of the Christian centres in Macedonia. It was occasioned by the report brought to the Apostle through Titus. to the effect that the personal hostility to the Apostle in the Church had given way to the spirit of general loyalty to his rule (chap. vii.). In this second letter there are passages which mane it impossible to avoid the impression that the Apostle made more visits to Corinth than are recorded in the Book of Acts. and that, in addition to the letter of prohibition referred to above, he wrote more letters to the Church than are distinctively pre served in the New Testament. The passages re ferring to the visit are the following: (ii. 1) `'But I determined this for myself, that I would not come again to you with sorrow:" (xii. 21) "Lest again when I come my God should humble me before you:" (xiii. 2. 3) "I have said be
forehand . . as when I was present the second time . . . that. if I come again, I will not spare." From these it is clear that the Apostle had made a visit to Corinth, which was of a sorrowful kind. This cannot possibly be the only previous visit of which we have record in the Acts—the visit in which he founded the Church; since, while at that time he was dis couraged regarding his gospel work in Corinth, there had been no sorrow between him and his people, such as these passages necessarily imply. This inference is confirmed by the remaining passages: (xii. 14) "Behold, this is the third time I am ready to come to you:" (xiii. 1) "This is the third time I am coining to you," from which it is clear that the visit which he was about to make was, to the Apostle, his third visit to this place. The passages referring to the letter are the following: (ii. 3. 4) "Out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears:" (vii. S, 9-12) "For though I made you sorry with my Epistle, I do not regret it. . . So although I wrote unto you, I wrote not for his cause that did the wrong. nor for his cause that suffered the wrong." etc., from which it is clear that the Apostle has in mind some other letter than that which we know as I. Corinthians; since, while 1. Corinthians might he called a letter of censure, whose object was to shame its readers, it could not in any way be termed a letter of 'affliction' and 'anguish of heart' and 'many tears.' The only reasonable explanation of these in timations is to be found in the theory that, between the writing of the first and second canonical letters. Timothy, whom Paul had sent to Corinth at the time of the first letter, re turned to Ephesus with news of an urgent situ ation in the Church—an outbreak evidently of personal hostility against the Apostle (see ease of discipline referred to in ii. 5-11), in response to which Paul hurries across to Corinth by the direct sea route, hut is unable to better the state of affairs (cf. xii. 21, as above, which is eon firmed by the estimate placed upon him by his opponents in x. 10: "His letters. they say. are weighty and strong; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is of no account"). Re turning to Ephesus, lie writes to the Church in the fullness of his mortification and grief a letter bearing upon his experience in this visit and upon the general situation in the Church, a letter which might easily have been one 'of many tears.' In such a case, however, it is quite certain that we have a portion of this painful letter preserved in the last four chapters of our second Epistle (chaps. x.-xiii.). The evidence for this state ment lies in the following facts: (1) Between chaps. i.-ix. and chaps. x.-xiii. there is a marked and othe•wi,se unaccountable difference in the feelings of the Apostle. The earlier chapters are full of cheer and satisfaction; the later of dis satisfaction and distress. (2) Between these two groups of chapters there is, further, a marked and otherwise unintelligible difference in the condition of the Church's affairs. In the earlier+ chapters the Church is manifestly loyal to the Apostle; in the later it is as manifestly disloyal. (3) Between these two groups of chapters there is a peculiar set of cross-refer ences. It is found in the following passages: I. (ii. 3) "And I wrote this very thing. lest when I came, I should hare sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice" (xiii. 10) "For this cause I write these things while absent, that I may not when present deal sharply," etc.