How does 1 Corinthians 10:32 categorize people?
Paul writes that believers should give no offense to three groups: Jews, Gentiles, and the house of God. This threefold division differs from the usual saved-and-lost distinction, reflecting that the Jewish people remained a distinct category in Paul's day. Thus the verse names Jews, Gentiles, and God's house.
Les explains that 1 Corinthians 10:32 divides the population of Corinth, or any other city at that time, into three categories: the Jew, the Gentile, and the house of God. He notes that we normally think of only two categories, saved and lost, but here Paul puts it in three because the Jew was still a factor to be reckoned with when Paul wrote the Corinthians. The admonition to give no offense fits just as well today as it did back in Paul's day.
Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
More Questions
Why does Paul use three categories instead of two in 1 Corinthians 10:32?
Paul lists three categories in 1 Corinthians 10:32 rather than two because the Jew was still a factor to be reckoned with when he wrote to the Corinthians.
Who are the three groups Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 10:32?
1 Corinthians 10:32's command to give no offense divides people into three categories — the Jew, the Gentiles, and the house of God — rather than the two categories we normally think of, saved and lost.
Why does Paul mention three groups in 1 Corinthians 10:32 instead of just saved and lost?
Paul divides the population into three categories—Jew, Gentile, and the house of God—rather than the usual two of saved and lost, because the Jew was still a factor to be reckoned with when Paul wrote to the Corinthians.