Corinth, a great and populous port, was a magnet to every sort of philosophy, religion and was also a notorious centre of immorality. Paul's converts in the city were particularly in need of instruction and guidance, both about the Good News itself and about the Christians life which it implied. Paul appears to have written four letters to the church of Corinth of which we now have only two.

His first letter to Corinth has not survived and the earliest we have was to had to pay a brief visit to Corinth in which he had to take painful disciplinary measures and when later he sent a representative to Corinth instead of going himself, the Corinthians did not accept his authority and Paul wrote a third letter which was very severe. In Macedonia, towards the end of 57, Paul heard from Titus that the 'severe letter' had the desired effect and then he wrote the letter which we know as 2Corinthians.

However, 2Corinthians is not a single consistent letter; it has been suggested that it includes part of the lost first letter and part of the 'severe letter' - 2Cor. 6:14, 7:1, 10-13 - The two letters to the Corinthians contain much information about urgent problems that faced the church and the important decisions which were made to meet them: questions of morality, about the liturgy and the holding of assemblies, the recognition of spiritual gifts and the avoidance of contamination from pagan religions. It was Paul's religious genius to turn what might have remained textbook cases of conscience into the means of exploring the profound doctrines of Christian liberty, the sanctification of the body, the supremacy of love, and union with Christ.

1CORINTHIANS - (1) Address and greetings - Thanksgiving - Divisions and Scandals - Factions in the Corinthian Church - Dissensions among the faithful - The true wisdom and the false - The place of the Christian preacher - Conclusions - An appeal - Chapter 1 to 4 - (2) Incest in Corinth - Recourse to the Pagan Courts - Fornication - Chapter 5 to 6 - (3) Answers to Various Questions - Marriage and Virginity - Food Offered to Idols - General principles - The claims of love - Paul invokes his own example - A warning and the lessons of Israel's history - Sacrificial feasts. No compromise with idolatry - Food sacrificed to idols. Practical solutions - Conclusion - Chapter 7 to 11 -

(4) Decorum in Public Worship - Women behaviour at services - The Lord's Supper - Spiritual gifts - The variety and the unity of gifts - The analogy of the body - The order of importance in spiritual gifts. Love - Spiritual gifts: their respective importance in the community - Regulating spiritual gifts - Chapter 12 to 14 - (5) The Resurrection of the Dead - The fact of the resurrection - The manner of the resurrection - A hymn of triumph. Conclusion - Commendations. Greetings - Chapter 15 to 16 - In summary : Paul instructions to the church at Corinth dealing with problems among Christians. Paul reminded them that there is only one master, Christ, and only one message, the cross, and that there is no wisdom outside that message.

2CORINTHIANS - (1) Address and greetings. Thanksgiving - Some Recent Events Reviewed - Why Paul changed his plans - From Troas to Macedonia. The apostolate: its importance - The trials and hopes of the apostolate - The apostolate in action - Paul opens his heart. A warning - Paul in Macedonia; he is joined by Titus - Chapter 1 to 7 - (2) Organisation of the Collection - Why the Corinthians should be generous - The delegates recommended to the Corinthians - Blessings to be expected from the collection - Chapter 8 to 9 - (3) Paul's Apologia - Paul's reply to accusations of weakness - His reply to the accusation of ambition - Paul is driven to sound his own praises - Paul's fears and anxieties - Conclusion - Chapter 10 to 12 -

In summary : Paul's defense and explanation of his apostleship. Paul reminded them that there is only one master, Christ, and only one message, the cross, and that there is no wisdom outside that message.

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-25 -