Two Letters in One Week…are you crazy!?!
As difficult as it has been to cover an entire letter in one lesson each weekend during our series, DEAR FRIENDS, this week I’m covering two! Yes, I’m an overachiever. HA.
So here is the intro to both First & Second Corinthians…
“The book of Acts describes how Paul brought the royal news about Jesus the Messiah to Macedonia (northern Greece), but then had to flee to Achaia (southern Greece) for his own safety. He visited the city of Corinth there, a wealthy and cosmopolitan commercial center. Many people became believers, so he stayed for a year and a half to teach them.
After he left, the Corinthians wrote to Paul (in a letter we no longer have) with some key questions. The Corinthians had adopted the common Greek idea that physical things are bad, so they wanted to free the human spirit from the body. This affected the way they saw such things as marriage, attendance at ceremonial meals for pagan gods, and even the resurrection of Jesus. In the letter we know as 1 Corinthians Paul addresses all of these concerns, as well as questions about worship.
Paul writes that this world in its present form is passing away, but the Corinthians can give themselves fully to the work of the Lord since their labor in the Lord is not in vain.The coming resurrection of the dead, and the new world that will accompany it, will show the value of all their current efforts. Paul’s practical advice for how to consistently embody the new life of God’s kingdom during a particular scene in the biblical drama gives us great insight as we seek to take up our roles today.” (Intro to 1 Corinthians, Bible app NIV version)
“Paul’s first letter to the believers in Corinth gives us a glimpse into his deeply personal and tumultuous relationship with this gathering of Jesus-followers. The letter we know as 2 Corinthians further reveals the triumphs and struggles that result when life in the present age meets up with the in-breaking reality of God’s kingdom. Here we see Paul working to repair relationships, explain various changes in travel plans, make practical arrangements for collecting a gift for the struggling believers in Jerusalem, and directly confront challenges to his own leadership by the self-proclaimed “super-apostles.”
In the four main parts of the letter, each introduced by a reference to a place, Paul envisions himself in different locations, recalling or anticipating his relationship with the Corinthians. The single theme running through these sections is that God will comfort us in all our troubles, and we will offer this comfort to each other. This models the life of Jesus himself, who suffered first and then was comforted. Like the crucified Messiah, we are weak, yet we live in God’s power.
In the final section, however, Paul feels he has no choice but to make the Corinthians uncomfortable, to help them face their present condition. But he ends the letter hopefully, calling on them to rejoice in God’s grace, love and fellowship.” (Intro to 2 Corinthians, Bible app NIV version)