1 & 2 Corinthians

Paul attacks problems of sin in the church at Corinth, And defends his apostleship and ministry

Summary:
In both of these books, the apostle Paul is addressing problems of sin and contention in a church that he founded.  The city of Corinth in Paul’s day had a population of approximately 650,000 people, two-thirds of which were slaves.  It was the leading commercial center of Southern Greece[1] with all of the trappings of big city living…including unbridled immorality.  Corinth contained at least 12 temples to foreign gods, complete with temple prostitutes.  The temple of Aphrodite at one point in time had 1,000 sacred prostitutes serving worshippers.[2] The church at Corinth was not immune to the outside influences of its culture, and it is to these issues that Paul writes (divisions, immorality, disorderly worship, abuse of the Lord’s Supper etc).   

 Some important points to understand about the books of 1&2 Corinthians:

• The books address a congregation that is both immature and unspiritual (1 Cor 3:1-4).  Paul encourages those believers to move beyond spiritual milk (he describes those still on milk as “worldly”).  They need to grow up in their faith and move beyond following the “world” to following “God.”
• Paul pens 2 Corinthians within a year of his first letter to the church.
• 1 Cor 12 speaks about spiritual gifting and how each individual in the church is an invaluable component for the body as a whole.  We are not to feel inferior because of our different giftings in the Spirit. Each has a place.
• Paul defends his apostleship in 2 Cor.  Although he was not one of the original “twelve,” he is indeed an apostle because of his amazing encounter with and conversion to the risen Christ, on the road to Damascus (Acts 9).
• Key Chapters: 1 Corin 13 and 15. Chapter 13 is an important chapter on the sacrificial nature of love.  The context for this verse refers to a much broader audience than married couples. Chapter 15 is the most significant chapter on the resurrection. 2 Corin 8-9 gives the most extensive description of the principles and practices of giving in the NT.  This is a good place to investigate when trying to determine how much money to give back to God from your income.
• One main theme that runs throughout these letters is the idea that the “Cross of Christ is a message that is designed to transform the lives of believers and make them different, as people and as a corporate body, from the surrounding world.”[3]  Do we look different as individuals and as a corporate body (PEPC) to the world?

[2] The NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985), 1732.

[3] Bruce Wilkinson and Kenneth Boa, Talk thru the Bible (USA: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 2002), 383.