David Anguish
Blessed as we are with a choice of several congregations within a relatively short driving distance, it is doubtful that most of us would place membership in a church like Corinth. If we did so in ignorance of their problems, it would probably not take us long to move on.
It was a church where division was rife, with open factions claiming allegiance to influential men. A church which winked at immoral behavior which would have been condemned even by its community's well-known libertines. A church where compromise with the world was openly advocated. A church where the worship services had gotten increasingly unruly as first one and then another sought the limelight he felt his gifts deserved. A church where a significant number had even rejected the most fundamental - and hopeful - of Christian doctrines.
Hopefully, this brief overview reminds you that the Corinthians were flesh-and-blood believers who had not succeeded in ridding themselves of the sins of a pagan, immoral culture. This was a church very much up for grabs. Paul's correspondence with them indicates that they were perhaps the most troublesome church he dealt with.
But not all we read in these letters, even in 1 Corinthians, is critical. Despite their problems, Paul affirms their place as a church. He begins by reminding them that they were "the church of God which is at Corinth, . . . sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, . . ." (1 Corinthians 1:2, NASB). As he confronts their immorality, he tells them that they "were sanctified, . . . justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" (6:11).
Indeed, in a passage as strong in its wording as any he would pen in condemnation of their practices, Paul expresses his thanks for this group: "I thank my God always concerning you . . . that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, . . . God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (1:4-9).
Corinth, then, was a church with more than its share of problems, yet one which Paul still calls a "church of God", expressing thanks for it in the strongest of terms. What are we to make of this?
First, we should not conclude that error - whether in teaching or practice - does not matter. Were that the case, this letter would not have been written. Paul's point is to challenge their sins and urge them to repent. In no way should 1 Corinthians be seen as proof that the great apostle was lax with regard to either doctrine or morals.
But there are other things we can learn from Paul's approach besides those which matter as regards doctrine and ethics. Not everyone in the church sees and practices God's truth with equal clarity. For some, the problem is one of pride, just like that which plagued the Corinthians. For others, the problem amounts to the stumbling which typifies spiritual toddlers on the move from milk to solid food. What such people need is the same thing we need when we succumb to pride, or when we make mistakes born of immaturity. Consideration, in the awareness that God's not quite finished with them yet. Encouragement. Gratitude that, imperfect though they may be, they are still God's children. A spirit which sees beyond ourselves, our likes, our ways of doing things, our comfort zones, to see souls needing the kind of nurture which will lead them to eventually practice great faith.
How wonderful that Paul would preach grace. How much more wonderful that he also knew how to extend it.