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Pillar New Testament Commentary
The First Letter to the Corinthians (The Pillar New Testament Commentary
This careful, sometimes innovative, mid-level commentary touches on an astonishingly wide swath of important, sensitive issues theological and pastoral that have urgent resonances in twenty-first-century life. Roy Ciampa and Brian Rosner reveal how 1 Corinthians directly addresses the claims of unity and truth, church discipline, sexual matters, the Lords supper, the nature of love, Christian leadership, and many other significant topics.
Those who preach and teach 1 Corinthians will be grateful to Ciampa and Rosner for years to come and scholars will be challenged to see this letter with fresh eyes.
Those who preach and teach 1 Corinthians will be grateful to Ciampa and Rosner for years to come and scholars will be challenged to see this letter with fresh eyes.
1522 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 15, 2010
19 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 29, 2024
Thorough, well researched, other views fairly considered. Pillar is a great series
June 20, 2016
Extremely helpful commentary. I especially liked their display of the organization of the book, their thorough but crystal clear exegesis, and their development of the theme that the Corinthian church was primarily plagued by worldliness imbibed from the surrounding culture. My main dissent from the book is the authors' non-cessationist reading of chapters 12-14.
May 9, 2017
Roy Ciampa and Brian Rosner team up to provide this commentary on First Corinthians in the highly respected, conservative Pillar Commentary series edited by D. A. Carson. At this point, I’ve used most of the volumes in this series, and even reviewed several of them, and can’t deny that this series is one of the premier ones on the New Testament. Many of us look forward to when the entire New Testament is covered.
This volume on First Corinthians is huge, at just under 900 pages, on this one of the more challenging books of the New Testament. After a lengthy bibliography, the authors dive into an Introduction. With a confession that First Corinthians is one of Paul’s most difficult letters, they then jump into a discussion of the background of the church in Corinth. That section is quite well done. Next, they examine the identity and aims of the apostle Paul. They conclude that “Paul’s aim, then, is to bring about true worship and obedience among the Gentiles, to the glory of God”.
In the discussion about the interpretation of the book, they outline the structure of First Corinthians. They feel “the four main elements of 1 Corinthians are (in order) wisdom, sexuality, worship, and resurrection/consummation”. A section that was a bit harder to follow was the biblical theological framework of First Corinthians. They pull in many parallels from the Old Testament. They discuss verbal aspect and finally conclude that a “biblical/Jewish approach provides a solid basis for appreciating the structure and coherence of Paul’s response to Corinthian problems and also does greater justice to the fundamentally Jewish character of Paul’s response to the Corinthians”. You will have to decide for yourself if you see the depths of the Jewish character that they do.
The commentary itself is outstanding and of the high-caliber writing that we are used to finding in the Pillar commentary series. When checking several of the more notorious problem passages, you will find the authors arguing clearly and helpfully. I really liked what they had to say! I’m sure scholars will love this detailed volume. On the other hand, this volume is likely the top exegetical commentary on First Corinthians available to pastors today.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
This volume on First Corinthians is huge, at just under 900 pages, on this one of the more challenging books of the New Testament. After a lengthy bibliography, the authors dive into an Introduction. With a confession that First Corinthians is one of Paul’s most difficult letters, they then jump into a discussion of the background of the church in Corinth. That section is quite well done. Next, they examine the identity and aims of the apostle Paul. They conclude that “Paul’s aim, then, is to bring about true worship and obedience among the Gentiles, to the glory of God”.
In the discussion about the interpretation of the book, they outline the structure of First Corinthians. They feel “the four main elements of 1 Corinthians are (in order) wisdom, sexuality, worship, and resurrection/consummation”. A section that was a bit harder to follow was the biblical theological framework of First Corinthians. They pull in many parallels from the Old Testament. They discuss verbal aspect and finally conclude that a “biblical/Jewish approach provides a solid basis for appreciating the structure and coherence of Paul’s response to Corinthian problems and also does greater justice to the fundamentally Jewish character of Paul’s response to the Corinthians”. You will have to decide for yourself if you see the depths of the Jewish character that they do.
The commentary itself is outstanding and of the high-caliber writing that we are used to finding in the Pillar commentary series. When checking several of the more notorious problem passages, you will find the authors arguing clearly and helpfully. I really liked what they had to say! I’m sure scholars will love this detailed volume. On the other hand, this volume is likely the top exegetical commentary on First Corinthians available to pastors today.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
February 6, 2023
As it turns out, St. Paul is kind of a dick. I didn't read this book in particular; I've been reading the actual First Letter to the Corinthians. Some of the language is quite beautiful: I'm sure you've heard the "love is patient, love is kind" thing at a wedding, or "God sends the foolish things of the world to shame the wise." Or "we see through a mirror darkly." Good stuff.
Mostly, though, this is some shitty advice based in a 2,000 year old culture, written in a language no one speaks anymore, and written by a guy who thought Jesus would be right back. There are many things that Paul wrote that I like, but overall, the church needs to take his worldview and suggestions with a big grain of Lot's Wife Brand Salt. Much of this is not applicable to the 21st century, and it is foolish to think that it is.
Mostly, though, this is some shitty advice based in a 2,000 year old culture, written in a language no one speaks anymore, and written by a guy who thought Jesus would be right back. There are many things that Paul wrote that I like, but overall, the church needs to take his worldview and suggestions with a big grain of Lot's Wife Brand Salt. Much of this is not applicable to the 21st century, and it is foolish to think that it is.
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July 25, 2022One of the commentaries I read throughout a 45 part sermon series I did in the book of 1 Corinthians. This stays true to the Pillar series in that you get a great blend of technical-yet-readable, good cultural background, some practical help, and it's well written. 1 Corinthians is full of "land mines" and I found this to be a huge help along the way.
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September 22, 2025Ligonier
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April 17, 2017I have found the Pillar Commentary series the best of all the commentaries for my teaching needs. I find the text analysis consistently helpful. The Greek text is fully explained, with thorough language helps, as well as in-depth theological implications of the grammar and lexicon. The cultural background is always addressed as well. I highly recommend this series, and this volume in particular.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews