“Ups and Downs in Corinth”

Scripture: Acts 18:1-16, 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Paul was a great evangelist for Jesus Christ because he had passion – he had a zeal that exceeded that of most people in his day, and probably in this one, too. But there was a problem – in Galatians 1:13-17, we read that his fervor in the old days, those days before he met the Living Christ, was exhibited in his persecution of the church and, in his words, “the traditions of my fathers”. Those traditions were in the Law of Moses.

But after discovering the truth of Jesus, he wrote in Romans 12:1-2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” It isn’t only our minds that are transformed by faith in Christ, it is everything about our life that changes – our heart, our spirit, our passions, and especially our guiding principles. Paul had become a new man in Jesus.

And you would think that if someone had been so radically changed as Paul had been, that everyone would see the passion and excitement that underscored every word that he spoke, that that his renewed spirit would inspire others to seek out the reason for his love of Christ. Sometimes it did, but at other times, it only caused opposition to that truth. And usually, they both occurred in the same community.

Read Acts 18:1-4

Paul met a couple whose names were Aquila and Pricilla. They would have been skilled artisans in both cloths and leathers, just as Paul was, and they formed an immediate bond. As we continue to read through the book of Acts, this couple will be mentioned over and over again. They would become hosts for a house church, and by their faithful example and teaching, others would also come to the Lord. That’s how it’s supposed to work, but we also read that Paul spent his Sabbaths reasoning with the Jews and Greeks in synagogue, trying to convince them of the Godly truth that is only found in the life of Jesus.

“Trying” is the operative word – in synagogue he, apparently, was seldom successful in winning souls for the Lord. Sometimes, our passion for the Lord God Almighty is just that – our passion, and others see no value in receiving it themselves. It is discouraging at best, but it can never be a reason to stop “trying”. And Paul didn’t. He would never stop proclaiming Jesus wherever he went, and that is the example he sets for us. Not in adversity, not in strife, not in persecution, not in anything that the world threw at him, and neither should we – no one should ever be deterred from sharing Jesus with the world.

His life tells us that if we continue to love the Lord and never stop trying to show others just how much he loves them, we will discover that other people love Jesus, too, and they will encourage us, and help us, and we will learn from each other. That’s what a life in the Spirit will always do for us.

Read Acts 18:5-10

Corinth would be one of those proverbial “tough nuts” for Paul to crack in his ministry. But the Lord had lead him here, and he wasn’t about to leave to seek gentler towns. The Lord had a plan to help the apostle– we read that when Silas and Timothy arrived in Corinth, Paul was able to devote his entire time to preaching the gospel. Missioners, rabbis, and the like were all expected to support themselves through a trade, and not to depend on others for life’s necessities. But when the two friends arrived, they either brought with them a support gift from the Macedonian church, or they intended to help Paul with their own personal support.

Either way, the evangelist had been freed up to spend all his time proclaiming Jesus, while not having to worry about personal needs. As was his custom, his first efforts were with his own countrymen, the local Jews, and when they refused his message of hope and life, he would turn to the Greeks. Paul wasn’t selective as to who he reached out to – if they would listen, he would share. So when the Jews began to show their loathing for the word of God, he loudly proclaimed that his obligation, his responsibility to them, was over – that he would offer salvation to someone else who would listen! (Matthew 21:33-45)

So how long are we to continue to proclaim Jesus to another person? Until the Lord tells us to move on. Matthew 10:14-15 tells us that in the Lord’s time, we continue to witness to God’s truth and glory, but when that time is over, when those others will not listen, it is time to move on, and take nothing of them with you. We read “leave that … town and shake the dust from your feet.” Paul’s time to leave had, apparently, not arrived yet, but his focus had changed – from solely with the Jews, to all people, throughout the city of Corinth.

Some would listen, though, and Paul was told to keep on speaking the truth of God to everyone, because the Lord wasn’t finished here yet – there were still many who would come to salvation, and Paul was to continue his mission until the Lord said “Go”.

Read Acts 18:11-16

The Jews even tried to bring legal action against Paul and those who had accepted the good news of Jesus Christ, but the courts were, apparently, an instrument of God, and wouldn’t hear the complaint. No matter what the people did, the Lord wouldn’t allow legal action to continue.

Isn’t it interesting that God will use any means to confound the world? Following the Babylonian exile, even Cyrus the Persian King became a servant of God. He released the people to return to the Promised Land, to rebuild the temple and the city of Jerusalem, and he gave them the treasures that had been looted from the temple when Babylon had defeated the nation. And God can use each of us – even the most unlikely among us – to carry out his will and plan, if we let him!

So be ready, and willing, and eager to be a servant of the Most High God, to be part of his glorious plan. We aren’t always aware of what the Lord is up to in our lives, nor are we always able to understand why it is important, but we need to be open to hearing his word for us, and to follow his desires, wherever and whatever that may entail.

But why was the Corinthian Church is such a sorry state? Why did opposition continue long after the people should have seen the Light of Christ for themselves?

Read 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Paul had left Corinth and had moved on to his next assignment, but the turmoil had continued. It was no longer confined to the city in general – it had now blossomed within the church. And the reason – or at least part of it?

It seems that division had raised its ugly head. Instead of keeping their focus on Christ and Christ alone, some were beginning to identify with one or another of the evangelists who had visited the city at some time. This division doesn’t necessarily mean that any of them offered a false testimony to the people, but simply that some were interpreting the message that had been given to them in false ways.

Paul’s approach to the message of salvation was generally one of freedom – not freedom to do anything they wanted to, not freedom to continue sinning as they had before, but rather the freedom to give up sinful ways, the freedom to choose Jesus Christ as the truth and to let the world’s ways fall by the wayside. But for some, the concept of God’s freedom may have been perverted by false teaching regarding the intent of the freedom that comes in accepting life in the Lord.

Apollos was probably a man from Alexandria. As the early church began to spread to areas north, south and east of Jerusalem, and without any standard writing, such as the Bible, to guide their teaching, other schools of thought crept in. In Africa, there were some instances of Greek philosophy beginning to take hold within the church, and instead of salvation by faith, it was becoming more of a salvation by reason. And any evangelist who journeyed to other areas to spread the good news, might have carried some of this preconception with them.

Cephas was a Hebrew name, and legalism was still prevalent in many new converts to Christianity. Strict adherence to the Jewish laws – dietary, circumcision, and other issues – die hard, and even the Council of Jerusalem struggled with compromise over these matters that were so central to Jewish understanding.

False and divisive teaching was all but destroying the Church of Corinth. But Christ! What about those who gave their allegiance only to Jesus Christ? Paul hits the nail on the head when he asks the question “Is Christ divided?” Whenever human understanding creeps into the Church, nothing of any good can possibly come from it. And that is where our denomination is today.

There are too many voices speaking from their own wisdom and experience, there are too many divisive interpretations of scripture, there are too few who are committed to searching scripture to find the answers to that age old question – “What does God really want us to know and do?”

Paul’s letters to the church in Corinth were, to some degree, meant to encourage them to remain faithful to the truth. But to a greater extent, they were intended to correct the tendency to find an easier and more rational approach to faith.
Joshua had told the people, ages before, to “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:14-15). Paul was telling the Corinthians that same message – choose whom you will believe, but it needs to be Jesus! And the church of the 21st century must hear that same challenge very clearly – will you follow the gods of earth, or will you give your life to the God of Eternity?

And Corinth, and the early church, and we are also being called to choose wisely!