St Paul in Corinth

Hi there and welcome to Van Life Devotions. We are in the beautiful city of Athens and where I am standing is the Areopagus known also by its Roman name “Mars Hill”. This very spot was the scene of a remarkable message by the Apostle Paul and the commencement of the first church in Athens. In our last devotions we looked at Paul’s remarkable defence of the gospel.

About an hour’s drive from here is Corinth. Leisl and I won’t be going there on this trip, but we have on a previous trip. We really enjoyed going to Corinth and walking around the ruins of this ancient place where Christianity at one stage was quite significant. Paul, Silas, Timothy, Aquila and Priscilla were the team that planted the church at Corinth. At first Paul went every Sabbath to the Synagogue trying to persuade the Jews and Greeks that Jesus is the Messiah. Some became believers and were baptised. Several Jews were beginning to be offended by Paul’s message but one night the Lord appeared to Paul telling him to keep preaching, take courage, God is with him and so he stayed with Aquila and Priscilla for a year and a half, earning income as a tentmaker while he preached everywhere in Corinth.

The Jews made a united attacked against Paul brought him to this place before the proconsul on the accusation of conducting illegal teachings. According to tradition, this site of Paul’s trial was the Bema, a large, elevated rostrum standing prominently in the centre of the Roman Forum of ancient Corinth and from where the city’s officials addressed the public.

In a remarkable turn of events, the Jews were told to go away and solve the issue themselves, and Paul was released. He stayed a bit longer but then moved to Ephesus. He remained in contact with the Corinthian church through letters and messengers, sending them warnings and instruction.

Paul’s two letters to the Corinthians address problem areas. They had divided loyalty to different leaders; there was immorality in the church; believers were taking each other to court; there was conflict over food was an area of conflict and concern; Paul addresses women’s involvement in worship services and deals with problems the Corinthians were having in their gatherings, including abuses of the Lord’s Supper and their misuse of spiritual gifts; and there was confusion over the future resurrection. In his second letter Paul had to cover much of the same territory again.

The Bible doesn’t say anything else about the church at Corinth; however, Clement of Rome wrote a letter to them, probably near the end of the first century (almost 50 years after Paul’s time ministering there), and he had to deal with some of the same issues again.

Despite all the problems the church at Corinth had, Paul refers to them as “those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people” (1 Corinthians 1:2). It would be easy to read 1 and 2 Corinthians self-righteously, with all their problems, yet the same problems are found in the church today. The church still needs 1 and 2 Corinthians to know how to deal with today’s issues.  If there was a one value that if believed in and practiced, our homes, communities and churches would be incredible places - that value would be love – love for God and love for one another. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13 verses 4 to 7, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour nor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV).

Let’s Pray:

Lord God. If they were something that these Letters to the Church her at Corinth could teach us, it would be to love - love You and love one another. Help us to fulfil Your greatest commandments. O God, preserve us who travel; surround us with your loving care; protect us from every danger; and bring us in safety to our journey’s end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

David Moyes