I & II Corinthians

Author, Background, Context

Author

The author of these letters ic clearly the Apostle Paul, as claimed in the letters themselves. Some of the epistles, or letters, have a much less clear authorships within the text themselves.

Paul wrote at least a total of four letters to the Corinthians.

A previous letter (1 Cor 5:9-11)

1 Corinthians

A third letter which produced great sorrow in Corinth (2 Cor 2:3-4, 7:8)

2 Corinthians

The Church in Corinth

Paul founded the church in Corinth during his second missionary Journey.

There was likely a growing Jewish population in Corinth because the emperor Claudius had expelled all Jews from Rome. It appears that a fair amount of them settled in Corinth, as explained during Paul’s first visit to the city.

Acts 18:1–11 ESV

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 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, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. 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.” 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. 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. And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 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.” And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

What do we learn from this passage about the church in Corinth that Paul addresses in his letters?

But then some of the Jews band together against Paul and drive him from Corinth, and Priscilla and Aquilla went with him. Look at Acts 18:5-8, this is the point where Paul began to focus his ministry on the Gentiles.

Sometime after leaving Corinth he wrote them his first letter. 1 Cor 5:9-11

Paul briefly returns to his home base in Antioch before beginning his second missionary Journey where he spends 3 years in Ephesus. It was then that he received a letter from the church in Corinth and responds in 1 Corinthians, which was written around AD 55.

Paul then visited Corinth in his 3rd missionary journey, in what he later described as a “painful visit” 2 Cor 2:1-2

After his visit, he appears to have written a third letter to the Corinthians that also had some tough truths in it 2 Cor2:3-4, 7:8

Acts 20:1–3 ESV

After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia.

While Paul was on his way to Corinth, he receives a good report about the Corinthians from Titus, which leads him to write his fourth letter, which we call 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 7:5–16 ESV

For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. Therefore we are comforted. And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. For whatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. I rejoice, because I have complete confidence in you.

During this visit, Paul wrote his letter to the Romans (Rom 16:23)

It was after this visit that Paul returned to Jerusalem, and would eventually be taken to Rome.

Corinth

Corinth sits on the isthmus connecting the Greek mainland with the Peloponnesian peninsula, making it a critical port for commerce on the Ionian sea and transferring between the Ionian and Aegean sea.

Athens had been the leading cultural center in the region since the days of Greek dominance, but the Romans chose Corinth as the capital of the province of Achaia, which included Athens.

This was likely due to the fact that Athens was further east and naval access from Rome was blocked by the Peloponnesian Peninsula, whereas Corinth was accessible to Rome through the Ionian Sea.

This made Corinth an even more important city of wealth and luxury. Like any place where political, cultural, and financial power are centered, Corinth also became a hotbed of immorality.

In fact, Corinth was so immoral that “to live like a Corinthian” became synonymous with sexual immorality and drunkeness. This was very similar to how we all know what is meant by “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”.

Key Themes

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians is essential a list of issues that Paul has heard about the fledgling Corinthian church.

What are some of the issues that Paul addresses in the Corinthian church?

Unity (1 Cor 1-4)

Sexual Immorality (1 Cor 5-7)

Food (1 Cor 8-10)

Spiritual Gifts (1 Cor 11-14)

Resurrection (1 Cor 15-16)

How does Paul offer correction for each of these issues?

1 Cor 3:10-13, 21-22

1 Cor 6:18-20

1 Cor 10:14-17

1 Cor 12:27-31

1 Cor 15:50-56

Now, some of these things are easily applicable to our lives today, some are not. I believe it is important when dealing with the letters of the New Testament to remember that while these letters are written for us in that they are written for every church in every situation to find instruction, reproof, and training in righteousness, none of this letters are written TO us. I believe we should strive to understand what situations these letters are addressing so as to not apply them unnecessarily to unrelated situations in our current situation.

A great example of where this might be difficult is understanding exactly what 21st century situations bear equivalence with a first century butcher whose meat has been sacrificed to idols before being sold.

An example of where it might be easy to find a parallel is encountering those who claim Christ yet deny His resurrection. It didn’t take me long to find such a person today, from an essay on “progressivechristianity.org”

“What we may have here is the merging of two powerful metaphors — "raised up" and "body of Christ". When Christians talk about the resurrection of Christ, they may be proclaiming that death did not have the last word in the Jesus story because his followers were raised up to be his new body. When they say that they believe in the resurrection of the dead, they may be proclaiming that no matter how much a person has given in to destructive tendencies, new life is always possible.” -https://progressivechristianity.org/resources/what-can-progressive-christians-say-about-resurrection/

As Paul did with the Corinthians, this is a situation where we must declare firmly that not only do we affirm that Jesus Christ came forth from the grave in the very same body that had been hung on the cross and pierced, to deny this is to undermine the bedrock of our Christian faith. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, we have no hope for redemption or irrefutable evidence that He was who He claimed to be.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians is the 2nd of 2 letters regarding the rebellion of some leaders in the Corinthian church. The first was a harsh rebuke and the second was a conciliatory encouragement to them.

Three main sections

Paul defends his legitimacy as an Apostle and reconciles with the Corinthian church (2 Cor 1-7)

the church has repented and is now doing well 2 Cor 7:5-9

Paul’s complete confidence in the church 2 Cor 7:13-16

Paul appeals to the church to provide an offering to preserve the Jerusalem church through the famine Acts 11:27-30 (2 Cor 8-9)

Paul issues a final challenge to the rebellious leaders in Corinth (2 Cor 10-13)

Paul has been criticized for making his own living, for not being a great public speaker, and other “apostles” were lifted up who were wealthier because they were paid for their ministry

Paul responds 2 Cor 12:11-13

Paul’s message in this section is basically “Don’t you get it! The Gospel of Christ is meek and humble, and through that powerful beyond belief”