​I have been seeking the Lord recently concerning this year and our journey further into this tumulus decade. I felt the Holy Spirit instructing me to carefully study 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, as they will be two of the most important apostolic letters for the church in the years to come. As I’ve studied these letters, I’ve noticed many parallels between the Corinthian church and the American church. It helps us to understand the cultural situation in Corinth to see its relevancy for the church today. 
 
Background:  The Corinthian church was an extremely gifted church (1:4-7). It was also a multicultural church made up of Greeks, Asians, Jews, Romans, slaves, and freed men. Many of the ingredients that went into making Corinth such a wonderfully diverse body, were the same ingredients that caused the multifaceted crisis they were experiencing. Make no mistake, these crises nearly destroyed the Corinthian church, and would have, had it not been for the Holy Spirit’s wonderful counsel released through the apostle Paul.  
 
Paul loved the Corinthians, having planted the church himself on his second missionary journey. There, he met a Jew named Aquila and his wife Priscilla, who had fled from Rome because of Emperor Claudius’ decree to expel all Jews from Rome. Together they spent a year and a half at Corinth making tents, preaching in the marketplace, and nurturing the faith of a potpourri of young believers (Acts 18:1-2,11). 
 
Paul had founded the Corinthian church upon Christ and kingdom values. From its birth, however, the church was engaged in an all-out battle against the immoral, impersonal culture of the region. The Corinthians worshiped many gods and goddesses, the most famous being Aphrodite—the goddess of love. A thousand prostitutes served in her temple by day, swarming into the streets at night. Its sinful reputation was so great that to “Corinthianize” meant, “to practice sexual immorality.” Corinth was also the center of the Isthmian Games, which were second in importance to the Olympics. These games were not only popular but also known for their extravagance and licentiousness. Even in sports, Corinth lived up to its infamous name.  
 
Shortly after Paul’s departure, false apostles, faulty doctrine, and factions nearly destroyed the fledgling fellowship. On top of these problems the church was losing its battle against the cultural values of the region. The world’s values had infiltrated the church body and were spreading like an infection.  
 
Out of a love for Christ and respect for Paul, the church sent three men from Chloe’s household, Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, to Ephesus in search of Paul (1 Cor. 1:11; 16:7). They found Paul in Ephesus laboring with Aquila and Priscilla amid a thriving church.  (Paul had arrived in Ephesus in the autumn of A.D. 52.) These brothers faithfully communicated the situation at Corinth to Paul. Evidently, they relayed some of the things that were being taught and even some direct quotes of things said by the divisive crowd (1 Cor. 1:11-12; 3:4; 5:1; 6:12-13; 10:23; 11:18).  
 
The first letter Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5:9, has been lost. According to Paul, the Corinthian believers misunderstood this letter (vv.10-13), so to clear up the confusion, and address the current problems, he wrote them the epistle we know as 1 Corinthians. When Paul penned this letter, it was about A.D. 55.  We must remember as we read and study this letter that Paul is writing as a missionary church planter, not as a theologian. This letter is intensely personal in nature.  Paul loved these people and considered himself their “father through the gospel” (I Cor. 4:15).   
 
Insights on Culture                
Our western culture is now truly a multicultural mix. In the today’s America we are no longer a White Angelo Saxon Protestant (W.A.S.P.) culture, nor is Christianity the leading religious influence. We are living in a post-Christian culture. Our culture strongly reflects the values of the first century Roman Empire into which the early church took root. Culturally, they were “pre-modern,” and we are “postmodern,” yet there is very little distinction. Values and ideology have come full circle. 
 
The church of the first century was both counter cultural and trans cultural. However, when the values of the kingdom of God within the church became displaced by the values of the culture, the Lord sent them a swift, firm, and loving course correction. He did not send correction arbitrarily but through one who labored sacrificially in love among them.

Prophetic Perspective 
Here are some of the problems that I believe the church will have to address in the days ahead.  Problems that are dealt with in the Corinthian letters. May God give us the humility of wisdom (James 3:13-18) to deal with each situation in a way that God is glorified, and his church is edified.  

• The exalting of personalities rather than the exalting of Christ. The Lord will begin to deal with this issue in the church. Jealous zeal for His son will perform it. Paul’s cure for this malady is the preaching of the cross.

 

• Church Growth Movement vs. wise master builders. The foundations of many churches will crumble revealing that they were not built on the revelation of Christ, the Chief Cornerstone, but upon the wisdom of men.

 

• The issue of stewardship and finances will become an important issue throughout the body of Christ. The question of “who has the right to financial support?” will need to be addressed. Many will not pass the test for their hearts are filled with greed and idolatry. The Spirit of God will clearly discern and endorse those who have been faithful, both in the eyes of man and God.  

 

• The church’s attitude toward sexual immorality is extremely lax. Liberty in Christ has been turned into license to sin and it must be addressed. It is time for the church to “put purity on a pedestal” before the eyes of the world. If not, we will lose thousands of laborers from the next generation. The Lord warns that those who morally corrupt and defile the temple (inner sanctuary) will reap destruction, for God’s inner sanctuary (in the believer) is holy.

 

• Church discipline will become necessary as a loving tool to rescue the fallen from judgment. Leaders who will not follow God’s method and mandate of church discipline will find the leaven of sin soon permeating the whole church.

 

• Doctrinal errors such as Gnosticism and Antinomianism (anti-lawism) will assault the church from within. God will once again raise up counsels of elders/bishops, like the council of Nicaea, to help the church to define and defend its biblical beliefs. These counsels will be necessary for the fulfillment of Eph 4:13-16 to occur. For example, the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of the dead will once again need to be clarified. The authenticity of the gospel hinges on the truth of this doctrine. 

 

• The issues of singleness, celibacy, divorce and remarriage will require well thought out answers and counsel. With the emphasis upon the second coming of the Lord and the rise of the prayer movement, many young people will devote themselves to singleness and celibacy to give undistracted devotion to the Lord.  With divorce rampant in both society and the church, the church must no longer skirt the issue, but deal with it head on. Denominations must lay aside their traditions and seek the light of Scripture.  
  
  
• God will begin to release the Spirit of the fear of the Lord as the church partakes of the Lord’s Supper.  Reverence for the Lord is returning to His table. As the Lord welds His body together in unity, discerning the Lord’s body will become a solemn and serious issue indeed. Both the blessings and the judgments of I Cor 10 and 11 await us. 

 

• Women and their place in ministry will continue to be addressed. The church needs keen discernment to cut away the cultural grafting and get to the true biblical root.  

 

• The abuse of spiritual gifts will be on the rise. Much of this will be because evangelicals who had once rejected the gifts of the Spirit will begin to embrace them in large numbers. Also, many Charismatics and Pentecostals, in reaction to the evangelical’s newfound freedom, will falsely manifest gifts out of jealousy and selfish ambition. Both situations will require loving correction. Through this crisis the church will again learn that the way of love is the highest road.

 

• The apostolic: with the rise of the apostolic movement there will be the question of, “who is a true apostle?” The book of 2 Corinthians will become vital in helping the church to answer this question. The Scripture clearly warns that false apostles, false teachers, and false prophets will be on the rise in the last days. We cannot judge these ministries just on the power of signs and wonders and eloquent speech. Rather, we must look for godly fruit and signs and wonders done through perseverance, suffering and sacrificial service for the sake of the gospel. 

 
I encourage you to begin to prayerfully read through both letters to the Corinthians. Saturate your spirit with their message and familiarize your heart with their content. Outline the letters chapter by chapter and dig deep into the revelation of the various texts. Search out cross references and take good notes.

Take time to memorize 1 Corinthians 13 as the basis for the pastoral work that lies before us in these last days. Teach others what you learn from your studies. It will help solidify your understanding of the texts and teach you how to apply the truths to life.