The city of Corinth was a city with a love for things and pleasure. The citizens were looking to advance on the ladder of upward social mobility. The culture of the city was of trade, business, and the pursuit of success. Of all the cities in the Roman Empire, the city of Corinth perhaps most closely resembles the culture in cities of America in the 21st century. This modern, progressive, cosmopolitan city was the place where the apostle Paul spent two years with the church. We know this was a church with many doctrinal problems. When we read chapters 5-16 we read about these Christians being involved in many sins as well as having many questions about various teachings. But in our zeal to read about those other issues, it is easy to skip over the primary issue that Paul must deal with in the Corinthian church. The problem is so significant that the apostle must spend the first four chapters of the book addresses it. The big problem in this church is divisions. After concluding the thanksgiving section, Paul immediately dives into this problem in 1:10.
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