Week 48
1 Corinthians 1-4
It was during Paul’s 2nd missionary journey that he went to Greece (Macedonia and Achaia) after receiving a vision of a man who begged him to come to that region. After founding fellowships in Philippi and Thesallonica, he lived and taught for almost 2 years in Corinth. However, after his departure, false teachers came in and corrupted the believers there, and when Paul heard of these things, he wrote this first epistle while he was in Asia Minor (Ephesus). The first 6 chapters deals with correction and discipline from Paul, and the rest of the book deals with doctrinal questions he had received from them.
The first issue Paul addressed was the problem of division that had cropped up in Corinth, where people in the church were arguing about which of the apostles was the most important. Groups within the church had formed, where some claimed Paul as their highest authority, others claimed to follow Apollos, others followed Peter, and even some said “I only follow Jesus”. Paul explains to them that none of the apostles are in competition, as they are all just servants of Jesus Christ, who is the head of the church. However, he also tells them that he was writing to bring correction, and he had earned that right to do so because he had been the instrument of their salvation - only he could be called their spiritual father.
Paul tells them to stop their arguments and disagreements of such foolish things, as spiritual divisions like these are just a tool of the devil to disrupt the work of the gospel to unbelievers.
1 Corinthians 5-8
Paul then addresses outright sin within the church, where a man was living with his step-mother as if they were married, and the church was proud of their tolerance of this couple. Paul told the church leaders to bring discipline to them, and to put them out of the church, so that their sin did not corrupt the whole church. The purpose of this excommunication was to bring them to repentance, and eventual restoration to God and the church, which we discover was successful in Paul’s second epistle to the Corinthians.
He then chastises them for the situation where fellow believers in the church were suing each other in civil court, bring the Name of Jesus to shame among unbelievers. He tells them that it would be far better that they accept the loss, and be willing to be cheated, rather than taking such issues before unbelieving pagans. Such things should be judged and resolved within the family of believers, and not in the courts of pagans.
Paul then gives advice on marriage, indicating that it is best for people to stay in the condition they are in, and not seek something different. Marriage is better for most people, who are not given the gift of celibacy, as Paul was.
He then gives advice about eating food that has been previously offered to idols. There is nothing inherently bad or evil with eating such things, however believers should not do so if they end up causing a weaker Christian to stumble by their example. This is the same with other things, like drinking alcohol in moderation - some Christians are free to do this with a clean conscience, but they should not do so if it causes another person to stumble.
1 Corinthians 9-11
Paul tells the Corinthians that even though he could expect them to provide monetary support for his ministry, as it was ordained by God that priests and ministers be supported from the gifts given, he refused to do so. He served Christ without personal agendas, and did whatever was necessary to win some to the Faith, and avoided every possibility of being accused of serving for selfish gain.
He directs the Corinthians to look at the things recorded in the Old Testament, and what happened to Israel in the wilderness. All that was placed there was written for our benefit, and for our learning, with everything pointing in various ways towards Christ in the future. The Corinthians were surrounded by pagans and idol worship, and that same problem had brought down countless numbers of Israelites in their history. Paul instructed them to stay away from all forms of idolatry, as there is no value in mixing with worldly pagan practices.
Paul teaches that there are different roles, and different ways that men and women worship God, and it is not appropriate for us to destroy the distinctions that God has created between the sexes. He also admonished the Corinthians for treating the Lord’s Table (Communion) with no respect, as they were treating it like a meal, rather than eating at home. The Corinthians were not only failing to obey the words of Jesus regarding the remembrance of His sacrifice, but they were completely disrespecting the practice, and in the process the Lord Himself.
1 Corinthians 12-14
In these chapters Paul shifts his focus to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, what is most important, and some of the abuses that the Corinthians were guilty of in their church meetings. Chapter 12 provides a list of many Spiritual Gifts that are available to believers through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but such gifts are given for the benefit of the church as a whole, and not for the individual. Each believer is a small part of the whole body of Christ, with each one having unique roles that they are best suited for. The whole body suffers when individuals do not use their gifts for the benefit of each other.
Yet, Paul tells us in chapter 13 that there is no benefit to all of the Spiritual gifts when the person wielding them does not do so in the love of Jesus Christ. Without love for God and each other, all the Spiritual gifts we might have accomplish nothing.
Lastly, the Corinthians were allowing chaos to reign in their church services, with some people suddenly speaking in tongues (with no interpretation), and men and women talking at all times. Paul tells them that God is a God of decency and order, and such things are not pleasing to Him. There should be no more than a few messages in tongues, and then only when interpretations are given. It is not a sign of spiritual maturity for such things to be going on in our church services.
1 Corinthians 15-16
The first four verses of chapter 15 provide a simple declaration of the gospel - namely, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christ’s resurrection from the dead is an essential component of our faith, as Paul tells us that we have no hope if He wasn’t raised from the dead, since our eternal future is in Him alone. All people exist as eternal spirits, and what happens in the next life pivots on every person’s belief in Jesus (or not).
In the final chapter Paul writes about his upcoming travel plans, with the possibility that he will visit the Corinthians before winter sets in, and potentially stay with them, or go on to Ephesus. He tells them that any money they collect for the saints in Jerusalem will be taken when he returns there, or by someone they mutually agree on as faithful to take it.
Acts 19:23-20:1, 2 Corinthians 1-4
Paul spends some time in Ephesus, but he eventually has to leave for Macedonia, as a great uproar had arisen in Ephesus when the silversmiths there became angry at the number of people who were becoming Christians, and therefore no longer worshipping the goddess Diana (Artemis). He spent several months in Philippi, and wrote again to the Corinthians, about a year after his first letter to them.
Paul explains to the Corinthians in his second letter that even though it had been his desire to pass through their city, he had not done so because of two things - He was equally pulled towards Ephesus, and the needs of the gospel in Asia Minor, and he was reluctant to go to Corinth when there were so many spiritual problems going on, which he had previously written to correct. However, he is also very joyous over the news he had heard from Corinth, where the man who was expelled because of sexual sin had repented, and the couple had separated. Paul tells the Corinthians to rejoice in the man’s repentance, and to forgive him, and welcome him back into the fellowship of believers.
He then goes on to tell them about the persecutions and trials that they had been experiencing for Christ, knowing that the Lord is always faithful to take care of them, even though it seemed that they were going to be killed many times.
2 Corinthians 5-9
However, he also tells them that there was a personal struggle that was going on in himself, since he knew that it would be far more pleasant if he were to die, and then be in the presence of Christ thereafter. He knew that all things would be perfect when he was with Jesus in eternity, but he also acknowledged that the timing was not yet right for him to die, as he still had more unbelievers to preach to before God had destined for him to die.
As he often wrote about the critical importance of faith towards God in Christ, he reminds the Corinthians that “we walk by faith, and not by sight”, knowing that our primary aim is to please the One Who has called us into His service. Like he did in 1 Corinthians 3, Paul reminds them again that every person must stand before Jesus at the Judgement Seat of Christ, to receive the Lord’s recognition and rewards for service to Him in this life.
Paul warns the Corinthians against partnerships with unbelievers, indicating the need to remain unentangled with people of this world.
Titus had visited Corinth on Paul’s behalf, and he brought back much good news for his rejoicing and comfort. He tells them how happy he is that they had made changes following his first letter, which he had worried was too strong. He also reminds them of the ongoing collection of money that will go to the needy believers in Jerusalem, as the time was approaching for it to be taken to Judea, and he was going to send someone through Corinth to pick it up.