Paul’s First Letter to the

1. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians Chapters 5-10

2. Paul first arrived in Corinth in 50-51 C.E. It was less than a century old as the old Corinth had been destroyed by Rome Corinth

3. Corinth was the capital of the province of Achaia and was a city of great diversity After the Jews were expelled from Rome in 49 C.E., many came to Corinth Corinth was well off economically and was known for manufacturing and trade It was also the home of the Isthmian games- a large sporting event in honor of the Greek god Poseidon Paul uses a sports analogy in this letter (9:24) The community of Corinth

4. Deal with community discipline and obstacles to unity In addressing various topics Paul writes about what should and should not be a part of the community of believers Ch. 5- the question of man having an immoral relationship with his step-mother and the community’s handling of this Chapters 5-6

5. Chapter 6 Paul deals with the question of lawsuits brought by one member of the community against another and the use of civil courts He encourages the community to settle disputes themselves Paul also deals with sexual immorality, reminding the Corinthians that their bodies are temples and should be treated as such (This was touched on earlier in the letter at 3:16) Chapters 5-6

6. Here Paul answers questions posed to him by the community Questions concerning marriage are explored It appears that the Corinthians were taking some extreme views in this area and Paul sought to clear up any confusion Chapter 7

7. Paul continues to answer questions posed by the community Here he addresses their concerns about eating meat sacrificed to idols He again encourages the Corinthians to consider their actions with regard to the good of the community Chapter 8

8. Here, Paul picks up where he left off in ch. 8, and gives a defense of his rights and authority as an apostle Paul uses a great deal of rhetorical language as well as appeals to authority and his personal experiences Chapter 9

9. Paul uses events of the exodus to warn the Corinthians against becoming complacent He tells the Corinthians that more is needed than baptism and participation in the “spiritual food and drink” Chapter 10