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Tuesday, July 23rd, 2024





Scripture: 1 Cor. 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Cor. 1:4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,


Teaching: Seeing Paul’s true appreciation for the church in Corinth in these verses requires a bit of understanding of how his missionary evangelism played out. Just before going to Corinth, Paul was preaching in Athens (Acts 17:16-34). Despite some in the city coming to faith, ultimately, it seems to have been much more of a failure. There is little, if any, evidence of a church forming in Athens. However, when Paul then travelled to Corinth (Acts 18:1-11), in time, he found Corinth to be much more receptive to the Gospel.


Even more interesting, Paul was met early on in Corinth with similar struggles as Athens: sophisticated audiences and a multitude of pagan gods and practices. Acts 18:4 says “And [Paul] reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.” The word translated as “reasoned” is dialegomai, which means “to discuss in argument or exhortation.” The word translated “persuade” is peitho, which means “to convince by argument.” Paul was actively and passionately preaching, reasoning, and combatting the cultural ideologies held by both Jews and Greeks in Corinth.


One can also see that Paul was likely short on money, as he worked with the family he was staying with (Acts 18:3). To add to this stressful situation, Paul’s message seemed to be rejected, he himself was hated, and Paul was fed up with it all (Acts 18:6). But God led Paul to a couple believers, and in a dream, God told Paul to keep preaching, “for I am with you...[and] I have many in this city who are my people” (Acts 18:10). Paul spent the next 18 months building, by the grace of God in Christ Jesus, the Corinthian church (Acts 18:11). Paul was so appreciative and caring towards the church in Corinth because of the grace shown to him and them by God.


Takeaway: Paul’s obedience to leave Athens and persistence to reach Corinth resulted in the planting of a fruitful church in Corinth. Persistence and endurance are key in the faithful following of the Lord, but only as much as one is following the Lord. If we stubbornly stay in a place that the Lord is calling us out of, we labor outside the will of God. When that occurs, our persistence and endurance yield little but frustration and dejection. Paul saw God’s hand at work when in both cities, Athens and Corinth, initially he found little success. However, in Corinth, God reassured him that there were many in Corinth who were His and Paul persisted because of it. What we can take from Paul’s struggles in Athens and success in Corinth is this: we follow the Lord, we do not force the Lord. The blessings of the Lord, in this life, come from following Jesus where He leads.  

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