V. INTRODUCTION TO THE CORINTHIAN CHURCH
Subject:
The Church at Corinth.Theme: Presenting the purpose of Paul's letter to the Corinthians.
Objective: To give us background.
Text: 1Cor. 1:1 Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: 3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
I. INTRODUCTION:
A.
1. Corinth was located on a little neck of land about 4 miles wide, connecting the lower part of Greece with the upper part of Macedonia.
2. Corinth was a great commercial town and rose to great prominence in the times of Alexander the Great.
3. It was destroyed by the Romans in 146 B.C., but was rebuilt by Julius Caesar 100 years later.
4. At the time of Christ and at the writing of this letter, by Paul, it was one of the outstanding cities of the world, it was called the "Star of Greece".
5. It was the city of the temple of Venus (Aphrodite) and the chief worship was the worship of this goddess.
6. 1,000 maidens were temple prostitutes and servants of this religion, which consisted of shameful orgies.
B. The Church.
1. We find the establishment of the Corinthian church in Acts chapter 18.
(a). Acts 18:1 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; 2 And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.
(b).
Acts 18:9 Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: 10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. 11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.C.
Purpose Of The Letter.1. Plain and simple, Paul wrote the letter to address problems and heresies that had arisen in the church.
2. In our last study we learned where the teachings of salvation by works came from.
3. In the study of 1Cor. we will learn where some of the other prominent errors and heresies of today came from.
4. In the first six chapters of 1Cor. Paul begins with the distressing matters he has learned about:
(a). Divisions and arguing in the church.
(b). Incest.
(c). Court cases.
(d). And Christian freedom gone wild.
5. In chapters 7–14 he addresses a series of topics that the Corinthians have asked him about.
(a). Marriage and divorce, and remarriage.
(b). Spiritual gifts in general and speaking in tongues in particular.
(c). Women speaking out in the church.
(d). Women not wearing head coverings.
(e). Finally, he sums up the teaching of the book in chapter 15, which is devoted to a theology of the resurrection or "last things."
6. Understanding why chapter 15 and parts of chapters 1–4 fit in this book is the key to unlocking 1Cor.
7. As always, Paul is not only interested in correcting those things that are wrong, but also in teaching those principles that are right.
8. I should also mention that this letter was in direct response to a letter or letters that the Corinthians had sent Paul, and to some things that Paul had heard about them himself.
II. DISORDERS IN THE CHURCH
A. Factions And Divisions.
1. 1Cor. 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. 12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; 15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. 16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
2. They Were Following Men Rather Than Christ.
(a). One of the greatest causes of factions in a church is the members' becoming partial toward different people, and following these particular people.
(b). We generally refer to these factions as "cliques."
3. The most serious factions which have disrupted the churches of Jesus have arisen around doctrines, but as a rule, churches are more contentious about men.
4. Paul was grieved because his name became a cause of faction, and so was Apollos it would appear from
1Cor. 16:12,"As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren: but his will was not at all to come at this time; but he will come when he shall have convenient time."5. Paul was concerned deeply for them because of their division over men.
6. He asked them if Christ was divided; and if not, then why so much commotion over His ministers?
7.
Amos 3:3 aptly puts it. "Can two walk together except they be agreed"?8. Christ is not divided in any sense.
(a). Even His human body was not divided, the Scriptures assert that not a bone in Him was broken.
(b). His seamless garment was not divided, but lots were cast to determine who would get it.
(c). Neither should His church be torn in pieces by schisms and divisions.
9. Paul asked them: "were any of these preachers crucified for you"? If they were not, then why were they being fought over?
(a). They were not saved by Paul, by Peter, nor by Apollos, but by Christ.
(b). They were baptized in the name of Christ and not in the name of any other.
(c). He strengthened this argument by saying: "I thank God that I baptized none of you save Crispus and Gaius and the household of Stephanus".
(d). Paul was not devaluating the ordinance of baptism, he was putting it in its proper place.
10. Paul, then, explains the truth of the matter to them---
1Cor. 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? 5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? 6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.(a).
1Cor. 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; 22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23 And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.(b).
1Cor. 4:6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes (used myself and Apollos as examples for your sake); that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.B.
They Were Carnal.1. 1Cor. 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? 4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
2. "Carnal" does not always have a bad meaning; Gk. "sarx;" which simply means "flesh" and is equivalent to "human".
3. It is, however, used in a negative sense when it is referred to in opposition to spirituality and signifies having a fleshly nature.
(a). By a fleshly nature I mean being controlled by the human nature instead of control by the Spirit of God.
(b). This happens when man is controlled by his base, animal desire which is the source of man's corrupt, fallen nature.
(c). In other words, it is allowing the flesh the control where it has no right to control.
(d). So, in 1Cor. 3:1-4 Paul is making reference to actions of the Corinthians who are controlled by their human nature rather then by God's Spirit.
4. Notice how the Apostle uses the word "babes" to show them how they are controlled by their human nature in relationship to the Word of God.
(a). As babies must be fed on liquids before they are capable of digesting solids, so the Corinthians had to be fed milk (easily understood words and easily accepted truths).
(b). Just as babies who do not like the taste of certain food given to them and spit it out; so these Corinthians, did not like the strong Word of God and rejected it.
(c). And as some babies who will only let certain people feed them, so these Corinthians wanted certain preachers to preach to them.
5. The carnal man is more concerned about things that satisfy the flesh (human nature) than he is about things that satisfy the spiritual nature.
6. Since it is the Word of God that feeds the spiritual nature and the carnal man desires the things that feed the carnal appetites, he rejects the Word of God.
7. These people at Corinth were more concerned about the way men preached than they were in the message.
(a). This was evidence that they were carnal.
(b). Now, there is no doubt, most of us have some preferences as to the way a message is preached...
(c). But if we reject the Word of God because our favorite preacher is not preaching or it does not come in terms we like, it is evident we are carnal.
8. These at Corinth loved the man rather than the Truth; they were more interested in how it was proclaimed than what was proclaimed.
9. The evidence of their fleshly nature showed up in their striving, envying and the divisions among them.
(a). They were full of self and had little for their brother. (b). Their walk was disorderly because they were carnal.
C. The Results Of Carnality.
1. Carnality deals with a person's walk.
2. The carnal man does not walk in God's ways but his own ways. 3. His mind is upon how he can please himself rather then how he can please God.
4. His carnality (desire to please his own human nature) keeps him from receiving the Word of God through which he could grow spiritually and advance in his understanding of spiritual things.
5. It is never-ending cycle going nowhere; his carnality will keep him from the Word of God and being kept from the Word of God, he will stay carnal.
6. The carnal man will not taste many truths because they are not agreeable to the flesh and he does not think he will like them.
III. CONCLUSION
A. Our Churches Today.
1. Baptist churches are full of carnal Christians who refuse to listen to certain truths because those truths do not please their human nature.
2. 2Tim. 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
B.
How about it brother?1. Do you love all God’s Truth?
2. Or perhaps there are some Truth you just can’t handle.
3. The Corinthians are a good example of many church members. 4. They are more concerned about pleasing the flesh than they are about pleasing God; else, why are there so many vacant pews in our churches?