In First Corinthians, Paul provides a model for how the church should handle the problem of sin in its midst. He addresses the problems of division and immorality and calls the church to purity. Paul also covers lawsuits among believers, marriage and singleness, order in worship, freedom in Christ, the significance of the Lord’s Supper and the right use of spiritual gifts, along with profound teaching about the resurrection. Paul’s emphasis on these issues is that a Christian should live according to Christian ideals because, according to 1 Corinthians 6:20, “You have been bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body.”
Corinth was a large city with many evil temptations, like the temple of Aphrodite, but Paul did not want the believers to retreat from the city or avoid their neighbors the way the nation of Israel did. Paul directs us to live out our commitment to Christ even more faithfully in the midst of nonbelievers. Paul expects us to shine our light in the dark places of the world as a united community. He demands that we settle our problems internally and hold on to our confident assurance in our bodily resurrection to come.
In Second Corinthians, Paul reveals details about the persecution he had suffered for the sake of Christ, as well as the thorn in the flesh that keeps him reliant upon God. Paul defends himself because some in the church had taken his meekness as a lack of authority (2 Corinthians 10:1-2). He states that living in unity requires us to humbly forgive one another and to follow our leaders.
Even as Christians, we are not exempt from hurting each other, and we need to forgive those who wrong us (2 Corinthians 2:7). An overinflated sense of ourselves can lead us to hold on to our frustration and anger regarding the choices that other people make. Jesus had a ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-19). We need to look out for the danger of disunity with leaders and believers while trying to live among all people in humility.
Submitted by Bob Sidlinger