1. 1 Corinthians – an introduction
Cgyg & life fellowships
January 5, 2018

2. For discussion
What are some reasons that people you know (or you yourself) have left churches? In retrospect, do you think the problem was more with the church or with the person (or yourself)

3. Ancient COrinth Roman colony in Southern Greece
City of >250,000 people
Capital of province of Achaia

4. Ancient COrinth
Strategically located on a narrow isthmus connecting Southern Greece with the rest of the country
Flanked by Corinthian Gulf & Saronic Gulf
Gulf of
Corinth
Saronic
Gulf

5. Ancient COrinth A prosperous centre of commerce
All traffic between to/from southern Greece passed through Corinth
Ships/cargo were often moved across the isthmus, rather than sailing 300+ km around southern Greece
Corinth canal, built

6. Ancient COrinth A reputation for debauchery
Lots of merchants & sailors passing through
Temple of Aphrodite (Greek goddess of love) with 1,000 temple prostitutes
Temple of Apollo (Greek god of music, song, poetry) – the ideal of male beauty
Centre of homosexual practices with young boys serving at the temple
Ruins of temple of Apollo at Corinth

7. Ancient COrinth
“Intellectually alert, materially prosperous, and morally corrupt”
“Corinthian” became synonymous for sexual immorality / loose morals

8. Paul in COrinth
The Apostle Paul visited Corinth in his 2nd missionary journey (Acts 18:1-17)

9. Paul in COrinth Arrived in around A.D. 50-51
Dates based on Gallio’s tenure as proconsul (Acts 18:12)
Worked at first as tentmaker with Aquila & Priscilla (Acts 18:2-3)
Switched to full-time ministry when Silas & Timothy came from Macedonia (Acts 18:5)
Presumably Silas & Timothy brought a gift from the Philippian church to support Paul in his work (cf. Phil. 4:14-16)

10. Paul in COrinth
Paul came to Corinth “in weakness and fear, with much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3)
Read Acts 18: Why might Paul have felt weak & fearful? How did God encourage him?
You might also consider also his experiences prior to Corinth, at…
Philippi (Acts 16:16-24)
Thessalonica & Berea (Acts 17:1-15)
Athens (Acts 17:16-18, 32-34)

11. Paul in COrinth
Paul came “in weakness and fear, with much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3)
Persecution at Philippi, Berea & Thessalonica
Ridicule and few converts at Athens
Corinth’s reputation
God’s comfort – a promise of protection & fruitfulness (Acts 18:9-10)

12. Paul in COrinth
Paul stayed in Corinth 1.5 years (Acts 18:11 - 2nd longest of any city, after Ephesus)
A fruitful time of ministry, with many converts (Acts 18:8)
Initial outreach to the Jews (Acts 18:5)
After opposition, moved to the house of Titius Justus (Acts 18:6-7)
Attempt at prosecuting Paul dismissed by Gallio, the proconsul (Acts 18:12-17)

13. Paul in COrinth
After Paul, Apollos went to Corinth (Acts 18:24-28; 1 Cor. 3:4)
A Jew & a learned man
Met & taught by Priscilla & Aquila while in Ephesus
A powerful preacher and debater
After Apollos returned to Ephesus (1 Cor. 16:12), other itinerant preachers arrived
Falsely claimed to be ‘super-apostles’ (2 Cor. 11:5, 12:11)

14. The church in COrinth
An exciting, growing church with many converts, including
Crispus (ruler of the synagogue) (Acts 18:8)
Sosthenes (probably the synagogue ruler after Crispus) (Acts 18:17; 1 Cor. 1:1)
Erastus (the city treasurer) (Rom. 16:23)
A church enriched by God with many spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 1:5-7)

15. The church in COrinth At the same time, a church with many problems…
Pride & arrogance, manifesting in divisions (1 Cor. 1-4)
Sexual immorality (1 Cor. 5-6)
Lawsuits between its members (1 Cor. 6)
Abuse of spiritual gifts (1 Cor )
Impropriety and disorder in worship (1 Cor. 11, 14)
Doctrinal errors (1 Cor. 15)
A church that caused Paul a lot of grief! (2 Corinthians)

16. The church in COrinth
After Paul & Apollos, false teachers (the ‘super-apostles’) caused problems in the church
False apostles (2 Cor. 11:13), working for personal gain
Taught false doctrine – a ‘different gospel’ (2 Cor. 11:3-4)
Sought to discredit Paul’s ministry in order to win the church over to themselves (2 Cor )
May have resulted in a 2nd (unrecorded) visit to Corinth to try to deal with the problems

17. Paul’s letters to the COrinthians
Paul may have written up to 4 letters to the Corinthians:
First letter (now lost), addressing sexual immorality (1 Cor. 5:9)
Second letter - 1 Corinthians (written after his 1st visit)
Third letter – a “severe letter” (alluded to 2 Cor. 2:4, 7:8) dealing with major problems in the church after painful (unrecorded) 2nd visit
Possibly lost; possibly eventually incorporated into 2 Corinthians
Fourth letter – 2 Corinthians
A more conciliatory letter, written in advance of his 3rd visit (2 Cor. 13:1)

18. 1 COrinthians
Written in mid-50s A.D., during Paul’s 3rd missionary journey
Written from Ephesus (1 Cor. 16:8)
Carried to Corinth by Timothy (1 Cor. 4:17; 16:10)
Pauline authorship widely accepted
Cited by Clement in the 90s A.D., indicating early acceptance

19. 1 Corinthians – Purpose for writing
An intensely practical book written…
To address divisions & other problems in the church (1:1-6:20; 11:1- 34)

20. 1 COrinthians – Purpose for writing
An intensely practical book written…
To address divisions & other problems in the church (1:1-6:20; 11:1-34)
To address questions raised by the church…
Prefaced by “Now concerning…”

21. 1 COrinthians – Purpose for writing
In small groups, discuss what questions the Corinthian believers had for Paul, as seen in the following passages:
1 Cor. 7:1-11
1 Cor. 7:25-35
1 Cor. 8:1-13
1 Cor. 12:1-11
1 Cor. 15:1-19
1 Cor. 16:1-4

22. 1 COrinthians – Purpose for writing
An intensely practical book written…
To address divisions & other problems in the church (1:1-6:20; 11:1-34)
To address questions raised by the church about
Singleness, marriage, and divorce (7:1-40)
Appropriateness of eating food sacrificed to idols (8:1-10:33)
The nature and use of spiritual gifts (12:1-14:40)
The resurrection (15:1-58)
Collection of a love gift to help the church in Jerusalem (16:1-4)

23. 1 COrinthians – Purpose for writing
An intensely practical book written…
To address divisions & other problems in the church (1:1-6:20; 11:1-34)
To address questions raised by the church about
Singleness, marriage, and divorce (7:1-40)
Appropriateness of eating food sacrificed to idols (8:1-13; 10:14-33)
The nature and use of spiritual gifts (12:1-14:40)
The resurrection (15:1-58)
Collection of a love gift to help the church in Jerusalem (16:1-4)
To thank the Corinthians for their financial support (16:17-18)

24. Themes in 1 Corinthians The wisdom of God vs. the wisdom of Man
The infinite superiority of God’s wisdom to Man’s
as seen particularly in the Gospel and the Word of God
The problems caused when Man’s wisdom creeps into the church
Divisions & factions
Moral laxity / immorality
Judging one another by worldly standards
Doctrinal errors; etc…

25. Themes in 1 Corinthians Life together in Christian community
How we relate to God and to one another
Jesus Christ and the Gospel as the central focus of life in Christian community
The central impetus for living lives of holiness and love

26. Themes in 1 Corinthians Life together in Christian community
The destructive effects of pride, self-centeredness, and spiritual immaturity
The remedy:
Genuine humility based on true understanding of who we are in Christ
A focus on others, flowing out of a God-centered life
Love in our relationships with one another

27. Themes in 1 Corinthians
Godly service and leadership in Christian community
Proper exercise of spiritual gifts in the service of the Body of Christ
The example of Paul’s life and ministry as an apostle to the Corinthians

28. 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians is “an inexhaustible mine of Christian thought and life. Nowhere else in the NT is there a more many-sided embodiment of the imperishable principles and instincts which should inspire each member of the body of Christ for all time.” - A.T. Robertson