To the Church (in Corinth)

Imagine a church where everyone argued all the time, people were sleeping around, the wealthy were ignoring the needs of the poor, and everybody was so full of themselves all they could do was talk about how they were more gifted or talented then others. Doesn’t sound like a place where Christians would really want to be. But this was exactly what the church in Corinth was like. They struggled with all of these things and more. They were the epitome of a dysfunctional church.

Read 1 Corinthians 1:1-3

As we enter into our study of the first letter to the Corinthians, we’re going to see that Paul wrote to this church to address specific issues that were causing this church to fall way short of what God wanted them to be. Now it’d be quick to condemn Corinth and say, “1 Corinthians is for Corinth, it doesn’t apply to me.” But Paul writes in verse 2 that what he was writing to the church wasn’t only for them but for all the churches that claimed to follow Jesus. “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul wasn’t just writing to a specific church. He was writing to a church as they existed within the framework of the Church.

Read 1 Corinthians 1:4-6

What are your thoughts about this church in Corinth? Write them down.



Despite all the struggles and problems this church has that Paul is going to address later on in his letter, he reminds the church of how they began. How God had been and continued to work in them.

Read 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Paul begins with this issue of divisions in the church. Greek culture held in high esteem those who were eloquent and persuasive. Debates were a form of entertainment in a sense. This was especially true in Corinth. Unfortunately, what had happened in the church was that this sense of esteem for those who were eloquent was causing factions to form. They were allowing the world’s system creep into their midst when they were supposed to remain unstained from it. Paul immediately reminds the believers that he didn’t come with words of wisdom or eloquence but rather he came preaching the truth of the Gospel. He’s saying, stop making church about me or you and make it about Jesus.

Are there any areas in your life or at yg or church where you feel like divisions are creeping in because you’ve allowed yourselves to fall in the trap of making things about you and not about Jesus?

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Monday: Pray for your relationship with God
Confess your sins to Jesus and pray for forgiveness and a changed heart