ANOTHER VISIT TO CORINTH January 13, 2008
Series: 2 Corinthians- Strength through Weakness
2 Corinthians 1:1-2
Introduction- How many Christians does it take to change a light bulb?
Charismatics/Pentecostals: Ten. One to change the bulb, and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness.
Presbyterians: None. Lights will go on and off at predestined times.
Roman Catholic: None. Candles only.
Baptists: At least 15. One to change the light bulb, and three committees to approve the change.
Episcopalians: Two. One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks.
Mormons: Five. One man to change the bulb, and four wives to tell him how to do it.
Unitarians: We choose not to make a statement either in favor of or against the need for a light bulb. However, if in your own journey you have found that light bulbs work for you, that is fine. You are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about your light bulb for the next Sunday service, in which we will explore a number of light bulb traditions, including incandescent, fluorescent, three-way, long-life and tinted, all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence.
Methodists: Undetermined. Whether your light is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb, or tulip bulb. Church wide lighting service is planned for Sunday. Bring bulb of your choice and a covered dish.
Lutherans: None. Lutherans don’t believe in change.
Amish: What’s a light bulb?
Established Bible teaching church that is over 20 years old: Ten: One to actually change the bulb, and nine to say how much they liked the old one.
This is a humorous way of illustrating that there are many different and various Christian traditions… are they all equally valid, just different strokes for different folks… or are there substantive differences??… it is beyond our scope to evaluate each of these today, but we can say with absolute certainty that the apostle Paul did not tolerate simply any expression of Christianity… in fact, large portions of the NT deal with the refutation of false teachers and their distortions of the gospel…
And we see this very clearly in the book of 2 Corinthians, and we are beginning today a new study in this book… throughout this book Paul is defending himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ… and defending his message… and as he does so, with great humility, it provides us with the certainty of apostolic truth/message, as well as an exemplary model of character under attack…
We have already looked at Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (April 05-Oct 06)… so as we begin this new study, I thought it would be helpful to go back to Corinth to look again at the Corinth of biblical times.
Introduction
History and location (Bible intro. 101)
Map of Paul’s journeys
Map of Greece
• flourished as a major Greek city from the 8th century BC until its destruction by the Romans in 146 BC… killing most of the Greek male population and selling the women and children into slavery. The site then lay desolate, although not totally deserted, for one hundred and two years…
• In 44 B.C., shortly before his assassination, Julius Caesar decided to establish a Roman colony on the site
• prospered more than ever before and may have had as many as 800,000 inhabitants by the time of Paul. It was the capital of Roman Greece, equally devoted to business and pleasure, and was mostly populated by freedmen and Jews… but a third of the population was slaves.
• Corinth was a strategic city in the spread of the Gospel… location on the isthmus put it on a main trade route… its prosperity was a magnet for people from all over the eastern Mediterranean who came to work in its flourishing manufacturing, marketing, and service sectors. This influx of people provided increased opportunities to preach the gospel to those who would perhaps carry it further into the world as they traveled elsewhere… all the more reason for Paul to stand up against the false teachers and fight for the purity of the Gospel.
Life in Corinth
We would find a city and a culture not unlike ours in America today… we would find economic prosperity, religious diversity, and moral debauchery... one writer: Corinth is the L.A., New York, and Las Vegas of today, all in one city...
(I only want to give you information that is helpful in understanding the epistle... and there are several factors that help us understand the church at Corinth of the first century)
• Economically- Corinth at this time was prospering wildly... it’s strategic geographical location fueled its growth... it was a commercial hub... a cross roads of cultures
• Socially- because of the economic growth, it attracted people from all over the world... east and west... largely Roman, but from all over... cosmopolitan... because the city was relatively new, there was no established aristocracy... people were clamoring to achieve status and honor... there was “a zeal to attain public status, promote one’s own honor, and to secure power.”... the dominant cultural value was achieving prestige and status... in addition was the Greek heritage of philosophy, rhetoric and the pursuit of wisdom about which they took great pride.
• Religiously- the city was a melting pot of various religions... 20-30 different gods and religions have been identified... the prevailing religious mentality was the more gods you worshipped the better... tolerance of all gods was the order of the day... an integral part of many of the religions blatant immorality and religious prostitution... for centuries, “to corinthianize” meant to commit immorality... a person was an “atheist” or a “misanthrope” (hater of mankind) if, like the Christians and Jews, worshipped only one God, and did not join in the practices and worship of other gods.
Paul’s association with the church in Corinth
• The founding of the church is given in Acts 18 on Paul’s second journey… he stayed there 18 mo.
• Paul left, went back to Antioch, but then went to Ephesus, where he stayed for two years… from here had most of his association with the church…
• Paul received a report about immorality in the church, and wrote them a letter, referred to in 1 Corinthians 5:9: "I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;
• Some people from Corinth then came to visit Paul in Ephesus and reported on problems, and in response he wrote 1 Corinthians… 1 Corinthians 1:11: "For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you
• Apparently the letter was not received well, and Paul then makes a personal visit to Corinth… which visit was very antagonistic… 2 Corinthians 2:1: But I determined this for my own sake, that I would not come to you in sorrow again
• He then wrote another letter… very direct and pointed… 2 Corinthians 2:4: For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not that you should be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you
• By this time Paul’s life had been threatened in Ephesus, so he left and went into Macedonia… he had sent the severe letter with Titus, and now awaited earnestly and fearfully the report from Titus on how the Corinthians received the letter… he was overjoyed when Titus brought a good report… that his severe letter had accomplished its purpose, and brought them to repentance… and restored their relationship to Paul… 2 Corinthians 7:6-8: "But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus; and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more. For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while.
• It is then after this that Paul writes what we now have as 2 Corinthians… for three purposes:
o Chaps. 1-7-he continues his reconciliation with them
o Chaps. 8-9- he wants them to complete their promised collection for the believers in Jerusalem.
o Chap. 10-13- he must defend his apostleship against a new group of false teachers that have arisen in Corinth.
Why study 2 Corinthians
• It is not simple a repeat of 1 Corinthians… entirely different
• Intensely personal book, showing us the apostle’s heart
• Intensely authoritative book, establishing the idea of apostolic authority… the authority of that body of truth established once for all by the apostles of the early church.
• An abundance of Christian doctrine in this book… many of which you are familiar
o sealed with the Spirit
o the god of this world blinds the minds of the unbelieving
o to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord
o we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to be recompensed for the our deeds in the body, whether good or bad.
o We are ambassadors for Christ
o Do not be bound together with unbelievers
o Chaps 8-9- the longest teaching of principles for grace giving
o Satan disguises himself as an angel of light
o Paul’s thorn in the flesh
o My grace is sufficient for you.
The theme of 2 Corinthians
It is really difficult to isolate one theme in 2 Corinthians because Paul deals with so many things… but there is one thing that runs throughout, and that is the apostle Paul’s suffering and humility… he recounts many of his sufferings for the Gospel… and even in the face of the attacks of the false teachers, who criticize him from everything from his appearance to his lack of eloquence to his tentmaking to his being fickle because he changed his travel plans… 2 Corinthians 10:10- "For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive, and his speech contemptible
But in all of this, Paul remains humble… it’s like the whole book is an example of what he says in chapter 12:9… "And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”
So a unifying them seems to be “strength through weakness.”
The Greeting, 1:1-2.
PAUL, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul identifies himself as the writer… but also his authority as an apostle, one sent from God… ever conscious of his calling and commission… something I’ve learned and understood with greater appreciation… the idea of apostolic authority… it was the first century apostles that God used to reveal and shape and fashion the truth of Jesus Christ and the church… truly this is the foundation of the apostles and NT prophets… and it is that truth that is to shape the church for all generations…
Timothy is with him as he writes, now in Macedonia… and he writes to the church at Corinth, as well as other believers/churches in the region of Achaia…
v.2- what I think deserves special attention the title given to Jesus Christ: Lord… one commentator says this term has almost lost all meaning for us today… but this is the name/title given to Him that is above every other name/title… and the name to which every knee will bow in all creation… He is the Lord, the ruler, the sovereign One, the preeminent One, the One with all authority, the Master over all creation… and so we who dare to call Him Lord owe to Him the respect, honor, fear, obedience, humility as One who is the master of all things… “why do you call me Lord and don’t do the things I say??”
What an awesome God He is!!!
