Paul, called to be an
apostle of Jesus Christ
through the will of
God, and Sosthenes
our brother. To the church of God
which is at Corinth,
to those who are sanctified
in Christ Jesus,
called to be saints, with all
who in every place
call on the name
of Jesus Christ our
Lord,
both theirs and ours;
1 Corinthians 1: 1 --
2
Corinth
located in Greece was a city of great import and bustled with commerce by
people who came far and wide from around the world. This is important to note that people from all walks of life and
from different countries would come to Corinth and the question is why would
they come to Corinth, what made this city so important? When we look at Corinth and examine this
city, we find that it was very idolatrous, and the people live a degraded
culture. Paul arrives to the city of Corinth on Hughes second missionary
journey (Acts 18: 1, 5, 11). Paul
stayed in Corinth about a year and a half, and this may have been from the
spring of 52 A.D. to the fall of 53 A.D. it was from Corinth that Paul also
wrote to the Thessalonians Church (1 Thessalonians 3: 1 -- 2, 6). I am providing a map of his second journey
and I want to make notice of certain things that are important when we read the
Bible and that is where other cities are located or locations such as
Macedonia, Galatia, the city of Ephesus, Thessalonica, Philippi, and such as
Cilicia. A larger map provided to give
you a greater understanding so that when we speak of historical issues you will
have knowledge of what is being written.
I have provided pictures of the two very prominent temples, one being
that of Apollo, and the other of Aphrodite's.
Corinth was a large city with two ports, one on its west coast and the
other on the east coast and of course it also had great amount of traffic going
from north to south on the land going into the other cities that are mentioned
on the maps. The boats were small, they
were not large as they are today. They
traveled from the Aegean sea to the Ionian sea for it was easier and safer. The
isthmus lined with logs so that the small boats could be rolled from one sea to
the other. The map provided will show
that Agean Sea had many small islands that had to avoided as they traveled
and that coming around the tip of Greece the small boats would be confronted
with unpredictable winds coming from the west to the east making their travel
very unsafe. Therefore Clark became the
hub that was brimming with tradesmen, sailors and along with this where the
women who would cater to them by the prostitutes that were associated with the
temple of Aphrodite's and Venus which is a Greek Roman goddess of love. It has been said but not confirmed, that
there were approximately a thousand women serving as temple prostitutes. What we do know though from other writings
is that there was much sexual immorality in Corinth, so much that the word
Corinthian became to mean sexual immorality (the Greek verb korinthiazomai
- literally translated "to act the Corinthian" - meant to commit
sexual immorality). This is a city enslaved
by pagan philosophies, much idol worship, and here Paul had more trouble with
the church at Corinth than with any of the church. What we learn as we study the Corinthians is that it is possible
that life can be transformed by loving obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Ruins of Temple of Aphrodite on Ruins of Temple of Aphrodite on Acrocorinth.
Photo ©
HolyLandPhotos.
This then
is a beginning to our study on the books of Corinthians and it is my goal that
we get a good understanding why Paul wrote the way he did in the practices that
he had to address that we might also see that the principles that he applied
also apply to us in our day. I pray
that this is true for you and for me that we learn not just to get knowledge,
rather to be transformed as we sanctify our life so that we become set apart for
the glory of the gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ.
But those who wait on the LORD
shall renew
their strength;
they shall mount up with wings
like
eagles, they shall run
and not to be weary, they shall walk
and not be
faint.
Isaiah
40: 31
God gives power to the weak
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