Corinthians Lesson Plan: Corinthians in Context
by Mindi Popovich-Schneider
Last month, we looked at the Ancient World in which Apostle Paul made his journeys and wrote his letters. This month, we’ll be focusing on Corinth, the city, and how its culture and history affected the early Church there.
Materials:
Your maps from last month (or, if you did not put maps together, a map of Paul’s journeys: https://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/CN092MAPS1.htm)
Background information:
Remember from last month that Paul first visited Corinth (as far as we know) during his second missionary journey with Silas (sometime between 49-53 AD). He then wrote his letters to them during his third missionary journey; the first he wrote while in Ephesus, the second while in Macedonia (all sometime between 53-58 AD). This means that he spent at least ten years shepherding this church: hearing their struggles and advising them on how to be one in Christ.
Find Corinth on the map. What do you notice about it? Because it sits right in an isthmus, it was an ideal port for trading. In fact, it was a major commercial center in the ancient world. Traders and merchants came and went, bringing their rough ways of living; at the same time, the wealth that resulted from commerce gave the Corinthians means to gratify their desires and live extravagantly. The city became synonymous with loose morals–to “Corinthianize” meant to “to be licentious (immoral).”
Activity:
Read Acts 18:1-18.
Why did Paul typically begin with preaching in the synagogues?
What did he mean when he said, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
What do verses 7-8 suggest about the early Church in Corinth?
How does Paul’s approach line up with the model Christ gave during His earthly life?
Look at what Gallio, the Proconsul, says in verses 14-15. What does it say about the relationship between the Jews and the Roman leadership? You might want to contrast it with Pilate’s involvement in Christ’s crucifixion.
How do you think these different aspects of Corinth–the tension between the Jews and Gentiles, the religious leaders and the secular authorities, the depravity, the people coming and going–might have caused problems for the early Christians trying to establish their local community?
Activities for younger siblings:
Read The Illustrated Acts of the Apostles
