哥林多前/後書
New Testament – Epistles
1 and 2 Corinthians [kuh-RIN-thee-uhnz] were Paul’s two letters addressed to the church in the city of Corinth [KO-rinth]. Apostle Paul first visited Corinth on his way to preach the Gospel to Macedonia. During his visit, God advised him to lengthen his stay in Corinth, so Paul spent a year and a half there building the Corinthian Church.
These letters to the Corinthians are special in a way because they contain 29 chapters in total, all addressed to one church. Neither Paul nor Peter wrote nearly as many words to any other churches in the New Testament. It is also speculated that Paul wrote a total of 4 letters to the Corinthians (the other two were lost and not included in the Canon). Clearly, Paul had a lot to say to those people.
Why? Well, reading the two letters carefully reveals that the Corinthian church was dealing with a lot of issues including but not limited to division, spiritual immaturity, arrogance, sexual immorality, boasting, civil disputes, unjust criticism of leader, abuse of Communion, straying from the truth, and behaving in such a way that forced Paul to defend his apostleship and position over and over again.
You might think to yourself, “Yap, I know churches and folks just like that.” So, how did Paul approach such a church? Did he summon fire from heaven? Did he condemn them to hell? No. He approached them first and foremost with love. Indeed, the famous passage about love was found precisely in 1 Corinthians 13.
That is simultaneously admirable and illuminating. Paul knew that his enemy was not the Corinthians, but the devil. Instead, the Corinthians, though ostensibly disobedient and immature, were God’s sheep and his burden.
Writing to the Corinthians, as we can imagine, was no simple matter. Yet Paul rose above indignation and disappointment, masterfully balanced love and discipline, and asserted the Truth over any kind of weakness and sin. It is no wonder that 1 and 2 Corinthians take a special place in the Bible and serve a necessary purpose for churches old and new.