Through the Ages

Paul began his letter with greetings and Christian salutation. He thanked God for His gift to the Corinthians in the present and the future. Paul was overwhelmed by the good things he saw in Corinth. He was not overtaken by the problems and weaknesses of the church that he had just  heard rather he first thanked God by seeing the positive side of the church.  After thanksgiving, Paul points out that something was wrong in the church. Firstly, he warns  them of the danger of division among them. Paul heard through some from the house of Chloe  that there were divisions in the church, each group boasting about a human leader Vs. 10-12.  So, he urged the Corinthian Christians to stop their quarrelling and be united. Paul identifies four parties in the church at Corinth. Some called themselves Paul's party.  Others formed the Apollos party. The third group claimed to belong to Cephas and the fourth  group claimed to belong to Christ. It is to be noted that the great figures of the chur

Geographical Background Corinth was a city of Greece (Achaia) situated on the isthmus, a narrow neck of the land between the Corinthian Gulf and the Saronic Gulf. It had two main harbors: I. Cenchrea, 14 kms east on the Saronic Gulf, and 2. Lechaeum, 2.5 kms West on the Corinthian Gulf. Its Political Background Because of its commercial, cultural and religious importance, Corinth became an important center for political powers. The earliest settlers were the Phoenicians. But they were driven away and it was occupied by Greeks. Later, the whole of Greece was conquered by the Greeks during the time of Alexander the Great. But in 196 B.C. the Romans declared it free. The City of  Corinth was eventually destroyed by them in 146 B.C. For a century this once great and famous  city lay desolate levelled to the ground. It was rebuilt by Roman dictator Julius Caesar in the  middle of the first century B.C. and designated the city a Roman colony. It was made a capital  city, the metropolis of th

Paul established the church in Corinth during his second missionary journey some twenty years after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The detailed account of its foundation is given in Acts 18:1-17. Before coming to Corinth Paul ministered in Macedonia and Athens, but he had very little success. He then came to Corinth and stayed there for 18 months or more. Paul stayed in Corinth more than any other cities, with single exception of Ephesus. We read that Paul stayed with Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2, 3). They evidently were believers, and recently expelled from Rome by a decree of the emperor Claudius. Paul began his ministry by preaching in the synagogue each Sabbath and working during the week at his trade of tent making Acts 18 1-4. During that time many of the Corinthians hearing the gospel believed, and were baptized. Some of the Carly believers in Corinth were Crispus, Sosthenes, Gaius, Erastus, Justus etc. This group formed the nucleus of the Corinthian church which grew rapi

Nahum 1:1-7 Nahum is labelled as one of the Minor Prophets. This does not mean that their message is less important than the messages of the Major Prophets. That label simply means that their message is shorter. The book bears the name of the prophet Nahum. His name means comfort or consolation. The name Nahum is a strange name for this book, because the book of Nahum is a book of judgment. This book is a sequel to the book of Jonah. About 100 years earlier, Jonah was sent to the city of Nineveh,  which was the capital city of the nation of Assyria. Jonah entered their city preaching a message of  certain, forthcoming judgment. When the Ninevites heard the message of Jonah, they repented of their  sins and the Lord spared the city. Now, a century has passed and they have turned away from the  commitment they made to the Lord. By the time the book of Nahum was written, the Assyrian Empire was at the height of its military and  national power. They were on the march, seeking to expand th

While Paul was in Ephesus, he had received information from several sources concerning the  conditions existing in the church at Corinth. Paul heard that some of the Corinthians had moral  difficulties, so he wrote them a letter to pass on some helpful advice I Cor. 5:9. This letter has  not been preserved. Some scholars believe that this letter is lost without trace. Paul heard that some of the Corinthians had developed strong feelings against him personally,  even to the extent of doubting whether he was really an apostle. He therefore sent Timothy and  Erastus to Corinth to try to deal with some of the problems in the church Acts 19:22; I Cor 4:8- 13, 18-21. In the meantime, some believers from Corinth arrived in Ephesus. They gave Paul the  disturbing news that factions had developed in the Corinthian church because people had  favourites of different teachers 1 Cor. 1:10-13. Paul heard also that there was a serious case of  sexual immorality in the church (1 Cor. 5:1) and that the

Paul is identified as the author in the opening verses of both epistles (I Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1).  This view is also held by the early church fathers. Clement of Rome has supported this view  as Carly as A.D.96. Paul's authorship is almost universally accepted. Paul was in Corinth for 18 months on his second missionary journey in AD 51 & 52. After establishing a church Paul left Corinth . Later in his third missionary journey Paul visited Ephesus  and stayed there for about 3 years. It was when Paul was in Ephesus that he heard about the  prevailing problems in the Corinthian church. He decided to write a letter to the Corinthians to  solve the problems there. According to I Cor. 16:8 Paul intended to remain in Ephesus  somewhat less than a year when he wrote | Corinthians. This indicates that 1 Corinthians was  written about A.D.55 towards the close of Paul's three-year stay in Ephesus

The revival began in Germany and spread to America and then to England during the eighteenth and  nineteenth centuries. But distinctive revivals with unique characteristics occurred in the early twentieth  century all over the world. These revivals are known as Pentecostal revivals. The modern Pentecostal  movement began at Perham’s Bible School in Topeka, Kansas, on January 1, 1901. The year 1905 stood  as a prominent year as far as the history of Pentecostalism or revivals in India concern.  The Background:  Various revivals occurred within a few years of each other in different parts of the world  during the twentieth century, especially from 1905 onwards. These revivals were characterized by a  particularly Pentecostal character and by gifts of the Spirit such as healings, tongues, prophecy, and other  miraculous signs. The revivalists in Los Angeles believed the revivals in Wales and India were especially  significant. Frank Bartleman, a participant in the Azusa Street revival, wr

In Britain, its impulse came largely through the evangelical efforts of the Wesley’s and Whitefield, the rise of Methodism and creation of the evangelical party in the Church of England. Thus, the beginning of the  “Evangelical Revival,” as this awakening was called in England, are usually traced to a Moravian watch Night  service at Fetter Lane on Dec. 31. 1739. About three o’clock in the morning, the sixty young men who had  gathered to pray experienced what George white field later described as “A Pentecostal season” John and  Charles Wesley’s ministers in the Church of England, were also present at the meeting. Within months,  Whitefield and stirring the hearts of thousands of coal miners thought by many to be beyond the reach of the  gospel. John Wesley possessed the organizational skills necessary to harness the energy of revival into an  evangelistic movement which became the Methodist church. John Wesley stated open-air preaching, declaring the world as his parish. He organized

Pietism was the turning point for evangelism/ evangelical movement. 18th -20th centuries is known as the age of revivals. The Late Middle period was the age of Roman Catholic Scholasticism while 17th century was the age of Protestant scholasticism, i.e., giving much emphasis on intellectual, dogmas, etc. and not in personal experiences. The scholastic Lutheranism emphasis fixed dogmatic interpretation and rigid and demanding intellectual conformity doctrines. Pietism was a break with this scholastic tendency (Karl Barth, he was a pastor and his intellectual preaching cannot satisfy the spiritual needs of the people. So, he began to learn the Bible and that was the turning point of the whole world. The Pietist also reemphasizes the importance of the new birth, personal faith in the Lord, Christian experience and missionary concern.  First Phase of Pietism Philip Jacob Spener (1635-1705) : he was the founder of Lutheran Pietism in Germany. He reemphasizes new birth, personal faith, etc.

What is revival? Charles Finney explains revival in the following points: Revival is the return of the church from her backsliding and the conversion of sinners. Revivals always include conviction of sins. Backsliders cannot come to the church without deep searching of heart. In the revivals backsliders will be brought to repentance, i.e., breaking down of the heart and confusion. In the revivals Christians will have their faith renewed. Revivals break the power of the world and sin over Christians. Revivals awaken and reform the Christians. According to Finney, there are four agents employed in the conversion: God, Preacher, Sinner, Gospel. The Roots of the Revivals  17th and 18th centuries were an age of reasoning, were also the age of renewal that spread throughout the churches in America and England.  Pietism was the first root of revival The Moravians were another root, who were famous in the Pietist group under the leadership of Zinzendorf. He emphasizes traditional, also emphasi

Bible Only (Sola Scriptura):  The Reformers declared the Bible to be the only rule of faith and practice.   They believed that God had made a revelation in written form to men in the Bible. They taught that the Bible was inspired by God and authoritative, and that it took precedence over the declarations of popes, church tradition and church councils. They asserted that men, under the illumination of the Holy Spirit, are to study the  Bible to learn about God, Christ, salvation, and church government and practices. They encouraged Christians to read and study their Bibles in a scholarly way so as to form a biblical theology based on the authority of the  Scriptures alone. The Bible, hitherto written in Latin and read only by the clergy, was translated anew into the vernacular tongues of Europe and made a book of the people. Christ Only (Solo Christo):  Salvation is located not in the church, an organization, but in the person Jesus  Christ. Jesus Christ actually secured and procured th

The Counter Reformation (also the Catholic Revival or Catholic Reformation) denotes the period of Catholic  revival beginning with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648  as a response to the Protestant Reformation. It is the name given to the reformed the medieval catholic  churches. It was traded as a counter to the Protestant and the reformation. The Counter Reformation was to  fight back the Protestants. The Roman Catholic Church was unhappy drifting away many Protestants Roman  Catholic Church. They want to avoid the evils of the church, reform the monasteries, and reform the  ecclesiastical from within. The Counter Reformation was both a religious and political movement. This  movement tried to end the abuses of the church. There are three aspects or three pillars to the Counter  Reformation. 1st Pillar Council of Trent:  Council of Trent met at a frequent interval in a total 25 Sessions fewer than three popes over the years 15

The English reformation was unique. It cannot be described as a Lutheran, Zwinglian or Calvinist. It stands alone and fantastic compromise. John Wycliffe and his followers (Lolland) prepared the way for reformation. Also, the writing of Luther circulated throughout the land. The common idea of the English reformation is that it began because Henry VIII wanted a new wife, and to gain this he was forced to break with Rome. But while it is true that the reformation might have been delayed for many years and would certainly have followed a different course. The four Phases of English Reformation corresponding four reigns: 1st Phase Henry 8th: Henry longed to have a son and in 1527 after living with Catherin for 18 years he wanted  to divorce his wife and marry another woman, Anne Bolin. But the Pope did not sanction it. Because of Pope’s  refusal of Henry’s appeal on the divorce of Catherin:  (1) Henry broke with Rome and made himself the head of the English church (Now called the Anglican