Corinth: the Troubled Church

Ancient Churches
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Corinth: The Troubled Church

Paul, in the middle of his second missionary journey, was forced to leave Thessalonica for his own safety, when the Jews there became homicidal toward him (Acts 17:10). They pursued him to Berea, so he was then sent away to Athens, where he would be beyond their reach (Acts 17:14-15). But the evangelistic prospects were not very good in Athens, so Paul decided to move on to the city of Corinth, where he had a great deal of success in establishing a church and evangelizing the population (Acts 18:1ff.). Paul remained in Corinth for a year and a half, longer than he had stayed with any other church in his journeys, so far (Acts 18:11).

However, when Paul left Corinth, there began to be trouble in the church there. Apollos was the next evangelist to work with the church in that city (Acts 18:27), and he built upon the foundation that Paul had laid (1 Corinthians 3:6). But, the church became troubled with division, problems with church discipline, the Lord’s supper, spiritual gifts and giving, just to name a few. Paul wrote two epistles to the church in Corinth, which are preserved for us in the Bible. In them, he tried to help the brethren deal with their problems and to better their spiritual condition.

What is most impressive about the church in Corinth is that Paul never gave up on the brethren there. Even though they were overwhelmed by their spiritual problems, Paul never seemed to lose faith in the prospect that they could come back and be strong again (Galatians 6:1). Even when spiritual problems overwhelm us, there is still hope.

“For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.” – 1 Corinthians 1:11