Dealing with a Dysfunctional Church
St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians

Salutation  of 1 Corinthians

1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Discussion Question #1

 Why do you suppose Paul mentions Sosthenes as a co-author
(1 Cor 1:1, Acts 18:12–17)?

 Then all of them seized Sosthenes, the official of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal [bema]. But Gallio paid no attention to any of these things.

 Acts 18:17

Discussion Question #2

 In Paul’s opening thanksgiving paragraph (1 Cor 1:4–9), he foreshadows some of what he will be writing about later in the letter. What themes do you detect here?

Thanksgiving Paragraph of 1 Corinthians

4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5 for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind—6 just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you—7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thanksgiving Paragraph of 1 Corinthians

4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5 for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind—6 just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you—7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Discussion Question #3

 In 1 Cor 1:10–16, Paul identifies several factions. What are these, and what does he mean when he writes, “Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel” (v. 17a)?

1 Cor 1:10 Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters.

12 What I mean is that each of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas," or "I belong to Christ." 13 Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)

17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power. 18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

The Cult of Isis

Slide 11

Slide 12

Slide 13

Initiation into the Cult of Isis

I . . . arose before day to speak with the great Priest . . . as soon as he perceived me, he began first to say: “O Lucius, I now know well that the divine goddess so greatly accepts you with mercy, why do you delay? Today is the day you longed for, when you shall receive at my hands the order of religion and know the most pure secrets of the gods.”

The old man then took me by the hand and led me to the gate of the great  temple . . . and after morning sacrifice ended, he brought  books out of the temple’s secret place . . . There he interpreted to me such things as were necessary for the use and preparation of my order . . .

Then he brought me next to the baths accompanied with all the religious sort, and demanding pardon of the goddess, he washed me and purified my body, according to custom.

After this, when noon approached, he brought me back again to the temple, presented me before the face of the goddess, giving a charge of certain secret things unlawful to be uttered, and commanding me, and generally all the rest, to fast for ten days, without eating any meat or drinking any wine, which I strictly observed. (Apulieus, Metamorphoses, 11.48)

Initiation into the Cult of Isis (cont’d)

Discussion Question #4

 In 1 Cor 1:18–3:23, Paul compares and contrasts “worldly wisdom” with the “wisdom of God.” What are the differences between the two, and how do these apply to the problems at Corinth?

 2:1 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

The Mentor-Disciple Relationship

Discussion Question #5

 Paul holds up himself and the other apostles as examples in chapters 3 & 4. What hallmarks of apostleship does he highlight, and how do these contrast with the actions of the Corinthians?

 3:1 And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations?

For when one says, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," are you not merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

Discussion Question #6

 How might 21^st Century Christians imitate the model Paul and the other apostles sought to embody?

Discussion Question #7

 In 1 Cor 6:1–8, Paul chastises some of the Corinthians for bringing civil suits against each other. Would you interpret this as a ban against such lawsuits for Christians? Why or why not?

Lawsuits in Roman Corinth

 6:1 When any of you has a grievance against another, do you dare to take it to court before the unrighteous, instead of taking it before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels-- to say nothing of ordinary matters? If you have ordinary cases, then, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame.

Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to decide between one believer and another, but a believer goes to court against a believer-- and before unbelievers at that? In fact, to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud-- and believers at that.