A Look at the Church of Corinth as seen in I and II Corinthians.

As one of two known letters to the early church in Corinth, 1 Corinthians receives the majority of attention.  1 Corinthians spends a lot of its time focusing on teaching and instruction for the early church—which is still applicable today, whereas 2 Corinthians spends more time discussing Paul’s ministry with the church and deals with issues that could be seen as being time-specific.  Whatever the reason, this first letter to the early Corinthian church holds a lot of truth in its teachings that are incredibly transcendent above time and can teach the modern church many wise lessons.  The lessons Paul gives to the Corinthians—and ultimately to all Christians in all time periods—are come from issues and situations that were present in the early Corinthian church, and these instructions tells us volumes about God’s purposeful intention for His church.

            A careful study of 1 Corinthians will show that the church Paul was writing to was struggling with a number of issues—divisions between Christians, immorality, matters of lifestyle and doctrine, idolatry, judgment, spiritual gifts, and the resurrection of Christ.  Paul obviously had an outstanding relationship with the church prior to writing the letter, which gave him the authority to call the church out on the problems they were facing.  This relationship can be seen in the greetings and thanksgiving that start out the letter (1:1-9) and Paul’s answer to questions “about which [the Corinthians] wrote” (7:1).  But despite Paul’s seemingly harsh attitude that he has throughout the letter, 4:14 shows that he saw the Christians in Corinth as “beloved children”.  Paul had a sense of ownership over the church and saw himself as a spiritual mentor to the Corinthians, disciplining them in the way that they should go.  Even though he loves the church dearly, he does not waste any time calling them out and disciplining them.  Paul tells the church time and time again how they should act and how he respects more from them (1:10, 3:3, 4:7, 5:1, 8:9, and 11:17).  Paul clearly loves the church deeply and desires more from them—live according to Christ—and for them—to be satisfied in living in the fullness of the life that Christ offers.

            God’s ultimate intentions for the body of Christ are displayed through the fulfilling life that He offers.  The church is “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” in 1:2 and seen again as a theme in 11:3.  Throughout the first four chapters Paul commands the church adamantly to be unified as one body (1:10 and 3:3).  Unity within the church reappears later in 12:12-31, which is perhaps the most important passage in 1 Corinthians that ties the entire book together.  Other themes appearing in 1 Corinthians that point towards God’s plan for the church are humility (4:7), purity (both sexual and spiritual; 5:1-12), and loving (16:14, which sums up the entire book in one verse, and chapter 14).

            Therefore, God’s intentions for his church can be drawn out of 6:1-11.  The church, the body of Christ, is supposed to be holy and set apart, sanctified and pure, to God as a righteous people.  The world will look at the church and realize that the church is something special.  If the non-Christian world can see Jesus represented in the church’s actions and unity, then the body of Christ is doing its job.

            1 Corinthians is a ton of instructions and commands to the early church in Corinth that paint a picture of God’s intention for the church.  The Corinthian church was not representing Christ in the way that God would have desired and Paul saw and attempted to correct that.  Just like a father disciplines his children to teach them lessons and grow them, so Paul disciplined the Corinthian church to grow them into the body that Christ desired them to be.  Paul’s relationship with the Corinthian church was one of the first examples of mentorship in the early church.  Looking at the growth the Corinthian church experienced through God using Paul as a mentor is a clear picture to modern Christians why mentorship and discipleship is so important.
            As established with 1 Corinthians, Paul had an outstanding relationship with the Corinthian church.  Throughout the first Biblical letter to the Corinthians is the feeling that Paul cared deeply for the church and thought of himself as a spiritual mentor to the church body in Corinth.  Here is where 2 Corinthians comes in, roughly 2-3 years after 1 Corinthians was written and delivered.  Paul’s ministry at Corinth was getting threatened by other leaders—seen in chapter 11—that put Paul’s teaching at Corinth in danger of being put on the back burner and forgotten.  In response, Paul wrote 2 Corinthians in order to defend his apostolic ministry to the Corinthian church, which gives the modern Christian reader insight into the nature and purpose of Paul’s ministry.

            Once again, it’s evident that Paul knew the Corinthian church for quite a while and was heavily invested in them.  7:7-9 recounts a previous letter—probably 1 Corinthians—that “grieved [the church] into repenting”.  Paul earlier (7:4) claims that he is “acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort”, thus suggesting that he is very pleased with the way the church is living after the reception of 1 Corinthians. 

            However, Paul knows that he’s not perfect, and he knows that there are other people who the church is more likely to listen to.  Admitting his imperfection in 11:6, Paul says that “I am unskilled in speaking”, and later in 12:7-10 admits that he is weak and imperfect.  Paul his humble and honest in his approach to the Corinthian church, and he realizes that he’s a man riddled with imperfections.  Through his imperfections though, Paul feels the need to defend the ministry he has with the church.  The church was beginning to listen to other apostles (“super-apostles”, 11:5) that were uprooting the ministry Paul had with the church.  It can be concluded from the tone of chapter 11 that these other apostles were preaching a slightly different gospel than Paul was and were leading the church astray.  Paul reminds the church of how good he was to them in 11:7-11, ending with “Because I do not love you?  God knows I do!”

            Paul’s defense of his ministry give insights into the nature and purpose of his ministry overall.  First, Paul was intentional in his ministry, as seen in 1:15.  Paul realized there was a gap in the teaching at Corinth and he desired greatly to fill it.  Second, Paul was loving, which can be derived from 2:4, “to let you know the abundant love that I have for you”, and, once again, 11:11.  Third, Paul saw the churches he ministered to like his own children.  A child has the capability of making a Christian parent immensely proud when they submit their lives to Christ.  This principle was also seen from Paul in 9:2, “for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia”.  Lastly, Paul feels a sense of ownership and jealousy for the ownership of the church, seen in 10:14, “for we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ” (emphasis added). 

            Modern pastors are called through 2 Corinthians to be caring and intentional leaders in their own churches just as Paul was a caring and intentional leader in the church of Corinth.  Therefore, 2 Corinthians is less of a letter of instruction like the first letter to Corinth was and more like a manual to pastors on what it means to care for and lead a church.  Pastors are called to be intentional, loving, fatherly, and committed to their church just like Paul was, but all while still being disciplinary (and sometimes harsh) in their teaching.  Thus, 1 and 2 Corinthians complement each other perfectly. 

            2 Corinthians is a clear image of Paul’s defense of his ministry in the Corinthian church.  This defense gives modern pastors a guideline to follow for personal ministry in their own churches.  Paul’s authority was challenged in the Corinthian church, which is sure to happen in modern pastors as well.  Only in the perfect unity of the church body, as seen in 1 Corinthians 12, will a pastor be able to function as the leader of a church.  And there is only one answer for challenging situations like the ones Paul faced in 2 Corinthians:  Love (1 Corinthians 13).