1 Corinthians 1: “1, 2 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes…” “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours…”
What do we find in the above statement? Paul is evidently writing to those who call themselves followers of Christ and who reside in Corinth. Let’s look at a little history about this city called Corinth.
“Corinth, or Korinth (Greek: Κόρινθος, Kórinthos…) was a Greek city-state, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. To the west of the isthmus lies the Gulf of Corinth, to the east lies the Saronic Gulf. Corinth is about 48 miles (78 km) southwest of Athens.” Click
What other facts are unique about this city?
“…Corinthians developed the Corinthian order, the third order of the classical architecture after the Ionic and the Doric. The Corinthian order was the most complicated of the three, showing the accumulation of wealth and the luxurious lifestyle in the ancient city-state, while the Doric order was analogous to the strict and simplistic lifestyle of the older Dorians like the Spartans, and the Ionic was a balance between those two following the philosophy of harmony of Ionians like the Athenians.”
Now the real key to understanding the mindset of these folks is the fact that they were loaded. Corinth is defined below.
“We might be surprised to discover how much we have in common with the Christians of Corinth. For one thing, their city-a multicultural and diverse place-was in some ways a microcosm of our own society.” “Money and a Good Time. All of these factors made Corinth a wealthy city, whose services to visiting merchants, tourists, and travelers generated great amounts of income.” “Given this prosperity and openness to the world, it’s no surprise that the Corinthians loved a good time. “Quite aptly, one commentator remarked that Corinth resembled a combination of New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas! “
Corinth was the place to be if you had a fat wallet.
“At this time there was a famous ancient saying: “Ou pantos plein es Korinthon”, which translates as “Not everyone is able to go to Corinth”, due to the expensive living standards that prevailed in the city.”
Corinthians is an interesting book from the Bible. The city Paul is writing to is of course Corinth and the folks there are referred to as Corinthians. Paul is an active missionary visiting many, many cities. Each city having its own unique personality and theme. What was the theme of Corinth? They were filthy rich.
1 Corinthians 1: 10 “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.”
Uh! Oh! Did you just read the above? Sounds like these folks are not getting along too well. Sounds like “a church divided.” Paul is pleading with these believers that they may find a common unity in Christ and stop bickering with one another.
“Although Paul had spent eighteen months in the city, after he left numerous disputes arose regarding his teachings.”
What other factors contributed to these Corinthians bickering like little children?
“Roman Corinth…may have had as many as 800,000 inhabitants by the time of Paul. It was the capital of Roman Greece, equally devoted to business and pleasure…” “…the difficulties of maintaining a Christian community in such a cosmopolitan city.” “…Corinth is the center of commerce between northern and southern Greece.”
Corinth was a major cosmopolitan city filled with every vice and every bad habit. Even the bad habit of corruptive thinking prevailed.
1 Corinthians 1: 11 “My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.”
That’s an understatement. I would not doubt if these folks were not pulling one another’s hair out and sharpening their nails. That is about how the typical church debates today. But of course their arguing is specific. It seems that some are proclaiming themselves to be followers of Paul while others are claiming to be followers of Apollos. Didn’t seem like many of these folk were calling themselves followers of Jesus Christ. Definite problem here needing to be addressed. But first of all who is this Apollos character and why is he receiving so much attention from the Corinthian church?
“Apollos was a learned and eloquent Jew who converted to Christianity, but without a complete knowledge of the faith.” [Apollos] traveled to Corinth and powerfully “watered” what Paul had “planted” there…” “Apollos, at any rate, symbolizes the dozens, perhaps hundreds of other emissaries for the faith in various parts of the Near East and the Mediterranean.” First Christians, Paul L. Maier
Anyway, I don’t believe this Apollos character meant to be causing dissension among the church but there was no way initially he could put a stop to and end the hero worship. Paul himself often ran into this type of hero worship. We do the same thing today with our favorite televangelists and colorful preachers we fall all over the floor for.
Corinthians 1: 12 “What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
In dealing with this infighting Paul feels it’s necessary to remind the Corinthians what his original purpose had been and what their purpose as believers should be.
1 Corinthians 1: 17 “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”
Evidently, these wise Corinthians were administering their intellect in their understanding of the gospel. What Paul intended to preach to Corinth.
“…Paul says he made a definite decision that when he came to Corinth he would not speak in lofty, flowing phrases or great, high-sounding words or tell people that all they needed was a little knowledge in special subjects on some insightful approach to life represented by a philosophy. “But,” he said. “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” “…Paul announced to the Corinthians that the whole Christian message rests upon the crucifixion of Jesus.”
Paul here wants to remind them that his message is not about intellect or baptism, but about the fact that Christ died on the cross and therein lays the power of our salvation. Let’s remind ourselves just who these Corinthians were and why their egos perhaps were so inflated.
“In the second century A.D., Corinth was the largest city in Roman Greece. A center of learning, culture, and commerce, it served as the capital of the senatorial province of Achaea and was the focus of Apostle Paul’s missionary activity.” Click
These Christians in this city were a higher caliber than the typical converts among the ancient world. These people had advanced learning and high culture and as we know from our own experience today these things can get in the way of a simple faith in Jesus Christ. These Corinthians were world renowned merchants and they had a monopoly on the export and importation of wealth in their present position in the old world.
“…Corinth was perfectly situated at an isthmus to control all land traffic moving north and south, as well as all sea traffic moving east and west.” “No archaeological site in the world better reflects Paul’s ministry than Corinth.” First Christians, Paul L. Maier
But Paul in writing to the Corinthians was eager to lay out the basic principals of what faith in Christ means.
1 Corinthians 1: 18 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
For the Corinthians in all their wisdom and prosperity came to believe that the simple salvation story was foolishness. Too simple for them as they were a sophisticated, cultured and prosperous people.
1 Corinthians 1: 19 “For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
Paul wanted to let the Corinthians know they were treading on thin ice if they did not come down off their high horse.
Wisdom verses knowledge.
“As we are looking at this passage from First Corinthians together, we are learning why it is that all our accumulation of knowledge does not ever seem to help us handle life better. The reason, however, is not so much because of the lack of knowledge — we all have lots of knowledge today — but because of the lack of wisdom, true wisdom…”
And true wisdom is our simple child like faith in Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1: 22 “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom…”
Yes, the Jews wanted supernatural miracles and the Greek Corinthians wanted their Gods to be intellectual and wise.
“They began to look down on his simple message about a man who was killed by the Romans.” Click
Paul wanted to preach a simple message if only the Corinthians would accept it.
1 Corinthians 1: 27 “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
But God isn’t looking for wise souls to save. God is looking for the foolish and humble.
1 Corinthians 1: 28 “He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are…”
God wants His power to be made evident in our weakness and not in our strength. Only when we are weak and helpless can God show His purpose and design. Paul wanted to convince the Corinthians to boast in God and not in themselves.
1 Corinthians 1: 31 “Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
Corinth & Wealth
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