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HE church in Corinth was particularly troubled. Some of the most unusual spiritual vices & abnormalities were present in that church. Still, these believers were genuine. So, as we work our way through the two epistles to the Corinthians, let’s look for the good as well as the evil. If this church existed today, it is doubtful that any of us would feel comfortable worshipping with these folks. Still, we will certainly share heaven with them. Besides, we aren’t in much better shape these days (Revelation 3:14-19).
Here in chapter 1 Paul spent a great portion of his time exalting the imperative preeminence of Christ in the church. "We preach Christ," he wrote emphatically (vs. 23). And, indeed he did. A quick count should reveal no less than 15 references to Christ (by name) in this one chapter. There are many angles on Christology that are brought up by Paul here: Christ our sanctifier, our Master, our God, our returning King, our Judge, our Friend, our Savior, etc. et al.
One of the most significant problems (which distracted & detracted from Christ's preeminence) in Corinth, was divisiveness. There were cliques & fighting factions who divided & subdivided the church into absurdly insignificant segments. Paul condemned them for this. They were supposed to Christians – nothing more; nothing less. But it seems that the splintering of that church was a direct result of pride. Church fights are almost always a product of a selfish pride (James 4:1). Paul implored his dear friends there to humble themselves & to live exclusively for the glory of God. What matters is that we are in Christ (vs. 30). He is our everything!
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