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