Canaan Fellowship

Corinthian Culture and Church Corrections

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Canaan Fellowship
Canaan Fellowship
Corinthian Culture and Church Corrections
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Bruce provides an overview of 1st and 2nd Corinthians, explaining the pagan background of Corinth and why Paul wrote such corrective letters. He emphasizes that teaching and training in truth is better than correcting faults after they occur, and applies the lessons from these letters to the modern church.

  • Background on Corinth and Paul’s letters:

    • [00:01:26] Corinth was a deeply pagan Roman culture; calling someone a “Corinthian” was an insult implying sexual immorality and self-indulgence.
    • [00:02:26] Paul wrote three letters to the Corinthians (we have two); he lived with them for 18 months on his second missionary journey (around AD 50-52) and another 3 months on his third journey (AD 56).
    • [00:04:32] Bruce covers this now not because of a current fault, but to teach the truth beforehand so the church is prepared for trials that may come.
    • [00:06:08] It is better to train and encourage than to correct multiple faults at once, which can cause discouragement.
    • [00:07:37] Many problems in Corinth came from believers still shaped by their pagan culture; similarly, we live in a post-Christian age where biblical values are often unknown or rejected.

  • Issues Paul corrected in 1 Corinthians:

    • [00:12:51] Chapter 1: Divisions among believers and pride.
    • [00:13:30] Chapters 2-3: Spiritual wisdom versus natural wisdom; people making decisions based on their own values instead of God’s Word.
    • [00:14:20] Chapter 4: Paul appeals to the Corinthians to accept his leadership and that of Apollos and Timothy.
    • [00:15:03] Chapter 5: Immorality—a man living with his father’s wife; Paul says to expel the unrepentant person from the church. This is not being judgmental but maintaining church purity.
    • [00:17:14] Chapter 6: Lawsuits between believers; Paul says it is better to be defrauded than to fight for selfish goals. He also returns to immorality.
    • [00:17:45] Chapter 7: Teaching on marriage, how marriages fail, and remarriage.
    • [00:18:24] Chapter 8: Eating food offered to idols and not stumbling a brother; the principle of offending others is still relevant today.
    • [00:19:06] Chapter 9: Paul again appeals to the Corinthians to accept his leadership.
    • [00:19:23] Chapter 10: Paul cites the Israelites as examples of falling through idolatry, immorality, and complaining; believers should please God and others.
    • [00:20:02] Chapter 11: Instructions on head coverings and taking the Lord’s Supper reverently; some had died because of their irreverence.
    • [00:20:53] Chapters 12-14: Gifts of the Spirit, the love chapter (13), and order in church services.
    • [00:21:16] Chapter 15: Correction about the resurrection; Paul teaches that there is a resurrection and a judgment.
    • [00:21:59] Chapter 16: Final exhortations to love one another and “quit you like men.”

  • Key themes in 2 Corinthians:

    • [00:23:20] Paul instructs the church to confirm their love and restore the repentant brother who was put out.
    • [00:23:53] Paul again appeals for them to accept his ministry, using persuasion not compulsion, calling himself their father in Christ.
    • [00:25:14] Paul teaches on comfort for the repentant, giving generously, and again appeals to receive his ministry.

  • Five concluding applications:

    1. [00:25:55] The church must be holy, walking in what pleases the Lord, not just in right and wrong.
    2. [00:26:38] Put away the evil person from among you for the church’s purity and the sinner’s repentance (quoting Deuteronomy).
    3. [00:27:18] Love one another and bear with one another to avoid fights and splits.
    4. [00:27:55] Be willing to work to see change where needed; do not immediately evict those struggling but working to change, but remove the unrepentant.
    5. [00:30:00] Be faithful to God and the teaching of Scripture; many churches have failed in this for 40-60 years, especially on issues like ungodly divorce.

Scripture References

  • 1 Corinthians
  • 2 Corinthians

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