Corinth: Background on the city and the church at Corinth
Cosmopolitan – clear from 1 Corinthians that there was a mixture of Jews and Gentiles
Commercial – at the time of writing Corinth was one of the great trading cities of the Roman Empire, by the 2 nd century it would become one of the wealthiest cities in the Roman Empire
Cultured
Corrupt
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 of 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, flater TV screen
I trust I'm not being Old Fashioned and legal with you, just pointing out that these things are at best, when we consider them spiritually a waste of time.
I am very much aware that speaking not spiritually now but medically, that none of us have any time to waste!
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 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
Notes from a sermon preached as part of our systematic bible study series on 1 Corinthians.
Free audio, mp3 downloads available above, of these messages as we expound verse by verse through the first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians.
Yours by Grace in Christ
Dr J Stewart Gillespie