Answer: reports of divisions among them
While all of these (and more) are mentioned in Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth, the very first problem facing the church believers was that of a schism or divisive nature between the members. There was a lot of in-fighting, arguing and quarrelsome personalities in conflict with one another within this church, and Paul scolded them for having such attitudes.
(1 Corinthians 1:10-17)
From Quiz: 1st Corinthians
Answer: Charity
The word "agape" is one of several Greek words that may be translated into English as "love." It is used especially for the love of God, both God's love for His people and believers' love for God. Other Greek words for love include "philia" (brotherly love) and "eros" (romantic love).
From Quiz: Paul's Love Chapter (I Corinthians 13): Three Ways
Answer: Paul
Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles, wrote 1 Corinthians. The 13th chapter of the book is one of my favorites and I am certain millions of people around the world feel the same way. Paul's writing in the chapter is impeccable. To steal a line from an old Johnny Tillotson song, Paul's writing is poetry in motion -- and then some. What must be remembered about this chapter is that Paul is stating Christians should exhibit this type of love to everyone, not just members of their family or close friends. Paul wrote the book of 1 Corinthians largely in response to divisions and the lack of orderly worship at the church in Corinth. (Incidentally, there is another quiz on FunTrivia about 1 Corinthians 13 by Laughinggirl and I highly recommend it. You can find it by going to the search template and typing in 'Love in 1 Corinthians'. Obviously, I made a point of not repeating any questions in her quiz.)
From Quiz: 1 Corinthians 13 -- a Chapter Loved by Millions
Answer: Paul
It says in II Corinthians 1:1, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia."
Paul was formerly named Saul.
From Quiz: II Corinthians
Answer: Paul
It says in I Corinthians 1:1, "Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother."
I and II Corinthians are the letters that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. These books (along with the other letters Paul wrote) are known as epistles.
From Quiz: I Corinthians
Answer: "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror"
In my opinion, this phrase illustrates both one of the strengths and one of the problems of using the King James Version. The phrase "Through a glass darkly" is memorable and poetic. However, few modern readers are likely to immediately recognize "glass" as meaning a mirror, as in "looking glass." The Holy Bible can be difficult enough to understand in modern translations. It is my view that we don't always need the additional problems of Elizabethan English, no matter how beautiful!
Incidentally, Ingmar Bergman's film "Through a Glass Darkly" is a memorable title. However, the original Swedish simply translates "As in a Mirror."
From Quiz: Paul's Love Chapter (I Corinthians 13): Three Ways
Answer: It is a thought-provoking description of love.
Yes, 1 Corinthians 13 is all about love. And make no mistake about it, Paul's writing is exquisite. In my view, it almost contaminates his message when one attempts to add anything in the form of a commentary on what he has penned. The chapter is often read at weddings and even at funerals. Wikipedia has this interesting observation about 1 Corinthians 13: "It is also a commonly chosen reading in denominations which do not have a prescribed liturgy for marriage and even for non-religious weddings, so much to the point where it was on a list of wedding clichés to avoid in the television show 'How I Met Your Mother.'" It all brings back memories of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair reading the passage at the Princess Diana's funeral in 1997.
From Quiz: 1 Corinthians 13 -- a Chapter Loved by Millions
Answer: Incest
It says in I Corinthians 5:1, "It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife."
Corinth is located in Greece. The modern city of Corinth is located about 3km south of the Biblical Corinth.
From Quiz: I Corinthians
Answer: It was in order to 'spare' them
Paul appears to have made three visits to Corinth. The first, recorded in Acts, was with Timothy and Silas (Acts 18 v. 1-17). He announces a second visit at the end of his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 16 v. 5-7). It is assumed that this is what Paul refers to as the "painful visit" (2 Corinthians 2 v. 1). A third visit was planned, when tempers were still high, and during which Paul anticipated having to discipline the church (2 Corinthians 12 v. 14-21), but he opted against the heavy approach and waited until relations had been restored:
"I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth" (2 Corinthians 1 v. 23).
Although Corinth is not specifically mentioned, the third visit probably took place during Paul's final trip to Greece (Acts 20 v. 1-4).
From Quiz: Quizzing the New Testament: 2 Corinthians
Answer: within the physical bodies of believers
Paul begins the third chapter speaking to his "brethren" and discussing how weak they are in their faith. As he continues, he informs them that their spiritual maturity is sadly lacking (vs 4); that the only proper foundation for their belief lies in Jesus Christ (vs 11); and that they themselves are the temple of God (vs 16).
From Quiz: 1st Corinthians
Answer: 9
The word 'love' appears nine times in Paul's chapter. And when you consider the word 'it,' which is used to refer to love, the references to love almost doubles. The word 'it', when referring to love, appears eight times in the chapter, for a total of 17 references to love in the 13 verses in the chapter. (See 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 for an example of the word 'it' referring directly to love.) Incidentally, the NIV Bible contains a total of 262 words in the chapter. There can be no mistaking the stock Paul puts on love when one reads the famous chapter that is loved by tens of millions of people around the world. However, to put things in perspective, Wikipedia reports the original Greek version contains the word 'agape' throughout. The word agape "is translated into English as 'charity' in the King James version; but the word love is preferred by most other translations, both earlier and more recent," Wikipedia reports.
From Quiz: 1 Corinthians 13 -- a Chapter Loved by Millions
Answer: forsaken
It says in II Corinthians 4:9, "Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed."
Forsaken is another ways of saying forgotten or abandoned. That is, God will not forget his people.
From Quiz: II Corinthians
Answer: a stumblingblock
It says in I Corinthians 8:9, "But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak."
Christians believe this verse says that they have to be careful how they live. One doesn't want a new Christian to sin because one did something that shouldn't be done, causing them to think it's okay to do.
From Quiz: I Corinthians
Answer: They have been punished by the Corinthian church
"If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent - not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him." (2 Corinthians 2 v. 5-6)
Paul goes on to say that he has forgiven the offender and the church should do so too (2 Corinthians 2 v. 7). In his view, lack of forgiveness in such a situation is an easy way for Satan to exercise negative influence (2 Corinthians 2 v. 11).
From Quiz: Quizzing the New Testament: 2 Corinthians
Answer: Through "some from Chloe's household"
"My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you." (1 Corinthians 1 v. 11)
We have no further information as to the identity of Chloe. There is speculation, though, that the factionalism described in Paul's letter doesn't arise from one united church that was falling apart but from an umbrella of house churches that Paul was trying to bring closer together. Paul and Apollos clearly acted as visiting evangelists to the Corinthian church but other people listed in the letter such as Chloe, Crispus, Gaius and Stephanas (1 Corinthians 1 v. 14-16) and Achaicus and Fortunatus (1 Corinthians 16 v. 17) probably functioned as house church leaders.
From the accounts in Acts, we learn that Paul went on to Ephesus where he lived for at least two years (Acts 19). Most scholars presume that 1 Corinthians was written at this time as Paul writes:
"But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me." (1 Corinthians 16 v. 8-9).
From Quiz: Quizzing the New Testament: 1 Corinthians
Answer: love
"Love will last forever, but prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will all disappear." I Corinthians 13:8
From Quiz: Love in 1 Corinthians
Answer: power
He seems to be stating that words alone are not nearly enough to define the strength and power of God's greatness. While all the other possible answers are good ones that show aspects of God's many facets, power is the driving force behind all of those other facets. Without power, none of the rest would be effectual on their own; it is only through power that they have any real bearing at all. Words without power are meaningless; hope without power to save is dead; love without power to practice is not love at all; and faith without power is pointless.
Think of it this way: if you had four or five electrical tools, gadgets or appliances, and no way of providing power to them, then they would be of little or no use to you. Paul says God's power enables all of His other aspects to work, and to work properly, and He shares that power with mankind, if people desire to use it.
From Quiz: 1st Corinthians
Answer: "But when I became a man, I put away childish things."
The King James Version of the Holy Bible is easily the greatest work of literature in English produced by a committee. It often rivals the greatest of all writers in English, William Shakespeare. Having used the word "famous" in the question, I could not resist throwing in a bit of Polonius' speech to Laertes from "Hamlet" -- that's the part about "To thine own self be true."
From Quiz: Paul's Love Chapter (I Corinthians 13): Three Ways
Answer: Incorruptible
It says in I Corinthians 9:25, "And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible."
"Corruptible crowns" refers to things we have on earth that we cannot take with us when we die. "Incorruptible crowns" refers to our rewards in Heaven.
From Quiz: I Corinthians
Answer: The fragrance of the knowledge of him
"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life." (2 Corinthians 2 v. 14-16)
The image of the triumphal procession is based upon the parades organised by returning rulers after military victories. The incense spread along the parade route would have smelt sweet to the victors but rather less so to captured prisoners, now rendered slaves.
Paul may also intend the image to be ambiguous. Elsewhere in the letter he asks whether the true ministers of the gospel are manifested in triumphalism or weakness. Does he intend us to see him as one of the victors in Christ's parade; as one of Christ's slaves (1 Corinthians 7 v. 22); or as both at the same time?
From Quiz: Quizzing the New Testament: 2 Corinthians
Answer: The crucifixion of Jesus
"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2 v. 1-2)
Paul says that if he preached to Jews, they looked for miracles as proof. The idea of a crucified messiah was an anathema. If he preached to Greeks, they sought esoteric wisdom. Again, the cross made no logical sense to them (1 Corinthians 1 v. 22). But, he states, what seems like foolishness is the power of God to those that are saved (1 Corinthians 1 v. 18) and shows that their faith does not rest upon human eloquence (1 Corinthians 2 v. 4-5).
From Quiz: Quizzing the New Testament: 1 Corinthians
Answer: leaven
In this instance, and in many others in the Bible, leaven represents sin. Paul's asks a question in verse 6. "Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?"
His advice in verse 7 is for the church to "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened."
Paul may have been saying that if the church tolerated such behavior, the whole church body of believers could be at risk of being contaminated in spirit by the sinful act, but if it took corrective action and rid itself of the person or people causing such a problem, then the group would be considered unified as a group again.
From Quiz: 1st Corinthians
Answer: "Then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."
This is a passage where I prefer the unadorned, dignified modern English of the NIV. The Message reads, "knowing him directly just as he knows us."
From Quiz: Paul's Love Chapter (I Corinthians 13): Three Ways
Answer: flames
The correct answer is flames. Notes in the NIV Study Bible state the words 'surrender my body to the flames' is a reference to "suffering martyrdom through burning at the stake, as many early Christians experienced. Even the supreme sacrifice, if not motivated by love, accomplishes nothing." And while Paul is telling the people at Corinth to exhibit such strong love, it almost boggles the mind to read elsewhere in the book of 1 Corinthians about lawsuits among believers, sexual immorality and borderline chaos. It's with this background that he penned the 13th chapter.
From Quiz: 1 Corinthians 13 -- a Chapter Loved by Millions
Answer: The coming of Titus
It says in II Corinthians 7:6, "Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus."
Titus was a missionary and a friend of Paul's.
From Quiz: II Corinthians
Answer: they are able to bear
It says in I Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
Temptation can sometimes feel like we can't say no to it, but God says in this verse that we can avoid giving in to it.
From Quiz: I Corinthians
Answer: Jars of clay
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." (2 Corinthians 4 v. 7)
Paul seems to have suffered a multi-pronged attack from the Corinthians. One such attack was against his credentials as a charismatic Christian leader, a "super apostle" (2 Corinthians 11 v. 5). This is a charge against which he regularly has to defend himself in his letters. Paul's response is to take a contrary approach and to state that God's power is truly shown, not in people that are humanly impressive but in seeming weakness:
"If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness" (2 Corinthians 11 v. 30).
From Quiz: Quizzing the New Testament: 2 Corinthians
Answer: A man had paired up with his stepmother
"It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife." (1 Corinthians 5 v. 1)
The cosmopolitan nature of Corinth meant that Gentile converts would have come from a wide variety of backgrounds, without the same expectations of morality and ethical behaviour found within Judaism. Paul alludes to this when he writes:
"Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were." (1 Corinthians 6 v. 9-11)
From Quiz: Quizzing the New Testament: 1 Corinthians
Answer: "Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."
In my opinion the NIV is pretty good, but can't hold a candle to the King James Version's sonorous cadences. There is a difference between "always trusts" and "trusts in everything."
From Quiz: Paul's Love Chapter (I Corinthians 13): Three Ways
Answer: a cheerful giver
It says in II Corinthians 9:7, "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver."
When a person gives, this says, they should do so because they want to and will be happy about it, not because they are being forced.
From Quiz: II Corinthians
Answer: one
It says in I Corinthians 12:12, "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ."
Christ is considered to be the Head of the Church body, according to Christians.
From Quiz: I Corinthians
Answer: The Holy Spirit
"For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." (2 Corinthians 5 v. 4-5)
The image is drawn from the world of business where a deposit or down payment secures the legal right to purchase, even if collection takes place at a later time. For the early Christians, belief in Jesus Christ was paramount and the presence of the Holy Spirit, manifested in miracles and spiritual phenomena, was seen as the conclusive proof that they were right in this belief.
From Quiz: Quizzing the New Testament: 2 Corinthians
Answer: partaking of the Lord's supper
In the 11th chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul was unhappy at the manner in which the church was observing the Lord's supper. Apparently, some of the members were engaged in drunken revelry, while others were acting like gluttonous pigs. Others were not allowed to eat at all, and were left to do without.
Paul reminded them of what the Lord's supper signified in verses 23-34, and just as importantly informed them of what they should NOT be doing.
From Quiz: 1st Corinthians
Answer: he was pointing out the difference between earthly thoughts and heavenly thoughts
Paul is addressing the people of the church as "little babies"; not in an effort to belittle or demean them, but to cause them to want to grow in God's grace. In chapter 3, he repeatedly points out to them that they are immature in their thinking, at least from a spiritual perspective, and encourages them to put their "spiritual eyes" into action.
In verse 3 he pointedly tells them that they are walking "carnally", meaning after fleshly desires. They are engaged in envious behaviours, in-fighting, divisions of opinions; they are attempting to follow men rather than Christ.
He continues throughout the chapter by encouraging them to lay aside their differences and work together for the sake of Christ, and not for their own selfish purposes. He brings Jesus to the forefront of the entire discussion and lets them know that HE is preeminent in all things, and that they, along with Apollos, Peter and himself are all to be in subjection to the will of God and not engaging in their childish behaviors.
From Quiz: BBB Bible Series: The 1st Letter To Corinth
Answer: fails
According to Paul, love never fails. Notes in the NIV Study Bible state references to prophecies ceasing, tongues being stilled and knowledge passing away are made because they "are partial in nature (v. 9) and will be unnecessary when what is complete has come (v. 10)." As stated in the answer to Question 1, Paul wrote the book of 1 Corinthians partly in response to disorderly meetings at the church in Corinth. The 14th chapter of 1 Corinthians then goes on to to give guidelines for orderly worship.
From Quiz: 1 Corinthians 13 -- a Chapter Loved by Millions
Answer: the Lord
It says in II Corinthians 10:17, "But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
Paul believed that all he accomplished was because of the Lord, not because of himself, so he gave the Lord all the glory.
From Quiz: II Corinthians
Answer: Charity
It says in I Corinthians 13.4, "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up."
Love is clearly very important, since Paul dedicates such a large section of his letter to the Corinthians to this topic.
From Quiz: I Corinthians
Answer: Unbelievers
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6 v. 14)
This verse is often used to support the assertion that Christians should not marry non-Christians. Paul may well have supported this view but there are two major problems with this approach when the verse is looked at in context.
Firstly, assuming that Paul wrote these words, they do not refer to marriage or sexual relationships but to the attitude the Corinthians should have towards those who are opposing Paul and his message.
Secondly, many commentators doubt that Paul could have written the passage from chapter 6 v. 14 to chapter 7 v. 1 because the ideas expressed are so different to his usual theology. These verses advocate a very Jewish idea of purity that involves separation from the pagan world and not touching unclean things (2 Corinthians 6 v. 17). This is vastly different to Paul's statement in his first letter that he is perfectly happy to eat food offered to idols (1 Corinthians 8).
From Quiz: Quizzing the New Testament: 2 Corinthians
Answer: "It is not rude, it is not self-seeking."
Both the KJV and the NIV have the advantage on The Message here, in my opinion. "Isn't always 'me-first'" is not one of Peterson's more graceful phrases.
From Quiz: Paul's Love Chapter (I Corinthians 13): Three Ways
Answer: about 2/3
About 2/3 of the population lived in slavery. There were no "great thinkers" in the area, but Greek philosophy influenced any creative thinking that there was in the region. These factors, along with sensual and immoral attitudes of the city, greatly impeded the gospel at times, but through Paul's oversight and that of others, the church was able to continue functioning, if not thriving.
From Quiz: BBB Bible Series: The 1st Letter To Corinth
