Dr Paul Allen

In this excerpt from Transformed in Christ, Ron Elsdon and William Olhausen provide some insight into the history and culture of Corinth. Many cities, past and present, have reputations, including the Greek city of Corinth. But was its reputation deserved? Two of Paul’s letters usually command more attention than the others. In the case of Romans, the theological content is particularly significant, but there is little content focused on the dynamic of Christian life in the city of Rome. First Corinthians is different.  Here Paul addresses issues that reflect the life of Corinth and the church there. To understand 1 Corinthians, it is helpful to know something of the history of the city. It would be easy to start with Aristophanes, who coined the term korinthiazesthai (“to play the Corinthian”) to depict its immorality.  After all, Paul refers to a climate of sexual immorality (7:2) and expresses horror at a report of it among members of the Corinthian church (5:1). There is a...

“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead : And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” ( 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 ) There are many motivating reasons for serving the Lord. One, of course, is His many merciful blessings on our behalf. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God , that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” ( Romans 12:1 ). Then there is the incentive of rewards: “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” ( Revelation 22:12 ). There are also many rewards even in this present life for dedicated Christian service: “ Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” ( 1 Timothy 4:8 ). The great need o...

Paul reminds the Corinthians , “For though we live in the world we are not carrying on a worldly war, for the weapons of our warfare are not worldly but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:3–4). These weapons, used against demonic forces that hinder the spread of the gospel and the progress of the church, include such things as prayer, worship, the authority to rebuke demonic forces, the words of Scripture, faith, and righteous conduct on the part of the members of the church. (Paul gives further details about our spiritual conflict and the armor we wear for it in Eph. 6:10–18.) When we consider this spiritual power in a broad sense, it certainly includes the power of the gospel to break through sin and hardened opposition and awaken faith in the hearts of unbelievers (see Rom. 10:17; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23). But this power also includes spiritual power that will render demonic opposition to the gospel ineffective.  We see examples of this in Acts 13:8–11, ...

Paul writes, “lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me ” (2 Cor. 12:6). Transparently, Paul worries that people will think too much of him. There was a group in the Corinthian church have been boasting about the revelations and visions they have received. Paul does not want to get into a contest about who has had the most or the better visions (12:1), but if he says nothing then some believers in Corinth will write him off.  Perhaps he is nothing but yesterday’s man: he had that wonderful vision on the Damascus road , of course, but that was more than twenty years ago, and we all know that yesterday’s grace isn’t enough for today.  Paul simply will not stoop to a bidding war in the spirituality stakes. The most he is prepared to do is talk about his experiences in the third person. “I know a man in Christ ,” he says—that is, a Christian , simply a Christian—“who fourteen years ago … was caught up to the third heaven ” (12:2). Som...

The Christian faith is not a mere collection of doctrines — a bag of truths. Christianity is a comprehensive truth claim that encompasses every aspect of revealed doctrine, but is centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ . And, as the apostolic preaching makes clear, the gospel is the priority. The Apostle Paul affirms this priority when he writes to the Christians in Corinth . In the opening verses of 1 Corinthians 15 , Paul sets out his case: Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas , then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers ...

English: Jesus Christ - detail from Deesis mosaic, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus , who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness , and sanctification, and redemption." ( 1 Corinthians 1:30 ) In this one verse we find described four aspects of Christ 's work on our behalf. It is "of him," literally "by his doing," that we are in Christ Jesus, who "is made" or "who became" these things to us and for us. Wisdom of God : This is the preferred rendering. Paul was writing to the church at Corinth (a Greek city). The Greeks were infatuated with wisdom, but Paul declared Christ Jesus to be the "wisdom of God." Such wisdom is likewise imparted to believers ( v. 24 ), while "the foolishness of God is wiser than men" ( v. 25 ). Righteousness: Christ, being "made" righteousness, becomes an all-sufficient righteousness to us. This imputed right...

English: Dorcas Stained glass window in St. John's church, Healey. Acts IX-36 says "Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did." (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The woman walking up the Roman Road hugged a secret. Hidden beneath her robe was the future of Christian theology . For she bore with her a letter to the church in Rome that would spell out, like no other document ever written, the implications and significance of the gospel. Paul had turned to her out of need. While in Corinth he had written a letter to the distant Roman church . He could not slip the letter into an envelope, lick a couple stamps and drop it into a mailbox; there was no postal service. Instead, he must find someone to carry the letter. As F. W. Boreham points out, Paul could write the letter but at that time could not carry it. Phoebe could not have written the letter, but she...

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth , to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus , called to be saints , with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord , both their's and our's." ( 1 Corinthians 1:2 ) This salutation to those "called saints" at Corinth (the words "to be" are not in the original) makes it clear that all who "in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord" are the saints of God. The word "saint" means "one who is sanctified" or "set apart," having been called to serve the Lord . That service is varied, and many striking figures of speech are used in the Bible to describe it. In the first place, the saints are "witnesses unto me" ( Acts 1:8 ) and, therefore, "ambassadors for Christ" ( 2 Corinthians 5:20 ). The words and deeds of believers are to serve as an actual B...

Säulenreste in Korinth (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) For I do not wish to see you now on the way; but I hope to stay a while with you, if the Lord permits (1 Cor. 16:7). This passage provides some insight into Paul’s activity as an apostle. First, we see his unwavering resolve to stick to his original plans to go to Macedonia . As we discovered earlier in the Corinthian epistle, there were those who thought Paul was trying to run from his duties by not coming to the troubled church at Corinth . It must have been tempting for Paul to change his plans in order to vindicate himself, but he did not do this. Instead, he wrote a letter (this first epistle) to address the many problems at Corinth. He had other business that was more pressing, and he would not allow the taunts of squabbling men to disrupt his prior commitments. This is a good lesson for any Christian , that no matter how much we may be accused by others of neglecting what they deem as more important, we must remain comm...