Bible Study - 1 Corinthians

About The Book Of 1st Corinthians

The isthmus of Corinth is bordered on two sides by the Corinthian and Saronic gulfs of the Mediteranean Sea. Corinth bridged the mainland of Greece with Peloponnesus, the southern super-size peninsula of Greece. Corinth was a shortcut for shipping and passengers that was faster and safer than navigating around Peloponnesus. This strategic location meant Corinth controlled both overland traffic and shipping between Italy and Asia.

The Roman conquest of Greece began in 280 B.C. and ended in 133 B.C. when the ruler of the last Greek city-state of Mysia gave it to Rome in his will. However, Greece was effectively and politically under Roman control from 146 B.C. after the total destruction of the Greek city-state of Corinth. The entire population was killed, except for a small remnant that was sold into slavery. In 27 B.C. all the former Greek provinces were combined into two Roman provinces, Achaia and Macedonia. Achaia was the southern half and included Delphi, Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and all of Peloponnesus. Macedonia, the northern half, included Apollonia, Berea, Philippi, and Thessalonica.

Corinth was too strategic a location for trade and military support to leave in rubble. In 44 B.C. it was rebuilt as a Roman colony by Julius Ceasar. However, during the conquest of Greece much art and literature had been carried off to Rome which became very Hellenistic, (a.k.a. Greek.) And Rome allowed conquered lands to maintain their culture, philosophy and religion with the addition of Roman aspects. Thus the new Corinth was very Greek in both form and character. It quickly became very prosperous again, which led people to immigrate from all over the world, bringing their culture and religious beliefs with them. The literary and archeological evidence shows that Corinth of the Apostle Paul's time was like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and New York combined. The Corinthian church was as diverse as the city. Like the city, the Jews were a tiny minority in the church.

The Corinthian church was one of those that was founded by the apostle Paul. Paul stayed in Corinth for about two years sometime between 49 to 52 A.D., establishing the church there. While he lived there and taught he supported himself through manual labor as a tent maker. When that income was inadequate, the churches of Macedonia sent funds to support him. While in Ephesus, about two years after he left Corinth, the church there sent him a letter with questions. He wrote a reply to that letter. This was not a scriptural letter and we don't have it today. At some point a response letter was taken to Paul. Paul also had other reports of what was occurring in the Corinthian church. 1st Corinthians is a response to that second letter from the Corinthians and those reports. Essentially, the Corinthians were bending their behavior and theology towards the secular culture. While this was less complicated than the threat to the gospel in the Galatian church, which also had the Judaizers on top of the pagan culture, the result was the same. Thus, a large portion of this letter is correction away from error. This book is very useful for us as we still deal with most of these errors today.

1 Corinthians Bible Study