1 Corinthians

The Introduction - Lesson 1

"Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow." - A.W. Tozer

The greatest threat our world faces today is not wars or rumors of wars, it is not famine or earthquakes, it is not tribulation, it is not false teachers or the rising level of lawlessness. The greatest threat to our world today is a church divided.

In 1858, while running for the U.S. Senate, Abraham Lincoln famously said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” When he made this statement he was drawing on the principle established by Yeshua in the Gospels.

The account can be found in Matthew 12:25, Mark 3:24, and Luke 11:17

Luke 11:17 ESV

17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.

It’s interesting to note, that this is the response Yeshua gave when the Pharisees accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan.

The principle was just as true when Yeshua said it then, when Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians and is still true today.

I am not sure how long this study will go. But I do believe that when we are done, we will be better for the time we spend studying it. I feel like our previous studies on Jonah and Amos have been instrumental in bringing me to this point.

I have learned so much about the LORD, judgment, the need and urgency to share the Gospel, through His prophets. I believe that with the knowledge we have gained, He is bringing us to this letter from the Apostle Paul at this time for a very specific reason. So as we move forward, I pray that we discover that purpose and accept the invitation that He is extending beginning today.

Most Christians are aware of 1 Corinthians. This letter is most often referenced for three reasons.

The Lord's Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-29)

Most of us will refer to this passage when we take communion. It is hear that we are reminded that we must not take the communion in an unworthy manner.

Spiritual Gifts (1 Corinthians 12, 14)

Paul teaches us about the gifts of the Holy Spirit and their purpose.

The Nature of Love (1 Corinthians 13)

Often referred to as the “love chapter”, the description, “love is patient, love is kind...” is often read at weddings. For this reason, even unbelievers are aware of some of the letter that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth.

But there is so much more that will be addressed as we move forward in this study.

There is a challenge to Paul’s authority as an Apostle.

The first 4 chapters of this letter are dedicated to addressing division within the church .

This is a good place for me to pause. We are about to read through a letter that was written by Paul and intended for a very specific group of people, the church in Corinth. This however does not mean we aren’t experiencing some of the same issues or that we cannot learn from Corinth. In fact, that is exactly why I believe that God has brought us to this point.

Is there division in the Church today?

The World Christian Encyclopedia, in 2021, estimated that there are roughly 45,000 Christian denominations in the world today.

Just within the Protestant movement there are many. (Lutheran, Calvinism/Reformed, Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, Anabaptist, and even us Messianic's would fall within this category.)

So the simple answer is yes. So these first several chapter are going to be extremely relatable to us today and how we exercise our faith and worship.

Paul will address Sexual Immorality

We know that this is another area where we will be able to relate to the church in Corinth. I plan to dissect much of what Paul has to say here. I think there is a great deal that can be learned in this area and applied to our lives today.

In addition to this, as we study this letter to the Corinthians we are going to learn about

Mutual assistance as opposed to rivalry

Humility and Sacrifice

Spiritual Gifts, their purpose and the proper way to exercise them

Value of Sanctity of the body

What we do now will have consequences in the future

and much more.

As we begin this study I have some goals in mind for us.

To understand 1 Corinthians in its intended context.

To connect the dots between what is being written to the church in Corinth and help us to apply it to our own lives today.

Roy E. Ciampra and Brian S. Rosner, two theologians and writes have attested that this is in fact one of Paul’s most difficult letters.

This is a letter that addresses a complex series of issues that the church faced in the 1st century and still plagues us today.

One of the challenges we are going to be aware of us the letter itself. Reading 1 Corinthians is like reading one side of a conversation. I have often wondered how much more powerful this letter would be if I had the other side of the conversation. We can glean that Paul was familiar with the people in Corinth.

It is for this reason, that scholars will refer to this letter not as 1 Corinthians, but as Corinthians B, indicating that there was somewhere out there a Corinthians A.

Paul planted this church (4:14-15; 2 Corinthians 10:13-14). Unlike the audience of the letter to Romans, this one is personal. Paul spent 18 months in Corinth. He poured out his heart, and worked his finger to the bones to establish this community, train up leaders, and then leave them. I can only begin to imagine the pain that Paul felt in writing this letter.

As a father of both young children and now grown children, I have learned the challenges that come from this dynamic in parenting. When the children were young, when they lived under my roof, they lived under my authority. In this setting parenting looked completely different than when they became adults.

My older children now make decisions, those decisions sometimes have consequences, not just for them but for the family as a whole. I am learning a whole new skill as a parent, I am trying my best to exercise influence.

This new skill of parenting can be very painful. My children no longer need my permission, sometimes they completely disregard my advice, at times they have chosen to walk away completely from everything I tried to teach them.

In many ways, this is a part of the context that Paul is writing from. Once, Paul was in authority, and believe it or not, as he moved on to Ephesus, Paul authority was being challenged and now he was exerting influence.

The Corinthians needed to be reminded just who the Apostle Paul was and his authority as their spiritual father. (1 Corinthians 4:15) In fact, some of the congregation believed they knew better than Paul (1 Corinthians 4:7) In response, Paul was a bit direct, maybe even a bit harsh with them. (1 Corinthians 4:8)

They needed to remember what it means to emulate Paul (1 Corinthians 4:16) especially, most importantly as he emulated Yeshua the Messiah. (1 Corinthians 11:1)

Another way we can relate to Paul as a father is in the maturity of his children. For those of us who have children of our own, we put time, effort, resources, sacrifice, and anything else that is needed to help them grow into mature men and women who are capable of caring for themselves and contributing to society, and most importantly to have a faith of their own.

The Corinthians are pretty well recognized for their immaturity. In fact, they are compared to infants ( 1 Corinthians 3:1-4), Paul has to influence them to become mature in their faith.

The greatest sign of their immaturity is seen in their lack of love. A theme that I believe we will find consistent from the first verse to the last.

Paul writes in 1 Timothy about just this matter.

1 Timothy 1:5 ESV

5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

What happens when we don’t have love? I think Paul explains the consequences in his letter to the church in Rome.

Romans 11:13–25 (ESV)

Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

I often wonder if we are aware that we are rapidly approaching this day referred to as the fullness of the Gentiles. We need to be aware of this as we live out our daily lives. we have been grafted in, but God’s warning is that we can be cut off just as easily as we have been grafted in.

One of my greatest objectives in studying this letter with you is to help us all mature in our own faith. Each of you are a blessing to me personally and to our community as a whole. Now imagine how much more of a blessing we will become to one another, to our neighbors, and the glory we can bring to the LORD if we become mature in our faith.

I am pretty excited about this letter. I think that the content and the context of this letter has many relatable and even parallel examples for us to examine and learn from.

My hope is that you will each come with your Bibles open, prepared to share, take notes, and explore the Scriptures with an open mind.

With that said, I want to set this study up by giving you some history and context.

WHEN

It is believed that Paul wrote this letter from Ephesus. (1 Corinthians 16:8) where he had spent the previous three years. It is believed that Paul may have written this letter during the Shavuot season (1 Corinthians 16:8; Leviticus 23:11,15)

Paul is believe to have written this letter between 52-55 C.E. (Common Era). Now we often will look at a time when a letter was written and we might think to ourselves, oh ok, that’s interesting. Then we move on and forget all about it.

But we should stop for a moment and consider the importance of the timeline of a letter. Knowing the approximate date of a writing helps us to know the historical context of the letter.

One reason of importance is to remember that we can identify the time of 30-33 C.E. as the time when Yeshua was crucified, rose from the grave, and ascended to the right hand of the Father.

This is powerful to remember. Because this news spread around the world and for those living in Corinth, this truth had a great impact on their own faith.

Another reason the timeline is important is that we know that the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. This means that at the time that Paul was writing this letter, the Temple, the priesthood, the sacrifices were still being made in Israel.

I think this is significant for us to keep in mind when we look at some of the matters that will be addressed in this letter AND how Paul instructs them to deal with the issues.

WHO

The ancient city of Corinth was an important and influential city in the Roman Empire in the first century. It had a population estimated between 100,000 - 200,00 or more.

The city itself at the time of the writing, was fairly new especially when compared to neighboring city Athens. The previous Corinth had been destroyed by Roman consul Lucius Mummius in 146 B.C.E but rebuilt by Julius Caesar in 44 B.C.E.

This is an extremely important fact as it relates to the letter. Corinth was rebuilt in 44 B.C.E, and Paul wrote this letter with in 10-15 years.

We need to consider what this means.

The people of this city were made up of a mixture of culture, class and religions that was in fact pretty wide. In many ways, Corinth was a melting pot very much like America. Corinth was a place where people from everywhere would come to make a name for themselves.

Corinth itself had become an important center of commerce. Strategically located on this narrow isthmus (3.5 miles) it served to connect the Greek Peloponnesus to the mainland and Eastern and Western Roman Empire.

What made Corinth powerful and influential was trade. Corinth became known as a play where people could become rich quick.

The citizens of Corinth were a mixture of the extremely rich and the extremely poor. I would compare it to our own American history of the Wild West, and even within our own lives, the DotCom boom we have witnessed in California.

When you have cities that experience this type of rapid prosperity we know that it brings with it this extreme lifestyle. Lots of worldly and fleshly behaviors. Corinth was no different.

The citizens were made up of “freedmen”, these were former slaves who had been granted freedom and they flocked to Corinth to make their wealth. These former slaves were hungry entrepreneurs and Corinth was a place to feast.

Corinth became known as a place where people could become extremely wealthy extremely fast. People came to Corinth to climb the social ladder, this created class distinctions and even elitism because in just a few years after being rebuilt, Corinth was a city of extremes, nothing in the lifestyle showed to be moderate.

The church in Corinth was made up of an overwhelmingly large numbers of Gentiles, mostly from the lower class, and poor.

What made Corinth powerful?

Much of the goods then were being transported by sea. But the sea voyages around southern Greece were well known for being dangerous. This not only could lead to the loss of lives of sailors, but also to the goods being shipped.

Because of it’s perfect location, Corinth offered an alternative solution. Merchants would bring their goods directly to Corinth where the cargo would then be either off loaded from the ship, or the ship itself would be put on carts and literally moved across the Isthmus (3.5 miles) saving hundreds of miles of dangerous travel by sea.

This innovation created rapid wealth, opportunity, power, and influence. So much, that Augustus would make Corinth the capital of Achaia.

RELIGION

In addition to the wealth and the political power. Corinth had quite a diverse and vibrant religious community.

There were temples to many gods; Eres (god of war), the city was famous for the Isthmian Games in honor of Poseidon.

There was a temple for Aesclepus, a god of healing, where people would come and spend nights in a room and wait for a dream from this god to heal them. There was a temple to Apollo, who was mostly known as a god of sun and light. There was a temple for Aphrodite. She was considered the goddess of sexual love. The influence of this religion became quite well known. Listen to what Greek Historian, Strabo (64 B.C.E-25 C.E.) had to say about this.

“The Temple of Aphrodite was so rich that it owned more than a thousand temple-slaves, prostitutes. The ship captains squandered their money and hence the proverb, “not for every man is the voyage to Corinth.”

The worship of Aphrodite was similar to the worship of Ashteroth in the days of Solomon, Jeroboam and Josiah (1 Kings 11:1-9,33; 2 Kings 23:13)

Now when Strabo said this, he was referring to the old Corinth, not the NT Corinth of Paul’s day. The 1,000 temple-prostitutes is not believed to be an accurate number, but in Paul’s day, the reputation remained true.

There was at least some Jewish presence in Corinth which would have included at least one synagogue (Acts 18:4).

We can safely conclude that local pagans were attracted to the local Jewish Synagogue, and according to Acts 18:1-8, many did come to faith in Messiah Yeshua.

I wanted to share all of this with you before we get into the text because it helps us to understand some of what Paul will write.

We now know that this new city has become a place of wealth, power, international trade. People from all over the known world were traveling through Corinth. I believe this is exactly why Paul came here and established the church. Paul was wise, knowing that from this place of trade and commerce, the Gospel could be delivered to all parts of the world.

So when Paul writes this letter, he knows just how much is at stake. Not only does he want to correct the Corinthians for their own sake, but also for the sake of the mission. If Paul fails, then the “christianity” that proceeds from Corinth is tainted, corrupt.

Paul needs to restore the Corinthians. He needs to strengthen the community in its fellowship, correct the temptation to look down upon fellow Christians who are less mature in their faith.

According to the commentary by CF Witherington, “Paul was faced with a massive task of resocilization, seeking to reshape the moral imaginations of the these Gentile converts into a pattern of life consonant with the ways of the God of Israel.”

That is yet another way that we can connect to this letter on a personal level. What started out as holy, became profaned, and Paul’s mission was to restore the church to holiness. That is our heart as well.

In many ways, we are witnessing the same issues.

Listen to what Samuel Gilmour, a Canadian New Testament scholar had to say.

“In every respect save the of the ceremonial and ritual adherence to the Jewish faith, they thought and acted as Jews, but hesitated to pass over as recognized converts for two reasons: The anti-Semitic prejudice of the day that made formal identification with the Jewish community a matter of some social consequence in Gentile circles; and - almost as important a barrier- the fact that even within the Jewish community a proselyte remained for his lifetime a second-class jew.”

As for us in the Messianic community, 1 Corinthians is not the first book that we look at to understand the Torah. We have spent much time reacquainting ourselves with the Torah and the Tanakh, and sometimes we neglect the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament.

1 Corinthians presents an interesting opportunity for us. Paul does not reference the Tanach as much in this letter as he does in other writings. There just isn’t a lot of quotes from the Old Testament. But there are at least five occasions where Paul does remind the Corinthians how critically important it is to understand the Tanakh, (1 Corinthians 4:6; 9:10; 10:6,11; 14:34)

Maybe this is why the modern Western church has come to the position that the Torah has been done away with. I am not sure. But I think, we are embarking on a study that most of the Messianic community has overlooked.

That should be exciting, a bit scary, but honestly, I think it is going to challenge us. 1 Corinthians, in my opinion, is going to challenge us on a level we have not experienced in quite a while.

With that said, Let’s begin.

1 Corinthians 1:1–3 (ESV)

1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why would Paul emphasize God's divine calling and will for his apostleship at the start of this letter?

When we read 1 Corinthians 1:12; 4:1-4; 9:1-27 and 2 Corinthians 11, Paul’s authority as an Apostle is being challenged.

Today, we need to settle this same question in our own hearts. You may not be aware yet, and if you are not, let me enlighten you today. Paul’s authority was not only under attack in when he wrote this letter, it seems, Paul’s letters have been continually under scrutiny.

“The Apostle Paul, considered by many scholars to have authored 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament, is so critical to Christianity that Pauline scholarship is a theological ocean. Every few years, a fresh wave of scholarly works sweeps in to expand on, burrow into, challenge, or critique those who came before them – and inspire their own students to join the next wave. Indeed, I’d be surprised if there weren’t new books every year,” says Anna Moseley Gissing, associate editor for IVP Academic.

I saw this question posted in an academic site the other day,

“Criticism of Paul has been historically pretty common throughout the Christian world - Tolstoy claimed that he "deviated" from the original beliefs of Christ, for example, and the Ebionites were a not insignificant sect that rejected Paul's teachings well into the 11th century.

Even today a lot of churches are beginning to reject portions of Paul's religious teaching, namely on homosexuality, in favor of a more Jesus-centric theology.”

So we need to settle this in our hearts. You know what Peter has said about Paul and his writings.

2 Peter 3:15–16 ESV

15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

My fear is that some Christians, particularly those in the Messianic community are using this to reject the writings as teachings.

So let’s take a closer look at what Paul is claiming.

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus

The Greek word for called / Kletos means to be invited, as in to a banquet. Paul has been invited by God in the proclamation of the Gospel, to obtain eternal salvation in the Kingdom of God through Messiah.

Paul has not come in his own authority, or even to teach his own teachings. He is not now, nor has he ever taught a different Torah than Yeshua, who has not ever taught a different Torah than YHWH.

Paul is writing to the Corinthians to remind them that he has been called/invited by God to discharge the duties of a particular office, an Apostle.

What or who is an Apostle?

The Greek word Apostolos means a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders.

This is such an important word. This connect to the Hebrew word, shaliach, which means one who is sent on behalf of another as that person’s authorized representative.

A shaliach, or an apostle does not speak his own words, he is a representative of the one who is sending him. By Paul’s own admission, he is writing to the church in Corinth to reminder him that any authority he has does not come from himself but rather from YHWH.

According to Thayer’s Greek/English dictionary,

“With these apostles (the 12 Disciples), Paul claimed equality, because through a heavenly intervention he had been appointed by the ascended Messiah Himself, to preach the Gospel among the Gentiles, and owed his knowledge of the way of salvation not to man’s instruction but to direct revelation from Messiah Himself.

In addition to this, there are Paul provides signs of this calling. In addition to his Road to Damascus experience detailed in Acts 9:1-19,

Galatians 1:11–12 ESV

11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 12:12 ESV

12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.

2 Corinthians 11:23–28 ESV

23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

1 Corinthians 9:2 ESV

2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

And the entire chapter of Galatians 2.

What Paul says, and how we interpret it is of the utmost importance. For those in the larger Messianic community who are questioning the authority of Paul’s writings as Holy Scriptures I would remind them of what Ken Ham, founder of the Creation Museum once said.

“When you abandon the foundation of the authority of Scripture in Genesis and reinterpret it on the basis of man’s fallible, changing beliefs, why shouldn’t the rest of the Bible be reinterpreted?”

May we never be quick to reject Paul’s writing or his authority.

But we should question the interpretation. When someone teaches us that Paul has a different Torah than God’s Torah, or that Paul teaches something different than Christ Himself.

By Paul’s own admission, he has been called, invited, to be an apostle of Yeshua the Messiah, which means that Paul’s words will always be in line with Yeshua’s and that this is according to the will of God.

Just to take this a little deeper, to help clarify for us what Paul is saying, I want to ask you a couple of questions.

How do you distinguish between your own desires and what you perceive as the will of God in your life?

Are there specific moments or experiences you can recall when you felt a clear understanding of God's direction for you?

In times of uncertainty or major decision-making, what practical steps do you take to seek and discern the will of God?

How do you ensure that your decisions align with His intentions, and how do you cope if you feel you might have made a choice contrary to His will?

1 Corinthians 1:1 (ESV)

1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

The Greek word used here is Thelematos and it means what one wishes or has determined shall be done.

It is closely connected to Thelema which is also interpreted as will when used in Ephesians 5:17

Ephesians 5:17 (ESV)

17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

In this verse, the word will/Thelema is defined as commands/precepts. This is an extremely important fact. The is a key to understanding. If we get this translation correct, if we understand the context, the definition, the application here, then the rest of the book become that much clearer for us.

Remember earlier I said that 1 Corinthians lacks a clear connection to the Tanakh. That there are 5 passages (1 Corinthians 4:6; 9:10; 10:6,11; 14:34) where we can see that Paul is going to direct the Corinthians to look at the Tanakh, to study Torah, but Paul doesn’t necessarily quote direct passages for them.

Let’s look at Acts 18:1-17

Acts 18:1–17 ESV

1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. 6 And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, 13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. 15 But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” 16 And he drove them from the tribunal. 17 And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

This passage details the beginning of the church at Corinth. I want us to pay attention to a couple of these details.

In Corinth, Paul met Aquila and Priscilla - This couple were also tentmakers and they co-labored with Paul. They were credited with discipling Apollos, a zealous preachers we will meet again before this chapter is over. They were house church leaders (Romans 16:3-5) who had risked their lives to further the Gospel.

Acts 18:4 “4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.” This took place for 18 months

Acts 18:5 “5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.”

Acts 18:7 “7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue.” This term, worshiper of God, is a term used to describe a Gentile convert.

Acts 18:8 “8 Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.”

Look at what Paul has done. He has established sound leadership for this congregation. Before Paul even thinks of moving on from Corinth to Ephesus, he has put in place some elders for this community to rely one.

We are going to learn that despite these incredible Christian leaders that Corinth has been blessed with, this will add to the controversy.

1 Corinthians 1:12 “12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.””

In verse 1 of this letter, Paul is reestablishing his leadership, reminding the Corinthians of his authority as an Apostle and from whom this authority comes from.

What he is telling the Corinthians is simple, yet profound.

I , Paul, have been given a commission to be a messenger, to speak on behalf of Yeshua, by the will of God. It is the will of God that when we have been saved by God and through Messiah become children of God, we are to obey the commands and precepts of God.

Before we finish today, you may be asking yourselves who is Sosthenes?

Acts 18:12–17 ESV

12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, 13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. 15 But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” 16 And he drove them from the tribunal. 17 And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

Many conclude, and I would be in agreement, that it is highly likely that the Sosthenes who is “co-writing” the letter to the Corinthians is the same leader from Acts 18. What we know about this man is that he was a leader of the synagogue, and that after Gallio refused to involve himself in what he considered jewish matters, they took and beat Sosthenes.

Before I finish today, I want to share some personal reflections about what I have learned regarding Paul, Corinth, and this 1st letter to the Corinthians.

I think that Paul, by the Holy Spirit, recognized a great advantage in establishing a church in Corinth at this time. We often talk about the history of the Roman road and how that contributed to advancing the Gospel during that age. But before we began this study, I never understood the significance of Corinth. The types of people that were drawn to this city. What they had been through, what they were struggling to attain, the opportunity, the wealth, the influence of the richness of Corinth.

If the Church in Corinth accomplished the mission. The Gospel would go to all parts of the world through the people that passed through this city.

But if they failed, well then a false gospel would go out, and people would be exposed to this and believe it, but never really know that it was wrong.

This explains Paul’s passion and zeal. It helps me to understand exactly why Paul is writing to the Corinthians, why he is establishing his authority, and why he is correcting and teaching them.

But it made me wonder about where we live. Not just geographically, but also in our modern era.

I don’t want to confuse anyone, I don’t want to make connections from the 1 Corinthians letter to our lives that aren’t legitimate, that won’t help us in any wy.

But I do think it is important, that just as Paul will inform Corinth to learn from Israel,

1 Corinthians 10:1–6 ESV

1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.

We too can learn from Corinth.

For me, I believe that God is calling us to Dixon. Not too neighboring communities. As we have looked for a place to worship, a larger venue, one where we can invite others to join us, I have felt the Holy Spirit deter me from considering other places like Amboy, Oregon, Sterling, and other nearby communities.

I believe in my heart that God is about to do a mighty work here in and through Dixon, and if we do our part, we are going to be first-hand witnesses to something amazing.

I have said it before, but it is worth repeating and reminding us all.

In 1905, Billy Sunday, the famous evangelist came to Dixon. He brought 105,000 people to this little city in Illinois to hear the Gospel. What an incredible history this community holds.

But I have been told by other pastors in our community that have heard the story passed down to them from people who were present and passed along the prophecy of Billy Sunday.

It is said the Billy once prophesied that one day the church in Dixon would spark a revival that would impact the world.

I want to be a part of that. I see Dixon as a place that has some of the same social issues that Corinth had.

We are seeing a rise in other religions. Whether it be the 7th day Adventists, the mormons, the muslims, the New-Age movement, the LGBTQ community. There is worship taking place everywhere here.

Economically speaking, Dixon is growing, slowly, but it is growing. The plans to build new, larger, truck stops and gas stations near I-88, the new Hotels being built, and the new commerce coming to Dixon tell me that in the not so distant future, Dixon will become a place where goods will pass through at an even greater rate than they are today.

This means growth, economic opportunity.

Some see darkness, despair, poverty, crime, brokenness everywhere they look. I see opportunity. An incredible opportunity to be light in a dark place, to share the gospel with others who may not ever hear it, to be the hands and feet of Messiah here and now, to make a difference that will go far beyond our lives, but a legacy to the future of our community and the people that live here.

We need to learn how to love one another as God commands. We need this church community to honor God, His Torah, and proclaim the Name of Yeshua in everything we say and do.

Love is the way we will move the presence of God from here in our own hearts, into the hearts of others in our community.