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The Church in Corinth circa 60 AD

MoreCoffee

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Paul wrote two letters to Corinthian church. The first was written, according to tradition, either from Ephesus or from Philippi some time around 55 AD. The second was written, according to tradition, from Philippi some time around late 55 AD or 56 AD.

The first letter deals with a number of problems and disputes that had arisen in Corinth's church(es). There was factionalism, immorality, doctrinal errors, disorder and selfishness, there was also some problem or problems with they way the Corinthians worshipped as a community. The first letter can be analysed along these lines:
  1. Address (⇒ 1 Cor 1:1-9)
  2. Disorders in the Corinthian Community (⇒ 1 Cor 1:10-⇒ 6:20)
  3. Answers to the Corinthians' Questions (⇒ 1 Cor 7:1-11: 1)
  4. Problems in Liturgical Assemblies (⇒ 1 Cor 11:2-⇒ 14:40)
  5. The Resurrection (⇒ 1 Cor 15:1-58)
    • The Resurrection of Christ (⇒ 1 Cor 15:1-11)
    • The Resurrection of the Dead (⇒ 1 Cor 15:12-34)
    • The Manner of the Resurrection (⇒ 1 Cor 15:35-58)
  6. Conclusion (⇒ 1 Cor 16:1-24)


The second letter deals with the aftermath of the first letter and some new problems not canvassed in the first. It may be analysed along these lines:
  1. Address (⇒ 2 Cor 1:1-11)
  2. The Crisis between Paul and the Corinthians (⇒ 2 Cor 1:12-⇒ 7:16)
  3. The Collection for Jerusalem (⇒ 2 Cor 8:1-⇒ 9:15)
  4. Paul's Defense of His Ministry (⇒ 2 Cor 10:1-⇒ 13:10)
  5. Conclusion (⇒ 2 Cor 13:11-13)

Given that this church was fraught with internal divisions and errors in practise and possibly in doctrine too ought Christians today to be building a theology of the Spirit of God and a theology of the Spirit's Charisms on the basis of these letters?
 
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bushinoki

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MoreCoffee, I think that's exactly why the Epistles to Corinth are so important to today's Church. People today don't seem to think about the fact that non-Jewish believers of the first century did not have established traditions to follow outside of the pagan traditions they held before Salvation.

One of the biggest problems the early Church faced was the conflict between polytheistic pagan beliefs and monotheistic Judeo-Christian beliefs, often pertaining to personal conduct. Those pagan standards of personal conduct are making a resurgence today. Many younger people in the West aren't raised in a Christian environment any more. Even though there are many cultural contexts in Paul's epistles that don't apply to the modern era, such as temple prostitution, there are many principals of the Corinthian Epistles that do.

Corinth was a major city of the Empire at the time, and the constant conflict between the Greco-Roman pagan culture and Christian beliefs made for fertile soil to establish doctrine. Establishing a church in Corinth is analogous to building a hasty fort on the front lines of combat. The constant influx of new believers meant that people were bringing a lot of spiritual baggage with them. And the constant flow of trade meant that Corinth was a prime target for bringing in all new ideas.

The Corinthian Epistles, to me, seem to be much clearer in light of modern times, simply because we have some of the same dynamics at play, such as the constant flow of information and trade. I think the Corinthian Epistles are great material for forming a major chunk of any discipleship program.
 
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MoreCoffee

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MoreCoffee, I think that's exactly why the Epistles to Corinth are so important to today's Church. People today don't seem to think about the fact that non-Jewish believers of the first century did not have established traditions to follow outside of the pagan traditions they held before Salvation.

One of the biggest problems the early Church faced was the conflict between polytheistic pagan beliefs and monotheistic Judeo-Christian beliefs, often pertaining to personal conduct. Those pagan standards of personal conduct are making a resurgence today. Many younger people in the West aren't raised in a Christian environment any more. Even though there are many cultural contexts in Paul's epistles that don't apply to the modern era, such as temple prostitution, there are many principals of the Corinthian Epistles that do.

Corinth was a major city of the Empire at the time, and the constant conflict between the Greco-Roman pagan culture and Christian beliefs made for fertile soil to establish doctrine. Establishing a church in Corinth is analogous to building a hasty fort on the front lines of combat. The constant influx of new believers meant that people were bringing a lot of spiritual baggage with them. And the constant flow of trade meant that Corinth was a prime target for bringing in all new ideas.

The Corinthian Epistles, to me, seem to be much clearer in light of modern times, simply because we have some of the same dynamics at play, such as the constant flow of information and trade. I think the Corinthian Epistles are great material for forming a major chunk of any discipleship program.

Christians have at their disposal almost two thousand years of history, comment, prayer, and liturgy to draw upon and yet these two letters, especially the first, are made to suffice for the regulation of corporate worship by many who profess a second work of the Lord's Spirit and various signs and wonders (especially speaking in a tongue or in tongues) accompanying that second work. It seems to me that the new testament contains twenty seven books. Of those twenty seven books the four canonical gospel contain records of Jesus' words and deeds from which Christians have drawn the bulk of their most profound theology. Paul's letters to the Romans and the Ephesians provide a foundation for answering fundamental questions about Law and grace. The books of Hebrews and Revelation provide significant insight into the conduct of worship in heaven and the pattern of worship that Christians are to follow. Yet some would have us abandon the history, some would have us overlook the liturgy of heaven, and some would have us accommodate both our practice and our doctrine to the culture that surrounds us. Is this what Christians are called to do?

It is not going too far to say that the church in Corinth was abnormal. In some ways it was pathological and because of that they needed correction. This needed correction ought to be useful for us as we think about our own church life. We ought not to be following the example of Corinth. It is not a paradigm to be elevated as ideal or near-ideal. Corinth was far from being an ideal.

So, if we take Paul's corrections and apply them what do we end up with? Probably something undesirable; not because the corrections are bad not because they are in any sense untrue or unworthy but because they are correcting bad practises in which we many not be engaging. If I may use an analogy - one does not take insulin unless one needs it, so a healthy person who reads a prescription for insulin and assumes that it will do him good if taken would be acting very unwisely, right? Thus if a congregation of today seeks to take the correctives Paul prescribed for Corinth then that congregation is at risk because the correction is only needed if the fault is present. I mean the same fault that Paul is correcting in Corinth.

The faults that the Corinthians had are those alluded to briefly in the original post; namely

  • divisions
  • immorality
  • practical and doctrinal confusion about marriage
  • practical and doctrinal confusion about associations with pagans and pagan influenced objects as well as practises
  • Practical and doctrinal confusion about women and their role in church
  • Confusion about conducting and receiving the Lord's supper - this was based on both liturgical and moral errors
  • The use and abuse of graces given by the Lord's Spirit and an accompanying depreciation of the grace of charity (love) between the members of the church
  • Doctrinal and practical confusion about Christ's resurrection and its significance
  • Doctrinal and practical confusion about the time and the nature of a Christian's resurrection
  • Confusion about what the Christian doctrine of the resurrection is and what it means in practical as well as theoretical senses.
If your congregation does not suffer from these problems then the prescription that Paul gave to Corinth is not for you.

If your congregation does suffer from one or more of these problems then the prescription for that problem may be for you.

How many millions of Christians are taking the cure from chapters 12 and 14 today?
 
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Cappadocious

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One of the biggest problems the early Church faced was the conflict between polytheistic pagan beliefs and monotheistic Judeo-Christian beliefs
I would argue that the bigger problem the early church faced was singularity-worshipping pagan beliefs.
 
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Standing Up

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MoreCoffee,

I think some people feel the need to believe in a golden age that degraded over time. It's a particular mindset.

Exactly. The idea of a homogenized group of "perfect angel" men divorced from flesh simply wasn't there. But when they (the babies) married the state, the goal of forced unanimity came close to reality.
 
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Biblicist

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When I read the basic premises of this thread on my IPhone before I left for work earlier today, I expected to see a torrent of replies by the time I got home asking why you feel the need to attack the veracity of the Scriptures.

If we take your premise to its logical end, then we may as well discount the authority of the Written Old Covenant as it contained so much rebuke towards the evil and wayward practices of Israel. As for the Gospels, well, we may as well throw them out as they are a record of the ministry of Jesus toward the people of the Covenant who in the end rejected him. As for the New Covenant and in particular with that of Paul’s Epistles, as he had to address improper beliefs and wayward behaviour within many cities, then I guess, out with the Epistles as well. If we look at the beginnings of Revelations where we have Johns prophecies toward several wayward Christian communities in Asia-Minor, then I guess we may as well reject the book of Revelations as well.

Let’s see, as you feel that there are supposedly some more reliable sources around, I wonder what they could be. I know that there was a particular denomination that held power for around a millennium, but as they had introduced so many false doctrines and pagan practices then they are probably the last source that we would want to refer to. So what’s left . . . well nothing really, so I suppose that we need to return to the Spirit inspired Holy Scriptures.

Christians have at their disposal almost two thousand years of history, comment, prayer, and liturgy to draw upon and yet these two letters, especially the first, are made to suffice for the regulation of corporate worship by many who profess a second work of the Lord's Spirit and various signs and wonders (especially speaking in a tongue or in tongues) accompanying that second work.
“Disposal” is rather an applicable word as I think that many of us would be more than happy to see the ‘old ways’ completely disposed of.[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
It seems to me that the new testament contains twenty seven books. Of those twenty seven books the four canonical gospel contain records of Jesus' words and deeds from which Christians have drawn the bulk of their most profound theology. Paul's letters to the Romans and the Ephesians provide a foundation for answering fundamental questions about Law and grace. The books of Hebrews and Revelation provide significant insight into the conduct of worship in heaven and the pattern of worship that Christians are to follow. Yet some would have us abandon the history, some would have us overlook the liturgy of heaven, and some would have us accommodate both our practice and our doctrine to the culture that surrounds us. Is this what Christians are called to do?

It is not going too far to say that the church in Corinth was abnormal. In some ways it was pathological and because of that they needed correction. This needed correction ought to be useful for us as we think about our own church life. We ought not to be following the example of Corinth. It is not a paradigm to be elevated as ideal or near-ideal. Corinth was far from being an ideal.

So, if we take Paul's corrections and apply them what do we end up with? Probably something undesirable; not because the corrections are bad not because they are in any sense untrue or unworthy but because they are correcting bad practises in which we many not be engaging.
Wow! Here’s the heart of the problem in that there have always been church-goers and even believers who have not been engaging with what the Lord would have us do. Just because liberalism and worldly practices have become the benchmark for many, that does not mean that the rest of us have to discard God’s Covenant with man and adopt the worldly practices that many denominations have enshrined into their dogmas.

If I may use an analogy - one does not take insulin unless one needs it, so a healthy person who reads a prescription for insulin and assumes that it will do him good if taken would be acting very unwisely, right? Thus if a congregation of today seeks to take the correctives Paul prescribed for Corinth then that congregation is at risk because the correction is only needed if the fault is present. I mean the same fault that Paul is correcting in Corinth.

The faults that the Corinthians had are those alluded to briefly in the original post; namely

  1. divisions
  2. immorality
  3. practical and doctrinal confusion about marriage
  4. practical and doctrinal confusion about associations with pagans and pagan influenced objects as well as practises
  5. Practical and doctrinal confusion about women and their role in church
  6. Confusion about conducting and receiving the Lord's supper - this was based on both liturgical and moral errors
  7. The use and abuse of graces given by the Lord's Spirit and an accompanying depreciation of the grace of charity (love) between the members of the church
  8. Doctrinal and practical confusion about Christ's resurrection and its significance
  9. Doctrinal and practical confusion about the time and the nature of a Christian's resurrection
  10. Confusion about what the Christian doctrine of the resurrection is and what it means in practical as well as theoretical senses.
If your congregation does not suffer from these problems then the prescription that Paul gave to Corinth is not for you.
For those who love the Lord and desire to obey the Scriptures, then I would trust that there would be many millions of us – otherwise, we risk eternal damnation.


PS. I had not realised that that the thread on tongues was such an issue for you!
 
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rockytopva

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MoreCoffee... The Holy Spirit leads us to the word of God. I knew of a young lass who got absolutely drunk in the Holy Spirit. All we could get out of her was a sweet laughter. The next night of revival I was eager for the testimony, in which she said that she was all night in the word of God. So I agree with you while you are in the word of God. Interest in the word of God, IMHO, is generated by the Holy Spirit.
 
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I think we are seeing the opposite of tongues happening here. Something has been stated in a known language, and yet there are some who have completely misunderstood the message!
In what way has it been misunderstood?
 
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MoreCoffee

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I think we are seeing the opposite of tongues happening here. Something has been stated in a known language, and yet there are some who have completely misunderstood the message!

You are right. It is no easy task to take the original post and post #4 and arrive at the idea that scripture is being denigrated. Those who have (incorrectly) implied that such is the case ought to re-read posts #1 & #4.
 
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MoreCoffee

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MoreCoffee... The Holy Spirit leads us to the word of God. I knew of a young lass who got absolutely drunk in the Holy Spirit. All we could get out of her was a sweet laughter. The next night of revival I was eager for the testimony, in which she said that she was all night in the word of God. So I agree with you while you are in the word of God. Interest in the word of God, IMHO, is generated by the Holy Spirit.

I agree with you, my brother, that the Spirit of the Lord leads us to desire to hear God's voice and to know him in experience as well as in the sacred scriptures. By the grace of God we all ought to spend time in the holy scriptures and we all ought to spend time with God's people in the presence of Christ through the Spirit of the Lord.
 
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MoreCoffee

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When I read the basic premises of this thread on my IPhone before I left for work earlier today, I expected to see a torrent of replies by the time I got home asking why you feel the need to attack the veracity of the Scriptures.

...

What an absurd reading of post #1.
 
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MoreCoffee

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Well, there is that teaching out there that if you don't speak in tongues, you aren't born again.

There is that.

The topic is also interesting because of the claims about the numbers of people involved.
 
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Biblicist

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What an absurd reading of post #1.

Your post #1 Given that this church was fraught with internal divisions and errors in practise and possibly in doctrine too ought Christians today to be building a theology of the Spirit of God and a theology of the Spirit's Charisms on the basis of these letters?
As this rather unusual comment was the primary reason for my earlier statement; I would have to ask, why in the world would we not base our beliefs on the corrections that have been applied by the Apostle Paul? As his words have the authority of the Lord behind them and that they are beyond challenge, then any suggestion that we are to look elsewhere for guidance is simply not on. As we have no authority outside of the Scripture for both life and faith, then any suggestion that we can simply ignore Pauls detailed corrections amounts to nothing less than an assault on God’s Word.

This was further displayed by your comment (in part) from post #4:
Christians have at their disposal almost two thousand years of history, comment, prayer, and liturgy to draw upon and yet these two letters, especially the first, are made to suffice for the regulation of corporate worship. . .
What you are plainly saying is that tradition and your denominations practices trump that of the Scriptures.

The importance of 1st Corinthians is also revealed by how Paul has described the 8 Congregational Offices (1Co 12:28) that the Father himself has established for each assembly of believers - so as all believing congregations should be trying to ensure that these 8 Offices/functions are correctly operating within churches, then his words are for all.
 
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