We are going to start a walk through 1 Corinthians. As a way to get started, I like to share just a touch of backstory, or context. I am copying from my Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible (NASB), whose Executive Editor is Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D. This is an excellent resource and I highly recommend it. It is a very high-quality Bible that I enjoy having in a form I can hold in my hands.
Corinth was an important cosmopolitan Greek city located on a large isthmus about fifty miles west of Athens. It was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire. Only Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch had more people. Corinth was on a major trade route and had a thriving economy, and the vices of East and West converged there. Greeks, Romans, Jews, and a mixed multitude of sailors and merchants flocked to this crossroads… By the end of the second century, Corinth had become one of the richest cities in the world.
Paul believed that Corinth was a strategic center o influence and there was already a large Jewish presence (see Acts 18:4). But Corinth was full of sin. It was one of the most wicked cities of ancient times. Degradation, immorality, and heathen customs abounded…
Paul stayed in Corinth for eighteen months (probably A.D. 52-53). The congregation was established by Paul during his second missionary journey (see Acts 18:11; 1 Cor 2:1-2)…
After about three years, Paul was in Ephesus, approximately 200 miles due east, across the Aegean Sea. Both cities were on a busy trade route. Communication flowed freely between them. Paul received unfavorable news about the Corinthian congregation from members of the household of Chloe (1 Cor 1:11) and other friends (1 Cor 16:17). They reported that there were divisions and much sin in the congregation. There was gross immorality (an incestuous relationship), lawsuits between Christians in front of unbelievers, many practical problems in living the Christian life, marriage problems, difficulties concerning meat offered to idols and matters of conscience, abuses in taking the Lord’s supper, disorderly conduct in the formal assemblies for worship, confusion about the role of women in the church, and heresies about the afterlife, which produced a tremendous response from Paul to teach the truth about the resurrection…
As we read and study 1 Corinthians, we will not only seek to understand the word in context of the times, but also seek the timeless principles that apply throughout time to any period, like today… and beyond.
I invite you to pray with me:
Father, please let Holy Spirit open up our minds to fully understand the depth of the knowledge you have captured in 1 Corinthians. Prepare us to receive, learn and grow. Help us to understand Your word in proper context and also how to apply it to our lives today. Thank You that Your word is more than just text on a page, but a history of Your relationship with man and the instructions You want us to receive to direct all aspects of our lives. In the name of Yeshua, our Messiah, we pray. Amen.
Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ
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