In general, the church in America is struggling to figure out what it’s supposed to do in our post-Christian culture. It’s used to being a fixed icon and center point of the culture by default, which is simply no longer the case. The culture around us is prosperous yet relationally impoverished, increasingly secular and self-centered, multi-cultural, financially motivated, incredibly sexualized, and radically religiously diverse.

In an anything-goes culture that is increasingly sexualized, polarized, and politicized, what does it mean to be the church? What should the church look like? How each church decides to engage the culture will determine its long-term kingdom impact and even its survival.

How should Lake Ridge Baptist Church engage? How should any church engage?

Should the church be the voice of love, welcome, and tolerance?

Should we be the critical or prophetic voice decrying the culture around us?

How much should we look like the culture around us?

How different should we look from the culture around us?

How do we know the ways in which we should accommodate the culture and the ways in which we should resist accommodation?

Believe it or not, our culture is not unique in the history of the church. Ancient Corinth was strikingly similar in many ways, and the churches of Corinth didn’t handle things very well at times. Paul had to be very direct with that church in two biblical letters, as well as others that weren’t inspired Scripture. Note that he isn’t critiquing the culture around the church, though he’s pretty honest about it. Paul reserves critique for the church!

That’s what we’re going to work through this year as we explore how we, the church, should be the church in 21st century Corinth.

Following Christ in 21st Century Corinth – Week 1

presented 5 September 2018

Introduction

1 Corinthians 1: 1-17

AUDIO

Lecture Handout

Introduction through 1_17 Handout Week 1

Lesson Notes

Introduction 

  • Corinthian church was founded in Acts 18: 1-17
  • Paul spent 18 months there, roughly 49-51 AD
  • A diverse congregation of Jews and Gentiles
  • Corinth was
    • The original Corinth was destroyed by Rome in 146 BC
    • Refounded as a Roman colony in 44 BC by Julius Caesar
    • A flourishing colony on a narrow isthmus between the Aegean and Adriatic seas
    • A city of about 80,000 residents
    • Very multi-cultural, prosperous financially (richest city in Greece) – businesses, military, large Jewish population
    • Lots of pagan temples, including a legendary number of temple prostitutes
      • Massive temples to Jupiter, Apollo, Asclepius, Aphrodite, Isis, Poseidon, plus emperor worship
    • Wanton sexuality – the word for “Corinthian girl” meant “loose woman”
    • Socially organized around patron-client relationships between the wealthy and the poor
    • The church had been very successful in drawing in all sorts of people from their community, but that success in the gospel had brought with it some social inequity and conflict
    • In general, those in the churches didn’t seem to want to break their familiar behavioral or social patterns that had made them prosperous
      • The church was riven with class-based inequality, sexual sin, and all kinds of squabbling
      • Lots of salvation, not enough sanctification!
  • 1 Corinthians
    • Written sometime in the spring of 54 or 55 AD while Paul was in Ephesus
    • Wasn’t the 1st letter he wrote them, but the first inspired Scripture he wrote
    • Seems to address two things
      • A troubling report from trusted believers (chapters 1-6)
      • Answers to questions in a letter sent by the Corinthian church (chapters 7-16)
      • The church was divided into factions, arrogant, immature, unjust, and tolerant of sin within it.

1 Corinthians 1: 1-17

  • Greeting (verses 1-3)
    • Verse 1 – Paul and Sosthenes (presumably the synagogue ruler) -> reminder of the transformational power of the gospel community
      • Emphasizes Paul’s calling, by God, to be an apostle
      • The Corinthians are challenging his authority, so he emphasizes it right off
    • Verse 2 – To the church (singular, but really multiple house churches throughout the city, none larger than about 50)
      • A Pauline greeting usually previews the dominant themes of the letter
      • Sanctified in Christ Jesus -> made holy, separate
        • They’re having problems with  holiness -> but that’s who they and we are in Christ -> called to be holy
        • So we’re called to be sanctified, to live a holy life, set apart from the norms of the world by the power of Christ
      • Called to be saints, TOGETHER -> issues of unity plague this church
      • Reminds them they aren’t alone or better than everyone else – part of the worldwide body of Christ
    • Verse 3 – Grace and peace is the standard Pauline greeting (grace was standard Greco-Roman, peace was standard Jewish greeting)
  • Thanksgiving (verses 4-9)
    • Verse 4 – Gives thanks always
      • How? This letter is very stern!
      • Because of God’s grace given to them – we can always be grateful for that
      • Paul remains thankful, but note verse 5
    • Verse 5 – In every way enriched in speech and knowledge
      • Money is an issue for this church – many are well to do and the church as a whole is rich
      • But the riches Paul is thankful for are speech and knowledge, not material
      • But they have a lot of arrogance about their speaking and knowledge
      • As is often true, they consider themselves terribly mature because they have a lot of knowledge and rhetorical skill, but no, they really aren’t
      • Greeks and Romans loved rhetoric and philosophy – Paul emphasizes that as a strength and gift of God, even as he’s about to deal with their abuse of these gifts
      • Gifting, knowledge, speech are all major themes of the letter
      • And Paul is still grateful for them, even though they’re being misused
    • Verses 6-7 – Not lacking any gift
      • There are significant sections of the letter devoted to spiritual gifts – these were a strength and weakness of the Corinthian church
      • Issues related to having, using, and relating to one another in light of their gifts
        • The church is provided for through God’s gifts
        • They aren’t earned or bought, because they’re gifts
        • We will have all we need – never lament being a small church, rather realize God gifts every church with what they need already
      • As believers, we should be using our gifts -> everyone has at least one, no matter how new a believer we might be. And we’re supposed to use them immediately, not wait to “mature”
      • The unified, orderly exercise of every believer’s gifts should be a part of normal church operation until Christ returns
    • Verse 7 – while we wait for Christ to return
    • Verse 8 – who, by the Spirit will sustain us -> guiltless
      • Speaks to salvation and sanctification
      • Also the gospel and perseverance of the saints
    • Verse 9 – God is faithful – by whom we’re called into fellowship of Christ
  • Divisions (verses 10-17)
    • Chapters 1-4 address the deep divisions in the Corinthian church
    • Here we see the problem and the solution (choose unity)!
    • Verse 10 – Passionate appeal for unity
      • In the same mind and judgment
      • By the name (=authority) of Christ
      • No divisions -> recognize the sinfulness of that in a church
      • Never tolerate it, work to heal it
      • Choose to be unified when you agree on the major points
    • Verse 11 – The report he received of infighting in the church
    • Verses 12-16 – The personality-driven church
      • Common pitfall of churches today -> pursuing or imitating or envying the big-name pastor, megachurch, etc.
      • Rather than focusing on the gospel and the common work of advancing the Kingdom
    • Verse 17 – Preach the gospel nice and simple
      • Gospel should be our unity -> in the cross of Christ
      • When we can agree with other churches and denominations and cooperate, it’s a good thing
      • But  not those who don’t accept the centrality of Christ’s atoning work on the cross

Discussion Questions

  1. What are the appropriate boundaries for Christian cooperation between churches and denominations? Are they different out in the community versus inside the church?
  2. Christ prayed for the church to be unified. To what extent is denominationalism appropriate and to what extent is it sinful?
  3. To what extent does the church today suffer from or because of the “Christian celebrity” phenomenon?
  4. What impact does Christian disunity have on the proclamation of the gospel? What should be done to mitigate that impact, if there is any?

Next Week

1 Corinthians 1: 18-31