What do we know about Corinth:
- Cosmopolitan – clear from 1 Corinthians and Acts chp 18 that there was a mixture of Jews and Gentiles in the church at Corinth. Acts 18 records the presence of the Jewish Aquila and Priscilla and the conversion of Crispus the chief ruler of the synagogue and Pauls preaching amongst the Gentiles (Acts 18:6). 1 Corinthians contains a number of Greek and Roman names. Many of the issues which arise concern the consequences of idolatry (chp 8) and the background of many of the converts would be more typical of Greek rather than Jewish practices (1Co6:9ff); homosexuality and idolatry.
- Commercial – at the time of writing Corinth was one of the great trading cities of the Roman Empire, by the 2nd century it would become one of the wealthiest cities in the Roman Empire
- Cultured – a city of temples, one Greek writer (Pausanias) recorded the presence of 26 different places of religious worship in the city. The Jews also had a synagogue at Corinth (Acts 18), and there was a temple to Aesclepius, temple of Aphrodite and the fortifications of Acrocorinth and still today the remains of Corinth are regarded by Greek archaeologists as amongst their most important cultural sites.
- Corrupt – 'korinthiazo' – verb – to act like a Corinthian, meaning to live an illicit life style. The temple to Asclepius with its votive offerings points to an incredibly immoral life style and a problem with STDs.
One American commentator suggests that the Corinth we are reading about was a combination of:
New York – a commercial centre
San Francisco – a cosmopolitan centre
Las Vegas – with its moral corruption
Often we have the privilege of meeting Christians who have triumphed over great ADVERSITY in their lives; through disease, discouragement, disability; Christians racked with pain and disability.
Often I have seen Christians who have triumphed over ADVERSITY but rarely believers who have triumphed over PROSPERITY.
Corinth is a case in point.
When we come to 1 Corinthians, we are not now thinking at believers under PERSECUTION but now we are looking at the scenario of Christians under PROSPERITY and it would appear the outcome is less favourable!
Prosperity can only give us one thing – more of the world
The worlds currency can only buy:
Entertainment
Amusement
Tickets for the Theatre, the Cinema
A bigger, flatter TV screen
One of our problems is that we just do not appreciate how fragile our life really is; a tiny electrical current across the heart, our life comes to an abrupt end.
These opening 9 verses seem to encapsulate much of the subsequent themes of 1 Corinthians:
The Will of God (1:1)
The Work of Grace (1:2-9)
in sanctification (1:2)
in salvation (1:2)
The Wealth of Gifts (1:5-7)
The Words of Wisdom (1:5-9)
Their Waiting for Christ (1:8-9)
The Will of God – Pauls Apostolic Authority (1:1)
Right at the beginning of the epistle Paul sees it as necessary to emphasis his apostolic authority (1:1).
Authority is not always respected, perhaps especially where people have a taste of freedom and have enjoyed personal prosperity and a sense of success.
For some humility and bowing to authority does not come easily.
Sometimes men puffed up with a bit of success don't take kindly to being told what to do.
This may on the surface simply seem to be a statement of the blindingly obvious and yet Paul does not always open his letters in this way:
To the Romans he is a 'doulos' – a bond slave
To the Philippians also he is a 'doulos' – a bond slave
To the Colossians where problems abound he is the 'apostle of Jesus Christ'
To the Galatians with their challenge to the Gospel and justification by faith he throws the book at them: “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead). And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,”
What about those epistles which lie in between encouragement (Romans and Philipians) and correction (Colossians and Galatians)? Epistles such as 1 and 2 Thessalonians? Pauls introduction lies somewhere between the two: “Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
So why stress his apostolic authority here?
It was not universally accepted!
Why not?
Was his doctrine unorthodox? NT biblical doctrine is orthodox doctrine!
Was his conversion and testimony questionable? He seems to have had a very clear conversion in Acts 9.
Was his teaching superficial? A read through Pauls dealings with justification by faith in Romans 4, as he draws it out of Genesis and the Psalms or his teaching on election in Romans chp 9, drawn from Gods dealings with Jacob and Esau and Pharoah would leave us in no doubt that his teachings were deep, well thought out and meaty.
So what was wrong with Paul?
His face didn't fit: 1:12ff; “For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible” (2Co10:10).
He did not tell them what they wanted to hear (1 Co1:18ff; chp 2)
He did not tell them how they wanted to hear it (1 Co2:1-5). His ministry wasn't clothed with that shroud of human wisdom with which the Greeks were accustomed.
Some were unable to see beyond this.
They were unable and unwilling to acknowledge their own prejudices and thus, by some at least, his ministry was rejected.
The Work of Grace: The Church at Corinth (1:1-9)
Of great encouragement to us that in this kind of a society:
multicultural
morally compromised
corrupt
That God was able to build His church!
God called into Corinth and the mighty columns of Corinth began to crumble!
What made Corinthian columns crumble?
It is of great encouragement to us today that we see that in the midst of the decadence of a place like Corinth God can and does do a work!
A place that was cosmopolitan, cultured, commercial and corrupt is not beyond the power of God to work!
It was not simply that we had a group of people in Corinth who were fed up with the decadence and itching for something, for anything different.
It is clear from chapters 5 to 10 that many of them struggled to leave those old sinful practices: idolatry, sexual immorality, adultery and greed.
Yet God reached in and plucked them out of all of that, in spite of the attractiveness of it!
The Power of God was seen amongst them (1:6; 2:4-5; 10:20).
What was that Power like?
Power of Personal Revelation
cf 1 Co 14:23-25
Supernatural revelation by God of our own personal condition before Him!
An apostle could stand up and identify the spiritual condition of a man or woman; cf. Acts 8:9 – Simon the sorcerer at Samaria! Acts 8:23 “for I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” This may seem a pretty forthright and offensive and bold comment to make, but if it is actually the condition of our heart before God, known only to us and God when everyone else looking on thinks everything is wonderful between us and the Lord, how unnerving that must have been.
That same power which was exercised by the Lord Himself in His ministry (cf. John chp 4) - “thou hast had 5 husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband.”
Persuasive Biblical Exposition
The Word of God objectively expounded (Acts 18:4)
Power of Charismatic Gifts
Wisdom (1 Co 12:8)
word of knowledge (12:8)
Healing (12:9)
Prophecy (12:10)
Tongues (12:10)
Supernatural healings (2Co 12:12; Acts 8:7)
Should we not see much of this today?
Personal Revelation
1 Co 14:23-25
Heb 4:12-13 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”
Persuasive Biblical Exposition
These believers struggled with leaving Corinth behind them, both in respect to basic moral problems in life; chps 5 + 6 and issues of deeper sanctification (chps 7 to 10)
Note that the first hints of exclusivism in the NT arise not in the hallowed ground of holiness but in the soil of sinfulness and self righteousness. Its not that they are so holy that they can't bear anyone defiling them, its just that they think they are so wonderful that they wouldn't stoop down and lower themselves to have fellowship with others. Exclusivism has as its basis in Corinth not Purity but Pride.
The Wealth of Gifts to them (1:5-6)
Their Words of Wisdom (1:5-9)
They have a wealth in Christ (1:5)
They have words from Christ (1:5)
They have wisdom in Christ (1:5)
Their Waiting for Christ (1:8-9)
The Church – vs2 – Church Truth
Not that 1 Corinthians is primarily about Church Truth, that would be a gross misrepresentation of this epistle.
1 Corinthians is an epistle which is not so much about Church Truth as Church Trouble!
Arguably it is an epistle which never really gets to the depths of Church TRUTH because of Church TROUBLE! (1 Co3:1ff)
Had there perhaps been less TROUBLE maybe the apostle would have had opportunity to go a bit deeper, as He does in Romans, Ephesians and Colossians and as the writer to Hebrews has just done.
In counteracting the TROUBLE some of the TRUTH comes out!
Not so much about Church Truth as it is about Church Trouble!
Church trouble which arises, not because these Christians have failed to read or failed to understand the text book on assembly truths, but rather their moral condition has impacted on the Church and those moral problems have arisen because of basic spiritual problems.
1 Corinthians isn't so much about deep Church truth as it is about fundamental moral error:
Sexual immorality (chp 5 to 7)
Greed (chp 6)
Pride (chp 12)
Taking the Huff (12:15ff)
Lack of Love (chp 13)
Showing off (chp 14)
Holiness and Sanctification – v2
Spiritual Gifts – vs 5 to 7
Eschatology – vs 8
Sadly after an encouraging section in 1:1-9 on the power of God to consecrate a people for Himself we move into a section where we see the ability of man to decimate and divide the harmony of that work.
Divisions or 'schisma' (1:10) have arisen, as they so often do, over individual personalities:
Paul (1:12) – appealing perhaps to the intellectually minded? Paul the Theologian, Paul the great expositor.
Apollos (1:12) – a great orator, an 'eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures' (Acts 18:24) a man who is “fervent in the Spirit” (Acts 18:25) and able to “speak boldly” (Acts 18:26) with tremendous persuasive powers (Acts 18:28) and 'natural' abilities which seem to preceed even his appreciation of the work of the Spirit of God. Appealing perhaps to the natural human tendency to confuse being wound up with being built up. If you subscribe to the theory that a great preacher is one who can move you from tears to laughter then Apollos is the man for you. If you are able to blow away the oratory and cut to the chase so to speak then maybe a man like Paul is more your cup of tea.
Cephas – if perhaps you are a bit dismissive of teaching and feel that there are far too many meetings, that words are easy and talk is cheap and what you really need is action then who better than Cephas (1:12) – Peter – the apostle of action, of doing things. Mind you I do judge that as we move from the gospels to the Petrine epistles we see something of a deepening in the ministry of Peter from what he can do for Christ to a deeper appreciation of what Christ has done for us.
So who was right?
Perhaps we could go around the meeting today and we might find a very similar perspective if we are honest:
What we need is a good practical word, enough talking, too much talking.
Someone else appreciates something of the power, sovereignity and all sufficiency of God and appreciates this that to have a heart right with God and to move in harmony with the Spirit of God will achieve more in 3 years than a life of good intentions but out of touch flounderings will achieve in 70, just contrast the life of Christ with mine, or that 40 days of tarrying on the Spirit of God will see a greater work of God done than millions busy but barren in the wilderness for 40 years. Its just for my heart to be right that is the ministry that I need.
Perhaps another will just feel that we've both missed the point, that its not about what I do or about what I feel, but it is all about God, to the 'praise of His Glory,' that He might in all things have the pre-eminence, its good to serve Him but how much better to be like Mary and sit at His feet and enjoy Him? Is this not the reason He made me? 'to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.'
What is the truth?
The truth is, what a wonderful harmony of ministry the Spirit of God has given us:
The ministry of Paul illuminating the mind
The ministry of Apollos moving the heart
The ministry of Cephas motivating us to action
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:30)
Instead of rejoicing in the harmony, the flesh brings division and schism.
It takes a remarkable man to be able to bring and restore harmony in these kind of situations.
Consider the ministry of Paul as it touches:
Crispus (1:14) – The Chief ruler of the synagogue (Acts 18:8) – Jew
Gaius (1:14) – A Latin name, although possibly from Macedonia (Acts 19:29)
Stephanas (1:16) – From the Greek word “crowned”