The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1933-12-21
from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord"
FIRST CORINTHIANS

The First Epistle to the Corinthians
was written from Philippi and was
sent to Corinth by the hand of Ste
phanas, charitable brother addicted
to the ministry of the saints, also For
tunatus and Achaicus, and last but not
least the beloved Timothy. What a
thrilling volume could be written upon
the lives of the unobtrusive but ever
faithful laborers, who, unknown now,
were vital factors in Paul's great mis-
sionary plan. Like the coral insects
far beneath the surface of the sea
building the foundation of fruitful
isles, themselves never apparent, 50
these unknown workers for the King
dom of God built foundations broad
and deep for the superstructure that
later generations were to erect.
Paul had founded the Church at
Corinth on his second missionary
journey. This city was so beautiful
that it was called the eye of Greece.
Learning and philosophy thrived here.
Plata, Socrates and Aristotle had their
followers, as we'll as the other philos-
ophers; yet, as always, philosophy
had little power to change life apart
from the idea of personal RESPONSE
bility to God, which is the fundamental
of religion. Thus it happened that the
infant Church, surrounded by the evils
of a licentious city, became infected
by them, for the Greeks while proud
of their intellectual achievements were
at the same time addicted to gross i'm
morality.
The Greeks were especially fond of
oratory, and this fondness was the oc-
casion of a division in the Church at
Corinth. A certain silver-tongued or
ator, DR.. Apollos, had captured the
imagination Of the Christians at Cor
NTH by his eloquence, which led to the
drawing of comparisons between him
and other religious leaders. 1t may
be that Paul, whose bodily presence
seems not to have been impressive,
suffered much by this comparison.
Paul hated divisions, and straight
way sought to end this controversy
about leadership. "Is Christ divided"
he asked. "Was Paul crucified for
you? or were we baptized in the name
of Paul? For while one saith, l am
of Paul; another, am of Apollos; are
We not carnal? Who then is Paul and
who is Apollos, but ministers by whom
we believed, even as the Lord gave to
every man? 1 have planted; Apollos
watered, but God gave the increase"
1t was the desire of Paul to cure
schisms in the Church, and to stamp
out partyisms and forms of gross i'm
morality, which were the primary
causes for the writing of the epistle.
Man worship and glorying in worldly
wisdom are the fundamental causes
of most of the divisions within the
Church.
PauPs own ministry was exemplary.
He sought to declare the wisdom of
God as a message revealed to him by
the Holy Spirit. With such a pro-
gram strife over leaders could not be
tolerated. Paul shows that ministers
should be regarded as dispensers of
truth; as gardeners, sowing precious
seed; as co-laborers with God; as
character builders; as stewards; that
they must be sufferers for Christ's
sake, and examples to the Church, as
we'll as administrators of discipline.
He also shows that Christian Ideals
demand the sacricfice of certain priv
ileges and rights for the sake of the
ignorant and weak.
Using Israel's infidelity as an ex-
ample he warns the Church in Chap
ter 10, and in the same Chapter re-
minds US of the sacred nature of per-
sonal influence as it determines the
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