United in Christ

Corinth dates back to at least the sixth century BC. In 147 BC the city was destroyed because of its opposition to Rome. In 44 BC Julius Caesar founded a new colony in its place. This was to take advantage of the fact that Corinth lies on a narrow neck of land between two harbors which helped shorten many sea journeys. By the time Paul visited it Corinth was a bustling port town. While there have been stories of Corinth as a town of lust and greed there is no evidence that it was any different than any other port town of the time, or even of our time. In the archaeological remains of the old town (a town of Corinth still exists – but in a slightly different location) there is evidence of a Jewish synagogue. That is most likely where Paul started to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah. He first visited Corinth on his second mission journey around AD 51.

While we find two letters to the Corinthians in the New Testament most modern scholars agree that these two are the compilation of several letters that Paul wrote (some say there could have been as many as seven). This is, in part, why it is difficult to decide what issues Paul is addressing as he wrote. Although, for us, that is a moot point. We read them to discern our place in the world and in God’s kingdom. Today we begin with Paul's salutation. This and his other salutations follow the normal pattern of salutations used by anyone else writing at the time. Although, Paul does give us a hint of what he is most concerned about in writing to the Corinthians. That is he is calling the Corinthians to live in fellowship with one another and all who call on the name of “Our Lord Jesus Christ.” For whatever the real issues were between the Corinthian Christians we note that Paul is extolling them to show the unity of Christ instead of disunity with each other.

That any group of people who are brought together for one reason or another might argue about that which they had set out to do is not unusual. It seems, though, that the Corinthians were quite adept at it. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians were a call to them to get along with each other. Faith was not a contest. NO one was better at it than another. All had been given gifts of the Spirit. Those gifts were not for self-improvement but were to be used in the world to share God’s love with others.

That is a message we and our world need to hear today. When everything seems like a contest, parties refuse to work with each other, and selfishness is encouraged Paul’s message is ever more important. We, like the Corinthians, are given the gifts of the Spirit and called to use those gifts to spread God’s love throughout the world. It is not only our words that provide witness to God’s salvation in Jesus, our actions also witness to God’s love in Jesus by how we treat each other, our neighbors, and our enemies. We are called to be those who work to bring God’s justice, peace, and love to a fallen world. Pray that you will always be open to sharing that love with the world in every situation.