It s nice to receive a letter usually. How did the church at Corinth and the other places feel when they received one?

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1 1 Corinthians Introduction + Sunday 2 nd October 2016 The Old Testament Mainly in Hebrew 39 books: The Law Histories Wisdom The Prophets The Bible The Old Testament Mainly in Hebrew 39 books: The Law Histories Wisdom The Prophets The Bible The New Testament Mainly in Greek 27 books: Histories * 4 Gospels * Acts 21 Letters (epistles) Revelation Testament means promise. It was in 367AD that we see a list of NT Books that is exactly the same as our NT. It was written by Athanasius of Alexandria. Jerome and Augustine defined our NT canon as 27 books shortly afterwards. There are so many letters in the NT! The easiest way to communicate in the 1 st century and it enabled the sender to establish a Presence with the recipients despite a distance between them. Other ancient letters still exist, eg by Seneca and Cicero who were both Roman politicians and philosophers. Paul s letters tend to be a little longer than theirs. It s probable that Paul got someone else to do most of the actual writing of his letters. The letter would have been taken by a friend, slave or soldier anyone who was willing to take it and who was travelling in the right direction! Paul 1+2 Corinthians 1+2 Thessalonians 1+2 Timothy Who wrote these letters? Peter 1+2 Peter James James Jude Jude John John Not sure! Hebrews The Biblical order of Paul s letters It s nice to receive a letter usually. How did the church at Corinth and the other places feel when they received one?. 1

2 The Biblical order of Paul s letters The chronological order of Paul s letters [?] Longer Shorter The Biblical order of Paul s letters Churches Individuals Chronological order list: it may not be this exact order, but gives fairly good idea! Paul wrote these 13 letters over a period of around 15 years he started them around 15 years after he himself became a Christian. They were sent to churches and individuals over a wide area of the eastern Mediterranean. Some of the letters were written as circular letters where one church would pass it onto another (eg ), whereas and were perhaps written and sent to a specific place. How many letters did Paul write? More than thirteen. After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea. ( 4:16) 1 Corinthians wasn t the first time Paul had written to the Church in Corinth. 1 Corinthians wasn t the first time Paul had written to the Church in Corinth. I wrote to you in my letter.but now I am writing to you. (1 Corinthians 5: 9-11) Now for the matters you wrote about (1 Corinthians 7:1) Paul also wrote another letter to the Corinthians between the 1 st Book that we have and the one we called the 2nd Book. 2

3 Paul went on three Missionary Trips and then finally travelled to Rome too. He founded and encouraged groups of believers as he went. Welcome to Corinth Please drive your chariot carefully. An historic bustling city. (even in 50AD) Ancient Corinth was one of the largest and most important cities of Greece, with a population of c90,000 in 400 BC. The totally destroyed Corinth in 146 BC and built a new city in its place in 44 BC. So when Paul first went to Corinth in c50ad it had already been a Roman colony for over 100 years. When Paul was there, it s estimated that there were c250,000 free persons and 400,000 slaves. It is 40 miles south-west of Athens. Corinth church established on Paul s 2 nd journey in c50ad. Both 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians were written on Paul s Third Missionary Journey, with 1 Corinthians being written in Ephesus in c.55ad and 2 Corinthians from Macedonia. Acts 18 tells part of the story of his time in Corinth. V11 says he spent 18 months there. (Probably he wrote 1 & 2 Thessalonians whilst he was there.) Apollos is thought to have led the church when Paul left. There was a church in Cenchreae (one of the nearby ports) as it s mentioned in 16:1. It was near two important ports for the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea. A great centre for manufacturing, commerce and mental activities. In all we think Paul went to Corinth three times. He wrote 1 Corinthians as he had heard that there were divisions brewing the Church there and that they held some wrong theological concepts a lot of this book is written addressing these issues and problems.. 3

4 1 Corinthians Sunday 2 nd October 2016 vv 10-17: Paul has sorted out the topics for the Speakers for the next two months. I m following his framework today. The Book contains 16 chapters and 437 verses. Saints Saints are depicted as having halos saints vv 10-17: The word derives from a Greek word different. We re different from the world because we re like the Lord. We re different, distinguished and distinct from others as we re special to the Lord. Also the sense of to be set apart. Looked in my 2 Lexicons. Saints ἅγιος: Different; Dedicated Separate from common condition and use; To consecrate; To regard or reverence as holy To be devoted to God To be set apart. In the New Testament, "saint" did not denote the deceased who had been recognized as especially holy, but rather the living faithful who had dedicated themselves to God. Saints If people can t see your halo, how can they tell that you are a Saint?. 4

5 What distinguishes you from other people? What difference has God made in your life so far? People don t see halos, so how would your friends, work colleagues and family know that you follow Jesus. saints thankful vv 10-17: We could make a list of all the things we have thanked God for individually over the past week. Probably quite long! For the past 19 years church leaders in Reading have been meeting weekly to pray. Following a 3 week mission that started in May 2016, over 1,200 have given or rededicated their lives to Christ and this number continues to rise. just.3.weeks/89070.htm There is a large church in Derbyshire where large numbers of people are getting saved. Thankful And be thankful. ( 3:15) Enter His gates with thanksgiving (Ps 100:4) with thanksgiving ( 4:4-6) Two large choirs (Nehemiah 12:24, 27,31,38) It s not just singing: No buds, no grapes, no harvest, no livestock (Habakkuk 3: 17,18) Thankful Have you a thankful attitude? saints thankful vv 10-17: one. 5

6 March 2013 A diverse group of people! In many ways we are different from each other. The Church isn t like a club where people meet to follow a certain hobby (writing, running, needlework, family history). We are all influenced by God and each other. Where we have lived in the past and the churches we have made our homes in also influences our present thoughts. The basic theology is: Do we need a Saviour? Is Jesus your Saviour? Other things like the style of our services, the songs we sing, how we have communion, etc are not so important. Jo Cox ( ) MP for Batley and Spen 'While we celebrate our diversity, what surprises me time and time again as I travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us' Jo Cox in June 2015 (murdered in June 2016). If a secular person can feel that way, what about us as the Church? 1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all [of you] should be of one and the same mind (united in spirit), sympathizing [with one another], loving [each other] as brethren [of one household], compassionate and courteous (tenderhearted and humble). [Amplified Bible] Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters.[a] Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. [New Living Translation] Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless that s your job, to bless. You ll be a blessing and also get a blessing. [The Message] saints thankful vv 10-17: one foolish The Jews in the early 1 st century AD had had enough of the. They were expecting a triumphant, political Messiah. Jesus wasn t that. The Gentiles ( and Greeks) thought that no reputable person would be crucified, so it was unthinkable that a so-called crucified criminal could be the Saviour.. 6

7 Jesus would have been great fun to be with most of the time. We need to revere God and give Him worship and adoration, but we also need a child-like heart Foolish/Child-like Let the little children come to me! (Matthew 19:14) Foolish/Child-like Get out of the boat! Walk around the Walls of Jericho! Build an Ark! Cross the Red Sea! Take up your cross and follow me! Bless and love your enemies! Go the extra mile! Go to the King and speak for me! Store up your treasures in heaven! saints thankful vv 10-17: one foolish Psalm 73:25 Who do I have in heaven but You? And I desire nothing on earth but You. (Holman CSB) You re all I want in heaven! You re all I want on earth! (The Message) God is calling us all today. What is our response? How will we act when He reminds us that we are saints, should be thankful, act as one and be child-like?. 7