The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1893-07-20
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
International Lesson for July IS, 1s83--
Paul at Corinth.-Acts 1S;1-11.

| AhteTHattOnHi LESSON TOT July xS, 1875
Paul at Corinth--Acts IS;1-11.
GOLDEN TExE-The preaching OF the cross
| is to them that perish, foolishness; but unto
us which are saved, it is the power Of God
| I Cor 1:l6
TME-A. d. So, Immediately after the de.
parture from Athens. Paul remained here @
year and q half (ver H.
PLACE.-Corinth, the political capital OF
Greece the metropolis Of commerce. 1t was sit.
uated on the istnmus which connects the two
portions of Greece.
EPIsTLEs TO THE CoRINTHrANs.-Pau wrote
two epistles to the church he had founded The
first epistle was written at Ephesus. about
April A. ID. "a, four years after he left Cornth.
The second epistle soon followed, late in 81 or
early IN %, when Paul was at PhiIippi, after he
had been driven from Ephesus, in his third mis-.
sionary journey.
EPIsTLEs WRITTEN AT CoRrNTH Cor
inth during this stay Paul wrote two letters to
the Thessalonian church, from which he had
been driven by persecution. See our last lesson
The MIssIoNARIEs-At Corinth Silas and
Timothy Joined Paul (ver. 81, bringing with
them contribution for his aid from Phlippi,
where Luke remained comp Cor. l1:9 with
Phil 4:lS) Silas had remained at Berea and
Timothy had been sent to Thessalonica from
Athena
CIRCUMSTANCES - Pauls stay IN Athens
the subject Of our last lesson, was not over a
month Lewin). II SO long. He did not remain
long after his address on Mars hill 1t is
probable that persecution was threatened
against him as the introducer of new gods. a
ike onense to that for which Socrates had been
condemned and executed in the same city and
py the same COURT and that Paul hastily left
the city and proceeded to Corinth, where his
coworkers Joined him.
LESSON NOTES.
Corinth. The Place and the Need
~ The city. As Athens was the seat
OF culture, SO Corinth was the seat of
commerce in the south of Greece. The
city, at this time the political capital
OF Greece and the residence of the Ro-
man pro-consul, stood on the isthmus
which united the Peloponnesus to the
mainland, and through it all land traf-
fic between the peninsula and the rest
OF Greece must pass, while its
two harbors, one on each side of
the neck of land on which Cor
inth stood, made it the resort of sea-
faring traders both from east and
west. On vast rock, rising abruptly
about two thousand feet above the
level of the sea, was the citadel, called
the Acrocorinthus. Magnificent tenn
pies and public buildings adorned it,
especially the market place. The road
to the Acropolis, made long by wind
ings, led past temples, affairs and stat
ues, and on the citadel stood the splen-
did temple of Venus, adorned with a
panoplied image of the goddess. In a
military point of view it was of great
Importance, as it commanded the en-
trance into the peninsula, and hence
was called by Xenophon "the gate of
the Peloponnesus." Farrar speaks of
the city as having four hundred thou
sand inhabitants
(2) Its business. Corinth was not
able in commerce and manufactures
and foremost in the fine arts. Corinth
gave birth to painting; the most elab-
crate order of architecture received
from her its name, the finest bronze
was the "Corinthian brass" although
none Of her sons is mentioned among
the illustrious writer's of Greece. Our
small fruit, the currant, derives it's
name from Corinth.
(3) Character of the inhabitants.
With commerce had come luxury, and
vice, and the verb Corinthiazein, - to
live as the Corinthians, had become
proverbial as early as the time of Aris-
tophanes, for course of profligacy.
It was infamous for its Hcentiousness;
Venus, whose temple was on the Aero
corinthus, was a favorite goddess To
the temple of Venus were attached
more than thousand courtesans,w who.
under the cover of religious rites, pam
dered to the passions of citizens and
1t was city of drunkards;
it was a city of extortioners and cheats.
Corinth was the Vanity Fair Of the
Roman empire, at once the London and
the Paris of the first century after
Christ Such was the Augean stable
which the Christian Hercules now ad-
dressed himself to purify.
(D As field for missions. Not only
the great need Of the Gospel here, from
the character of the people, but also
the cosmopolitan nature of its popula-
ton made Corinth q good field for mis-
sionary labor, and q center from which |
The Gospel could be easily spread
through those who came to do business
here.
Paul's object was ~ to supply his
wants. There was no church to sup
port him, 80 that he could give his
whole time to Gospel work Il Cor.
':4-14). This was especially needful on
account of the famine which prevailed
n Greece at this time. (2) There was
probably something peculiar in his cir
here which led him to re-
luse aid. He would not let his ene- |