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By:
Tommy Mroz
Keaton Leander
Sean McMahon
Dalton Radcliffe
Anthony Fischetti
Background of Corinth:
Corinth was located in Greece...
Specifically, this chief commercial city is located on the Isthmus of Corinth and the
capital of the Roman province of Achaia.
Corinth was strategically located on its isthmus and controlled the ports of Lechaion on the Gulf of Corinth and Cenchreae on the Saronic Gulf
In about 2000 B.C., the settlement seemed to have been devastated; but at the beginning of the first millennium B.C., it was occupied by the Dorian Greeks, causing some Hellenism
The city was famed for pottery and bronze work, and its products were carried far and wide by extensive shipping
The city was also renowned for its ceramics, textiles, shipbuilding, and architecture
After Corinth was refounded as a Roman colony, its colonists seemed to have been freedmen from Italy, with whom
soon Greeks and Orientals, including many Jews were mingled.
The Corinth that Paul knew was severely damaged by an earthquake in A.D. 77. In gratitude for imperial aid in rebuilding, the city was renamed Colonia Julia Flavia Augusta Corinthiensis, but the original name returned in the early 2nd century A.D.
The greatest honor that Corinth could bestow was the presidency of the Isthmain Games, which were celebrated every two years in the spring at the sanctuary of Poseidon at Isthmia
Paul could have attended the games of A.D. 51; it can hardly be
coincidental that his first use of athletic imagery appears in a letter to Corinth. The fact that winners at Isthmia were crowned with withered celery may have stimulated Paul to think of salvation as an imperishable crown.
In addition to excellent communications, the extraordinary number of visitors created the possibility of converts who would carry the gospel back to their homelands
Cultural Norms and stuff:
After being made capital of the Roman province of Greece by Augustus around the turn of first century, it quickly became strongly set in Roman Pagan values, and the verb form of the name “Corinthian” meant to lead a loose life. Other than worship of Pagan Gods, other moral values were not in place in society on a regular basis in Corinth.
Regular business on a day to day basis dealt mostly with shipping, and many of the locals relied on trade through the two major harbors in Corinth on either side of the Isthmus.
It was also common for wealthy Corinthian merchants to have slaves, and as the norm in Rome, there was almost a larger slave population than free population.
Athletics were also common and revered, and the Greek Olympic Games were held every four years on the banks of the Isthmus, and many foreigners would flock from all over the Mediterranean to watch.
Also a featured landmark of the city was the Temple of Venus, and it was accustomed for certain women convicted of harsh crimes or scape-goated by men to be kept in the temple to be devoted to a life of shame.
In Corinth especially, it was a cultural norm to be driven by making money and be surrounded by nice material possessions.
if Paul were to continue his efforts at influencing the people of Corinth to change their ways, then God would watch out for the well-being of Paul.
Church Community
Paul established the church in the city
The Greeks and Jews argued about the main religion of Corinth, which made it hard for Christianity to grow and led to many Christian beatings and persecution
Many people were converted; some of them noble, wealthy, and learned, but the great majority neither learned, nor powerful, nor noble (1 Corinthians 1:26).
During this long period, the faith was planted not only in Corinth but in other portions of Achaia, especially i Cenchreae, the eastern port (Aherne).
When Paul Wrote:
Paul wrote to the Corinthians from Ephesus in 57 AD and then wrote to them again form Macedonia in 58 AD (Petrides).
Paul had a famous meeting with Awuila and Priscilla in Corinth in about 51 AD (Prat).
The most involved and Apostolic years that Paul wrote his letters and went on important expeditions were between 45 AD to 57 AD
Paul would preach at the synagogue every Sabbath until the opposition from the Jews became too much and he was forced to go to Jerusalem.
What Paul addressed:
In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he focuses on the Corinthian’s sinful natures. They sent him a letter before his letter suggesting “hypothetical” circumstances concerning sins; they then asked his advice on how to rid these theoretical sins.
§ Paul responds by rebuking them for their faults and corrects abuses (1 Corinthians 1-6)
In these first six chapters, he shows the absurdity of their divisions and bickerings, deals with the scandalous case of incest, their lawsuits before pagans, and the want of sufficient horror of impurity in some of them.
§ He then solves their difficulties and lays down various regulations for their conduct (1 Corinthians 7-16).
In these last ten chapters, he deals with questions relating to marriage, virginity, the use of things offered to idols, proper decorum in church and the celebration of the Eucharist, spiritual gifts, or Charismata, the Resurrection, and the collections for the poor of Jerusalem.
In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he wrote quickly in a defensive response to criticism against him. When he did not show up on time to meet with friends that expected him, they grieved at his absence. The few that were Paul’s enemies took this act as a weak point and exploited it. They said that his unwillingness to receive support betrayed want of affection. They also said that while at a distance, Paul used powerful and threatening language to criticize the Corinthians, but when he came near, he would probably turn out to be just a pacifist coward. They said that they were fools to follow a man who was known as a great Apostle of Christ, but was inferior to anybody they could name. When Paul heard of this disheartening news, he purposely delayed in Macedonia and immediately sent this Epistle to better prepare them of his coming, as well as to counteract his opponents’ spiteful denunciation of him.
His second letter is divided into three parts
The first part (2 Cor 1-7) is seen in 8 subsections
1. Paul’s commonly seen introduction
2. He shows that his change of plan (delayed journey to Corinth) is not due to lightness of purpose, but for the good of the people, and his teaching not mutable
3. He did not wish to come again in sorrow. He demands that the repentant sinner (criticizer), the cause of his sorrow, to be now reconciled
4. His great affection for the Corinthians
5. He does not require, like others, letters of recommendation. They, as Christians, are his commendatory letters
6. He writes with authority, not because of arrogance, but because of the greatness of the ministry with which he was entrusted, as compared with the ministry of Moses. Those who refuse to listen have the veil over their hearts, like the carnal Jews
7. He endeavors to please Christ Who showed His love by dying for all, and will reward His servants
8. Gives moving advice to them
The second part (2 Cor 8-9) is seen in 4 more subsections:
1. He praises the Macedonians for their ready generosity in giving out of their poverty. He encourages the Corinthians to follow their example in imitation of Christ, Who, being rich, became poor for our sakes
2. He sends Titus and two others to make the collections and to remove all grounds of slander that he was enriching himself
3. He has boasted of them in Macedonia that they began before others
4. A sort of parable that a man shall reap in proportion as he sows.
§ God loves the cheerful giver and is able to repay. Giving not only relieves the poor brethren but causes thanksgiving to God and prayers for benefactors
The third part (2 Cor 10-13) (directed at pseudo-Apostles/false prophets) in six more subsections:
1. He tells them that how he presents himself in his Epistle, so will he be when present with them; that what they say about him speaking strongly but truly being a coward is false
2. He will not pretend to be greater than he actually is (as these false prophets have done), nor will he praise himself due to what others have accomplished
3. He asks pardon for talking like a mundane minded man. It is to counter the influence of the false prophets. He jealously guards the Corinthians in case the pseudo-Apostles deceive them, as Eve was by the serpent
4. If the new-comers brought them anything better in the way of religion, he could understand their submission to their dictatorship
5. He is not inferior to those superlative Apostles. If his speech is rude, his knowledge is not. He humbled himself amongst them, and did not require support in order to gain them. The false Apostles recognize a similar disinterestedness, but they are deceitful workers transforming themselves into Apostles of Jesus Christ. For just as Satan transformed himself into an angel of light, they imitate their master. They make false statements against the Apostle.
6. He criticizes the false Apostles, saying that they boast about their natural advantages, when he is not inferior to any of these “advantages,” but he far exceeds them in his sufferings because he proclaims the Gospel, his supernatural abilities, and his miraculous proofs of his Apostleship at Corinth
Overall, both of Paul’s Epistles to the Corinthians effectively destroyed his opponents at Corinth by overpowering their malicious words and rumors.
Corinth