Toward Spiritual Maturity

Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians addresses a number of social, moral, and spiritual problems that had arisen in the church after he left the city. Corinth was a cultural and ethnic melting pot of European and Asian cultures. Its inhabitants were steeped in Roman and Greek pagan religion, particularly the worship of Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation, whose worship centered around temple prostitution. Corinth had a reputation as a wicked, licentious,...
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Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians addresses a number of social, moral, and spiritual problems that had arisen in the church after he left the city. Corinth was a cultural and ethnic melting pot of European and Asian cultures. Its inhabitants were steeped in Roman and Greek pagan religion, particularly the worship of Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation, whose worship centered around temple prostitution. Corinth had a reputation as a wicked, licentious, immoral city. Intellectually alert, materially prosperous, and morally corrupt, the Corinthians were devoted to a reckless development of the individual, unbridled lust, commercial pursuits devoid of ethical restraints, and athletic pursuits that demanded extreme exercise and strength. In a word, they recognized no superior and no law but their own desires.In this environment Paul ministered for 18 months and established a thriving Christian church composed mostly of Gentiles converted from their pagan culture. After leaving the city, Paul learned of the problems in the church and wrote First Corinthians as a corrective response. Though the problems were closely related to their own cultural era, Paul's principles of Christian morality and spirituality, which he enunciated as corrections, are timeless. Toward Spiritual Maturity examines each of the local problems and suggests applications to situations in the church of the twenty-first century.