City Life Starter

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, ² To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: ³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— ⁶ even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸ who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

By Ji Yun

Introduction

This week, at the City Life Church, we begin our new series called, “No Perfect People Allowed.” In this series, we will be studying Paul’s letter to the Corinth church: 1 Corinthians. CLC Starter will continue to serve as supplementary devotional to the sermon series. We, the contributors are excited to take this journey with you as we rightly divide God’s Word together.

What is different from other sermon series, is that in next 13 weeks, CLC Starter will cover the entire 1 Corinthians. At the Sunday services, it is impossible to cover such large amount of Scriptures. Each week, pastors and elders will emphasize specific topics from 1 Corinthians that are relevant to the church and the members, while CLC Starter will exegete the passages.

We hope you will join us as we study God’s Word together.

Overview of the 1 Corinthians

Authorship

Paul, the Apostle wrote this letter from Ephesus during his third missionary journey.

Date

55 or 56 A.D.

Purpose

1 Corinthians exhibits strong, corrective & stern tone from the author. Throughout the letter, Paul addresses issues range from church doctrine, practices, and theological confusion in the Corinthian church in an attempt to lead to the correction.

Corinth, the City

Located in southern Greece, it was a vibrant city located at the crossroads of two major seaports, Cenchrea and Lechaeum that brought prosperity in commerce.

Corinth was known for hosting Isthmian Games, athletic events that draw great crowds to the city.

During the ancient times, there was a temple dedicated to Greek goddess Aphrodite, where it is recorded that one thousand sacred prostitutes offered their bodies at the temple. During the New Testament era, the temple was in ruin but immorality was prominent in Corinth.

The Corinth Church

During his second missionary journey, Paul went to Corinth from Athens. While in Corinth, where he met Aquila and Priscilla, who were tentmakers like Paul. They will be a strong alliance and partners reaching Gentiles for the gospel. Paul regularly attended synagogues, in order to present the gospel of Jesus Christ to both Jews and Gentiles. It was during his eighteen-month stay that the church was established.

Paul’s Relationship with the Corinthian Church

1. Paul evangelized Corinth during his second journey (Acts 18:1-11).

2. Paul wrote a letter to Corinth, now lost in which he urged Christians to avoid association with professing believers who were immoral (1 Cor. 5:9-11).

3. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians from Ephesus during his third missionary journey to advise the Corinthians on handling problems in the church.

4. Paul made “painful” visit from Corinth from Ephesus to correct problems in the church. His visit failed to achieve its aim (2 Cor. 2:1).

5. Paul sent another letter, also lost, calling the Corinthians to repentance and urging discipline for an opponent in the church (2 Cor. 2:4-11). Titus carried the letter to Corinth. Scholars have named this letter “severe” letter.

6. Paul left Ephesus for Troas and then went to Macedonia to await word on the success of Titus’s visit (2 Cor. 2:12-13).

7. Titus met Paul in Macedonia with the report of the Corinthian church’s warm acceptance of Pauls letter and eagerness to see him (2 Cor. 7:5-16).

8. Paul wrote 2 Corinthians from Macedonia and sent it to Corinth by Titus.

9. Paul went to Corinth for his third visit (2 Cor. 12:14; 13:1; Acts 20:2).

Lea, Thomas D., and David Alan Black. The New Testament: Its Background and Message. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2007, Pg. 406.