10-09-2023 The Lesson from the Church in Corinth

Title: The Lesson from the Church in Corinth

According to Jesus’ command, the disciples accelerated evangelism or world missions and many people came to believe in Jesus through the grace of the Word that was preached. They need a place to gather and that’s how the churches started.

There were about 34 churches built in Asia Minor and Europe. It was established by the apostles. Apostles were the people who lived with Jesus, heard His Words, realized His Words through the descent of the Holy Spirit, and were filled with the Holy Spirit. There were problems with these churches, for the glory of the church and Jesus Christ. They shouldn’t circulate bad stories about the churches, however, God recorded those problems in the Bible for us to learn from them. Today, let’s talk specifically about the Corinthian Church.

1. What kind of city is Corinth?

Corinth was a port located in a narrow area connecting Greece and the Peloponnese and was a wealthy commercial centre. The ships crossed Isthumus to avoid the dangerous route around the southern tip of Greece. Therefore, naturally various people gathered in this city, as well as for the religions and gods they believed in.

The athletic competitions were held at the theatre, which could accommodate about 20,000 people, second only to the Olympic Games in popularity, with people from Greece, Rome and Asia attending, and there was also a temple of Aphrodite where about 1,000 prostitutes were always waiting.

So, just as the word Sodomite arose from the sexually corrupt city of Sodom in the Old Testament, the word ‘Corinthianize’- to live a promiscuous life arose in Corinth in the New Testament. Later, Apostle Paul wrote the Epistle to the Romans while staying in Corinth, and it is believed that the fact that the Epistle to the Romans emphasizes the importance of sanctification is not at all unrelated to the social aspect of the Corinthian church.

• Problems of the Corinthian church

The Corinthian church was founded around AD 50 during Apostle Paul’s second mission trip. Apostle Paul stayed here for about 1 year and six months and testified his words. However, since 1 Corinthians was written around AD 55, we can see that the Corinthian church suffered from various problems in less than five years after the church was founded.

The 10 problems the Corinthian church had were

• Problem of division in the church (1:10-1:17)
• Misunderstanding the message of the cross (1:18-2:5)
• Ignorance of the revelation of the Holy Spirit (2:6-16)
• The problem of incest (5:1-13)
• Litigation to the court of disbelief (6:1-8)
• Moral negligence (6:9-20)
• Marriage problems and divorce (7:1-40)
• About sacrifices to idols (8:1-11:1)
• Problems of public worship (11:2-14:40)
• Doctrine of Resurrection (15:1-58)

• Solution presented by Apostle Paul
• Problem of division in the church (1:10-1:17)

The cause of the first problem of the Corinthian church is ‘division’. They were divided into the factions of Paul, Apollos, Cephas and Christ. The Pauline faction are people who were baptized by Paul and studied his word. Apollos was a scholar, and it is said that he was a better preacher than Paul. So, there were people who studied the Word with Apollos and received grace. And Cephas is another name for Peter (Mat 16:18).

What is Apostle Paul’s solution to this? It tells us to be completely united in the same mind (1 Corinthians 1:10). Apostle Pual tells us that we only need to look at Jesus, especially at the cross of Jesus (1 Cor 1:18). At the same time, Apostle Paul disbanded the Pauline faction (1 Cor 1:13).

• The problem of incest (5:1-13)

Corinth was a city of fornication. As a result, the problem of fornication arose even within the church (1 Cor 5:1). Apostle Paul’s solution was to drive out those who have committed such evil acts from the church. At the same time, he explains to the Corinthians why they should abstain from fornication (1 Cor 6:18-19). And because of how widespread fornication is, he advised people to get married to avoid committing sins and not to use separate rooms except when praying (1 Cor 7:1-3;7:5). However, one peculiar thing is when factions arose, unity, not discipline, was presented as the solution. However, when the problem of fornication arose, discipline was suggested as a solution. The solutions are different because the issue of faction was a matter of differences, different thoughts and different understandings, and was not yet a matter of sin. However, fornication is a problem of sin. If there is sin, we should not unite. If we do so, that sin will stain the entire church.

(3) Litigation in secular court (6:1-8)

If we look at 1 Cor 6:1-2, there were cases even among the saints suing each other in worldly courts. Regarding this, Apostle Paul says that church courts are greater and higher than worldly courts and that lawsuits in worldly courts are inappropriate. Saying not to use worldly courts mean that we should respect church law and decision as God’s law and follow it with obedient heart.

(4) Doctrine of Resurrection (15:1-58)

Many teachers influenced by Greek intellectualism were confused as they did not believe in the doctrine of resurrection and tried to interpret it as a mere symbol. Even today, many believers are caught up in scientific thinking and do not believe in the doctrines of resurrection, eternal life and transfiguration.

As a solution to this problem, Apostle Paul establishes this doctrine by testifying to the glory of the resurrection that captivated him.

Conclusion:

Let’s become a church that loves God (1 Cor 13;12-13)

Apostle Paul wrote 1 Corinthians and presented solutions to various problems in the church. One thing that must always be deep in our hearts is love for God. The church is not perfect. Our church may also face various problems one day. If we try to solve the problem with a heart that loves God, only God will appear and be fulfilled in your life and in  our church.