Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 19
August 3, 1967
NUMBER 13, PAGE 7b-8a

The Church In Corinth

B. G. Echols

We read of the founding of the church in Corinth in Acts 18:1-21. Paul came to Corinth from Athens on his second tour in the Gentile lands. He came alone, a stranger and apparently without funds. He secured lodging and a means of livelihood with Aquila. It must have been discouraging not to be able to devote full time to evangelizing this great city, but he did not refuse to labor that he might have wherewith to spend the sabbaths preaching Christ to the Jews. The faithful preacher preaches because it is his greatest desire. He preaches when he is supported, but if he is not supported, he preaches anyway. Paul accepted support from others, but when it was not available, he worked in order to continue his work of preaching.

It seems likely that Aquila and Priscilla were not Christians since Luke calls him "a certain Jew" rather than "a disciple." Yet nothing is said of their becoming Christians. It is certain that they soon obeyed the gospel. They became close friends to the apostle and remained such until the close of his life.

As was Paul's practice, he went to "the Jews first." The preaching in the synagogue continued through several sabbaths as Paul "reasoned and persuaded." When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, the opposition of the Jews caused Paul to leave the synagogue. Fortunately, a house nearby was, made available for meetings. Paul had gained fruit from his work as "many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized" (Acts 18:8). Such an event as the baptism of Crispus must have had a great effect in antagonizing the Jews. It was much to the credit of Crispus that he became obedient to the Lord when the opposition and blasphemy of the Jews was so strong. Their opposition to Paul grew with his success.

While his success must have been a source of comfort and encouragement. Paul was not always at ease in Corinth (I Cor. 2:3). In a crisis, the Lord encouraged him (Acts 19:9,10.) The comfort was not merely that Paul personally would be safe, but that his labors and sufferings would be rewarded by the salvation of many. Supported by this assurance, Paul continued his labors with renewed zeal. He was freed from the need to labor with his hands for support (II Cor. 11:9.) Great success attended his labors which increased the determination of the Jews to defeat him.

This is the period of Paul's life in which his letters were written. We can use them to fill in some details not mentioned in Acts. The first epistle to the Thessalonians was written from Corinth soon after the arrival of Silas and Timothy. The good report of Timothy gave him much joy, but it was joy in the midst of distress (I Thess. 3:6-8.) Part of this distress may have come from the reaction of the Jews in Corinth. The strong expressions used in I Thessalonians concerning the Jews leads us to think that the apostle was not only remembering their opposition in Thessalonica, but also of the difficulties surrounding him at Corinth (I Thess. 2:14,15.)

The attempt of the Jews to suppress the preaching reached a climax before Gallio. Paul's feelings about all this may be found in II Thess. 3:2. The Jews rose in body, seized Paul and dragged him before the proconsul. They may have presumed that Gallio being new would try to gain their favor by giving them their desire. Gallio, however, stopped the proceedings by refusing to get involved in a matter outside his jurisdiction. He ordered the officers to clear the court.

This proceeding must have humiliated the Jews. Paul is enabled to remain in Corinth and all the Christians are free from Jewish oppression. Though bitter enemies had attacked Paul, he was unharmed. The Lord was with him and many people turned to the Lord. Paul remained for at least 18 months. This length of time made the church in Corinth one of the best taught churches in the New Testament. Yet the church in Corinth will be one of the most troublesome to the apostle as is abundantly clear from reading the epistles addressed to it.