Acts 18:1-11
After this, Paul left Athens and went to
Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila,
a native of Pontus, who had recently come
from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because
Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave
Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because
he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed
and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he
reasoned in the synagogue, trying to
persuade Jews and Greeks.
5 When
Silas and Timothy came from
Macedonia, Paul devoted himself
exclusively to preaching, testifying to the
Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6 But when
the Jews opposed Paul and became
abusive, he shook out his clothes in
protest and said to them, “Your blood be
on your own heads! I am clear of my
responsibility. From now on I will go to
the Gentiles.”
7 Then
Paul left the synagogue and
went next door to the house of Titius
Justus, a worshiper of God. 8 Crispus,
the synagogue ruler, and his entire
household believed in the Lord; and
many of the Corinthians who heard
him believed and were baptized.
9 One
night the Lord spoke to Paul in a
vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on
speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am
with you, and no one is going to attack
and harm you, because I have many
people in this city.” 11 So Paul stayed for
a year and a half, teaching them the
word of God.
Ministry to Sin City
Acts 18:1-18 & 1 Corinthians 1-7
Every country has their “sin city”
Las Vegas:
“What happens in Vegas,
stays in Vegas”
As Paul continued on his journey,
he went to Corinth, the sin city of
the Mediterranean
Port city: crossroads of trade/cultures
Famous for promiscuity:
Verb “korinthianzethai” – to live like a
Corinthian…to live a life of sexual
immorality
Reputation of drunkenness
“Trust not a Corinthian and make him
not your friend” (Menander)
Ministry in Corinth started by Paul,
with the help of Priscilla and Aquila,
two Jewish Christians who had been
expelled from Rome
As usually, Paul started his ministry at
the synagogue…
but they didn’t want anything to do
with his message about Jesus.
So he went on to the house next door,
continuing to preach about the salvation
offered through Jesus Christ.
New believers came from a wide
background:
Jews, God-fearers, some from immoral
behavior, idolatry, financial corruption
Paul stayed and ministered in Corinth for
a year and a half (A.D. 51-52)
The church was a diverse group:
Some were rich, most were poor
Some were educated, most not
Both Jew and Gentile
Slave and free
Male and female
Diversity made for some unique
problems; it’s not fair to criticize them.
When Paul moved on to Ephesus, he
heard that were troubles at the
fledgling church in Corinth.
1 Corinthians was written as a letter to
address those problems in A.D. 55.
2 big problems:
•Divided loyalty
• Church discipline
Paul addressed these issues and called
the church to a higher standard.
Problem 1: Divided loyalty
Church members were aligning with
various leaders…
this was causing divisions.
1 Corinthians 1
11 My brothers, some from Chloe’s
household have informed me that there
are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean
is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”;
another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I
follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow
Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided?
1 Corinthians 3
3 You are still worldly. For since there is
jealousy and quarreling among you, are
you not worldly? Are you not acting like
mere men? 4 For when one says, “I follow
Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are
you not mere men? 5 What, after all, is
Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants,
through whom you came to believe—as
the Lord has assigned to each his task.
6I
planted the seed, Apollos watered it,
but God made it grow. 7 So neither he
who plants nor he who waters is
anything, but only God, who makes
things grow. 8 The man who plants and
the man who waters have one purpose,
and each will be rewarded according to
his own labor.
9 For
we are God’s fellow workers; you
are God’s field, God’s building.
10 By
the grace God has given me, I laid a
foundation as an expert builder, and
someone else is building on it. But each
one should be careful how he builds.
Paul laid the foundation of Christ.
Many others would do their part
to build up the church.
Problem 2: Church discipline
Issues of sexual immorality & lawsuites
5:1 tells of immoral behavior of a brother
…behavior that is even repulsive in sin city!
Their reaction to the situation was wrong.
Paul says, “Expel the wicked man from
among you.” (5:13)
Paul calls the church to hold
Christian brothers/sisters accountable.
Believers should know better!
5:11
But now I am writing you that you must
not associate with anyone who calls
himself a brother but is sexually immoral
or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a
drunkard or a swindler.
2 standards – we shouldn’t judge the
world, but we are to hold fellow
believers accountable.
5:12 What business is it of mine to
judge those outside the church? Are
you not to judge those inside? 13 God
will judge those outside. “Expel the
wicked man from among you.”
Paul calls believers to a higher standard.
He challenges us to live above the
norms of the culture:
6:18-20
18 Flee
from sexual immorality. All other
sins a man commits are outside his body,
but he who sins sexually sins against his
own body.
Ch. 6 & 7, the relationship between
husband and wife is to be held sacred.
This is different than the Greek
and Roman idea marriage:
Mythology - Women created out of anger.
Rivalry between erotic love and marriage.
Temple of
Aphrodite
The Genesis creation is different.
Christian men and women should have a
different relationship than that of
Greek/Roman culture.
Paul teaches husbands and wives:
•Made for one another
•Don’t demean the relationship
•They belong to the Lord
6:16-17
Do you not know that he who unites
himself with a prostitute is one with
her in body? For it is said, “The two
will become one flesh.” 17 But he who
unites himself with the Lord is one
with him in spirit.
19 Do
you not know that your body is a
temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you,
whom you have received from God?
You are not your own; 20 you were
bought at a price. Therefore honor God
with your body.
Chapter 7
2…each man should have his own wife,
and each woman her own husband.
3 The husband should fulfill his marital
duty to his wife, and likewise the wife
to her husband. 4 The wife’s body does
not belong to her alone but also to her
husband. In the same way, the
husband’s body does not belong to
him alone but also to his wife.
We must treat our bodies with mutual
respect and honor the marriage
relationship.
Our bodies are the
temple of the Holy Spirit.
We are not our own!
Putting it all together
Our loyalty must be to Christ
rather than human leaders.
Christian leaders are members
of a partnership…
It’s okay to like your pastor,
but keep it in perspective.
Christ is the one who saves you!
Putting it all together
As Christians, we are to have higher
standards for ourselves than the
culture around us.
We are to aim for pure lives because
we have been called to “be holy”.
(1 Corinthians 1:2)
Putting it all together
Christianity revolutionized relationships.
We haven’t always gotten it right, but we’re
to respect each other in our relationships:
Husband – Wife
Male -- Female
Slave – Free
Rich – Poor
Jew – Gentile
Jesus turned the world upside down,
and changed our world.
Paul challenged the Corinthian church
to be different than the world
around them.
Isn’ t that the same challenge
we have today?
We are the Federated Church.
Our Mission is to…
Seek Christ, Serve Christ and Share Christ.