Early Christian Practical Issues
A Summary of the Teachings Found in 1st Corinthians
The main Characters who are mentioned in this epistle are Paul himself, Chloe’s household and Timothy. Apostle Paul’s key message in this book revolves around the discouragement of immorality and divisions that had began emerging in the community of believers.
The first thing that he emphasizes the Corinthians to do is to focus on the calling that God had given them. The reason for this was that there were too many disagreements and quarrels that were taking place in this church. Focusing on their calling would reassure them that God was in control.
There was a lot of sexual immorality and indiscretion that was being reported from among the members of the Corinthian church. On one hand, the people were committing adultery and fornication, on the other hand, some members of this church were getting into marital unions with non-believers and this threatened to divide the congregation.
They are told to be weary of the immoral individuals who can lead them astray. These include the effeminate, homosexuals, adulterers, fornicators, thieves, swindlers, the covetous, revilers, drunkards and idolaters since these individuals will not make it to heaven. Consequently, the believers in Corinth are told that they need to live their lives carefully.
The believers in this church were at times extending their disagreements outside the church and even to the extent of bringing each other before the state’s judges.
There were some challenges in the form of divergent views on how worship was to be done. These were the position of women in worship, the use of the gifts of the Spirit and the observance of the Holy Communion. Different people had different interpretations of these aspects and in the process this also threatened to split the community of believers (Smith, 2011).
A Summary of the Teachings Found in 2nd Corinthians
In this book, the main characters are Timothy, Titus and Paul himself. A recurrent theme that is seen in this second letter to the Corinthian church is that of authenticity of one’s spirituality as well as the spirituality of the church and the image of both in the eyes of non-believers.
The first thing that he implores these believers to do is to make the salvation of Christ the central message that they preach. Basically, they were to stop focusing on themselves and instead focus on Jesus. Since Christ died for them, the only way they can repay Him was by living for him.
The believers in Corinth are also encouraged to give their offerings to the Church in Judea. Basically they were being encouraged to keep the promise they made.
Paul’s apostleship was being questioned and for this reason, he had to come to its defense. This led to Paul receiving opposition and disobedience from within the church.
During this time, there was also a lot of apostasy taking place; some unscrupulous people were preaching falsehoods about Jesus’ teachings and Paul’s teachings and in so doing they were deceiving those who listened to them.
During this time, Christians suffered and were prosecuted as a result of their faith. This led many to doubt their salvation or the presence of God in their lives since they may have initially thought that Christianity would be an easier life.
During this period, the believers needed reassurance about their faith as their doubts threatened to have the better of their spirituality. These doubts at times arose due to lack of scriptural knowledge (Smith, 2011).
Relevance of Jesus’ Doctrine to the above issues
Jesus taught about love for absolute love for God above everything and everyone else. This required self-denial. Self denial requires one to put aside all personal interests for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Jesus also taught about seeking first the kingdom of God. What this means is that as a believer, one is expected to lay aside all selfish interests and replace them with furthering the message about salvation (Wellman, 2011). This applies to the Corinthian church in that the arguments and divisions that they had obstructed them from focusing on what actually brought them together. Those who took part in arguments concerning worship were mainly interested in imposing their interpretations on others and this is a clear example of selfishness on their part. The resurrection of Christ was the ultimate sacrifice and the only way that people can possibly appreciate
Christ also taught about suffering for the sake of righteousness. This was also seen in the way that he lived his life. He taught that those who follow him would have to be ready to carry their own cross. Carrying of the cross refers to one being prepared to openly live their life as a Christian even when it meant exposing oneself to sufferings. In 2nd Corinthians we see Paul and other believers suffering as a result of their faith. Christ’s message however is one of reassurance rather than merely predicting doom for those who suffer in his name.
Paul’s contribution to these issues and the relevance to the larger context of Christian Theology
In first Corinthians, Paul mostly dealt with these issues by pointing out sinful behavior that threatened their salvation and in some instances the Church itself. He begins by dealing with the issue of sexual immorality taking place in the Corinthian church. He does so in a very direct manner pin-pointing the sin itself and how it affects their spirituality. He mentions the sins one by one and then implores them to keep to the straight and narrow. By telling them that they were bought at a price, he indirectly tells them that these actions cheapen the believers’ valuable souls.
When it comes to defending his Apostleship as being authentic, he refers to the signs in the form of miracles that show that he was indeed chosen by God to perform that role. He also alludes to the fact that his teachings match the message that Christ taught.
In many cases when Paul is teaching and solving the issues that were prevailing in the church in Corinth. On the issue of suffering and prosecution for being a follower of Christ, Paul talks about how he too had suffered and continued to suffer for his faith. He tells them that he even prayed about the same but got reassurance from God. This was meant to provide the listeners with confidence that their sufferings were not in vain.
Conclusion
Paul’s approach often comes off as radical towards the whole concept of Christianity. He took the issues the Corinthian church very personally and hence dealt expeditiously with any issue that arose (Don Anderson Ministries, n.d.).
References
1st and 2nd Corinthians in NIV BibleDon Anderson Ministries. (n.d.) A Practical Study of 2 CORINTHIANS: Turning Tough Times into Triumph. Retrieved from http://www.bibleteachingresources.org/downloads/pdf/Study%20Guides/730.2Corinthians.pdf on March 8, 2013
Smith, J.(2011) 1 Corinthians Summary. Retrieved from http://biblesummary.org/1_corinthians/11.htm ON March 8, 2013
Smith, J.(2011) 2 Corinthians Summary. Retrieved from http://biblesummary.org/2_corinthians/11.htm ON March 8, 2013
Wellman, K. (2011) 1 Corinthians Commentary, Summary and K http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/1-corinthians-commentary-summary-and-key-verses/ ey Verses. Retrieved from On March 8, 2013
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