How should 1 Corinthians be read or studied in light of 1 Corinthians 3:1?
First Corinthians should be read as a corrective letter to weak, carnal, fleshly believers, not as commendation. Because 1 Corinthians 3:1 says Paul had to write to them as carnal babes not ready for meat, the entire epistle must be studied in that light, understanding its purpose is to correct their problems.
Les explains that the background and circumstances surrounding a book make all the difference in understanding. Paul wrote to the congregation in the wicked, immoral, pagan, idolatrous city of Corinth, not to commend them but to correct them. The whole theme of 1 Corinthians is to correct problems. In chapter 3, verse 1, Paul says he has to write unto them as carnal, as babes, not ready for the meat of the word. So the whole letter has to be read or studied in that light, recognizing that he is writing to weak, carnal, fleshly believers—but still believers. Among their problems were that they had picked personalities, saying they followed Peter, Apollos, or even Jesus rather than Paul, and that they were going to pagan courts and suing each other, which Paul had to correct.
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
More Questions
What does Paul say to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 3:1?
In 1 Corinthians 3:1, Paul says he has to write to the Corinthians as carnal babes who are not ready for the meat of the word.
How did Paul address the Corinthian believers in 1 Corinthians 3?
Paul said he could not speak to the Corinthians as spiritual people but had to speak to them as carnal, fleshly babes in Christ.