Corinth was the crossroads of ancient Greece. It is not surprising at all, then, to find Paul leaving the fading city of Athens and going to the melting pot of Greece, and spending the bulk of his Greek ministry in Corinth.
And – especially in the light of Paul’s later comments about how “not many” of the Corinthians were wise and powerful, it’s worth noting that some of them were. Titius Justus has a house that is big enough for Paul to use it as a meeting place. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with his entire household. If someone has a “household” – that means that they are an important person!
Since we know from Roman sources that Gallio was proconsul of Achaia in 51-52 AD we can be pretty certain that Paul left Corinth in the fall of 51 AD.
Now, several years later, Paul writes from Ephesus – across the Aegean Sea (in modern Turkey).
In verses 1-3 Paul takes the normal form of a Greek letter, and transforms it. He does not reject common practices, but he fills them with gospel content. In a normal Greek letter, you would say, Paul to the church at Corinth, greetings.
We’re talking about “church and culture” in Sunday school – and the men are reading a book called “Culture Making” – but Paul gives us an example of how we ought to do these things.
He doesn’t try to create an entirely new “Christian” culture. ather, he takes the ordinary, human practices of his surrounding culture, and fills them with the gospel....
Featuring a sermon puts it on the front page of the site and is the most effective way to bring this sermon to the attention of thousands including all mobile platforms + newsletter.
Text-Featuring a sermon is a less expensive way to bring this sermon to the attention of thousands on the right bar with optional newsletter inclusion. As low as $30/day.
