First Corinthians

The Church in Corinth faced many disturbing matters. A concerned member of the Corinthian church sent a message to Paul, informing him of these problems. In this letter, written while he was in Ephesus, Paul explains how the church should handle these issues. After fifty years of working on church staff, I can confidently say that every church in the world faces similar challenges at some point. Through the Holy Spirit's divine wisdom, He used Paul to communicate how to address these issues and correct them for the glory of the LORD and the building up of the Church.

Early in Church history, after the death of John the Apostle, these same troubling issues began to infiltrate the Churches. Church leaders started to stray from Paul's instructions. Different opinions about the Gospel message developed. Clergy began to break away from the one Church and form their own. First, there was the Catholic/Orthodox split. Then came the Church of England split over a king seeking a divorce. This was followed by the Reformation, which led to the rise of the Puritans, Separatists, and many other theological divisions.

One thing is certain! If the clergy had followed the instruction from the Holy Spirit through Paul, the problems in all the churches would have been addressed, and we wouldn't be facing these troubling issues in the church today.