Course Introduction

Hearing 1 Corinthians Today.

Taught by Dr Rikk Watts, Research Professor of New Testament at Regent College, Vancouver, Canada. 

As surprising as it might seem, the Western World has been utterly transformed by nearly 2000 years of the Gospel; so much so we hardly notice. This, along with all the “noise” in our social and other media, plus the pressure to be “relevant,” makes it easy to get sidetracked. This journey back into the vastly different world of burgeoning first century Corinth will help us refocus on the things that really matter.

One of Rome’s richest, oldest, and most powerful rivals, ancient Corinth had been annihilated with remarkable violence. It was refounded a century later on the same international cross-roads, but as a Roman colony. The glistening city of Paul’s day, numbering anywhere between 150,000 to well over 300,000 inhabitants, ranked Third in the Empire. Being a port, it had quickly become a thriving melting pot, awash with new money, a host of local and imported deities, and all the expected social tensions over identity, wealth, and status.  But it was here the LORD encouraged Paul “Do not be afraid” for he had many people in the city (Acts 18:9-10).

In this letter, we get to learn from the NT’s most detailed engagement with the widest range of behavioural issues, as Paul helped these first Corinthian Christians see what it meant truly to be God’s alternative temple in Corinth (1 Cor 3:16).