New Testament in Context
Christians in Corinth
The cultural setting in Corinth helps us understand some of Paul’s counsel that may seem challenging to modern readers.1
Corinth in the first century was the thriving economic and political capital of the Roman province of Achaea. In addition to Roman citizens, it attracted Greeks, Syrians, and Jews. Greek philosophies of the Platonic, Stoic, and Cynic schools seem to have influenced some educated Corinthians—including some Christians—on spiritual, physical, and social matters.
Paul’s preaching attracted at least a few wealthy and influential Corinthians as well as many converts with less education or cultural involvement. These differences are part of what led to division and strife within the Church in Corinth.
Special Wisdom?
The educated classes in Corinth drew from multiple philosophical traditions to conclude that they had special wisdom or knowledge. They believed that their special knowledge brought about a new spiritual existence in this life. This idea led them to deny the significance of the body and rationalize that they were above law and free to act as they wished. Some Christians applied these ideas to their conversion to Christianity, prompting willful rebellion and moral misbehavior.
Paul countered their mistaken assertion that “all things are lawful” (1 Corinthians 6:12) and argued that Christians should practice discipline and purity: “Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit” (see 1 Corinthians 6:12–20).
Personal Grooming
Jews, Greeks, and Romans at Corinth had different conventions for men’s and women’s hair length and for covering one’s head, particularly during worship. The general expectation in all the cultures was that married women would cover their heads. On the other hand, Jewish, Greek, and Roman men had different expectations about covering their heads, especially while praying.
These cultural expectations were clearly a factor in Paul’s advice in 1 Corinthians 11. But there may have been another issue: the behavior of the Christian elite who flouted social customs, both pagan and Christian. In an atmosphere where some Christians in Corinth seem to have been going against conventional standards because of pride, Paul counseled modesty and decorum in harmony with Corinthian cultural expectations.
Marriage and Celibacy
Paul’s counsel on marriage and celibacy includes some seemingly challenging passages for us today. But they make more sense in the context of a worldview that downplayed the importance of the body.
In Corinth, some believed that only extreme self-denial would please God. Their negative view of marriage, among other things, led Paul to address marriage (see 1 Corinthians 7:1–7) and to give advice to the unmarried, widows, those contemplating divorce, and those married to unbelievers (see 1 Corinthians 7:8–9, 39–40, 10–16). That counsel may be summarized as: “Remain chaste outside of marriage and properly intimate within marriage.”
Paul advises those who are married to remain married, even if there are difficulties. He counsels Christians married to unbelievers to remain married, “for the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband” (1 Corinthians 7:14).
Paul’s counsel to those who have not yet married is offered as his opinion, not doctrine (see 1 Corinthians 7:7–9, 39–40). He wishes that all men were like himself and counsels “the unmarried and widows” to “abide even as I.” While this presumably meant being properly intimate within marriage and chaste without,2 this counsel may actually have applied only to those who had lost spouses through death, whether male or female.3
Regardless, his counsel is the same: “But if they cannot contain [exercise self-control], let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn [which here can mean “burn with passion”].” Joseph Smith rendered it, “But if they cannot abide, let them marry; for it is better to marry than that any should commit sin” (Joseph Smith Translation, 1 Corinthians 7:9 [in 1 Corinthians 7:9, footnote a]).
Unity in Jesus Christ
The cultural and historical setting in Corinth helps us better understand Paul’s advice on dress, grooming, marriage, and celibacy. He encouraged moderation, avoiding extremes in behaviors or appearance. When members of the congregation claimed that their special wisdom permitted rebellious acts, Paul taught clearly that “your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:5). Today our faith must likewise be centered on Jesus Christ, not the special claims of knowledge or wisdom in our current cultures. Then we can be one.