Lesson #01

1 & 2 CORINTHIANS
Lesson #01
INTRODUCTION

• The two letters to the Corinthian church form a unique perspective of the church that we do not see in the other New Testament books.
• The books of Romans, Galatians, and Corinthians give us the form of basic Christian doctrine and how Christians should relate to each other in the church.
• The two letters to the Corinthian church contain church instruction.
• 1 Corinthians gives us the calling, the order, and the discipline of the church.
• 2 Corinthians gives us the ministry of the church.
• Who wrote the books of 1 and 2 Corinthians?
• The first verse of 1 Corinthians tells us that Paul, the apostle, wrote these two books to the church that was already established in Corinth.
• Were there only two letters that Paul wrote to the Corinthian church? Perhaps not.
• 1Cor 5:9 tells us that Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthian church. This was the first letter he wrote to that church, but it is not the book of 1Corinthians in the Bible.
• The contents of this first letter are unknown.
• Four or five years after Paul had been in Corinth, he wrote what we call 1Corinthians.
• After an emergency visit to Corinth, Paul wrote another letter to that church. Because we do not have it in the Bible or in other literature, it is called the “lost letter to the Corinthians”.
• Paul refers to this lost letter in 2Cor 7:5-16
• Paul’s fourth letter to the Corinthian church is what we call 2Corinthians.

• When and how did the gospel first come to Corinth?
• Paul brought the gospel to Corinth on his second missionary journey (51-54 AD) and established the church there. Paul remained in this city for 1 ½ years to firmly establish this church.
• Read Act 18:1-11
• When did Paul write 1 and 2 Corinthians?
• Paul wrote 1Corinthians from the city of Ephesus during his third missionary journey (54-57 AD) and just before he visited Corinth for the second time. This was about three years after he established the church.
• After about a year, he wrote 2 Corinthians (55-58) which displays his anguish over the stern rebuke he gave them in 1 Corinthians. (2Cor 2:4)
• Where is the city of Corinth located?
• This city had a strategic trading location on the Greek peninsula west of Athens. It was located at a narrow part of land between the Adriatic Sea and the Aegean Sea. Like the narrow neck of an hour glass, everything passed through Corinth.

• What do we know about the city of Corinth in Paul’s day?
• The name Corinth means = ornament.

• The city had a population between 600,000 and 700,000 people of which 2/3 were slaves.

• Corinth was a famous Greek commercial center. It was a city at the crossroads.
• The city had two sea ports, one faced Europe on the Adriatic Sea and one faced Asia on the Aegean Sea.
• Corinth was the location of the Roman government for the province of Achaia. Only the city of Rome had more political significance.
• Corinth was also a very wicked, immoral city. It was the sinful pleasure capital of the Roman Empire. All types of sin were openly displayed in this city, and people came from all over the Roman Empire to partake of every possible sin imaginable.
• This city had two large theaters and a grand Roman bath.
• The city of Corinth also had a very large Jewish colony.
• The city was popular with the Jews because of the city’s open marketplace to the world.
• Corinth was a very religious city.
• The pagan temple of Aphrodite (the Greek name for the Roman goddess, Venus) was located in this city.
• A thousand vestal virgins practiced religious prostitution in this temple.

• This goddess was the goddess of lust and carnal love.
• Paul contrasted this kind of love with an explanation of Christian love in 1Cor 13.
• The worship of Aphrodite included very immoral behavior.

• The city of Corinth had such an immoral reputation in the Roman world, that people said of anyone who lived such an immoral life, that he was acting like the Corinthians.

• It is important for us to know this city’s reputation in order to understand the problems in the church that we will see in the two books of 1 and 2 Corinthians, for a church often reflects the culture in which it is located.

• What do we we know about the Corinthian church located in such an immoral society?
• The church consisted of people of a social and racial mixture.
• There were some Jews but a majority of Gentiles.
• Many of these people were converted from the immoral pagan society of the city.
• Paul chose this city to establish a church because of its strategic location and its popularity in the Roman world. Paul knew this city was a key to the spread of the gospel to Europe and Asia.
• The nature of the Christian church in Corinth:
• Of all the churches Paul established, the church in Corinth was the most contentious and at cross purposes. Why?
• This church could not get beyond its worldly roots of self-importance, ambition, and economic and social status.
• Why did Paul write these two books to the Corinthian church?
• Paul had received reports concerning the Corinthian church that troubled him greatly. (1Cor 1:11 1Cor 5:1)
• A group of leaders from the Corinth church came to Paul to ask his counsel. (1Cor 7:1 1Cor 16:17)
• Paul wrote 1 Corinthians to correct these excesses in the church and to preach to them of the supremacy of Jesus Christ.. Because the letter is strong in its correction, Paul became very concerned about this church. He planned to visit the church again.
• Paul paid three visits to the church in Corinth and wrote the book of Romans from Corinth in his last visit..
• What were the problems that troubled Paul so much about this church?
• Divisions in the church.
• An incestuous relationship in the church.
• Court cases between church members.
• The abuse of Christian freedom.
• A lack of order in the church.
• Various questions on several themes:
• Questions about marriage and the single life.
• Questions about food offered to idols.
• Questions about women’s positions in the church.
• Questions about spiritual gifts and the use in the worship service.
• Questions about the meaning of the resurrection from the dead.
• What are the themes of these two books?
• 1 Corinthians:
• The theme is practical and doctrinal correction concerning Christian conduct. Its purpose is to produce corrections of order and holiness in the church.
• This book is a reproof of moral failure to live according to the doctrine given in the book of Romans.
• Paul is writing this book to the carnal Christian.
• 2 Corinthians:
• The theme is Paul’s intensely personal love and anguish for spiritual progress in the church and a defense of his position as an apostle.
• What are the themes for our study of these two books?
• We are going to consider two themes:
• =1= How to maintain church purity in the midst of a decaying society.
• =2= Order and ministry in the church.
• Outline of 1 Corinthians:
• Introduction (1:1-9)
• Carnalities:
• Divisions in the church (1:10-4:21)
• Immorality rebuked and discipline commanded (5:1-6:8)
• The sanctity of the body (6:9-7:40)
• Christian marriage
• Limitations of Christian liberty (8:1-11:1)
• Christian order and holy communion (11:2-34)
• Spiritualities:
• Spiritual gifts and their use in love (12:1-14:40)
• The resurrection from the dead (15)
• Conclusion and greetings (16)
• Sources for our study:
• 1 and 2 Corinthians

by H. A. Ironside

• Through the Bible Commentary Series: First Corinthians; Second Corinthians

by J. Vernon McGee

• Christianity 101 Bible Studies: Finding Your Unique Place in God’s Plan: 1&2 Corinthians

by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz

• The Layman’s Bible Study Notebook

by Irving Jensen

• When Critics Ask

by Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe

HOMEWORK
1CORINTHIANS 1

• Preparation for 1Cor 1
• Read 1Cor 1:1-31
• What is revealed about this church in this chapter?

• What is revealed about Jesus Christ in this chapter?
• What is the main problem in this church? (10-11)
• What is the key word that is repeated in verses 13-17?
• How does that word relate to the main problem in that church?

• Memory Verse: 1Cor 1:30