LESSON 6

THE STORY OF CORINTHIANS
 

Introduction:
  • Our bible contains two letters to the Corinthians which we call 1st and 2nd Corinthians.
  • Careful study of these two epistles, however, reveals that there were in fact four letters written to Corinth by Paul.
  • What we have today are the second and fourth letters; the first and third for some reason were not kept by the church in Corinth, or by any other church that may have had a copy of them.
  • Indications or reference to these two letters are found in 1 Cor 6:9, which mentions that Paul had already written a letter to them relating to the same problem.  2 Cor 7:6-8 refers to another letter, possibly carried to the Corinthians by Titus, and 2 Cor 2:3,4 refers to a letter that had caused the Corinthians anguish and tears.
  • This should not present a problem since the concerns introduced in these two lost letters are obviously covered in the two letters we have.
  • Furthermore, we have no references to these two letters in early Christian correspondence.
     
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    1 Corinthians:
  • Teacher: survey this first block of material in about five to ten minutes and do not get bogged down in details here.
  • The letter comes from Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ
  • Paul had established the congregation in approximately AD 51/52 when he spent about two years in the city.
  • Paul was on his second missionary tour. He had just previously established a new congregation in Thessalonica, and one in Beroea. Following that he had gone on to Athens where his message was not well received. He moved on to Corinth and to a successful church planting in that city.
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  • The congregation in Corinth had run into a series of serious problems and had written a letter to Paul (1 Cor 7:1).  they also had sent someone to fill Paul in on the problems. He had previously written to them but they had not understood of followed his instructions (1 Cor 5:9).
  • Paul was apparently in Ephesus when he wrote this letter which we call 1 Corinthians in AD 55.
  • 1 Corinthians covers a wide range of religious and church problems, but the main problems seems to be over:
  • Division - church leaders - pride over who might have baptized them
  • The Corinthians’ tolerance of major moral sins. A man in the congregation was living (committing adultery) with his fathers wife, presumably a second wife and not the mother of the man.
  • Some were taking members of the church to court over trivial matters.
  • Marriage, and whether it was wise to marry, apparently was another problem with which they struggled.
  • Some members, formerly pagans who participated in pagan meals and ritual were participating in the Lord’s Supper as well as the pagan meals, eating food offered to idols.
  • Somehow the wealthy were abusing the poor at the love feast, thus not celebrating the Lord’s supper in the appropriate manner.
  • The problem with division probably also related to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the use of those gifts.  Some thought they were more spiritual because they had certain spiritual gifts.
  • The worship assembly had degenerated with some using their spiritual gifts (speaking in tongues) in an inappropriate manner, with some women also speaking out in a disorderly manner.
  • It was apparent that love and concern for one another was seriously lacking in Corinth.
  • Doctrinally, the Corinthians, being Greeks, had a problem with the resurrection of the body.
  • Paul encouraged the church to participate in a contribution for the saints in Jerusalem.
     
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    Major Theological Emphases and Correctives Proposed by Paul:

    Paul equates nearly every one of their problems to Jesus Christ not being at the center of the Corinthians lives.  The corrective to the problems is to live for Christ and not for self!

  • 1 Cor 1:10-16 – Christians are not baptized into Paul or anyone else, but into Christ.  Paul Apollos or anyone else are not important, only Christ is important.
  • 1 Cor 1:18-2:2 - Paul had come into Corinth preaching only Jesus Christ and him crucified.
  • 1 Cor 5:6-8 - Jesus Christ is our Paschal lamb (Passover lamb or thanksgiving), Christians should live for Christ, we live and die for him!
  • 1 Cor 10:14-22 - Christians can be united only to one center of religion and faith and that center should be Jesus Christ, not a pagan deity.
  • 1 Cor 12:12, 13 - Christians are one body, the body of Christ. They are all baptized into the one body of Christ by the one Holy Spirit.
  • 1 Cor 13:1-13 - Spiritual gifts are good, but inferior to faith, hope, and love.
  • 1 Cor 15:1-4 - The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are the center of the gospel that saves.
  • 1 Cor 15:12-20 - To deny the resurrection of the body is to deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which them destroys the center and power of the gospel.
     
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    Summary of 1 Corinthians:
  • This letter is about a church divided, and with many problems. Paul encourages them to live by and for Christ, not for themselves.
  • Division in the church for any reason is wrong and sinful. Christ is not divided and Christians are all baptized into the one body of Christ.
  • Christians live because of Christ, and now live for Christ. Their lives are shaped by Christ.
  • Only Christ is important to Christian faith, and the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ is the center of that faith; not the apostles, or great leaders, or spiritually gifted people.
     
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    2 Corinthians:
  • This is a follow up letter to 1 Corinthians.
  • The letter is more positive than 1 Corinthians in that repentance has taken place in the Corinthian church and Paul is commending them for this (2 Cor 2:5-11; 7:4-16).
    Notice in particular 2 Cor 5:14, 15 where Paul describes the controlling factor in Christian’s lives – the love of Christ, that is the love Christ had for us and the corresponding love we have for Christ.!
    Notice also 2 Cor 7:9-11 where Paul discusses the nature of true religion.
  • Paul discusses his collection for the saints in Jerusalem and encourages the church in Corinth to give liberally (2 Cor 8, 9).
  • It seems that some in Corinth had challenged Paul and his ministry, so Paul spends some time defending his ministry, not for his own sake, but for the good of the ministry to the Gentiles (2 Cor 2:12-6:13).
    His ministry is:
  • A triumphant ministry (2:12-17)
  • A commended ministry (3:1-3)
  • A ministry of splendor (3:4-18)
  • An honest ministry (4:1-6)
  • A tried ministry (4:7-18)
  • A courageous ministry (5:1-10)
  • A reconciling ministry (5:11-6:10)
  • An exhorting ministry (6:11-13)
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  • Notice in 2 Cor 12:11, 12 that Paul speaks of not being inferior to "superlative apostles" and that true apostles should be able to perform the signs of a true apostle. Apparently some were comparing him to the other apostles and claiming he was not a true apostle. Paul defends his apostleship by stating that he had performed all of the signs of a true apostle.  Like the other "real" Apostles, Paul is a called Apostle (1 Cor 1:1) and this was by the will of God (1 Cor 1:1, 2 Cor 1:1)
    In Rev 2:2 Jesus commends the church in Ephesus for testing those who claimed to be apostles and were not.
  • On final great passage in 2 Corinthians is 2 Cor 12:9-10. Paul states that God’s grace has been sufficient for him in his weakness for in his weakness the power of Christ has been his strength.
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