Bd – Difficulties in the Church at Corinth 7:1 to 14:40

Difficulties in the Church at Corinth
7:1 to 14:40

In Chapter 6, Paul addressed the dangers of porneia outside of marriage. Then he turned to the duty of sexuality within marriage. But he does so only after having discussed the problems that the Corinthians had not asked but which, Paul, inspired by the Ruach, were nevertheless more important than the difficulties in the Corinthian church.¹⁷³ They had compromised so much, in so many areas, that you could hardly tell the difference between the believers and the pagan culture around them. So, at this point, you might be thinking that there was little hope for the church at Corinth. Granted, the challenges faced by the members of that congregation might have seemed insurmountable. But all was not lost. They had some good things going for them. First, they had access to their founding apostle and all of the apostolic wisdom that Paul brought to the table. And second, they were teachable. To their credit, they sought Paul’s advice about a wide-range of subjects.

So, here, Paul begins answering a series of questions put to him via a letter they had written to him, most likely delivered to him in Ephesus by Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus (16:17). Their questions generally dealt with three different topics: Concerning Marriage – 7:1-40 (Be), Concerning Our Liberty in Messiah – 8:1 to 11:1 (Bi), and Concerning Worship – 11:2 to 14:40 (Bu). Paul did not repeat the questions back in his letter; however, we can deduce the nature of each question from the answers that he gave. Their questions and Paul’s response, shows us how much confusion existed among the believers in Corinth, and their desire to receive the apostle’s instructions.¹⁷⁴