1 Corinthians 1:1-17

Hello Corinth!

This first letter to the Corinthians is one of the most practical of all of Paul’s writings. In this letter he addresses some issues he has heard about. He answers questions the Corinthians have asked about. And he gives his most detailed exposition concerning the Body of Christ and Spiritual gifts. It is an exciting letter and if we are honest we will discover that people really haven’t changed much.

There is a nasty rumor going around in some circles today to the effect that the church at Corinth was an unruly bunch of carnal believers. They spent hours in front of the television, they were rebellious minded toward their leaders, they were given to falling for lustful desires and chasing after worldly things, they were litigious and seemed to be always going to court over this or that...oh, wait...that’s us isn’t it.

Actually, the church at Corinth may have had all of those issues as well but two things should be borne in mind. First, just because we don’t hear too much about these issues in shorter letters to other churches doesn’t mean that they didn’t have these problems as well. Secondly, whatever else they may have been they were certainly not dead the way many modern western churches are.

According to Paul their speaking and knowledge were apparently outstanding. The testimony of Christ was confirmed in them; which to me says that something quite positive must have stood out about their lives. And they were not lacking in any spiritual gift. How many “modern” churches can say that?

They did have issues however, as do all healthy churches. Only dead churches and controlling cults don’t present issues. Paul addresses the most important one first: division. The cult of personality has always been a danger to the Church. Anytime you find a “leader” promoting his or her self a little too much there should be alarm bells going off in you spirit. Regardless of what else they may teach or do there is only one personality we are to follow and it isn’t them. It was, is, and always will be the Lord Jesus Christ.