1. AN INTRODUCTION TO ONE CORINTHIANS

 

It could be argued that 1 Corinthians is the most relevant book in the Bible for the western church of our day. Of course all Scripture is relevant to each and every situation that the church finds itself in. But with all of our troubles regarding sexual immorality, spiritual gifts, pride, etc, 1 Corinthians is certainly a very relevant book for our day.

 

Above - Map 1: Map Showing the Location of Corinth.

 

1.1 The Location and Scene at Corinth

The city of Corinth had been around for a long time before the arrival of Paul and his missionary team a little after him. In fact the city had been in existence for over a thousand years before Paul visited the city in much fear and trepidation.

Corinth was a Roman colony that had been settled by Julius Caesar about 100 years after (46-44 BC) the original city had been destroyed by the Roman invasion of 146 BC (after a rebellion against Rome by Corinth and other cities) under the Roman General Lucius Mummius. It was a city of Romans, especially retired soldiers who had been given land there. Yet it grew into a multicultural city, with people from all over the Roman world calling the city home. By the mid-first century, Corinth had grown to have a population of somewhere between 250 000 and 500 000 people, and had become the capital of the Roman province of Achaia.

The city was located on a plain on what is known as a narrow isthmus (meaning a narrow neck of land between two seas), approximately 4 miles across at its widest point, in what is now Greece. Given its location, Corinth became a center of commerce and trade, with ports at Cenchreae (7 miles) and Lechaeum (2 miles) close by on either side of the isthmus. Being on either side of the isthmus (and it also being a dangerous journey), it was not uncommon to see ships being pulled across rollers from one port to the other, rather than sail around the entire Peloponnesian Peninsula (200 miles). The Corinth canal completed in 1893 was actually begun by Nero in 67 AD (though it was never completed). Of course there were major land routes that passed through the city of Corinth also.

Mount Acrocorinth (1850 feet) dominated the city, upon which was located a large temple to the Greek goddess of love (Aphrodite). The temple was full of so-called sacred prostitutes, who would come down into the city at nightfall to carry on business. The life style of Corinth became popularised in the term ‘Korinthiazein,’ which was nothing to be proud of. This term was applied to anyone who lived like the people of Corinth - in a licentious and immoral manner. The city was well known for being a center for sexual immorality and prostitution.

At the bottom of this ‘mountain’ was the temple of Melicertes, the patron god of navigation. Also found in Corinth was the temple of Apollo, the god of music, song and poetry. Apollo was also the center of homosexual practices in the city. Also worshipped were other Greek and Egyptian gods, there being some 10-12 temples throughout Corinth to various gods.

 

1.2 The Church at Corinth

Paul’s visit to Corinth was part of his second missionary journey that saw him visit the churches in Asia (Acts 15:36-16:5), cross the Aegean Sea to Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens (Acts 16:8-17:33), before arriving in Corinth in about 50 AD. Paul’s missionary efforts in Corinth lasted about 18 months (Acts 18:1-18). He departed Corinth in about 52 AD with Aquila and Priscilla to go to Ephesus, and eventually onto Jerusalem and Antioch (Acts 18:18-20:31, etc).

Corinth was quite an important place to plant a church in the first century, for it provided a location where people from all over the world passed through. It was something of a crossroads of the world. From here, the gospel could quite easily be taken to various parts of the empire by missionaries and converts alike. Paul arrived there alone from Athens, but was soon joined by Silas and Timothy (Acts 18:5).

 

Above - Map 2: Map Showing the Missionary Journey’s of Paul

 

Paul became good friends with a Christian couple that had been expelled from Rome by the Emperor Claudius because of ‘Chrestus.’ Aquila and Priscilla became fellow workers in the gospel with Paul at Corinth. During his time in Corinth, we are told that he practiced his tent making skills in order to provide for himself, alongside his new friends (1 Cor 9:14; 15:1ff; 2 Cor 12:13).

His missionary work initially centred on the local synagogue each Sabbath, resulting in the salvation of Crispus and his family (Acts 18:4,8), who in fact ran the synagogue. Sosthenes was probably also saved through this work at the synagogue (Acts 18:17; 1 Cor 1:1). More than likely this was one of the chief reasons why Paul was no longer able to use the synagogue as a meeting place, so he moved next door into the home of Titius Justus, from where many were saved (Acts 18:6-8). Yet there were still many more to be saved in this city of 250 000 plus (Acts 18:10).

The antagonism of the Jews towards Paul resulted in a major confrontation, with Paul being brought before the Roman proconsul, Gallio. Yet Gallio refused to hear the Jewish complaint and drove them from his presence. In fact the Jews were rather viciously beaten in response to this.

Between the time of Paul’s first visit to Corinth and his second visit, Apollos had arrived in Corinth from Ephesus (Acts 18:24-28), following up the work of Paul.

Many problems developed in the church at Corinth, in the areas of Christian living, Christian worship and in Christian doctrine. No doubt the cultural situation in Corinth meant a certain degree of ‘baggage’ was carried into the church by each new convert. Soon these different cultural backgrounds found expression in the various factions that arose in the church, and of course the influence of a degraded society also made its mark.

The Scriptures indicate (in particular 2 Corinthians) that Paul visited Corinth on a number of occasions (See 2 Cor 2:1; 12:14,21; 13:1,2), probably to correct the growing problems in the church. He also sought to send Timothy and Erastus to the church (Acts 19:22; 1 Cor 4:17).

Paul also visited the church in Corinth on his third missionary journey (Acts 20:1-3) before his return to Jerusalem.

 

1.3 The Author and Purpose of 1 Corinthians

This letter is clearly written by the apostle Paul, as is clearly demonstrated in the internal evidence, for it claims Pauline authorship (1:1,12,13; 3:4,5,22; 16:21). There are many examples throughout the letter that also clearly reflect that which is typical of Pauline authorship. These include the various greetings, thanksgivings and doxologies.

Clement in Clement 1 also indicates quite clearly a Pauline authorship, referring to this letter as such. Other external evidence includes the many references made to it by the early Church Fathers.

1 Corinthians appears to have been written after a previous letter to the Corinthian church, to which the Corinthians responded (5:9; 7:1). It was probably penned during Paul’s third missionary journey. This thought is firmed by the fact that Apollos had obviously already ministered at Corinth (Acts 18:24-28; 1 Cor 1:10-17). The lost letter to Corinth was probably written after Paul’s arrival in Ephesus, with 1 Corinthians being written sometime during his three year stay there (probably toward the end of his three years in Ephesus - 16:5-8; Acts 19:20-20:2).

This particular letter was written after Paul received a report from members of Chloe’s household (1:11), by the above-mentioned letter (7:1), and after a visit from some of the believers from Corinth (16:17). It was reported to Paul that there were divisions in the church (1:12), incestuous relations in the church (5:1), lawsuits in the church (6:1-8), and various forms of immorality in the church (6:9-20). Paul attempted to get Apollos to return from Ephesus to Corinth (1 Cor 16:12), probably to set the church in order, but Apollos didn’t agree to the plan. Paul therefore sought to respond to the problems in Corinth by way of 1 Corinthians. It is thought that the letter was written in about 55 AD.

He also sought to answer various questions regarding marriage (7:1ff), food sacrificed to idols (8:1ff), spiritual gifts (12:1ff), the collection for the church in Jerusalem (16:1ff), and also Apollos (16:12).

 

1.4 Outline of 1 Corinthians

1.5 Individual Discovery

What does 1 Corinthians 1:1 suggest about Sosthenes? What was his role in the New Testament church?

 

Footnotes:

1. Maps 1 and 2 From United Methodist Women's web site Paul's Letters to the Corinthians http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/corinthians/ . Used by permission of Nancy A. Carter.

 

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17/10/2006

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