Insights On 1 & 2 Corinthians

Corinth was diverse and powerful--a city of commerce, wealth, moral decadence--and was home to a fledgling church made up of both Jewish and Greek converts. As our own culture and churches begin to look more and more like that of the disheveled, self-serving church in Corinth, Paul's words to them take on greater import and more urgent practicality. In 1 Corinthians Paul focuses on healthy church life. He confronts a growing number of problems dividing the church--the effects of its diverse membership, persecution, and the corrupt religious and moral culture where it ministered--and he calls believers onward in sanctification and the exercise of spiritual gifts. 2 Corinthians is Paul's emotional response to the church's challenges to his authority and teaching. It is a treatise on authentic ministry in all its earthiness and harsh, human realities. This vivid picture of raw but real ministry sheds a stark light on the inferior motives, methods, and messages of false ministers, ending with a plea to return to a path of purity and righteousness.