Corinth was an important commercial city in the days of the apostle Paul. It was a wicked city, having several pagan temples.
The Acropolis, the highest point of the city, was where the central government was located, as was the temple of the licentious goddess Aphrodite, with her 1000 temple prostitutes. Immorality was a central part of pagan worship.
Paul came to Corinth from the sophisticated town of Athens, the home of the revered ancient philosophers. Paul confronted them on Mars Hill (see Acts 17:16-34). On the other end of the social scale, the prostitutes lived in Corinth. Both groups desperately needed the Gospel.
Most Bible scholars believe the letter was addressed to the Corinthians to correct abuses in public worship. But I must disagree with that. Some say it is a unique provincial letter to the church in Corinth. Again I say no, that is not true, because in six places in the epistle the apostle Paul says what he teaches in Corinth he teaches everywhere (see 1 Corinthians 1:2; 4:17; 7:17; 11:16; 14:33; 16:1).
Now while there may have been some abuses in public worship, not all of this letter has to do with such abuses. Paul was a church planter. He spent one and a half years in Corinth. Later he wrote two letters to further instruct the Corinthian believers. He was concerned about the church in Corinth and its testimony.
In Acts 18:1-17, we learn how the Corinthian church began. Paul joined Aquila and Priscilla as tent makers when he came from Athens to Corinth. He reasoned in the Jewish synagogue Sabbath after Sabbath until the Jews were unwilling to listen. Then he withdrew to the house of Justus next door to the synagogue. The Jews brought Paul to the judgment seat of Gallio, the deputy of Achaia, to accuse him of being a rabble-rouser, but Gallio dismissed the case.
Although the church of Corinth had a rather tempestuous beginning, it was dear to the heart of the apostle Paul. He earnestly desired to minister to the Corinthian believers both while he was there and while he was absent, as by this letter.
This study of the letter to the Corinthians opens with a message entitled THE CHURCH AT CORINTH. The Scripture is I Corinthians 1:1-9.
1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
This church had several intimate RELATIONSHIPS with Christ, as every church should.
The first relationship is:
2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus
Sanctification is a part of conversion. A person cannot be converted without being sanctified. I know there are people who say this is a subsequent experience, that y...
