Corinth was a Proud, Divided Church rejecting its Apostle
Intro: Well morning friends and visitors. My name is Matt Johnson and today we are beginning a new sermon series looking at 1 Corinthians. Paul wrote this book to a church that was good at talking the Christian talk. But they were terrible at walking the Christian walk. So please pray…
Prayer: Well friends, I have chosen THIS IMAGE for 1 Corinthians. It shows a man and woman back to back, arms crossed and a steely look in their eyes. The reason I have chosen this image is that the church in Corinth was divided into factions because of favouritism, sexual immorality and even spiritual gifts.”
But really, the Corinthian church was divided by PRIDE. No one was humble anymore. Everyone thought they were 1) wiser; 2) more gifted and 3) more spiritually mature than everyone else. But Paul says the church is foolish, childish and worldly. The Church in Corinth had become exactly like the world around them. The city of Corinth was very, very SEXUALLY IMMORAL and the church had become sexually immoral. The city of Corinth was full of IDOLATRY and the church was a bit too comfortable with idolatry. The city of Corinth was all about worldly wisdom AND the Church was becoming all about worldly wisdom. THE POINT IS – the church in Corinth was being corrupted by the CULTURE, VALUES, WISDOM AND NORMS of the city in which they lived. They were no longer like Jesus.
Now sadly, many churches in the western world are doing exactly the same thing today. They are worldly, carnal churches. If you’ve been watching the news this past week (Slide 2) – you may have noticed that the Church of England has a new Archbishop named Sarah Mullally. She is a false teacher. You shouldn’t listen to anything that comes out of her mouth. Truly. Despite what the Bible clearly says she is for A) the blessing of homosexual relationships and B) she is pro-women’s choice when it comes to abortion. This is an evil woman.
She simply MIRRORS the values and beliefs of secular London. NOW PLEASE UNDERSTAND that the Archbishop of Canterbury is now rejected by more than half the Anglican Churches worldwide. There is a group of Anglican Churches around the world that are trying to remain faithful to Jesus and true to the Bible. These Anglican churches (like us) belong to a fellowship called GAFCON and GAFCON agrees Sarah Mullally in fruitcake. So I’d say, ignore her….
But the Catholic Church is also pretty worldly. (Slide 3) Pope Leo XIV was seen this week blessing a block of ice at a climate change conference in Italy. Instead of preaching Jesus and praying for revival in Gods church, Leo preached 1) the gospel of climate action and he prayed for revival of the ice caps in the north and south poles. THE POINT IS many churches today simply stand for the WOKE VALUES of the world, rather than standing for Jesus and biblical truth. And way too many Christians are beginning to do the same (under the guise of being more wise, more mature and more spiritual) than traditional, biblical Christians. But the Apostle Paul says these so called “enlightened Christians” are actually morons…
So as we begin today – I want to read you A QUOTE from this commentary on 1 Corinthians. Dr Gordon Fee writes; (Slide 4 – READ). So today we are looking at 1) the background of Corinth and 2) some of the key problems this church faced before we jump into the book proper.
Point 1: The Church in Corinth was Started by the Apostle Paul
Show: Acts 18:1-6 (Slides 5-7)
Explain: Well Acts 18 records how the church in Corinth STARTED. When Paul was on his second missionary journey he came to the CITY OF CORINTH in about 51-52AD. Now whenever Paul came to a new city he always started by preaching Jesus in the Jewish synagogue. Paul did this because THE GOSPEL is first for the Jews and then for the Gentiles (Rom.1:16-17). So, initially a few Jews in Corinth became Christians including the lead rabbi of the synagogue. But when Paul started to experience HOSTILITY from the ORTHODOX JEWS – he left the synagogue and started preaching Jesus to the Gentiles. So out of this work in Corinth a church was formed that was predominantly Gentile, but with some Jews in it – around 51-52AD.
Now to help you understand THE BACKGROUND of the Apostle Paul and the church in Corinth – I have printed you a sheet of paper that looks like this (Hold Up – Slide 6). Now on the front side you’ll find information about Paul. You’ll see – the Apostle Paul became a Christian about 35AD. Then after about 10 years he went on THREE MISSIONARY JOURNEYS – travelling around the Roman Empire telling people about Jesus. (Three Missionary Trips) Now in each city Paul visited a church would be started. Then, after a few years – Paul would write LETTERS back to the different churches encouraging them to continue in the Christian faith. THESE LETTERS of Paul to the different churches make up a lot of the New Testament.
Now after his three missionary journeys Paul ended up in PRISON around 61-63AD because he preached about Jesus. But then, he was RELEASED and in 63-66AD he went on a fourth missionary journey maybe to Spain and then back to Turkey. Now there aren’t much details in the Bible about this 4th journey. But most scholars believe Paul did a 4th missionary journey. But then, he was imprisoned AGAIN and was put to death by the Roman Emperor Nero in 66-67AD.
Now if you turn over the page you’ll see all the different letters Paul wrote to the different churches – including THE APPROXIMATE DATE of each letter. So here’s the chronology Paul came to Corinth 1) in about 51-52AD 2) on his second missionary journey and 3) he stayed for about 18 months teaching about Jesus. Then, while he was on his third missionary journey he wrote THREE OR FOUR letters back to the Church in Corinth in 54-55AD because they were having problems. Now we only have TWO of Pauls letters to the Church in Corinth called 1 and 2 Corinthians. But we know there was at least one other letter and maybe even two other letters written to Corinth…
Show: (Slides 8-9; 1 Cor.5:9-11).
So even though 1 Corinthians is called 1 Corinthians it is actually Paul’s second letter about sexual immorality, idolatry and greed. A lot of Bible scholars believe there is also another letter that comes between 1 & 2 Corinthians. But either way, we now only have 1 & 2 Corinthians. However, what is TRULY CLEAR is that the church in Corinth had become worldly. 1) So Paul wrote AN ORIGINAL, LOST letter to them explaining sexual immorality, idolatry, greed, divisions etc were all wrong. 2) But it seems A LOT OF PEOPLE in the church didn’t like what Paul said in that original letter. 3) So at least some people in the Church are TURNING on the Apostle Paul and SLANDERING him because they don’t like what he said. 4) So people are now arguing and fighting about whether they should listen to the Apostle Paul or not.
Now sadly Paul knows about these arguments and the slander. Let me show you some of things he says in 1 Corinthians; (Slide 9 – 1Cor.1:11; ENTER; ENTER; ENTER…). Paul knows most probably from Chloes household about all the mess, fighting and immorality in the church of Corinth. So much of 1 Corinthians is like A REBUKE… This is a church behaving very, very badly…
Now let me explain why they were acting so badly. If you look at this MAP (Slide 10) – you’ll see Corinth is a city in Greece, very close to Athens. Now before A) the Roman Empire you had B) the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great. And when Greece was the world superpower CORINTH was one of the wealthiest cities in the world. It was a place where people were serving both God and money…
If we NOW zoom in on the map – I’ll explain why they were so RICH. FIRST OFF I want you to NOTICE that there is sea on either side of the city of Corinth. East and west. The distance between the two seas was about 6km and the Corinthians built a special railroad for boats. (ENTER) For much of the year sailing a boat around the bottom of Greece was very dangerous. So the Corinthians built a special railroad where they would literally put the boats on wheels and drag them (full of cargo) across the land and put them safely back on the water on the other side. So for most of the year – all THE BOATS, all THE TRADE and all THE SAILORS of the Mediterranean Sea passed through the city of Corinth. Merchants would pay big money to have their boats safely dragged across land than potentially have them sink on the Greek Peninsular. So this made Corinth a very BUSY and very WEALTHY seaport
Apply: But do you know anything about SAILORS? When sailors come into port after long periods of sea – what are the TWO THINGS they are all looking for? (PAUSE). That’s right – alcohol and sex. So the main drag of Corinth (where they literally dragged the ships) was full of pubs and brothels. IN GREEK there was a special slang word for getting drunk and going to brothels. It was “to Corithianise”. So ancient Corinth was a bit like Las Vegas or maybe Thailand. It was renowned for drunken debauchery.
Point 2: The Church in Corinth was largely Poor & Upwardly mobile Gentiles
Show: Acts 18:9-12 (READ)
Explain: Now please notice Paul is AFRAID. Corinth was one of the most immoral places on earth AND he probably wondered why God was planting a church in this city. It really was immoral with a capital I. But God tells Paul to stay in Corinth for 1.5 years and he tells Paul he has many people in this city. What the?! God are you joking?
This conversation between God and Paul is good for people like us, in Redfern. Like Corinth, Redfern has a bad reputation. But Jesus did not come to call RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE. Jesus came to call SINNERS like us. So Corinth was a perfect place for a church. The true message of Christianity is that Jesus died on the cross for sinners. And sometimes it’s easier for wicked, immoral, messed up Corinthians and Redfernians to recognize their need of Jesus, than it is for upright, law abiding citizens in Double Bay. Lots of “GOOD PEOPLE” think they don’t really need Jesus? But the good news is Christianity is not for good people. It’s for messed up sinners. So like Redfern, Corinth was a perfect location for a church.
(GOSPEL) THE BASIC MESSAGE of Christianity is that we have all SINNED against God. We have all broken Gods laws and deserve to be PUNISHED. There are no good people. But when Jesus died on the cross he took Gods punishment of sin upon himself, so that we can be spared. It’s like 1)Jesus accepted responsibility for all your crimes and then 2) paid for those crimes by dying on the cross. And Jesus did this for you because HE LOVES YOU. The Bible says that if you ADMIT you’re are a sinner, TRUST in Jesus death for your sins and ASK God to forgive you – you will be saved. Then Jesus will also give you the HOLY SPIRIT to help you get your broken, sinful, messed up life back on track. Now have you done this? If not, join Christianity Explored this week and get baptized in a few weeks time.
Anyway Paul preached this gospel in Corinth and a church started to form. Now there would have been Jews and Gentiles in this church. But there are a number of things in 1 & 2 Corinthians that tell us this church was PRIMARILY GENTILE. I’ll show just you the main one…
(Slide 16) In 1 Corinthians 12:2, Paul writes; You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Now the you is plural. So scholars point out that Paul says that before the Corinthians were Christians, they were PAGANS and they engaged in IDOLATRY. Now it is very unlikely Paul would call Jews “pagans” or “idol worshippers”. So for this and other reasons most scholars believe the church in Corinth was primarily Gentile, but with a few Jews.
Apply: Now let me give you a bit more history about the city. When Rome started to become more powerful than Greece, the Romans destroyed Corinth in 146BC. The Romans did this to cripple the Greeks cashflow. But the ports remained some of the most valuable in the Mediterranean. So after 100 years of being a ghost town the Romans rebuilt Corinth in 44BC. They re-established the overland route for boats and the city started to grow again. But the city desperately needed more people to repopulate. So the Roman senate granted free passage from Rome to Corinth for any recently freed slave or poor freeman who wanted to start a new life. This got the trash out of Rome and repopulated Corinth. So in the first 50-60 years (of the city being rebuilt) lots of poorer Romans moved to Corinth. It was like poor people going to the goldfields in the 1850’s to strike it rich. And some did. Some poor people became self-made millionaires. But like most NEW MONEY it tended to be ostentatious, proud and self-glorifying (which we also see in the church).
Now sending all the POORER PEOPLE to Corinth spelt trouble. So to keep order, Rome also put all their old army generals and senators out to pasture in Corinth. When Roman powerbrokers approached retirement, the Senate would offer them really cushy jobs in Corinth.
So on the one hand CORINTH had lots of poorer entrepreneurial people desperately trying to climb the success ladder. And on the other hand CORINTH had older, rich and powerful Romans who had been put out to pasture. But these early retirees were usually still connected to Rome. So the old saying – “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” was well and truly alive in Corinth. Having a powerful friend was key to success. So all the poor people were SUCKING UP to the old movers and shakers – so they could get ahead. It was all about climbing the success ladder.
Apply: In Acts 18:12 you can see GALLIO is called proconsul or governor of Corinth. Now Gallio is one of these early retirees from Rome. But Gallio’s brother Seneca was at this very same time the personal tutor to Caesar Nero. So Corinth was a city of opportunity for poorer people, especially if you were willing to kiss some butts and do a few immoral things to get ahead. Really, the NEW ROMAN CORINTH was pretty much the same as the OLD GREEK CORINTH. It was still a city focussed on money. It’s citizens still prided themselves for being wiser because of its philosophical connections to the Greeks. And it was still a city full of sailors, pubs and brothels. THE PROBLEM was the worldly, greedy, proud and immoral c
Point 3: The Church in Corinth was Drowning in this Worldly Wisdom
Show: Acts 18:24-25 (READ)
Explain: Well as you can see a man named APOLLOS came to Corinth after Paul left for Ephesus. We’ll meet Apollos in 1 Corinthians. Now Apollos was a very gifted speaker. In fact, he was such a gifted orator that he reminded the Corinthians of the old Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle. So some people were saying; let’s ignore Paul and just listen to Apollos because he is a better speaker. Now truth is Paul and Apollo had no problems with each other. They were both Christians with slightly different gifts. But this highlights a real problem. The Corinthians were more interested in A) an entertaining, well-illustrated talk about wisdom for life, rather than B) a hard biblical sermon about faithfulness to Jesus and repentance from sin. The same is true today. MANY CHURCHES give fine sounding sermons, full of worldly wisdom and values, but they never talk about sin, Satan or hell.
The Corinthians were obsessed with rhetoric, wisdom and knowledge because of their Greek heritage. The Greeks had great philosophers like Plato, Socrates and Aristotle who taught about wisdom for life. They were like modern-day TED talks on YouTube. And sadly, the Corinthians were heading down a kind of prosperity gospel. Don’t tell us about Jesus, sin and holiness. Just tell us how to be healthy, wealthy and wise.
Apply: So the church in Corinth was beginning to BLEND the wisdom of the Greek philosophers (especially Plato) with their Christian faith. They were BLENDING A) Plato’s worldview with B) the Christian worldview. Now Plato had taught the natural world and the spiritual world don’t mix together. The material world and the spiritual world are completely different worlds. In fact, Plato’s worldview nearly destroyed the doctrine of Jesus being fully man and fully God (in the early church). Plato’s teaching said Jesus was IMPOSSIBLE. So people started to think that what they did with their fleshly bodies didn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that their spirits and minds were focused on things above.
So the Corinthian church started to think it didn’t matter if they were sexually immoral. It didn’t matter if they participated in pagan festivals or ate food offered to idols. The only thing that mattered was that their minds were spiritual. So Paul is saying, NO your body and spirit are connected. What you do with your bodies matters.
We see Plato’s infuece coming out in 1 Corinthians 6 and 1 Corinthians 10 (Slide 19; 1Cor.6:12). Now the Corinthians were saying this in the context of sexual immorality. I have a right to do anything. But they are also saying the exact same thing in relation to idolatry. THE POINT IS the Corinthian church believed they were FREE to do whatever they wanted with their BODIES, because the body didn’t matter. If I visit a prostitute it doesn’t matter – its only my body. If I go to pagan temple it doesn’t matter, its only my body. THE PROBLEM is the Corinthian church was trying to blend Greek philosophy with biblical teaching.
Apply: But sadly, the modern church is doing the same thing today. We blend 1) biblical truth with feminism and wonder why our marriages are ending in divorce. 2) We blend biblical truth with evolutionary theory and then wonder why our kids are all acting like monkeys. We have a slightly different philosophy – but everyone now claims my body my right to abortion, my right to sexual fulfillment, my right to happiness. The fact is the church in Corinth was WORLDLY. They embraced the sexual immorality, the pagan idolatry, the greed and the philosophical worldview (of the city in which they lived). And the more they did this the more Satan was DIVIDING them into factions. They were no longer UNITED by Gods Word or Gods Spirit. But even as everything was falling apart they were still too proud and arrogant to listen. Sound familiar? Paul told them – your actually immature, foolish and carnal. Where is your humility? Where is your teachability? As many theologians now suggest – 1 & 2 Corinthians may be some of the most important books in the Bible for modern, affluent, individualised, sexualised and proud Christians to hear today. THE QUESTION IS – will we be humble enough to hear what God is saying through Paul in this sermon series?