So, we have finished the books of First and Second Thessalonians and now we are switching to Paul’s two letters to the Corinthians. In upcoming podcasts, we are going to be talking about this first letter. We will do some Bible background on the book and focus on just how the gospel came to Corinth. Corinth was a major city in the eastern Peloponnese of Greece. It lay near the narrow isthmus that joined the Peloponnese to the mainland. The city lay at the foot of a mountain, Akrocorinth (elevation 1883 feet), which also served as a location for some of the cults of the city.1 The gospel of Jesus Christ changed this city. How did it do it? To answer that, we will take on the subject of ‘How to Impact an Immoral City: Lessons from Corinth’ all on this week’s Light on Life.
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Read the Notes
You can view a basic transcript of this podcast at the bottom of this section.
Accept the Challenge
Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.
This week’s call is:
God expects those who have heard the Good News to act on the Good News. He expects that where the light of the gospel has brightly shined, that people do not put up black out curtains.
Join the Conversation
Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11). Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony.
This week’s question is:
Question: Share a testimony on how the Lord blessed you because you acted on His Word. Share your story in the comments section below.
Episode Resources:
If you would like to know more about growing in faith, see the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.
- Why Possessing Patience Is A Powerful Step to A Faith Filled Life [Podcast]
- Why Praying in Faith Means to Believe You Receive [Encore Podcast]
- How You Can Demonstrate Powerful Faith in God [Podcast]
- Why Taking the Forgiveness Test Helps Your Faith in God [Podcast]
- Faith and Prayer: Important Lessons to Know [Podcast]
- Why It’s Important to Flow in Faith’s Domain [Podcast]
- Scriptures to Feed Your Faith and Combat Fear [Podcast]
We are currently teaching in the book of Second Thessalonians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.
- #S11-005: Why You Can Overcome Weariness With God’s Amazing Grace [Podcast]
- #S11-004: Why God’s Thoughts On Discipline Are Superior To Yours [Podcast]
- #S11-003: Why God’s Love and Direction Are a Match Made in Heaven [Podcast]
- #S11-002:Why You Need God’s Protection in a World Gone Nuts [Podcast]
- #S11-001: Why Growing in Faith Brings Amazing Results [Podcast]
- #S10-052: Why Powerful Prayer to Advance the Gospel Is Right [Podcast]
- #S10-51: Reasons Why People Fail to Receive From God [Podcast]
- #S10-50: Why You Shouldn’t Be Quickly Shaken by Prophetic Happenings [Podcast]
- #S10-049: Why Jesus Proven Second Coming Produces Ironclad Hope
- #S10-048: Why God’s Amazing Dynamic Deliverance Is Coming Your Way [Podcast]
- #S10-047: What Does a Spiritually Healthy Jesus Follower Look Like to God? [Podcast]
- #S10-046: Why Repetition Is a Vital Need for Godly Spiritual Growth [Podcast]
About Emery
Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 47 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. He and his wife Sharon of 42 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.
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Prayer
Welcome again – Let’s pray.
Father God, you are totally awesome. Marvelous is your work and that my soul knows right well. Bless the people today. Grant unto them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of you. Let the eyes of their understadning be opened that they may know you in your glory in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Podcast Notes
Immoral City: Opening Remarks
1 Corinthians 1:1–3 (ESV) – 1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- We will not get much farther today than these first few opening verses.
- In fact, it may take several podcasts to cover this section.
- We need to talk about Corinth as a city and Sosthenes as a fellow writer of this letter.
- I mean, who in the world is Sosthenes?
Immoral City: Paul’s Missionary Journeys
- Paul had three missionary tours of duty.
- In his first missionary tour, Paul hit the following cities in order: Antioch, Cyprus, Pamphylia, Iconium, Lycaonia and then Paul worked his way back the same way that he came until he came back to Antioch.
- All of that was Paul’s first missionary tour of duty.
- Paul’s second tour starts in Derby and Lystra, then back to Iconium and Galatia.
- After this, the missionary team travel west to Troas where Paul experiences a supernatural vision from God.
- In the vision, he sees a man from Macedonia saying ‘Come over and help us.’
- Paul concludes from this supernatural vision he is supposed to go to Macedonia.
- Now, Macedonia is a big place — it’s a region, not a city.
- They go to the city of Philippi which is in Macedonia and then to the city of Thessalonica which is also in the same region.
- After this, they go to Corinth and establish the Corinthian church and then they go back to Jerusalem — that was the end of the second missionary tour.
- So, we are in Corinth now.
Immoral City: The Harbor
- Corinth was an Isthmus 10 miles wide.
- There was a harbor on the east side and one on the west.
- Ships would unload their goods in one harbor and haul it overland to the other harbor to avoid a dangerous 200-mile trip around the bottom of the isthmus.
- So there was a substantial amount of traffic through Corinth.
- Traffic meant one thing: money.
Immoral City: Money in Corinth
- There was a significant amount of money flowing through Corinth and you know the love of money is the root of all sin.
- And, with that thought, here is the Historical Background of the Day.
The morals of its [Corinth’s] pagan society were so corrupt that “to Corinthianize” came to mean to live a most dissolute life. There were thousands of priestesses in the temples (especially the temple of Aphrodite, the so-called goddess of love) who were slave girls used as prostitutes selling their bodies as a religious act to raise money for the temples. They also acted as entertainers in the night life of the city. Every kind of sin was common and open in the city.2
- This quote came from Stanley Horton, a Pentecostal Holy Ghost filled scholar who framed this comment in a nice way.
- For the plain version of this, just know that “to Corinthianize” meant to fornicate — that’s what Stanley meant by living a dissolute life.
Immoral City: The Isthmian Games
- One other piece of Historical Background information that would help you is to know that Isthmian games were held every [other] year about ten miles east of [the city of] Corinth.
- Those games took place the year before the Olympics and the year after.
- You understand that for ancient Greece, the Olympics were like the Super Bowl of athletic competition.
- Today, sports inundate us.
- Every year we have major events where celebrations and parties break out around these sporting events.
- I’ve already alluded to the Super Bowl.
- Did you know that this game had 113 million viewers in 2023? — that’s 5 times the number of people on the planet in the 1st century.
- Before the Super Bowl, we have the World Series — last years event sported 9 million viewers.
- The Final Four? — 9.1 million viewers on average.
- NBA Championship — 11.6 million viewers in 2023.
- College Football Championship a few weeks ago — 25 million people tuned in.
- The point here is that the Isthmian games were a big deal.
1 Corinthians 9:22–27 (ESV) — 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
- Passages like this will make more sense when you understand what the flavor of everyday or every year life was like for the people in Corinth.
- Winning the gold medal in our modern day Olympics yields big money for the winner.
- The average gold medal? What is it worth?
- The medal itself is only worth $800.00, but the endorsements attached to it can net millions sometimes.
- But, if you win the gold medal and you are from the nation of Singapore, that country will give the winner $737,000!
- In the first century, the story is a little different.
- The gold medal winner in the Isthmian games won a wreath type crown made of dried wild celery!
- How would you enjoy training like a mad dog for the chance of winning some dried celery?
- In the passage we just read, Paul called it a perishable crown that would not last — I guess you could say that he was right!
- So, this is Corinth.
Immoral City: How Did Paul Arrive at Corinth?
- How did Paul make his way to the city of Corinth?
Acts 17:10–15 (ESV) — 10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
- So we’re including the stops on Paul’s gospel tour that apply to what we are talking about so that we have some background.
- On this missionary journey [which happens to be his second], Paul goes from Thessalonica to Berea.
- When he finishes in Berea, he goes to Athens.
- From Athens? — you guessed it, Paul ends up at Corinth.
Immoral City: Divine Appointments
Acts 18:1–4 (ESV) — 1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.
- Paul’s first contact in the city of Corinth is with a couple named Pricilla and Aquila.
- This is what I believe is a divine appointment.
- I believe in those.
- God orchestrates divine meetings as you pray about His will or talk to God about being in His will — sometimes the people you meet are not by coincidence.
- Many times, you don’t even know these people God is hooking you up with.
- These meetings can be life-changing.
- If you will allow the Holy Ghost to lead you, all kinds of wonderful things can happen.
- So yes, God is moving in the midst of this immoral city.
- The Lord is bringing people together for His purpose.
- And, with that thought, here is the Illustration of the Day.
- This Illustration is from a gentleman named Joseph Kidder.
- He wrote in a book entitled.3
On my flight back from Fiji I had the aisle seat in a four-seat row. The seat next to me was the only empty one on the plane. A young lady, whom I later learned was Christina, approached me. She explained that she had been sitting in the back of the plane with a university group that had gone to Fiji to do medical work. Feeling a need to break away from her group to have some time by herself, she announced that she wanted to change her seat to the empty one next to me. Although I had been hoping that nobody would sit next to me for the 11-hour trip, God had other plans. As it was late at night, most passengers fell asleep. About four hours before our arrival in Los Angeles, the crew woke us up due to a turbulence, and breakfast was served. Introducing myself to the young lady next to me, I asked what she was doing in Fiji. She also inquired about what I had done there. I told her I had gone there to speak to pastors and church members on the island. At that moment, she became sad. She told me that a few years before, she had given her heart to Jesus and lived a Christian life. Those few years, she believed, had been the best of her life. Christina had felt joy, purpose, and excitement. Then she went to college, and the secular atmosphere pulled her away from her relationship with Christ. Taking the opportunity to talk to her about God, I spent the next three hours sharing Scripture and tips and ideas for how she could reconnect with God. I also gave my own personal testimony. Then I asked if I could pray for her. “Please, please pray for me,” she said. “I need it. I want that experience back in my life.” When I opened my eyes at the end of the prayer, I saw Christina crying. Giving me a hug, she said, “This was a divine appointment. There are 340 seats on the plane, and the only empty one was next to you. God was leading me to sit over here. He brought us together for a purpose.”4 means to work or to toil.
So, if you work for God, if you sacrifice, if you sow the most valuable thing you have which is your time, God said you will reap a reward. If you spend your energy, if you toil for Him, God said I will take sickness away from the midst of you. I know this verse is so. We were pastoring a church when Sharon had the aneurism. What did the Lord do? He was true to His Word — He took sickness away from us. I was in ministry when a voice came out of the bathroom in our home in Broken Arrow, and the voice ‘you’re healed’ when I had struggled to receive my healing for seven years. And I was healed of a condition I was told was incurable. Don’t tell me God won’t reward you if you work for Him. I know He will. It’s been 16 years since the Lord healed me and there has been no relapse — not even one day. So, working for God can be the difference between living and dying. The Lord doesn’t want to heal you so you are better able to operate your remote control! Look at this promise, the Lord said, “I will bless your bread and your water”. Proverbs 10:22 (ESV) — The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.
- God will prosper you in your food.
- We pray blessings over our food every time we eat.
- Food, that’s one thing all the world seeks after per Matthew 6.
- Listen to it.
Matthew 6:31–33 (ESV) — Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
- Matthew 6 says God will provide for you what the whole world is looking for without Him.
- Now, add to that Proverbs 10 and Exodus 23 and now the message from God is that “I am going to bless your bread and water [what you eat and drink] to such an extent that it will impact your health.”
- I am going to bless what goes in your mouth to such a level that it will add healing your body.
- Now, you’re wasting your time asking God to bless the eating of potato chips in your mouth nor the drinking of pop in your mouth— it’s not happening.
- Did you know who much sugar you’re putting into your body when you drink a pop?
- Take a Coke or a Pepsi or a Dr. Pepper or a Mountain Dew and leave it on the counter for several hours — let it come to room temperature.
- Now, take a swig of that.
- How does it taste? – It’s like yuck, it’s too sweet.
- It’s the same amount of sweet when you drink it cold.
- You just don’t notice how bad it was because you taste more flavor from food the closer what you eat comes to your body temperature.
- Cold or warm it’s the same thing going in your body.
- I’m talking about divine health now.
- So, the result of God blessing your bread and water and taking sickness away from your midst and fulfilling the number of your days is a full lifespan.
Immoral City: Problems in Corinth
- So, here is Paul in Corinth.
- He visits the synagouge — that’s his style — you know he’s going to do it.
- He has a heart for his people but the effectiveness of his call is among the Gentiles.
- So, the church is established in Corinth through the power of God.
- It’s wonderful, but then Paul must leave.
- He goes to the next city and begins to hear of problems in Corinth.
1 Corinthians 1:11 (ESV) — For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.
- There’s problem’s in Corinth.
- So, Paul writes a letter.
Father God, thank you today for your miracle working power that transforms immoral cities. We give you all the praise and glory for doing this in our day in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
- How to Impact an Immoral City: Lessons from Corinth
- You guys have a great God week and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.
#S4-007: Why Divine Healing Is Better for Your Life [Podcast]
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References:
- Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Romans to Philemon., vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 101. ↩
- 1 Corinthians, A Logion Commentary, Stanley Horton ↩
- S. Joseph Kidder, “Divine Appointments: God’s Miraculous Encounters That Changed My Life,” in S. Joseph Kidder, Out of Babylon: How God Found Me on the Streets of Baghdad (Nampa, ID: PacificPress, 2018), 9, 10. ↩
- https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/2018/08/Divine-appointments,
Immoral City: Divine Appointments — Priscilla and Aquila
- So, God hooks up Paul with Priscilla and Aquila.
- What are some of the characteristics of this divine appointment?
- Well, first they were both saved.
- Paul was saved at Damscus.
- Aquila and Priscila were from a place called Pontus.
Acts 2:1–9 (ESV) — 1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
- You see, there were people from Pontus in Jerusalem on the Day of Penetcost.
- I’m talking about divine appointments.
- So Aquila and Priscila come from Rome to Corinth — Paul is coming from Thessalonica via Berea to Corinth.
- They divinely meet — guess what?
- They both had the same trade — tent-makers.
- The three of them of them formed a bond first around Jesus and second around work.
- The first fact you should know about Aquila is that whenever you see a reference to him you always have a reference to Priscilla — they were always together!
- This was a ministry couple and you know with ministry couples, together is how it ought to be.
- And if you look at the verses where Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned, Pricilla is always mentioned first.
Romans 16:3 (ESV) — 3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
Acts 18:18 (ESV) — 18 After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow.
Acts 18:24–26 (ESV) — 24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
- So, the first thing is that they are always mentioned together.
- That’s how ministry should be.
- Second, when you see these two in scripture, Priscilla is listed first meaning she was the chief anointed one on this team.
- Kind of like Joyce Meyer and her husband.
Immoral City: Divine Appointments — Sosthenes
- Now, what about Sosthenes?
- Who in the world is he?
- Could it be that we have another divine appointment?
- Let’s go back to Acts 18.
Acts 18:4–5 (ESV) — 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.
- The Greek word ‘occupied’ is the one we want to look at and with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
- The word ‘occupied’ used here — Paul was occupied with the Word — is a verb meaning to be or become fully engaged or engrossed in some particular activity.
- I know about this word — Sharon knows about this word in the Horvath household.
- Paul was into it and he saw nothing else.
- Have you been there with the Word? — So engrossed in the Word that you see nothing else?
- So, Paul is into it with the Jews and they oppose him.
- Paul got mad about this.
Acts 18:6 (ESV) — 6 And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
- So that’s what Paul does. He preaches to the Gentiles.
- When he does, piles of people get saved.
Acts 18:7–11 (ESV) — 7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
- So, the gospel is transforming this immoral city.
- The Jews got mad about that.
Acts 18:12–16 (ESV) — 12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, 13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. 15 But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” 16 And he drove them from the tribunal.
- The Lord told Paul, ’No one will attack you and harm you in this city.’
- Paul didn’t even have time to speak and defend himself! — the ruler, Gallio, cut him off and drove the Jews out.
- The Jews were even more upset now and so they turned their attention to a guy named Sosthenes.
Acts 18:17 (ESV) — 17 And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.
- This Sosthenes gave his heart to Jesus, and he is co-authoring this letter we are looking at to the Corinthians.
Impact a City: The Challenge of Living for Jesus
- So, we said Paul is establishing the gospel in a sinful city.
- But, there will be challenges for those who get saved — who confess Jesus as Lord, bowing their knee to Him.
- What’s the challenge?
- Living the Jesus life in a deep sin-pot of a city.
- Now, you know how Paul is.
- You know how concerned he was for the work of God.
- We saw his concern for the Thessalonians.
- He wrote two letters because of his concern for their spiritual welfare.
- Paul’s addressing problems.
- The Apostle to the Gentiles is trying to keep people from turning away from Jesus.
- He wants them to stay encouraged.
- Paul knows the Roman government does not hold these Jesus people in high esteem.
- Riots are erupting due to the substantial impact of these born again individuals on the economy.
- Romans don’t want riots.
- There are a huge number of people in the Empire and they are hard to control.
- And so, the money-making machine is sputtering and stalling.
- There’s money in sin and people aren’t spending the money they used to spend.
- They’re burning sin-laced books instead of buying them.
- It’s tough when you’re considered the skum of the world.
- So, these newly born children of God have a lot on their plate.
- We’re not even talking about false teachers and fake prophets who are trying to gather an audience.
- So, Paul writes letters.
- He prays — he sends people to report back to him on developing situations in the churches he founded.
- But, all this doesn’t stop Paul from reaching out — going forward — carving out new territory.
- This is the Apostle to the Gentiles — and wherever Gentiles are that’s where Paul is going by the direction of the Spirit of God.
- You know Paul’s MO.
- He goes into the city firing Holy Ghost arrows and KA-POW — revival breaks out — signs and wonders pop up everywhere — the miraculous is in full swing giving credence to the message.
- Now ask yourself — Why doesn’t that happen in America?
- It does happen but on a limited scale.
- God expects those who have heard the Good News to act on the Good News.
- He expects that where the light of the gospel has brightly shined, that people do not pull the blinds or use black out curtains.
- When we know better — we should do better.
- We must be doers of the Word.
- You see miracles are God’s divine intervention into the ordinary course of nature.
- The sin nature poisons the ordinary course of nature.
- Sickness, depression, premature death, and on and on are all part of the sin based course of nature.
- But listen to what the Lord said way back in the Old Testament.
Exodus 23:25–26 (ESV) — 25 You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. 26 None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
- The Hebrew word ‘serve’ used here in Exodus [if you serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you ↩