City Life Starter

By Ji Yun

It is difficult to comprehend how far away the Corinthians have gotten from the orthodoxy and practical Christian living, which is the main theme of the 1 Corinthians.  Paul would have to address each issue with the strong correction to bring the church back in order.  The modern readers might be thinking, how can this happened to a church that is founded by Paul?  Where are the church leaders and why would not deal with these issues on their own?  We, the modern readers have to understand that Corinthian church was fairly a young church, filled with new believers with Hellenistic/Pagan worldview.  These new believers in Corinth have attempted to reconcile between their pagan background to their new belief in Christ and things got really messy, it would be like asking a new believer to write the church constitution.

In this chapter, Paul continues with his correctional tone to the Corinthians by addressing a variety of issues, such as believers going to the secular courts, the seriousness of sinful nature, destructive nature of sexual immorality, and the Christian liberty.

I believe one of the most important theological point of view described by Paul in 1 Corinthians is when he says, ”Everything is permissible for me,” which occurs twice in 1 Corinthians.  What it reveals is the spiritual status of the Corinthian believers.  It is as if it were catch-phrase used by the Corinthians to justify their sinful actions.  Paul would quickly challenge this distorted view of Christian liberty as the Corinthians have used it as a license to sin freely.  Does grace of God means we can sin freely without the consequences of sin?  Or does God even care about our walk with Him? Paul’s letter to the Corinthians brings this important theological truth to today’s readers and serves as a warning, how distorted view of grace can have a devastating impact on the church.