Thursday · Jul 2
Paul’s Letters to the Corinthians
Read 1 Corinthians 1:11–13; 1 Corinthians 4:14; 1 Corinthians 5:11; 1 Corinthians 7:1; and 1 Corinthians 14:37, 40 . Also read 2 Corinthians 1:12; 2 Corinthians 2:9; 2 Corinthians 11:3; and 2 Corinthians 13:10 . How do these verses help explain why Paul wrote to the Corinthians?
Paul was in Ephesus when he wrote 1 Corinthians ( 1 Corinthians 16:5–9 ). Chloe’s family told Paul about some problems in Corinth ( 1 Corinthians 1:11 ). In 1 Corinthians 1–6 , Paul talks about some of these problems. The problems included small groups of bossy people, sex sins, going to court, and prostitution. Prostitution is selling sex for pay. Paul also got a letter with questions ( 1 Corinthians 7:1–11 ). Paul answers these questions, starting in chapter 7. The questions were about marriage, divorce, staying single, food offered to false gods, correct behavior in church, spiritual gifts, and waking up from the dead. The church at Corinth had many problems.
Don’t we have some of the same problems in our churches today? Thank God, Paul’s letter has much advice to give us. Ellen G. White says that 1 Corinthians is “one of the most helpful and powerful of all Paul’s letters.”—The Acts of the Apostles, page 301, adapted.
Some Bible thinkers believe that Paul wrote three or four letters to the Corinthians (compare with 2 Corinthians 10:9 ). Paul wrote a letter to them before he wrote 1 Corinthians ( 1 Corinthians 5:9 ). But this letter is lost. Before Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, he also wrote a letter that Bible thinkers name the “very strong letter” ( 2 Corinthians 2:3, 4, 9; 2 Corinthians 7:8 ). This letter is lost, too. But some people believe that Paul’s very strong letter is 1 Corinthians or part of 2 Corinthians.
2 Corinthians helps us understand that church members loved the things of this life too much. They liked to win. They liked power and money. All these things can be problems for our church today. Paul tried to help the church to make Jesus and His Good News the most important thing in life. We must do the same thing today.
Read 2 Corinthians 2:4 again. What does this verse tell us about how much Paul cared for the Corinthian people? Compare Paul’s love for the Corinthians to the love in your heart. How much love do you have in your heart for other people?