The Corinthian Church: An American Epistle

Scholars believe that Paul likely wrote 4 letters in total to the Corinthian Church. We only have two of them – 1 and 2 Corinthians they are called respectively. But deeply imbedded into these two letters are indications that Paul wrote two other letters, one in which Paul warns against associating with sexually immoral people (1 Corinthians 5:9) and the other in which he expresses deep anguish after a painful visit to Corinth (2 Corinthians 2:3-4; 7:8). These two are lost to history so we’ll never fully know what they had to say.

But the two surviving letters we do have are, thankfully, packed full of so many truths that we could study them for years and never fully appreciate their contribution to the Christian life. They are personal, powerful, and honest. They take us on a journey of one church’s struggle with real world problems, and they show us how this church worked through its issues to the glory of God. They, in a word, are a case study for churches today to study and understand what the primary purpose is of the church on earth.

The Church at Corinth had many problems. From the beginning of 1 Corinthians, we see that they were not growing in their knowledge of God. They were “babes” that still required the milk of God’s Word rather than the meat. Consequently, disputes broke out on who was the greater “pastor” to the church: Paul, Peter, or Apollos. And to add insult to injury, there was a man in the church that was having immoral relations with his father’s wife; and the church was letting it happen. This is the setting of Paul’s first letter to this church. It was a mess; there was no doubt.

But the beautiful story about this church is that we find out in 2 Corinthians that this church chose faithfulness over futility. They chose purity over immorality. They chose unity over division. Paul commends them for doing the hard work of purifying the Body of Christ and putting aside their differences.

You know, I think there is a lot the American Church can learn from our Corinthian counterpart. Many of the issues that plagued them are frequent in our churches today (funny how some things never change). We have pews lined with people, who might mean well, but are fundamentally ignorant of the meat of God’s Word. We have divisions galore on issues from leadership, to building projects, to vision. We even have immorality running unchecked in our membership that, let’s be honest, many in the church don’t have the courage to address. All this harms the American Church. It keeps us from effectively accomplishing the Great Commission because we’re too distracted with basic things.

But the good news today is that we have a choice. The American Church can choose rightly just like the Corinthain believers did. We can turn the trajectory of our course in the favorable direction of Heaven. We can purify our memberships and choose faithfulness and unity.

I’m grateful that FBCUC has chosen the greater things in its pursuit to honor God. By the grace of God, we continue to maintain our unity, faithfulness, and growth. We’re not perfect, and we still have work to do, but I’m grateful to pastor such a wonderful group of Christians. I’m grateful of the work we’re doing, for the Gospel we are preaching, and the Kingdom that is growing at 500 E. Church St. May Heaven reward our efforts and may the name of Jesus be glorified in all we do.

Blessings,

Bro. Ben