2 Lessons We Learn from Paul's Interaction with the Church in Corinth

Be careful who you "write off."

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How should we interact with a church of our Lord that is teaching and practicing things they ought not?

Some ignore the issues and act like there is no problem. Others will have nothing whatsoever to do with those congregations - acting like they don’t even exist.

We would do well to follow Paul’s example in how he interacted with the church in Corinth. We learn two valuable lessons from 1 Corinthians - and these lessons will keep us from going to unbiblical extremes.

The Problems in the Church in Corinth.

Perhaps no church in the New Testament had as many problems in what they did and taught as the church in Corinth.

• Division created by jealousy, strife, and selfishness (1 Corinthians 1:10-3:23).

• Opposition to the apostles' teaching - specifically, Paul (1 Corinthians 4).

• Toleration of sexual immorality within the church (1 Corinthians 5; 6:12-20).

• Wrongfully treating and defrauding each other (1 Corinthians 6:1-11).

• Lack of understanding about marriage (1 Corinthians 7).

• Lack of wisdom in matters of conscience - such as in eating food offered to idols (1 Corinthians 8; 10:23-33).

• Confusion about financially supporting those who proclaimed the gospel (1 Corinthians 9).

• Trying to be a Christian while at the same time remaining a worshipper of idols (1 Corinthians 10:1-22).

• Confusion about authority (1 Corinthians 11:1-16).

• Abusing and misusing the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:17-34)

• Lack of understanding and improper use of their miraculous spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12-14).

• False teaching and misunderstanding about the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15).

As you read through 1 Corinthians, you quickly pick up on Paul’s concern for this church.

How Paul Referred to the Church in Corinth Despite Their Issues.

At the beginning of 1 Corinthians, Paul refers to the Christians in Corinth as:

• The church of God that is in Corinth (1:2).

• Those sanctified in Christ Jesus (1:2).

• The ones who have been called to be saints with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (1:2).

• Ones who had been given the grace of God in Christ Jesus (1:4).

• Those who had been called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1:9).

At the end of his letter, Paul again referred to the church in Corinth as:

• His brothers (16:15).

So What Can We Learn from Paul’s Interaction with the Church in Corinth?

Be careful who you “write off.”

Sometimes we tend to “write off” Christians or congregations of the Lord’s church that don’t teach or practice things exactly as we think they should. Perhaps what they do is actually different than what God says in Scripture.

There is no doubt that the church in Corinth was doing many things wrong, yet Paul doesn’t “write them off” as being dead to him - or to Christ. He knew them, and he made a tremendous effort to steer them back in the right direction. He still referred to them as his brethren and those who were in Christ Jesus.

We must be careful about “drawing lines in the sand” that God has not drawn. We need to show equally as much love and concern for the church of our Lord as we do for the truth.

Be careful what issues you think aren’t “that big of a deal.”

When you read through the list of problems Corinth had, you might have created a “ranking” in your mind of the problems you believed to be the most serious.

And perhaps some of the Corinthians’ problems were more serious than others - but anything that Paul addressed in 1 Corinthians was a serious matter. It was something God wanted them to fix, change, or repent of.

Just because we think something isn’t a big deal doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be concerned about it. Paul was clearly concerned about all the problems the church in Corinth had.

Paul urged this church to do what was right because he valued their souls and the church of the Master.

Stay alert, stand firm in the faith, show courage, be strong. Everything you do should be done in love…Let anyone who has no love for the Lord be accursed. (1 Corinthians 16:13-14, 22)

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We can and must stand for the truth, and we can and must practice the truth. We can and must love the Lord and His bride - the church (Ephesians 5:22-33). It’s not one or the other - it’s both.

And I think Paul gives us an example of what it looks like to do both in 1 Corinthians. We would do well to follow this biblical example.