52 Weeks in the Word - Week 48

 Welcome to Week 48 and the last month of the year.  We are so close to finishing our goal of reading through the Bible together.  I know last week was very busy for many of you, for several different reasons.  I want to encourage each of you to keep going with your reading.  Your questions have really helped one another to keep going and press further into God's Word.  This week we will finish reading Romans and 1 Corinthians, and we will also begin reading 2 Corinthians.  

This Weeks reading: Romans 13 - 2 Corinthians 7.

In Romans this week, we will read about Christian liberty at the end of the book.  

Next, we will look at 1 & 2 Corinthians.  

Let's take a look at a little background information before we get started with this week's reading.  1 and 2 Corinthians are letters written to the church in Corinth by Paul.  It is believed Paul first visited Corinth in 50 A.D on his second missionary journey where he met Priscilla and Aquila, who were tent makers and ministered with Paul.  Here, Paul preached in the synagogue, but he began to receive opposition from the Jews.  He then began meeting in the home of Titius Justus, a Gentile who lived next to the synagogue who believed and worshipped God.  So, Paul took the Gospel message to the Gentiles and stayed here for about a year and a half, preaching and establishing the church in Corinth. Both Jews and Gentiles believed in Corinth, but they had different backgrounds, which proved to be a challenge over time for them to worship together.  Paul began to hear reports of some disturbing behavior from the church in Corinth after a few years, so around 55 A.D. Paul wrote the first letter to Corinth while he was probably in Ephesus.  The second letter, known as 2 Corinthians in the English Bible, was written about a year or two later from Macedonia.

 The city of Corinth was home to many with a diverse background from the Roman Empire, explaining some of the confusion and division at the beginning of the Corinthian church.  For example, the former legalistic Jews needed to understand about the freedom of the New Way in Christ; the previously pagan Gentiles needed a reminder that the Gospel did not allow them to sin freely.  Paul wanted the new believers to focus on Jesus Christ and love each other.

Paul also used his letters to defend his calling as an apostle and his position of leadership in the church because false teachers were leading the Corinthians astray. Paul’s message was clear:

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. (1 Corinthians 1:10)   

This week I have three questions for you to think on, possibly discuss, while you read this week:

1. The city of Corinth was a significant hub of commerce and cultural diversity.  How do you think the city's diverse beliefs and practices might have challenged the early Corinthian church?  

2. Paul faced opposition from the Jewish community in Corinth and began preaching directly to the Gentiles. Why do you think Paul continued preaching despite the challenges? How can we apply Paul's perseverance to situations in our own lives where we face oppositions for our beliefs?

3. Why do you think unity was such a crucial message from Paul to the Corinthian church? In our diverse culture today, how can we apply Paul's teachings about unity to find common ground without compromising the truth of the Gospel?

 

 Have a blessed week in the Word!